tevember 3, 1939

THE ADVOCATE

Page Three

peeeienre

Armies — Xetaining ‘initiative

Gov’t Announces

Pian To Convene National Assembly

\CHUNGKING, China. — ‘CN )—The Chinese Army’s "zgest victory at the battle- Ponts this month has been Bat, after convincing defeats “major Japanese forces on the faangshe front and in Shansi -ovince, it has been able to re- in the initiative.

The real victory from the stand- int of the development of the ar jis that Chinese have followed » their big victories by numerous Sialler ones, attacking, harassing e Japanese, cutting off, destroy- = stray Japanese columns, isolat- = Japanese garrisons, breaking e invaders’ highway and railway pmamunications — with sufficient rensth constantly in reserve to Sard off any Major Japanese ef ert, and then begin the wearing- mwn operations again.

Dr. H. H. Kung, chairman of the qinese executive chamber, told e Kuomintang central executive mmittee, which met this week, nat lay behind Chinese victories.

4 “They are not only an achieve— aent of the military command, “mn instance of the courage of the ational army, but also the re- ult of the strengthening of col-

\2boration between the army and

he people,” Dr. Kung deciared.

PeTHIsS year’s bumper harvest ‘ves us confidence that we can lly cope with the growing re- urements of the national army- ““Rumors of all kinds are being read by the enemy to split the ternal unity of China, but they e having no success.

“China, in waging her war of 'dependence, is treading the path | democracy. The government is ow makins preparations to con- me @ national assembly to estab- Bet a completely constitutional

rm of government.”

Splendid instance of the tighten- = of bonds between farflung sjinese provinces is a telegram at by 2 conference of Moham- | edans historic foes of the sinese — in Kunming, capital of gnnan province, to the central svernment, the Kuomintang cen- al committee and the military sunceil.

The conference pledged SUPPOrt = the 3,000,000 Mohammedans of ‘unnan province to the central ‘Syernment in stamping out Wang ‘hing-wei and his fellow traitors ad in-waging the war of indepen-

nce.

’ravda Refutes Fantastic Lies’

MOSCOW, USSR—(CEN) —Fan- astie lies spread by Domei Tsusin te ironically refuted today by ‘vravda, organ of the Communist larty of the Soviet Union.

This Japanese agency, says ‘rayda, “has recently spread about areugh the ether provocative re— orts regarding alleged demands £ the USSR on China.

“According to the report broad- aSt by the professional liars of Jomei Tsusin, the Soviet govern- nent has allegedly demanded of thina the right to maintain Soviet roops in Inner Mongolia and Sin- jane and the sovietization of

orthwestern China under the sadership of the Chinese Com- lunist party, and is allegedly

hreatening the Chungking gov- Imment with the use of force to arry through its demands-

“Kurther, they spread the rumor, hat fearing threats of dismem-— erment of China, Ghiang Kai- hek is enfased in negotiations ith the Moscow government arough the leader of the Chinese ‘oMmmunist party, Chu Teh, who, ccording to their assertions, 1s Ow in Moscow to secure a change 2 the Soviet demands.

“There is not a single word of uth in this report, because it annet even become probable. “Furst, the Soviet Union has lade no demands on China Sec- nd, it is absolutely unlikely that fe Soviet Union could present de- lands of such a character. Third, ae Soviet Union is not threaten- i= China. Fourth, Chu Teh is not 1 Moscow at all and is not con- uctin=g any negotiations.

“This report is a lie from begin- ing to end By piling up one ly- if invention on top of another, ae Domei agency is endeavoring > Create an atmosphere favorable Ir «Spreading all kinds of rumors Hitch would harm Soviet-Chinese lations and make it possible for 16 Japanese to, fish in troubled raters.” :

4

hinese Continue To Inflict Defeats On Japan Troops

Soviet Troops Enter West Ukraine

UNITS of the Soviet Red Army take possession of a pov

erty-stricken village in the West

Ukraine (formerly Poland), seized in 1920 by Polish troops and restored to the USSR by.

the Red army’s occupation.

PROPOSAL BEFORE SOVIET

Moot Single State For Ukrainian People

MOSCOW, USSR.— (ICN) .—Delegates to the Popular As- sembly of the West Ukraine, meeting in Lwow, this week erected the framework of a new life for the people of West Ukraine.

The ‘long oppression by the for-6

mer Polish government ended, the Popular Assembly decided to esta- blish Soviet power throughout the

West Ukraine, to confiscate the landlords’ land for the poor peas-— ants, to nationalize the banks and large industrial establishments, and to ask the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “to include West Uk- Traine in the composition of the Ukrainian Seviet Socialist Repub- lic so as to reunite the Ukrainian People in a Single state, to put an end to the age-old disunion of the Ukrainian people.’

The decisions were unanimous. Delegates voted to confiscate the estates of landlords, monasteries and high state officials with all live and dead stock and buildings.

in a country where only a month ago only 12 or 13 percent of the jand was in the hands of the labor- ing peasantry, from September 28 onwards the entire land with its riches, all forests and rivers have become the property of the state —the property of the entire people.

“TWenceforth,’ declared the Pop-— ular Assembly, “on our free land there is not, nor will there be a place for parasites — landlords and their underlings.”

In places where such landlords

as Count Potocki possessed 80 vil- lages, now there are no landlords at alll From the moment of liber

ation, West Ukraine peasant com- mittees have been engaged in reg- istration and division of landlord’s estates.

The Popular Assembly confirm- ed confiscation of landlords’ es- tates without compensation and instructed peasant committees, elected organs of the peasants, to divide up the landlords’ estates, to dispose of the landlords’ property and to guard it

The question of the land held by Osadniki (colonists introduced by the former Polish government for purposes of “Polonization’’) will be decided by the peasant committees. Thereby, the peasants themselves will decide the fate of the land and will organize their free labor on their free land.

Decisions were also made con- cerning nationalization of the banks, big factories and industrial plants, mines and railroads.

Desiring to abolish for all times exploitation of man by man, the Ukrainian Popular Assembly transformed the banks and large— scale industry into the property of the entire people.

Elections Nationwide Vote For Soviet Power

MOSCOW, USSR.—(ICN).—\Last Saturday, Oct. 28, will go down in history for the emancipated peoples of West Byelorussia as a great holiday.

The National Assembly opened at Byelostok and unani- mously voted to establish Soviet power and Soviet democracy

in their country.

Candidates Get Overwhelming Vote Of People

MOSCOW, USSR. — The people of Western Ukraine and West Byelorussia over- whelmingly elected their nominees as delegates to the new people’s assemblies, Tass, official Soviet news agency, reported here last week.

In Western Ukraine, 4,- 433,997 of 4,776,275 eligible electors voted. Only 325,- 918 ballots had candidates’ names crossed off.

In Western Byelorussia, 2,672,280 persons of 2,763,191

eligible voted, with 247,245 opposing the slate of candi- dates.

Wew elections will be held in 11 Western Ukraine and two West Byelorussian dis- tricts where candidates fail- ed to get more than half of the votes cast.

Among guests attending Assem- >» bly sessions were Secretary Pon- omarenka of the Byelorussian Cemmunist party, Chairman Kise- lov of the Council of People’s Com- missars, Byelorussian Soviet So- ecialist Republic; Chairman WNatai- evich of the Presidium of the Su- preme Soviet, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic; Yanka Enupela, YWakub Kolas and other prominent Byelorussian writers.

At 12 noon the oldest deputy, 68- year-old Stepan Strukh, a2 poor peasant, mounted the rostrum and spoke of the great honor which had fallen to his lot.

“Under the rule of the Polish barons, I was deprived of all rights,” he said. “Now I am a dep-— uty of my people. I hereby open our National Assembly.”

Adopted was the following agen- da: (1) On form of state power in West Byelorussia; (2) On affillia- tion of West Byelorussia to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Re- public; (8) On confiscation of the landlords’ land; (4) On nationaliz-— ation of the banks and large in- dustry.

Speakers stressed the fact that the elections to the National As— sembly were in actual fact a na- tionwide vote for Soviet power.

“The electors gave us definite in- structions ta cast our vote for the immediate establishment of Soviet power on the territory of West By- elorussia,” one speaker declared, “for Soviet power was established by the great leaders of the work-

ing people, Lenin and Stalin”

Celebrate Victory

SANTIAGO, Chile Crowds poured into the capital this week to celebrate the first anniversary of the People’s Front victory at the polls when Pedro Aguirre Cerda was elected president, defeating Gustavo Ross, nominee of Chilean pro-fascist and reactionary groups.

Mass meetmgs around the gov- ernment palace brought together

| more than 50,000 supporters of the

administration. Parades were held, uniformed militia groups, trade unions and political associ- ations. Leaders of the Socialist, Communist and other parties pro- claimed their unflinching support of President Aguirre.

The importance of strengthening the unity of the People’s Front was stressed by the president in 2 statement marking the end of his tenth month in office.

Groups composins the People’s Front joined the Confederation of Workers in publishing the follow- ing: proposed program:

Reconsideration of foreign debt service.

Cancellation of all monopolies.

Revision of taxes in the interest of consumers.

Special legislation for rural workers and strict application of social welfare laws.

Lowering of tariffs.

Legislation covering so-called imperialistic enterprises to give More protection to national inter- ests and those of Chilean state em- ployees and workers.

Measures to support the peace of the American hemisphere with due respect for the independence of other nations.

improvement in the equipment of the nation’s armed forces.

Put the Drive Over.

Five Million Workers Involved In NLRB Cases

WASHINGTON, DC. — Cases invelving 5,590,000 workers have been handled by the Wational Labor Relations Board in the four years of its existence, it was announced this week.

Of 23,949 cases brought before the board, between Oct. 1, 1933, and Oct. i, 1939, 19,974 have been disposed of and 3,971 are still pending

Im almost one-third of cases brought before the board, 10,197, a mutual agreement was arrived at by parties involved; 3141 were dismissed by the board, while 5301 were withdrawn.

Gnly 1335 cases were resolved through the more complex ma- chinery of the board.

The board handled 2,457 strike cases involving 410,146 workers, during the period. It settled 1874 of them, ordering 259,897 em- Ployees reinstated after strikes and lockouts and 17,726 reinstat- ed as a result of discrimination charges.

The summary showed that 773 threatened strikes, involving 184132 workers, were averted through board action.

Donate to the Drive——

Aided Spain, Now Aid China

CHUNGEING, China — Bight- een doctors of different European mationalities who served the Re- publican government in Spain have arrived at Kweiyang and be- gun work with the Chinese Red

Cross. The doctors were taken from concentration camps in: Prance.

Early Nazi

Terror

Recalled By Attacks On Communists

LONDON, Eng.—(Passed by British Censor).—Ieaving the Gare du Nord, an enormous sign, some 50 feet long, strikes the eye. “Cheap week-end tickets to London. . . . No passport re-

quired.”’ An ironic commentary within the last few weeks.

on the changed face of France

INow, every few yards in the

>

streets stand uniformed police and?

gendarmerie empowered to stop passers-by and say “Papers, please” Any unfortunate who has any detail not quite in order is immediately dragged off to the local police station, often directly to the prisons.

Foreigners have no right even to consult a lawyer, and thousands of people have literally disappear- ed within the last few weeks leay- ing no trace, |

The banning of the Communist party on September 26 took no one by surprise. Throughout the country the police forced their way in the dead of night into local party headquarters within half an hour of the signing of the decree, for in France a virtual dictatorship reigns and Daladier can exercise absolute power with a stroke of the pen.

A peculiar characteristic of the attack on the Communist party of France is the attitude to all Com- munist literature reminiscent of the early days of the Hitler regime. Police have been seen to go into a fury at the sight of the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and literally tear copies to pieces in their hands.

The superb library of Maurice Thorez, French Communist party djeader, was destroyed wantonly, although housed in the own Hall of Ivry which municipality he rep- resents in parliament. A gendarme picked up a valuable piece of sculpture, a bust of Marcel Cachin,

veteran F'rench Communist, and deliberately let it fall to the ground.

Examples of this kind are end- less and show not only the oppress- ing classes’ hatre of militant Communists, but their fear of the strength of the Communist pro- gram and ideas, the fear that the majority of the working class will come to accept it.

FUNDS SEIZED.

INot only has all literature been seized or destroyed, but the goy— ernment has seized all money be- longing .to the party, has comman- deered all its buildings and pre- mises, and stolen all its mobile property in the way of furniture, typewriters, ete.

More than 2000 Communists had been arrested before October i, mostly militants in the different sections of Paris, for in this way the government hoped to behead the party and destroy its effective- ness.

These attacks have but served to make the F'rench working class aware of the true nature of the government and the imperialist aims of the war; they have served to strengthen and knit the party more closely together.

In fact, wery few losses have been sustained. Bive deputies have deserted. A similar very small percentage of renegades are to be found amongst other sections of the party.

In the 1936 elections there were 7Z deputies elected and tw6 sena- tors. in consultation with the president of the Chamber of Depu- ties, Edouard Herriot, the 42 depu- ties left in Paris, for the rest were mobilized, formed a new group, The Prench Workers’ and Peas- ants’ Group. It was stated every— where that such 4 group was per— fectly legal.

Fourteen other deputies, al- though mobilized, managed to visit Paris on leave to declare their ad- besion to this group, and to add their names to the now famous letter sent in the name of the sroup to Herriott, asking for 2 meetins of parliament to discuss the peace proposals.

This letter asked for less than Lloyd George urged in his recent speeches and articles, and yet it has been used as the excuse for the most brutal, bitter persecution that has been known in France Since the days of the Commune. ‘The letter said:

“Everything must be done to prevent an a priori rejection of the peace proposals, leading us te even worse catastrophes. We most earnestly desire 2 just and lasting peace, and we think that this can be rapidly obtained. For in the face of the imperial- ist war-mongers and MHitlerite Germany a prey to its internal contradiction, there is the power of the Soviet Union vrhich can enable the realization of a policy of collective security capable of assuring peace and saferuardime the independence of France.”

WORK CONTINUES. 3 The letter was the signal for vicious attack on the members of the Workers’ and Peasants’ group. The press came out with the de— mands for arrests and actually for the trial by military tribunals of all group members with a view to their being shot as traitors to the country—these men who are the only real leaders of the people, the only leaders who have the true interests of workins-class at heart. Today more than 35 deputies are under arrest, but the key leaders are guarded vigilantly by the peo- ple and will not fall into the hands of the reactionary group; they will continue their work to free the working-class from repression. Thorez, leader of the party, and Arthur Ramette and Florimond Bonte, president and secretary of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Group, are safe.

British Communists Demand Peace Parley

LONDON, Eng.—A manifesto of the central committee of

the Communist party of Great

Britain to the British people

issued here recently condemns the present struggle in Europe as an imperialist war and urges an immediate peace conference

of the powers.

The manifesto calls upon workers to unite their ranks and lead the people of Birtain forward

in the fight against war profiteers; for wage increases to meet rising living costs; for immediate grant- ing of India’s claim to self—deter- Mination; for defeat of Chamber- lain and formation of a new gZoy- ernment which will carry out these demands, begin peace negotiations and represent the interests of the people against the armament kings and plundering millionaires.

“This war is a fight between im- perialist powers over profits, colo- nies and world domination,” the manifesto bluntly states. “The Bri- tish people will not allow them- selves to be used as the tool of Chamberlain’s reactionary aims. The struggle of the British people against the Chamberlains and the Churchills is the best help to the struggle of the Germans against Hitler.

“The Soviet Union is leading the world fight for peace. Let a peace conference be called immediately. The people must take a hand.”

RUMOR SPIRED.

In a statement published in the Daily Worker, the secretariat of the Communist party spikes rum-

aS

ors of Harry Pollitt’s “resigna- tion” from the party. It says: “There is no truth in the sug-

festion that Harry Pollitt has re- signed from the Communist party. In view of the differences of opin- ion which were expressed during the discussion, the central commit

tee decided that Harry Pollitt should not continue as general sec- retary but should undertake other duties for the party.

In common with all other mem-

bers of the central committee, Harry Pollitt continues to work for the Communist party and for its policy as determined by its central committee.”

A statement Pollitt from” CGommunist headquarters declared:

“The decision of the central com- mittee of the Communist party to remove me from the pecsition of the general secretary of the party is correct. it was taken after a very full and free discussion, and is in strict accord with the demo- eratic policy and practice of the party.

“Wow that the party has made its decision Tf shall give it my full- est support, and work for the party in any way the centrai committee decides.

“T ask every party member, or- ganization and sympathizer to fully support the central commit-— tee and the policy of the commun-— ist party, and by the character of their unshakeable unity and mass work give the class enemies of the workers and those in the labor movement who bear such a heavy responsibility for the policy of the Chamberlain Zovernment, the only answer they hate and fear, the building up of a stronger Com- munist party.”

issued by Harry party