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inception in 1953, the story has been one
of increase by geometric progression.
In the year, 1953, on
the invitation of Dr. W. E. Pietsch, radio pastor of Waterloo, Iowa, I came
to the United States from my home in Australia and together we founded the
Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. At that time I was able to bring $10 from
Australia. In 1960 the total income was $369,001.85. Never in our moments of
greatest hope could we have conceived that such a growth would take place.
It is truly wonderful in our eyes what the Lord has done. Our confidence is
that the year 1961 will see an even greater proportional increase in keeping
with the ever increasing need. The size of our work constantly expands.
As we become more
effective in the struggle against Communism, we expect an ever increasing
barrage of criticism. On occasions some of the criticism may be justified as
we lay no claim to perfection and are liable to make mistakes. Nevertheless,
we have constantly tried to abide by our announced program of Education,
Evangelism, and Dedication and to avoid attacking the motives of individuals
and organizations with whom we disagree. Our motto has been and will
continue to be, "We speak the truth in love." Most of the
criticism has been unjustified and untrue.
Mercenary Motives
A typical technique of slander is to state that the leaders of the
Christian Anti-Communism Crusade are using the movement to make money for
themselves. This attack comes in two principal forms.
Firstly, it is hinted
and may be definitely stated that we have some secret source of financial
support from big business, industrialists, or some similar group with
sinister objectives.
Secondly, we are
accused of always taking an offering.
There is no mystery
concerning the source of our income is derived from thousands of little
people who approve of the work we are doing. We consider this the soundest
and most scriptural financial foundation. Offerings are received at meetings
addressed by our speakers. Our supporters are regularly notified through the
mail of our financial needs. Contributions received and receipted and are
officially tax deductible. We are now receiving a small percentage of our
support from business firms and foundations but this is a very recent
development.
It is not our custom to
waste valuable time and energy replying to attacks made upon us but
occasionally we consider it worthwhile to answer an untruthful attack and
request an apology. Recently we did this following a most untruthful
allegation in the press attributed to Canon Richard Byfield, Executive
Assistant to Bishop James A. Pike of California. We outlined the original
accusation and my reply in a previous News Letter but I feel it will be
worthwhile to review the entire correspondence climaxing with an official
apology from Canon Byfield.
Canon Byfield Apologizes
On January 26, 1961, the Oceanside Beacon of Oceanside, New York,
published a column by Bruce W. Marcus in which he stated, "I can only
quote from a letter I received from the Rev. Canon Richard Byfield,
Executive Assistant to Bishop James A. Pike of the Episcopal Diocese of
California." He says, "Recently someone sent me a copy of the
curriculum provided by the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. All the
evidence seems to indicate that this is a totally irresponsible group which
is simply in the ‘anti-communism crusade’ business for the money that is
in it."
As soon as this column
was drawn to may attention, I dispatched the following letter to Canon
Byfield on February 3:
Rev. Canon Richard Byfield
Executive Assistant to Bishop James A. Pike
Episcopal Diocese of California
San Francisco, California
Dear Canon Byfield;
Bruce W. Marcus, Columnist for the Oceanside Beacon, Oceanside, New York,
writes in his column of Thursday, January 26, that in a letter to him you
state, "Recently someone sent me a copy of the curriculum provided by
the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. All the evidence seems to indicate
that this is a totally irresponsible group which is simply in the ‘anti-communism
crusade’ business for the money that is in it."
As President of the
Christian Anti-Communism Crusade, may I ask you to state the evidence that
led you to this conclusion. I invite you to visit our offices in Long
Beach, California, Houston, Texas, or San Francisco, and examine our
books, inspect our audited statements, and ask any questions you desire of
the personnel.
May I draw to your
attention the easily provable facts that the Christian Anti-Communism
Crusade is supporting thousands of individuals throughout the world who
are in dire poverty but devoted to freedom and Christ. May I indicate that
our representative in your city works long hours and gives unsparingly of
his time and energy without receiving one cent in salary. Is this evidence
on which you base your conclusion?
May I ask that you
refrain from making defamatory statements in the future and suggest that
an apology may be in order.
Yours very sincerely,
Fred Schwarz
President
Christian Anti-Communism Crusade
In reply I received the following letter:
Dear Dr. Schwarz:
I am sorry for the delay in answering your letter; it arrived while I was
out of the office.
My first thought was
to be as courteous as you had been and to cite the evidence I had in mind
when writing to Mr. Marcus, and I shall apologize for one thing; when I
wrote to Mr. Marcus it did not occur to me that he would be using my
letter in print, nor did he ask my permission to do so either. Since
receiving your letter, however, I find that it was not written in good
faith. One of the several private investigators who was at a meeting at
California Hall Sunday afternoon, February 5, reports to me that one Dr.
Schmidt, a local functionary of your organization, referred to me as an
"anti anti-Communist" and an "enemy of
anti-Communism." Since the courts have held such statements to be
libelous per se, and since there would have been no time by last Sunday
for me to have replied to your letter in any case, I can only assume that
the letter was not written in good faith and decline to answer it further.
Since most of my life
has been spent in the "publice eye," both as a newspaperman and
later as a clergyman, and since my published writings give ample evidence
of my position towards Communism, it seems to me that Mr. Schmidt’s
action of Sunday afternoon is perhaps the most impressive documentation of
the phrase "totally irresponsible," for which I could have
hoped. I shall await with interest Mr. Schmidt’s promised discussion of
these matters in your next publication.
Sincerely,
(Signed) Richard Byfield
Resisting
the urge to deviate and reply to the many inaccuracies of this letter, such
as the fact that no such meeting took place at California Hall, Sunday
afternoon, February 5, and that the courts have not held that it is libelous
"per se" to call a person an anti anti-communist, I concentrated
my reply on his simple accusation that our motives were mercenary and
dispatched the following letter:
Dear Canon Byfield:
I thank you for answering my letter but regret that you did not choose to
deal with the central point at issue.
A letter written by
you has been published in the daily press stating that on the evidence the
interest of the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade in the
"anti-Communism crusade business" was to make money. I regard
this as a most serious charge. If you have evidence supporting it, it is
your duty to give that evidence. It you have no evidence for your charge,
it is your duty to retract. Surely this is a minimum standard for one
claiming to be a Christian leader. This not a question of your
relationship to Communism. It’s a question of your relationship to
truthfulness.
This letter is
written in good faith. The public attack did not originate with the
Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. You will surely acknowledge our right to
defend ourselves when falsely accused.
I have no knowledge
of the meeting at California Hall to which you refer. The spokesman for
the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade in San Francisco is the orthopedic
surgeon, Dr. Joost Sluis, whose address is: 2822 Clay Street, Alameda,
California.
One of our most
cherished principles is to refrain from personal attacks on individuals
and organizations. We do not claim to be able to judge motives. We do
claim the right to discuss whether actions, however motivated, are
favorable or unfavorable to the Communist program for the conquest and
enslavement of the United States.
I hope to hear from
you in relation to your central charge inferring that the Christian
Anti-Communism Crusade is dishonest.
Yours very sincerely,
Fred Schwarz
In reply I
received the following letter from Canon Byfield enclosing an official
apology which he sent to the Editor of the Oceanside Beacon. The letters are
as follows:
Dear Dr. Schwarz:
I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter written to the Editor of the
Oceanside Beacon. I believe that it speaks for itself.
While it was not my
intention that my letter should be published, I do recognize the
unfairness which potentially lies in one person’s questioning another
person’s motivations. I trust that the Editor of the Beacon will comply
with my request and print the letter.
Incidentally, I did
not at any time state that the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade is
dishonest in its financial dealings. Most people who are in business at
all are in it, at least in part, "for the money." While this may
not be a fair judgement as to motivation, it is not a charge of
dishonesty.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Richard Byfield
Letter to Editor, Oceanside Beacon,
Oceanside, N.Y.
Sir:
Some time ago your columnist, Mr. Bruce Marcus, reprinted certain
statements of mine made in a private letter to him. I am sorry that he
chose to do this, although I had not warned him against it.
Though I yield to no
one in my personal opposition to Communism, and while I feel that the
methods of the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade (as exemplified by their
teaching that Cybernetics is the "secret language" of the
Communists) are irresponsible and do not help the cause of anti-Communism,
I nonetheless realize that my strong opposition to these methods led me to
impugn the motivation of this group; and, on reflection, I realize that a
Christian ought not to judge other people’s motives, and hence I gladly
withdraw that portion of my statement and apologize for it.
I will appreciate
your giving this statement the same circulation given to my previous
letter by Mr. Marcus.
Sincerely,
(Signed) Richard Byfield
The Editor
The Oceanside Beacon
Oceanside, L.I.
New York
When we
last heard, the Oceanside Beacon had not published the Canon’s letter of
apology. Apparently this is their concept of responsible journalism.
A few comments on the entire case are
appropriate:
Canon Byfield apologizes for his
statement that our motives are mercenary but repeats his charge that our
methods are irresponsible. Let us review the evidence–
a. Canon Byfield knew
nothing whatsoever about the methods or teachings of the Christian
Anti-Communism Crusade, nevertheless, he felt himself in a position to
make dogmatic judgments. From correspondence not here quoted, he did not
even know that the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade and the Christian
Crusade directed by Billy Hargis of Tulsa, Oklahoma were different
organizations.
b. The Christian
Anti-Communism Crusade does not teach that cybernetics is the secret
language of the Communists.
c. He claims that his
original charge that our "interest in the anti communism business was
simply for the money that was in it" did not infer dishonesty. He
justifies this by stating that men who are in business for money are not
dishonest. This is totally true with regard to normal business. The battle
against Communism is not normal business. It is a question of the very
survival of Christianity and free man. I would consider the exploitation
of this for the mere purpose of making money basically dishonest. I am
confident many will agree.
I leave the
verdict as to who has shown irresponsibility to honest and impartial minds.
I accept gratefully the apology Canon Byfield has offered. I sent him the
following letter.
Dear Canon Byfield:
I thank you sincerely for your letters dated March 2, addressed to myself
and to the editor of the Oceanside Beacon. I accept it without reserve and
acknowledge your right to express an opinion concerning our methods and
actions. I am convinced, however, that you have made a summary judgment on
the flimsiest of knowledge and that an investigation of our methods would
compel you to change your opinion.
Our basic thesis is
that Communism must be studied in depth. We therefore endeavor to study
and expound the philosophy, strategy, morality, organization and local
tactics of Communism as the foundation for an enlightened anti-Communist
program. This is a responsible approach.
Yours very sincerely,
Fred Schwarz
The final
chapter in our continuing battle against slander has not been written. We
are confident that many others will be forced to apologize before long. We
do not fear the tongue of slander as it provides us with the opportunity to
direct attention to the truth. Our fear is that we may prove unworthy of the
tremendous challenge that confronts us and develop an exalted sense of our
own importance. As we walk humbly before God and fulfill our duty with
courage and love, we shall not fail.
HIGH
SCHOOL DISTRIBUTION
"YOU CAN TRUST THE COMMUNISTS"
While sensitive to the call from Nigeria, we are also aware of the desperate
need in America for a thorough understanding of Communism. There is a rising
demand across the country that Communism must be taught in the schools. If
the right things are taught, this will be very good; if the wrong things,
very bad. We have been repeatedly told that the book "You Can Trust the
Communists" is ideal for high school students. With the help of our
friends, we are planning to distribute a copy of this book to every high
school and junior high school in the United States. There are more than
31,000 such schools so this is a great project. The total cost will be more
than $37,000. We already have a portion of this promised and the Crusade has
guaranteed the remainder. We are confident that many of our friends will
consider this an exciting program and will take part in it with a generous
contribution. It is not difficult to see where the money goes.
ANTI-COMMUNISM
SCHOOLS
The success of our recent anti-Communism schools has surpassed our hopes and
even our dreams. There is no way of conveying to those who are unable to
attend the tremendous sense of enthusiasm and eagerness to learn that
characterized the overflowing crowds everywhere in evidence. Never have we
experienced anything like the schools in Phoenix, Arizona; Orange County,
California; Tyler, Texas; and Houston, Texas.
In Phoenix and Orange
County we smashed all previous attendance records. The accompanying
photograph shows some of the crowd of students who attended voluntarily on
Youth Day March 8. The local papers estimated the crowd at 12,000.
The Houston school was
under the direction of our Vice President and Texas Director, Mr. W. P.
Strube, Jr. It was called a Freedom Forum and was conducted on succeeding
Saturdays in March. Like an iceberg, only part of the school was visible.
Behind the curtains there was an accumulation of over fifty tape recorders
recording every word spoken by the speakers for the purpose of giving the
addresses to future audiences. Some of the tape recorders are shown in the
accompanying photograph.
When you receive this
News Letter, the St. Louis Anti-Communism School may be in session. Our
hearts are filled with expectation as we revisit the city where the
anti-Communism school movement was born. We are truly expecting great
things.
In Miami, Florida, a
school will be held from June 12-16, at the Everglades Hotel. We will send
you a program and registration form in our next letter. In the meantime,
please be making arrangements to attend and to recruit your friends. Write
us for any information you may desire.
NIGERIA,
AFRICA
We received an urgent request from the Pocket Testament League for a large
supply of literature for Nigerian Christian Leaders’ Conferences. This
included the book "You Can Trust the Communists", "The
Christian Answer to Communism", "The Heart, Mind and Soul of
Communism", "The Communist Interpretation of Peace",
"Communism–Diagnosis and Treatment", and the missiles,
"Communism–A Disease", and "Communism–A Religion".
We agreed to supply the quantity requested and the native pastors will take
the literature back to the highways and byways of Nigeria. The cost to the
Crusade is $6,000. We received the following letter from Don P. McFarlane of
the Pocket Testament League:
Dear Doctor Schwarz:
At the Philadelphia C.B.M.C. this week Dick Hightower passed on to me some
of the most thrilling news I have received for a long time. All of our
plans since the beginning with reference to the Nigerian Christian Leaders’
Conference have included the burden to get Christian anti-Communism
literature into the hands of African leaders. Surely your generous,
gigantic offer is His doing, and the answer to our many prayers.
Through our hundreds
of missionary and African friends, we will be in a most ideal position to
flood an entire nation with your literature. I hasten to assure you that
we shall do our very best to see that this material goes into the hands of
leaders who will get it to the people. Having worked all over Nigeria for
three years, we have a pretty good idea as to whom these people are.
I have just finished
a careful reading of the booklets and "midget missiles" which we
have ordered. All of them will fit the Nigerian wave length, and God alone
knows what a mighty ministry they will have at this crisis hour in Africa.
And, since I have just been there, I can report without any reservation,
that NOW is the time to get this job done. If we don’t do it now, we
might not have the opportunity to do the same next year!
Yours in the Eternal Bonds,
Don P. McFarland
LOS
ANGELES
The most momentous school of all is planned this summer in Los Angeles,
August 28, to September 1. This school is so big it is frightening. We are
planning to take the Los Angeles Sports Arena seating 16,000 and fill it
during the entire five days. I am reminded of the saying, "The
difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes just a little
longer." We will need all your prayerful help to assure success in this
venture. It can open a new dimension in the program for victory against
Communism.
We have personal
testimonies concerning the fruit of our ministry. We have selected the
following testimonies concerning the results of the ministry of the Crusade.
They come from a medical doctor, a journalist, a housewife, and a little
boy.
John W. Moon is a
medical doctor of Mesa, California, who was chairman of the Greater Phoenix
School of Anti-Communism. He delivered the following message at the banquet.
His message made such an impact, there was an immediate widespread demand
for copies. The following message is worthy to be placed in every home in
America:
Dr. Moon’s Address
During this past week many of you who have attended the major portion of the
program have been confronted for the first time with the factual account of
the communist conspiracy. This probably has been a disturbing influence on
what had been a comparatively peaceful state of mind. If we are capable of
being truthful, our reason will not allow us to deny that we are involved in
a conflict which will see us destroyed withing the foreseeable future unless
the course of events is changed.
Each of us will analyze
this threat in his own way. Each of us will search our minds for answers to
questions that we have never considered before. The answers to these
questions will, without exception, be personally painful. They will be
painful answers because they will place spiritual and material demands upon
us. These demands must be met, if we are to survive. How dedicated are we to
our God, to our country, and to our fellowman? This is one of the
fundamental questions that each of us must answer.
One of the questions I
have asked myself is why has this happened? Why do I suddenly find myself
catapulted into a conflict of such monstrous proportions, of such terrifying
consequences is we should lose? You may have your answer, but when I
searched the depths of my own soul, my only honest reply was – I have
failed my God. I have fallen into a trap of stating that I was a Christian
but still believing that my greatest strength came from my own reason. The
greatest sin of man today, his pride in himself, was unquestionably mine.
Ask yourselves, "Why is it that the kingdom of God does not exist upon
this earth today?" I did. My answer is because I had failed Him, my
Lord Jesus Christ, Who said in His last words to His own disciples before
the Ascension such phrases as "Go ye," "Teach all
nations," and "Ye are my witnesses." I had ignored the
command to me to be Christ’s witness. In the spiritual vacuum which I had
therefore allowed to exist, arose this force of evil with its intense
dedication.
My answer to communism,
which to me typifies the spirit of anti-Christ as expressed in the First
Epistle of John, has begun basically with a rededication of my life to Jesus
Christ. By rededication of myself to Christ I have gained an inner strength
and peace which has come only from my relationship with my personal Lord and
Saviour. By rededication of myself to Christ I have accepted personal
responsibility to be His witness. In addition to this basic and fundamental
change in my life, I have found it cannot help but strengthen my country.
America is founded upon and has remained strong because of a belief in God.
With this belief in God, a personal God, the American emerged as an
individual with precious personal freedoms. But with this I, as an America,
with my freedom to acknowledge my God and to express myself in other ways as
an individuals, have accepted personal responsibility. Responsibility to my
church, to my country, and to my fellowman. If I am to remain free, I must
accept individual responsibility; and it demands that when I am confronted
with a challenge, such as I am today by the communist tyranny, I must accept
the challenge. This mantle of responsibility lies upon the shoulders of each
one of us and on those in positions of leadership it lies especially heavy.
Our ministers, our educators, our legislators must all offer leadership,
based in knowledge of the communist conspiracy. They must offer positive
steps, take positive educational measures, to guide me in the fields with
which I am not intimately associated. To date the sins of omission have been
by far greater than the sins of commission. Let no minister, no educator, no
leader in any field of endeavor bask in self-acclaimed glory of his success
in fighting communism until we, in the rank and file of our community, can
see and hear proof that we are throwing back this vicious, evil force.
In this past week you
have had presented to you a positive dynamic educational program which is
the direct result of positive efforts of individuals in the Greater Phoenix
area. It is my great fortune to be standing here as a representative of
them, as one typical of those who have worked to bring this school to you.
Believe me there have been many working toward this end. This school is but
one example of what can be done by dedicated people; people who came from
all walks of life and each contributing in his own way to making this school
a success. This has been possible because we believe a strong positive
program of action is necessary. To me, the success in over-throwing the
communist tyranny depends upon one question: Can my dedication to my God, my
country, and my fellowman be greater than the dedication of those sworn to
impose a godless tyranny upon my country which will destroy my children, my
wife – all those things I hold dear? With the help of my almighty God I
know what my answer is. What will yours be?
Sam Campbell Writes
Following the Orange County School of Anti-Communism held at the
Disneyland Hotel, Sam Campbell wrote the following column for The News,
Garden Grove, Sunday, March 12. It likewise merits national distribution:
This past week I
attended a session of the Orange County Anti-Communist School in Disneyland
Hotel. Afterwards I staggered out into the bright sunlight hoping that the
picture that had been drawn for me wasn’t as awful as it appeared.
Maybe, I thought, the
Communists are not as near to victory as the chief lecturer, Dr. Fred
Schwarz, would have me believe or maybe the Communists are not murderers
after all in spite of the Hungarian massacre of 1956 and in spite of the
continuing Chinese bloodbath.
Now, I know that a
well-integrated person doesn’t ordinarily put down on paper that he
entertained such conflicting thoughts because one’s thoughts are supposed
to be like a family of harmonious brothers and sisters, all helping one
another and not squabbling.
What bothered me most
was that I had been hoping all along that we were winning the cold war, that
the doleful news of the last 10 years was just the gloomy side of a picture
for which there was a brighter side somewhere; but now I find out there isn’t
any bright side, that the Communists probably will take us in the next 10 to
15 years.
My experience at the
Disneyland Hotel school was like waking out of a sweet dream and finding a
double-barrel shotgun pointing into my eyes.
But since I work on a
newspaper and since I had been ‘going steady,’ so to speak, with current
events for the past 15 years, I knew that I had heard the Truth. I know a
shotgun when I see a shotgun.
Next impulse was to
sell myself the idea that the guy behind the shotgun wasn’t going to pull
the trigger; that he was just some kind of an agrarian reformer out for
kicks. Maybe I hadn’t read the history books right.
My standard-gauge train
of thought refused to run on that track. I knew that the Communists expect
to build a brave new world without all this drinking and brawling and
money-grabbing; that to do this they’ve got to eradicate the diseased
segment of mankind; and therefore must train executioners, that the Red
Chinese accomplish this training by taking the little children out to the
village square to watch the mass slaughter of human beings.
To paraphrase J. Edgar
Hoover, "we are at war, we have been invaded, we are losing," and
it’s worse than I thought.
Seeking after relief
for my own consternation, I inquired around the community to find what other
people were thinking. Maybe I could find someone who is smarter, who will
tell me what they think then maybe I can think that way, too.
In this search I
encountered the following attitudes:
From a teenager who
attended the giant Youth Day program in La Palma Stadium: "It’s too
fantastic; my teacher told me to keep an open mind and not fall for a lot of
propaganda."
From a school principal
who did not attend any session of the anti-Communist school: "What
could we do about it even if we knew something about it? How can knowing
help?"
From a woman who had
not attended: "It’s too big, it’s up to the government."
The next evening, my
wife decided to attend the anti-communism lectures and designated me
official babysitter. The kids and I looked at the cartoons on TV, read the
Dick and Jane book together, and talked about flying the kite on the
schoolyard. Then the two older girls scurried off to bed. I looked in after
a bit, saw their beautiful hair against their pillows, and mused, "Will
they be witnesses to the slaughter or will they be among the victims?"
Then I took the sleepy
youngest into her bedroom, slipped her into her nightie, and suggested a
prayer for her cousin who had suffered a concussion a few days before. The
curly head lowered, the two hands came together, and she murmured,
"Leslie has a bump on her head, and God is up in heaven."
Then I went back to
pondering the imminent Communist victory.
Too fantastic!
How can knowledge help!
Leave it to the
government!
Yes, I can agree with
all those sentiments. Fantastic, indeed. But true.
How knowledge can help,
I do not know because I do not have any reliable knowledge. But if I wished
to build a bridge, the first thing I would do is study about bridges. I
would find out about the law of gravity, tension, compaction, and the
thousands of other engineering details that I don’t even know the name for
at this time.
The government, sure it
should help. Who is the government but a reflection of me? And probably just
as confused. Sure the government won’t change just because I happened to
read a book. But thousands are as concerned as I. Let us all read books,
listen to the taped lectures, see the films, trade ideas, spread the word.
Let us put this program on a PRECINCT by PRECINCT basis.
We can’t depend on
higher jurisdiction. We can’t depend on the universities. We’ve done
that already. That plan didn’t work out. The new program must start on the
cul de-sac. When the people change, the government will change.
But do we have time?
The Communists say no. Many Americans say no. I myself doubt that we would
have under ordinary circumstances, but my baby says, "Leslie has a bump
on her head, and God is up in heaven."
Who Can Resist a Little Boy?
At left is a photo of a recent letter received from a 12 year old boy.
Since it did not photograph too clearly, the following is the text of the
letter:
"Dear Mr. Schwartz,
This letter will not be formal, not informal. I am a sixth grade student
who, as of today, is 12 years old.
I have on of your
anti-communist papers, as you say, I would like the free twenty-five. I am
very much interested in politics, and being the nations future generation,
I am gathering my rightful right of information.
I HATE COMMUNISM! NO
Russian is going to come along and rob me of my freedom! I’m just as
communistic as you are, which is none; and will never be!
I’d like to join
you, send me the papers, and I’ll see that good military friends of ours
get some!
Hal Pederson
P.S. NORAD is in our town, North America Defense Command."
A Mother
My heart was warmed when I received this letter from a mother following
the Phoenix School:
"Dr. Schwarz, Fellow Co-workers:
As a mother of this nation I wish to thank you for this school. You have
stirred me to action. I will go back to my family, community, clubs and
church a more useful person.
I know that the tiny
bit I do won’t make any big stir in this huge problem. But I do know
that if you stir every mother in this nation as you have me that we will
raise a better crop of ‘Young Americans.’
‘Educate a man, you
have an educated citizen. Educate a woman, you have an educated family.’
I will once more, but
with more vigor, encourage my daughter and son-in-law who live on the
Mexican border to ‘carry on’. The hours are long, and the body
wearies, but the dividends are great – the poor, ignorant,
underprivileged children need you. I will say, ‘Go ahead, help Lilly (a
brilliant Spanish girl) get to college – it’s true you need your
money, but a few less luxuries won’t be missed and Lilly can influence
people of her nation to a higher standard and true knowledge of our
Heavenly Father.’ ‘If it’s too much, daddy and I could help also.’
I will again bear
testimony to our oldest son who is in Southern Brazil that his call of 2
/12 years to that country to teach those people of Christ, His ways and
His love for us, is a privilege. "Don’t give up for one moment with
discouragement, Son. You can do it Son. God will help you.’
I will tell my second
young tall son, ‘The uniform you are wearing for R.O.T.C. is an armor
for truth and freedom. Wear it proudly, but honestly. Rev. Barnes told us
only 50 per cent of our sons were worthy to wear the uniform of our
country. We are grateful you are one of that 50 per cent. Never disgrace
it, my son.’
I will gather my
three smaller girls around my knee, when I return home from this school,
and retell them the stories of that great book, The Bible. With enthusiasm
I will help them make those school reports, book reviews, and picture
cards of our noble forefathers, and the history of this great country of
ours. I will play the old piano and teach our tiny 3-year old son who
loves to sing and memorize, ‘I am a child of God, and he has sent me
here. Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear. Teach me,
guide me, walk beside me. Help me find the way. Teach me all that I should
know to dwell with Thee someday.’
I will do all I can
to send out into the world seven children, strong with a love of God and
Country, to help with freedom’s cause. Then with God’s help I will
take what strength and time I have to my community, to my friends
throughout this country and to the dear friends of Central and South
America to tell them that God lives and we are His children.
Thanks to you
wonderful men. How you have driven home to me the saying of W. J. Griffin
– ‘Always freedom is but one generation from extinction.’
I pray for you and your families.
Ruth Ison Lamoreaux"
INDIA
In January, the Rev. Keith Wilson, Gymea Baptist Church, Sydney, Australia,
visited India and spent sometime with George Thomas and his co-workers in
Kerala State and with Devananda Rao in Andhra State. The following is his
report:
I left Sydney on Thursday, December 19,
1960, by B.O.A.C. Comet, spent the night at Singapore, then proceeded to
Madras by Air India International. My first impression of India was one of
teeming multitudes.
I made the mental
note that here is fertile ground for the reception of the Communist bribe
of economic and agrarian reform and the propagation of their
"religion of promise."
The first evidence of
Communist activity was revealed when co-incidentally (or was it?) a
tourist guide met me in the lobby of the hotel. After I had been there
only half an hour, and after he had found out that I was a Baptist
Minister, etc., (probably from the hotel register), he offered his
services to me as a guide. As I talked with him he revealed himself to be
from Kerala, a once professing and active Christian and of strong
Communist sympathy. I talked to him for a long time – gave him some of
Dr. Schwarz’s books and bade him farewell. When I left Madras three days
later he was at the airport to say farewell to me. He looked wretched and
haggard. He said he had read the books and was deeply impressed. I have
his address and will write to him and send him some more literature.
This was the first
indication that there is an appalling ignorance as to the real nature of
Communism, of its real philosophic content and atheistic nature. As my
trip proceeded this ignorance became abundantly evident.
I was warmly greeted
at Cochin by Mr. K. G. Thomas and transported to Kottayam where I was the
guest of K. G. Thomas. Kerala is very picturesque land with its
palm-fringed waterways and the contrast between ancient and modern. The
drive from Cochin to Kottayam was extremely interesting and of great
scenic beauty. Coconut palms in profusion, mango trees, pawpaw trees,
paddy fields, banana palms, native huts, a working elephant, chocolate
brown bodies in various stages of dress or undress, beautiful river
crossings by canoe punts, peoples everywhere and surprisingly enough, boys
and girls leaving numerous schools scattered among the trees carrying
their books and slates, and the inevitable bullock carts and rickshaws
made the fascinating picture complete.
The convention
meetings were very well advertised and from a modest start of a crown of
about 1,000 at the first evening meeting, the numbers built to 3,000 or
more. Speaking through an interpreter took some getting used to, but by
the end of the week I was quite enjoying it. I shared the preaching with
Don Lamberson, of U.S.A. and the people listened to two sermons each
night. We were grateful to God for the opportunity, experience and the
blessing of being able to minister the Word of God to these people. Every
morning we gave a Bible study to the Christian workers. They are a fine
body of men with a deep sense of purpose and dedication to the Lord. It
was a rather humbling experience to hear something of the difficulties
under which they labour and to see the vital nature of their Christian
faith. These native pastors live on about $6.00 per week and some of them
support a family of five. Sometimes they have to go without.
George Thomas is one
of the most significant people I have ever met. He is a gifted and
dedicated Christian with a warm and generous personality. It was of great
personal interest for me to see the press in action and to see at first
hand this powerful tool and to sense something of its effectiveness. I was
impressed by the high standards of business management and the high degree
of efficiency obtained with somewhat limited space and rather obsolete
equipment. The present circulation is 25,000 copies per day and this is
bursting point as far as the capacity of the present plant is concerned.
The press employs 140 with 500 distributors. Of these 140, 70 are employed
as compositors. Dr. Thomas is confident that when a rotary press is
installed, the circulation will double. Each copy of "Keraladhwani"
is read by at least 10 people, so the effective circulation would be about
half a million.
The paper has 10
staff reporters and George has to pay 1,000 Rs per month for the
teleprinter service. This gives him news coverage from 500 districts. The
"Keraladhwani" has a fine record of achievement against keen
opposition of other papers, one 70 years old and another 50 years old. The
"Keraladhwani" now has the second largest circulation in
Kottayam Area and the fourth largest circulation in the whole of Kerala
and this after only 1 ½ years of circulation. Dr. Thomas hopes that by
the time of the 1965 election he will have a big enough circulation to
cover the whole of Kerala with the message of the true and evil nature of
Communism.
In addition to the
newspaper the press has produced 125,000 Christian tracts, produced a fine
Christian magazine called "The Light of the World," which has a
monthly circulation of 12,000 and has engaged in some commercial printing.
Dr. Thomas is a tireless workers and finds it necessary under the present
setup to work extremely long hours. His wife, Rachel, is a very talented
lady and is a great help and encouragement to him in his work.
From Kottayam I
proceeded direst to Hyderabad on Monday, 9th January, where I
was warmly greeted by Dr. Rao. On arrival at Secunderabad I met the 13
boys being cared for by Dr. and Mrs. Rao and spoke to them before they
retired for the night. It is a real joy to know that these lads, who
normally would have no chance in life, have opportunities of schooling,
some home life and Christian teaching and are economically secure for the
present. They are well cared for by Indian standards and are very happy.
On Tuesday we
travelled 30 miles by car northwards then trekked 10 miles to a remote
jungle village. This was a journey into fairyland; a fairyland of ox carts
and the countless scenes of antiquity and primitive society. We arrived at
the village of Lakshamapuram, at dusk and settled into a Hindu’s hut for
the night. We were joined here by other workers of the Crusade – 9 of
them in all. The village work carried out by this team of dedicated
Christian is of the highest order. They are indeed going into "the
highways and the byways" with the message of truth and of hope. The
Communists also are active. They promise the villagers heaven on earth and
tell them nothing of the true nature of their evil programme.
Communist Activity
Dr. Rao says that Communist activity in Andhra State is very vigorous
and a real attempt is being made to capture the vote of the illiterate
peasant at the elections. Andhra State consists of 20 districts and has a
population exceeding 35,000,000, 80% of which live in the villages where
hunger is most prevalent. They are using, Rao claims, 3,000 fully paid
workers and 25 jeeps to visit every village this next year. To the
illiterate underprivileged they offer the economic bribe and to the literate
they are offering translated Russian and Chinese Communist works as well as
local propaganda. I was able to purchase at Vijayawada a full range of
Communist works including "How to be a good Communist" translated
into Telegu language. It is the plan of the Communist Party to establish in
every centre a Communist worker who will arrange periodical meetings and
organize Communist schools.
The visit to Andhra
although very strenuous, proved to be of great personal interest and value
and I trust provided something of stimulus and encouragement to the work of
the Indian Christian Crusade. It is certain that these Indian Christians are
doing a task which no Westerner, because of racial and hygienic reasons,
could possibly do. The work of the orphanage is vital humanitarian and
Christian work, of the highest order.
To Sum Up
The work oft he Crusade in India is magnificent, and it should commend
itself to all citizens of our Free Society and particularly to Christian men
and women whose responsibility it is to spread the Message of Salvation to
all the peoples of the world.
THE
CARIBBEAN
It will be tragic indeed if the Caribbean becomes a Communist lake. This is
more than a remote possibility. It is probable that a Communist Government
will be installed in British Guiana in August of this year. The result of
this will be an increasing Communist pressure on the whole area. Every
effort must be made to prevent this from happening. Foresight is much better
than hindsight. One dollar spent now may be worth $1,000 spent after the
event. Dr. Sluis and I visited the Caribbean to consult with workers there
and to impart desperate needed knowledge concerning the philosophy and
deceptive techniques of Communism. I am confident that this will be one of
the most fruitful visits of my entire life.
It is indeed difficult
for the average American citizen to appreciate the enormity of the Communist
danger. We have no past experience on which to call to warn us. We must act
by intellect not instinct and accept the message of reason based on
evidence. Most of the goals for which we are working will be destroyed if
Communism prevails. No sacrifice can be too great to preserve liberty and
the Christian heritage of our children. Money in the bank will be useless if
Communism triumphs. It is wise and prudent to spend it if we can help avoid
Communist conquest. As God grants us the strength, we will continue to work
arduously to defeat the evil plans of our enemy. A mighty army of volunteers
for freedom is forming. With God leading and directing, we shall never fail.
Your loving friend,
Fred Schwarz, Pres., C.A.C.C.
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