Page Eight THE MICHIGAN DAILY MAGAZINE Sunday, May 4, 1958
ait adCommunism
Religions Zeal of American Party
Indicated by Ex-Leader John Gates
By MICHAEL KRAFT would work. But 27 years later, to a feeling prompted by economic
RELIGION assumes many forms after becoming a member of the attitudes.
but sometimes its common Communist Party's National Com-
characteristics are illustrated most mittee and editor of the Daily AFTER JOINING the party in
sharply by those who most vehe- Woiker, Gates apparently lost his 1931, Gates, with almost a cru-
mently deny its existence. faith On January 10 of this year, sader's zeal, tramped through
Despite the form, faith usually he quit the party. "Now, I'm a Youngstown, Ohio, to organize
Dies atpits cre. In numerousways democratic socialist, with a small steel workers. In March 1933, when
acceptance of this faith requires d' and a small 's'," he says. Franklin D. Roosevelt was inagur-
the worshipper to look inward and However, during the Student ated Gates sat in jail, charged with
ignore what he sees in the outside Government Council forum where "making a loud noise without a
world. Gates spoke one student with permit" while addressing a demon-
Yet frequently, it is the sight of socialist attitudes walked out and stration. Four years later, he
a world marred by unpleasanties, was heard to mutter "damn rear- fought with the International Bri-
perhap the lack of equality or tionaiy" ade in another demonstation,
understandiig between men ,his r Although Gates can now recog- thistime inthe losing fight against.
sometimes makes even the most nize the blind faith which ab- Franco and his allies.
agnostic individual turn to some sorbed him for nearly three de- Any religious faith has its de- JOHN GATES--For 27 years he served the American Communist
form of religion in the hopes of cades, he showed during his visit tractors and doubtors, but usually Party and then on Jan. 10, he resigned because it no longer offered
changing what he sees. to Ann Arbor that he has retained they have little effect on those an effective channel for "the ideals which give meaning to life."
By 1931, the Great Depression at least part of the idealism which who embrace the doctrine no mat-
had caused a good many things originally brought him into the ter how much evidence or argu- remained unbreachable until early convention that "all of us knew to
people did not care to look at. Communist Party. ment is offered. this year. In his pamphlet "Evolu- be false."
There was "only a vacuum inI Like many conversions, Gates' The same is true of the Ameri- tion of an American Communist,"
which nothing seemed to awork," was prompted by ai incident-in can Communists. The twists and he says, "When someone asks me ONE OFFICER declared, "We
John Gates ecalled during his his case it was the suspension of ( turns of Russian strategy and pro- today, in all sincerity: 'How come American Communists are in
appearance in Ann Arbor in several fellow students at City , paganda were completely accept- it took you so long to learn about no position to criticize the Soviet
March. College, New York, because they able and plausible despite what Stalin and what went wrong in Communists. They have just shot
planned to publish a magazine de- 1 Americans or others might say. Russia?' I can answer with equal Sputnick into the skies. This is a
GATES left college ii 1931 to nouncing compulsory ROTC. Gates Gates points back to Spain as sincerity that it looked nothing brilliant achievement of Soviet sci-
enlist in a cause he thought calls the suspension the "trigger" ,the foundation of his faith which like that in Spain. Stalin had said ence. When we are able to record
-- - -- --'the cause of the Spanish Republic such achievement as this, then
CHANDIGARH, INDIA: is the cause of all advanced pro- maybe we can criticize the Rus-
gressive humanity." sians.
"Until then, we have no right to
'NOW that he has severed ties do so. Even If we are right and
y om the -owith the party, Gates can they are wrong..:."
smoke a cigar and discuss the Gates declares "this is where the
(Con tined frim ase 3) American Communists' loyalty to Communist dillemma lies." It has
Russian party lines. "Communists been disastrous for the American
seg college, University and Mii had such a great admiration for Communist party, which now ex-
sen. lis the heart of the tOswa, Russia that it amounted to idola- ists "only as a corpse, in an ad-
is the city center composed of try," he said. vanced stage of decomposition."
Town Hal, main shopping center, Gates attributed this attitude to The party has fallen from its
post office, banks and other - a number of sources, including 1945 level of 75,000 members to
niercial buildings. admiration for Russian progress less than 7,000 today. "No one
The city sector plan echoes the since the Communists took over knows the exact figure and this
neighborhood sector system but in1917. may be on the optimistic side,"
replaces the open space without "The Russian Revolution had Gates said.
large pedestrian shopping areas on .an enormous effect on Americans Many left the party "because of
which are the city hall, post of- of a Socialist outlook. It helped the Khrushchev revelations about
fice and the first business prem- bring the Communist movement Stalin. Gates speculated that the
ises. The whole city is composed of ' .' ' ,,( s into being. Socialists opposed the biggest effect on party members
several cells of garden villges attempt to strangle the Soviet was "the final, open admission of
The most fantast ic thing is 40 ' experiment and rightly so. what Stalin was, making it so clear
miles of roads with no buildings "But in the legitimate admira- that no one could any longer ra-
facing them. tion for the achievements of Soviet tionalize."
The sit dh: e SECRETARIATE-The first skyscraper in East Punjab is a nine lito whih maken non nBESIDESthediscovery that the
tions. The panoramic view of the storyed Secretarate Building for the provincial government. The American Communists came to be- demi-god was devilish, "others
gradually ascending Himalavas, monotonous grid of such a large cellular building has been broken lieve that the Russians were the quit because they lost all faith in
the possibilities of having large into sculpture by accenting the rooms of a few high officials and most authoritative, wisest men in the leadership and decided the
recreation parks in the Shivalaks, by pulling the ramp tower out as a great silo at the side, the world. That there might be de- fight to change the party was a
the possibility of hygienic life in fects, crimes, blunders would not hopeless job".
the very beautiful climate of The cheapest building material the practical needs of those who be admitted. The Soviet Commu- For Gates himself, "the day the
Chandigarh "where breeze never and labor available was brick and will use it. nists were supposed to know more Daily Worker died was the end. It
dies," contribute to an ideal city. manual labor, The nine storied Secretariate than anybody else. They could do dramatized for all to see what I
Eight different kinds of trees All houses are constructed in building stands 836 feet long, 80 no wrong. If they did; they were had known for some time-that
eave been selected according to brick and cement, and for relief feet deep and 121 feet high (first smart enough to correct them- for all practical purposes, the
the different colors of flowers, to the local stone is used. The most skyscraper in Punjab) on a pile selves. Communist Party of the United
give individuality to each road and beautiful part is that the skyline foundation. States of America had ceased to
to provide over-arching shade on is maintained. There are no flats The extensive facade of glass "OUR basic assumption for a exist."
the fast motor roads. except over shops. The emphasis protected by an interwoven pattern long time was that revolu- Now, he seems to grope-"after
on open air living makes flats less of sun-breakers and parapets is tionary change in the rest of the being so certain, and dogmatic, on
THE FOUR major buildings suitable here than in cooler cli- used. The other visual features of capitalist world would follow the most of what I did for a quarter of
which make up the capitol mates. this building are the terrace club Russian pattern. If it succeeded a century, I am not inclined to
group were designed by Le Cor- Chandigarh's architecture re- (raised on columns) to permit a there, and was well nigh perfect, make hasty decisions. I want to
busier. The other buildings of the ceived international recognition in view of the Government House and why not elsewhere? talk to people-those who know me
city were designed by the other a conference held in France, the Assembly chamber through the "We defend what we are doing ad those who don't. I want to do
three architects - Mr. Fry, Miss building), the covered passage to because it was right for them, and some listening, some reflecting,
Drew and Mr. Jeansret. These con- HE~ 350 feet long over-hanging heAsmbly, and the artificial was, at the bottom, the only right some study.
siat of the resideintil quarters for concretebslabwwitho27mfeet pro- hills. way for us. We would not grant Yet, faith dies slowly. When a
the g o v e r n m e n t employees, ce ncrete slab with 27 feet pro- In fact, the Capitol is an urban that any important part of it member of the SGC forum audi-
schools, colleges, hospitals, offices e Ction at the top of the Punjab composition into which Corbusier might be wrong for them, or in- ence asked him which side he
and the city centers. High Court is the real test of the has put not only the technical re- valid for us. would take if Russia and the Unit-
The houses are suited to the ngimeermg skill of the architects. sources of this century, but has "Our natural sympathy for the ed States ever went to war, he re-
Chandigarh dimte, hich vanes This symbolizes the supreme court cast them in mould of a plastic Russian Revolution became subtly plied, "I am on the side of peace.
from an intensely hot summer Tse court rooms, from the smaller imagination, which now exists as transformed. Anything they did I would be against Russia, or
115 F. to a cold winter it T whichmight conflict with our own against the United States, depend-
above freezing point). A great deal courts to the sHigh Court benches, sonal of the age.t abetter judgement of our own coun- ing on which of them started the
abveflezne pin).A re tdelgradualIly increase us height from 'try could only mean that they war."
of life is passed out-of-doors - 26 feet to 40 feet. Special acous- Jeanerat's brick, stone, pre-casttwereright, and wewerewrong ."
sleeping, eating and sitting are tical ceilings and rough plaster concrete slabs, and Corbusiers The result, said Gates during a LTHOUGH he has made his
more often done in the compound n the side walls are the main fa- "modular" dimensions govern all press conference here in March, is
than in theouse5,durngthe ye.r, on the sipresslconferencemahereein March, is break from the party, sone of - - ~"'''"crso i or ons """'ta we oriescnlc ihtevsie fts at tl ln
tit[ 1 CIUO U11 1GYa.tunes of the court rooms. he tta os frths esct that "when your ideas conflict with th etie f h _aihsil' ln
In general the design of the The total cost for this new city the es.ie s implyf"theicon-
husvaiswtit rnttn .From outside these buildings, a setmedtbebo $,0, the facts, so much for the facts-- to Gates. He says simply, "the con-
houses varies with its orientation Fiitrmayoutsidtesebulingstha is estimnated to be about $36,000,- truth becomes secondary and endsvito reanthtsclsm s
to the city. To keep the peon's visitor nay be led to believe that 000 of which part is met by five- viction remains that socialism is
quarters cool, the bricks have been the construction is retrograde, but yearplan, part by the Punjab justify the means. the next higher step in American
projected and cast shadow on the he will have many surprises in the government and the rest by the Gates relates a fairly recent democracy."
exterior wall throughout the day. details. sale of lots to individuals. meeting of Communist Party na- "As I see it, Socialism provides
For the hoses for dffeent Theenomou p as ale Cofndlotr tiisdnvidualyan d tional officers. They were debat- the framework for preserving that
methods are used for shading the curved sun-breakers in the front, ministrative capital of the Punjab, ing whether to answer an article which is most precious in capitalist
walls - verandahs, sun - breakers, the free standing ramps in the but also it is an industrial and in a Soviet publication which said democracy, and offers us a far
jalli (screens) grill, or a sunshade building and unusual plasticity educational center. things about the 1957 national greater expansion of democracy
roof. The character of each is ex- are further enhanced by a float- Chandigarh will afford its in- than is possible today."
ploited so that it adds to the ar- ing effect given by the vast pool, habitants a very healthy and rich Michael Kraft is the newly. John Foster Dulles may disa-
chitectural features of the house. Pedestrians and vehicular traffic life which few cities can boast of, appointed editorial director of gree with John Gates on the ap.
The sun-breakers do not touch the have been given separate access and it promises to be what man the Daily. He has reported po. proach, but this might only serve
main wall of the house behind, so through the first floor and the has often sought, but failed to find litical ness for the paper and to point out that political and eco-
that no heat is transferred by con- basement, --a clean city, picturesquely situ- covered Mr. Gates' visit to the nomic philosophies, like religions,
vection and in fact, the rooms are The High Court building is a ated, beautifully planned, and campus usually have one thing in common
remarkably cool. most imaginative interpretation of soundly built. .--a vision of a better world.
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