Review +c ‘Boy, did | tell him! N Vancouver to officially open the 49th annual Pacific National Exhibition last Saturday, Prime Minister Diefenbaker chose the occasion in a press interview to tell the world what he would have told Nikita Khrushchev, had the Soviet prime minister been able to include Canada in his U.S. visit next month. “P.M. Had Words for Mr. K.” So ran one of Monday’s headlines. Despite wide public demand that an official invitation be extended to Mr. K. to visit Canada, Dief him- self is quoted as stating that no such invitation was issued but that diplomatic “inquiries” had been made. But the P.M. had “words” which must have been highly pleasing to Washington at least. With his finest exhibit of dema- gogic bluster, Dief would have told Mr. K. about the great “strength and determination” of our de- fences. Then he would have given Mr. K. a tory rhapsody on the true nature” of our political, economic and social life; a tory version of the “superiority” of our capitalist way-of-life over that of _ Socialism. Dief would also take Mr. K. to task about the “domination exercised by the USSR over other European countries” where people “under international Communist rule - - . have lost. their national independence, human liberty, stan- ~_ dard of living” and so forth. Since Mr. K. wasn’t present to receive such a flow of “words” we can only speculate on what he might have said in this imaginary tete-a-tete with Dief. The matter of some $2 billion dollars annually for war against the USSR; the occupation of Cana- dian territory by extensive U.S. military forces and U.S.-triggered missile launching bases, aimed at the Soviet Union. Strange tokens of “friendship” indeed! Mr. K. might also have observed Pacific Tribune Phone MUtual 5-5288 Editor — TOM McEWEN Managing’ Editor — BERT WHYTE Published weekly at Room 6 — 426 Main Street Vancouver 4, B.C. Printed in a Union Shop Subscription Rates: One Year: $4.00 Six Months: $2.25 Canadian and Commonwealth countries (except Australia): $4.00 one year. Australia, United States and all other countries: $5.00 one year. that while our big cartels and big monopolies are very prosperous, thousands of other Canadian work- ers and farmers don’t appear to be enjoying the superior “‘prosperity” of Dief’s tory Shangri-La. On the social amenities Mr. K. might also’ have reminded Dief that it isn’t cultured or good man- ners for Canada’s prime minister te deride an “intended” guest in absentia, even when and if such derision brings cold-war_ plaudits from: Washington. We don’t know what Mr. K. would have. said to Dief’s “our de- votion to NATO has in no way diminished,” but we know what we and millions of Canadians are cur- rently saying: “Get out of NATO and out of U.S. war entangle- ments!” Canadians who are al- ready agreed they have “followed John” too long and too far for the. peace and welfare of their country. Dief’s “wordy” bout with an imaginary Mr. K. was low-grade politics, staged to please Washing- ton — and make Canadians blush — with shame. EDITORIAL PAGE «x BCFL co OR all its affiliated unions and those presently outside its ranks, totalling some 165,000 or- ganized working men and women, the coming convention of the Brit- ish Columbia Federation of Labor in October will undoubtedly be the most important. in B.C. labor’s long record of achievement. Today history confronts the BCFL convention with the urgency... of united and clear-cut decisions on a whole number of vital issues, political, economic and __ social, issues vital to lavor-s survival. To break the shackles of the in- famous Socred Bill 43 from its hands, in order that its full strength, solidarity and unity can be mobilized to win a greater share of the vast wealth labor produces, and to hold nation-wide organized monopoly - government attacks upon labor in check. To bring the full strength of organized labor to bear in a world- wide struggle for peace; for the banning of all forms and use of nuclear weapons, and the dedica- tion of Canada’s natural and fin- ancial resources for peoples’ pros- perity. To make labor’s voice reson- * Comment nvention ant for national and internat solidarity against the monop war conspirators and thelr g0 The Canadian Labor Con resolution on united labor-fa political action to provide a pe ples’ parliamentary -alternative the rule of monopoly big busi remains in effect dormant or torted in its letter and spirit” one-partisan concept. Just so as this narrow and_shortsig! distortion continues, orgamiZ labor and the people generally B.C. and elsewhere in Canada, be at the mercy of big bu government, through tory, li socred or piebald “coalitions” the same gang. These are only a few of burning issues demanding ¢ cut decisions by the BCFL con tion, but these alone are basic organized labor’s survival. From uow on until the conve tion, BCFL affiliate unions W find it time well spent to Pp these issues on local agendas, hi mering out decisive resolutid which will guarantee labor’s 4 vance on all fronts. - Tom McEwen Y one-hundred-percenter bel- ligerent stuck out his jaw and unlimbered. his master stroke: “Can you give me one good reason why we should invite Khrushchev to this country, just one?” Well pal, I thought to myself, it is obvious the coldwar has got you you a few. ! “Suppose,” I began, “we go back a bit. Do you remember a speech made by Winston Church- ill in the British House of Com- mons on February 27, 1945? Of course you don’t. Well; here’s his exact words: “<“The impression I brought back from the Crimea and from -all my other. contacts is that Mar- shall Stalin and the Soviet lead- friendship and equality with the Western democracies. I feel that their word is their bond. I know of no government which stands by its obligations more solidly - than the Soviet government.’ ” My coldwar addict sneered. He had been lapping up the negative “polls” in the monopoly press. pretty well ossified, but I’ll give . ers wish to live in honourable . “Churchill said a lot of things, why do you pick on that particu- lar one?” ~ I agreed. Churchill had said a lot of things, long before and long after the Crimea conference. He had pounded the tom-toms for in- tervention and .war against the USSR from 1917 -to 1939, and from 1947 on. At Fulton he had launched the coldwar virus against the Soviet Union, a deadly politi- cal disease which then and since has menaced the peace of the en- . tire world. “Well, that’s - fine,” skeptic, “but leaving Churchill out of it, your arguments for Khrushchey coming here are pret- ty slim.” 3 For more background to urgent present-day reasons I threw in An- thony Eden on the same post-Cri- mea subject. ‘Can anyone doubt that had we had in 1939 the same unity between Russia, Britain and the USA that we have cemented at Yalta, there would not have been the present war. I go further; can anyone doubt that as long as we uphold that unity, there. will not be another war?” “Aw, that’s a long time ago. Haven’t you got anything new?” came the peevish retort. Yes: just a few months ago dur- ing his visit to the USSR Prime Minister Harold Macmillan attend- ed a banquet in Moscow, a ban- quet honoring the 41st anniver- sary of the foundation of the Sov- iet Red Army and Navy. said my With glass in hand Macmillan | rose to propose a toast to Nikita a Khrushchev, a very fine toast in- } deed. Macmillan said: “This is } truly a constructive life’s work — which you have undertaken. The | future before the Soviet people is one of expanding. horizons. Acros the steppes glows the furnace of. industry beckoning to a promised land. This is no mirage which you see before you. It is\sober reality- The rate and quality of your pro- | gress are indeed extraordinary and — so far as I know — unpar- | alleled in history. Gentlemen, I | give you the toast of the Prime | Minister of the Soviet Union — coupled with the health of the members of the Soviet Govern- ment.” ‘ £ I could see a bit of thaw setting in. “Aw, hell, a man doesn’t’ know who to believe. If it’s like you say why don’t. Diefenbaker invite Khrushchev to Canada?” ‘| Well, why not? While the ex- — ponents of cold-cum-hot war may make .fine speeches about peace and friendship with the USSR (while they scheme for war) the common people everywhere are very forthright. They want peace and an end to the threat of nue lear annihilation. “Just drop a line to Diefenbak- er, telling him you would very | much like to have Nikita Khrush- | chev visit Canada, and that you ~ personally, don’t give a damn | whether Washington likes it or not!” : August 28, 1 959—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page !