EUROPE: Red Losses

The U.S. State Department last week issued a special communique on the battle for Western Europe. The Communists, reported State, have lost about a third of their party membership in Western Europe since war's end. The country-by-country breakdown:

Membership %

1946 1950 Loss

Austria 150,000 100,000 33

Belgium 100,000 35,000 65

Denmark 60,000 22,500 63

France 850,000 600,000 29

Italy (1948) 2,300,000 1,600,000 31

Luxembourg 3,000 500 83

Netherlands 50,000 33,000 34

Norway 40,000 14,000 65

Sweden 60,000 33,000 45

U. Kingdom 60,000 40,000 33

W.Germany 300,000 200,000 33

Part of this Red shrinkage is undoubtedly due to Moscow's own policy, which is to tighten the Communist parties and weed out lukewarm or ideologically unreliable members. The figures were nevertheless impressive, and pointed to serious Communist setbacks. Concluded a State Department spokesman: "Moscow is losing the battle to take over Western Europe by boring from within . . ."