European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 11, 1947, Darmstadt, Hesse Patrons at a Budapest cafe sit in View of a soviet War one of the few signs the Budapest big red question Mark by Nathan Margolin the soviet occupation army stays out of sight in Hungary today but the native communist party keeps itself very much in the political foreground Budapest you seen and a ii Budapest the question is asked of most foreign observers of Hungary current political it Means have you seen any sign that the country is under the control or influence of soviet Russia one Seldom sees a russian Soldier in the half demolished where million persons earn their daily there Are no russians in evidence around the parliament build where one huge door is rein forced to prevent an irate Public from kicking it custom when the legislative body passes some in popular act at least uni formed Arent seen in the goods Laden where one can Purchase anything at prices equal to those in the United one Doest find them the bars and the hotels or the soviet preferring to remain inconspicuous and free of foreign Doest even with the americans and to the Allied control councils luxurious officers and from Budapest common cynical the ele Gant the dreary chambermaid gets a feeling of resentment which is just a Little More intense than that which normally goes with an this is an after All Hungary declared War on the soviet Union in june 1941 and on the United states and great Britain in december 1941 and perhaps the question of influence is the hungarian government has recently received from the american zone of Germany two shipments of one of Gold and one of which have helped turn the inflated Peng currency into a sound forint to negotiate the trans Fer of the approval and assistance of the russian government was necessary to get through the soviet zones of Austria and Why the russians escort the shipment and guarantee its a German speaking cab Driver in Budapest commented As the second Load get most of it did they get any of the previous Gold shipment a shrug of the shoulders he didst the russians never come Here to said a French speaking but we always know they Are Here a Well known Budapest a proudly asserted that there was no outside in fluence in hungarian that there was no censorship and that every citizen in the capital has com plete but he admitted that in photograph order to get on the police Force it was necessary first to get clearance from the hungarian communist Par of has soviet in in Hungary coalition government the communists hold the key Interior which controls the National police communists also hold the key communications an Allied correspondent complained that on two occasions his stories had been held once for fifty five hours and another time for Twenty two and that on another occasion a Story had been put through with the opening Para graph the communists also control the ministry of Interior through its tie up with the peasant the ministry of this influence in strategic i places is exerted despite the fact that in the free elections the reds polled Only about 17 per cent of the popular running a poor third to the smallholders party 57 per cent and the social democrats per of 426 members of the smallholders list the communists the social democrats the peasant party Twenty two and the anticommunist Freedom party by parliamentarian by Bob Merritt the formation of a coalition within a communists have gained influence which exceeds their numerical this is accomplished their align ment with the peasant whose Peter is the minister of and with the social democratic a recent showed that of 122 key positions in the country fourteen or per Are held by members of this leftist thirty six of the seventy eight Are members of the communist party while Only Twenty belong to the smallholders majority Hungary has no army but its Blu Egray dad police Force gives the impression of a military organization its Rudd faced new York no solemn looking bobbies or moustached and they Drill and March with a seriousness not usually seen in metropolitan police that the police have done their Job effectively is demonstrated by the fact that today one can roam the City at any time of Day or night and feel Safe from less than a year ago citizens of Budapest were being held up in the streets and stripped of the situation was so bad that cab Drivers refused to go on night duty continued on Page 23 Unn
