The Wilmington morning star., 1945-01-04


ers His articles serve the good purpose
of making people Think
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1914, by King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK, - Among others who closely
watched the work of the Political Action Com
mittee in the late campaign, I have realized
that this group accomplished feat of organi-
cation and propaganda the like OF which this
country has never seen. Hitler and the Nazi
party performed similarly in Germany, how
ever, and the communists, who are never too
proud to adopt an effective weapon OF the
opposition, learned lessons from them and ap
piled them to the election of oosevelt
Mr. Roosevelt, of course, is able to say
now that no single group among the following
that piled up his relatively small popular plur-
atty was directly responsible for his victory.
Sidney Hillman and the communists could not
have for him without the solid south
which has strong, if currently dormant, anti
Jewish and anti-Catholic prejudice. Nor could
the solid south have put him over without
the efficient help of the Catholics, Hague and
Kelly, and those who maintained the solidari-
ty of the Negro vote in important northern
centers. But the fact persists that in the in
dustrial areas the political action committee
did organize the vote and turn it out
Turning out the vote, of itself, however,
was not enough. The PAC also persuaded
the vote and this was where its propa ganda
counted heavily in the result.
This propaganda was highly inflammatory,
pamphlets, mimeographed and printed dodg-
ers and paid advertisements in the standard
press, much of it was very artistic in its
appeal to the peoples memory of unemploy-
ment during the unhappy residency of Her
bert Hoover usually visualized by the picture
OF a man selling apples, to the neglect of
DeWeyS reiterated reminder that Roosevelt
ctin
disguised dole until rearmament and then
consumption came.
The more intelligent voters were appealed
to with more restrained program Of ad-
vertisements which insinuated that the hus-
band and wife in modest household would
move into secure world of the future with
comforting supply of bonds and with prices
mlraculously low and wages still high, never
theless.
From the standpoint of results, it was fine
work, by contrast with that of the republicans,
even some of the celebrated 26 governors and
their organization workers, do not quite APP
p~eciate how it was done. They had seen it
done before in limited localities, of course
and they could have read the basic lessons
in the writings of Al Smith who told of a
similarly thorough and more intimate system
which operated in miniature on the east side
Permeating all this, however, was the class
hatred of the communists and their artistic
mslnuation which convinced many voters that
Dewey was, if not an outright Fastest, him
self, then, anyway, the associate and tool of
Fascists, and that he friend of the
enemies of the Jews if not a Jew-baiter in
secret himself
Labor was depicted as the victim and there
fore, necessarily, the enemy of capitalism and
all industry as the greedy and unpatriotic op-
pressor of the workers. In this propaganda, |
be it remembered, the communists are dill
gently educated and trained They attend
Schools they are as fanatical as the Nazis
and, like the Nazis, they learn to wheedle
with sympathy as well to organize mass
demonstrations and spontaneous connections. |
They enlisted many hollow but pretentous
and vain frauds of the radio, the movies the
stage and the writing business, including ex-
pert eXhorters with no strong convictions but
with lust for publicity and importance who
could deliver their pieces with a tone of con-
victon, anyway.
The result of this election, following three
terms of Roosevelt, is that labor has been
seduced into mistaken and from its own
standpoint, a very dangerous position. Labor,
meaning those who believe in unionism, is,
for political purposes arrayed against capital.
Labor, thus defined has taken the position
that capital and capitalism must be destroy
ed, failing which capital will destroy labor.
Ignorant and selfish composites of the A. F.
PAC because it was political branch of the
CLIO, nevertheless promoted its program.
These comfortable and self-important bosses
lacked the intelligence to analyze the final
consequences of such division in the nation
and the character to oppose it if they had
discerned the consequences.
Now, result communism is more ag-
gressive and dangerous than ever and if some
truly intelligent and patriotic union leaders
do not start organizing the counter-of offensive
Immediately the communist program will
sweep along.
The communists and the PAC, though they
won, have handed over, free textbook and
plans for counter rganiZation and counter
propag anda which could be used to beat them
and save the nation 1t is all there in their
campaign material. The voters be organ
lied for American ideals and an American
program as well as for the European program
of fear, suspicion and hatred
Young voters can be taught that this nation
enjoys liberties and opportunity unknown any
where else on earth, notwithstanding Roose-
velts fascist experiments and the war restrlc-
tons to date and persuaded that the way
to maintain this wonderful advantage over all
the systems of Europe and South America
is to work with capital and industry, not
against them. Il
The term company union has been made
hideous by communist propaganda but even
Senator Wagner admitted during the DEBATES !
on the labor relations act, that company unions
were good and were not forbidden. 1t is
1ohn nO.I