Communism On The Air

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 151, 23 March 1938, Page 13

Communism On The Air

Sir,— Why is it that defenders of democracy are denied freedom of speech (when it is against Communism), in a socalled democratic country, when Dr. W. Sutch, apparently an advocate of Communism, and a member of the staff of the Minister of Finance, who visited Soviet Russia with the Hon. W. Nash last year, was allowed to give afternoon “talks” to the school children from the National broadcasting stations (2YA and 4YA were linked for the talk) last Thursday, in which the underlying motive appeared to be to conjure up in the child mind that Soviet Russia, under Communist rule, is a kind of modern “Shangri La,” where everything is wonderful, better than anywhere else in the world, and everyone is happy? To instance one case the speaker mentioned having been.through a factory (a marvellous factory, of course) one day during his travels, and that evening went to a theatre (and, of course, in Russia are the best theatres in the world). He was sitting in the very best seats and he thought he knew the faces of the people next him, so he spoke to them, and, sure enough, it was two of the factory workers he had met when going through the factory earlier in the day I There right in the best seats of the theatre and enjoying themselves! He was amazed, but then, of course, he was in Russia, and the working people have the best of everything—but you would never see that in London, for instance, (and as. an afterthought)—or in Paris or New York, or here in your own New Zealand, would you? A bitter denunciation of Dr. G. H. Scholefield in the Communists’ official paper a couple of months ago, in which his replacement was demanded, may possibly be the means of depriving thousands of interested listeners of his world talks. Father Crowe was quickly silenced. But Dr. Sutcli gets his propaganda planted into the child mind of the country.

Apparently it is part of the Government’s campaign, for at a children’s Sunday evening session recently from Mr. Scrim.’s 2ZB a story was put across* with the same underlying Communistic spirit—"the wicked king was forced to abdicate, and then the people formed a republic and lived happy ever afterward,” and that sort of stuff. Let anyone try and put over a lecture criticising Labour and its Communistic methods ! It couldn’t be done, because the freedom of the air has gone. Everything is approved and .“conditioned” by the Government, and if they are not Communistic, then why do they approve of all this Communistic propaganda?—! am, etc.. ' A MOTHER. March 21.