The adoption of the Dickstein resolution calling for a thorough nation-wide investigation of Nazi propaganda activities in the United States is a triumph of American public opinion over the un-American and anti-American efforts of a foreign government to promote bigotry and stir up race hatred in this country. A special committee of seven Representatives will be appointed to undertake an inquiry into “the extent, character and object of Nazi propaganda in the United States, and the diffusion within the United States of subversive propaganda that is instigated from foreign countries and attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution.”
The debate on the resolution in the House of Representatives proved a demonstration of American sentiment against Nazism and Hitlerism. The only Congressman who expressed opposition to the resolution said that it would be a waste of public funds to make the investigation because there is no anti-Semitism in the United States.
Representative E. E. Cox, of Georgia, in presenting the Dickstein resolution, declared that the Nazi organization in this country “is penetrating every section of the country,” disseminating Hitlerist propaganda, and he added: “What is happening in Germany ought to be a sufficient warning to us.”
Representative Dickstein reviewed the activities of the Nazi agents in this country, charging them with efforts directed against the interests of the American Government and the people, and stating that evidence had been uncovered in the course of his unofficial investigation that German boats were smuggling ammunition, propagandists and propagandist literature into this country.
Congressman Dickstein deserves much credit for his indefatigable work which has resulted in this splendid achievement. It is to be hoped that the investigation will be conducted with the most painstaking thoroughness. It will not be quite as easy a task as it would have been if this official investigation had been authorized months ago. During this time, especially since the disappearance of Heinz Spanknoebel, the leader of the Nazi organization in America, the methods of the Nazi propagandists in the United States have undergone a change. The Nazis have become more cautious and secretive in their propaganda, though none the less energetic.
The Dickstein resolution, adopted by an overwhelming majority, is a staggering blow to Hitlerism.
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