GENEVA TIMES
JANUARY-MARCH 1950
QUEUILLE FORMS GOVERNMENT
Henri Queuille forged an alliance composed of the Popular Republicans, Republican
Party of Liberty, the Radical Socialists and the Rally for the French People. His new
government commanded 343 seats in the French Chamber of Deputies out of 627.
Bidault was out and so was the government coalition that included the Communists.
What brought the four moderate and conservative parties together was their aversion to
the power that the Communists held in the French government. The straw that broke the
camel's back was the Communist opposition to France developing its own atomic bomb.
It was widely known that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had told the French Communists to
vote no. From that moment, Charles De Gaulle became determined that a conservative
coalition had to be formed to replace the leftist government in power. De Gaulle's role
was crucial because his party has always refused to join any coalition except one led by
the RPF.
Monsieur Queuille, a conservative from Pre-war France, went to work and made it
happened. It would only be a temporary government since France is scheduled to hold
elections this year. However, the good news for Queuille is the conservative parties are
running much stronger in the polls then the Socialists and the Communists.
The immediate reaction was very positive across France. Most newspapers, except those
on the extreme left, praised Queuille's new government. The Paris stock market made a
solid gain as Frenchmen now had more confidence in their government. The average
Frenchman in the street, when interviewed, was relieved that the Communists were no
longer in the government. One Parisian had this to say, "I am glad that they are gone. I
voted for them as a protest vote against the conservatives, but I never thought that they
would get in the government! I shall never make that mistake again. I think Queuille will
do a good job but it is not easy presiding over the French people. In Paris, the only thing
that we agree upon is to disagree."
Still the quarter would not be over before France heard from the Left.
WILL SPAIN JOIN NATO?
Spanish dictator Francisco Franco has hinted publicly that Spain may soon be invited to
join NATO. These remarks were made at a speech at a military parade in Madrid in early
March, 1950. The statement caught most Western observers by surprise as political
leaders in Washington, London and Paris scrambled to put together a response.
According to the Paris newspaper, Le Monde, Generalissimo Franco sent diplomatic
feelers to Paris not long after New Year's Day to begin reconciliation. French Premier
Henri Queuille was receptive to the peace overtures despite the general aversion that the
French have for Franco. Many Frenchmen have never forgiven Franco for his brutal
repression of democratic forces in Spain during the Civil War and his cooperation with
Germany during World War II.
Franco's statement was greeted by jeers from the Communists and Socialists in the French
Chamber of Deputies, who demanded that Premier Queuille to having nothing to do
with the "criminal Franco government". The French newspapers hammered Franco for
the hundreds of thousands of people murdered by the Falangists in their bid for power.
Making matters even more embarrassing to Premier Queuille is the large numbers of
Spanish Republican émigrés in France that became quite vocal about any deal with Spain.
Former President Harry Truman said, "Franco is trying to cash in on all the AntiCommunist hysteria to end his global isolation for his crimes against humanity. We must
never forget that Franco heavily aided the Germans in the last war. Spain is tottering on
the brink of economic collapse and it needs Western markets to stave it off. Any
economic concessions give to Spain must be linked to political reforms at home."
Although there are discussions about a renewal of trade relations between France and
Spain; the border remains closed as of the end of March, 1950. After World War II
ended, France closed the border and ended trade in retaliation to Franco's pro-German
attitude. Any trade agreement with Spain will face heated opposition in the French
Chamber of Deputies.
Both the USSR and Germany condemned any expansion of the NATO alliance as a
provocation against peace.
THE GREAT BRINKS ROBBERY
A team of 11 thieves, in a precisely timed and choreographed strike, steals more than $2
million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts. The Great Brinks
Robbery, as it quickly became known, seems to be the perfect crime.
Rumor has it that the criminal team held repeated rehearsals, with each man wearing
blue coats and Halloween masks. On January 17, they finally put their plan into action.
Inside the counting room, the gang surprised the guards and tied up the employees.
Fourteen canvas bags, weighing more than half a ton, were filled with cash, coins,
checks, and money orders. Within 30 minutes, the Brinks robbery team was gone, taking
$2.7 million with them. They left no clues at all.
OLYMPICS 1956
The United States formally submitted a bid to host the 1956 Olympic Games, both
summer and winter. The American representatives billed the United States as a safe and
stable location committed to building the most modern, competition friendly facilities
ever used for an Olympiad. Los Angeles would be the summer host city, and Lake
Placid, NY would be the winter host.
So far, Germany is the only other country that has applied to host the Olympic games:
Berlin for the summer games and Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the winter games.
SPAIN OFFERS TO SELL COLONIES TO FRANCE
Generalissimo Francisco Franco sweetened the pot to gain French support for Spain's
attempt to break her political and economic isolation. He put Ifni and Spanish Sahara on
the sale's block for France to buy. Apparently, the Queuille government is interested in
the proposition, but no formal agreement has been reached.
The Spanish dictator's "about face" on foreign policy looks very opportunistic. Only a few
months ago, at Madrid's War Museum, he boasted about "the failure of Anglo-American
liberalism ". Even more recently, Franco vilified "the immorality of Western society."
ORWELL DIES
The famed author of Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell died from Tuberculosis on
January 21, 1950 in University College Hospital, of a hemorrhaged lung. He was buried
in the churchyard of All Saints, Sutton Courtney, Berkshire, Orwell’s writing depicted a
bleak future in which totalitarianism ultimately triumphs over democracy.
OPERATION HAY LIFT
The U.S. Air Force carried out Operation Haylift to get food to 2,000,000 cattle and
sheep that were stranded by heavy blizzards in the west. This massive undertaking saved
the meat producing industry in the United States from collapse.
UN BUILDING READY FOR OCCUPANCY IN SUMMER 1950
The U.N. Building in New York was dedicated with UN Secretary-General Trygve
Halvdan Lie delivering speeches along with U.S. President Thomas E. Dewey and British
Prime Minister Clement Atlee. The complex is expected to fully finished in the summer or
early fall for occupancy. Mr. Lie told the member nations to be prepared for the
transition.
SYRIAN LEADERSHIP MAKES BOLD MOVES
Strongman Adib Shishakli is determined to make Syria an oasis in the Middle East. His
ambitious plans include steel mills at Hamah, glass factories at Dayz az Zawarh, iron
mines at Tadhur and fertilizer plants at Aleppo. Latakia port is being modernized and
expanded. The Syrian rail system is being converted to diesel. $100 million is being spent
to improve irrigation. Shishakli has drawn great praise from the regional Arab leaders for
his willingness to shake Syria out of its hidebound lethargy.
COAL MINE MODERNIZATION IN GERMANY
The German Ministry of Health ordered all coalmines in Germany to be tested for dust
that can cause black lung and silicosis. New workplace controls, equipment and practices
were mandated to combat those respiratory diseases. Mining companies were given until
January 1, 1952 to comply.
Engineering controls and containment methods to remove dust from the air or separate
the miner from the contaminant were made mandatory. These included wet drilling, wet
sawing of silica-containing materials, installation of dust collecting systems onto machines
or equipment and installation of local ventilation hoods. Strict guidelines were laid out
for mining exhaust ventilation systems in order to maintain air quality.
Companies were ordered to provide miners with powered air-purifying respirators with
helmet. Workers are not permitted to eat, drink or smoke in areas contaminated by coal
dust. Shower facilities must be made available for workers. Workers are to be tested
periodically for black lung through x-rays and breathing tests. If a worker starts
developing the disease, he must be reassigned to some other job. The German Labor
Front would be responsible for job placement.
Governmental inspectors would test mining areas and a government appointed physician
would decide eligibility for job disability. The coal companies were made responsible for
the costs of medical treatments and disability payments related to black lung and silicosis.
The coal companies were promised financial relief during the transition period as the
new rules were being implemented.
It's estimated that by 1953, as the German coal industry is modernized, about 600,000
miners will be extracting 150 million tons of coal. As part of this modernization, long
wall mining wall be employed in about 80% of the sites. This allows a coal seam to be
extracted fully and the prompt subsidence of the ground when the mining is complete.
Since subsidence occurs immediately, the mining company can observe and make
whatever repair is necessary o the surface. In order to minimize subsidence a process
called backfill, or backstow, is used by German mining companies. In backstow, waste
material is put into the mine void during the brief interval after coal removal but prior to
advance of the hydraulic jacks allowing roof collapse.
The coal mine owners are not completely happy with the government diktats, privately
saying that they will make them less competitive in the world market over the next few
years. The owners doubt that production can be raised by 1953 like the government
expects. They do admit that it will revolutionize things in the long run, but they operate
on slim profits now and question whether they can wait until 1954 or 1955 to recoup
their losses. But, Volker Heckmann is not accustomed to listening to capitalist complaints
and ordered their compliance or face nationalization. For the time being, that ended the
argument.
If Herr Heckmann is wrong, this could possible cause Germany to lose a significant
amount of hard currency sales by 1953.
LUIS TARUC ESCAPES
Former leader of Hukbalahap (People's Liberation Army of the Philippines), Luis Taruc
escaped from prison with the aid of some confederates. Reportedly, he has returned to
the area of Luzon controlled by the Communist guerrillas.
ISRAEL HAS NEW CAPITAL
The Israeli Knesset approved a resolution proclaiming Jerusalem the capital of Israel on
January 23, 1950. This was met with demonstrations in the city by Arabs opposed to the
Israeli control of Jerusalem, which is a holy city to the Muslims as well as the Jews and
Christians.
ISRAELIS FEARFUL OF SYRIAN ATTACK
Villagers in the Israeli settlement of Almagor have expressed concern to Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion that the Syrians are building up their forces in the Golan Heights for a
possible attack on Israel. They accused Syrian mountain troops of shooting at Israeli
farmers near the border. Adib Shishakli denies any such intentions claiming that 4th
Mountain Corps are in the Golan Heights to protect Syria's border and nothing more.
FORMER NATION SECURITY ADVISER CALLS THE USSR DANGEROUS
Former Truman National Security Adviser Paul H. Nitze told the media that he had
warned President Truman in 1946 that the Kremlin is "inescapably militant" and desires
"world domination." Nitze, a former Wall Street banker, who had earlier suggested that
the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unnecessary, authored a white
paper for then President Truman, titled "United States Objectives and Programs for
National Security", in which he urged a U.S. military buildup against the Soviet Union.
Nitze had predicted as early as 1945 that China would fall to the Communists without
massive U.S. aid.
BURY THEM IN THE DUST
Soviet Defense Minister Aleksandr Vasilevsky appeared on Radio Moscow's Socialism
Roundtable to discuss the current status of Soviet technology as compared to the
conclusion of the Great Patriotic War. "The people of the Soviet Union need not fear
that we will fall behind in technology. Through visionary leadership provided by our
glorious leader, Comrade Stalin, the various research facilities spread throughout the
USSR are hard at work. One of the most obvious examples of this is the new Sayano–
Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Station. It is the largest power plant in Russia and
one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world. That power plant is one of the
many projects that will power the Soviet economy into the next century. Soon enough
the world will see the results of the largest investment in research the world has ever
seen. Father Stalin and the rest of the Politburo have determined that the USSR must lead
the world in technology. With Stalin as our glorious and fearless leader, we will bury the
Imperialists in the dust as we pass them."
REPUBLIC OF INDIA BORN
On January 26, 1950, the Indian constitution took effect, making the Republic of India
the most populous democracy in the world. Mohandas Gandhi had struggled through
decades of passive resistance before Britain finally accepted Indian independence. The Raj
had been Britain's most lucrative colony for a hundred years bringing in much need tax
revenue to cover its loss in the balance of payments. But, both World Wars had
exhausted Great Britain, which no longer had the fight necessary to keep a land of 300
million people as a colony.
Self-rule had been promised during World War II, but after the war, triangular
negotiations between Gandhi, the British, and the Muslim League stalled over whether to
partition India along religious lines or to have one united India. Eventually, it was
apparent that the Muslims were determined to go their own way.
Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India, was given the task of drawing up a partition
plan. On August 15, 1947, the former Raj was divided into the independent nations of
India and Pakistan. In a conciliatory gesture, Gandhi called the agreement the "noblest act
of the British nation," but religious strife between Hindus and Muslims soon marred his
exhilaration. Hundreds of thousands died, including Gandhi, who was assassinated by a
Hindu fanatic in January 1948 during a prayer vigil to an area of Muslim-Hindu violence.
Of Gandhi's death, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said, "The light has gone out
of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere." However, Nehru, a leader of the Indian
struggle for independence and Gandhi's protégé, persisted in his efforts to stabilize India,
and by 1949 the religious violence began to subside. In late 1949, an Indian constitution
was adopted, and on January 26, 1950, the Republic of India was born.
With universal adult franchise, Nehru hoped to overcome India's "caste-ridden" society
and promote greater gender equality. Elections were to be held at least every five years,
and India's government was modeled after the British parliamentary system. A president
would hold the largely ceremonial post of head of state but would be given greater
powers in times of emergency. The first President of India is Rajendra Prasad.
Nehru is faced with endless challenges: a massively underdeveloped economy,
overpopulation, widespread poverty, social and religious turmoil and hostile neighbors
like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
GERMAN SCIENCE
Karl von Frisch's Die Sonne als Kompaß im Leben der Bienen ("the Sun as compass in the
life of bees") reports his research showing that bees keep track of their paths to sources of
nectar and back to the hive by using the Sun to maintain true directions.
Heinz von Neumann, working with a team of meteorologists and computers in Kiel -makes the first computerized 24-hour weather predictions.
The artificial sweetener cyclamate is introduced.
The antibiotic Nystatin discovered by a team of German researchers is the first safe
fungicide, effective for everything from curing athlete's foot, ringworm, life-threatening
diseases, and dutch elm disease, to restoring moldy paintings and books
BRITISH SCIENCE
Alan Turing proposes in an article in the journal Mind, "Can a Machine Think?," a test to
determine if a computer has real intelligence. In the "Turing test," as it comes to be
known, a computer in one room that can communicate with humans in another room
must be able to convince the humans that it is intelligent.
The first automobile to use a gas turbine for power is introduced by Rolls-Royce in an
experimental version. It attains speeds of 240 km (150 mi) per hour.
STASI CREATED
On January 10, Fuhrer Volker Heckmann officially merged Abwehr and Gestapo
organizations into one unit, under the Ministry for State Security, (German: Ministerium
fur Staatssicherheit, commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation German: Staatssicherheit,
literally State Security). Dr. Werner Best would remain Minister of State Security. The
MfS is headquartered in Berlin, with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg
The Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA) (en. Main Reconnaissance Administration) was
established as the foreign intelligence service succeeding the Abwehr. The primary
mandate of the HVA is foreign reconnaissance (espionage), which included political,
military, economic and technological intelligence-gathering. General Reinhard Gehlen
was put in charge of the HVA
STASI ANNOUNCES ARREST OF SOVIET SPY
Karl Fuchs, a physicist who had worked on the atomic bomb in Germany, has been
arrested as a Soviet spy. According to Stasi boss Dr. Werner Best, Fuchs began passing
scientific secrets to the Soviet Union in 1944, which accelerated Soviet development of
the atomic bomb by at least a year. His activities were detected in 1948, and he was
taken into custody after all of his accomplices were uncovered. Dr. Best said that Fuchs
would be tried in the spring as a spy and that the death penalty would be sought as
punishment.
JEWS CONDEMN BEST'S HIGH OFFICE
Jewish groups across the world denounced Herr Heckmann's continued employment of
Dr. Werner Best as Minister of State Security. Nahum Goldmann, President of the Jewish
World Congress, called Dr. Best a "war criminal who was a ranking member of the SS
and a deputy to Reinhard Heydrich. It was his duty to cover up with legal language the
genocidal policies of the Hitler government. Dr. Best was well aware of the genocide
occurring and abetted these crimes."
Volker Heckmann responded to Mr. Goldmann's accusation as follows; "Dr. Best sought
his best to mitigate the genocide carried out by Heinrich Himmler and the SS. It is easy to
point the finger of blame at individual serving the Fatherland in the Second World War,
but, in reality, it was both dangerous and difficult to oppose certain policies. Dr. Best
took it upon himself to save as many Jews as possible, as we all did. With that in mind,
Germany will not allow outside political agitators to decide who will or will not serve in
its government."
ALGER HISS FOUND GUILTY
In August, 1949, Whittaker Chambers, a magazine editor and former Communist party
courier, accused Alger Hiss of having helped transmit confidential government
documents to the Soviets. Hiss denied these charges; since, under the statute of
limitations, he could not be tried for espionage. Instead, Hiss was indicted in October
1949 on two counts of perjury, found guilty on January 241, 1950 and sentenced to a
five-year prison term.
According to Chamber's testimony at the trial, Alger Hiss had been a member of a
"Marxist discussion group" that was "an underground organization of the United States
Communist Party". The group, called the "Ware Group", had been run by the late
agriculturalist Harold Ware, American Communist intent on organizing black and white
tenant farmers in the American South against debt peonage. Chambers testified that the
aim of the group had been the promotion of unspecified communistic policies in the U.S.
government. Chambers produced copies of State Department documents that he claimed
Hiss had given him to send to Moscow; the documents were dated 1938.
Rumors had been circulating about Hiss since 1939, when Chambers had gone to
Assistant Secretary of State Adolf A. Berle, Jr. and accused Hiss of having formerly
belonged to an underground Communist cell at the Department of Agriculture.
Subsequently, in 1942, Chambers had repeated this allegation to FBI. Two other sources
appeared to implicate Hiss: in 1945, Elizabeth Bentley, an American woman who said she
had been a courier between Communist groups, told the FBI that an employee of the
State Department whom she identified as "Eugene Hiss" had been a member an
underground Communist group. The same year, a Belorussian code clerk named Igor
Gouzenko defected from the Soviet Union to Canada. Gouzenko reported that an
unnamed assistant (or more precisely an "assistant to an assistant") to U.S. Secretary of
State Stettinius was a Soviet agent. In both cases, the FBI decided that Alger Hiss was the
most likely match.
In response to Chambers's accusations against him, Hiss protested his innocence and
insisted on appearing before the committee to clear himself. Testifying on August 5,
1948, Hiss denied having ever been a Communist and claimed never to have personally
met Chambers. The committee came under fire from the press and President Truman and
was reluctant to continue the investigation. One member, however, Congressman
Richard Nixon of California, professed to find Hiss "condescending" and "insulting in the
extreme" and wanted to press on. Nixon had received information about Chambers's
allegations and the suspicions around Hiss from FBI informant John Francis Cronin, a
Roman Catholic priest, who had infiltrated labor unions in Baltimore during WW II to
report on Communist activities and had been given access to FBI files. With some
reluctance, the Committee voted to make Nixon chair of a subcommittee that would
seek to determine who was lying, Hiss or Chambers, at least on the question of whether
they knew each other.
Asked to identify Chambers from a photograph, Hiss conceded that the face "might look
familiar" and requested to see him in person. At that meeting, Hiss admitted that he had
indeed known Chambers but under the name of "George Crosley", a man who had
represented himself as a freelance writer. Hiss said that in the mid-1930s he had sublet his
apartment to this "Crosley" and had given him an old car. Chambers, for his part, denied
ever having used the name Crosley, though it later came out that he had published
poetry under that name. He also admitted having stayed in Hiss's empty apartment,
while denying it was a sublet.
Chambers's statements, made in a congressional hearing, were privileged against
defamation suits, Hiss thereupon challenged him to repeat them in public without benefit
of such protection. When Chambers publicly called Hiss a Communist on the nation-wide
radio program Meet the Press, Hiss instituted a libel lawsuit against Chambers.
Chambers retaliated by claiming Hiss was not merely a Communist but also a spy, a
charge he had not made earlier; and, on November 17, 1948, he produced, to support
his explosive allegations, physical evidence consisting of sixty-five pages of retyped State
Department documents, plus four in Hiss's own handwriting of copied State Department
cables. Chambers claimed to have obtained these from Hiss in the 1930s, and alleged that
the typed papers had been retyped by Priscilla Hiss on the family's Woodstock typewriter
from State Department originals to pass along to the Soviets. These papers became
known as the "Baltimore documents." The typeface characteristics of the Baltimore
documents would become a key piece of evidence used to convict Hiss. In their previous
testimony, both Chambers and Hiss had denied having committed espionage. By
introducing the Baltimore documents, Chambers admitted he had previously lied,
opening both Hiss and himself to perjury charges.
On the evening of December 2, 1948, Chambers produced the "pumpkin papers", five
rolls of 35 mm film, two of which contained State Department documents. Chambers
stated he had hidden the film in a hollowed-out pumpkin on his Maryland farm.
Hiss went to trial twice. The first trial started on May 31, 1949, and ended in a hung jury
on July 7. Chambers was forced to admit on the witness stand that he had previously
committed perjury several times while he was under oath. Chambers also was forced to
admit that he needed to change key dates when confronted with contradictions in his
story. Hiss's character witnesses at his first trial included such notables as future
Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, Supreme Court Justice Felix
Frankfurter, and former 1924 Democratic presidential candidate John W. Davis. Former
President Truman famously called the trial, "a red herring". The second trial lasted from
November 17, 1949, to January 21, 1950.
At both trials, a key piece of prosecution testimony was that of expert witnesses who
stated that identifying characteristics of the typed Baltimore documents matched samples
known to have been typed on a typewriter owned by the Hisses at the time of his
alleged espionage work with Chambers. Also presented as prosecution evidence was the
typewriter itself, which the Hisses had given away years earlier; it had been located by
defense investigators.
In the second trial, Hede Massing, an ex-Communist and admitted spy for the Soviets,
provided some slight corroboration of Chambers's story when she recounted meeting
Hiss at a social function in which they both spoke obliquely about their Communist
activities. This time the jury found Hiss guilty by a vote of eight to four on both counts.
"That, according to one of Hiss’s friends and lawyers, Helen Buttenweiser, was the only
time that she had ever seen Hiss shocked – stunned by the fact that eight of his fellow
citizens did not believe him." According to Anthony Summers, "Hiss spoke only two
sentences in court after he had been found guilty. The first was to thank the judge. The
second was to assert that one day in the future it would be disclosed how forgery by
typewriter had been committed."
Testifying before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee), William C. Bullitt claimed
that, as Ambassador to France in 1939, he had been advised by Premier Édouard
Daladier of French intelligence reports that two State Department officials named Hiss
were Soviet agents. When asked about it, however, Daladier, denied this. Economist
Nathaniel Weyl, a former Communist Party member "at large" who had worked for the
Department of Agriculture during the early days of the New Deal and who had later
become strongly anti-Communist, also appeared before the same Senate Committee.
Weyl testified that in 1933 he had belonged to a secret Communist Party unit along with
Harold Ware and labor lawyer Lee Pressman and he confirmed that Alger Hiss had also
attended meetings. Weyl's is thus the only testimony that appears to corroborate some of
Chambers' allegations.
The Hiss trial created great controversy; many liberals content that the F.B.I. had
tampered with evidence in order to secure a conviction. Many still believe that Hiss is
innocent and was railroaded by the Republicans. However, the evidence was against Hiss
- dramatic details included microfilm hidden in a pumpkin and the concept of forgery by
typewriter. Yet, none of the evidence seemed 100% conclusive
Senator Robert Taft of Ohio warned that Hiss may have tremendously hurt US foreign
policy at the closing days of the Roosevelt Administration in his capacity as an adviser to
the late President Roosevelt.
HOLLYWOOD GOES TO SPAIN
Hollywood has opened its operations in Spain under the direction of George Ornstein of
the famous United Artists studio. Mr. Ornstein is the son of the majority stockholder of
UA, Mary Pickford. Promising big name stars and lavish productions, UA intends to
make epic scale films in Spain where the economic advantages of local film production
are manifold. The Ministry of Information and Tourism of the Spanish government
promises considerable support for the studio including subsidies to promote hiring of
local businesses. The high costs of Hollywood have pushed innovative independent
directors to set up in Spain and the government welcomes this new partner in creating
the dramatic image of Spain. Of long importance has been the Italian film industry in
utilizing Spanish scenery in a multitude of films. Further relations are expected to
expand as the MIT invests in this development.
COMECON FORMED
The foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Albania, Mongolia, China and
North Korea joined the Soviet Union in signing a treaty creating the Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance (COMECON). The organization calls for close economic and
technological relationships between the Communist Bloc members. At the signing of the
treaty in Bucharest on January 17, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav M. Molotov said,
"COMECON will bring our nations together in common purpose to build socialism.
Comrade Stalin envisions that this body will share ideas and coordinate programs that
benefit the collective."
The exact terms of the agreement were not released, so it's not clear what level of
economic integration is being planned. Collectively, the members of the Comecon have
low and uneven levels of industrialization with a single dominant member (the Soviet
Union) producing 70% of the community national product. Molotov said there would
not be any coercion to force member states to follow a particular policy. "All decisions
would require unanimous ratification, and even then governments would separately
translate these into policy."
Working with neither exchange rates nor a market economy, Comecon countries will
look to world markets as a reference point for prices, but unlike agents acting in a
market, prices will remain relatively stable over a long period of time, rather than
constantly fluctuating with speculation, which will assist Communists with their central
planning. Much of Comecon trade will continue to be barter transactions, rather than
hard currency. Member states are expected to barter with one another before looking to
the non-Communist world to dispense the products.
THE LENINGRAD AFFAIR
Although many things are still unclear, the latest purge in the USSR, called "the Leningrad
Affair" seems to be a series of criminal cases against a number of prominent members of
the Leningrad Communist Party Organization who are accused of treason and anti-party
activities. Many Kremlin watchers say that the charges are fabricated for political
reasons.
In January 1949 Pyotr Popkov, Aleksei Kuznetsov and Nikolai Voznesensky organized a
Leningrad Trade Fair to boost the post-war economy and support the survivors of the
Siege of Leningrad with goods and services from all over the Soviet Union. The Fair was
attacked by official Soviet propaganda, and was portrayed as a scheme to use the federal
budget from Moscow for business development in Leningrad, although the budget and
economics of such a trade fair were normal and legitimate and approved by State
Planning Commission and the government of the USSR. A number of other accusations
were added.
As a result of the first prosecution, on March 1, 1950, Nikolai Voznesensky (chairman of
Gosplan), Mikhail Rodionov (chairman of the RSFSR Council of Ministers), Aleksei
Kuznetsov, Pyotr Popkov, Y. F. Kapustin and P. G. Lazutin were sentenced to death on
what many claim to be false accusations of embezzlement of the Soviet State budget for
"unapproved business in Leningrad", which was labeled as anti-Soviet treason. The verdict
was announced after the midnight and the six main defendants were executed by
shooting on March 2, for which Stalin's government reinstated the death penalty in the
Soviet Union. The rest of the alleged accomplices were sentenced to different prison
terms.
About 2,000 of Leningrad's public figures were removed from their positions and over
200 of them were repressed, together with their relatives. Respected intellectuals,
scientists, writers and educators, many of whom were pillars of the city's community,
were exiled or imprisoned in the Gulag prison camps. Intellectuals were harshly
persecuted for slightest signs of dissent, such as Nikolai Punin, who expressed his dislike
of Soviet propaganda and thousands of Lenin's portraits.
Simultaneously, the Soviet authorities replaced all communist party and administrative
leadership in Leningrad by communists loyal to Stalin.
The liberal Manchester Guardian believes that a real conspiracy existed. The Berlin
Morgenpost, the mouthpiece of the German government, simply chalks it up to Stalin's
fear of competition from the younger and popular Leningrad leaders - who had been
quite popular with the people.
There may be truth in both views. It is well known that Stalin has had a deep distrust of
anyone from Leningrad since the time of Stalin's power struggle in the mid-1920s with
Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev, leaders of the Leningrad faction at that time.
Ultimately, Zinoviev and Kamenev were liquidated. Yet, without a doubt, many have
conspired against the Stalin from at home and abroad.
The Pravda and Tass have published convincing evidence of the conspiracy. Voznesensky
and Kuznetsov were well documented in their desire to replace Stalin and the Old Guard
and remaking the USSR to a semi-capitalist state. Some Westerner legal experts believe it
to be the truth saying that the Soviet economy is faltering terribly under Stalin.
In Berlin, there was no such acceptance of the Soviet explanation, Reich Minister of State
Affairs Viktor Huff quipped, "Another story from Brothers Grimm."
INDIA AND NEPAL SIGN NAP
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru traveled to Kathmandu to meet Prime Minister
Padma Shamsher Rana of Nepal. A 25 year non-aggression pact was signed.
JORDAN DEVALUES
Jordan has announced a dramatic devaluation of the Pound from $4.03 to $2.80. This
was done in order to keep exports competitive after a stiff decline in recent months.
Phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement and potash are the
staples of their export industry.
ASBESTOS IS BANNED IN GERMANY
For almost twenty years, German physicians have been linking asbestos with asbestosis,
and mesothelioma in clinical studies of people who came down with the diseases.
Through in-depth studies, German scientists found compelling evidence for twelve
different types of cancer associated with asbestos. In laboratory experiments, conducted
in Berlin, the fibers were found to grow tumors in the lungs of rodents. A Ministry of
Health review concluded that asbestos was dangerous to human beings.
German Fuhrer Volker Heckmann banned all imports of asbestos and forbid the use of
the material in any manner in Germany. Buildings with existing asbestos could only have
it removed under strict safety guidelines from the Ministry of Health and was subject to
governmental inspections. Government inspectors would be avail to check all asbestos to
decide whether it had to be removed or not. Substitute organic fibers were available to
replace asbestos in manufacturing.
The German courts also accepted the premise that people affected by asbestosis were
entitled to compensation by the manufacturer and eligible for disability insurance. The
German asbestos manufacturing industry has collapsed almost overnight. Government
regulators have frozen their assets to pay court awards for their negligence.
American, French and British Asbestos companies denounced the new Germans edicts.
Their assets in Germany have also been frozen pending legal settlements.
NORTH KOREAN WARLORD GIVES PRESS INTERVIEW
In early February, Kim Il-sung gave the Soviet Tass News Agency an interview. Instead of
being belligerent, Kim said that he was willing to meet the South Koreans to discuss AllKorean elections. He denied that he had any intentions of uniting the peninsula by force.
"The Korean people do not war. What we want is a peaceful unification of our
country. While we have suffered Japanese dictatorship for many years, Korea has never
been divided into two separate regions as it is today. Let us put all of this to a vote. Let
the people decide the future of the country. "
Tass reporters asked him about his plans this year for Korea. "Despite the rhetoric coming
from the American puppets in Seoul, we are not increasing the size of our military but
instead my government is going to focus on economic growth with emphasis on heavy
industry and agriculture. One of my goals is to make North Korea a self-sufficient nation
in terms of food production. Another goal is to utilize our coal and iron to build a strong
manufacturing base. All of this will take time, but the people will it and I follow their
commands. "Very proudly, Kim Il-sung told Tass that both Comrades Stalin and Mao
were behind his efforts and that he could expect financial support from both. "
Kim told the Tass correspondents, "We are not like the capitalists, who care only for their
profits while squashing the workers. We look out for our people. My government is for
all of the people, not just a hand full of Wall Street bankers, oilmen and car
manufacturers. "
FOREIGN MEDIA FORBIDDEN TO LEAVE PYONGYANG
The North Korean government has told all new correspondents that they must stay in
Pyongyang for their safety. Many Western newsmen decided to leave the country
because of the restrictions.
TUCKER DECLARED INNOCENT
In the last twenty years, independent automobile manufacturers have fallen again and
again before the industrial power of the "Big Three" - Ford, General Motors, and
Chrysler. Most often, these independent firms are swallowed, bought up, like Nash,
Austin, Studebaker, Hudson, Packard, and many others. The story of Preston Tucker is a
little darker. Tucker was a Chicago businessman who built 50 extraordinary automobiles
in 1947 and 1948. His cars had many modern amenities and remarkable horsepower. But
he was indicted on 31 counts of fraud; and as he fought for his freedom in court, his
company failed. In March, 1950 Preston Tucker was cleared of all fraud charges against
him. But it was too little, too late. The Tucker automobile is history. Many believe that
the legal actions against Tucker were sponsored by the Big Three automakers, which
feared his competition.
WHITE PLANTATION OWNERS IN KENYA WARN AGAINST INDEPENDENCE
Concerned about the British grant of independence to India, Pakistan and Burma, the
white minority in Kenya is applying pressure of Parliament to forestall any similar ideas in
their colony. In fact, they were interested in Great Britain sending additional troops to
Kenya since the black majority seemed more restless these days.
GURAIS SHELLED
The Kashmir town of Gurais was shelled several times in January and February by Afghan
"volunteers" doing minimal damage. Indian forces returned fire, but the Afghans are held
in up some of the highest mountains in the region, making it difficult to take them out
with anything less than mountain infantry.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru protested to Pakistan about this violation of the 1947
ceasefire and the shelling stopped. The Pakistanis insisted that the Afghans opened fire
without their permission.
101 Indians civilians were killed.
SPY HANGED
Laszlo Rajk, Hungarian former Foreign minister, was hanged as a German spy. After
Hungary's fascist government was overthrown in 1944, Rajk rose to prominence as a key
member of the Communist inner circle, becoming Interior Minister in 1946 and
organizing the AVH (the Hungarian secret police) shortly afterwards. However, he lost a
power struggle with Party Secretary Mátyás Rákosi and was accused of plotting to restore
the pre-war fascist government. The German Foreign Ministry scoffed at the idea that
Rajk was a Stasi operative, calling him "another victim of Communist purge.
WILL ATLEE RECOGNIZE RED CHINA?
Many members of Atlee's Labor Party are pressuring him to give diplomatic recognition
to Red China. Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health and leader of the leftist faction of the
party, has been at the forefront pushing the issue since late last year. Bevan has long been
a critic of Chiang Kai-shek and what he termed, "the corrupt hooligans that run China." In
his opinion, the Chinese people have spoken and it's not up to Great Britain to judge
that decision.
British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin, a determined anti-Communist, thinks otherwise. He
is opposed to breaking with the United States on this issue. In a state to the press, Bevin
thought that Communists didn't represent the Chinese people, but rather were nothing
more than front men for the Soviets. "It's not the Chinese Communists that won; it was
Stalin who had armed the Communists to the teeth, while the West turned its back on
Chiang. China can still be won back for democracy. To do otherwise, consigns over a
half of a billion people to murderous slavery."
Winston Churchill's Conservatives will vote straight down the line against the
recognition.
McCARTHY SAYS GOVERNMENT INFESTED WITH COMMUNISTS
On February 9, in a speech at the Republican Women's Club in Wheeling, West Virginia.,
Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy charged the U.S. State Department was
riddled with Communists and that he had a list of them. He asserted that all of them are
holdovers from the Roosevelt-Truman era that coddled and protected these traitors.
McCarthy said there were 205 communists working in the US State Department.
President Thomas E. Dewey has not made any statement on the matter yet. Reportedly,
but not confirmed, the CIA is conducting a massive investigation of all governmental
officials in search of possible Communist Trojan Horses.
On March 26, Senator McCarthy named Owen Lattimore, a former State Department
adviser under the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as a Soviet spy.
PROCEED WITH H-BOMB
U.S. President Thomas E. Dewey advised the Atomic Energy Commission on January 31
to proceed with development of a hydrogen bomb. In his opinion, both Germany and
the Soviet Union were conducting research to obtain this power and that the United
States could not be left behind.
WESTERN EUROPEAN COMMUNISTS "TOO FAT"
In the West, too, there were tremors. As long as the Western Communist Parties are not
in power, they depend on Moscow for survival and cannot afford rebellion.
Nevertheless, Titoism, i.e., the heresy of holding one's own national interests above
Russian interests, has had some limited, clearly discernible effects among Western
Communists.
In Italy, which boasts Europe's largest Communist Party outside Russia, Moscow has so
far permitted Boss Palmiro Togliatti to follow freewheeling, flexible tactics in his pursuit
of power. Many Communist workers and peasants understand little of Marx's ideology
and are permitted deviations (e.g., open attachment to the Roman Catholic Church)
which might mean a purge in more tightly disciplined Communist Parties.
One of Togliatti's own close friends, who felt that the Kremlin was taking itself altogether
too seriously, recently remarked: "The best cure for the Russians would be a year in
Naples where they could learn to laugh." In Eastern Europe, comrades have been made
to laugh out of the other side of their mouths for such pleasantries.
In France, no Communist Party leader seems yet ready to break away from Moscow.
Only three have enough stature to pull off such a rebellion: Maurice Thorez, Jacques
Duclos and André Marty. But Duclos is not considered ambitious enough, and Marty is
too blindly loyal to Stalin, to rise against Moscow. Thorez, French political experts
believe, has the inclination to rebel but so far he has lacked the guts. Three times he has
been slapped down by Moscow for being too "nationalistic." Each time he has abjectly
begged forgiveness.
51 leaders of French Communism gathered in a Paris suburban town hall to hear reports
from pudgy Jacques Duclos and bull-necked Georges Cogniot, envoys to December's
meeting of the Cominform. They relayed orders for a drive against "Titoism, Trotskyites
and police spies." Said Duclos: "I was reminded of a reproach once uttered by our
Comrade Jose Diaz (prewar Spanish Communist leader): 'You are too fat. Revolutions
are not made with stomachs like yours. "
RELIGIOUS TROUBLES IN ITALY
The Churches of Christ (loosely affiliated fundamentalist churches with an estimated U.S.
membership of 700,000), most of them are from Texas, called Italy "a country sorely in
need of material and spiritual help." Concentrating on the town of Frascati, four miles
from the Pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, the evangelists opened an
orphanage for boys, preached and passed out U.S. food packages.
The Frascatians were unenthusiastic. The orphanage had room for 50 boys, but only 22
came. Last summer, Frascati Capuchin monks organized lectures against Protestantism.
Then one day last September two jeep loads of Church of Christ missionaries, at Castel
Gandolfo for a biweekly Bible class, were threatened by a crowd of Italians who, they
said, advanced shouting: "We want the Protestants' bones!"
From Rome came "intimations" that they must close the orphanage and that their
residence permits would not be renewed for 1950. The Italian government said that most
of the 250 converts claimed by the missionaries were Communists.
Stoutly denying any concern with politics, the Churches of Christ appealed to U.S.
embassy in Rome for help. In Dallas, 800-odd Churches of Christ members assembled,
and 378 signed a protesting telegram to President Dewey. Texas Congressman Ed Gossett
went with a delegation to the State Department where, he said, he warned officials that
"if the Italian government runs this orphanage out of Italy, it may have a serious effect on
any future financial aid to Italy."
NO NEED FOR AN ARMY
In January, Costa Ricans once again could boast that their country's schoolmasters
outnumber their soldiers. This happy state of affairs had been accomplished by the simple
method of abolishing the army.
The revolution of 1948 was long past; the 18 months of junta-bossed reconstruction were
over. Under Otilio Ulate, who was installed last November in the presidency to which he
was elected just before the 1948 uprising, the little (pop. 813,000) Central American
republic was fast winning back its old reputation for peace and progress.
Ulate resumed the presidential custom of walking to the San José post office every day to
get his mail. He also walked to work. Coming out of his two-story stucco house on the
capital's north side one day, he struck out as usual past the corner grocery and crossed
the Parque Morazán toward the palace. In the park, a fat waiter passed him. "Buenos
dias, Don Otilio," said the waiter. The President of Costa Rica tipped his hat.
One evening, passing up a Club Unión reception, the President took in the dancing in the
Parque Central. As he sat on a park bench watching the capital's famously handsome
señoritas walk by arm in arm, some drunks raised a cheer for the government's bitterest
enemy, exiled ex-President Rafael Calderón Guardia. Ulate forbade their arrest. "Let them
viva whom they wish," he said.
Ulate was also a citizens' President at his palace desk. Proclaiming that "a little Franciscan
poverty" was necessary if the 1950 budget were to balance, he slashed his own salary
23% (to $570 a month), fired a block of office workers, and reduced the total number
of cars available for government officials to 15. His explanation for abolishing the army
was short and to the point. "So long as the government has the confidence of the
people," he said, "it has an army."
To the disappointment of his conservative backers, Ulate showed no inclination to
modify the 10% tax on capital imposed by Junta Boss José Figueres. But as long as coffee
continued to bring record prices, well-to-do Costa Ricans would not grumble too much.
Congress and country seemed to agree that things were going just about right again. A
satisfied planter in San José said, "Costa Rica has been vaccinated. The revolution did it.
We had to have it. Costa Rica is protected against power-grabbers for the next 50 years.
We have regained the democracy we lost."
HO CHI-MINH CALLS FOR RECOGNITION
The elusive leader of Indo-Chinese insurgency made a plea to the nations of the world to
recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh penned a personal letter to
U.S. President Thomas E. Dewey asking for support for Vietnamese independence, citing
the Atlantic Charter and the U.S. Declaration of Independence, so far, Dewey has not
responded. Nor have any nations outside of the Communist Bloc given any indication
that diplomatic recognition will be extended.
Ho was born in 1890 in the village of Kim Lien in Annam. When the Communists split
from the French Socialist Party in 1921, Ho was a founding member of the French
Communist Party. Yet, even his French colleagues didn't go far enough to satisfy him on
the issue of decolonialization. In June, 1924 Ho traveled to Moscow for training at the
headquarters of the Communist International (Comintern) and took an active role in the
fifth congress of the Comintern, criticizing the French Communist Party for not opposing
colonialism more vigorously. Emphatically, Ho urged the Comintern to actively
promote revolution in Asia. After that, he spent much of his time in Moscow, becoming
the Comintern's Asia hand and the principal theorist on colonial warfare.
In 1930 Ho presided over the founding of a unified Indochinese Communist Party (ICP)
at a conference of the Thanh Nein in Hong Kong. A program of party objectives drafted
by Ho was approved by the conference. The objectives included the overthrow of the
French; establishment of an independent Vietnam ruled by a peoples' government;
nationalization of the economy and cancellation of public debts; land reform; the
introduction of an eight-hour work day; and education for all.
When the Communists sought to organize later that year, the French responded, sending
in Foreign Legion troops to suppress the rebellion. More than 1,000 suspected
communists and rebels were arrested. Four hundred are given long prison sentences.
Eighty, including some party leaders, were executed. Ho is condemned in absentia to
death. Ho, who was still in Hong Kong, continued to operate as a representative of the
Comintern in Southeast Asia.
In January 1941, Ho entered Vietnam for the first time in 30 years and organized the
Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (League for the Independence of Vietnam), or Viet
Minh, in an effort to broaden the base of the revolutionary movement. With the
nucleus of 10,000 guerillas, the infamous "men in black", the Vietminh began their
crusade to rid Vietnam of colonialism. Ho oversaw many successful military actions
against the Vichy French and Japanese occupation of Vietnam during World War II,
supported closely but clandestinely by the United States Office of Strategic Services, and
also later against the French bid to reoccupy the country after 1945.
In January 1945, with the Second World War drawing to a close, Ho Chi Minh traveled
to southern China to meet with leaders of the Free French forces. However, his attempts
to negotiate official recognition of the Vietnamese independence movement met with
little success.
When the French, aid by the Nationalist Chinese threatened to crush the Vietminh, Hồ
Chí Minh had no choice but to sign an agreement with France on March 6, 1946, in
which Vietnam would be recognized as an autonomous state in the Indochinese
Federation and the French Union. The agreement soon broke down and full scale
fighting broke out. On November 20, 1946 following clashes between French and
Vietnamese soldiers, a French cruiser opens fire on the port of Haiphong, on the Red
River Delta 90 km east of Hanoi. Almost 6,000 Vietnamese are killed.
On December 19, 1946, the French ordered Viet Minh forces in the Hanoi area to lay
down their arms and relinquish their authority. The Viet Minh responded with a
counterattack, beginning the First Indochina War. The French soon won control of
Hanoi and most provincial capitals in northern and central Vietnam. By mid- 1947, the
Vietminh seemed crushed and the revolution over.
The Viet Minh regrouped in 1948 creating an army of 250,000 troops that forced the
French from some captured territory and to the negotiating table. Political instability in
Paris zapped France's ability to complete the destruction of the Vietminh. The entire
country was granted nominal independence as an "associated state" within the French
Union but the underlying conflict remains.
Despite the 1948 agreement between the French and Vietminh, the battle in the north
remains. Neither the French nor the Vietminh are interested in any true compromise. It’s
a battle for all or nothing.
In February 1950, Ho Chi Minh met with Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong in Moscow
after the Soviet Union recognized his government. Both Stalin and Mao gave Ho their
assurances that they would back his revolution.
SOVIET SPIES CONVICTED IN NEW YORK
On February 27, 1950 a federal jury at New York found former U.S. Department of
Justice analyst Judith Coplon and United Nations engineering staff employee Valentin A.
Gubitchev guilty of spying for Moscow. FBI agents arrested them a year ago as they were
walking on Third Avenue near 16th Street; slips regarding FBI security reports were found
in Coplon's handbag, her job involved the study of Soviet espionage, and the jury of six
men and six women rejected her lawyer's arguments that she was collecting material for
a book and that she and Gubitchev acted furtively because they were in love and feared
that their liaison would bring down the wrath of Gubitchev's wife or cost Coplon her
job.
ETHIOPIA PETITIONS UN FOR ERITERIA
Emperor Haile Selassie asked the United Nations unite Ethiopia with Eritrea, a former
Italian colony whose government has been administered by British authorities
US LOVE OF THE AUTOMOBILE
U.S. auto production is expected to reach 6.7 million in 1950, which is an increase from
5.1 million last year. Used car sales will exceed 13 million. Auto registrations show one
passenger car for every 3.75 Americans, up from one for every 5.5 in 1930. Today,
Americans own some 40 million cars, up from 32.6 in 1941.
FIGHTING CONTINUES IN CHINA
Although the Communists have taken control of mainland China, the civil war still
continues in some area across the country. The fighting is mostly localized with very little
assistance being provided by the Kuomintang regime that occupies Taiwan.
At the January Politburo meeting, Deng Xiaoping reported that the last isolated pockets
of resistance, in Sichuan ended after the fall of Chengdu on December 10, 1949. Two
weeks of fierce battles killed more than 16,000 rebels.
Still there are many roaming bands of rebels, the so called Kuomintang Islamic
Insurgency, in the barren semi desert and mountainous wastelands of Qinghai, Xinjiang
and Gansu which the Red Chinese will need to smash. There are rumors that these
militant Muslims are receiving aid from abroad.
In other parts of China the communists are imposing order. The New China News
Agency (Communist) announced that 96 terrorists in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
had been arrested in a three-day period and most of them would be facing the death
penalty for conspiracy to overthrow the government. The Red Chinese press says that
these terrorist leaders had even infiltrated the universities and recruited women students
to train them for suicide and sabotage missions.
Fuzhou Reds announced the arrest of 247 suspected secret agents in Fuzhou. The PLA
navy patrol boats boarded a number of suspicious fishing boats in the Formosan Straits
heading towards the mainland. The fishermen had no identification paper and weapons
were found on board. The investigation to determine their nationality is now ongoing.
The Chinese Politburo announced that justice must be served. "There are many former
capitalists, intellectuals and former Kuomintang officials who came over to us two years
ago in the hope that their past crimes against the working class would be forgotten. No
matter what they profess today; they must pay the penalty for the crimes that they
committed yesterday".
INDIA LOWER TARIFFS ON FOOD IMPORTS
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announced a reduction of tariffs on food imports to
India to 5%. This is temporary measure is aimed at promoting a gradual increase in
India's food stockpiles to reduce the effects of a potential famine.
MORE PAVED ROAD
In 1950, the United States has 1.68 million miles of surfaced road, up from 1.34 million in
1940, and only 1.31 million miles of dirt road, down from 1.65
GERMANY ALLOWED AT WORLD CUP
Germany is still denied access to numerous sporting events around the globe, but, on
January 19, the FIFA voted very narrowly to invite the Germans to participate in the
1950 World Cup. The United States, Great Britain and France fought its admission
successfully in 1946, but pressure from the Latin American nations forced them to give
way this year.
WAR IS LIKELY
In a press conference in Mid-February, President Syngman Rhee of South Korea,
denounced recent claims from North Korea that South Korean troops had attacked the
border "absurd".
"To say it is a lie would not be sufficient. It is, in fact, physically impossible. The bulk of
the Republic of Korea's forces were undergoing training exercises at the time, hundreds of
kilometers away. This is a Communist provocation."
Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula as of late. The recent rhetoric out of
Pyong-yang and Beijing has been making the rounds in South Korean media outlets as of
late, including a statement from Chairman Mao that most South Korean leaders
interpreted to be a threat to invade their country.
The recent statements from all parties, combined with this latest border clash, have led
many South Koreans to consider war between the two Koreas inevitable.
President Rhee warned that his people would vigorously resist North Korean aggression.
However, he also added ", I don't believe it has come to that yet, and we hope for a
more reasonable solution to this problem."
A North Korean spokesman responded to the Rhee statement.
"We in the North notice the subtle snake-like words of the south. The South says it is
absurd that their troops attacked the North because most of their troops were
undergoing training elsewhere. But yet, that still admits indirectly that there were troops
on the border. There is speculation that the South Korean maneuvers were held for a
possible invasion of the north using a border altercation as an excuse"
Unlike the South, we do not coat our words with honey to make them sweeter. We
simply state the facts; South Korea fired on North Korean troops and paid for it. There
are North Korean troops dead because of their attack. The honey-coated words of the
administration in the South are nothing but slanderous lies backed by their capitalist
allies. "
TAGE ERLANDER
The Swedish Prime Minister was born in Ransäter, Värmland County as son of the school
teacher Erik Gustaf Erlander (d.1936) and Alma Nilsson. Graduating from Lund University
with a degree in political science and economics in 1928, Erlander was a member of the
editorial staff of the encyclopedia Svensk Upplagsbok from 1929 to 1938. In 1930 he
married Aina Andersson,
Tage Erlander was elected to the municipal council in Lund in 1930, became a member of
parliament in 1932, and was appointed a State Secretary at the Ministry of Social Affairs
in 1938. As State Secretary at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Erlander was one of the most
senior officials responsible for the establishment of internment camps in Sweden during
World War II. In the camps, which were kept secret to the Swedish public, people from
various ethnic minorities as well as political dissidents were interned, particularly
Communists and Soviet Union sympathizers.
In 1942, State Secretary Erlander together with then Minister for Social Affairs Gustav
Möller initiated a nation-wide registration of the so called "Travellers" ethnic group, a
branch of the Romani people that has been resident in Sweden for the last 500 years.
The purpose of the registration was according to a newspaper article, to make the base
for "radical measures" against this "bottom layer of the Swedish population" should any
trouble occur with them. During this period, Erlander became a strong advocate of
collaboration with the Germans.
Erlander ascended to the cabinet in 1944 as Minister without Portfolio, a post he held to
the next year, when he became Minister for Education. When Prime Minister Per Albin
Hansson suddenly died in 1946, Erlander was unexpectedly chosen as the successor and
subsequently also as the leader of the party. Many Western observers believe that
Erlander was chosen because of pressure put on the Riksdag by German Chancellor
Volker Heckmann
USSR TO SUPPORT NORTH KOREA
On March 2, 1950 the Soviet Foreign Ministry issued the following statement regarding
Korea.
"The people of the Soviet Union and her allies will support our fraternal brothers in
North Korean against any aggression by counter-revolutionary forces. The march of
World Socialism will continue peacefully and aggressions by failed effort of the
bourgeoisie of the South to impose their system of exploitation of the working class will
not be accepted. Our visionary comrade, Josef Stalin has noted that the protection of
the revolution is paramount and that if the revolution is threatened by efforts of the
failed political systems, steps will be taken to insure the protection of our comrades."
THE KING OF LAOS
Sisavang Vong succeeded his father as King of Luang Prabang after the death of his father,
March 25, 1904. Luang Phrabang was then a French protectorate within French
Indochina. He ascended the throne, at the old Royal Palace, Luang Prabang, April 15,
1904, and was crowned there, March 4, 1905. During the early years of his reign, the
French built a modern palace for his use; the Royal Palace of Luang Prabang. Under his
leadership, Laos became a nation as he united provinces Houaphan, 1931; Houakhong;
Xiengkhouang and Vientiane, 1942; Champassak and Sayboury, 1946.
He is a lifelong supporter of French rule in Laos. In 1945 he refused to cooperate with
Lao nationalists and was deposed when the Lao Issara declared the country independent.
In April 1946, the French took over once again and he was reinstated as king (the first
time a Lao monarch actually ruled all of what is today called Laos).
SUBMARINE SINKS
In a freak accident on January 12, a Swedish tanker rammed a British submarine
Truculent and sank her. 64 British sailors were killed.
TRUMAN CALLS FOR NEW MINIMUM WAGE LAW
Former President Harry S. Truman spoke to the CIO textile workers in Chicago urging
the Democratic Party sponsor a bill to raise the minimum wage to $1 an hour and to
change the wording of the law as to include larger numbers of workers.
HOLD THE LINE ON TAXES AT 28%
Senator Robert A. Taft, leader of the conservative faction of the Republican Party in the
U.S. Senate, has called upon President Dewey to hold the line on taxation for both
individuals and corporations at 28%. The conservatives seem quite serious in trimming
the Federal Budget to keep taxes down.
NO LIMIT IN SIGHT
As far as the U.S. Office of Education could see in March 1950, there seemed to be no
limit in sight. By 1960, it reckoned, U.S. primary and secondary schools will have 8
million more students than they have now, and their total enrollment will hit 37 million.
U.S. colleges & universities are also smashing records. Since V-J day, the nation has built
150 new four-year and two-year colleges, 80 of them last year alone. It can expect to
build 75 more in 1950. As matters stand now, the U.S. can boast more colleges &
universities (1,808) and more college students (2½ million) than any other nation.
FREE ENTERPRISE VS CONSUMER PROTECTION
Senator Paul Kerr (D-Oklahoma) is pushing a bill through Congress that would deny the
Federal Power Commission the right to regulate what natural-gas producers could charge
interstate pipeline operators for gas. Supporters of the bill say that the market should set
the price of natural gas and that government price regulation will only stunt the growth
of the industry. So great is the demand for natural gas that 18,000 miles of pipeline have
been authorized in the last two years. Shortly natural gas will pour into the North
Atlantic and New England states. Kerr insists that price of natural gas will drop as more
and more customers share the costs of expanding the pipelines across the United States.
PHARAOH GORES SACRED BULL
Seldom in Wall Street's history had stocks climbed so steeply for so long without a
setback. Since January 1949, the values of stocks have increased approximately 25% in
value. After over a year of a raging bull market, international tensions caused the bull to
stumble - and as usual caught many an investor flatfooted.
On February 26, 1950 with the end of an uneventful day of trading was only 60 minutes
away when a massive wave of selling started. As orders poured in from all over the
United States, the market tape fell eleven minutes behind actual transactions. In those last
minutes 1,350,000 shares changed hands, and prices tumbled as much as 3 to 5 points.
The reason for the "gored bull" was anxiety caused by the Egyptians insisting on their
rights to close the Suez Canal even in peacetime. When Great Britain supported that
position, the Soviet Union rattled sabers at both nations, threatening to reopen the Canal
by force. The topic was heatedly debated at the United Nations with no resolve.
Next day the shake-out continued as trading reached 3,330,000 shares, the biggest since
May 1948. At the bottom of the two-day decline, the Dow-Jones industrial average was
off more than 7 points. But in the final hour of the second day, the market suddenly
reversed itself and started up. The rebound was caused by the Germans announcing a
low tariff treaty with the United States and lowering their interest rates a half a point.
Later, Trade Minister Ludwig Erhard told the media that Germany's action purposely
intended to stop the stock slide, which could have been disastrous for the world
economy.
At week's end the average was still 5.06 points below the 1950 high of 201.98. But
traders thought that the bull had merely been pricked by the picador, and was a long
way from the kill.
ANOTHER ENEMY OF STATE SENTENCED
In Romania, Ticu Dumitrescu, vocal opponent of the nation's Communist regime, was
sentenced to 27 years prison for being an enemy of the state. As one of the leaders of the
National Peasant's Party, Dumitrescu fought very hard politically to stop the Communist
takeover of the government after World War II.
POLAND
In Poland, on March 16, the Brody-Pinsk express derailed and more than 200 people
were killed. ZWZ claimed responsibility for the act of terrorism. The railroad is owned by
a German consortium.
Heavy fighting was reported 50 miles southeast of Lwow as Polish National Guard tried
to pacify the area from ZWZ in January, 1950. Initially, the campaign did well;
liquidating 2000 guerillas, but winter storms and record cold temperatures brought a
temporary halt to the operations.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED
Hungarian Prime Minister Matyas Rakosi closed 6,669 Catholic schools in Hungary,
furloughing 25,896 teachers. All church lands were confiscated with hundreds of churches
closed down.
The root of this policy move was a plan by the Hungarian government to extend the
prewar four year school curriculum to eight years, which would become compulsory as
well. The Communists wanted the children to receive the same curriculum throughout
the country using the same textbooks, Cardinal József Mindszenty refused saying on the
Catholic Church would approve what is taught in parochial schools. Unable to resolve
the impasse led Rakosi to close the schools.
The land issue stemmed from the Catholic Church being the largest landowner in
Hungary -1.375 million acres. The Communists decided that the land should be
redistributed, Cardinal Mindszenty refused even though the government offered to pay
the Church $8 million a year. Most agree that the sum was too small, but the Church
wouldn't even negotiate.
TO THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS
Romanian Premier Petra Groza ordered a police sweep of anyone suspected of
monarchist, fascist or anti-party tendencies. Over 10,000 people were arrested and sent
to concentration camps. The Romanian government said that many of people were
plotting against the government.
ANTI-COMMUNIST MOVES IN AUSTRALIA
The Australian government has tried in vain to deport British-born James ("Big Jim")
Healy, Communist boss of the Dockers. On February 3, Australia's efforts to ride the
Dock Workers of its Communist leadership received a heavy blow when the High Court
voided a 1949 law criminalize the Communist Party and giving the government power
to "declare" union officials and government workers Communists to remove them from
their positions. In defending the overturned law, Prime Minister Robert Menzies said,
"We are not dealing with the ordinary Australian citizen who is entitled to be treated
with all the delicacies of the law. We are dealing with a movement of scoundrels, of
enemies of the people, whose one desire is to pull Australia down." When the High
Court invalidated his law, Menzies promised, "This is not the end of the fight against
Communism. It is merely the beginning." The Dockers Union responded that "the only
ideology that they pushed was fair wages and working conditions for their membership
and accused Menzies of using Communism as a scare tactic to hold wages down and the
worker in servitude."
POPULATE OR PERISH
A happy-go-lucky country in the first 40 years of her national life, Australia awoke with a
shock one morning in 1941. The date was December 10, and in the space of a few hours
the British navy ceased to be a power in the Pacific. Through the fall of Singapore to the
Battle of the Coral Sea, Australia became acutely aware of her isolated geographical
position and, in the face of Asia's agitated masses, her own lack of people. "We must
populate or perish," shouted Arthur Calwell, the Labor government's Immigration
Minister. "We must double or quit," wrote Liberal Leader R. G. Casey. At war's end the
opposition political parties were agreed on one point: large-scale immigration was vital.
In the past six years 700,000 Europeans - including 165,000 displaced persons - have
entered Australia, a larger intake, in proportion to the population (8,000,000), than that
of the United States during its greatest immigration periods.
According to immigration opponents, Australia's generous immigration policy (each new
immigrant costs the Australian taxpayer $2,600) has contributed surprisingly little to
solving its labor shortages. The majority of immigrants have arrived with limited skills to
aid industry and they eat food that was once profitably exported. Menzies' critics like to
cite the incident at Bonegilla, a wartime camp of wooden huts, where immigrants are
instructed in the English language and Australian customs, 2,300 Italians threatened to
burn down the camp if not given work.
Immigration Minister Harold Holt would like a green light to actively recruit immigrants
from Europe (British preferably). A few members of Parliament advocate a "guest worker
program" that would allow Indonesians to work in Australia for short periods of time to
make up for the labor shortage. In the past, some recommendations have been poorly
received in Parliament. Many Australians would not stand for the influx of Muslim Asians
into the country.
Prime Minister Menzies says that a severe shortage of workers in the manufacturing and
business sectors has been underway since the end of the war and growing worse. Very
straight forward with the conservative members of Parliament, he has warned that this is
causing a rise in inflation as workers can demand, and get, higher salaries. His solution
calls for a liberal policy in immigration and an intensified job training program for
unskilled immigrants that come to Australia. Parliament approved the job training
program, but would not alter its immigration policy. According to the law, all
immigrants must at least have a passable command of the English language or be able to
pass an English language skills test within 6 months or face deportation as per the law.
Australian unions are in favor of wages rising. They believe that high wages and more
fringe benefits will encourage immigration of skilled workers; wages were too low to
attract Americans, Germans, Canadians or Swedes.
MIRROR OF LIFE
When the British government raised the lid on the newsprint ration last January,
newspaper circulations soared, but none of the dailies rocketed to such stratospheric
heights as the Sunday papers. The sexy, sensational Sunday Pictorial, weekend sister of
Harry Guy Bartholomew's London Daily Mirror jumped 730,000, biggest gain for any
British newspaper. By the end of January, the combined circulation of Britain's eleven
national Sunday papers had hit an astounding 30 million copies a week.
But not everybody was as happy about the whole thing as the Sundays' proprietors and
their readers in the United Kingdom seemed to be. Recently in the House of
Commons, Labor M.P. John Haire rose to deplore the increase of journalistic
"speculation, sex, sensationalism and sheer lies," and Dr. John R. Rees, one of Britain's
most eminent psychiatrists, stigmatized some of the Sundays, which he did not specify, as
"chambers of horrors."
Lord Kemsley's unsexy, unsensational Sunday Times (circ. 521,000) rushed to defend its
more wayward and widely read sisters, "Is it not time that those who . . . make such
attacks should . . . particularize the journals which they wish to pillory?" It was true, as
the Sunday Times said, that not all the Sundays were devoted to rape, robbery and
remorse; two (the Sunday Times itself and the Observer) were sober news and feature
weeklies, and several others were only mildly sensational. But some of the scandal
mongering and crime stories of the biggest British Sundays made even U.S. tabloids seem
as staid as high-school annuals.
Deplorable. Loudest and lustiest of all is the fast-growing Sunday Pictorial, edited by 36year-old Hugh Cudlipp, younger brother of Editor Percy Cudlipp of Labor's
Daily Herald. "The Pic" now in third place with a 4,734,000 circulation, manages to cram
its pages with sex, invariably in the guise of deploring pornography and impropriety.
Sample: when a schoolmaster and his 10-year-old girl pupils went off into the woods
after watching a school sex-instruction film (he got three months in jail), the Pic devoted
Page One to stills from the banned movie under the pious headline NOW PARENTS
CAN JUDGE FOR THEMSELVES. Last month readers were treated to a leering exclusive,
CONFESSIONS OF A FAKE DOCTOR, which the paper printed just to show "the urgent
need for [legal] reform."
The Pic has also turned sex into sales with its own Kinsey report on John Bull's private
life (headline: 450 VERY FRANK MEN AND WOMEN). Last summer, when cameramen
pursued Princess Margaret into an Italian grotto and peered into her bedroom, the Pic
loudly protested this invasion of her privacy. Naturally, it had to run pictures to show
how unprincipled the invasion had been.
The second biggest paper, The People, is something like a light lady who has married and
tried to settle down. It blends sensationalism with folksiness, makes a try at teaching
readers how to cook, dance, cure athlete's foot, play the horses and read the stars. But
58-year-old Editor Harry Ainsworth, who has raised The People's circulation from
300,000 to 4,958,000 in 24 years, also puts crime and sex stories in their place generally on Page One. Last month, The People's eager readers were being filled in on
THE WORST MEN IN THE WORLD (the inmates of Alcatraz) and how HYENAS EAT 90
BABIES.
Still far out in front in the circulation parade is Britain's, and the worlds, biggest
newspaper, News of the World (circulation: 8,320,000). In one recent issue, News of the
World readers were served up such titillating headlines as WOMAN SCREAMED IN BUS
QUEUE, CLERK WITH SPLIT MIND IN 4 A.M. HOTEL SCENE; UNCLE AND PARENT
TO SAME CHILDREN; MEN THRASHED PIG UNTIL IT DIED. But what really sells the
News of the World is not its headlines but its detailed, deadpan reporting of court
testimony in all manner of sex and criminal cases. Sample: from last month's report of
how BOY AGED 15 ACCUSES A MARRIED WOMAN, "The 15-year-old boy said in
evidence that he often visited the house and played cards with [a married couple]. One
night in the summer of 1949 he found [the wife] alone. She sat near him on the sofa and
improperly assaulted him. The boy continued: 'I visited the house again nearly every
evening. Several times the things I have described happened.' "
To critics of the Sundays, 61-year-old Editor Arthur G. Waters of News of the World
replies, "We are performing a great public service; we are a mirror of life. Doesn't the
simple fact of our great circulation suggest the terrible demand of the average man to
know just what his neighbors' next door are doing? [That many] million Englishmen can't
be wrong."
ZWZ CALLS FOR AID
Years of fighting the fascist Nation Guard have stretched the ZWZ to its limit. A
spokesman in Geneva said that the ZWZ was running short of weapons and ammunition.
"What we need to fight the Nazis is an ally that will give us the tools necessary to free
Poland!" Appeals were sent to the United States, Great Britain, France, Canada and the
Soviet Union.
Most observers believe that the ZWZ has the support of the majority of Poles who
simply see the Lublin government as a "Quisling government." However, getting aid to
the ZWZ is very difficult given its geographical location of being surrounded on one side
by Germany and the other by the USSR. The Soviets are the key to Polish independence,
only they can deliver what is needed. However, in the past, the Germans and the Soviets
have had an unspoken agreement not to interfere in one another's domestic affairs.
Would Stalin take a risk of troubles with Germany for Poland?
If the ZWZ doesn't receive aid, the resistance will be crushed within two years at a
maximum.
WAR GAMES IN EGYPT HEIGHTEN TENSIONS
Egyptian war games held in mid-March brought tensions even higher in the Middle East.
With King Farouk's rhetoric about closing the Suez to "enemy shipping"…meaning
Israeli…Egyptian war games in the Sinai brought the Israeli military to a full red alert.
Eventually, tempers did cool, but not before King Farouk was condemned globally as a
"rabid dog." King Farouk pointed out to all that would listen that the newspapers
condemning him were "all owned by Jews."
YUGOSLAVIAN ECONOMY UNDER COMMUNISM
In August 1945, the regime seized remaining large and medium-size land holdings along
with property belonging to banks, churches, monasteries, absentee landlords, private
companies, and the expelled German minority. It gave half the land to peasants and
allocated the rest to state-owned enterprises. The authorities postponed forced
collectivization but required peasants to sell any surplus to the state at below-market
prices. Peasants received incentives to join newly founded state and cooperative farms.
The Communists quickly implemented the Stalinist model for rapid industrial
development; by 1948 they had nationalized virtually all the country's wealth except
privately held land. State planners set wages and prices and compiled a grandiose fiveyear plan that emphasized exploitation of domestic raw materials, development of heavy
industry, and economic growth in underdeveloped regions. The Yugoslavs relied on tax
and price policies, reparations, Soviet credits, and export of foodstuffs, timber, mineral,
and metal exports to generate capital. They redirected the bulk of their trade toward the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
All economic activity for the period of the First Five-Year Plan (1947-52) was directly
managed by the Federal Planning Commission, which, in turn, was closely supervised by
the party. The objectives of the plan were to overcome economic and technological
backwardness, strengthen economic and military power, enhance and develop the
socialist sector of the country, increase the people's welfare, and narrow the gap in
economic development among regions.
The first postwar years saw implementation of Soviet-style five-year plans and
reconstruction through massive voluntary work. The countryside was electrified and
heavy industry was developed. The economy was organized as a mixed planned socialist
economy and a decentralized, worker managed market socialist economy: factories were
nationalized, and workers were entitled to a certain share of their profits.
Privately owned craftshops could employ up to 4 people per owner. The land was
partially nationalized and redistributed, and partially collectivized. Farmer households
could own up to 10 hectares of land per person and the excess farmland was owned by
co-ops, agricultural companies or local communities. These could sell and buy land, as
well as give it to people in perpetual lease.
4th BRITISH EMPIRE GAMES
The 4th British Empire games kicked off in Auckland, New Zealand on the February 4,
1950. The main Venue was the lavish Eden Park Stadium, though the closing ceremony
was held at Western Springs Stadium on the February 11, 1950.
12 dominions vied for the medals: Australia, Canada, Ceylon, England, Fiji, Malaya, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Southern Rhodesia, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Malaya and
Nigeria competed for the first time.
Despite being everyone’s favorite to lead the table, the English could only manage
second place with a triumphant Australia sweeping the board and Canada took a hard
earned third place in the medals table. Southern Rhodesia and Wales was bottom of the
rankings with a medal apiece.
At the 1950 British Empire Games all the teams won at least one medal.
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Nation
Australia
England
New Zealand
Canada
South Africa
Scotland
Malaya
Fiji
Ceylon
Nigeria
Wales
Southern Rhodesia
Total
Gold
34
19
10
8
8
5
2
1
1
0
0
0
88
Silver
27
16
22
9
4
3
1
2
2
1
1
1
89
Bronze
19
13
22
14
8
2
1
2
1
0
0
0
80
Total
80
48
54
31
20
10
4
5
4
1
1
1
257
THE NEED FOR CHANGE
In early January, Volker Heckmann went before Reichstag to deliver a message that was
far less a communication than a challenge. It denounced "entrenched greed,"
"unscrupulous money changers," "discredited special interests," "political puppets of an
economic autocracy" and "those who 'gang up' to keep the people economically
destitute." German newspapers called his speech the first gun of the campaign against the
plutocrats.
Through cheering crowds, Fuhrer Heckmann strode to the Reichstag on sunny, but cold
day. At a side door, he shed his dark overcoat and revealed himself in his new uniform, a
handsome ash-grey three piece suit. Ironically, for a man of the people, he looked every
inch the plutocrat that he lambasted. When Herr Heckmann entered the crowded
chamber rose and applauded not only the President of the Germany, but a man
possessing near to absolute power.
While his message was radical, it at no point did it renounce private property or the right
to accumulate wealth. Instead, Heckmann demanded that the opportunity for both to be
extended to each and every German. On the issue of pensions, he bluntly said "Every
working German is entitled to have financial security during his golden years. After forty
years of toil, they should not live in poverty as they do in the capitalist world. For that
reason, we have passed a law to provide pensions starting at age 60 with a maximum of
75% of their best three years of earnings. In the United States, their social security system
forces the retirees to work to 65 and exist on 40% of their wages."
On the issue of farming, he beamed, "the days of inefficient farming is over. The great
estates of the east have been divided and given to ambitious young families, who are
eager for their share of prosperity. With our financial assistance and professional advice
and training, they will double our agricultural output in no time."
"Overproduction, underproduction and speculation are three evil sisters who distill the
troubles of unsound inflation and disastrous deflation. Sober second thought confirms
most of us in the belief that the broad objectives of the Labor Front Act were sound. We
know now that its difficulties arose from the fact that it tried to do too much. For
example, it was unwise to expect the same agency to regulate the length of working
hours, minimum wages, child labor and collective bargaining on the one hand and the
complicated questions of unfair trade practices and business controls on the other.
Therefore, some of these tasks will be delegated elsewhere so that the Labor Front can
concentrate exclusively on the workingman."
Fuhrer Heckmann demanded that all businesses in Germany provide profit sharing for
their employees. "By this I don't mean some retirement scheme in which money remains
in the hands of the company to be used for reinvestment. I mean money in the worker's
hands." Urging companies to gain the trust and loyalty of the worker, he prophesized the
productivity would rise to an all time high. "The problem with the capitalist system is
that they trickle down Pfennigs to the people, while in the Communist system they use
the club to make them perform or send them to concentration camps."
On the issue of child labor, his words seemed inflexible and direct. "Children have rights
that cannot be abridged by even their parents. The child must be given the means
requisite for its normal development, both materially and spiritually. The child that is
hungry must be fed, the child that is sick must be nursed, the child that is backward must
be helped, the delinquent child must be reclaimed, and the orphan and the waif must be
sheltered and succored. The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress.
The child must be put in a position to learn how to earn a livelihood, and must be
protected against every form of exploitation. The child must be brought up in the
consciousness that its talents must be devoted to the service of its fellow men. We are
not meeting these needs."
Fuhrer Heckmann gave Ministry of Education wide powers to enforce national education
standards in all schools within the Reich. The power of the Landers (provinces) in
education was greatly curtailed. Kindergarten became compulsory. Additional teachers
were to be hired so that each class in the Grundschule (ages 6-12) had a maximum of 15
students. "I want nurturing teachers that are missionized in their task, not ones putting in
time boring children to death." More science and mathematics courses were to be
instituted in the Realschule (ages 13-15) and strict exit requirements in all courses. Physical
education was made a daily class. Special schools would be created for the gifted and
vocational schools for the non-university bound students. "School must be over by 1 PM,
do not tell me that children need this many hours in a school day or year, it is not a jail
sentence. Teachers should be first amongst learners and students should be active in the
classes." Further, he charged that it was the responsibility of the parents to see that their
child attended school or that they would be held accountable in a court of law. Except in
farming families, children under 16 were not to work unless part of a Ministry approved
apprentice program. School uniforms were required and in a number of classes, boys
would be separated from girls.
He ended his speech by saying, "Germany is on the move. Change is good. Do not be
afraid to leave past practices behind for a better future. By 1970, the world will live in
awe of our civilization."
THE FIGHT AGAINST TB
The French Chamber of Deputies approved a mandatory program of vaccination against
the tuberculosis. Prime Minister Henri Queuille called Tuberculosis "a serious threat to
everyone in France that could be eliminated in a generation with vaccinations."
FRANCE ESTABLISHES MINIMUM WAGE
Another piece of legislation that Prime Minister Henri Queuille pushed through the
Chamber of Deputies was a minimum wage law. Effective April 1, all employers must pay
the employees at least 90 FF a month. Unemployment compensation was also raised to
that monetary level too.
Queuille had to overcome a great deal of resistance to this legislation within his coalition,
but he insisted this was necessary to aid the workingman and stop him from gravitating
to the left. Still, some conservatives worry about wage inflation, uncompetitive products
and lost jobs.
BIG LAYOFFS AT ITALIAN FACTORIES
Major layoffs were reported at the Breda factories in Venice, the OMI factories in Rome
and the Fonderi Liguri plants in Genoa. In the Milan region alone the Caproni plant,
employing 6,000 workers, and the Safar plant were shut down; 5,000 out of 10,000
employed in the Isotta Fraschini establishment were laid off. The corporations furloughed
thousands of their employees and were unable to make payroll twice in a three month
period. In each case, the corporation reneged on the non-layoff clauses in their labor
contracts causing an outcry across Italy.
The main problem is that Italian industry operates at a permanent deficit. Technological
backwardness and the absence of an adequate internal market render big Italian industry
incapable of competing on the world markets with the heavy industry of the advanced
capitalist countries. Living and operating solely by virtue of government orders and
credits, the continuing crisis which industry has experienced since the “liberation” has
been aggravated by the success of the workers in preventing layoffs.
Italian General Confederation of Labor (CGIL) says the industralist have violated labor
agreements signed since 1945 and that they would call a general strike beginning in April
if all the workers were not rehired. The Italian Communist Party has declared its
solidarity with the labor unions.
All eyes are fixed upon Italian Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi to see what action that
he takes.
A NEW DAM
King Farouk told the press that his government was studying the possibility of building a
larger embankment dam at Aswan to better regulate the annual flooding of the Nile
River and the storage of water for agriculture all year long. The Egyptians are interested
in generating hydroelectricity at Aswan too.
NEW SAUDI OIL DEAL
On May 29, 1933, when the Saudi government signed a concessionary agreement with
Standard Oil of California (Socal), allowing the company to explore Saudi Arabia for oil.
Standard Oil of California assigned this concession to a wholly owned subsidiary called
California-Arabian Standard Oil Co. (Casoc). In 1936 with the company having no
success at locating oil, the Texas Oil Company purchased a 50% stake of the concession.
After a long unsuccessful search that lasted around four years, the oil strike came with the
seventh drill site in Dammam, an area located a few miles north of Dhahran in 1938. The
development of this well, which immediately produced over 1,500 barrels per day, gave
the company confidence to continue and flourish. The company name was changed in
1944 from California-Arabian Standard Oil Company to Arabian American Oil Company
(or Aramco). In 1948, Standard Oil of California and the Texas Oil Company were
joined as investors by Standard Oil of New Jersey who purchased 30% of the company,
and Socony Vacuum who purchased 10% of the company, leaving Standard Oil of
California and the Texas Oil Company with equal 30% shares.
In February 1950, King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud threatened to nationalize his country's oil
facilities, thus pressuring Aramco to agree to share profits 50/50. A similar process had
taken place with American oil companies in Venezuela a few years earlier. The American
government granted US Aramco member companies a tax break known as the golden
gimmick equivalent to the profits given to Ibn Saud. In the wake of the new
arrangement, the company's headquarters was moved from New York to Dhahran.
King Ibn Saud told President Thomas E. Dewey that he had no choice but play hardball
with the oil companies. For thirty years, his government has faced a constant budgetary
crisis and lacked the financial ability to develop the country. The King said that his
country's only real asset was oil and it had to help build the country.
To show his support for Saudi Arabia, President Dewey arranged a 7.5 billion loan from
a cartel of U.S. banks.
OFF SHORE SUPERPOWERS
To mark an event that will put his name in the history books for generations, Clement
Attlee slipped one afternoon in late January into a crowded room of London's India
House. When flashbulbs flared, he grimaced and ducked behind his wife. Politely, the
photographers went away, and the Prime Minister who had given India its freedom
stood quietly sipping his tea in the midst of an austere celebration. At one point, Atlee
chatted with Tory MP Anthony Eden. They agreed, "India was a jigsaw puzzle best left to
the natives. "The question that stomped both men was whether this marked the
beginning of a decline of the British Empire or a new resurgence.
In nearly five years as Prime Minister, Clement Atlee had not only given freedom to
India, Burma, Ceylon and Pakistan, he had also given to Britain a new way of life. Some
of Atlee's followers called it Socialism; some called it "fair shares for all"; some called it
the welfare state. Winston Churchill scornfully snarled out that it was a regime of checks
and taxes. "Labor's womb-to-tomb security has put us all in the poorhouse," Churchill
bellowed before the House of Commons.
Atlee would soon have to call elections. Then, Britain's voters would decide whether the
Labor Party should have another five-year grant of power to continue and extend their
experiment. It would be a referendum on greatest social changes ever experienced in
modern Britain.
On January 23, speaking for the Tories, Winston Churchill brought in a partisan
but eloquent indictment: "Despite all that Atlee says, the crisis is still far from over. He
has given half the empire away, but we still don't have solvency, security and
independence. More than ever, we must rely upon the United States for protection from
the totalitarian states of the world. The wealth that once belonged to our great nation
has fled to more vigorous societies. Five more years of Atlee and we will be sister states
with Portugal."
"Vigor has been denied us not only by the incompetence of the Socialist government and
their wild extravagance, but even more by the spirit of class hatred which they had
spread throughout the land, and by the costly and wasteful nationalization of a fifth part
of our industries. 'All men,' says the American Constitution, 'are born equal.' 'All men
shall be kept equal,' says the British Socialist party."
The Labor Party election manifesto, said Churchill, contains "an effective design, or plot for that is a truer term - to obtain power over their fellow countrymen such as no British
government has ever sought before."
These were harsh words to apply to the party headed by Clement Atlee, Deputy Prime
Minister in Churchill's cabinet from 1942 to 1945. By temperament, training and
conviction, Atlee was as far from being either a spendthrift or a dictator as any man
could be. Yet his party's record in power and its program for the future had frightened
many a less partisan Briton than Winston Churchill.
The seeming contradiction between the gentle Atlee and the frequently ungentle Labor
Party could not be explained by brushing Attlee off as a figurehead. In actual power over
party decisions, quiet, little (5 ft. 7½ in., 140 lbs.), Clem Atlee stood head & shoulders
above his fellow Laborite leaders. This was true even though he lacked Aneurin Bevan's
fiery eloquence, Herbert Morrison's parliamentary skill, Sir Stafford Cripps's brilliance and
Ernest Bevin's command of the warm loyalty of millions of unionists. What Attlee did
have was political balance and a sense of timing. These faculties were all-important as the
Labor Party walked a tightrope with militant socialism on its left and a wary middle class
on its right. Labor would need the support of large sections of both groups to survive. If
any man could appeal to both, Attlee could.
His proposed budget before the House of Commons is a more modest one. It's aimed at
jump starting the British economy with less emphasis on social programs. Even Ernest
Bevin agreed that was necessary. It also contained a provision to restart trade with
Germany with relatively low tariffs. This has long been an anathema amongst Laborites,
but persistently sought by the Tories. Churchill, who lost power over his inability to
defeat Heckmann, is the strongest advocate of those renewed ties. "Whatever the
tattered past, the age of Hitler is over. The Germans need us, and we need the Germans.
Either that or Europe will lose its voice in world affairs to the offshore superpowers."
The nation awaits Atlee to call elections. He must soon.
FRANCO SAYS THAT ALL HIS SUBJECTS MUST BECOME LITERATE
Spanish Generalissimo Francisco Franco announced that education would become a
primary focus of Spain in the 1950s. Franco's goal is to improve the literacy rate in the
nation, increase both elementary and secondary enrollments and push teenagers to
graduate from high school. The Spanish dictator wants to achieve universal literacy by
1960. A special Department of Education was created for building schools, educating
teachers, writing curriculums, providing educational materials and financially aiding
students attending higher education.
FIVE YEAR PLAN
President Syngman Rhee announced on February 7 the implementation of what he called
a “Five-Year Plan” for the economic development of the Republic of Korea. The plan,
largely funded by foreign aid, included a number of subsidies and tax credits towards
developing the agricultural industry in South Korea, as well as an ambitious plan at
building a national grid, a necessity in the view of many, to resolve the problems of the
current make-shift system that was thrown together after power from the North was cut
off when the countries split.
His plan called for the building of new power plants, farm mechanization, accelerated
development of the silk industry, modernizing the Tungsten mines and building irrigation
systems to help the farmers.
BEING BLED TO DEATH
Despite France officially recognizing the "independence" of the State of Vietnam in
1949 within the French Union under Emperor Bao Dai, the Viet Minh quickly denounced
the government and stated that they wanted "real independence, not Bao Dai
independence". Under the agreement with Emperor Bao Dai, France still controlled all
defense issues and all foreign relations, as Vietnam was only an independent state within
the French Union. The United States, Great Britain, China, Japan, Thailand, Brazil and
other Western states recognized the new state - neither the USSR nor Germany would.
Emperor Bao Dai says that the formation of the Vietnamese National Army to be
commanded by Vietnamese officers is vital for winning the war. General d' Armee Jean
de Lattre de Tassigny stands opposed to this idea because of Vietnamese corruption and
Communist infiltration, but the French Ministry of Defense supports Bao Dai thinking
that Vietnamese troops could be used mostly to garrison quiet sectors of the country so
French forces would be available for combat. That matters lies before Prime Minister
Henri Queuille and the French Chamber of Deputies. To some degree that was already
happening with private armies like Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and the Binh Xuyen gangster
armies that fight on the French side.
With Mao's victory in China, now the Chinese border could be used by the Soviets and
Red Chinese to reinforce Ho Chi Minh. This has changed the situation quite a bit in
Vietnam. Viet Minh strength is the strongest in North Vietnam and Laos. It's the weakest
in Cambodia.
In February, Vietminh General Vo Nguyen Giap launched an offense in the north. He
seized the vulnerable 150-strong French garrison at Lai Khe in Tonkin just south of the
border with China. The French sent the 1st and 2nd infantry divisions to recapture the
area. In the mountainous jungles near the Chinese borders, the French infantry found
themselves in a battle with 30,000 Vietminh soldiers who had anticipated their arrival
laying mines and traps. It was bloody since the Vietminh had the advantage of hidden
defense. The French brought in bombers and artillery with some success in this covered
terrain. Finally after a week of battle, the French recaptured Lai Khe losing 3500 soldiers
(the Vietminh lost 9,000). The garrison troops had all been killed.
On February 25, General Giap launched another assault - this time on Cao Bang. 4,000
French soldiers were still holding off a 20,000 man Vietminh forces as the month ended.
The French had called in heavy bombardments from their air force to support the
garrison. The 1st and 2nd French infantries fought their way partway to Cao Bang under
constant insurgent attack. The Vietminh intercepted French supply trucks, so it was
necessary for the French reinforcements to clear an area of Vietminh insurgents as they
progressed. Dropping supplies by air was difficult and the Vietminh quickly attacked
helicopters. Estimated losses in battle; 1200 French and 3500 Vietminh.
The French General Staff says that it can't guard all of Indochina with only 4 divisions of
ground troops and a unit of commandos. Causalities had weakened both 1st and 2nd
French infantries a good deal. In their opinion, the Vietminh are trying to bleed the
French to death to cause loss of morale.
(1st and 3rd French infantries advanced to being disciplined units. Both units are fatigued.
)
TITO PUSHES FOR UNITY
Yugoslavian strongman Josef Tito initiated a campaign to promote "Strength through
Unity" conveying the idea that if Yugoslavia sticks together as a nation then nothing is
beyond accomplishment. Tito reminded his subjects about "our great defeat of Germany
during the war, followed by the crushing of the British sponsored monarchy aimed at
restoring the nobles and landlords to power." Tito warned that the Royalists and their
allies are still plotting to destroy the Republic to regain control and subjugate the masses
once more. He urged "watch for those who try to poison the minds of the people."
The UDBA used many methods to support Yugoslav unity: posters of Marshal Tito
leading troops in battle, newsletters talking about the Royalists and their landowners had
pocketed the people's money leaving the nation destitute, radio broadcasts accounting
for the war atrocities of Nazi supported Ustasa and how it remains in hiding even today
clandestinely supported by the Germans and many other things aimed at supporting
national unity.
TROUBLES IN BASRA
Adding to Prime Minister Clement Atlee's woes, the Manchester Guardian ran several
news stories this month about the horrible living conditions in the Iraqi city of Basra. The
city has a population of 250,000 with over 90% of the population living in poverty.
The photographs of malnourished and disease-stricken Iraqi children made the good
people of Great Britain shudder.
The Manchester Guardian exposed the Basra royal police for their corruption and
brutality. One photograph, very provoking, was that of young boy in a pool of blood
with Iraqi police standing over his body. Another photograph showed police beating
Basra people dressed in rags.
Iraq is a very crucial ally of Great Britain in the Middle East. The area surrounding Basra
has substantial large petroleum resources and many oil wells. Iraq has the world's fourth
largest oil reserves estimated to be 360 billion barrels, most of it from Basra. 80% of the
oil in Basra is unexplored. British Petroleum has a 60 year lease on the oil concession.
Iraqi King Faisal II is only 15 years old and too young to rule. Faisal's uncle 'Abd al-Ilah
has served as Regent since King Ghazi was killed in a mysterious car crash in 1938. With
his cousin, Prince Hussein of Jordan Faisal is attending Harrow School in the United
Kingdom. The real power behind the throne is General Nuri al-Sa'id, a veteran politician
and nationalist who had already served several terms as Prime Minister.
There have been outbreaks of rebellion against the Iraqi government, which the British
have helped suppress. Though the regime sees secure, intense dissatisfaction with Iraq's
condition brews just below the surface. An ever-widening gap between the wealth
possessed by political elites, landowners and other supporters of the regime on the one
hand, and the poverty of workers and peasants on the other, has intensified opposition
to Faisal's government.
Basra, and Iraq on a larger scale, despises the British. Iraqis believe that the British have
used various treaties as a cover to permanently limit the independence of Iraq and to
give themselves a right to intervene in the internal affairs of Iraq as they pleased. The
treaties always revolved around protecting the access to Iraqi oil resources by British
companies by giving the British the right of military intervention in the country. General
al-Sa'id and the Royal regime are viewed as nothing more than puppets of the British.
General al-Sa'id denied many of these corruption stories and said that some of these
photographs had been taken out of context. For example, General Al-Said said that boy
in the pool of body had fallen to his death and the police had just arrived at the scene of
the accident.
A very troubling problem that Great Britain will soon have to address before full-scale
revolution breaks out.
KNESSET APPROVES DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR NEW TOWN
At the advice of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion a new settlement was approved by
the Israel parliament. In the Negev, the new town of Nitzani Sinai will be built on the
Egyptian border. The government will begin sending immigrants there in April. Businesses
will be given significant tax breaks and incentives to move there. An army base will be
established nearby. Housing will be decent and cheap proletarian housing.
The Ben-Gurion government has also lowered business and income tax outside the HaifaJerusalem-Tel Aviv triangle between 50% and 75% according to how underdeveloped
the area is. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion promised that his government would work on
establishing better infrastructure in the peripheral areas and connect it to electricity,
roads, better schools, jobs, etc.
ARABS CRY FOUL ABOUT RACIAL PROFILING
Palestinians claim that the Israelis are targeting them when they get on airplanes. "Every
Arab is a terrorist" complained one Arab businessman, who had been arrested on his way
to Istanbul. "I was hauled off a plane last month and interrogated for hours as the
Mossad tried to get me to admit to being a terrorist planning to destroy the plane
somehow. I was stripped searched, deprived of water and had bright lights shined in my
face for hours. Since I had no weapons and my story checked out; they reluctantly
agreed to release me.The Jews are trying to force us out of our country. Everyone pits
the Jews; but no one cares about us."
TALKS UNDERWAY BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
The foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand met several times between January
and April to discuss a mutual defense treaty between their nations. The matter was
referred to the British Commonwealth to determine whether it wishes to provide
collective security protections in that association. It is unclear whether Great Britain is still
under obligation to protect Australia and New Zealand. If the Commonwealth is not
providing protection, then New Zealand suggests asking the United States to join the
talks.
New Zealand politely refused an Australian proposal to allow a free flow of labor
between the two nations. Foreign Minister Frederick Doidge explained that New
Zealand was suffering from an acute labor shortage and that Australia's proposal would
cause "cut-throat practices" by businesses in both nations stealing another's workers. He
also called the program "potentially explosive with wage inflation."
AUSTRALIAN TRADE FACTORS
Prime Minister Robert Menzies secured Parliamentary approval to establish trade factors
in Great Britain, France, Canada and the United States.
WABBIT SEASON
Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies declared "rabbit season was opened" on March
1, 1950. Because of rabbit overpopulation, Menzies made the animal available to hunting
year-round with no bag limit. Normal hunting regulations which restrict discharge of
firearms near residences or other areas where harm could result to innocent parties apply
as normal. The dingo is not included in this ‘year round hunting list’ as over the centuries
it has become established as an effective native Australian species.
The Berlin Morgenpost lambasted the "senseless murder of rabbits" picturing Menzies in a
cartoon with an "Elmer Fudd hat and clothes" saying "be very, very quiet, it's wabbit
season".
WILDLIFE PRESERVES
The Australian Parliament passed legislation to establish the Department of Parks and
Wildlife. As an extension of the Ministry of the Interior, the Department of Parks and
Wildlife would oversee the creation of national parks for the enjoyment of the Australian
people. This department would also establish and manage a system of national wildlife
preserves where the land would be preserved in its natural state with the intent of
preserving habitat for Australia’s unique native species.
The initial list of potential national parks and wildlife preserves include (but are not
limited to) an area around Ayers Rock, the Cobourg Peninsula on Australia’s northern
coastline, a region around the spectacular Katherine Gorge, Wolfe Creek Meteorite
Crater, a region of the Glass House Mountains, Seven Mile Beach in the New South
Wales region, a region containing ancient Aboriginal rock paintings in the Victoria region
and Cataract Gorge in northern Tasmania.
ISRAELIS TO BUILD AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT LOD
The Israeli Ministry of Transportation recommended to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
that an international airport should be built at Lod, which is located on the Sharon Plain
15 kilometers (9 miles) Tel Aviv.
CANNONS BLARE ALONG ISRAELI-JORDANIAN BORDER
Jordanian artillery in the West Bank region bombarded several small Jewish villages near
the border. Israel brought in the Kela David brigade with artillery to fire back. This
artillery exchange went on all February and March. No real damage was done to the
Jewish villages due to bad Jordanian marksmanship.
AGAINST ATHEISM
On March 12, Pope Pius XII issued Encyclical Letter on a Program for Combating Atheistic
Propaganda throughout the World. Imploring Catholics to hold steadfast to their beliefs,
he urged the faithful not to succumb to the ideologies that seek to deny God or to use
Him for their purposes.
CHIANG'S FUTURE RESTS WITH USA
There is no doubt that Mao Zedong wishes to finish the Kuomintang, once and for all,
and reclaim Formosa for People's Republic. The problem that’s stands in his way is the
United States Pacific Fleet, which has been sent to the Formosan Straits to guard the
island. Mao doesn't have the military capabilities to engage the Americans at sea and
probably won't for some time. This leaves Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek relatively safe,
but as little more than a U.S. dependency.
In February, Nationalist Chinese Minister of Trade Yin Chung-jung traveled to
Washington DC to negotiate a new trade agreement with the Americans. Unhappily, he
found a small number of liberals in both Houses of Congress that wanted to break
diplomatic relations with Kuomintang and recognize the People's Republic as the
legitimate government of China. While these critics of Chiang Kai-shek constitute only a
small number in Congress, they are quite vocal and get a good deal of newspaper and
television attention. Nationalist China got a very lucrative trade treaty, but not without
being kicked around like a political football.
Of course, Chiang wasn't worried too terribly much about his critics on Capitol Hill. The
pendulum was swinging to the right in the United States with the majority of Americans
believing that they were locked in struggle of good versus evil with Communism. Two
conservative organizations are in his corner too: the American China Policy Association
and the Committee to Defend America by Aiding Anti-Communist China. Both groups
equate the Chinese communist movement with genocidal totalitarianism and a negation
of everything that the United States had fought for in World War II. They strongly
believe that China is the opening battle against international communism in Asia. On
Capitol Hill, they not only lobby to protect Chiang, but to use U.S. resources to allow
the Kuomintang renew its war on the mainland.
Business interests in the United States want to see Chiang win. If the Communists remain
in power in Beijing, then a market of 500 million people will be cut from U.S.
corporations. In New York corporate world, Chiang has two influential allies that lobby
for him; his brother-in-laws, T. V. Soong and H. H. Kung.
Chiang Kai-shek can't invade mainland China without the Americans. It's been shown that
President Dewey is a strong support of the Kuomintang, but would he tie the United
States to a military escapade on mainland China that most certainly would involve the
Soviets? There is no clear answer to that yet.
DULLES NEARLY KILLED IN PANAMA
In January, U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles traveled to Panama to meet with
governmental officials to discuss tensions between the two nations. Panama has been the
scene of wild spread demonstrations against U.S. control of the Panama Canal.
Nothing could have prepared him for the vehemence of the anti-American
demonstrations he encountered in Panama City. On his way from the airport to the
Presidential palace, Dulles was surrounded by a crowd of demonstrators that spat on him
while chanting "Go Home Dulles!" Outside the Presidential Palace, the scene turned
violent. A mob surrounded his car and began rocking it back and forth, trying to turn it
over and chanting "Death to Dulles." Protected by only twelve Secret Service agents, the
procession was forced to wait for the Panamanian military to clear a path of escape. But
by that time, the car had been nearly demolished and Secretary of State had seen his fill
of Panama.
President Dewey sent a naval squadron to the Panama Canal in case they needed to
rescue the Secretary of State, but Dulles quietly left the country the next day. He returned
to Washington to a hero's welcome. Over 15,000 people met him at the airport,
including President Dewey and the entire cabinet. Over the next few days, politicians of
both parties throughout the nation praised Dulles' courage, and congratulations poured
in by the thousands.
Secretary of State Dulles' talks with Panamanian President Arnulfo Arias proved to be of
little benefit to the United States. Dr. Arias simply wasn't sympathetic to the American
control of the canal and wanted to open talks towards placing the Canal under
Panamanian ownership…The Panamanian President point blankly told Dulles that he
could not afford to cross his people on this issue.
VON SCHULENBERG IN PANAMA CITY
German Foreign Minister Count Frederic Von Schulenberg travelled on a good will tour
to visit General Laureano Gómez in Colombia In March. Unexpectedly, he stopped off in
Panama City and was treated a warm welcome by the people much different than the
one accorded to U.S. Secretary of State Dulles. President Arias greeted him at the airport
and road down the main boulevard in an open car. The people cheered Count Von
Schulenberg and waved German flags. Several times, Von Schulenberg's car was stopped
by people giving his bouquets of flowers.
After two days of meetings, Count Von Schulenberg issued a joint statement with Dr.
Arias calling for the United States to open talks with Panama aimed at the eventual
return of the Canal to the Panamanian people. Von Schulenberg also gave Panama $250
million in trade credits on behalf of Fuhrer Heckmann.
Von Schulenberg received a similar thundering welcome in Bogata where President
Gomez told his people that "Germany was a good friend of Colombia and that he
welcomed its investment in his country." Colombia received $375 million in trade credits.
One Colombian said, "The Americans only gave us scraps!"
MARTIN CALLS FOR INTERNAL SECURITY ACT
Republican Minority Leader Joe Martin of Massachusetts has called for the President to
back a bill that he has presented to the House of Representatives called the Internal
Security Act. It would require all Communist organizations to register with the Attorney
General and to furnish him with lists of its members. It would make it a crime to
"substantially" contribute to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship within the
United States. The bill bars Communists from working in defense plants, as
schoolteachers and from getting passports. Communist aliens could not be admitted to
the United States and naturalized citizens who were Communists could have their
citizenship revoked. Democrat Speaker Sam Rayburn says that he's 100% behind the bill.
THREAT OF FAMINE
Some parts of the world will be even hungrier in 1950 than it was in 1949. The crisis will
hit in early summer. No one need be surprised at news of possible famine, near-famine,
malnutrition and rations cuts; there has been grim and ample warning. The latest
prophecy came from. Director General Sir John Boyd Orr of the Food and Agriculture
Organization who warned, in a year-end report to the United Nations, that there will
continue to be "a food shortage of world magnitude is developing. During the coming
year, many in Southern Europe, the Near East and Asia may die from the direct or
indirect effects of food shortage."
Reason? The world food production had dropped by 7%. Because of last summer's
drought, Europe's grain crop was 8,000,000 tons below the previous year. Shipments
from the great North American granary will be 2,300,000 tons less in this "crop year"
than in the previous year.
The world's great rice exporters - Burma, Siam, and Indochina - have never recovered
from their wartime agricultural breakdown. The civil war and massive collective
dislocation in China have caused horrible drops in production. This crop-year they will
be able to export less than one-third the normal prewar figure. No matter how well it is
distributed, this food balance sheet adds up to acute shortage.
Two countries, Argentina and the U.S., both more prosperous than they were before the
war, might alleviate the crisis, Argentina by charging less, the U.S. by eating less.
The Peron government, which pays Argentine farmers only $1.59 to $1.83 a bushel for
wheat, demands from foreign purchasers more than $5 a bushel, payable in hard-to-get
U.S. credit. As for the U.S., it had saved next to nothing so far by Charles Luckman's
noisy grain conservation plan. The U.S. was still feeding some 90 million tons of grain a
year to livestock; a tenth of that would avert next spring's crisis.
THE ARMS OF THE MOTHERLAND
At North Bay, Ontario., two Canadian Communists clambered aboard a train on which
Mike Moskal, 22, a Ukrainian Displaced Person (D.P.)., was riding to a new job in a
northern Ontario gold mine. They told him some very unkind things about Canada,
handed him propaganda leaflets, tried to talk him into giving up, going back to Russia.
The same thing happened, on the same trip, to Joe Trhlen, John Sanajko, Myroslaw
Blauk, 50-odd other D.P.s. Said Mike Moskal: "Was no good. Didn't like."
When the story first came out, in mid-December, Canadians considered it an isolated
incident. But last week they were beginning to wonder. In Winnipeg, "Mother City" of
the Dominion's 350,000 Ukrainians, a man who ought to know charged that what had
happened to Mike Moskal and his friends had happened to most, if not all, of the
60,700 odd D.P.s entering Canada since 1947.
The man who made the charge was the Most Reverend Basil Ladyka, Ukrainian Bishop
of Canada. Specially trained Canadian Communists, said he, have been posted in key
Canadian centers under orders from Moscow to "confuse and discourage" incoming
D.P.s. They work in teams, he said. Some Communists meet incoming D.P.s on the piers
at eastern ports. Others contact them on their trains as they head for their new homes.
The Communists constantly harass the immigrants, said Bishop Ladyka, and try to bribe
them to return to Europe. They tell the immigrants "that they have been 'exported' here
for slave labor." They offer to "produce the 'ransom' to 'rescue' the D.P.s if they will join
the ranks of the Reds." Even when the immigrants reach their new homes in Canada, said
Bishop Ladyka, the "Communist plea" continues by mailed pamphlets, which warn the
immigrants that Canada is controlled by "fascists and capitalists," and to return to Europe
"before it is too late."
The Bishop announced a counteroffensive. The Ukrainian Canadian Council, said he, will
distribute some pamphlets too - depicting Canada as it really is.
GERMANY WELCOMES BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT
Bolivian President Mamerto Urriolagoitía flew into Berlin Tempelhof Airport on
February 17, 1950 for a five-day visit with Fuhrer Volker Heckmann. A state dinner was
thrown for the Bolivian leader at Stadtschloss followed the next day by the signing of
friendship treaty and new trade agreement.
Senor Urriolagoita asked for Stasi help in building a secret police unit in his nation to
protect the nation against Communists. Since the Germans have significant mining
interests in the country, Stasi agents were dispatched.
A HOUSE STILL NOT IN ORDER
According to Western newspapers, Red China is afraid. Waging a war against it are
hundreds of thousands of anti-Communist guerrillas. Many of them are allegedly
equipped and led by the Free Chinese on Formosa, 100 miles off China's coast. There is
reportedly very heavy fighting in Chongqing, Gansu, and Qinghai.
In February, the New York Times said, "the Chinese Communist leaders were reacting
like all Communist leaders who get frightened. From Canton in the south up through
Shanghai and Tientsin in the north, Red China echoed to the crack of the executioner's
bullet. It was the widest and crudest Communist purge the world had seen since Stalin's
war against Russia's middle-class peasants 20 years ago."
In recent months, the Boston Globe reports that thousands of Chinese have been
executed. Formosa's intelligence apparatus, which has been deemed very reliable by the
CIA, disclosed many of the killings, and execution reports also peppered the pages of the
official Communist press. New China News Agency (Communist) announced the
execution of 96 persons in Canton and Kwangtung Province in a three-day period, some
of them women students. The Wuhan radio (Communist) reported that in two weeks the
Red army had "exterminated" more than 16,000 "local bandits." Foochow Reds
announced the mass arrest of 247 "secret agents."
The Buenos Aires La Nacion reported that many of the purge victims are intellectuals and
former Nationalist officials who went over to the Communists two years ago in the hope
that Mao Zedong would give them a "more liberal" government. "The irony of the
situation in China is that while the Communist government has been steadily disclosing
itself to be a totalitarian government, Chiang Kai-shek's government on Formosa is being
forced to make concessions towards a more liberal policy to placate the Americans."
FISHING DISPUTES CONTINUE
The Japanese Ministry of Trade announced that Japanese fishing vessels continue to be
harassed in the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk by Soviet naval forces. The problem is
that both Japan and the Soviet Union claim the area as their fishing grounds.
CEMA REPORTS
The Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association of Japan released the follow
observation to the Japanese newspapers. "Looking objectively at the war and its effects
on the homeland, one must take into consideration the boon of jobs available, especially
within the construction industry. Fuji Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi have retooled
themselves and are now creating a new product line of construction equipment - shovels,
bulldozers, cranes, pavers, all the way to hammers and nails. Construction is in full swing
across the country. Since most industries have been scrapped or left in ruins, this calamity
has afforded the nation with a rare opportunity to completely remake itself and its
industries using the most modern equipment and methods available today.
NIPPON DENSO TO OPEN FOREIGN DOORS
Auto parts manufacturer Denso, flush with home success at providing replacement auto
parts for Japanese and American military vehicles, has decided to expand into the export
sector offering everything from air and oil filters to sparkplugs. Denso is researching a
catalog of the world's automobiles, buses and trucks and will be offering replacement
parts for the mass public at an affordable price. Denso appears to be one of a long litany
of Japanese businesses gearing themselves up to compete in foreign markets.
NEW CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS IN JAPAN
In earthquake prone Japan, disasters are a common occurrence. In January, at Prime
Minister Yoshida's urging, the Diet passed new building codes to prevent the toppling of
buildings from the swaying effects of earthquakes and strong aftershocks. It is hoped that
with todays better understanding of nature's effects upon buildings, engineers and
architects will continue to improve their designs to prevent injury and loss of property.
PORTUGAL MUST GO
The Indian government formally told Portugal that it must give up its colonies at Dadra,
Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu. Reportedly, Prime Minister Nehru offered to
compensate the Portuguese $300 million for its economic losses over a 10 year period.
"The days of colonialism have passed. The Portuguese occupied lands on the
subcontinent are Indian by ethnicity and geography. I have offered the Portuguese a very
fair settlement considering all the years that they have profited from our labor and
natural resources. I await their answer."
PERON TOURS ARGENTINA
President Juan Peron conducted a tour of Argentina to kick off the New Year. His first
stop on his tour was the city of Cordoba where he attended the ground breaking of the
elementary school. In front of a crowd of thousands, Peron announced that his
government would take on the fight against literacy and provide a twelve grade
education to each Argentine child.
El Lider made a short statement: "Good morning my good people. Today is the
beginning of new Argentina; one that will move boldly into the second half of the 20th
century towards the goal of becoming the economic powerhouse of Latin America. But,
first, we must recognize the literacy is the most basic building block necessary to realize
that objective. Yes, for my generation, it was okay to enter the workforce as a high
school dropout who could only read at a third-grade level. Whether it was on a farm or
in a factory, you could still hope to find a job that would allow you to pay the bills and
raise your family.
But that economy is disappearing. As revolutions in technology and communication are
breaking down barriers between countries and connecting people all over the world,
new jobs and industries that require more skill and knowledge will come to dominate
the economy. The competition that our young people will face will be intense; the
necessary skills more demanding. Either we prepare them for this world with a full
education, or they will live in utter poverty with whatever bones that the rich countries
throw at them. The choice is not staying the same; we must either raise our children up
to great tasks or resign ourselves that they will go under before the economic might of
nations like the United States or Great Britain.
Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible, from complex word
problems and the meaning of our history to scientific discovery and technological
proficiency. In an industrial economy, this kind of learning is necessary for survival. Over
the next ten years, the average literacy required for all Argentine occupations is projected
to rise by 25%. It's not enough just to recognize the words on the page anymore
We have to change our whole mindset in this country. We need to start setting high
standards and inspirational examples for our children to follow. While there's plenty that
can be done to improve our schools and reform education in Argentina, this isn't just an
issue where we can turn to the government and say do it. Reading has to begin at home.
You as parents must provide the home environment that fosters learning. You must send
your children to school. You must teach the importance of education. Their future lies in
your hands. You have a sacred duty to give your children the tools to succeed into the
next century. Both you and I cannot fail our children!" Great applause and cheering
could be heard for a mile.
President Peron entered the lot and proceeded to overturn the first shovel full of dirt to
start off the construction. Cameras took many photographs. Peron instinctively knew all
of the right poses for the photographers, even donning a hard hat, taking off his coat and
rolling up his sleeves.
Then General Peron approached the crowds, shaking hands and telling his subjects about
his great plans for Argentina. According to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (DPA),
which covered the event for German television, El Lider spellbound the crowd. After a
couple of hours and a free luncheon for the people, the Great Peron departed for his
next stop.
In the city of Punta Colorado, El Lider spoke about his plans to combat infant mortality
and providing direct payments to poor Argentines trying to raise families. "We must and
we will conquer poverty within a generation" he yelled to a massive ovation by his
listeners. Continuing he told the people, "Argentina must make certain that each and
every man, woman and child has an opportunity to live a complete, productive and
comfortable life. There will be an equality of opportunity for all in Argentina."
In a ceremony, Peron handed a check to the local school district supervising principal,
Felipe Macario, to provide for new teachers, textbooks and educational materials. Senor
Macario waved the check for the crowds to see. With tears in his eyes, Macario thanked
President Peron for his generosity and support. Calling in some school children, El Lider
posed with arm around the shoulder of Senor Macario for a photograph shoot. Once
again, there was great applause and cheering.
After that, it was on to the next stop…..
10 YEAR NON-AGGRESSION PACT
The foreign ministers of Argentina and Chile met in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1950 and
signed a 10 year non-aggression pact. President Peron was on hand to deliver a speech,
carried by radio, in which he pledged friendship and economic cooperation with Chile.
"Together Chile and Argentina will change the face of Latin America and bring peace and
prosperity to our peoples."
Argentina has sent out diplomatic feelers to Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay to see
if they are interested in a similar non-aggression pact.
NEW MARRIAGE LAW IN RED CHINA
The Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China passed on January 13, 1950 took a
sledgehammer to feudal China. Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed, "All marriages are to
be based on the free consent of men and women." The feudal system with arranged
marriage, dowries and female servitude that had lasted for thousands of years was gone.
The People's Daily wrote, "Today women have been liberated to become equal with
man."
Other feudalistic customs that will be consider illegal is polygamy, sale of women into
prostitution, killing of unwanted female babies, foot-binding, child marriage,
prostitution, gambling, opium smoking. Punishment for these crimes will be severe.
The Red Chinese government drew heavy praise for its new marriage law from the
Soviet Union, Germany and Yugoslavia.
ARGENTINA ESTABLISHES STATE POLICE
Over the protests of the Radical Civic Union, Peron's Justicialist Party easily passed a law
that created a federal police agency, the Policia Federal Argentina. This agency will be
responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the entire nation from any enemies. Its
motto will be "To serve the community." The Radical Civic Union is fearful of putting
such power in Peron's hands.
CANADA MULLS OVER HEALTH INSURANCE
Prime Minister Louis St. Laurents would like to give free prescriptions to senior citizens,
pregnant mothers and those on the public dole, but his own party doesn't believe that
this legislation doesn't go far enough. A large number of Liberals want free health care
for everyone, which would include the government paying hospitalization, medical bills
and prescriptions. The Conservatives are totally opposed to this saying that the taxpayers
shouldn't be paying for health care and that medical insurance is a choice that should not
be forced on people. Health insurance companies have also chimed in saying that the
government would be putting them out of business if the Liberals have their way. This
will further discussed in the spring.
ST. LAURENTS PUSHES THROUGH PENSION PLAN
Despite stubborn resistance from the Conservatives, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurents
managed to get a state pension program approved that would pay a retiree at age 68
half of his best year's earnings to a maximum of $4000. The new program was a
compromise since many Liberals thought the retirement age eligibility should be like that
in the United States, which begins at age 62 for early retirees willing to take a reduced
benefit.
CANADIANS ARE DEMANDING SOCIAL PROGRAMS
A recent poll in Canada suggests that its citizens want their government offering them
more tax supported social programs. 1.) Old age pensions. 2.) free university and postsecondary education. 3.) Universal hospitalization, medical and disability insurance. 4.)
Old age assistance for needy Canadians aged sixty-five and above. 5.) National housing
for the poor. 6.) Generous unemployment benefits. 7.) Occupational safety protections.
THE SOVIET UNION
One-Sixth of the Earth: The Russian land is vast: 8,500,000 square miles. If the city of Los
Angeles were tossed into the Pripet Marshes (it would fit quite easily), the Mississippi
River would trace the line of the Urals, Boston would be lost somewhere in the Siberian
plains, and there would still be plenty of room to fit the North Atlantic Ocean, as far as
the Azores, into the emptiness of Soviet Asia. Within this huge expanse (one-sixth of the
world's inhabited land surface), there is vast diversity, and some of the natural wonders
of the world. There are millions of acres of tundra, stretching across the north in frozen
silence; mountains that run amuck from the Himalayas and belch volcanic ash into Bering
Strait. There are 100,000 rivers, one-third of the world's forests, the greatest inland sea the Caspian, five times the size of Lake Superior.
Two-thirds of Russia is either barren or too cold for cultivation under present methods,
but underground, say Soviet geologists, there is half the world's iron and almost as much
of its coal, half its known petroleum, one-third of its manganese.
More precious than all this is the "black wealth" of the steppe: the deep, black earth that
covers most of the Ukraine and stretches across the Volga into the plain of Siberia. Shorn
of its black earth, the Soviet Union would die. It feeds two-thirds of Russia's 190 million
people.
Pyramid of the People: Half the people of the Soviet Union are Great Russians; the rest,
a score of races, speak 200 different tongues and dialects. There are Tartar horsemen
unchanged since Genghis Khan, primitive Yakhuts, Samoyed reindeer herders, Mongol
tractor drivers and Cossack commissars. There are 20 million Moslems in the U.S.S.R. All
of these diverse and frequently antagonistic peoples are ruled by the Soviet elite: some
50,000 ministers, managers, army officers and intellectuals, who are more removed from
the people than were the Czar's nobility.
The Soviet rulers live in luxury, atop a social pyramid that is surprisingly stratified. Soviet
analysts in London have distinguished these main groups:
Between 8 and 20 million "forced laborers," most of them at work on the massive "Stalin
Projects" Without forced labor, the Soviet industrialization of the 1930s would have been
seriously handicapped. During the Great Purge, the pool of unpaid labor available for
exploitation by the state grew enormously. These prisoners were used for timber felling,
mining and construction, although those with skills were employed occasionally in Soviet
industry. The Gulag population also grew, over as well over a million new Ukrainian and
Polish prisoners were arrested because of "nationalist activities". The Gulag system
expanded into a vast industrial empire, with 67 camp complexes, 10,000 individual
camps and 1,700 colonies,. At one point, Stalin had considered transferring his entire
Ukrainian population to mine precious metals in cold and remote regions where free
labor was very expensive. Forced labor has been and remains a significant factor in
Soviet production. Comrade Stalin has many ambitious construction projects planned to
symbolize, the confidence and achievements of the Soviet system. These include the
Volga-Don Canal; the Kuibyshev hydro-electric station; the Baikal-Amur and Arctic
railways; the extensions to the Moscow Metro; an international airport at Leningrad; an
interstate highway system, nuclear power plant in Siberia and the Moscow University
ensemble on the Lenin Hills; one of seven wedding-cake like structures to be built in the
ostentatious 'Soviet Empire' style around the capital
The Gulag system is increasingly becoming hard to maintain. A higher than average death
rate had left the camps with a different type of political prisoners then the 1930s - the
intellectual types who filled the camps in the 1930s are in the minority, now the camps
are full of Poles, Ukrainians, Cossack and other nationalists - who were hostile to the
Soviet regime and not afraid of violence. In the last two years, the camps have become
unruly and difficult to control. Without a system of rewards, these prisoners simply
refused to meet the set targets. The NKVD must employ a quarter of a million guards
within its camps and the price on the upkeep of the Gulag is going up.
100 million peasants: about half the Soviet population. Tied to kolkhozes (collective
farms), which they work as sharecroppers. Russia's muzhiks live in wooden and sod huts,
eat the black bread of the poor, and provide the Red army with its masses of
infantrymen.
About 28 million "proletarians": miners, factory workers, clerks and mechanics. A typical
worker's home: one small bedsitting room (for a man, his wife and two children), with
kitchen and toilet facilities shared with the next-door neighbor. The average worker's
wage buys him an austerity diet of bread, fish and potatoes (fresh meat is a luxury), and
such occasional relaxations as a ticket to a soccer match or a jugful of cheap vodka.
The new Soviet bourgeoisie: about 6,000,000 people (with their families, 20 million).
Administrators, middle-drawer bureaucrats, technicians and army officers, these men are
the backbone of Russian Communism. Many drive motorcycles, rarely automobiles, own
radios but seldom TV sets. They are tough, ambitious, fiercely dedicated to the service of
the state.
Within this social pyramid, the new middle class is most subject to change. Their
expectations are rising: they want to get ahead. An experienced Western diplomat
reports that he has seldom seen "so much drive for keeping up with the Joneses, so much
materialistic thinking, so much Babbittry and seeking after 'culture' as there is in Moscow
at present."
FRANCE OPEN TRADE RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
After 6 years of a closed frontier, the French Chamber of Deputies voted, upon the
recommendation of Prime Minister Queuille, to open trade relations with the German
Reich. It was a momentous vote with hair raising tension and many emotional outbursts.
Most Frenchmen bear a deep grudge towards the Germans for their harsh occupation of
France during the Second World War and their refusal to return Alsace-Lorraine to
France.
Both the Socialists and Communists voted against the measure, which is very unpopular
across France, but Queuille insists that it's necessary for France's economic recovery. The
tariffs set were 10% on non-competing imports and 20% on non-competing imports.
In Berlin, the Reichstag approved the treaty without any discussion. The German Foreign
Ministry issued a brief statement indicating that Germany was looking forward to a
renewal of trade with France.
MVD LOSSES POWER
As usual, Josef Stalin didn't elaborate on his plans much, but he stripped the MVD of its
normal policing power and established a state police force for regular crime. Now the
MVD is concentrate exclusively on internal security.
What this means to the hierarchy in the MVD is not known. MVD boss Sergei Kruglov
has been a favorite of Stalin's. But the Byzantine atmosphere of the Kremlin makes it
impossible to really know what's going on.
Kruglov replaced Lavrentiy Beria on December 29, 1945 as the People's Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union (head of NKVD). In 1946 the Soviet government
transitioned to the ministerial system and the security apparatus underwent substantial
reorganization. NKVD became the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), with
Kruglov as its chief, the Minister of Internal Affairs. NKGB became the Soviet Ministry of
State Security (MGB), and it was headed by Viktor Abakumov, who replaced Beria's
protege Vsevolod Merkulov. Beria became Deputy Prime Minister and retained overall
nominal control over both MVD and MGB, which were both, however, now led by
Beria's adversaries.
Although Kruglov rose through the ranks of Beria's machine, he was not considered a
Beria loyalist and after the war allied himself with Viktor Abakumov, a Beria rival. The
elevation of Kruglov and Abakumov is view by political analysts as part of a deliberate
strategy by Stalin to limit Beria's influence after the end of the war.
Kruglov's authority as the Minister of Internal Affairs fluctuated significantly over the
period 1946-1950. In the beginning this authority included overall control over the Soviet
Militsiya (the Soviet Union's regular police force), interior troops of MVD, running of the
Gulag system, border guard, and other areas. As time has passed, he has lost power as
Stalin has created various agencies to handle different aspects of security. Many believe
that Stalin is decentralizing his security appartus to prevent any possible coup by MVD.
In January 1948 Kruglov and Abakumov presented for Stalin's signature a memorandum
that significantly toughened the Gulag conditions for political prisoners because of the
growing unrest in the camps. Many of those who had been arrested at the height of the
Great Purge in 1937-38 and given 10 year prison sentences and managed to survive their
time in Gulag were due for release. The Abakumov-Kruglov memorandum, approved by
Stalin, authorized the creation of a special system of labor camps for political prisoners.
MVD was authorized to hold, when deemed necessary, such political prisoners beyond
the expiration dates of their sentences and to send them to the so-called administrative
exile in the cases where formal release did occur. Thereafter, both significant terms of
administrative exile, given after the completion of the nominal prison sentences, and
significant delays of the nominal release after such completion of sentences (referred to as
"overstaying one's welcome"), has become standard MVD practices in running the Gulag
system.
As head of the MVD, Kruglov played a key role in supplying the Gulag prison labor for
the Soviet nuclear program headed by Beria. After a successful Soviet nuclear test in
August 1949, Kruglov was awarded the Order of Lenin.
In 1948 Andrei Zhdanov, who had been a patron of both Kruglov and Abakumov, died
and Kruglov's position was temporarily in danger. Beria and Malenkov engineered the
so-called Leningrad Affair which resulted in the persecution of many party officials
connected to Zhdanov. However, Stalin still needs a counterweight to Beria, both
Kruglov and Abakumov retained their posts, although Beria's position was strengthened.
TIBET WARY OF RED CHINESE OVERTURES
Since 1913, Tibet had maintained its independence from China. This separation has never
been recognized by either the Kuomintang or the PLA. Only Great Britain maintains an
embassy in Lhasa; most of the rest of the world seems quite uninterested in this faraway
place.
Tibet is an anachronism of the past. Its socio-economic and political system resembles a
medieval society, not a modern state. Efforts at self reform over the last thirty years have
largely failed.
The current Dalia Lama is only 15 years old, so Regent Taktra is the acting head of the
Tibetan Government. This period of the Dalai Lama¡'s minority is one of the most
volatile in Tibetan history with the recent Reting conspiracy and the 1947 regency
dispute.
Red China has repeated many times its plans "to liberate Tibet from the chains of its
feudal overlords". In September 1949, the Chinese Politburo established it a top priority
fearing foreign adventurism in Tibet.
In January 1950, the Tibetan Government sent a delegation to meet with Foreign
Minister Zhou Enlai to secure assurances that the Red China would respect Tibet's
"territorial sovereignty". Instead, Zhou laid down an ultimatum; Tibet must recognize
that its part of China and that government in Beijing has ultimate authority on defense,
trade and foreign relations. Although not directly stated, it seemed like the Red Chinese
were willing to allow the Tibetans to maintain their own local affairs.
The Tibetan chief delegate Shakagpa recommended acceptance to forestall an invasion,
but the Tibetan government has not yet responded. British sources in Lhasa report that
the Regent Taktra refuses to accept the Red Chinese ultimatum because it's the same as
surrendering Tibet's independence.
STALIN AND MAO MAKE A DEAL
Chinese Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai told the Associated Press in Beijing that his nation
would sign a friendship treaty in April with the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong would travel
to Moscow to consummate the new treaty with Josef Stalin. This is viewed as another
move to further cements a partnership between the two Communists giants.
The Soviet Union has reportedly agreed to return Manchuria and Xinjiang to the People's
Republic. In exchange the Chinese Communists have renounced all claims to Mongolia
and agreed to allow the Soviets to build a base in Hainan. Although the treaty will be
signed in Moscow sometime in the spring, the Soviets have gone ahead and transferred
the territory to Chinese hands.
No one has expected Stalin to give up his Chinese holdings so easily. Many analysts
believe that Stalin is only doing this grudgingly to avoid any kind of split with Mao.
FOREIGN PRESS IS REGULATED BY MSS
The PRC Minister of State Security Gao Gang announced that all foreign journalists must
seek permission to enter China, and must register to travel within the country. Xinhua
News Agency will provide local journalists to work with these people as guides and
interpreters. Foreign Press found without permission will be assumed to be foreign spies
until proven otherwise.
PRC POLITBURO
The Chinese Politburo is composed of Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Ren
Bishi, Chen Yun, Kang Sheng, Gao Gang, Peng Zhen, Dong Biwu, Lin Boqu, Zhang
Wentian and Peng Dehuai
BUT ARE MAO AND STALIN REALLY FRIENDS?
Some trouble ensued between the Red Chinese and the Soviets, when the PLA fought a
guerilla war against the Japanese, while simultaneously fighting the Nationalist
Kuomintang. Stalin had demanded that all efforts must be made to defeat the Japanese
and that a military coalition should be formed with Chiang Kai-shek. Mao ignored most
of the politico-military advice and direction from Stalin and the Comintern on
conducting the Chinese revolution - because applying traditional Leninist revolutionary
theory proved difficult. China, unlike Russia, had no great urban working class, thus he
organized the peasants and farmers to fight the Chinese Revolution. Mao was also very
wary of Soviet advice on Kuomintang because he felt Stalin was considering his own
geopolitical aspirations rather than China's.
After the war, Stalin advised Mao against seizing power, and to negotiate with Chiang,
because Stalin had signed a Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with the Nationalists in
mid-1945; Mao followed Stalin's lead, calling him “the only leader of our party”.
Unwisely, Chiang Kai-Shek insisted that Stalin act on the USSR’s illegal occupation of
Sinkiang and Manchuria; Stalin broke the treaty requiring Soviet withdrawal from
Manchuria three months after Japan’s surrender, and gave Manchuria to Mao.
Moreover, besides the land, Stalin gave the Chinese Communists some $1 billion in
matériel and aid to help expel the Nationalists from continental China, and to establish
the People's Republic of China; yet Sinkiang and Manchuria remained Soviet. Now Mao
is finally getting around to it.
INDIA PASSES LAND REFORM ACT
Undoubtedly, land reform will not be easy. It calls for seizure of huge amounts of
property belonging to Zamindar (large landowners) and transferring to the millions of
landless peasants that live in India. Such a disruption is bound to have an effect on
agricultural production during transition, possibly exposing India to famine. Can the
peasants of India farm the lands as effectively as their experienced landlords do? Indian
peasants are accustomed to work the land either as field hands or as subsistent farmers can they make the transition to commercial farming?
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's intentions seem good. If he's successful a social
revolution will have transpired. An internal market in India will be created and its
economy will diversify. Money will take the place of barter and excess product will be
created for export. However, even the best of intentions can lead to disaster. So time
will tell how this plan fairs.
Phase One of the Nehru plan is being implemented. The government is negotiating to
purchase the lands of the Zamindar. The process is slow because the landowners want
cash free and clear from strings attached where they have to reinvest in India's economy.
The government has offered them 75% if they want cash, but a large number of the
Zamindar won't sit still for that; they want 100%. Nehru has warned that the sale of land
can be made compulsory, but the Zamindar says that they will fight it in court.
Sales are moving along, it’s a very slow process.
NEHRU CALLS FOR REGIONAL TRADE BLOC
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's unveiled a plan for the creation of a trade bloc
to include Nepal, India, Ceylon, Bhutan, and Burma. Representatives of those countries
have been invited to discuss this proposal in New Delhi in May.
Reportedly, India also wishes to incorporate a non-aggression pact as part of any
agreement between the six nations.
SOUTH AFRICA CODIFIES DISCRIMINATION
The South African Parliament passed four laws between January and March setting the
building blocks for Apartheid
Immorality Amendment Act - Prohibited adultery, attempted adultery or related immoral
acts (extra-marital sex) between white and black people.
Population Registration Act - Led to the creation of a national register in which every
person's race was recorded. A Race Classification Board took the final decision on what a
person's race was in disputed cases.
Group Areas Act - Forced physical separation between races by creating different
residential areas for different races. Led to forced removals of people living in "wrong"
areas.
Suppression of Communism Act - Outlawed communism and the Community Party in
South Africa. Communism was defined so broadly that it covered any call for radical
change. Communists could be banned from participating in a political organization and
restricted to a particular area.
DEWEY INVITED TO PHILIPPINES
Filipino President Elpidio Quirino invited U.S. President Thomas E. Dewey to pay a state
visit to his country. The United States had expressed an interest in developing rubber as a
product in the Philippines and aiding the Filipino government in fighting the Communist
Hukbalahap rebels. Quirino looked forward to hearing more about the President's
proposals. The Philippines is strongly Pro-American.
LUMBER KINGS
In a world devastated by wars and disasters, it is reassuring to know that Canada is still
one of the kings of lumber. Prime Minister St. Laurents' economic planners realizing that
this is one of the countries great strengths has plowed money into renewable grants to
help with sustainability and profitability. Canada is investing in such research as to keep
wood production running through the rest of the century with cut trees being replaced
with new growth. Canadian lumber has proven to be highly profitable and a good
source of hard currency for both Canadian businessmen and the St. Laurents'
government.
KNESSET PASSES ALYIA
The Israelis Knesset passed legislation on January 17 enabling the Jewish agency to bring
as many Jews as possible to Israel. This will allow the group to operate with partial
Israeli funding and raise contributions from Jews abroad to further that goal. The Jewish
Agency is allowed under the law to make contacts with governments independent of
Israel.
The legislation contained the following principles"
1. The State of Israel regards itself as the creation of the entire Jewish people, and its
gates are open, in accordance with its laws, to every Jew wishing to immigrate to it.
2. The World Zionist Organization, from its foundation five decades ago, headed the
movement and efforts of the Jewish people to realize the age-old vision of the return to
its homeland and, with the assistance of other Jewish circles and bodies, carried the main
responsibility for establishing the State of Israel.
3. The World Zionist Organization, which is also the Jewish Agency, takes care as before
of immigration and directs absorption and settlement projects in the State.
4. The State of Israel recognizes the World Zionist Organization as the authorized agency
which will continue to operate in the State of Israel for the development and settlement
of the country, the absorption of immigrants from the Diaspora and the coordination of
the activities in Israel of Jewish institutions and organizations active in those fields.
5. The mission of gathering in the exiles, which is the central task of the State of Israel
and the Zionist Movement in our days, requires constant efforts by the Jewish people in
the Diaspora; the State of Israel, therefore, expects the cooperation of all Jews, as
individuals and groups, in building up the State and assisting the immigration to it of the
masses of the people, and regards the unity of all sections of Jewry as necessary for this
purpose.
6. The State of Israel expects efforts on the part of the World Zionist Organization for
achieving this unity; if, to this end, the Zionist Organization, with the consent of the
Government and the approval of the Knesset, should decide to broaden its basis, the
enlarged body will enjoy the status conferred upon the World Zionist Organization in
the State of Israel.
7. Details of the status of the World Zionist Organization - whose representation is the
Zionist Executive, also known as the Executive of the Jewish Agency - and the form of its
cooperation with the Government shall be determined by a Covenant to be made in
Israel between the Government and the Zionist Executive.
8. The Covenant shall be based on the declaration of the 23rd Zionist Congress in
Jerusalem that the practical work of the World Zionist Organization and its various
bodies for the fulfillment of their historic tasks in Eretz-Israel requires full cooperation and
coordination on its part with the State of Israel and its Government, in accordance with
the laws of the State.
9. There shall be set up a committee for the coordination of the activities of the
Government and Executive in the spheres in which the Executive will operate according
to the Covenant; the tasks of the Committee shall be determined by the Covenant.
10. The Covenant and any variation or amendment thereof made with the consent of
the two parties shall be published in Reshumot and shall come into force on the day of
publication, unless they provide for an earlier or later day for this purpose.
11. The Executive is a juristic body and may enter into contracts, acquire, hold and
relinquish property and be a party to any legal or other proceeding.
6 MILLION JEWS REMAIN IN POLAND
Still unsettled are 6 million Jews living in the German puppet state of Poland. Most of
them are Eastern Europeans unwilling to go home to live under Communism. The
Heckmann government has indicated that it would be glad to send them to Israel
provided that Israel can settle them.
EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
Traditionally, education in Australia began at age 5 or 6 and is compulsory until age 15,
except in the state of Tasmania where education is mandatory until age 16. For the 70
percent who attend government-funded public schools, children will be educated in
primary schools until the age of 12, upon which they are transferred to secondary schools
(high schools and junior technical schools). At the secondary level, students are provided
a five to six year course of study which is designed to prepare the students for entry into
the working world and for university entrance if so desired.
Among the leading universities are the Australian National University (founded in 1946),
in the Australian Capital Territory; the University of New South Wales (1948), and the
University of Sydney (1850), in New South Wales; the University of Queensland (1910);
the University of Adelaide (1874), in South Australia; the University of Tasmania (1890);
the University of Melbourne (1853), and in Victoria; and the University of Western
Australia (1911). In addition, the commonwealth government maintains a number of
specialized learning institutions, notably the Australian Film, Television and Radio School,
the Australian Maritime College, and the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
To propel Australia's education system into the second half of the 20th century, Prime
Minister Robert Menzies and Minister of Education Bill Spooner have put forth a plan to
modernize education curriculum nation-wide. Authorities tout that this program will
improve the Australian education system and build it to be one of the top programs
world-wide.
The Prime Minister has also made medical services a top priority for Australia going into
the 1950s. Government-sponsored programs to establish a modern medical college in
Brisbane will soon be graduating an increasing supply of doctors and medical
professionals. A program to provide medical help to Australia's rural interior has been
approved by Parliament. Called the Flying Doctors program, it will take advantage of
the new system of regional airports fly to rural towns on a periodic basis to provide
medical care.
NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
French Prime Minister Henri Queuille has put forth a proposal for national health
insurance. It is now being debated in the French Chamber of Deputies, but the many of
members of his coalition are on the fence about supporting it saying that taxes will have
to go up to support such an expensive program.
LAND REFORM IN RED CHINA
People’s Daily reported on a recent debate within the Chinese Politburo about land
reforms and how it will be done in the future.
Land reform was first launched by the Communist Party in 1946, three years before the
foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), it won the party millions of
supporters among the poor and middle class peasantry. The land and other property of
landlords were expropriated and redistributed so that each household in a rural village
would have a comparable holding.
The Politburo laid down new guidelines for the trial of landlords to get the peasants
involved in their prosecution. Mao Zedong insisted that the people themselves have a
right to seek justice. He also felt that if the peasants were part of the trial of the landlords
they would become permanently linked to the revolutionary process in a way that
passive spectators could not.
The Politburo voted to set up people’s courts in the countryside for the landlords to
stand trial. Landlords found guilty would be punished, according to Mao Zedong, "by the
will of the people".
Land reform stirred great passions in the Politburo. There was a pronounced division
amongst the members about the pathway that land reform should ultimately take.
A moderate faction, including Politburo member Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and alternative
member Deng Xiaoping, argued that change must be gradual and that collectivization
should await industrialization, which could provide the agricultural machinery necessary
for mechanized farming. Deng Xiaoping favored reeducating the former landowners
since their talents in organizing large-scale farming could be helpful. Liu Shaoqi cautioned
against a bloodbath in the aftermath of victory, “It will only ruin our reputation and
make heroes out of the capitalists”.
A more radical faction led by Lin Biao and Gao Gang argued that the best way to finance
industrialization was for the Party to take control of agriculture, thereby establishing a
monopoly over grain distribution and supply. This would allow the government to buy
at a low price and sell much higher, thus raising the capital necessary for the
industrialization of the country. Gao Gang insisted that the landlord class was beyond
rehabilitation and needed to be liquidated.
After long discussion Mao Zedong finally said that collectivization would be too
unpopular with the peasants at this point. "We can't ignore the feelings of the peasants;
they are the backbone of the party. We will see how the small peasant proprietorship
works in the beginning, and then decide from there."
POPE TO VISIT BRAZIL
Brazilian President Getulio Vargas announced that Pope Pius XII would visit Brazil in
September 1950. This will be part of a South American tour by the Pope that will take
him to several other countries besides Brazil.
QUALIFICATION FOR THE WORLD CUP
FIFA is having a difficulty persuading European countries to send their national teams to
compete in Brazil. Italy is of particular interest: the Italians are the long-standing
defending champions (winners in 1934 and 1938). However, Italy's national team was
weakened severely as most of its starting lineup perished in the Superga air disaster on
May 4, 1949. The Italians were eventually persuaded to attend, but traveled will be by
boat rather than by plane.
Because Brazil and Italy qualified automatically, there were fourteen remaining places
available. Of these, seven were allocated to Europe, six to the Americas, and one to Asia.
Japan has been banned from participation till 1954 because of World War II. Many
nations felt this was unfair since Germany was being allowed to participate.
The British nations were invited to take part, having rejoined FIFA four years earlier,
after 17 years of self-imposed exile.
A number of teams refused to participate in the qualifying tournament, including most
nations behind the Iron Curtain, such as the USSR, 1938 finalists Hungary and 1934
finalists Czechoslovakia
Portugal and Turkey refused to participate, citing financial problems and the cost of
travelling to South America
BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO TOUR IN THE SPRING
Foreign Minister Café Filho will visit Argentina, Chile and Peru in the spring. President
Getulio Vargas has termed this a "goodwill tour".
LITERACY PROGRAM IN TURKEY
Turkey began an adult literacy program in January, 1950. Its goal is to achieve 95%
literacy by 1960. This program is educating adults in the basics of reading, writing and
math. As most adults are occupied with jobs, the majority of classes are being offered at
night. To reduce costs, this program is placing a heavy emphasis on the use of volunteer
instructors who only receive a stipend. Also, classes are being taught in existing schools
and spaces offered for use by the Republican People’s Party in their local offices, as well
as in government buildings such as post offices and police stations not being used at
night.
This program is not expected to be permanent. By 1955, it is intended to have the
Turkish school system educating all Turkish children in basic literacy and math. At this
point all children reaching adulthood will be literate, so once the current adult
population is brought to literacy there should be no need for continued large-scale
efforts.
CAN THE LIBERALS MAKE A COMEBACK?
Britain's once famed and powerful Liberal Party, which produced such parliamentary
lions as William Ewart Gladstone, Lord Asquith and David Lloyd George, has not played
a decisive role in British politics since 1924. Nevertheless, a recent Gallup poll showed
that 38% of the British electorate, weary of Clement Attlee's Socialism, distrustful of
Winston Churchill's Conservatism, said that they would vote Liberal if they thought the
party had a chance of winning. In March, both Labor and Tories were ardently wooing
the Liberals, and some observers thought that the third party's role might prove a
decisive factor on Election Day.
Winston Churchill launched his campaign to capture the Liberal support in March with a
gallant gesture toward his old friend and Liberal leader, Lady Violet Bonham-Carter,
daughter of onetime Liberal Prime Minister Asquith. He offered to give her some of the
Tories' free radio time. At the same time, Laborite Herbert Morrison was courting the
political loyalty of another important Liberal, Lady Megan Lloyd George, daughter of
Britain's last Liberal Prime Minister.
In 1945 the Liberals captured only twelve seats, seven of them in Wales. But they got 9%
of the popular vote, and could have swung the balance in many constituencies. Most
Liberal candidates lean more to the Tories than to the Laborites. If Churchill's attempt to
enlist the Liberal vote had succeeded, a combined Tory-Liberal front would have been a
formidable combination.
At the end of March, the Liberals were retaining their political independence despite
Churchill's best efforts. The London Economist cracked, "A follower of the British press
might have been pardoned for imagining that the forthcoming election was a contest
solely between Liberals and Conservatives, an election of 1900 rather than 1950."
One Liberal leader went on the air and flatly rejected Churchill's advances. "The
next election is not just between Mr. Churchill and the Labor Party," he said. "We all
respect Mr. Churchill as a wartime leader, but we are not at war." Following this line of
thought the Liberals will put some 400 candidates in the field when elections are called;
few think that many of these can be elected.