Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-11-30
qer "Dooo Are Breed Dedicated to the Idea Conteten CSe
Severely Chastises Lyons For Idea
OF Forming Society OF Red Baiters

wrote a rapturous biographical
.,ast which he now regrets with
he writhing shame of a moon
;.ruck banker in a breach of pro-
Mise suit. Mr.. Stolberg never
vas a Communist but was, as
he says, radical in his political
-dolescence, but he knows them
Il with a sensuous and exhilar-
ing fury. Mr.. Gitlow, Of course
well known as the former chief
/ the Communist Party in the
United States and the most We
hement and convincing confessor
of the large American class Of
apostates. His current work, en-
titled 1.-THE Whole OF Their
ives" is fine chapter for the
lmerican White Book on the ul-
mate war with Soviet Russia.
The story of the Party's man.
agement of the Bonus March a.
gainst Herbert Hoover in Wash
ngton is practically official, and
actually news, even after 16
years. 1t was but natural, incl
dentally, that the New York
Herald Tribune condemned this
book to the attention Of Arthur
Schlesinger, Jr., Of tho Harvard
clique, for politico-literary re-
view. Mr.. Schlesinger is a most
reliable fellow for the fixed po-
litical motives of the HTS liter
ary appraisals, being high-oc-
tame New Dealer and an unpink-
ed hero of the conquest of the
Nazi. He served in the o. S. S.
but dealt in research" not per.
sonal violence. 1t was natural
also that the Herald Tribune
would assign him to review John
T. Flynn's book, 1.-THE Roosevelt
Myth" after ignoring it long and
praising many lesser and infer
ior jobs. And natural, too, that
Mr.. Schlesinger should "do a
job on" Mr.. Flynn, as they say
in the book trade. Unable to
fault Mr.. Gitlow's charges, Mr..
Schlesinger wrote that his feel
ing against Communism was an
"obsession" and that his "broad
picture Of the role Of Commu-
nism in American life in the
'30's and '40's is surely far out
Of perspective" This Is the
smear technique which is the
weapon of the Herald Tribune's
party line. Mr.. Schlesinger has
good reason to know whether any
work on Communism in the
United States is authoritative. I
feel less confident, however, that
he could be trusted to review
any anti-Communist or anti-New
Deal work with artistic and his
torical objectivity.
Other objections aside, I firm
ly rejected Mr.. Lyons invitation
to join his Society of Red-Baiters
on the further ground that II it
ever should show any signs Of
life, we would be invaded and
taken over by the Communists
themselves. The mere fact that
the society was by name devoted
to red-baiting would not deter the
comrades. They have filtered in
to many church organizations
whose titles gave them fine de-
ceptive ooloration and there was
period when even the Congress
sional Committee on un-Ameri-
can Activities served the Krem-
lin faithfully and we'll.
Hitlerism was an un-American
activity. Communism was its
foe. By promoting Communism
the Committee harassed the Ma
zis. So VOLTA! Why not7
The title Of the Society Of Red
Baiters might seem prohibitive.
But in three months it would be
the Society to Bait Red-Baiters
with an executive secretary
drawn from the Newspaper
Guild, the Furriers' Union or
Hollywood and Mr.. Lyons would
have another lesson In his end
Ieaa education