The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-06-20

The vivid term Fifth Column" has
an ominous significance these days.
! 1t first came into use during the
|Spanish civil war, when an insurgent
general announced that he had four
columns of soldiers driving toward
Madrid-and a Fifth Column, consist
| ing of spies, saboteurs and other en-
emies of the Spanish Republic, within
the city. And since then, we have
seen Fifth Columns operating with al
most demoniac efficiency and success
in other parts of the world. The Nazis
have developed the Fifth Column tech
nique to an extraordinarily high level
to very large extent, the collapse
of Norway, Holland, Poland, and Bel
lgium was one to the activities of NaZi
sympathizers and purchased terrorists
within those besieged nations. Somber
rumors of Fifth Column work have
even come from Francois witness
the recent wholesale dismissal Of Is
or 20 French generals who had, ac-
cording to Premier Reynaud, made in
Iexcusable and impossible-to under
stand blunders. And in the British
Isles, the authorities have gone to un-
|precedented ends to ferret out and ar
rest any and all persons who might
be expected to aid German invasion.
That the high officials of the United
States are tremendously worried by
the specter of Fifth Column activity
here, goes without saying. The Presi-
dent has mentioned it in a speech, and
lit is widely believed that his sug-
gestion that he be empowered to call
out the National Guard in peace-time
was based on fear that some such
step might soon become necessary to
put down Fifth Columnists at home
At the moment, the potential U. S.
Fifth Column consists of avowed Hit
|lerites-the bulk of whom are organ
lied in the German-America bunds and
|similar societies-and, to a lesser ex-
tent, the Communists, who have been
running around in circles attempting
to justify Lenin's denunciation of i'm
perialism and conquest with Stalin's
Communist-Nazi pact and the Russian
invasion Of Finland.
The expected Fifth Column tech
nique in this country is simple and
rational. In the words of the Presi-
dent, the Fifth Columnists would at
tempt to Create confusion of counsel,
public indecision, political paralysis
and, eventually, state Of panic" In
other words, the purpose would be to
prevent the attainment of anything
resembling national unity. Group
would be set against group, class
against class, jealousy and hate would
be fomented. 1t is apparent that a
start has already been made to this
end by alien groups. And, according
to Dies Committee evidence, it is a
fact that both -sls. .l4' ssHfcsseo=vvaBa Berlin
governments have paid Fifth Column
Iagents actively at work here.
After the policy of confusion would
come actual sabotage and terrorism.
And there is widely held fear that
we may see this before long, as the
armament program swings into high
gear. Finally, once the country was
thoroughly disorganized, m minority y
groups would attempt to take over the
government.
We are now embarked on a war
|against the Fifth Column. The Gov
ernment has moved cautiously, but it
is moving. Registration and observa-
tion of aliens is likely to come soon
the proposal that the Department of
Justice be given control of the Immi-
grafton Service shows the way the
wind is blowing. And far more severe
measures are envisioned.
There is an obvious danger in all
this-and a danger that is exceedingly
hard to avoid. That danger is that
anti-Fifth Column work may become
a hysterical witch-hunt. People would
exploit personal grudges by unjustly
denouncing others to the authorities
-vigilante groups, operating outside
the law but supported by enraged
public opinion, would come into being,
The experience of the last war should
be recalled, when we went to ridicu-
lous lengths in prosecuting people of
German and Austrian heritage whose
patriotism was unqualified Respon-
sible government officials say that
every effort will be given to protect
ing the innocent as we'll as apprehend
ing the guilty-and that is one tough
job.
X X X
While the public at large watches
Europe, and is mesmerized by the
carnage in the Old World, experts are
watching the Far East and Latin Am
erica.
Jon,, l,o, ,>o4 -, cn,,,oJ ,o,o,,oJ tc