Evening star., 1928-12-09
BY CARROLL BINDER.

LONDON. -Communism-that dar-
ing economic and political movement
which, during the postwar years,
struck such terror in Western minds
has. lost much Of its menace and GER
tainly a great deal of it's promise for
the people of Western Europe.
One must drop in at a club where
the retired colonels foregather to hear
any serious talk about the danger
of Communism" in Western European
| countries. Outside of the meeting
halls of the determined but surprising
| ly small Communist groups in various
countries one finds few who expect
social, political or economic changes to
| be wrought by the Bolshevik crusaders
in countries like France, Germany,
England or Italy.
Turn From Communism.
Moscow has it's fervent and loyal
disciples in every European country
| even Italy, where Communism means
prison sentence of from to 20 years.
| But the European masses which have
been wooed, Subventioned and threat
ened by the Russian leaders of the new
cult are cooler today than at any time
| since the Russian revolution to the ap-
! peal of revolutionary Communism.
| Communism makes two appeals
one political the other economic. BY
capturing governments the Communists
| hope to repeat in other countries what
| they have done in Russia. Pending
| that consummation, which Commun-
| ist lore says is decreed by inexorable
economic laws, the Russians seek to
enlist workingmen of various countries
| under their banner for concerted in
| duStrial action to hasten the collapse
| of the existing capitalistic society and
to erect on its ruins the new Commun-
| ist society.
The recent German elections showed
| that Communism enjoys a certain po-
| litical strength in that country. where
| its economic foothold In the influential
| trade-union movement is insignificant.
| In France Communism's political
| strength is negligible while its economic
strength is relatively greater. In Great
| Britain and Italy Communism has
neither political nor economic impor-
| tance, and in all Western Europe its
| appeal seems to be weaker than strong
| er as compared with five years ago.
Only the hierarchy of the Russian or
| Red Trade-union International, known
| in Communist vernacular as Prof1ntern,
knows how many millions of dollars
| have been spent during the last decade
to win the workers of Western Europe
| to Bolshevism. Dazzling gifts have been
| sent to striking workmen in Great
| Britain and Sweden. There have been
Russian gifts offered for almost every
| important European trade-union strug-
gle which showed the least sign of will
ingness to hearken to Moscow's counsel.
Money Used Lavishly.
The sums spent in publishing papers.
| subsidizing journals and agencies of
| information and for financing propa-
| gandistS among European workers are
| formidable indeed. The energy devoted
to the dissemination of the Communist
message by Jealous believers certainly
| equals that expended by religious devo-
| tees of various Christian and Moslem
| creeds.
And after 10 years one finds that the
British workingmen. as represented by
the powerful Trade Congress with a
membership of almost 1000 ,000 not only
spurned any association with fusion
unionism. but formally launched a CAM
paign of "purging" which British Com
munist leaders themselves characterize
as a possible prelude to expulsion of
/ Communists from the various unions.
/ Some British unions af1liated with the
Trade Union Congress already discrimi-
| nate against Communists to the extent
of forbidding them positions of respon-
| sibility.
A powerful group of trade union lead
ers want to drive Communists out of
trade unions altogether on the ground
that they are "disruptionists," whose
tactics seriously handicap the normal
progress of trade union affairs. 1t does
not seem likely that such an extreme
course will be adopted, since its in
evitable result would be the creation of
rival unions which permit employers to
play one against another and neces-
sarily weaken the position of organized
labor in the industrial field.
IT the Communists remain within the