Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-06-11
Swim
Reports
By Allen L. Swim
OF CIO News Service

he was sweating IL OuC-
and why not?
The State Dept. had turned
thumbs down on his serving
as a S. delegate to a world
meeting in Switzerland on
freedom of the press.
Harry was found guilty of
the awful crime" of having
donated a small sum to help
found an organization which
some folks now list as being
left-wingish.
The White House interven-
ed after some of Martins
newspaper friends turned on
the heat-and Harry finally
got to the Geneva parley.
Martins crime was only a
misdemeanor compared with
the terrible thing l did a
couple of weeks ago.
l came out flat-footed in
opposition to the Mundt-Nixon
"Subversives Control Bill,
which is No. l on the Com
munist hate parade.
The Reds oppose the meas
ure because it for most prac-
tical purposes, would outlaw
the operation of the Com
munist Party in the United
States.
l oppose it because it SER
iously threatens the civil liber-
ties of all Americans and gives
a powerful weapon to those
who are trying to establish
that damnable business known
as guilt by association" ="
Part of my opposition stems
from my belief that you cam
beat an idea to death with a
club.
Then, I'm afraid of what
might happen to me-and to
you-if the measure becomes
law.
Investigators like those en-
ployed by the House Un-
American Activities Commit
tee could dig up a lot of cir
cumstantial evidence to prove
that I'm a dangerous char
acter.
They would start checking
down in Memphis, where
eventually would come across
a couple of cops who don't
know the difference between
Communism and rheumatism.
These gendarmes, no doubt,
say that l had Red tenden-
cies."
After all, didn't raise a
lot of sand about the manner
in which the police depart
ment sat on its collective
hump while CIO organizers
were beaten into bloody pulps
back in the '30's?
And didn't / throw my mea-
ger support behind those
dangerous foreign agitators"
who sat up CIO unions at the
Ford and Firestone plants?
Even worse than that /
helped break a few race Sc
gregation laws.
The investigation shifts to
Milwaukee, where / had a
drink at bar one night and
engaged in earnest conVersa-
tion with a man who, learn
ed later, was a state leader of
the Communist Party.
I'm quite sure with couple
of men / took train trip with
one day were fellow travellers.
And, then, I'm the friend of
a woman whose ex-husband
uesd to stick pins into the
rumps of policemen's horses
so the horses would rear and
permit CP photographers to
get photos of vicious capita
listic cops running down the
proletariat."
A good snooper could soon
determine that / read the
Daley Worker. Glow else
could learn about the nasty
things the Worker calls me?)
Don't get the idea that I'm
kidding about what could
happen to me if the Mundt-
Nixon Bill becomes law and
guilt by association" becomes
the accepted method of deal
ing with people,
Remember what happened
to Harry Martin?
Recall the Commerce Dept.
official with a clean record
who felt compelled to submit
his resignation because his
young daughter became a
teletype operator for tn e
Russian news agency. (The
fact that he later withdrew
his resignation doesn't make
the matter less serious.)
How about the Oak Ridge
scientist who was suspended
on charges such as, "A neigh
Dor has stated that she be-
lieves a close relative by mar
riage is a Communist"
And don't forget those State
Dept. employees who were
fired as bad security risks"
and were not given an oppor-
tunity to confront their ac-
cusers?