The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-17
Collectivis1n Ebbing
By WILLIAM HENRY CHAMBERLAIN

By WILLIAM HENRY CHAMBERLAIN
| There has been a good deal of confident
prediction that Europe was inevitably IN Tor
some kind of all-out collectivist revolution
after the war. The American people were
often told that their only chance to stem
the advance of communism in that con-
tinent was to go all-out for S o CT a i m
Capitalism, individual incentive, that sort
of thing m G ht survive for time in
backward America. But in Europe collect
| ivist revolution was on the march. Nothing
could stop it.
One still sometimes hears echoes OF this
viewpoint. But they come either from left
lists who are whstling to keep their courage
up or from people so set in preconcelved
dogmas that they do not read the news
dispatches. For the biggest story that has
come out of Europe during these last
the prophets of extreme collectivism in one
country after another where the people can
lspeak and vote freely.
To see the situation in perspective, let's
compare the European political situation
TODAY with what it was a year ago. East
ern Europe must be left out OF consldera-
ton. because politics there is frozen by die
tatorship. Tito, Dimitrov, Rakosy, Beirut
and the other Moscow Gauleiters can count
on running up majorities of ninety percent
and more of the votes regardless OF how the
people may feel. Yet it is significant that
much of the progress that lmpresses vlsl-
tors to Warsaw and other Polish cities IS
attributable to the fact that the Polish re-
gime. although it is controlled by Commu-
nists, has left a free hand to private trade
and private initiative in repairing houses
and has not tried as yet to collectlvlze peas
ant land holdings or enforce strict ration
ing system.
The changes in Western Europe, by COM
parison with 1946, are numerous and strlK-
ing A year ago Communist ministers sat
in the cabinets of France, Italy and BEL
gium, and were resignedly accepted as a
necessary evil, even by many conservatives.
The Labor Party in Britain was riding high.
1t could point to the generally favorable
issue of the by-electionS as proof OF pop
ular support for more naturalization, more
restrictions, more controls. The smaller
countries of Europe, except for happy, un-
changed and Interchangeable Switzerland,
were more or less caught up in the leftWard
tide.
Germany had not been able to develop
much independent political life. But Com
munists in some cases were licensed editors
of newspapers and directors Of broadcastlng
stations in the American Zone. 1t was Of
ficial American occupation policy to dis
courage and punish even the mildest fac
|tual German criticism OF Soviet totalltar-
anism.
The whole picture today has greatly
ichanged The Communists are out of the
French, Italian and Belgian governments,
out of key posts which were useful for
building up their party machines and even
for securing footholds in the event OF civil
war. And it has not proved impossible to
govern without them.
No government could hope to be very
r,oy,1,1or in I Y / e
lravaged and poverty stricken as Italy is
today. Yet the latest teast of ele It i
strength in Rome, shows striking gain
| for Prime Minister de Gasperls moderate
| Christian Democrat Party and fall in the
vote cast for the block of Communists and
leftwing Socialists.
The French Socialists and Popular Re-
publicanS who shared power with the Com
munists in 1916 were almost pathetically
eager to dsassociate themselves from the
charge of "anti-communism.' The power
and influence of the Communists exerted
on some of their leaders tie fatal fascina-
ton the boa-constrictor possesses for the
rabbit But General de Gaule has not pussy
footed on the communist issue. The sweep
ing success of de Gaule's Rally of the
French People" in the recent municipal
elections is a sign of new mood Of deter
mination among the French people. When
de Gaullists outvote the Communists in big
urban centers like Paris and Marseille it
is sign that the Communist march toward
power has been checked.
The heavy losses of the Labor Party in
the British municipal elections are signifi-
cant, for different reason. Communism
was not serious issue in Britain because
the Labor Party has been careful to diSas-
sociate itself from the Communists and the
| latter represent an extremely small minor
ity movement. But the swing away from
Labor toward the Conservatives, even IN
such big industrial towns as Manchester
and Birmingham indicates that the Had
Enough?" psychology is beginning to in
| fluence the Bril- tis h voters, incredibly
patient as they have been under the hard
ships of the last years.
The Labor Party is under no obligation
to call new parliamentary election because
of it's setback in the municipal voting. Bar
ring a serious party split, of which there
is no immediate signs, it can remain in office
until 1850. But the moral influence OF the
municipal elections, which revealed strong
countrywide swing, will be considerable. 1t
will certainly strengthen the case against
putting into effect a controversial measure
like naturalization of the iron and steel in
dustry until there has been new natlonal
election.
Anti Communist forces in Germany are
getting new encouragement from the re-
vised firmer policies of the American occu-
patton authorities, including the permission
now accorded to German editors to take off
their gloves in controversial bouts with the
Soviet-sponsored German Communists.
Voting in some of the smaller European
countries such as Norway and Switzerland
confirms the general trend away from col
lectivism Behind this trend are several
causes
Insofar as it is an anti-communist reac-
ton the new trend in Europe is adequately
explained by saying which heard from
number of people in various countries