Secret Armies Part 12

Winrod had been in constant communication with Pelley, and Pelley had conferred several times with Schwinn. The n.a.z.is were eager to get a native American body into the organization so they would have an American "front."

Gilbert opened offices in Washington and, fearful lest their location become known, rented Post Office Box No. 771, Ben Franklin Station, for use as a mailing address. After the first issue had been sent out, Winrod and his agents canva.s.sed prominent industrialists for donations to support the "news service" on the grounds that it was furthering religious activities and fighting Communism. The money collected was actually used to carry on anti-democratic propaganda. A number of industrialists contributed. I have a list of them, but since there is no conclusive evidence that they knew the money was being spent by n.a.z.i agents, I shall not publish the names. I mention it merely as an ill.u.s.tration of how wealthy men are victimized by racketeers with pleas of "patriotism" and "public service." Harry A.

Jung did the same thing by getting money from rich Jews "to fight Communism" and from rich gentiles "to fight the menace of the Jew."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Letter from a small-town newspaper showing the kind of confusion caused by the "Capitol News and Feature Service."]

With the first issue of the _Capitol News and Feature Service_, the following announcement was mailed to the editors of rural weeklies:

"Good Morning, Mr. Editor! _Capitol News and Feature Service_ herewith delivers three priceless articles, fresh from the Nation's capitol.

Use them without cost. You will hear from us each week. Watch for these interesting articles."

An examination of the "priceless articles" showed that they were designed primarily to attack American democracy.

Since his return from Germany and his conferences at the n.a.z.i Emba.s.sy, Winrod has made frequent trips into Mexico where he has met with Mexican fascists--especially with leaders of the Mexican Gold Shirts which were organized by Hermann Schwinn. Again we discover the tie-up between fascist organizations in the United States and those to the south of us.

When the n.a.z.is reorganized their propaganda machine several years ago and established smuggling headquarters on the West Coast, propaganda taken off n.a.z.i ships docking in San Diego and Los Angeles included material printed in Spanish for the special use of General Nicholas Rodriguez, head of the Gold Shirts.

The Spanish as well as the English material was taken to the _Deutsches Haus_ in Los Angeles and turned over to Schwinn, who forwarded the batches to Rodriguez. The contact man between Schwinn and the head of the fascist movement in Mexico is a native American named Henry Douglas Allen of San Diego. Allen, under the pretext of being a mining engineer and interested in prospecting in Mexico, went repeatedly into the neighboring country with the smuggled propaganda and delivered it to Rodriguez' agents.

Since native Americans, especially if they say they wish to prospect, can travel across the international boundary into Mexico as often as they please without arousing suspicion, Allen was chosen as the liaison man between n.a.z.i agents in the United States and Rodriguez. As I said earlier, the n.a.z.is tried from the beginning to get an American "front" and to draw as many Americans into it as possible--obviously strategic preparation for future work more serious than mere propaganda. Hence Allen was instructed to become active in the Silver Shirt movement. He organized Down Town Post No. 47-10 and established Silver Shirt recruiting headquarters in Room 693 at 730 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

In August, 1936, when a lot of n.a.z.i and anti-Roosevelt money was being sh.e.l.led out in efforts to defeat Roosevelt, Allen became extremely active. While Pelley was out of town, he was instructed to work with Kenneth Alexander, Pelley's right-hand man. Alexander was formerly a still-photographer at United Artists Studios. The two opened offices in the Broadway Arcade Building and on October 1, 1935, moved to the Lankersheim Building at Third Street near Spring, Los Angeles.

Rodriguez, after he was given a.s.surances of n.a.z.i aid, worked not only with n.a.z.i agents in this country but also with Julio Brunet, manager of the Ford factory in Mexico City.

The earliest doc.u.mentary record I have of their tie-up is a letter Rodriguez wrote to Ford's manager on September 27, 1934, on Gold Shirt stationery. The letter merely asks Brunet to give jobs to two "worthy young men" and is written in a manner that shows Rodriguez and Brunet are rather close.

By February 7, 1935, Rodriguez and the Ford executive in Mexico had become sufficiently intimate for the fascist leader to express his appreciation of Brunet's placing Gold Shirts in the plant. His letter addressed to the manager of the Ford Company follows:

We have been informed by our delegate, Senora N.M. Colunga, that she was very well treated by you and that in addition you informed her that our request for work for some of our comrades who needed it has also been heard. Not doubting but that this will be fulfilled, A.R.M. [the Gold Shirts] sends you the most expressive thanks for having seen in you the recognition of one of the greatest obligations of humanity to Mexicanism.

On November 19, 1935, shortly before the Gold Shirts felt they were powerful enough to attempt the overthrow of the Mexican Government and the establishment of a fascist dictatorship, Rodriguez wrote to the manager of the Ford plant, asking for the two ambulances which had been promised the fascists by the Ford manager. Rodriguez had organized his attempted Putsch carefully, with a women's ambulance corps to care for the wounded in the expected fighting. The letter, again translated almost literally, follows:

Sr. Manager of the Ford Company Nov. 19, 1935.

City Highly Esteemed Senor:

This will be delivered to you personally by Sr. General Juan Alvarez C., who comes with the object of ascertaining if that company would be able to supply two ambulances which they had already offered, for the transportation of the Women's Sanitary Brigade on the 20th day of this month at 8 A.M.

Thanking you in advance for the references, I am happy to repeat that I am at your command. Affectionately and attentively, S.S.

NICHOLaS RODRIGUEZ C.

Supreme Commander.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Letter from General Nicholas Rodriguez, Mexican fascist leader, to the Ford manager in Mexico City, soliciting employment for two proteges.]

In the street fighting that followed the attempted fascist Putsch a number were killed and wounded. It was after this fight that Rodriguez was exiled.

I am reproducing some of these letters from carbon copies, initialed by Rodriguez, which were in his files. Why he initials carbon copies I don't know, but I have a stack of his correspondence with n.a.z.i agents and almost all of his carbons are initialed.

On October 4, 1936, Allen wrote to the exiled fascist leader.

Ostensibly the letter invited him to address the Silver Shirts.

Actually it was for a special conference about "matters of vital importance to us both." This letter was written when Schwinn was holding conferences with Pelley to merge forces in a fascist united front, and when Schneeberger was preparing to leave for j.a.pan on a training ship ordered up from the Ca.n.a.l Zone by the j.a.panese to take him on board. The letter follows:

Dear General Rodriguez:

Upon receipt of this letter will you kindly communicate with me and advise me whether it would be possible for you to come to Los Angeles in the near future to make an address to our organization here. We shall be glad to defray all expenses which will include airplane both ways if you desire it. We shall also offer you bodyguard for your protection if you deem it necessary. Your fight is our fight and it is our desire to have you come to Los Angeles especially to confer with us relative to matters of vital importance to us both. I would suggest that if you can arrange to come, you telegraph me (charges collect) upon receipt of this letter so that I may make arrangements without delay.

Fraternally yours, HENRY ALLEN.

When I went to Mexico to look into n.a.z.i activities, I gave a copy of this letter to the Minister of the Interior. At that time Allen was again in Mexico under the pretense of looking into his mining interests, but a check showed that he had actually gone there to confer secretly with a Mexican army man, General Iturbe. At my request the Mexican Government looked into Allen's movements and learned that he had entered Guaymas, center of j.a.panese activities, with Kenneth Alexander, Pelley's chief aid.

The connection between Ford's Mexican manager and General Rodriguez might be considered an unfortunate incident for which Ford could not be held responsible. This would be a reasonable a.s.sumption if the n.a.z.i-Rodriguez-Ford tie-up in Mexico were an isolated case. The facts, however, show it is not.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Letter from General Rodriguez to the Ford manager in Mexico City. The translation is given on page 110.]

The national leader of the n.a.z.i propaganda machine in this country has been on the Ford pay roll. Kuhn was supposed to work for Ford as a chemist, but while on Ford's pay roll he traveled around the United States conferring with other secret n.a.z.i agents and actively directing n.a.z.i work in this country.

Ford has a highly developed and exceedingly efficient espionage system of his own which, among other things, watches what his employees do--even to their home life. Kuhn's activities were known to Harry Bennett, head of the Ford secret service or "Personnel Department," as it is called, and Bennett reports to Ford. Furthermore, Kuhn's n.a.z.i connections had been publicized in both the American and the n.a.z.i press and were no secret. Jews and Christians alike protested to Ford about his employee's anti-democratic work while on the motor magnate's pay roll, but Kuhn was left undisturbed to travel around organizing n.a.z.i groups. In 1938 Ford was given the highest medal of honor which Hitler can give to a foreigner. No statement was ever made as to just what Henry Ford had done for the n.a.z.i Fuhrer to merit the honor.

Simultaneously with Kuhn's intensified work, Ford's confidential secretary, William J. Cameron, became active again. Cameron was editor of Ford's _Dearborn Independent_ when that newspaper published the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" after they had been proved to be forgeries. When a nation-wide protest arose from Jews and Christians who were shocked at seeing one of the richest and most powerful men in the country use his wealth to disseminate race hatred, and when the protest grew into a boycott of his cars, Ford apologized and discontinued the newspaper. But instead of easing his editor out or giving him some other job, he made him his confidential secretary.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Letter from Henry Allen to General Rodriguez, showing the tie-up between American and Mexican fascist organizations.]

When Kuhn went to work for Ford, the national headquarters of the n.a.z.i propaganda machine was moved to Detroit, and the anti-democratic activities increased in intensity. Employing n.a.z.i anti-semitism as the bait to attract dissatisfied and bewildered elements in the population, a new organization made its appearance: The Anglo-Saxon Federation, headed by Ford's private secretary. Headquarters were established in the McCormick Building in Chicago, Room 834, at 332 S.

Michigan Ave. and in the Fox Building in Detroit.

In July, 1936, Cameron, obviously because Ford was violently anti-Roosevelt, stepped out as head of the organization and became its Director of Publications. When Winrod was raising money from American industrialists to support the _Capitol News and Feature Service_, Cameron was among the contributors.

The Anglo-Saxon Federation began to distribute the "Protocols" again.

I bought a copy in the Detroit offices of the organization, stamped with the name of the organization. The introduction quotes Ford as approving of them. It states:

Mr. Henry Ford, in an interview published in the _New York World_. February 17, 1921, put the case for Nilus[17] tersely and convincingly thus:

"The only statement I care to make about the 'Protocols' is that they fit in with what is going on. They are sixteen years old, and they have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit it now."

When Ford was on the witness stand in a libel suit some fifteen years ago and admitted his ignorance of matters with which even grammar school children are familiar, the country laughed. His ignorance, however, is his own affair, but when he takes no step to curb his personal representative from working with secret foreign agents to undermine a friendly government, it becomes a matter, it appears to me, of importance to the people of this country and the Government of the United States.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEFT: American-made anti-Semitic sticker of a type appearing with increasing frequency in recent times. RIGHT: t.i.tle-page of the German edition of "The International Jew," by Henry Ford, of which 100,000 copies have been distributed.]

FOOTNOTES:

[17] The man who forged the "Protocols" originally and who subsequently confessed to having done so.