Red Lights Out

What happens to the American Labor Party is of national interest, for A. L. P. will have something to say about how the New York vote goes in 1940. Old-line Democrats and Republicans do not forget that the American Labor Party in 1937 gave New York City's Mayor LaGuardia his winning majority, narrowly saved Democratic Governor Herbert Lehman from defeat last year by Tom Dewey.

In recent years, New York Communists have swarmed into A. L. P. Last week they were told to buzz out. A big party meeting was called to blast Stalinism out of A. L, P. ranks. Speaker after speaker denounced the Soviet. Then the A. L. P. men melted together all the high-Fahrenheit words they could find, forged a white-hot resolution that seared the "red and brown dictatorships" for "their shameless, hypocritical acts," their "brazen conduct," finally branded their U. S. apologists as "antiDemocratic, anti-humanitarian, antilabor, and the blind servants of the Russian international policy."

When Irving Potash, C. I. O. Fur Workers Union man, objected, saying that Russia had merely drawn a line in Poland to protect itself from Germany, the floor exploded with boos and sarcastic cries of "Heil Hitler!" As Potash struggled on, booing broke into thunderous shouts of "Take him away! Down with Hitler!"

Pale, reedy Alex Rose, A. L. P. executive secretary, snapped that all who voted against the resolution thereby voted themselves out of the Party. The count: 605 for, 94 against. Each of the 94 was booed as he rose to vote. The purge was on.

Phase II of the purge came next day. The executive committee demanded that all A. L. P. nominees for city and county posts in the November 7 election pledge themselves to uphold the anti-Communist resolution. One leader hesitated: chubby Michael Joseph Quill, president of C. I. O.'s Transport Workers, (trolleys, taxis, busses, subways). Mike Quill is politically potent, a generally stanch backer of Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia, and one of five A. L. P. members of New York's City Council. With many Communists in his hive, he has followed the party beeline, was suspected of following it this week in San Francisco, where he was a divisive force in the C. I. O.'s national convention (see p. 28). Under a five-day ultimatum from A. L. P.--to renounce either Communism or his re-nomination--he momentarily held his peace.

His New York chums waged war. At a Manhattan County committee meeting of the party, a divisional director of Mr. Quill's union leaped to the platform, with a pack of Communist sympathizers, took over the proceedings. The lights flashed off, on, off again. Amid the hullabaloo the Quillsters voted down the anti-Communist resolution, yelled recriminations at those who objected, elected Leftist Congressman Vito Marcantonio chairman of their rump unit. Mr. Marcantonio declined, but he sideswiped the purgers as actors "playing the role of international statesmen. They should go back to ringing doorbells and climbing stairs to get out the vote."

With this demonstration to give him confidence, Councilman Quill answered the A. L. P. Taking a line much like that of the Communist Daily Worker, Mr. Quill called A. L. P.'s summons to battle against Communism and Naziism a piece of warmongering, hotly refused to endorse the resolution. "I never have been and am not a member of the Communist Party," said he. "I refuse, however, to join any witch hunt. ... I refuse to participate in a campaign which leads inevitably to the suppression of the labor movement and all liberal and progressive forces in the nation."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.