Evening star., 1948-09-20

state upon all humanity she Will md that the
earth will shake with the tread Of countless
millions of all creeds who will say with Pat
rick Henry, Give me liberty or give me
death!' And If men again have to leave their
homes and businesses to defeat ruthless die
tatorship, they will preserve not only their
own freedom but they will free the Balkan
and Baltic enslaved nations, Poland and Aus
tria and the masses Of Russians themselves,
from the Bolshevist minority that is keeping
all civilization in an uproar.
Let these men who are doing this thing re-
member where Hitler, Mussolini and Goebes
landed MONITOR.
Yugoslavia Under Red Tyranny
To the Editor OF The Star:
I think that anybody who has the slightest
knowledge of the state of affairs in Communist
Yugoslayia realizes that the title of Clare
Holiingworths article "Yugoslav Youths
Trained to Distrust Westerners," published in
The Sunday Star, September -, corresponds to
real facts. But think that most of those who
have some knowledge Of Yugoslav affairs can
not agree with many Of her assertions.
AS I consider that the American public wants
to know the essential plain facts pertaining to
Ylgoslavia, would like to be permitted to set
forth some Of these facts for your readers.
The reluctance OF the people in Communist
Yugoslava to speak to foreigners is quite un-
derstsrdable, as most of those who tried to
speak freely were deprived of the possibility of
ever speaking again. But do not think that
it is so difficult to find out what the people feel
and think. Ir countries where people are free
and happy. they speak their minds and they
are not always plotting against the govern
mens. the number OF trials throughout Yugo-
savia OF traitors" the number Of people SEN
tenced TO death, the persons involved, all this
conv1cingly demonstrates, maybe better than
words, what people really feel and think.
Miss Hoingworth says that "it is most diff
cult to collect any reliable economic informa-
ton As q general statement, this certainly
is correct. But must take exception to the
statement that lit is therefore hard to assess
what progress has been made with the FIVE
year plGn." On this subject we have most
complete testimony (on the eve of May ID hv
Eduard Kardelj, Vice Premier and Foreign Min
lister of Yugoslavia, published on five full pages
OF the chief Belgrade newspaper Politika This
report is full admission of the complete
failure Of the five-year plan in 1947-1948.
Failure of Sovietizing Plan.
What Kardelj says is in short this: The indi-
yidual plans Cfor various plants, were put into
practice very imperfectly, there was tremendous
waste OF productive possibilities. the available
manpoWer was assigned to various works In
very defective manner, the social care was de-
plorablc (eg. locomotive engineers sometimes
worked so hours without resD; the quality OF
products was very poor; raw materials and
energy were wasted; commerce was the run
ming sore of Yugoslav economy, the develop
ment of agriculture lags undoubtedly behind
the development of other branches OF our
economy" the organization of economy was
"overburdoned by bureaucracy: the financing
OF the flve-year plan was handicapped "by the
lack u faith in our own possibilities and forces
and py the bureaucratic manner OF viewing
problems and sitting initiative from below"
Repeatedly Kardelj blasted the lack OF disci-
oline VI the people, the sabotage OF the eco
nomic organizers and the "ever growing OPP
position of the remnants of capitalistic ele-
ments"
I think that in this case Kardelj knows
what he is speaking about. He has satisfied
curiosity about the success OF the hVe-year
plan as we'll as about the main psychological!
and political conditions for its future success.
Thus the new unity Of the Serbs, Croats,
slovenes and Moslems,' consisting OF their
'loyaly to Tito" does not seem to be fact.
Miss Hollingworth herself asserts that slovenia
Is thoroughly Catholic and most likely
the Serbs and Croats. there has not been
"for centuries animosity between Serb and
Croat" and rivalry between Belgrade and
Zagreb' nor has the Tito regime accomplished
"ths total eradication Of the old hereditary
enmity between Serb and Croat." The Serbs
and Croats have had comparatively little con-
tact in the course OF centuries. For the first
time in history they formed common state
In 1918. Thus the Serbo-Croat problem is OF
recent date and Tito Is the last man who
could solve it, as loyalty to Tito Is the least
possible meeting ground for the Serbs and the
Croats How the Serbs behaved In World
War H. how the guerrilla warfare of General
Mihailovich, which was anti-Communist as
well as anti-Nazi, rallied the Serbs and how
bitterly the Serbs are still opposing Com
munism, is no secret to any one. Mosna
piyade. one Of the members of the seven-man
ruling Communist committee OF YugoslaVla,
,tiematized the Serbs in 1941 Is "the enemy"
of Communism in the Balkans AS Tor the
croats. they are Catholics and the anlmoslty
of the Communists towards the Roman Catno-
liz church is q well-known fact. Thus there
certainly is no possible Serbo-Croat unity In
loyalty to Tito.
But Miss Hollingsworth is right In another
way, Tito indeed has united the vast majority
Of the people in Yugoslavia in the hatred OF
his regime and Of Communism. And that Is
the most important fact about the situation
Ia Yugoslavia. Miss Hollingsworth thinks that