This Fascist Racket-

The following is the eleventh of a series of articles, “This Fascist Racket,” by Mr. McGrady, exposing, from the inside, the workings of a typical Fascist organization here, and revealing, through publication of the Fascist “chieftain’s” correspondence, how and in what manner these racial rackets are operated. The series appears daily in the Jewish Daily Bulletin.

It is not impossible that at some future date America will find itself with a Fascist problem on its hands. Fascism has become the vogue throughout all Europe, and an increasing number of intellectuals in this country, impatient with the failure of the present administration to dissolve the depression overnight, are advocating Hitlerite powers for the president.

At present, there are a number of Fascist forces operating in the United States, which, if united, might even now wield political influence. The real Fascist leader has not emerged as yet, but he is being hatched by hundreds of petty chieftains now heralding American Fascism.

George W. Christians, White Shirt commander-in-chief, while possibly the strongest of the Fascist leaders, gives little promise of cutting any figure in politics. He is too capricious to demand great attention from the Fascists, who must perforce be cranks; too unsound economically to gain favor with intelligent persons, and too disloyal to such comrades as he has had to inspire faith in his following. His disloyalties may be interpreted as being an effort to gain personal publicity at the expense of his henchmen rather than as a “purging of the party” as in the recent case of Chancellor Hitler.

PATRONAGE BY POLITICIANS

Christians’s correspondence files indicate some patronage being given his movement by Washington politicians who are alert to the emergence of Fascism, and this evidence has been revealed. It also testifies to the close contact maintained by petty political prophets, and samples of this I am prepared to give promptly. There appears to be a continual process of barter and trade of policies among minor leaders in an effort to secure unity, and gradually the religious and social prejudices of certain groups are being blended with economic and political concepts of others in narrower, stronger fields of Fascist enterprise.

There is, for instance, the contact maintained between Christians and Mrs. H. H. Lund. According to Christians, Mrs. Lund held an influential and lucrative position with the Hoover administration. When the Republicans went out, she lost her job, and is now in a bad way financially, as her correspondent reveals.

It is interesting to remark here that a large majority of the petty leaders of insurrectionary groups are Republicans. They recognize, perhaps, the unwisdom of attempting to oppose a strong, progressive, and popular Democratic administration under the banner of the defeated party. Hence, they swing into new armies created to attack the administration.

MRS. LUND A ‘SHIRTER’

Mrs. Lund has a financial interest in William Dudley Pelley’s Silver Shirt enterprise. Through her Christians was once introduced to Pelley. The White Shirt commander-in-chief later described the Silver Shirt commander-in-chief as a “little dried up shrimp, who will never get any place, because he goes in for a lot of occult non-sense.” He considers Pelley “smart but cuckoo.”

On May 16, 1933, Mrs. Lund wrote Christians in part as follows: “Yes, the Silver Shirts are our Mr. Pelley. He has a plan now to offset yours and it is reported to be the same as Socialism only that the RIGHT men run it. Of course RIGHT men die and what comes next? Well, I expected that if he continued along the occult lines he was pursuing when we listened to him that he would send out JUST this program … same as the one he thinks he is fighting you see.

“His people think it comes down from Heaven as the Moses tablets and the Mormons did. Wonderful to have such faith but dangerous as I see it.”

The dangerous part of the Pelley program did not later deter her from taking an interest in it. Christians, meanwhile, asked her to agitate for his organization, and on August 20, 1933, she replied:

ADMITS ANTI-SEMITISM

“Just how can I help when I am so pronouncedly anti-Jew? I am amazed that you, knowing what you know, can risk having them in your organization. It is dangerous for them when they Are sincere, and I admit they can be, but seldom are reachable when in things where their operations are troublesome to the few.

“The London Patriot recently published a long letter by a German Jew of great erudition and culture in which he said that the Hitler actions were justified by the behavior of a few Eastern Jews who made themselves objectionable and proceeded to itemize. I shall try to have it reprinted and sent to you.”

Again on Oct. 22, 1933, Mrs. Lund wrote as follows: “Yours came over by a friend. I thought I told you that I was at Hotel Endicott. I was far too worried over this and that to write to Mr. Van today. I do not know how to make appointments for you when you are so far away. The Hitler men are busy and must know exactly when. If you want my other German friends to have a number of guests for you to speak to I can arrange it, But . . . when I am so troubled it is all very hard. I shall give Mr. Van your telephone number and address and let him summon you if and when he pleases.”

There is much more correspondence in which Mrs. Lund makes it quite clear that she is not too well off financially and would not object to being paid for her organizing efforts in Christians’ behalf. Christians has probably sent out a few of her letters to friends as a hint that they might help her if they are so disposed. He referred her to Royal Scott Gulden, leader of the Order of #76, a rival Fascist and anti-Semitic organiztion in New York, as a possible source of aid. She replied on October 31, 1933:

“Once I thought that you knew something about organizations and their personnel; yet today you advise me to see #76 and G. and the Germans. . . . Amusing. If one is broke one is ignorant too? The secretary of the Stahlhelm is my friend and he and his wife are with me every few days. I know all about that and other German organizations. They have so much that he had a $55 telephone bill to meet because he had guaranteed their bill. And as for Gulden and his #76—it is to laugh. I know several of his charter members—there is no money—never has been and never will be in my opinion.

GULDEN ALSO BROKE

“Gulden himself is as broke as I and living on his friends, as I have been. So to say go there is funny. Again F. gets his information from a dangerous source and no one can get him to go to right places. He is losing his friends now because of this and other things.

“I told the Hitler people where they were heading and to whom to turn for protection. What do Germans know about our channels? And with the particular enemies they had—it was just certain that trying to run their own show that they would soon head for the Atlantic. Even the German leaders they chose were tinsel ones.”

There was a p.s.: “The German who is staking G. thinks things will go—but the foundation is not theirs.”

These are scraps of information gleaned from a small part of Mrs. Lund’s correspondence with Christians. The balance of it indicates that she is an apt student of the “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion” and believes implicitly in the “Jewish plot” to overthrow the governments of the world. The unfortunate woman indicates her belief that Jews are responsible for every slight misfortune that has come her way.

LOEB ANOTHER CORRESPONDENT

Harold Loeb, now promoting a Technocracy scheme, has had considerable correspondence with Christians. His attitude is summed up in a communication sent on November 20, 1933:

“Your economic theory seems to me on the road to Technocracy. I can’t see how you can stop half way in this age of plenty. Once you release production from its bondage to finance, the battle’s won. Therefore, I’m for it. Fascism is to me a return to Barbarism, as using of mass gullibility by the money power to maintain itself. I’m not for it, Jewish question or no Jewish question.”

Largely on the strength of this Christians likes to consider the Technocrats, and Loeb particularly, in his movement.

There are many types of organizations that seek to align themselves with the growing Fascist movement. They ferret out the most prosperous organizations and offer to lend their following and services for definite sums or percentages of the income incumbent upon the movements.

There is, for instance, the Mutual Broadcasting Company of America, professing to have a radio station in Washington, D. C., which has sent its matter to Christians with a view toward serving him. It appears to be foraging for a paying sponsor or paying sponsors.

Any of the petty politicians can vent their spleen over this station and advertise their philosophies and publications for a not exorbitant sum.

A RADIO RACKET

To the general public the following application blank is sent together with a solicitation. It is believed that both the broadcasting company and the organization sponsoring the broadcast split the proceeds of “the beg.”

“Mutual Broadcasting Company of America.

“The Voice of The People.

“Free Speech: Not Subsidized by Capital. Unmuzzled by Politics.

“Box 1826, Washington, D. C.

“Here is my donation for $…You are authorized to pool this fund for the maintenance and promotion of the Independent Broadcasting Station of the Mutual Broadcasting Company. I am to become a shareholder in the company when incorporated. Donors of $5 or more will receive one year’s subscription to the Silver Ranger.”

While the Silver Shirts happened to be in on this particular deal, “The American Progress’ was advertised over another broadcast, and, it is understood the proposition is open to any cult or sect wishing to tie its fortunes to the scheme.

To be continued tomorrow