The Wilmington morning star., 1946-08-05
Fair Enough
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
~(Copywright, 1916, By King Features, Syndicate

chairman of the American Veterans Com
mittee, Inc, Gilbert Harrison, the vice-chair-
man, and Edward McHale, the national field
secretary The results should interest not only
veterans. shopping around for something to
Join, but other citizens ard particularly edi-
tors who may have heard rumors that this is
a communist front. l don't believe that, except
to the extent that the AVG and the communists
have some common detectives, such as the
severance of relations with Spain and economic
"sanctions'' against hec. In the diplomatic and
theological gullah, this means a boycott. But
they do admit they have bolo trouble in their
happy midst and they don't bar communists;
although believers in faSoism and nazism, of
course, are devils.
Bolte said therde was no way to keep COM
munists out and that he would defend their
civil liberties, meaning the right to preach
their stuff. short of melting violence. When a
fellow tells MT that I always wonder why
he won't also defend a Nazi's right to preach
his obse ssion. And l mean hatred, too, be-
cause the commies preach class hatred and it
is no more fun to be shipped to Siberia or
massacred in pogroms because you believe
in capitalism. as happened in Russia, than to
~languish in Buchenwaid or die in a gas cham
Der because you are a Jew. ALI of this am
against, bit it seems tc me that they discrim-
mate. They said you have to be very, very
careful because if you cal. a Red a Red, he
will call you a Red-baiter and accuse you of
using Pegler tactics. Then they said-this
was a fairly general conversation in Bottles
office-they said that, in their code, civil
liberties cease to be { protection when a
person incites violence. I leave you to unravel
that one because of all our prescriptions
against communists are based on the fact
that they advocate the destruction Of our gov
eminent by force.
About ~, f;r,+ 1a;x4 r L..,zLl $50 -. IL
little biography of Ken Pettus. who was elected
a member of their national planning com
m%ittee, published in their official paper. The
biography didn't say a Wcrd about mis- trouble
with General Macarthur when, as managing
editor Of the Stars ana Stripes in Toxic, he
was accused of nedling communist taught
into his paper and removed, but it did say
he was now employed as a news editor by
the National Broadcasting Company in Chi
cago. 1 clean forgot to ask why they said
nothing about the Toxic affair, but told them
I had inquired at NBC and had been told that
Pettus certainly was not editing news for them
and hadn't since he Joined the Army. McHale
spoke up and said those biographies were
based on material handed in by the guys.
themselves"
I recalled a half page al on the back Of the
July l rumber of the AVG bulletin which read
"AVC needs 1000, 900 MEMBERS and a pic
ture OF Helen Hayes handing over her check
opening a drive to collect ST., 900, OOO," and
asked Bolte for a list Of those who had con-
tributed thus far. These gifts. incidentally, are
tax-deductible so all Of US. eventually, are nick
ed. He said nothing dong because rich peo-
pie didn't like to have such donations pub
llcized. Then he said, Of course, any member
could demand the list and get it and that
seemed to make the secrecy look silly. We all
know that there are veterans around who would
join up just to learn who is backing such
propositions as immediate resumption of food
ratlonin9 here to permit Of famine relief in
other lands, loans of our taxes to "war dam
aged Allied countries" including Russia, and
bad blood with Spain. because Franco is a
dictator but Stain ism t
Then l pulled out a list and asked him Il il
was authentic. He took q look at it and said
it must have been filched out of their own Of
flee because it was in their own typing and
1t certainly was correct. l couldn't give him
any help on that because I don't know how it
fell into the hands of the man who gave it to
me.
This LIST contained such Hollywood names as
Edward G. Robinson, Dudley Nichols and
Mathew Fox, of Universal, and reported big
bites from the Albert I.asker Foundation. S22,-
900; Lillian Smith, who wrote a book and a
play about Negroes called strange Fruit
81, 600; Frances l.. Brody, So. 900; Marshall
Field. 81 900; The Field Foundation. $500, and
Marshall Field, Jr., his kid, $500. They said
Marshall Field and the Field Foundation. both
were Marshall Field, III, the little man who
isn't there and explained that his son is call
ed Junior because, after the numbers run up
to III, they start down again. A pretentious
and precious mess Of r,onsense if YOU ask me.
Bolte said Frances Rrcdy was the daughter
OF Al LaSker, who has been standing in the
pose OF elder statesman and 'tliberal' phil
anthropist these last few years. not forgetting.
however, to take excel INT care of AL Lasker.
tax-wise and otherwise, first.
The list added up to $42. 497. so.
Well, MI. Bolte certainly did want to know
how this list got out bur I couldn't help him
because ] don't know myself. He told me
the United office and professional workers Of
the CLIO and I informed him that this one had
been pretty consistent in agreement with COM
munist rolicies and trat Lewis Merrill, its
president. was known by another name when
he came here from Cansca.
| had to smile when I asked Bo1te what he
thought Of the American Veterans of World
War II. Fnown as AMVF'TS, and he said they
were not rivals at all. I had in my pocket a
photostat of a letter from an observer at the
MVETS convention in Cleveland last o.
tober which warned the AVG that "this group
is going places and said. 1T is time that you.
in New York, get busy. raise at least 100. 900
bucks, throw self-intercst to the winds, send
organizers with money into every community
to pick out the liberal element to get them
ill.,