SEEDS OF REVOLT

Hokitika Guardian, 18 April 1932, Page 3

SEEDS OF REVOLT

COMMUNIST PROPAGANDISTS. UNEMPLOYED EXPLOITED. Almost under the eyes of the police Communists propagandists are at woi\» in the city sow nig the seeds of revolt by distributing fiery literature among the unemployed inciting them •t----engage in conflict with the “liiaste. c.uss.’”

This propaganda campaign appear; to have been carefully thought out aiit. is carried on sedulously, the literatu/i is circulated among men whom toe Communists believe are most likely to be influenced. At tlie meeting of the Retain.-d Soldiers’ Association last night,, who. there were a large number ol unemployed men present, a type-written cir ciilar exhorting all ex-sc-r.ive men 1 “repudiate the tools ot the mastei class and the spineless traitors win have sold you into captivity,.. , handed out to each man at the gate by a prominent im-iooei .. munist Party.

Most of the men who received this highly interesting document regarded if with amused contempt, but thong, it may riot produce any immediate results, it is part <).■ a widespread campaign that is being carried out b> the Communist .Party, .During the strike of the men engaged fin- the Waimakariri River 1 rusts works the Communist propagandists were very active. The strike provided them with ready material to work upon, and although the trade union secretaries'” did their best to keep tin' men to the main points at issue, the Communists did not let tin 1 opportunity of exploiting the leeiings ol tinmen slip by. Several Communists took a very prominent part in the strike, and the usual sort ol class-conscious talk and rank and file solidarity wa> indulged in at the meetings. In a quiet and unobtrusive manner a Communist “cell” is also at work in the city He carries with him a brief bag containing supplies of suen literature as the “Moscow News,” the Australian “Red Worker. ’ ai’ul otluu publications giving the Communist point of view.

The “Moscow News” is clearly printed in English and contains a great deal of information calculated to interest the reader in the progress of the Soviet’s Five Year Plan. It is not a Communist- propaganda journal in the ordinary sense, hut- contrives by means of photographs and cleverly written articles to convey the impression that Russia is the only place in the world where the workers are given a fair deal.