VALE e Page Six THE ADVOCATE February 9, 1949 THE ADVOCATE Published Weekly by the Advocate Publishing Association, Room 20 163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. Phone TRinity 2019 EDITOR - HAL GRIFFIN Qne Year $2.00 Three Months _._._______$ .60 Half Year $1.06 Single Copy —...._______$ .05 Make All Cheques Payable to; The People’s Advocate Vancouver, B.C., Friday, February 9, 1940 The People Will Decide Soe of its pompous verbiage there were but few points of importance or interest to the Canadian people in the first election radio address made by Prime Minister King last Wednesday. There is to be a ‘spring offensive’ and the election must be safely out of the way before the mass slaughter begins on all fronts. Nor is this spring offensive to be conclusive, for the government, we are told, is planning for a “long and exhausting War.” How long a war Prime Minister King is prepared for is indi- cated by the counting of heads which the British war oftice is already conducting. According to a recent Canadian Press dispatch from London “best available figures here show 1,600,000 Canadians of military age, 1,000,000 Australians and 150,000 in New Zealand,’ while the Columbia Broadcasting System’s London representative, E. H. Eklund, last Sunday quoted the Evening Standard as saying that 2,250,000 Canadians could be counted on for military service. Perhaps the difference between the Canadian Press figures and that of the London Evening Standard is due to the fact that the latter estimates that the war will last sufficiently long for many Canadian school children to be available for military service before it is over. But either figure means conscription or is entirely meaningless. The government, Prime Minister King reassuringly informs us, is not only prepared to conduct a long, exhausting war, but is also planning to cope with the hardships that surviving Cana- dians can expect to encounter in the ‘aftermath’ which ‘victory’ will bring. “Happily,” we are told, “all political parties claim to be of one mind” in supporting the war (the Prime Minister to be truthful should have said all political parties represented at present in the federal house, namely the Liberal, Conservative, Social Credit and CCF parties). The differences between them are difference of ‘temperament, method and experience’ only. ‘The people must now decide,’ declares the Prime Minister, with a final flourish, but the only choice he would provide for the people is no greater than the choice between execution by hanging or shooting. King asks the people to decide between varied ‘tempera- ments and methods’ for conducting a long exhausting war, but are the people to have no choice whether they want a long exhausting war whose aftermath it is officially admitted will bring an even greater crisis and hardship for them ‘than the aftermath of victory in the imperialist war of 1914-18? This is the real issue of the elections, the issue which the Prime Minister hopes to avoid because of the betrayal by the CCF national council of its own Regina platform which opposed Canadian participation in imperialist wars, and by persecution and intimidation under dictatorial war regulations of all who refuse to hide the truth. But in the final analysis the peoples will decide the length of the war. It was not decisive mnilitary victories that ended the last war. The governments and gen- erals, the industrialists and bankers were ready to conduct the war for many years longer but the peoples refused. Fvading The Issue J McGREGOR STEWART, KC, is the chairman of the Fuel * Control Administration of Canada and last week he was in Vancouver after a survey of Western coal production - centers. His function is supposedly to prevent profiteering in coal but he had to say the least no definite proposals for fulfilling his function when interviewed here. Said Stewart: “There will be no profiteering IF it can be avoided during THIS war ... there SHOULD BE no excuse for any SUBSTANTIAL increases UNLESS SOME CHANGE OCCURS from the conditions which exist at present.” As can be seen from this quotation Stewart, who has been appointed by Prime Minister King to keep the home fires burning is not even certain that profiteering in coal can be avoided, yet, in the same interview, he declares with assur- ance “the cost of living is well controlled.” His expense ac- counts being paid by the government, Stewart is not yet aware of the fact all too tragically known to every housewife that rising prices of the most essential foods and goods are already causing havoc to every household budget. But Stewart did hint at one plan occupying his mind. “Should it become necessary to compensate the wage earners for POSSIBLE (sic!) increase in their living costs, arrange- ments may be made so that annual incomes are raised by the provision of MORE WORK rather than by undue revision of wage scales which have applied in peace times.” In the last war by 1918 the cost of living had risen to 161 percent of 1913. To make up for this according to Stewart’s plan the miners should have been doing 61 percent more work in 1918 to eat the same meagre quantities of food as in 1913. Stewart would apparently have the miners go back to a 10 to 12 hour working day—and all in the name of ‘fighting Hitlerism.’ Stewart's ostensible function is to Stop profiteering in coal. The only concrete proposal he has to offer is that is that the miners’ wage rates should not be increased, no matter how the cost of living rises. It is a palpable falsehood that increased wages were the cause of rising prices during the last war. The truth is that never during the war years did wages approach jumping living costs and in 1918 when the cost of living stood at 161 percent of 1913, wage rates were only 138.9 percent. The King government, which removed the 5 percent ceiling on profits for war orders because it restricted the desire of Canada’s bankers and industrialists to be patriotic, seeks to tie wage rates down for the duration. They call that ‘equality of sacrifice’ but the least of the things the miners and other workers will call it is attempted robbery. ING WEE PERMEN ask each other these days, “Do you know any Finny stories?” The one, for instance, about the White Guard attached to a field communications unit. It seems he was reeling in a fallen telephone line. Imagine his surprise when he got to the end and found two Russians hanging on. What did he do? Why, he surrounded them and made them carry the wire to the Finnish lines. Now you tell one, and get a free passage to Helsinki. TRE WAR AS IT SEE IT By JOHN STRACHEY eck of us will support or oppose the present war according to what we believe that it is being fought for. If we believe that the British government is fighting for ‘the right,’ as Lord Halifax recently claimed; ‘if we believe, that is to say, that its victory will produce a world which we wish to see produced, then we shall support the war. If, on the other hand, we do not believe this; if we believe that, on the contrary, the British government is fighting for things which we have always condemned; that victory would result in a world of oppres- sion and reaction; in a world of fundamentally the same character as would the victory of the German government, then we shall oppose the war. For what, then, does the Bri- tish government tell us that it is asking us to fight? In the first place ministers and their spokes- men have repeatedly declared that we must fight for the free- dom and independence of small nations; for the principle of self determination, as President Wil- son put it on the laSt occasion; in particular we are told to fight for the independence of Poland, Austria and Czechoslovakia. I do not believe these are the things for which the British gov- ernment is fighting. I cannot conceive it possible that the pres- ent British government, which not merely acquiesced in, but Vig- orously assisted at, the German enslavement of Czechoslovakia and Spain; which did nothing to preserve Austrian independence; which did, and does, nothing to preserve or restore Albanian, Ab- yssinian or Chinese independ- ence, has now been inspired to undertake a greet war, with all that that involves, in order to assert the principle of self-deter- mination, It is possible that the victory of the British government might Jead to the restoration of their former governments to Czecho- slovakia, Austria and Poland, The Czech government was weakly liberal, the other two fascist. I would go so far as to say that far from being will- ing to support a war for the re- storation of governments of the Beck-Smigly-Ritz and Dolfuss- Schussnig type, I can well ima- gine actively supporting a war to Prevent their restoration. I passionately desire to see the Wazi government’s power over- thrown in these territories, just as I desire to see the Nazi goy- ernment overthrown by the Ger- man people in Germany. But I am convinced that the liberation of the workers and peasants of Czecho-slovakia, Austria and Po- land (it has happened in one part of Poland already), in common with the liberation of all the oth- er peoples of Europe, would be prevented, not achieved, by the victory in this war of the govern- ments of Chamberlain and Dala- dier, Wor do I believe that the pres- ent British and French govern- ments are ordering us to fight for the principle of freedom and democracy in general If they were fighting, either for the free- dom of other peoples or the demo- eracy of their own peoples, the British government would not deny the slightest advance even towards freedom for the Indian people, and the French govern- ment would not have gone far to- wards destroying democracy for the French people. e E ARE often told, however, that the real aim of the Bri- tish government is not so much any of the above things, as to ‘erush Hitlerism.’ Is this true? It is not true at all in the sense which we are intended to under- stand; but there is a sense in which the British government really does want to crush, or at any rate ,eliminate, Hitlerism. When the British government declares that it is fighting ‘to FORUM OF THE PEOPLE | Frank Comment On The CCF To the Editor—H. Gargrave, CCF provincial secretary, in his letter as published in your Jan. 12 issue, states that he does not align himself with the Chamber- lain-Daladier axis, or the Stalin- Hitler axis, but that his concern is a working class axis here in Canada, which means that he is an isolationist, sitting on the fence hoping that when he does jump he will land on a soft spot alongside MacInnis, or maybe Garland, who both got where they are by paying lip service to the working class. It is time we of the CCF took stock of ourselves, our leaders, officials and our political pro- gram. The rank and file of the CCF are working for social change, and the way we hope to do it is outlined in the CCE’s Regina Manifesto. Bobbie Burns puts it aptly, “Would the gods the giftie gie us. To see ourselves as others see us.” By virtue of their soft jobs, money investments and property holdings, many of our ‘labor aris- tocracy are in the ranks of the Capitalist class without realizing it, and hope to remain there by “rendering lip service to Social- ism, but acting like small bour- fois democrats,” to quote Lenin, which in both a material and ideological sense, they really are. erush Htilerism,’ we are intended to believe, and many British citi- zens undoubtedly do believe, that Chamberlain and his colleagues have come to the conclusion that the internal crimes and external aggressions of the Nazi regime are too black to tolerate; that consequently we must fight a war in which we Shall attack and destroy that regime. (The govern- ment’s publication of the reports of Nazi atrocities in the concen- tration camps is intended, for ex- ample, to give this impression). But this cannot be true. The Nazi government’s crimes and aggressions have been going on for six years, and the worst crimes of all, perhaps, were com- mitted in the earlier years, while unmistakable preparations for aggression began the instant that the Nazi government came to power. Yet (as The Times now agrees) the British government erimes and aggressions necessj- tated the crushing of the Nazi regime was at that time giving that regime indispensable sup- port. Wor is it possible to suppose that it is the eyer lengthening list of Nazi crimes and ageres- sions which has at last induced the British government to attack the malefactor. For we now know that as late as Aug. 28 last, five days before the outbreak of war, the British government was ready and willing for close rela- tions and friendship with the Nazi government. We know this from Sir Neville Henderson’s dis- patch, No. 75, in which he reports a conversation with Ribbentrop and Hitler. “Herr von Ribbentrop asked me whether I could guarantee that the prime minister could carry the country with him in a policy of friendship with Ger- many. I said there was no possible doubt that he could and would, provided Germany co-operated with him.” (CMD. 6106, p. 130). e N AUG, 28, 1939, then, the British government’s objec- tion to the Nazi regime lay not at all in the crimes of that regime but solely in its failure to coop- erate with Chamberlain. It is by considering that refusal of the Wazi government to cooperate, beyond a certain point, with the British government that we ar- Tive at the sense in which it real- ly is true that the British govern- ment wishes to crush Hitlerism. It is true that the British gov- ernment is fighting a major war in order to break, if it can, the power and strength of the pres- ent German government, and to see that government replaced by another or by several other ov- ernments in Germany. The real War aim of the British govern- ment is to secure that power is held in Germany by governments which will, in Sir Nevile Hender- son’s words, “cooperate with Chamberlain.” It is in this sense and in this sense alone that the British government does want to crush Hitlerism, But how comes it, it may be asked, that the British govern- ment is now prepared to fight in order to get rid of a government The rank and file of the CCF hold to principles of the Mani- festo, as did J. S. Woodsworth, who was forsaken by his oppor- tunist followers. “A genuine proletarian demo- cracy;” “INo more entanglements of wars to make the world safe for capitalism;” “No CCF goy- ernment will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism;” all items from the CCE Manifesto, - are a big enough program for the workers to go on with, but we must hold our leaders to it, and make the federation a real feder- ation, uniting all workers to the cause of building a new social or- der. As to the Russo-Finn situation, capitalism forced Russia’s hand, using Finland, having failed to use Germany. Peace-minded So- Cialist Russia could no more tol- erate a war-minded,- hostile, cap- italist power on her border, than capitalist Europe could tolerate a Socialist Spain. Our MCacInnis’ can't have it both ways. What is Sauce for the capitalist goose is Sauce for the Soviet gander. For the world’s workers, the issue is simply one of class alignment. The dilemma of a developed Capitalism ,with no markets for its peace products and millions of unemployed, forces capitalism to create a new market, a war market and a war machine, to be used against the workers to stem the rising tide of world socialism. The destruction of the USSR, where the workers are in control, to which, for six years, it gave indispensable support? It is because it became appar- ent, first to certain members of the British governing class, and at the last to the government, it- self ,that the Nazi regime, having been enabled to re-equip itself most powerfully, was becoming an acute menace to British im- perial predominance, in the early years the British ruling class had hardly conceal- @d the fact (see Lloyd George’s Statements, for example) that it was enabling the Nazi regime to re-create the great German war machine, because they believed Hitler’s repeated protestations that a re-armed Germany would in all circumstances prove to be nothing more than ‘a bulwarl against Bolshevism’ in Europe, and ultimately a spearhead of at- tack against the Soviet Union. By 1938, however, it was ap- parent that this calculation was less and less likely to prove weil founded. It became less and less certain that, if the Nazi power was allowed to dominate Central Europe, it would then be turned against the Soviet Union and not the British Empire. The conclusion of the Soviet- Wazi pact made it almost certain that any further growth of Nazi power would directly menace British imperialism. The Bri- tish government found itself compelled to stop the growth of the new German imperialism, when Hitler refused to cooperate With Chamberlain on the test is- Sue of Poland, T IS for these reasons that we characterize the present war as an imperialist war. It is a War between capitalist empires, waged in order to decide whicn of them should dominate a large part of the world. Such a war should be supported only by peo- ple whose aim it is that one or other of the empires shall domin- ate a large part of the world. All other people who support the War are deluded. Nor does it make the slightest difference to the real situation, that many liberals, trade union- ists, socialists and persons of like views, finvent and propose all sorts of war aims, such as a fed- eral union of Hurope, proposals of the kind advocated by Cole in his recent pamphlet, or the pro- posals put forward by Attlee on behalf of the Labor party. The question of whether these aims are desirable or not in themselves is beside the point, For these are not the aims for which the Chamberlain and Dala- dier governments are fighting the war, and the victory of these Sovernments could not possibly result in these aims being acniev- ed. Inevitably, therefore, to pro- pose these aims, while at the Same time supporting the war, helps the Chamberlain and Dala- dier governments to delude their peoples into fighting for the gov- ernment’s real, wholely reaction- ary and imperialist aims. The way out for the world does not and cannot lie through the German imperialism. The way out lies through the struggle of is capitalism’s present objective, and the best way we of the CCF can help our cause, and that of the world’s workers at this time, is to adhere to the Manifesto pro- Sram in every detail, sections 10 and 12 especially. S P of C CCk’er. Silverton, BG. We Make A Correction To the Editor — In your report about the meeting of the Finnish Organization, you make a mistake at the end by saying that Vice- Consul Tornroos has a superior in ‘Finnish Consul Helge BEkken- gren’ and so does W. MacDonald in his letter about Finnish aid. Tornroos is the only official of the Finnish government here. He is the vice-consul. H. Ekengren is not an official at all. He is only a kind of office bay in the vice-consul’s office. TOIVO MAKELA. Vancouver, BC. A Bad Start For Finland To the Editor—The Daily Pro- vince of Jan. 29 contained the fol- lowing item, which, in view of reports that the Finnish govern- ment is relying on fascist storm E This article, written by Jok Sirachev, noted British a thor, in reply to Prof. Haroi Lashi’s defense of the positic® taken by the British Labe party, first appeared in th Left News, London. Edite by Publisher Victor Gollanc Lefi News is the organ of th Left Book Club in Britain. ~ the people of Britain, Hrance an™ Germany and the people of eve: other imperialist power, againi: their own goy’ts. We can help jj free the Czech people by ov struggle against our own gover ment. In the same way the Ge | man people can help the India: people's struggle for freedom nc by fighting for German imperia ~ ism but by their own struggle { end German imperialism. ‘4 e Hi first task is to help # | British people to see throug © the deception to which they ai | being subjected, in this war 7 less than in the last. Then the | will demand that the war §£ Stopped and a world settlemer reached. ul It is not true that this woul | mean a triumph for Hitler. Te day it is Hitler who is proposin~ that the war shall stop. As thi! British press has been quick {} point out, this can only mean the today German imperialism find itself the weaker. For if it wer) the stronger it would certain} > attempt to crush Britain ani” France and so achieve worl | domination. if Therefore British and Freng} | imperialism are the strongest re actionary force in the world to. day. No doubt peace now woulé weaken these imperialisms. Bu peace now would not mean a set | tlement on the particular term Proposed in Hitler’s Reichstaj speech. J The Soviet government hai been careful to make it clear thal it would not necessarily: suppor these terms at a world confer ence. They could be discusset and amended. The truth is thal: all sorts of things unexpected an¢ undesired by the Hitier, Cham ~ berlain and MDaladier govern: | ments alike would in all proba bility emerge from an armistice and a world conference in presen | circumstances. Neither Germa: i nor Anglo-French imperialisr | would be in control of the situ ation, Peace would mean that none of the capitalist governments were strong enough to go on With the war. Peace now would con- front the rulers of Britain France and Germany alike with an insoluble economic problem which could not even be tackler by anything but a drastic modi fication of capitalism in the so cialist direction. - All this is why the British ane French governments appear de termined to go on with the war in spite of the remoteness of thi Prospect of their being able tf erush the Hitler regime, in spiti of the incalculable suffering which a long war will inflict up on the peoples of the world, anc of the effect that these suffer ings will have on the continue allegiance of the peoples to ther © governments, in spite of th: | Strengthening of the Soviet Un ion which is taking place 1 But these are exactly the reas ons why we demand that the wa shall be stopped now. For the the peoples of the warring coun | tries may be able not only tes end the war, but also to rebuile > the world, after their own fa ¢ shion. troops along those shifting fronts where desertion would be easy, is of special interest: “HELSINED, Jan. 29—(Vavas) —Death of the first member of the Finnish parliament in the wai with Russia was announced today) Saurisi Mojoki, chief of the Fas: cist party dissolved in Nov., 1935) was killed in action. He was 417 It would seem that the ‘demo cratic’ government of Finland has made a bad start in its casualty} list. H. W. ; South Westminster, BC. Veteran Protests Stewart Sentence To the Editor, — The boast o: ‘British justice’ sounded prett hollow to my ears when [I reac about the two-year sentence im posed on Douglas Stewart. Im mediately I contrasted the actior taken against Stewart with tha | taken against Unity Freeman Mit ford in Britain. Lord Redesdale} daughter is an open admirer o! Hitler, but she was not interned upon her return to England fo: trafficking with the enemy. Stew {| art is an open anti-fascist whi) has demonstrated his readiness tj fight for true democracy in Spaixi} | As an old soldier T feel there if} something wrong somewhere ani 4 I want to see it corrected. : } 3 OLD SCLDIER}} | e Northlands, BG.