Show f Ij A Worth-While Worth Effort to Drive the Communists Off Our Wat Waterfronts I 1 A secret conference of top officials p of the nations nation's maritime unions and 1 shipping Jines lines with government leaders was held in Washington the thet other day Ii relative to the problem of s safeguarding ing ingi i American merchant shipping against i Communist activity i After the conference it was r reported ported that management and labor had worked out a voluntary agreement to bar Communists Communists Communists Com Com- and subversives from the crews of American ships The coast guard will do the actual work of policing the voluntary voluntary voluntary volun volun- tary agreement to see that dangerous Individuals are kept off our merchant ships chips Plainly this action is of the utmost Importance to national security The lifeline of supplies to our fighting forces in n Korea or if the emergency becomes worse to our own forces or our allies In n other parts of the world can be cut just as effectively by enemy action from within as it can from without Just two weeks ago for example eight navy munitions barges exploded in n Portsmouth harbor England Prime Minister Attlee announced after an investigation that sabotage was responsible responsible responsible sible for the explosion and it is said that the British government suspects Communists Such incidents might be duplicated a hundred times if Communists and fellow- fellow traveling subversives are permitted to infest our various maritime and water water- front unions A hardened Communist would not hesitate to sink his own ship at sea and take his chances on being rescued Or he might secrete a time bomb deep in in the hold of his ship just before departure departure and and then pull a last minute walkaway It is a well established fact that international Communist policy has always called for intensive effort at infiltration of maritime and waterfront unions They do this for several very good reasons It makes it easy for them to smuggle men money or materials into a country It helps them to dodge passport and other travel restrictions It simplifies the t task sk of transmitting espionage information And in the event of war it gives them a fifth column in ina a strategic position where much damage can be bc done At one time we had a lot of Communists Communists Com Com- in our waterfront unions They controlled several of them While some progress has been made in weeding them out there is still sUB far too much Communist Communist Communist Com Com- influence along our waterfronts and in our merchant marine marine and and we do donot donot donot not doubt there are arc a good many secret Communists still running our ships or working on longshore gangs We e are glad to sec this agreement for fora a united effort on the part of maritime management unions and nd government agencies con concerned to get these rats of off off our ships before they have a chance to sink them |