July 6, 1961 - The John Birch Society, the ultra-right organization founded by Robert W. Welch Jr. (pictured) in 1958, is asking its members to help it build "the most complete and accurate files in America on the leading ‘Comsymps,’ Socialists and liberals." The organization defined such individuals as "those who are trying to change the economic and political structure of this country so that it could be comfortably merged with Soviet Russia in a one-world Socialist government." "Comsymps" is the Birch Society's term for "Communist sympathizers." A bulletin issued by the Society gave instructions on how the information was to be submitted and promised that references would be checked and evaluated before the material was published.
