MILITARIST AGITATION

Taranaki Daily News, 26 February 1931, Page 5

MILITARIST AGITATION

SOVIET PREPARES FOR WAR

INTENSIVE CAMPAIGN BEGUN

INVASION ALLEGEDLY NEAR

“FRENCH LEADER CHOSEN”

By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Loudon, Feb. 24.

The celebration of the Red Army’s thirteenth anniversary and the prolongation of the militarist agitation begun in January in connection with the birthday of Voroshiloff, Commissar of the Red Army, are reported by the Riga correspondent of the Times.

The Soviet organised a more intensive anti-foreign campaign. The wireless stations started operations yesterday, broadcasting a message to workers throughout Soviet Russia, declaring: “War is inevitable. The capitalist Governments are feverishly preparing for an invasion of Russia under General Weygand, whom the French Government has already selected as Commander-in-Chief in the coming war, in preparation for which it recently promoted him to the command of the French forces.” An hour later the message was repeated with the addition that “General Weygand is considered the most suitable, appointment owing to his close touch with the Polish and Roumanian armies for the past ten years. He partjcipated in the Russo-Polish war of 1920.” The message added: “War might break out any day. The workers must accelerate the five-year plan to the maximum, because the Soviet wants factories and laboratories to fight the on my, and products of agriculture to feed the army. The motor industry must especially be accelerated owing to the great part tractors, tanks and aeroplanes play in modern war.”

The platform, Press, cinema and wireless are all mobilised to carry on the agitation. Military experts are visiting schools throughout the Soviet to report on the efficiency of the military instruction and training in them. Pionarcharsky, the Societ’s disarmament delegate to Geneva, has issued statements congratulating M. Meierhold, who organised the campaign.

“15,000,000 MEN IN TRAINING.”

SOVIET EMBASSY DENIES REPORT.

London, Feb. 24. ' The. Soviet Embassy officially describes the Geneva report that there wore 15,000,000 men in training at February ]5 as .‘‘a complete invention based on a document which never existed.”