Evening star., 1947-02-15
Letters to The Star
Warns Against Name Calling
at Expense of Progress

at Expense of Progress
To the Editor of The Star: .
David Lilienthals now-famous reply
OF fresh air to thousands of progressives
all over America. It was fitting answer
to all the crackpots who see the Red
peril" in everything from price control
to the Boston Red Sox.
Communism is vicious and danger
GUS philosophy Not only is it based on
obsolete economic doctrines, but it sub
ordinates all social, political and moral
considerations to its hazy economic
aims. AS practiced by Russia, it also
is becoming philosophy of imperialism
and aggression, hardly distinguishable
from the Fascist philosophy which is
its theological antithesis. Under these
circumstances, there can be little Won
der that great numbers of loyal Ameri-
cans are increasingly angered at the
Communist or "fellow-traveler" label
which gleefully is pinned on them by
every moron who disagrees with their
economic or social convictions.
It is easy to answer Senator McKellar,
who long ago made it an unfailing prac-
tice to lead with his chin on every pos
sible occasion. 1t Is much more difficult
to deal with such old hands as David
Lawrence and Frank Kent, who care
fully and subtly associate the word
"communistic" with almost every idea
which is repugnant to them. I have been
reading Mr.. Kent's column religiously
for several years and finally am con-
vinced that he has very simple defini-
ton of Communism. AS. best I can
interpret Mr.. Kent, any person who
disagrees with Herbert Hoover as to
the precise amount of economic plan
ming needed in our society probably is
Communist and almost. certainly
fellow traveller"
1t sometimes is amazing to see un-
thinking people hurl the charge of
Communism at those whose ideas differ
only slightly from their own. One who
long ago has accepted Government
postal service and municipality owned
water works now is Mortified at proposals
for a governmental medical service.
One who knows that the Government
has controlled freight rates and elec-
tricity rates for years sees the "long
hand of the Soviet" in price control of
automobiles. All of us know that pri-
vate business has been subsidized in
various ways from the earliest days of
our history. Yet the effort made dur
ing the depression to provide relief to
private citizens aroused an anguished
cry that the country was going straight
into the red-in more ways than one.
do not believe that the American
people ever will be able to present a
united front against Communism, let
alone solve the intricate economic and
social problems of the atomic age, until
we stop suspecting each person who pre-
sents new idea of having bomb in
his hip pocket. An uncritical acceptance
Of the ideas of our ancestors never has
been an American philosophy; it has
been the philosophy of China and of
other countries whose civilizations stag
mated centuries ago. The very essence
of Americanism always has been tolera-
tion of~ne and different ideas and
eternal willingness to "let the facts
speak for themselves"
Let's be little more careful in the
use of labels and remember that there
are millions Of good American citizens
who oppose racial discrimination, who
prefer economic planning to economic
chaos and who realize that management
rather than labor sometimes is re-
sponsible for strikes. And let's be very
suspicious of any one who plasters
the words Communist" and fellow
traveller" around like housewife with
a mop. It usually is good sign that
he has no other arguments.
WILLIAM T. NUNLEY.