Mr. Attlee Bluntly Blames Russia

Chronicle (Levin), 4 July 1949, Page 5

Mr. Attlee Bluntly Blames Russia

Britain's Unofficial Strike Wave ^Received Monday, 11 a.m. LONDON, July 3. The Prime Minister, Mr. Attlee, delivered one of his most forthright comments on any State sinee the war when he told 12,000 people at Manchester that Commimist hypocrites, who were merely the tools of an alien dictatorship, were responsible for the unofficial strike wave now injuring Britain. Mr. Attlee described Russia as "that police State of Communist hypocrisy" and a "classic example of imperialism."

Criticising the workers who were engaged in unofficial strikes, Mr. Attlee said it was obvious that these workers did not ipiderstand how narrowly pulsed was Britain's economy. "The only people who gain from unofficial strikes are those who would like to see ' our great social and democratic experiment fail. They care nothing for this country. Spiritually they do not belong here. Their hearts are elsewhere. "Unfortunately, that country which the Communists support is, from the point of view of real freedom and democracy, and of true socialism, one of the mosl? backward countries in the world. I am certain that if the men and women who have built up our movement were to be told the true facts about Russia today. they would say that the country is a classic example of a police state. There are class divisions there and no freedom of speech. of conscience or person. It is coilectivist but certainly not socialist." Mr. Atfee classed as "sickening hypoc.risy'' protests which he had received because the Government kent out from places where secret work was carried on people who could not be trusted. These protests came from the Communists, who knew that their fellows in Communist countries carried on a constant purge and ruthlessly removed from office anyone who showed the slightest sign of deviating from what their rulers considered to be orthodox. "Another examp'e of Communist hypocrisv is their accusing the Labour Party of imperialism. We hfve had to face mompntons decisions in regard to the British Commonwealth and we have followed the nolie.v which we have always preached — the right of nations to govern themselves. Never before has there been such a handlr>g over of sovereignty as freely given as in the cases of Burma, India, Pakistan and Ceylon. "Now look at the other side. In Poland and in Hungarv Communists who dare to take the side of their nations are ruthlessly thrust out. Only those who put Russia first, and who are .eompletely sub-

servient to the clique in Moscow, are allowed to govern in their own i ountries."