West German build-up . tories up to old tricks . says Bob Leeson . some 17 years ago , in the early summer of 1934 , the German ambassador in London was dictating a secret report to his chief von Papen , in Berlin . Britain is uncomfortable in her role of champion of German rearmament , in opposition , to France . later that year he warned that Britain knew Germany was breaking the agreement to stop building bombers , and added : without Britain &apos;s tolerance German rearmament in the air would be jeopardised . when Hoesch &apos;s reports , along with other nazi documents , were captured and published after the war the pattern of British government connivance became clear . at nazi Germany &apos;s request , Britain was providing the cloak for Germany to build an air force bigger than that of France . yesterday West German defence Minister , Herr Strauss , started talks with the British defence Minister , Mr Watkinson . their talks are another stage in the cloak operation , 1961 variety , by which the West German militarists are advancing their rearmament . Strauss &apos; aim . Herr Strauss told the daily mail last October that his policy was to make his country the strongest militarily in Europe and the United States &apos; principal Nato ally . his job is to build up the military apparatus which will back West Germany &apos;s economic domination of western Europe through the common market . he continued this week the argument with Mr Watkinson which he had in public at a Nato council meeting last year over the question : do we fight a 30-day war or a 90-day war ? a 90-day war , the West German view , provides the pretext for huge German armed forces ( within Nato of course ) and for those to have bases all over western Europe . in the past year West Germany has secured agreements for facilities in France , Holland and Belgium . after much bargaining the British government has agreed to give similar facilities to German troops in Britain . the process has been too slow for Herr Strauss and last month he attacked Britain for being an obstacle for West Germany &apos;s plans for a unified supply apparatus in Nato . ( a supply apparatus which would link together the various West German facilities . ) by the end of the year there will be 11 German divisions in Nato compared with four divisions of British troops . alongside these divisions a force of over 600 Starfighters provided by the Americans is growing up . these fighters are in fact fighter bombers which could launch an atomic attack on eastern Europe . by 1963 the Germans plan to have nine missile battalions , with 288 missiles and 36 firing ramps , including weapons like Matador ( range 950 miles ) , also provided by the Americans . last month West Germany was reported to be halfway toward this target . her position as America &apos;s principal Nato ally grows stronger and stronger . now this target which Herr Strauss and his fellows have their eyes on is control of the warheads to these weapons . General Heusinger , the man who caused a great disturbance last autumn with his demand of nuclear weapons for his army , now heads Nato &apos;s military planning committee . all this has been achieved through Nato under American leadership . but a big role has been played not only by the British government but by right-wing labour in this country . they have helped build up Nato and rearm Western Germany , in pursuit of the old familiar anti-Soviet policy which brought disaster in 1939 . no bases ! now the argument is being used that Nato must be maintained and Britain must stay in it to keep the Germans in control . Nato , far from being a means of controlling the German militarists , is , in fact , the cover for building up their power . what must Britain do ? today , again , she has a key role . let her tell men like Strauss that he shall have no bases or facilities , no help in his quest for atomic arms . a policy which breaks with military alliances like Nato and seeks friendship with the Soviet Union can prevent another betrayal like that of the &apos;30s . Gaitskellism is bankrupt . Harry Smith . national president of the association of engineering and shipbuilding draughtsmen , writing in his personal capacity : I was pleased to read J R Campbell &apos;s article , for , as president of a union which fought for and still stands on the policy decisions established at the Scarborough labour party conference I am appalled at the character of the current attack against those decisions . for many years my union had to present its views to the two major conferences of the movement and take a licking . for us , unity meant accepting unpalatable majority decisions as binding on the movement and having a go next time . alongside many others , we conducted our fight by putting down unambiguous alternatives to official policy and seeking to win majorities for them . obstruction . when Scarborough carried our point of view we were naturally delighted , more so because the alternatives had been put clearly to the movement , which had then chosen a vigorous anti-Nato , anti-tory , anti-bomb and anti-German rearmament policy . hopes rose as we saw a perspective of sharp struggle based on consistent lines of difference with the tories . many members understood that the bread-and-butter struggles of the union would become easier in the context of a movement advancing to attack the tories on the whole front of their policy . for we have always felt , even if we have then by our practice ignored it , the inconsistency between support for the war alliance , with resulting colossal spending on armaments , and our basic effort to improve living standards . instead , we saw the Gaitskellites using the position of organisational dominance established during their years of control of policy to offend every principle of democratic practice and unity . they obstructed every effort to fight for the Scarborough decisions , while scratching around frantically to overturn them next time . confusion . confusion of the original issue by misrepresentation of the decisions , the introduction of a pseudo third way and the call for party unity - in effect , a demand that the movement unite with the Gaitskellites on their policy and no other seems to have done the trick of moving a number of unions temporarily away from Scarborough decisions . it would become easy to become cynical and to despair . and yet , wherever the issues were put clearly , sections of the movement reaffirmed their original stand . only where the issues were posed so as to cause doubt and confusion were positions lost . it is my view that this immediate confusion hides the fact that the peace movement is still advancing and that clarification of the issues can bring a majority to secure the Scarborough decisions . powerful units have stood firm . in unions where the central issues were confused , clear policy details - as on bases - were decisively carried . peace policy . this , and the numbers of active workers who are beginning to understand how and why the trick was done , provides a strong , immediate basis for a campaign against weak and doubtful positions , and for a consistent peace policy . all recent events show how correct the Scarborough decisions were . the Kennedy administration &apos;s sharpened policies , the speeded-up drive to improve West Germany &apos;s armament , the new attempt to rush Britain into the European common market , and the kite-flying on Spain present a whole new proof that to abandon Scarborough is to expose Britain and her working class to sharp new dangers - that Gaitskellism is bankrupt . ordinary working people will never rally to defend a policy founded on political chicanery or elect a labour government to carry through tory policy - Gaitskell &apos;s stupid hope . the tragedy is that enormous inroads could already have been made into tory strength by a fighting policy , based on Scarborough . Abe Moffat . Scottish miners &apos; leader : the desire for unity in the labour and trade union movement following the discussions that have taken place during the past two years on defence is something that should be recognised by all concerned . at the same time that unity can not be established on a false basis , or by creating further confusion within the movement . unity will never be established on the basis of leaders being a law unto themselves and opposing conference decisions when it suits their own convenience . unity can never be established by any formula uniting those who oppose German troops being trained on British soil and Polaris , and those who are for this policy - which is the same as that of the tory government . it is impossible for labour &apos;s new defence statement to unite the movement as the labour leaders are not only in favour of American bases , but are in favour of German bases and troops being trained on British soil . the new defence statement , while accepting that Britain can not remain an independent nuclear power , now supports the policy of depending on American nuclear weapons and the H-bomb , placing Britain in an even more dangerous position . the statement of Padley and Crossman is no different in principle to the new defence statement . they accept American nuclear bases , and also the use of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy until some future date . they deceive the people by their talk of political and collective control of Nato . the Pentagon has made it perfectly clear who controls the American H-bomb , and who will actually give the instructions to press the button for nuclear warfare . there is only one way to develop unity and at the same time defend Britain . this was shown at the Scottish trades union congress , representing 800,000 organised trade unionists , when it decided by overwhelming votes , to reaffirm the Scarborough decisions on unilateral disarmament , and to oppose Polaris and military bases being installed on the Holy Loch , or any other part of Britain . tory menace . such a policy would unite the whole movement and lay the basis for the defeat of the present tory government , which has become a real menace to the British people both in home and foreign policy . it is quite evident that the movement will go on record against the Polaris base and facilities for German bases and military training . this should strengthen the campaign to end the manufacture and use of nuclear weapons in Britain . Britain then could play a leading and independent role for an international agreement to ban all nuclear strategy and weapons of mass destruction , and lay the basis for real peace and progress . ballyhoo will n&apos;t solve youth training . says John Moss . when all the ballyhoo about commonwealth training week subsides it is doubtful whether more than a handful of new apprenticeships will result . this week of window dressing will not prevent most of the hopeful 15-year-olds leaving school in six weeks time from ending up in blind alley jobs . it needs more than 10,000 church parades and open days at techs , more than descents into Brighton &apos;s sewers or balloon ascents over Wolverhampton for Britain &apos;s technical training to catch up with the space age . the heli-hopping Duke of Edinburgh , opening a few technical college extensions , will not keep us abreast of the scientific revolution . out of the 550,000 young people aged 15-17 starting work in 1960 420,000 ( 73 per cent ) went into unskilled work . the percentage is expected to swell to 80 next year . low wages . the Duke , possibly speaking from experience , stated : most unskilled jobs are reasonably well-paid and many look attractive . but last year &apos;s average wage for boys under 21 was &amp;pound;5 4 s and for girls &amp;pound;4 13 s . if a minority got as much as the press says they do , then those below average must have received a pittance . apprentice wages are below average : a 19-year-old engineering apprentice may get as little as &amp;pound;5 8 s 1 d . but the Duke is wrong when he implies that young people prefer unskilled jobs . countless numbers who want training are denied it . one area electricity board in 1958 offered six craft apprenticeships and received 450 applications , of whom 100 were considered suitable by the board . there were only 17 vacancies for the 58 boys who passed the Admiralty exams for Rosyth dockyard last year . a small number of recently widely publicised apprenticeships demanded seven passes in G.C.E . 