BRITISH STEELWORKER BREAKS OFFICIAL CURTAIN Malenko A’ British steelworker, Les Thompson, told Georgi * LONDON Malenkov last week that British workers wanted more con- tacts with Soviet workers. And he had to break through a “curtain’’ of officials to do it. It happened when the Soviet minister for power stations was visiting Castle Donington power station, Leicestershire. “Malenkov assured Thompson he would convey his message to the Soviet people. And he suggested that he should raise _ the matter with his trade union. The conversation, through an interpreter, was one of th e highlights of the tour. Earlier, Thompson had complained that officials and girls ‘crowding round genial Malenkov ‘‘don’t give an average working man a chance to ask him a personal question.” First, there was the official welcoming committee of various Civic dignitaries and officials. _Then a crowd of workers, the Sirls to the fore, gathered around him. Out came autograph books and scraps of paper, and the Smiling minister obliged with his Signature. Thompson did not get his turn until Malenkov had actually be- sun his tour of the power station, Which is still under construction. Why were ordinary trade union men not being allowed to get in touch with him, he wanted to know. Why weren’t they given 8 chance to put questions to him? hy were they “shooed away” When Malenkov was surrounded by officials? What did Thompson want to ask the Soviet minister? “Is this visit likely to develop into anything bigger? Is it always Just going to be ‘big noises,’ or are parties of Russian workers Soing to come over here?” Malenkovy was stopped again &nd again for his autograph by Workmen. Others took-his photo- Staph. He asked to see things Rot on his route and keep up a Constant barrage of questions. any were about the delays in onstruction. “Who delays the °peration, the builders or the elivery men?” he asked. There Was difficulty in getting steel, he Was told, : A How long was required for the Ssembly of a boiler at the power Station, he wanted to know. He Was told it was 18 months. Later i Said that in the Soviet Union took four months. : Generally, Malenkov expressed “prise that so much time was allowed for assembly work. And ~ Promised to send “some litera- ure on this point.” Earlier Malenkoy interrupted ‘S tour of the General Electric Plant at Witton, near Birming- am, to shake hands and speak to Stoups of workers. We want to see the machin- a and the people at the same time,” he said.- “We are trying ~ ©Ombine the two things. But eee are more important H the machinery.” ie pot the principle into prac- ho from the start of his two- an Ba to the plant. e Sei atrived he spotted a y eae group of about 200 workers stand- ‘ing watching from a distance. Instead of going through the main entrance, he walked across to the group, and, smiling broad- ly, held out his hand to grasp those of the men and girls of the factory. Ad am glad to make your ac- quaintance,” he said through his interpreter, “and I should like to convey to you the best regards | of the power workers of the So- leaet Unions s2 - The same sort of thing happen- ed again and again as Malenkov walked briskly through the huge plant. At one stage a blue-overalled workman dashed forward to grasp his hand. He was 43-year-old Arthur Hadley, of Chase Road, Burntwood, a small-spindle drill- er. Through the interpreter he said: “Can I ask a question? Does he believe that we will ever be real- ly at peace with Russia and that we can all live and “work \to- gether as we do here? Malenkoy replied: “We are sure that it is possible, not only possible but it is indispensable. Without it, it will not be ‘good either for Britain or for the USSR.” Automation raises issue of publicly- owned industry By GEORGE SINFIELD I ; LONDON male must be publicly own- the +, S#feguard for the workers Mati Nefits of the age of auto- don v.12 the opinion of a Lon- ie eee of workers. : bi Conference, organized by ne Mfora branch of the Associa- » thoy of Scientific Workers, unani- Aah decided: W. teed rates of pay; _‘*8ge-maintenance for work- ts not absorbed in automa- ve plants; Retraining schemes; A shorter working week. A film was shown proving that the first automated factory in the world was established in 1947— not in the United States or the oviet Union, but in Britain. The factory made radio sets for China, but the financiers be- hind the project withdrew when the Chinese workers finished with Chiang Kai-shek. The deli- cate machinery, much of it elec- tronically controlled, is now dis- mantled. Soviet Moscow papers this week pub- lished an interview with A. N. Tupolev, the famous aircraft de- signer whose latest plane, the TU-104, caused an international sensation when it landed at Lon- don Airport last week carrying Col.-General Ivan Serov, who came to England for talks on next month’s visit of -Bulganin ‘and Krushchev. \The sleek, silver jet airliner had covered the 1,564 miles from j Moscow to London in three and | a half hours — an average of 446 mph. It is bigger and probably faster than the Comet III, Brit- ain’s projected entry into the commercial jet field. Tupolev announced that the TU-104 has gone into mass pro- duction. It has an air-conditioned, pressurized cabin, can fly 2,000 miles non-stop, cruise at 500 Labor party ponders Soviet decisions ‘ By GEORGE SINFIELD So impressed is the British Labor party executive com- mittee with some decisions reached at the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist party that its international sub-com- mittee has been instructed to draw up a confidential report for early consideration. The report will bear in mind the discussions the executive had with Georgi Malenkov last week, and may look ahead to possible suggestions on unity and friend- ship that are expected to come from Soviet Premier Nicolai Bul- ganin and Nikita Khrushchev dur- ing their visit next month. Announcing the executive’s de- cision instructing the interna- tional committee to consider the probable implications of the _ Soviet congress,. Morgan Phil- lips, Labor party secretary, said last week that Khrushchev and Bulganin would be the executive’s guests at a special dinner in the House of Com- mons on April 23. ei The Parliamentary Labor Party Committee — “shadow cabinet — would also be invited to attend the function, Phillips added. Believing that sweeping cHange? toward collective leadership have occurred in the Soviet Union, Labor leaders make no secret of their pleasure at the develop- ments, « a ' Malenkovy, at the executive com- mittee dinner last week, seems to have convinced them that the turn of events could mean still greater progress in his country and could have important effects on the rest of the world. He appears also to have con- vinced them of the Soviet peo- ple’s intense desire particularly to develop the closest friendly relations with the British Labor movement and people. That desire, it is said, was the main theme of his conversation which, together with many ques- tions, lasted over two hours. Mal- enkov’s sincerity, frankness and good humor’ won him many friends. The executive is assuring Bul- ganin and Khrushchev in advance that any joint conversations held with the Labor party will be treated as confidential until it is agreed jointly to make a public. statement. ; LONDON | v talks with workers Britain’s Comet III airliner (top), hitherto considered to be the most advanced in the world, was conceded by British experts to be outclassed by the Soviet jet aircraft (bottom), the TU-104, in which Col. General Ivan Serov flew to Britain last week to prepare for the visit to Britain next month of Soviet Premier Bulganin and Nikita Krushchev. The plane was reported to be capable of more than 550 m.p.h., slightly faster than the Comet III. jet liner amazes Britain MOSCOW miles an hour, maintain an alti-~ tude of 33,000 feet and carry 50 passengers and baggage in com- fort or 70 passengers under tour- ist-type accommodation. The TU-104, about 120 feet long, with wings that sweep well back and a high, rakish tail, is the civilian version of a Soviet med- ium jet which was first unveiled to Western visitors at a May Day parade over Red Square two years ago. Factory girl asks autograph, busses Malenkov LONDON When Georgi Malenkov visited a Stafford factory he was re- soundingly kissed on the right cheek by. a pretty blonde of 18. The factory was English Elec- tric. The blonde was Miss Mar- jorie Bradbury of Huntingdon. She ran from a crowd of girls and handed him a cardboard fol- der to autograph. And while he was writing she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. The Soviet minister smiled and went on writing. Everyone shook with laughter as Miss Bradbury ran back to her colleagues, leaving Malenkov to wipe off the lipstick as he joined a crowded elevator to go to the ground floor. “T have no boy friend so there is no one to be jealous,’ Miss Bradbury said, laughingly. Earlier, while the party was going up in the same elevator, Malenkov had joked, as the ex- panding gates closed: “I see you have an Iron Curtain here.” There was general laughter— repeated when Malenkov added: _ “We have discarded it.”