HAND OF MOSCOW OR BERLIN

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 146, 15 March 1940, Page 10

HAND OF MOSCOW OR BERLIN

Seen At Work In Dominion DANGER OF SUBVERSIVE PROPAGANDA “Anyone who does not know or believe that the. hand of Moscow or Berlin is in our midst is living in a fools' paradise,” said Mr. Luxford, S.M.. speaking to the Royal Society of St. George in Wellington last night. He uttered a warning against subversive propaganda, and stressed the duty of citizens to combat it. "There is no such thing in civic or national life as a privilege or a right, which does not carry a corresponding responsibility,” said Mr. Luxford. “If this wore thoroughly understood and appreciated there would be no fertile beds in this country in which emissaries of Nazism and Communism could sow seeds of subversive and destructive propaganda. “These emissaries, like poisonous bacilli, are ever seeking a host on which they may propagate. They know no better host than that section of tlie people which, after accepting ail the privileges of citizenship, refuses to discharge its civic responsibilites, none of which is greater than that of protecting tlie State from its enemies, whether within or without the realm. Enemies In Our Midst. “The insidious attack from within may be just as dangerous as that from without. It may be launched under the guise of pacifism, freedom of conscience or of speech, or any other of those simple devices an unscrupulous and cunning enemy uses or causes to lie used by unsuspecting cranks or dupes, to disrupt order and good government and render the country kiss able to defend itself from without.” Never in the history of our country had it been more imperative there should be complete subordination of sectional interests, he continued. Grievances, genuine grievances, there might be; but any attempt to redress a grievance by direct action or the threat of direct action at present was tantamount to treason. Better a grievance go unredressed while our national existence was threatened, than that the ground be prepared .for harvest by tlie Red sickle. If lie were asked what was the biggest fraud ever perpetrated upon the world be would say without hesitation that it was the Marxist doctrine that all mon were equal, ami the consequent demand for world revolution to bring about government by the proletariat. No sane person denied that all men have equal rights to social and legal justice, but it was a monstrous fallacy to think all men equal. The proletariat never had and never could rule in accordance with the Marxist theory. This fraudulent bait was dangled before the masses, and they were told world revolution would be the panacea of alt their economic and social ills. What did history teach? After every successful revolution the masses found themselves bound hand aud foot in ait iron dictatorship. We bad to face the fact that poisonous germs of Marxism iiad been disseminated in this as in other British countries. It was now the bounden duty of every citizen to sterilize them as quickly and effectively as possible. Insidious Propaganda. “A form of propaganda lias made its appearance several times since the outbreak of war,” said Mr. Luxford. “1 refer to the demand that the Allies state their wav aims. I firmly believe this demand has been fostered by the enemy. It is an attempt to embroil us in internal controversy, and weaken our war effort by making people ask, ‘What are we fighting for, anyway.' Let me say as forcibly as 1 can, if. we start public discussions on war aims before we have won the war we will lie doing one of the things the enemy wants us to do.” Mr. Luxford said the war bad already involved, in England and to a lesser degree in this country, a temporary suspension of civic and personal liberty. indeed tlie submission to a degree of that .totalitarian regime we so heal'tilv detested. The etueigencj justified substantial encroachments on personal liberty, which were willingly accepted by most people ns unavoidable and necessary. Yet there was a feat in some minds that these encroachments might continue after the necessity for them iiad ended. But so long as we maintained a free Parliament there need be no fear that personal liberty would not be restored to the fullest extent at the earliest possible moment. . f One of the greatest privileges ot citizenship in democratic countries was the right of free speech. This privilege curried a responsibility to see that nothing was -said likely to inculcate treason or immorality, unjustly attack an individual, or involve danger to the public peace or the security ot tne State There was no such thing as absolute liberty: a man’s right to liberty must always be limited bj the duty be owed to the State in general and his neighbour in particular.