U.S. monopolists tighten grip on British economy LONDON As the British people struggle through their fifth winter of postwar austerity, American monopolists are planning to drive the economic knife | deeper. By cutting purchases of Malayan tin and rubber, Ceylon rubber and Australian wool, and by refusing to raise the price of South African and other gold in terms of dollars—the items are the Commonwealth’s main dollar earners — the Ameri- can imperialists are squeezing the last reserves of gold and- dollars out of the British treasury. When the last reserves go, the Americans feel that they will have British economy at their mercy. Among plans contemplated ‘by the Americans are: @ Forcing on the British gov- ernment some degree of conver- tibility of sterling, to speed ex- haustion of gold and dollar re- Serves. e@ Corversion of India into a dol- lar area. : . @ Heavier penetrations of Af- rica, Malaya, the Middle East and Australia. @ Eventual conversion of Britain itself into a “dollar area” — by some kind of “economic union.” q This last plan would complete the American colonization of Britain, which is already under occupation by American air forces and by Mar- Shall plan administrators. The British people would be converted to “colonial labor” just as the Bri- tish imperialists. once converted Indians and others into colonial labor. The British zone of Germany is already a “dollar area’. The British cannot buy many goods from their own occupation zone without paying dollars. * x * ’ The Soviet paper, Pravda, points | out that the “aggravation of the crisis in Britain is not only inex- tricably linked with the crisis in the U.S., but is being utilized in every way by American ruling circles to seize complete control of the most important levers of British economy and_ together with them, the whole British em- mire: . - “In view of the aggravating eco- nomic crisis in the United States, the program of the American rul- ing circles on the one hand aims at working up war psychosis and hys- teria, promoting the armaments race and general rampant militar- ism, and at furthering the adven- turous policy of the ‘cold war’ against the USSR and the People’s Democracies. “On the other hand, this program envisages a bigger scale onslaught by American capital on the Mar- shallised countries, primarily on Britain, which of necessity entails a further drastic lowering in the living standards of the working masses, and an intensification of capitalist exploitation. “Wall Street conducts its on- slaught on Britain by resorting not only to a barrage of verbal threats, but also’ economic sanctions. To these certainly belongs the 600 mil- lion dollar reduction in the Mar- shall plan allocation for Britain, as compared with the sum requested. “Moreover, with a view to for- cing Londen on to its knees, Washington is forming an anti- British bloc from among the Marshallised countries — France, Belgium and Italy. “Thus the wrangle between the U.S. and Britain brings about an aggravation of the internal contra- dictions in the entire camp of the Marshallised countries. Setting its West European satellites against each other, /Wall Street .thereby tightens its grip on each of them individually. "This is the reality of the notorious West European “uni- ty’ on an American basis.” Pravda points out that Atlee, Bevin and Cripps are “hardly, ca- Marshall aid investment in British plants —LONDON The Laborite newspaper, The People said last week that U.S. “fi- nance chiefs” were demanding that Britain spend $226,800,000 of Mar- shall aid on investments. It said this move might lead to “direct American control” of Bri- tish industry. The newspaper, in a bannerlined lead story, said the £81 million has been accumulating in the Bank of England for the last 10 weeks and that “normally it would be spent in... settling some of our debts.” : “But America now wants us to use it ‘for investment purposes’ in such undertakings as road building or even big development in key industries — shipbuilding and oil refining in particular,” The People stated. The paper added that “in some quarters” the American demand was seen “as an attempt by Ame- rica to get a grip on some of our key industries.” “Once we agreed to invest the £81 million sterling in industry,” it added, “there would be noth- ing to stop America continuing to ‘advise’ us on exactly what plant and equipment to _ buy. And the next might be a measure of direct American control.” pable of serious resistance to Ame- rican dictation. “Open surrender, however,” adds Pravda, “might entail great com- plications inside the country, and materially upset the Labor party’s election plans, since the working masses in Britain are displaying growing discontent with the policy of toadyism and subservience to the dollar which is pursued by British ruling circles.” Therefore, the Pravda writer suggests, the Labor government re- sorts to. “back-stage maneuvers” with the Americans on “various minor concessions” to camouflage deals in preparation. Although betrayerg in high plac- es are prepared to abandon British sovereignty, the British people are stirring to protest actions. The Tories might claim that the Prime Minister Attlee’s ‘super-aus- terity doesn’t go far enough, but British workers are refusing to drop their claims for necessary increase in wages. The Rightwing TUC leaders who support American policies, and many Labor party leaders are wor- ried at mounting British working- class resistance. : Boris Leontyev writing in Prav- da says that the British Trades Union Congress leaders are de- voting their work to “uncom- plaining fulfilment of the de- mands of the capitalists.” “The struggle of the British wor- king-class for their rights, for a standard of living worthy of man, will not be halted by the decisions of venal trade union leaders,” the Pravda writer says. “The open desertion of these leaders to the camp of the exploiters will inevi- tably hasten, and not slow down the growth of class consciousness of the British workers. — “Life itself, the difficult condi- tions of growing capitalist exploi- tation in the new conditions of existence of Britain, will inevitably lead to the. emancipation of the British workers from the stupify- ing effects of Laborism.” Soviet children look for Father Frost In Canada the decorated evergreen (ree and the white-bearded Santa Claus are symbols of Christ- mas, The Russians and Ukrainians have similar customs and rites, but they are held at the New Year celebrations. The trees are brightly illuminated, Grandfather Frost (he looks like Santa) dis- tributes gifts, and the children dress up and make metry. dren’s party in Leningrad. Picture above shows a New Year’s chil- , Stories of Czech ‘terror’ smear real achievements By STEPHEN MURRAY-SMITH Ps ‘ ’ Fantastic accounts in the Western capitalist press of “‘widespread mass arrests,’ “‘terror”’ PRAGUE and “road and rail checks,” are arousing considerable amusement in Prague—not unmixed with exasperation at this fur- ther attempt of the U.S. and its satellites to smother in slander news achievements in the past year. Far from being “in the grip of a police terror,’ Czechoslovakia ac- tually hasn't any police. The police force, as such, was abolished. Although some pre-war police fought bravely in the anti-Nazi re- sistance, the police fOrce was as- sociated in people’s minds with real capitalist terror against work- ers and their organizations before and during the war. Police to oppress workers are not needed in a country led by the working class. ‘ To combat the plans of the Am- ericans and British, who are con- tinually trying to infiltrate agents into Czechoslovakia for provoca- tion and sabotage, there is natural- ly a security force, drawn predom- inantly from partisahs and trade unionists. Actually, I was in the central of- fice of the security organization not long ago, registering as all for- eigners have to register. Far from any signs of “arrests” or violence, .everything was order- ed and normal as it usually is, with offices staffed. with ordinary girl clerks, : In fact, it was very hard to see anyone in uniform. There are some ordinary “traffic cops” in Prague, and I will admit they have been more than usually active lately; for.a road _ safety campaign has been in progress. The “traffic cops,” to use our own language, are called People’s Mili- tia —- and their activities are no more violent than this,. Why is it that the foreign cap- italist press has run this well ‘or- ganized, regimented and fabricated campaign against Czechoslovakia? It is undoubtedly a smoke- ’ } ee Ten Te mT TPT a Ta T Smarr TPN” pai Sa te oe Soe of . Czechoslovakia’s remarkable screen, laid down in an effort to hide Czechoslovakia’s spectacu- lav progress from the workers of the capitalist world. The newspapers build their fab- rications on some small, trifling point. The game was given away by the London Times as long ago as October. The Times printed a long article on the fictitious ‘“‘ter- ror’, and then siated, in very small type at the bottom of the article, that “the dismissals of Communists may be_ explained merely by the fact that the number of Communists capable of holding senior official positions is limited, and that scme have proved incap- able in the posts to which they+ were promoted.” Czechoslovakia is singled out for particular vituperation because the decadent powers of the capitalist world thought that Czechoslovakia lay within théir grasp. There may have been some changes, but I know of no actual instances, If they were important changes they would have been widely published ‘in the Czechoslo- vak press. ; Changes are inevitable in any country or organization, particu- larly where self-criticism and im- provement of work and theoretical and cultural understanding is an essential part of the system. Many competent and enthusiastic men are coming forward from _ the ranks of the ‘workers, farmers and intellectuals to take leading posi- tions. if There has been no “purge,” but ‘a few promotions or routine re- placements are sufficient for the - foreign press to fake a “purge,” and add “mass autzests” for good measure, I wonder if the press has given |. as much space to recent Czecho- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 30, 1949-—PAGE 2 % if slovak achievements as to the non- existent “purge”? Have they blazoned across their front pages the news that bread and all fiour products have been removed from the ra- tion here, together with other ar- ticles of food—and that Czecho- slovak bread is cheaper than anywhere in the capitalist world —and, I should think, far better . bread, Eas the capitalist press an- nounced that food prices on all sorts of goods available in the “off- ration” shops have been reduced in the last fortnight by one-third and one-half? Have they told the people about the guaranteed right of every Czechoslovak worker to a _ job, or about the Czechoslovak system of national insurance which, next to the Soviet Union, is about the most modern and comprehensive in the world? Have their falreign correspond- ents written about the huge sales of radio sets, which increase month by month, or about the increasing jam of new cars and beautiful new Jawa motorcycles, driven by workers, on Prague streets? Allen Dulles of the OSS (Amer- ican super-Intelligence had plans deeply laid here, as well as in Hungary and Yugoslavia. But far from following the wretched ‘ pestwar history of France, or Belgium. or Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia ejected and ex- posed the plotters for what they are. The capitalist press is now doing its utmost to blot out the picture of Czechoslovak democracy and progress with lies and distortions. That is the explanation of the present campaign. Service) ; | : : | j 3 : :