THE COMMUNIST APPEAL IN THE UNITED STATES 6. _Who Are the Communists?_ The Communist Party, USA, works day and night to further the communist plot in America. Virtually invisible to the noncommunist eye, unhampered by time, distance, and legality, this bolshevik transmission is in progress. The Communist Party, USA, is bolshevizing its membership and creating communist puppets throughout the country. The American Party, in the Kremlin’s eyes, has for its objective the ultimate seizure of power in America and, to accomplish this purpose, it seeks to “educate” in the ways of communism all who will listen. To appreciate the deadly seriousness of this process, the American citizen must see how the Communist Party, USA, by its every act, often without fanfare or newspaper headlines, is creating a corps of dedicated Party members, supported in many ways by United States citizens who have been infected or misled in one way or another. Millions of Americans have wondered how the communists gain support. Frequently they seem to wield influence entirely out of proportion to their actual numbers. Party influence is exerted through the communist device of thought control (controlling, in various degrees, the thinking of many Americans). The communists quickly accuse anybody who disagrees with them of being guilty of thought control; it is a favorite communist expression. Yet this same technique, applied in varying degrees to different groups of our population, is the key to communist strength in America today. The Party’s objective is to drive a wedge, however slight, into as many minds as possible. That is why, in every conceivable way, communists try to poison our thinking about the issues of the day: social reforms, peace, politics, veterans’, women’s, and youth problems. The more people they can influence, the stronger they will be. Top Party officials have a definite assignment: to capture positions of power. They are the Party’s front-line commanders. Communism is at war with America. The United States is a vast battlefield. A school, a labor union, a civic group, a government official, a private citizen—all are important in the never-ending struggle for power. The whole nation, to the communists, is a gigantic checker-board. The communist high command is constantly moving, jumping, switching, and retreating to get communist members in positions of influence. They are outnumbered; they know that. That is why they must depend on skill, maneuvering, and deception. The communist official in our country realizes that his supporters often form a motley collection, varying greatly in loyalty: some are fanatically loyal; others are half-timers or “single-nighters.” Many are “tremblers,” needing constant encouragement, whereas some are just victims unwittingly caught in the Party net.