The American Legion Magazine [Volume 28, No. 5 (May 1940)]

. For the Merry Month of May MISS ELAINE SHEPARD New York and Hollywood's celebrated model in Chesterfield's Sundial dress THE CIGARETTE OF THE HOUR Today more than ever, smokers are turning to Chesterfield's skillful blend of the world's best cigarette tobaccos. Now is the time for you to light up and enjoy a Chesterfield . they're COOLER SMOKING, BETTER -TASTING AND DEFINITELY MILDER. ca/it 6uy a 6etter cigarette opyrighr 1940, LlCGETT & MYPRS TOBACCO Co * EDITORIAL* THE SMEAR THAT FAILED communists of the United States have seen a new philosophy that would attempt to justify the Russo- THEanother of their fond campaigns against our German treaties on the ground of necessity. Having set democracy founder and break up on the rocks up a man-of-straw menace, Moscow attacked Finland, of American common sense. This time it was an cynically telling the Russian people that the Finns were attempt to smear the Federal Bureau of Investigation the aggressors! Scratch a and its Director, J. Edgar Hoover, with the odious desig- communist and almost inevitably you get nations of Gestapo, Hitler's secret police, and (God save a liar, a thief, a swindler. Under the communist code it the mark!) Ogpu, the assassins who carry on similarly was quite all right to promise that undercover attacks for Joe Stalin, the autocrat of Sovietland. Hoover's men by Stalin stooges against our democratic form of gov- arrested a group of Detroit communists who, in viola- ernment would cease when the United States Govern- tion of American law, had recruited soldiers for the anti- ment extended recognition to the Moscow autocracy. That Franco faction in Spain's civil war. The arrests came as pledge was flagrantly broken as was the promise, also the result of an indictment handed up by the federal made part of the recognition agreement, that the money grand jury in Detroit, followed by specific instructions Russia owes the United States would be paid us. A series to the F.B.F by the then Attorney General of the United of passport frauds which made mock of our laws was per- States, Frank Murphy, to round up the gang. Because of petrated. When Stalin's chief stooge in America, Earl the fact that this was a conspiracy case, with the gang Browder, was convicted of this crime, after boasting about living in various sections of Detroit and because of the it to the Dies Committee, and sentenced to prison, the nature of their employment keeping varied hours, it communist press blandly ignored the fact that the court was necessary for the federal officers to make the arrests could not possibly have made any other decision, and at 5 o'clock in the morning. The F.B.I, carried out its declared that the defendant was being persecuted for his instructions, made the arrests and turned the prisoners political views. They had the effrontery to run him for a over to the United States Marshal at Detroit. seat in Congress from a New York City district while he Immediately the communist press, headed by their was out on bail, and during the campaign the communist New York City newspaper, shrieked Gestapo and Ogpu newspaper in New York carried a heading each day over at Hoover's men, claiming that the F.B.I, had made the news of the campaign, "Mr. Browder goes to Washing- arrests illegally, had inflicted physical injury on the de- ton," thereby, on the communist leader's defeat, setting fendants, humiliated them by chaining them together, the stage for the quip, "Mr. Browder goes to Atlanta," and had them sent to concentration camps where they meaning the federal prison. were denied the opportunity of seeing their families or defense lawyers. Robert Jackson, who had just taken the THE communists in the United States thrive on bad Post of Attorney General upon Mr. Murphy's being economic conditions, and at every opportunity they will named as an Associate Justice of the United States be found working to prevent things improving. They bore Supreme Court, ordered the charges against the Detroit from within labor unions, colleges, and foreign-language defendants dropped. groups, seeking to prevent tolerant, friendly relations. Investigation of the facts about the Detroit affair When they run afoul of the law they take advantage of showed that the chaining of the prisoners, none of whom our Bill of Rights to stave off the penalty that's coming was injured in the round-up, was effected after the F.B.I, to them, while claiming that the Moscow system, under was out of the case, and Mr. Jackson on a number of which non-conformists are speedily liquidated, is the occasions since his order freeing the defendants has only design for living to which civilized human beings can given the F.B.I, and its chief a clean bill of health. subscribe. But very few of them nowadays make the mis- take a number of their comrades made twenty years ago THE attempt to discredit the federal agency is of course of giving up their American citizenship and becoming part of the communist campaign to undermine our de- citizens of the U.S.S.R. You don't speak your mind over mocracy. Now that it has failed the reds will try some- there. Once you betray the least desire to deviate from thing else. They still scream about the denial of civil the policy established by Stalin you find that the only liberties in this country, although nowhere on earth is original Ogpu knows tricks of skulduggery and sadism there less liberty, civil or of any other nature, than in that would appal the old secret police of the czars. The the government they serve, the Union of Socialist Soviet end of any venture in self expression in Sovietland brings Republics, an autocratic despotism directed from Mos- its author before a concentration camp's firing squad. cow. Until last summer, when Stalin and Hitler signed We have no desire to keep American dupes of Stalin their trade and other agreements it was possible for the from giving him whatever support they may be able to American fellow travelers of the Soviets to put up some muster. Poor, deluded fools, they refuse to face the per- sort of pretense that, although the soviet union had re- fectly obvious fact that the soviet system wouldn't last lentlessly snuffed out every semblance of liberty in that ten days if the people of Russia had freedom of speech, land, Russian communism really wished to remain at press and assembly. But for the communists in the United peace and was sincerely seeking to enlist the world's States to function as a political party is arrogance raised democracies in a "united front" against the totalitarian to the nth degree. It has been abundantly proved that governments of Germany, Italy and Japan. The Russo- that party aims at destruction of our democracy, and the German treaties cut the ground out from under this pre- sooner it is denied the privilege of a place on the ballot tense, and the communists in the United States found the better it is going to be for every segment of our themselves squirming under the necessity of establishing population. MAY, 1940 1 ; ! (fforQodandcountry , we associate ourselves togetherjor thefollowing purposes: (Jo uphold and defend the Constitution ofthe 'United States of&merica; to maintain law and order; tofoster andperpetuate a one hundredpercent C^lmericanism topreserve the memories and incidents ofour association in theQreatfWar; to inculcate a sense of"individual obligation to the com- munity.stale andnation; to combat the autocracy ofboth the classes andthe masses; to make right the master ofmight; topromote peace andgood will on earih ;to safeguardand transmit to posterity the principles ofjustice.Jreedom and democracy ; to conse- crate andsanciyy our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.— Preamble to the Constitution ofThe American Legion- n~he Jlmerican May, 1940 Vol. 2.8, No. 5 LEGIONMAGAZINE Published Monthly by The American Legion, 4$; West nd Street, Chicago, llltnois EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICES Indianapolis , Indiana if West 48th St. , New York City The Consul's Mob Legion- CONTENTS World War veterans who lost all INnaire Azoy brings to your atten- their papers have been able to estab- COVER DESIGN tion the almost incredible ex- lish their claims through the finger- By W. Lester Stevens ploits of William Eaton, who took a print records they made on joining ragged rabble across the top of EDITORIAL: the smear that failed 1 up. H. L. Chaillaux, Director Africa and helped, end the arrogant of the National Americanism Com- HIGH SPY 5 racket built up by the Barbary States, mission, tells something of the domi- By Hugh Wiley which at the beginning of the nine- nation by the communists of the now Illustrations by J. W . SMaikjer teenth century levied upon sea-borne happily defunct American League commerce and made mariners of THE CONSUL'S MOB 10 for Peace and Democracy, and out- By A. C. M. Azov every nation pay through the nose. lines the type of control the reds use Illustration by Frank Street Like George Rogers Clark, hero of over "liberal" organizations in this the West, Eaton lived to experience THEY'LL PROTECT YOU 12 country. the ingratitude of the Republic By J. Edgar Hoover which he had served with such con- TED MERE- THE BAY STATE'S READY 14 LEGIONNAIRE spicuous courage and devotion. The By Leverett Saltonstall i DITH, who made track history story reproduced in this issue is at the University of Pennsylvania thrilling and fascinating, and of DUEL IN THE DARK 15 from 1912 to 1916 as a middle dis- By Walter P.

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