Evening star., 1949-03-03
u. 5. Communist Party
P|edgedto0 o0pposeAny
Wall Street. War

RED LEADERS IN FRANCE Con-
tinue to Pledge Aid for Soviet
Army. Page A-25.
By fhs Asseeiotsd Press
NEW YORK, Mar. 3.-United
States Communist leaders pledged
their party today to oppose any
war provoked by Wall Street" in
terests despite "the efforts of the
peace forces Of America and the
world"
A statement issued by William z.
Foster, Communist national chair
man, and Eugene Dennis. general
secretary, declared American Com
munists would take no part in IAN
unjust, aggressive and imperialist
war"
On the contrary, the statement
said, the Communists would Co
operate with all democratic forces
to defeat the predatory war aims
of American imperialism and
bring such a war to a speedy con-
clusion on the basis of a demo-
cratic peace"
Marshall Plan Attacked.
The reference to democracy was
in line with the usual Communist
policy of calling Communicated
states, including Russia, peoples
democracies."
The statement charged that the
Marshall Plan and "the proposed
Atlantic war alliance" are part Of
wall Streets scheme of world
domination"
Foster and Dennis-both under
Federal charges of conspiracy TO
advocate forcible overthrow of the
United States Government-said
In their statement: 1--WE do not
regard a new world holocaust as
inevitable. We hold the peaceful
coexistence of two different So
cial systems wholly possible. We
believe that efforts of the peoples
to achieve peace can check the
warmakers and create new oppor-
tunities to achieve peace"
The statement followed requests
to the Communist leaders for
comment on recent remarks by
two Red leaders in Europe
Maurice Thorez of France and
Palmiro Togliatti of Italy.
Togliatti and Thorez Backed.
Togliatti said he believed the
italian people had a duty to aid
the Russian Army If 1t should
pursue an "aggressor" onto
italian soil.
Thorez asked whether French
Communists could be expected to
''behave differently" from the
peoples Of Poland, Romania and
Yugoslavia If the French people
were led into war with Russia
and the Red Army had to chase
the enemy onto our SOIL"
Foster and Dennis said they
believe the French and Italian
leaders comments "emphatically
serve the cause Of universal
peace"
Dennis is on trial in Federal
Court here with 10 other members
of the National Board of the Com
munist Party on the conspiracy
charge. Trial Of Foster. also in
dicted. was separated because he
was adjudged too Ill Of a heart
ailment to stand the lengthy pro-
ceedings at this time.
Peace Camp Called Stronger.
Dennis, asked by a newsman
yesterday whether the reference
by him and Foster to United States
Communist cooperation with "all
democratic forces" meant Russia
specifically. indicated he would
reply later.
Before declaring opposition to
an "imperialist" war If peace
efforts failed, the statement said
"the peace camp is infinitely
etrnoger than the war camp"
The Communist leaders said
that if Wall Street should sue
ceed in plunging the world into
war, he would oppose 1t as an
unjust, aggressive, imperialist war.
as an undemocratic and an anti
socialist war. destructive Of the
deepest interests Of the American
people and all humanity"
I'VE Communists" they said,
"join with millions of other patri-
otic Americans in opposing those
who seek a new world war. For
our part, we will work with all
those who seek peace, democracy
and social progress"
Foster and Dennis had this
comment on the ThoreZ and Togll-
atti statements:
only those who plot a third
world war and seek to embroil
France and Italy in aggressive
military operations against our
great ally of Warld War II, the
Soviet Union, could read anything
French or un-Italian in these
statements.
French and Italian sovereignty
and independence are threatened
today solely by Wall Streets
scheme of world domination as
expressed in the Marshall Plan
and the proposed Atlantic war al
lance.
1T is our military and those of
the British who have established
q general headquarters at Fone-
tainebleau. Not Russians but
Americans have military bases
and are intervening in the in
ternal affairs of Greece. Turkey
Iran, China, Canada. Greenland
Brazil as well as France and
Italy."