THE BOLDNESS OF THE REDS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2612, 28 July 1923, Page 4

THE BOLDNESS OF THE REDS.

AUSTRALIAN LABOUR AND COMMUNISM.

The two qualities which characterise the Red Revolutionists of our

time fire boldness and cunning. Their tactics are those of terrorism or deception and the application of one or other process depends wholly upon which they consider most politic for the time being. In -Australia and New Zealand we have had exhibitions of both' methods. To-day in New Zealand the Reds are on their good behaviour as far as appearance goes. There is no tittle of evidence however, that they have recanted, or put aside, their extreme doctrines of class domination on a semi-communist basis, i They ,have discovered that the open

pronouncement of bolshevik sympathies does not pay, politically they-are adopting the secret methods of peaceful penetration and the plausible course of being “all things to all , men.” It may be that the constant criticism by the Welfare League made the open profession of communistic sympathies so unpopular. that the Reds have deemed it wiser to borrow the cloak of Liberalism for the time being and pose as much maligned moderates. In Australia the march towards Moscow takes on a more open showing. An Australian Congress, at which Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., was a participant, adopted a Red objective of “socialisation” which has been much discussed- since. Mr Theodore of Queensland, saul: “You might as well call it communism, for that is what it is. Isof withstanding such talk in opposition the Red objective has been adopted by the Australian Labour Party and the Labour Parties are opening their doors in welcome to the communists. The only point of difference between the official labourites and communist parties is that the communists want to join up en bloc” and the labourites say they must enter in single file. Meantime there appears to be almost enough communists in the Labour Party to dictate the party’s policy to- - wards communists, and communism as a whole. From the readiness shown by the Red politician to adopt the most extreme objective it only left in office, it looks as if the communist party was the real driving force behind the Labour Party. The Red objective though not made in, Moscow, is certainly being interpreted from that quarter. THE; BOLD-ANNOUNCEMENT. Mr Theodore said it was communism.., The Communists do not hesitate to say what they mean by :: communism.' The Communist headquarters have issued a statement of what they mean to make of Australia when they get power. Here is the statement: —“The workers must first of all expropriate the big capitalists, the big financiers, landowners and industrialists. The small property owners they can leave- alone until their forces are stronger. But all large property must be confiscated at once without compensation, since to buy out the capitalists, whose power is money, is only to leave them in power. The Workers’ Government must nationalise the banks. It must take over all large industrial undertakings, mines and shipping. It must declare all lands and houses public property. It must establish a State monopoly of foreign trade. It must annul all debts, public and private ... .It must impose the duty of work on all able to work and organise the most urgent tasks.”

Special attention may be drawn to the words “The small property owners they can leave alone until their forces are stronger.” Talk about, “boldness,” surely the brazen front is here shown. “The •Bulletin” says such gentry should be deported forthwith. NEW‘ZEALAND QUITE SAFE. Of coui'se our New Zealand Reds have all taken to wearing immacu-late-political dress suits and the people of property take it that all is well. They will jazz along; go home to bed; neglect their civic duties; make money and be confident all the time that New Zealand is ever safe. The N.Z. Labour Party has the Red objective in the forefront of its platform but the indiferents of our country tell us that they do not really mean it and it is a shame to even cal] them Socialists. Many causes have been ascribed for revolutions but a very potent cause may be named, apathy. It does not. take a majority to effect a revolution, a bold and active minority may do quite as well. The revolution in Russia was the work of a small minority and the leaders were mostly

non-Russian. When responsible public journals in Australia are pointing to the grave responsibility of a violent revolutionary upheaval there, it is too close to our own door, and there is too much untouched dynamite in our own country for us to treat the matter with indifference. Eternal vigilance ip the price not only of liberty but of safety, and if our people fail to pay the price they cannot hope to. secure and retain the goods. Ki Red Labour Parties, opportunist in practice but ■revolutionary in de-. sign, are. comipgjtoo near to governing the Commonwealth of Ans-.-jtralja—and, . lS T ew. Zealand —for. it to be quite .s/ife for individual freeclom. . -by the N.Z. Welfare Uiiii-'. League).