Labour Indignation

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 38, 8 November 1937, Page 5

Labour Indignation

— Prens Assn.

NAZI sympathies) Sntpicion Visit Wa« . Not Planned in Good Faitn CONFLICTING RUMOURS

"(•* Tnlnernph

— Copyriebt. 1

(Received 8, 8.45 a.m.) ■ NEW YORK, Nov. 6. Th« wi&dom of the Duke and Duehess of Windsor 's postponement of their tour'ofthe United States is generaUy abnlaudsd. The Weight of opinion mdieatM tbat he wiU be welcome as a private citizea but not acceptaWe as & siiaD«ctod eponeor of Fascism. His aeoision hM certainly placate.d the Labour ^Mr^Bedaux's cable to the *?u^e advising the postponement read: * am eompelled in honesty and f nendsbip to advise you, Because of the mu staken attacks against me beie, that l anj Oonvinced that your proposed study mll be made diffieult under my guidance. Since my sole object.has been and is to serve your repeatedly-expressed desxre to obtain flrst-hand information from persoual observation, I respectfuily suggest, and oa your behalf implore, that you relieve me conjpletely from all my dutiee in connection with your American trip." He eoncluded that the aisgociatioa was neeessary despite the Duke's Snslstenee that he should reyaiUj and closed: "I xemain, Sire, your iflevpted friend." Crtticiem Costinues. The news of the postponement of their American trip is almost anti* climax in f aee of the continued barrage against the Duke and Duehess over their aUeged association with the Nazis and their friendahip with Mr Bedaux which was xnaintained by the Press and iontributed to from many sources. This despite the publication of the tent of Jlr Bedaux's cabiegram and despite the insisten.ce in eome quarters that the ^dsit should be made, but under the guidance of an American approved by Labour. Mr Joseph McCurdy, president of the Baltimore American Federatioa of Labour, is regretfui over the postponement and says he will invite the Duke of Windsor "really to pay us a visit

and thus come nnder better auspices. Mr McCurdy coutinued: "Let him pick hig own representative but maka sure - tljjat he is & man having the f aith and ponfidence of the working population." The newspapers throughout the day issued streamer-headlined bulletins from Paris containing statements about the position. _ The New York Poet's correspondent declarei: "The Duke 1® defiant and vriil jfcour the United States." Sonie newspapers in an efforti to get their editions quickly on the atreets printed contradictory 'bulletins, one stating definiteljy that the Duke of Windsor would cancel the trip and the other that he would oome aespite the protests. Societies and organisations opposed to Gennany and wluch normally do nofc obtain much. newspaper space to air their views found on this occasion columns thrown open to them. The statement of the American League Against War and Pascisth is typical. It reads: "Xt is nnfortunate that p. man who haa aroused much sympathy 4n the United states should allow himself to become th§ gsme of Nazi intrigue and propaganda. The Duke must taho the oonsequences of his actions."

Labour AttacMEv«s after the news of the cancella- ; tion of the visit the attacks continued. The New York Maritime Council, which is affiliated to .the Committee for industrial Organisation, said; "If we were convinced that the Duke and Duehess were acting in good faith in proposing a personai tour of the United States, wa should be glad to weicome them, but their visit to Germany, when w« knew what has nappened to German trade unions under a dictatorship, makes us unable to convince oureelves that the tour was contemplated in good iaith." « Dr. Wiliiam Dodd, son of the American Ambassador to Germany, alleged that ihe Windsors' visit would. be fraught with propaganda, .since the Duke might try to convince dmericans regarding the achievements of the Karis.

The Kew York Times described the effects of the cancellation on Washington as the "flnale of a day so repleto with rumours, reports, accjisations and denials as to leave the residente of this capital hatdly less disturbed tban Londoners were after the digcovery of the Gunpowder Blofc on Guy Fawkes Day, of which this is the 332nd. anniversary." _ The journal added: ' 'Despite the Paris report late in the evening that the Duke of Windsor had cabled President Boosevelt, the Emhassy and otherg his regrets, all official quarters in- * eisted that they had 'nothing to say.' " Plans to Picket Arrival. Tts Washington correspondent says that Labour circles stated that Mr BedaUx "rau to cover," when it appeared that a nation-wide attack was planned against his organisation and that such would inevitably have embroiled the Duke o| Windsor. Had the Duke persisted in his visit, the storm undoubtedly would have reached such intensity that the visit would have beei* set down.as one of the major blunders bf the Duke's life; The publicity aimed against Mr Bedaux would have reeulted not only in demonstrations against the latter but also ag-^st the Windsors wherever they visited. It was planned to picket the arrival of the Premeu with anti-Windsor placards and have demonstrations in the Detroit auto faciories and southern textile mills, wher% the Bedaux system is especially hated. Due to the lateness of the announcemnt gg tha £p9t£^ssffiss%( eli

torial comment is lacking. An interesting leader, hgwever is that in Wiliiam tiandolph Hearst's Kew York Daily Mirror, which says: "We dislike everyfching coucerninc Hitler, but we wonder if American Labour would have com' pjained as loudly if the Duke had gone to see Red Bnssia before seeing BrownjShirt Germany." Mrs Boosevelt, interviewed,* said, ••I wovQd bo glad to receive the Windsors at Whito House if they eventually decide to make the trip." She ileclined to comment on the reasons for the postponement. Mr Bedaux, when apprised of the information concerning the cancellation said he was grieved but had no direct message from the Duke yet. President Draper of the Tr&des and Labour Gongress in Canada, issued a statement saying that all members of be delighted if the Windsors would lur movement in Canada would visit the Dominion. "I am also snre the people of Canada as a whole would be delighted to see him." He declined to comment on American Labour 's reaction. The wildest rumours were later ciroulated about the Windsors' future. One from San Francisco stated that the Duke was arriving in the United States on January 12 and had booked for the iirst Pan-American clipper iiight to JSIew Zealand, his party including Wilham Bandolph Hearst, and Marion Davies, the film etar, who for many years has been an jntimate. friend of Mr i3.ea.ritj.