Communists Oppose Recruiting In Britain

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 October 1948, Page 5

Communists Oppose Recruiting In Britain

(Rec. 10.10 a.m.) LONDON, October 5. A few minutes after Anthony Eden began speaking in support of the recruiting campaign from the Mansion House balcony, showers of anti-war handbills were thrown in the air in front of the rostrum and several men in the audience began shouting. Detectives mingled with the crowd and mounted poliee immediately ent off all the approaches to Mansion House. The words being shouted could not be heard, and Mr Eden continued speaking while the police escorted two men from the crowd. Shower Of Leaflets After Mr Eden’s speech demonstrators climbed a 200 ft high monument not far from Mansion House and showered more leaflets bearing the imprint of the London District Communist Party, depicting an exploding atom bomb. In his speech Mr Eden said: “It is our duty to be strong enough to defend our people and our homes. There is one lesson which this century should have taught us—that weakness in our own island is not a contribution to-peace'. We have none of us aggressivb intentions towards any- other country anywhere on the earth’s surface, but it is our duty to be strong. . . “The fact that the Western Powers

have appointed commanders for their forces is a fair indication that, while we in the West do not want to hinder the way of life of any other nation, we will not yield our way of life. Hitherto we have been able to use the breathing space in two great wars long enough to arm our people and by so doing we have run to the very edge of risk. 1940 Recalled

“This is not an issue on which the Communists have a' right to be heard. In 1940 when we stood alone the Communists gave us no help, but if this country had gone down, where would the world be now and where would Communism be now?” Eleven men. and a woman arrested for an anti-war demonstration during Mr A. V. Alexander’s Mansion House speech yesterday, appeared in court today. The charge against the woman was dismissed and the men were bound over to keep the peace. Frontier Now The Elbe Mr Churchill, speaking at the opening of the new headquarters for an auxiliary air squadron at Croydon, stated that the frontier of Asia was now upon the Elbe. “We would be very foolish to repeat again the mistakes of the past and be drawn under even worse and far -, less excusable circumstances into a life-and-death struggle,” he said. While Mr Churchill was speaking a disturbance broke out in the crowd and a number of Communist pamphlets were torn from the hands of a young woman,-who left the meeting.