Every point had to be planned. “Be sure the right people do the talking.” About one fellow the Party organizer had commented, “Better have him stay quiet.” You never know, maybe a dupe will say something out of place. How to talk to the governor? The delegation could act like “nice, little people,” but that wouldn’t be very impressive. Or it could be vaguely threatening. The latter suggestion was ruled out as too dangerous. Not everything went according to plan. One minister refused to go. Agnes became angry. “It takes this kind of work,” she fumed, “to see what ministers are made of—dishwater.” A wonderful guy, if you cooperate; if not, you’re a “bum.” The delegation was dispatched, a delegation made up chiefly of noncommunists, yet fighting for communist aims, a delegation organized exclusively by a communist front. The DEF Committee was not interested in opposing the high cost of living. _It was fighting for communism._ Fronts exist not in isolation but as part of a vast, interlaced front system. Communist pressure can be greatly increased by manipulating these organizations. Take, for example, roof, or compound, fronts. Here a number of fronts, as in the nationality field, will form a super, over-all front such as the old American League Against War and Fascism, which at its peak claimed 7,500,000 members. Often the propaganda value is to show unity: all these organizations, representing many different nationalities, are working together for common aims. Or consider the National Negro Labor Council, mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. This also was a roof, or compound, front created by already existing fronts. Let’s see how this works. First, “delegates” must be “elected” to a “national founding convention.” Immediately, communist fronts across the nation “elect delegates,” and communist-controlled labor unions choose as their delegates those best suited for convention service. At the convention all arrangements are made by Party leaders, including the selection of officers, the issuing of press releases, the passing of resolutions. This includes the actual running of the convention to ensure security. To illustrate, a newspaper reporter went to the convention. He had once been a Party member but had been expelled. On the first day of the convention one of the officials invited him outside and asked if he had been expelled. The reporter admitted that he had, and was ordered not to come back into the convention hall. Hailed as representing “thousands of members,” the new organization is a front created out of fronts.