Indictments termed ‘U.S. Reichstag Fire’ —NEW YORK. “An American version of the Reichstag Fire—the domes- tic counterpart of the criminal by-partisan attempts to turn the war in Berlin from cold to hot.” This is the scathing retort William Z. Foster, national chairman of the U.S. Communist Party and one of the best known figures in the American labor movement, made to the grand jury indictment of himself and 11 other Communist leaders on charges under the Smith Act “of conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government by force and violence.” Text of the statement given to the press scant minutes before Fos- ter and Eugene Dennis, general sec- retary, were arrested, read: Only a few months ago, Attorney General Tom Clark was forced to admit to the House Un-American Committee that he had not one scin- tilla of evidence that any Commun- ist was guilty of espionage, force and violence, or service to any for- eign power. National and world events, as well as the history of the blue rib- bon jury said to have returned the indictments, leave no doubt as to the identity of the real criminals and the nature of their crime. . The American people can now see to what desperate provocations Truman is driven in an effort to win the election, by hook or crook. As the New York Sun flatly stat- ed, the reported indictment of the Communists is neatly timed to em- barrass the new people’s party now holding its founding convention in Philadelphia, Terrified of the grow- ing support for the Wallace-Taylor ticket, the Democratic high com- mand is seeking to brand the new party as “criminal” because among the opponents of Wall Street's two old. parties and their candidates are the Communists, who also join with all other progressives in sup- porting the new people’s anti-war party. This American version of the Reichstag fire is the domestic counterpart of the criminal bi-par- tisan attempts to turn the war in Berlin from cold to hot. It will be used for this purpose in the special session of Congress, as well as to further advance the session’s par- tisan purposes by trying to blitz through the Mundt-Ferguson bill. It is for these sinister objectives that the President nobody wanted |, as a candidate seeks to use as a scapegoat the Communist Party— the most consistent fighter against the bi-partisan warmongers and national interest to the interest of the giant trusts and of seeking to subvert America’s democratic institutions and replace them with a fascist dictatorship. All that is known of the history of the blue ribbon grand jury which reportedly returned these indict- ments confirm our charge. For a full year the justice department has apparently been planting in the ultra-reactionary press tales about its alleged investigation of a “gigan- tic spy plot”. - With complete disregard for the protection grand jury secrecy is intended to afford to the innocent, the justice department “leaks” hint- ed at dark crimes of espionage, and all too thinly veiled the identity of those reported to be under. sus- Picion, Periodically, the grand jury has been reported about to return in- dictments. More frequently of late, the story has been that “unfortun- ately” its year of labor had pro- duced no evidence of a “spy plot” that would bear the light of day. Clearly, the purpose of these in- spired newspaper accounts was to bring pressure on the grand jury, while at the same time whipping up an atmosphere of public hyste- ria. If indictments have now been returned against a number of Communists, the American people must see that this new frame-up is a “second best” substitute for the “spy plot” that washed out. The Communist Party, standing four-square on its record of service to the American workers and peo- ple, calls on them to resist all moods of panic, and to demonstrate their resolute determination to thwart this fascist provocation. As they did in the Senate fight against the Mundt bill, they must again de- feat this new attack on the Bill of Rights. Labor and the progressive forces should not wait until Congress in- tervenes to organize broad mass actions that will make the bi-parti- sans in the special session heed the people’s will. There is grave danger that in the first days of this special sesson an attempt will be made to jam through the Mundt bill, while all civil rights legislation goes by the boards. In the Congress, the courts and above all before the bar of Public opinion we Communists will press Our case against the pro-fascists and warmongers in the GOP and the Truman administration. We call on the democratic and peace-minded American workers and people, through their trade un- ions and mass organizations, to join us in defeating this fascist pro- vocation and in bringing those guilty of it to justice, on . a PA . ze UNION MADE UNION MEN Crean and Stetson, the only Union , fe SPORT SHIRTS $3.25 to $9 HATS $6 to $10 Made Hats in Canada T-SHIRTS $1.35 to $2 Plain and Striped Es See Our Large Selection ~— __ Postage Prepaid on All Orders . 3 ~ jin the maverick days of the Social | zens “and should never be allowed FBI Who advocates force and violence? Who practices terrorism? Communist leaders is sharply pointed up by thiss picture of the Klu Klux Klan initiating new members in a public ceremony near Stone’ Mountain, Attanta, Ga. fiery cross, hooded Klansmen welcome recruits to their “un-American” campaign to maintain white supremacy through terrorism and violence against Negroes and advocates of racial equality. REBUKED IN SCHNEIDERMAN_ CASE Added proof that the indict- ment and arrest of 12 leading members of the U.S. Communist Party on the ancient libel of ad- vocating “force and violence” is a frame-up, can be seen from the constitution of the CPUSA, re- affirmed in 1945, which declares it to be a violation of party rules, punishable by expulsion for any member or group to advocate the violent overthrow of the government. Article 9, Section 2 of the con- stitution states: “Adherence to or participation in the activities of any clique, group, circle, fac- tion or party «which conspires or acts to subvert, undermine, weaken or overthrow any or all institutions of American demo- cracy, whereby the majority of the American people can main- tain their right to determine their destinies in any degree, shall be punished by immediate expulsion.” In Canada, the constitution of the Labor-Progressive Party, says under Section Five, Ar- ficle 10: + Party constitutions, court rulings expose’ force and violence’ slander “Should any party member be found guilty of advocating any »form of violence or terrorism for any purpose whatever, he or she shall be summarily expelled from the Party.” Tim Buck, national LPP lead- er said on March 27, 1948, com- menting on the LaCroix police - state bill: “The LPP ... repudiates any and all concepts of ‘force and violence’ as a means of achiey- ing its aims, The LPP specifical- ly and unequivocally condemns and opposes any and all con- cepts, within and without the labor mévefent, which looks to- wards weakening, harming or overthrowing .Canadian .demo- cracy through ‘force and viol- ence’.”” _ This is not the first time that J. Edgar Hoover's FBI has sought to pin the force-and-viol- ence tag upon U.S. Communists. Only five years ago the U.S. justice department was rebuked by the Supreme Court on the same count in the famous Schneiderman case The frameup against American Here, in the glare of a huge | The high court, in a decision written by Justice Frank Mur- phy, ruled that the government had failed to prove its case for revoking the citizenship of Wil- liam Schneiderman, California state chairman of the Commun-_ ist Party, on the allegation that the party believes in force and violence. Schneiderman’s case was argued by the late Wendell Willkie. The decision noted that Stalin wrote: “The proposition that the prestige of the Party can be built upon violence ... is ab- surd and absolutely incompat- ible with Lenin.” It also quoted Lenin as declar- ing that “in order to obtain the power of the state the class conscious workers must win the majority to their side. As long as no violence is used against the masses, there is no other road to power. We are not blan- quists, we are not in favor of the seizure of power by a minor- Thy —