T H E PEOPLE'S FORUM
THE PEOPLE'S FORUM Fear in Wisconsin Dear Sirs: A letter in the January issue suggests that even the leadership of the churches in Wisconsin are in accord with Sen. Joseph McCarthy's method...
...fear that McCarthy and his followers were right in branding as Communists every one who stood in their way...
...So far about $1,000 has been contributed for food parcels...
...with him a great one...
...The fact is that one meal had been attempted for each day in other years but had been abandoned because of preparation difficulties...
...But we believe that those who wish :o create dissension and suspicion have exploited the fact that bigotry and prejudice ire prevalent in our country...
...Questions, questions, questions...
...It is available from Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, 2006 Walnut St., Philadelphia 3, Pa...
...in young people "remarkable" and accept it as the desirable democratic norm, we night wake up to the fact that 17-18 yeai oils are capable of something more than dying for their-nation in armies or sacrificing their lives on our highways to the great gods Frustration and Speed...
...My whole experience teaches me that it is not the young people who cannot measure up, but rather lack-luster adults who cannot use any respectable measuring stick...
...We will be sure to remember all of you in our prayers...
...David Andrews Peace Education Secretary Southeastern Regional Office Greensboro, N.C...
...I should like to point out that not all Christians have been silent in the face of McCarthy's injustice and tyranny...
...Joseph A. Prachar Berwyn, 111...
...Falsehood About Youth Dear Sirs: I would like to protest your introductory note to Peggy Means' attractive statement called "Listen, Grown-Ups...
...Yes, I saw fear rule in Wisconsin—fear that democracy was not founded on truth and thus really strong...
...Mayer writes as a dramatist who will do anything for its dramatic effects...
...We do not believe that the fact that the Rosenbergs arc Jews had anything to do with the verdict...
...Many of the signers were publicly condemned by laymen of their churches...
...You do not help anyone to become a clear-headed, adult individual by assuming a mass mind and aiming for that statistical fiction...
...They were afraid to seek the truth, fearful of accusation and "guilt by association," fearful that they might be investigated although they had nothing to hide...
...Milton Mayer's article is so utterly distorted—in the same way that Tune's reports are distorted—that an accurate refutation would be impossible...
...Now, upon his return, Mayer has shown that he learned absolutely nothing...
...Our minister signed the statement...
...There were still men who had not succumbed to fear...
...The Rosenberg Case Dear Sirs: The Policy Committee of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom has prepared a statement on the death sentence of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, portions of which follow: 1. There appears to be substantial evidence of guilt...
...A few days following the press release a special meeting of the official board of my church was called by a prominent lawyer...
...The seeds of doubt about McCarthy's integrity and methods had been sown...
...Allan J. Stanley Oklahoma City, Okla...
...The le ders of a church had spoken out against . rong and evil in the face of much popular .'11-will and persecution...
...without answer, without end...
...It would have been better reporting if he had conferred with others also rather than rely exclusively on Kermit Eby's own impressions...
...The leadership of the Church is against McCarthy.-" "The leadership of the Church is Communist...
...I spent last year in Europe...
...The more lasting results were slow in appearing...
...You can dispense with this aberrant gentleman at no great loss just any time...
...Joseph McCarthy's method ana aims...
...The trial will undoubtedly be one of the most important in our history...
...But they surely understand one thing, and that is that goodness is a common trait of the human race and that in the realm of joys and sorrows there is no barrier between man and man...
...Dear Sirs: Mayer makes the difference: without him The Progressive is a good magazine...
...Dwight C. Jarvis The Methodist Church Bloomington, Wis...
...Thinking people began to recognize the meaning of this stand...
...Little did we realize that readers would respond so generously to the needs of the Gandhi Mission Society of Madras, India...
...Every contribution, however small, will be greatly appreciated and acknowledged...
...On the whole the article was 90 per cent correct as to facts but gave an erroneous impression and incomplete, if not distorted, picture of the situation...
...A few days before the November election a statement condemning McCarthy's methods was signed and released to the press by 133 Methodist ministers, nearly half in the state...
...It did not take long, however, for the same old bull-headed bias to set in...
...How many of the board members believed the claims...
...4) The AFSC regional staff has agreed that future Carolina Institutes should be entirely unsegregated...
...S. C. Abbott Columbus, O. Nausea Dear Sirs: I have read and re-read the articles on Europe by Fred Rodell and Milton Mayer in the December Progressive...
...3. We must work to create a climate of opinion free of fear in which we insist on equal justice under the law and protest against the kind of prejudicial treatment which gives the death sentence to some and a lighter sentence to those who, though indicted as co-conspirators, turned informers for the state...
...2. A great deal has been made of the fact that the Rosenbergs are Jews...
...Local circumstances have, of course, made complete integration at a non-Negro location difficult...
...I love Mayer and his genial style by which he so tenderly cultivates our rugged minds, and I understand very well that facts are only instrumental and secondary to the ideas he wishes to convey, but if the "facts" are so weak they have hardly a leg to stand on, how can they prove his point...
...The fear spread to those who had not attended the meeting and had only parts of the story...
...E. C. Rice Chicago, 111...
...The needs of the Gandhi Mission Society are many and varied...
...Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony, was the protector of Luther after the diet of Worms...
...I write to thank you on behalf of the beneficiaries who are innocent villagers and cannot understand the deep-lying significance of this international sympathy...
...Mayer has turned bitterly against England and all Englishmen...
...One by one men and women began to realize the charges against the church leaders was false, and this opened questions about similar charges against others...
...Fred Rodell, being the more sensible of the two, has been more moderate...
...While I must admit that each has some of the truth on his side, their pictures are far from objective, accurate, and unbiased...
...At any rate, he was not present at the Carolina Institute...
...It also should be emphasized that having the Institute interracial in the conference phase has been a much appreciated step forward, short as it is of the eventual hope...
...We Europeans" made us realize that we could not continue to subscribe as long as he is a contributor...
...It is almost superfluous to point out the importance of this trial to civil liberties in America, and impossible to exaggerate the far-reaching effect the decision will have upon the future of all of us...
...The purpose of education is stated clearly by Miss Means and it bear.-, repeating...
...Another direct result was a deep and unhappy suspicion on the part of men and women in the churches that their leaders might be Communists...
...It was Philip the Magnanimous, Landgrave of Hesse (1509-67), who invited Luther and Zwingli—the Swiss reformer-— to the Colloquy at Marburg in 1529...
...What can we do...
...Because he spent a few weeks in England, and perhaps has been made to feel his inferiority, Mr...
...5) It is almost certain that segregation would not have continued beyond last year's Institute, even without the incident— although the protest by Dr...
...I want you, sirs, to take my place for a moment and experience the feelings of joy that these people express through their eyes and their smiles who only some time ago felt that they would have to perish like flies in this scorching sun and heat...
...3. This trial of the Rosenbergs indicates io\v difficult justice and a fair trial be-;ome in a climate of fear and suspicion A'hich breeds reckless and irresponsible ;Ction...
...Miss Means' article is not a "remarkable testament...
...Interest and attendance fell on ;n some communities...
...In reference to other comments by Montgomery, I venture the assertion that every member of the planning committee desires a completely unsegregated institute...
...Lyle Tatum Executive Secretary Philadelphia, Pa...
...This is my own interpretation—not a statement from the Institute Committee...
...This is why I am able to tell them how people at that unimaginable distance and space feel kinship towards another...
...Erroneous Impressions Dear Sirs: Regarding Ray Montgomery's "Jim Crow Among the Christians" in the January Progressive, I should like to say that it is unfortunate that the writer of the article could not have attended the Institute at Greensboro...
...A lawyer is too smart to suggest this without 'knowing,' he couldn't be wrong...
...he kept Luther in seclusion at the Wartburg...
...Lattimore's Defense Fund Dear Sirs: For those of your readers as concerned as is the writer by the present status of civil liberties in the United States I issue this appeal: Owen Lattimore is to be tried for perjury in March...
...A little work and much prayer made the success of the appeal possible...
...But that is not grounds for justifying any degree of segregation...
...Frederic E. Risser, at 5010 Ris-ser Road, Madison, Wis...
...Frank C. Goodrich Berkeley, Calif...
...The handbook is a good reference for ministers, attorneys, anyone interested in the field...
...To a man...
...The price is 35 cents, or three copies for $1, postpaid...
...For further information on the work of the Wisconsin Citizens Committee for Educational Television, please write the secretary, Mrs...
...Most Europeans stand between these two extremes...
...is he a Communist...
...The Mayer Mail Dear Sirs: If you can't dig Milton Mayer out of that slime of Weltschmerz he likes to wallow in monthly, at least get a new cut of him made...
...The report therefore should have been date-lined Chicago, rather than Greensboro...
...C. H. folger Greensboro, N. C. Handbook for CO's Dear Sirs, Readers of The Progressive will be interested in knowing that we have published a Handbook for Conscientious Objectors...
...When I read one of Mayer's first articles from Europe (it concerned Yugoslavia) I had high hopes that his experience was teaching him something...
...2) Most AFSC activities in the Southeastern region are entirely unsegregated, atad the number of these is being constantly increased...
...He only uses his new-gotten information to re-enforce his old prejudices...
...If we stop our nonsense of considering any manifestation of good Sens...
...Eby finally accepted segregation as to lodging and two meals a day...
...Good men and women were silent because of fear...
...My experience is only one of a number...
...3) We are not trying to defend unduly the fact that the Carolina Institute has for many years been partially segregated—regarding housing and eating, but not the Institute sessions...
...Mayer's 'Facts' Dear Sirs: Milton Mayer's article, "To Die a Little," about Marburg, Germany, in the February issue, needs some correction...
...Thanks from India Dear Sirs: The appeal in The Progressive by one of your subscribers, Joseph A. Prachar, Berwyn, 111., has brought great help for Indian famine-stricken people in the form of food packets from CARE...
...They were afraid to think, to look, to speak...
...He spoke in this manner: "McCarthy is against Communism...
...He trailed every other Republican candidate...
...Generous Response Dear Sirs: The response to our Christmas CARE appeal, which you carried in The People's Forum, was certainly a great surprise to us...
...Dear Sirs: We shall miss the many excellent articles in The Progressive, but Milton Mayer is— well, we've endured him too long...
...Nichols and Kermit Eby served to dramatize the situation and to crystallize the opposition—which had been growing for some time, both inside the regional AFSC staff and out—to any partially segregated arrangement...
...Montgomery says: "Friends have accepted the conditions of segregation...
...I sense this type of qualification throughout his article...
...If God should grant us two more such rains within the coming three months our famine would be a thing of the past and this life of beggary would end...
...The practical obstructions are summed up in one word: where...
...This is the very falsehood about youth Miss Means attacks so capably...
...Simple man understands this much better than all the complications of a political argument...
...In Name & Fact Dear Sirs: The Progressive is progressive in name and in fact, and I would like to see it in every American home...
...G. Oberdan Rizzo Co-editor of LaParota Chicago, 111...
...Each reading has progressively increased my feeling of nausea...
...That way you only encourage the lock-step practices of conformity against which Miss Means aims her veibal thrusts...
...2. We can point out that we believe this sentence, unprecedented in our history, is excessive and should be commuted and reconsidered...
...Ray Montgomery University of Chicago Chicago, 111...
...His stuff would be well-nigh perfect if he would try to be less frivolous and less personal at times...
...Elizabeth lived 1207-31 and was married to Louis, Landgrave of the Thuringia, with whom she lived ar the Wartburg, where 300 years later Martin Luther translated part of the Bible...
...4. Urge President Eisenhower to grant clemency to the Rosenbergs...
...Which ones were behind him in this witch hunt...
...The uninformed were afraid...
...1) Racial segregation of any kind is, of course, contrary to Christian principles and the principles of the American Friends Service Committee...
...Recently I read portions of a letter I had received from a man of 17 to several professors at the University of Chicago...
...Perspective Dear Sirs: Even though The Progressive comes nearly a month late to this isolated spot, I find in it a perspective of goings-on that I don't get in the daily newscasts—or from any other sources...
...Don Reeves Gattaran, Cagayan, Philippine Islands Friends and Segregation Dear Sirs: After reading the article, "Jim Crow Among the Christians," in the January Progressive, describing the segregation issue which arose at the Friends Institute in Greensboro, N.C., last June, I feel that Progressive readers are entitled to a clarifying statement from a Southeastern AFSC staff member...
...This 104-page handbook is the only thing available which covers not only the technicalities of obtaining conscientious objection classification, but a detailed report on what happens to conscientious objectors in the Army and in prison...
...Emily Parker Simon Chairman, Policy Committee Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Washington, D.C...
...He denounced the "basic Communism" within the leadership of the Methodist Church in Wisconsin...
...Dear Sirs: I am not renewing my subscription to The Progressive because I object to the criticisms of a man like Milton Mayer...
...When I protested to a publishing firm that their writings for teenagers were over-simplified and encouraged trivial thinking, the editors assured me that their publications for adult parents and teachers must be written for a 9th grade reading level...
...Perhaps it is the goodness and the prayers of people like you and others who have been helping us, that brought us the first installment of rains a few weeks ago...
...Fear ruled and McCarthy won, but in the process many at last came to see the truth...
...But fear and paralysis set in...
...This strengthened others...
...Fred Rodell's article seems to contain more of the truth than Mayer's...
...Likewise, the fact that the central location and wide reputation of the Woman's College (which would not allow an entirely unsegregated Institute) was a great help in enabling the Institute to reach more conservative Greensboro townspeople, is no longer considered by the staff as sufficient reason to continue the half-way arrangement...
...Those who want to share in the work of this mission should send their contributions to: Francis B. Riggs, 422 N. Alta St., Whittier, Calif...
...Was the church Communist...
...Many honest leaders spoke up in defense of the signers in the weeks following, and thus took a stand in public on the side of truth and justice...
...This is the least we can do...
...Karl Schunck South Amana, la...
...fear of the very man they had sent to the U. S. Senate...
...The Institute participants—some of whom had never attended an interracial meeting before—indicated that they would be willing to attend fully integrated Institutes in the future...
...It was inspired by reports in the press that "a great majority of the religious leaders and clergymen" were supporting McCarthy...
...He well knows that everyone in Europe does not stand with those mentioned in his report...
...Bhikshu Nirmalananda Thyagarayanagar Mandras 17, India Educational TV Dear Sirs: A group of us, representing all walks of life, have organized the Wisconsin Citizens Committee for Educational Television...
...Here we have the eternal question: If we can't have everything desired shall we submit to nothing short of the ideal...
...We all hope that some plan can be worked out which will bring the ideal we desire...
...As such, sirs, I tender the gratitude of all our people for your kindness and the kindness of Progressive readers...
...I, for one, after listening for three years to the delightful programs on the state radio station, WHA, am convinced that state-operated television programs of the same quality would be a marvelous educational tool...
...One of the signers was told by a McCarthy backer that the men responsible—35 of us—would be investigated by McCarthy...
...Quite naturally, their decision will depend to some extent upon the enthusiasm shown by Wisconsin citizens...
...Conscientious persons were shaken and worried...
...1. We can reaffirm that we are unalterably and irrevocably opposed to capital punishment, no matter what the crime or degree of guilt...
...The clandestine meeting was held in the attorney's office...
...One point of detail: I understand that the author of The Progressive's report, Ray Montgomery, is one of Kermit Eby's graduate students at the University of Chicago...
...Wayne Wheeler Columbia, Mo...
...Whom can I trust...
...This much we must do...
...Being a poorly-financed student, however, I was unable to pay to be told what I wanted to hear by either the side with misgivings about America or by that one which prefers American Express Company ignorance...
...The direct result of this fear ruling Wisconsin was the re-election of McCarthy— although not with the overwhelming majority the Republican Party expected...
...I experienced this same feeling of fear...
...He, however, died in 1525, before the Colloquy at Marburg took place...
...Count us in again if the Editor ever comes to feel the same way...
...Klaus Fuchs was given 14 years...
...I urge the many hundreds of Wisconsin resident* who take The Progressive to write to their State Senator and Assemblyman, appealing to them to support this farsighted venture...
...Too late for the election, yes, but sown they were and growing...
...the sentences in the Canadian spy trials were relatively light...
...This is a practical demonstration for them that man, wherever he is and to whatever religion he may belong, is always Godward...
...Ruth Green-glass, named co-conspirator, was not even indicted, and David Greenglass was given a light sentence...
...P. M. Marriage San Francisco, Calif...
...The response within the church was appalling...
...At the same time able lawyers have pointed out that there were certain improprieties in the proceedings...
...Magdeline C. Werner Madison, Wis...
...The Wisconsin State Legislature must decide before June, 1953, if they are going to allocate the necessary funds for a state network...
...To those of your readers who like myself have felt helpless to stem the surge of events, frustrated by the inability to contribute to a definite course of action, I extend an invitation to contribute to the Lattimore Defense Fund, care of George Boas, Baldwin, Md...
...Although the attorney had wanted "action," none was taken...
...Is this different in principle from accepting it for three meals a day...
...We tender our thanks to all those who have responded so generously to our appeal...
...they said, "Ah, but he is not typical of 17-year-olds...
Vol. 17 • March 1953 • No. 3
