education, the building of a broad
base of support, and the forging of an
alliance between workers, non—whites,
and students.

By the conclusion of the national
conference, the Weathermen had won
control of the national office, elec—
ting Mark Rudd, leader of the Columbia
revolt, National Secretary. The Wea—
thermen also controlled the official
SDS newspaper, New Left Notes. Plan—
ning for the fall action was left to
the national office, now known as the
Weather Bureau.

Following the summer conference,
the Weathermen developed a plan of ac—
tion, produced leaflets, and organized
in urban working class communities in
order to bring people to Chicago. The
national office put out a new paper,
intended for mass distribution, named
"Fire Next Time.”

The slogan for the Chicago action
was ”Bring the War Home." The Chi—
cago activities were seen as an op—
portunity to begin building a "red
army to fight on the side of the Viet—
namese, the blacks, and oppressed
people everywhere."

The strategy for Chicago included
marches and rallies, but the primary
focus was on "mobile street fighting"
aimed at raising "the level of strug—
gle" by showing that "whites are wil—
ling to fight."

The super—militancy of the Wea—
therman faction, however, antagonized
many of the New Left. Liberation News
Service, immediately prior to the Na—
tional Action, said that the street
fighting was viewed by some as "a mas—
ochistic suicidal attempt to create
instant history . "

As a result of the disenchantment
with the Weatherman group, Revolution—
ary Youth Movement—II, led by several
former SDS officers, including Mike

Klonsky, immediate past National Sec—
retary, decided to formulate an alter—
native plan. A quick coalition was
formed with the Black Panthers and the
Young Lords, a militant Puerto Rican
group with national headquarters in
Chicago.

The coalition called for "four days
of programs and militant actions de—
signed to serve the needs of the people
of the U.S., and to connect those needs
with the fight against U.S. agression
in Vietnam."

The proposal emphasized that "while
millions have spoken out against the
war, millions more have remained si—
lent in their opposition." The "Call
to Chicago" published by the group
said that "these silent millions can
be a great force in bringing the ag—
gressive, white—supremacist war to an

end, as well as being the basis of a
powerful anti—imperialist movement."

"We call for the action to culminate
in a mass militant disciplined march
behind the demand U.S. GET OUT OF VIET—

NAM NOW and other demands which will
link the struggles of the exploited and
oppressed people of the U.S. with the
struggle of the Vietnamese."

"We call for the action as the start
of a year of solidarity with the people
of Vietnam."

Both groups anticipated police re<
pression and urged individuals to come
in small, close knit groups. Parti—
cipants were told to bring "no dope,
no address books, and no guns——any—
one seen shooting in a crowd is a cop."

********

SDS members began arriving in
Chicago Tuesday afternoon. They arrived
in groups of threes and fours, many
having driven from the east and west
coasts, others hitching rides from
nearby areas. Their destinations were
designated movement centers at which
organization was to be developed on a

/ 1;”

W:

regional basis. The movement cen—
ters, however, were not anticipating
arrivals until Wednesday and the youths
consequently spent Tuesday night scat—
tered throughout the city.

The atmosphere in Chicago was
hostile before the first demonstraw
tors ever arrived. The preceding day,
Chicago's monument to police officers
was destroyed by a dynamite blast.
Mayor Richard Daley termed the bomb—
ing “an attack on all the citizens of
Chicago."

The Haymarket Square statue was the
only police monument in the United
States. The figure of a 19th century
vintage officer, commemorating seven
policemen killed during a riot in
1886, was toppled from its base at
11:10 Monday night in an explosion
that shattered hundreds of windows in
the surrounding area.

Police officers reacted angrily to
the destruction. "An obvious declara-
tion of war between the police and
SDS and other anarchist groups," said

V Sgt. Richard M. Barrett, president of

the Chicago Police Sergents Association.

"We now feel that it is kill or be
killed, regardless of the Jay Millers,
Daniel Walkers, and the so—called
Civil Rights Act," (Miller is head
of the Illinois branch of the Amer—
ican Civil Liberties Union, which has
frequently criticized Chicago police
Walker headed a study commission
which declared a ”police riot" occurred
at the 1968 Democratic Convention.)

Other police organization spokes—
men agreed that the act was part of
an organized attack on law and order in
Chicago. Lt. James A. O'Neill, presi»
dent of the Police Lietenants Assn.,
said the bombing showed the "mentality
of the people who are causing strife
in the streets." He said, "It is
time for the people of Chicago and
the nation to wake up to what we
are opposing. These are not harm«
less kids with firecrackers."

**********

Fosters appeared Wednesday after—
noon announcing actions planned for
the coming four days. The posters,
circulated by the Weatherman faction,
were headed "SDS Handvmiting on the
Wall." They heralded the slogan
"Bring The War Home." The announced
activities included a rally in Lin—
coln Park Wednesday night, an attack
by the "women's militia" on the
Chicago Armed Forces Induction Cen—
ter and demonstrations at high
schools scheduled for Thursday, a
"move on the courts" for Friday, and
a masssive march Saturday through the
Chicago Loop.

The posters proclaimed, "We move
with the people of the world, to seize
power from those who now rule, ve‘..
expect their pig lackeys to come down
on us. We've got to be ready for
that. This is a war we can't resist.
We've got. to actively fight. We're go—
ing to bring the war home to the mo—
ther country of imperilaism. AMERIKA:
THE FINAL FRONT."

"If you think you are in the middle,

then you are on the wrong side. When
you participate in and benefit from
the American system, you are helping
to keep it together."

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