The Home Front
BOHN, WILLIAM E.
The Home Front By WILLIAM E. BOHN Tk* 4rm» and the Mm O ne could laugh ot this, but it's really not a laugh ing matter. We are busy down at Dumbarton daks laying the Umbers ef the great, new...
...We are like the chap who did not believe in hell but joined the church just in ease...
...He is, especially, conscious of all the social implications of a great army...
...So at this late day The New Leader is running a aympoaium on compulsory military training...
...iU A general staff like the en* we are blessed with right new —with brains, imagination and organising ability...
...PM is also getting a new news editor, a surprise...
...In « little Sponish Town Jesus Hernandez tomas, the communist Minister of Justice in the loyalist Government, who breke with the CP upon reaching Mexico some mouths ago, has issued a statement denouncing the Communists, for their slanders and calling for antifascist unity...
...How, I ask myself, will these revolutionaries, who consider themselves the cadres which will organise the struggle, take over the armies of Marxian liberation ? Can you picture anyone as utterly helpless before, lot as soy, even a plat sea of eager recruit* as, perhaps, Dwigat Maodenold...
...Her* is about what you need in ardor to slog ysur way to victory in a modern war: (1) a unifying f*|te in your country and ita purposes and Ideals...
...In 1939, Franco was supposed to have the mightiest army in Europe, and see what happened to the poor French...
...And, last, mllions of young men who can quickly h* trained for the kind of warfsre that the present technological situation demands...
...They wet* weak physically, intellectually and induatrislly-d so they loot Military training is far from being enough...
...for the country boy the realization that cities can be duller than the country...
...former city editor of the Peat is now moved up to executive editor...
...There are a lot of aides to this problem of military training, and I suppose it is wise for all of us to keep our minds open and listen to the other fellow...
...Their appeasement, pro-Rig Basineas line, all ia the nsme of Tehersn and concessions to Russia, have forced them to give ground...
...and Progressives The Wisconsin Projrettive, orgsn of Senator I .a Kollette, this week editorially takes a slsp at Tom Dewey's foreign policy speech and remarks thst "there is no basic disagreement on foreign policy between the ruling cliques of both the old political parties...
...Green has followed official CIO policy, while Saul calls for more militant action...
...But it is obvious that mere military trsining is not enough...
...What goes on in a writer's mind is a mysterious process...
...Do you want us to turn fine American boys into imitations of the tow-headed boys from over the Rhine...
...The Wobbly tradition -has always been strong on the coast, and the pseudo militancy of the CP brought it to the forefront...
...Leo Lsssotte...
...I am carious to know bow those pseudo proletarian Davids intend to cope with the Goliath of civil warfare...
...He hss lived st the end of the sergesnt's tongue, slogged for hours though mud snd brush and kept his hind end down to sroid the live ammunition being shot over his bsck...
...These seemingly slight distinctions sre interesting...
...But I am 'more than a little amused St the wild (theoretical) revolutionaries who tug at their goatees, edit their little saagasines and find no other means to improve the world than by a bloody sei' sure of power...
...He hss done wkst the rest' of us have looked st in the movies...
...No mutter what sort of league of nations we have, I agree thst we must be ready to fight...
...Part of the probltm is the effect of military training on young soldier who, for all the rest of his life, is to serve as citizen...
...Must have been a house-cleaning...
...Their military training was book training, hack trsisjef, training for the last war rather than for the next...
...PMi labor reporter, who was active in the Newspaper Guild agsinst the Communistline administration in New York, wss recently made city editor of PJf...
...At the Rubber Workers convention, held this week In New York, the four largest locals of the union call for the revocation of the no-strike pledge...
...For the city boys there comes' the realization that a purely physical life is not ah abomination...
...And in preparation we should make ourselves as strong aa good planning and training can make us...
...oy a strong and intelligent population—both men and wotaaa...
...But then he seeks to minimise the division, slaps the CP on the wrist because of its policy of dealing with ex-fascists, and then calls for an all-round unity, including the Communists, with Negrin as the chief...
...Here ia what Paul Castelar has to say: "Two observations concerning the controversy over militsry trsining for all American young men...
...Or how they Justify their terror at the manual of arms and the S.O.P...
...fitness and intelligence that makes men adapts sble to new situations, the use of new methods sad weapons...
...The msin question is—leaving out two or three others —how can we achieve physics...
...He is skeptical and critical...
...Robert Townsend's dispatch from Grand Rapids, printed on another page, indicates that a strong rankand-file group beat the leadership to a standstill at tha UAW convention on the no-strike pledge...
...of military procedure," * • # Who.* Molot • Nofioa Sfren* 7 ThIS experience with Hitler haa jarred me loose from a lot of old moorings—as it has many another...
...Dal rym pie's own local voted against him...
...The next time you meet a Swiss waiter ask him about the Swiss army...
...They are also leading a fight againat President Dairymple...
...Can you iaaagine one of the editors of Periieen Review taking control of the victorious workers' army...
...Miehener, a Communist, ruled with an iron hand, denying constitutional rights to the membership...
...There is nothing fundamentally illogical about a well-armed lover of peace...
...Every columnist, every editor, every correspondent, every politician fairly bursts a Mood vessel every time be intones, "it must not happen again," The poppies that Moors ia Readers field have once more become our favorite btoeseass, and after we have broken faith once we are extra solemn about declaiming that this tiase our pledge to the dead is deadly serious...
...You see, th* job ef training is different now...
...CP wheeiherse en the executive board, waa defeated for re-election by a Heather man, while Merlin Bishop, a farmer fellow-traveler, has switched over to the Reother camp...
...One year of military training in sn American peacetime army will never hurt any man...
...Ed Flyim...
...Tesfiavoay from the Army PaUL CASTELAR ia a young New York intellectual who has been in the Army for more than a year...
...In this war it has been estimated that a minimum of 50 weeks is necessary before actual combat The more training a soldier has, the better his chances are of coming out alive...
...But simultaneously w* are prudently preparing for World Wsr III...
...P.'S.—At the recent State CIO Convention in California, BrMgek said: "Strikes are gone with the horse and-baggy days...
...What we need now is the sort ef physics...
...Senator "Ls Follette has taken a walk away from Roosevelt but he doesn't seem to be'heading for Dewey...
...Yet he is glossed over as a former "ultraleftist" who, by implication, was just S crank...
...fitness and intelligence?1 By MURRAY EVERETT Inside and Out By MURRAY EVERETT Labor Not*.—The M»iW Mood PrOM varioua indications, the standpattera and conservative forces in the labor movement are moving out or moving left under the pressure of a militant memberslnp...
...In the United Asto Workers, once their strongest concentration, they have been losing stesdily...
...He admitted that there had been a break between Negrin and the Communists over the CP's use of Negriri's nsme with a spurious Junts they have created in "Madrid" comprised of monarchists, clericals and Communists...
...They lacked the sort of national faith which leads to unity, they lacked physical stamina, they lacked the sort of industry that can satisfy the need for modern weapons anil *ko* lacked any sort of eotwoption of wast the nest war weald ho like or the sort of imagine ties and Mganjstaf abftrty needed to prepare for it...
...All of us on the peace aide, the educational side, what we consider the civilised side, have long had the idea that drilling and fighting tend to turn a young individualist into a goose-slepper...
...Tk* old ideas won't do...
...You will agree that his experience gives him a right to discuss these things...
...On Schlamm, however, a foreigner whose background lis not well known, is suddenly pinned the tag of "former Austrian Communist...
...The man who rod* to prominence daring the epic strikes ef 1934 continued: Capitalism is here to stay and I am tired of listening to these revolutionaries who refuse to see it...
...Reports from the West Coast indicate that Bridges and the CP are steadily- losing popularity among th* trade anionists...
...In the Shipyard Workers Union, President John Green and secretary Phil Van Gelder, on leave to the army, face a strong opposition in Thomas Saul and Herbert Moyer...
...Gorham Munson opens his professional writing course at the New School this week, his 13th season...
...2) Well-meaning liberals have their own reasons for attacking universal military training...
...If we are absolutely certain that there never will be another war, or that, should there be one, a combination of major powers will be there to bear the brunt of the fighting, then certainly let us not have universal military training...
...Now Chambers is a very well known ex Communist, a former editor of Th* Sew Messes, who can speak authoritatively on the Communists...
...It will do much to crack our regional antagonism and, by moving men around, give them some knowledge of this country...
...As war becomes more rapid and technical, this necessity for trsining increases...
...The new Teheran-post-, war no strike-fledge line has been distinctly unpopular...
...Look, that is the country that has put all eggs in the military training basket—and see what happened to the poor slobs...
...I can't recall when it was that Switzerland was in its n-i fight, but 1 am told that their army—for its sise and purpose—is first-class...
...Clement Greenberg, the art and literary critic, is...
...The worst losers in this situation sre the Commaniitls...
...1) During the last war, u. S. troops went into action with less than a month of training behind them...
...We are busy down at Dumbarton daks laying the Umbers ef the great, new league of nations...
...We point to Germany to prove our case...
...Milton Hindus, New Leader contributor, takes over the late Peter Munre Jack'a spot st the New School for Social Research, offering- a course in reading, writing and criticism...
...no* managing editor of the Vonttmporery Jewish Heeord...
...Betty Townsend of the N. Y. Pott has moved over as assistant city editor...
...PM and Nome-Calling What goes on in a writer's mind is a mysterious -process...
...Politic...
...In the ease of an American, against whom no reprisals are possible, he is cell**' "ultra leftist," againat a foreigner, however, the definitive tag is used...
...Most soldiers wrll deny'thst the srmy life has a lasting'social value, but that Is because they are under'Indefinite sentence—'the duration and six months'—and hungry sis hell for home...
...Moreover, California delegates charged on the UAW convention floor, Miehener, as a friend of Harry Bridges made a deal with the AFL whereby the aircraft field would be left to the AFL if they would lay off Harry Bridges...
...The strongest CP loss was the suspension of Lew Miehener, West Coast UAW Aircraft director who organized the Inglearood strike in 1940...
...Saul defeated Green in Loral 1 Camden, an important local in the union...
...Milton Murray, President of .the Americsn Newspaper Guild, is off on a trip to China for cio to investigate the Chinese labor situation and relief needs...
...In the So.Hon last week Alvarez del Vayo strummed a curious tune...
...Thst should give him a license to talk about military training...
...Don't jump to the conclusion that there is something ridiculous about this...
...3) A big time industrial system geared to mas* ps*i duction of everything the fighting men need...
...The I .a Follette vote is easily the balance of power in Wisconsin and its electoral vote may bo affected...
...While losing in ¦¦the labor movement.,the Communists have been gaining in middle class circles...
...His vetea beat Lamette...
...Del Vayo says that Negrin has constitutional continuity, but forgets that a meeting of the emigre Cortes in Paris deposed Negrin...
...Jtnt Merely Gossip AbNOLD BEICHMAN...
...And men who have been pacifists all their lives are writing us long- and logical letters in favor of a large, well-armed and efficient army...
...Hernandez denounced the present Communist line of supporting Spanish clericals and anti-Franco fascists...
...Thus in two recent issues of PM we hsve the following: in an article on Luce, William Schlsmm, a staff-writer who wrote the .editorial on Sidney Hillman, is described as a "former Austrian Communist,*, while in an editorial on the Bullitt article, Whittaker Chambers, editor ef Time's Foreign News Section, ii called s former "ultra-leftist...
...This was the reason for the decline of UAW membership on the coast, the delegate charged...
...These' men will undoubtedly reise hell about the trsining " proposals...
...But if there is even a small possibility that war may recur, then for the sake of our youth let us hsve a large, partially trained civillion reserve which can be quickly brought to combat efficiency in aa emergency...
Vol. 27 • September 1944 • No. 39
