The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 25, 1934, Page 5

CHANGE -—— Thr | WORLD! . MICHAEL GOLD A Great Revolutionary Play NEW play, “Stevedore.” has just opened at the Theatre Union in New York, and it is one of the best, if not the best, revolutionary drama that has yet appeared in this country. It tells the story of a race riot in New Orleans along the docks, and how the militant white workers join with the Negro stevedores in fighting off the lynching mob. It is as exciting as a May Day dem- onstration or a picket line, and every New York worker should go to see it, Plays like this have a profound effect, in that they teach a great revolutionary lesson by driving it deep into your bones. Working-class audiences are jamming the theatre nightly, and cheering till the roof almost explodes. I have never seen anything like it, and you will say the same. The play has been reviewed in the Daily Worker, and I have done & review of it for the New Masses weekly which will be on the news- stands this Friday. At this point, however, I would like to say a word about some of the bourgeois newspaper critics who reviewed the play. \ Their reaction is always an interesting spectacle of class feeling trying to disguise itself as objective art criticism. Most of them were forced to say a few good words for the play, since it was obviously, a good play from the technical viewpoint. But these critics, who haye so many sesquipedalian adjectives to shower on a Ziegfeld Follies, were mostly brief and timid in Their com- ment on “Stevedore.” It was really a ticklish situation, for most of them, How can you praise Leninism in a capitalist paper, even when it appears in the form of a strong, moving, intense work of art? It is better to hem and haw and stutter and wag the head, which is what } most of them did. One really felt sorry for them. The only critic who allowed his class prejudice to get the best of him, and to blurt out his rage, was, as one might expect, the very esthetic person who does the drama for the most “liberal” and “radical” fournal in New York, John Mason Brown of the Evening Post. . . . . EZ of the best things revolutionary proletarian art does is to smoke out such “esthetes” and “liberals.” They forget all their lofty dog- mas about “pure art,” they forget to judge serenely from the sacred mountain of the esthete, and begin to squeak and gibber like any out- raged small-town bankér and Republican. They, who are ever 80 fond of denying that art has any connection with politics, suddenly drop their false, simpering masks and become intensely political. Tt is better so, since it is easier to fight an enemy in the open than when he hides behind the skirts of a sacred Muse. Some of these bourgeois theatrical critics ought to be equipped with blackjacks and not typewriters when they are sent to plays like “Stevedore.” In their hearts they are really the cultural policemen of capitalism. But listen to the choice esthetic words of Mr. John. Mason Brown, as he opens his attack on “Stevedore”: “With the Theatre Union angrily established in Miss Le Galliene’s old playhouse in Fourteenth Street, those New Yorkers who pray for such a thing can now console themselves with the thought that they have ‘a Theatre of the Barricades. “No longer do they have to stand up in Union Square to hear the inflammatory harangues which are honey to their ears. For Union Square—soap boxes, speechifiers and all—has gone indoors. At their own convenience, these indignant champions of the revolution, can, without fear of rain, become as agitated as they please.” Such are his opening lines. What contempt he has for the workers, this “pure” esthete. How he hates every needle trade worker, sailor, ex-serviceman and unemployed father of children who goes to Union Squar to express the misery and injustice of our time. This well-fed, timesserving, protected liberal, who has never missed. f ®& meal in his life, or watched a worker's baby die of malnutrition, would probably like to see machine guns sweep the Square, to drive out the scum who go there “to hear the inflammatory harangues which are honey to their ears.” And this is supposed to be theatrical criticism, this fascist blast against the working class! We are the propagandists, and he is the champion of art! Thanks, Mr. Brown, we know now where you stand, and to hell with you and your “art” criticism! We will continue, “with- out fear of rain,” to become as “agitated as we please” over the hor- rors of lynching and hunger and tyranny, and as for you, may the C.W.A. get you one of these days! * * ‘S great Republican soul goes on to admit that several scenes in the play “have a tension to them that is nerve-wracking.” But, and ‘here the esthete attempts to impress us, “the trouble with such dramatic firebrands as Messrs. Peters and Sklar [authors of “Steve- dore”] is that they can win the mob responses at which they aim (and which they most assuredly get down on Fourteenth Street) by resort- ing to childishly simple devices, Their jobs are made too easy for them. by the very nature of the audiences to which they pander.” Yes, the Theatre Union “panders” to the revolutionary working class. This is an esthetic crime. One should pander to Mr. Brown, or the peaple who go to the Minsky burlesque shows which Mr. Brown has Praised so often, to the dress-suit Yahoos who make up the bourgeois Broadway mob. “Being agitators, the Messrs, Peters and Sklar do not bother to think their problem through, Like firebugs, they find their pleasure in the flames they start rather than in the arrival ef the hook-and- ladder. In the phrase which their white foreman applies to their black hero, they are ‘trouble-makers.’ They seem much more interested in putting salt into old wounds than in cauterizing them, They have eompassion and indignation, but very little else.” . - . . A True Southern Gentleman IS speaks the slave-holder who happens to write theatrical criti- cism on the “liberal” Evening Post. He doesn’t want fhe facts rubbed e in, that Negro workers are framed-up and lynched in the South. He SS. sympathizes with the brutal white foreman in the play, who calls & Negro who stands on his rights a “trouble-maker.” Brown cannot deny the facts themselves, but he wants them to be forgotten. Yes, Mr. Brown, you are a true southern gentleman. You marvel naively that people get so excited about a lynching and the only ariswer one can _. ™ake to your kind is the answer made in “Stevedore,” 1% But you don’t understand that answer. You don't understand the historic significance of the fact that, recently, in the South, white revo-- Jutionary workers have united to defend the Negro workers, thatthe horrible race line is being broken down in the fires of the war against hunger. That barricade at the end of “Stevedore” seems only a piece of hokum to you, to make Union Square “scum” cheer. But to these thoughtful and impassioned people it is a mighty symbol and promise of the end of a long nightmare in America—a century of injustice to the Negro masses; But of course, Mr. Brown, we may assume you care as little for Negroes and their wrongs as you do for the white workers of New York. So may your ephemeral job fold up one of these days, and may your poisoned typewriter break down, and may you tramp these streets of New York and know what hunger means under capitalism! This is the only education one can offer to such as you—at present, you are merely another of the well-fed intellectual rabble that sells its im- mortal soul to any capitalist master for 30 pleces of silver, a pent-house, or even a hot-dog. * . * * a4) An Urgent Plea at the coal front we get the news that Tom Myerscough, that i grand fighter for the miners, who has been spending the last months in Johnstown, Pa., organizing the miners and the unemployed workers for struggle, is laid up with a “floating cartilage,” result of »f an old bullet wound. Unless he is operated on immediately, it will mean serious trouble. The comrades ask us to bring this to the at- tention of the workers through this column, He needs $75, oll that is hard to raise in a hurry from the pennies of the miners, so workers and sympathizers everywhere to rush help to save ball leg, so he can continue his fight. Send contributions at once, care of this column! a * . . * Will any friends who knew Essie Horn, the young vig who i FLASHES and CLOSE-UPS By LENS HE First Annual Movie Ball of the Film and Photo League to be held at Webster Hall on the night of the 27th of April is intended pri- marily to finance the production of workers’ films over a six - month Period, at least. This is the impor- tant political aspect of this occasion the publicity for which has thus far confined itself to merely trumpet- ing the scheduled presence of sev- eral well-known sparklers of the Hollywood firmament. Edward G. Robinson will be there. Richard Barthelmess will be there. Jimmy Durante will bring his trunk. Helen Chandler will lend her deli- cate charm to the festivities. Madge Bellamy, whose sincere sympathy with our aims and activities will make her one the most welcome guests of the evening, will also be present. But before this blindingly brilliant array of Hollywood stars will have stuck around very long the character of the organization conducting the ball and its prole- tarian allegiances will have been clearly impresed on their minds. Let me make a little personal confession. I am looking forward to observing Richard Barthelmess’ reactions to an appeal for funds to equip & camera crew to cover the coal strike in Alabama, for instance. Barthelmess, you know, returned from a tourist’s jaunt to the Soviet Union about a year ago and in- dulged in some rather cheap slander against the U. S. S. R. The odi- ferous fumes of his interviews with the capitalist press at the time still linger in the local atmosphere, no Jess than his starring collaboration in the most viciously anti-working- class film ever turned out, “Heroes For Sale.” (I can’t at the moment recall whether Mary Pickford has promised to come, but there’s a little lady I'd like to cross-examine on her disgraceful anti-labor con- duet during the past year.) B™ while these glamorous folks will be present to lend to the ball its unique character (yes, I'm trying hard to be sweet and polite!), the fact of outstanding importance is thet at least one thousand dol- Jars must be raised to enable the young and growing Film and Photo League to continue its courageous struggle against reactionary Holly- wood movies, against the release of Nazi films, against capitalist gov- ernment censorship and for the pro- duction of workers’ newsreel and documentary films. Remember that the dollar that you pay for admis- sion to the Film and Photo League Costume Ball will translated into long celluloid ribbons carrying the message of struggle against war, hunger and fascism to tens of thou- sands of workers throughout the United States — into leaflets de- nouncing films like “I Believe in You,” the N. R. A. shorts, ete— into cameras and projectors. Ours is a gigantic task, challenging the most institutionalized of all the bourgeois arts with its monster monopolies and gigantic network for mass distribution, Attend the First Annual Motion Picture Costume Ball of the Film and Photo League fully conscious of the fact that you are doing your share to support and build what Lenin once called “the most impor- tant of all the arts for us.” Chambers’ Farm Story Is Feature at May First Meeting in Louisville LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The presenta- tion of Whittaker Chambers’ drama- tized story of farm struggle, “Can You Hear Their Voices?” will be one of the main features of a united front May Day celebration here, in which the Pen and Hammer Club, the Communist Party, the Socialist Party, the International Labor De- fense and the Friends of the Soviet, Union are planning to participate. There will be an address by Phil Zimmerman of the Pen and Ham- mer Club, and a program of revolu- tionary music. TUNING IN 7:00 Baseball Res’ oe Sports igs Prick: Wis. ‘ Amos 'n’ Be ash eat ras-Weacene a Glenn—Skestch WOR-Harry i ‘WJa-Taxes and What They Po Mayor H. W. Jackson of Baltimore Plain Bill—Sketch 30-WEAF-Shirley owsré, Songs; Trio WABO-Just WOR-Velvatones ‘orabenrs; dimmy Wik Frets Rugel, 8 ABC-Armbruster WJZ-Sketch, With ce Rich WABO-Bonke Carter, Commentator 8:00-WEAF-Jack Pearl, Comedian WOR-Wallenstein’s Sinfonietta WJZ-Boomerang Blade—Sketch ‘WABO-Men About Town Trio; Vivien Ruth, Songs ‘WEAF-Wayne King Orchestre WOR-Frank Munn, Tenor; Orchestra ‘W5Z-Carlos Gardel, Baritone ‘WABC-Albert Spalding, Violin; Oon- rad Thibault, Baritone 3:45-WJZ-Baseball Comment—Babe Koh bidet oc ge Orch.; Sullivan WABC-Fiorito Orch.; Dick Powell, 10:15-WOR- it Events-—Harlan 3. Sreh.: Harry Richman, Lil WABC-The borg ia Tak o Rep. rand H. &nel I. WAEOcduct™ Plain Bill—Sketch ws e Carter, Commentator 10:45-WABC-Mary Eastman, Soprano 11:00-WEAF-Ferdinando Orchestra ‘WOR-Weather; Trie WIE. Sones WABO-Nick, ncaa, ‘Bones ‘in the Soviet capital. BATLY WORKER, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, APR “Good Ship Santa Catalina” 'HE M. S. Santa Catalina south- bound from San Francisco ar- rived at the port of La Libertad El Salvador, and dropped anchor in the open roadstead beyond the lighters to discharge her cargo. She carried dynamite. After she had discharged thre or four hundred cases of explosives into one of the empty lighters she took up her an- chor and left. The two other Grace liners that were there also sailed that night La Libertad is a smali port on the open sea, a single pier just out over a heavy surf. A small rail- road with one locomotive and a few flat cars runs along the pier and up the shoreline a short distance to the large warehouse near the center of the town’s commercial life. | The 3,000 or so people that live on the activity of the port, steve- dores, workers in the warehouse, | clerks, some railroad men. Tourists do not linger here. A good paved road connects the port with the capital city, San A abla about 23 miles away. This is the highways the tourists take to see the large coffee fincas, the silk fac- | tories and to hear the Marimba band at the Hotel “Nuevo Mundo.” In La Libertad, the Grace Line | factor, Towning, is in charge. His control over those who work for him | in the port is absolute. His terrible power of Blacklist dominates the} entire town. Exploitation, of course, is not new in San Salvador. The Spaniards with crucifix and sword early laid out the bloody roads to Heaven throughout the sunny land. Cof- fee barons, mahogany manufactu- rers, banana kings keep the heritage of exploitation intact. The hulls of bright new ships (built with U. S. government money) appear regularly between the volcanic hills of every tiny roadstead and the sound of their rumbling anchor chains is the alarm clock to impoverished thou- sands. And among the steamship lines that carry freight and tourists here, the Grace Line is one of the most assidious in administering “culture to a backward people” with the flery spoon of Yankee imperial- ism. Towning, the Grace Line's repre- sentative in La Libertad, has the arbitrary manner of dealing with} workers common to all white rulers | in subjugated lands, the scowling face under the English sun-helmet, the spiteful contempt for the na- tives, the craze for efficiency, for speed-up. And to these traits which Towning shares with his imperialist brothers throughout the world, he brings the arrogance of a small mean nature in a small mean phy- sique. CORY Ve | IARLY on the morning following March 13, the lighter loaded with dynamite was moved alongside the pier and emptied. There were no ships in port of the time and no particular need for hurry but the factor liked to do things as quickly as possible, The customary way of hand explosives had been to load a small number of cases on one of cars and then have a gang of men push the cars slowly down to the warehouse where it was to wait for distribution to points in the interior. When the first load got stowed away another little flat car got pushed up with with another load It was a cautious method and re- quired too many men and too much time for a man Towning, so the factor issued new orders—all the dynamite was to go in one load on one flat car and then the little switeh-engine was to be coupled on. | He was tired of humoring timid men. He was very emphatic. His figures showed conclusively that the old way of bringing up the dyna- And on that he put his foot down The men protested, they balked, they stood around with sullen faces. But they were unorganized. They | asked at last for a slight safeguard. | They knew that the little switch en- gine spluttered like a chestnut on every trip. If they loaded the card full-up they wanted to push it them- selves. Finally the engine driver pleaded to be alowed to put at least an empty car between the engine and the dynamite. Towning was not the kind of man te argue with his men—when the load left the pier a few minutes later it was pushed by the locomotive and there was no empty car between the load and engine, The engine crew, a brake- man and one of the soldiers from the customhouse went with the train. According to some of the clerks and stevedores on the pier the cases of detonaters were also put on the loaded car in the interests of speed, but according to others they were kept separate on the pier. At any rate when the locomotive stopped in front of the warehouse there was a slight jerk as the car took up the slack in the drawbar—a few of the upper cases toppled off. With a roar that was heard in San Sal- vador, two hundred and fifty cases of dynamite went off in a shatter- ing blast. Eighty people were blown instantly to bits. 9 EN who work for the white mas- ters are up early in San Sal- vador and at 7:10 in the morning when the explosion occurred the warehouse was full of busy men, the streets were full of people, even the nearby telegraph office was open. Several hundred were wounded — laborers, clerks, people passing on the street. Th warehouse had large quantities of gasoline in 5-gallon cans, thou- sands of sacks of coffee awaiting shipment, and people working busily about them. Here there was terrific damage. The cans went popping off carrying fire and destruction and terror. Fifteen thousand sacks of coffee commenced to burn. The structure, built solidly of reinforced concrete to withstand the earth- quakes that shake this uneasy coast, he flat | mite cargo would waste $15 of com-/} here are mostly workers, depending | y 7 was yet unable to withstand the ter- ic force of a man-made explosion Twisting and groaning as its sup- porting columns collapsed, it fell down upon the people within, com- pleting chaos. The light adobe houses of town with their tiled roofs flimsy construction were shaken to dust in many places. Hardly a single house within a 1,000 yards of the explosion had more than a wall intact, All the roofs had fallen down. Only the Grace Line office of concrete remained of the build- ings near the warehouse, but it’s roof had collapsed. too. The factor. however, was not in the office. He was nowhere near the explosion. the HIS was a disaster that struck out swiftly the lives of men who knew nothing but toil, workers who were forced to dangerous work against their will, men who died in inarticulate protest. of obscure notice in the newspapers | | as another natural accident, one of those unaccountable acts of an “im- Partial” God. Nobody said anything about Towning's crying to save $15 of Grace Line’s money. But to the awakening workers in all countries who have first-hand knowledge of the brutalities and in- difference of the ruling classes, who themselves know the utter disregard for human bodies and lives that is displayed by every boss from the obscure men of Towning’s type to the lordliest capitalist of finanee— these workers know that there is more behind a seeming accident of this sort than what appears on the surface. And it is these workers who through their knowledge of suf- fering will create the force that will remove this suffering. Men like those who died at La Libertad (what irony in that name!), stevedores, peons, workers from the coffee fin- cas, all colors, all races, bent miners digging green copper ore on the Andes slopes, the shipyard workers constructing the latest war monsters on the banks of the Clyde, the tex- tile factory hands of Osaka, the ironworkers of the Saar—the future is with these men, The responsibility for the explo- sion was tentatively placed on Towning and he was taken to San Salvador under arrest, but the ul- timate outcome is hard to predict. Officials in La Libertad had the opinion that he would only be de- ported, that the Grace Line would in cases like this for large com- panies to disown their own minions have full blame. It is customary and Towning will probably be left to shift for himself—if so, things may go hard for him indeed. He was almost lynched before he left La Libertad by the excited crowd. Whatever happens to him now is of no interest. No one cares. He played his faithful part in the ad- vance of American imperialism and is ready to quit the seene. Only the workers left in La Libertad know how well he played that part. Winning May Day Song To Be Sung at Musical Olympiad This Sunday NEW YORK,—One of the features of the Second Annual American Workers Musical Olympiad to be held on Sunday, April 29, at the City College Auditorium, 23rd St. and Lexington Ave., will be the sing- ing of the winning May Day song in the contest recently held by the Workers Music League, The words of the song are based on a poem by Alfred Hayes, called, “Into the Street May Ist,” and the music was composed by Aaron Copland, an out- standing American composer. Stage and Screen “20 Million Sweethearts” Opens at Strand Tonight; New Film Today at Rivoli “20 Million Sweethearts,” a new First National picture, will have its Fronts this evening at the Strand eatre, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers and Pat O'Brien are the featured Players. Ray Enright directed the production. “We're Not Dressing,” a Para- mount musical film with Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, Burns and Allen, Ethel Merman and Leon Erro] will open today at the Rivoli Theatre. The Palace Theatre is featuring “This Man Is Mine,” the new Irene Dunne film this week, James Bar- ton, Ada Brown and Sally Ward head the stage bill. Short subjects at the Trans-Lux Theatre this week include Leon Errol in “Hold Your Temper"; Bor- yah Minnevitch and his Harmonica Rascals and a colored Silly Sym- phony cartoon, “The China Shop.” The Newsree’s feature pictures Ambassador Bullitt at his new home “Riptide,” with Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery is now showing at Loew's State. The vaudeville bill is headed by Borrah Minnevitch and his Harmonica Rascals, Philharmonic Orchestra in Final Week of Season An all-Bach program is scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday afternoon at Carnegie Hall, under the direction of Toscanini. Philharmonic orchestra will els a sisted by Eizabeth Rethberg, Mishel Piastro, Remo Bolognini and the Schola Cantorum. The program: Suite No. 3 in D; Concerto for two violins and orchestra in D minor; rfield | Kyrie from the B minor Mass; Can- tata, “Non sa che sia dolore” and the final chorus from the St. Mat- thew Passion, This will be the final week of the Philharmonic season, On Saturday evening Toscanini will direct Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, in 2 eae and Pears “Ero- Pott ymphony. ie Wagner pro- a aoa day afternoon includes ‘Fellow-Travelers’ te Be Discussed by Speakers at Convention Symposium NEW YORK. — The relation of political “fellow-travelers” to the revolutionary movement and the Communist Party will be dis- cussed by speakers at the sym- posium on “The Eighth Conven- tion of the Communist Party and the Intellectuals” to be held this Friday night, April 27, at Irving Plaza hall, 15th St. and Irving place. Joseph North, co-editor of the New Masses; Harry Gannes, mem- ber of the Editorial Board of the Daily Worker, and Marguerite Young, Washington correspondent. of the Daily Worker, will be the speakers. All three speakers re- ported the historic Communist convention for the revolutionary press, Granville Hicks, author of “The Great Tradition: An Interpreta- tion of American Literature Since the Civil War,” and literary editor of the New Masses, will act as chairman, The meeting, which is arousing great interest among workers, in- tellectuals and students, is being arranged jointly by the John Reed Club of New York and the New Masses. Significant Exhibition of Photographs at the Nature Friends Group By ALRERT CARROLL The Nature Friends Photo Group is showing an unusually attractive exhibition of photographs at 12 EF. Ith St. Here are pictures which denounce the tragic waste of scarcity in the midst of plenty, here are pictures of want, of junemployed workers adrift. One noteworthy picture shows a derelict, a product of capi- talism, in tattered shoes, gazing longingly at a store window full of shiny new shoes. Another ex- cellent picture shows a group of workers carrying a huge wooden beam. Across the street and im- mediately above this beam is a large sign, “National Oity Bank,” which excellently symbolizes the heavy burden that the workers carry on their backs because of the banks. Another shows a pair of feet wearily and aimlessly climb- ing the steps of Union Square— nowhere to go! The exhibit also includes several smaller groups of pictures showing the Nature Friends groups on hikes, scenes in various parts of the United States, and some landscapes and city shots which reveal on the part of the photographers artistic response to life about them. The work of this group, as well as that of the Photo Section of the Film and Photo League, al- though excellent in execution, nevertheless shows clearly the itieal and revolutionary limita- fons of the straight photograph. The job of the revolutionary photo- ie} grapher lies in two fields, report- ing and interpretation. The solu- tion to the problem of complete liticalization of the photograph ti in the “montage,” which is a combination of two, three or more photographs so arranged that they seem to be one, These photos may be taken at separate times and places and yet be so mounted or the prelude to “Die Meistersinger"; Beene 3, Act 1 from “Die Walkure”, Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Mu- sic and the Finale “Gotterdam- merungs joined with relation to each other that they give a much more politi- cally developed idea than the straight photograph could possibly give. John Heartfield's work in the “AIZ” illustrates the complete- ness with which the montage can express the photographer’s ideas. There is another interesting point in connection with this ex- hibit; the photographs are the product of collective effort. No names are signed to them. They are chosen for hanging by collec- tive criticism. All of the work is done by the group as a whole. The result is excellent. WHAT’S ON Wednesday NATIONAL BASKETBALL OHAMPION- SHIP, 1.8.U., between Roseland Sparks of Ohicago and Kay-Tee A. ©. of New York at 7:30 p.m. Kay-Tee Gym, 764-40th 8t., Brooklyn. (Take West End BMT. to Ninth Ave. and walk two blocks). Tickets 46 Ten Eyck, Brooklyn. Dancing follows game. GENERAL the Film and Photo League, 12 3. . 8 pm. Book Shop and Laicve, MEMBERSHIP MEETING of 5 sharp to discuss May Day. HISTORY and SIGNIFICANCE of MAY DAY at Fordham Prog. Olub, 7 West m. Herman ION group NEWS of the WEEK DISCUSSII at 1401 Jerome Ave., Bronx (corner 170th St.). Adm. free, Auspices—Mt, Rden Rr. F. 8. U. OPEN FORUM—"A Historical Survey of American Courts and Workers” at Tom Mooney Branch LL.D., 338 E. 13th &t. Speaker, D. Shriftman. Adm. free, Dis- cussion. Thursday OPEN FORUM and Symposium at Pen and Hammer, 114 W, Qist Bt. 8:30 p.m. Symposium on “Stevedore” conducted by Arts Committee. ‘ificance of the ese Revolutionary History by J. Hoat, Priends of the Ohinese People, 168 W. 23rd St, Room 12 at 8:30 p.m, ‘Adm, le, Philadelphia, Pa. CONCERT and DANOE Priday night, 2%h at Garrick Hall, 507-08 N. Excellent program Re -™. pg esp CT a os of foatelttes haa Phila, and | It got its day} the scene of death and} y JOHN L. SPIVAK LOS ANGELES, Cal. — | Though the Silver Shirts, ac- | | | cording to Captain Eugene R Case, head of this fascist jbedy in California, is a “racket” as he expr it, and is weak numerically a npotent actual fascist work never less a trend which cannot i nored; hence I shall present some |facts about it which are applicable | not only here but wherever Silver Shirts posts are in existence throughout the country. First, I may dismiss Capt by quoting some of the things candidly told me when I interviewed him at the Silver Shirt headquar- ters, 730 South Grand, in the Walker Auditorium. I sought the! | interview as a reporter for Daily Worker, official organ of the Communist Party in the United States, and ag such he received me with open arms. There is nothing | Capt. Case would like better than to be attacked by the official organ of the Communist Party for then he could point out to the “suckers” as | he calls the members, that the Com- | munist Party considers him dan- | gerous. That being the case he| would immediately become a “big | 3 shot" as an anti-Communist and it| would help him in his drive to prove that the Silver Shirts were really feared by Communists, Capt. Oase admits being a soldier of fortune, He knows nothing of | Communists. or Communism and “don't have a damn thing against the Jews. But hell! You can't get & gentile excited about a gentile, so | we give ‘em the Jews to get ex- cited about.” These are his exact words which I took down verbatim in the presence of a neutral wit- ness during the interview. “Hell!” the Captain continued, “our official shirt maker is a Jew— Milton's Toggery, 904 West Second St. It’s just business.” The leader of the Silver Shirts went on to say thet he was “after the coconuts” (money) and that Pelley, national leader of the organ- ization, had gyped (only Case used & more expressive and unprintable word) 26 people out of plenty of money in California and he (Case) the 27th was taking charge of sit- uation and would make what there | was in it for himself. | The Silver Shirts here were ap- proached by the Friends of the New Germany which offered co-opera- tion and were turned down. “Why should we co-operate with the Germans?” Capt. Case asked me. “The game's young yet. No one knows what's in it. So why should I hook up with the Ger- mans?” During the reeent milk strike here the Silver Shirts were approached to act. in the capacity of strike| breakers at $5 a day as the Ameri- can Legion is used in Imperial Val- ley. Capt. Case turned that down, too. As he explained it: “T told my men to lay off getting) mixed up in industrial disputes at this stage. The stakes are bigger than $5 a day. We're for the un- derdog, the working man. I should betray the working man for a lousy $5 a day!” Here, I might add again, because| it sounds so incredible, every word was taken down verbatim. I cannot account for his talking so frankly to me, seeing that I was carefully writing down every word, unless his bloodshot eyes held the secret, It is quite possible he had not yet fully recovered from a spree of hate and his tongue was still loose. FE ae | 'HE Silver Shirts, in the entire state, have no more than 500 or 600 members. Nevertheless their Official speakers reach over 1,000 each Sunday night with their pro- gram of hate. These people are influenced and spread the effects of this propaganda and because sim- ilar groups, though not so large, are making similar appeals throughout the country, it is worth considering just what the Silver Shirts are, the sort of economics they offer and the type of person they appeal to. In their appeals to join the or- ganization they cunningly play upon the emotions, offer a half-baked mysticism, liberally sprinkled with 8 cock-eyed sort of economics as a the} ., solution Nl ills and spiritual economic, ph For instance, though at on Jews and Communists may ving many people emotionally there are still ft at their meetings who K what sort of a gov- ernment wil ‘ou give us? So the Silver Shirts issued a 24- page pamphlet, written and copy- righted by the national leAder, iam Dudiey Pelley What Manner of nde aie is the Christ te Set U In the center of the pam- ph let is a vast, red L, the emb! of th Wie man} been and stil I do not believe I would one sentence to pelley's ‘Christ Government.” But whether we think it utterly crazy or not, the thing Ss getting o and these les (and I mean it figuratively) are at and preparing to do some damage. Nazi are r devote When I first read this pamphiet I was stretched out on my bed in a hotel room in San Francisco. As I read my eyes must have gotten round as saucers. I had heard a great deal about Silver Shirt ac- tivities but this was the first time | I read the official scheme of goy- ernment and I was amazed. In the course of my newspaper work I had had several occasions to visit sane asylums. I had talked the inmates. Some saw visions; others heard voices—and for that they were doomed to remain for the rest of their lives in padded cells. Yet, here, in my hands, being sald | far and wide, was the official s for the new Silver Shirt gi ment and it was based upon seen and voices heard cloudless skies! visions from the It was insanity ru an insanity that could appeal only to the insane, those who, by the grace of not committing an overt act, were still at large instead of in asylum. I do not know ything about this man Pelley, but I'm will- ing to bet a $10 hat that an in- vestigation into his past and his family will show that he or some one in his blood will show a syphil- itic reaction. Otherwise the thing is simply incredible. ning rampant, As I continued reading and won- dering how this sort of stuff ap- pealed to people I could not help but recollect statistics on insanit Insanity in this country is incre ing at a tremendous rate. More people are being committed annual- ly to asylums than are being grad- uated annually from all our uni- versities and colleges. In New York state alone, some 25,000 “harmless” lunatics are released annually “oured” because of the overcrowded conditions in the state institutions, When I remembered these figures I began to see where Pelley got his following. But to get down to Pelley’s sy of government. ELLEY denies that he is an econ- omist and that he knows any- thing about economies or govern- ment. His idea for the “Christ state” came to him in 4 vision, And Please don’t get the erroneous ides that it was just a little, trifling sort of a vision, something new under the sun. It was not a new idea. It was tried out “300,000 years ago in Atlantis, over untold generations in Peru before the coming of the Spaniards, and for 2,500 years ir China before the overthrow of the Manchus—details of which are rig- orously suppressed and censored by modern educational institutions supported by endowments from the Present predatory element in the modern barbaric state.” (page 2 of the pamphlet). This Pelley person explains in some of his other writings that he went up to Heaven and had a heart to heart talk with God for 7 min- utes. In that space of time God gave him the whole line-up since time immemorial and sent him back here to hurry up and do some thing about Communism and the Jews. I can’t imagine what God would have told him if Pelley had Spent 10 minutes there; but maybe God was busy and 7 minutes was all he could spare, (Te Re Continued) AMUSE MENTS —~ The THEATRE UNION Presents — stevedore wre PETERS and GEORGE SKLAR rilling drama of Negro and wi workers on the docks of New Orlea’ OIVIG REPERTORY THEA. 105 W 14 St. Syes. 8:45. Mats, Wed. & Sat. 2:45 TICKETS ON SALE AT BOX OFFIOE ‘Se-150-We-I5e-$1.00 & $1.50, No Tax ger For information on benefits Phone ¥ Wat. 9- 2451 THE THEATRE GUILD presente— FUGENE O'NEILL's Comedy AH, WILDERNESS! with GEORGE M, Doman MAXWELL ANDERSON'S New Play “MARY OF SCOTLAND” with HELEN PHILIP HELEN HAYES | MERIVALE ALVIN —2 Great Soviet Features !— AMKINO'S Film Masterpiec- ‘Superior te Famous ‘Road to 1 —N. ¥. Time A Soviet Talkie. A Titles Sviet News Extraordinary! George Dimitroff, Popoff and Army parades in Red Square in honor of 17th Congress of Communist Party, ete ~ 14th Street ACME THEA & Union Bq. — RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL bo'St & 6 Ave—Show Place of the Nation Opens 11:30 A, M. “STAND UP ne and CHEER” Warner Baxter & Madge Evans Musieal Extravaganza in 4 Beautiful Scenes ‘Trial, arrive in Moscow--Red | RKO Jefferson si vores *| Now Robert Montgomery 2 Elizabeth Allan in “MYSTERY of MR. X° Also:—“BEDSIDE” with WARREN WILLIAM GLADYS ADRIENNE RAYMOND COOPER ALLEN MASSEY THE SHINING HOUR BOOTH THEATRE, W, 45th St. Evgs. 8:40 Matinees: Thursday & Saturday 240 GILBERT & SULLIVAN $48 This week—"THE MIKADO” Next Week—'IOLANTHE” MAJESTIC THEA, W, 44th St,, evas. 8:30. Taneff, acquitted in Leipzig ~ 300 to $2.00, Mats, Wed & Sat. 800 bo 81.505