The Detroit News has once again exposed the latest Communist conspiracy nesting in the Motor City. This time the villains are the Radical Education Project and the Revolutionary Printing Co-op, which print and distribute movement literature.
The story was revealed in the Sunday News edition of May 24 by vanguard crime and subversion fighter John Peterson with a little help from W. Howard Erickson. Peterson, who was named best writer in Michigan on crime and corrections in 1969, really outdid himself this time. He and his pal managed to write a half page article about REP and the Printing Co-op that was fabrication and distortion from beginning to end, except for the addresses of the groups.
Dig it, according to Peterson and Erickson, the two above-named groups are “propaganda arms of the violence-prone Weatherman”. Ignoring the fact that Weatherman has been disbanded for two months, it still sounds romantically revolutionary, but simply is not true. The people who work at the Printing Co-op are anarchists and consider the Weatherman to be Stalinists and REP has always been run by members of the RYM II faction of SDS, Weatherman’s ideological opponents.
Being that the article is completely a non-story (nothing is learned except that the groups exist and their addresses), the two yellow journalists are forced to drag in names of persons not connected with REP in years, calling persons Weatherman who never were and making your usual bullshit “white-youth-from-the-suburbs-being-revolutionaries” rap that everyone at the News must think is so heavy.
Apparently to give the story some credibility there are several quotes from Roy Whang, who was on the first Venceremos Brigade trip to Cuba. The quotes attributed to him are flatly denied by Whang and persons present when Erickson tried to push his way into the REP office and interview people, all of whom refused to say anything to him.
In other words, Erickson is a liar, a fraud and a charlatan. He was afraid to go back to his office and face Peterson without some juicy quotes, so he just made them up in the best tradition of Detroit News journalism.
However, one quote does seem to have a purpose behind it. After drawing this scare picture of bomb-laden Weathermen cranking out literature to subvert the children of the typically paranoid News reader, Erickson has Whang say, “We don’t want the public to find out. Some of your so-called good citizens might try to put us out of business.”
This completely fabricated quote coupled with the addresses of REP and the Printing Co-op could have only one intent behind it. The article probably has a few right-wing fanatics foaming at the mouth wanting to take drastic action against “the communist menace.” The News could not help but know this!
These fanatics and the News should know two things: (1) We are prepared to defend the resources of the movement by any means necessary, and (2) that if any harm befalls persons or property as a result of this piece of shit article, those responsible for publishing it may expect a response in kind.
The News has begun to make a practice of printing the names and addresses of radicals who have returned from Cuba, contributed money to political defense funds, and now persons engaged in day-to-day political work. We will respond in kind to this.
Listed below are the names and addresses of the 2 men responsible for the current article (Peterson has been involved in most of the name-and-address-giving articles) and the Board of Directors of the Evening News Association, the pigs who publish the News. We are sure, as civic minded citizens, they would welcome hearing your feelings about their paper and its policies.
Wrote current attack on the movement:
John Peterson Roseville, Michigan, 776-6838
W. Howard Erickson, 24664 Madison Court, Farmington, Michigan, 477-6599
Wrote past articles that gave movement people’s addresses:
Stephen Dobyns, 699 W. Canfield, Detroit, 833-7423
Ann Getz
Board of Directors, The Evening News Association:
Richard Spitzley, 1100 Mead Road, Rochester, Mich. 651-5242
Richard Booth Wallace, 120 Lowell Court, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Warren Scripps Wilkenson, 16760 E. Jefferson Avenue, Grosse Pointe, 882-8848
James Scripps Whitcomb, 383 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms, TU5-2694
Henry Scripps Booth, 700 Cranbrook Road, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. MI. 44621
Robert W. Scripps, 251 Vendome Court, Grosse Pointe Farms, TU6-0687
Edwin K. Wheeler, 14803 Terry Avenue, Detroit
Peter B. Clark, Publisher, 249 Kenwood Court, Grosse Pointe Farms
Warren Booth Scripps
Martin S. Hayden, Editor, 218 Merriweather, Grosse Pointe, TU2-1171