The Wilmington morning star., 1946-09-21
As Pegler Sees It
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER
(Copyrigh, BY King Features Syndicate Incl

United States with a repetition here during
the coming winter Of the English squatters
movement.
From the legal standpoint, this mass bur
glary apparently would be much more oml'
nous than the seizure of unoccupied quarters
by English veterans. In London, five commu-
nists were charged with conspiring to incite
others to trespass and with aiding and direc-
ing such trespass. The AVG. on page one
of its official bulletin of July Is acknowledged
that it has been called a "red front" by
Louis E. Starr. national Vtce-commander o.
the Veterans CT Foreign Wars, but 1t has
denied the charge from this and other sources.
Mr.. BoIte qualified his warning in a man
ner to obviate any charge of Indictment
against hlnn or his organization. In a general
but incomplete discussion Of the reasons for
the lack Of housing for veterans, before the
Young Republic Club of New York, he said:
Our homeless veterans will take over sum-
mer estates and boarded up Fifth Avenue
brownstones unless we move noW-all Of us;
veteran and non-veteran, producer and con-
sumer-to break the housing bottlenecks."
His principal conditions by which the
seizure of private homes, containing furniture
and equipment, personal possessions such as
clothing, food preserved in response to gov
eminent exhortations by housewives who
raised victory gardens, a n d private letters
and records, were that President Truman
should call an emergency session OF Congress
and that Congress should pass the Wagner.
Ellender-Taft bill.
This, he said. was the only way to make
use OF the precious hours that lie ahead to
provide low-cost housing for veterans. Thai
even this compliance with his demand would
solve the problem is debatable.
1t was rot necessary for Mr.. Bolte to elabo.
rate on the consequences Of the seizures
which he frankly contemplates and without
a word Of %disapproval. Burglary, theft and
vandalism are among them. Unlike the vacant
housing taken over by British veterans in
furtherance of the Stalinist conspiracy against
internal peace, the rule Of law and the Sc
curlty OF private property in England, the
American summer estates and boarded up
brownstoles" would be furnished homes.
Many of them would be the homes o. veterans
Of one or the other, or both, wars.
Mr.. Bottles followers could find encourag.
ing precedent in the occupation of the auto
mobile plants by organized mobs, under COM
munist sergeants and captains, in the organ
izing days of the CLIO. These vandals wanton.
ly wrecked machinery and destroyed material
and their depredations were excused as petty
indiscretiors by President Roosevelt although
there was no doubt that they were melted, |
organized and directed by expert conspirators.
In the case of 4 veteran whose home was
invaded, whose possessions were stolen,
whose walls were defaced with revolutionary
scrawls, the status Of veteran" would con-
fer no security under the government which
sent him to war.
This is, I believe, the first public mention,
without condemnation, by any official of any
veterans organization of the possibility that
the English squatters' movement would be re.
peated here. Had Mr.. Bolte set his face
against such lawlessness, his organization
would have been consistent with its platform
which disavoWs tor veterans privileges above
those of other citizens. Or, if it is consistent
here, then II must view with the same calm
ness a general seizure of all private property
and possessions by mobs of any composition,
veterans and non-veterans alike, who nave no
more exucse than an earnest desire to move
into other mems homes and help themselves.
The AVG. had only go, 900 members out Of
all the veterans of World War II early in
August. its appeal, directed largely to veter-
ans OF leftwing political tendencies and LOAF
ers and ne'er-to-wells who would be attracted
by larger and endless unemployment pay for
all who reuse to cross picket lines, had at
tracted fewer recruits than the AMVETS. a
less noisy but more conservative rival organi.
cation, VINO claimed &c, 900 at the same time,
Jack Hardy. the national commander of the
AMVETS, has been careful to explain that
the word conservative" here denotes a pur-
pose to conserve the political liberties and
rights of the American citizen, in
Of course, his right to police pro-
lection against rioters and vandals, whether
veterans or not.
Although the AVG. is frankly panhandline
big gifts OF money for the purpose of re.
more members, with a million dol.
lars and a million members as its detectives,
Its bulletin reveals difficulties along the way.
Mr.. Bolte explained that The discharge of a
o. professional organizers was caused
by lack of funds but denied charges within
the AVG. that the dismissals were 1.-The open.
ing guns of a civil war on political enemies
of the national leaders, of whom he is one
and Franklin D.. Roosevelt Jr, another.
Whether Bolte and Roosevelt were suspected
OF easing out communists or eliminating those
who have fought communists within the
AVG. the bulletin does not state.
Soon after the first war a political exnorter
was prosecuted in New York on a charge of
melting others to commit law1ess acts of vic.
lence. In the present instance, although Bolte
may have had the purpose Of planting an
idea in the minds of homeless veterans and
may have been the first to do it, neither
he nor the AVG. could be charged with in.
element. even though mobs should take the
cue when winter comes. Bolte said, in effect,
that veterans would take the law and the
property OF others into their W hands I'M
less certain other things were done, all of