Ext 6116/46(S) 'Secret Weekly Political Intelligence Summaries, nos 356-416, August 1946-November 1947' [‎17r] (33/978)

5
Polish Peasant Party as a whole, since the
“ flight ” of M. Mikolajczyk and his asso
ciates.
A great rally of Polish miners held in
Cracow on the 19th October throws into
high relief some of the problems of the
{^rsent-day economy of Poland. The rally
wtis attended by those members of the
Government and Trade Unions most closely
concerned with industrial development,
among them being Vice-Premier Gomulka,
M. Mine, Minister of Industry and Trade,
M. Rusinek, Minister of Labour and Social
Welfare, M. Kaczorowski, Minister of
Reconstruction and M. Wiaszewski,
Chairman of the Central Trade Union
Committee.
One of the main themes of the Govern
ment spokesmen was the importance of the
“ labour competition movement ” stimu
lating individual output. Such stimula
tion, and the relation of basic wages to
the bonus and piece-work systems, have
been important features of wage-scales
since the war. During the past summer,
the purchasing power of wages, said to be
already inadequate, was still further
reduced by the upward trend of free market
prices—although the Government did some
thing to offset this by granting priority
supplies at controlled prices through the
trade unions in the State Departmental
stores (these are a recent innovation and
are scill few in number).
The question of output in the coal in
dustry was treated with great emphasis by
M. Gomulka in his address to the miners.
He declared that, whereas output per man
shift was 1,800 kg. in 1938, it was now
only two-thirds of that figure. The follow
ing speaker, M. Mine, gave figures to show
how far the labour competition drive was
succeeding; he also made an oblique
reference (“ difficulties and misunder
standing ”) to the recent strike in the tex
tile factories at Lodz. Here, as a result of
the cumulative effects of difficult living
conditions and the sudden introduction of
new Government methods of encouraging
increased output, a sit-down strike was
staged by over 6,000 workers. 40,000 more
came out when 80 workers, charged with
inciting the first group, were arrested.
The Government were led to institute an
immediate enquiry into the grievances of
the textile workers—interesting evidence of
the apparently still strong spirit of inde
pendence among Polish workers and the
need for their Government to take heed of
it.
In addition, the speeches at Cracow
showed the Government’s evident pre
occupation with the problems of labour
shortage in industry, of the need to reduce
costs in the nationalised industries, and to
develop the home production of machinery,
especially for mining and other basic
industries. The rally appears to have been
made with a view to explaining the Gov
ernment’s aims and plans for overcoming
present difficulties, and to gaining the con
fidence and active support and understand
ing of the workers for the whole economic
plan.
It was announced at a Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Press Conference in War
saw on the 22nd October, that Mr. Charles
Whitehead, a Polish citizen of Anglo-
Polish parentage employed in the capacity
of interpreter on the British Embassy staff,
who was arrested some days ago in the city
—would be charged with having collabo
rated during the war with organs of the
German occupying forces. Although the
charge is considered by the Embassy to be
improbable, the terms employed make it
difficult for further assistance to be
extended by H.M. representatives on the
spot. Furthermore, it is believed to form
part of a series of arrests of Poles, not in
Embassy employment but who have had
Western contacts.
SOVIET UNION
Referring to the King’s speech at the
opening of Parliament, Pravda’s commen
tator stated that the treatment of it in the
Labour Party’s foreign policy showed what
was being done to deceive the public and
pursue an imperialist policy behind the
people’s backs; the statement, he said, was
in flagrant conflict with the actions of the
Labour Government. Scathing references
to British statesmen were not lacking in
the Soviet press last week; several seemed
directly inspired by the recent war-cries
of the Cominform against Labour-cim-
Social-democratic parties. Under the
headline ‘ £ Delegates of Britain and the
United States Continue to Defend the
Trading in Women and Children in the
Colonies,” the Soviet press of the 22nd
October alleged that Sir Hartley Shaw-
cross’s speech at Lake Success “ sounded
like the speech of a lawyer who was trying
to defend the shameful trading in live
goods wdiich still exists on many territories
administered by the Labour Government
of Attlee and Bevin.” Comment on Sir
Stafford Cripps’ speech was equally mali
cious and unfair. Trud (the 26th October)
in a short item headed “ Labour remedies
for the economic crisis ” accused Sir