-, `'Times 'disc 11 — Radical right, gen. Aug 70

30m THE NEW YORK TIMES Flyer About Peace Symbol Disturbs Many

By LINDA GREENHOUSE a post could do that," Mr. a part of it. They are sym- specie to The New York Times Watkins said. "They can't bols of the anti-Christ!" WHITE PLAINS, Aug. 1— back any of it up with facts." Scott Stanley, who edits The belief among some ad- Reached by telephone in the society's monthly in Bel- herents of the political right Minersville, Elvin Laudeman, mont, Mass., said in an inter- that the peace symbol repre- commander of Post 544, ac- view that the staff had sents a broken •cross or a knowledged that his post's fun" with the article. "We Communist - inspired anti- un-American activities com- thought people would be in- Christian device has begun to mittee had prepared the flyer' terested," Mr. Stanley said. and distributed it around the He added that there had been worry both Christians and country. "We're just trying Jews here who have seen to get some of this stuff out about 200,000 requests for literature expressing that of the bag about Communist- reprints, a figure which he theory. inspired organizations," Mr. described as "about aver- The controversy over the Laudeman said. He said the age." "Almost everything we origin of the peace symbol, uted by the American Legion information had come from do is controversial," he add- the well-known design that "mailings," but that he did ed. American Opinion sells resembles the imprint of a Post 544, Minersville, Pa.," not know the specific origin for $1 a copy and has about four-toed bird, surfaced in and it included such state- of any of the ideas. 50,000 subscribers. Westchester County recently ments as, "The Communists Coincidentally, ' American Mr. Stanley said he did not in the letter-to-the-editor have infiltrated the garment Opinion magazine, a monthly think that the article's inter- columns of the North Castle industry and you find the publication of the John Birch pretation of the peace sym- News, a weekly newspaper Society, carried a 16-page ar- bol could be interpreted as published in Armonk. broken cross embroidered on ticle entitled "Peace Symbols, anti-Semitic. "It was a prom- Karl Landt, a life insurance packets and other garments The Truth About Those inent anti-Christian symbol, agent and youth adviser at for the casual American to Strange Designs," in its June but it was also anti-Jewish the Armonk Methodist Church, wear." It also contained issue. too," he said. "It cuts both wrote to the paper to report a statement from Michael The article, by David E. ways." that an American Legion Wurmbrand, identified only Gumaer, a Staff writer for However, Israel H. Moss, member had sent him some as "formerly of Rumania," the magazine, details the Westchester director of the literature referring to the that the peace symbol "was adoption of the symbol at the Anti - Defamation League, peace symbol as "the broken called the witch's foot' in Aldermaston Easter peace places a more serious inter- cross." the Middle Ages, and it was walk in England in 1958, led pretation on the right-wing Intentions Unquestioned a common symbol of the by the late Lord Bertrand interest in the peace symbol. devid, with the cross reversed Russell, whom the article de- "I see this as an effort to Mr. Landt said in a recent and broken." scribed as "the radical and label the entire peace move- interview that he had re- "If the American. Legion is atheist." ment as Communist," Mr. ceived the material after a distributing this kind of junk, Moss said, adding that "it is youth service at the church, the public should know about Photograph of Devil easy to pick out anti-Semitic where a poster showing a it," said Mr. Landt, who "Far from being a modern inferences" in the material. peace symbol superimposed added that he was a re- design, the symbol which He cited the reference in the on a cross had been dis- gistered Republican and has Russell adopted as the Com- American Legion literature to played. never been active in politics. munists' insignia for peace the garment industry, which "While I do not question "I want to stamp out any- dates back many centuries is generally identified with the good intentions of the thing that throws a bad light in the history of anti-Chris- Jews. Legion, they have plainly on the peace symbol." tian activity. In 711 AD., 'There are people of all been deluded into doing what The peace symbol was de- for instance, when the Sara.; sandes of opinion, including the enemies of our country signed in 1958 in London by c-en hordes crossed into Spain some of the leading states- want—spreading propaganda the Direct Action Committee to establish their Moorish men and clergymen in the which will cause dissension Against Nuclear War as a kingdom, the shields of the world who have identi- and create disunity among nuclear disanuament symbol. invaders were decorated with fied themselves with peace us." Mr. Landt wrote to the It was a graphic composite of the inverted broken cross," groups," Mr. Moss said. newspaper. the semaphore signals for the the article states. "Even the Pope is for dis- The paper then printed a letters "N" and "D", standing The magazine article in- armament. Does this make letter from Edwin J. Schultz, for nuclear disarmament, and cludes a photograph of a him a Communist?" commander of the American was first displayed at peace 16th-century wodcut of the Legion post here, disclaiming marches in England that devil. "The symbols repre- responsibility for the mate- year. senting .the eyes of the de- rial: Mailing Acknowledged mon are exactly like the The on-page flyer was re- peace symbol being promot- produced in the paper. It con- Mr. Schultz said that he ed by the Reds," the caption tained the words: "Distrib- did not konw where the liter- reads in part. ature 'had come from. At the 'Yes, I admit that this Legion's national headquar- business is weird,' the author ters in Washington, D.C., writes. "But it does explain James Watkins, National the comments in the Estab- public relations director, lishment press about a re- said the national office was surgence of satanism, and definitely not" distributing the proliferation of black such material, although the magic shops in areas where more than 16,000 Legion leftist students and radicals posts around the country gather. The revolutionaries operate on charters and are are pushing this business relatively autonomous. like there's no tomorrow. "Still, I'd be amazed that And those peace symbols are