Marley, Sailing, Sees Risk of Fascism Here

Declaring his nationwide tour “marvelously successful,” Lord Marley told newspapermen in a press conference yesterday that he had received cooperation from all classes throughout the country.

During the conference, in which he discussed the general American economic situation, Lord Marley also declared that there is in this country ” a very considereable risk–not of an active Fascist spirit, though that also exists–but of a certain readiness on the part of the American people to drop their normal critical attitude toward government.” He characterized this as a trend toward “Fascism through indifference” and compared the situation with that in Germany.

“In Germany, there was a large mass of people who accepted Hitlerism without enthusiasm,” he declared, “and even now reports are coming through that there are large numbers of people who have complete indifference and scepticism toward the government, as well as many who have a definite fear.”

SHIP LINE DENIED IT

The British speaker, who has been touring the country on behalf of the refugees from German Fascism, revealed that he had intended to sail on the steamship Manhattan, until “it was brought to my notice that all the stewards on board are members of the Nazi party in Hamburg. I was not prepared to support a government against which I have been protesting, and I therefore cancelled my passage.” He sailed Friday night on the Olympic.

(Upon inquiry by the Jewish Daily Bulletin at the offices of the United States Line, which owns the Manhattan, A. Desmedt, assistant to the General Manager, declared that more than eighty per cent of the employees on board are American citizens. The company has ordered that no employee can belong to any political organization whatsover, and that no language other than English may be spoken, he asserted.) Discussing the German situation, Lord Marley declared, “It is quite possible that the German government has for the moment a desire to avoid war measures, because the dissatisfaction of the unemployed has made it nervous about arming the poeple.” The German figures on the reduction of unemployment are simply a matter of book-keeping, he stated.

AUSTRIA IN SAME BOAT

“The Austrian situation is exactly the same as the German situation,” the British statesman explained. “It is due to the economic conditions there. The only difference is in name–in Austria it is called Dollfuss Fascism, and in Germany it is called Hitler Fascism. But within three months Dollfuss will have taken his place in past history and the Nazis will be the actual masters of Austria. There will not be an anschluss, only an economic and tariff agreement.”

He declared that the apparent unity of Germany is Hitler’s greatest achievement. “You kill all your opponents,” he said, “or throw them into prison, and you have complete unity. The actual economic position of the German workers today is much worse than that of a year ago.”

Lord Marley described the informal committee organized several days ago under the provisional leadership of former Congressman William W. Cohen as one which will help in dealing with the problem of refugees in Paris. He cited cases of former doctors and lawyers selling newspapers in the streets of that city.

“This committee hopes to put the German refugees into Russia,” he explained. “The Soviet government has agreed to admit them, providing they are healthy and willing to work. It costs about 250 pounds ($1,250) to establish these refugees from Paris in Russia. That is much less than the cost of settling them in Palestine. Besides, the Soviet government is prepared to accept non-Jews also, in the German Soviet republic on the Volga.”

He estimated that there will be more than 100,000 refugees from Germany in the near future, most of them Jews.