Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, MAY 25, 1925. WHAT THE WILD MEN ARE PLOTTING

Patea Mail, Volume XLVIII, 25 May 1925, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, MAY 25, 1925. WHAT THE WILD MEN ARE PLOTTING

one time the advocates of were recognised as the wild men who were out to break up society. Now it has become the' fashion among many politicians to fasten the badge ot “wreckers” on the Communists, and accept the Socialist Labour people as nice, moderate, safe and steady individuals. A prominent English writer in the “Weekly Despatch” of March 15th describes the-“wild men” of Communism as follows:—“The Communist organisation is part of a world organisation directed from, and in the main tinaneed trom, Russia. Its aim is the overthrow of ail existing institutions by a

world revolution. This revolution is to transfer all power to this handful of revolutionaries and to establish what they call the “dictatorship of the proletariat/’ which in practice, as in Russia, means the dictatorship of the Communist Party. This purpose seems like the dream of madmen; but if these men are mad they have all the sublety of the disordered brain. Their plans arc laid with consummate skill, and they have a remarkable aptitude for using all material which will assist their aim. They adapt their methods to the conditions of the country in which they work. To coniine themselves in a country like Great Britain to the open preaching of the class war and revolution would not suit their purpose; so they worm their way into the trade unions and into the political Labour movement, and seek to undermine the organisation and to destroy the influence of the leaders. They seek to subvert loyally and discipline m the Army and Navy, so that when the revolution comes these forces will range themselves on the sides of the rebellion. A national minority movement has been formed by the Communist members of the trade unions. Its leaders are ‘humble disciples of Lenin/ who take their instructions from Zinovieff and the Third International. They were in evidence at the last Trade Union Congress, and made an almost successful attempt to bring the Russians into the Trade Union International. They are permeating nearly every trade union in this country. They get their delegates elected to the com-

mittees of the unions, and to the local trades councils. They make it their business to attend every trade union branch meeting, and to use their opportunities for Communist propaganda. They are assisted in this intrigue by the apathy ox the general body of trade unionists. They are invariably men with the gift of the gab, and their windy rhetoric makes an impresssion on the innocent members who do not see the purpose be!line! these tactics. They poison the minds of the trade union members against their officials and leaders. Their inilucnce can be traced in every recent .Irike of any magnitude. Their purpose is to exploit every legitimate grievance of the workers for the Communist aims. They invcterately oppose everything which may promote better relations between the employers and the employed. Their object is to prevent any amelioration of the iot of the workers. If the conditions of labour were made fairly tolerable it would be fatal to the hopes of the revolution. Their philosophy is that Syndicalists of a generation ago. Sectional strikes must he encouraged because, according to their philosopry, the strike developes the fighting spirit necessary for the relentless prosecution of the class war. These sectional strikes are to be the preparation for the General Strike, which will hold up all public services and culminate in the Social Revolution. Arising out of that philosophy is their antagonism to any proposal which will improve methods of production. That would simply bolster up the capitalist system, which it is their aim to destroy by making it inefficient and unworkable. The less efficient capitalist production can be made, the worse will be the lot of the workers. The worse their lot is, the greater will be their discontent: and discontent, in the Communist philosophy, is the mother of revolution.” It is gratifying to know that the Home Government is taking steps to stop the spread of the mischievous revolutionary propaganda in Britain, and we hope the colonial Governments will follow the example.