A Grandfather's Wisdom: “What Are They Hiding?” - The expose of communists in high places in government

This letter, although undated, was probably written during or shortly after the period liberals refer to as the dreaded "Red Scare", or "McCarthyism." My best guess would be circa 1955-1956.

(For those interested in the history of the McCarthy era, I highly recommend Ann Coulter's "Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism," which is readily available online.)

Letter to the Editor [San Jose, California] Mercury: [Now the Mercury-News]

Since an article of mine recently appeared in the Mercury, two acquaintances have said to me: “you must be a republican”.

Strange indeed, that we have become so accustomed to fixations in politics and religion that we can scarcely believe that one can see, much less acknowledge, a fault or misdeed in his own group. The “mess in Washington” was clearly seen and understood by thousands who took the trouble to read factual magazines and books which exposed the condition.

In an article some six years ago and appearing in the Mercury under the heading “Toward What Are We Reading”, I made this statement; ‘The movement, or movements, have not all been in one place, or at one time, nor all by one group. BUT THEY HAVE SHOWN A COORDINATED MOVEMENT WHICH BESPEAKS A BLUEPRINT WELL WORKED OUT AND A PLAN WELL LAID’ (Caps mine)

I believe the expose of communists in high places in the government establishes beyond a doubt that my statement was correct. In the October 6 issue of Look magazine appears an article by Fletcher Knebel, entitled, “What Are They Hiding?”. He states that 175 former government employees refused to answer questions about their communist affiliations, and took cover under the Fifth Amendment. Half of them declined to state under oath whether they had lied when they signed a Government pledge that they did not belong to an organization advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. Such were the vehicles through which influence was generated and spread throughout our nation.

71 of these individuals held key posts in various bureaus, agencies and departments. Herein too, is a complete refutation of those claims made by radicals and pinks that poverty and ignorance breeds communism. ALL of these individuals were college graduates, almost one-third held PhD’s. They represented that class which General McArthur classified as being “educated beyond their understanding.” They lacked not only moral and ethical standards but also any regard for their own country’s welfare or the lives of millions of its citizens.

Many of the crackpot schemes and laws peddled under the New Deal-Fair Deal days were unquestionably hatched and prompted by just such individuals. A friend had his apartment controlled under OPA. A tenant who made $22.50 per day occupied an apartment completely furnished for $25 per month. “Rob Peter and pay Paul for Paul represents more votes.” You, former heads of our government and their more than 100 bureaus spread an influence that was as polluting as the famous Los Angeles smog and millions of our citizens have had their moral and ethical principles badly upset by it. For those who may still wonder, I am a 100% Southern Democrat who didn’t find it easy to face truth and drop political prejudices and affiliations.

Will Ellis Miller, one helluva Texan

Isn't it amazing how little has changed since this letter was published?

• Alger Hiss, Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, Lawrence Duggan, Henry Dexter White, Owen Lattimore. Click for the Complete List of Americans in the Venona papers
• The New Deal was a series of programs, including, most notably, Social Security, that were enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938, and a few that came later. They included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term (1933–37) of the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the American South. In the 19th century, Southern Democrats comprised whites in the South who believed in Jeffersonian democracy. They later morphed into The Blue Dog Coalition, commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats, a caucus of United States Congressional Representatives from the Democratic Party who identify as conservative Democrats.

• A Grandfather's Wisdom: "We Must Stem This Tide of Radicalism" (Circa 1937-39)
• A Grandfather's Wisdom: On Journalistic Integrity - "A Burning Need for Moses"

Ken McVay OBC Certified Curmudgeon “The only way a society can avoid being crushed by the burden of its idiots is if the non-stupid work even harder to offset the losses of their stupid brethren.”--Carlo M. Cipolla