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.”