The Menace of Dennis

Reminiscent of the stories of pro-Fascist officers in the Army of France is the War Department's notification to Lawrence Dennis that he is eligible for a commission. The man who believes that "nothing can be madder than to accelerate the domestic trend to Fascism by undertaking to eradicate Fascism abroad" has passed his physical examination and is waiting to become a captain.

It is true that statements like the ones which made Dennis famous were made last year by many loyal isolationists. However, Dennis has not changed his views. Furthermore, the tone of his arguments has led many of his readers to suspect that he is strongly interested in an Axis victory. "To say that we cannot survive in a totalitarian world does not make sense," was the keynote of the full page advertisements which last May in the Crimson, the Yale News, and the Princetonian mocked the ability of the British to defend the status-quo against the Have-Nots, and suggested that "the logic of the situation for France at present may soon appear to the British people to be the logic of the situation for them."

"We shall be fighting a world revolution abroad only thereby to bring about here the same revolution. I am in favor of the revolution here, but deem the war way of bringing it about regrettable," says a book by the potential defender of democracy. It is difficult to imagine how the Army overlooked the patriotic sentiments of "America's No. 1 Fascist." The F.B.I. may spot him if the Army and public opinion doesn't.

No one can prove that Dennis' appointment will send his subordinates into enemy hands or that he will have a direct wire to the enemy Intelligence, but it is doubtful if a man who thinks as Dennis does can fight very hard for democracy.