Communism in America

Report Outline
Concern Over Communism in Unites States
Communist Party and Communist Methods
Communist Infiltration in Labor Unions

Concern Over Communism in Unites States

Signs of renewed concern over Communist activity in the United States have multiplied since the end of the war. No hysterical Red scare comparable to that which gripped the country after World War I is in evidence today; the current postwar period, unlike that of 1919 and 1920, has been marked neither by bomb outrages on the one hand nor by deportation drives on the other. At the same time, many persons have been genuinely disturbed by indications of spreading Communist activity. They see in it at the least a mischief-making influence in American life, at the most a threat to the democratic freedoms and the unity and strength of the American people.

The turn to the right, signified by the decisive Republican victory in the Nov. 5 election, is reassuring to those who had feared that Communist doctrines were winning substantial support in the United States, as they have in other countries since the war. Nevertheless, demands are likely to be made upon the new Congress for effective steps to curb the activities of Communists and their sympathizers, and to rid the federal establishment of any employees whose loyalty may be in doubt.

New light may be thrown on operations of the Communist Party of America, and on its relations to Moscow, at a hearing of the House Committee on Un-American Activities already scheduled for Nov. 22. Witnesses to appear before the committee on that day include Louis F. Budenz, former Communist who was at one time managing editor of the Daily Worker, and Gerhard Eisler, described by Budenz as the secret agent of the Kremlin “who directs all Communist activies in the United States.”