Evening star., 1948-04-02
By WiIIiom |. Nichols

NEW YORK, April Don't ever
be lulled into a sense of security
by headlines about Communist set
backs. Under the surface they are
steadily building their strength
against "the day" Wherever you
go in Europe today, you find hard
core Of Communist influence. Yet
why is 1t that a regime which pro-
duces nothing but disillusionment
and starvation and misery and op-
preston and death for the people
Is threatening the world?
Just from talking with the little
people, think you can add up four
reasons. and they have nothing very
much to do with Karl Marx or
Lenin. Communism appeals to four
very strong, very basic, very human
emotions.
The first of them is greed. There
are a lot Of people taking the lead
for communism because there def
nitely Is something in 1t for them.
Co-operatives Help Reds.
In Italy for instance, you will find
in every town there is cooperative
and in this cooperative, If you are
an enrolled member of the Com
munist Party, you get food and wine
and everything at 80 to so per cent
discount. In short, it pays to be a
Communist.
At the very top of the heap, too,
are a lot of people who are in the
party because there is something In
it for them. Wherever you go you
find the KEY Communists with plenty
of cash, living like kings.
That is one emotion, greed. The
second Is terror
Outside Trieste. we went to a
little village called Obeine to see a
woman to whom we had letters OF
introduction. She came to the door,
peeked through, and pulled us in
side. She said she was glad to see
us, but at the same time she told
us that in the three months since
she had come to that town she had
not talked to any one.
Yugoslavs Keep List.
"Any stray word can get you in
trouble" she said. "The OSNA (the
Yugoslav secret police come over
the border every night and 60 from
door to door. signing up people on
the roster as pro-Communist, pro-
Yugoslav, prolific. Even if you do
sign, but continue to go to the
Catholic church, for example, the
OSNA agents stand outside, and
word comes back, You were seen
going to mass. You go off the list y
Outside. on the hilltops overlook
ing the village, is something to really
send the chills down your spine.
Those are the "foibas." A foiba is
vertical cave in the limestone hifls.
They look almost like mine shafts,
and some of them go down 600 feet.
In Justice to the Communists. the
custom was not invented by them
For a long time, If you had an
enemy, you pushed him into foiba.
But since the Communist troubles
have begun, the pushing of people
affair. When Marshal Tito came
1t was said that between 1000 and
5000 people went into the foibas.
I talked to an italian newspaper
editor who had a paperweight on
his desk made from a set of brass
knuckles that had been used to
attack him during a political meet
ing. He told of can of dynamite
found outside his Office few weeks
before. One American official told
me he had verified over 100 cases
of intimidation Of journalists
throughout Italy.
Check off at Demonstrations.
And terror, like bribery, works
with the little people too. Among
industrial workers, for instance,
when a demonstration is to be held,
the Communist leaders use the
postcard" system. Each worker re-
ceives a card telling him where to
mass" for the demonstration. .
There he turns his card In to a
party leader. And he knows 1t is
unhealthy If he doesn't turn up.
The third emotion is hatred
based on envy and jealousy. And
think you can understand that, too.
Europe is sick and poor People are