OCTOBER ANTIWAR PROTEST SET FOR WASHINGTON, D.C.
By Joseph Hansen
Washington, D.C.
At a two-day conference held here April 20-21, some 700 representatives of the forces that organized the mammoth April 15 demonstrations in New York and San Francisco decided on the next big ob~ jective of the antiwar movement in the U.S. -- a mass demonstration in Washington. October 21 was set as a tentative date and the main theme was decided on: "Support Our Boys in Vietnam -- Bring Them Home!"
Another very important decision was to make a worldwide appeal for similar mass demonstrations in other countries to be staged as nearly as possible on the same day.
The conference was the largest one yet held by the united front of forces in opposition to the war in Vietnam. It included sizeable contingents from points as distant as the West Coast.
Dr. Benjamin Spock, national chairman of SANE [National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy] was present, but not the Rev. Dr.-.Iuther King.
Political tendencies ranged from a few "half" Republicans and "leftist" Democrats to the Communist and Socialist Workers parties, the Communist youth, the Young Socialist Alliance and "Black Power" advocates. Of the small groups only representatives of the Youth Against War and Fascism participated in the discussion.
Under the policy of "nonexclusion" all political tendencies opposing the role of the Johnson administration in Vietnam were welcomed. As a corollary, there was perfect freedom for each tendency to express its political views but all attempts to impose the views of any single group on the united front was resisted. The united front or "coalition," as most of the participants call it, was formed in order to combine the efforts of all in a united way in organizing mass demonstrations against the war.
The conference ended in a powerful confirmation of this working arrangement; but some uneasy moments were experienced in some of the workshops and again at the plenary session Sunday where final decisions were reached.
A note of hesitancy was struck Ly some of the representatives of the Communist party. They urged that no definite date be set and also hesitated about concentrating the demonstration in Washington. This reflected the feelings of a few who have found it difficult to give up a position favoring "negotiations" and also those who would like to see the antiwar movement diverted into campaigning for "peace" candidates of the Democratic or Republican parties.
The mood of the conference as a whole, however, was strongly against this. The arguments presented in the main by Socialist Workers party speakers carried the day.
Harry Ring summed them up suc-— cinctly. Washington should be selected, he said, because it puts Johnson on the spot more effectively. The theme "Bring the Boys Home Now" is effective in showing that the only real friends the GI's have are opponents of the war. Moreover it reflects the escalation of the antiwar movement, since only two years ago unity could not be obtained on it and the first marches had to be carried out under the less effective slogan of "End the War Now.
As to the date, this proposal came from the students, who -- up to now -have constituted the main driving force in the demonstrations. Schools open about the first of October and require a few weeks to get organized. Hence the antiwar demonstration should be staged as soon as possible after October 15.
While the date should be subject to adjustment in the light of practical considerations, a definite target date is required to pin things down and also to facilitate demonstrations in other countries.
Finally, it is evident that the staging of demonstrations and marches is catching on among the American people. Pro-Johnson forces have now realized this and are indicating that they intend to stage marches, utilizing rather demagogic slogans. The antiwar movement must meet this new challenge.
This position came closest to the consensus of the gathering. Arnold Johnson of the Communist party appeared to recognize this by throwing his weight at the end in the direction of a definite date and Washington as the site.
A different and potentially. more divisive issue was an attempt, again mainly by representatives of the Communist party or speakers under their influence to put the conference on record as favoring
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