Coiirs house picketed as Communist trial opens

Hundreds of New Yorkers staged this signless demonstration as the trial of 12 U.S. Communist

leaders opened at the federal court house.

Four hundred policemen—the

largest police detail ir

American court history—were assigned to the trial, an action that was strongly protested by defense
counsel as creating an atmosphere of intimidation. Both the Civil Rights Congress and the American
Civil Liberties Union have warned that the trial of the Communist leaders for alleged conspiracy K
to advocate Marxist views is a dangerous threat to traditional American freedom of thought and

Speech,

Thousands of protests have come from almost every country.

Right-wing U.S., British labor heads
carty ‘cola war’ policies into WFIU

By ISRAEL EPSTEIN

—NEW YORK

James B. Carey of the CIO and Arthur Deakin of the British Trades Union ‘Congress have an-
nounced that they are taking their organizations out of the World. Federation of Trade Unions, thus
severing 16 million American and British organized workers from over 60 million others represented in

the organization. _

The WFTU was founded in Oc-
tober 1945 tosunite labor through-
Cut the world. Among the aims
Stated in its unanimously approved
constitution and founding resolu-
tion were the following:

@ To combat war and the.
causes of war and work for a
stable and enduring peace; to
organize the struggle of unions
in all countries against all en-
croachments on the economic and
social rights of the workers and
democratic liberties (and) for se-
curity and full employment.

® To imbue the working people
with the spirit of international
solidarity and labor unity in the
struggle for the speediest and
most complete eradication of the

- remnants of fascism; to strength-

en trade union unity and reso-
lutely to combat all those who
might attempt to disrupt this
unity and to weaken or divide
the forces of the working people.

At its first.conference Carey said
the WEFTU was “the consumma-
‘tion of the dearest wishes” of CIO
president Philip Murray. “Our
participation in international af-
fairs will not be on a 50 percent
basis,” Carey promised. “We intend
to assume full responsibility to our
Own members and the workers of
the world.”

In the years that followed, the
WFTU carried out protests and
demonstrations against oppression
of labor in fascist Spain, Greece
and Portugal in Europe; China, In-
dia, Iran, Malaya, Burma, Indon-
€sia and Ceylon in Asia; Brazil,
Chile and Argentina iin Latin Am-
erica, and Egypt and the Sudan
in Africa.

It also mobilized world unions in
protests against the Taft-Hartley
law in the U.S.

While the WETU acted jointly
on these matters of common in-
terest, it has not infringed on
the autonomy of member organ-
izations, which had full inde-
pendence in home politics. The
srowing split in the WFTU was
a@ result of external issues intro-
duced into the movement by
the policies of the “cold war.”

The rift in the world body be-
gan in early 1948, when British and
American delegates tried to swing
it behind the Marshall plan. This
Was opposed not only by Soviet

and Chinese delegates, but also by
the French and Italians.

Soviet trade union president Vas-
sili Kuznetzov then told Carey in
compromise discussions: “Soviet un-
ions do not object to economic as-
sistance by one country to an-
other, including of course U. S.
help. They do oppose any condi-
tions leading to the economie and
political subjugation of countries
receiving help. Unions cannot be
forbidden to vote either for 6r
against the Marshall plan with-
out undermining trade union
unity.”

At a meeting of the WFTU exe-
cutive in Rome in May 1948, a
compromise was reached, reaffirm-
ing the autonomy of?all members.
The organization was saved large-
ly through the appeals of union
leaders both within and outside its
ranks. Typically, president Kazuy-
oshi Dobashi of the 400,000-strong
Japanese Communications Work-
ers’ Union urged CIO president
Philip Murray to “take every pos-
sible measure to prevent tragic dis-
ruption of world labor unity repre-
sented by the WFTU, produced by
labor’s realization for international
labor solidarity after World War
Two, which caused workers innum-
erable sacrifices.”

The final crisis was precipitated
by the demand of the CIO and TUC
that the WFTU “suspend its activi-
ties” for one year because of the
strained state of international pol-
itics, meaning preparation for
World War Three. The demand
was rejected by the majority of
WFTU delegates, who remained
loyal to the constitutional provi-
sions that required the world body
to do everything to fight war
trends.

The CIO and TUC, heavily in-
volved in “selling” the Marshall
plan and Truman doctrine, now
wish to form a new ‘world’ labor
group committed to these policies,

The only other WFTU group sup-
porting the, CIO-TUC move is the
right-wing Dutch trade union fed-
eration, which has refused to pro-
test Dutch aggression in Indonesia.
The company is poor. No other is
available for such a manoeuver,
In the meantime, the majority of
the WFTU unions has decided to
carry on, trying as always to
bring U.S. and British workers
back into the world fraternity.

Make a profit--
in war or peace

NEW YORK

One of the leading U.S. stock
market services has issued a two-
part confidential report adwising:
its subscribers how to make money
out of war or peace.

For two dollars, the subscribers
can obtain a special supplement
issued by Spear: and Staff, of Bab-
son Park, Massachusetts.

The first part advises the client
how to play the market in the

event of war, the second lists 24
stocks due for a “sizzling, big pro-
fit rally” if it turns out to be peace.

Marshall policies
cut standards of
British workers

The British press has latterly
to Britain’s economic difficulties.

Sir Stafford Cripps held out alluring prospects provided .

—LONDON

been devoting considerable attention
In a recent speech in Manchester,

labor

productivity increased and exports were expanded.

Britain’s economic problems, however, are more complicated than
the apologists of British policy make it appear. Although three years
have passed since the war ended, Britain has not emerged from a state

of grave eccnomic crisis.

This is not the usual economic crisis that

occurs regularly every eight or ten years in capitalist countries, it js

a crisis of the very system of
British capitalism.

For decades, the vast income de-
rived from exploitation of the col-
onies and other countries, from
shipping, and from commercial and
banking operations, enabled Brit-
ain to buy on the world market

much more that she sold. After the |’

war ended this income dropped to
such an extent that for the first
time in many years Britain was
faced with the need to balance
her imports and exports to avoid
total economic disaster.

But how is this equilibrium to be
achieved? By cutting down im-
ports and increasing exports so
that the gap between the two will
be at least reduced if not altot
gether eliminated, British ruling
circles maintain.

To this end, they declare, it is
necessary to consume less and pro-
duce more. “We must tighten our
belts and export our products’—
this motto is now widely current in
Britain. :

The situation in Britain is ag-
gravated further by the technical
backwardness of her industry.
Between the two world wars un-
employment figures in Britain
were very high and industry did
not work to capacity. Yet instead
of modernizing their plants, big
business cut workers’ wages in
order to preserve its profits.

The war added stiil more to the
technical backwardness of British
industry and laid an additional
strain on its equipment. In order
to modernize industry large sums
must be invested in the purchase
of equipment in the U.S. Unless this
is done the reorganization process

will be dragged out over a long
period.

It was for this purpose that Bri-
tain obtained a loan of $3,750 mil-
lion from the U.S. in 1946. The
money was to be spent primarily
on the purchase in_ industrial
equipment over a period of five
years, by the end of which time
the reorganization of industry was
to have been completed. :

Lindbergh back: in Berlin

Firster,” still has a Nazi medal

Goering.

Charles A. Lindbergh (left) is greeted in Neubiberg, Germany,
by Col, Clarence Edwinson, U.S. air force base commander. Lind.
bergh was sent to inspect the Berlin airlift and serve ad a special
adviser on technical affairs. The last “expert advice” he handed
out was back in 1941 when he said the Russians couldn’t last six
weeks against the Germans. Lindbergh, a notorious “America
given him by the late Herman

PACIFIC TRIBUNE —

*

However, the loan was virtually
used up in one year to cover the
heavy costs of the labor govern-
ment’s foreign policy. Britain
herself with a huge dollar debt,
which is growing steadily.

British ruling circles are realiz-
ing more and more that the Mar-
shall plan is not giving them the
breathing spell they require and
that the U.S. has no intention of
helping to modernize British in-
dustry, which it regards as a com-
petitor.

Instead of improving the situ-
ation, the policy pursued by the
right wing leaders of the labor
government is leading the coun-
try even further into an impasse.
While practically no progress has
been made in the past three years
in the problem of modernizing
British industry, the govern-
ment’s foreign policy is steadily
rising and recent war measures,
increasing the numerical strength
of the army, doubling the air force
—are laying an added burden on
the country.

British industrial output in 1947
was 7 percent lower than in 1937,
and only 4 percent higher than that
of 1913. Inasmuch as the popula-
tion of Britain has increased by
approximately 15 percent between
1913 and 1947, output per capita in
1947 was considerably below that
of 1913. :

Britain was able to prepare for
the second’ world war by drawing
on her huge income from exploit-
ing the colonies and other coun-
tries, Although her financial posi-
tion had already been seriously
undermined, she could still manage
to make ends meet. The new mili-
tarization of the country is taking
place at a time when Britain’s
finances are’ seriously undermined,
her assets abroad sharply demin-
ished and debts mounted.

Where will she be able to ob-
tain the funds needed to cover her
huge military expenditures?

The only possible source, since
production is not growing, is to
reduce consumption, intensify
the exploitation of labor and
make further inroads into the liv-
ing standard of the working peo-
ple. This is the source from which
the British ruling circles intend
to derive the funds needed to
continue the armament race.

It is not by chance that Labor
leaders are talking so much about
the need to boost labor productiv-
ity, which merely means further
exploitation of. the workers. It is
the working people of Britain prim-
arily, as well as the workers who
will have to cover the huge mili-
tary expenditures. #

Labor ministers are pinning their
hopes on boosting exports. In every
public speech they make a point
of stressing Britain’s export
achievements.

The facts, however, show that
Britain’s .export opportunities in
the Marshall plan countries are
narrowing steadily.

. Under the pressure of American
Teactionary circles, the Labor gov-

ernment is hampering the develop-
ment of Britain’s trade with the
people’s democracies, a policy
which will merely aggravate the
country’s economis straits,

Yet the fact remains that only
by a radical change ‘in govern-

.mental policy based on the devel-

opment of trade with the new de-
mocracies can Britain’s economic
position be improved.

JANUARY 28, 1949 — PAGE 3