LABOUR LEADERS ASSIST CAPITALISTS. SPEAKER ALLEGES

Grey River Argus, 4 June 1948, Page 7

LABOUR LEADERS ASSIST CAPITALISTS. SPEAKER ALLEGES

Queensland Communist’s Address in Greymouth

“In this desperate struggle, the capitalists have the assistance, of men like Semple and Walsh in New Zealand, and Falstein in Australia, because they want to carry disruption into the ranks of the Labour Movement”, said the President of the Queensland Communist Party. Mr Claude Jones, addressing about 60 Greymouth citizens at the Lyceum Hall last evening.

Mr Walsh’s statement yesterday is indicative of the manner in which these individuals are engaged in destroying the unity of the working class”, he added.

Mr Semple’s book on Communism, he described as the “screams of hysteria of a frightened old man, who is fighting against the pangs of his own conscience”.

“To-day these people are assisting the Hollands to carry disruption into the ranks of the Labour Movement”, he said. “They are only assisting to weaken the position of the working class. It would have been impossible for last week’s referendum to have been defeated in Australia if the ‘Right Wing’ leaders of the Labour Party had not set consciously and deliberately to defeat the referendum proposals”. DESPERATE DRIVE The New Zealand Communist Party would 'do everything in its power to see that the Hollands and Doidges never again came to the Treasury Benches, said Mr Jones. In both Australia and New Zealand there was a desperate drive to destroy the working class movement under the guise of an attack on Communism. “There is no essential difference between Holland and Doidge in this country and Menzies and Fadden in Australia”, said Mr Jones. “All are concerned with capturing the Treasury Benches so that in the coming economic crisis, in two or three years, they will be able to re-enact the legislation of 1931-32”. He referred to the power of such private concerns as the Colonial Sugar Co., the Bank of N.S.W., and the Broken Hill Pty., who, he said, had an economic stronghold over the peoples of New Zealand and Australia. ORIGINAL IDEAS “Many of these Labour leaders have gone far from their original ideas as far as the workers are concerned , said Mr Jones. “The actions of Mr Semple and others do not strengthen the position of the working class, but, on tne other hand, weaken it”. The anti-Communist drive in every country had been proclaimed to bring about the destruction of the workingclass movement. Communism was the first peg along their line, and next came every decent person who stooa up against the capitalist line. The attacks on Communism by the newspapers were written by many who Knew .nothing about Communism, added Mr Jones. Many fell for what appeared-in the newspapers as being the truth, but reactionary politicians, clergvmen and actors were pulled into the band-wagon against Communists. If the Communist Party spent all its time replying to the lies published against them they would have no time for anything, else, but they had no intention of doing so. In a long reference to the recent Queensland strike, Mr Jones said it was definitely not Communist-led, and it was not a defeat for the Communist or for the working class. There were about 2000 Communists in whole of Queensland, scattered over a wide area. “Despite the work of the Government of Queensland to split the workers and what the ‘sectarian mongrels' did to split workers on the question c-. Catholicism against Protestantism, the workers finally marched together in. unity singing ‘The Red Flag , said Mr Jones. “Your papers no doubt had to rely on the cables sent by . Sir Keith Murdoch and other champions of the working class in Australia! WORLD-WIDE CAMPAIGN Mr Jones said that the anti-Com-munist campaign was not confined to New Zealand or Australia, but was world-wide, having its origin in America. Its leaders had taken up where Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini had left off. “It is just eyewash and nonsense to talk about Communists being termed foreign agents”, said Mr Jones, adding that the. same could be said about Rotary or the Pope because he was an Italian, and a spiritual and temporal leader of a church”. The Communist Party stood for Socialism and the building of a Communist society. By that they meant organising production for the use ox the great majority of workers and farmers. The Communist Party had never hidden its objects, but had always stood for them. Socialism could come only to New Zealand, Australia, or any other country when the great majority of the people wanted it, and not before. SOVIET POLICY “We believe that the Soviet policy is in the interests of world peace”, said Mr Jones, adding that whereas 17 per cent, of the Soviet Budget for was armaments and defence, the American proportion was 46 per cent. The Communists opposed President Truman and Wall Street because they believed their policy would lead to war “We support Henry Wallace because we believe his fight will strengthen the cause of peace in America and throughout the world ’, he added. ATTACK ON BEVIN Speaking for some time on foreign policy, Mr Jones strongly condemned the policy of the British Foreign Minister, Mr Ernest Bevin, which he claimed was aimed at “destroying the British people”. Bevin had ,s‘old ouc completely to American millionaires, and was leading the British people, without a change in policy, to the stage where they would become the 49th State of America. “The Communists want to push Mr Fraser into doing something against American Imperialism”, said Mr Jones. Expressing concern about Japan, Mr Jones charged that General MacArthur was building up a strong Japan with the intention of throwing that country against the Soviet. . Mr Jones, in conclusion, pointed out that 48 delegates attended the recent conference of the New Zealand Communist Party, and had reached certain policy decisions which he and others were now placing before the people of New Zealand. QUESTIONS ANSWERED Mr Jones, who was given an uninterrupted hearing, answered a number of questions at the end of his address. “We believe that the Jews and Arabs can live side bv side in Palestine and in the Middle East, if they are left alone, and are not used as pawns in the oil game”, said Mr Jones, in reply to a question. Zionism was

reactionary in its conception, and the final solution in Palestine • would be when the Jews build up Socialism. “When I speak of gentlemen who wear their collars back to front, I speak of their political actions, and not of their religious beliefs”, he said, answering another questioner. “When religious leaders indulge in politics, we reply to them as politicians. The person to whom I refer as most prominent is Msgr. Fulton, J. Sheen, an American, who, in Brisbane recently, said that the Communists had received instructions from Moscow in the previous 30 days. Challenged to produce evidence to the Security Department, or Dr Evatt, he was silent. I say it was a foul lie and unprincipled”. International financiers did not finance the Russian revolution, he said, but they were not lacking in their efforts to destroy the peoples’ democracies of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and other countries to-day. There was freedom of religious beliefs under Communism and in the Communist Party. “The Catholic Church is very antagonistic to Communism, but many of its followers are not, because, Irrespective of religious belief, they are exploited by the boss in the same vyay as others”, he added. “Many leaders of the Catholic Church—the top leaders of course —are body and soul in support of the Capitalist system’ Asked how many Catholic churches there were in Russia, Mr Jones said he had no idea, and would only be guessing if he gave a figure. In reply to one persistent questioner about loyalty to the British Throne, Mr Jones said that a Communist member of the Queensland Parliament had taken the oath of allegiance, as had 4000 members of the Communist Party, including himself, who had served in the last war. After a collection had been taken up Mr R. H. Mitchell, who presided, ‘thanked the speaker and those present for their attentive hearing. No motion was put to the meeting.