Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1945-03-23
The
Beam
RED BATTER

The March Is issue of The
Searchlight, published by
Local $50, UAW-CIO, in Flint,
Michigan, carries a letter writ
ten by one Arthur Burch,
Michigan organizer for the So
cialist Workers (Trotskyist)
Party, in which l am assailed
as a Chronic red-baiter."
1t appears, therefore, that l
have wrought political mir
acle. While they are at each
others throats about every
thing else under the sun, the
Trotskyists and the Stalinists
now agree on one point-that
they believe l am red-baiter.
In the left-wing world, this
is indeed a miracle; for these
two extremist groups have
never before in recent history
agreed on anything.
Mr.. Burch's letter was in
spired by a piece l wrote sew
eral weeks ago in which l de-
nounced both the Stalinists
and the Trotskyists for the
manner in VII i ch tn ey
meddled with the UAW-CIO
referendum on the no-strike
pledge.
RIGHTS DEFENDED
have said before, and | say
again, that | will defend the
rights of any individual or any
group to speak or write or
hold meetings under American
democracy.
That goes for Trotskyists
and Stalinists, too = even
though l know that either of
these two groups would lock
me up or shoot me if they
ever got their hands on the
police power of this country.
But l defend their rights be-
cause / believe in democracy.
The real test of a democrat,
and of an honest radical, is
that he must uphold demo-
cratic rights and principles for
the enjoyment of those who
would destroy such rights and
principles.
Even as | defend the demo-
cratic rights of these people,
however, l am going to en-
ploy my democratic rights to
resist their attempts to de-
stroy democracy.
SAME ARGUMENTS
In branding me as a red
batter, Mr.. Burch, who speaks
for the Trotskyists, uses the
same arguments as the Stalin-
lists, for whom he expresses a
great contempt.
He says, in effect, that am
indulging in immoral political
procedure when l name the
Trotskyists as Trotskyists on
those occasions of my criti-
cism of their policies. He says
that l am joining with the
bosses and using boss tactics.
That's what the Stalinists
say about their critics, too.
Only they go farther; they say
that all their critics are agents
of Hitler.
The odd thing about all this
is that it is only supposed to
work one way.
DIVINE RIGHT
If a Trotskyist gets up in a
union meeting and denounces
the Republicans, the Demo-
Gratis, the Socialists and the
Communists (Stalinists) be-
cause he believes the policies
of all these parties to be bad
for the workerst-hat is not
batting.
But, if write an article de-
nouncing the Republicans, the
Democrats, the Socialists, the
Communists (Stalinists) AND
THE TROTSYKISTS-then l
am batting, according to Mr..
Burch.
Apparently, the right to
name names in political dis
cussion is a divine right re-
served only for TrotSkyists
and Stalinists who are trying
with different methods to get
to the same totalitarian goal.
1 am against the brands of
Communism peddled by both
the Trotskyists and the Stain
lists because they are aiming
at totalitarian state.
/ believe in social order
in which men can live peace
fully as brothers, enjoying the
full fruits of their labor, and
determining their own des-
TIMES by democratic processes
and in which no one will
have the power to punish a
person for expressing his
opinions.
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