Manawatu Evening Standard. Setting MONDAY, MAY 6, 1940. TOLERANCE WITH LIMITS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 133, 6 May 1940, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. Setting MONDAY, MAY 6, 1940. TOLERANCE WITH LIMITS.

The general- satisfaction which has been expressed at Home with the commonsensc manner, in which the authorities are handling the. problem of subversive groups cannot but be re-echoed throughout the Empire. Without rushing into so-called panic measures to meet an obvious danger, firm but generous control continues to be exercised in a difficult situation. The comparative harmlessness of such extremist elements as exist, both Fascist and Communist, is well recognised, and the danger that must result from driving them under-ground-imparting something in the nature of inartydom to a cause, however strange it may be —has not escaped responsible quarters. In a conflict being waged in defence of liberty there must be no room for even seeming incongruities, and the present example at Home is seen as a demonstration to the world “that our democracy is strong enough to retain its freedom under the strain of war.” In. striking contrast to those nations professing to champion the cause of “the oppressed,” but who grind down the individual to almost fantastic lengths, the British Empire can appropriate to itself the principle of Voltaire —“I disagree with every word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” In that broad and generous spirit, in defence of the common rights of humanity, the Allies have entered the lists, and are concerned that there shall be no inconsistencies.

But while these things be true, there is an exemplary alertness to anything that might endanger the campaign upon which the nation is engaged. To check the growth of a “fifth column” in Britain, a search for men of the type of Major Quisling, who betrayed Norway to the Nazis, is in progress. Recently seventy members of the House "of Commons • discussed at a secret • meeting the dangers of enemy aliens and of activities detrimental to the war effort. The general view was that the situation called foi' more stringent control. Already Quisling has become synonymous with traitor, and the London Press has uttered the warning that there are Quislings in every country of Europe. In the early days of the war, it is admitted, attempts were made to establish a “fifth column” in Britain, but prompt action by Scotland Yard frustrated these efforts. Nevertheless, the betrayal of Norway has impelled the authorities to take drastic measures to prevent the growth of such an organisation. At the outbreak of the war a number of German key men, sent to Britain two years ago to establish themselves and organise propaganda, were interned. among them a doctor formerly attached to a famous London hospital, a city financial ‘agent who owned a yacht and an aeroplane, a Scoutmaster, and a former Press attache in Berlin. Their

activities, and-'those-’of hundreds of other aliens, were tho subject of minute scrutiny, but, as in the Great War, Scotland Yard did not act until the psychological moment. While it is believed the key men havo been interned, there is reason to fear that numbers of agfmts are still at liberty. It is estimated that there are more than twenty thousand German workers in Britain, many of whom hold key positions in factories engaged upon Government contracts. More than forty enemy aliens in the London area who had been freed from internment by the tribunals have been seized by order of the Home Office. Particular attention is being paid to German domestics in the households of serving officers, and there is an expectation that fresh evidence is likely to result in the internment of hundreds more aliens. The most stringent measures to preserve the safety of the realm are in operation, and, while Britain sets the world an example in tolerance,, there are certain definite limits beyond which she will not go.