Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-23
FAIR ~
ENOUGH
BY Westbrook
Pegler

4 MERICANS who visited
"A France year or two before
the war sometimes sought to
broaden their minds by inquir- 4
ing among resident friends wh0(
were supposed to know. just
what were the numerous French
political parties and groups and
what they stood for. II was a
battling experience, for there
were Conservative Radicals,
Revolu I ionary Monarchists,
Capitalistic Socialists and many
other apparent paradoxes and
their attitudes and relationships
were inexplicably mixed. But
those Americans and Britons
who lived in Paris used to say.
If you understood France you
would realize that this was just
French politics and rather tasty
and enjoyable if you just shut
your eyes. You wouldn't try to
identify and separate the taste
of each ingredient in some de-
licious and mysterious triumph
prepared by a great chef, would
you?
I wonder, now. it, any French
refugee among us has tried to
understand what our Demo-
cratic party is, and how he 10
getting along with his study.
LOR the Democratic party IL
L the party of the southern
white polltaxer, who formerly
wore a sheet and a hood and
burned crosses at night to ter
rorize the Negroes and hated
and tried to intimidate Jews
and Catholics. 1t is also the
party of many northern Negro
politicians and Of Vito Marcan-
tonic, who demands absolute So
cial and political equality in the
Southern States and who adj
heres to the principles OF the
Communists. II is, moreover,
the party of Frank Hague. q
powerful boss of dictatorial
mien and method. who once ran
New York Communists and
other revolutionists out OF Jerl
sey City by force and denied
them freedom OF speech. and Of
Earl Browder and all the Com
munists who recently indorsed
Hague as a wise and good man
after calling him a Fascist and
arguing their case convincingly.
THEN. too, the stranger in our
L midst should understand. the
Democratic party is the party OF
Sidney Hillman and David Du-
binsky, who recently has ac-
cused Hillman of joining the
Communist front and denounced
him savagely. These two, more
over. are among those whom
the southern Democrats Of the
ku Klux tradition would denote
TO some inferior social. political
and human status. and Mr.. Hill
man, while laundering against
fascism. proposed that all the
workers in the State of New
York and. in principle. all the
workers in the United States,
be compelled TO join unions and
10 contribute 10 the Democratic
party's funds. which. oddly. hap
pens 10 have been precisely
what Benito Mussolini did to
labor in Italy.
II is the old states rights
party which. however. in the
days of prohibition. fought for
the principle that the national
government had right to regu-
late the social habits OF the
states. but since then has held
that the states are outmoded
and merely nominal divisions,
and now holds both that the
federal government may and
may not interfere with the cleo
tion customs of the states in the
matter of the poll tax and cleo
tons.
TT is the party of Ed Kelly o
L Chicago, who boldly upheld
his police when they killed a
dozen rioters at the Republic
Steel plant on the ground that
the riot was arranged by Com
munists with intent 10 massacre
innocent workers in the plant:
and the party. nevertheless, OF
all those who accused kelly's
police of numbering blameless
toilers who were just holding a
patriotic parade.
All these and many other dis
torted and. in many cases, mu.
tually detesting. elements. make
up that interesting American
political organization called the
Democratic party. all unified in
a strange way while hating one
another with religious, racial
and sectional loathing that flows
in their very blood and all so
quantity reminiscent of the poll
tics Of France.
Copyright. 1914, by United Features; synd.