STUDENT  PEACE UNION
Roc**n
FEB   1963
BULLETIN
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
.„    816 STATE S^rET
MADISON, WISCONSIN 53706
HUAC ATTACKS PEACE
On December 11, 12 and 13 the House Committee on Un-
American activities held an investigation into the activities of the American peace movement. According toRep.
Clyde Doyle (D. Calif.) who chaired the hearings in the
noticeable absence of Rep. Walters, the purpose of these
hearings was to "determine whether the Internal Securities
Act of 1950 was in need of amendment". Doyle continued
the rationale for the hearings by stating that the Committee
would not sit in "judgment" upon those who testified before
them, but was merely interested in the relevant "facts".
These hearings were a direct attack on the entire peace
movement as well as upon the Women's Strike for Peace,
the Greenwich Village Peace Center, and the Fire Island
Peace Center which were singled out to be smeared before
the public. The Committee sought to prove that peace was
subversive in and of itself and that all who were involved
in peace activities were selling out the national interest.
The tone for the hearings was set by Doyle's opening remarks: "Excessive concern with peace on the part of any
nation impedes or prevents adequate prepartion, hinders
effective diplomacy in the national interest, undermines
the will to resist and saps the national strength." It is
obvious that any dissension from the policies of our government is dangerous to the national security and must be
suppressed, whether that dissension arises from "international plots" like the Communist Party or not. The peace
movement, under attack, responded quickly, recognizing
thatnot only did the suppression ofthe rights of free speech
of any group infringed upon their rights, but that the democratic process, in order to survive, must insure the right
of any individual to speak no matter how unpopular his opinions might be.
HUAC and other committees like it are not, in fact, concerned with Communism for they know that there is no
basic danger to the internal security of this country from
the Communist Party and its front organizations. The
real target of this committee is the democratic left, which
at this point is concentrating its effort in peace and civil
rights activities. They have attempted, by directing their
attack against the Communists, to create the illusion that
virtually all who work for basic changes in our society are
Communists. They have invariably called before them
those who either were involved in the Communist movement like some ofthe WSP members, or those, who, because of past associations, like John Darr, wouldbe vulnerable to such investigation and could be labeled as Communists. It is worth noting that the real leaders of the
struggle for change in this country have not been the target of HUAC. The appearance of Norman Thomas, A.J.
Muste, Martin Luther King, and others would do the Committee more harm than good, for their appearance would
be proof that the struggle for decency and justice is led
by men, in fact,  who are opposed to Communism.
The peace movement must challenge the theory that the
State, through any Committee like HUAC or through any
other means, is, or should be, the guardian of the moral
and intellectual life of the nation.    Those very men who
seek to impose conformity of thought on our country are
not the champions of freedom. Instead, they are fostering in this country those very conditions which they so
bitterly oppose.
The Women  Respond
The Women's Strike for Peace responded to HUAC's
subpoenas by calling upon its members to. oppose the investigation of their organization by 1) protesting the hearings through letters and telegrams to Chairman Walters
(who did not dare to show his face at any of the hearings)
2) showing support  for those  who  had been  subpoenaed
continued on next page
%
Foster and Dean being patient
Test Talks Begin & End
The Soviet Union ended its second series of tests on
December 31, 1962. At that time she made no announcement to stop for a definite time period or that she was preparing another series. On November 5, 1963, the U. S.
stopped atmospheric tests, but continued underground
tests stating, "We have no intention of again accepting an
indefinite moratorium on testing, and if it is clear we can
not achieve agreement we will act accordingly." On January 31, 1963, negotiations broke down when the Soviet
Union walked out over the old question of the number of
on-site inspections. On February 1, the U.S. resumed
underground testing.
In November when the U.S. had stopped atmospheric
tests and when it appeared the Soviet Union would shortly
stop, a high Soviet official commented that when the tests
end "the atmosphere will be different". Buttherecent
exchange of proposals and the Soviet walk-out show the
negotiation table is still laden with a heavy atmosphere.
It seems the air has not cleared here or elsewhere.
continued on page 3