THE PEOPLE'S FORUM
. . . THE PEOPLE'S FORUM . . . The Cost-Pius Racket Dear Sirs: I wish to protest through the columns of The Progressive, in behalf of the millions of voiceless hill billies in the 48 states,...
...All the kept press is going to try to smother this scandalous affair in the Congress because the agents of the big money boys have made such a mess of it by letting the people find out about their sordid scheme to rob them...
...Now I cannot see that Mr...
...At this time he must have believed that he really had some other information about me which was actually un-American...
...World Meddling Dear Sirs: Many words have been written and spoken recently stating that we must have a sound foreign policy after the war...
...The Truth I certainly enjoy the variety of articles in The Progressive...
...The man in the hills whose cash annual income is less than $150, and who has a family of from two tc 10 children, will be reduced to penury...
...All they say is on a par with "Hitler-will-take- what -he - wants - in - three-weeks" Villard...
...I asked him why did he come to see me about this, why had they not gone directly to The Progressive about this matter...
...They know the record...
...Thomas, if it did show some slight disrespect for his shirt tail...
...do so, I shall do so...
...I am paying off some $20,000 in mortgages, which I have been reducing much quicker than required...
...Jacoby then asked me many personal questions regarding my place of birth, which I told him was in Canada, and that I was a naturalized citizen, being naturalized in San Francisco in 1929...
...Jefferson's words and acts prove that he would have supported the Soviets from the start...
...Pro-Soviet Dear Sirs: Your pro-Soviet bias is too much for genuine progressives...
...I suggest that you give these gentlemen the front page when convenient...
...The absence of a fifth column in Russia is a pertinent and important fact...
...Zamenhof, a Polish linguist, meets every requirement...
...Among the various capable writers contributing to the columns of The Progressive, about the only ones who have said anything worthwhile are Seely, Han ighen, and Howard, with Barnes runnerup...
...The next day I started to do a. little investigating myself, and found out that they had called at the military office twice while I was employed there, but received no information about me other than the bond incident...
...Truman...
...I hope every voter will write his Congressman and the Department of Justice at once demanding that the vile filth in this government be cleaned up...
...Russia Distrusts Us Dear Sirs: Will the Soviet Union make a separate peace with Germany...
...Barnes hit the nail on the head when he said, "If Uncle Joe had given his attention primarily to perfumes and lipsticks, he would now be hiding somewhere in the Siberian tundra...
...When I told him I was born in Canada, he replied that that is all right, we are on the same side of the fence...
...Of course, I might have refused to answer any of his questions without an attorney being present, but I had nothing to conceal...
...He replied that he could go on asking me questions all night about this leaflet if he chose to do so...
...When the FCC got straight behind him for his nefarious act, he made a speech in the House denouncing the FCC, calling it "the nastiest nest of rats in the entire country," and offered a resolution to have it investigated by a committee of the House...
...it consists of about 900 root words with 40 prefixes and suffixes by use of which you have a countless number of words, and is much clearer in meaning than English...
...We need more men like him and Sen...
...Who with justice can blame her if she did...
...Thank God the Russian leaders are not as rattlebrained as you, Max...
...He then asked me if I had ever had anything else printed, to which I replied no...
...He supported the French Revolution and the papers attacked him as viciously as they have Russia...
...J. P. Taugher Springfield, Mass...
...24, a Mr...
...He also interviewed the lady who rents the lower flat from us in the same building in which we live, but got no information from this lady either...
...Instead of preserving world peace international meddling creates world wars...
...It is simple...
...He said he understood that I had refused to buy War Bonds...
...20 issue, written by Sen...
...He then asked me what authority I had from The Progressive to print this leaflet...
...Thomas does not like him because he has departed from one of the fundamental practices of the Socialist Party...
...At this point I must explain for the past 15 months prior to Aug...
...George R. Hay Patagonia, Ariz...
...Whether these wars will be local wars or world wars may well depend on whether we meddle in foreign affairs or stay in America, mind our own business, develop an impregnable defense for the Western Hemisphere and expel all foreign governments, internationalists, and foreign groups from America...
...I told him from Alaska to the East Coast states, but not in the southeastern states, and I presumed mostly where The Progressive circulated...
...F. B; Roche, a Berkeley, Calif., accountant and subscriber to The Progressive, felt so strongly about carrying out the recommendations of the Truman and Tolan Committees and The Progressive that he asked for and secured from us permission to reprint those articles in pamphlet form...
...Regard the cynicism which pervades the ruling classes of Britain and America when they refer to Josef Stalin and his conferrers...
...Now, Max, if you consider yourself a Christian and Russia a bad boy, would it not be much more logical to praise and encourage her in her time of noble sacrifice, and do everything possible to lead her along the path of righteousness, than to throw dead cats in her face...
...Anti-Soviets prove that whenever they speak about Russia...
...First, I explained that I never buy anything on time, except when large amounts are involved such as real estate...
...They know that if British and American politicians, after election to office, betray, as they invariably do, their constituencies, said politicians will not hesitate to double-cross the Soviet Union at the first opportunity...
...Churchill has recently stated that Italy will not get back any of her colonies...
...accent is always on the next to last syllable...
...Two thousand were printed and sold, and for this offense—warning his country of the danger it faced, quoting committees of Congress in calling for all-out steel production, and exposing some of our corporate monopolies—Mr...
...But in spite of the fact that Russia is today the greatest bulwark against the destruction of, civilization, in spite of the fact that countless American lives will be saved because Russia was ready —Max Eastman is more than willing to throw her past sins (and what nation or individual doesn't have them) in her face...
...We have got to quit kidding ourselves and unload these half-digested policies of the State Department...
...A World Language Dear Sirs: With worldwide broadcasts comes a crying need for a universal language, not to take the place of any existing tongue, but to serve as a bridge by which all peoples of the world may converse...
...George Treder Idaho Springs, Colo...
...This I believe will be hard, if not impossible to obtain...
...I advised him he could save himself hours of time if he wanted facts and logical interpretations of world affairs, during war or peace, if he would read The Progressive and I showed him one of your recent issues...
...No sane business house would give such a proposition a second thought...
...I would like to see more articles of this type, together with its criticisms, such as Mr...
...Most people seem to understand so little about such things...
...Hope he will soon be well...
...I enjoy reading them all, and then pass my paper on for others to enjoy...
...Harry S. Truman, should be read by everyone...
...And the head of the.orthodox church wrote a book denying they were persecuted...
...Not so long ago I was seriously considering the ministry as my vocation, but when I saw the attitude the majority of ministers held toward war and its cause I dropped it like a hot potato...
...He replied that they had decided to start the investigation here...
...They both spoke the truth boldly arid presented lucid arguments for the respective opinions presented...
...Edward Porter's "In Defense Of War...
...I see nothing either progressive or constructive in the proposals of Sen...
...Wagner...
...While greedy men like these are allowed to go about their business unhindered, the future peace of the world is unsafe...
...And "The Last Column," by M.H.R...
...He requested me to show him this authority from you, which I did, and allowed him to make a copy of your letter...
...No cheese-paring, no trading down...
...Various plans have been made by different internationalists...
...F. G. Kranz Los Angeles, Calif...
...Esperanto is not the native language of any country, though its words are taken from all of the 12 languages spoken by its founder and would meet no prejudice from any nation...
...Garland L. Alderman Pontiac, Mich...
...Thomas was put in Joe Stalin's shoes he would have been compelled to do much as Joe has done, or he would have had to depart with his-shirt tail looking like a eollander...
...I said I could not see what that had to do with this...
...I simply was doing the same thing, and getting things in the best possible condition for whatever may come after the war...
...Barnes offered any offense to either Mr...
...Now we hear the mutterings in Washington of a 10 per cent sales tax...
...In my 10 years of Biblical studies I have not found one text, nor has any minister of any faith shown me a text that would legalize war from a Biblical standpoint...
...Leading Chinese statesmen have stated that China will fight Britain if this is necessary to keep foreign powers out of the Far East...
...They certainly prove that there is such a thing as truth being stranger than fiction...
...Churchill thinks English should be adopted as the universal language, but while it needs only about 900 words, some of those words have so many meanings that it must be confusing to the foreigner...
...Of course we all understand Mr...
...I told him that I had received authority from you to reprint these articles...
...Imagine the result today if the Russians were forced to pick up the rifles of their dead comrades as they did in World War I when there was a production of six rifles per day (in Russia) at the outbreak of hostilities...
...Lenora Craley Warren, O. * * * Hew To The Line I like your paper and its broad-minded policies...
...Repeated efforts were made to provoke the Soviet Union into foreign wars...
...Excellent Advice I quote from the New York Times of Sept...
...Being an accountant I am conscious of the good business practice of many firms which are now retiring many of their obligations prior to maturity...
...He is the head of the Socialist Party, and the Socialist Party has lived as some of the little creatures that we learn about in biology...
...Jefferson And The Soviets Dear Sirs: Jefferson said, ". . . and I add that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehood and error...
...Norman Thomas defended himself, that is, his shirt tail, against the suggestion made by Harry Elmer Barnes, that if Mr...
...Mrs...
...As I do not belong to any lodges, clubs, or groups of any kind, but just go on speaking my mind freely, he was unable to point a finger at me, which I think is an excellent recommendation...
...But this is one Irishman he has not been able to frighten into secrecy...
...For over 20 years they have repeated three false charges: inefficiency, religious persecution, and tyranny...
...But that only caused them to work the persecution and tyranny charges harder in face of the fact that 13,000 "persecuted" priests pledged the government their support and collected millions of dollars in their churches for its defense...
...They boasted, "We are the only government that dares to arm its workers...
...Edward J. Gallagher Wichita, Kan...
...He asked me how many I had printed...
...Cost plus" is not economy...
...But if the text does exist, and Mr...
...Jacoby, of the FBI, called me up on the telephone and made an appointment to see me Wednesday, Aug...
...Porter or anyone else knows of its whereabouts, I wish he would quote it in the Forum and explain it from the principles and teachings of Jesus Christ...
...If their opponents can't give a more logical explanation, they stand convicted of a third slander...
...Russia has stated that she wants a part of the same Poland that England, France, and Germany went to war over...
...I am sure, Mr...
...H. B. Wentz Fort Smith, Ark...
...I replied that I thought I had been very liberal with my answers, but when it came to asking about matters that did not concern the leaflet I considered it was going too far...
...How long are you mothers and fathers who have boys and girls in the armed forces—some of whom are dying every day—going to tolerate such doings as is being carried on in our highest lawmaking body...
...When Cox resigned, John W. McCormack cf Massachusetts, Democratic floor leader, in a great speech lauded Cox to the skies...
...I explained that since this was first circulated, Kaiser had finally managed to get one steel plant in production, and there was no reason why we should not have several more on the West Coast and save cluttering up the congested railroads with steel that could just as easily be manufactured on the West Coast...
...Stalin and his fellow leaders have been the only ones to give Russia a forward impetus since the time of Peter the Great...
...Of all the publications I receive I find that The Progressive is the best source for getting the truth as to what is going on...
...Here is his own story of his experiences: Dear Sirs: On Tuesday evening, Aug...
...All this at a time when Russia is making the grandest and noblest sacrifice of her life...
...Bob's illness...
...This resulted in his assuming rather an antagonistic attitude afterwards...
...I also told Jacoby that I considered I had made a much more patriotic gesture to put out my own money to have this leaflet printed and circulated than many of those people whom I call "lip-service patriots...
...It is small wonder that the hill billies' children go without shoes, and that they can't afford to buy school books, to attend a school that only runs from five to seven months in the year from lack of funds...
...Fact of the matter is, Stalin and the Soviet people do not trust British and American politicians any more than they do their warring enemies...
...I am attaching on a separate sheet his name and address...
...I have always been a registered Republican, and in the later years a registered Democrat, having changed my registration to support Roosevelt when he first ran for election...
...They get their ideas from the newspapers and the newspapers are not interested in educating them...
...If you don't do that, then throw him out...
...Whether these plans are Willkie's One World, Lipp-mann's U. S. Foreign Policy, or the Fulbright Resolution, they lead up to one thing, international meddling...
...The interview broke up at about this time...
...The Job At Home Dear Sirs: While it is refreshing to see your notable writers get in each other's hair in their controversy ever the goodness or devilishness of Joe Stalin, the effect it has on me is a more firm resolve to fight against any more European entanglements, war or no war, in the future, and concentrate on trying to make our own country a better place to live in...
...Bone, and Sen...
...Harry P. Howard's "These United Nations" was good...
...He has proved his ability to handle this assignment...
...Following'the death of the czar and aristocracy, the Red Army defeated and expelled the armies of international capitalism that had invaded Soviet soil on 4 fronts...
...its letters have always one sound...
...I do want to mention that in each case he contacted people who knew me, he frightened them into secrecy, and did not give them any idea about what the inquiry was...
...All this goes to show, it seems to me, that Rayburn, Cox, and McCormack constitute the spearhead in Congress to put the FCC in the vile hands of the plutocrats who own the broadcasting stations, telegraph lines, etc., in order that they may the more easily plant fascism here, to take from the poor and give to the rich...
...I have been wondering if there are any plans being made for the just punishment of the real criminals— those greedy men without principle, who not only financed but helped build up the military power and despotism of the fascist gangsters...
...James H. Wright Henderson, N. C. * * * When Phil Comes Home...
...The Socialist Party has divided in this manner many times and by this process it has remained too small to attract much attention...
...Thomas vs...
...Wheeler, Sen...
...I have been trying to see my attorney about this, to try to find out if there is any way in which I may be able to subpoena the FBI records and obtain information regarding who made the charges about me or the leaflet...
...J. C. Pewther Edwards, Colo...
...I note Gov...
...The President who is always ironically considerate of "the third of the nation" that is "ill-fed, ill-clothed, and ill-housed," now complacently proposes to have enacted a 10 per cent federal sales tax, reducing that third to penury, and adding a second third to a condition of insufficient food, clothing, housing, and fuel...
...I told him I had not, as most of the statements were taken from the reports of the Congressional committees, and I considered that if these reports could not be assumed to be authentic, I did not know of a better source...
...It spells waste of the money of which I deny myself "to buy War Bonds and Stamps...
...Due to this, I presented my argument to my previous associates and told them that the government actually did not care if I bought War Bonds or paid off my obligations, as the government's real object was to absorb the excess buying power and to curtail the buying of non-essentials...
...Give him what he needs...
...The article on the front page of the Sept...
...Thomas...
...The war proved there was not a shred of truth in those charges...
...Cost plus" means wanton destruction of materials being used in construction...
...In Arkansas there is a sales tax of two per cent levied by the state...
...I like realistic stuff...
...He made his first call there fully two months prior to calling on me...
...Informed people have known for years that the government armed the farmers with light artillery, dynamite, and rifles and the workers with rifles and gave prizes for good marksmanship...
...Porter, if you can produce a text of this type you will not only silencemen like jDr...
...Now the little creature that I refer to gets about so big, then it begins to shrink in the middle and soon it divides into two little creatures...
...He wanted to know if I had made any money out of it...
...26, 1943: "Supporting the testimony of the officers (in Congressional hearing on draft of fathers) was that of Bernard M. Baruch, principal adviser to war mobilization director James F. Byrnes...
...Anemic Publication Dear Sirs: In my opinion The Progressive is a very anemic publication as a whole, although some of the writers know what these wars are all about, and have the temerity to expose some of the hypocrisy and sophistry concealed in the numerous freedoms and charters promulgated by the war mongers...
...There are too many hot-air idealists...
...Barnes Is Right Dear Sirs: I cannot help but note the interesting debate between Eastman and Barnes in your issue of Oct...
...He was confronted with the problem of moulding a backward, medieval nation into a modern military power...
...Won't we all rejoice when Phil comes marching home...
...A radio station in his district wanted some legal help with the Federal Communications Commission, and Cox did the work and accepted $2,500 for his pay, which was illegal...
...I replied I had not and that was not my intention in circulating it...
...When Mr...
...He wanted to know exactly when I came to the United States, where I first went, and from there, etc., until I came to the San Francisco Bay district...
...So few of us know the real inside story...
...Consider the attitude of hostility toward the Soviet Union by the nations of international capitalism since the overthrow of the Russian czar and the Russian aristocracy...
...In such a case, it is better, to be safe than sorry...
...He stated that they had had several complaints about it, and asked me what was my motive in circulating it...
...They were based almost exclusively on the findings of the Truman and Tolan Committees of Congress...
...F. B. Roche Berkeley, Calif...
...We can thank our lucky stars that the Soviet Government had the foresight to see what was coming and prepare for it...
...For some time I have been discussing current events with this subscriber, who is a prominent business man in Pasadena, Calif...
...Dear Sirs: The Progressive is to be congratulated on obtaining such fine articles...
...I am not convinced that the money that is shoveled into Washington is spent wisely...
...I hope you continue to publish contributions by such men as Sen...
...George H. Shoaf Costa Mesa, Calif...
...By information, I mean anything that would indicate that I had been un-American in any way...
...arid asked him if he wanted their names so that he could harass them until they would sever their connections with me...
...I immediately said, "I know from where that came...
...Esperanto, the artificial language invented by Dr...
...William Ragalyi Braddock, Pa...
...While working there I was approached and requested to have a part of my salary allocated toward buying War Bonds...
...Suppose the gold buried at Fort Knox be dug up and used...
...An international embargo prevented Soviet workers from getting outside aid when they rebuilt their country...
...Let the Administration stop the "cost plus...
...Now returning to the interview, I explained my point of view to Mr...
...He wanted to know the names of the persons or firms I did work for...
...Dan McWilliams Colony, Okla...
...The REAL Criminals Many articles have been published about the punishment that is to be meted out to Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, and the Axis gangsters...
...I first turn to "A Room of Our Own," always good, by Mrs...
...The man in charge of a job should be given unqualified support...
...11, 1943...
...How well he has succeeded is only too well known by the Germans at Stalingrad and along the Dnieper River...
...Stalin Dear Sirs: Mr...
...The world is no more ready for collective security than it was 25 years ago...
...The Cox Scandal Dear Sirs: Eugene Cox is a member of Congress from the poll tax states of Georgia where only about 14 per cent of the adults vote...
...E. S. Pollard Spokane, Wash...
...Roche has been hounded by the FBI...
...I also omitted to tell you that I knew I had been shadowed, but I did not know by whom, or for what it could be...
...I answered that I considered life was the most important thing to man...
...Jacoby asked if I had checked up on the authenticity of the statements which appeared in The Progressive...
...15, 1943, I had been helping out in a civilian military office in the evenings, working until midnight...
...They should be brought to trial and justly punished...
...I then explained that I circulated this leaflet to try to stimulate public interest so that there would be a greater demand for steel production on the Pacific Coast...
...R. H. Knapp Saginaw, Mich...
...But if it is necessary to bring "John Doe" to trial to...
...So after two months of investigating me and being unable to find anything detrimental to my good American spirit, he decided to call upon me...
...The resolution was promptly adapted, and the Speaker, one Sam Rayburn of Texas, another poll tax state where only about 14 per cent vote, had the impudence to appoint the lawbreaking Cox chairman of the committee...
...MacArthur, too...
...Thomas or his shirt tail...
...Eric Mansfield Milwaukee, Wis...
...Truman...
...When this was found out, so many honest people began to complain about the "nasty nest of rats" in the House of Representatives that Cox was forced to resign his place on the committee...
...You hew to the line, and let the chips fall where they will...
...When the plain people of Spain voted monarchy out and democracy in, who destroyed Spanish democracy and installed Franco...
...The Fight Is Here Dear Sirs: Harry Barnes' "The Implications of This War" was good...
...When Britain and America supplied weapons with which Japan sought the subjugation of China, the Soviet Union, alone, went to China's aid...
...Cost plus" means hiring useless labor because each worker to whom $10 is paid by the contractor means $10 plus $1 paid by me to the unpatriotic chiseler...
...Give Gen...
...John Haynes Holmes received from his article, "War and Christianity" in The Progressive...
...Of course I will admit that I do not know all there is to know about the Bible...
...W. H. Richards Indianapolis, Ind...
...THE PEOPLE'S FORUM . . . The Cost-Pius Racket Dear Sirs: I wish to protest through the columns of The Progressive, in behalf of the millions of voiceless hill billies in the 48 states, against a 10 per cent federal sales tax...
...To suggest that it was possible for any ordinary man to stand in Joe Stalin's shoes is highly complimentary if not downright flattery, for Joe Stalin has accomplished more in a short time than any man of which history makes record...
...Phil La Follette, best of women writers...
...MacArthur full command over the land, sea, and air...
...He immediately gave me $5 for a three-year subscription...
...I was sorry to hear of Sen...
...Jacoby called Wednesday evening, the first thing he did was to pull out the leaflet, the "Story Behind the Steel Shortage," and asked me if I had had it printed, which I admitted I had...
...These men are equally as guilty as Hitk-, Mussolini, Tojo, and the rest of the rats who have brought so much sorrow and destruction to this world...
...Few people seem to realize that they cannot attain the freedoms without fighting for them here— not 3,000 miles from here...
...If George Marshall says a specified force is required by our strategical planning, he said, "Give him what he wants...
...None other than Hitler and Mussolini, aided and abetted by the so-called western democracies—B r i t a i n and the United States...
...He asked me what kind of work I did, to which I replied that I had a small accounting practice in San Francisco...
...Out of curiosity I have kept a cash book on personal expenses, and the two per cent sales tax has filched from my pocket during the past year $12.17...
...The age-old wars between the "haves"' and the "have nots" will go on under different governments, leaders, and slogans...
...Armed workers, men and women, marched in the Red Square parades...
...its rules of grammar have no exceptions...
...The articles called for aggressive action to check the tide of defeat...
...Two Fine Articles Dear Sirs: I wish to commend you on the two finest articles I have seen in your magazine—"War And Christianity" by John Haynes Holmes, and "Unconditional Surrender Of What...
...As a matter of fact, the so-called free enterprise, profit system went to seed in the United States 20 years ago, and is the underlying cause, not only of the disintegration of our financial and economic structures, but of the global wars that are wrecking civilization...
...I also told him that the banks had over one trillion dollars which they would be very glad to invest in War Bonds if they only had the opportunity...
...Now Joe Stalin has found a way to put a stop to this dividing process that is a natural habit of the Socialist Party, and Mr...
...War And The Bible Dear Sirs: I am greatly amazed and intensely interested in the reaction Dr...
...John Campbell Dodgeville, Wis...
...The friends of Russia say it was destroyed when the Moscow defendants were executed...
...As a student of Russian history I am prepared to say that 20th Century Russia under the Czar Nicholas was absolutely rotten...
...Excellent advice for the Commander-in-Chief to follow relative to Gen...
...Joe may be an angel or a devil, according to the way we wish to imagine him, but any ordinary man, if he were going to stand in Joe's shoes, would need a step ladder to get into them, and then he would have to stand in one shoe at a time if he did not want to be all spraddled out and sit on the edges of the tops with his feet dangling...
...He has been wondering where I could learn so much information which he was unable to get in the papers and magazines he was reading...
...Don Wells Civilian Public Service Camp Coshocton, O. * * * Arsenal Of Facts Dear Sirs: I am pleased to mail you the subscription of another new reader—this time a three-year subscription for which I am enclosing $5...
...That would boost my forced contribution by $60.85...
...If the German Army and German workers hearken to Soviet appeals, dethrone their present rulers and democratize their country again, may it be asked, can the Soviet Union with justice be blamed if she negotiates peace with the new German regime...
...Francis Egan Cleveland, O...
...In fact I think that the reference was highly laudatory of Mr...
...by Milton Mayer...
...He wanted to know where I had sent them...
...While American Lend-Lease is being lavishly doled out to foreign countries, we mutely witness the ironic spectacle of an American general in a British outpost playing second fiddle — not to the King — but to the King's cousin...
...An Experience With The FBI EDITOR'S NOTE: In the Summer of 1942 The Progressive published a series of articles exposing the corporation-created steel shortage which was interfering with all-out prosecution of the war...
...Holmes —but soothe the conscience of thousands of our boys in the service...
...Rex Tugwell's report on our policy in the West Indies and the same sloppy policies are evident in our Pacific territories...
...I replied 2,000 in two lots of 1,000 each...
...Jacoby, and told him that as soon as there became an excess buying power that we had inflation, whether we knew or not...
Vol. 7 • October 1943 • No. 43
