OBSERVER' AND WATERGATE

THREATE CLOSURE BARROW A six-point programme for keeping open has been put to local businessmen, the British Transport Docks Board, the town council and the government.

The docks, which the BTDB says it wants to close down at the end of year employ only 20 registered dockers.

But closure would have serious economic and social enect on une area. And since there is no other employment for registered men within travelling distance, the dockers themselves may be forced out of the industry.

Protests been made against the board's decision by the Transport and General Workers' Union, the district committee of -the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and the Labour MP for Barrow, Albert Booth.

The six-point programme was approved at a town meeting called by the CSEU.

It calls for local businesses to reconsider their importexport policies with a view to increasing traffic through Barrow docks. for a speedingup BTDB-Vickers negotiations Barrow Town Council to consider a rate subsidy.

The BTDB, it says, should postpone closure months, the should amalgamate all ports under the National Ports view of the social effects, there should be a government subsidy. will be given, the British Transport i unless there is dramatic time it reviews its closure decision in October.

But the Barrow dockers are not going to ive up thei livelihoods easily.

Martin Hogan, docks branch for the T&GWU, us would be register the ordinary severance pay scheme.

It is thought that something like the special severance terms implemented from September until February, under the Jones-Aldington report would be necessary.

This could give each man in the region of £4,000 and cost the National Dock Labour Board around £80,000.

Albert Booth MP is seeking discussions with the Department of the Environment, mare sering is presence debk since he wants take the board setting. He has can Tory the pr Morecambe and Lonsdale port of the Alfred Hall-Davis, and othe local MPs.

Booth number ships arriving at BY ALE( MITCHELL Astorism is a very special phenomena in British life. It dese irves special consideratio 1 in examining what is pub. lished through its main mouthpiece, 'Observer'.

It means, above all, enormous wealth. The Astors were a German immigrant family who went to the United States and made money. Lots of it.

It is said that you can stand in Times Square in the centre of New York and the property you see around you is all owned by the Astors.

A branch of the family became the 'English Astors' Times na they bought "The as mouthpiece for their 'intellectual' soundings. After they flogged 'the old thunderer' to Lord Thomson of Fleet ten years ago, they were left with one Sunday newspaper, the 'Observer' Apart from wealth, Astorism also spells a deep frugality. To the untrained this may seem a contradiction. And it is!

It can be observed in the demise of the late Lord Astor of Hever, head of the family. He died on a remote Mediterranean island because of the family's wish to avoid as much probate tax as possible. By spending his dying days away from England—which he loved dearly-he thus saved his multitudinous relatives who form the Astor Trust a great deal of money.

Observer' editor, David Astor.

Another contradiction concerns the question of 'morality' their newspaper, ecolor David Astor dispenses a regular diet of liberalism. There is scarcely an issue of the paper that doesn't have a half page dedicated to the works of Oxfam or Shelter or Christian Aid.

More recently this breastbeating has been refined by the hiring of Des Wilson, the all-purpose liberal who belts out a weekly column bleating the cause of the workless, the homeless, the misfits and the deprived. In these columns Mr Wilson has yet to raise a single question of politics or to ask how these problems can be resolved under capital.sm.

The private affairs of the Astor family are little known • except for two vivid incidents. 1 refer to the family's country home Cliveden in Buckinghamshire.

It was here that the CliveJen set sundatnea, played tennis and drank wine during the 1930s. The head of the clan at that time was Viscount Astor, a founder member of the British Empire Union, which was devoted to anti-communism. A historian of this period recalls that the Empire Union 'flirted with the British Union of Fascists', Sir Oswald Mosley's extreme right-wing party.

To these idyllic country surroundings the right-wing élite of the British ruling class would gather. On one occasion the distinguished guest was none other than Count Von Ribbentrop.

In 1963 Cliveden again came into the headlines. This time it was as a result of the infamous activities of one of Her Majesty's ministers, a certain Mr John Profumo. It was during a weekend at Cliveden as guest of Lord 'Bill' Astor that he had gone swimming with an 18-year-old Christine Keeler. She was a hostess' who moved in these Tory circles.

The publicly-known incidents at Cliveden are in direct contradiction to Astorism's liberalinion. and on the executive ism published every week in its Press. -This expressed itself in the most glaring way when the 'Observer' came to pontificate on the Watergate scandal which threatens to discredit Nixon out of office.

In a turgid litany the editorial moralizes about te sins 1L - -inof the accused: 'The stain in the White House is creeping nearer to the President.' It really looked as if Astorism was at last going to finish a job-it was going to demand that Nixon, the twister, the man behind the bugging of Democratic Party headquarters, the man in the filthiest presidential race in years, was about to get his come-uppance from the liberals.

Not so. The editorial went on: "The only possible choice is between keeping as President a somewhat discredited [sic] Nixon or having an inexperienced and clumsier Agnew. In considering whether or not to press for Mr Nixon's departure from office, the American public, his own party and his Democratic opponents face a genuinely difficult question.

In world affairs Mr Nixon, with the help of the outstandingly able Dr Kissinger, has set in train remarkable developments ... It must be admitted that the NixonKissinger team has been more skilful and successful in international affairs than any recent make such a reference.

Britz's explanation of his presence and his role was that he was a friend of the applicant.

But Sir Hugh Griffiths, chairman of the NIRC tribunal which heard the application, thought. otherwise.

In dismissing the application, he told Britz, who is national recruitment officer of the EPTU, that if his union was registered you would not have to go through all this charade' A registered union could apply direct to the court for a CIR reference, he pointed out.

The 'Financial Times' ran the story last Tuesday, saying: • "Backdoor" use of the Industrial Relations Act by members of unregistered trade unions was highlighted yesterday in the National Industrial Relations Court in a case involving a member of the Electrical and Plumbing Trades Union' question EPTU 'resident Nixon with his standingly able' Dr Kissing, predecessors. It is impos: to believe that the less ex/ enced and less talented S Agnew could hope to cont their success if he bec But the penultimate cor SIOn on Watergate shows real tace of Astorism: *lt harsh fact that there is alternative for America' to string along with Nixo The meaning is clear: crook you know, is br than the crook you c know.

This is the face of liberal! when it comes to the posi of the world's No 1 imperi being caught red-handed massive scandal, their m crusade disappears out of window and they shift astonishing speed to cover for capitalism and its lea‹ This is what Astorism me Profumo. quest at Cliveden. EPTU chief, Chapple-no date to go to Court. bers will be asking is, if this is a correct assessment of the reason Britz was in court last Monday, how does it square with the decisions of the union conference a month earlier? 'outer. sible peri¡piro inue :ame ıcluno but In.

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