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‘Stop Vietnam war’ say Easter marchers

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MOTHERS MARCH FOR PEACE. Photo above shows a group of Vancouver
mothers with their placards in front of the Court House during last Saturday's
march. Sponsored by the CCND, about 125 took part in the impressive

parade.

AT VICTORY SQUARE. Photo shows some of the B.C. Peace Council marchet
in front of the Cenotaph last Saturday afternoon. The parade was seen
thousands of shoppers on Hastings Street. ‘Stop the killing now;’ said a!

given out by marchers.

Over 30,000 at Washington rally
demand U.S. withdraw troops

Easter parades and ceremonies
around the world, and in Van-
couver, were marked this year by
strong appeals for peace and an
end to the fighting in Vietnam,
Large demonstrations in many
centres demanded a halt to U.S,
aggression in South East Asia,

At Vancouver’s Court House
last Saturday, 125 mothers and
children gathered to start a
march through downtown streets,
The “Mothers March for Peace”
was sponsored by the Canadian
Campaign for Nuclear Disarma-
ment,

The colorful, daintily-decor-
ated placards they carried were
inscribed with slogans which had
universal appeal to all those who
desire an end to war: “Mankind
Must Put an End to War—or War
Will Put an End to Mankind”
(the late President Kennedy);
“Mr, President, in the Name of
God, Stop It”; “Stop This Unjust
War in Vietnam” (Linus Pauling),

Children carried smaller signs,
shaped like an Easter egg with
the simple message “Peace” in-
scribed on them,

The demonstration was made
more attractive by the number
of mothers who came dressed in
their Easter outfits,

The CCND passed out a leaflet
to passersby as the group
marched, Quoting anumber ofin-
ternationally-known figures such
as Lord Bertrand Russell, Sena-
tor Wayne Morse, and U Thant,
Sec’y-General of the U,N, who
are urging an immediate stop to
the fighting in Vietnam, the leaflet
made a number of suggestions for
action by all people, such as

‘ wiring to Prime Minister Pear-

son, the Hon, Paul Martin, Sec-
retary of State for External Af-
fairs, and one’s own member of
Parliament,

Following the march, a num-
ber of women collected signa-
tures on the CCND petition ad-
dressed to Prime Minister
Pearson asking for an immedi-
ate cease-fire in Vietnam, anc
the start of negotiations,

Also in Vancouver on Easter
Saturday, thousands of shoppers
on Hastings St, saw demonstrat-
ors of the B,C, Peace Council
with signs calling for a halt to
the war in Vietnam, These read:
“Thousands Died in Two World
Wars—No More”; “Endthe War in
Vietnam”; “Peace Not War”;
“Reconvene the Geneva Confer-
ence”; “Let the UN Decide—Not
the US,”

gases available,”

- person,

World scientists condemn
use of gas in warfare

The Pugwash conference of world scientists from both
east and west, meeting in Venice, Italy, last Friday, condemned
the use of gas in Vietnam or any part of the world, They warned
that “once gas of any kind is used, a barrier breaks down with
no clear line to prevent escalation for using the entire range of

Hitting out at nausea-inducing gases, they said that a gas
that merely sickens the healthy adult can kill a child or weak

The conference which brought together 78 nuclear scientists
and other scholars from 20 nations, adopted a declaration on
the war in Vietnam which said:

“The recent aggravation of military action in Southeast
Asia threatens by escalation the peace of the world and in-
creases the suffering of the Vietnamese people,” It urged the
“earliest restoration of peace,”

Along with 50 or so placard
carrying demonstrators, eight or
ten young people handed out a
leaflet on the use of poison gas
in Vietnam, It was an open letter

.to Prime Minister Pearson pro-

testing the use of poison gas by
the United States, and the bomb-
ing of North Vietnam,

The leaflet ended with “STOP
THE KILLING NOW,” and had
space for a signature, Over 2,000
were handed out, Copies may still
be obtained by writing or tele-
phoning the B,C, PEACE COUN-
CIL at 339 West Pender Street,
Vancouver 3—MU 5-9958,

Similar demonstrations were
held in Toronto and other Cana-
dian centres, %

In Washington over 15,000
people, including students and
members of peace organizations,
marched through the Capital and
picketed the White House on Sat-
urday demanding an end to the
war in Vietnam,

News reports said that over

30,000 people gathered in a Wash-
ington square for the final rally,
at which the speakers included
Alaskan Senator Ernest Guening,
The rally—of historic size on a
peace issue in Washington —
adopted a petition to Congress
urging the war in Vietnam be
halted,

The pickets at the White House
included delegations from all
over the U,S, The petition said
the war brings untold suffering to
the people of Vietnam; itis waged
on behalf of a series of unpopu-
lar regimes in Saigon which
topple one after the other, and
not for the ideas proclaimed by
the U,S,

Pickets carried placards which
read: “Stop the Bombing,” and
“Withdraw U.S, Troops,” Organ-
izers of the demonstration, which
included the Women Strike for

City tacks new tax on

With cynical disregard for the
needs of hard pressed ratepayers
Vancouver City Council last week
upped the city mill rate to anun-
precedented 41 mills in spite of

’ the fact that they had already

balanced the budget,

The purpose of the one mill
increase is to help finance a
“pay as you go” program which
would eliminate the need for pub-
lic borrowing and consequent debt
charges,

Author of the scheme is Alder-
man Bell-Irving, who also wants
to put parking meters into Stan-
ley Park, and turnstiles at the
city museum,

The effect of this decision
along with. increased school and
water costs will be a$20 average
tax increase for the average
Vancouver homemaker, which
will wipe out the $15 homeowner

grant increase and lift another
$5 from the family purse,

Added to this, however, is a
sharp increase in the assessed
value of land for many home-
owners this year, This will tack
upwards to $20 more onto their
tax bills,

The most shameful thing about
the increase is the complete lack
of faith by the city council to the
homeowners of the city,

City council, supported by the
people of Vancouver, complained
to the provincial government
when the B,C, budget was brought
down this spring because there
was no appreciable assistance
indicated for civic government,
It was argued that this would mean
a sharp increase in taxes which
were already at the danger level,

However, when the provincial

_ jects,

April 23, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Pa

—Fisherman Pp?

Peace movement and Stud
for a Democratic Society,
the protest marked only the
ginning of anational protest
paign against America’s pré
policy,

In Britain many Labor M,
joined a mammoth march W
converged on London for 45°
rally in Trafalgar Square.

million persons in St, Pete
Square heard Pope Paul VI®
for negotiations to end wal»
statement during an outdoor

was clearly aimed at the fig
in Vietnam,

There were also many ral
in West German cities whid
called for banning the bomb ‘i
expressed solidarity with AM& ‘
can students picketing the W' whi
House in Washington to prote?
U,S, policy in Vietnam,

government coughed up wos)
increase in the per-capita gt iio
which amounted to $1.5 mill

or 2 mills on the city ta¥ in
and enough to balance the bu on |

the city council sticks an
mill on top to finance future

Is there any wonder this ©”
cil is unable to win the supp?
of the people of Vancouver £0
policies?

An unfortunate aspect. of
whole matter was that Bob "
liams, NDP leader and 2 —
alderman, supported the P!”
sition, If Williams woul
labor he would find that wi
the labor movement is conc
about mounting city debt
it does not think they sho
financed by increasing no!
owner taxes but by shiftiné
tax burden ontd revenue
ducing property,