This Fascist Racket-

The following is the twentieth 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 ends today in the Jewish Daily Bulletin.

I have recently come across a manual put out as what might well be called the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Aryandom. Factually the organization is called The Ancient and Noble Order of the Blue Lamoo.

The group, I would judge from the type of stuff they advocate, is a super-Aryan cult and may have some slight following in this and other countries. Essentially its tenets are those of all the shirt groups that have sprung up here and elsewhere and they but slightly exaggerate the policies of Nazi organizations.

The Order of the Blue Lamoo is listed as having its “Stronghold” in the Black Hills of South Dakota and its eastern headquarters at 110-116 Nassau street in New York. At the latter address, building employees profess to have no knowledge as to the existence of the organization. Its membership is secret.

Other asserted headquarters are: North-western, 325 Postal Building, Portland, Ore.; Nordic, Box 3097, Stockholm, Ill.; British, 34, Strand, London; Southwestern, General Delivery, Glendale, Cal.; Latin, Apartado 485, San Juan, Porto Rico; Slav, 23 Hiskisson street, Liverpool.

The order seeks contributions and dues from its sympathizers and members. In this respect it resembles the Nazi and shirt groups in this country.

A FAINT GLIMMER

In this respect, it might also be said, there is a faint glimmer of intelligence. It indicates that the promoters are keenly aware of the superstitions, the bigotries, and the sense of false pride to which many are heir and for the practice of which many are willing to pay good money to any unscrupulous individual willing to trade upon these weaknesses.

Promoters of the Order of the Blue Lamoo are quite willing to sell paganism to the pagans; Christianity to the Christians; Aryanism to the Aryans, and in other bargains in abstract wares they are quite ready to meet the demands of any and all comers.

In the Order of the Blue Lamoo are certain metaphysical utterances akin to those of William Dudley Pelley, leader of the Silver Shirts. In fact the general tone of dementia praecox is not far afield from the more stirring clauses of the general Fascist program here.

The Black Hills have been chosen for headquarters because, as literature of the order explains, “Final international sovereign headquarters shall be established at the Stronghold, located near the Home of the Great Spirit, in the Heart of the Black (unmanifested divinity) Hills National Park, in the State of South Dakota, United States Of America —the remnant of the Old Atlantian Continent undefiled by materialistic civilization and reserved by the Spiritual Forces through the Ages past for this purpose.”

The International Sovereign Body “derives and exercises its powers and authority from the Ancient Immortal Atlantian Initiates of the Sun,” according to the first degree of the order which rambles on for seventeen ### capital and small letters at will and without regard for the feelings of reporters and linotype men who might later be forced to copy their nonsense.

Membership in the order is limited “to those of the natural nobility who have proven themselves worthy of the distinction given their forebears, and those of the Aryan People of all classes, who because of greatness of Soul and ardent desire, sink their own personality in and work for the general and common good.

THE LAMOO PROGRAM

Included in the agenda are:

“To Maintain the political ascendancy, racial purity and moral ideals of the Aryan Peoples, against all who challenge the former or seek to destroy the latter;

“To advocate such an extension in the educational systems as will assure all properly qualified Aryan Youths such instruction and training as will fit them to creditably represent and maintain Aryan Supremacy in the business, professional and scientific worlds, and in the military, naval, air, diplomatic, state and municipal services;

“To urge that Aryan Employers, wherever possible without detriment to others, will give preference to and employ Aryan Employees, especially Aryan Ex-Servicemen of Military and Naval establishments, and members of the Order;

“To Promote (price, quality and other factors being equal) mutual trading between members of the Order and other Aryans, through advertising, giving of dis### premiums;

“To effect the release of the Aryans from the financial bondage of the Judeo-Mongols and to pay off the interest bearing debt by a proper progressive system of taxation with due regard to the wealth of the individual and in lieu of this ‘Gold Standard’ to provide the true security, i.e. the Domain, the Culture, the Physical and Mental Working Capacity of the National Aryan Folk;

“To Promulgate and encourage the study of those Ancient Aryan Teachings and Esoteric Sciences which deal with the Mission, Superiority and Responsibility of the Great Aryan Race;

“To Unite Science and Religion, whereby the Aryans again may be Supermen and Superwomen and establish the Aryan Race as the Christ Race leading the World into the Millenium.”

AS MYSTICAL AS PELLEY

The above represents the most rational section of the manual of the Order of the Blue Lamoo. It is the essence of the order and is shorn of such mysticism as that of Section VIII, for instance. This section provides for “Rejuvenation, New Birth (Freedom from the Second Death).” It explains how to attain freedom from disease, pain, sin, poverty, and physical death from natural causes and is available to “members of the Blue Lamoo who have passed through the first Four degrees of Sun Initiation.”

I find that the mysticism of the Order of the Blue Lamoo is no less reasonable than that of Silver Shirt Pelley, who can commune with the Great Beyond in Atlantian and other similar languages by virtue of his possession of the key to the scriptures of the Great Pyramid; or of White Shirt Christians, who professes an infallibility and a supernatural ability to “read between the lines”; or of Gulden, whose visions of the Communist menace and the powers he can (and does, so he says) muster out of thin air to thwart it.

A peculiar property of the Fascist and pseudo-Fascist leaders I have met is their propensity to ridicule the metaphysical powers of rival leaders. None, however, is willing to take into account his own failings in the realim of mysticism and ego.

They are all Blue Lamoos and they run the range from indigo to nebulous azure.

PERSONALITIES CHANGE

In the course of these twenty articles I have reported briefly a number of organizations and personalities which have come about as a result of the upset political conditions in this country.

The personalities come and go and then are felt no more. The organizations are not substantial, and they rise and disappear overnight.

The Fascist movement however, shows no sign of relenting. A number of original movements are with us still. New ones crop up almost daily. There is, for instance, the Society or Order of Peter the Great which was founded in 1930. It is composed mainly by White Russians, many of whom are understood to have retained the anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia and other old world nationalistic properties that can not in any sense be fitted into American conceptions.

As the more transient organizations break up, their membership is diverted to other organizations of a similar nature.

Anti-Communism is a policy which is capable of uniting most Americans into a strong aggressive organization, and this is peddled everywhere by everyone seeking a following. Most of the anti-Communist groups are merely a blind for anti-Semitic movements.

A great number of “patriotic” organizations have sprung up. In these ranks one may be “patriotic” for specified dues and solicitations. One must also meet the requirements of racial, religious, and other classes of bigots in order to be “patriotic.”

If this entirely false idea, of patriotism goes no further than to furnish its promoters with funds and the persons who participate in it with a sense of superiority and righteousness it will do little harm. But there is the possibility that it may lead to persecution, to civil strife and hatred among the classes composing the nation. That is the chief menace in the Fascist racket.

The End