INTENSIVE PREPARATIONS IN U.S. FOR ANTIWAR DEMONSTRATIONS
In the teeth of Johnson's decision to escalate the U.S. aggression in Vietnam to a new and most ominous level, the work of organizing a massive nationwide protest demonstration on April 15 with two main centers in the United States, one in New York, the other in San Francisco, is proceeding vigorously. The most significant feature of the antiwar movement in the United States at the moment is its widening scope. Since Johnson
first began implementing Goldwater's program, successive new layers of the population have been joining the opposition initiated on the campuses. Each new contingent has brought fresh energy and indignation, constantly vitalizing the movement and saving it from sharp and prolonged sags.
Now some very solid phalanxes give signs of movement -- the main body of black civil-rights fighters and the labor movement. It is still too early to tell at what rate and how deeply these forces will become committed to the struggle. But the appearance of such figures as the Rev. Martin Iuther King and the Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy in the Spring Mobilization Committee is of great significance in this respect, particularly as to the mood in the Negro community.
The labor movement still remains an unknown. It was clear that if Johnson persisted in his war on the Asian mainland the working class would eventually become restless and finally would be goaded into action. In various parts of the country, certain signs would seem to indicate that this stage is approaching. A straw in the wind is the agreement of Emil Mazey, secretary-treasurer of the powerful United Automobile Workers and a close associate of Walter Reuther to speak at a rally in Chicago March 25 against the war. Various labor groups have also endorsed the Spring Mobilization Committee. Once this process reaches a certain point, it could really take off.
Rank-and-file workers in the Spring Mobilization Committee have been greatly encouraged by the growing responsiveness they are encountering on all sides. This is particularly evident in the way the antiwar literature and the appeals for action are being received in sectors of the population that have hitherto not felt personally concerned or directly involved in what was going on in Vietnan.
SCANDINAVIAN VIETNAM WEEK
Representatives of the Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian committees for Solidarity with Vietnam decided at a joint meeting in Stockholm to organize a