THE PEACE CONGRESS

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 November 1950, Page 4

THE PEACE CONGRESS

’THE decision of the United Kingdom Government to allow the Peace Conference to be h<?ld at Sheffield puts the promoters thereof into a cleft stick. It cannot he said that the United Kingdom Government is afraid of Communism, nor that the people of the United Kingdom are anxious to embrace that doctrine when the Government does not trouble to suppress such an obviously bogus activity. Further, the more the Congress is reported in the Press in Iron Curtain countries the more must it strike the minds of men and woman how different is the conduct of the “effete’’ democracies from the autocracies. A government can regiment the conduct of its people, it can even regiment expressions of opinion, but no government can regiment the thought of men, for the mind of man is not to be controlled from the outside. The Sheffield Conference is allegedly in the interests of peace. That is splendid. But it is striking that this conference was not called immediately Southern Korea was over-run and that the conference looms large on the map immediately the invaders are pushed back. Further, as Mr. Attlee remarked: “It’s delegates are to be ‘elected.’ It was announced in a Vienna paper that Austrian delegates would be elected at a meeting on October 21. That sounds all right but the application was made for visas for 16 named delegates as early as sth. October! The results of the election were known 16 days before. Some election!” Mr. Attlee is developing a Churehillian touch in his recent utterances. It will be interesting to witness the reactions of the promoters of this congress when some of the proposed visitors present themselves at British ports. The introduction of these gentlemen to the police will be additional material for identification purposes. SuclT knowledge may prove to be wry useful a little later