Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-08-31

WNU Service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. c.
There Is q small group in Wash
ington very much concerned over a
matter which Is a part Of recon-
version and about which they can
do very little. That Is the question
Of race riots likely to accompany de-
mobilization.
was surprised to learn how pre-
dictable these clashes are, from the
following statement by Alfred Nc
Chung Lee in a pamphlet produced
by a non-profit agency, the Ameri-
can Council of American Race Re-
1ations. It was this:
1.-THE federal office Of facts and
figures Qater called the Office of War
Information) had a confidential re-
port is months before the 1913 De-
troit race riot that included this
sentence: Unless some socially con-
structive steps are taken shortly,
the tension that is developing is very
likely to burst into active conflict
The day after the rioting began,
the Detroit Free Press stated:
1.-TWO months ago everybody In De-
troit familiar with the situation knew
that race riots were inevitable"
It is worth noting that the profess
sional observers were much farther
ahead than the newspaper - and
newspaper reporters are pretty
highly trained investigators them
selves. And they did know what was
coming well in advance.
But the fact remained that nobody
did anything about it.
And that is where you and I step
into the picture.
Now nobody but a very small
class Of professional motors Of riot
want race riots anymore than any,
one but very small class Of profess
sional criminals are in favor Of
crime. But most people do not
realize that these clashes can be
avoided and very few indeed realize
that they are symptoms and not the
disease itself.
The basic cause Of the group ten
sions which burst into savage flame,
destroy property, interfere with
business and nearly always cost
lives, is insecurity, just as insecurity
is one of the basic causes Of wars.
A man with a job and firm pros
poets Of keeping it who lives in
healthy and decent surroundings
does not want a riot with anybody.
It is the man who is unhappy and
because he is not able to do any,
thing about it, who looks around for
a scapegoat upon whom he can
blame all his troubles. He ma
turally turns against a group whose
members have a different appear
ance and different customs from
his own.
The long-range cure for this
disease is better living conditions,
housing and employment. But it is
not Of the long-range treatment I
want to speak, but of the imme-
date, simple things that you and I
can do to stop these tensions before
they break.
Seven Steps for
Breaking Tension
First, there are seven things you
must know about. One of the first
signs of trouble is the rumor crop.
You begin to hear a lot Of stories
most Of which later will prove to
have been untrue. They may be
started by subversive groups; some
will have a grain of truth in them.
They will include tales Of planned,
imminent violence; of some group
arming itself for attack or outbreak.
Then come stories Of violent as
sault, crime and murder. This
creates the beginning Of tension; the
group accused becomes frightened
and shows it. This lends color to
the tales.
Then come the incidents"
Incidents usually begin to occur in
crowded places. They might be
passed off and forgotten If back
ground Of hate, fear and suspicion
had not been built up. As one OBJ
server said to me: "Riots always
start when folks get out and bump
into each other"
The third point to look for when it
is clear that rumors have been
thick and incidents have begun to
happen is some subversive group
which may be promoting the trouble
for its own ends. Some of these
groups will have very high and
mighty ideals and very frequently
they will be wrapped up in the flag.
(Ku Klux, Black Legion, etc.,
The fourth point to watch is crime
reports because it is really the
hooligan element which finally steps
in to do the actual rioting.