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THE CHINA MAIL, WEDNESDAY, August 10, 1949.
RUSSIA AND DEMOCRACY
The Constitution of the So
claborate viet Union is an facade making the dictatorial rule of an iron-fisted bureau- crncy, which holds away from the Baltic to the Behring Stralt, from the Northernmost regions of Siberia to the fron tiers of Afghanistan.
Within this vast territory, Mos-
ore 16
"union
or
By A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
short ariiete, entitled (Editor's Nott-The following is a "Charter of Domination," dealing with Article 14 of the Constitut tion of USSR. It seems particularly desirable, at a time, when Soviet statesmen are repeatedly representing the so-called demo- be given cratie Constitution of the USSH, that publicity should to the true facts.)
this was clearly
the Kremlin is absoluto. Artiels 14 gives it the deciding voleo on
To questions of war and pence, what extent can any of the unton "Independ- republles assert ila ence" when It can at any time be commitled, without its con- Rent, to all the hazards of war?
Even in peace-time the rights are illusory, propaganda gree decentralised. The military of these republics a 24554 cow would have us believe, there (inove, with a hopeful eye on hui- formations of the Union repub- By Article 14 the Kremlin'clamps down its control over "representa repubiles pos- tiple membership of the United lies enjoy regimental colours but
tion of the USSR in International Bessing the status "indepen-
In reality.
"conclusion. relations" and the dent States",
these
and denunciation of are badow republies; und, ex-
ratification treaties of the USSR with other cept for propaganda
purposes, Moscow does not even trouble to
States." (This right to denounce S deny the fact. The, Soviet Con-
treaties was added by amend- stitution Itself is the
ment in 1947). best evidence to hand, 11 is, indeed, a charter of domination,
All newe contributions to addressed to Editor-in-Chief. Advertisements and Business.com- munications should be addressed Company CHINA MAIL to the
LTD.
BIRTH
ROSE On the 8th August, 1949 nt St. Theresa's Hospital to Lykke, wife of Marino En- gineer R. V. Rose, a daughter, Ann.
FUTURE OF JAPAN
The Kremlin Rules
Nowhere is this more obvious than in Article 14-a detailed, meticulous list of all the powers reserved in the USSR to "the highest organs of State authority and organs of government", But let us pause a moment to ask: What are these highest organs of the Soviet Union?
Stalin himself has answered. On page 171 of his book, "Que tions of Leninism" (1h Russian edition) he ways;
<
Yes. with us the Party icarts the Government....It is not neeldent that with us the leaders of the organs of a- thority are Communist.... Not singic important decision is taken without appropriate directives from the Party." And in case this was not clear
ws, on page 110:
"The leader of the State, the Lender in the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat single party-the party of the Comi- the proletariat, of
share munists, which does and cannot share the leadership with other parties". Thus we have it оп Russia's highest muthirty thut
the supreme organ of power in the Soviet Union is the one and only Communist Party. It brooks no rivals and bows to ho masters~- obeying only its own all-powerful Politbureau, of which Stalin is the head,
Nations. It has brought the 50. Hitle more. viet Union Into line with coun
Britain, tries like
where there have always been local Scottish and other regiments.
There is no evidence that the Red Army has been to any de-
War And Peace
Let us look more closely at the elaborate pattern of domination, In foreign affairs the power of
The Last Days Of Marshal Petain
By HUGO CHARTĒRIS
It lies off the coast of La Vendee, in the Bay of Biscay, this small Ite d'Yeu, one of
tiny historic those
French islands known only for their forbidding fortress-prisons and the famous names scratched painfully on the walls of the dungeons,
of
"The melancholy fortress
the guide Pierre-Lever,"
Boys
kind, but he has orders not to leave us alone,
to
"We talk mostly of long ago- our childhood at Mentor. You ace, I have known the Marshal since
And he likes I was three. LINK of his youth at St. Cyr and Saumur and when he went back to the military college as an instructor. That was not long after the Franco-Prussian War.
exchanged "He has recently letters with his 97-year-old sister her, but not in the recent past. in Boulogne. Ile is interested in He doesn't understand why he is But the guide book was printed to prison.
"He wonders if he isn't the In 1935. Since then the "melan-
prison In the choly fortress" has been taken off oldest man in
where it erilised world. I also don't un- the shelf of history. stood with oubliettes and thumb-derstand why he is there." screws and other medieval tor- tures, and put back into use. The whole of it is the prison of one Petain--and old man-Morshal holidaymakers are strictly proht- bited.
by joyful and sympathetic crowds of holidaymakers.**
A "China Mail" correspon- dent in London wrote yes- terday on the changing Bri- lish outlook towards the Far East, and Japan in parti- cular. Those of us who re-enough-Stalin has already told book, "s made gay each summer ceive the Home newspapers have seen interest in this part of the world increased
since Tremendously
the Yangtse crossing and the fall of Shanghai, with its £500,0(K),000 sterling hold- ings.
Not to mention the situation of Hong Kong, with Communist armies likely to the encamped round Colony's border within the near future.
be
concen
Our contributor trand, however, on London's opinion on the future of that Japan. remarking "people are inclined to laugh at. "General" MacArthur's is
statements
is
wat
From the bridge of the ferry comer which plies the 15 milles from the mainland the whole of comes easity the fat le 'Yeu
But you hear people into sight
I don't see "Where is it? say, any fortress."
For not even the chimneys of Marshal Petain's prison are above. watchlower ground, Com-
When we speak of the Central Government, therefore, let it be quite clear that we refer to the governing mucleus of the
unistitorship of the Soviet Union-te the Politbureau, the men in the Kremlin.
What Remains?
are the
powers
What, then. grasped by the Central Govern- mont by the Kremlin-accord- in to article 14 of the Constitu-
A wooden cresting a clump of plues on a small rise is the only sign of its
Man And Symbol
Petain hus given the French Government a lond
As a sop to world opinion, the article goes on to refer to mutual relations between the union re- publics and foreign States-thus conveying the impression that the several republics have the right to appoint their own ambassadors abroad.
Good Morning!
When the last day dawns for China's Admiralissimo, wo shall In keeping with the old nil nisi "He has policy simply romark: departed by air for an undisclosed! destination......"
moro
We thought our contemporary
a iltife might have been careful yesterday with the placing it had of its headlines, when
then, "Coming Weddings," and Immediately
below: "Another Cave. Life Deportation For Old Offender."
A Bit Bhah-king.
When you think of the Persinns claiming war damages from the Allies for the railway which shipped nins to the Russians, it all seems somewhat tranical. -'
Unpopular musici »
Oh,e Acheson, the leader and the sampan way...
-No. such right has ever been exercised. In any event, it is enrefully limited by the worling of Article 14, which reserves to
the right the Kremlin
to lay down the general procedure.
If the procedure has ever been
A possibly peeved correspondent defined by Moscow, it remains' a
But in-writes in to, any that the whiteat closely-guarded secret,
that White dications of how it would work thing of all about
Paper was the whitewash. are not far to seek.
Moscow's Echoes
To Increase the voting strength of the United Nations, the USSR secured the admission of two ar
Her the union republics, the Ukraine original and Byelorussia. demand was that ail 10 republies should sit
separate 08
members, all being "equally independent." The idea was obviously fantastic.
was eventually dropped.
of trouble.us care
In what sense have the Ukraine and Byelorussta assortet thetr independence in the United Na- tions debates? In no sense at all. They are notoriously Mos- echoes in debates and her ith slamps in divisions, With He has also indirectly deprived
they hove toed his nation of the right to carp at
for marked out. the English for the way they the treated Napoleon, who Wos at them by Molotov, Vyshinalty and
Gromyko. least given the run of his island.
The rights and
of the Petain bustness are hard to see, There Is Petain the man and
wrongs
Petain the symbol. Considered spart-Pelain the am, the 93- year-old prisoner who committed treason during his second child hood, few would doubt, should be released or moved to a "home."
But Pelain the symbol is an-
Solitary Window
other more complicated matter which concerns the health of the Islanders explain that the rise State. What must be decided is Is artificial that into its middle whether insulation and making is cut a square court if feet deep, an example of Pelain the symbol Rooms are built into the walls of it still sufficiently necessary to the court. All the windows are justify harsh treatment of Fetain therefore below ground level and the very old man. face inwards.
whereabouts. that Japan now a liberal democracy." Such cynicism is not surpris- ing. High-powered Ameri- can commentators may laud the new regime in some of the most fulsome despatches it has been our misfortune to peruse, and comfortable U.S. businessmen who have never seen the Pacific may smile admiringly every time is the great man's name mentioned. Others do not agree.
People in Britain know how hard (or impossible?) it has been to wean the Ger- mans, a highly civilised and industrialised people, from only 12 years of a dictator's influence. It would there- fore be all the more surpris- ing if four years of Ameri. hustle methods changed the Nipponese from the mould of centuries.
can
tlon?
The list includes almost all the functions of government, leaving little or nothing to the so-called union repubiles. "Independent" It covers questions of
the vital
forests and
The cell of "Le Mareetul," as the locals call him, is on the first door. From its solitary window you can see the sky, the breeze- less court, and the other windows, but never the sea all round it.
П
Barber Sets The Village Talking
tine
submission is ex-
Ic
4
Dash!
our
We apologise to any of renders who were puzzled by the powerful opening of an article we carried the other day. Our printers wero a bit dashed at our reaction to their typesetting.
"Deep In
the the heart of leopard
prowled, elephant infested jungle
-
I think it happened at Echt
when Church,
Mrs. Parish Stewart of the Braes was there on holiday. Charles Brown from Aberdeen had been asked to help with the collection. in
up
the gallery. All went well until he leaned over to see how things were going down below, and the contents of his tipped "Tadle" over
Mrs. the side.
shower of Stewart received o roins, and when she got home she found fourpence ha'penny still In the trimmings of her bonnet. She duly returned this to the beadle, saying, "This wisna pen- nies fine heaven-ilst that gläikit did let siller slip through-hits- lout Charles Brown who always
•
costs bring
Abject Submission Regarding internal affairs, the same abject acted at every turn. To cite but
few examples: Each union
its fingers." reputile has own Ministry of Euention.
the cinema Going to every case this is a white cle-
money, but triplets may phaut, for Article 14 reserves tu Moscow the power to establish you $3,000. the basic principles in the sphere | Not Fading Away. of education. In practice, con- Sixty-nine former irol is exercised by the Schools Department of the Central Com-Japanese army offleers have been mittee of the Communist Party, purged out of 2,590 screened in Hence the dead uniformity of the July, says a Tokyo message.
The other 2,521, we take it, teaching in all schools throughout
can be used immediately the
Soviet Union.
police officers, for instance.
Again Moscow has enshrined in Article 14 Its power to lay down the principles of labour legisla tion. Here there is no hint that such matters mpy concern the trade unions. Nor do they, for the unions
the USSR are mere.
with
.
regular
"Why on earth," I asked
as
Q
friend the other day, "are you going to all that trouble to buy art thread and linen and needles and whatnot?"
"Did you ever have daughters ly the creatures of the Kremlin study the piano at your house?" Under Article 44 the Centrale countered. "And did you Government Is entrusted
ever stop to consider the peace safeguarding the security of the and quiet of an embroidery ses- State. This, of course, 19 a
with obsession
last Travel restrictions, issued
foreign diplomats
stant
to visit Kiev or. Minsk
the of
Moscow.
sion?"
Oh, Yohl
War and peace; diplomatic relations, acceptance of new republics into the Union; en- The sounds that come to the forcement the Central Constitu- old man are the siren of the little
They say that all gossip may frontlers of the union sardine factory, the noise of the republles: defence and armed ratton lorry coming and going, of be traced back to the barber's but it has taken the adventures forces of the Union; all foreign the town crter of Port Joinville, rende: all State
of a barber to set a whole village tracie:
security and who still calls attention with secret police.
drum, and of Mme. Petain arriv-talking in Holland. Moreover, the list goes on to ing at 2 pan. and going away ot The story begins last Novem- ber when the only barber In the embraze
functions of 3.30.
None of Petain's 100 guards is village of Arnemuiden, near Mid- Economic planning; taxation; banks, Industries and agricul- allowed to speak to him ar to do rielburg, discovered that every
had become year, forbade
Most worried men in Canton ture; and communications: a longer tour of duty in the fort razor in his shop
blunt overnight.
are the translators of the white than two months,
"Indep mineral wealth, had
News of the outside world
paper's thousands of words. To Suspecting a practical Joke the cities
Byelorussin TC- waters; credit and
turn all that Western vinegar into currency reaches him in the shape of the barber sharpened his razors and Ukraine and education and public health; Government offcial
set to work as usual. Half way spectively) without special per- acceptable celestial honey is, they newspaper criminal and civil codes; Inbour "Le Monde," but he does not through the morning with no-one mission by the Moscow Ministry are finding, a very confucian job. legislation.
read it much. Copies pile up in but regular customers visiting the of Foreign Affairs. And the re-
The boss asked the office boy shop, the razors were blunt again. gulations were issued in Moscow
if the woman
wanting to Puzzled, but still maintaining not in Minsk or Klev.
to see him "Oh yes.
SIT," was beautiful. practical outlook on the mys Perhaps the most significant of tery the borber re-sharpened his the many provisions in Article rald the boy, very beautiful,"
This time ali 14 Is that which refers to ad- After the woman's departure, razors once more.
weeks
mission of now republics into the boss, sent for the boy. went well-until a few
go. Now the mystery has start-
the USSR. Here again the pow- "You're
a nice judge of beauty," ed again, the razors are as blunt
safer and no matter what the shared with the union republics."Well, the
er is vesied In Moscow-not be complained irritably,
"Well, sir," apologised the boy, barber does he cannot keep them. This power was of vital Impor-
might be your sharp long enough for a single innce in 1940, when the Baltic wife." shave.
seized and States were
"She is!", snapped the boss. howover that Suli convinced
the rigid framework-ab- there is a practical
explanation into
ducted to barber has
Independence." the unsuperstitious
The Apes Are Leaving? would
be vital
It's After all
only again, if
taken sent a selection of razors and a
Kremlin were Technical High
to full its ex- Gibraltar 200 odd years to get
Government pansionist alms in Asla and in representative the Middle East.
what are we moaning about!
In his article our corres- pondent claimed that there are genuine grounds for the fear that Japan may Communist, in view of the fact that the prestige of the government and the upper classes has been shaken, and also the current industrial unrest.
A moment's reflection will
a corner,"
Irori Bedstead
-
Mostly he just sits. He is 93- show that the subjugation of the various union republics is, for all and, said one of his guards, practical purposes, complete. "Comme un petit. debe" (like a They are denied the right to little baby). Two nuns stay with have their own money, their own him during the day to help him of keeping own taxes, in the simple task foreign trade, their their own stamps, their own flags, alive. They may not even decide for then
lays themselves their
or their frontlers. Yet Communist pro Strong attempls_ure_un- poganda sometimes protends that doubtedly being made fromthey are "Independent" States.
True. It, was
decreed in 1944 Moscow to foster the work that the union republics should up wonder," said the abbe who letter ers' uneasiness and magnify organise military formations. Ar- their grievances, and thereticle 14 was duly amended. But visits him twice a week, "School in Delft asking the pro- are many self-seekers in
people realise what the recent fessors there for their comments. bezat was like in that sunken So far, reports Max Peters, he has had no reply. Until he does court.
will the barber of Arnemuiden have no more customers.
Tokyo who would be only
too glad to hoist the ham-fraction
mer and sickle if they levels.
cven
of world
wage
__Three months_ngo
n carpet was added to the iron bedstead, table, and two chairs which make
his furniture.
"It was ferce. And ever since then the old man has been too exercise in the court. And his mind is wenicer too.
cession he says to me on the
thought it worth their while. Further, it would be utter-weak to go down the 48 stops to There is also the other as- ly foolish not to recognise pect, which the "China Mail" that the rebuilding of the
"If I visit him two days in suc- suggested months ago, that country's industrial capacity
the most reactionary will create a serious menace second: 'My dear friend-it is a and powerful
in to all free countries in the long time since you came. Eich groups
time we start by talking about Japan might ally themselves
of war. In other
religion." we consider that with Russia, believing with words,
"And then?" I queried. "Oh, incredible obstinacy that no- strict controls must still be the the abbe smiled kindly
stop eventual insisted on, together with bers best the things that happened "we try to continue. He remem- thing car world domination by the Allied occupation for a long long ago."
And any time to come. sons of Heaven.
alm would
event
Every evening in a little water front hotel a scrupulously dressed elderly woman has dinner in town clothes among young couples from Paris and Swiss, Belgian, English office girls in beachwear. Childhood Talk
and
to the
"Drudge." Centres In Denmark
From Denmark a challenge that post-war belief, inspired by regulations, that a forms and
Ministry has no Government heart. of a senior official of the Danish The challenge is in the form
Housing Ministry who plans his work under the slogan: "Women are Slaves free them."
Nor
Ja his just an empty phrase. By establishing a special Investigation Board, the official is to direct a countrywide probe into the possibilities of removing modern all the drudgery from housework.
The main duties of the new Board, writes James White, will
The abbe, who had received me means of furthering this im- The mounting population in his parlour, changed the sub
Ject to what he called the in- placable
bgures, likely to be 100,000,- justice done to Petain by Chur
000 in another two decades, chill's momora. adopted.
Many voices are now be give point to the birth con ing raised to say that Japan trol agitation currently being must be restored economi- publicised. It is improbable, cally, so that its exports can however, that this will have boom once again. We, do material effect on the num-
he to consider bullding communal see the point the rapidly in- bers, and the world must be
bowing, laundry and other must prepared for such a gigan-
"drudge" centres on every now creasing population have jobs and the where-tic number of potential world-
housing estate. "My voluntary prison," said
Afterwards the Board will withal of. existence if it is conquerors very soon. A Mme. Petain. "Are you going to test local reactions to experimen not to degenerate into Red firm system of supervision photograph me drinking? When
is essential. Anyone who went to Parls I was dogged by a clubs, clinics and child wel-
fure contres: anarchy-but, there are als
Finally, not con- ternative dangers. No one thinks of today's Japanese as photographers of French Lettis tent with seeing that the house catch wife is "freed from slavery in Bapers. They wanted to who has seen how the Jap happy little MacArthurian me with my nose in a glauber home, the new Board will traders operate in peacetime democrats, and says so is cannot say what I think of the Interview scores of traders to discover whether they could spot can rellah unbridled.. com- doing the utmost service to Press.
My husband? The hoat ha make shopping esaler by opening petition again from concerns doing the utmost diservicerned him; There is no air in soll, branches of their stores using grossly exploited to what is left of the free the fort: I soe Islan for an hour within oury walking distance of workers who earn only world.
every day in The governor is very every block of flats.
forced
It the
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