Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-12-12
Behind The
Scenes In
Politics
By
Clayton
Rusch
Chairman

reprint of a carbon copy l
received in my mail. do not
know if the writer sent the
original letter to the Attorney
General, but l believe his
views are of such nature that
they should be read and given
careful consideration by the
readers of this column.
Tom Clark,
United States Atty General
Washington, D. c.,
Dear Sir:
In submitting your report
on subversive organizations to
the end that the public may
be made aware of the exist
ance and names of organiza-
tions whose programs are not
compatible with the principle
of American democracy, it
was your responsibility to
have had prepared a complete
list of organizations whose
programs and aims can be To-
gically termed subversive.
All true believers in Ame-
rican political democracy
must also recognize the right
of any of the organizations
included in the prescribed list
to object to being placed in a
subversive category. If we ac-
cept this right (and we must
if we really believe in free
dom of speech and press
these organizations also have
an obligation to publicly pre-
sent their programs and let
the public decide whether or
not their aims should be pro-
perly termed unAmerican.
In regard to at least a few
of the organizations whose
names appear on the SUBJ
versive list, the contention
that their aims are unAmeri-
can is debatable. Those or
ganizations about whose un-
American aims there can be
no doubt should certainly be
included. l refer to the Ma
tional Association of Manu-
facturers, The Chamber of
Commerce and the unAmeri-
can Activities Committee.
PROOF
l realize that this charge
requires substantiation. All l
need do to prove my conten-
tion is to briefly analyze the
American conception of de-
mocracy and then show how
the programs of these organi-
cations square up with 1T.
The American conception of
democracy is embodied in the
principle that all citizens are
entitled to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.
These formal rights are
meaningless unless American
citizens get the economic op-
portunity and the political
liberty needed to put them
into practice.
The program of the NAM
and the c of c is to protect
corporate property interests.
They are not concerned with
human rights except when the
humans involved happen to
be owners of corporate pro-
perty.
The obvious aim of the
NAM and the c of G is to
prevent the establishment of
equality of economic oppor-
tunity. Without this opportu-
nifty, the formal rights of life
and liberty are cold comfort.
1t is an accepted principle
of social science that in order
to right economic wrongs, po-
litical liberty is essential.
The unAmerican Activities
Committee is patiently uncon-
cerned with all but one type
of unAmerican activities. That
type is any activity which
threatens the citadel of mono
poly interests.
If the unAmerican Activi-
ties Committee intended to
expose all unAmerican acti-
vities, 1t would have indicted
the NAM and the c of c long
ago. Why hasn't it?
In view of the fact that
some question may arise re-
garding the issue of whether
or not some of the prescribed
organizations are actually un-
American, the list should GER
tainly include those organi-
cations whose aims are well
known.
I hope in the interests of
the public welfare that you
will CORE ct these serious