110 



01Xlif And yet all this vat undap Vo04|70V Wilson , whom 

 Socialists had supported, and so fon felt that««> 



Coggins: How look, we never supported Wilson. We never did, 

 but the group around us supportad him, the people 

 that visited, the people that would eome into our 

 meetings and who weren't in it but were in favor 

 of it* fhey were the ones that— they perhaps hadn't 

 formed their opinions as firmly as we had* They 

 probably hadn't read— were more superficial in their 

 Jimowledge of Soeialism* They felt that this was 

 Itf you see* We always had people breaking away 

 from us th&t way, even some of our old-time members* 



dilbt So you felt that democratic processes had been 

 subverted by the Wilson regime during the war* 



Coggins: Yes* In other words the action of the democracy 



had proved the Communists* contentions to a certain 

 extent, that a democracy as we knew it would not 

 functioAi^ that there would have to be violence* 



Oil^f 1^ ||.;f|^|li2able sumber of local active Socialists 

 be dome Communists at that time? 



Coggins: The active onea did* The older 0£ies were the onts 

 nho stayed in the Socialiat Party* 



GilbJ The older and less active? 



Cogginsf Yes* They were not ready to entangle with the law* 



