Workers Press no. 1061

workers press

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS JOIN MAY DAY STRIKE

INCORPORATING THE NEWSI

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

BY WORKERS PRESS REPORTERS

trains, ENGINEERING plants, firms, buses, car newspapers, pits, docks and steel were paralysed yesterday as hundreds of thousands of workers struck against the Tory state pay laws and soaring prices.

The industry-by-industry picture was: CARS: One of the largest responses was in the Midlands where more than 100,000 car workers stopped work. The 64,000 workers in British-Leyland's Austin Morris factories in Birmingham, Oxford, Swindon and Llanelli were on strike.

The seven Rover factories in the Birmingham area were brought to a. standstill by all 11,000 of their workers.

18,000 trade union- ists halted production at the Chrysler plants in Coventry, Linwood, Luton and Dun- stable. The Wilmot Breeden car com- ponents firm in Birmingham had 3,000 absentees. At Oxford, where all five car stopped picketing plants work. paralysed the City workers car THE BULK of the London of Oxford Motor Services where had for demonstration was held back busmen reported Work. Only five buses took the to for almost half an hour after roads. arbitrarily arrested police Nearly 40,000 Ford workers two dockers from the Royal The plant were out. giant at Group contingent. Dagenham was at a standstill as was Halewood, Liverpool. At the Scuffles with the police broke Ford's 22 remainder of plants out as the arrested men were claimed that half the company driven away. Ten other demon- the men turned up for work. strators were released after pro- All Vauxhall three Diants- tests. Ellesmere Port, Luton and Dun- Well over 10,000 trade union- stable-were halted 26,000 as ists had joined the march orga- carworkers joined the nized by the London May Day more strike. Committee yesterday afternoon.

Scotland the Chrysler and In They marched six and some- Albion car plants stopped usand.

times ten deep to a rally in Hyde thousand Three Park. As the head of the march workers at the three Armstrong reached Oxford Street the tail car component factories in Hull Aldwych. was still leaving the were among those who came out.

Bill Tilbury docker Thorpe Some 30.000 workers stayed witnessed the arrests, said who Girling and from Lucas, away afterwards: London, the CAV factories in "There was no provocation Midlands and Lancashire. whatsoever. The men were production Tyre at Dunlop simply yanked from the column.

Scotland, factories at Inchinnan, One of them in particular Liverpool and Speke, Birming- ham was halted.

SHIPBUILDING AND ENGIN-

160,000 More

EERING:

than members of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering stopped the work in Unions SEALED bids for Rolls-Royce north west. Motors will be opened today in big factories affected Among the City offices of merchant Hawker Siddelev Aviation Rothschilds. were bankers (6.000 out), and the GEC works be in bids by The have to Trafford Park 14,000 out). 11 this morning. The at a.m. highest will be announced on

TURN TO BACK PAGE

All is Friday evening. that

HE NEWSLETTER • WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 1973

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SO

Police move in and grapple with a m Avenue yeste

BY DAVID MAUDE

arrested while he was just peace- fully walking along.' After considerable argument the march continued from Shaftesbury Avenue where the arrests took place. On the march were the ban- ners of the AUEW, Region 1 of the T&GWU - most

T&GWU

sections - building dockers, electricians workers, and a massive and colourful con- tingent of print workers. Among the latter were NATSOPA mem- bers from Deeko's, locked out for ten weeks. Despite their union's equivocal attitude to the strike, railway- were strongly represented men and there a number of were NUR banners.

UPW

members also were prominent on the march, despite their union leaders' instructions not to join the strike. There were big contingents of immigrant workers. But there was a noticeable needed is £7m as deposit and a banker's reference for the rest.

Figures of up to £50m have been speculated upon as the final price. Representatives of three local authorities — Crewe, Shrewsbury Christopher and Brent-urged No 1061 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

with a marching docker in Shaftesbury nue yesterday. lack of British trade union leaders. Among those who did march were Lawrence Daly of miners, Alan Fisher of NUPE, Joan Maynard of the agricultural workers, Ken Brett and Les Dixon of the engineers and Richard Briginshaw of

NATSOPA.

In contrast with the enthu- siasm and militancy shown by the majority of the marchers, the official slogans of the demon- stration were defeatist dangerous. Never Say Die, Give Them One in the Eye' was one placard widely carried, among others' by Communist Party members. Said another: "Where Have All Our Wages Gone? On Higher Prices Every One' There were no official slogans demanding the removal of the Tory government and the orga- of nizers made every attempt to confine the demonstration to a "protest'. Chataway, Industrial Develop- ment Minister, on Monday to *keep Rolls British'. A delegation from the Clerical and Administrative Workers* Union, which also saw Chataway.

proposed that the firm should stay in public ownership.

£100,000

PARTY

BUILDING

FUND

FINISHED April with WE £10,027. This means that we have approximately £40,000 to raise during May. This is going to be the toughest battle yet. Socialist Labour League branches Lancaster 25; Birkenhead £10; Slough £2; Swansea £1; Basingstoke £10; Paddington £1; Wands- worth 255; Lewisham £6.65; £1; Basildon Jarrow £10; Southall £30; Camden £60; £13; Southampton Edin- £15; burgh Aberdeen £16.50; Dundee £1.50: Willesden £20; Tottenham £7; Brixton £5.95. Post all donations to: Party Building Fund 186a Clapham High St London SW4 7UG

workers press

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS JOIN MAY DAY STRIKE

INCORPORATING THE NEWSI

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

BY WORKERS PRESS REPORTERS

trains, ENGINEERING plants, car firms, buses, newspapers, pits, docks and steel were paralysed yesterday as hundreds of thousands of workers struck against the Tory state pay laws and soaring prices.

The industry-by-industry picture was: CARS: One of the largest responses was in the Midlands where more than 100,000 car workers stopped work. The 64,000 workers in British-Leyland's Austin Morris factories in Birmingham, Oxford, Swindon and Llanelli were on strike.

The seven Rover factories in the Birmingham area were brought to a. standstill by all 11,000 of their workers. 18,000 trade union- ists halted production at the Chrysler plants in Coventry, Luton and Linwood, Dun- stable. The Wilmot Breeden car com- firm in Birmingham had ponents 3.000 absentees. At Oxford, where all five car plants stopped picketing work. paralysed the City workers car THE BULK of the London of Oxford Motor Services where for demonstration was held back busmen had reported work. Only five buses took the to for almost half an hour after roads. arrested police arbitrarily 40,000 Ford workers Nearly two dockers from the Royal The plant were out. giant Group contingent. Dagenham was at a standstill as was Halewood, Liverpool. At the Scuffles with the police broke Ford's 22 remainder of plants. the arrested out as men were claimed that half the company driven away. Ten other demon- the men turned up for work.

strators were released after pro- Vauxhall three plants- tests. Ellesmere Port, Luton and Dun- Well over 10,000 trade union- stable-were halted 26,000 as ists had ioined the march orga- carworkers joined the nized by the London May Day more strike. Committee yesterday afternoon. Scotland the Chrysler and In They marched six and some- Albion car plants stopped usand.

times ten deep to a rally in Hyde thousand Three Park. As the head of the march workers at the three Armstrong Oxford Street reached the tail Hull car component factories in still leaving the Aldwych. was were among those who came out.

Bill Tilbury docker Thorpe, Some 30.000 workers stayed who witnessed the arrests, said Girling and away from Lucas, afterwards: CAV factories London, the in 'There was no provocation Midlands and Lancashire. whatsoever. The men were Tyre production Dunlop simply yanked from the column.

Scotland, factories at Inchinnan, One of them in particular Speke, Liverpool and Birming- was halted. ham

SHIPBUILDING AND ENGIN-

EERING:

More than 160,000 members of the Confederation Shipbuilding and Engineering stopped work the Unions in

SEALED

bids for Rolls-Royce north west. Motors will be opened today in big factories affected Among the City offices of merchant Aviation Hawker Siddelev Rothschilds. were bankers

GEC

(6,000 out), and the be in works bids by The have to Trafford Park 14,000 out). 11 this morning. The at a.m. highest will be announced on

TURN TO BACK PAGE

All Friday evening. that

HE NEWSLETTER • WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 1973

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SO!

Police move in and grapple with a m Avenue yeste

BY DAVID MAUDE

arrested while he was just peace- fully walking along.' considerable After argument continued from the march Shaftesbury Avenue where the arrests took place. On the march were the ban- ners of the AUEW, Region 1 of the T&GWU - most the of sections - building workers, dockers, electricians and a massive and colourful con- tingent of print workers. Among the latter were NATSOPA mem- bers from Deeko's, locked out for ten weeks. Despite their union's equivocal attitude to the strike, railway- were strongly represented men and there number of were NUR banners.

UPW

members also were prominent on the march, despite their union leaders' instructions not to join the strike. There were big contingents of immigrant workers. But there was a noticeable needed is f7m as deposit and a banker's reference for the rest.

Figures of up to £50m have been speculated upon as the final price. Representatives of three local authorities — Crewe, Shrewsbury Brent-urged Christopher and Y 2, 1973 • No 1061 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

with a marching docker in Shaftesbury nue yesterday. lack of British trade union leaders. Among those who did march were Lawrence Daly of miners, Alan Fisher of

NUPE,

Joan Maynard of the agricultural workers, Ken Brett and Les Dixon of the engineer?

Richard Briginshaw

NATSOPA.

In contrast with the enthu- siasm and militancy shown by the majority of the marchers, the official slogans of the demon- defeatist stration were dangerous. 'Never Say Die, Give Them One in the Eye' was one placard widely carried, among others' by Communist Party members. Said another: 'Where Have All Our Wages Gone? On Higher Prices Every One'. There were no official slogans demanding the removal of the Tory government and the orga- of nizers made every attempt to confine the demonstration to a "protest'. Chataway, Industrial Develop- ment Minister, an Monday to 'keep Rolls British'. A delegation from the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union, which also saw Chataway, proposed that the firm should stay in public ownership.

€100,000

PARTY

BUILDING

FUND

FINISHED

April with WE £10,027. This that we have approximately £40,000 to raise during May. This is going to be the toughest battle yet. Socialist Labour League branches Lancaster £5; Birkenhead £10; Slough £2; Swansea £1; Basingstoke £10; Paddington £1; Wands- worth £55; Lewisham £6.65; £1; Basildon Jarrow £10; Southall £30; Camden £60; £13; Southampton Edin- £15; burgh Aberdeen £16.50; Dundee £1.50; Willesden £20; Tottenham £7; Brixton £5.95. Post all donations to: Party Building Fund 186a Clapham High St London SW4 7UG

The scandals still waiting behind But Watergate waterworks won't wash PAGE 2 Workers Press, Wednesday May SOME of the stories Nixon 'forgot' to mention in his speech are filling the front pages of the US Press, revealing Watergate as the biggest scandal ever to hit the United States. A whole series of revela- tions have blossomed from the original break-in at the Watergate Hotel, which is now known to have been organized by the aptly named CREEP (Committee to Re-elect the President).

Among some of the latest stories: • Attorney-General Klien- dienst and his assistant Henry Petersen eight weeks ago turned down a request by the of Investiga- Federal Bureau continue electronic tion to surveillance which had begun to reveal connections between the Mafia and the Teamsters (Drivers) Union leadership.

Wire-tapping had begun to reveal the diversion of millions of dollars from the union's welfare fund to the Mafia, and compromised would have Fitzsimmonds, Frank thc union boss who was one of Nixon's staunchest allies in the labour leadership.

BY JOHN SPENCER

A GRIM-FACED Presi- dent Nixon, reading slowly from a sheaf of papers, went on Ameri- can television on Mon- day night to try and dodge the blame for the Watergate affair. His television appearance has already aroused un- favourable comment, even within his own party, and it is clear that Nixon will not be allowed to escape as easily as he had hoped. Before he went on television the White House announced the resignations of his two closest aides, John Ehrlichman and H.R. (Bob) Haldeman and of the attorney-general Richard Kliendienst. It also announced that presi- Dean had dential counsel John been forced to resign. the For weeks newspapers have been full of stories impli- cating these men in the scandal, together with others who are to office by their hanging on fingertips. But the biggest ques- tion-mark of all hangs over the President himself. Monday night's performance has done nothing to dispel it.

The President now has his back to the wall and his enemies are closing in for the kill. He claimed total ignorance of the bugging of the Democratic headquarters last June and did not know about any possibility of a cover-up of White House involvement until he was given new facts in March. Discussing the responsibility for the plot to spy on the Demo crats during the election cam- paign, Nixon said: 'I will not esday May 2, 1973 Defendants Howard Hunt • CREEP accepted an illegal donation . $200,000 secret from financial operator Robert L. Vesco who was then under for his part in investigation the alleged 'looting' of $224m from the firm of Investors Overseas Services (IOS). Nixon's aide John Ehrlich- man met several of Vesco's assistants at the White House in December, according to the 'Los Angeles Times', and pro- mised to ring the US embassy in Beirut to help boost Vesco's scheme to take over the Leba- nese Intra Bank. Ehrlichman admits having met Vesco in December, but denies having used his influ- Nixon (top) with his aldes Bob Haldem Dean. place the blame on subordinates —on people whose zeal exceeded their judgement, and who may have done wrong in a cause they deeply believed to be right.'

In the climax of his 25-minute speech, he went on: 'In any or- ganızation, the man at the top must bear the responsibility. That responsibility belongs here in this office. I accept it.?

He said he would do 'every- thing in my power to ensure that ence to promote Vesco's Intra Bank scheme. Nixon is per- sonally involved in this scan- through his nephew dal Donald, a Vesco employee.

Convicted Watergate bur- Gordon glars and • Liddy Howard Hunt broke into a psychiatrist's office last year papers relating and stole to Daniel Ellsberg, chief defen- dant in the Pentagon Papers trial.. The judge in the case has admitted that he met Ehrlich- man at the White House on two occasions in the course of the trial. He also fleetingly met President Nixon. Ellsberg's lawyer has de- manded a halt to the trial and has named H. R. Haldeman, and John Dean, Ehrlichman Patrick Gray, former head of the

FBI,

former attorney- general John Mitchell, his re- placement Kliendienst (who has also resigned) and four other Justice Department offi- cials as men who should be to testify about how called evidence against Ellsberg was obtained. b Haldeman, John' Ehrlichman and John the guilty are brought to justice and that such abuses are purged from our political processes in years to come'. He lavished praise on his two chief aides, who resigned some hours before the speech while maintaining their innocence and denying they knew in advance the bugging or tried to about White House involve- conceal ment. Nixon described them as 'two CREEP was revealed as having sent phoney telegrams to President Nixon congratu- lating him on the mining of Haiphong last year. The Com- mittee also organized to flood a television station with pro- Nixon letters and ensure his victory in a public opinion poll. 'Work ground to a halt in the press office while everyone filled out 15 postcards, said one CREEP functionary. "Ten people worked for several days buying different kinds stamps and postcards and get- ting different handwriting to fake the responses' • Herbert Kalmbach, Nixon's personal attorney, is being in- vestigated by the Grand Jury for having obstructed justice by providing the funds used 'buy the silence' of the to original seven Watergate de- fendants. Sources within CREEP have said that between $500,000 left over from and $i'm the 1968 ign fund laid the boats sach's secret of the finest public servants it has been my privilege to know'.

He said: 'I want to make it clear in accepting these resignations (of Ehrlichman and Haldeman) I to leave no implication mean whatever of personal wrong- doing on their part.' He pointedly did not include in this eulogy the White House counsel John Dean, who was also forced to resign on Monday. Dean is reported to be preparing tell the Watergate Grand to Jury that Haldeman and others were involved in a cover-up.

In a peroration intended to jerk tears viewers from the Nixon read them his Christmas Eve wishes for America 'written during my terrible personal ordeal of the renewed bombing of North Vietnam'. He expres- sed the hope that the remaining 1,361 days his presidential term should be 'the best days in America's history, because I love America'. Nixon said the Watergate case 'claimed had far too much time and attention' my own since March. 'I must now turn my full attention once again to the larger duties of this office,' he said. But if he thinks this will be enough the presidency to put scandal, Nixon has above the another think coming. So many were left unanswered questions by his television speech that it is hard to know where to begin.

There is talk in the Congress drastic proce- of invoking the dure of impeachment to remove who has become irrevo- a man cably stained with the Watergate scandal. he great advocate oi 'law and order' is surrounded by criminals, shady financiers and Mafia men. The Nixon regime is the sym- bol of the death agony of bour- geois democracy in the United States and everyone can now see and Gordon Liddy. •• fund. It is claimed that up to $350,000 was spent in a futile effort to keep the seven con- victed burglars quiet. Acting chief of the FBI • Patrick Gray (who has now resigned) admits having des- troyed two files given him by John Dean. The files ap- parently contained forged dip- lomatic cables smearing Pre- sident Kennedy. The files are said to have been put together at a time when Edward Kennedy was being spoken of as a possible presidential candidate for the Democratic party. the office of the presidency for what it really is: a licence to become the biggest criminal of all. Nixon deserves no mercy from class. He the American working is a union-hating, anti-commun- ist butcher whose planes are even now devastating Cambodian villages and raining destruction on the workers and peasants of Laos. This man rode to power on the coat-tails of senator joseph MacCarthy and the China lobby right-wing senators of extreme and big businessmen. The ruling class in the United States fears to press the demand . for his impeachment. There .is confusion and fear about what this will emerge next from scandal-ridden administration.

But the President is so deeply involved in the affair that no absolve him. No- cover-up can body believes "Tricky Dicky' any more. His credibility is ex- hausted, Significantly, his best friends are coming to his assistance.

A hasty trip to Moscow has been rigged Henry up Kissinger, the only member of the inner. White House circle who is so far untouched by the scandal. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who went out of his way last week to assure visiting Congress- men of his high regard for Nixon, can be relied on to provide as big a diversion from the Water- gate scandal as he can muster.

One thing is certain. Nixon can never wash himself clean of the Watergate affair no matter tearful speeches he how many may make. With the Grand Jury inquest only just getting under way and with a Senate investigation and a series of trials to come, the way of law and order Nixon-style promises to be very stony, indeed.

BRANCH officials will be meet- ing men sitting-in at Tillotson's print factory, Liverpool, today in a bid to hammer out a formula which could lead to a return to work. About 400 workers took control of the plant on March 23 after four chapel officers had been sacked for calling a work-to-rule in protest against 26 redundancies. The union, SOGAT, has accepted a two-point peace plan drawn up by management. This calls for a return to normal working, which, it is understood, in- cludes the reinstatement of the sacked chapel officials, in exchange for talks on re-classifying inkroom staff.

• But SOGAT Father of the : Chapel, Mr Tommy Chute, told me they want 'normal working' spelled out in full before they call off their occupation.

Underlying the printworkers resist- ance to the peace formula is the fear that the American owned company

TILLOTSONS

0UK. FoC Tommy Chute (nearest camera) along Eric Bradley (deputy FoC) and Terry Flanag: designed by Terry which was carried on yes Liverpool. at Watney Mann's

STRIKERS

Whitechapel brewery return to work today - ending a strike of several weeks involving both the company and the Tories' new Pay Board. Craft union members at Mortlake and Isleworth breweries, who had been out in sympathy with engineers and production workers at Whitechapel, went back yesterday. At the height of the strike 800 involved at the three workers were breweries. They were fighting Watney's refusal, in line with the pay control laws, to implement a £2.40 settlement on April 1 under an agreement due signed last June. Strike leaders demanded first the withdrawal of 'strings' for which the £2.40 was supposed to be payment, then five hours' guaranteed overtime each week for all those in dispute.

Mass meetings on Monday accepted BOILERMAKERS' leader Danny Mc- Garvey has failed in a bid to end the 1l-week work-to-rule by his members at the Harland and Wolff shipyard.

The union president flew specially to Belfast Monday to on convey instructions to return to work from his executive. But the himself and stood firm. boilermakers As a result, the yard management is threatening to lay off all 10,000 shipyard workers. Already it has sent home 1,000 of the 2,500 boilermakers and given notice of lay-off to the rest.

The dispute is over a bonus for increases in productivity: redundancies but not stop at may could be planning to close the works completely. Tillotson's is owned by the Saint Regis Paper Company and chapel offi- cials say rumours are circulating that they intend to open a brand new works at nearby Netherton employing about a third of the present labour force.

At least since 1967 there have been systematic yearly sackings_ from. the factory, whittling the work force from 700. Last September Tillotson's said a further 103 workers would have to go.

In February they sacked 26 women and it was over their dismissal that the chapel called the work-to-rule.

Now all the girls have agreed to re- dundancy after average offers of £500 each from the management.

In addition to their own reinstate- ment the chapel officials are holding out for guarantees of no further sack- ings. Said Mr Chute: 'We are trying to negotiate with the company to try to offset redundancy, but it is like talk- ing to a brick wall.' a) along with (| 10 r) Anne Shane (MoC), ry Flanagan (representative) with the banner ed on yesterday's May Day demonstration in a six-point agreement with the com- pany arrived at in negotiations involv- ing union officials. This went some way to meeting the strikers' reserve demand for withdrawal or suspension of the "strings'. Until June 30, workers are to be allowed the same shift overlaps as applied before June 1972, shift wor- kers' contractual overtime is to remain until new negotiations and there is to be no change in shift patterns during the life of the present agreement.

There are also to be consultations in the strikers' overtime demand. The company has agreed that there will be no victimization of the 800, while the strikers have agreed to forgo their holiday pay for Good Friday and Easter Monday. • The Whitechapel strikers remained out for May Day yesterday. At Mort- lake and Isleworth there were one- hour token strikes and overtime was banned for the day.

A NEW

• WAGES

which structure would undermine piecework at the Leyland bus and truck factories in Lancashire has been rejected by the workers. But a mass meeting on Monday was told by convenor Len Brindle that a £2.49 all-round wages increase would Phase Two of be permissible under the Tory pay laws. The meeting decided to submit a claim for this amount. Meanwhile, 1,250 workers are now laid off following the refusal of 58 engine assemblers to return to work.

Because of deadlock over the pay structure, the assemblers have put forward a separate allowance claim, which has been refused by manage- ment. •

ALEX

MITCHELL'S

Emperor Hirohito THERE Is great alarm in the Press Japanese capitalist about the Emperor's fish.

Old Hirohito, you see, has 460,000 square metre, mile-long moat around his In the centre of palace Tokyo. An estimated 100,000 fish live in it. He has goldfish, roach and carp. Since the beginning of this month the been dotted with bloated dead fish. On one day, April 13, a total of 300 died. The shores of the imperial moat now stink with dead fish. All the experts have been rushed in. Their extra- ordinarily unscientific diag- nosis Is that they have died trom the mysterious fish disease'. A later report sald the deaths were caused by "fish congestion'; poor the aren't getting creatures enough oxygen. But while all this alarm is being cast around, a less- publicized report appeared from the Maritime Safety Agency. It stated that cases of marine pollution in and around Japan numbered 2,283 last year, or more than five times the corresponding number two years earlier.

lt can confidently be predicted that in dealing with marine pollution, the Emperor's moat will receive attention way in advance of the oll slick, the garbage and the chemical filth which has plundered large sections of the Japanese coastline.

Colour televtsi

JAPANESE

manufacturers are planning a big export drive in colour television sets t› the United Kingdom.

They hope to export 350,000 sets this year, or more than double last year's number. A ministry survey has re- vealed that only 18 out of every 100 families in Britain a colour TV as com- own pared with 60 per cent in the United States and 75 per cent in Japan. 'The popularity of colour TV has increased remark- year,' a ably since last spokesman said. 'Demand Workers Press, Wedne "The right wing is associated with divine inspiration and the divine with Japan as land. leads to mili- This tarism. — Yoshio Kodama, the leading right-wing ideo- logue in Japan and close adviser to Prime Minister Tanaka's ruling party. Sgt Shoichi

WHEN

Yokoi walked out of the jungles of Guam last year, his story • was treated abroad as bizarre and picturesque. Not so in Japan. Yokoi returned home after 28 years of hiding to a rousing welcome, particularly from the right-wing military circles and the pro-govern- ment Press. To these re- actionary groups he was not so much a human interest story, as a symbol of bygone Imperial days. Yokoi's own exposition of the divinity of the Father- land was powerful stuff. He told the Press on landing in Tokyo:

ASHAMED

home alive, of come which I feel very much ashamed.' What had kept him going was the spiritual strength of the Emperor. He, had re- mained silent and alone in the jungle for such a long time because of 'the shame of surrender'. His statements have been seized by right-wing the groups—there literally dozens of them-to whip up feelings of militarism and nationalism.

These groups have gained some pre-eminence in mili- tary circles since the govern- ment's decisión officially to recognize China, pull out of Taiwan up an embassy in Peking. rightists The say the 'nation' has been "sold out' country made to and the 'surrender' to communism.

In the days of Tojo, sur- this year is expected to be from 800,000 to 1.2 million sets more than last year.'

While the men from Sony and Toshiba prepare to crash the British TV market, there is a salutary story from the Common Market headquarters in Brussels.

The EEC Commission has just authorized Italy to curb imports of Japanese tape : recorders. The strict quota has been imposed to pro- tect Italy's domestic indus- try. 33, Wednesday May 2, 1973 PAGE 3 render to the enemy was the most shameful and unfor- giveable act of all-shame family, society and the to nation. Only death could negate the dishonour. There are many instances of fanatical officers army committing hara kiri in front of their captors during the closing stages of the Pacific war. In some cases Allied officers actually returned ceremonial swords to the Japanese of committing suicide by slicing their stomachs open.

FEUDAL

Sergeant Yokoi had be- come the vehicle for a fresh invokation of these feudal traditions. 'His mind was what we have long forgotten, but should not have forgotten,' a middle-aged company execu- tive told a Tokyo newspaper.

'We must bring ourselves back to the old days when we had a sacred Emperor and a code of life which, indeed, were the symbol and basis of our nation.' Now the Japanese right has seized on another war- time fugitive - Lt Hiroo Onoda, who is hiding on Lubang Işland, 75 miles south of Manila. He has been on a 28-year vigil for the return of the Japanese Imperial Army and the continuation of World War II. In mid-October last year Onoda's companion, Cpl Kozuka, was shot dead. This prompted 100 newsmen to descend on the remote island to hunt down the lieutenant.

In a final bid to make him give up, one newspaper chartered a plane to drop photographs of atom-bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Whether the pictures found him isn't known. He still hasn't shown up-much to rightists the delight of the who have turned him into a Pimpernel-like cult figure.

uropean Invasion? is simple: reason Japan's share of the Italian market has leaped by a mas- sive 69 per cent a year be- tween 1969 and 1972 from 99,000 units to 478,000. Negotiations underway between the Bene- lux countries-Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg —aimed at blocking the sale to the three. This week Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira arrives in Brussels for talks with EEC officials.

PAGE 4 Workers Press, Wednesday f The development of the so - called 'consumer society' has led over the past period to enormous changes in the method of food and commodity selling. Day after day we are bom- barded with advertisements on television, radio, in news- papers and wherever we travel boosting the advantages of one product or another. The vast majority of these products are marketed by one or other of the major mono- polies who do not rely on any price or quality differential to sell their goods-the advertis- ing campaigns alone create the basis of the market. For so much of this market the impact of a particular com- modity also depends to a large extent on its particular wrappings. A report out last week, 'Packaging in Britain', exam- ines wrappings scene _ 'Packaging', it says, 'has be- come "big business"' This report - from the Friends of the Earth-notes some of the less attractive features of what it calls 'an important social phenomenon of fairly recent vintage'. One in particular is the cost to the consumer. If packaging not a were it could not costly business, support an industry whose finances are measured in thousands of millions of pounds, whose yearly returns continue to climb ... The Writings ot 1!:: leon Trotsky

LEĞAI TROTSHY

(1938-93

WRITINGS OF

WRITINGS OF

LEON

LEON

TROTSKY

(1833-34| 034-25 Six volumes of Trotsky's writings during the years 1933-1940 £8.00 including postage Please tick those you requi Name Address Complete form and post to: New Park Publications, 18 A New Park Publicat dnesday February 28, 1973 costs of packaging begin with the costs of the materials and energy used, and do not end until the cast-off packaging is no longer a liability either to community or to its the environment ... 'Furthermore, the unquan- tifiable costs of packaging in particular are almost invari- ably borne by the community as a whole, and by its environ- ment .... The report notes the present widespread use of aerosol is in general un- packaging necessary. Its only advantage is to the producer, who average price of charges an 10p per aerosol container on top of the cost of the com- modity he is selling. The market value of packag- ing materials alone last year- .. exclusive of machinery. or costs of conversion into par- ticular packages or wrappings -for the first time ever topped £1,000m. The report goes on to de- tail the vast increase in ex- penditure on men, resources and money in packaging. 'mar- The total packaging ket' is now estimated at £1,035m an increase of £100m over 1971 Within this market the newer forms of packaging material-plastics and metals gaining on the more -are traditional paper and paper board The total consumption of plastics for packaging, for ex- ample, increased from 404,000 History of Russian Revolution -special gift pack of three volumes £1.70 including postage u require. Amount enclosed £ ions, 186a Clapham High Street, Lon Publications Booklist is a vailable, free tons in 1971 to in 1972. Another major has been the rise container. In sol million aerosol manufactured. By Trotsky-a documental Francis Wyndham and David King £1.65 including postag et, London SW4 7U( ble, free, on request.

ACKAGINOT

IN BRITAIN

POLICY FOR

CONTAINMENT

A report by Friends of the Earth Ltd 455,000 tons figure had almost doubled to 304 million. The report points out that the rise in this type of pack- 160.75 aging has meant the decline of the returnable container and were 1970 the the corresponding increases the shopper and the costs to menace of waste. Beer and soft drinks pro- vide a typical case history.

1966 495 million units were canned, but 1970 the figure had risen to 950 million units. The report gets half only way towards conclusion. For example it notes: 'Packaging as a vehicle for advertising, for overstimula- tion of consumption and for the circle ot Vicous competition between products differing only in their packag- offers little discernible ing advantage commodity as a whole, and is in some instances simply parasitic the economics of society.'

LIBERAL

But the Friends of the Earth' formula that of the is well-meaning liberal. They call for a government working party' into, packag- ing and demand that packag- ing should be for use only.

Fine aims, except that they are not attainable within the capitalism live under today. The primary aim of packag ing not functional, but sell. As such, simply to the industry is closely linked to advertising and the immense wealth expended on persuad- ds of the Earth Ltd ing people they need product X instead of the nearly identi- cal product Y. The implication behind the liberal cry of reform is that capitalists or capitalist gov- ernment will put right irration- ality and waste once exposed.

This is a fundamental mis- conception. A necessary fea- ture of monopoly capitalism is the eradication of price com- petition. Coupled with this is the drive for total monopoly of a market. These two economic in- stincts combine to produce the vast packaging - advertising industry. On the one hand each giant blanket promo- must match tion, packaging and advertis- ing, with its own blanket pro- motion, packaging and adver- tising, or be destroyed. On the other hand the de- sire for greater and greater monopoly can only be quenched by campaigns and packages that suggest the pro- duct is unique, exclusive, new, etc. This is as necessary to capi- talism as profit itself. Most top executives fully realize the idiocy of advertising and the waste of much packaging. But they observe it with a cynical smile and count the millions in sales. The rational development of packaging for the true benefit of the common people can a socialist only develop in society where business is run on nationalized or co-operative lines. This, however, is the answer Friends of the Earth seek to avoid.

THE REHABILITATION OF

The Chinese Communist Party leaders turn to- wards United States im- perialism has been only part of a general shift to the right. Since the epoch of ping-pong in by diplomacy was ushered the visit of President Nixon to Peking, there have been many signs of such a shift.

One such sign is the re- appearance at state banquets of Teng Hsiao-ping, who was reviled during cultural the revolution as a 'capitalist- roader'. Teng has appeared several in public since his first times re-entry onto the Peking dip- lomatic circuit at a banquet honouring exiled Cambodian head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk on April 12. 'He has not just been taken Chinese peasants have been called upon to make an all- out effort to increase agricul- tural production in an article by Chiang Han. It has appeared both in 'Red Flag' and the 'People's Daily' and repeated several times over Peking radio. It quotes Chairman Mao as saying: 'China is a big socialist country but she is still poor with a backward economy. This is principal contradiction. a Making our country prosperous will take several decades of hard struggle.' While claiming bumper har- vests for the past ten • years, Chiang emphasizes that pro- duction is too low and calls for the rousing of the enthusiasm of 'the broad masses of rural cadres and commune members' to develop agriculture at a faster pace. Saying that there are two lines in agriculture, one of which says that agriculture can grow at a rapid pace and the other which is content to go neither too fast nor too slow, he calls on the cadres to have the courage to transform nature: A new English edition of the 'First Five Years of the Communist International' in corporating hitherto unpublished materia from Volume XIII of Trotsky's 'Works'

FIVE YEARS OF THE

COMMUNIST

off the shelf, dusted and put Mexican dictator Luis Eche- back again,' diplomat in verria. one Peking told Reuter's James Teng, who was once general Pringle. of the Chinese Com- secretary Party, 'His well-known munist was brought organizing back vice-premier the talents are obviously needed as basis of Mao Ise-tung's dictum he is here stay.' His and to that those who admit serious return is seen as the most of mistakes be rehabilitated, important comeback can Chinese officials say. CP leader since the Chinese cultural revolution came to a But apparently this does not 1969. close in imply that Liu Shao-chi, the Teng (69), 'number one capitalist-roader', small, intense who was the main target for seemed the attacks on bureaucracy by with white socks, the Red Guards, will return.

almost as surprised at his re- appearance as Peking's foreign Chinese officials that residents, who saw him at the Liu is 'politically dead. But of Sihanouk banquet, Pringle course he could, like Teng, be reported. simply awaiting resurrection.

as if he received his Next to Liu there is only 'It's invitation just half an hour in one other figure of top-ranking advance, one diplomat com- importance to fall during the mented. week afterwards cultural revolution who is still in disgrace and likely Teng was again in evidence, to time this at a banquet for stay that way. 'All farmland has been Maoist policy is based on re- the theory of 'socialism in one claimed by the working people.

from They can build a farm where country, taken over it is the 'socialism' Stalin. expand of none exists. it where change a bad backward and it limited, penury is farm good and isolated which, in- into one, country evitably, is now drawing closer a low-yielding farm into tUrO the high-yielding one' capitalist world to the in an its Chiang refers the attempt to overcome also to difficulties instead of calling natural disasters which, he for the extension of the says, in a country so vast as revolution. China are bound to occur in The exhortations of the one place or another. He urges leadership are based on a recog- the peasants to turn disasters nition that Chinese agriculture to advantage by breaking away depends above all on the hard from conventional methods and labour of the masses, that in- learning how to overcome dustry is not able to supply difficulties. Five national' in- ed material The First Five Years of the Communist International This first volume of Trotsky's writings and speeches for the Communist International covers the period of its first three Congresses when the post-war revolutionary upsurge reached its peak and then began to recede. It establishes. without fear of con- tradiction, the important role which he played in the foundation of this. the Third workers' International.

and in the formation and early development of the French, German and Italian Communist Parties. At this time the theory of 'socialism in one country' had not been invented and Joseph Stalin was still a second-line Bolshevik leader who played no part in the international movement which he was later to pervert and eventually destroy.

F THER

Price: £1.50, 421 pages. Available from: New Park Publications 186a Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7UG or the Paperbacks Centre 28 Charlotte Street, London, W1 (Enclose 10p for postage) Workers Press, W He is the former mayor of Peking, Peng Chen. Although with Liu and Teng, Peng was one of an 'unholy trinity' attacked by the young Red Guard militants, his crimes were considered more serious.

He was called an 'anti- Maoist chief' and accused of trying to set up his kingdom in impenetrable Peking in 1966. Western 'China - watchers' great deal of time spend a speculating on the movements of personnel inside the hier- archy of the Stalinist bureau- cracy, but most of the specula- tion has little significance.

This time, however, the move to the right is unmis- Chinese takable and the leaders' desire to display Teng to the foreign diplomatic corps indicates an eagerness underline the direction of the turn. machinery or sufficient chemical fertilizers. It means that the Chinese peasants will have to work even harder and that the must, if necessary, masses tighten their belts. The import- ance attached to Chiang Han's article suggests also that Chinese agriculture is facing big difficulties in meeting out- put targets. There is a serious drought in a number of areas and the masses are being mobilized for water conservancy projects and other measures to fight it and reap a bumper harvest. The US-Japanese trade war is hotting up in the computer market. IBM Japan has half the Japanese computer market and is wholly-owned by the firm International American Business Machines Corporation.

The rest is owned by Japanese computer firms. Under United States pressure, Japan's im Something went wrong with city p of Wroclaw. Three new blocks of but only two of them can be occupi As for the third, it will not ha supply until the, first quarter of !

sub-station and water supplies will as a fourth block which will not be Tenants will also find that they and service centre as no shopping build it in the current year's plai 'this blunder in design work' but occurred. 3 Press, Wednesday May 2, 1973 PAGE 5 The United States com- puter firm Control Data Corporation and the Rumanian Ministry of Machine Tools and Elec- tro Techniques have agreed to form a joint company to manufacture and develop computer peripherals in Rumania. Control Data will own 45 per cent of the new company and the Rumanian Industrial Group for Electronics and Vacuum Technology (CIETV) will hold the remaining 55 per cent. Both partners will contribute to initial investment in the company, which will be in the region of $4m. Based in Bucharest, the com- pany slow speed printers for use in computer terminals. A new building specially designed to meet the company's manufacturing requirements is to be built and production of the first units is expected to start this year. In addition to manufactur- ing, the company is likely to undertake research and de- velopment to enhance existing products and develop new ones.

Both partners will be free to sell the company's products anywhere in the world. This means that Control Data is gaining a low-cost source of peripheral equipment for markets which could ex- tend outside eastern Europe.

Links between eastern Europe and western computer manufacturers are nothing new, but in the past these have mainly taken the form of licensing agreements-for ex- ample, Poland and ICL, Czechoslovakia and Honeywell- Bull, and Rumania and CII.

The new agreemen invest- how- ever, involves direct ment by a United States manu- facturer in a joint venture in an eastern European country and is likely to provide highly favourable trading conditions for the US firm within the COMECON bloc. Commenting on the agree- ment, signed this month, Mr William C. Norris, chairman of Control Data, said: 'This is an historic venture.. The work we will do together will build a solid bridge between our countries, our philosophies, our peoples. 'We will prove here that we • can co-operate to the benefit of each of us in the myriad ways that are necessary in this kind of enterprise. Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) is on the verge of relaxing restrictions on computer imports by 1978.

Now IBM Japan has rocked companies by the Japanese both its selling and cutting rental prices by between 3 and The Americans 9 per cent. argue that the cuts result from the devaluation of the dollar.

But the Japanese claim that IBM is making excessive cuts in order to grab a larger share of the market when restrictions are lifted. The Japanese firms to MITI and protesting are der urging it not to liberalize n's imports. th city planning in the Polish town locks of flats have been completed e occupied by tenants. 1 not have any electricity or water rter of 1974 because the electricity plies will be built at the same time I not be ready until then.

hat they will have to wait for their e as no provision has been made to ear's plan. Warsaw Radio deplores vork' but does not explain how it

ISRAEL AND THE GREAT REPARATIONS FRAUD

PAGE 6 Workers Press, Wednesday May 2, 1!

The men who make the propaganda for the Lion- ist state of israel have launched a new campaign theme. Like their agita- tion over the issue of the Jews in the Soviet Union, it goes beyond the im. mediate Middle-East con- flict. Like the Soviet Jewish cam- paign, it seeks to use an osten- for humanitarian issue sibly purposes of sordid political And like the anti- intrigue. Soviet campaign, its purposes to be reactionary and seem anti-communist. The target this time is the German Democratic Republic —East Germany. At a time when the East German Stalinist bureaucracy is bidding for international recognition and better relations the Zionists with the west, and their friends in western Europe are putting forward the demand that, as the price recognition, the GDR for should be asked to pay 're- for Nazi parations' crimes against the Jews. Zionists The argue that since West Germany made a Reparations Agreement with Israel some 20 years ago, it is only right that East Germany should now do the same. Besides being raised in the Knesset (parliament), Israeli the demand for East German reparations' has been voiced European in western some sympathetic to newspapers and in the Dutch Israel, parliament. It was raised in the House recently by Lord of Lords the former Labour Janner, MP, who urged the British government to put pressure on East Germany on the repara- tions issue in the course of negotiations taking place over the establishment of diplomatic relations. Office, the Foreign For Baroness Tweedsmuir replied that the government was rais- ing the issue of compensation for the victims of Nazi per- secution with the GDR. The East German authorities have so far taken the position that they will not accept Israeli claims. The weekly paper 'Horizont',

GDR

which speaks for the Foreign Ministry, declared on that, February 20 this year while seeking in general to have normal diplomatic rela- tions with other states, regard- less of their economic or political set-up, the GDR did not wish to establish relations with certain states-and South and Israel Africa, Rhodesia were cited. 'Horizont' went on to say far as reparations that, so were concerned, the GDR had 'long ago fulfilled such obliga- Potsdam tions under the Agreement'. Agreement, between This and the the western Allies

USSR,

laid down that the western zones of Germany should pay reparations to while the nations, western Soviet zone had to pay them to the Soviet Union. West Germany has paid £330m in Israel. East reparations to Germany has paid £5,700m to the Soviet Union. government's So the Israeli demand means, in fact, that the GDR is being asked to twice over—when its pay people have already had to carry a burden of reparations to the Soviet Union that came to more than ten times the sum paid to Israel by West Germany! That is not all, however.

the Israeli The truth is that reparations issue is a gigantic fraud. Vednesday May 2, 1973 Who is being asked to pay reparations? By what sort of justice? notion of collective The guilt, according to which all Germans, by virtue of their must inherit origin, national for Nazi the responsibility atrocities, is itself a racialist idea; with as much logic and justice behind it as the kind of race nonsense preached by the Nazis. While we may be able to understand that many of the victims of the Nazi horrors, the survivors of Auschwitz and Treblinka, and the relatives of with those who died, carry the indelible scars of them hatred, this does not mean that their hatred can be acceptably poli- taken into international tics, directed against Germans as a people. Nor can we accept that the state of Israel has any genuine or legitimate claim to speak on behalf of the victims of Nazism. responsibility for the The murders and tortures inflicted by the Nazis on the Jews and other victims lies with the bankers and big industrialists who financed Hitler fascism in its rise to power and helped to prepare World War II. It lies with the generals and who loyally civil servants served the Nazi war machine and made their careers out of plunder and killing. It lies with the capitalists who made their profits out of poison gas, who set up fac- the concentration tories in camps to exploit slave labour, and who made soap out of the bodies of those who perished.

Not all the supporters and helpers of Nazism were Ger- and nor were all its mans; victims Jews. Far from being responsible for the Nazi rise to power, German working-class the Hitler all the way. opposed And had it not been for the betrayals of the social-demo- cratic and Stalinist leaderships (which again, was not an ex- question) clusively German they might have stopped him.

was, thousands of As it i German trade unionists, social- them- ists and communists suffered torture and selves death at the hands of the fascists.

ADMIRERS

On the other hand, 1n the occupied countries of Europe, whole sections of the ruling class, of politicians, and police- men, were tound willing, and in many cases enthusiastic, to join in and assist the actions of the Nazis, including the persecution and murder of the Jews. French capitalists, Austrian Dutch police- civil servants, men and reactionaries all over Spain Europe, from the to came forward to 'do Ukraine, bit' for Hitler's final their solution. And in Britain, too, the Nazis had their admirers, not only in the Mosley move- ment of the 1930s, but in the ranks of the Tory Party too.

The German Democratic Republic of today is a workers' state, however much deformed in character by the manner in which it was established. Under the regime of the Socialist Unity Party (Stalinists), how- bureaucratic, social ever a transformation has been car- the national- ried out, with ization of the big estates, of the mines, and of the factories.

of With the breaking the old Junker power of the and the capitalists, families the continuity with militarism and fascism has also been broken. We are for the political over- throw of the Stalinist bureau- cracy in East Germany and the establishment of real workers' as it was asserted in power, the 1953 East Berlin uprising, to create a workers' democracy in the whole of Germany. But so long as Germany remains also divided, socialists must defend the nationalized pro- perty based state in the east against NATO and West Ger- man capitalism. The forces which brought remain the Hitler to power ruling class in West Germany.

The same bankers, the same generals, the same industrial monopolies-Krupp, I. G. Far- ben, Flick and the rest—are today as wealthy and powerful in the Federal Republic as they ever were. Whether it is the ex-Nazi Kiesinger or the social-demo- Brandt who holds office crat in Bonn, it is the same bosses who hold power in the Ruhr and the same officers in the police and armed forces. NATO and the European Common Market represent alliances between the militarists of and capitalists western Europe and their counterparts in West Germany.

HUMANITARIAN®

The state of Israel, and the Zionist World Movement which upholds it, are politic- ally and economically tied to imperialism and have main- tained close particularly ties, with the ruling class in West Germany. Itself carrying out a policy of aggression and racial oppres- against the Palestinian sion Arabs, the Israeli establishment fraudulently seeks to use the name of the Jewish victims of Nazism to give itself a 'humani- tarian' cover; while it is in actual fact the ally of the very forces that were responsible for the mass murder of the Jews. The West German Repara- tions Agreement was an in- tegral part of this alliance of Zionism and imperialism. When the western capitalist decided, in forming powers NATO, to prepare for war against the Soviet Union and further decided that West Germany should be rearmed as part of this alliance, they faced tremendous opposition. All over Europe there were campaigns and demonstrations German against rearmament. Belsen!' and No 'Remember Nazi Army!' were the slogans massive public meetings, of held by working class and Jewish organizations. The Labour Party right-wing disbanded the Party's youth movement because of opposi- 'rearmament. tion to German In West Germany itself there was big opposition from the movement labour to re- armament. Something had to be done to make West Germany 're- spectable', to provide a new human and liberal image for West German capitalism, to weaken and soften-up the opposition to the restoration of German militarism. Anti- communist propaganda was used, and Hollywood obliged with films portraying Wehr- macht officers in a sympathetic light. But it was not enough.

The Reparations Agreement was used to apply the make- up to the 'new Germany', to hide the mark of Cain on the face of its ruling class. It was a three-way deal between the Zionists, the Bonn govern- ment and the NATO powers, to enable the West German rulers to ease their burden of guilt by paying out some money. that it was readily Not accepted. Nahum Goldmann, the American Zionist leader who played a central part in the negotiations, setting up records in his memoirs that during this period he had to be given an Israeli bodyguard to protect him against threats from Jews. Goldmann arranged for Israeli premier David Ben Gurion to meet Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in secret, outside Germany. The talks were held on December 6, 1951, at the Clarendon Hotel, London. The news had leaked out, however, and there were angry demonstrations outside the Knesset by Israelis bitterly any deal with opposed to Bonn. Many of the survivors from the concentration camps, who had lost everything they pos- sessed, felt they were giving if they up something more accepted "blood money' from West Germany. Could you accept a cash payment for your parents? though much-needed Even 'restitution' payments were accepted, they did not erase the bitterness or the memories.

In 1963, Israeli textile workers at the Ata mills at Haifa came out on strike when they dis- covered they making were uniforms for the West German Bundeswehr. Strikers showed reporters their arms, bearing numbers tattooed the in Hitler's camps. The Israeli government's reparations talks were not, in any case, about restitution for individuals who had suffered Reparations were to benefit the state of Israel itself, On May 19, 1952, at a meet- ing in London between Israeli and West German represent- atives, Dr Hermann Abs of West Germany offered on be- half of his government that of DM 100m worth goods would be shipped to Israel each year-the amount to be doubled in the event of sub- stantial US aid West to Germany. This was not accepted as but it shows the sort enough, of deal that was taking shape -American backing, for West German aid, to help build up Israel. Who, incidentally, was this Dr Abs who was negotiating the reparations? He was well- Jualihed in every way. As a lirector of the Deutsche Bank and wartime head of its foreign department, had he been directly involved in the con- fiscation of Jewish property under the Nazis! A report from US Office of Military the November Government in 1946 had the following to say about Hermann Abs: 'Abs was the spiritual rector of the infamous Deutsche Bank, which combined an unusual concentration of economic power with active the criminal participation in policies of the Nazi regime. The Deutsche Bank of Herr Abs acted as a top institution of the German government and served the economic penetra- tion of the satellite states and occupied of the countries Europe . • Abs exerted all his energy to extend the rule of Germany over Europe.' A Yugoslav court after the war sentenced Abs, in absentia, to 15 years' imprisonment with hard labour. Meanwhile, however, in West Germany he was once more building his On empire. October 15, 1966, he was decorated with the highest West German order, the 'Great Federal Service Cross with star and shoulder ribbon'. A year 'Der Spiegel' previously, had declared: 'No ministerial post in Bonn could . ever create the range of power and influence which he now has . his arm reaches far beyond West Germany. He who ventures a financial tran- saction without making use of of the Deutsche the due aid Bank feels it very soon.'

This, then, was the man with whom the Israelis were negoti- the reparations deal. The ating talks on May 19 did not arrive at a settlement, but a couple of days later, Goldmann re- ceived a telephone call from the US High John J. McCoy, Commissioner in Bonn, telling 'important him that could be expected within a few hours. The following day, the made that: announcement was 'After a successful conclusion of the London negotiations to Germany's re-establish com- mercial credit, the German would apply for government a foreign loan, the full amount of which would be placed at the disposal of Israel as n a payment of Germany's debt?

Goldmann points out, Foreign British secretary Anthony Eden and the l Dean Secretary of State, Acheson, also came into the tions issue during talks with taking up the repara- Adenauer in Bonn. One of the first outcomes was an agreement that West Germany would undertake to pay for oil shipments to Israel from British oil companies. In fact, the emphasis was parti- cularly on strategic goods.

Goldmann recalls that when the West Germans at one point suggested a shipment of butter, the Israelis said that this was not important, and their people would have to do without it.

The West Germans were very ampressed by this, he recalls, complimented the Israelis their toughness. Perhaps on they were reminded with nos- talgia of one of their own leaders, who said: 'Butter makes a people tat, but iron makes them strong!' On June 22, 1952, talks took place at the Hague to deal with legal and political aspects of the reparations pact and the effect on West German economic stability. In the upshot, there was 'something for everyone' out of the Reparations Agreement.

Israel received massive eco- nomic aid-Nahum Goldmann writes ('Memories' p. 276): *Railways and telephones, dock installations irrigation plants, whole areas of industry and agriculture, would not be where they are today without the reparations from Germany.'

West German capitalism was given a guaranteed market for its products (for instance most of the Israeli merchant fleet was built in West German yards) with America in fact and international paying; recognition for its government.

The United States and Britain, having helped to secure the deal, could press ahead with the rearmament of Germany, knowing that the Israelis and the Zionists had undermined the opposition.

NOTORIOUS

An interesting sidelight on all this concerns Austria. The Austrian bourgeoisie furnished a great deal of support for fascism and Nazism, and sup- plied of the some most notorious Nazi criminals, such as Eichmann. Even today, Nazi and anti- Semitic elements hold pro- minent jobs and are quite vociferous on occasions. Efforts by Austrian Jews to claim restitution from the Austrian authorities met with opposition and had little of the publicity e eco- that was given to the German Workers Press, Wednesd Gustav and Altried Krupp with Hitler and Mussolini. Today the Krupp monopoly is as wealthy and powerful as it ever was. Dr Hermann Abs. reparations issue. Referring to efforts to secure a reparations agreement with Austria following that with West Germany, Nahum Gold- mann says: 'Israel declared, for reasons are still unclear to me, that that it had no claim against and this seriously Austria; weakened the basis of our demands.' If the reasons are unclear to Mr Goldmann, they do suggest themselves to us. The kind of interests that were involved in the West German reparations pact did not arise in connection with Austria. Helping in the political re- habilitation of German mili- tarism was one thing; putting burden an unnecessary on capitalist Austria was another.

The Israeli government's representations on behalí, sup- posedly, of Jewish victims of persecution, cease once it is no longer a matter of acting in collusion with, and as ?

'human' for, Israel's cover western imperialist allies.

So if not capitalist Austria, then why the GDR? This is the question that supporters ublicity of the Israeli claims must answer! kers Press, Wednesday May 2, 1973 PAGE 7 The Israeli government to- day is a friend of West Ger- of British imperialism many, and of the United States. Its aid missions overseas serve as a cover for US designs, and its leaders have openly sup- ported Nixon's aggression in south-east Asia. In the Middle East, the state clearly of Israel stands ex- posed as the oppressor of the Palestinian people, while the Israeli is sustained economy by aid and investment from West Germany and the United States. In conflicts between the Arab peoples and imperialism, Israel has acted the as imperialists' police dog.

Does seriously anyone imagine, therefore, that East can legitimately be Germany asked to give aid in any form to Israel? Possibly the Zionists believe that now, the East Ger- bureaucrats making all- out efforts to improve relations with the western powers, and the Soviet bureaucracy Security ing for a European Pact, it is time to try a little blackmail. Whether they actually hope to get anything directly from this, in the form of reparations payments, or are merely serv- purpose of interests place an obstacle in the path of GDR diplomacy, is something we shall have to wait and see. One thing is clear, however.

The reparations demand must be opposed by socialists. It is a reactionary fraud

PAGE 8 Workers Press, Wednesday May A series by Bernard Franks Part Two During the past 15 years the major retailing com- panies have undertaken a massive rationalization and productivity drive in stores and store work. This has been with a view to cutting back on shop jobs and increasing sales per employee. The Economic National Development Corporation re- port of 1971 'Productivity in Distribution' was produced 'to help the retailer to improve labour productivity' It states: 'Labour, as every retailer knows all too well is becoming and more more expensive. Therefore it is in- that it creasingly essential should be used as efficiently as possible. Profits as well as the national interest demand it.'

The explains: •As report labour costs form more than 60 per cent of most shops' costs, labour-saving will obviously tend to lead to better profits, all other things being equal.' It adds that trade union high wages 'make the multiples less competitive'. introduction of job- The evaluation and work-study are advised, with the remark: ... evidence about the exist- ence of restrictive group "norms" as to what represents a fair day's work shows that there is room for the use of sto aday May 2, 1973 these methods as a way of away from the breaking restrictions' A survey is quoted which claims to have found that shelf nearly two-thirds of fillers' working time is 'non- productive' and that there is a 12-per-cent error rate for cashiers. In the past, time and motion stop-watch studies have been taken of both departmental store and supermarket work.

Lists of times per item or group of items handled by a check-out cashier have been drawn up. Method-study measurements of workers' reach, hand and eye movements have been used in designing check-out points for maximum speed of opera- tion and in designing store layout for fast shelf-filling with minimum restriction on custo- mers' activities. Cut down work-study of sales One assistants in a large depart- using 'activity store ment sampling' claimed total absence time (meals, rest, etc.) as 47.9 contact per cent, customer time 19.3 per cent, packing and wrapping 5 cent, stock and other work in sell- ing area 17.9 per cent. Selfridges hardware depart- ment was one place where work-study experiments were conducted in the 1950s. Woolworths and other stores with a tradition of m

ERL

counter service have been able to make large staff cuts by replacement with a cash-and- wrap system. Sales turnover per employee is reckoned to be 30 per cent more in self-service than in service counter systems. at a few Cashiers placed strategic points in the store deal with a non-stop flow of customers. Woolworth claims a 15 per cent 'saving' in staff by this change. The trend of the multiples has been towards more self- service, especially super- markets, and towards _larger and larger stores. In 1947 there were ten self-service stores in the country. By 1970 there were 28,000 (including 3,400 supermarkets) accounting for 20 per cent of all grocery trade sales. The turn towards larger stores is being pursued at an even fiercer pace. Tesco, for example, with an store size of 5,000 average sq ft, announced in 1970: 'We are no longer interested in acquiring sites that give us less than 20,000 sq ft selling space.' This company's latest plans are for stores of up to 50,000 parking facilities sq ft, with for up to 1,000 cars. Thirty- six of the company's smaller were closed down in stores 1971. Fine Fare closed 100 stores in the year up to April 1972, but nevertheless increased its overall selling-space by 140,000 sq ft in that time.

Not only the general and grocery stores are growing in size. Newsagents and chains like W. H. Smith are intro- ducing larger stores and clos- shops kiosks. Smiths have just relinquished their 86 London Underground station kiosks after 70 years.

since 1961, more In fact, than a quarter of all news- agents have closed down. Most of the large companies are planning to build out-of- superstores and hyper- town markets; the massive super- market-type stores which sell virtually anything — food, clothes, furniture, Jewellery, motor accessories, musical instruments and so on-under one roof. Chains of these are already established _ USA and Europe. France has 140, West Germany more than 350, Bel- gium over 30. The Carrefour store of Marseille is said to cover an area of 250,000 sq ft.

There are only between five and ten such stores in Britain.

The hypermarkets have opportunities to enormous force out competition and con- trol prices by price cutting • estab- and then, once hirmly lished, to raise prices. One in France survey showed that this is what is happening there. Not only the small shopkeepers but also the ordinary supermarkets lose trade, and the customer must pay up or go without. Many supermarket groups are lobbying local authorities for planning permission to construct these super stores along with their car parks.

Last year Sainsburys held a meeting at Cambridge special attended by more than 70 local authority planning officers. According to 'Financial Times' report, the seminar was aimed at con- vincing the officials of the need for redirection of food shopping to edge-of-town sites.

A documentary film was shown of the difficulties of town-centre shopping and por- traying the advantages of the suburban superstore. decision by The recent Environment Secretary Geoff- rey Rippon to allow a hyper- market in a green belt area near Southampton encourages company owners to expect the go-ahead for hundreds of simi- lar applications which have already been made for sites all over the country. Recently, the Lewis-Self- ridge department store group sell joined with Key Markets in Shopworkers Above: march under their union banner on a demonstration In London last year. • firm setting up a new called Supa Centa to establish and operate a network of super- stores in prime sites in all parts of Britain. Some advantages for the re- tail profit machines of edge- of-town stores are: 1. Cheaper building; and land costs are lower. Higher sales per customer.

Middle-class buying more and larger economy packs, stock- ing fridges and freezers with once-a-week shopping. Fewer poorer working class and pen- sioners buying one or two low-cost items. 3. Easier by larger access supply lorries. The 'Financial Times' articles say that Sains- burys can cut deliveries from 26 to 15 a week and that use of the larger vehicle could save about £15,000 a year per store. 4. Sainsburys expect a £3,000 a year saving in labour costs having a one-level store easier to provide on an out-of- town site. style of shopping, 5. This particularly in green belt sur- roundings, is especially attrac- tive for anyone with the time, money and transport to do it.

6: Sales domination of an area, the power to cut competitors' throats and control prices.

Naturally, there iș still pro- fit to be made in towns. Here the trend is also towards big- stores, for by ger example,. buying up next-door premises and rebuilding on the whole site, or by new-development shopping in which centres complexes of offices, shops supermarkets and are con- structed in one unit-and let at inflated rents which only the chain stores can afford.

However, there is no doubt a feeling among the big retail owners that permanent hard for the hand times are at urban workers and it is best to pull out to the districts where the monied classes live.

CONTINUED TOMORROW

WHAT THE BBC DIDN'T SEE IN BUDAPEST

TV Review Rene Cutforth's series 'Journey through Europe' reached the Hungarian last week. For many people it is a city whose name will bring to mind the picture of Soviet tanks gunning down workers and students in the streets during anti-Stalinist uprising of the 1956. That was how Budapest was made safe for the bureaucracy to continue its privileged way of life under the guise of 'building socialism'. Cutforth's film, of course, being mainly concerned with such details as historic build- ings and Cutforth frying mushrooms, did not ,have say about much to more serious aspects of Hungarian life or history. But he was prompted to make the remark that Buda- pest was one city where he never once was reminded of the word 'communism'! We were given some in- dication of the sort of city Budapest is at present when Cutforth took a stroll through the local flea market, said to be a centre for black mar- keteering, and someone stopped him from filming.

In fact Cutforth is not the only one to find that Buda- pest has nothing about it to make him think of it as a communist city. Hungarian workers have been complain- ing recently in the news- papers of the way they are looked down upon and treated like dirt by petty officials in the 'people's' Hungary! While the Stalinist bureau- cracy has been going all out to make well-to-do bourgeois tourists feel at home, some visitors have not been all that favourably impressed. We were recently shown a letter from a Hungarian-born couple, who, having left Hungary during the Horthy period and living in the US for a number of years, had decided to pay a visit to Hun- gary to meet old friends again and to see how, as they thought, a new society was being built. They had looked forward to the trip for years. Stalinists, Both life - long who had fully accepted while in America the official Stalin-

FOOD

It is not only in Britain and America that working - class people are up in arms over soaring food prices. Israeli police rushed to a supermarket in the Jerusalem suburb of Kiryat Yovel, the other week, to arrest young members of the Black : Panther movement who had staged a food price protest by going around the pasting up stickers store announcing 15 per cent a price reduction. They also arrested others who were picketing the store with placards. Meanwhile in the Knesset, during a discussion on the government's responsibility for higher food prices, the Finance Minister, Pinhas Sapir, made an unfortunate gaffe in trying to defend his policies. He said: 'No one has thrown any tomatoes at me yet!' This brought the obvious comment in a left-wing leaf- let distributed afterwards: 'Sapir has probably forgotten how much Kilogram of a tomatoes costs.' Hungarian workers on the streets of B ist version of the 1956 events, they were looking forward to being impressed. What they actually saw was a little more like the capitalist New York they had left than the socialist city they expected. For instance, they found that Hungary's bureaucrats had copied more than their ideology from the bureau-

'FANTASY'

American vice-President Spiro Agnew has dismissed as 'mainly fantasies' fears expressed by many leading broadcasters that White House is trying to the control the media. Nixon Administration, The he told the 'April Freedom Forum' at Harding College, Searcy, Arkansas, believes that 'free • and unintimidated news media are essential to a free society'. What they are object- ing to is that they think the TV networks have not yet 'balanced' their coverage of government affairs. What is is 'greater essential, he said, diversity of opinion'. spiro Agnew In front of a cam- paign poster of Nixon. The lack of 'balance' com- plained of is the almost uni- criticism form of various cularly the so-called gets of Budapest burn flags in protest of the crats in the Soviet Union.

Their way of life includes the building of nice 'dachas' in the countryside around Buda- pest—with building materials illicitly diverted from public housing projects. A more immediately strik- ing aspect of the 'new' Buda- pest, however, was the prostitutes plying their trade the hotel where the near with honour' in Vietnam, and coverage of the Watergate bugging scandal. 'I can assure you that the Nixon Administration wants to be fair [to the medial, Agnew 'But we do not think said. they have yet diversified their undertaking sufficiently to fairly report the activities of government to the American people' It was in the interests of such 'free. and unintimidated news media that he opposed a law giving protection to news- men who refuse to divulge the source of their stories.

SCHOOL MEALS

Manchester education authori- ties have discovered an interest- ing phenomenon. School children are leaving their meals.

At Pike Fold Primary only 66 of the 117 meals were served to children. Many pupils took a look at the roast pork, cab- bage and mashed potatoes and walked out. Explanation—it's the warm weather (what warm weather?)

say the city fatlers. Er, yes, but could it be the children don't like the food... 'Stand- up the boy who said that!

PART-TIME

SOLDIERS

There is one boom that is quite genuine — the growing numbers of people who love Workers Press, Wednesday February 28, 1973 PAGE 9 ast of the Sovlet Invasion during the anti-Stalinist uprising of 1956.

couple stayed. by a Party official they On they happened to know. When they investigation, learned friends from with asked this lady, at her nice official information, respectable flat, about some of access to that Budapest has 50 the things they had seen, she some each side replied stolidly pimps operating on that such of the river, with their not happen things could own in business 'territories' clearly Budapest and, therefore, were marked and jealously not happening. out certainly guarded! And neither Mr disillusioned Cutforth, nor TV The couple the British were not particularly reassured viewers saw them. a bit of part-time army work.

FONDA

In the north west, a record 2,000 people signed on as part- The South Carolina legislature time soldiers in territorial units has passed unanimously re- last and the Lancashire year solution asking all cinemas in and Cheshire battalions are up refuse to show the state to to strength for the first time any films in which Jane Fonda in six years. The appears. reactionary, Why do they do it? racialist southern Dixicrats A spokesman explained re- obviously think that the film cruits are attracted from people star's anti-Vietnam war stand 'searching for something stimu- is bound to undermine the lating and adventurous to do of anyone patriotism who is at the weekends'. -like training able to such hilarious see put down a future General to comedies 'Cat Ballou' as or Strike? 'Klute". thrillers like Where is Britain Going? Paperback 37tp • Problems of the British Revolution Paperback 35p Lessons of October Paperback 60p In Defence of the October Revolution Pamphlet 15p Marxism and the Trade Unions Pamphlet 25p Death Agony of Capitalism and the Tasks of the Fourth International Pamphlet 10p Postage: 10p per book, 5p per pamphlet.

Order from: NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS 186a Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UG

PAGE 10 Workers Press, Wednesday May 2, 1973

THE

POULSON

scandal finally received a good airing on independent television on Monday after the authorities had originally censored the building empire in return for Granada showing of the advice or influence on lucrative documentary several weeks construction projects at home and abroad. ago. A strike by television tech-

HOLIDAYS

nicians and journalists and growing political agitation eventually forced a showing of We heard Cun- that Andrew the film although in an edited Labour Party ningham of the form. the General and executive, Municipal Workers' Union and The main alteration imposed east local politics and his north by the censors was the cutting of wife had received expensive re-enacted with scenes holidays and salaries from Poul- actors taking the parts of architect son totalling thousands of pounds.

John Poulson and creditors' QC But that Cunningham had also Muir Hunter at the bankruptcy of Felling Urban been chairman hearing. Instead, the transcript Durham County District Council, was read by actors over stills.

Council, Sunderland police and local authority, river 'World in Action' put all of authority when lucrative building the pieces together of what is millions contracts involving of known so far-the involvement awarded the pounds were to of high-ranking politicians, civil Poulson empire. servants and local councillors in the lavish spending of Poulson's Independent councillor Horace Do you get WORKERS PRESS regularly? If not, why not take out a subscription now? £20.28 for 12 months (312 issues) £10.14 for 6 months (156 issues) £5.07 for 3 months (78 issues) If you want to take Workers Press twice a week the rates are: £1.56 for 3 months (24 issues) £6.24 for 12 months (96 issues) Fill in the form below NOW and send to : Circulation Dept., Workers Press, 186a Clapham High St., London SW4 7UG. I would like to take out a subscription to Workers Press.

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Or Full subscription (six days) for ..months. Name Address Amount enclosed £ I would like information about Fill in the form below and send to NATIONAL

LEAQUE,

SECRETARY,

SOCIALIST

LABOUR

186a CLAPHAM HIGH ST, LONDON SWA TUQ.

Name. Address. K. Freeman said a £2m Felling tive flats contract had been awarded to Poulson without going to tender. A Felling

UDC

sub- last October to look i to he the question has to look failed to hold a meeting so far, the commentary added. Independent county councillor arty Ken Buckingham said that valu- and able school building, contracts had Poulson, but gone to Cunningham had not declared an interest during the discussion of them. In the reconstructed court Muir Hunter asked if the scene, expensive holidays were for ser- vices rendered by Cunningham. Poulson replied: 'What services could he render? They were • gifts.'

FAVOURS

men in the Pontefract, Key West Riding, Newcastle, Chester.

le-Street authorities, South York- shire National Coal Board, Leeds Regional Hospital Board, Ministry of Health, and parliament all had huge financial from favours Poulson after having done business with him in their official capacities. Labour MP for Normanton, who helped Albert Roberts, Poulson to a £15.5m contract in Angola, Atrica, which Portugal keeps in slavery with a military dictatorship, said that he wasn't concerned about Poulson infring- ing the RIBA code about archi- tects being barred from having control of construction com- panies. 'I wasn't concerned about that because I was really acting on behalf of Promotion Construction [in the Poulson empire]. If Mr Poulson was doing wrong, as disons amar hee that's Mr think Poulson behaved didn't differently from most architects.

TV

BBC 1

9.38 Schools. 12.30 Nai zindagi naya jeevan. 12.55 News, 1.00 Pebble Mill at one. 1.30 Barnaby. 1.45 Made in Britain. 2.05 Schools. 2.25 Racing from Ascot. 4.10 Play school. 4.35 Jackanory. 4.50 Boss cat. 5.15 Ex- pedition Sahara. 5.40 Hector's house.

5.45 News. Weather.

6.00 NATIONWIDE.

6.45 ASK THE FAMILY.

7.05 TOMORROW'S WORLD.

7.30 GORDON PETERS SHOW. The Prize. 8.00 COLDITZ. Spirit of Freedom.

8.50 SIX FROM COLDITZ. Jack Best talks about his escape from Colditz. 9.00 NEWS. Weather. 9.25 SPORTSNIGHT. Home Interna- tional Horse Show. 10.00 LIZA WITH A Z. Liza Minnelli.

10.50 MIDWEEK. 11.35 NEWS, 11.40

Weather.

REGIONAL TV .

CHANNEL: 9.30-11.55

London. 1.15 News. 1.30 London. 2.30 Galloping gourmet. 2.55 London 6.35 6.00 News. 6.10 Hogan's heroes. London. 7.00 Treasure hunt. 7.30 London. 8.30 This is your life. 9.00 London.

11.00 Theatre. 11.33 Angling. 12.00 Epilogue. News, weather.

WESTWARD.

As Channel except: 12.00 London. 12.25 Hammy Hamster.

12.37 Gus Honeybun. London. : 12.40 12.57 News. 1.00 London. 6.00 Diary.

11.30 News. 11.58 Epilogue.

SOUTHERN:

9.30 London. 12.00 News. 12.05 London. 2 Cartoonsep London. Cartoon. Crossroads. 5.50 London. 6.00 Day by day. 7.00 London. 10.30 Your man at Westminster. 11.00 Dolly.

11.30 News. 11.40 Odd couple. 12.10 Weather. Epilogue. HARLECH: 9.30 London. 2.30 House- 5.20 2.55 London. Chuckle- party. heads. 5.25 Crossroads. 5.50 London. 6.01 Report West. 6.15 Report Wales.

6.30 Cuckoo in the nest. 7.00 Lon- Yorkshire architect Je I know this and I think lots inve of other people know this. It's act, all right for what Muir Hunter said about on the gravy train, ork- but where does all this stop? 'One can be bought a whisky, one can be bought a drink and do accept them, but it people doesn't mean to an intelligent man surely . . . his head isn't turned for ... for ... if some- one offers to buy him a drink.

And I would say the techniques employed by Mr Poulson no doubt have been done by other businesses from time to time.'

ASSISTANT

Roberts received a total of £11,500 from Poulson altogether.

The most prominent assistant Poulson had among men in official positions was Reginald Maudling, MP, deputy leader of the Tory Party and one-time Chancellor of the Exchequer. Maudling was forced to resign as Home Secretary during the

ITV

10.35 Yoga (London 9.30 Schools. only. 11.00 Schools. 12.00 Cartoon.

12.05 Rainbow. 12.25 Cuddles and Co.

12.40 First report. 1.00 Scotch corner.

1.30 Crown court. 2.00 Harriet's back in town. 2.30 Good afternoon. 2.55 Looks familiar. 3.25 Hine. 4.20 Sooty show. 4.50 Jensen code. 5.20 Univer- sity challenge. 5.50 News.

6.00 TODAY.

6.35 CROSSROADS.

7.00 THIS IS YOUR LIFE.

7.30 CORONATION STREET.

8.00 SHUT THAT DOOR! Larry Tessie Grayson with guest O'Shea.

8.30 THE BEST OF FATHER DEAR

FATHER.

Nothing But Tooth. 9.00 SPECIAL BRANCH. Polonaise.

10.00 NEWS AT TEN.

10.30 A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY.

Knole. 11.00 FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL. Lon- don Championship. 11.55 DOLLY. The House Opposite.

12.25 NIGHT GALLERY. 12.50 10.5

EPILOGUE.

European journey. 11.00 don. 10.30 London. 12.25 Weather. HTV Cymru/Wales as above except: 4.35-4.50 Canta- 4.20-4.35 Miri mawr. mil. 6.01-6.15 Y dydd. HTV West as above except: 6.15-6.30 Report West. ANGLIA: 9.30 London. 12.04 News.

London. 2.30 Houseparty. 3.00 About Anglia. London. 8.30 Adventure. 9.00 London.

Theatre. 11.30 Spyforce. 12.25 Reflection. ATV MIDLANDS: 9.30 London. 12.00 12.05 London. 6.00 6.35 London. 8.30 Upper crusts.

10.30 Citizens' rights.

ULSTER: 11.00

London. 1.33 News. 1.40 Schools. 2.45 Romper room.

3.00 London. 4.23 News. 4.25 London. 6.00 Reports. 6.35 London. 8.30 Anna and the king. 9.00 London.

YORKSHIRE: 9.30

London: 2.30 Jobs London. around the house. 3.00 6.00 rchitect Jonn Poulson lots investigation into Poulson's affairs when it was decided to set special team of fraud squad detectives onto the case to find out who had behaved illegally.

The Home Secretary is in charge of police affairs.

Tongue in cheek, the com- mentary asked if Maudling should not have seen the warning lights during his business association which with Poulson, involved three companies in the empire such as Poulson's illegal associa- tion as an architect with his own construction the company; or unsatisfactory way some of the accounts company were con- ducted; or the Inland Revenue suit for over £200,000 from Poulson; or other legal wrangles with business and partners her. customers. The programme's weakness was its inability to link the dealings surrounding the Poulson empire with the capitalist system itself.

These dealings are the essence of capitalism. That is why Poul- got on well in the SO son the capitalist system.

BBC 2

11.00-11.25 Play school. 5.25 Open University. Co. 7.05 HOMES AND

HOMELESS.

oh give me, 'Give me, pleasures of home.' 7.30 NEWS. Weather.

STRANGER.

7.35 LOOK,

8.00 MAN ALIVE. The Cost of Inno- cence. Innocent people are often ordered by judges to pay their own legal costs. Liza with a Z on BBC 1 9.00 FILM: "The Family Way.' Hay- Hywel Bennett, John Mills Marionel B Mills, Rhodes. A young couple's marriage faces disaster after disaster.

10.50 EDITION. 11.15 NEWS.

Weather. Comedians 9,00 Lo.5. 10.30 48.30 great. 11.30 London. 12.00 You and your golf. Weather.

GRANADA: 9.30 London. 12.00 Hand- ful of songs. Crossroads. 5.50 London. 6.00 News. What's 6.30 University challenge. 7.00 Lon- don. 8.30 Anna and the king. 9.00 London. 11.30 Evil touch. Weather.

TYNE TEES:

9.20 I met them in Hammy Ghana. 9.30 Hamster. 9.00 London. 10.30 Protectors. 11.15 Streets of San Francisco.

News. 12.15 Lectern.

GRAMPIAN:

10.58 London London. 1.38 News. Thompson time. London. 11.30 Scales of justice. 12.00 Meditation.

Steelworkers sceptical about 'protest' platform and demo only a moderate success

BY IAN YEATS IN SHOTTON

ABOUT 3,000 Shotton steelworkers and their families staged one of the biggest demonstrations ever seen on Deeside last weekend. There was a four-hour token strike at the plant, and shops in Queensferry, Shotton and Connah's Quay were shut from noon till 2 p.m. The march, in protest against the shut-down of steel-making on Deeside, with the loss of up to 7,000 jobs, converged on Wepre Park from three separate points.

Despite the large attendance, the scepticism of many workers about the value of the march meant that the turn-out was far below the 10,000-plus expec- ted by the organizers. Accompanied by a dozen floats, infant Morris dancers and three brass bands, the marchers walked through packed streets chanting 'Heath Out!' At the ensuing rally, speakers from the Tory Party, Welsh Nationalist Party, Labour Party and Communist Party ap- peared together the on same platform. MP Mr Barry Labour Jones Welsh and Gen- Transport eral Workers' Union general sec- retary Mr Tom Jones both quiet- ened the angry steelmen when they began heckling and booing Tory MP Anthony Meyer. Three demonstrators quarters of the Park before the left the long speeches-interspersed by folk songs about the steelmen's fight —had ended. The reason was given graphic- ally by a young steelworker in the crowd. Bill Davies told me: 'This demonstration will do They are going to close nothing. works and march this or four-hour strike won't stop them.

It has got to go •to a national strike.' From the galaxy of platform speakers the crowd reserved one of its heaviest cheers for young Dave Anthony. He apprentice said: 'All I want to tell is shat we've got to fight back. T . If it Heath means we've got to get then get him got to out, we've out!' Dave Anthony's call kick the Tories out to safeguard the work right to was one of the to get past rally chairman few T&GWU's Tom Jones Tom Jones, who insisted publicly 'No politics' ruling. that the meeting and the steel- men's campaign was 'not poli- From their silence, it was hard tical'. The most hostile reception was to tell how the workers res- Tory MP Meyer who ponded to the Rev. H. M. Rob- to was shouted down when he told erts, who Jones asked to bless workers not to imagine Heath's the meeting before it opened.

Mr Jones painted a black-and government was 'deaf to argu- familiar-picture of the ment. now

ABOUT

80 Liverpool docks Scheme. shop stewards voted at the There are about 300 men wait- weekend to allow 250 supple- on the docks and ing for work 250 were needed immediately by mentary register men to work Liverpool Maritime Terminals to in the port. operate a new service. The supplementary register is dockers' Shop stewards took the view danger to working conditions. Yet it was encouraged that their decision would not of the Dock by Jack Jones's deal with Lord lead to an erosion Aldington They which ended last Labour Scheme. say once summer's dock strike and which the men are employed they will the employers hope see to it that the jobs are made willunder- mine the National Dock Labour permanent. SOUTHALL: Wednesday May 2, FELTHAM: Thursday May 3, 8 p.m. Southall Library, Osterley 'Three Horse Shoes', Felt- p.m. Park Road. 'Report back from ham High Street, Feltham, May Day': Middlesex. 'The Fight against the Tories after May Day.' Wednesday

WALTHAMSTOW:

BRIXTON: Monday May 7, 8 p.m.

May 2, 8 'The Bell', Hoe p.m. Control Brixton Training Room, Street. 'Report back May from Centre. 'Report back from May Day'. Day'. LEWISHAM: Monday May 7, 8 WEMBLEY: Wednesday N High 2, Club, p.m. Deptford Engineers' Copland School, p.m. 'Report Back from opp. New Cross Station. "The Road. May of

TUC

role the in the fight Day'. against the Tories'. WOOLWICH: Wednesday May 2,

BATTERSEA:

Tuesday May 8, 8 p.m. 'The Castle', Powis Street, 8 p.m. cnr. Wands- S.E.18. 'Report back from May worth Road and Street. Day'. 'Report back from May Day' • WE

SAVE

SHOTTON

APPEAL

STEEL

FOR

STEEL

NOT

Apprentice Dave Anthony 'Kick out the Torles'. social of axing consequences jobs at Shotton 7,000 and he concluded: 'Our bread and butter is at stake, our standard of living is at stake, our children's future is stake-we must show the ONE OF the three shifts in the press shop at Ford's, Dagenham, has gone on in- definite strike because a man has been taken off pay for allegedly not working to com- pany requirements. The shift returned home last Thursday and last Friday because All Trades Unions Allia

KNOTTINGLEY:

Thursday May 3, 7.30 p.m. Railway Hotel, Hilltop. Speaker: G. Healy (National Secretary SLL).

OLLERTON:

Monday May 7, 8 p.m Blue Tit.

(SLL

Speaker: Mike Banda Central Committee). Workers Press, Wed strongest possible protest to the government. "The [Steel] Corporation's plans have been ratified, unfortu- nately, by the government. If we had had this demonstration 12 months ago, we might have been able to do more' Flintshire Town Clerk Mr Haydn Rees said: 'We have been fighting the cause of steel for a There is an urgent long time. need for BSC to disclose facts and figures about Shotton. Then we could show them there is not as good a case for closure as they think.' Labour spokesman Barry Jones said if it had come to the closure of steelmaking at Shotton, the government must gurantee alter- native employment. He said: I ask you to fight on and not give way. We have a right to ask the government and the BSC to give us a fair deal.' warned by Tom After being Jones to steer clear of party poli- tics, Stalinist Eddie Evans praised the steelmen's campaign and the setting up of a national action committee. Despite this barrage of empty platitudes from the entire plat- in the management refused to put the man back on pay. On Monday they walked out again and asked for official back- ing from both the AUEW and the T&GWU. They say the man- agement will not negotiate with the stewards, not even on their The shift is to meet tomorrow. is Alliance Public Meetings BARNSLEY: Thursday May 10, 8 p.m. Masons Arms. Speaker: Cliff Slaughter (SLL Central _Committee).

Thursday

CASTLEFORD:

May 17, 8 p.m. Sagar St Rooms. Speaker: G. Healy (National Secretary SLL). ress, Wednesday May 2, 1973 PAGE 11 emo form, the steelmen of Shotton plainly have the will to fight on.

Apart from massive unemploy- ment for those now in jobs, the community will be broken up, shopkeepers ruined and small school-leavers thrown into a fruitless search for work.

Shotton Action Committee chairman Mr Luke McLaughlin told the cheering crowd they would not let steel be taken from Shotton. He said: 'Some of the acts we may have to take will be unconstitutional. But don't knock us. Come in and fight behind us.' All 13,000 men at the Shotton steelworks joined yesterday's May Day strike.

SOCIALIST LABOUR

LEAGUE MEETINGS

Make Scanlon retract! No collaboration with the Industrial Relations Act!

No acceptance of Phase Two! Force the Tories to resign! Build the revolutionary party! • Sheffield

WEDNESDAY MAY 2

7.30 p.m. 'Grapes Inn' Trippett Lane Speaker: Cliff Slaughter (SLL Central Committee) After May Day - What Next? Liverpool

SUNDAY APRIL 6

7.30 p.m. Mona Hotel James Street (Near tube station) Central London All Trades Unions Alliance

TRADE UNIONS AND THE

TORY GOVERNMENT

Sunday May 6 7.30 p.m. Shaftesbury Hotel Monmouth Street Speaker: Gerry Healy National Secretary Socialist Labour League Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Published Workers Press, 186a Clapham High Street, SW4 London, 7UG. Printed Plough Newsdesk: 01-720 2000. 01-622 7029.

PAGE 12 Workers Press, Wednesday Ma

BIRMINGHAM

THE VOICE of May Day in Birmingham was quite clear— workers wanted the Tory gov- ernment kicked out of office.

The feeling of most delega- tions was for a new leadership to take the fight forward.

convenor of the Joe Harrison, Rover car factory at solihull, said: "The next thing is to change the leadership. There is a willingness on the shop floor to fight, because they are feeling the pinch from rising prices and the wage freeze. But there has been a deplorable lack of leader- ship at national level. 'I don't think the TUC should be talking to the Tories. The trade union movement has the power to deal with this govern- ment in its own way. Jimmy Heddon, Saltley AUEW

FROM PAGE 1

Production was also hit at the British Aircraft Corporation's military aircraft division at War- ton, near Preston. Officials of the AUEW re- ported that over 95 per cent of shipbuilding engineering and workers in the north west stayed away from work. Bristol, engine Rolls-Royce, division, makers of Concorde engines, reported most of their 6,000 manual workers absent.

At Bristol, the British Aircraft Corporation and Rolls-Royce plants were seriously affected.

At the British Aircraft Cor- poration, Filton, over 90.

per cent of engineers supported the strike. the north east two large In electrical engineering works- Reyrolles at Hebburn and Parsons at Heaton-were stop- ped when their combined work- force of 11,000 stayed away.

Eight thousand engineers were among 25,000 strikers on north Humberside stopping work shipbuilding and aircraft, on construction work. Four hundred industrial work- ers at the Portsmouth naval base also joined the strike. On the Clyde, Marathon and Govan Shipbuilders-the former UCS shipbuilders-struck work.

engineering In Glasgow Singer's, Weirs, and works of Babock and Wilcox were among the factories which were stopped.

Siddeley Aircraft Hawker factory at Brough, near Hull, stopped production and Hull factories to come out included Typewriters, Reckitts Imperial Chemical Division and Hollis Timber. total Liverpool DOCKS: The work force of 7.500 men halted work on 50 ships, Manchester docks were also at a standstill, were Goole and Hull-Bri- as tain's third largest port. Bristol also virtually at a docks were standstill, with 19 ships idle.

In London only 900 out of 3,429 were at work. At Tilbury of docks and the Royal Group work stopped completely. MINES: All 50 pits in South Wales were idle as 50,000 miners struck work. About half the pits in the Yorkshire coalfield were also stopped, as were two-thirds of the pits in Scotland. Mech- anics at Westoe Colliery, South Shields, joined the strike.

BUSES: Although the right wing in the trade union movement did their utmost to keep the buses going, their desperate efforts met with only partial success. In London there were no ser- vices at all from garages at Bat- tersea, Brixton, Chalk Farm and Hanwell. Only restricted services were available from Dalston and Upton Park. An RAC spokesman reported 'a black picture all round— particularly in south east Lon- don'. There was a one-and-a- half mile traffic jam on the lesday May 2, 1973 No 2: 'We've come out today for single reason: to get rid one of this gang of legalized crooks and robbers that they call the Tory government. "The TUC leaders give no lead. We need to clear them out as well.' Norman Goodwin, shop steward from Sainsbury's Transmission: "As far as I'm concerned, we should use this day not as a de- monstration and then we all go back. We must use this as a stepping stone. We must come out again and again. A General Strike is the only answer in the last analysis? John Byrne, Lucas, Chester Street: 'One-day demonstrations are a waste of time. We want a longer strike. The TUC should be dealt with as well. They talk with the Tories about the end of free collective bargaining, that is what these talks mean.

RIKÉL

TERING

ENG

SALTI

BİRMİNGHA

Soft De.+ Sidcup by-pass before 9 a.m. and Chiswick roundabout on the M4 had seized up completely?

Midland Red bus services in the Birmingham and Wolver- hampton areas only at half- strength. In Birmingham City itself, bus crews decided to work to enable strikers to travel to the mass march and rally. No buses ran in Bristol. TRAINS: A virtual standstill.

Only a few trains were running yesterday morning—in the East- ern Region and the London Midland region-but British Rail spokesmen unable were to that services guarantee any would last the day. There was a 40 per cent stop-

GLASGOW

10,000 IN

GLASGOW

over marchers ignored an agreement their leaders reached between and the city magistrates to hold the meeting in a sidestreet and thronged George Square. Shouts of 'General Strike' greeted Bill McClean, general secretary of the 'The Scottish

NUM

who said: British TUC should have called the unions out instead of just inviting them.' Liverpool Trades Cr

SECTION

2ND BRANCH

AST DIST.

on the London Under- page ground. NEWSPAPERS: All national newspapers in London and Man- chester were halted. Many pro- vincial newspapers were also hit.

STEEL: The East Moors works at Cardiff was almost completely closed, as were the Shotton works, and the North Wales, Margam works at Port Talbot.

BUILDING: Sites were halted throughout the country and building workers were prominent in all demonstrations.

STUDENTS:

The National Union of Students called on all to support the its members strike and students joined the marches in every major centre.

CARDIFF

IN CARDIFF 1,000 steel workers from East Moor BSC plant. joined the 5,000- march which was strong headed by workers now in their fourth week of occu- pation at Aberdare Cables (Pirelli).

NOMKERS

ades Council

T TRADES COUNCIL

10 6 Sections of yesterday's demonstration Birmingham ( introduce A BID to an emergency May Day resolu- was narrowly defeated tion on day two of the electri- cians' biennial conference on the Isle of Man yesterday.

Left-wing Scottish delegate Charles Montgomery moved reference back of the morning's order paper so that a resolution calling for action to mark yester- of protest could be day's day discussed. Mr Montgomery wanted tele- sent to the TUC grams to be and the Scottish TUC pledging full backing to the strike against the Tory state pay laws. SHOPWORKERS' leader-

THE

ship, under a smokescreen of words about the lower paid have taken the union another step to- wards corporatism. Alfred Allen, general secre- tary, summing up the wages and economic policy debate at the Union of Shop, Distributive and • Workers' Conference Allied Blackpool said that neither the Tories nor the union had won the battle, but the whole nation had lost. A new social contrast to re- move the anomalies in society was needed. The government had spent two years fostering hostility when there should have an explanation of been the considera- problems and more tion given to the unions' views, Allen added. He indicated that his union would not refuse to go to the Pay Board if necessary. Conference carried a resolu- tion for a f25 minimum wage and a 35-hour week, and then adjourned half a day early to enable delegates to join in the local trades council march.

LIVERPOOL

IN LIVERPOOL 7,000 marchers were told by Jack jones, general secretary of the T&GWU that 'this protest has been muted, al- though millions taken part.' Jones told the dockers, carworkers, engineers, builders that the and other workers unions were demanding the right to negotiate freely to raise the minimum wage'. onstrations in Liverpool (above) and ningham (left). The attempt to refer back was defeated by only 282 votes to 235. Feeling was high among many of the 650 delegates that May Day should not be ignored.

Party members Communist voted for the reference back, but time did they sponsor a at no resolution of their own. Nor did a single Stalinist speaker get up to support refer- ence back on Monday when a Southampton delegate tried to bring forward a resolution call- ing for all-out campaign to force the Tories to resign.

APRIL FUND:

YOU'VE MADE

THIS MONTH we really did not think we would do it. It was a fight to the end. But we also knew you would never let us The final result was down. magnificent £1,866.39—£116.39 the top! Many, many over thanks to everyone who made such an effort. It is a firm answer to all those who have capitulated before the Tory government and its attacks.

There enormous support is among the working class for a determined fight against Phase Two and the corporate measures And only of this government. stands out in Workers Press clear opposition to such attacks.

fight. Let's make a great start to May Fund. Begin today. our So, keep up this magnificent Raise all you can and post immediately to: Workers Press May Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London SW4 7UG