Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), Saturday 1 February 1941, page 1


PITH OF THE LEADERS Half-Baked and HardBoiled SOME thought-provoking statements are made by that gifted writer, Professor Walter Murdoch in a recent article. The real fifth column in Australia, he says, is a composite body consisting of persons of two distinct types of mind. One class, which he calls the half-baked, includes many of our so-called Communists and most of those who, through ignorance, give credence to enemy propaganda about the altruism of the dictators and the sinister designs of'Britairi's present rulers. The other and more dangerous class, described as the hard-boiled, includes those who, while paying life service to the ideal of building a better civilisation, really desire the preservation of all the evils of the present order because they have fared well under it. He issues the warning that it was this section of France's fifth column that did most to put France under Germany's heel. Hitler's Speech HITLER'S latest speech is unadulterated nonsense, though it is not without its touches of comedy, the most notable of which is his description of himself and Mussolini as men of honour. The Gatecrasher A NEW act of Parliament provides that no justice of the peace may sit or adjudicate unless officially requested to do so. But if, according to the Attorney-General, the presence of "gate crashers" will not invalidate the proceedings, what is the purpose or value of the ban?