By EDEL SUAREZ

Cuba’s spectacular public
health achievements over the
past 10 years are generally ad-
mitted even by its enemies.

Only the convergence of
deepgoing: economic and social
transformation. enjoying mass
support has made possible the
Cuban public health miracle.

The deformed and deficient
structure of pre-revolutionary
public health made the people
pay a high price in sickness
and death. :

Medical practice was mainly

curative in nature. Preventive
medicine was pretty much lim-
ited to certain contagious and
infectious diseases, and only
when an epidemic threatened.
' The. private and “mutualist”
clinics were membership clinics
run on a monthly payment
basis. They were generally own-
ed by fraternal] or religious or-
ganizations, although some were
owned by groups of private
doctors. They generally provid-
ed fairly good care to a limited
number of people. Such institu-
tions existed in Havana and to
a far lesser. degree in other
large cities. There were none ‘in
rural areas.

In these circumstances, -doc-
tors preferred private practice
due to the low availability of

Cuban public health miracle
result of revolution victory

UODUEEREGROGEEOUGOOUUDOGUDUSUOUSOOULOOUSOUGSOOGSUUSOONUOEROUEOOUUEGUEUDOEOOOURUOUOOOEDOUEDOUUITS:

For the first fime rural medical service reaches the remotest zones.

medical posts and their low
salaries.

After the triumph of the re-
volution health facilities were
progressively turned over to the
Ministry of Public Health, thus
creating conditions for the plan-
ning of the promotion, protec-
tion and recovery of the people’s
health. <

The exclusively curative ap-
proach was replaced by the de-
velopment of hygiene and epi-
demology, the bases of preven-
tive medicine.

The present -public health
budget is seven times what it
was in 1958, without including
expenditures for street cleaning,
construction of new buildings
and social security payments.

The number of hospital beds
has doubled. This period has
seen the construction of 47 new
rural hospitals, while before
1959 there was only one.

There are at present 250
neighborhood polyclinics, a pre-
viously unknown institution, in
urban’ areas. Fifty polyclinics
have also been opened in rural
areas. :

The present doctor-per-10,000
people rate in Cuba is 8.9, while
the Pan American Health Organ-
ization admits that it will be
very hard for Latin America to
reach an index of 5.8 by 1980.

Left parties, unions
act jointly in Finland

By TOM HILL

I was one of the 185 persons
that visited Finland with the
Finnish Organization group last
summer.

Since the last general election
the participation of the working
class parties in Finland’s gov-
ernment, headed by the Agra-
rian Party, has made it a left-of-
centre coalition.

While it remains as yet a ca-
pitalist country, the immediate
program that is being realized
goes to improve the living
standard of the workers and
low-income — sections through
wage increases, pensions, child
care and other benefits.

This is an action direction,
quite unlike what is done by

outright capitalist governments

or such as the Labor Party gov-
ernment in Britain.

The Communist Party, Demo-
cratic People’s League, Work-
ers’ Labor Party and the left
wing of the Social-Democratic
Party declare socialism to be
their goal, but in their immedi-
ate program they are striving to
create the conditions for the
transformation to socialism by

uniting and leading the working
class in both parliamentary and
mass action campaigns.

The workers’ parties are mov-
ing to form electoral coalitions
on the basis of a common prog-
ram of immediate demands for
the nearing general , election,
supported by the trade union
movement which has now unit-
ed its ranks. :

While in Helsinki I became
acquainted with the 50th trade
exhibition. There I saw many
goods from foreign - countries,
but now there are more pro-
ducts from the socialist coun-
tries than from Western Ger-
many, Britain and the Western
capitalist countries in. general.
This emphasizes that Finland’s
imports and exports are moving
in the direction which promises
a favorable trade balance and
frees the country from the infla~
tionary sphere of world capi-
talist economy.

My impression is that Finland
is marching ahead, through
strengthened labor and _ labor-
farmer unity, compelling the
government to curb the big mo-
nopolies.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 5, 1969—PAGE 8 |

SLU A RAUL

WHERE LABOR RULES

- Socialist half of Germany

Elsie Beeching and Ivy Hunter. .

addressed a public meeting in
Hamilton last Wednesday. Elsie
Beeching had been one of the
members of a Communist Party
delegation headed by the late
Harry Hunter to the 20th anni-
versary celebrations of the
founding of the German Demo-
cratic Republic. Ivy Hunter had
witnessed the celebrations, hav-
ing accompanied her husband.

“We had not thought,” said
Elsie Beeching, “that it would
be such a great, inspiring occa-
sion. We hadn’t expected to see
the developments that have tak-
en place. We were well looked
after, and saw and got every-
thing we wished.

“What we saw there convinces
us that the experience of the
German Democratic Republic in
building socialism is an out-
standing example for all of us.
The G.D.R. is one of the most
vital spots on the globe, the
place where the socialist system
confronts the capitalist. The
strength and firmness of the
G.D.R. is in the interests of
peace and progress, and there-
fore of the Canadian working
class, and we should all work
for the recogntion of the G.D.R.”
she said. :

She went on to point out
that the G.D.R. was formed in
the aftermath of the war, when

the “cold war’ began. It was a -

country almost completely with-
out an intelligentsia, because
the old intelligentsia had been
Nazi. The new G.D.R. had to re-
build from the ground up, not
only the war destruction but also
the skills and training belonging
to a working class and trained
intelligentsia.

This, she said, had to be done
on the basis of a poorly develop-
ed part of Germany. Every-
where, Mrs. Beeching said, the
German people give thanks to
the Soviet Union for its selfless
support and aid.

She said that evéryone who
goes to Germany wants to visit
the Wall, because that’s what’s
played up in our newspapers.
The wall was built in 1961. The
people of the G.D.R. correctly
call it The Barrier. That’s what
it is: a barrier to spies, sabot-
eurs, black marketeers and war-
makers. The barrier became a
wall that made it possible to
bring about more changes in

The new television tower in
Berlin’s Alexanderplatz.

The Heinrich Hertz high school in Berlin is a specialized sch

oo! fo!
judes

students particularly talented in mathematics. The curriculum ine ics
all the general subjects taught in regular school but mathemar”

and physics are extended. The teaching program is not
comprehensive, but includes additional subjects such as

only mor
deter”,

ants, matrix, vector analysis, Taylor Formula, Fourrier’s series an

others. Eighty percent of the school’s graduates go on to study
matics and physics, most at Berlin’s Humboldt University.
percent of them study in the Soviet Union. The student on the /@

mathe
Twentf
left "

our photo is a member of the Free German Youth.

this last 10 years than in the
previous ten. No longer do the
German people point to indivi-
dual streets and buildings, but
now to entire areas and districts
that have been built up.
Although there was a big
world-wide propaganda barrage
at the time, and ever since, the
G.D.R. expected this and stood
firm, and thus has strengthened
the socialist camp and peace.
Mrs. Beeching outlined the
role of the trade unions in the
socialist countries and the new
system of economic manage-
ment. The new system, she said,

gives wide responsibility to the:

factory itself to decide problems
of production and wages. It in-
volves a widening of the num-
ber of people, especially work-
ers, participating in planning
and raising production, which is
a widening.of democracy.

Each factory handles its own
goods and if goods are of in-
ferior quality and can’t be sold,
then the factory has to take the
necessary steps to rectify the
situation.

The working class, said Mrs.
Beeching, owns the factories.
The workers are confident. They
are in control of the state and
the economy and work for them-
selves. The people as a whole
own’ the product of their work,
and get the benefit of their work.
They elect their own representa-
tives. They have control over
the factory director and can re-
move him if his work is unsatis-
factory.

Here, in Canada, we are con-
cerned about wages, employ-
ment, and how to combat the
extraction of super profits out
of the workers. There, they don’t
have to worry about that. Super-
exploitation here is done by a
capitalist boss. In a socialist
society the workers and trade
unions are motivated differently.
Under capitalism, worker is pit-
ted against worker, factory de-
partment against factory depart-
ment. There are preferred work-
ers, and the boss tries to make
deals with individuals and
groups of workers.

Under socialism things are the
opposite. We delegates from ca-
pitalist countries, said Mrs.
Beeching, have a problem of
changing gears when we go to
socialist countries. We find our-
selves asking questions as if
they had the same problems we

have. In the G.D.R., the bet
every worker works, the bet
it is for him and his group.
main work of the trade ¥
in addition to negotiating oe
tracts on wages and conditil |
and spurring production, 15 “(¥
development of life outside ;
the shops, looking after the the
cial and cultural life of j,,
workers, and their material
ing conditions.

In the G.D.R. they are talkie
about the New Man—the ™,
socialist Man. A new man ok
emerging, with a higher outlet
on life, who will live a f.,
life and make a more create
contribution to the develoPnr
of society. That’s what social
does. of
The German workers are ind
the five-day week, with 3 they
4-week paid holidays. d
have not had to face pricé hell
rent increases. Half of eis
children are cared for i? ett
series. There are no Stl
riots or revolts, nor is theré q
necessity for them.

German women have played
big role in socialist adve act
said Mrs. Beeching. Of the®”
ed representatives 33 perce®” i,
women, and women play 3
role in industry and techn
gical advance. and :

She said that meeting 4
seeing German youth Ww
moving spectacle. ing

We saw the German worl ys
class in action that gaV@ iat
Marx and Engels, Liebkne™
and Thaelmann, she said. =)

Mrs. Ivy Hunter showed the
ored slides. She said that a
most important thing she tio?
in the G.D.R. was the eradlt the
of Naziism, and the fact th@"
it has produced a new port
cialist people. She talked 7 gl
the lively life, the ind¥S os
advance, and told many 5°
about personal meetings gpd
sailors, soldiers, workers ~
especially German childre™ ¢

In a hushed voice she §
about the concentration “ie
and the mass murder by om
Nazis of millions upon more
of the best of Germany's pe”
ing class, and the working *
ple of other countries. —_— st f

She, too, was thrilled DY
enormous advances of so¢”y
an inspiration, she sal
gives her a lift today.

niol