lp4guld

fascism may rise thus. We have but to see the flowering of the Hamand Eggs crusade in California and the Townsend movement everywhereto realize the possibilities of a powerful movement organizedby unimportant leaders. But when fascism comes it will not be inthe form of an anti-American movement or pro-Hitler bund,practicing disloyalty. Nor will it come in the form of a crusadeagainst war. It will appear rather in the luminous robes of flamingpatriotism; it will take some genuinely indigenous shape and color,and it will spread only because its leaders, who are not yet visible,will know how to locate the great springs of public opinion anddesire and the streams of thought that flow from them and willknow how to attract to their banners leaders who can command thesupport of the controlling minorities in American public life. Thedanger lies not so much in the would-be Führers who may arise, butin the presence in our midst of certain deeply running currents ofhope and appetite and opinion. The war upon fascism must be begunthere.There is one other phenomenon that has appeared which seemsto contain some danger of infection. The war has brought us allies.One of them is Russia. And already we have seen how our friendlycollaboration in the war enterprise has led to a good deal of nonsenseabout the Russian government. We are willing to believe thatit is no longer anti-religious. There is a notable mitigation of theseverity with which we appraised communism and the tolerancewith which we have forgiven the purges and brutalities of the Sovietregime. But we also have fascist allies. And not only do we look withindulgence upon their policies because they are our allies but alsobecause instead of being aggressors they are victims of bigger andmore powerful fascists. Thus we had a fascist regime in Austriaunder Dollfuss and later under Schuschnigg. The dictator Dollfusswas pursued by the dictator Hitler but he was the close friend andcollaborator of the dictator Mussolini. He had his own record of suppressions,notably that dreadful cannonading of the workers' homesin Vienna. But all this is forgiven and overlooked when Hitler'sassassins murder him. Similarly we overlook the fascist structure ofSchuschnigg because Schuschnigg was a profoundly religious manand because he, too, was kidnaped and spirited away by the irrei¿3