Recently, a participant on the Internet recommended that people obtain, if possible, a copy of the book “Toward Soviet America,” by William Z. Foster. An excellent suggestion if anyone really wants to understand what the Communists were planning for this country back in 1932. Actually, the book told far too much. Just as Adolf Hitler, in his book “Mein Kampf” explained what his intentions were for Germany and Europe, so, too, did William Foster expose the even more sinister Communist plans for a United Soviet States of America.
But Foster told TOO MUCH! He exposed far too much of the Communist plans and he was ordered by his Communist bosses in Russia to repudiate the book publicly. Communist agents were sent into libraries, bookstores and, in a few cases, into private homes to destroy every single copy of the book they could find. Today it is virtually impossible to find a copy of that first edition.
That was the bad news, now for the good news. In 1961, a company called Elgin Enterprises, Inc. republished the book as a “textbook” so that Americans could read and learn what was happening to them and WHY. Remarkably, this book, written by the head of the Communist Party, USA now had a foreword written by the head of the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities. As the book was reissued, it became an argument against Communism to help Americans defend themselves against the conspiracy. It SHOULD be possible to find a copy of this reprint through some of the out-of-print book sources on the Net.
It is interesting that “Toward Soviet America” was not the first important book in this effort to awaken and educate the American public to the Communist threat. Eight years before Foster’s book, there was another book which the Communists tried desperately to suppress. That book bore the same title as this column: “Reds In America.” It was written by R. M. Whitney.
The book came into being as the end product of a chain of events. On August 22, 1922, a combined force of local, state and federal police raided a top secret Convention of the Communist Party at Bridgman, Michigan. The Communists had taken elaborate precautions that their meeting and the documents pertaining to it would never be exposed. Participants of the meeting, although known to be loyal Communists, had to turn in all papers immediately after each meeting. There were to be no notes or other papers anywhere in the site. They had guards surrounding the area to avoid surprise. Somehow, the law enforcement officials were able to overcome all these obstacles.
As a result of the raid, the law officers were able to capture several BARRELS of notes, documents, orders from Moscow, etc. It was a phenomenal success.
The author of the book “Reds In America” was already well versed in knowledge of the Communists . He was given access to all of the evidence captured during the raid and spent several years studying it all. The book does a masterful job of showing not only what the Communist plans were and how they planned to implement them but also hints at more powerful forces above the Communist movement.
The book first appeared in print in 1924- and disappeared from public view almost as rapidly as We. Foster’s book did years later. The Communists made sure that they found every copy they could and destroyed them immediately. Here, too, it is almost impossible to find a copy of the original edition.
In 1970, Western Islands Publishing Co., the book publishing arm of the John Birch Society reproduced the book as exactly as possible from an original copy. It was then distributed as widely as possible. It should be possible to find a copy of this reproduction edition.
The only major change was that the 1970 edition had an introduction added to it to explain the reason for the re-issue of a book which was at that time already 46 years old. To quote from that introduction:
“The expression, ‘one cannot see the forest for the trees,’ is no less true because it has become one of the most overworked cliches in the language. It is true that people tend to become so involved in a part of a problem, or in everyday life, that they lose sight of the whole, and of the ramifications of the whole….It is virtually impossible to step back and view the current happenings in one’s country with the detachment that will permit an objective evaluation of the play of cause and effect in our daily national life.
“But the lack of easy access to such knowledge does not lessen the effect that events have. The problem, nevertheless, is simplified by the fact that we do have basic concepts and beliefs that can guide us in sifting out the irrelevant from the important. Moreover, it is not unusual to have available a plan or outline that makes it possible to gain a clear insight into the present. One of the greatest tragedies of history is that people so seldom take advantage of such aids as are available.
“The last ten years [1960-1970] have seen the American dream turning into a nightmare: city blocks are burned, policemen are shot down in the streets, the flag is publicly desecrated, once great universities are seized by a handful of students who proclaim themselves revolutionaries. Patriotic citizens have tried to enlighten their fellow citizens as to the cause and the consequences of the present crisis. But petty prejudice, bias and indifference have prevented too many citizens from clearly recognizing America’s plight.
“…Reds In America is far more than a journalistic report on the raid of 1922. It is a carefully documented expose of Communist activities in the contest of the total conspiracy, presenting these activities in the light of what the Communists themselves planned for the future of America. For this reason, the fact that this book was written almost fifty [now 78] years ago makes it MORE rather than LESS pertinent to our present crisis.
“In Reds In America Whitney lays it out straight. He show how by 1924 the Communists had already infiltrated every segment of American life: unions, education, religion, the armed forces, the government, political parties, women’s organizations, the theatrical world (including the movies), and the civil rights movement. By 1924 they had in their ranks or affiliated with them priests, rabbis, and ministers, military officers, union bosses, movie actors, in fact “big names” from all fields. Whitney shows how people whom we have been led to respect today, were then known for their aid to the Communists- for example, Jane Addams, Charlie Chaplin, Felix Frankfurter, Carrie Chapman Catt, Upton Sinclair, and Charles P. Steinmetz.”
To give an idea of the infiltration of the Communists into our society, a listing of the chapter titles in the book will be informative: 2. In Political Fields; 3. Schools and Colleges; 4. Radical Publications and Literature; 5. “Legal” Organizations; 6. Relief Drives; the Agrarian Program; 7. American Civil Liberties Union; 8. The Industrial Program; 9. The Stage and The Movies; 10. Army, Navy, and The Government; 11. The Labor Defense Council; Women’s Clubs; 12. The Negro Program; Future Plans of Communists.
Having worked in construction all my life, I tend to use construction as an analogy. If I take you to the downtown section of any large city to the front of a large multi-story edifice I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with the entire building from foundations to roof. I then show you an 80 year old set of plans and specifications for a building just like the one you are looking at. After you study the plans and specifications and compare them against the building you suddenly realize that there can be no question but that that building was built using THIS set of plans and specifications.
“Reds In America” is just such an 80 year old set of plans and specifications. Anyone who reads the book cannot fail to acknowledge that our present society is the end product of those plans. Tragic but true!
For those who may be interested, I did a search on the Barnes and Noble website in their “Out Of Print” section. As of Jan 14, I found that there are 39 copies of “Reds In America” available at different prices and conditions. I also found that there are 22 copies of “Toward Soviet America” available. It will, of course, be “first come, first served!”
Postscript: In 1952, Elizabeth Bentley, testifying before Congress stated that to her knowledge there were, at that time, at least TWO other Communist cells working within the U.S. government. She didn’t know who they were, but had learned about them from her Communist superiors. As the investigation of Communism in government went on, it was getting too close to some people very high up in the administration. On March 5, 1954, Eisenhower issued an executive order telling all administration people that they could NOT testify personally before Congressional committees but would have to be represented by a Department head. This “executive fifth amendment” brought any effective investigation of Communism in government to a halt. To this day, those other two Communist cells have never been exposed!
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”