KEEPING WORLD PEACE

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26814, 20 August 1952, Page 11

KEEPING WORLD PEACE

MENACE SEEN IN COMMUNISM

ADDRESS BY SIR CARL BERENDSEN

“I have been with these people. They frighten you. They curdle your blood,” said Sir Carl Berendsen, formerly New Zealand Ambassador in Washington, in an address to the Tin Hat Club of the Christchurch Returned Services’ Association last evening, when discussing the strength of Communist forces in a possible third world war. A war might be avoided if full consideration to the strength of Communism was given, he said. “The orphans, children, and weaklings of a dozen countries can assure you that what I say is true,” he said. There were hundreds of millions in the world who said that peace could be kept with words, but this was not possible. “Those people believe that when you pass a resolution, something has been done,” Sir Carl Berendsen said. He had seen thousands of resolutions passed, but what the world needed was resolution, not resolutions.

There were those who advocated American and British disarmament. They would be pleased to sse us commit suicide,” he said. There was a group of persons in Christchurch which had approached him to speak. When he had said that he would speak, and that he would tell the whole truth, his offer had been declined. The League of Nations had failed because its members had failed. Sir Carl Berendsen said. The United Nations had set out to construct something which would work properly. The United Nations had to have the co-operation of the five great Powers. The late Mr Peter Fraser had said that the resolutions of United Nations d be blown away by the winds. I fear that they will be blown away by guns,” he said. He would give his two hands to see a collective security, established by United Nations. “It might be suicide to think that it can protect us from this Communist menace,” he said. He was not speaking against the United Nations. He was completely in favour of the organisation, but it was not able to offer protection from Communism. We can hope for an act of God, seen before at Dunkirk,” said Sir Carl Berendsen. Some development might remove the dire peril from our doorsteps. As prudent people, it must be assumed that this would not happen. The Communists believed that they could achieve the domination of the world without fighting for it, and that if they had to fight they would have superior armed forces. “Ruthless Ruffians” Sir Carl Berendsen referred to Mr Stalin as “another Mussolini and another Hitler.” “To-day we have Stalin and his ruthless gang of ruffians in the Kremlin,” he said. He was another Napoleon, and was a greater threat than Germany or Japan. “These people have a fifth column, a Trojan horse, in every country in the world. They are in this city. 1 am astonished to see how lightly they are considered,” Sir Carl Berendsen said He had come from a country—the United States—where the Communist threat had possibly been considered too seriously, but it was up to New Zealanders to see that it did not develop in their country. The Kremlin was using all facilities and was stirring up a cauldron in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The world, at a cross-roads of humanity, was facing a conflict between those who believed in the supremacy of the State or the individual. The Soviet Union, which meant the “gangsters in the Kremlin,” possessed by far the largest army and air force in the world. “I do not know how much time we have. We have not anywhere near begun to catch up,” Sir Carl Berendsen said. “Unless we do begin to catch up with every possible effort —a dreadful thought—we can be prepared to lose this happy land either by default or defeat.” It had been suggested that the opposing forces could be “bought off,” but this had been tried as appeasement and it had been found that the party should not stay “bought off.” Observing that the amount of liberty was gradually decreasing through the world, Sir Carl Berendsen said that vast areas had been taken over by dictatorships. “The lights of liberty are going out all over the world,” he said. Liberty was a fugitive, precarious thing which had to be nourished and nurtured. One distinguished American had likened liberty to a husband. If something was not done it went out. Another had said about liberty that there was a choice between secret ballots and secret* police. “Liberty is in great peril to-day,” he said. “We, as men, who value liberty and civilisation, must depend on our right arm and the right arm of our friends,” Sir Carl Berendsen said. The United States was a friend. Since the end of World War 11, the United States had been described as “Uncle Sugar” or “Shylock,” but in that time had given 40,000,000.000 dollars to countries in way of relie*. People had talked about American imperialism. “If that is imperialism, I could do with some of it,” he said.

“In the darkest days of the war the United States came to our assistance and fought the Japanese to a standstill,” Sir Carl Berendsen said. “You must stand with them for the sake of your own necks.”