The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-12-21
PROPAGANDA
WHAT is 1T? WHO USES IT7 WHAT FOR?

Mein Kampf was fine example of
false propaganda. And Hitler has his
Iimitators in this country. While their
methods are less crude than his, their
purpose is the same; the acquisition
of political and economic power.
1.-THE social body to which we be-
long is at this moment passing through
one of the greatest crises in its his
tory; colossal process which may
be likened to a birth We have each
of us a share in this process. We are
to greater or less extent responsible
for its course. To make our judg-
ments, we must have reports from 9th
er parts of the social body; we must
know what our fellowmen in all
classes of society, all parts of the
world, are suffering, planning, doing.
There arise emergencies which require
swift decisions, under penalty of
frightful waste and suffering. What
if the nerves (the sources of informa-
tion) upon which we depend for knowl-
edge of this social body should give
us false reports of its condition? When
you read your daily paper Tor favorite
magazine) are you reading facts or
propaganda? And whose propaganda?
Who furnishes the raw material for
your thoughts about life? Is it honest
material?" (The Brass Check. The
above quotation was written about
I, at which time President Wilson was
trying to find way to prevent future
wars and labor was trying desperate
ly to hold on to the small gains it had
made in wages and working condi-
tons Then, as now, the great news
papers, and the magazines of wide cir
culation controlled the means of dis
information the people so
badly needed, and then, as now, those
sources of information were as reac.
tionary as Satan would have them be.
Do you remember what happened to
Wilson's peace plans? Have you for
gotten what happened to labor, and to
the farmers as we'll? Now this ma
ton has Just gone through another
world war, war more farreaching
and disastrous than World War l. Now
efforts are being made to get fresh
start, to get a full realization of the
Four Freedoms and some of that broth
erhood of man so long preached to
us, and so often thwarted by the sell
fish. Toward these altruistic objec-
tives, what is the attitude of Big Bus
mess, and of the great newspapers,
and other sources of propa-
ganda under its control? Well the one
and only purpose is to secure for them
selves every possibl advantage from
the establishments that are to be made,
and to make sure of success in that
sndeavor. the first and most necessary
objective is the destruction of the la
Tor unions and the co-operatives. With
hat result achieved, the manipulators
# the nations business hope for an
ther spiraling of profits like those of
he late 20's. Incidentally, the big
elbows are doing all they can to have
government controls removed from
yhat they expect to sell the public,
ince these controls interfere with
heir plans to gouge the consumer.
In the spreading of demagogic prop
ganda, the radio is no whit less gull
y than the subsidized press. If you
listen, when they are on the air, you
will hear Fulton Lewis Jr., Upton
close, H. V. Kaltenborn and other
talking about how pow
,rful labor unions are reaching greedy
lands into the pockets of poor, de-
capital; how strikes and
hreats of strikes, are impeding recon
ersion and generally menacing the
atoms future. But nary word
bout how capital is carrying on a
sit down strike" by refusing to mar
ct the products it has on hand until
ley can demand their own prices for
lem.
Do you wonder why the press and
ldio are so willing to spread the
opaganda of capitalism? Well, here
one of the reasons. During the war
Ist ended, manufacturers of automo-
lies, refrigerators, radios, etc.; had
Continued on Page Four)