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Jubilee Children’s Camp on beautiful Indian Arm

A courageous speech

Te IDEA of Canada as a non-

military power, casting aside the’
suicidal arms race into which it has
been pushed by U.S. imperialism,
and emerging as a vigorous world
power for peace, did nét originate
with editor Ralph Allen of
Maclean’s magazine. To him how-
ever, is the honor of having courag-

. eously projected this sterling idea.
to the Vancouver Canadian Club
last week.

As could be expected, such an
idea coming from such a source
immediately touched off a chain
reaction, much of it in praise of
editor Allen, and some of it, as in
the case of civil defense coordina-
tor, Air Vice-Marshal F, M. Heakes,
describing Allen’s proposals as “the
ravings of a mad idealist.”

Allen projected three possible
courses for Canada; to accept with.
out question the status of a U.S.
satellite, taking what weapons or
orders they choose to give us; to
build: our own nuclear warheads
and corresponding equipment,
which, in the long run “would in-
evitably blow up in our faces”; or,
to declare ourselves “militarily ob-
solete,” thereby cutting our forces
and arms spending down to essen-
tial requirements.

p efe : ,ey
acific Tribune
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‘Editor — TOM McEWEN
Managing Editor — BERT WHYTE
Published weekly at
Room 6 — 426 Main Street
Vancouver 4, B.C.
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\

“Disarmament,” said Allen, “re-
mains our only and ultimate hope
of survival. The hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars saved could be used
to spread the doctrine of world
peace.”

Canada’s “escape route” from at-
omic destruction requires many.
more “raving idealists” for peace
like Allen—and fewer nuclear ma-
niacs who gamble—and profit, on
atomic destruction!

EDITORIAL PAGE

ANY years of study by compe-
M tent engineers have gone into
the hydroelectric capacity of Bri-
tish Columbia’s vast Columbia
River. For B.C. its great power po-
tential could assure domestic and
industrial users the cheapest electric
power on the continent.

One major factor _ obstructs

_ Columbia River development — the

power-hungry trusts of the U.S.
Northwest and our province’s own
“free enterprise’ octopus, the B.C.
Electric. These, together with their
political yesmen in congress and
legislature, wrangle for control of
the Columbia, each seeking, from
both sides of the border, to grab
off the greater chare of Columbia
waters for their own exploitation
and profit.

Prior to the last federal election,
Tzmes Sinclair, then Minister of
Fisheries in the St. Laurent gov

_ ernment, “promised” that the fed-

etal government would share half
the cost of Columbia development

_ with the government of B.C., pro-

viding the project was developed
under public ownership and control.
The Bennett Socred government,
then busy giving away vast areas of
B.C.’s hvdro and other resources
to the Wenner - Gren interests,
turned a deaf ear to the Columbia
public ownership proposal. With
Bennett the Wenner - Gren - B.C.

Electric Peace River mon
development held top priority.

Recently a body of en
studying Columbia developmen
made its report to the Interna
Joint Commission. What has
cally been decided by the IJC a
result of its engineers’ repo'
still not clearly stated. Perhaps’
terse comment in the engi
report stating “the factor not |
into consideration is the politi
factor” explains a lot. Behind st
a comment a gigantic sellout of t
pewer resources of B.C. by Vi
toria and Ottawa to Washi
could well be hidden. 4

As far as the people of ‘B
are concerned, as voiced by mil
cipal’ councils, ratepayers,
unions and other public b
central demand still stands; d
ment of Columbia River power
sources by and for the people
B.C. throuch the medium and ¢
trol of the B.C. Power Commissit

Any agreement which modill
or cancels out this central dema
is an agreement by governme
monopoly interests against !
people of B.C.

Tom
McEwen

;

ELIEVE it or not, but I met a
D chap on the skidroad the other
day who said he’d never heard
of the “free world.” “Where is
the damn thing?” he barked at
me, as though I was somehow to
blame for his short sightedness.
“Not much evidence of it around
here!” ss

Trouble is, as the saying goes,
that sometimes one can’t see the
wocd for the trees.- This “free
world” can be mest easily seen at
close range in the long: lines of
jobless and hungry workers, lined
up around some city mission or
flophouse, exercising their “free-
born” right to wait — often for
hours—for a plate of charity soup
or a cup of muddy bilge water
ealled ‘‘coffee.” “

“free world” as it pours hourly
/from the lips of capitalist politi-
cians, from the pens of conform-

And who doesn’t hear of the ©

ing editors, from priests, sabre-
rattling jingoists, parsgns, ‘“ed-
ucationalists” or what have you—
all loaded to the gills with the
mumbo - jumbo of their “free
world.”

Only a few days ago U.S. Ad-
miral Arleigh Burke of the “bomb
Russia first” cult, told a Senate
Preparedness Committee that the
U.S. strength “is greater than
Russia’s,” but, added the doughty
atomaniac admiral, “what we have
to have is the capability to des-
troy Russia.” :

. Down in Newfoundland and
here in B.C., Liberal and Socred
governments give daily demon-
strations of this “free world.”
RCMP strike-breakers and scab-
herders, thorn - studded anti-
labor edicts and legislation, dat-
ing back to feudal times, with a
Tory regime in Ottawa starring
in the role of Pontius Pilate —
all to keep our “free world” free!

There is no doubt however, that
on the world scene this “free
world ‘shows up best. With such
champions of “freedom” as Chi-
ang Kai-shek, Synghman Rhee,
Konrad Adenauer, -Francisco
Franco of Spain, serving as val-
iant props. of our. “free-way-of-

“life,” aided by the concerted .and

conspiritorial efforts of thousands
of unhung Nazis and _ fascist

criminals, our “free world” just

can’t lose—or can it? ?
Or take present day Africa as —
an example of how our “free
world” survives and prospers. In
Kenya, the Belgian Congo, the —

- Rhodesias, South Africa itself. A

handful of “superior” whites lord- —
ing it over millions of native |
African peoples, :
Segregation (apartheid), mass’ —
“trials” of natives seeking free- |
dom from exploitation and charg- —
ed with “treason.” Countless thou- _
sands shot down in cold blood, |
imprisoned, tortured, beaten and —
clubbed to death by the white
man’s “burden carriers’—all: in —
the name of “freedom”’—and a
“free world” for the imperialist —
exploiters, 4
. Yessir, this “free world” fallout —
is all about us. No matter where |
one looks in the capitalist or —
colonial world ‘the picture is the —

same, with varying degrees of —

coloration, but a single motif—

to keep the world “free” for the q

exploiting freebooters.of pelf and —
plunder. ieee? it
Sometimes these H-bomb atom- —
aniacs complain that their “free
world” is not understood or ap- —
preciated by others, that “we do —
not speak the same language —
when we speak of freedom.” ~
How true, how true—of the —

' “free world’ of Dulles and com:

pany! ; if

fra. s

March 27, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAG