3 COLLEGES WILL PARTICIPATE
IN CONFERENCE AGAINST WAR,
FASCISM, TONIGHT & TOMORROW
To Meet Tonight in First Pres-
byterian Church, Tomorrow
In Lawrence Gymnasium
VISITORS MAY ATTEND
300 Students At Symposium Vote
Support For Anti-War
Strike April 12
Three Brooklyn
colleges will participate in the second Brooklyn Intercollegiate
Conference Against War and Fascism to be held tonight at the First
Presbyterian Church, Henry and Clark streets, (near the Hotel St.
George), and tomorrow in the Lawrence gymnasium. The colleges are Seth
Low, Long Island University and Brooklyn College.
The Brooklyn
Intercollegiate Arrangements committee has issued a call to the
conference stating:
"The events of the
last few months have shown more than ever before that peace today can
be only temporary. Italy is massing its troops for an attack on
Abyssinia. Bolivia and Paraguay are still fighting in the interests of
the Standard Oil Co. and the Royal Dutch Shell Co. of England. The
United States has broken off economic relations with the Soviet Union
and is opening the way for the attack by Japan on the Soviet Union.
"We students,"
continues the statement, "will be called upon to form an integral part
of the war machine. At the present moment a considerable portion of the
American youth is being militarized by the ROTC, the CMTC ,the CCC, and
the National Guard. History indicated that the time to fight war is
before the outbreak of hostilities. That time is now! Therefore, we
call upon all students and faculty members to attend the Brooklyn
Intercollegiate Conference Against War and Fascism."
The Reverend John
Elliott will open the Conference by elending [sic] his greetings to the
delegates. The program is as follows:
Friday Evening, March 22 at the First Presbyterian
Church.
7:30 p.m.–Plenary Session–Selection of
committees.
8:30 p.m.–Seminars
1. War, Fascism and Labor. Faculty Chairman–Dr.
Theodore Bromeld,. L. I. U. University. Student Speaker–Abraham Weiss,
Brooklyn College.
2. War, Fascism and Education. Faculty
Chairman–Dr, Solomon E. Asch, Brooklyn College. Student Speaker–Joseph
Cohen, Brooklyn College.
3. War, Fascism and International Relations.
Faculty Chairman–Dr. Herbert M. Morais, Brooklyn College, Student
$peaker Wolfgang Webber, L. I. U.
4. Prevention of War. Faculty Chairman–Mr. C. M.
Keen, L. I. U. Student Speaker–I. J. Solikoff, Seth Low Junior College.
Saturday, March 23 at Lawrence gymnasium.
10 a.m-12–Seminars
12-2 p.m–Meeting of Resolutions Committee.
2 p.m–Plenery Session–Adoption of Resolutions
Committee.
As a preparation to
the Conference, an Anti-War Symposium was held Wednesday at noon under
the auspices of the Brooklyn College Anti-War League. Rabbi Harry
Halpern, Gilbert Green, national executive secretary of the Ypung
Communist League, and Guy Tyler. of the Young People's Socialist
League, presented the liberal, communist, and socialist opinion,
respectively.
The following
resolution was passed unanimously at the Symposium: "We, students of
Brooklyn College, do hereby declare our support and endorsement of the
call of the; Brussels International Student Congress to strike against
War and Fascism on April 12, and call on the student body of Brooklyn
College to support this resolutions!"
"War is caused by
nothing else than economic desires," said Rabbi Halpern, the first,
speaker. "But I believe," he continued, "that the war problem must be
hit before we solvethe economic problems."
Rabbi Halpern
showed the close alliance between war and fascism, and quoted
Mussolini, who says, "War alone brings up to its highest tension human
nobility." Because fascism breeds war, the first thing we must do in
our fight against war is to oppose in very [sic] way a conception of
super-nationalism, stated the speaker.
"The important
thing," said Rabbi Halpern, "is to realize that we are the country; we
are the state; the government exists for us. If ever a government does
not act in the best interests of its people, that government should
cease to exist."
The second plan
that the speaker suggested was to crush any attempt on the part of any
individual to set one group against another.
"We must make
audible and visible," concluded Rabbi Halpern, "the protest of American
youth against being used as fodder for any imperialist cannon."
Gilbert Green,
representing the communist opinion, showed how war is a product of the
present economic system under which we live. When there is prosperity,
there is no thought of impending war, according to the speaker. But he
revealed how economic crises resulting from periodical depressions lead
to a struggle for markets and sources of raw materials. The only
solution to this clash is the repartitioning of the world, he
continued. "To abolish war we must abolish the entire system," he said
"War is the life-blood of capitalism"
"Mr. Green stated
that a fascist drive always starts with the suppression of the
Communist Party and cited Germany as an example of this fact.
Therefore, he continued, the real test of a struggle against fascism
would be to make impossible the destruction of the Communist Party.
"The communist
struggle against war is not the pacifist's one," stated Mr. Green. "We
believe that in t he past there were several wars of a progressive
character, such as the American revolution of 1776, and the present
struggle of the Chinese people against Japanese imperialism. We say
that it is possible to unite all factors who are fighting against
imperialistic war. The Communist Party considers unity in the ranks of
the students of greatest importance."
The nature, origin,
and results of fascism were discussed by the last speaker, Gus Tyler.
He said that although capitalism is not always fascism, it always
contains a germ which, with the proper environment, will grow into
fascism.
"The capitalism of
today is no longer the progressive, revolutionary capitalism which
fought for democracy against feudalism," said Mr. Tyler. "It is a
finance capitalism. Its policies are monopoly of ownership of means of
production, and of domestic and foreign markets. A large army and navy
is maintained by the capitalist class to oppose foreign foes. However,
when the workers arise, this military machine is turned against the
people, and fascism comes."
The speaker
concluded by saying that while all factors must unite to fight
capitalism, students can be only intellectual frills to the struggle
which must be headed by a proletarian labor movement.
Return to Spotlight
Page || Home Page
May 20, 2004
|