THE PROBLEM OF AMERICAN COMMUNISM IN 1945
Facts and Recommendations
Rev. John P. Cronin, S .S .
A Confidential Study for Private Circulation

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THE PROBLEM OF AMERICAN COMMUNISM IN 1945
Facts and Recommendations
Rev. John P. Cronin, S .S .
A Confidential Study for Private Circulation

cronin_john-0022
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. "14. ORID almost total falsity of the Yenan claims. On the basis of the facts it is impossible to believe that this Government would have supported the Communists over against Chiang Kai She!:, yet such' a policy was admost adopted. Had America tip;.' ad for a Communist China, the next step in Stalin's Drang nach Os ten would have been India. In our lifetime, an overwhelming majority of the peoples of the world would have been under the iron dictatorship of atheistic communism. This -point is stressed since many Americans tend to underestimate the effectiveness and danger of Communist propaganda, and consider Catholic concern with the problem as mere sectarian prejudice, The current situation in China is one of readjustment after victory, Future events must be judged in the lighf of two agreements reached during the past year: the Sino-Soviet treaty of August 14, 1945 (text in New Yorfc Times , August 27, 1945) and the partial agreement between the Chungking and Yenan governments achieved in October, 1945, The treaty between China and Russia was considered by most observers to be much better than had been expected. It had previously been thought that the U.S.S.R. would find excuse for armed intervention in favor of Yenan, Expert opinion inclines to the view that the shift of American policy in favor of Chiang was the deciding factor, since with Japan reeling the United States would be in position to give considerable aid to the Nationalist government, nevertheless, the treaty was not the innocent document which casual " readers judged it to be, Manchuria is the industrial heart of China, and the granting of virtual condominium over the Chinese Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway, the naval base of Port Arthur, and the port " of Dairen means the concession of extraordinary privileges to the U.S.S,R», in contrast to Anerica's "Open Door" policy. It is to be noted that the Open Door policy was the basis of "our diplomatic clash with Japan, which led to the attack on Pearl Harbor, It is further impdrtant that these clauses are quite similar to those of the '1924 treaty, which led to serious friction and the Sino-Russian war of 1929, Trotsl^r noted about the Russian employees of the Chinese Eastern Railway that they v/ere "the permanent representatives, the junior diplomats of the Soviet Union in the very heart of Manchuria," The Soviet Union has succeeded in controll- ing nations with much less extensive' penetration than is granted in this treaty. In the light of past events, it would seen the part of prudence not to rejoice prematurely over China's independence, 'Unless South CMna can become industrially strong and politically unified, there is reason to fear lest Manchuria and North China may ultimately "develop" an independence movement in the manner of uuter Mongolia and Sinkiang, and that the behemoth of the North may engulf China* s hundreds of Millions, tfhe fact "that the Chinese as a nation do not want communism is quite ir- relevant, The inhabitants of Poland and the Balkans did not want communism. Events reported in late October —— civil war, Comiminist control of Manchuria, Soviet despoliation of the same, —— all confirm the worst. The primary front organization for American relations with China is the American Council of the Institute of Pacific Relations, with Frederick V. Field as the main spokesman for the Communist viewpoint. A new front is being organized, to be called The Friends of Chinese Democracy, Such conservative institutions as the United States State Department and the Foreign Policy Association have also been infiltrated on this issue. Thus, T,A,Bisson, of the Institute of Pacific Relations, is talking for the Baltimore Foreign Policy Association on the subject of