Milt Stewart to Murray and Rosa, November 6, 1946 -- "the Republicans have swamped the country"

Black Wednesday [November 6, 1946]

Milt Stewart was a classmate of Murray's at Columbia, where he was working on his masters degree at age 19. He was 24 at this letter's writing. Two years later, as research director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, he did much of the writing for "To Secure These Rights," the Truman Administration report that set the government's civil rights agenda for the next twenty years, calling among other initiatives for the end to poll taxes and for anti-lynching legislation. Later yet he became the head of the Small Business Administration. Depending on your point of view, you could say he peaked early.

Dear Murray and Rosa:

It is 2:55 a.m. and the Republicans have swamped the country; they have the House and it looks as though they may get the Senate. By my tally they only need four more of the remaining eleven seats. I don't see how they can help but get it. Frankly, I am shocked. First, at the size of their gains. And second, at how much it disturbs me. Wothehell as a good, pessimistic, unaffiliated black revolutionary -- it doesn't make any difference in terms of my real political preferences. Still -- well, I think it raises our chance of being atomized, depressionized, fascistized, etc. Maybe they're not as much dumber than the Dems as it seems to me, but it sure looks to me like a sharp drop in our survival chances, which probably weren't much good anyway.

I think they'll run us into a quick recession, a brief boom, and then a large bust. IF the bloodyfucking leftwing weren't damned by: 1) the stalinist bone in the throat; 2) the coming smashes in national unions' internal affairs; and 3) the shit-headedness, self-destructiveness and stupidity of any leadership allegedly in the near future -- IF these weren't true, there'd be a chance that when the smash comes, a third party could sweep up the pieces -- in from 6 to 20 years. 

That's assuming that the Reps. don't now engineer an immediate war with the Sovietkies, or vice versa (boy how the Muscovites must be looking forward to dealing with Taft, McCosmic, Dewey, Bricker -- shelp me I feel sorry for them.).

If it weren't for the impending crises and the factors in paras 2 and 3 I would jubilate over the pressure on liblabs in both parties to look for new jobs in a third party. I've already heard of two being formed on the left: one under the aegis of Wallace-PAC and including the pro-Commie libs and undercover Stalinists; the other under the aegis of the less fragrant but more competent, less inspiring hegemony of the Socialist gang, the Liberal Party in NY, Reuther and the UAW, to co-ops, etc. Neither one will even consider the other for a long-distance speaking relationship.

Prosperity -- also peace and freedom -- are just around the corner. ...

This mood will pass, ya know. Well guarantee with approp. quantities of intoxbev.

I am sure you will hear clearly the bell-like tones of sincerity when I say that I would rather be no place in the world at the moment but with Leila and youall at Dockton. ...

the best of the best,

milt