The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-06-25
BY JOHN STAHLBERG

In one of his broadcasts on the
first night of the German attack on
Russia, Elmer Davis pointed out that
Americas communists have been the
most pitiful casualties of the war
and that now they will quite certain
| iy DO required to stand on their heads
once more. That is probably true.
But it may be true, too. that the reds
are by now so accustomed to turning
moral flipflops that they won't mind
this latest effort very much. Their
experience with instantaneously rever-
sible principles started long time
before the war Buck in 1930-34 | had
an opportunity to observe at close
range the powerful communist ele-
ments in northeastern Montana. For
many years their leaders had been
masquerading as Nonpartisan Leagu-
ers, Farmer Laborites, Socialists, or
liberals under other designations. Con-
WINGED, however, that the depression
marked the final collapse of capital
ism, they came out flat-footed for COM
munism-and one of their first acts
under the red banner was to launch
a campaign of the most extreme abuse
against all liberals and intellectuals.
was once denounced in a single
breath as Sheridan county's out
standing intellectual" and as a "gun
thug" because I had served as a
peace officer-4without so much as
touching a gum.
| recall writing during this time
that the reds were apparently trying
to win peoples confidence by stig-
matizing as fraudulent and wicked
everything that they had heretofore
been or professed or approved So
cialism was fake, the Farmer-Labor
party was a fake, the Nonpartisan
League was a fake. Everything was
a fake except the incredible hundred
legged giraffe with tail at both ends
and its head in it's belly, which they
called the dictatorship of the prole
tariat. They were saying, in effect:
I'VE have lied to you as Nonparti-
sans; we have lived to you as Farmer
we have lied to you as
Socialists and liberals. And now, be-
cause we have lied to you so much,
we expect you to believe us when we
lie to you as communists"
Time marched on through the mid
die 1930's Suddenly it was revealed
to communists everywhere that only
the United Front could save civiliza-
ton, humanity, and the sacred hide of
Joe Stain In the same binding pro-
phetic flash they realized that they,
the reds, had always favored a united
front but that the nasty old liberals
would not unite. So they launched a
fresh campaign of viification against
theliberals. In this they were in per-
feet accord with the reactionaries, who
also didn't like liberals. And now
time was no longer marching alone;
Little Adolf Schicklgruber was busily
and happily teaching his pal Joe
Stain the goose step.
Everyone remembers what hap
pened after that. Joe became Adolfs
concubine or vice versa and they lived
and murdered their neighbors-hap-
PLY every after, until last weekend.
Now the fat is in the fire-which
could be way of saying, for example,
that Goering is at the front.
l should like to suggest to Elmer
Davis, however, that this time the
reds in America will not be the only
people with red faces. What about |
The poor witch hunters? What about |
the professional patriots, those de-
ightful gentlemen who stand on the |
and bawl Il am 100-percent |
while their agents peddle |
war supplies to the Japs and Nazis |
Here they have devoted long years |
and heroic labor to building the Rus
slams up as triple-certified universal |
5capegoats, and suddenly hell's |
Dellsl literally over nightl-the das-
.ardly reds pop up as allies of the |
5acrosanct British What will this |
10 to the convenient practice of des-
.roying anyone we don't like by label
ng him communist? Where will it |
Ill end? Horrible as the thought is,
t must dawn sooner or later even |
IN the mighty intellect of Chairman
Dies that you can't very well demolish
your political opponents by denounc-