Evening star., 1947-12-08
Unmusked Communists

Unm0Sked Communists
Although the French Communists may
not yet have played their last card, present
indications are that their violent effort to
seize control of France has failed. If the
of the French people finally have seen that
the Communists are working against them,
not for them.
1t has taken the people of France long
time to perceive this truth. But we need
not be overly critical of them. For there
are still many people in the United States
who, whatever their intelligence may tell
them, will not treat the Communists and
those who travel with them as active
enemies of our political and economic
system.
The exact numerical strength Of the
French Communists, meaning those whose
loyalty is to Moscow and not to France, is
unknown. In the recent municipal cleo
tions in France the Communist candidates
polled about 80 per cent of the vote But
this does not give true picture of their
real strength, for many Frenchmen who
are not Communists in the Moscow sense
voted for Communist candidates in the
mistaken belief that they were trying to
do something to alleviate the distress of
the French people.
This distress is very real and the Com
munists-the professional Communists
have exploited it skillfully. But they were
forced by the pressure of events to act
before they were fully ready. They had to
prevent the Marshall plan from taking
effect, for they knew they could not seize
power in France If there should be sub
stantial economic recovery This consid-
GRAFTON, possibly reinforced by Moscow's
appraisal of the current international
scene, impelled them to make their bid
BY resort to strikes and local insurrec-
tionary movements, they have been able
to keep France in state of chaos for two
weeks. But it seems clear now that they
cannot take control Of France The Com
munists have been able to keep as many
as 100000 Frenchmen out on strike. Too
many others have seen, however, that the
real interests of France do not coincide
with the Illustration of the Marshall plan,
which the Communists had publicly pro-
claimed Another important factor has
man government at time when the
Communists had hoped for weakness and
timidity.
OF course, the Communists already have
succeeded in doing a great deal of damage.
For example, the mine strike has cost
France nearly 100000 tons of desperately
needed coal, and the Communists are fully
capable of continuing a campaign of
economic harassment. But the important
thing is the indication that the bulk of the
French people have become aware that
the Communists are working for Moscow
and not for France. II this is fact, If
the mask really has been stripped from
the Communists, then there is still sub
Stantial basis for hope that France, with
our aid, can pull through.
1t would hardly be possible to over
estimate the Importance of having the
French people discover the Communists
for what they are. Nor should we under
estimate the importance Of the same thing
in this country
No one would contend, of course, that
the Communists in the United States have
acquired the power that they have in
France. They have not approached it.
Still, they have entrenched themselves in
certain key labor unions, there are still
some of them in municipal, State and Fed
eral governmental posts, and they are able
to exercise a considerable influence over
some of our channels of information. And
they are using whatever means they can
to further the interests of Moscow at the
expense of our own interests.
We ought to recognize the fact that the
Communists and their supporters are our
enemies, and we ought to treat them ac-
cordingly. 1t Is absurd and foolish to say
that they have right, within the Amer
ican tradition, to conspire and work for
our destruction. The question is not
whether we should combat them, but
rather how best to do 1t. AS of this time,
exposure probably is our best weapon and
we should not be squeamish about using
it. We should never forget that, given the
chance, our own Communists will do to us
| what the French Communists have done
to France And the time to deal with
them Is before, not after, they have
acquired the means and the power to
strike at us.