Pot scolds kettle

ational Socred leader Robert Thompson is reported to

have intimated to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
that unless he (Mr. Pearson) “cleans house” Mr. Thomp-
son and his Socred followers in Parliament can no longer
come to the “support” of a Liberal minority government in
distress.

How very touching . . and virtuous, if albeit somewhat
reminiscent of the pot scolding the kettle for its sooty ap-
pearance!

With appropriate firmness as befits such occasions,
Mr. Pearson has replied with the fine dignity of a Mark
Anthony, that his Liberal cabinet members “are all hon-
ourable men’. The polite way of saying “cut the Socred
cackle” . . . and that a federal election might not be far off.

While a thorough “house cleaning” certainly wouldn’t
come amiss in the Liberal menage (or should we apply the
Cromwellian definition, “Augean Stable’’?) what with its
narcotics and furniture decor, we think the “house clean-
ing” ultimatum from Mr. Thompson a bit cavalier to say
the least.

Canadians may recall that not so long ago our own
Socredia in British Columbia, in the process of “giving
away’ our forest resources to the monopoly timber barons,
was embroiled in a spot of ministerial graft in return for
“services rendered”’, a feat equal to, if not surpassing the
current Liberal hassel in furniture and narcotics. And if
our memory serves us right that Socred “deal” also includ-
ed some fine Axminster rugs for the ministerial domicile!

If we must have such a “house cleaning’’, and an ever-
increasing number of Canadians think such a “spring clean-
ing” is over due, let it be a general mop-up, thorough, con-
clusive, and applied to all three monopoly and _graft-rid-
dled parties of Big Business.

Canada would indeed be the prime beneficiary from
such a “house cleaning.” ~

“Step back in the bus, please. Tomorrow we'll give
you the same greeting but it will cost you an extra nickle.
And, who knows, with the PUC on the job, we may soon
clip you an extra dime.

“Kindly move back in the bus, and a Happy New Year

to you, Sir. No, twenty cents today, madame. Clear the.
. step back in the bus.” -

doorway please and. .

Tom

d

<>
Big job for 1965

| n the annual spate of New Year “messages” from the
__ = nation’s VIP sector the “image” of our “affluent soci-
ety” will be well to the forefront. So also the perspective
of another banner year of skyrocketting monopoly profits.

Unfortunately this “image” is a bit lopsided. While
mankind in the socalled “Western world” has indeed learn-
ed how to produce in abundance, and 1965 will undoubted-
ly see that ability further enhanced through the media of
technological advance and automation, there are still mil-
lions on this continent who strive to exist on an sub-stand-
ard poverty level.

Annually we produce a gigantic volume of excuses and
panaceas to “explain” away this unequal distribution of
the vast wealth produced, but few lasting remedies to
tackle this evil at its source. For every taxpayer’s dollar we
spend for the common weal, we spend ten for the common
woe—down a bottomless arms drain.

Thus, while corporate and monopoly profits soar and
the outlook for business brighter than ever for 1965, a big
job for the common people remains; close the “prosperity”

gap between extreme wealth and extreme poverty, and seal
off the arms drain.

to health and educational needs,
The balance went on house-build-
ing and improving services and
amenities ., .”,

right to health and life, There the
prime question would seem to be
not “where’s-the- money- coming-
from?”, but to what best use it is
being put for the health and well-
Obviously there are no “Con- being of the Slobodskoians.
nie Smythes” in Slobodskoi itch-
ing to grab off valuable town lands

on the promise to build something

* Looking over the report of the
Slobodskoi educational commiss-

_McEWEN

ow that the civic election

thunder has quietened down
and the tons of election literature,
pledges, platforms and platitudes
“gone with the wind”, a brief look
at the little town of Slobodskoi
in the Kirov Region of the USSR
might help to restore our per-
spectives.

Slobodskoi is only one of thous-
ands of such towns in the Soviet
Union. Slobodskoi has a populat-
ion of 34,000, probably less than
half the size of Burnaby, The
town holds civie elections every
two years and elects 152 deputies
to the town council or Soviet,

These 152 deputies in turn —

elect from their number an ex-
ecutive council of 11 members,
only three of whom are on the
civic payroll as full-time coun-
cillors. The others remainon the
job at their respective places of

work, and do their civic duties
as a public service,

These 152 deputies also select
from their numbers the person-
nel of six commissions; a town
budget “finance” commission, a
health protection commission, a
commission on education, and
similar commissions on trade,
housing and civic improvement,
and town planning,

These repective commissions
concern themselves with the dis-
position of funds allocated to the
town by the Regional budget, in
this case amounting to some 34
million roubles (about $4 mil-
lion), This amount should not be
confused with current civic rev-
enue from taxation,

The annual report of these joint
‘commissions for the past year
says_in part; “We have allocated
more than half of this amount

or other, nor cheese - paring
“welfare” officials who measure
the public “health” by what they
don’t spend on it.

The composition of Slobod-
skoi’s health commission “is
composed mainly of doctor- dep-
uties” and keeps “an eye on the
work of six hospitals, six poly-
clinics, two maternity homesand
a children’s polyclinic, ., check-
ing on whether the money al-
located for medical services has
been made proper use of, whether
the doctors are able to attend all
their patients promptly, and
whether there is enough accom-
odation in nursery schools and
nurseries...”

There is no record of any
“secret committee of six’, as
was recently announced on Van-
couver, whose job is said to be
“determining” which patient must

die or which will be permitted to

live, The Slobodskoi town council
health commission would appear
to hold strongly to the idea that
every citizen should have the

ion we noted some of their duties;
to “check that the law on univer-
sal compulsory 8-year schooling
is strictly implemented”, to see
that there isalways enough school
Space and teachers, andto*make
active efforts to see that all
school-leavers get jobs”,

Ah yes, and before we forget,

Worth
Quoting

SAN FRANCISCO—By a vote of 9 to
0, the city and county board of super-
visers here has outlawed professional
strike-breaking. A carefully drafted
ordnance makes it unlawful for a pro-
fessional strikebreaker tooffer—or for
an employer to accept—his services
during a legal strike or lockout. Vio-
laters may be fined up to $500 or im--
prisonedup to 90 days or both.

—AFL-CIO News, Dec. 5, 1964,

What were the Anglo-American

‘imperialists aiming at by their policy

of intrigue and conspiracy? They aim-
ed at leading the Turks into a bloody
conflict with the Greeks, so that they
would take advantage of the situation
and present themselves—as they at-
tempted to—in the role of “saviour”,
in order that they might carry out the

“partition and occupation of Cyprus.

“The smell of petrol (gasoline) in
the Middle East is so strong that it at-
tracts the Anglo-American imperial-
ists in the same way that a corpse
attracts the vultures.

—Speech by Mr. E. Papaioannou
in the Cyprus House of

Representatives, November 16,
1964, from AKEL Newsletter.

*

In India, the authorities have re-
cently become concerned about the
increasing activities of the represent-
atives of American institutions, about
their frequent meetings with promin-
ent members of the rightist opposition.

The Americans and their Indian
friends do not conceal the fact that
the recent death of Nehru and certain
political difficulties which Shastri’s
government is facing, have created
favourable conditions for the struggle ~
against Nehru’s neutralist policy for
India, and for the seizure of power by
the pro-Western forces.

The United States Embassy in Delhi
and local American Missions in other
cities are striving to influence trade
unions, women’s and student organiz-
ations. Their leaders are receiving
valuable gifts, propaganda literature,
and invitations to visit the United
States at the expense of the United
States Information Service (USIS).

—THE CEYLON TRIBUNE,
Oct. 31, 1964.

of the 152-deputy town council
of Slobodskoi, 67 are women.
These consist of teachers, doc-
tors, engineers, office workers,
old age pensioners. and just plain
housewives, Slobodskoi Town
Hall also boasts “a public rec-
eption office” always open to the
citizen, individually or en masse,
who may have a request or a
“beef” to air with their elected
representatives,

Just looks like Slobodskoi has
no “Non-Partisan” (NPA) dead-
weight sitting atop of its Town
Hall. Poor Slobodskoians, they’ll
never know what they have
missed.

AA ci za

Leal;

Vancouver 4, B.C.

of postage in cash.

Editor — TOM McEWEN
Associate Editor — MAURICE RUSH
Circulation Manager — JERRY SHACK
Published weekly at
Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St.

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January 8, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 4