a

SOUT TTA TT

Views
in the

News.

AMINES TTT

@ When we get to Tokyo—where
we're bound to get eventually —
we'll have a little celebration
where Tokyo was—Admiral Wil-
liam S. Halsey, U.S. Navy com-
mander in the South Pacific.

SMUD

@ In negotiating the treaty we
did not sell out to Russia. We
know that without Russia’s friend-
ship none of her small neighbors
can revert to independent national
life—Foreign Minister Jan Ma-
saryk of the Czechoslovak govern-
ment-in-exile, commenting on the
recently concluded Soviet-Czecho-
slovak treaty.

AINUOUUENOUCTEEEUOTA CATE

@ The days of isolationism are
drawing to a close. The Teheran
Conference has opened a way to
the new era—R. Palme Dutt, not-
ed British author and writer.

TTT

@ in Tito’s government we have
a valiant ally, loyal and courage-
ous. We can do no less than give
it the official recognition it has
earned at the cost of so many lives
lost in battle. — Editorial in New
Masses. : :

SIIVINUOITVAVACOUN A OUTER

@ A united people must strive to
restore the country in the spirit
and traditions of Polish democracy.
The Poland that will be restored
after this war must have a parlia-
mentary Gemocratic order. But in
the name of the development of
her democracy she must complete-
jy liquidate all remnants of a

stagnant political-economie reac-
tion.—_Wolna Polska, Moscow.
EVOOTTTUITEUTTTACATOTTAUTPTET ATAU TTTTAP TT TATTOETPTTTT

-@ Quinine—every ounce of which
is urgently needed by the U.S.
Army for malaria-stricken soldiers
in the Southwest Pacifice—is being
used by the fascist Ramirez gov-
ernment of Argentina as one of its
chief war profiteering commodi-
ties .. . The Wnited States is not
getting an ounce of Argentine quin-
ine. It take an export license from
the Argentine government to ship
quinine and the export licenses
have been going to Spain —Alex-
ander H. Uhl in PM, New York.

' Union

Britain

Ford of Britain

ISMISSAL last week of Len
Hines, shop stewards’ chair-
man in the Dagenham plant of the
LineoIn Car Company (Ford sub-

sidiary), on the grounds that he
used the workers’ canteen for &
“Put Mosley Back in Jail’ protest
meeting, has intensified the Trades
Congress’ campaign to
organize all the plants of the Ford
Motor Company of Britain. The
Amalgamated Engineering Union,
to which Hines belongs, appealed
on his behalf to the Ministry of
Labor, but the appeal was turned
down.

Public Ownership

The Miners’ Federation: of Bri-
tain, on behalf of its 700,000 mem-
bers, has begun negotiations with
the National Arbitration Tribunal
for a six pounds ($30) a week
minimum wage for all adult und-
erground workers and five pounds
ten shillings ($27.50) for surface
workers. The present average
weekly wage for miners is four
pounds three shillings $20-75).

“The proceedings are the most
important in which-British miners
have ever participated,’ MFGB
president Will Iawther told Al-
lied Labor News. “It is the first
time that we have put forward a
definite claim to a fixed weekly
minimum. We are hopeful that at
Jong lJast the miners’ claim for
what we consider a just demand
will be met.”

Lawther disclosed that miners’
leaders were meeting this week
with Major Lloyd George, Min-
ister of Fuel, to discuss postwar
plans for the industry. “We are
positive that public ownership of

afraid

Resentment of the workers has
been fanned by an article by Lord

Perry, chairman of Ford of Bri-
tain, appearing in the current
issue of The Engineer. “I am

that I believe that God
made most of humanity the serv-
ants, to depend entirely upon the
eream of our leaders for direc-
tion,” Lord Perry wrote, adding
that in his opinion trade unionism
is merely “interference by out-
siders with business management.”
Ford .of Britain, long a bitter
foe of labor, was forced recently
to recognize the unions in its
plants in the Manchester area.

the mines is the only way of
dealing with the coal problem,”
he said. “The MFGB is continu-
ing to meet with leaders of the
Labor Party to discuss presen-
tation of the party’s plan for
public ownership of the coal
industry.”

Last week a joint conference of
the Iron and Steel Trades Confed-
eration and the National Union of
Blast Furnacemen declared that a
public corporation, on which labor
is fully represented, must control
the iron and steel industry after
the war. Denouncing the report
published by the Conservative
Party favoring “unfettered private
enterprise” for the industry, the
conference voted to press im-~
mediately for a minimum weekly
guaranteed wage and an annual
vacation of 14 days instead of the
present 7, and called for compen-
sation for workers displaced after
the war-through concentration and
technological improvement of in-
dustry.

- Bulgaria

Will 1944 Repeat 1918?

FTER the final liberation of
Bulgaria from the Ottoman
Empire at the end of the last cen-
tury, a German lord, Ferdinand
yon Koburg was imposed on Bul-
garia as King Ferdinand. In his
new role Ferdinand acted as an
agent of the growing German im-
perialist interests.

Then in 1912 Bulgaria united with
Serbia and Greece to make war
against Turkey. However, after the
first successes Bulgaria became in-
volved in bloody conflicts with its
allies and these conflicts grew into
a war. Rumania, Serbia and Greece
took territories which Bulgaria
claimed for herself.

Now, of all European countries,
Russia was nearest to Bulgaria in
language, religion and culture. De-
spite this, King Ferdinand in 1915

ordered his country into World
War 1 on the side of Germany.

Already exhausted from the war
of 1912-13, the country bled still
more for three years. But.on Sep-
tember 30, 1918, the Bulgarian army
rose as one man and abandoned
the trenches. The German army
was no longer able to close the
gap created in its Balkan front and
the victory of the Allies was hast-
ened.

King Ferdinand and his govern-
ment fled the country. Ferdinand’s
son Boris ascended the throne, and
a Peasants Party government was
formed under the leadership of
Stambuliski.

In Italy, Mussolini began from
the moment he seized power to
conspire with this King Boris
against the peasant-controlled

rnment of Bulgaria. On June

3. 1923, a coup d’etat _was aah
eered, and Stambuliski, with mos
of his ministers, who had te mes
jority of the parliament ana Of
the people behind them, were aS

inated. sae

“ere followed the rule of a
bloodthirsty regime. More es
100,000 intellectuals, peasants, au
workers Were murdered by the
king and his clique.

The form of the parliamentary
system was maintained in ae
garia until after Hitler’s seizure 0
power in Germany. — However, in
the years 1934-35 King Boris car-
ried through two coup d-etats.
Only half of parliament was to
be elected, while half was to be
appointed by the king. In spite
of this, the king never succeeded
fin making sure of a stable majority
for his government. :

At the beginning of the economic
crisis in 1931, Germany became the
chief customer for such Bulgarian
products as tobacco, oil of roses
and grain. When Hitler seized
power, Germany obtained practi-
cally a monopoly of Bulgaria's
products, and promised to pay for
these raw commodities with indus-
trial goods. But the promise was
never kept. Only members of the
government, the court : and the
higher bureaucracy obtained actu-
al gold and industrial products.
The peasant was given only certi-
ficates of credit for his work.

Discontent in the country in-
creased, smouldering beneath the
surface and occasionally flaring
into open struggle through strikes.
In 1941, King Boris and his minis-
ters, no longer feeling secure,
ealled in Hitler’s legions, and so in
4 military sense as well as eCco-
nomically Bulgaria became one of
Hitler’s domains.

King Boris once remarked; cyni-
cally: “I know that the people sym-

but as

In a town “somewhere along the road to Rome” }
Canadian soldiers halt to clean out a nest of S im
Canadians have won high praise as street fighters ir f°

ere:

hize with Russia and th
pat long as I sit on thy
my orders shall be carrie |
Seldom has a govern:
wantonly led a country |
ploody adventure. Bulgari,
are used to beat down G
Yugoslav patriots) and 2D
subjugated Balkan coun)
Germany. Time and ti)
Hitler has tried to induces
garian government also: tts
visions against the Sovi)
But not even King Boris |
do that, for he knew very |
at the very first contact ?
garian troops would go 0 F
Red Army. - if
In September, 1943, afts¢
ference with Hitler, Ky
died under mysterious
stances. It is possible tha |
fapo put him out of the ~
it became clear that Bori
belief in a German victor ;
wavering. a

In recent months |
troops have been going a}

After the death of if
Germans made Cyril, ft
the dead king and a Nif
of Bulgaria. Cyril is sur,
only a small clique of co |,
{cians and German-traine Ff,
Against him are ranged [
of the Bulgarian pecple;
today cruelly oppressec;,
ploited by the Germany
chine, and who see thi§.
city, Sofia, laid im ruins |
bombers. }

There is not the sligh
that in the first serious:
er of Bulgarian troops

Allied armies, the even g

will be repeated. it is € &

able that the Bulgari ..
this time will not th

their arms, as they di

tember, 1918, but 1

against Hitler’s armies.

United States

Woll Opposes Unity ~

Can the call of
the British Trades Union Con-
gress for a world labor confer-
-ence in London next June as ‘“an-
other attempt to smuggle commun-
ists into an international meeting
through the cellar door,” Matthew
Woll, vice-president of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor and chair-
man of its postwar reconstruction
committee, indicated in a state-
ment issued at New York last week
that the AFI is likely to refuse
the TUC’s invitation to attend the

gathering. 4
CIO President Philiy fs (
already indicated the?
ization will accept tlt
Replies have not yet t
the Railroad Broth: Wo
United Mine Workers
“The Federation is =
favor of an internatp
ence attended by ro
of free trade unions ‘ff
Nations and other (i
dominated by the Ax;
ed. While admitting &