FIFTH COLUMN

Opotiki News, Volume III, Issue 317, 30 September 1940, Page 3

FIFTH COLUMN

ROUND-UP IN BRITAIN ACTION APPROVED CH URCHILL ‘ ‘PROTECTOR” LONDON, May 24.—1 t is clear from the> rushed amendment to Defence Regulation 188, which resulted in a swift round-up of Fascists arid other suspects yesterday that the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, aims at the complete elimination of all “fifth columnists” in Britain, regardless of their social tor political position. It is being urged that the Government should also act swiftly against suspected Communists and inquire into the origin of Communist Party funds. So far as isr known, no Communists were arrested in yesterday’s police raids.

Newspapers express approval of tho measures being taken to remove tho units in Britain of Herr Hitler’s vast and scattered . "shadow army” of spies and sympathisers. The methods adopted by Mr. Churchill, first, in mobilising the whole nation and, secondly, in attacking the • “fifth column,” are likened to those of a Protector rather than a Dictator. “Firm of Judas Limited” Tho Cromwellian sternness with which Mr. Churchill’s Administration is striking at the very heart of suspected “fifth columnists” in Britain, is thrillingly exemplified in the detaining of tho British Fascist leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, Captain A. 11. M. Ramsay, M.P., and others.

The swiftness with which tho Government acted surprised the public, which had just been exhilarated by Mr. Churchill’s first bold stroke on the home front—the mobilisation ot the nation.

Tho news of the detentions vied with thrtt oE the fighting in the Boulogne area in importance. It was plain to the man in the street that Mr. Churchill was aware that there were sonic in Britain of almost all shades of political opinion, who were prepared to lend themselves, probably unconsciously, as builders to anyone ready to become the chief architect of a design for a “Trojan Horse” within the British Isles themselves.

Herr Hitler’s army of spies and sympathisers within the Allied frontiers is likened by the Daily Mirror to the “bank account of the ancient firm of Judas, Limited.” * “Nearly nine months after the beginning of the war,” tho Daily Mirror adds, “wo at last have begun to see this, and the precautions which should have been taken years ago are now being applied to tho Judas Association British branch.”

“The peril of inward rot is at last obvious,” says the Daily Mail, which applauds the decisive action taken by the Government.

“Holland fell in five days because no man could trust his neigliboui, the Daily Mail adds.

Indeed, the humiliation and downfall of Holland are vividly in the mind of all loyal Britons, who aie declaring that such a disaster must never befall Britain.

In political circles, Mr. Churchill’s protective acts on behalf ol Britain are likened to those of Cromwell. it is frequently heard, as one goes among political commentators and politicians: Mi. Churchill is not a dictator; he is a protector. Tho foundation of the Churchill Protectorate is, first, the mobilisation of the nation, and, secondly, the attack on the ‘fifth column.’ ” “May Well Be More Detentions” The Birmingham Post, which regards the detentions as a sensation, declares in a leading article that “there may well be more to follow.” “It would be rash on the part of ex-mcnibers of tlio pro-Gennan ‘Link’ to assume that they are going to remain in enjoyment of unfettered freedom,” the Birmingham Post continues. “There are numbers of members of the Communist Party, well known to the police, who are clearly capable of activities more mischievous than thoso of the one representative of that group who habitually makes a nuisance of himself in the House of Commons.” The article also says Hurt the backbone of the Fascist organisation in Britain can bo regarded as broken. “Sir Oswald Mosley is in Bristol i Prison, biting his nails, and, no doubt, mentally rehearsing the speech he would like to make in court, if —-which wcl take to be out of the question—his case were regarded as one appropriao for prosecution,” the Birmingham Post adds. The Manchester Guardian says: “Wo must not, and indeed, cannot, in default of a fair trial, assume that tho detained persons have been guilty; of any offence or have been disloyal, but it stands to reason

that we cannot tolerate an oigani saton even remotely sympathetic with the enemy’s aims when wc are in danger of invasion. It is not what the organisation may be at present, but what it might become that matters.” • The News-Chronicle states that the public “will welcome tho indication that tho authorities intend to lay hands on all, irrespective of class or position, whose continued liberty might menace public safety.” The Labour newspaper, the Daily Herald, points out that, if persons involved are able to prove that they have been detained wrongly they will be able to put their cases before tlie advisory committee which exists to investigate them. “Parliament will be constantly on the alert and ready to challenge any excessive or misplaced use of tho Government’s power,’ the Daily Herald adds.