1938-12-30 — Page 30

THE HONGKONG TELEⱭraph, Friday, DeCEMBER 30,.1988.

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December 30, 1938

The Sword and the Pen

A GERMAN News Agency,

with an office in Hongkong, broadcasts to the world that "great dissatisfaction is being felt among the inhabitants of Cyprus" at British rule because the latter "savours unpleasantly of dictatorship."

This is an example-a some- what ironical one-of the type of propaganda disseminated from a country where dietator- ship is the acme of "unpleasant- ness."

In the same message the Ger- man agency quotes Cyprion re- sentment at a "press gag," u par- ticularly unfortunate reference | in view of the well-known inck of freedom enjoyed by the Ger- man Press.

If German propaganda were limited to such examples of to home fatuous comment, or consumption by Germans, wo could shrug our shoulders at the repeated calumnies disseminated by Berlin newspapers and

through broadcasting stations of the Reich.

Propaganda, however, has be come a real war-k

war of words. And the pen is proving mightier than the sword.

at

German propaganda is aimed other other nations, at peoples. Through powerful short-wave broadcasting

stu-

tions, a German Voleo fans the flames of hatred, criticises with calumnies, suggests by innuendo that the way to peace is by violence, that democracy offers the vices and not the virtues of civilisation, that the path to "freedom" is, through totali- Larianism.

Germany places so much faith in Its insidious propaganda of the spoken and written word that it ranks its Minister of Propaganda third only to Hitler as its Most Important Person- uge.

66

3

2

DEFENCE

A·R.P.

Sxips Wabitela me

CLEAR THE AIR WITH A MINISTER OF SUPPLY "Smog is fog created by smoke," says the National Smoke Abatement Society.

MI

ARMY

A Million a Day Goes up in Smoke

RITAIN has spent £700,000,000 on arma- ments in the last three years. Yet when the crisis came in September, Lon- don, by the admission of Minis- ters themselves, was practically defenceless against air attack. This year we have been spending 1,000,000 a day on defence. Yet we are told that Britain is still too weak in the air to take any diplo- matic action which might offend the dictators.

Why is it that we are not getting value for our money? Why in it, again, that the armament firms publish ever higher and higher profit Agures while the Govern- ment tells us that costs and profits are being rigidly scrutinised?

Unth the pubile is given a sin- cere answer to these questions, it will have very little confidence In any administration which may be Installed in Downing Street.

The real responsibility for falture lies not merely in a weakness of personnel in high places, but in fundamental errors of economic policy which are preventing the efficient mobilisation of industry behind defence.

We are using to-day exactly the same rusty methods which had to be scrapped almost too late when the Ministry of Munitions was founded in 1915. We are making all the same mistakes and bowing before the same vested interests.

Essentially the problem is this.

Play-Boys Will Be Work-Boys Soon

their

Berlin. PERLIN'S West End playboys, Dat present spending muralne in bed and their nights in night clubs, will shortly be put to work by the Nazi Slate in factories, labour camps and farray,

A conference of Nazi police, labouri exchange and welfare organisation Goebbels has served his Les-omicials is now meeting under Ber- der well. Ho has gone to the lin's chief of police, Count Helldorf, racketeers of America for his to discuss methods of putting them greatest discovery-the power

to work.

Decrees giving oficials the neces of the whispered word. Theresary powers will be issued shortly. is no defence against the sharp Under the decrees will fall. !! is knife in the back provided by a reported, "whispering campaign," unless one descends, too, to the methods of the racketeers.

Germans employed at part-time Jobs and thore who-ac- cording to the Nazi newspaper Angrift-"da nothing else except dig a little garden plot, although they are mentally and bodily fit."

BY

DOUGLAS

In ordinary peace-time, when the security of the country is not threatened, the Defence Depart- ments place orders with a small group of approved arms; and prices and costs are scrutinised by Government auditors and Treasury officials.

The arms are all working below capacity. Prices of materials are at low or normal levels. Deliveries are conseruently punctual and profts are small.

Then comes a sudden. Inter- national emergency in which the State suddenly requires a hugely increased supply of certain materials at the carllest moment and without fall. In 1915 it was mainly shells.

To-day it is mainly aeroplanes, anti-aircraft guns, and anti-air- craft munitions.

If the Defence Departments simply respond to this situation, as traditionally they always do. merely by placing bigger and big- ger contracts with the existing firms, these firms simply force up prices of materials by bidding against one another and against ordinary business buyers: profits all along the line become encr- mous; and deliveries fall hope- lessly behind schedule,

All the time the Government auditors are working conscien- tiously to check costs; and the manufacturers mostly honestly be-

JAY

lleve that they are not "proft- eering." They are after all merely selling at market prices.

But in fact the ordinary system of uncontrolled prices and mar- kets has entirely failed to meet the emergency.

The Government's defence needs may require, say, 80 per cent, of the supply, of a certain essential armament metal. Yet if the individual arms firms bld for it against all other buyers in the market the price may be doubled or trebled.

Huge profits will then be made by the producer of that metal at the expense of the State.

Yet if the State had power to acquire the whole supply at n fixed price representing a fair profit, and to supply it to the arms Arms al that price, hugo savings in money. time and culelency would be mado all' along the line from the importer or producer to the final manufacturers.

That is the crux of the whole matter. It was this vital lesson, learnt in the last war, which led to thorough-going control of muni- tion materials, foodstuffs, and shipping.

In the case of shipping, for in- stance, in the two years 1010 and

GRIN AND BEAR IT

DOWN

WITH

By Lichty

UNITE!

PEN

9-2

and I defu any capitalist in the crowd to defy me!"

1016, before control of profila was. introduced, a company with n capl- tal of £180,000 earned a not profit of £350,937, or 02 per cent.. a year.

The company could then have sold out at £700,000, reallsing a total profit of £876,937, or 225 per cent. per yearl

This is what happens If the State tries to use the ordinary mechan- ism of uncontrolled supply and prices to get hold of emergency material at a critical period.

That is why Labour urges the establishment of a Ministry of Supply, which would undertake the organisation of supply for all the Bghting services, and would have in the background the necessary powers to control prices and stocké. The present problem is of course not of the samo magnitude as that of 1015. But it is the same in prin- ciple.

The other two essentials that we require are the erection of Govern- ment factories, particularly in the aircraft industry, and much higher taxation (or direct ilmitation) of profits.

In 1915-18 the 215 Government munition factorles eventually built were found essential both' in ex- panding output and in establishing a real test of manufacturers' costs. Enormous reduction in costs fol- lowed from the building of these factories.

But now, as then, the various "ring" firms are fighting the plan. for national factories.

With these three essentials: (1), Ministry of Supply; (2) Govern- ment factories; and (3) Higher taxation of profits-we could mobl- lise our huge resources effectively, get full value for money, and at the same time maintain and extend. our expenúlture on social services.

FRE

At present unemployment and excess profits are wasting Britain's potential resources, In 1914-1918. we diverted one half of the coun- try's resources into war service; supplied several million men under arms with food, clothing and muni- tiona; reserved the volume of our and if anything raised the exports; and real standard of living of those left at home.

Inst

That is what organisation can do. In Nazi Germany in the few years organisation on the same scale has produced the terrible military machine that enabled Hitler to show his hand at Munich. If we ourselves still have the will to preserve our essential liberties,. we can organise our resources in their defence; and we can do it by the elimination, not of our social. services of our personal freedom, but of inefficiency, of profiteering and of wasto.

-To-day's Thought- WHEREFORE do yo spond money for that which is not bread?

---Old Testament.

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