responsibilities for her past errors. The information that she furnished
the FBI is now at work against the very Party that for almost twenty
years duped her. And she, with a clear conscience, is winning back the
respect and esteem she had before the Party stole her away. She deserves
aid as she reconstructs her life.
Many interviews with Party members reflect numerous men and women inside
the movement today in various stages of disillusionment. Such doubts are
good omens. They indicate that not all members are lost beyond recall. By
the very nature of Party discipline doubts are inevitable. Any member in
the Party today without doubts is indeed a complete slave.
What causes doubt to arise in the minds of members? Our experiences
reveal these major categories:
1. _The absence of freedom inside the Party._ The greatest single factor
making for doubt is the lack of democracy inside the Party. “I was
constantly whipped into line,” one member said, “on policies and issues
with which I disagreed.” “Discussions at meetings were not open....”
Party organizers would come and tell the club what to do. “Why Writer
Quit Reds: They Frown on Thinking,” read a headline in a New York City
newspaper. This member could no longer force himself “to live in the
stifling atmosphere of the party line with all its ruthless intolerance
for the processes of the mind.” In another instance a woman told us how
she had voted “no” in a Party meeting. “People literally moved their
chairs away from me. I walked out of the meeting and never attended a
Communist Party meeting again.”
More and more intellectuals are realizing that the Party is simply
exploiting their prestige and talents, without trusting them.
Intellectuals are encouraged to think, if they think the “right” way;
but any independent thinking is not allowed. That is why, in the
final analysis, the Party keeps the pressure on its members who are
intellectuals. It fears that they might start thinking for themselves. As
one intellectual stated, “I think that the Party was using me, as they
were many other intellectuals.... I always had the feeling that they
never trusted intellectuals beyond a certain limit....”
2. _The inability to live a normal life._ Closely allied is the
impossibility of living as a decent human being. One member said he
resented the Party’s constantly demanding his time. There was no end
of assignments: distributing literature, attending meetings, getting
petitions signed. Another member complained that she was “sick and tired”
of her husband’s putting the Party before her and the children. The
Party’s instructions must always take precedence. This constant stealing
of time, never allowing the member to relax, develop a hobby, or enjoy a
family, provokes the most searching doubts.
3. _The Party’s callous disregard of members’ personal problems._ A
Party official’s wife was sick. He asked for time off. It was refused.
Or, a member’s home must be mortgaged in a fund drive. And if he cannot
make payments, it’s his hard luck. Again, an old-time member was sent
underground. He was instructed to change his name, sell his car and
personal belongings, leave his wife and not contact her. He asked Party
permission to visit his family. The answer: no. He came home anyhow and
was severely disciplined.
No wonder more and more members are asking, “Why continue to be
exploited?”
4. _Discrepancy between Party practices and claims._ As we have seen,
many members join in the mistaken belief that the Party will improve
some social evil, such as racial inequality or inadequate housing. “It
is frankly recognized in Communist theory,” one disillusioned old-timer
confessed, “that the whole strategy is not for the main purpose of Negro
liberation, but for the purpose of the proletarian revolution.” “My
dissatisfaction with the Party and my break with the Party came about
through a gradual process as a result of the realization that Party
policy was a detriment to true trade unionism.”
Like Barbara Hartle, dubious communists see the internal squabbles and
feuds, rigged elections, trumped-up evidence, the striving to be little
commissars. Party leaders stay in fancy hotels or take vacations, while
rank-and-file members are hounded to donate the last dollar. All this is
disillusioning, especially in an organization that claims to be working
for a just society.
5. _Communist tyranny in Russia and behind the Iron Curtain._ The
sensational revelations of Khrushchev concerning the crimes of
Stalin rocked the Party apparatus. Then came indisputable evidence
of anti-Semitism in Russia and in November, 1956, the capping
blow, suppression of Hungary by Soviet troops, the spectacle of a
self-proclaimed leader of “people’s rights” physically strangling a
people’s demand for liberty.
This caused Howard Fast to strike violently at the Party that could give
birth to “the explosive and hellish revelations of the Khrushchev ‘secret
report’” when he said:
I felt a sense of unmitigated mental nausea at the realization
that I had supported and defended this murderous bloodbath, and
I felt, as so many did then, a sense of being a victim of the
most incredible swindle in modern times.
About Hungary: “From Hungary and its tragedy we learned of a new kind of
socialism—socialism by slaughter and terror.” No wonder Fast laments, “A
lifelong structure of belief lies shattered around me....”
Another member who had been in the Party almost twenty years told our
agents that she was quitting. If what happened in Russia, as revealed
by Khrushchev, was true, she wanted “no part” of it. Still another
member with over twenty-five years in the movement admitted that Soviet
intervention in Hungary brought things to a head for him. If he were in
Hungary, he said, he would be a Freedom Fighter.
Every abrupt change in the Party line, such as the 1939 Hitler-Stalin
Pact or the 1945 ousting of Browder, jars many members. However, no event
in Party life has been so conducive to raising doubts among members as
the Khrushchev report and its sequel.
6. _Communist opposition to religion._ Member after member has related
that the Party’s claims that God doesn’t exist and that religion is a
myth have raised doubts. Many members carry within their hearts the
influence of religious training received while they were young. They
inwardly rebel at a materialist solution to life.
Then there is the protest against the Marxist doctrine, which, in the
words of one former member, “purports to reduce man’s problems and
destiny to an economic formula.” In deeply emotional terms he added, “I
want my children to approach their world and the history behind it, with
the curiosity and objectivity it takes to learn. I do not want them to
feel that the questions are answered, that this or that little system is
the slide rule for answering all their questions.”
These, then, are some of the reasons why doubts concerning communism
arise in members’ minds. Why do many still hesitate to break with the
Party? The answer: They are still under the influence of false fears.
1. _Fear of the FBI._ One member, when interviewed by the FBI, expressed
amazement at the cordial treatment accorded him. “I thought you fellows
would drag me from my house.” Communists for years have poured scorn and
contempt on the FBI. They try to paint our agents as brutal thugs in the
hope of driving a wedge between their members and the government. One
highly placed member, visited by the FBI, turned what was expected to
be a fifteen-minute interview into a five-hour discussion, during which
he said, “The Party considers the FBI its prime enemy and Party members
are expected to denounce the FBI.” The FBI wants sincerely to help these
individuals. They should feel free to counsel with us. Members can be
assured that they will be cordially received, not embarrassed, and that
their information will be kept strictly confidential, should they so
request or if there is good reason to protect their identity.
2. _Fear of being a “stool pigeon.”_ This false belief, inspired by Party
discipline, is today keeping many lost souls silent. Our agents asked one
Party member, “Suppose a criminal gang kidnaped one of your children.
What would you do?” The answer: “Call the FBI.” “Would you want the FBI
to make inquiries to locate the youngster?” “Yes.” “Would you expect
citizens having pertinent knowledge of this criminal conspiracy to give
that information to the FBI?” “Certainly,” he said.
The communist member furnishing information to the FBI is also doing
his moral and patriotic duty in helping crush a criminal conspiracy. To
remain silent is to assist the Party. Communism, like a criminal gang,
thrives when people able to combat it refuse to do so. “Stool pigeon” is
a Party-defined term used as a weapon to enforce communist discipline.
The Party is enabled to reach into men’s minds, censor their thoughts and
words, and thereby buttress tyranny.
3. _Fear of personal safety and reputation._ Some members fear the rabid
hatred that the Party spews out at members leaving the movement. A West
Coast communist, though disillusioned, didn’t break with the Party. He
feared that his communist friends would ostracize him. Finally, though
hesitantly, he said he was now willing to “risk” being with the majority
of Americans!
Party members should not fear the hostility of their former Party
associates. To be denounced by communists is an honor. Remember, the
example of a Party member breaking with the Party may influence others to
do likewise.
4. _Fear of disgracing their families._ Many members trapped in the Party
dread that their loved ones will know of their involvement. One man,
asked if his wife and children knew of his communist background, began
to cry. Another said he would do anything to keep his young son from
knowing. Not long ago our agents contacted a Party member. “Don’t talk to
me at home,” she said. “I don’t want the children to know. Call me on the
phone.” Her wishes were respected.
To remain silent is not to improve the situation. There is no way in
which such cooperation will injure the family. One member, very thankful
that he had cooperated with the FBI, said he was happily married and
simply would not allow his communist background to injure his innocent
family.
5. _Fear of not being received as a loyal American._ The answer lies
largely with the Party member himself. It is within his power alone to
break completely with communism. He will be judged by his actions, not
alone by his words. The biblical advice holds true: “... by their fruits
ye shall know them.”
In addition, patriotic Americans must do their share to help these Party
members. Many are driven back into Party tyranny by the inexcusable
ignorance, rancor, and pride of noncommunists. Moreover, it does not help
when the truly reformed communist is characterized as a “renegade” and
“traitor”—terms which would normally be used by communists themselves and
not by good Americans.
In November, 1953, I wrote an article entitled “Breaking the Communist
Spell,” which appeared in _This Week_ magazine. It was an appeal to
members disillusioned with communism to step forward and help in the
fight against Soviet tyranny. The response was encouraging. In an Eastern
city a caller said he had read the article and wanted to give information
about Party activities. Another person told our agents, “It’s never easy
to tell such a story.... Then I saw an appeal by J. Edgar Hoover in a
recent magazine article and after reading it several times felt that
I should make a special effort to remember and pull what I could into
order.”
I want to set forth again the salient portions of this article. It seems
to sum up what we have been trying to say on this most important subject:
The individual contributions of former members of the Communist
Party to the security of our way of life are shining examples
of people who have recognized their mistakes and are doing all
within their power to rectify them.
* * * * *
If, having knowledge of persons and activities detrimental to
his country, he breaks from the Party, yet maintains silence,
he is still aiding the enemy. The moral obligation involved
cannot be met by silence. The choice is simple: _help the
United States_. The man who does this is preserving freedom
under law. He is protecting the American way of life for free
men and women—including his family and himself.
* * * * *
These people deserve the nation’s respect, and their neighbors’
fair-minded forgiveness for their past devotion to Communism.
Their means of livelihood must be protected, and loyal
Americans must accept their sincere repentance as a return to
the full scope of citizenship. All great religions teach that
the sinner can always redeem himself. Who, then, shall sit in
judgment on the ex-Communist? Who dare deny him the promise
held out to those who repent of the evil they have done and who
try to make amends?
For our part, at the FBI, we have always sought to recognize
the very real human and personal problems facing the
ex-Communists who have come to our offices to make such
amends....
In discussing the ex-Communist, those who piously say that the
leopard never changes its spots forget that they are speaking
of human beings—mortal creatures with immortal souls. And those
who say “Once a Communist, always a Communist” are simply
advertising their ignorance. To deny that men can change is to
deny the truths which have eternally guided civilized man.
_Part IV_
LIFE IN THE PARTY
10.
_How the Party Is Organized_
Look in for a minute on a typical secret meeting of a communist “club”
or cell “somewhere in the United States.” This particular meeting is
selected because it is typical of hundreds of such meetings.
The house is frame, painted gray with green shutters. A wire fence runs
around the trim yard. The owner works as a draftsman in a downtown
company, his wife keeps house. They have lived in the neighborhood for
many years.
It is now dark, a little after eight o’clock on a winter evening. The
downstairs light is on, the blinds are drawn. A man comes to the front
door, raps lightly, and is admitted. Soon another man, walking at a
leisurely pace, rounds the corner and enters. He has parked his car on
another street.
Ten minutes pass. A third man knocks. He has come by bus from downtown.
To make certain nobody was following him, he had ridden two stops past
his correct destination, then walked back. Five minutes later a fourth
person, a woman in a dark coat, arrives. Everything is quiet: no loud
voices, no cars parked in front, no reasons for the neighbors to suspect
that a Communist Party meeting is in progress.
Communist Party groups like this are small, containing three, four,
or five people—a security precaution. In that way fewer members know
each other and detection is less likely. Meeting places are frequently
changed: this evening a private home, next time a public library or
an automobile. Members have been known to sit on park benches, in bus
terminals, even in hospital waiting rooms, hatching their plots in
casual, conversational tones.
The third man is the Party organizer, a paid official who serves as the
group’s leader. He sits in a chair in the corner; the others form a
rough semicircle. He speaks quietly but in a commanding tone, acting the
dictator that he actually is.
“Joe,” he says, addressing the first man to arrive, “you remember the
last time we met you were given an assignment to collect three to five
thousand sheets of paper, a Mimeograph machine, and some ink. How did
things go?”
“Fine,” Joe replies. “I bought four thousand sheets of paper. Got them at
three different stores.”
“Good,” says the organizer, “that’s using your head.”
“I also bought a Mimeograph machine and plenty of ink. Everything’s safe
now in the right place.” (The “right place” refers to an apartment in
another section of the city occupied by a concealed communist, which the
Party uses as a secret hide-out.)
“One thing more,” Joe says. “I’ve made inquiries about a portable
printing press. It’s pretty old, but it’ll work.”
“Fine,” the organizer says, obviously pleased. “Follow that through. You
took the serial numbers off the Mimeograph, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t,” stammers the comrade. “I forgot....”
“Forgot!” explodes the organizer. “What’s wrong with you? That’s just
plain stupid. Joe, this is serious business. You’ve got to keep alert.
Someday this machine may be used to print secret Party instructions. We
can’t afford to have it traced. Take off all identification marks at
once.”
Then turning to another man, the one who had parked his car around the
corner, the organizer says, “Phil, how are things coming at the plant?
Making any progress on getting Bill installed as shop steward?”
“No, not much. Things look pretty bad.” The man shifts his legs. He is a
big fellow, weighing over two hundred pounds. “Looks like we’re blocked.”
“Nonsense,” snaps the organizer, “we’ve gone over that before. There’s
always a way. Communists never give up. You’ve got things good. You’re
at home enjoying life. Remember Lenin, exiled from Russia, going from
town to town. He didn’t quit, and look what he did. He was a genius.
What’s the big problem, Phil?”
“It’s Red, the union president. He knows Bill is a communist and he’s
fighting him. Red is smart, he knows the ropes. He’s always been a hard
worker for labor unions. He’s got a clean record and he’s liked by the
members. As long as Red is president, we’re in a bad fix.”
“That’s the wrong attitude, Phil. If one thing won’t work, try another.
Can’t we accuse him of something? Have you gone over his past life?
Hasn’t he ever done anything wrong?”
“If he has, we can’t find it. He’s a straight shooter from ’way back and
he really hates communists.”
“Phil, this is your Number One assignment,” the organizer says. “You get
something on Red. He’s got to be discredited. Maybe we can make up some
letters, mail them in another city, accuse him of working against the
union. You figure out the details.”
The organizer goes around the circle to the other members. Are they
carrying out their assignments? Ethel, the draftsman’s wife, thinks she
will soon be elected an officer in a downtown women’s group.
“Wonderful,” says the organizer. “Don’t rush things too fast but try to
get some of the women to write letters to Washington. Let them say the
FBI is a Gestapo; that they’re violating civil liberties by arresting
Party leaders. That’s good, Ethel.”
“They haven’t the slightest idea I’m a communist.” She laughs. “I’m
working hard at it.” The other woman, the last one to arrive, reports her
activities as secretary of a communist-front organization.
The organizer, wanting the meeting to be short, speaks a few words about
“new things” in the Party: A pamphlet from national headquarters has
just been received and should be bought by all; finances are not in good
shape; a new Party school is going to be held next month. Ethel should
attend.
Shortly after nine o’clock the meeting is over, and as quietly as they
have come the members slip out into the night.
This Communist Party club is representative of many hundreds throughout
the nation. Night after night, week after week, these men and women are
plotting against America, working out smears, seeking to discredit free
government, and planning for revolution. They form the base of a gigantic
pyramid of treason, stretching from the little gray house with green
shutters to the towers of the Kremlin.
The Communist Constitution (18th version, 1957)
At least in theory the Communist Party, USA, is based on a
“constitution,” which sets forth the group’s organizational structure.
That constitution, being a public document, is filled with typical
Aesopian language. The Party member, for example, isn’t fooled when the
constitution proclaims, “The Communist Party upholds the achievements of
American democracy and defends the United States Constitution and its
Bill of Rights....” He knows better. His Marxist training enables him to
recognize the Party’s real aim:
The Communist Party seeks to advance the understanding of the
working class in its day-to-day struggles for its historic
mission, the establishment of socialism. (Preamble)
Here is the key, “_historic mission_.” What does it mean? Not something
traditional, respectable, or patriotic, but the overthrow of this
government by force and violence. Engels talked about the “historic
mission” of “the proletariat,” which “can only free itself by doing away
once for all with class dominion, subjugation, and exploitation.” That,
in communist terminology, means revolution. The Communist International
spoke of the Party’s “historic mission of achieving the dictatorship of
the proletariat.”
Today’s communists, with deceitful double talk, are attempting to
camouflage the true meaning of this old and well-defined revolutionary
term. Comrades in the early 1920’s weren’t quite so squeamish about their
intentions. The Party’s constitution (1921) proclaimed the communist
purpose:
... to destroy the bourgeois state machinery; to establish the
Dictatorship of the Proletariat in the form of Soviet power; to
abolish the capitalist system and to introduce the Communist
Society. (Article I, Section 2)
Regardless of current communist claims, “historic mission” is the Party’s
linguistic description of its revolutionary intent.
The National Convention, according to the constitution, is the highest
authority in the Party. This convention, normally held every two years,
is composed of delegates “elected” by state or district conventions. The
National Convention, after hearing “discussions” of the various issues,
is authorized to make decisions binding upon the entire membership.
These affairs have the trappings of big-time conventions. Various
committees are chosen, resolutions adopted, and speeches given.
Proceedings are secret, although communists say they have nothing to
hide. Members of the legitimate press are excluded. Exploiting this
blackout of news, the communists often issue slanted press releases in
an effort to influence public opinion. Another tactic is to allow the
attendance of selected noncommunists, persons carefully hand-picked
wherever possible, who the Party hopes will later make favorable reports.
Extensive preparations are made for the National Convention. Party
officials as a general rule work up a “draft program,” a summary of
proposed Party aims on current issues, national and international. This
“draft program” is widely circulated, with members being asked to discuss
indicated approaches. Then, theoretically, the convention, based on the
opinions developed, adopts a final program. Actually, in practice, the
draft program represents a technique whereby the leadership “sells” the
membership the ideas it wants to stress. Frequently, convention reports,
resolutions, and speeches, properly edited, are later published. They
serve as policy guides for the membership.
Never forgotten are Soviet trimmings. Proudly read on the floor of the
Sixteenth National Convention (February 9-12, 1957) were greetings from
the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Other
Communist Parties in China, Canada, Italy, Japan, and Czechoslovakia
also sent “best wishes.” From these, members gain a sense of communist
solidarity, or, in Party language, _proletarian internationalism_,
the feeling that they are integral parts of the world-wide communist
movement. This is one of the driving forces of modern-day communism: the
Party-promoted idea that no member is alone, that he is part of a vast
movement which, in communist eyes, is destined to conquer the world.
Singing the “Internationale,” the communist marching song, also engenders
this feeling.
The Three Levels of Power
The Party’s organizational structure may be likened to layers in a
pyramid, one placed on top of the other.