The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-06-27
The Cherry Tree
Where We Hdtchet Out
The Truth
, CAN WE CHECK TROJAN
HORSE"
. AND STILL BE A
DEMOCRACY?
IT'S A HARD TASK
WITH LABOR THE FIRST
LINE

l wish everyone could read a dis
patch from Paris written by William
Philip Simms "a couple Of jumps" be-
fore the Nazis arrived.
Simms, able reporter who knows
his foreign affairs like you know your
own back yard, reports an interview
with French labor leader in that
amazing period just before the in
vaders poured into the once gay cap
ital.
AS they talked, this American and
his French labor friend, the avenue
below their balcony was choked with
stream of refugees going they knew
not where.
And from three directions came the
pounding of big guns, ever nearer.
And the French labor leader, prob
ably one of the many known we'll to
several American labor leaders, said
that democracies would have to solve
one great problem before the survival
of any of them can be assured.
The problem he cited was the prob
lem of the trojan horse.
x x X
We never heard of trojan horse, ex-
cept in the old sense, until few short
months ago. Now they are in almost
every conversation. Trojan horses and
fifth columnists, meaning the same
thing-invaders in peace-time garb,
set to an invaders task.
This French man said we should
have to find some way to prevent such
invaders from using the guarantees of
democracies, such as free speech, to
undermine the institutions of democ-
racy.
He pointed out that none in Ger
many, or Russia or Italy may carry on
any propaganda, even the faintest
kind of propaganda, but that in de-
mocracies trojan horsemen may use
our guarantee of free speech, free
press and free assembly to organize
for the destruction of our democracy.
The problem posed was this: How to
check the trojan horse without de-
stroying for ourselves those guaran-
tees which we most prize and which
most clearly mark our democracy. His
words were: "BUT is MUST BE
DONEw
The French labor leader described
a great problem. He did not offer the
answer. Nor is the answer easy to
find.
But to echo the Frenchnnan, who
c~oEo - %Lo o,rf,,1 ,,,.<.,,,,4 - - kko IL
struction, 1T MUST BE FOUND.
The American Federation of Labor
has written into it's law a ban on all
communists. But experience shows the
difficulty of enforcement.
The CIO made no pretense of deny
ing communists: rather it allowed
them easy access.
1t remains the victim of infiltration.
Any denial of free speech, free press
and free assemblage means restric-
tion that seemingly must fall upon all,
to some degree. And it may we'll put
a premium upon the business Of spy
ing and informing.
But somehow the Frenchman is
right: Democracy MUST protect it.
self from the easy infiltration of the
trojan horsemen, the fifth columnists
call them what you like.
A new agency Of warfare has been
devised. 1t must be met and overcome.
x X X
Dictatorships don't wait until war
is declared to set their brigades of tro-
jan horsemen at work.
They begin long before that.
They are at work in the United
States. They HAVE BEEN AT
WORK. Russia started hers at work
years ago. Hitler started his years
ago. The Muss started his as soon as
he rode into power
We are being invaded and we may
as well recognize the fact We must
not get hysterical about it, but we had
better cody and definitely make up our
mind what to do about it.
And labor probably has larger role
of responsibility for defense in this
sector than any other group in our
population. Again labor is given the
role, as so often in the past, of HOLD
ING THE FIRST LINE OF DE-
FENSE.-CMW.