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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1962)
SPIRIT get the Iv K.l. and the Array now and then the people. (J N on believe there’s a plot to destrov the F.B.I? A. Definitely. O Welch ays the I'.S. is 70'/ Communist now if that's the case do you have any chance of succeeding? A. \V ell. lie didn't say it was 70''/ Communist. Hut it s 50-70''/ Communist and if the people start to think straight we’ll heat them. (J How can anyone gauge the amount of in filtration in a country by percentage points? A He gets inside reports and can get a pretty good estimate on things. O What will happen to your members when, and if. the Communists take over? A Well all he shot. Anyone with capitalism, with property—and so forth—will he shot They say that up in Portland at their ral lies -i\ million Americans they’re plan ning to kill. O I have friend- at Yale and Princeton who are members of Young Americans for f reedom. They claim there is a big swing to the right on their campuses. There doesn’t seem to be any motivation from the right on Oregon campuses. Do vou think the Kirch Society should go around to the schools and encourage conserva tives to set up clubs ? A Well, were mostly concerned with adults —not college students. But I think it's fine tor students to set up these organiza tions. (J At the \ oung Americans fur Freedom ral I\ in New 't urk recently—the group claimed that of the 20.000 people attend ing dOD were under 25. Uo you think conservatism is a movement of the na tion''' youth now? * A. Well, it's a movement of all clear-thinking people, whether they he nine or ninety. (J. They wouldn't let T.shombe into the coun try to address that rallv in New York. Do you have any opinion on that? A. The State Department is against T.shombe. Look at their U.X. policy—they're out to unify the Congo under the Reds. Q. \\ hat does the John Kirch Society plan to do to stop this? A. W ell, we can’t do much except tell the American people what's going on. How thev re being stabbed behind their backs. Q. What do you say to the charge that the Kirch Society is anti-union, anti-social security, anti-integration. anti-Semitic, an ti-Catholic. anti-L'nited Xatioiis, anti-for eign aid, anti-lower tariffs. anti-Common Market, anti-anti-trust, anti-immigration, anti-Alliance tor Progress, anti-peace, au ti-Supreme Court? A. Well, 1 can't speak for the Society. That's a jumbled problem—we don't like many of the "so-called" social measures—like socialized medicine. We aren't anti-Catho lic or anything—a lot of negros, Jews and Catholics belong to the Society. (J. Are most of your members rich? A. Some are rich, some are poor. Thev come from all levels— a lot of poor—they can't make any money with big government— a common man can't get a dairy farm it - take' too much money. We represent the common man. [>■ Vou don't think the common man need social security or free medical care? How can lie |>ay fur it—support himself after retirement ? A. They could if the government would get off their hack. O. Are you anti-government? A AN ell, the government should just do those things specified in the Constitution—not all the rest of this stuff. Those men have no right doing half the stuff they pull— they ought to be locked up. Q. N "u believe that we should revert to the Constitution ? A. Yes, do only the things specified in the Constitution. O. Hut aren't there many implied powers in the Constitution? A. No—it's very specific. It lays down just what you can do and can't do. (J. W hy does the Birch Society want to im peach Justice Warren of the Supreme Court ? A. Because lie’s been handing down Commu nist decisions ever since he got on the bench. O What <lid you think of (>us Hall's speech at U of <)? Did you go to it? A. No, 1 didn't bother to go sec- it. He achieved hi-v purpose though—lie achieved it per fectly. [J. What* \va> his purpose? A. To put you to sleep. Put all the Americans to sleep so the Russians can march in and take over. (J. If all these people are in alliance (in gov ernment) why did Hall—a Communist— have to spend eight years in prison. And why is he under indictment now? A. Communists get ahead by stepping over the bodies of dead comrades—it's an old poli cy. Look at the history of the party in Rus sia. Today Stalin is a hero. Tomorrow he is down-graded—taken out of Red Square —it’s a farce. Q. \\ hen Rudolf Abel was arrested as a spv— it was reported that he was told not to contact the American Communist party since they are so unreliable and infiltrated with F.B.I. agents. If this is so—the Com munist conspiracy in America must be very weak—it couldn't have even left the ground. A. They are still a powerful factor. They may not be Communists. They have a lot of front groups. The American Communist party may not even be a Communist group. O. There is a new theory circulating that your group, the John Birch Society, is a Com munist group in disguise. Would you care to comment? A. '1 hat's the sort of stuff the Communists would spread. '1 hey try to stop any oppo sition. (J. In a report of the C.I.A. it was noted that in Hast Germany those who had been the most ardent Nazis—were at once the first to become radical Communists. It’s called the “Cosmic Law" the thin line between two opposites. Do you think members of the far-right would be easy converts to the far-left. A. We're not Nazis—we re just common Am ericans doing what’s right. I don't believe any Birchers are Communists—and I would never go to the left. Q. That’s what is bothering many free-think ers, that is, the insistence of the Birchers that their and only their opinion is the right one. That all the rest of us are stupid and that only Robert Welch knows what's going on. Do you think the American peo ple should follow Welch unquestionably? A. There is only one right way and that’s a clear, sensible government following the Constitution. Mr. Welch is telling us about this—he isn’t seeking power. Q. You then say there are no alternatives in policy other than those laid down by Welch ? A. That’s right. Q. Don't you believe that since society is con stantly changing that government should be dynamic, flexible to the needs of the people it should serve? A. Government should provide a service to the people—but only as much as is specified in the Constitution. Q. Do you believe Reed College is Communist? A. Well, I think most political science depart ments in most colleges are left-of-center. That’s been my experience. Cj Do you approve of the Freedom Center in Portland that so strongly objected to Hall’s coming to Oregon ? A. I think they’re doing a job that needs to be done. Q. \\ ouldn't anti-Freedom Center be a better title for them. They allow freedom only for those who hold views of their own. A. Hall achieved his objective in coming here. Q. You don’t believe people have the discrimi nation to make their own judgments after hearing both sides of the story? A. They can be led astray by Communist lies. They (the Communists) don’t ever speak the truth. Q. \\ hat do you think the future of America is if it were "50 to 70rr Communist?” A. If we get thinking straight, we'll be all right. Q. Why don't you go to Reed and speak ? A. If I spoke up there—they’d give me thirty minutes to speak—and I'd get the usual snickers and smiles. Then some professor would spend three months of his tax-paid time to knock down everything I said. That’s what happened at (University of) Oregon—I spoke briefly—and then some self-appointed egghead took three months to knock it all down. I'm too busy for that sort of thing. Q. But if you don't answ er these charges—how is your group to succeed? You can’t expect to win with a defeatist attitude? A. We have to fight them in other ways. The press is all controlled by the left. Q. \\ ell, this one isn't. It desires to present both sides of every story. Would you like to write an article for us and tell the Uni versity of Oregon students of the real character and goals of the John Birch Society? It’s possible they have a distorted picture—and as leader of the Oregon chap ter I think it would be worthwhile for you to write such an article. How about it? A. We’re too busy. Too many things to do. A good thing for you to run would be Sena tor Goldwater’s speech on the A.D.A. that tells about that group. A lot of professors are members of the A.D. and it’s a Com munist front group. —Interview by Art Harger (The concluding article on The John Birch So ciety will appear next week. It’s an analysis of the tactics of the Society by Donald Haynes.)
