Chapter VII: Front Matter (7)

An expellee must have no association with any member of the Party—even though that member be his own father, mother, wife, or husband. “Associating with the enemy” is the usual charge. This means the splitting of families, the tearing apart of friends. In one instance a woman member was expelled. Her husband was instructed to leave her and the children. When he refused, he was expelled. Another member who remained friendly was also ousted. It becomes a dizzy merry-go-round of personal spleen.

Once a communist is expelled and there is a likelihood that he might become a government witness, then the communists go to work to compile such information as is available to discourage the witness from testifying for fear of exposure or of being discredited in cross-examination by a communist lawyer. In one case a woman rose to a prominent position in the Party. When she later left the Party, the communists reportedly compiled a large file of her early indiscretions and weaknesses. Consequently, she has always been most reluctant to testify.

Communist discipline has another facet often difficult for noncommunists to understand. In some instances penalties, expulsions, and exposure are not enough; the culprit must pay with his life. Nothing less is satisfactory. The world has witnessed, both in Russia and in the satellites, highly publicized “purge” trials.

The “crime” was not opposition to the Party, lack of loyalty, or unwillingness to sacrifice everything for communism. Rather, these victims were renowned for their devotion, often having spent their entire lives in the movement. Suddenly, within days, their whole position was overturned. They were accused of trying to destroy the very thing they had labored so long to create. How does this make sense?

Communism is cannibalistic. Its servants are periodically offered as sacrifices on the communist altar. If something goes wrong, the trouble lies, in communist eyes, not in the policy decreed on high but in its human instruments. Whenever the “infallible science” of Marxism-Leninism has been incorrectly applied, disciplinary action must follow.

The purge is characteristic of the communist movement everywhere. Lenin was a firm advocate of purges and urged: “If we really succeed ... in purging our Party from top to bottom, ‘without respect for persons,’ the gains for the revolution will really be enormous.”

William Z. Foster, then Chairman of the Communist Party in the United States, said:

Communist parties, in line with Lenin’s teachings, also
constantly strengthen the fiber of their organization by
cleansing their ranks of elements that have become confused,
corrupted, worn-out, or defeated in the hard and complex
struggle to build the forces of socialism in the face of a
still powerful and militant capitalism.

A stocky, mustached man stood before the convention of the Communist Political Association in 1945. A few days earlier he had been the undisputed leader of communists in the United States. He was now a “renegade,” an “enemy” of the foulest proportions! Earl Browder was fighting for his Party life.

Browder’s crime was not disloyalty to the Party but obedience to a policy that, in his opinion, was in the best interests of communism. Moscow thought otherwise. Actually, Browder was a pawn of communist tactics and had to pay the penalty.

He was stripped of Party authority, accused of every conceivable Party crime—by the very subordinates who had been his most loyal supporters. He was later expelled ignominiously, becoming a target of vilification for the entire membership.

Here was a “purge trial” grimly reminiscent, except for bodily punishment, of the infamous purges under Stalin. We need not wonder what Browder’s fate might have been if communism had possessed the power of the state.

In our review of life in the Party we have seen how all communist processes are pointed to molding the revolutionary. He is the man who must carry out communist programs such as mass agitation, fronts, and infiltration, to which we now turn. If anywhere he falters, from the Party’s point of view, the communist drive for mastery is weakened.

The ousted member in most instances frees himself from the communist thought-control machine. In him lies hope for regeneration. The deepest tragedy lies in the conscious and voluntary submission, day after day, of thousands of Party members. These fanatical devotees, giving their all for the Party, represent a real danger to our way of life.

_Part V_

THE COMMUNIST TROJAN HORSE IN ACTION

14.

_Communist Strategy and Tactics_

In preceding chapters I have briefly outlined the history and internal structure of the Communist Party, USA. Now we must consider the Party’s attack against noncommunist society in the United States.

The Communist Party, USA, is a weapon of attack, not only for the day of revolution but for _now_. To Party leaders each day is a day of preparation and dress rehearsal for the day when they hope to come to power. Noncommunist ranks must be infiltrated, penetrated, and subverted. The success of the communist mission depends on capturing the enemy’s stronghold from within.

To this end the Party employs a variety of _mass-agitation_ techniques. The communist is in the market places of America: in organizations, on street corners, even at your front door. He is trying to influence and control your thoughts. Mass agitation weakens the noncommunist enemy and builds Party structure.

Communists conceive of their attack against capitalist society in terms of warfare. They see the Party as the “vanguard,” leading the proletariat in battle against the bourgeoisie. Periods of offense and defense, attacks and retreats, skirmishes, even pitched battles and casualties are demanded. They realize that victory can be achieved only by force and violence.

This warlike character of communist policy is reflected in Party expressions such as “strongholds of reaction,” “mobilizing the masses,” “advanced detachments of the proletariat,” “storming the fortress of capitalism,” “seizing the initiative.” Basic battle plans are conceived in terms of _strategy_ and _tactics_.

The ultimate aim of the Communist Party is the establishment of a Soviet America. For more than a generation, never for a moment have American communists forgotten their allegiance to the Soviet Union. This is the ultimate strategy of the Communist Party, USA.

Party leaders realize, however, that they are a minority. They simply cannot march straight to victory. For that reason the approach (tactics) must be varied, flexible, and constantly subject to change.

To communists, strategy means the determining and carrying out of long-range goals (such as winning a war), whereas tactics are the working out of strategy on a day-to-day basis (winning particular battles and engagements). “Tactics,” Stalin said, “are a part of strategy, subordinate and subservient to it.”

To achieve the long-range goal, retreats and maneuvers sometimes are necessary. Is it not like climbing an unexplored mountain? asks Lenin. How can we “renounce beforehand the idea that at times we might have to go in zigzags, sometimes retracing our steps, sometimes abandoning the course once selected and trying various others?”

That explains the communist phrase, “strategic retreat.” It means: Don’t be afraid to take two steps backward today if it will help to achieve three steps forward tomorrow.

Keep the goal always in mind, teach the communists; remember that the enemy is superior in numbers, better armed, more experienced. Moreover, communists must be willing to endure hardships. Lenin urged: “... if you are not inclined to crawl in the mud on your belly, you are not a revolutionary but a chatterbox....” Fight hard and be disciplined, “carefully, attentively and skilfully taking advantage of every, even the smallest ‘fissure’ among the enemies....” Seize “every, even the smallest opportunity of gaining a mass ally, even though this ally be temporary, vacillating, unstable, unreliable and conditional.” And “Those who do not understand this fail to understand even a grain of Marxism....”

Use anything to advance the ultimate goal: offensive and defensive tactics, legal and illegal, long- and short-range policies. All are part of the over-all battle plan..

Don’t allow the Party to advance too rapidly. Stop, consolidate, maintain contact with the masses. “... an advance _without consolidating_ the positions already captured is an advance doomed to failure.” Likewise, never make a permanent truce with the enemy. Don’t be trapped by his lures, bribes, and promises. Cooperation or collaboration with noncommunists must never be more than a “tactic.” It must have as its actual long-range goal the weakening and discrediting of democracy and its eventual destruction. The task of the revolutionary leader is to gauge the comparative strength of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and decide what particular tactics are then most likely to promote revolution.

Communists employ various tactics in devising methods to inject themselves into various phases of American life. Their obligation to defend the interests of the Soviet Union dictates their tactics in seeking to obstruct and undermine public confidence in our foreign policy. Thus, seizing upon the inherent desire of all Americans to reduce taxes, the _Daily Worker_ editorializes that foreign aid should be curtailed and billions should not be taken “out of our pockets for a new phony ‘emergency’.... The huge seventy-billion a year ‘defense’ budget is rushing America to inflation, and economic crisis.” Actually, communists would like to develop an economic crisis.

Then they urge the development of a peacetime economy by advocating trade between the United States and Russia because Russia would benefit. _Political Affairs_ thus urges, “The only remaining untapped market for U.S. goods is the Soviet Union, China and the Peoples’ Democracies, in which the threat of crises of overproduction has been removed forever....”

In seeking to curry favor with labor, communists employ tactics of calling for immediate demands such as higher wages, a shorter work week, increased vacations, and an abolition of the high cost of living. To that end a communist labor tactician calls for putting “... ideological differences aside in order to work together in behalf of a _single immediate objective_ or a _number of immediate objectives_ ... the unions must work together....”

The immediate demand tactics are also employed by the communists to find favor with Negroes by urging the abolition of “Jim Crow Laws,” “full representation,” and “the fight for Negro rights.” The controversy on integration has given the communists a field day.

They also have a program “... to stimulate broad united-front actions in the rural communities in defense of the economic interests of the farming masses”; “to weld youth unity”; and to “work still harder” for mothers.

A primary tactic of the Communist Party is to preserve the legal status of the Party. Thus, any organization which has the duty to investigate or expose communist activity is singled out for attack. For years the Party has campaigned against the House Committee on Un-American Activities, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and the Senate Investigating Committee. The Department of Justice and the FBI have not been spared, and we have come to judge our effectiveness by the intensity of communist attacks.

The Red Fascists have long followed the practice of making full use of democratic liberties: elections, lawful agitation and propaganda, and free speech, press, and assembly. Their basic premise: Reap every advantage possible. However, if it will help, don’t hesitate to use illegal methods, such as underground operations, terrorism, espionage, sabotage, lying, cheating. “We have never rejected terror on principle, nor can we do so. Terror is a form of military operation that may be usefully applied....” wrote Lenin. Morality is strictly a bourgeois device. To the communists everything that promotes the revolution is moral, legal, and beautiful.

Many people are confused by the Party’s abrupt twists and turns, such as denouncing the United States as an “imperialist” nation from 1939 to 1941, then overnight, after Russia’s entrance into the war, hailing America as a great ally. Communists often look like frightened rabbits chasing back and forth. But in reality these “changes in the Party line” are merely shifting tactics, all designed to promote the ultimate goal of world revolution. They are not changes in heart.

The Communist Party, USA, has been and is engaged in an all-out war against American freedom. Its tactics of confusion, retreat, advance, infiltration, and hypocrisy are in full play. The attack is both legal and illegal, offensive and defensive, open and concealed.

Above the surface a gigantic propaganda and agitation campaign is in progress, a campaign that depends for success upon the support of noncommunists. Basic communist strategy dictates that noncommunist hands, knowingly or unknowingly, under communist guidance, must further the influence of the communist world.

To understand communist strategy and tactics, as designed to destroy American democracy, we must first observe _above-ground_ communist operations: mass-agitation campaigns, infiltration techniques, and Party fronts; then in Part VI we will consider the _underground_ organization.

15.

_Mass Agitation_

As stated in Chapter 10, the Party’s attack is geared to the wide variety of American life. Communism has something to sell to everybody. And, following this principle, it is the function of mass agitation to exploit all the grievances, hopes, aspirations, prejudices, fears, and ideals of all the special groups that make up our society, social, religious, economic, racial, political. Stir them up. Set one against the other. Divide and conquer. That’s the way to soften up a democracy.

Here is the advice of a top leader giving instruction on how to spread the Party’s influence:

Study your friends. See what they spontaneously talk about. What problems interest them?

—is he an unemployed worker, skilled in his craft but without
work?;

—a storekeeper? Maybe business isn’t so good;

—a trade-union man or a dairy farmer? What are their problems?;

—a young man just out of school? Looking for a job?;

—a member of a minority group?;

—a young mother worrying about sending her child to
kindergarten?

“... unless each one of us grasps the meaning of this individual approach to every one of our friends and acquaintances, we are in danger” of being ineffective.

Agitation must be carried on in specialized fields: among women, among youth, among veterans, among racial and nationality groups, farmers, trade unions. That’s the responsibility of the Party commissions.

Consider youth, a prime target of communist attack. Communists start out with this major premise: American imperialism aims to create a corrupt, completely militarized youth—a “gagged,” “scared” generation. This theme is expounded by word of mouth, in forums, in literature, in cartoons, hoping to exploit the lofty dreams of youth.

The approach always has two sides: (1) _the deceptive line designed for public consumption_, and (2) _the real Party line designed to advance communism_. Consider this _deceptive line_ for youth:

1. Increase trade with all countries, including the communist
bloc, to provide “hundreds of thousands of new jobs for young
people.”

2. Outlaw all mass destruction weapons (atomic bomb).

3. Promote universal disarmament and peace.

4. Reduce military expenditures and repeal the draft.

5. Repeal all “repressive legislation” and “restore the Bill of
Rights.”

6. “Restore full academic freedom for students and faculties.”

7. Promote world-wide “youth friendship for peace and
democracy,” drop all bars to the travel of youth.

8. Appropriate more money for schools, community centers, etc.

That is the line designed for public consumption. Sounds acceptable, doesn’t it? But the communists are not genuinely interested in improving the status of American youth.

For window-dressing, they always support items desired by most of the people: lower taxes, higher wages, better housing, old-age security, higher farm income. These are thoroughly legitimate interests. To support these aims, and many others, is not to be a communist. The Party is simply attempting to exploit such interests for its own selfish aims They become Party “talking points.”

Behind this front, as in the call for world-wide youth friendship, more education, academic freedom, and so on, lurks the ulterior motive, the real Party line. The attractive “come along” points are merely bait. Look closely to see how the adoption of these demands, _as conceived by the Party_, would distort their true meanings and aid the communist cause:

“_Restore the Bill of Rights_,” in communist language, means eliminating of legal opposition to communism, stopping all prosecution of communists, and granting amnesty to those presently in jail. “_Repeal the draft law_” and “_peace_” mean curtailing our national defense effort and allowing Russia to become militarily stronger than the United States. “_Increase trade with the Soviet Bloc_” means selling materials that could be used by the communist nations for armaments. “_Restore academic freedom_” means to communists that we should permit the official teaching of communist doctrine in all schools and that we should allow communists to infiltrate teaching staffs. If the communists had their way, America would be rendered helpless to protect herself. Incidentally, notice the communist use of the word “restore,” indicating that freedom is already gone and that the Party stands for its return.

Now substitute “veterans” for “youth.” The approach is the same: Increased trade with all countries, including the communist bloc, would mean thousands of new jobs for _veterans_. “Restore” academic freedom so _veterans_ can think as they want. Promote world-wide _veteran_ friendship. Drop all bars to the travel of _veterans_. Also, it is good propaganda policy to add a few “come along” points appealing specifically to veterans. The technique continues: substitute “women,” “trade union members,” “nationality groups,” etc.

The propaganda platform contains a combination of immediate “come along” demands, designed for deceptive and specialized appeal, and basic policy aimed to advance the communist cause.

Thus the Party, through its specialized and immediate demands, is able to gain entree into various groups and create favorable working conditions for future revolutionary action. Very quickly, for example:

—a veterans’ meeting endorses “peace.”

—a nationality festival passes a resolution for “peace.”

—a youth affair favors “peace.”

—a neighborhood group comes out for “peace.”

—a women’s rally fights for “peace.”

Whatever its composition, the group, once under communist control, is switched to the Party line. The feigned interest in legitimate demands is merely a trap.

Even holidays are used to enhance the Party’s aims. For example, the _Daily Worker_ once headlined a story “Mother’s Day to Be Marked by Peace Tables....” Postcards should be distributed on Mother’s Day, the story continued, “declaring the deepest need of all American mothers to be a ban on A- and H-bombs....”

Also planned, according to the story, were special Mother’s Day leaflets and placards as well as balloons for the children reading “World-Wide Ban of A- and H-bombs.”

Many people sincerely believe, for many reasons, that these bombs should be banned. However, to communists, the true meaning of peace and banning the A- and H-bombs is weakening the United States and advancing Russian aggressive aims.

And so it goes. A discussion may start about the low price of oats, better working conditions on the second shift, equal pay for women, the death rate among Eskimos, but it will end with the endorsement of “peace”; “amnesty for the Smith Act victims”; “repeal of the Internal Security Act of 1950 and the McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act.”

Scattered, variegated, and inarticulate interests, under Party guidance, are brought into a common denominator: support for the Party line.

The Party line, in fact, is the sum total of all Party demands at any given time. You must learn to see it as a whole. Some demands are always present and seem innocent enough, such as those for higher wages, lower taxes, and better housing. But, remember, communists don’t really care about genuine social reforms. These immediate demands are strictly for agitational purposes. They serve to arouse people and to cause tension. William Z. Foster says very candidly: “Our Party is a revolutionary Party. It aims not simply to ease conditions a bit under capitalism for the workers but to abolish capitalism altogether.”

If ever achieved, these demands will be restated in more extreme form.

Other demands in the Party line are short-term; that is, they may quickly change, depending on the current national and international situation. Consider the Party’s stand that Formosa should be returned to China proper. Suppose the present communist regime in China were overthrown and a government hostile to Soviet Russia gained power. This demand would be quickly abandoned. On the other hand, certain demands never change, such as support of the Soviet Union.

The attack is primarily agitational. Propaganda, although valuable, is a long-range softener, to be handled chiefly on an intellectual level by the educational department; agitation is immediate, inflammatory, conducive to acute discontent, the specialty of the field organizer.

Lenin’s distinction is decisive. A propagandist, he says, to explain unemployment must talk about the capitalist nature of the crisis, the need for building a socialist society, etc. “‘Many ideas’” must be expounded, “so many indeed that they will be understood as a whole only by a (comparatively) few persons.”

But the agitator, on the other hand, selects one well-known aspect of the problem, such as “the death from starvation of the family of an unemployed worker.” He will concentrate on imparting a single idea to the masses: why this family died. Or, in Lenin’s words, he will show “the senseless contradiction between the increase of wealth and increase of poverty.” Evoke discontent and revolt _now_. “Leave a more complete explanation ... to the propagandist.” Here is an example of how agitation works:

The communists publish a story: John Doe has been arrested, the charge is murder. Of course it is a tragic event. Crime always brings sorrow. It reflects maladjustment in society and points up abuses that genuinely need correction. But the communists aren’t interested in John Doe. They do not try to discover the true facts in his case, study his background, or improve his condition. Here in the day’s news is a human tragedy that can be exploited for propaganda purposes. That is enough.

The Party machinery springs into action, typical of thousands of mass-agitation campaigns.

The communist press publicizes the case with pictures, an interview with the wrongdoer, stories about his family. It carries heart-rending and sentimental accounts, without regard to truth or the suffering of the victim of the crime or the sorrow of his loved ones.

If the arrested person is a member of a minority group, or a veteran, the father of ten children, a union member or unemployed, the agitational appeal is broadened. “Union Member Framed on Murder Charge.” “Unemployed Veteran Railroaded to Jail.” “Father of 10 Arrested on False Charges.” Almost always the charge of “police brutality” is thrown in too.

In a few days a decision must be made. Should the campaign continue? Maybe the case is quickly over, no special interest having been aroused. Or the “victim” himself announces that he’s been treated fairly and has no personal ill feelings. That’s the end. The Party drops it.

Such campaigns are sometimes carried on for months or years, with varying degrees of intensity. The Party is a self-appointed collector of “victims” of “framed evidence,” “lynch justice,” “Gestapo brutality,” “academic witchhunts.” These “martyrs of injustice” include old-timers like Sacco and Vanzetti and the Scottsboro Case, now remembered only in “memorials”; and recent ones, such as the “Martinsville Seven,” the “Trenton Six” or the Rosenbergs; or hot-off-the-griddle varieties, such as those appearing in the current Party press. All are trotted out at the slightest twist of tongue or pencil as exhibits of capitalist “terror” and communist “benevolence.”

Certain exploitation standards determine whether the campaign is to continue: Can large numbers of people be influenced? Is a public official involved—the more prominent the better—who can be undermined and smeared? Will other communist ventures be aided? Can the Party gain recruits? (Mass agitation is always linked to Party building.) Can financial gains be secured for the Party?

The Party searches American life for agitational points: the eviction of a family, the arrest of a Negro, a proposed rise in transit fares, a bill to increase taxes, a miscarriage of justice, the underpayment of a worker, the dismissal of a teacher, a shooting by law-enforcement officers. Some of the cases, unfortunately, do reflect mistakes or blemishes in American society. Others are twisted by the Party into agitational items.

Once the decision has been made to continue the campaign, the next step is probably the formation of the XYZ Committee to Save John Doe: a communist front, born at 9:00 A.M., full grown by 10:30 A.M., mailing out letters by noon. This gives the illusion of organized interest, focuses attention, and masks communist participation. Purpose (deceptive) is to gain “justice” for the defendant; purpose (real): to advance communism.

Attract attention by building up a bonfire of agitation. Suddenly, almost like magic, a “women’s” group in Oregon, a “farmers’” meeting in Oklahoma, a “consumers’” conference in West Virginia pass resolutions: “Save John Doe!” Literature is scattered, other groups contacted. The Party becomes the agitational base. Who is John Doe? The members don’t know, except that he’s the newest twist in the Party line. That’s enough!

The Party has now started a mass-agitation campaign. Its success depends on securing noncommunist support. Members contact community leaders, such as judges, members of the city council, doctors, lawyers, clergymen, educators, social workers, trying to obtain statements or testimonials.

The communist is no longer a shadowy figure deep underground or meeting secretly at night. He is knocking on doors, seeing prominent people, attending city council meetings.

I feel that John Doe has been wrongly arrested [or convicted,
as the case may be]. I am compelled in the interests of justice
to demand that he be released.

That is a typical testimonial to be sent to authorities and the press.

The technique of obtaining testimonials is always to start with a sympathizer, the kind who will authorize his name for any communist campaign. Some are so “controlled” that headquarters uses their names without consultation, even preparing their statements. Others are contacted on each occasion.

They next reach out for other prominent sympathizers. Officers of communist fronts make good signers. They usually have imposing “titles.” Next, branch out to the lukewarm, those who are on the fence; sometimes they will sign, other times they will not. If not, they must be sold. Finally come the unsuspecting noncommunists, with contact being made either in person or on the telephone.

“Mr. X, I’m So-and-So from the XYZ Committee to Save John Doe. I was just over at Mr. Y’s office. You know him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” will come the reply. That gets the interview off to a good start.

“This is a case I am sure will interest you. You are a lawyer and here is an individual who is the victim of injustice.... Have you heard about it?”

“No.” That’s good, the field is clear.

On and on. “Dr. F, Rev. O, etc., have given statements....”

The man signs. Another “innocent victim.” Did he know the communist identity of the solicitor? No. Did he know that the XYZ Committee to Save John Doe was a communist front? No. Did he realize that by making the statement he was aiding the communist movement? No.

For sincere, honest reasons of their own, entirely unrelated to communism, many individuals may support John Doe. This, of course, does not make them communists. To call them communists is an injustice, but it is not unjust to point out that the Party always seeks to exploit such personal convictions for partisan propaganda.

The cause of communism must be linked with as many elements in society as possible. Our fight for John Doe is your fight, the communists say to labor unions, Negro, professional, cultural, and nationality groups. Today he’s being “persecuted.” Tomorrow it’ll be your turn. Join with us and we’ll fight together.

... we Communists join with every other democratic-minded
American, irrespective of views, in the common fight to
preserve a common democratic heritage.

_Deceptive_: the communists are fighting for our “common democratic heritage”; _real_: to gain the support of noncommunist groups (even “... those who do not accept Socialism as a final aim”). As Lenin instructed, seize allies everywhere. Use them for the advantage of furthering communism.

Mass agitation is most effective in capturing the support of noncommunists. By securing even the temporary allegiance of an individual, as in a testimonial, the Party gains. In this way communist propaganda enters the orbit of that individual’s personal influence. “Why,” a friend will say after reading the testimonial, “if So-and-So endorses that organization [or issue], it must be OK.” The dupe becomes a communist thought-control relay station. That’s why communists are always eager to secure the support of doctors, clergymen, teachers, and other persons highly respected in their communities. The more widely known the person, the better.

Circulating petitions is another favorite communist technique for capturing noncommunist support.

A young woman stands on the sidewalk. A housewife, carrying a package, comes out of the grocery store.

“Pardon me,” the young woman says, approaching her. “Wouldn’t you like to help a young man win his freedom?”

The appeal is attractive. The housewife stops. “We have a petition to the governor asking for the release of John Doe. He’s sentenced to die....” The housewife looks at the petition. It contains nothing communist. There is no hammer or sickle or mention of Russia. It is just a statement that we the undersigned believe that John Doe should be released. “You can help a lot by signing....”

She signs and so do thousands of others. Party teams are everywhere, on street corners, at factory gates, in bus terminals. Sign here, please. Won’t you send a telegram or write a letter? Here’s a sample all fixed up. Just sign it. Would you like a leaflet? Won’t you call the governor’s office? Come to our rally tonight. Write a letter to the newspaper. Is your club meeting soon? Have it pass a resolution. Your pastor can help. Have him call a protest meeting.

The pressure is tabulated in thousands of letters, resolutions, and telegrams, ten, a hundred times the number of all Party members in the United States.

Agitation campaigns are of all types, local, state, and national:

—dealing with the high cost of living;

—against a rise in transit fares;

—opposing a bill in Congress or a state legislature;

—protesting the showing of a “Fascist” movie;

—urging amnesty for convicted Smith Act “victims”;

—demanding “peace”; “repeal the draft”; “more aid to schools”;

—protesting the arrival in town of some celebrity not liked by
the Party.

Campaigns involving court cases as a general rule provide the most sustained agitation. These can be divided into various _exploitation stages_.

1. _The arrest stage_: the “victim” has been illegally arrested. The charges are “trumped up.”

2. _The trial stage_: “false evidence” is being used, the jury is “packed,” a fair trial is “impossible.”

3. _The appeal stage_ (assuming that the defendant is found guilty): in most cases a guilty verdict serves the communist purpose best. Otherwise, little propaganda is left, except for a few self-congratulatory articles. The communists use every device, inside and outside the courtroom, to break down the American judicial system.

4. _The clemency stage_: this is probably best suited to agitation. The Party operates a whole series of tactics. Here are a few:

Mass meetings. Rallies. Demonstrations. Picket lines. These, also used in other exploitation stages, now become imbued with “gravity.” “John Doe Will Die in 2 Weeks. Wire the Governor. Demand His Release.” “Save My Boy, Please. He’s Innocent.” “Where’s America’s Conscience? This Man Has Been Framed.”

Sojourns. Treks. Pilgrimages. Motorcades. Encampments. The convergence on a selected spot, the state capital or Washington, D.C., of members and sympathizers from all over the country.

They arrive by train, battered old trucks, rented buses, hitchhiking. Get your tickets, meet at the station, don’t miss the Clemency Train. Day after day the _Daily Worker_ pounds this theme. An operational headquarters is set up, usually under a fancy Aesopian name such as “Liberty House” or “Inspiration Center.”

This tactic—concentrated pressure—is reserved only for special occasions. Teams visit offices of legislators, officials of the government, and demand to see the governor or President. Make everyone think that “millions” are demanding clemency. A cascade of telegrams, letters, petitions, resolutions pours in, promoted by comrades back home. “The city was stirred today by the _nation’s_ demand for clemency for John Doe....” writes the Party’s press agent. Probably 250 communists and their sympathizers were in town.

The hour of judicial decision or execution nears. The drama is heightened. “Prayer meetings” are held by communists, who do not believe in prayer. Then the super climax: a “vigil.” The comrades start a marching line, twenty-four hours around the clock, demanding “mercy,” “clemency.” One day, two days, five days, twelve days, the line moves back and forth in front of the governor’s mansion, or more dramatic, the White House. Placards read: “Mercy for John Doe.” “Mr. Governor, Don’t You Have a Heart?” Any testimonials secured from prominent individuals bob and weave in the marching line. Leaflets are handed out.

In two hours comes a new shift. Paraders walk silently, sometimes in single file, at other times two abreast, usually six to eight feet apart. This isn’t supposed to be a flamboyant affair, but sad and mournful, designed to capture the emotions. Death is near! “Clemency _Now_—Only 12 Hours Left.” “Can America Allow an Innocent Man to Die?”

The shift is over. The members whisk back to “Liberty House,” grab a bite to eat, hear a pep talk, then return for another “tour of duty.” Cots are available for sleep. In this way a few fanatical comrades can attract the attention of thousands. Over the week end other comrades, off from work, “flood” into a city and, in the flaming words of the Party press, march by the “thousands”—meaning probably 250 to 300. “There’s Still Time to Act. Send Telegrams, Letters to the Governor.” Mount the pressure. So long as John Doe is alive he must be exploited.

5. _The imprisonment stage_: the defendant becomes a showpiece. He is visited by his wife (called a “prison wife”) and his family, and delegations go to see him. Sentimental and heart-tearing accounts are written: “... as the train sped me northward, my eyes ached with unwept tears of loneliness.” “I heard [his] quiet voice. I looked into his calm eyes. But I noted too the tight lines of controlled grimness about his mouth and the narrowed tightness about his eyes.”

Birthday-card campaigns are initiated. Send John Doe a Christmas greeting. His picture is published. His “speeches” become “quotable scripture.” A nine-year-old son visits him ... the child is shocked by the “watchtowers,” “gigantic searchlights,” “locked iron doors” ... the visit is over ... the little boy tells his mother, “After all, if Daddy didn’t have such good political ideas he wouldn’t be there in the first place.” (He is a Smith Act “victim.”)

The communist press will invariably superimpose its judgment on that of a jury and judge with a trumped-up charge that the homicide was justifiable, the evidence framed, or the witness had committed perjury. It will have a defense for the crime that would cause the person not familiar with the facts or the record of the trial to wonder. And the longer the lapse of time, the more real the trumped-up defense will sound to the uninformed. This might go on for years. For example, the Women’s Committee for Equal Justice was not disbanded until seven years after Rosa Lee Ingram and her two sons had been convicted and sentenced in a Georgia court for the slaying of a neighbor.

6. _The post-imprisonment stage_: most of the propaganda value is generally gone when this stage is reached. If the “victim” is dead, “memorial” services may occasionally be held or articles written.

The cycle has run. The campaign may be dropped at any moment, shifted to a new tack, used to buttress another approach. Another purpose, especially in espionage cases, is to make the “victim” think he is a “martyr” and believe that any cooperation with the American government, such as implicating others or giving vital information, would be a betrayal. Better to have him executed by the government for his crimes than to expose other communists.

These campaigns are designed to dramatize communists and their front representatives as “champions” of the masses. They foster the illusion that these individuals are progressive, enlightened, and humanitarian, acting in the best interests of the American people. “We stand for freedom when everybody else is not interested.” That is the illusion.

The real motive is to prepare both the Party and noncommunist society for revolutionary action. Members gain experience in mass work: the art of propaganda and agitation, organizing social discontent, guiding large numbers. Leadership, discipline, and organizational structure can be tested. Moreover, communists hope to make workers and the masses class-conscious, accepting the Party as their leader (in Party terms called _radicalizing_ the masses). Sow seeds of discontent; weaken, divide, and neutralize anticommunist opposition; above all, undermine the American judicial process.

Law enforcement has long been a target of communist attack. As legal opposition crystallized, these Party attacks, especially on the FBI, prosecutive officials, and police, have mounted in intensity.

Lenin taught that it was essential for every “real people’s revolution” to destroy the “ready-made state machinery.” Wherever communists have been able to exercise any measure of control, their first step has been to hamstring and incapacitate law enforcement.

The communist performance in the Indian state of Kerala is a good illustration. Within a few months after a procommunist government came into control, “people’s action committees” were formed which began to usurp the functions of the law courts. Then the state police were handcuffed by orders to stand on the sidelines except when crimes such as murder, rape, arson, and assault occurred. Many communists were freed from jail, and public statements were issued that many penal institutions would be closed and their grounds turned into flower gardens. A noncommunist official of the Indian government reported a “complete breakdown of law and order.”

Experience over the years has demonstrated that every time communists are able to avert justice through technicalities, there is not only jubilation in Party circles but also increased urgings for more brazen Party action.

Day-to-day struggles are battle-hardening dress rehearsals for revolution. William Z. Foster boasted, “... capitalism will die sword in hand, fighting in vain to beat back the oncoming revolutionary proletariat.”

Often communists find it effective to carry out their agitation campaigns through organizations not generally recognized as procommunist. These can be either (1) old-time organizations which have been “infiltrated,” or (2) newly established communist fronts. The next two chapters will discuss these forms of communist campaigning.

16.

_Infiltration_

Infiltration is the method whereby Party members move into noncommunist organizations for the purpose of exercising influence for communism. If control is secured, the organization becomes a communist front. This chapter shows how infiltration works and what you can do about it.

Infiltration is one of the oldest of communist tactics, advocated by Lenin and Stalin. For instance, listen to this exhortation by Georgi Dimitroff, General Secretary, before the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International:

Comrades, you remember the ancient tale of the capture of Troy.
Troy was inaccessible to the armies attacking her, thanks to
her impregnable walls. And the attacking army, after suffering
many sacrifices, was unable to achieve victory until with the
aid of the famous Trojan horse it managed to penetrate to the
very heart of the enemy’s camp.

Homer’s famous story, Dimitroff said, must be applied to the twentieth century. “We ... should not be shy about using the same tactics....” The Trojan horse has enabled the Party to wield an influence far in excess of its actual numbers.

For example, a community emergency occurred and assistance was badly needed in a stricken area. A labor union in Cleveland, Ohio, raised money to purchase food for distribution to the victims of this adversity in a small West Virginia town where families actually were in want for the necessities of life. The Communist Party organizer in Cleveland instructed a concealed Party member of the union that the truck driver was to deliver the food to a specified address in the stricken area in West Virginia where it would do the most “good.”

Here a noncommunist organization was paying the bill, thinking that it was doing a generous act of charity. Yet concealed communists within its ranks were subverting the generosity to communist ends. Since the Party had actual control over the distribution, who do you think got credit for the generosity?

Such incidents are frequent. Strikes have been called or settlements influenced by Party penetration within labor unions. Party manipulation has controlled the conventions of noncommunist organizations and determined the selection of officers. An idea originated in a Party office can, through this technique, be translated within days or hours into interviews with high government officials, into intensive agitation campaigns, or even, as has happened, into disruption of industrial production.

No wonder the Party desperately seeks to infiltrate labor unions, the government, civic and community groups, religious, professional, economic, and social organizations. It desires to make these organizations, in various ways, serve Party interests.

Party leaders spend much time and effort in studying infiltration strategy and tactics. A hasty, ill-advised, or poorly timed move might wipe out months of preparation. Should the objective be complete capture of the organization or the placing of a few key members? If the latter, where should the initial attack be delivered? Would it be better to place a member on the midnight or on the swing shift? Where can the greatest and most immediate gains be secured? A flexible strategy, adapted to current conditions, must be employed.

Communists have probably worked harder to infiltrate American labor unions than any other group. Since the days of Lenin, labor has been a favorite target. The Russian dictator was explicit:

It is necessary to ... agree to any and every sacrifice,
and even—if need be—to resort to all sorts of stratagems,
manoeuvres and illegal methods, to evasion and subterfuges in
order to penetrate the trade unions, to remain in them, and to
carry on Communist work in them at all costs.

The statement is frank: Communists are not interested in the laboring man, higher wages, better working conditions, shorter hours. They want to get inside unions in order to agitate for communism.

An overwhelming majority of American labor-union members are honest, hard-working, loyal citizens. They detest communism. This has been proven time after time. Alerted to the presence of communists, they will cast them out. Most of the Party’s gains achieved prior to and during World War II in the labor movement have now been destroyed.

These defeats, however, have not halted the danger. “At least 90 per cent of all of our efforts,” one Party writer asserted, must be devoted to industrial workers. Drawing on years of experience, the Party is today attacking labor unions with renewed vigor. The best way to defeat this assault is to know communist tactics of action.

The first thing in labor-union infiltration tactics is to secure a foothold inside a union, through a single comrade or, better yet, two or three. Comrades then do everything possible to build up strength inside the organization, creating a shop club.

Members of shop clubs are expected to promote Party influence in all possible ways. Very important is the recruitment of new members. The Party’s influence depends on members, especially on their strategic placement in the union and in industry.

“How-to-recruit” suggestions, for example, are often supplied to shop comrades. One Party manual urges that members mix with the workers and cultivate friendships.

Especially must the Communist mingle with his fellow workers
at noon time and participate in the general discussions and
conversations that take place.

Always try to steer these discussions, the manual says, into “economic and political channels”—so as to provide the chance to insert communist propaganda. And don’t use technical Party terms. Learn to express “our Marxian line” in good “American slang.” Communism can best be sold in the everyday language of the prospect.

If the worker shows “interest” (the communists say if “he’s more advanced”), give him a _Daily Worker_ or pamphlet to read. Then invite him to a meeting or “study group.”

Try to stay with him after working hours. “The majority of our Party members become Communists only after working hours, around 6 P.M.” For communists there is no such thing as an eight-hour day.

The over-all work of infiltration, especially of shop clubs, is coordinated by Party strategy caucuses; that is, Party-called meetings where the problems of infiltration are studied. They are generally held on an industry basis, such as the automobile, steel, railroad, mining, and electrical industries, with members employed in these fields attending.

Party caucuses operate on different levels. There will be, for example, local caucuses of Party members employed in a certain industry in a given area, such as the automobile or electrical industry in Detroit or Cleveland. Then there are state and national caucuses, with Party leaders being drawn from wider areas. Party labor directors are usually in charge. In the past, for instance, national “auto” caucuses were often held in Cleveland or Detroit, “steel” in Youngstown, “electrical” in Buffalo, and “mining” in Pittsburgh. Sometimes Party leaders in related unions, such as automobile and steel, are brought together in a general communist labor conference.

These caucuses are literally strategy-devising meetings, where problems and procedures are analyzed with X-ray precision. Noncommunists probably do not realize how carefully communists study “capitalist” companies, wage policies, personnel, etc. The objective always is: How can the company and the union be used to implement the Party line, as support for “peace,” the Smith Act “victims,” or some current Party “martyr”?

For an answer let’s look in on one Party caucus.

Leslie, from the northwestern part of the state, was reporting on what his shop club was doing, that is, soliciting signatures to a “peace” petition.

“We got seven hundred and four signatures in a little over three days last week.”

“Keep at it,” the organizer responded. “Get more signature campaigns going. Contact those people who have already signed. See if they are friendly and understand our position. If so, go a third time. (Maybe a recruit could be secured.) Encourage them to circulate a petition themselves.”

“At our plant,” another Party leader commented, “we started a committee to protect freedom of speech. It’s a good issue and we’ve had some fine response. I think we ought to soon rally some support for the Smith Act victims. I hope we can get some contributions too.”

“Fine,” the organizer added, “but always remember that we must stress our united-front campaign. We’ve got to show the workers in these right-wing [that is, anticommunist] unions that the Party stands for peace, higher wages, and better working conditions.

“What if most of the workers don’t agree with communism?” the organizer continued. “That doesn’t keep them from working with us. We’ve got to convince them that we must all work together, that we have common aims. Besides, it will help us organize the rank and file against the reactionary [anticommunist] leadership.”

The caucuses give guidance. This is how to agitate on Party issues: Issue petitions and resolutions, set up a “peace” stand outside the shop gate, start a front. Ideas are exchanged, weaknesses analyzed, tactical shifts worked out, all under supervision of Party headquarters.

Sometimes the caucuses manipulate special “deals” to enhance Party influence. The following case, which occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, is revealing:

“Howard,” the organizer said, addressing one of the older members, “you’ve got to give up your job as editor of the union’s newspaper.”

“Give up ...,” the member said, surprised.

“Your time’s running out. You’re just about pegged as a communist. If you try to stay on another year, you’ll be thrown out. That’ll cause a rumpus and we’ll lose ground. Step out now.”

“OK,” the member replied, accepting the instruction. “I think I can get Elmer elected in my place. Dick may want it, but we’ve got to stop him.”

“Right you are,” the organizer said. “Dick is a vicious Red baiter. He’s a faker and reactionary. I’d rather have the paper discontinued than have him as editor.”

“Elmer isn’t known as a communist,” the member added. “Of course, if I support him it’ll tag him somewhat, but....”

“That’s our best approach, Howard,” the organizer said. “Submit your resignation tomorrow. You’ll catch Dick and his cronies off guard. Then push all you can for Elmer.”

What follows now is a case history which reveals the whole sinister process of infiltration. It concerns an organization that we shall call The 123 Group, typical of many trade-union, fraternal, civic, community, and nationality groups. It covers a six-year struggle for control between the Communist Party—working through a group of open and concealed members, sympathizers, and dupes—and a noncommunist opposition, at first unorganized, hitting wildly, but later to become all-powerful.

The 123 Group was an influential and respected noncommunist organization. Even partly to control its actions would be of great value to the Party.

The problem for communist headquarters was how best to attack. The obvious target, as in most organizations, was the officers. To control one officer, such as a president, secretary, or treasurer, is often worth ten, twenty, or fifty rank-and-file members. Everything must be done to prepare for the next elections in an effort to oust as many anticommunists as possible and replace them with pro-Party people or at least neutrals.

All officers of The 123 Group were bitterly anticommunist except one, the secretary. He would have loudly protested if called a Party member, and he wasn’t; but for many years he had maintained cordial contacts with Party officials. He was, in every respect, a sympathizer. He was popular and had a large personal following among the rank and file. For this reason the anticommunists had not been able to defeat him. Here was the obvious weak point.

“We’ve got to draw up an entire slate of candidates,” the Party organizer emphasized. “Let’s call it the ‘Reform Ticket.’ We must include a few reactionaries. That’ll hide our interest.” Then the frank admission: “We must not show our hand. We’ll run on a program acceptable to the right wing as much as possible. After we get in we’ll take control.”

The communist Trojan horse was jockeying for position. Maneuver often compensates for lack of numbers and organizational position. Deals, stratagems, and hypocrisy must be given free play.

The secretary-sympathizer agreed to run on the Reform Ticket. His name would lend prestige and give the ticket a capable career officer. Here was the first breakthrough. More deals, however, were necessary.

The chief problem now was the presidency. Whom to run? A known procommunist could not win. To support another anticommunist was unthinkable. The answer: an opportunist.

The right man was at hand, a noncommunist, personally ambitious, who disliked the current president. Lacking a dynamic personality, a “little backward,” as one Party official called him, he could be “guided.” He was just the man to head the ticket.

He was contacted. Run for president and you’ll receive “our” support. The communists, of course, didn’t openly identify themselves. The opportunist, however, probably suspected, but he didn’t care. That is the mark of an opportunist: his personal ambition is so great that it overrides every other consideration.

Now the other noncommunist candidates on the Reform Ticket must be chosen.

To communists there are different degrees of “foes.” A “60 per cent” foe is better “working material” than a “100 per cent” foe. Another may be appraised as a 40 or even 10 percenter. In drawing up the slate, find as many “low percenters” as possible. Also there is the practical factor, always to be remembered, of selecting candidates who can “pull” votes to the ticket.

These deals were made.

Then there was the task, after selection of the slate (which contained concealed communists along with noncommunists), of getting it elected.

This meant more strategy, manipulation, and deals. The communists could count on only a small minority of the vote—their own members and a few sympathizers. Their tactic lay in exploiting existing jealousies, conflicts, and dissatisfactions among the majority noncommunists. To catch the secret of communist infiltration tactics, we must understand how the Party, with great skill, is able to exploit, guide, and capitalize on the splits and lack of interest in noncommunist ranks. That’s how the Party is able to wield an influence far out of proportion to its numbers.

There was, of course, the usual share of communist deals. One technique, often used, is a deal with a noncommunist member of the group who is running for office in another organization in which the communists also have members. “Support our candidates here,” the deal goes, “and we’ll help you next week.” Then there is the communist who is a union official or company foreman who says to a noncommunist member of the group, “Maybe we can consider a promotion for you at the plant if....”

Another technique is to urge “benevolent neutrality” upon those noncommunists who are wavering and might vote for the current officers; that’s a good day for them to stay home or go fishing!

Result: The Reform Ticket won a complete victory. Now one-third of the officers, five Party members, were controlled by Party headquarters. The rest were virtual prisoners.

To infiltrate an organization is only a first step. It must be made to serve Party interests. There are many ways:

1. A proposal, promoted by the communists, was made that Henry G., both a member of The 123 Group and a secret communist, be sent as an official delegate to the National Convention of a communist-front organization. This group was painted in glowing terms as a fighter for human rights. No mention was made of communist control. Opponents objected, labeled it as a communist “outfit.” The vote was taken: motion passed, and the communist member went, expenses paid.