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| 59. COMMUNISM AND THE PUBLIC unique Walter Winchell, no matter how distasteful he may be to many listeners, is not known to be connected with the Communist Party. His frequent following of the Line appears to be more a matter of general Jewish sympathies which are played upon by the Communists. He has often attacked Communists on the air, but is deceived by their "antifascist" material. The outstanding anti- Communist commentator is Lowell Thomas* ^' Teachers• Communist propaganda efforts among teachers are to be expected. There are three hundred registered Communists in the New York School system alone. At one time, the Communists controlled the American Federation of Teachers, but they have since been expelled from power. They tried unsuccessfully to ban Readers Digest by railroading through an adverse report in the National Council of Teachers of English (New York Times, Nov« 24, 1944). The pressure tactic was stopped by Dr. Angela Broening, of Baltimore, president of the Council, who called the report "unscholarly, un- documented, and libelousf" The iouncil upheld its president and rejected the report. The National Council for American-Soviet Friendship is making a special attempt to ^educate" teachers in regard to the Soviet Union. Lists of recwn-' mended books and other literature are freely distributed. Thus, in Clevelandj they sponsored a Conference on Education £bout the Soviet Union, on April. 28, 1945. In New York, teachers receive special credit for attending conferences on the U.S»S.R. given by the American-Russian Institute. The Council is sponsoring or encouraging Summer Courses about the Soviet Union, and offering suitable advice. Other cities to receive educational conferences are New'York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Teachers are offered visual aids, publications, and speakers. They are often indoctrinated through Communist-controlled schools for writers* An interesting development is the commissioning of Archbald MacLeish to hand the American delegation to the Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization of the United Nations. (N.Y.Times, Oct. 20, 1945). On the basis of MacLeish!s background and record, one can feel sure that the Soviet Union will not find him too unco-operative. 6. Miscellaneous. In addition to Hollywood, Communists have considerable influence in the New York'theatre. The union and guild connections were mentioned earlier in Chapter III. The current controversy over the Spanish Republican Rally and the attack on Catholicism dramatized the Communist influence in Actors Equity. Frank Fay laid charges against five players for improper conduct in regard to that rally, and instead of getting a hearing, was cited for countercharges. Councilman Benjamin J. Davis was able to or- ganize a Committee of one thousand "outstanding figures in the theatre, radio, motion picture, literary, fine arts, music, dance, educational, and allied fields" to support his candidacy (The IForker, Sept. 30, 1945). Many of these were "innocents" led gy the usual bellwethers, such as Paul Robeson and Langston Hughes. The Communist front among artists is the Artists League of America, headed by Rockwell Kent. It is a combination of the American Artists Congress and the United American Artists. Many of its members were on the YJPA Communist group, including Philip Evergood, the vice-president, and Harry Gottlieb, the treasurer. |