The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-02-10
The World Today
By JAMES MARROW

ex-CommunlStS nave provided con-
gressional committees with sensa-
tional testimony on the conspiracy
Of communism, there is a wide gap
in public knowledge and under
standing of what makes Commu-
mist: why Americans join and quit
the party.
The committees themselves have
spent little time on that question.
FIJI files are rich with this kind
Of information but are secret. A
few ex-Communists who have won
prominence with their public testi-
mony have written books about
their lives. But theirs were unusual
cases.
Yet, in the past 80 years an esti-
mated 100000 men and women
have joined and left the party
whose known membership now, ac-
cording to FIJI Chief ]. Edgar
Hoover, is less than 10000. Morris
Ernst and David 10th have tried
to fill some of the gap in public
knowledge on Communists.
They interviewed about 800 ex.
members of the party and, from
this information, drew some gen.
eral conclusions which, together
with case histories, they have put
in a book: Report on the Ameri-
can Communist" It's a book well
worth anyone's time. Ernst, a New
York lawyer, has been a pillar Of
the American Civil Liberties Union.
10th has newspaper background.
There is no one reason why
people join or quit the party. There
are many reasons. some complex,
that 60 back into childhood and
home life. Here are some high
lights from the book:
Age-The peak age for joining
seems to be Is to 23. A majority of
the rank and file have joined and
left by q.
Schooling-The average Commu.
mist has had far more schooling
than the general population. A
high proportion has been to college.
Home Intellectually, brought up
in comfort and luxury. Many are
the children Of professional men,
businessmen, bankers and minis.
tiers.
Another factor In the family
background that struck us was the
extremely high incidence of sui
cides, desertions and divorces
among parents, brothers. and sis
tiers" or other close relatives.
Parents - Equally impressive
was the great number Of men who
had grown UP with a marked
hostility to an aggressive father
who usually was conservative in
politics and the number of women
who thought themselves less than
beautiful and complained about an
overwhelming mother"
Jobs-Most occupy jobs which do
not call for any work with their
hands.
Motives for joining - Financial
gain almost never a factor. Power
is only 4 slightly stronger motive.
Usually 3 Communist thinks of
himself as an idealist joing the
party because of hatred of war,
poverty. discrimination or other in
justices, although millions share
these hates without becoming Com
munists. In many recruits there is
an obvious sense Of never having
belonged" "These are the
men and women who as boys and
girls were unpopular or ignored
either because Of looks or q social
stigma or shyness cor overeager-
ness or some other reason"
Reasons for quitting-These vary
too. The shock of establishment
because Of a turn in the party line,
like the Hitler.Stalin Pact, or a
youth who joined through emotion
al instability natures, or a loved
one leaves the party.
Some Of the book is shocking. For
instance, the story Of the spying on
one another required Of the men,
hers and the blackmail the party
uses against people who quit.
But Ernst and 10th filled only
part of the gap in. public knowl-
edge. For some unexplained rea-
son they did not explain what hap
pens at party meetings where
members get their indoctrination
in philosophy and discipline. This
is not a profound book. Ernst and
10th didn't intend it to be. But it's
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