Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-08-18
Out of the Night

Club. One after one. like
dazed sheep, the members of
the storm brigades emerged
from the building to be dis
armed. / stood in the shelter
of a doorway not far off.
watching the scene, crashing
my teeth. Our plan had been
betrayed.
1 telephoned the private
home of Sillen, the Com
munist Party leader.
I'VE must at once issue a
manifesto" / shouted into the
mouthpiece, explaining the
happenings of the night.
run this headline: The
Stockholm Chief Of Police Is
Servant OF Hitler"
Sillen's voice answered like
the creaking of a door:
what? In the middle of
the night?"
Don't you know there's a
strike going On?"
"Who Is that? Why do you
ask such silly questions?"
"Well, get moving! My
couriers will be ut headquar-
tiers mt g."
l hung up. The leaflet was
printed and distributed in the
harbor before noon. l still
wanted TO provoke an assault
agaist the Alster. But the
leaders of the harbor brigadeS
had been arrested. Our forces
had been scattered by the
police raids.
Only one recourse remained:
guerrilla warfare. Party
couriers modified all avail
able able bodied Communists.
They gathered on street COR
ners along the wide harbor
front.
l sent them in small units
into the harbor, with in
structions to trounce and
push off the quays anyone
who had come ashore from
the Alster. One or two of the
German refugees were de-
tailed to each unit. They
were assisted by the striking
seamen of Stockholm.
COMRADES RELEASED
The arres ted comrades,
after having spent the day in
Jail, were released in the
evening. Despite the frustra-
ton of the planned mass raid.
it had been a day of terror
for the Nazi. 1t also was a
day of surprise.
A score or so of the storm
troopers, on learning that
they were to be used as
strikebreakers, refused to
bulge from their ship. More
over, IL of the supposed
Brownshirts marched to the
international Club after dark,
and reported themselves as
anti-NaZis who had seized
this C ance of manning
Swedish ships TO escape from
Germany.
We welcomed them as
brothers. the girls who the
night before had reveled in
mapping out torture devices
now were frantic in their
efforts TO please the COM
rades from Hamburg.
Meanwhile the leaders of
the Swedish Seamen's Union
made every effort TO salvage
the battered remnants of their
organization by making peace
with the shipowners. They
accepted the demanded de-
crease of the seamen's wages,
and advised their followers
TO return to the ships.
A telegram from Richard
Jensen informed me Of these
secret negotiations to end the
strike. The nature of my
assignment was suddenly re-
versed. Instead of drawing
more, ships crews into the
strike, 1 had to endeavor to
induce the Communist sailors
and their sympathizers to
make a rush for the available
berths! Gripped by the
fever of the struggle, the
comrades wanted to carry on
at any price.
ANOTHER TELEGRAM
Another telegram arrived
from Jensen:
mo nonsense. Our friends
must re-embark."
If they did not, I knew, our
Socialist trade union rivals
would take the jobs, and the
Communists would be left on
the beach.
Party discipline carried the
day. In mass meetings in all
major ports the Communist
caucuses bludgeoned the sea-
men in o an acceptance Of
the wage cut.
So. for the Swedish mari