W f ^ r '

Nurse

YOUR F R I E N D S C A N SEND Y O U T H I S B U T T E R - B U T IT MAY B E S T O P P E D

AMERICA 'AID9 TO

CUTS OFF IRELAND

Pact squeeze intensifying OUR P O L I T I C A L C O R R E S P O N D E N T

A MERICAN economic and technical assistance is being withheld from Egypt, Afghanistan, Burma, Iraq and the

twenty-six comities of die Republic of Ireland, said Mr. Averill Harriman, director of die mutual security programme.

Reason is that these states have not complied with the requirements of the Mutual Security Act.

ated to the extent to which a vigorous alternative fxflicy of self-hel0 and trade with other nations is developed.

Large plans for agricultural develop-ment and turf have been announced. Wheat-growing, discouraged since the end of the war, is to be increased.

S t a r v e d Despite being starved of coal by Britain,

who has failed to fulfil her agreement, and copper which has been cornered by the greedy allies, the Twenty-Six Counties public is staunchly opposed to any barter-ing away of the degree of freedom won since 1922.

The incipient blockade of Ireland which is thus instituted will mean# hardships for the common people which will be allevi-

"Vk/E protest in the strongest possible manner against the laws ~ * which enable men to be sent to jail for showing their own

flag in their country," said Patrick Clancy, General Se&retary of the Connolly Association, at an open-air meeting in Coventry, called in order to protest against recent sentences in Enniskillen.

O F F E A R L Y Meeting was attended by several

hundred workers, some of whom had knocked of! an hour early in order to be present. Six new members joined the Connolly Association, and 63 copies of tihe "Irish Democrat" were sold.

' Incident which gave rise to the protest, and a similar meeting in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, on the following day, took place just after the General Election when a* torchlight procession celebrated the re-turn of Cahir Healy as M.P. for Fermanagh ftnd South Tyrone The KnOiskiHen police prohibited the showing of the tricolour in the main streets—although it was the em-blem of the party which had won the Section! Following a protracted legal Struggle, one young man was sentenced to , 1 •ix months' imprisonment arising out of • the incident, and many others were fined parlous amounts.

L * Continued on Page Two | Co. Clare (P. 8) ' ST?* '' '

'Western' Powers Ireland out of U.N.O.

keep

BRITISH Embassy official in Washing-ton declared that "despite differences"

over partition Britain would vote for Ire-land's admission into U.N.O., which was "barred by Russia's repeated veto."

Presentation of this case resembled the same officials' handling of the partition question. He said Churchill was "actually longing to see a united Ireland," but only under conditions which amount to the abandonment of Irish sovereignty. He re-fused to contemplate a plebiscite of all Ireland and would not "desert" Northern Ireland.

THEY MATCH Hypocrisy on this issue matches that on

the other. Truth is that Russia has pro-posed that nine western-sponsored nations together with five sponsored by herself should be admitted into U.N.O.—that is all eligible should be allowed to Join.

Britain and America want their own supporters in but are vetoiru; those of Russia. It is therefore not tne Russian veto which is keeping Ireland out of U.N.O. but Anglo-American insistence that their nominees and nobody else's must be brought in. Russia would vote for Ireland's inclusion to-morrow, but wants the other thirteen In as well.

' "mcGlntp" is up

£ 6 - 1 - 3 V W W W W W W W W V W i

RIGHT An Irish conductor gets on his bus.

LEFT T: Every Friday b eluding many Irish, Union dues.

in h u e n e n their pay

WOKING MEN WANT BETTER CANTEEN

r j i H E poor quality of the food in the can-teen on the Sherewater Housing

Estate, Woking, has been the cause of constant complaint, aggravated ty! the relatively high prices. Moat of the-builders are Irishmen who t ravel daily from London. After a meeting on thejolfc, the matter has been raised with the man-agement.

SEAN MAC BRIDE THROW-OUTS DINNER IN L

AMONG the guests at a dinner given in London by ^ Behrens was Mr. Sean MaeBrlde. Venue was the cM _ Hotel, and the oceasion was "in honour" of the delegates Eastern European Conference of the ao-ealled European movement.

CONNOLLY'S PROTEST AGAINST FLYNN

A PROTEST against the arrest prisonment of American working.<

leaders has been made to the Ame: Embassy In London by the West Branch of the Connolly Association. T h t protest is particularly concerned with the trial and Imprisonment of Irish-born. Btt-zabeth Gurley Flynn (friend of Janes Connolly), and International B r l f l l e

rution Is leader, Steve Nelson. Such persecution " %

• i*

NELSON 'TRIALS' fit special concern to Irishmen and women who, engaged in the fight for the securing 'of their own freedom, have a natural sym-pathy with the struggles of peoples in other lands.

Mr. Steve Nelson is a sick man but is compelled to conduct his own defence. No lawyer will act. Fifteen hare been hailed before the Un-American Activities Com-mittee for daring to defend progressives.

At this conference an ltioquttou? dele-gate gave the show away by saying what they intended to do "after the war.'

What they inte t f tfvdfc. f Is to restore tho ootatee to the I lord* of the now republics of Europe. Even the London them the warning that this would I unpopular." ' V'

Mr. Sean Macpride dined with Mr. L. S. Amery, the Duchess at Attioll, Major Tufton Beam^h , MJ?.. « | «* W i i l B r ern" side were Messrs. Mikolajczyk and Pllsudsky. U W 7 . ; ' . ,,

A aean. teleifcw by this event th rew tho lata l u M n t i d

•M^fCvd Ml

THE IRISH DSHOCK AT New Series No. 86 FEBRUARY, 1952

— — Fourpence

Flew Irish Flag—Jailed COVENTRY IRISH PROTEST MEETING

Cahir Healy writes of 'Police State' "IRISH DEMOCRAT" R E P O R T E R

THE IRISH DEMOCRAT February, 1952

THE LAST BOOM TOWN— YET DRAUGHT BLOWS HERE TOO

WAS De Valera right or wrong? Last summer he denounced the overcrowding and exploitation of the Irish in Coventry

and immediately the press was swept by furious controversy. The President of the United Irish Societies, Father P. Smith, sent a strong protest telegram to De Valera.

The Mayor described the Taoiseach's statements as "irres-ponsible" and "ridiculous." But when "Irish Democrat" reporters started their investigation by asking Mr. Macllhoney of the Anti-Partition League for his views, he replied that on the day after the Mayor's protest he found a house with twenty people in it— several per room.

At the same time it was agreed that English, Scotch, Welsh and others are living under the same conditions. /COVENTRY is the last of the boom

towns. Visitors from less prosperous areas see things which have disappeared elsewhere—such as 20 youths queueing for taxis at 11.15 p.m. when the public trans-port ceases; queues for colour films and expensive cameras in the leading photo-graphers; queues for meals late at night with fantastic prices in poky cafes. And in the centre of the city is rising out of the ruins a modern civic centre which— if the steel shortage permits—may be the envy of many, towns.

There is work in Coventry. Workers are still coming in from all over the world —not only the Irish, Scots, Welsh, but West Indians, Africans, and t h e "displaced persons" who always seem mysteriously to get the houses, often helped by employers. So few are the natives in proportion to the newcomers t ha t a "Coventrians Society" takes its place among the Irish Societies, Coventry Scots a n d Welsh, the Coloured Workers' Association, and the Orange "Ulsterman's" Society! npHE "Irish Democrat" ^reporters inter-

viewed Councillor Dixon, whose reply is published below, representatives of hos-tels committees, Anti-Partition Leaguers, the secretary of the Communist Party, Mr. Parry, and numerous rank and file Irishmen whose opinions were nearest to experience. These are their conclusions: 1. There is undoubted overcrowding in

From Page One

POLICE STATE In a letter to the "Irish Democrat," Mr.

Qahir Healy said:— "In the hearing of the 'riot' cases

arising out of the election celebrations, eurcounsel ,Mr. C. Stewart, K.C., argued that the Northern Government had no power to make the order relating to the flag of a friendly state, this being a reserved service in the Government of Ireland Act, 1930. The magistrate held

Mm. . . The summary powers the R.U.C. proves our contention

that Northern Ireland is a Polloe State." Asked for his opinions on the Emergency

Powers Acts, Mr. Healy wrote:— UK Is true that the E.P.A. was repealed

thisyetr, M far as the authority to im-prtw* people.'Without trial is-concerned. Tbey ean stm search a man's house on the suspicion that ho W y be about to oonpNift crime!

"•no Pwbttc Order Act, m i , enables « r or pro-rf larthey

or certain

In w r i t * a f / W t ^ p j O f l S 'WMotl

carry a Hag purporting to be the flag of an Irish nspidtllc* Belfast, Oerry, Porta-down antf CtfnMMen are come of the towns the main streets of which are pro-hlMfsd to antt-Paitlttonisto carrying the trlooiour." Chairman of the meeting, Desmond

Greaves, Kdttor of the Democrat," de-scribed the system of gerrymandering and nepotism by which th£ Northern Govern-ment retains power, accusing the British Government of wanting Ireland as a war base. War bases, he said, are only "neces-sitated" by war policy, and those who wanted to see a free united Ireland must aligrf themselves with those who want the present ChurrtittUan war-policy replaced by a policy of peace and friendly dealing with all nations.

At tha Birmingham mooting on January Jttn a small group stood huddled in the intense ootd white Pat Clancy explained the Connolly Association's policy for

.national lndcpendcrv>e, peace antf the «w-foncw tf t fk workers' living standards. Pat Murray, dMMffan. dociared that he

Coventry. Ten thousand people want houses and many more will be dissatis-fied.

2. There is absolutely no evidence of de-liberate discrimination against Irish-men by the authorities.

3. Nevertheless, the system as a whole does hit Irishmen exceptionally hard because of several factors. These are, that three years' residence is a neces-sary qualification for acceptance on the housing list. The majority of Irish are young unmarried people living in lodg-ings. The shortage of accommodation is appalling. Overcrowding and over-charging are qommon. The absence of adequate privacy keeps men out in pubs and cinemas at night. But this applies equally to other new arrivals.

4. The only way out is to get more houses built and more hostels built, and to improve those that exist. Hostel life leayes much to be desired. To do this will require the combined efforts of all nationalities thronging cosmopolitan Coventry—and it demands, above all, a change in Government policy, which is to cut out housing and concentrate on war preparations.

. v . - . - . - . v . - . v V . V . V . V . V . ' A - M W A V . V M V A V A V .

COVENTRY "PUT SIR BASIL TO SHAME"

1 V H A T do the hostel-residents think? " The best hostel is admittedly that

run by the Coventry City Council called the Guildhouse. Half of it* 1,000 residents are Irish.

The quality of the physical amenities does not arouse discontent—relatively simple though they are. For example, the food and tea served in the vast canteen are reminiscent of factory ra ther t han of home.

Principal grumble is the dictatorial powers of the officials, who are at liberty to go to astonishing lengths.

A woman resident can have her door loudly battered by night-watchmen, seek-ing entrance under a clause in the resi-dents' agreement tha t access must be given at all times in order t ha t they can satisfy themselves tha t nothing is going on tha t ought not to be going on. Such a woman may be completely at a loss what to do—to open to men who might not be watchmen a t all, or to refuse and break the rules in that way. The residents feel strongly tha t all visits to women's quar-ters should be made by women. But as far as is known no women's warden has been appointed.

V 'HE elections for the welfare committee are not considered to be democratic.

Candidates complain tha t they do not know who nominated their opponents. One Ir ishman complained, with exaggeration born of intense feeling, "the system of

election would put Sir Basil Brooke to shame." The returning officer is said to be a member of the staff. Evictions are said to be arbitrary, and it is suggested that militant workers who fight for the rights of the residents are in danger of finding themselves "out" on some techni-cal ground, while the "yes-men" do much as they like.

And remember, this is the best hostel. It is clear that an investigation into the system of hostel management would do no harm. If these allegations are untrue they could be disproved; if true they should be rectified.

Dance with the Anti-Partitionists

'T'HE Anti-Partition league weekly dance A at the Westfield House is well pat-

ronised. Both English and Irish dancing are available and Connolly Association members are welcome.

The League is active in Coventry and recently held a successful procession through the city.

Unfortunately some of its leaders, if the one interviewed at the dance hall by the "Irish Democrat" was typical, do not see the need for making opposition to parti-tion the test of a movement against parti-tion. As yet they are unprepared to co-operate with other bodies opposed to the border.

prBof" to' itotfM that every Irishman prcMnt had bought an "Irish oemoorat" Several dozen wars sold.

Unity of Workers will replace present system by more just one

COUN. DIXON

TVTE are a community of some 254,000 people in Coventry, and among us

are many thousands of lads and lassies, f rom Ireland (North and South i, Scotland. Wales, Tyneside, Merseyside, Humberside

and Thameside, plus some hun-dreds of Indians a n d displaced Europeans. We are, in fact, as cosmopolitan a crowd as you will find any-where, and are as peaceful, law a b i d i n g and civic conscious as the people of any other city in Britain.

T h e I r i s h people in our midst are mak-

ing a valuable contribution to our efforts to rebuild our city, to keep its services going, and produce motor-cars, tractors, cycles, electrical goods, rayon and the host of other things tha t Coventry makes both for Export and the Home Market.

There was a t ime In the 3(ys when we had 10,000 unemployed, when Irishmen along with others who were newcomers to the city, were exploited, but most of them are now members of tfte appropriate Trade Union and enjoy the rate for the Job as laid down by agreements between employers and unions. Many of them are active members of the Labour Party and Co-ops. and I am convinced that the vast majority vote Labour, and play a full part in Civic affairs.

There has been quite a lot said in the Press recently about overcrowding among, our Irish friends, but this has been greatly exaggerated. Of course there is overcrowd-ing in our city.'but It is not peculiar to-any one section of the people. We have a waiting list for houses of well over ten thousand, and it includes names like OKelly, O'Flaherty. O'Connor as well as Jones, Williams, Thomas, McTavish. Mc-Donald and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. But when applications are being consid-ered by the Housing Committee, numbers only are given, and each case is dealt with strictly on its merits. Our system of allo-cation makes favouritism impossible, so t h a t the Irish lads and lassies get their fair share of houses and anything else tha t Is going. Quite a number of Irish

men and women live in hostels and the Labour City Council is doing everything it can to provide more accommodation. The majori ty of single Irish people lodge with Coventry families and soon become members of the families. The Irish accent or brogue is most commonly heard on the

by COUNCILLOR DIXON

building sites, and here they have done a really first-class job of work, for our City stands second to none in its building ac-complishments, both for housing and other purposes.

Our Transport Undertaking has also benefited by Irishmen and women taking jobs as drivers and conductors, which for some time were in very short supply.

My own experience tells me tha t Irish and English workers get on very well to-gether. I had an Irish mate for three years a t the Alvas Works and no man could wish for better

So long as we live under the capitalist system, the capitalists and their stooges will a t tempt to keep us divided. In an eco-nomic emergency they will a t tempt to set English against Irish, Irish against Scotch, English against Welsh, Catholic against Protestant, white worker against coloured

worker, and so on. They know tha t our unity spells their doom, and in the period ahead, due to rearmament and an intensi-fication of the struggle for foreign mar-kets, at tempts will be made to depress our standard of life so tha t our manufacturers can compete with the West German, Japanese and others who are being built up by American capital. And when we use our organised s trength to defend our standards, they will exploit all our national and religious differences, and will trot out the old Communist bogy in at tempts to set us against our elected leaders, shop stewards, etc. "Vigilance must be our watchword." A united working-class can bring us Socialism and peace, and an end of those who have nothing to offer us but "Blood, sweat, toil and tears."

So far as I am concerned, any man or woman living decently, paying his or her just dues and demands in the city of Cov-entry, is a Covsntrian, regardless of where he or she was born, and so long as I am able I shall do whatever I can to help any of them to get the best out of life in Cov-entry. By all means, let us preserve our separate national culture, literature and art, but a t the same time let us work to bring about such unity of our class, tha t we can end the system which creates un-employment and poverty in the midst of plenty and replace it with a just and equitable one.

IRISH FAMILY NAMES r» EADERS who have requested us to pub-A llsh a series of articles on the origin of Irish family names wi|f be pleased to hear that these wMI begin next month.

The study of Irish surnames is a very fascinating subject and in many cases throws light on our country's history.

Irish names are derived from three main sources—the- old Irish, that is, Gae-lic; family names, names brought into the country.by the Norman invasion (many of these are very old and now regarded as honourable Irish names) ; and lastly, names of foreign origin.

The real Irish (Gaelic) names are easily recognisable by the use of "O" and "Mac" before the proper name. An old rhyme says:

By 'Mac' and 'O' You'll always know

Trap Irishmen they say; But if they lack Both 'O' and Mac'

No Irishmen are they.

The only difference between a surname commencing with 'O' and one start ing with 'Mac' is tha t the former was taken from the grandfa ther and the latter from the father. ^Tie word 'mac' means a son in Irish.

T J NTIL the Anglo-Norman invasion the ' personal ( tha t is, Christian» names in

use in Ireland were almost purely Celtic. It was the Anglo-Normans who introduced Scriptural names or the L6tin and Greek names of saints. For instance, the name Patrick was only found among the Norse-men in the towns for a long time alter the invasion. For several centuries a f ter the invasion a man's name was a good guide to his ancestry.

Besides Introducing new Christian names the Norman* also introduced a new type of surname, and we will malqe a s tar t with one of these next month, the-name of our popular Circulation Manager, William Burke.

"IWIJ i

February, 1952 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT 3

I R I S H D E M O C R A T 13 Lambs Conduit Passage, London, W.C.I

All communications to The Editor,

DESMOND GREAVES

Subscription Rates: 12 months 5 / 6 6 months 2 / 9

"PEACE ON EARTH TO MEN OF GOODWILL"

STAND FIRM

A LMOST as soon as these words are " in print the blizzard will be blowing—an artificial blizzard de-signed to strip the common people of every tiny amenity they possess, and to drive them breakneck into a mur-derous war.

Figs do not grow on thistles. Churchill brought back from the States what was expected of Him. The bold vigorous Tory statesman ready to assert Britain's rights against America has been revealed as a poor whining creature whose reputation for decisive action will be illustrated only by the savagery with which he and his consorts now turn on the ordinary people.

The American aim, with which Churchill now falls in unquestion-ingly, is war. For this the people must slave harder and get less; for this the boundless wealth of Asia and Africa must be stripped, and produc-tive lands be made imperialist deserts; for this national cultures must be submerged in the whoop of insane hate hysteria. Territories so far out-side the war schemes must be bribed or bludgeoned in.

What for ?

Because American Imperialism wants to rule China. (What a hope !) Because European throw-outs want to restore the landlords to Eastern Europe. Because war is a terribly profitable thing.

Excellent reasons for the big busi-ness magnates of Wall Street and The City. No reasons at all for the ordin-ary people. For apart from the war policy there is NO C R I S I S .

The whole future of humanity, includ-ing the hopes of the peoples of Britain and Ireland for national independence and unity and an end to old feuds on the basis of equality of rights and mutual respect, depends on the maintenance of peace.

Remember this in the coming months. When efforts are made to split British and Irish workers, remember Belfast where sectarianism divides the Irish to the loss of both camps. Stand firm, for peace, national independence, and the mainten-ance and improvement of the standard of living—and fight backl

I t 1 I f . K S T HAVE just been given a copy of the

"Irish Democrat" and, as an Irish girl, I cannot tell you how proud I am of your wonderful achievements. I have been in England for the past four years, and am now very interested in the Peace Move-ment.

I am enclosing this article, and I would be very thankfu l if you could use it in your paper.

I will conclude by wishing your paper a wide circulation and success in the future.

MAIRIN D E L A N E Y

T READ with considerable interest in your November issue the Connolly

Association statement of policy and your challenge to the Knights of St. Colum-banus to re fu te it.

I have been waiting for the publication of their reply.

T. L E O N A R D (Surrey)

j)EACE on earth to men of goodwill. These are simple words known to most

people, but above all to Catholics through-out the length and breadth of the world. I, as a Catholic, always understood that the teachings of my faith were noble, and that Christ was a lover of peace. If this is the case, why do we partake in war? We simple working men and women are busy preparing to use the atom-bomb.

We make a rmaments in the factories, monopolising t h e steel and other essen-tials necessary t o build houses. We pay

. excessive prices for the everyday commo-dities of life, so that the warmongers' love of blood and murder may be satisfied. We shake our heads and say there must be a war, Russia is getting ready to attack us, and we must be ready to defend ourselves. If anyone tells us we should refuse to make armaments, allowing the bosses to live lavishly on the profits, we immediately label them as "awful Communists."

I am not a Communist, but as a Catholic I feel revolted and horrified at the slaugh-ter of our youth on the battlefields of Korea and Malaya. If a teacher slaps your child at school, even for a just cause, you rush to the school and, full of angry in-

by

MAIRIN DELANEY (of Manchester)

dignation, you demand why your child should be' slapped. Yet when that child has grown to manhood, you allow him to be dragged off from his home to be mur-dered or maimed in a land he has never seen and whose people a re only fighting for their rights to live as a free nation. I am convinced by reports I have had f rom people who have visited t h e U.S.S.R. t h a t Russia does not want war. Instead of sweating and toiling to make profits for

the boss class, they are working to build up a country in which to-day the workers enjoy every freedom and share all the

— — — — — — good things of life, and when I say freedom I include religious freedom.

I do not think the men and women in this country want war. I t is up to us then to make sure there is peace for us in the future. Christ said: "Peace be with you." Let us Catholics see tha t it is. Sign the peace petition. In t h e factories, the workshops, in the mines and on the build-ing sites, tell your workmates also to sign. When we as Catholics fight for peace, and demand tha t war, with all its horrors, shall be spared us, then and only then can we be sure of a happy life and security in the future.

Sleeve 3tead&L&> INTRODUCING A NEW EDITORIAL FEATURE

A R E A D E R from Glasgow tells us * * that for the first time since the war, sectarianism has reared its head in Scottish football. There was a time, he said, when feeling ran so high between Celtic and Rangers that even the cats weren't safe. An orange cat was caught by some Celtic sup-porters and painted green from whis-kers to ta i l !

Seriously though, there must be some-body behind this revival of enmity. I t looks as if the employers are trying their old dodges on—splitting the people and setting them quarrelling to divert their minds from worsening working conditions.

Above All, let us take to heart Wolfe Tone's maxim—"I sought to replace the separate titles of Catholic, Protestant and dissenter by the oommon name of Irish-man."

# * »

T N the course -of an interesting talk to the North London Connolly Associa-

tion, Tom Durkin told of other dangers of the same kind. The growth of unemploy-ment is being used by the employers to try to depress working conditions. The high prices are making wage-packets in-adequate. Workers are being pressed to

A SPECIAL APPEAL T H E "Irish Democrat' is in a position where either it must make a big

jump forward or fall seriously back, tn order to balance our acoounts we need another 3,000 circulation, in addition to the 2,000 won in 1951.

W E K N O W that there is a demand. Our representatives have visited towns where not a oopy enters—and have sold six dozen in an hour! But we haven't the sales organisation to keep this up. Stj l l less have we the necessary contacts on camp sites, isolated Jobs, etc., where we are at the mercy of chance—the chance that a Connolly member happens to work there. Worse, our people are such a shifting population that our agents keep moving on !

TO O V E R C O M E T H I S we want to send our organiser over the oountry, picking up orders, making sales. BUT, we haven't the money to do it. Likewise heavy overhead commitments are like a millstone round our necks.

T H E O N L Y S O L U T I O N is to ask our friends to subscribe to a develop-ment fund. And frankly it wil l have to be a large one. We need £250, and, unfortunately, we need It at once. Given that Initial break we know we oan make the paper pay for itself.

EVERY effort Is being made to Improve its contents and make it both more effective and more attractive. Will you subsorlbe now 7 ANY sum, great or small, will be thankfully received.

accept overtime, which makes unemploy-ment worse, and places themselves a t the mercy of the employer as much as those who are unemployed. The trade unions object, and the employers then cleverly try Jo canalise the worker's discontent against the unions which are represented as tak-ing money out of his pocket. Special efforts are being made to get t h e Irish to work overtime, because many of them are single men who have no home life and are as well off on the job.

A T Shepherd's Bush, a reader fisks us why, when throughout the world the

oppressed peoples are rising in revolt, is Ireland so quiet? Is there not a word of protest, he asks. Another reader declared that 99 per cent, of the Irish in Britain would prefer to be at home, and roundly condemn the failure of successive Govern-ments to be plainspoken and vigorous, ex-cept when out of office. We rather agree. But we would draw attention to the existence of one organisation which is striving to make a , change—it is the Irish Workers' League, and its paper, the "Irish Workers' Voice," is obtainable at 16a Pearse Street, Dnblin.

y O M E of you who buy the "Democrat" ^ in Wapping are worried about our att i tude to Egypt. You say we ought not to be criticising British policy in tha t country. When our sellers reply tha t if you want Irish freedom then you must also want the freedom of all other nations, you reply that t ha t may be all very well for a paper published locally in Ireland, but should not be the policy of a paper catering primarily for the Irish in Britain. By this same argument, of course, the American Irish would have to be sup-porters of American policy, the I r i sh in France (and there are quite a few) sup-porters of French policy, and so on.

Many of you have settled her a n d hdve British-born sons in the army in Egypt, and you are worried oVer their safety. We wish them no harm. But we cannot sup-port the purpose with which they are sent. Britain can get everything she requires from Egypt without sending troops to tha t country—by buying it. The real reason why the troops are there Is that it suits the big business interests to maintain bases in the Near East which may eventually be used in a world war, unless t h e people prevent It. It would be better for the boys, better for all of us, If they were back home! Far from rejoicing at Injuries to British troops, we think it is scan-that the Conservative Government place these lads in positions where th«jy are bound to excite the animosity of the

population—just as the presence of foreign troops in Ireland gxcites the animosity of the Irish people. I t is Churchill who is responsible when ha rm befalls them, and we cannot withdraw our sympathy from Egyptians defending the i r homes.

IT^HE Hammersmith reader who advised us to promote the unity of the British

and Irish workers for all we are worth, has our fullest support. The Conservative Government is preparing a desperate whip for the workers' backs, and they will not ask your nationality before using it. They will do everything in their power to set the two nationalities quarrelling. So stick by the trade unions and preserve our liv-ing standards by working class unity.

As for the Liverpool readers who criti-cise the January issue for being like a bqilding workers' paper, the point will' be borne in mind — this month we feature Coventry, home of the engineering in-dustry; later we will see the dockers and seamen have a showing.

* * *

Another Liverpool reader tells us that girls arriving from Ireland are not being looked after properly—if he will send tia authenticated details we will be pleased to publish them.

d&emoriam H l l many friends In I

" w i i i w i l l k the paging • o f j M l M T f M i i f c ^ , a t Belfast, who joined Hie Flanna o» h'Eireann and f w g h t In the war «f independence. At the wose of the d m war lie emigrated ta the United States where tie oentinued,his act** vitles on .behalf of Irish freedom In the ranks of the I.R.A* arid Wan na Gael. A foundation member of the Irish clrole of the International Workers' Order and a member of Its Congress Committee he was continu-ously active in all forms ef Irish social JUe.

Me was a member of the tee which was formed far the etojeet r of seouring the t o k w e e t f F t * ! * Ryan, and for many years a p — * rnnt member of the llitw Yoi% nolly Commemoration OcmmHIce.

in token of iwwennbiaiiui end a* a memorial wMrtt tie wo«M r

THE IRISH DEMOCRAT

"TEARS TURN INTO STONES yy

"V\THEN Hugh Minford, M.P., shouted the sectarian slogan, To Hell with the

Pope" during the recent election contest in West Belfast the Unionist Party leader-ship issued a public rebuke.

Has there been a change of heart? Cer-tainly times have changed and in recent years the Unionists have had some salutory experiences. In 1932 the Craigavon regime was rocked to its foundation by the great October relief struggle when scores of thousands of Catholic and Protestant workers united to do battle with the re-actionary administration. There was the sensational exposure ol the British Coun-cil for Civil Liberties which sent a dele-gation to "Northern Ireland" in 1935, and later published a report which caused an outcry in Britain against the bigoted and terroristic administration of Craigavon. The war years, the struggle against Hitler and his allies cemented a strong bond of unity between Catholics and Protestants.

Nowhere in the Six Counties has there been so sharp an expression of revulsion against the hideous policy of sectarianism than in West Belfast itself, the former cockpit of many a bloody sectarian battle. The Unionist candidate was defeated, and Jack Beattie, uncompromising champion of Catholic-Protestant unity was sent to Westminster. This victory was achieved in the face of Minford's provocative outburst, which, under other circumstances, would have been the signal for bitter fratricidal strife.

indiscreet Minford was censured by the men who continue to practise savage and relentless discrimination against the Nationalist minority. Although since the war Six County Jails have gradually emp-tied of political prisoners, and the notori-ous Spesial Powers Act has been repealed, Six County authorities have extended other powers at their disposal for crippling the Nationalist citizens in the expression of their elementary rights.

The Unionists have rigged the constitu-encies, as most "Irish Democrat" readers know, so that one Unionist vote is roughly equivalent to three Nationalist votes. But in 1947 it became evident to the Unionist Par ty leaders that, even within this un-democratic framework, the challenge to their rule was becoming so strong that something more had to be done about it. Mr. Warnock,' K.C., M.P., accordingly in-troduced "The Elections and Franchise" Bill, quite frankly admitting that it was directed against the "Nationalist" threat f rom the "Border" counties. To the mind of an "Ulster" Unionist politician the solu-tion to the problem of an increasing Nationalist vote is quite simple: take the vote away and the problem ends.

SO the "Disfranchise" Bill was passed into law, imposing a stiff residential

cost for voters, abolishing the universal franchise in the municipal elections and abolishing the so-called "Lodger" vote. This represented a strong blow to the minority and also to the working-class population who had been voting in increas-ing numbers against the Unionist Party.

The Unionist leaders then turned their attention t6 the presence of thousands of Twenty-Six County worker? most of whom had come to work in the much boosted war production in the Six Counties. Their

LECTURE ON BLAKE

WRITERS, historians. and Irish speakers attended Mrs. O'Higgin's

lecture on "William Blake," sponsored by the Connolly Association as the first of a series of cultural evenings.

Opening this controversial subject with an account of how she discovered the ex-tensive use of Irish names, images and folklore in the works of Blake, Mrs. O'Higgins described the discovery by W. B. Yeats of Blake's Irish origin. His father had changed his name f rom O'Neill to Blake following a second marriage.

Mrs. O'Higgins believed that Blake kept a close watch on Irish political events and considered that the picture of the Cruci-fixion, which shows the soldiers dicing In the foreground while the Cross is in the background, was a direct representation

event of the Union, which was, as carried through by an orgy of

Iry and corruption. So charming was Mrs. O'Higgins' pre-

sentation of her thesis that the audience were completely unaware of the time, and very little discussion was possible. For-tunately Mrs. O'Higgins hopes to publish a further pdper which will form the basis of further discussion.

Further cultural evenings are beirig jjlaiTiwsl

UUL&KIUU11I of the eve is kaown. bribery an

IV -..rw -

presence in "Ulster" and relation to the nationalist minority, represented a threat to the "stability" of the Six County Admin-istration.

To-day it would be difficult to hound them out of the work-places. This was the fate of their unfortunate Nationalist brothers in 1920-21. But the "resourceful" minds of the Unionist leaders were not lacking in finding another "simple" solu-tion of this problem.

Deprive the unfortunate workers 'legally' of the right to work. Then they would

by JIM PRENDERGAST

have to get out or starve. So the "Safe-guarding of Employment Bill (1947>" was passed into law. Under this infamous mea-sure, with very few exceptions, a worker not "ordinarily resident" (10 consecutive years) at the time of the passing into law was forced to apply to the Minister for Home Affairs every six months for permis-sion to continue in employment.

He was issued with a document closely resembling the notorious "Yellow Permit" issued to the Jews in Czarist Russia. There is no appeal against the Minister's power to cancel permission to work. The hypo-critical claim that the measure was intro-duced to safeguard employment locally has been exploded completely by the pre-sent unemployment figures which are now almost 40,000. r p H E policy of excluding Nationalist

members of the community from lucrative Government employment has not been one whit abated. Speaking in Dail Eireann on December 6th last Mr. De Valera stated that this type of discrimina-tion was continuing, and that its object was to prevent the normal growth of the Nationalist population there. In support of Mr. De Valera's statement the "Irish Press" published the following information in regard to the position of Catholics in Six-County Government employment:

On the staff of the Parliament of the Six County area there are six senior officers. Not one of these is from the minority.

In the Secretariat of the area there are six senior officers. Not one of these is drawn from the minority.

The Civil Service Commission is com-posed of three members and there are four members of the Land Purchase Commission. Not one of these seven comes from the minority.

On the Unemployment Assistance Board there are seven principals. Not one of these is drawn from the minority.

In the Departments of State, the Min-istry of Finance has ten principals, the Ministry of Home Affairs eight, the Min-istry of Labour five, the Ministry of Edu-cation five, the Ministry of Agriculture seven, the Ministry of Commerce five.

Not one of these forty is drawn from the minority.

In the Higher Courts there are some forty Judges, Registrars and officials. Not one of those is drawn from the minority. Of other judicial and legal posts there are 22—one is filled by a member of the minority. Of eight Crown Solici-tors none is from the minority, and thirteen Crown Counsel of whom one is from the minority.

Thus, out of 123 key posts in the Six County State, not one of the highest grade is held by a member of the minor-ity, and of the second grade only two—a total of 1.6 per cent for 34 per cent of the population. Stormont sets the standard of discrimi-

nation, and the Unionist dominated local bodies follow suit. On the Belfast Cor-poration staff there are 65 principal offi-cers—64 of them are Unionists. In the Nationalist County of Fermanagh of the 14 executive or clerical employees of the Fermanagh Education Committee not one is a Nationalist. *

ND so the tale of consistent discrimi-nation against the unfortunate minor-

ity in the Six Counties goes on. Jobs, houses, contracts, all are allocated on a political basis.

Like Sidmouth, well described in Shel-ley's Mask of Anarchy," the guilty men of Glengall Street may stir uneasily an3 shed crocodile tears at the irresponsible outbursts of one of their number, like Min-ford, but their tears turn into rocks and fall upon their victims just the same.

In the f ight to end Partition, and to withdraw Ire land completely from the orbit of Imperialism we have a special duty to the persecuted minority in the Six Counties.

In Britain, among the exiles, and throughout the ranks of the great British Labour Movement these facts should be continuously used to expose the ugly visage of "Ulster" Unionism—enemy alike of the national aspirations of the Irish people, and the finest traditions of the British people.

A

E.N.V. STRIKERS' MARCH

D R O B A B L Y no strike in the recent period has captured the public ' imagination so much as that of the workers of E.N.V. who are out ten weeks demanding that a foreman whom they claim to be excessively domin-eering shall be removed. One of the leaders was Sean Hagan, of t h e Connolly Association.

A donation of £40 came from the Standard factory in Coventry ; Belfast Trades Council gave support, as did also Trade Union branches and faotories throughout the country, including Fords of Dagenham.

As we go to press news comes through of a possible settlement. Details are not known, but it is agreed that there will be no victimisation. Whatever the precise terms it is certain that after this protracted struggle many employers will estimate the temper of the working people with more respect and the epic struggle of the E.N.V. men Will have helped them to bring this about.

Cork Demonstration against Canada Film CHOUTS of "Take it off" and singing of ° "Step together" and "A nation once again" greeted the showing of a newsreel of the Royal tour of Canada in a Cork cinema last month.

A fuH report is contained in the Irish language weekly, "India."

As toon as the film started a young man arosed and shouted "I object to this trash. This I* an attempt to make the British imperial system respectable. I demand that this Aim be taken off."

Several other people shouted references to the 300 Egyptians' houses destroyed by

British bulldozers and then a part of the audience began to chant. "In the name of the boys slaughtered at Ballycannon— take it off." and "In the name of the lads killed by the cowards at Clonmult—take it off."

As soon as the newsreel was over a num-ber of people rose and left the cinema. By this time a crowd attracted by the din Inside, had gathered In the street. Twenty Gardal were present, but no arrests were made.

Protests have continually been made against the showing In Ireland of these newjreete which are entirely composed Of British propaganda. The Gaumont-Britiah are now to make special newsreels for Ireland using gentler propaganda.

February, 1952

STEP BY STE& — but not here!

' I ' 'HE Stormont Government 's claim that social services in the Six Counties

follow step by step those in Britain is an empty boast.

An investigation by the "Irish Demo-crat" into one service—public l i b r a r i e s -reveals that Nor thern Ireland is still very far behind.

Reports for 1950-51 show t h a t this is the position in all aspects of library ser-vices—the provision of books, suitable buildings, children's sections, mobile libraries for remote areas and the number and quality of staff. T)UBLIC library statistics published by J- the Library Association no longer give figures for geographical areas. This could very well be due to pressure f rom back-ward areas, which were thus exposed; and of these Northern Ireland was, and re-mains. the most backward.

The Library Association figures, now divided into population groups, cover all library authorit ies in Britain and Nor-thern Ireland f rom whom re turns were received. So a comparison, say, of book expenditure per head of population (the real test of a library service) tends to show Northern I re land in a more favourable light than is the actual position. The general average is dragged down by the inclusion of the lower Northern Ireland figures.

T N spite of this, while the general ' average spent on books per head was lid., the Northern Ireland average was only 5.83d. And the figure for the six county council authorities, excluding Bel-fast and the eight smaller municipal * libraries, was only 4.13d. Although the figure is thus boosted by the inclusion of Belfast, this does not mean tha t Belfast compares favourably with the general figure for its own population group, being 9.47d. as against 11.47d.

And this disparity, this lagging of many steps behind, is found also in the figures of lending library issues, 2.13d. per head as against 6.27, total expenditure, l/6Jd. per head 3s agains t 3 7;d.; and full-time staff, 1.01 per 10,000 of population against 2.25.

Derry City spent 2.39d. per head on books. This is the lowest figure in its population group of 33 authorities, where the highest figure is 2/7Jd. and the aver-age is lHd. Derry County, with a popu-lation of over 100,000, spent a total of £1,767 on books, whereas Dumfries, with a smaller population, spent £6,000, and Cumberland, in the same population group, spent £8,500. But Derry County, with 4.2d. per head on bocks, is not the worst. Courity Down has the lowest figure (2.2d.), with Tyrone not much better (2.38d > Fe rmanagh is about the same as Derry, and then come Antrim (5.85d> and Armagh <8.54d.i The eight municipal libraries vary a great deal more.

\ \ r E have dealt mainly with expenditure on books, as the real test. And the

facilities to bring them to the public are no better. Most collections are housed in inadequate, c ramped buildings, few of which were intended for use as libraries. There is usually no space for orderly arrangements of the books, let alone for reference libraries, children's sections or lecture rooms, such as are generally pro-vided in Britain. As an example, the Derry County collection is crowded into a vacated man ;e. which acts both as the county repository and as a lending library for the Coleraine area.

Understocked as they are, co-operation between the libraries to enable the mem-ber of one library to draw upon the re-sources ot others is not. able to meet the demands. This problem is solved with the assistance of the Irish Central Library for Students in Dublin, which lends volumes to Northern Ireland libraries. r P H E staffs of the libraries are invariably

courteous and helpful, but overworked, harassed and untrained. This aspect has improved to some degree in ' recent years with the appointment of qualified lib-rarians. As little attention has been paid in the Six County education system to the training of librarians, generally the best qualified come from England.

It is only a few years since the limitation on the rate which might be m&de by local authorities for library purposes was re-moved. s n c e some authorities adopted the Public Libraries Act and since a Lib-rary Council for Northern Ireland was formed Go-ahead librarians and the few councillors who are anxious to improve their- libraries are still hampered by the narrow-minded men who form the majority of members of Six County- local authorities.

February, 1952 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT 5

Six Counties is "Victim No. 1" BUT ALL IRELAND THREATENED

T H E ECONOMY OF T H E SIX COUNTIES IS VICTIM 1 NUMBER ONE OF T H E GIGANTIC ARMAMENTS

PROGRAMME. Whether we are speaking of textile factories, engineering firms, the

shipyard or agriculture, the story is much the same: lay off of workers, threatened lay-offs, short time—and in the case of agriculture catastrophic fall in output.

T h e January unemployed figures will outstrip those of December, which stood at 40,000.

The aircraft factories are the only exception. Here some Workers are being taken on. J H E situation was debated in S tormont

Brooke's Ministry made little claim to having a policy to grapple with the t h r e a t to indust ry and the mounting unemploy-ment. I t did claim tha t a "fair share" of war work would ease the situation.

It hoped for special consideration f r o m its Tory friends in London in the m a t t e r of steel allocation. I t hoped again t h a t the housing programme might be able to proceed and that the building of schools and t h e construction of a number of pro-jected new factories might also be able to go on. All this hope policy is based on the Churchill Government giving the a r e a "special consideration."

T h e industries here and their location are not, it appears, calculated to a t t r a c t war orders. The Brooke Tories have sud-denly discovered, to their horror, t h a t th i s part of Ulster is not, economically or geo-graphically, Lancashire or Yorkshire.

T h e Unionist Press sees the cause of the difficulties in the "underdevelopment of t h e Province," its situation outside t h e coal-producing areas. Industry, it claims, always suffers from the heavy cost of sea-borne transport charges. These are now to t ake another jump upwards. How to a t t r ac t Yankee and British capitalists, even firms engaged on war orders, is t h e problem for which Brooke and his men are searching for a solution.

r i ^ H E sins of the business Bourbons a n d the i r Tory politicians are coming

home to roost. As long as Britain's mine r s produce cheap coal in abundance a n d

Britain was still an independent conquer-ing imperialist power before the coming of the Americans, the rulers of these parts cocked their noses at any idea of develop-ing hydro-electric power, and the thought of touching peat development, which the

bv

SEAN M U R R A Y area has in abundance, was rank heresy. Any such suggestions met the inevitable ansswer: "This is part of the United King-dom," "a free enterprise area," and so on.

' r PHE "Telegraph" has discovered tha t J - local business magnates, though pat-

riotic to their toenails, won't invest locally; that there is believed to be £600 million of Northern Ireland-owned money scat= tered through the African continent and in Malaya, India, the Near East, etc. And what is more, the local owners of industry Ve selling out wholesale to the cross-Channel "foreign" trusts.

One idea, put forward by Warnock, Brooke's Attorney-General, is to lower taxation by slashing the Imperial Contri-bution to London which is running at £20 million annually. This is open to serious objections—the loyalty business and all that.

A series of special articles in the "Tele-graph" make , a number of propositions which at least have the merit of frankness. Industry here prospered, the paper claims, on a lower wage s tandard than in Britain.

HOW YOU CAN HELP 1. By taking out a yearly subscription to the " Irish

Democrat," 5 /6 per annum. It will be posted to you. 2. By getting another subscriber. 3. By joining the Connolly Association. Entrance fee

1 /-. Subscriptions 1 / - per month. 4. If you have not done so, by renewing your subscrip-

tions for 1952.

N a m e ;

Address Send in this Coupon to 13 Lambs Conduit Passage, W.C.1.,

marking which applies.

This "advantage" the capitalists here have largely lost in recent years. It should be restored. The paper calls on the trade union leaders to abandon the parity-with-Britain wage policy. By means of this magnet of lower wages, capitalists from Britain and America will set up shop in Northern Ireland.

T T is only but yesterday, however, since 30.000 workers in the engineering and

ship-building industry stopped work and demonstrated for a £1 per week rise.

The idea has even entered the heads of the Unionist publicists that their West-minster Par l iamentary representatives should put the skids under the Churchill Government. I t has not passed unnoticed tha t the nine Tory M.P.s from these counties come near to holding the balance of power. The idea of blackmailing Churchill for "special consideration" is thus mooted. "What the old Irish Nation-alist Par ty would have given for such a chance," says the "Telegraph" writer.

The agricultural industry is in the throes of serious difficulties. The Gov-ernment policy is literally murdering the milk and egg section of farming. The prices of feeding stuffs for animals and fertilisers for the soil—when such are available a t all—make impossible profit-able tillage farming.

The Unionist "Telegraph" has this cure for the distress of the farmers: "With the fur ther introduction of mechanisation . . . there is no reason why output f rom the industry could not be increased with less manpower and it would probably be more economic if there were fewer small farms" (my emphasis) .

"T^HERE are 55,000 farm holdings of under 30 acres in size out of a total

of 87,500 in all, and of these 35,000 are under 15 acres, and 26,000 under 10 acres. A Government Commission has pro-nounced t h a t holdings under 30 acres are uneconomic and so ripe for liquidation.

The "Telegraph's" worry is t ha t "under present conditions'" the liquidation of the small owners "would tend to add to our unemployment."

So the Unionist solution for the small farmer is to turn him on to the road. The same people will never forgive the Rus-sians for liquidating the Kulaks. Yet Brooke's men plot the social massacre of 50,000 families—by, of course, "due process of law,"

I t seems, however, that even the Brook-land farmers don't relish the idea of be-ing liquidated by "due process of law," or by any other process, to furnish cheaR labour for the capitalists. The Tyrone farmers ^re calling for the organisation of a strike, and the Farmers' Union has pub-lished demands which only the overthrow of Churchill 's Government and peace and t rade with Russiaff China and the East European countries could bring about.

T ) U T none of the newspapers or politi-cians have thought fit to put forward

the solution of peace, the shaking off of the Yankee chains and trade with the for-

ASKED DOLLARS - PROMISED BOMBS I ) Y now there should be no doubt in any * ' one's mind -about the purpose of

Churchill 's visit to the U.S.A. For a long time America h&d bpen bringing pressure on her European Satellites to speed up the whole ar jnament drive. Among the satelli tes Britain was principally singled out for criticism, despite the fac t t h a t Bri tain 's economy is daily heading for eco-nomic disaster because of the colossal a r m a m e n t programme. There was a general note of hostility in the American Press and among American fxMiticians a t Br i ta in ' s half-hearted atti tude towards so-called European Federation. Churchi l l was unable to resolve any of the contradic-tions between American and British im-perialism. All he goi in exchange for a f u r t h e r sell-out to America, was the prom-ise of about a million tons of steel towards the armament programme. The a r m a -ment programme is to be intensified, with-out any American aid, whfch will mean slashing the standards of the whole work-ing population.

The three imperialist robbers, America, Britain and France, h*ve agreed to join together to smash the movements for national Independence In Asia, If neces-sary, under the disguise of the American

front of the United Nations as was the case in Korea. Here in Britain the Tories are preparing the biggest attack ever made upon the conditions of the working people.

PATRICK CLANCY on Churchill*s trip

The right-wing Labour leaders are railing completely to give any lead to the people Their treacherous policy when they were in power, which Churchill can proudly boast t ha t he is only attempting to con-tinue, has led to the greatest sell-out of tlie common people ever known.

Even Churchill has to admit that as a result of this policy, Britain could be the ideal target of the world for atom-bombs. And Churchill's American masters have been so kind as to let him know that the* will not use Britain as an atom base with-out consulting him. It would be laughable if It Wasn't serious. As a result of the war-drive prices of consumer goods are daily increasing, the already meagre rations have been reduced still more. The

food subsidies have been reduced, which means tha t prices will soar, until the sky is the limit. Houses are being built for sale and not for renting to the working people. The education service is cut by five per cent. The social services are being attacked—it has been suggested tha t hos-pital patients will have to pay a certain sum. But let us not be too disheartened, as there is every indication tha t the work ing people will fight back vigorously. But any flght will be in vain if it hasn ' t as its main objective world peace, and a smash-ing attack to defeat the Tory Government and the whole imperialist war policy.

This will mean building up the most powerful movement among the working people t ha t ever was seen In this country. The Connolly Association and the "Irish Democrat" call on the Irish working-people In Britain to play a vigorous part In building such a movement, as there is no hope of Irish unity and independence unless we can defeat the imperialist war plans of Britain and America. Therefore into battle, in the trade union branches, in the factories, on the building sites, or wherever you g»ay be, and inscribe on your banner: "We will fight to the death against any Imperialist war."

bidden half of the world, as the way to save the country and the people. This the working class movement is, however, doing.

Resolutions from t rade union branches and pressure from t rades councils are call-ing for a conference of the working class organisations to answer Stormont ' s sup-port for Churchill's war policy, begging for war contracts and l iquidat ing poor farm-ing families from their holdings.

The Northern Committee of the Trades Union Congress, in response to this clam-our, is sponsoring such a conference.

"DOTH Irish areas are the victims of the mad drive of imperialism to war. Tha

economy of both the Six and Twenty-Six Counties face ruin from the results of the Anglo-American armaments programme.

Added to all is the Yankee-Brit ish squeeze on the Republic to force it, actually and formally, into the Atlantic war pact. The Yanks have cut off Marshal l "Aid" to Dublin, tft gave £ 5 million; the rest as a loan.) The British have dishonoured the 1948 Anglo-Irish Coal Agreement, striking a heavy blow a t Twenty-Six County industry. The Bri t ish are refusing economic prices for Twenty-Six County agricultural exports. T h e Yanks and the Brit ish jointly refuse to supply a rifle or revolver to the Dublin Government, for defence purposes.

By means of this pressure, coupled with wholesale infiltration of American agents into every avenue of the business, political and cultural life of the country, it is hoped to collar all Ireland as a war base for the Brit ish and American imperialists. This is how Washington and London pay suc-cessive governments in Dublin for their servile fawning on the Anglo-American imperialist war lords and Ireland's diplo-matic support and Press propaganda sup-porting imperialist war agains t the non-capitalist world.

" y H E country is now in a similar position -*- to what it was during the war. Tin • e Valera government is forced, thanks to the Anglo-American squeeze, to call far peat production to replace coal as a means of power for industry and domestic me; for tillage to offset the cutting off of Im-ports of animal and human foodstuffs.

A thorough-going policy along this A e is necessary for the salvation of the country and the defeat of the imperialists' designs on its independence. It can only be carried through successfully if the nation is told the game the British-Yankee enemy is playing, the coufitty summoned to resiit the imperialist brigands, and the producing classes—the workers and the main mass of the farmers—are brought into action.

This the De Valera Government is not doing. It Is frightened to offend the im-perialists and the Labour movement Is not driving a policy to rouse the country and compel the Government to face the issues.

r P H E Labour and Republican movements must rouse the country to demand

the Immediate abandonment of all. sup-port for the Anglo-American war drive against the subject nations and colonies, the Soviet Union and China, and insist t h a t the voice of Ireland is ranged against war and for peace.

The Anglo-American attempt to ruin the country's industries in order to force it into the Atlantic war pact, musf'be met by a thorough-going policy of developing the country's resources, industrially and agriculturally. This calls for a powerful assault on the parasitic elements and a wage and social services policy to over-come the serious poverty and hardships of great masses of the working population.

The Irish Trades Union Congress has put forward proposals which would meet the situation. But the Congress policy, to be effective, must have the support in action of the organised working class of the country. This, up to the present, is lacking. What is needed is the organisa-tion of demonstrations of the workers in all the main centres of the two State areas and among the Irish in Great Britain; the holding by the two trade union centres or special conferences to put forward the working class policy of peace, support for industrial development and national inde-pendence to meet the orlaia.' .

A l M f these HUM t h e m t o ef aN Ire-land MM fct.MHM *

•f triad partition ami national unity

6 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT February, 1952

"PEACE, NATIONAL UNITY AND INDEPENDENCE"

RESOLUTION ON PEACE AND

INDEPENDENCE T H E rallying of all workers and pro-

gressive people in Ireland for the cause of world peace and national in-dependence was the main task put before the Irish Workers' League in the political resolution which was adopted by the conference.

The resolution pointed out that in a pre-datory war, which the Anglo-American im-perialists were preparing against the Soviet Union, People's China, the People's Democ-racies, the colonial peoples and all nations desiring peace and progressive social devel-opment, the whole territory of Ireland could be reduced to a shambles and all the hopes and aspirations of the Irish people for a united, free and prosperous nation set back for generations.

The resolution continued: "In the present situation the national,

economic and cultural interests of the whole Irish people are best served by sup-port for a policy of world peace, the curb-ing of the armaments drive, equitable trade relations between all nations and a pact of peace and friendship between the Five Great Powers."

Mobilise "The whole strength and influence of the

Irish people at home and abroad, must be mobilised in support of such a policy, which will again align Ireland with progressive humanity—with the nations which have ended the rule of imperialism and established in power the common people."

"The Irish Labour movement must be won for a policy which leads to peace in the world, progressive and friendly relations between all nations and the pooling-of their economic resources. On the basis of such a policy the mass of the Irish people, north and south, can be won to support the demand for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Northern Ireland and thg integration of the economy of the country for the benefit of the Irish people."

If the Labour movement is won for a Kiiicy such as this, the resolution empha-sised, the workers and the people as a whole can be rallied In a united effort to withstand the Anglo-American conspiracy to actively link the whole country in their war plans.

WORKERS' LEAGUE CONFERENCE "IRISH DEMOCRAT" REPORTER

" T H E growth of the Irish Workers' League justifies the faith • of those who three years ago had the vision of an Irish

working-class party of a new type," declared chairman Michael O'Riordan, ex-international brigader, who opened the League's annual conference on January 26th in Dublin.

"At the time when we began," he continued, "the Labour Movement was under the domination of reactionaries. We can be proud of the fact that the elements and individuals who came to-gether and formed the League showed that the Irish working class possesses the ability to throw up all the forces needed for its salvation." Mr. O'Riordan emphasised . t ha t • the

.struggle of the Irish people for the unity and independence of I reland was now immeasurably more f rui t ful because of the victories of progress throughout the world.

Welcoming the delegates on behalf of the Executive Committee in Dublin, he said that three years had more than justi-fied the League and the deliberations which were about to begin were of the ut-most importance in view of the struggles ahead.

"This country is immediately menaced by those who threaten peace and are plotting for war," said Mr. Sean Nolan, General Secretary of the League, in opening an extensive review of the prob-lems of the six county Republic. "Unfortunately," he continued, "the

mass of the people are not fully alive to the dangers of the present situation . . . the Labour and Trade Union Movement, which ought to be in the forefront in ex-plaining the issues to the people and be active in mobilising them to defend the nation and their economic and social in-terests, also shows little signs of being aware of the dangers involved.

"Worst of all is the complacency, the lack of urgency and unity of understand-ing among the progressive and active wor-kers in the Labour and Trade Union move-ment on this vital question.

Conference passed resolutions covering all aspects of Irish life which will need-less to say receive no publicity in the col-

umns of those newspapers who sent re-porters along to peep like cheap touts through the open windows of the confer-ence hall in hopes of getting something on which to invent a "mystery" story, and tell the world's hoodlums where it was held.

Resolution on women demanded equal" pay for equal work and the implementa-tion of the woman and child scheme with-out a means test.

Greater par t of the delegates were young people who have entered the League as their first experience of politics and have nothing to unlearn. This is reflected in the high quality of the resolution on the youth which calls for maximum mobilisa-tion for the forthcoming Internat ional Youth Rally in Sheffield at Whit sun. It calls upon the entire youth of Ireland to join in a broad movement for peace, national independence and the aims of youth.

Trade Union resolution pledges the League members to do all in their power to promote Trade Union Unity in Ireland. While in favour of the general principle of Trade Unions being based in Ireland, said Mr. Joe Deasy in introducing the re-solution, this mus t not be a cause for dis-unity between nor th and south of Ireland. Means of unit ing included the struggle for higher wages and a campaign of propa-ganda relating to peace, and the inde-pendence of the' country.

^ CONFERENCE was preceded by a public ^ meeting addressed by Mr. Sean Mur-ray of Belfast Communist Par ty ,who de-clared that the crisis of which the six county economy had fallen a victim was threatening to engulf the whole of Ireland. He referred to Mr. Warnock's s tatement that the six counties was wedded to Bri-tain "for good or ill" and showed how great was the need for the working class to undertake a struggle to save the nation

Senator Johnston Publishes Korea Facts

8IR,— If any Rip Van Winkle went to sleep in the summer of 1945, and

woke up to-day, he would find it difficult to establish the continuity and consistency, which, in one aspect, is a criterion of sanity, and in another, of Objective truth. During the Second World War, Mr. Chur-chill was saying that the Germans were always either at your knees or at your throat. (He called them the "Naazzies" then). Now he is inviting the French to take them by the hand, and lead them back to thecomity of respectable nations, Without .firsKmaking quite sure whether the typical GJPNEzl is wearing a knuckle-duster on the other hand.

Six years ago. Mr. Morgenthau in the W6.A. sponsored an official American policy of reducing industrialised Germany to a "pastoral" economy. Now it is official American .policy to restore the Ruhr as quickly as may be, and make it the arsenal Of the Free World. If Rip Van Winkle rubs his eyes, and asks how does all this make sense, he is told that it is necessary to do all this in order to preserve world peace, and to restrain Communist aggression. If he asks for the evidence of the latter, he is told triumphantly that in June, 1950, the North Korean Communists, at the instiga-tion of Communist Russia, began an aggressive war on the South Korean Re-public, thus threatening the safety of the whole Free World. This is the kind of thing that millions of worthy citizens in the Western World are conditioned to be-lieve by the Press and radio, and all the other agencies of high pressure publicity. That it happens to be a downright lie is treated as quite irrelevant

f p O save Rip Van Winkle's sanity (and J- our own), let us examine this theory

more ciaeeiy. with the aasistaace of Sir Jobfl Pratt, who spent a life-time, in China,

' itlc service of the British and may be presumed to y talking about. But first

to the i.'.. i— r W t i p i know w

let me make it quite-clear t ha t any rea-listic appreciation of the modern world should take into account the enormous relative s ta ture of the U.S.A.

"Why man, he doth bestride this narrow world

Like a Colossus; and we petty men Walk under his huge legs, and peep

about To find ourselves dishonourable graves."

It follows tha t the in te rna l policies of the U.S.A., and the forces t ha t determine policies in tha t country, have their reper-cussions in the farthest corners of the globe.

American politics are a perennial quar-rel between the Republicans and the Democrats, not unlike what we are familiar with in Leinster House, as between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, and equally irrational. This internal political warfare never really ceases, because important elections .occur every two years and every fourth year there is the all - imbportant question whether Mr. X or Mr. Y shall be the ten-ant of the White House. ,

I N October, 1949. the People's Republic J- of China was established, with Its capital in Peking. In Janua ry . 1950, Presi-dent Truman and Dean Acheson • an-nounced a new policy, which involved abandoning Chiang Kai-Shek and For-mosa. This policy was denounced by the Republicans as appeasement of Commun-ism, and Senator McCarthy began making speeches in which he declared that the State Dept. was full of Communists, who were selling out their country.

Later, a sub-committee of the American Senate referred to this campaign as the "totalitarian technique of the big lie," but it worked, and looked lik egainlng votes for the Republicans a t the next election. President Truman yielded^ and appointed Foster Dulles, a Republican, as "Top Con-sultant" in foreign affairs. Since then.

Truman has carried out a Republican policy in the hope of improving his own chances of remaining the tenant of the White House.

Late in June, 1950, Dulles went to Tokyo and conferred with MacArthur, who insisted that America should have bases in Japan, Formosa-and Korea. Immediate action was necessary, because a plan for unifying Korea by conference and nego-tiation was so near success tha t Syngman Rhee's Government was on the verge of collapse.

As- late as J u n e 23rd, Dean Acheson was still talking in terms of the January, 1950, statement of policy, referred to above. The only way out was to present T ruman and Acheson with a " fa i t accompli." "At, dawn on Sunday, J u n e 25th, Syngman Rhee launched a sudden attack which took the North Koreans by surprise."

In other words, the South Koreans, at MacArthur's instigation, were the aggres-sors.

The full evidence of this all-important fact will be found in Sir John Prat t ' s 3rd pamphlet, "Korea—the Lie that Led to War." I quote only one piece. On June 25th, John Ounthe r was lunching "with two important members of the Occupation in Tokyo, when one was called to the phone, came back, and whispered. "A big story has just broken. The South Koreans have attacked North Korea."

This whole episode will doubtless re ceive meticulous post-mortem examination by future historians, who will compare it with the falsification of the Ems telegram by Bismarck, which led to the War of 1870. The question for all of un is: can we-an-ticipate and prevent the "mortem " Magna est Veritas et ?

Yours, etc., JOSEPH J0HH8T0N

(Senator). Leinster House. Dublin.

January I9th. 1952.

SEAN NOLAN

from the consequences of the war policy now being pursued. Mr. Bob Stewart gave a sparkling address on the world situa-tion, explaining t h a t the forces of pro-gress were so strong to-day tha t the aims of the Irish people had the best chance yet of being achieved. Mr. Desmond Greaves, representing the Connolly Asso-ciation, also addressed the meeting.

While a full report must await the pub-lication of the "Ir ish Workers' Voice," the following points f rom speeches are worthy of note:

Sean Nolan on Dr. Browne . . . Dr. Browne wanted legislation imple-

mented which would have improved the medical services available to the mothers and children of this country. His pro-posals had the support of the over-whelming majority of the working people . . . but when their implementation was at the threshold of achievement, the Labour Ministers and the entire La-bour leadership joined forces to strangle (it). The people gave their answer in the election.

""DDT," Mr. Nolan continued, " the La-bour leadership in the Dail continues

in practice the alliance with Fine Gael, even to the extent of joint constituency meetings and other forms of co-operation. I t is essential to break this alliance if the working class movement is to be mobilised for a policy which will win the Ir ish people for the cause of peace against military alliances, for full development of our eco-nomic resources to provide new employ-ment and protect the living s tandards of the people."

* • *

" W E have had encouraging for thr ight anti-imperialist s ta tements from

the President of the Sinn Fein organisa-tion and from the Anti-partition Associa-tion. These s ta tements showed a n aware-ness that Ireland is menaced by the im-perialist war preparations, and t h a t the winning of unity and independence of the country is bound up with the defeat of all imperialist, war-like nations and the vic-tory of the democratic forces in ail coun-tries.

* * * "TT Is from Government spokesmen that

1 the people are being told that serious dangers confront the country. Admittedly the Government spokesmen are careful In what they say and do not openly pinpoint or mention from whence the country Is being menaced. The Government Is en-abled to Indulge in such evasion, hesitation and manoeuvring In the absence of a vigorous working class anti-Imperialist gollcy."

Mr. Nolan called for the I.T.U.C. to con-vene a conference in Athlone of all Labour. Trade Union and political, religious and other organisations to consider the ways of resisting Anglo-American pressure. Repre-sentation should be from both nor th and south.

He demanded a comprehensive pro-gramme for the maximum developmenfbf our resources, which was essential to with-standing the pressure of the Anglo-American Imperialists. It was the only path to a really independent Ireland. Bri-tish Imperialism had always done Its best to retard the development of a balanced economy In Ireland. British finance capi-tal still dominated the economic life or the country.

February, 1952 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT

If I Had 200,000 Irish..

NOBODY knows what the Irish are like unless he has seen them. If I

had 200,000 Irish I could overthrow the whole British monarchy." The man who wrote this was not an Irish revolution-ary, but the co-founder of scientific Socialism—Frederick Engels.

To-day Engels is loved and respected as a pioneer Socialist, brill iant scien-tist, and most admirable of men by for-ward-looking people all over the world. It is surely of the greatest interest to all progressive Irishmen to find out what sort of man Engels was; how he came to be interested in I re land; and what he a n d Marx thought about Ireland's struggles and Ireland's fu ture , in which they were both deeply interested. A great deal of valuable information is to be found in a recent pamphlet by Mick Jenkins, called "Frederick Engels in Manchester." This costs only sixpence from Progress Bookshop, Manchester, and is warmly recommended to all readers.

* * *

In NGELS wrote, in reference to Mary

-i Burns, "My wife is a revolutionary Irishwoman," and here I th ink we can find the key to his awakening interest in Ireland. He, himself, was born in Barmen, " the Manchester of Germany . ' His fa ther was a well-to-do cotton mill owner who had business interests in Manchester, which was t hen the great-est industrial city in the world, and a centre of working-class activity. Here young Engels came at the age of 22 and here he produced two years later his famous book, "The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844"— one of the best in the Socialist litera-ture of the world. In the preface to this he wrote "I forsook the company . . . of the middle classes and devoted my leisure hours to the plain Working Men; I am both glad and proQd to have done so. Glad because I was induced to spend many a happy hour in obtaining a knowledge of the" realities of life . . . proud because I got an opportunity of doing justice to an oppressed and cal-umniated class of men . . . "

Here his wife must have been a great help to him, and he wrote in later years "She came of real Irisb proletarian stock, and the passionate feeling of her class, which was instinctive in her, was worth more to me than all the blue-stockinged elegances of 'educated' and sensitive" bourgeois girls coufcl have been."

# * * r P H E N as now there were many Irish JL workers in British industry. Al-most all unskilled and unorganised, they were the most oppressed and downtrodden of the working class. En-gels described their subhuman- condi-tions in Manchester in 1844, and though many had become degraded, he blames not them but the conditions which pro-

ENGELS duced such degradation. Of the Irish labourer he said "What else should he do?" "How can society blame him?"

As regards the situation of Irish workers in England Engels must have provided Marx with a great deal of first-hand information on this subject. One of Marx's letters on this subject is of particular interest, and must stand as a warning in present-day conditions. He says: "Every industrial and commercial centre in England now possesses a working class population divided into two hostile camps—English proletari-ans and Irish proletarians. The ordi-nary English worker cherishes religious, social and national prejudices against the Ir ish worker. The Irishman . . . regards the English worker as both sharing in the guilt for the English domination in Ireland, and at the same time serving as its stupid tool. This an-tagonism is artificially kept aljve by all the means at ihe disposal of the ruling classes . . . It is the secret of the im-potence of the English working class." The moral should be obvious.

* * *

NGELS and Mary Burns visited Ire--J land in 1856 and travelled about

" . . . 500 English miles, so tha t we have seen about two-thirds of the whole country." In 1863 Mary died and her sister Lizzie became Engels' second wife.

Mick Jenkins writes: "She, like her sister was a Fenian, an Irish patriot and an active revolutionary. Not only were the Fenian colours (black and green) always about the house M t she was an active particlpant.in.iminy,of the conspiracies planned ty the*Man-chester Fenians, with Frederick Engels a not unwilling acoomptice. Many a hunted revolutionary Irishman found a decent meal and shelter in Iter house. It was -she .who In 1M7 made possible the escape of the leader of the attempt tc save the Manchester Martyrs."

With her Engels again visited Ire-land in 1869 and while he was there decided to write a social history of the country. After his death two parts of the four that he plannedAvere found among his paoer. A translat ion is being published in the "Irish Democrat." * * *

MARX and Engels gave much thought to the I r ish question and

their policy provided "a magnificent model" of what should be the policy of the working class in an Imperialist country towards the national move-p e n i s in oppressed countries.

But the British a n d Irish working classes have a common enemy and a common aim, and when they come, as they soon will come, to carry forward the fight side by side, the successful conclusion of Ireland's centuries-long struggle will be at hand.

J.K.

CRY KOREA " | LOST my last illusions about

1 war. I had called myself a 'war reporter.' It would be more accurate to call myself a reporter of death."

These are the words of Reginald Thompson ("Cry Korea." Maodon-aid, 16/-) a trained soldier who has seen modern,warfare in three w n -tinents but. who, as war correspond-enrt for the "Daily Telegraph" In Korea, saw destruction which filled him with aeense of pity he had not

An antt*Communist, a believer in the "British OammonweaMh," a friend of the Americans, he was "profoundly shacked" by "the holo-causts of death, veritable mass-pro-duction of daath," inflicted on the Kor«an people. He writes of over-wlnlmlng- imlbes of men, materials, munitions, artillery and tanks sup-ported br a.vast air feeee, unchal-lenged from air ar ground and the guns of a powerful fleet thrown against a fen defenders, armed only with oorbines, a Uw mortars and a score «T t/tnksf the blind brutal use of napalm bombs, phosphorous and rookets resulting In the murder of two million msn, women and child-ren.

O O O K S #

"Civilians died in hundreds, and presently in thousands, and the en-emy, mostly unrecognisable and un-uniforntad, was rounded up and stripped.

"Most of the war correspondents carried "arms, and' it" seemed' that every-man's dearest wish wa» to kW a Korean 'To-day,' s a w many : of them, a t they nursed their weapons, 'I'll got me a gook." There/Is some-thing inhuman about the word, but

it could not rob the slain or the liv-ing of their human kinship, nor the naked procession of prisoners, with their hands foiden upon their heads —as though they might conceal wea-pons even in their bodies—of ah un-couth and tragic dignity."

HONEST REPORTER As a n hone«t man,. Mr. Thompson

attempts to; understand what is hap-pening. Hit efforts, in spUe of what he saw of their brutality, to And ex-cuse for those Americans who wore his friends, have a special Impor-tance for j those Irishmen who do not yet see dear ly- that America Is new the great aggressive Imperialist power and enemy of the freedom ol all nations:

"I could not see an end to this war in Korea, for I could not see a clear purpose. Conquest and coloni-sation, I thought would be a dear and reasonable purpose, and the United States Is Jsspeaately In need of colonies. For America is a great imperial power iMklng an empire, and Marshall -Aid-is, m toot, a mod-ern version of colonisation pointing the .American ttagtdy,"

Ahd hts conclusions have a signi-ficance for air peoples who. have not yet taken-their-aHmd on -the side of peaoe:

"The atom bomb is the ultimate expression of eowaedieo, the ulti-mate affront to .human dignity. And It is the denial of Cod . . Men must learn In the «nd that there is M> substitute f t fighting except not ftghtMfc no suftsttWfe Mr war ex-

E. O Loughlin

A Canadian delegation to the Soviet Union is here seen visiting a Catholic Church in Moscow

»>

Irish Woman in the

XF anyone is curious (and who is not!) about what goes on inside the Soviet

Union, they should read the pamphlet, "Approaoh pattern," by Hilda Allberry (New Books, Dublin, 6d.) which describes the first visit of an Irishwoman since the war to the country which was the first to recognise the young Irish Republic.

She describes her visit (when she cov-ered 10.060 miles) in full. No small detail escapes her notice, be it about how they make their beds, do their hair, organise the collective farm —and indeed I cannot think of anything tha t she has left out.

I t is a momeftt-to-moment account,-giv-ing all the small homely details which bring the people and the country alive be-fore one; it is like a novel in parts—where-you get to know the individual people and yet for those who want more- facts and a lot of figures, there is an appendix which should satisfy.

It is so full tha t I think the best way to read it is first to choose those chapters about the things one is most interested in —1The Capital and its People; At School and a t Church; On a Ukranian Farm; Work and Play; etc.

As

COLLECTIVE FARMS I read of the new construction

schemes—afforestation, new power sta-tions, irrigation, and how no land, be it desert even, is accepted as unable to be made fertile, I thought of how much we could learn and how our country could be developed to provide work, abundance and comfort for us all.

A visit to a collective farm is fully des-cribed and should be of immense interest to any Irish man or woman.

There was a Press Conference in London on her return but as far as I am aware only one paper, the "Daily Worker," re-ported Hilda's views and her experiences in the Soviet Union. And toxomplete the ban, Messrs. Eason's have declined to handle the- distribution. - So if we do not want to remain the ignorant yahoos that the millionaire preesjiflah ps . to reayiin— here is your chance! The millionaires do not wish us to read that she. wrote: 'I never sawa ragged orxlown-at-hB^fcpprson, • or a stOckinglfts 6r shoeless child**—and remember, she covered 10,000 miles.

P E A C-iE It is often said "Oh-, you were shown only

what they- wanted you to • see"—well this must be difficult on a ia,000 miles jour-ney! Like building a dozen-Irelands-foirejp port! . ^

All I can say is that if we by aur. ignor-ance of what is really going on in the world, allow Anlerican and British Imper-ialists to draw us into a<war,agatnsts<ich a people, we will be either ignorant" or daft, or both.' And I think; thte Imperial-ists are daft—for if they succeed, and God forbid, they will- perish with us.

The vitality and the gaiety of the Soviet people and their enthusiasm in building uj£' and developing their country made such an impression on the writer that she has been able to make us feel it. That they stand for peace—as any working people standfor peace—is without question: but they go , further and two Soviet Decrees make war propaganda of aoy kind a cr imipai offence.

• '' 'J' *' J?«l v ' - • Read it! If you can't find where to buy

it, write to New Bbcfcs, W M d e street, ; Dublin. ' ' ' ™

World T.U. Report

WORKERS III ACTION

"I'TRIBUTE to the heroic strikers of Bar-celona and Madrid is given by Louis

Sailiant in his report to the Executive Bureau of the W F.T.U. (United Action,! W.F.T.U. Publications, 1/-).

In this report Bro. Saillant analyses the causes that are driving the imperialists of America and their satellites Into a mad arms drive, which is causing increasing poverty amongst the workers of Western Europe and wrecking the economic bal-ances of the so-called free world.

Against the burdens of this rearmament the workers arc fighting back courageous-ly. In England the dockers, railwaymen and engineers are standing firm in de-fence of their wages and conditions. The united British workers broke the undemo-

w ' . i J ;/-','2v»:.Wt X H A M » cratic Order 1305 and defeaj£d,U|e wage- , freeze policy of the' Lateotir1 €k*ernment.

The piench tiaiispurt, mffway w r Bltt'- ' trical workers early i n 1861-won a number . of strikes for higher ws^ges anitlorced the ' government fo re i fea t . v

"It is clear," writes Satftanb, "jthat the French workers are resolved not to ac- . cept the effects-of war preparations on their living standards." .

the tall sup-Though'these-sMfcaa part of bitter fteetflity of t h » un ion leaders m Britain and

aa

books mcEwm i f o n o *

(LawranM QoHismith," by W>1

M O T I W i W ' F e T O o T l r C H (McClellard, ««/-).

8 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT February, 1952

KEEP THIS FREE ! LONDON

Grand SOCIAL St- Patrick's

Night •

Monday, 17th March there will be

Everything

Connolly Association Manchester Branch #

G R A N D

SOCIAL VICTORIA HOTEL, City Road

TICKETS 1/6

Buses 5, 11, 23, 47, 62

Friday, 22nd Feb., 1952

NORTH LONDON CONNOLLY

ASSOCIATION

JIM PRENDERGAST on

THE SIX COUNTIES . . • . " \ .

R E F O R M C L U B 94 Camden High Street, N.W.I

8 p.m., Tues., 12th Feb.

E F

* T. A. JACKSON * will address

WEST LONDON CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION

on THURSDAY, 7th FEBRUARY "King & Queen," Paddington +

Green

ONE-DAY SCHOOL

Jw

NAT , TutorsrJtiiKfc Ktugwan

r l t o o n i r Greaves MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY

FEBRUARY, 1952

CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION

WMt Lontloa Branch PIE MMUy leoturos a t the King

« n d Quern, Paddlngtan Green, r W 4 a r a feotng continued, and in the

of t + m a r y a r t * T. A. Jack-

' i & t a ^ t t S wmn w m iiitiPi nnorvw soya on ine i « * tolls aomothlng about life in tNa t l x Counties.

Tha following week, Stella Jackson talk en tha Sir

•"•"ass

POOLS / three successive occasions "Soccer-" ' He's" forecasting of the four aways were successful and his overall forecasts still remain well above the average.

"Soccerite" wil concentrate on the four away and the three draws again this month. My difficulty is, of course, t'he Cup-tie. This is a real difficulty, as we are a monthly paper and must prepare a month's forecasting ahead. However, there is no reason for us not to continue our high percentage of winning forecasts.

Here is a complete list of our forecasts for the month of February. If you would like a more up-to-date forecast for any one week, I will send' you this on receipt of a stamped addressed envelope, or if you wish to send your coupon I shall mark it for you.

FEBRUARY 2nd MATCHES Home Winners. — Arsenal, Colchester,

Ipswich, Norwich, Plymouth, Port Vale, Reading, Accrington, Chesterfield, Grims-by, Oldham, Southport, Tranmere, Arsenal, West Ham.

Away Winners—Millwall, Watford, New-castle, Southend, Bristol Rovers.

Draws.— Gillingham v. Brighton Shrewsbury v. Aldershot Chester v. Lincoln Carlisle v. Mansfield Darlington v. Gateshead York v. Scunthorpe

FEBRUARY 9th MATCHES Home Wins—Burnley, Charlton, Derby,

Fulh%pa, Manchester City, Middlesbro'. Sunderland, Wolves, Brentford, Bury, Everton, Leeds, Notts. County, Sheffield, Southampton, Bristol City, Colchester, Crystal Palace, Newport, Plymouth, Port Vale. Swindon, Barrow, Bradford, Chester-field, Darlington, Gateshead, Grimsby, Oldham, Southport, Wrexham.

Aways.—Manchester U., Arsenal, Notts. Forest, Hull City, Sheffield Utd., Brighton, Millwall.

Draws (Your Coupon marked)— Aston V. v. Portsmouth x x x x Workingham v. Tran. x x x x x x Crewe v. Lincoln x x x x Leyton v. Southend x x x x Norwich v. Bristol R. x x x x x Halifax v. Haftlepools x x x x

FORECASTS by "SOCCERITE"

FEBRUARY 16th MATCHES

Home Wins.—Arsenal. Blackpool, Chel-sea, Huddersfield, Liverpool, Portsmouth. Sunderland, Blackburn. Bury, Hull, Luton, Notts. Co., Sheffield U!d„ West Ham, Bournemouth. Brighton, Gillingham, Ips-wich, Milhvall. Newport, Southend. Tor-quay, Chester, Darlington, Gateshead. Lin-coln, Hartlepools. Oldham, Southport, Tranmere. York City.

Draws.—Aston Villa v. Stoke, Derby Co. v. Man. Utd.. Northampton v. Bristol R.. Reading v. Watford. Coven 117 v. Cardiff, Millwall v. Leyton Orient.

Aways.—Spurs, Newcastle, Sheffield W., Doncaster, Birmingham, Norwich, Ply-mouth, Workingham.

FEBRUARY 23rd MATCHES Home Wins.—Aldershot. Bournemouth,

Brighton. Bristol R„ Millwall, Northamp-ton, Southend, Watford. Barrow, Bradford, Chesterfield, Crewe, Gateshead, Lincoln, Rochdale, Stockport.

Aways.—Mansfield v. Oldham, Working-ton v. Grimsby, Airdrie v. Celtic, Swindon v. Plymouth, Exeter v. Colchester.

•raws.— Crystal P. v. Norwich, Hartle-pools v. Darlington, Southport v. Chester, East Fife v. Hibernian, Rangers v. Raith R.

OPPRESSION OF COLOURED PEOPLE

R A C I N G /^vNCE again McGinty, after a wonderful

flat season, shows a nice profit over the "sticks." McGinty's 12 to follow have once again put him amongst the top racing columnists, and those of you who were lucky enough to send him a stamped addressed envelope received his special one-horse "cert" Mont Trembiant, which won the Mortlake Novice Chase and easily beat the chosen Devon Lock. Mont Trem-biant was returned at 3-1.

Those of you who have followed McGinty's 12, now show a profit of £6 1s. 3d.

Remember when writing for McGinty's special tips by post you must send a stamped addressed envelope and a "bob" for the "Irish Democrat" fighting fund.

% 'McQinty,' Here are my 12 to follow for February.

Follow the same rules as for the flat. Back each horse single and if more runs the same day back them in doubles or trebles. So here's wishing you good luck and happy punting. E.S.B. * PRINCE BOUDOIR ARCTIC GOLD GARTER KNIGHT SHINING GOLD MADAM D'AMIRAL MONTTREMBLANT THRIFTY KNIGHT ANGELESEY MICHAEL COLLINS PADRAIG LAKE GEORGE

Hovy our tips fared; Shining Gold won 11/4. Shining Gold won 9/4. Malt Trembiant won 4/7. E.S.B. won 1/5 Mont Trembiant won 3/1 Anglesey 2nd 6/1. Anglesey 2nd 3/1. E.S.B. 2nd 7/2. Shining Gold 2nd 5/6.

NET PROFIT TO DATE £6 Is. 3d.

MANY startling facts of the tyranny under which the colonial peoples live

have been published in another W.F.T.U. booklet, "Discrimination Against Coloured People," by Mary Yeates.

For example, when the British first invaded Australia there were about 300,000 Aborigines living there. To-day, some 150 years later there are only 47,000 and they are decreasing rapidly.

The treatment of the natives of Bri-tain's African colonies is particularly scandalous. In Swaziland European miners receive a maximum of £100 per month plus quarters; African miners receive a

maximum of £4 per month plus food and quarters.

Mr. Patrick, a "trade union adviser" who was sent to Kenya by the Labour Govern-ment, said: "I cannot imagine anything more disastrous for the progress of a colony than the development of trade unionism by an uneducated people, and it will be my constant endeavour to pr» vent such a possibility."

The W.F.T.U. by exposing the . condi-tions under which millions of human be-ings still have to live is raising trade unionism to its highest level because workers all over the world are brothers.

A. BOYD

CHtntuiiiiiiiiiiii(itiitiiiitiiiii>iiii>itiiiitiiiiiii ciiititiiiiiiif tiiiimi iiitiiui iiinifffitttif ttiitnif tin iiiittiHintiiH4fi Hiriiff ii#iiiiciiifiiiiitittin«iiat<fiijrv«ivf

I and A B O U T I TiAVE you ever been to the Tom Mann 1 1 Olub In Coventry?

"There Is only on qualification for membership," President W. H. Tattersall, who knew Tom Mann well, and is seventy years old himself, told the 'Irish Demo-crat'— membership of a trade union."

And, indeed, this is true as anyone can see for himself. While we were there we met Mr. Megoran and his wife. Their son is in a prisoner of war camp in North Korea, and they have just heard with de-light that he is being well treated and has nothing but praise for his captors. He gets lilb. of pork and 1 Jib. of chicken each week—not so bad, eh?

Then there are Scottish, Welsh, English and African workers, all amusing them-selves together—a fitting memorial to the great trade union pioneer, who was first general secretary of the A.E.U., and at the age of 72 was unceremoniously hustled out or Belfast for marching in the funeral of a worker who had been killed in an un-employment demonstration. Mr. Tatter-sall recalls his eightieth birthday jjerty, in 1938. He was 84 when he died.

Connolly Association members will be sorry to learn the Bridget Malone is leaving us to go back to her relatives in the Co. Clare, from which she has been an exile far nearly fifty years. Bridget is 73, and thinks life on a quiet farm will suit her best now. She came to London in 1902 and was a sister in Clay bury mental hospital, where she stayed ten years. A determined and militant suffragette— curiously enough only after she was taken up wrongly by a policeman at a meeting where she was only an interested by-stander. That policeman has a lot to answer for. She became an active member from that time 00. She Joined the League against-Imperialism at its foundation; and was also a foundation member of the Con-nolly Association. Year after year she

sold the "Irish Democrat" outside Hyde Park, and in later years brought a chair over to sit beside the public meetings. Good luck and long life, Bridget!

* * *

i 'FALKING about old friends, we hear that Mr. Sidney MaitWnd, for a period

manager of the "Irish Democrat," and now prominent in the industrial affairs of the E.TjU., is to enter hospital for an opera-tion which we trust is not serious. He takes with him the good wishes of all our readers/ and he can be written to at the West Middlesex Hospital.

» • • 1

A new dance hall is being started in Camden Town. Name? The Gaatimore Social Club, 8 Greenland Street, N.W. 1. The Initial handbill (printed on blue paper perhaps as a reminder that blue was the original Irish colour), says the opening date was January 27th. The doors open at 8 p.m., and the dance is to be held every Friday and Sunday to the Melody Makers Band, with M. Malony as M.C. "

While we cannot recommend any dance hall above another, we feel our readers would like to know that the new one exists.

» • * The Irish Literary Society, believed to

be the oldsst literary society In Europe still in existence, celebrates Its 60th anni-versary this year. Miss Dowling, secre-tary and daughter of the founder, tails us that a specfal programme Is being planned.

It will be recalled that the Society has numbered amang its members the most prominent Irish literary figures of the paaf century, Inekiitng w. • - Yeats, Q targe Moore, and Barnard Shaw.

The Society's address Is a Doughty Street, W.C.1, from whteh particulars can be obtained.

Glasgow is the only city in Britain where the Irish are organised in clubs on a county basis. Among these is the County Sligo Club, which has elected a new minutes secretary, Mr. J. McGarrigle, of Grange. The club has no mean task in living up to the great traditions of County Sligo, which, apart from the poet W. B. Yeats, has produced such prominent work-ing class leaders as William Partridge and the Countess Markievicz.

Those of you who are thinking of coming along to hear T. A. Jackson at Mie West London Connolly Association on February 7th must not hesitate. Mr. Ilagkson was desorlbed by the "IrUh Press," as the "Englishman who knows more about Irish history than anybody in Ireland"—but one night ten years ago He told the writer (in a fit of confidence) that some of his for-bears came from Carrickfergus. However, HE didn't. He has participated in many of the events of recent history—he remem-bers Parnell well, and was present throughout the famous Dail debates In I9*3^nd it is this experience he will speak of (as well as It* political implica-tions) on Thursday, February 7th.

A unique opportunity.

SOCIAL PINDAR OF WAKEFIELD

GRAYS INN RD., W.C.1

SATURPAY, 7.30-11 p.m.

23 February, 1952 Printed by Ripley Printing Society Ltd.

(T.U.), Ripley, Derbya., and published by the Sditor at IS Lambs Conduit Passage. London, W.O.I.