CRITICISM OF RUSSIA

Press, Volume LXXXIIi, Issue 25302, 30 September 1947, Page 6

CRITICISM OF RUSSIA

MR R. CHURCHILL’S VIEWS

COMMUNISTS DESCRIBED AS FIFTH COLUMN

(P.A.) AUCKLAND, Sept. 29. Mr Randolph Churchill, son of Mr Winston Churchill, arrived in Auckland by flying-boat from Australia today. Later in an interview he accused Russia of imperialist pretensions and said Communist? groups abroad were a fifth column better organised than Hitler’s. He claimed that America’s temporary monopoly of the atom bomb had saved western Europe from being enslaved by the Soviet. The outward signs were as bad today as they were in the days of Hitler, Mr Churchill said. The propaganda churned out from Moscow bore an unpleasant resemblance to the work of Dr. Goebbels. Book after book from the Soviet had revealed that the Russian intention was to conquer the world by conspiracy, and revolutionary fifth columns throughout the world were seeking to get control of trade unions in democratic countries. They had completely .captured the unions of France and Italy, they had achieved an influence far beyond their strength in Australia, and in Britain, where their numbers were small, they dominated three or four industrial groups. Possibility of War “If things are allowed to go on as they are I am quite certain there will be war,” Mr Churchill said. “On the other hand, if the free nations remain united and strong it cannot come about, because they are so much stronger than any potential aggressor. They must not allow themselves to be divided, conquered, or subverted from within.” . War at the moment was ruled oui by America’s monopoly of the ajj l1 } bomb. It was a vanishing asset tnat could not be preserved for ever, but there was a certainty of 10 years in which a more permanent foundation could be laid for peace. Had it not been for the atom bomb nothing could have stopped the Soviet from rolling forward in a matter of days to the western coastline of Europe. The future lay in the unity and strength of the free nations who were 20'times as strong as the Soviet in military, industrial, and scientific terms. Mr Churchill said he had not been led astray by any Bolshevik bogy conjured up in America. If there were fear of Russia it lay m Europe, where millions of people got down on their knees every night and thanked God that the United States had a monopoly of the atom bomb.

“Soviet Fifth Column” “The Soviet fifth column abroad is actively working for .Communist mastery of the world, said Mi Churchill. “Communist parties put the interests of Russia ahead of the interests of their own countries and take meir orders from Moscow. I see no reason yet to stop calling them fifth columnists, spies, and traitors to their own countries.” Mr Churchill discounted the suggestion that it might be American policy to force a “defensive” war on Russia. “To talk of Soviet fears of America is just poppycock,” he added. Australia with a sixth of the population of Britain should make a larger defence contribution than a twentieth of Britain’s outlay, said. Mr Churchill. The hardships so far experienced by Britain in the post-war crisis were only portents of what was to come. Conditions would get worse before they got better. Export targets could not be reached as soon as had been planned, and the gap must be bridged by. more cuts. Ration Cut May be Necessary The real seriousness of the position had been disguised, and no one except the courageous Sir Stafford Cripps had warned the people of the true gravity of the situation. A cut of 25 to 30 per cent, in rations might easily become necessary within a few months. Of the controversy between his father and the British Prime Minister (Mr C. R. Attlee) on the contribution of Socialist policy to the crisis, Mr Churchill remarked: “I don’t agree with Mr Attlee.” Later, when the importance of increased production was discussed, he said that because of taxation and other factors the only commodity that could be bought in unlimited quantity in Britain to-day was leisure. Then he added: “Capitalism you know uses a carrot. Communists prefer to rely on a stick. Socialists, who like to go somewhere in between, take away the donkey.” Mr Churchill will spend about a fortnight in New Zealand. He will ,be given a mayoral reception to-morrow and he is to give the first of a series of lectures in the Town Hall on Wednesday. In Wellington early next month he will be the guest of the Governor-General, with whom he was, associated in the Middle East during.the desert campaign.