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From Socialist Appeal, Vol. III No. 77, 10 October 1939, p. 4.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
From Frances Winwar, we have received a copy of an open letter to the secretary of the League of American Writers signed by fifteen writers, with the request for publication and editorial comment in our column.
After reading the letter we are certainly glad to oblige.
The open letter to the Stalinist League says:
“Despite the world-shaking events that have occurred since August 21 the formerly eloquent and ubiquitous League of American Writers has not been heard from. Nothing on the war, nothing on the Nazi-Soviet pact, nothing on the partition of Poland, in fact, nothing. Does this organization still exist. If so, has it anything to say to American writers and intellectuals on the following questions?
“1. What is the character of the present war?Is it an imperialist war or a war of the democracies against Fascism?
“2. What is the role of the Stalin regime in this war? Did the Stalin-Hitler pact advance the cause of world peace or did it promote Fascist aggression? Does the League approve of the partition of Poland between Germany and Russia?
“3. Does the League still hold that the United States should cooperate with the Soviet Union in order to stop the onward rush of Fascism?
”4. Does the League still maintain that the United States should adopt a ‘collective security’ policy. If so, what countries should be included in such a common front?
“5. Does the League of American Writers still consider the Communist Party to be a force for peace, democracy, and socialism?
“If the League of American Writers can recover its voice, we shall be glad to hear its replies.”
The open letter is signed by John Dewey, Fred Dupee, James Farrell, B.D.N. Grebanier, Louis Hacker, Sidney Hook, Suzanne LaFollette, Ferdinand Lundberg, Eugene Lyons, Max Nomad, William Phillips, Phillip Rahv, Meyer Schapiro, Ben Stolberg and Frances Winwar. And what makes the open letter interesting is not so much the address to which it is sent, but the signatories who sent it. And it is with them that we ask permission to concern ourselves in the requested editorial comment.
Most, if not all the signers of the open letter are members not of the League of American Writers, but of the recently-formed Committee for Cultural Freedom, whose purpose is implied in its name. Now it seems to us that any writer who has advanced beyond the stage of the student who aspires to have his jokes and jingles published in the high-school paper, ought to understand that the maintaining of cultural freedom, to which the fifteen writers are dedicated, is inseparably connected with the problems raised by the present war. For example, what thinking person can believe that even the limited cultural freedom existing in the United States would be allowed to remain if and when this country entered the war? What thinking person can believe that any cultural freedom, or any culture, would be left in Europe if the war which threatens the total destruction of civilization is not brought to an end by a socialist re-organization of society?
In light of this, isn’t it proper to ask that the fifteen writers, who really represent the League for Cultural Freedom, show a little more modesty in submitting questionnaires to the Stalinist League of American Writers? Or more accurately that before they quiz the Stalinists about their war position, they themselves make clear their own position? For it is entirely possible and fitting to paraphrase the open letter and address it to the fifteen writers:
“Despite the world-shaking events that have occurred since August 21, the formerly eloquent League for Cultural Freedom has not been heard from. Nothing on the war, nothing on the Nazi-Soviet pact, nothing on the partition of Poland, in fact nothing. Does this organization still exist? If so, has it anything to say to American Writers, intellectuals and protagonists of cultural freedom on the following questions:
“What is the character of the present war? Is it an imperialist war or a war of the democracies against Fascism? If it is an imperialist war, why do League members Dorothy Thompson and Ben Stolberg call for support of one of the two imperialist gangs in the war? If it is a democratic war on the part of one camp, why doesn’t the League come out in support of it in the name of cultural freedom?
“What is the role of the Stalin regime in this war?And what is the role of the Chamberlain-Daladier regimes in this war, especially with regard to the League’s pet concern – cultural freedom?Above all, since it is this country we live in, what is the role of the Roosevelt regime in this war; does the League support the Roosevelt war line or oppose it, or is it completely indifferent towards it?
“Does the League plan to continue straddling or evading these key questions – to which it so imperiously demands an answer from the Stalinist intellectuals? Will it continue, as it has done from its inception, to ignore these questions out of fear (1) of committing itself and – (2) of establishing the fact that on the most vital issue of the day – most vital also with reference to cultural freedom – there is no possibility of harmony among the disharmonious elements who compose its committee?”
The open letter says derisively that “if the League of American Writers can recover its voice,we shall be glad to hear its replies.” We paraphrase again: “If the League for Cultural Freedom can find its voice (or voices!), we shall be glad to hear its replies.”
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