The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1948-03-26


in the world, but l know that we
don't have anywhere near the stand
ard of living which lies within our
reach | know that we can't realize
our potential abundance, or help raise
the standards of living elsewhere in
the world, if our energies and re-
sources and science are perverted to
produce TOOLS FOR WAR.
1t is generally considered that the
communists are menace, but | know
that they are NO menace IF we
meet the economic and social prob
lens for which they offer very radical
solutions.
I get the impression these days that
the people who are most dominated
| by the Kremlin = by Moscow = are
those who oppose everything the Rus
slams do, whether it is good or bad
or inconsequential. By their actions
they have convinced me that they are
more responsive to Moscow that the
American Communists with their spir-
| itual and biological affinity for Com
munists in Russia. We cannot chart
course for America on blind hate
or blind love for what the Russians
do.
This word communism" is a much
greater menace than the communists.
The word has been applied to every
idea slightly to the left of slavery.
[ am sure that | could take long pas
sages from the works of Jefferson and
Lincoln and get them banned from
classrooms on the grounds that they
are too radical. This is the sort of
nonsense which threatens everything
we have built here in America.
If we want peace, we must chal
lenge everyone who uses the word
communist. We must demand that
| he define exactly what he is talking
about. We shall find, l am sure, that
| it is used most often by men who are
afraid to discuss an issue on its
merits.
Adolph Hitler made good political
use of this red-baiting weapon, but
let us remember that his first at
tack was made on western democ-
racies, not Russia. The same course
is being followed today. 1t is not
Russia, but American democracy
which is the intended victim of the
first attack. 1t won't work. House
wives may forget the grocery bill
for a little while, if the menace is
built up to huge proportions, but
sooner or later they want to know
what happened to their dollars
while someone was crying "Red'.
Veterans can't be fooled for very
long by those who say we can pro-
duce anything necessary for war,
including barracks for army camps,
but that we can't produce homes.
Trade union members know that
every strike for decent conditions
and every demand for living wage
has been called Communist in
srired'. They aren't fooled.
The cry of communist" is used
against us because we are attacking
entrenched interests, because we be-
lieve that it is possible to make peace
with Russia, and because we know
that you can't fight the economic
theories of Karl Marx with atom
bombs.
In the past year l have advanced
number of proposals which l believe
can contribute to the establishment of
durable peace.
The first step, of course, is to call
off the Truman Doctrine, which was
the declaration of "the cold war;. We
must substitute policies of genuine
economic aid through the United Ma
lions. This is only possible if we
remove from office men whose pri-
vate interests cause them to adopt
policies which are contrary to the in
terests of the people. / refer, of
course, to the bankers and the gen.
erals and admirals who have moved
into so many key positions in Wash
ington. They aren't evil men, but
their personal interests make it inn
possible for them to serve us well.
Secondly, we must get Interna-
tionaI control of middle eastern oil
and the other great reservoirs of
raw materials which private firms
have exploited. They have done it
with the support of arms and sub
sides paid for by all the people,
even though only few enjoy any
profits. We can't afford this kind
of risk. We have seen what it