The Home Front
BOHN, WILLIAM E.
A Page of Features Americana Books and Writers Chaffer The Home Front By William E. BOHN lOHN The *tw Lewder Cher* Wirft WeaettJ WMttJo A8w« cam. out of 1» Broad Statt* with Wendell Willkie wc...
...Nwtwp«p«r ????, Hmukt* D*y* assd sUhoeah we ware nave* part ef that tuoothrti-catee general ?? Which took each new eeriee ,*f hat J*ogb«siil as ft aww testest snl to their seals, we read them with reheh...
...Harding represented it...
...A denial of rights flicks him on*' ? saw...
...that the mailers are kept in theer place, bot R L Mencken himee.'f 'The GREAT Mencken bisa-aeif," thrives our cor respondent who watched him at work, "joined in the Wti* gaaae of marbles...
...11...
...Danny Boll had just asked Mr VUIkie what he would do about poet-war Germany, and the <nnber one Republican tu leading our charge down the sidewalk baa* hunched low like a football player going through a broken |tM and hands carving oat his ideas in the air...
...These statesmen come forth beaming like the sun, exuding friendliness and importance...
...falhat gj vote money, or to control the states...
...Carlson rips the mask off Boris BrasoJ, White Russian fascist...
...The same crowd that hollers murder over the New York World-Telegrams distorted, anti-Roosevelt, anti-New Deal coverage of wartime Washington sings hoeannas over FATt cover age,, which appears to be baaed on a kind of evarybody'o-a-louse approach...
...watat more natural than to ace «et anti-Stalin iel7~Df oeoofiattoti with an uasavory Smith...
...about whom Stewart is so concerned, would start with ehhr statement: "T4#* Sew York Ttmee and the Ifsraid Tribune (eminently fair in its coverage ef wartime Washington) get a lot of unvarnished facte into their news columns...
...characteristically off-head fftiMoa, Brosaeead eektfMsota*l"*saa alleged disunity today wKh sieged unity of the Bevetetsstssay ssav...
...Carlson introduces yea to Seward Collins who admitted to the author "I admit I am a fascist" He takes you into Mr...
...It was four years ago that Carlson, an Armenian, became jagjpaawd at the brutal slaying by a gang of terrorists ef a high Church dignitary he respected...
...A man can't talk that way about Congress and Tabor, business and aaeesnssent, imperial km "and backward peoples and then go off and act some other way...
...The publishers and Mr...
...This May, Rev...
...Instantly and instinctively he comes up fighting...
...And Kenneth Stewart, having worked on all three, ought to know that at his age...
...Both sodas are worth telling...
...ft X. If WIS UNDBUCOVER, e* John Roy Carlson...
...He did not pause or poae at incite recognition...
...from her pitted s^asoasaW^tlasa» were sprouting from her cockpit to her taB...
...I have eiiltsou a letter to the publisher, a copy of which I am enclosing, presenting the problem...
...His tipping ef the scale now, can, if heeded, be a way to head-off disaster...
...are reported...
...Undercover" by John Roy Carlson is s painted history of contemporary America, the America Mr...
...Carlson aasaea them...
...Accused, and ridiculed by Bboresa for associating themeefvee with the aaoaoorr ttagai...
...S ¦» doesn4 want some men making money out of others work Sj J*Tet*y-' ^*e told him once that he was giving a rather "faatan interpretation—and he laughed...
...The author stffl keeps in dose touch with those native- fifth columnists who regard him as a genuine ^Patriot.* * Some of tab factors behind strikes, absenteeism, slowdowns are explained: it is shown that sabotage is not necessarily committed by colorful figures with bombs, nor are strikes called by labor leaders, nor are wud-cat strikes begun by fervent laborites...
...Roosevelt has the assured gentleman's suavity backed against a core of hard, inner determination...
...Thea is the whole of the juiceleao bone ersieh the commie* are gnawing so energetically on their front page*' This ia tha smitd shaking news which, far the MUg Worker...
...The headlines in the Labor papers the neat •ay roee— «H 1* Mencken Be sees War Aga mat Little Usdost,* and here aad there seme people eoaM be heard muttering, seatt-ssssstaBy, "Ah...
...asfc Jrvttsitit...
...We talked about colonies, and his •"id instantly jumped to accurate figures on colonial exploitation 9· "sob stuff" about the poor, backward peoples...
...has virtually displaced the WAr...
...Mr...
...e · Lahor «ad the Forties I AM just talking along...
...Cell ins' book shop (now dosed) en West Seth Street m New York City where pro-fascist material was sold, and where a shortwave set brought the messages from Nasimnd to Collins' "friends...
...The whole bwataeas to ?? grotesquely absurd that it should be ignored...
...It's like the contrast between Groton and toe Rushville High School, between Harvard and the University at Indiana...
...Just run tat knife along different lines, give the capitalists a smaller piece sad the workers a bigger one...
...He tells you who the judges and prosecutor* will be...
...his- marriage hi Marjbrie Feat Sutton in 1930...
...He did not even speak ef a dynamic...
...mm not a Communist...
...1 · · · Charm With · Chattete ¦TBK man has charm no ead...
...New this is a torn of events which most newspapermen would, put in the category of the things that shouldn't happen to Hitler...
...The inevitable exceptions do get In, but as newspapers, aa conveyors of information to the public, these two dailies stand out like shining beacons of virtue in a town with every variety of distorted joornal-iem in its midst...
...And he is like the President, too, in wanting the right fight, the fight against the right enemies...
...Carbon's contention...
...He gives you the impression of knowing all that the intellectuals kaew hot having it laid out in his mind in terms of common experience...
...Dewey, Short, Shafer and Hoffman...
...I cant pretend that the fortunes of the nwican Party do not enter into his computations...
...He says, "We need the Times for its volume, PM for its vision...
...Willkie has the com-man gays eager energy toned down and held in cheek by natural feed spanners and a genuine interest in other people's personalities sad opinions...
...dose Hb big the history of Com lawn ist fnflltratios of American fife...
...Fsaeh' ktssg Maxwefi: "Bugetie TNeiH...
...But you understand, I aa** sure, that I would stop them if I could, since I have ' even lees use for the tetaHtariarta of the Bight than for the to ta Ifta riant of the left...
...Smith, tha rabbie-reustag isolationist, informed his clientele that he ie nmUmg "The Bed Decade'* at special prices...
...The thoughts well up as fnn an inner spring and come out through lips and eyes and gesturing hands...
...The campaign wiTi expand...
...t ,»4 t...
...But ¦ what a difference...
...by far, the most comprehensive study of the fascist network within the United State...
...So has President Roosevelt...
...For ft is a warning signal every American mast heed...
...He gave •"Jfjce enough of familiarity with trade unions and labor's fwems...
...Principles don't matter to them...
...The seeds are already sown that can cause disunity and American Fascism...
...heat was mentioned, and facts about it poured out as the •••?»-does from an elevator...
...The commonest four-letter words come from his meufb With a natural eloquence...
...The Lyons Smith partnership charged at the outset will aeon be treated as s "fact" hke the guilt of the Polish leaders...
...That's one thing The New Leader is for...
...He doesn't know whether he will run, doesn't specially want to run, but by God—these are not his exact words—if Colonel McCormiek will come out and go for the Btpubtic 'gemination, nobody can keep him out of the scrap...
...I don't say that complete detachment apd objectivity are fully possible, and I quite agree that no power on earth can stop even the best of reporters from taking sides, but I do aay the truth is worth telling...
...Inside and Out By HATTHEW LOW MIH*««osatssHss|i MllJ Loots Mencken has wntsea three volamee of his autobiography...
...Days...
...He T*W them to win a better life by using their rights as American ; *Jjw way in which his eyes lighted up when civil liberties...
...erahnst me is part of s strategy for diverting stasssatat from the Bague story...
...Carlson re- . veals the true nature of George Washington Rob-nett and* his so-called Church League of Amencs Actually the book is a ? up-to-date account or the Nasi and native Nasi scene...
...On this issue he P* straight back to Jefferson...
...He exposes the fact that ? ????» First...
...Wenden Willkie's ?????, rough-hewn figures Oporfttes from within outward...
...He talked like a boy, like an athlete who trusts his heart and his muscles and enjoys every minute of life...
...He dwells at great length on this subject...
...major events taking place as late as April rath, ?943...
...The main...
...out of 1» Broad Statt* with Wendell Willkie wc ran ? into a bunch of sight-seers from a rubber-neck bua...
...Those fellows imagined, according to his way of thinking, that we have a cake to divide and the poor weren't getting a keg enough piece...
...PM has the best bargains la dry goods, porch furniture snd hardware, bwt the Times and Tribune have the best bargains m news...
...Not so with Stewart...
...Packed into its over 500 pages of thrilling sequence, fa an expose of Fascism's blueprints...
...If I am amy prepbet, look Bar more end bigger smears of the same oaitttj Aa far the Smith the beak teles aap...
...Paris Herald, New York Htrnid Tribuu* and New York Timern, with side excursions into such fruitless pursuits as the teaching of journalism at Stanford University, and a fling at the Littrarg Digest just before it died...
...J«g> Reckoner of feoUtles MAYBE your reading of One World gave you the feeling that -^Wendell Willkie has gene toft...
...Jposavael guide wii pointing out the statue of George Wash ingt jn...
...Mifflin...
...Some day we may give you the answers in Mr...
...If so, live minutes of con-••fution would reassure you...
...One suspects he would pick the Worker if democracy could afford only one of those two papers, for by a strange coincidence the PM staff men for whom he utters the highest praise are those who have followed the Stalinist line without deviation...
...He is like Roosevelt in loving a fight...
...good friends, don't worry about us and about The New We are supporting the President and the New Deal as ¦* kl»aye have...
...PM comes the closest to being his idesl newspaper...
...He thinks—and at says what he thinks in short and snappy words...
...what a fall was there...
...PM't specialty is kicking around the Army, the Navy and the State Department, frequently in stories which cannot be officially denied, or even answered now, for reasons of military security...
...1 , » * · /"heotee ef the Week:—Ft so« Lewie Gaamett...
...The "little perspective" I would like to see imparted to the "younger newspapermen...
...This is a book which should he on everyone's "must" list...
...Louis the Feurteenth was not more conscious of his audience...
...Nobody recognised him...
...I iho hnliaos >C flew on with her ckraap, like Marie liililniott «01*1101 Oft the scaffold, even wheat red...
...Ahsen tap iMioa af'eaaj American people thea ware oppaood to, er losMeeoast to, the WMK-General Washington was never able to iiesnaoad aa army ef stave ' than 25,000 men, and (Pres...
...Which simply makes aenaense ef hiooery...
...fair thr for ? »Mit, dastaeaiiag Freest, re-disoovenn...
...abeat, blue...
...Undercover," hv John Roy Carbon, is...
...He needed no helpful secre-2**· The man is hie own brain trust...
...AS autobiography, this book hardly merits review...
...that party aad David Doe*nekj...
...see...
...See how GoTemor Bricker smiles and looks handsome and never tells you how he stands on anything...
...First for the facts which provide the pew ea which the comrades hang their attack: Taw yens*ago I wrote a bookentitled "The Bad Decade...
...of the beast is that he is always ready to bar* hit picture...
...At the end of the rainbow, he found PM...
...1 The Times, The ? rib and PM ly PAUL SLA0...
...Bwt that ia Hkr sayhtg that Laval is easily the beet ruler France baa had time the Geratene eccapied Paria...
...Posing as a fascist, "George Page-nelli...
...In ear hour of talk never once did a cant-edged cliche ifip out...
...F%e Ideologue* r—Some will say it's a sign of national hteltK • but we only find it damned tiresome to hear all those shrill voices loudly pontificating on all the issues of the War...
...wash ahaoah, it it not obvious that Ehrlich aast Alter, Hkwwkte Jews aad pi utieeoivio...
...of abundance...
...Bach of Sheat is merely objeetint *· taw trwed ef totalitarian goods peddled by the other, and net necessarily to the goads themselves...
...Carbon combined have rendered the American people a great service...
...ef ehest...
...It can happen here, is Mr...
...coaeent ehiioleoa, red...
...For the "little perseptive" of which the author speaks so piously has the smell of the Party Line about it, and lota of us in the profession don't want to "make" the news that way at alL Stewart's 20-odd years at "the task," has included working on such newspapers as the Fresno Bee and Humboldt Timet in California, the El Faso Timm, Atlanta Journal, New York Ttle-gram...
...Ha take* yew behind the see see ir to Cotsstsso tonal afleea, introduces yea to Senators Nye and Wh n>«r, Walsh, and to Representatives Day, Rankin...
...Bricker represents it That is the Isjplssl .......Hi gays...
...A Warning to America •y WAIT...
...But we all Pv** impression that Mr...
...A glance at a high-school primer would have set him right...
...He reveals that the president of the Northern Indiana Telephone Company...
...Xt a private showing ef the film, Joe D., very dignified, explained his spoaaorship...
...They can always be approached, are always ready to listen, prepared for compromise...
...fai hie shower-bath be suspects cameras right behind the certain* The smile on the easily swiveling face is always ready, jf yog don't know what I mean go down to Washington and stand the exit of the Senate chamber...
...greeaivoa...
...Thafs the Middle West for you...
...at half a pull ? Ihm bach, gfclwo...
...Whereupon...
...Willkie is genuinely interested in ?***·* things managed so that working people will have a better...
...He wants trade...
...is only the beginning...
...That's the wsy this man's' mind and tongue work...
...Just actual on how the natives of the East Indies were being exploited rubber was produced for Ave cents a pound and sold for y cents or "ore...
...Sir WBhaett Lewis (of the London Times) whispered loudly, "When I kaew him he was s lobbyist...
...That is the function aad tooponoihjlity of a good daily newspaper in its coverage of the - news...
...We were very gied tha ether day that Henry Com mager tripped him up aa some kiltiiiiiut Jgjl...
...Stewart's abounding admiration for PM, where be took the plunge under the dynamically futile Ralph Ingersoll, probably has been made possible by his growing contempt for the objectivity which so many honest newspapermen still strive to attain...
...he was able to gain entree into clandestine Park Avenue pro-fascist maetmg» Exploiting his friendship with Lawrence Dennis he secured from the- latter a- letter of introduction to Senator Gerald P. Nye—a letter written in endearing terms U sing the same fTWiieaatlp, Cartson found that he was able to get into the eoBesa of the majority ef the pro-isolationist Congressional camp without any difficulty...
...the smear campaign in a few days has flourished into an "amalgam'' that already includes Dubtnsky, Ehrlich, Alter, and the American Labor Party...
...He didn't have to someone to get out a report...
...yTOwTth fjyf ft typical Stalinist amalgam: '¦' 1. Because Smith roeoii—pa ? «??* by Lyases, the tww ef them sre clearly ht "aartaaowMoV* 2. Becseet Lyawe to a member of the Btght Whtg of the A.LP...
...But he is tolerant...
...Now we Wander ashen the groat ? L will cease to a little mttthis* wadeh we've jaet perked up frees oar Bokfaserc spy____It seats* that the...
...Cart H. Mote, had written three articles for William Dudley Policy's publications, and had cited Nasi sethoritiee ? these articles Mr...
...But right now I can give you oaly impressions of the man and little bits of his thought which ate already common property...
...A pro...
...He knows who we are...
...But this man Willkie is somebody, and he has •"•ethujg...
...80, little people from out of tows, while you •ort gaping at an image of the first President you might hare ?? the lire and lunging figure of a real power in American pol itics...
...Hie cheeks show thooe Uttht vetna, raddy...
...UZ1 3. New if Lysats «ad Drtksahy...
...Namely to wit, that Lyons, Dubtnsky aad their kind ought to be summarily liquids ted, Hke Ehrlieh and Alter...
...The laws, the agreements, the way the ^**|*worked—he had the whole business at his tongue's tip...
...I have been watching politicians for a long time...
...I am a Capitalist...
...Carlson came to some 30 odd years ago and has learned to love and call hie own...
...Economic theories come eat la the common lingo...
...Prom that day until now his purpose had been to thwart the evil forces he uncovered Be joined 38 subversive organisations, became an active member, was admitted into highly secret meeting*, and knows the identities of persons who ware high in govern rent and ftr.aneial eirele* who Had supported these groups...
...So what was the answer...
...The QID of this exquisite logic is not stated in the commie press, but it is all over the smear campaign by implication...
...Published by E. P. button and Co...
...I...
...Daniel Bell and Melvin J. Lasky were ¦ thise with me, and those boys asked plenty of sharp questions end got sharp enough answers...
...Bringing these and other alleged authorities to bear on the defects of objectivity, Stewart arrives at his real thesis: it's okay to ancle newspaper copy...
...The effort will spread until the stain oa one humble journalist has dyed every current detractor of Stalinism s pwrptieh black...
...Ton had tetter forget the Middle West when you thiak of him...
...But he meant what be ssid...
...13.50...
...He is a completely functioning organism...
...Hie togs, cheapo, his pants, sleeaey (at tie kneeo) Thr third of a tagged cigar swag limp from the center of his moots, and he had great trouble keeping It lit...
...To them the essence of the game is to be elected...
...And what he said about third parties and ¦¦^according to his notion, labor should deal with the two old —these are things which I crossed my heart and swore not _l shall be revealing no secrets, however, when I tell that he ***· *«ry warmly of his good friend, Phillip Murray...
...Note tht...
...What it says editorially—the poaitieu it takes on a given set of facts—is snother thing...
...His scarred shoes ware anpobshad for many a day...
...Bat this man Willbie—he is something else again...
...e . , Costal Nate;—You remember of course that Utile history of ????????* Davieo this departmeot once prepared Wis tartar aa a lawyer-fixer (and the half-million retainer from Dictator Trujffle fOr smoethenir.g out debts to U. S...
...He trusts our discretion, but he knows darned well that if he doesn't live up to his sharp statements we will be down on him like a shot...
...He mast have said about the same things to other men...
...He cites the findings of two Princeton psychologists who made a study and discovered (as Stewsrt paraphrases it) "that the insistence on detachment becomes dangerous in times of crisis, that wanting to hear all tides produced a delay which might give the side patently in the wrong time to get out their guns and train them on the...
...In the usual Tory pepta, the present mess is correctly criticised, net to work for s better future, but only to baud ap a teats togoad ef a rolden past...
...That's the trouble with the boys on the "Left" who are in favor of discarding objectivity...
...Some really whopping outbursts I smet keep locked away...
...L F. Steele's big expose of the government's failure to send a promised eil refinery to Russia is a prime example of this—the truth will he told after the war...
...As though to iUastrate say point, came the Cotaaiiaaast Party endorsement and whitewash of Jersey Ctty Hagm I have no doubt in my ewe sssad that tha tussle ? mir...
...By Kenneth, Stewert...
...The laws, the pools, the gambling, AA**** and the effect on the price of flour...
...titae 'sfotskj weost «» Mge ka...
...est ea* of Ba leaders, are aa teas clearly ?? tllteere with Gerald Smith...
...the Graak drama, and bWri- ? fitfuRjr about the paht a# it' Set.r 'He «as>-appeared abeat tk...
...Variations on the theme will be intro-dacod...
...Down with William P. Carney's pro-Fascist reports on the Spanish Civil War...
...Beginning with an attack on Lyons...
...In short...
...The New Maseee: "Gideon Puuiien ia II IHj 'gljjhstr'j tMtf bewt-written novel tine* Amt Vlthmns...
...The only contact I ever had with the Detroit gentleman was the publication, sheas a year age, ef an unflattering article about him in the ?? ?? lists I edit...
...W hat be laid to us was in confidence—"off the record" a the phrase which he used...
...Up with Walter Duranty's "fair coverage . . . based on a developing appreciation of the bast he found there...
...He hopes that "we should always be able to afford a Daily Worker and* a Chicago Tribune...
...It is the breast-beating, souJ-searchinff testament of a copyreader who took a "stand on the Left" (page 14*3) in 1934, and quite obviously is still standing there...
...A necktie was twisted in a iiMglid coil...
...Immediately upon learning that Smith was toiling tb* book I wrote to the publishers asking them "how coma" and expressing my disapproval...
...There is neither a sense of shame nor a sense of balance in the behavior ef these our Communist saviors...
...Illustration» and documents...
...Congress bickered aad sissrVnloJ...
...SEWS IS WHAT WK MAKE IT...
...And if there are to he aay major casualties of total war they'll include all these kinds of aajrths aad legeads...
...people...
...3.60...
...lac., was actually the brainchild ef the anti-Semitic James Tree...
...popes...
...Cemmager painted apt) couldn't depend on them to stick...
...Good God!—of course I am just vageaky recalling—if we all went to work we could make such a eske that everyone could have more than he wants...
...Nevertheless, I select to comment on it briefly: first, because it offers a convenient ease study in Communist techniques of character assassination, and, second, because I get some fun out of writing about these teapot tempests...
...But— Kenneth Stewart has felt it incumbent upon himself "to give a little perspective to some of the younger newspapermen who took up the task later than we did so that they will not need to fail where we failed...
...People without trsinfng in politics or economics, and without aay equipment other than an available forum all favor us with rnfunditiss . . . Among a whole hoot of Jdoolagoos, Lewis BronAeid is en* that interests us regularly^ a a tee > -teller, aad set · very goad oa* ? that, turned ph:)oeophee-hiag...
...The issues and organisations and men are a part of his life and thought...
...They only wanted it discarded on behalf of their side, aad protest bitterly when the other side uses the -same device...
...I have st-ferased the Friends ef awwuu try that assy ie jell see I may earn frees that swartt will ha teamed «aar hs fag to them aad to ether groape ¦rhttag Gerald taslth aad thear ilk...
...He knows perfectly well what it is—as he proved in erishgjdag the New Deal...
...Streamer heaoai.es All beeed oa oevtaasiasati "rewlattaas" thst this notorious red-baiter, and the fascist-minded ex-minister Gerald L. K. Smith of Detroit hate formed an alliance...
...It took four dangerous" years—years when the possibility of ex poo* within the ranks was possible—for Mr...
...etc.,,ate . . . Well, out mixer in Washington social circle* is the source for this bit of intelligence: Joe D. is eeesing in for s hell of s ribbing from his socialite friends...
...the Treasury Building...
...On July 7th, which is to say before the Werber made its revelations, I wrote to the Friends of Democracy fat part: "I don't know what we can do...
...And he says, "The march of democracy" demands "constructive criticism and crusading from more and more papers like PM...
...I knew nothing of this, of coarse, until the information was relayed to ate by the Friends ef Democracy...
...And you would be surprised...
...Willkie'S own terms, for he has promised to write •a article for The New Leader...
...Carlson to collect his record...
...Fascist oitlootttlsao agaltst Ootaatuatsm an as worthleas as Communist prmomoltsaa against Fas mm...
...And every minute his mind ?*· mteni «n exploitation...
...eoavtacod with Hither...
...if anything, to stop theee people from eelling my book...
...he does not want, things handed down to them...
...Mf «???,* ear spy iBliiitslak fob* ? L. may never record this hfoaaolf), "are tha kind the Irish...
...He isn't one-sided, either...
...So who do they dispatch to...
...la faaviag oaoae osstsa trouble Its Si mauer* set op and got thonssorvoo an organisation, aadtheyVe oaMiog far a Hess» bettor tawatmaat, which Um» Saw just ewite joiotft oea...
...But that, I can assure you...
...Already a statement by Comrades Marcantonio and ConneSy put In a new refinement by referring to the Tarf that Lyont "obtained the serv-feee" of Gerald Smith "to peddle his book...
...his (and her) angling for an Ambassadorship...
...Frontpage editorials...
...Carlson shows the plans being readied for an American Riom Trial...
...He wants business...
...27 popes...
...Carbon shows how an organisation masquerading as pro-labor, actually was roepon-sibfle for strikes, anadthorised strikes and stoppages, and that on every issue this organisation and its leaders fought organised tabon efforts to win the war through production...
...Since he has fulminated against Colonel McCormiek ia the press, I suppose it is proper enough for me to mention what at.said about the Colonel...
...Carlson takes off his mask...
...On this score, New I» What Wt Jfofc* It is indeed worth examning...
...Footnote to the Red Decade f? fUOCME LYONS FR a number of days now I have figure* aa Number One Villain in a hair-raising serial story m the DmHf Wwriter, official organ of the Union Square-Jersey Ctty Axis...
...Never once did' he mention the age of the common man er the...
...discussion, was an important tip-off...
...He is willing to let such moribund institutions aa the New York Times go on publishing indefinitely...
...His aeae is the kind tha steaming fragrant peach «C Slosh...
...Like Ingersoll, he's against persons who push other persons around, so he sees no harm in a little, bias when it's on the right (that is, his) side...
...The (vide did not jteefnUe him...
...It pulfe do punches, and its disclosures are fully documental/ In the book, Mr...
Vol. 26 • July 1943 • No. 30
