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March 22, 1935, Page 1



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.


 

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May 20, 2004