FIFTH COLUMN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 163, 10 June 1940, Page 2

FIFTH COLUMN.

“FIRM OF JUDAS, LTD.” LONDON, May 24. The Cromwellian sternness with which Mr Churchill’s Administration is striking ..at the very heart of suspected Fifth Columnists in Britain is thrillingly exemplified in the. detailing of the British Fascist leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, Captain A. H. M. Ramsay, M.P., and others. The swiftness with which the Government acted surprised the public, which liad just been exhilarated by Mr Churchill’s first bold stroke on the home front — the mobilisation of the nation. The news of the detentions vied with that of the fighting in the Boulogne area in importance. It was plain to the man in the street that Mr Churchill was aware that there were some in Britain of almost all shades of political opinion, who were prepared to lend themselves,, probably unconsciously, as builders to anyone ready to become the chief architect of a design for a “Trojan Horse” within the British Isles themselves.

Hitler’s army of spies and sympathisers within the Allied frontiers is likened by the Daily Mirror to the “bank account of the ancient firm of Judas, Ltd.” “Nearly nine months after the beginning of the war,” the Mirror adds, “we at last have begun to see this, and the precautions which should have been taken years ago are now being applied to the Judas Association—British branch.” “The peril of inward 1 rot is at last obvious,” says the Daily Mail, which applauds the decisive action taken by the Government. “Holland fell in five days because no man could trust his neighbour.” In political, circles, Mr Churchill s protective acts on behalf of Britain are likened to those of Cromwell. It is frequently heard, as' one goes among political commentators, and politicians : “Mr Churchill is not a dictator; he is a protector. The foundation of, the Churchill Protectorate is, first, the mobilisation of the nation, and, secondly, the attack on the Filth Column.” The Birmingham Post, which regards, the detentions as a sensation, declares in a leading article 1 that “there may well be more to follow.” “It would be rash on the part of ex-members of the pro-German ‘Link’ to assume that they are going to remain in enjoyment of unfettered freedom.” the Post continues. “There are numbers of members of the Communist Party, well-known to the police, who are clearly capable of .activities more mischievous than those of the one representative of that group who habitually makes a nuisance of himself in the House of Commons.” The article also says that the backbone of the Fascist organisation in Britain can be regarded as broken. “Sir Oswald Mosley is in Brixton Prison, biting his nails, and,"no doubt, mentally rehearsing the speech lie would; like to make, in Court,'if —which we take to be out of the question—his ca|se were regarded as one appropriate; for prosecution,” the Birmingham Post adds.