THE RETREAT IN WEST GERMANY

"West Germany's newly-constituted Communist Party has established itself on a nation-wide basis in less than a month…. Outlawed Communist leader Max Reimann will return soon after his 70th birthday on October 31 to be elected chairman of the new party. Herr Reimann has been a wanted man since 1954, accused of plotting high treason. But now, the West German authorities are taking steps to make it possible for him to end his exile" - The Courier-Mail, Brisbane, October 24.

The formal recognition of the right of the Communist conspiracy to operate in West Germany comes at the very moment when the Soviet, by his massive strategic thrust into Czechoslovakia, is attempting to demoralise West Germany and to neutralise the German people. Caught between the aggressive move westwards by the Soviet Union and the indecision of the NATO nations, West German political leaders are desperately attempting to walk a tightrope. But it is clear that they are attempting to placate the Soviet. This is a dangerous retreat by the West German Government, which can lead to disastrous consequences for the West Germans as well as the whole of the Western world.
Charges that top German officers in NATO were working for the Soviet indicate the seriousness of the West German situation. Never was there a greater need for the revival of the old British Commonwealth nations, closer co-operation and a firm alliance with the U.S.A., if the global advance of International Communism is to be halted and turned back.

THE DRIVE TOWARDS THE MONOPOLY STATE

"There is an increasingly persuasive case to be made for allowing greater managerial powers to reside with the Commonwealth. It has the taxing power in any case, so why should it not devise Federal policies to match? In at least four functions which now rest primarily with the States - health, education, roads and some social services - there is a case for Commonwealth-wide standardisation and control with the States acting as agents for expenditure and administration" - The Australian, in its first editorial, October 23.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Gorton, may not have generated much enthusiasm amongst Liberal Party colleagues with his open advocacy that the traditional Liberal Party policy in support of Federalism should be thrown away. But he is getting support from those who wish to create the Monopoly State in Australia.
At a time when the centralising of power all over the world is producing the same problems and reactions, it is not progressive, but reactionary thinking for the Federal Government to be advocating more centralisation in Australia.

If Mr. Gorton will take the trouble to study Fabian-Socialist Whitlam's thesis on the Australian Constitution, published by the Fabian Society, he will find that he is advocating a similar policy to that of Mr. Whitlam. He will also find that the Communists have been advocating the same type of policy for years.
If the Central Government is to have increased powers, then how is that Government going to discharge what are its primary responsibilities, one of these being defence and foreign policy?

Honest Federal Members, admit now that they are involved in so much activity which should be the sole responsibility of State and Municipal Government, that they have insufficient time to give proper attention to defence and foreign policy. Hundreds of years of bitter experience have demonstrated that in any large geographical area all centralisation of power in the hands of one Central Government leads to increasing bureaucracy, irresponsible Government and tyranny.
Mr. John Gorton is advocating tyranny in Australia and should be bluntly told so.

"U.S. LOSING IN VIETNAM" - AMERICAN SOLDIER

"We're not winning. We're probably losing - and it's America's fault.
"The whole revolting war is being handled all wrong.
"If only we could march in there slamming the whole country with everything we've got, the war would be over like that.
"But no, we take the biggest army in the world into a tin-pot little country, and because it's all political, we just fiddle around.
"There are a lot of men dying who shouldn't". - G.I. Private Leed, visiting his relatives in Melbourne, quoted in the Melbourne Herald, October 25.

It is significant that this news item was only in the early edition of The Herald, and was removed from every other edition. Private Leed was getting too close to the bone for one of the sub-editors whose sympathy he obviously did not have. Private Leed went on to make some pretty rugged statements that reflected the frustration he no doubt shares with many other soldiers in America who know they are being betrayed by the politicians.

General Curtis Le May on his return to US from his fact-finding mission in Vietnam pinpoints some of the factors concerning Private Leed's and his fellow soldiers. "Vital facilities destroyed by our previous attacks have been repaired, replaced, and, in many instances, enlarged. The harbour of Haiphong is being used to channel a steady and ever increasing flow of guns and ammunition into North Vietnam, and these items are being rushed south to kill American fighting men.
When we were attempting to halt these movements...it took approximately 100 days for shipments to move from China into combat zones. Under present conditions, two rifles can leave Red China and, within six to eight days, be in the hands of two Vietnamese Communists firing at American men and boys".

NIXON ECHOES WALLACE

"Mr. Nixon said yesterday that including the communists in a coalition Government in South Vietnam would amount to a 'thinly disguised surrender' and not an acceptable solution for ending the war" - The Age, October 29.

As the Presidential elections draw nearer, commentators increasingly remark on the affinity of the Nixon policy statements with those of George Wallace. Nixon is obviously worried by the confidence of Wallace, and the affection of many American voters for his straightforward policies for defeating Communism at home and abroad.
How successful Nixon will be in confusing the American voter remains to be seen.

Two recent reports make it clear that he is still under pressure from the left-wing of the Republican party - men like Nelson Rockefeller, John Lindsay, Mayor of New York, Senator Jacob Javits and Senator Edward Brooke - whose support Nixon sought early in the campaign. To win New York is considered essential for the winning candidate.

The first point of interest in the little displayed "liberal" or leftist side of the Nixon policy is the insistence on Federal control of education. On this issue Nixon is adament as reported in an interview in The Herald, Melbourne, October 28. However he throws a sop to the Wallace supporters in agreeing that the forcible transport of negro children to white schools is wasteful and unnecessary. But more importantly Mr. Nixon shows he is very much under the control of the internationalists behind American politics when he insists that the new Senate will ratify the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. This treaty destroys America's last vestige of defence independence.
No doubt Mr. Nixon is of the opinion that domestic issues will far outweigh his stand on this treaty, and the Senate will be forced to pass legislation it refused to accept under the Johnson administration.

RETURNED SERVICEMEN DEMONSTRATE REALISM

"Labor politicians who are members of the Returned Services League could be expelled or suspended from the league if they criticise Australia's role in Vietnam" - The Age, Melbourne, October 29.

The national president of the Returned Services League, Sir Arthur Lee, was reported to be worried by the implications of a resolution passed by the national congress of the league, which would strengthen the hand of State branches of the league in dealing with dissident elements within the organisation. So long as the R.S.L. retains the policies for which it was formed, national loyalty, and loyalty to the welfare of men serving in the armed forces of Australia, past and present; then it is right that it should incorporate safeguards against subversive forces which would undermine those objectives.
Subversion of national loyalty and national strength is one of the political facts of life of our times.

The R.S.L. is to be congratulated in taking the necessary steps to safeguard itself against internal subversion. Other factors emerging out of the present congress in Canberra illustrate the value of national patriotic organisations, which do not have uppermost in the minds of their officials the seeking of mass popularity, and the framing of policies to obtain the votes of the populace. The league came out strongly for controlling student demonstrators by withdrawing scholarships from convicted rioters. It drew attention to the increasing defence problem caused by the scuttle initiated by conservative and labour politicians in Britain. Both are urgent issues, and any organisation concerned with the welfare of Australia, is rendering the nation a service by directing attention to such matters.

KEEPING THE FIGHT GOING

U.N. WEEK

DIVISION OF LOYALTIES

"Industrial Development Minister, Mr. Court, said that young people should not be discouraged by the U.N's past failures. They should not judge it too harshly when it stood by helplessly while one country invaded another or when it went to the opposite extreme and used a sledgehammer to solve a simple problem" - The West Australian, October 25.

Mr. Court was speaking at a flag raising ceremony held in Perth to mark U.N. Week celebrations. It is a pity that the flag, instead of being raised was not used to cover the coffin of the U.N. and give it a decent burial. The inconsistencies so obvious in the U.N. and commented upon by Mr. Court, arise out of the complete divorcement from the fundamental principle of freedom inherent within the structure of the U.N.
Such principles cannot be realised by the use of a sledgehammer, as Mr. Court would realise if he applied the same reasoning to solving the problems of the state of Western Australia.

Mr. Court would not look kindly upon either national or international interference in the problems of his own department. But he accepts and asks for tolerance of the U.N., which continually does just that. Perhaps he does not realise it was constituted for that purpose, as was ensured by its first acting Secretary General, the convicted Communist, Alger Hiss.

Many people who would normally reject Communism never stop to think that the U.N. has the complete blessing of the Communist conspiracy, and that many of its directives and propaganda permeating our political and educational institutions is written by the many straight out Communist members of the various branches of the U.N.
A nation divided against itself must fail. The U.N. is the greatest agency of division in the world today.

WEEK IN BRIEF