Letters to the Editor: SEATO's aim (Tribune, 13 Oktober 1954)

Tribune (1954-10-13) - Letters to the Editor SEATO’s aim Source: Trove, National Library of Australia - https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212476233 Date retrieved: 2026-10-17 OCR text (uncorrected) follows. 13 Oct 1954 - Letters to the Editor Tribune (Sydney, NSW: 1939 - 1991), Wednesday 13 October 1954, page 11 SEATO's aimAMERICA'S SE Ada put is to provide excuses for US military action in this area should British, French and Dutch colonial interests then be "threatened" by nationalist movements for freeing their countries. That military action is to be conistent with the constitutional proesses of member nations is only a op to nations dhsplcious of US intentions. To make it obligatory, as in NATO, would be to still further anger the peoples of SE Asia with a onsequential weakening of the hold he puppet governments now have here. Evidence of the blow this is to the armongering plans of US and Austraftair-moRopolist&. is esldent. from the editorial section of the SMH oh September 9 when it complained that SEATO "will bring no accretion of armed strength to the threatened area." The abstinence of India, Ceylon. Indonesia and Burma from SEATO and the proposed Colombo Power pact with China is a clear indication that such an organisation as SEATO is against the wishes of the people of SE Asia. Pakistan is praised by the capitalist press for signing, but the same press says apologetically that of course Pakistan had also received military and economic aid from America. And the pattern is clear. The people of SE Asia want peace and national independence. They do not want the setting up of foreign war in their countries with the consequential degradation of social and moral standards and diseases which follow. Nor do they want their economy submerged by a flood of "economic aid" from US which bolsters only the weakening grip of foreign enterprise on the industriesof their countries.—G.C. (Cremorne).Capita/ism rpHIS is Irom American Business ± (April 14), Page 41— 'A company in Chicago which employs hundreds of people in its offices has to let its employees off when the temperature and humidity reach a certain point. The office workers are members of a union and the union contract stipulates that they are to be released when the temperature reaches 95 and the humidity 50. Last summer the company had to release its employees seven times, and it amounts to about 7 half-days off each for these several hundreds of workers." The articlewas booming air conditioning.— * * *O.X. iPeace prayer ACCORDING to the SMH Eisenhower asked the so - called "Reds" to pray with him for peace. Are you suddenly converted, Mr. President? Have you become a peace lover? You did not think thus when you had the innocent Rosenbergs murdered, when your troops were fighting in Korea. Give us real proof of your love of peace by banning horror weapons;then we shall believe you.— * • #C.L..Pakistan Govt. T THINK the Tribune has not sufficiently criticised the reactionary government of Pakistan for abolishing the elected government of East Pakistan. Nor has it supplied sufficient information on the struggles of the Pakistan people. Pakistan and Australia are both members of SEATO and it is not inconceivable that Australians may be sent to fight against Pakistan people and they should know the truth about thatcountry.—J.W.C. * * *.Housing injustice A RESIDENT in the Housing Commission homes at Chester Hill has been threatened with eviction because he has his aged mother, who is in poor health, staying with him. On obtaining legal advice the ten-, ant finds he has no legal redress if evicted as the Housing Commission is not governed by the Landlord and Tenants Act. Considering the rent paid by these unfortunate tenants, approximately one-fifth of the basic wage, it seems very high-handed of the Commission to evict a family on grounds suchas these.—TJK.P.Tribune criticism OCOTTS HEAD (NSW).—We three local readers of Tribune wholeheartedly support "Critic Speaks" in the September 26 issue. We make one exception—recommendation of accepting commercial advertising. We consider this out of the question as the small businessman, because Of anti-Communist propaganda, feels that he would be victimised if he showed support for a Communist paper. Otherwise his suggestions are right on the beam. Take the July issue of the Union of Australian Women's Journal, Our Women, for a modelit has every type of attractive feature that ordinary women look for in a magazine. We particularly feel that articles should be-briefer and more to the point. Trade union news should be drastically cut down as it is Uninteresting to non-party people not involved in the struggles concerned. There should also be much less plugging the political ideas within articles, less editorial comment. Let the news speak for itself. We particularly like Bex Chiplin's column, Just Briefly, Kraagr Capitalism. Regular features like Books Now Available, What's On, and the short story page are good. Finally, what about a column for us country folk, agricultural notes and news fromcountry districts?— *LOCAL READERS * *Another view T'M afraid I do not agree with 1 "Critic." Tribune is the organ of the Communist Party and must win readers as such. However, I think it is a good suggestion to bring as many articles on Communism as space allows, as there are still too few people who know what Communism stands for owing to the vicious propaganda of the capitalist press. But in my opinion it would cheapen the high standard of the Tribune to bring these articles as "serials" or even to add "comics"—good or bad —in order to win publicity. Not this way, but by convincing the people that the Tribune is the only paper that tells the truth, must it win friends. If the paper starts to advertise, as suggested by "Critic," it would stop to be a people's paper and sink to the low level of the capitalist press. However, I do agree with other readers who recommend publication of more contributions from readers, even if it must be, sometimes, at the expense of other articles, in order to make people feel that the papers really their own.—FRIEND.