fe te

French strike now
national movement
to throw out govt

. PARIS

Four million French workers last week rejected outright an appeal
by Premier Laniel for a return to work, and replied with new mass

walk-outs affecting sectors so far

untouched. Within 24 hours the

strikers ranks swelled to five million, with new sections of the
workers joining the struggle almost every hour. The strike has become

a nation-wide movement of the
people. It is spreading like a
forest fire.

The powerful wave of stoppages,
now affecting many sections of
private industry as well as all sec-
tions of government employees,
touch almost every branch of life.

It has become a_ great mass
movement to throw out the Laniel
administration and put France
back on her feet.

What has shocked and frighten-
ed the gevernment more than any-
thing else is not the tremendous
unity and solidarity the strikers
are displaying, powerful though
that is. ;

It is the sympathy the whole

First fruits of
new policy
in East Berlin

_ BERLIN
Important improvements in” the
life of Democratic Berlin have al-
ready been achieved: by the gov-
ernment’s new line of policy
adopted in June. ‘
Herr Alfred Neumann, deputy
mayor of East Berlin, was able
to justify this statement in a. re-
port last week to the Assembly
of Deputies of Berlin. The report,
detailed and exceedingly frank, is
the first rendering of an account
to: the people’s representatives
since the introduction of the new
line.
In the sphere of economic and
living conditions Herr Neumann

* was able to report immediate im-

provements.

By the reduction of prices, pur-
chasing power in the Democratic
sector has already been raised by
50 million marks.

Increased wages will, by the end
of the year, have added another
30 million marks and by increas-
ed pensions ten million more will
be added. .

Herr Neumann’ emphasized
that the rising purchasing pow-
er must be met by an equal in-
crease in goods for sale. The
slogan “produce more to live
better’ had more point than
ever,

The wider scope given to private
trade under the new line was a
means to this end and he asked
for due recognition of this by the
administrative authorities.

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population is showing toward the
strikers. -

In many towns police have re-
fused pointblank to arrest post-
men and railwaymen who have ig-
nored the government’s quasi-
fascist order to return to work.

Office workers and housewives
in Paris,-who are usually fairly
hostile toward a transport strike,
have taken the cessation of the
capital’s Metro and bus services
with hardly a murmur.

It is the groups of gendarmes
outside Metro stations and bus
depots who have come in for the
jeers and the backchat.

The vast majority of the people
know that the strikers are’ fight-
ing on behalf of the whole nation
against a government in. which no
one has a scrap of confidence.

“TJ have never seen the people
so well disposed toward strikers,”
a journalist on the Communist
party paper Humanite.said proud-
ly.

A million engineers were on
strike this week, and the engin-
eers’ strike is expected to spread
when more than 100,000 automo-
bile workers return from their
holidays.

New strike calls came from the
printers, teletype operators and
other newspapers workers, exclud-
ing journalists, who staged.a 24-
hour strike Mondy this week.

Among those who have left work
indefinitely are 350,000 railway-
men, 150,000 of the 220,000 postal
workers, half of the quarter mil-
lion miners, most of the 130,000
gas and electricity workers and
hospital and other public service
personnel.

The stoppage in the northern
coal mines, gas and electricity,
hospitals, metal industries, muni-
cipal services, tobacco and match
factories, , social security offices
and post offices ranged from total
to 60 percent. : ;

The Christian Trade Union Fed-
eration (Catholic) has called on
its members to join in the strike
movement.

By special order of the strike
committees every step is being
taken to see that the sick and the
invalids are not affected — their
laundry is being washed as usual,
for example.

The railwaymen have announced
that they will man the trains that
bring back the tens of thousands
of French working-class children
from the holiday camps.

In ways like these the strikers
are showing their unity with the
French people as a whole.

More and more strikers are be-
coming convinced of the possibili-
ty of not only winning the strike
and forcing concessions out of the
government—but of changing the
government altogether.

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North Korean nurses were stripped and examined by Yankee troops. -

Korean women tell
of POW horrors

in Yankee camps

For two days here I have listened to the hideous story of how
Americans ill-treated Korean women prisoners, much of it too horrible

to print.

It has been told mainly by two of the women handed over in the
Panmunjom prisoner-of-war exchanges—Kim Chong Suk and Mrs. Kim

Suk Cha, both former students.
Their reports are confirmed by
dozens of others.

Kim Suk Cha’s only child was
born six months after her capture
and Kim Chong Suk was captured
two weeks after joining the Ko-
rean People’s Army.

“As soon as we were captured,”
said Kim Chong Suk, “the Ameri-
cans treated us worse than anim-
als, forced us to strip and insulted
us.

“They jeered that we had no
morals because we were ‘Reds.’
All that was not joking, it was a
prelude to real attempts at rape.

“While all this went on they
took photographs and put them on
notice boards where everyone
could see.” .

Kim Suk Cha broke in: at this
point. A strikingly beautiful wo-
man of 24, she was elected as
leader by the women for her great
resource and daring.

“One common American thing
is to press a lighted cigarette on
the bosoms of women. They think
this is very amusing.”

The first place where women
prisoners were kept was Inchon.
Both Kim Chong Suk and Kim Suk
Cha were there until about De-
cember 8, 1950. At first there
were about 40 women there and
later this grew to about 150.

“It was our worst time,” said

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Kim Chong Suk. “Over there are
several girls who are mentally de-
ranged through attempted viola-
tion by Americans, or electric tor-
ture, hanging by hands behind
their back and pouring red pepper
solution into their nose.’

A whole group of returned wo-
men prisoners gathered as these
two talked, mostly sitting quiet,
sometimes weeping as they recall-
ed what had happened and some-
times adding a point in a whisper.

“Many girls were killed,’ Kim
Suk Cha said, “and to make up
numbers for their records the Am-
ericans often arrested street beg-
gars and dressed them in our uni-
forms and put them among us.

“Sometimes also the Americans

put their own ‘girl friends’ among |

us for their own convenience.”

Now these women are resting in
a lovely hostel in the mountains
here, by the side of a river, eat-
ing tremendous meals and re-
adjusting themselves to life after
their years of horror;

As I wandered round a tiny girl
prisoner, aged two years, saw me
and ran screaming for her mother.
She thought I was an American.

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Military 2
eager for
atom war

LONDON

The object of a British military
exercise just concluded was“ —
ensure that, when the time came —

for the use of atomic weapons; —

Britain and allied military com
manders would have their me?
ready.” -
. This statement, implying that
atom warfare was inevitable, W45
made last week by Field-Mar-
shal Sir John Harding, Chief of
the Imperial General Staff. ;
He was addressing a press col
ference at Camberley, Surrey, fol
lowing exercise “For’ard On,” #
three-day study of atomic weapons
by British and Commonwealt
Service chiefs and scientists.
Harding said that facts about
the American 280 mm gun firing
atomic shells were known. But
if he could only have one or the
other he would prefer the guided
missile with an atomic warhead.
Showing no inhibitions about
the use of the atom bomb, %
John also asserted that the atomic
weapon would not replace convel
tional forces but “if it is useé
effectively it can produce cond
tions which will enable convelt
tional forces to achieve “success:
The conference discussed amoné
other things the six-foot slit tren¢
as a standard form of defense, 2!
the problem of the flash-blinde
sentry unable to warn of atomi¢
attack.

It also argued about infantty

| going into an area free from co

tamination because atomic weal
ons had been exploded abové
ground level.

She spoke of.
A-bomb and
killed baby

LONDON
A “devoted mother” who bie
stated to have kept on say
“everyone’s going mad” at D
have mentioned the atom bag:
was charged with murdering :
10-month-old son at Thames COW
last week. 91
Mrs. Clare Lilian Euston, old
was committed for trial at the her
Bailey, accused of murdering
son Robert Charles Euston. j
Prosecutor J. J. Palmes i
that on July 27 her husband fo¥ of
Mrs. Euston sitting in front ie
the stove with the 8a ine
lying on the floor in front of pad
stove. Mrs. Euston’s wrists
been cut with a knife. a re
The 10-month-old baby ba’ yo
ceived blows on the head.. pad
other child, who was oldet, “7.
superficial head wounds. fer ae
tective said Mrs. Euston to ef q is
“Please let me die. A WO
coming to an end.” Mrs:
Charles Frederick Eusto™ i
Euston’s husband, told the ©);
that on the day in question :
wife told him, “Everyone 35 a)
mad: listen to the WH? ip
Later she mentioned the

bomb. : i a

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— AUGUST 21, 1953 —