the South Carolina Piedmont. The lack of income and diversion of resources created a $10,000 deficit ($ in dollars), and Brookwood nearly closed. John Dewey, Sinclair Lewis, and 80 others printed a public letter in the left-wing magazine The Nation in late November, pleading for money. Some funds were raised, and by reducing the number of faculty and significantly cutting back the extension program the crisis passed. Departure of Muste Muste's evolving political views and the increasing amount of time he spent on CPLA activities created much dissent within the Brookwood faculty. Shortly after the creation of the CPLA, Muste adopted Marxism as a philosophy, which caused a major split among the faculty. Muste's pacifist views were also changing, and he now advocated a qualified approval of labor union violence. In May 1932, Muste proposed that Brookwood become a "training base" for "CPLA fighters". The faculty rejected the plan. Many Brookwood faculty feared that Muste's evolving political views were heading toward Trotskyism (a theory of Marxism advocated by Leon Trotsky), and that he would drag the CPLA and Brookwood into the communist political camp with him. Others feared that Brookwood would lose its nonpartisan reputation, which they felt was its biggest and best selling point. As Brookwood's financial crisis worsened in the fall of 1932, a political crisis over Muste's activities also emerged. At a meeting with faculty on October 22, Muste responded to a question by asserting that his CPLA work was more important than Brookwood. Nine days later, a majority of faculty signed a letter addressed to the board of directors asking that some other faculty member take over the director's duties and asking the board to reaffirm Brookwood's nonpartisan nature. When Muste learned of the letter's content, he accused the signers of cowardice and refusing to take part in the emerging "revolutionary movement". The political crisis at Brookwood culminated in March 1933. The board of directors called a meeting at which Phil Ziegler presided. It began about March 2 and lasted three or four days. The board quickly cleared away its business: Maurer was reelected president, and Fannia Cohn was elected vice president. The board and Muste then spent several days discussing the future of Brookwood Labor College, the CPLA, the economic situation, and the best political response to take to the depression. Mark Starr led the group criticizing Muste. Many board members also expressed criticism of