The Washington times., 1938-12-22
WPA VOLUME
CALLED SOVIET
PROPAGANDA
Rep. Thomas Asks Ban
in Letter to Hopkins
BY WALTER KIERNAN


NEW YORK, Dec. % G.N.S0
Charging the newly-issued WPA
Teachers Guide to Soviet Rus
sis is "insidious propaganda,
Representative Parnell Thomas OF
New Jersey. a member of the Dies
committee, today demanded that
WPA administrator Harry Hop.
kins Immediately order its with,
drawal from circulation.
And he warned that II intend
to refer the matter to the COM
mitteee on un-Ameerican activi.
ties, with a recommendation that
1t be thoroughly investigated
ROSY SOVIET PICTURE
OF the guide, issued in New
York City, Thomas wrote:
The whole guide for some
reason or another paints very
rosy picture of one of the most
backward nations in the world.
1t practically advocates more
Russia and less United States.
1T is so far from the truth
that will term it inSidiouS
propaganda for a kind OF gov
eminent which we Go not want
to advocate to the children of
the United States OF America"
HOME PAINTED PHRASES
Thomas picked these phrases at
random from the guide issued by
the WPA:
Page 18-"At the base Of the
wall are buried many heroes of
the Russian Revolution, among
them John Reid. Bill Haywood
and two other Americans.
Page 18-"In old Russia, the
theatre was for the upper classes
only; today it is for everybody.
The work Of all is centrally di-
rected from Moscow by the De-
partment of Education.
Page 6-"Note the sharp con-
trast of this hovel with the new
structure erected by the Govern
ment, in an effort to improve
living conditions.
LIKENED TO U. S.
Page &c espond ing
somewhat to the States and Ter
ritorieS inside the American re-
public"
Describing how he had learned
about issuance of the teachers
guide to the Soviet states through
a press release, Thomas told Hop
kinS:
Having already noted as a
member Of the Dies committee
that many Of our governmental
agencies have evidenced a keen
interest In Russia and in its pres
ent form Of government, natur-
ally became interested enough
to secure copy Of this teachers
guide to the union of Socialist
republics. and which guide I
have read in great detail"
WOULD AFFECT CHILDREN"
'The guide, as I understand
1t, is supposed to be for teachers
In our public schools
thing to be used in conjunction
with lantern slides on the Soviet
Union. 1t would. therefore,
necessarily portray to our school
children what their teachers
and an agency of their govern
ment think of present-day Soviet
Russia.
1T would also necessarily in
fluence the minds of our school
children in whatever thoughts
they might have relative to Rus
sia. 1t might even go so far as
to influence them to compare
the government and conditions
Of Soviet Russia with the gov
ernment and conditions of their
own country.
FLAYS INACCURACY
"For these reasons, I think it
imperative that such a guide be
absolutely accurate in its picture
OF the particular country in
question and this, regret to ad-
init, Is not the case.
"Therefore-Mr. Hopkins-I
believe you as the national ad-
ministrator of the Works Pro-
greSS Administration should i'm
mediately withdraw the Teach
ers' Guide on the Soviet Union
from circulation"
The guide is divided into sew
eral sections. The section or
"cities and culture" has this tt
say of the Lenin mausoleum:
The truncated pyramid in
the foreground is the tomb of
ienin. Point out his name on
the front"
DTTCHFCS II