Proletarec. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1906-19??, 1944-10-18
ssOur Work is Now
Being RecOgnized...
Louis Adomic's Report at Annual Meeting of
United Committee of South Slavic Americans
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sept. u, 1914

Mr.. Balokovic has asked me tc
give you an account of the work
of the United Committee from the
summer of 1943 through the spring
of 1944-the period during which
/ served as president. / shall make
my report general and as brief as
| can.
At the risk of i~mmodesty, l think
we can all be proud of that period
Our job then was publicity-of ex-
planning the developments in Yugo-
slavia which baffled many of ON
fellow Americans who are not Of
Yugoslav origin. 1t was a job OF
fighting one of the most vicious
successful, and amazing lies in re-
cent history. Of course, events in
Yugoslavia helped us immensely
but it was a tough and taxing job
nonetheless. 1t was my privilege
my good fortune to direct that job
If you don't know in detail exactly
how it vas done, you know the re-
suit. We won.
Last January / knew that VIC
had won. After that all we had tC
do vas to clear away the rubble
So, when late in March I was OBJ
liged to withdraw from activity
my mind was fairly at ease.
think that in that first period
we rendered a real service to the
United States and to Yugoslavia
indeed, to the whole cause of the
United Nations-to the cause OF
winning not only the war but {
sound peace.
Our work is now being recog.
nized. AS you know, a few week:
back / received a letter from Mar.
shall Tito, who recognizes lin mos
generous words = what we have
done. We have also had letter.
from DR.. Smodlaka, commissioner
of foreign affairs in the YugosIa1
Peoples Liberation Committee
He, too, recognizes what has beer
done in America by our group
Lately recognition has come to u.
from several American sources
newspapers, organizations, and in.
fluential individuals.
Let me speak for myself for {
moment and tell you that | wen
into this work as much for the sake
of America as for Yugoslavia. A
year and a half ago l began to fee.
that this country = which is my
country-waS in danger of reac.
ton, of political backwardness
which, if it got a foothold in oul
national>life, might be hard to dis
lodge for many years or eve de
cades to come. Succumbing to the
Draza Mikhailovich al { h o 0 {
was s~ymptomatic of that danger
l thought it was my duty as al
American to do something about it
That was one of the main reasons
why l accepted the presidency
when you elected me fifteer
months ago.
In America, the work Of gu,
Committee reached a kind of eli
max in the incident at Gary, In
diana. There we and the whol'
progressive tradition of this coun
try were challenged by a combi
nation of native-American and for
eign reaction. AS Americans VIII
were deeply interested in the caus,
of the Partisans under Tito, we me
; mittee and the people of Gary
and we won against the Fotiche
and HearstS and McCormicks -
won for America and Yugoslavie
for freedom and democracy. | thin
that after the war, when we &c
a chance to tell them, Tito and hi
fighting Yugoslavs will be great
interested to learn of that part
cular American democratic deve
/, lopment in Gary, Indiana - in tn
u. S. A.
AS l told you, when l was OK
liged to withdraw as president, tn
job of the first period was largel
e finished; also the Committee ha
gained prestige and was in goo
shape financially.
t The Committee was fortIInat
too in having had from the stal
the active and constant services {
a number of excellent people
notably MI. Zlatko Balokovic, tn
Rev. Strahinja Maletich, Mr.. Fran
= Petrinovic, the late Martin Bogds
novich (#) and the office force
Miss Charlotte Muzar, Miss Ann
: Traven and Mr.. Vincent Ujcic.