Vain hope of clean rivers

BY MICHAEL inflation.

of backward workers and the insecurity of the middle class in the interests of the big monopolies.

In his peech at Leamington Spa in Monday, Powell returned to the theme of inflation: not accidentally, after the talks between the CBI and TUC on this very subject had yielded little of tangible importance.

Powell said there were two ways of dealing with inflation. The first leads to fascism, the other leads to parliamentary democracy.

The first viewpoint, he asserted, is to give the government power to cancel 'excessive' wage increases by inflation and to treat the unions as the 'real villain of the piece'. sibility for 'managing public finance' and that 'trade union leaders would bear the responsibility for the results to themselves or those who employ them, of the economic decisions that they take'.

Powell ended his statement on deliberately ambivalent note:

I am far from arguing that, because one view leads to fascism and the other to parliamentary democracy, that settles the question which of the two views of inflation and its causes factually correct?

Is fascism then the answer to inflation? Powell will not answer in a categoric way. But what he has said so far should leave no trade unionist in doubt about his strategy.

He is telling the trade union leaders that if they don't agree to restrain workers' militancy and help keep the level of money supply down, then the ruling expenditure ot legislation alone.

Unemployment is integral to Powell's policy combat inflation.

'There is no soft option: if the shock of ceasing to inflate causes bankruptcies and unemployment that is how it has to be... The day has to come, when faced with higher prices, the government says: "I won't play. I won't pay. I shall cut down." Only then does the government cease to "finance inflation"' IS71. yEt be fooled in 1973.

By•Enoch Powell.)

Powell's concern for the trade unions as not being responsible for inflation is thoroughly spurious. When he threatens the union leaders with the spectre of fascism he is merely clarifying and concretizing his previous views on the role of trade unions in capitalist society.

As he said in November 1970 in a meeting in Wolverhampton, CONTAINERIZATION The case for nationaizaten of the decks and transport meistry SEA PLAND ENT SEA/CLAND SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE POCKET LIBRARY NO S By Stephen Johns and lan Yeats Price: Inirty pence ANOTHER tame-cat report has been produced with the intention of trying to limit pollution.

Headed by Sir Eric Ashby, the committee which produced it was set up to look into river and estuary pollution.

It calls for legislation to control the fouling of the waterways and beaches and says that bodies fighting pollution should be more unified.

The committee also want changes in the law dealing with industrial waste and sewage discharged from all ships in tidal waters.

Under capitalism the rivers and oceans are a giant sink into which all filth is poured. And no number of liberal reports can do anything to halt this.

Johns' and lan

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