Nationalist Types of Fascism in U.S.

While no single Fascist organization in the United States today is sufficiently strong to threaten seriously American democracy, efforts on the part of Fascist leaders throng hout the country to present a united front may ## regarded as ominous with regard to the political future of the United States.

Among German groups in the United States. cooperation with and absorption into the League of Friends of New Germany, which until a year ago was the German National Socialist Party, is nationwide. Among purely American Fascist organizations attempts at amalgamation have not succeeded to any considerable extent, due primarily to the fact that no strong leader has been produced as yet. Efforts to merge, however, have been made, and it is generally believed by those closest to the situation that with the appearance of an outstanding Fascist prophet a formidable, united front will be created.

EXTRA EDITION APPEARS

A short time ago an extra edition of the Silver Ranger, organ of William Dudley Pelley’s Silver Shirt movement, came out with a black banner line one inch deep, asking the question, “PELLEY ALLIED WITH THE NAZI?”

The answer to the question, splattered over the front page and scattered throughout the rest of the paper, was in the affirmative. It told in detail the connection of the Silver Legion in Southern California with the Western Division of the League of Friends of New Germany.

You see, the Silver Rangers on April 6 was published by a rebel group of Silver Shirts. They published an extra edition of the sheet, obviously without the “Chief’s” sanction, exposed Nazi control of his paper, and indicated a direct-tie-up between Pelley and members of the League of Friends of New Germany against whom damning testimony was rendered six weeks ago in Los Angeles Superior Court which gained a moral indictment against the group as attempted sabotagers of American defense forces. The text of the Silver Ranger’s rebel edition, coming from the pens of those who had, worked with Pelley, presents some of the most enlightening evidence gained thus far on the German Nazi nature of the Silver Legion. Eugene Russell Case, Silver Legion chaplain, resigned at the time of the schism.

In series of rhetorical questions the Silver Ranger clearly sets forth the connection between Pelley and the League of Friends of New Germany. The front page article asks whether or not the Hans Winterhalder, who was recently hailed into court where he and other members of the League of Friends of New Germany were averred to have taken part in Nazi attempts to foment revolution, is the same Hans Winterhalder who has been placed in charge of the offices of the Silver Ranger. The article states that Chief Pelley and Hal Cummings, “his high priest representative,” made the appointment. It further stated that in the absence of Pelley the sheet had been used to publish Nazi propaganda.

In another question, the Silver Ranger demanded to know whether Paul Themlitz, “who for many months has had full charge of all literature, distribution and sale of the Liberation and the Silver Ranger,” is the same Paul Themlitz who was involved in charges of Nazi conspiracy against the government. It asks if Herman Schwinn, in charge of the Los Angeles headquarters of the League of Friends of New Germany, is the same as the Herman Schwinn who presided at a meeting in the Aryan bookstore held for the purpose of organizing a Nazi post in the Legion.

REFER TO TODAY

Throughout the article, the magazine Today, which recently published a series of articles which related briefly part of the testimony advanced to indicate that a Nazi conspiracy against the government was afoot, was referred to as authority for connecting Winterhalder, Themlitz and Schwinn with Nazi operations. In closing the article requests:

“That every sincere American who is a member of the Silver Legion of America, in any of the Posts, bring to the metropolitan (Los Angeles) Post or any of its officers all evidence that they have of Nazi interference in America affairs and Silver Legion of America affairs; our corps of investigators will trail down these facts and will submit them without delay to the United States Department of Justice. Join with us, the Silver Legion of America, Inc., in saving a great American institution for Americans. We want no Nazi interferences, or any other European interferences, and we insist and will insist on no foreign entanglements of any kind in the Silver Legion of America, Inc.”

The rebel IX Division of the Silver Legion relates the fact that Pelley appointed it as a military post. The paper wonders whether or not “Superior Court Cases 267,-685 – 267,602 – 299,260 – 299,354 had anything to do with his leaving” Los Angeles secretly for the East. The cases mentioned presumably are those filed against the Nazis. The paper demands that Pelley “be man enough to come to the platform of the Silver Legion and make a public apology.”

Among the mergers which are or have been under way are those of the Silver Shirts and Order of ’76, the Crusaders For Economic Liberty and the German Alliance, and all the groups with the Friends of New Germany.

Many other mergers are planned, and they will be fully discussed in later articles which will deal more fully with the program and activities of various Fascist and near-Fascist organizations.

Coin Harvey, Arkansas publisher and former Socialist leader, has instigated a movement for the merger of a number of groups throughout the nation. They include the Order of ’76, Senator Long’s Limitation of Wealth Society, The Knights of Civilization, the Direct Credit Association, the Liberty Party, the Farmer-Labor Party, the Farmer’s Union and the Continental Congress. Many of these groups, notably the Farmer-Labor Party and the Continental Congress, lean far to the left of Fascism. Their failure to progress rapidly in a dreary march to power, however, has caused them to be on the alert for support regardless of the fact that they must pay in policy for additional strength.

It is reasoned, much the same as in Germany, that the necessary shift to the right would be justified by the number of votes obtained. The success of Fascism abroad, the absolute power wielded by Fascist rulers, and the nature of Fascism which thus far has overcome all opposition, add a delectable invitation to small, impotent political leaders now considering or toying with the idea of Fascist conversion.

Besides the above organizations, other possible candidates known throughout the metropolitan area include the National Watchmen, the Crusaders and what remains of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan, incidentally, has been revived to some extent both internally and externally under a variety of names, such as the Nationalists of New York, the Nationalists of Texas, and the Vigilantes of California. Members of the New National. Members of the New National Party, which was disbanded some time ago, have gone into the stronger groups. Frequently one finds an overlapping of membership, that is, members of one organization maintaining membership in another at the same time.

Together with the German and American brands of Fascism, French, Austrian, and Italian Fascists contribute their support to the American Fascist movement. Their contributions thus far are slight because of the lack of a national leader in whom all could have confidence.

The French Fascists, the Croix de Feu, are modeled after one of two leading Fascist organizations in France. As yet they have made no public demonstrations, and to this reporter’s knowledge have formed no alliances with either the American or foreign brands of Fascist forces, but it is understood that they will shortly come out into the open. The other native French Fascist group, Francisme, has not come to the attention of the writer in this country.

Italian Fascism has an interesting history in this country and may be considered second in influence only to the German type of Fascism. Italian Fascism lives actively among the Khaki Shirt organization, which poses as American Fascism, and passively in the social activities and everyday life of millions of Italians in the United States. A number of small American Fascist groups with purely local membership are seeking a common national organization.

The Dollfuss type of Austrian Fascism has thus far indicated no great influence among Austrian Americans, although many who oppose Nazism are gradually being attracted towards supporting the present Fascist administration of the homeland. The most active Austrian Fascists are those who adhere to Germany’s policy of Anschluss, absorption of the Austrian state into the projected German Nazi empire. A number of Austrians support the League of Friends of New Germany, and these are for the most part war veterans, so far as I can learn.

All the above groups, and on a wider and weaker scale, approximately one hundred other groups have in them potential and real Fascist elements. Their one great common enemy is the present from of government of the United Sates, and so unshakable has their enemy proven to be thus far that it is not unreasonable to suppose that all may unite against their foe. That bargaining for mutual modification of policies so that distinct groups may see eye to eye is already being undertaken will be factually set forth elsewhere in this series.

The most important efforts at merger came in New York a few weeks ago when William Dudley Pelley arrived from his Silver Shirt headquarters in North Carolina to negotiate a merger with Royal Scott Gulden’s Order of ’76 News of the attempt to merge first appeared in the Jewish Daily Bulletin during the course of negotiations. Gulden denied that negotiations. Gulden denied that negotiations had taken place at the time, but the magazine Today later published documentary evidence of it. The evidence came in the form of a letter from Paul Toal, foreign adjutant of the Silver Legion with offices in Washington, D. C., in which he asserted that “The Chief” (Pelley) had informed him that the membership of the Order of ’76 had definitely consolidated its membership with the Silver Legion. Gulden later admitted that Pelley had proposed amalgamation, but asserted that the deal miscarried.