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Salient: An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 10, August 18th, 1948

Exec. Check on Wfdy Pedigree

page 8

Exec. Check on Wfdy Pedigree

Is WFDY a blind for Communist propaganda? Is it Communist dominated? Is its attitude partisan? "No," answered Mrs. Bailey. She hit back hard at the allegations with "The Federation is fighting for the common needs of youth—it is the only international organisation which is prepared to get what it needs for youth! Naturally it meets with opposition. In Algeria, in South Africa (Mrs. Bailey forgot God's Own Country) anyone who is progressive enough to ask for reforms is branded as a Communist.' No wonder WFDY has red herrings trailed across its militant path.

Though Miss Lamburd, who attended the Prague Festival as a Young Conservative, failed to come up to her recent form in the "Dominion"; though the Exec. didn't decide one way or the other at the end, it was obvious that Mrs. Bailey's barrage of facts and corrections had her opponent down early in the fight. The match went to Mrs. Bailey on points.

WFDY came under fire from all angles at the Special Exec. meeting at which Mrs. Bailey and Miss Lamburd had been asked to attend. The Beyer Pedersen affair, the constitutional set-up, the attitude to conscription, its affiliated members—all these came into the light.

The constitutional question seemed fundamental. Mrs. Bailey explained this carefully in answer to Mr. O'Brien's question. Beyer Pedersen was suspended by the secretariat who had been appointed by the WFDY council, and their action was later ratified by that body. Under their authority to see that the Federation runs smoothly, the secretariat had suspended a secretary who contrary to his pledges to further the unity of youth, had been advocating in Scandinavia, the formation of a separate federation. She stated that even before the Prague meetings, he had attempted to influence Anglo-Saxon delegates to work against the unity of WFDY. The organisations which he represented had also to be suspended.

SCM Attitude

Precisely why the British SCM had disaffiliated and its Penry Jones, a WFDY secretary, had resigned, didn't seem quite so obvious. The way to make an organisation work, remarked Mrs. Bailey politely, is hardly to resign, but to pitch in. Only active membership can Justify criticism of WFDY organisation. To say, as the British SCM did, that WFDY can no longer be salvaged, is rather shortsighted. By a simple process of elimination, if everyone except the Left Wing gets out, WFDY will become a political organisation.

Such critics as Jones, Pedersen (no names mentioned!) should have made their remarks at meetings; to adopt the agenda wholeheartedly there, and then to criticise at home, seems rather a strange procedure. Communist-dominated? The majority of the Executive, as Mrs. Bailey pointed out is English or American, there being one Russian member; the President is French. The aims of WFDY are to get equal pay for both sexes, free education, cultural and recreational facilities, the right to jobs, and to union organisation, for world youth. "We must [unclear: judge] WFDY on its actions, not what its [unclear: critics] call it." Its agenda is being put into action by its [unclear: executive]; opposition to these aims is to be expected in some countries.

Some Corrections

The fun was expected to begin when Mrs. Bailey answered Miss Lamburd's newspaper statements. Unfortunately, by the time she had disposed of these, corrected sundry misstatements, misapprehensions and Miss Lamburd—all clinched home with such a bland smile—Miss Lamburd had little to say.

Mrs. Bailey corrected some of the impressions which Miss Lamburd had Confided to the "Dominion"; that 90 per cent. of the British delegation were Communists (327 Communists and 250 Young Conservatives out of 1244), that Benes had viewed the final parade (Gottwald, as Benes was in Switzerland ill), that the "Iron Curtain" prevented entry to eastern European countries (many reconstruction brigades from western Europe are working there; 22 youth delegations of all political colours have visited Russia; Americans are kept out of Yugoslavia, not by Tito but by the American Government.)

"Mrs. Bailey has told us what we knew only partly."

"Mrs. Bailey has told us what we knew only partly."

Miss Lamburd declined to say that WFDY was in fact, communist-dominated, though she did say that the Young Conservatives were treated with scorn by the other delegates, and failed to get an adequate hearing. She pointed out however, that she was there unofficially, and couldn't know as much as official delegates. In answer to Mr. Milburn's grilling on WFDY policy, she could produce nothing to evidence Communist domination, though Mr. Milburn himself hammered home at the WFDY policy on conscription, which he thought might be partisan. The Exec. considered that WFDY should be asked to make a statement on this matter; Mr. C. Macleod read shaggy dog stories instead, to relieve the tedium of the discussion.

In answer to Miss McKenzie's question. Mrs. Bailey gave thumbnail sketches of the exec, personalities—M. Guy de Boisson, the President. Mrs. Hookman, Mr. Williams, Mr. Jones, Miss Daymond, secretaries. Though she had worked in WFDY's Paris Office, she hadn't met Mikhailov, the Russian member.

Conclusions?

The exec, wouldn't commit itself then and there. Certainly there didn't seem to be enough evidence to support any charges of WFDY being Communist-dominated, or a "blind for Communist propaganda" (as Miss Ilott thought). Its policy is being' implemented by the executive, which is fighting actively for world youth; certainly everyone in Prague and Victoria, thought that the information service could be improved, but there didn't seem to be any other major criticism.

As Mr. O'Brien said (Hark!), "Mrs. Bailey has told us what we didn't know, corrected any misapprehensions we had, and filled in what we knew only partly."