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4 Z > t 6 H 1 Fe 1 As 2}; So t p r o b / f s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IA I ,/9 ) ~HOW TO BEAT THE COMMIINISTKB FT ETR P. REUTHER Rnt-ATIO C BRARY UNVRIYOr CgLUtURNIA lERKtL JEY E C 23 8 The President of the United Automobile Workers describes methods by which any American organization can force the Communists out of the back alleys and into Main Street- where they can be defeated by hard work and determination - 4t L y(, t N 1939, in the course of our United Automobile Workers' negotiations with General Mo- tors, William F. Knudsen, then presi- dent of the corporation, pointed a big forefinger at me and said, "Now see here, Reuther. we don't want any corn- missars' in America!" The answer I gave then is the answer I should give today to the question, "How can we stop Communism?" It is an answer bolstered by eleven years' experience in the day-to-day struggle for C.I.O. survival and growth in America's pace-setting auto industry. "Mr. Knudsen," I said, "we Auto Workers don't want commissars any more than you do. But what you and other powerful leaders of American industry do about helping to make democracy work in bread-and-butter terms for the average man and his family will determine-much more than anything we Auto Workers do- whether we get commissars or not." I fear that such an answer will not conmfort or please those who have been stampeded by the present anti-Red hysteria into the belief that there is some easy formula for beating the Comnsunists. But we have beaten the Communists in the United Auto- mobile Workers and we can speak with authority. There is no formula. There is only the never-ending task of making democracy work, keeping it alive and fighting against injustice; ex- panding and enriching it by tangible achievement. Stopping Communism is only a negative aspect of that posi- tive, infinitely more important work. There are quick cures for Commu- nism. Hitler cured it by killing the limited democracy of the Weimar Re- public. Mussolini stopped it by throttling Italian freedom. We in the United States still have time to avoid these fatal extremes and to prove that democracy is a militant, up-to-date creed-with the moral strength and the practical political and economic know-how to meet the challenge of to- talitarianism. The press, reporting the results of the latest UAW-C.I.O. convention stated that Reuther had scored a de- cisive victory over Communist forces. But to call this Communist defeat a personal victory for me is to obscure the most significant development in the Auto Workers. Hundreds of thou- sands of UAW members, not only in Detroit and the other large industrial centers but in Kokomo, Oshawa, Kalamazoo; in Canada, New England and the deep South-these are the men and women who stopped Communism in the Auto Workers by standing up, having their say and being counted. Communists cannot seize power in a nation or a union if the people are on their toes, if they know the issues and are offered democratic leadership built around a positive program of action. The inertia and indifference of the average citizen or union mem- ber are the most valuable assets the Communists have. Working as a well- disciplined minority, they cultivate this passivity and thereby seek to im- mobilize the democratic majority- especially those individuals and groups capable of providing leadership and direction in the fight against both Red and black totalitarianism. The momentum of a positive demo- cratic program is the only final an- swer to both the commissar and the storm trooper. From our experience in the UAW- C.I.O., we have learned that there are two major obstacles to be overcome before decent unionists and honest liberals are ready to fight the Commu- nists. The first obstacle might be called the united-front psychology. the sec- ond, fear of the Communists' highly developed technique of name calling and character assassination. We have just emerged from a period in which many non-Communist pro- gressives made common cause with the Stalinists in the misguided belief that contemporary Communism operates from ethical and moral perceptions of a certain validity. The delusion still persists in many quarters; Henry Wallace's third-party movement was fathered by it. The liberal who suc- cumbs to the united-front lure believes that Communists are simply demo- crats-in-a-hurry. He points to their concern over civil liberties (when it suits the party line), their loud support for price and rent controls, their ad- vocacy of full employment, health, Social Security, and minimum-wage legislation. And he asks, "Since the Communists are going my way, why shouldn't I travel with them?" The answer, of course, is that Com- munist concern for progressive reform under parliamentary democracy is little more than a temporary expedi- ent, designed to enlist as many allies as possible against the day when the class struggle attains its climax in revolu- tion and the "dictatorship of the prole- tariat." The Communist parties of the world are the self-appointed midwives of this violent historical birth. More- over, in the course of the last gener- ation, Communists have come to identify the interests of the world's peoples with the needs of the Soviet Union. Their subservience to the Kremlin and their shifts on trade- union issues as Moscow winds veer can become the Achilles heel of the domestic Stalinists if honest progres- sives in the labor movement carry the fight to them. An amusing consequence of Com- munist acrobatics cropped up in the Wayne County C.I.O. Council. Shortly before the invasion of Russia, the Communist clique in a UAW local (Consinued on -page 44)

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Page 1: Z > t 6 H 1Fe As 2}; So t p r o b / f s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IAcdn.calisphere.org/data/28722/08/bk0003z4z08/files/bk... · 2009-02-05 · some easy formula for beating the Comnsunists

4Z > t 6 H 1 Fe 1 As 2}; So t p r o b / f s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IAI

,/9 )

~HOW TO BEAT

THE COMMIINISTKBFT ETR P. REUTHER

Rnt-ATIO C BRARY

UNVRIYOr CgLUtURNIA

lERKtLJEY EC 238The President of the United Automobile Workers describesmethods by which any American organization can force the

Communists out of the back alleys and into Main Street-where they can be defeated by hard work and determination

- 4t L y(, t

N 1939, in the course of ourUnited Automobile Workers'negotiations with General Mo-

tors, William F. Knudsen, then presi-dent of the corporation, pointed a bigforefinger at me and said, "Now seehere, Reuther. we don't want any corn-missars' in America!"The answer I gave then is the answer

I should give today to the question,"How can we stop Communism?" Itis an answer bolstered by eleven years'experience in the day-to-day strugglefor C.I.O. survival and growth inAmerica's pace-setting auto industry.

"Mr. Knudsen," I said, "we AutoWorkers don't want commissars anymore than you do. But what you andother powerful leaders of Americanindustry do about helping to makedemocracy work in bread-and-butterterms for the average man and hisfamily will determine-much morethan anything we Auto Workers do-whether we get commissars or not."

I fear that such an answer will notconmfort or please those who have beenstampeded by the present anti-Redhysteria into the belief that there issome easy formula for beating theComnsunists. But we have beaten theCommunists in the United Auto-mobile Workers and we can speakwith authority. There is no formula.There is only the never-ending task ofmaking democracy work, keeping italive and fighting against injustice; ex-

panding and enriching it by tangibleachievement. Stopping Communismis only a negative aspect of that posi-tive, infinitely more important work.

There are quick cures for Commu-nism. Hitler cured it by killing thelimited democracy of the Weimar Re-public. Mussolini stopped it bythrottling Italian freedom. We in theUnited States still have time to avoidthese fatal extremes and to prove thatdemocracy is a militant, up-to-datecreed-with the moral strength andthe practical political and economicknow-how to meet the challenge of to-talitarianism.The press, reporting the results of

the latest UAW-C.I.O. conventionstated that Reuther had scored a de-cisive victory over Communist forces.But to call this Communist defeat apersonal victory for me is to obscurethe most significant development inthe Auto Workers. Hundreds of thou-sands of UAW members, not only inDetroit and the other large industrialcenters but in Kokomo, Oshawa,Kalamazoo; in Canada, New Englandand the deep South-these are the menand women who stopped Communismin the Auto Workers by standing up,having their say and being counted.Communists cannot seize power in

a nation or a union if the people areon their toes, if they know the issuesand are offered democratic leadershipbuilt around a positive program of

action. The inertia and indifferenceof the average citizen or union mem-ber are the most valuable assets theCommunists have. Working as a well-disciplined minority, they cultivatethis passivity and thereby seek to im-mobilize the democratic majority-especially those individuals and groupscapable of providing leadership anddirection in the fight against both Redand black totalitarianism.The momentum of a positive demo-

cratic program is the only final an-swer to both the commissar and thestorm trooper.From our experience in the UAW-

C.I.O., we have learned that there aretwo major obstacles to be overcomebefore decent unionists and honestliberals are ready to fight the Commu-nists. The first obstacle might be calledthe united-front psychology. the sec-ond, fear of the Communists' highlydeveloped technique of name callingand character assassination.We have just emerged from a period

in which many non-Communist pro-gressives made common cause with theStalinists in the misguided belief thatcontemporary Communism operatesfrom ethical and moral perceptions ofa certain validity. The delusion stillpersists in many quarters; HenryWallace's third-party movement wasfathered by it. The liberal who suc-cumbs to the united-front lure believesthat Communists are simply demo-

crats-in-a-hurry. He points to theirconcern over civil liberties (when itsuits the party line), their loud supportfor price and rent controls, their ad-vocacy of full employment, health,Social Security, and minimum-wagelegislation. And he asks, "Since theCommunists are going my way, whyshouldn't I travel with them?"

The answer, of course, is that Com-munist concern for progressive reformunder parliamentary democracy islittle more than a temporary expedi-ent, designed to enlist as many allies aspossible against the day when the classstruggle attains its climax in revolu-tion and the "dictatorship of the prole-tariat." The Communist parties of theworld are the self-appointed midwivesof this violent historical birth. More-over, in the course of the last gener-ation, Communists have come toidentify the interests of the world'speoples with the needs of the SovietUnion. Their subservience to theKremlin and their shifts on trade-union issues as Moscow winds veercan become the Achilles heel of thedomestic Stalinists if honest progres-sives in the labor movement carry thefight to them.An amusing consequence of Com-

munist acrobatics cropped up in theWayne County C.I.O. Council. Shortlybefore the invasion of Russia, theCommunist clique in a UAW local

(Consinued on -page 44)

Page 2: Z > t 6 H 1Fe As 2}; So t p r o b / f s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IAcdn.calisphere.org/data/28722/08/bk0003z4z08/files/bk... · 2009-02-05 · some easy formula for beating the Comnsunists

union had slipped a resolution con-demning the imperialist war' past asparsely attended local membershipmeeting and had forwarded it to thecouncil for endorsement, after releasingit to the press. The Nazi attack followed.The Communists maneuvered a specialmeeting at the same local and quicklypassed another resolution reflecting thenew. superpatriotic line. The imperialistblood bath had now become a holycrusade.

This resolution was also given to thepress as the official position of the localand sent to the council for action. Whenthe council met, the two conflicting reso-lutions from the same local were read-and a motion was made to refer both ofthem back to their source, with therecommendation that the local unionmake up its mind.

A Mistake That Must Be Avoided

Progressives must expose Stalinistduplicity without qualms. To outlawtheir party and drive them undergroundis not the answer. Such action would en-able them to drape themselves in thecloak of martyrdom and would makemore difficult the task ot detecting theiractivities.

Exposure, not repression, must be ourgoal. We must get the Communists outof the political back alleys and walk themup Main Street in the full light of in-formed opinion. No sober public ex-amination of their unadorned doctrineand purposes can fail to reveal them asfrauds.While the American Stalinists may

quote democratic scripture for their pur-poses, they are neither good democratsnor good Americans.

Yet many genuine liberals who under-stand that the Communists have only aprovisional interest in the democraticprocess are immobilized by fear of Com-munist character assassination and abuse-and they are disgusted by the stupidand indiscriminate Dies-Rankin-Thomasbrand of Red-baiting. Such indiscrimi-nate lumping of the Communists and thenon-Communists gives to the Stalin-ists the protective coloration which istheir most effective means of defense. Thehysteria engendered by the new "Repub-lican Dies Committee" is creating thesame confusion, hitting the very witch-hunt pitch required by Communist strate-gists. The Communists know how toexploit this confusion. how to intensifyit. Witch hunts rather than legitimateand sober exposure. moreover, lend anaura of righteousness to the Stalinists'own technique of abuse and slander.We in the UAW took the Communists

on without illusions. We were deter-mined not to be diverted from our pro-gram by any amount of Communistinvective or distortion.We understood that the alternative to

a finish fight was Communist control ofour union. Such an understanding comespainfully: nobody enjoys the daily dietof vulgar insult in the Communist presswhich is the lot of those who challengethe party. Morris Muster, former presi-dent of the C.l.O. Furniture Workers'Union, for example, resigned under theincessant hammering of the Communists,after releasing a bitter statement exposingthe extent of their infiltration in hisunion. But he should have consideredthe fact that when decent unionists losestomach for the struggle, they surrenderthe field to the Communists.

Honest progressives in the UAW hadample cause for disgust as the CP ma-chine slipped into high gear in the pre-convention struggle. The Stalinist blocin the Auto Workers was responsible forpublishing and distributing to the mem-bership more than 2.000,000 pieces ofliterature.

In addition to a weekly propagandapaper, they prepared and circulated na-

tionally a 35-page magazine called TheBosses' Boy, replete with distortion,fabrication and forgery. which sought toprove that I was a clever servant of Gen-eral Motors and the National Associationof Manufacturers. Responding to a fullreport which I had issued to the member-ship. which had minced no words in de-scribing the conflict within our ranks, theleft-wing majority on the InternationalExecutive Board adopted a resolution re-flecting the Communist view that I was atraitor and an agent of Wall Street.

"Fulfillment of Reuther's program,"the resolution charged, "would put himin such distinguished company that theLabor Management Relations Act of1947 might well be called the 'Taft-Hartley-Reuither' Act."

This association of my name with Taftwas a prelude to the more ambitious ma-neuver executed shortly thereafter by apress agent hired by the opposition. Itsoon developed that I was being boomedfor Vice-President as a running mate withnone other than Senator Taft. This big-lie technique was perhaps brilliant as apublic-relations maneuver, but we ex-posed it, as a repeat performance of acampaign by the Communists during thewar, when they advocated a return topiecework and speed-up in the autoplants.To those who are just beginning to face

the unpleasant necessity of combatingCommunists in their local unions, veterangroups and other organizations, we canoffer only the simple recommendation:Names can't hurt you. We must have thecourage to speak up.Once committed to the struggle against

Communists, honest liberals must guardagainst the temptation to join forces withor accept help from those whose onlybadge of fraternity is their anti-Commu-nism. It is fatal to resist Communismby courting reaction. The chief weak-ness of American foreign policy is thepredilection of our State Departmentfor dealing with anybody who willpromise to hate Communism. And themost dangerous error into which anydomestic offensive against Stalinism canfall is that of asstiming that every foe ofConinmmuni.ris is a friend of democracy.

The Governor Wasn't Helpful

We did not make that mistake in theUAW. At the height of our campaignagainst CP infiltration in our union,Michigan's Governor Sigler descendedupon Washington as an expert witness inthe Red probe. Mr. Sigler's authority onthe subject of Communism derived froma few easy victories won on Michigancampuses over the American Youth forDemocracy, latter-day name for theYoung Communist League.The governor, however, identified as

subversive several groups which werenonexistent or highly respectable, andone organization whose members in-cluded Detroit's chief of police and ascore more of that city's more prominentresidents. Mr. Sigler's stock as an experton Communist-front organizations fellsuddenly, but not until he had madehighly damaging allusions to Commu-nism in the Auto Workers. The anti-Communist forces in the UAW. however,did not make the fatal mistake of regard-ing Sigler as a potential ally in our fight.Anti-Commrunism is not sufficient.

Hitler. M ussolini, Franco, Per6n, Rankin,Bilbo and Gerald L. K. Smith-all couldpass that test. The fight against Commti-nism can be transformed from a self-defeating clash by night into an honestengagement in which decent people canparticipate without embarrassment onlyby a passionate belief in democraticvalues and the will to give those valuespractical currency in the lives of thepeople.The next step in any democratic move

to combat Communism must be an

awareness of how the Stalinist parties andtheir adherents tunction. Communisttactics in relation to the labor n-ove-went have shifted many times since t9t7.but the central desien has never altered.In 1921, the Third World Congress ofthe Communist International, legislatingon the "duties of Communist activity,"laid down the following imperatives:'Communist ntclei must be formed for

the daily work in the different branchesof the party activities....

"These Communist units are the nucleifor the daily Communist work in mnili-tary tinits, trade unions, etc. ... If thereare a greater number of party membersin the same factory or in the same tinion,etc.. then the nucleus is enlarged into afaction. and its work is directed by thenucleus."The same Comintern directive con-

tained clear instructions for Communistaction in the unions: "In those capitalistcountries where a large majority of theproletariat has not yet reached revolu-tionary consciousness. the Communistagitators must be constantly on the look-out for new forms of propaganda."The factions must carefully prepare

the participation of the Communists inconferences and meetings of the trade-union organizations. For instance, theymust elaborate proposals, select lecturesand counsel and put up as candidates forelection capable, experienced and ener-getic comrades."The Daily Worker stated on July 16,

1928: "Communism is a revolutionarytendency in the labor movement and theonly representative of revolutionaryMarxism-Leninisn; as such it is opposedto all other tendencies within the labormovement."

This fanatical preoccupation with con-quest of organized labor, this elaborateapparatus of propaganda and disruption,the Stalinists, over the past several years,have brought to bear on the United Auto-mobi!e Workers, which they regard as thestrategic union of the C.I.O.We have beaten them. The story of

how we did it reads almost like the reportof an experiment in creative democracy,and provides a demonstration of tech-niques which can be applied in the largerstruggle to save democracy in the world.Communists have never had much stic-

cess in converting workers in any industryto their dogmas. But where the Stalinistshad not been able to convert, they suc-ceeded in exerting an influence far out ofproportion to their numerical strengthby exploiting the innocence and ambitionof men and women in positions of leader-ship.The Communists have a complete

political valet service which they offer tothose in public life and in the unions who.for whatever reason, accept their currentpolicies and fail to challenge theirmotives. Henry Wallace is the mostfamiliar contemporary example of a manwho has accepted this service. This CPservice provides its customers with ready-made thoughts on all subjects, ghost-writes speeches, arranges meetings,engineers applause, and inflates egos asrequired.

Recipients of the service ultimately dis-cover, however, that they have becomeboxed in, thoroughly dependent, and pli-able instruments of the party linemen.

Few Reach High Union Posts

During the twelve years the UAW-C.l.O. has existed as an internationalunion, the Communists have placed onlyone party member in the top leadershipand only two of the faithful on our Inter-national Executive Board. Yet they haveprospered in our midst until recently, be-cause they so skillfully cultivated personswho could be made, in some degree, toserve their purposes. It was throughclever manipulation of such people thatthe Stalinists acquired an influence in the

UAW vastly disproportionate to thenumbers of their convinced adherents.Working through such strategically

placed victims, the Communists capturedthe leadership of a number of localunions and could count on assistancefrom certain members on the regionaland international union staffs. Machine-made resolutions promoting the Commu-nist line would pop up at union meetings,and Communist adeptness at parlia-mentary maneuver would get them by anunalerted membership.The Communists are highly skillful in

using the forms of democracy to subvertdemocracy. But in local after local union,non-Communist members. gradually andafter many painful experiences, awoke tothe party's contempt for the rank and file,to its methods of discouraging attendanceat meetings, to its whole strategy ofspreading conflict and sowing confusion.The Stalinists suffered their first crucial

preconvention defeat when their proposalto merge the Communist-dominatedFarm Equipment Workers with the UAWwas rejected by UAW local unions.

In the summer of 1947, a committeeof UAW opposition board members hadbeen meeting secretly with officials of theFE-C.I.O. Without prior notice, theypresented to a UAW E- tcutive Boardmeeting a plan for merging the twoorganizations, both of which have juris-diction in the agricultural implementindustry. What followed might be re-garded as a controlled experiment in thetechnique of fighting Communists with-out succumbing to the Communists' ownvicious habit of generalized abuse.The FE merger proposal was a com-

plete fraud. Its sponsors had only oneobjective: to bring 500 additional left-%king votes to bear in the UAW conven-tion, then less thaf 5 months away. It didnot provide for a true merger at all, butrather for the temporary establishment ofa union within a union. Grant Oakes, FEpresident, admitted to a Daily Workercorrespondent that the plan, if carriedout, would set up a "powerful and auton-omous FE Division of the UAW-C.I.O.,throughout the U.S. and Canada."

For Left-Wing Control of UAW

The FE was to enter the UAW withits staff intact; FE members. togetherwith UAW members in the farm imple-ment industry, were to be given specialmembership cards in an "FE Division"of the UAW; the whole plan was in vio-lation of the UAW constitution and or-ganizationally unsound. It would havemeant a retreat from industrial unionismto craftlike autonomy at a time when theindustrial form of organization wasunder attack from Congress. But theCommunists didn't care. They weremaking a bid for control of the nation'sbiggest union. This was the showdown.The plan was approved by the left-wing

majority of the UAW Executive Board.UAW locals were given less than a monthto debate the issues and set up a poll inwhich no alternative set of proposalswould be available. Those of us in theleadership and ranks who favored realmerger but opposed the provisions of theleft-wing plan were placed in the uncom-fortable position of blocking "unity."We went into the local unions with

copies of the merger plan. Every timeadvocates of the measure waxed eloquentand general, we dragged them down outof the stratosphere by talking about theplan itself.They railed at the Taft-Hartley Act.

We insisted that all generalities bebrought oown to earth and measuredagainst the specific provisions of themerger proposal. We were not againstmerger. We favored merger. But weobjected to merger on the basis proposed.We knew that the FE merger maneuverwas Communist-inspired. But to baseour opposition to it on that ground would

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have confused the membership by in-volving them in a vague debate on themerits of Communism.The Communists would havc cried.

'Red-baiting," and they would have suc-ceeded in pushing the plan through on thebasis of their general appeal to unity.When left-wing rhetoric had subsidedand we had placed the facts hefore themembership, the proposal was rejectedby a vote of better than 2 to 1.A spokesman for the left-wing group,

interviewed by a reporter for the DetroitFree Press (July 20. 1947) after the vote.had this to say: "We give Reuther credit.His workers covered the country fronscoast to coast and down to the Gulf."

His credit should have gone to theworkers he mentioned rather than to me,but the point is clear. We had beatenthe Stalinists on the merits of the issue-but the issues were rescued from the fogof double-talk and presented to the mem-bership by hard work. That is the way tobeat the Communists.

Since the UAW Convention, we haveoffered the FE a sound unity proposalwhich their leadership has rejected. Theyhave lost their zeal for unity.An equally significant Communist de-

feat occurred at the last C.l.O. conven-tion. Here again, during debate on theforeign policy resolution, the progressiveforces won an important victory fordemocratic unionism which has implica-tions wider than the C.I.O.-and we wonit by hitting hard at the issue.The resolution on foreign policy was

among the most important adopted bythe C.I.O. convention, for it contained aclearly implied endorsement of the Mar-shall Plan. To the Communists, it wasall-important, since they are always mostsensitive in those areas where the interestsof the Soviet Union are directly affected.They recognized that the resolution it-

self was not so important as the inter-pretation it would be given by delegatesand by -the press. We, too, were fullyaware of the importance of the setting.Secretary of State Marshall had beeninvited to address the convention.What Marshall said before the C.l.O.

National Convention was important, butmore significant was the fact that he hadbeen invited to address the C.I.O. Forin its work of dispensing confusion tothe hungry and troubled peoples ofEurope, the Cominform would find itdifficult to explain how the chief "agentof American imperialism and WallStreet capitalism" could be invited to ad-dress the delegates of millions of indus-trial workers.The Stalinists attempted to maneuver

convention action on the foreign policyresolution in advance of Secretary Mar-shall's speech. We blocked such a move.

Marshall spoke first and debate followed.The democratic bloc was ready. VanBittner of the Steel Workers took thefloor. Anticipating the tenor of left-wingremarks, he gave the lie to Communistcharges that Marshall was a "war-monger." Other similar speeches fol-lowed, attacking Communist hypocrisy.Kehoe of the American Communica-

tions Association was the first speaker toecho the CP line. He had just finishedattacking American policy in Korea andwas in the middle of a free-speech perora-tion when Philip M urray interrupted himto inquire. "I assume that you also believethe heroes of Stalingrad are entitled totake the rostrum and the public platformin Russia to expound their views?" Kehoereplied lamely that he believed in freespeech everywhere, even in Russia. TheComtinists were in full retreat.

Victory for Democratic Unionism

The "secret battalion" had been lickedbefore an international audience. Hun-dreds of thousands of decent union-ists, watching from local union officesthroughout the land, had won new heart.They knew now that it could be done;they had juist seen it done. And demo-cratic trade unionists throughout Europe,who suffered the horrors of Nazi con-centration camps, knew they had friendsand allies in the ranks of American laborin their struggle against the new totali-tarianism of the left.As delegate elections preceding our

1947 convention were held and the cam-paign got under way, the results soonproved the effectiveness and soundnessof our policy of fighting the Communistson the basis of principles and program.We entered the delegate elections with amilitant union program. It was printedon every piece of our campaign literature.We made specific recommendations for

strengthening the internal structure ofour union. We emphasized a broad pro-gram for union members acting not asproducers alone but as consumers andpolitically conscious citizens. We de-veloped a concept of unionism as anintegral part of the community, alert toall aspects of the community's life andsensitive to the relationship of its ownfunction and the general good. Wepulled no punches on the issues of Com-munism and Fascism, for we had noulterior motives to hide. Whenever wecould, we talked program, not personali-ties, in contrast to a left-wing campaignlimited to personal slander and abuse.

It was our concern with program that

provided our margin of victory in theUAW. Around our program we mobi-lized the energies of our people, the demo-

cratic unionist bloc. In every area wherewe clashed, militant democracy won outover Stalinist maneuvers.

In the Motor Building of the vast FordRouge plant, the leadership of the unitopposed our program. They fixed dele-gate elections for Sunday between11:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M., thinking that theinconvenient hour would discouragerank-and-file attendance and enable adisciplined minority to capture the dele-gates. It was a technique which had suc-ceeded many times; this time it failed.We worked harder than the opposition.We filled the hall and we elected 9 out

of 10 delegates. The election was thrownout on a technicality by the leadership,and another election was scheduled. Wewent to work again. The results this timewere, perfect; we mobilized an evenheavier vote and we carried 10 out of 10delegates by better than 3 to 1. Hardhitting on the issues; hard work on thedouble. There is no easier or surer wayfor democracy to win.The Communists made a particularly

ambitious play for the allegiance of ourNegro members. They had in the pasthad undeniable success in exploiting thelegitimate grievances of Negroes, both ascitizens and as unionists. But here, as inother areas, the Communists have beenmore interested in playing upon miseryand exploiting legitimate grievances fortheir own purposes than in making-a prin-cipled and consistent attack on the evilsof prejudice and discrimination. Thecleverness of the Stalinist appeal to raceemotions cost the UAW democratic blocthe Buffalo convention in 1943, when weopposed election of a Negro board mem-ber-at-large on the basis of race alone.We persisted, however, in efforts to

obtain equality of treatment and opportu-nity for Negro members. Our stand wasnot so spectacular as the Communist ap-proach. We appealed to Negroes, not asracial nationalists but as unionists andfellow Americans. We could, moreover,afford to be steadfast in our actions.Throughout the war period, for example,we continued to press for fair play in theplants and local unions, at a time whenthe CP members preferred to look theother way, regarding a prosecution ofNegro grievances Ior any legitimateunionist grievance) as an offense againsttheir newly acquired superpatriotic line.

At the latest convention of the UAW,the vast majority of Negro delegatesjoined the democratic bloc. Not onlyhad we been more consistent; we had notwaited for Communist-front organiza-tions to champion the cause of civilrights.The lesson is clear; it can be applied

elsewhere. An honest but inactive liberalis no match for a devious but aggressive

totalitarian in any engagement wheredemocratic values are at stake. Democ-racy needs more get-up-and-go.The lessons we learned in the UAW

can fortify free men everywhere whostand at the crossroads today. Wemobilized a third force, resisting theinterference and blandishments of de-mocracy's enemies on the right and theleft. We talked program, and acted toimplement program. The challenge tomake democracy work is particularlyacute in America, where our great pro-ductive potential gives us the prime re-sponsibility to provide leadership andsustenance to a world in crisis.

Double Standard Must Go

Communism is in perpetual war withwhat democracy preaches, for it cannotabide the sanctity of the individual or theinterplay of honest differences. But Com-munism breeds on what democracy toooften practices; it exploits the lapses ofthe democratic conscience and thrives onthe shortcomings of democratic action.It is the task of democrats to bridge thegap between preachment and practice; wemust wipe out the double standard inAmerica, and in the world, which dividesthe masses of people from the minoritythat controls the preponderance of eco-nomic power It is this double standardwhich embittirs our society.

Democracy's heart is in the right place.It is grounded on the firm base of con-fidence in the intrinsic soundness andrightness of the ordinary person. De-mocracy affirms that the individual ismore than a hired hand, more than aclock-card number, more than a servantof the authoritarian state. It rejects theFascist and Stalinist notion that menmust be herded and bullied through his-tory's dialectic by vanguards and elites.

But you can't beat Communism bythrowing embarrassing questions at wit-nesses in a Congressional hearing. Youcan't slug it to death with a club or aslogan. You can't burn it at the stake.You have to show it up in the marketplace of ideas, expose it by honest deal-ing. Communism breeds on hunger, pov-erty, human insecurity. The Catholicpeasants of Italy have never read Marx orLenin. But in desperation they will voteCommunist for land and bread if Italiandemocrats fail them. Desperation knowsand needs no ideology.Whether in some small local union in

some small American town or in the vastpower vacuums of Europe and Asia,democracy needs program and the will toget up early and stay late in the runningfight with totalitarianism of every stamp.Democracy needs less noise from theThomas Committee and more quiet laborin the vineyards Franklin Roosevelt hadonly begun to cultivate when he died.

THE END

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