"REDS" IN N.S.W.

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 100, 18 December 1931, Page 6

"REDS" IN N.S.W.

GROWING STRENGTH SECRET ARMY NEAR SYDNEY LIVING ON STATE DOLE MONEY THOROUGHLY ORGANISED SYDNEY, December 10. There were again several brushes between Reds and members of the New Guard in and around Sydney last night. The most serious clash occurred at Wollongong, where the Reds have I been concentrating in the hope of obtaining converts from the. unemployed. When attempts were made last night to break up their meeting they atatcked members of the audience freely, using iron bars and bludgeons which they drew from ben'eath their coats. Furious at the Reds' brutality, the audience took matters into their own hands. But for the intervention of the police, who hustled the Reds away, many of the latter would have presented a sorry appearance this morn- ' ing. I The police arrested all men who had weapons in their hands. These men last night and again to-day sang "The Red Flag" in the eell. A feature of the opposition to the Communists was the number of working men who took part. When the Communists had dispersed, a large quantity of "Red" literature and a red flag were found near the box they had used as a platform. After the bonfire the crowd made for a cottage ^ which had been the headquarters o'f the Communists. A man on a motor cycle warned the occupants, and the crowd found the police on the verandah, and were told that the occupants had disappeared. Leichhardt Clash At Leichhardt last night there was a brush between citizens and revolutionaries. A Communist was speaking from a platform in Flood Street. The audience refused to listen to him and commenced singing the National Anthem. Communists who refused to remove their hats had them snatched from their heads, and the melee finished by the Reds having to seek police protection to ge.t to their tram in safety. Street Bonfire The New Guard members are pursuing a definite policy of attending all Red meetings and taking a prominent part in ending them when audiences show that they do not wish to listen to sedition and disloyalty. At Leichhardt, after Communists had taken to their heels, the crowd seized a quantity of their Red literature and made a bonfire of it in the street.

Reds were expected to make a demonstration at Willoughby School last night. They held a meeting there a fortnight previously. Local citizens, who ineluded a sprinkling of New Guard members, were waiting for them, but apparently the Reds got wind that they were not wanted. They did not appear. The "Reds" have had so many setbacks in the city and country during the last few weeks that there is a danger that the public will be lulled into a false sense of security. Actually the "Reds" are more active to-day than they have ever been, and are planning their "big move" should the Scullin Government be defeated on December 19.

Those who are privileged to peep behind the scenes, know that the "Reds" are working like beavers organising and agitating e-verywhere. It is said by them that even among the ranks of the crowd which drove Moxon frpm Bourke, there were "Red" disciples covering up their tracks so that they could remain in the Darling River town and carry on their work secretly, and without arousing suspicion. There is a secret "Red" army on the western edge of the county of Cumberland, and the Government is contributing to its upkeep.

Government Aid The "Reds" are to be found in small colonies of out of work single men, who collect the dole and do odd jobs on a farm or orchard for a few shillings a week. In each community there is usually one well-educated man, who is the leader. His duty is to carry out the orders of the district leader, as they are received from headquarters. The group leader is responsible for the welfare, training, and allegiance to "the cause" of each member of his group. He has to see that they are properly clothed and housed, and when the time for the revolution arrives, he must have them ready. He sees that each man collects his dole rations, and these are handed into the general pool of the community.

"Something Suspicious" The fact that from 12 to 20 ablebodied young men. are "working" a three or four acre farmlet may not strike the city as being peculiar, but the farmers in the neighbourhood know that there is "something suspicious" going on. There are said to be dozens of these "communities" in the market gardening areas. Recently a young man travelling by train from Sydne.y to Richmond lost control of his tongue and talked about the revolution that would follow the defeat of Mr. Sculliji's party. He was silenced by a companion with a hefty punch, and more drastically disciplined when he arrived at the farm.