Page Six

THE ADVOCATE

THE ADVOCATE

Published Weekly by the Advocate Publishing Association, Room 20

163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. Phone TRinity 2019
EDITGR - HAL GRIFFIN

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Vancouver, B.C., Friday, February 23, 1940

Stop This Intervention

RE CANADIANS to be sent to Finland to bolster the Man-

nerheim-Ryti regime in its desperate struggle to perpetuate
its weakening grip on the Finnish people and thereby to save
for Canadian, British and American capitalist interests their
$200,000,000 investment in that country?

This is the question facing the Canadian people today. For
it is the Canadian people who are paying in increased taxation,
in curtailed social expenditures, in higher living costs, for
Canada’s part in the European war, And it will be the Cana-
dian people from whose living standard will be extracted the
cost of saving Finnish ‘democracy.’

Certainly Canadian big business, now engaged in filling its
coffers with the sacrificed interests of the people, will not pay
the cost of the war with the Soviet Union it is so vociierously
anticipating. And the King government, which is reiusing to
increase taxation on profits, although the past three years’
profits were the highest in Canada’s history, has already demon-
strated that it is not concerned in protecting the people’s in-
terests.

While inspired articles and letters appear in our press urg-
ing the sending of Canadian troops to Finland in whatever
guise, while men like Brigadier Sutherland Brown, Conserva-
tive candidate in Victoria, openly declare that more Canadians
should be recruited because they may have to cross the Pa-
cific to fight Russia and “close up the back door,” the Ameri-
can press declares that sending of Canadian troops to Finland
is Seriously under discussion.

Thus the New York Times in a Washington dispatch on
Feb. 13 stated:

“Coincidentally reports persisted in this capital that Brit-
ain and France are preparing three divisions, one Polish, one
French, and one Canadian, for possible transport to the Fin-
nish front should the Soviet attack succeed or should Ger-
many intervene in Scandinavia.”

And the San Francisco People’s World declared in a Lon-
don dispatch on Feb. 16:

Present plans provide for the first expeditionary force
against the Soviet to number 60,000 men. The army will in-
clude a division of Canadians, a French section and a hetero-
geneous division of Poles, Englishmen and Ausitians.

. Decision to use the Canadian troops for the attack on the

Soviet through the north appears to have been made on the
basis of two arguments.
be more enthusiasm in Canada for a war on the Soviet Union
than for the Allied war on Germany. The experience of the

for Finland will break down Canadian popular resistance to
sending manpower to England’s aid.

The second consideration is the belief that Canadians
are accustomed to the cold and snow, and wiil be better able
to withstand the rigors of the Finnish climate. For the same
reason, Daladier is sending detachments of the French Alpine
troops, whose experience in the snows has hardened them.
It is also pointed out that the F rench Alpine soldiers are
some of the best ski troops in Europe.

If there are any illusions persisting in Canadian ruling class
circles that the Canadian people, any more than the working
class of any other country, can be whipped into a chauvinist
frenzy of support for war against the Soviet Union, they were
best dispelled immediately. q

The Canadian people, who have drawn hope and inspiration
from the tremendous economic and social advances of the
Soviet Union, do not want any part of a war against the USSR
to make the world safe for Capitalism.

But the fact remains thai the King government, which by
its policies virtually committed the Canadian people to war
without consulting them, which ignored its pledge to consult
parliament before sending any Canadian troops overseas, is
now dangerously close to committing this country to disastrous
ventures against the Soviet Union—without consulting the
people.

And the Conservative, CCF and New Democracy parties,
.by fighting this election on the false issue of conduct of the
War, instead of on the true issue of war or peace, are aiding
and abetting the King government.

Build The CLDL

HE MOST accurate measure of the temper of the Canadian
people at the present time is that fact that none of the
parties contesting the federal election dares support the re-
pressive measures taken to silence all opposition to Canada’s
participation in the European war.

The Liberal party thus far has chosen to ignore the growing
protest movement against the dictatorial powers seized by the
King government under the War Measures Act and utilized
against the Canadian labor movement. The Conservative party
which, if returned to bower, would not hesitate to use these
POwers in precisely the same manner, pays tribute to the
people’s protest by demagogic criticism of the King govern-
ment’s anti-democratic actions. a

There is every indication that the Canadian people are fast
awakening to the fact that their hard-won inheritance of civil
liberty is threatened as never before. And the newly-recon-

fense League, in the foreward to a pamphlet just publi

» 10 published b
the CLDL, entitled ‘On Guard for Civil] Liberty,’ voices the
sentiments of hundreds of thousands of Canadians when he

“The question arises: In what direction are we travelling?
The force of government authority has been given to the most
reactionary measures ever employed in Canada under the
name of Law. ...

Under these devices the tendencies towards fascism
develop. Fascism thrives on the overthrow of the liberty
of the people ...

“Tt must not be permitted to proceed unchecked in -
ada. It will not succeed if the people are Balchieecd ee
have beaten reaction before today in Canada. It must be de-
feated in this attempt to crush the civil rights of Canadians.”

Against the fascist-like tendencies readily discernable in
the Canadian economic and political structure the Canadian
Labor Defense League is a mighty force. It should be regarded
as the duty of every Canadian who values his civil liberty to
strengthen it.

ISSUES BEFORE THE PEOPLE

By FERGUS McKEAN

qe most important federal election in Canada’s history will be consummated within less

than five weeks. Its importance lies in the fact that because of Canada’s strategic po-
sition in the British confine, as one of the principal sources of supply of foodstuffs, raw ma-
terials, munitions and the center of the Royal Air Force training and supply scheme, the at-
titude which the Canadian people register in the election can be a decisive factor in the con-
tinuation and extension of the present war or in its termination. : :

However, while the Canadian people have the opportunity of influencing the future
course of world history for peace or war in the election it does not follow that the election
is a democratic one. On the contrary, the War Measures Act provides in advance for the
arrest of any person or candidate who dares to criticize or oppose Canada’s war policy. It
is a war election and regardless of whether the War Measures Act is invoked or not the fact
that this fascist-like measure is incorporated in the statute of Canada serves effectively to in-
timidate a large proportion of the electorate and to prevent a democratic discussion of the

Major issue confronting the
Canadian people: Whether or not
Canada should continue partici-
Pation in the imperialist Europ-
ean war.

Se

SROs 39 of the Defense of

Canada ~ Regulations, author-
ized by the War Measures Act,
states: “INO person shall (e)
Spread reports or make state-
ments intended or likely to be
Prejudicial to the safety of the
state or the efficient prosecution
of the war.” Maximum penalty, if
found guilty by indictment, is 5
years or $5,000 fine, or both.

This form of intimidation has
undoubtedly prevented many peo-
ple who disagree with our Eov-
ernment’s war policy from stat-
ing their disagreement.

So far, the only political organ-
ization in the Dominion which
has openly challenged the wis-
dom of our country’s continued
participation in the war is the
Communist party. All other poli-
tical Parties, Conservatives, Lib-
erals, Social Credit and CCE have
deliberately avoided any expres-
sion on this vital basic question,
which constitutes the real issue
in the election. They have ele-
vated the false issue of how Gan-
ada can best contrbute to win-
ning the war to the position of
the main plank in their respec-
tive platforms.

e

Hifi Conservative party pre-
i sents a complete war plat-
form, the first plank of which
states that, if elected, the ‘nation-
al government’ would “as its par-
amount duty, exert every effort
toward the speedy and success-
ful prosecution of the war, in
full cooperation with Great Bri-
tain and the Allies.”

Although the Liberal govern-
ment has legalized, through the
medium of the War Measures
Act, what amounts to a virtual
dictatorship, Dr. R. J. Manion,
the Conservative leader, is quot-
ed as complaining that “the goy-
ernment’s half-hearted war ef-
fort has discouraged recruiting.”

The only differences between
the Conservative party and the
Liberals hinges on the ajloca-
tion of war orders, the tactics to
be followed in loading the cost
of the war onto the Canadian
people and how quickly conscrip-
ton should be introduced.

The fact that the Liberal and
Conservative parties are 100 per-
cent in support of the war is to
be expected considering the capi-
talist elass they represent have
everything to gain and, so they.
reason, nothing to lose. They
stand to make millions from war
orders and the acquisition of for-
mer German markets in Centra)
and South America.

With the war only four months
old their profits have already
jumped to $27,770,017 for the
month of January, an increase of
10 percent over Jan., 1938.

©

OWEVER, the workers and

farmers whom the CCF pro-
fesses to represent have nothing
to gain and everything to lose
from Canada’s participation in
the war. This is proven by the
last imperialist war when, in ad-
dition to the suffering it caused,
real wages of Canadian workers
declined 13 percent during the
four-year period of the war,
which meant a decline of 13 per-
cent in living standards.

How then, can one explain the
CCE’s war platform. The CCF
leadership fully supports the war.
The CCF differs with the Liber-
als in the same fashion as do
the Conservatives, that is, as to
manner in which Canada can
make its best contribution and
help the Allies win the war. The
CCF leadership contends that
Canada can best assist in win-
ning the war through transform-

ing the country into a huge arm-.-

ament factory and by using Can-
adian manpower, apart from
what is required for military and
Naval action, in areas contingent
to Canada, for producing war
equipment and munitions for use
by British and French soldiers.
In other words, they wish Cana-
da to participate in the war, but
have British and French soldiers
do the actual fighting.
e

HE hypocrisy of this position,

which is termed ‘economic
Suppor? and ‘partial participa-
tion,’ is more reprehensible than
that of either the Liberals or Con-
servatives who have never re-
pudiated imperialist war.

The CCF manifesto, adopted in
1933, states:

“Canada must refuse to be en-
tangled in any more wars fought
to make the world safe for capi-
talism.”

The manifesto further states:
“We stand resolutely against all
participation in imperialist wars.”

Once Canada became involved
in the war (which it made no ef-
fort to prevent, but, on the con-
trary, by blocking all attempts
to build a united front, hampered
the struggle to force the Cana-
dian government to adopt a for-
eign policy of collective security)
the resolute CCE stand against
war was immediately transform-
ed into a cowardly, opportunist,
capitulation.

The CCF national council could
have been given the benefit of
the doubt of having made an in-
correct evaluation of the charac-
ter of the war in its early stages.
If so, a correction could have
been made at the time of the sec-
ond national council meeting held
in January. However, far from
correcting its position, the GCF
national council utilized the op-
portunity to condemn the Soviet
Union as an aggressor state,
thus rendering full assistance to
the imperialists in their open pre-
parations to launch a world war
against the USSR.

Ore again the working class
of Canada is given an oppor-
tunity to observe the true role
and character of Social Demo-
Cracy exemplified in the reform-
ism of the CCF. Its role in 1940
is precisely the same as it was
in 1914, of which Lenin wrote:
“Fabian imperialism’ and ‘so-
Cial imperialism’ are one and the
same thing: socialism in words,
imperialism in deeds, the growth
of opportunism into imperialism.
Now, during the war of 1914-13
and after, this phenomenon has
become a universal fact The
failure to understand it is evi_
dence of the intense blindness
of the “Berne,” yellow interna-
tional, and of its greatest crime.
Opportunism or reformism in-
evitably had to grow into sovial-
ist imperialism or social chauy-
enism which has world historical
significance because imperialism
singled out a handful of very
rich, advanced nations, which
plundered the whole world and
by that enabled the bourgeoisie
of these countries out of their
monopolist super profits (imper-

PUNDITS WHO SNEER
AT SOVIET SCIENCE

LONDON.

ie ONE reads the attacks on Soviet science in the British

press, one is informed that

pure science is discouraged and

that theoretical results may only be published if they conform

to Marxist principles. Actually plenty of work is published
which has no immediate application. And sometimes institutes
are publicly attacked for not being sufficiently in touch with

ordinary life.

The same thing happens in
England. But here a laboratory
may have its income cut without
any reason being stated, whereas
in the Soviet Union such thines
are freely discussed. If one be-
lieves in free speech one prefers
the Soviet method.

It is, of course, much easier to
combine so-called ‘pure’ and ap-
pled science in the Soviet Union
than elsewhere, since in England,
for example, a university may
rightly object to a professor us-
ing its laboratories to work for a
firm. Im the Soviet Union there
Can be no corresponding objec-
tion, since the work will be used
for the benefit of all.

In Moscow, Lysenko recently
attacked the genticist Vavilov for
being anti-Darwinian. In lLon-
don, Dingle attacked Milne for
Soing back to the principles of
Avistotle. either Vavilov nor
Milne lost his job. But many col-
umns were written in British and
American newspapers about the
dreadful plight of genetics in the
Soviet Union. I only wish that
I had the opportunities for re-
search of many of my Russian
colleagues.

e

ERTAINLY, however, Soviet
science keeps close to facts
of practical importance. For ex-

ample, my colleagues there are
able to breed sheep on about the
scale that I could breed rats be-
fore the outbreak of war.

its other great characteristic is
its interest in events as compared
with things. About half the So-
viet papers on mineralogy seem
to be concerned with changes oc-
curring in rocks, whereas work-
ers outside, with some notable
exceptions, are apt to regard
rocks as if they did not change
once they were formed.

A very striking event which is
now being studied, happened on
the morning of June 30, 1908. An
immense meteor fell in a swampy
Pine forest in the Tuneus region
of Siberia. There were three or
four explosions so loud as to be
heard at a distance of 700 miles.
A pillar of flame shot into the
sky, and there was an earth-
guake. The Tsar’s government
lasted for nearly nine more years.
Tt did not investigate the matter.

Im the center is a lake covering
about two square miles, sur-
rounded by hillocks of peat which
have buried the trees. Here frag-
ments of bluish glass and white
gistening iron-nickel alloy as hig
as a fist have been found. But the
main body of the meteorite is
buried.

Prof. J. B. S. Haldane, writer of this article, is one of Britain's
foremost scientists. A popular figure among British workers,
his voice has often been raised in challenge against the Cham-
berlain government's policies. Recently he declared that he
wanted to see “India self governing, because I objeci to the
effect of India on Britain. I think it is undesirable that a large
British army should permanently be kept overseas and ihat men
lie Sir John Anderson should try to apply methods learned
in Bengal to the government of Britain. So I think self-gov-
ernment for India would mean more self-government for

Britain.”

The ground in this region is
frozen down to a depth of 80 feet,
and below that there is wet sand.
When the meteor fell, water
spouted up through cracks for
many miles around and the area
where it was flooded and turned
into a lake.

eS

i 1938 the area was photo-

graphed by air pilots attached
to the Arctic Sea service. At-
tempts have also been made to lo-
cate the fragments of the meteor
by magnetic methods. These have
so far failed, but Kulik still
thinks that it consisted mainly of
iron and nickel, and not of glass
or rock. He hopes to locate the
exact spots where the main frag-
ments fell, and to dig them up.

One other such catastrophe has
occurred within human memory.
This was in Arizona before Eur-
opeans reached it. Here the me-
teor fell in rocky soil and made
a crater nearly a mile across.

If so the catastrophe occurred
So long ago that all tradition of
it is lost. Besides this there are
craters ascribed to meteors in
Australia and Arabia. Probably
a large meteor hits our earth
every thousand years or so.

If one as large as the Siberian
meteor happened to fall in the
center of London every building,
except a few reinforced concrete
ones, would be destroyed and
eight million or more people
would be killed in a few seconds.
For houses would be blown down
as far off as Chatham, Luton,
Guildford and Tonbridge.

I need not say that this event
is extremely improbable. It is
about as unlikely as that you,
your wife, and your child will be
struck by lightning on three dif-
ferent occasions. Not a Single
Person appears to have killed by
a meteorite for some centuries,
although a few wandering hunt-
ers may have been caught in the
Siberian disaster.

The space between the stars is
nearly empty. But it contains
particles of matter ranging in
size through single atoms to par-
ticles of dust and objects as big
as large ships. Probably the or-
dinary ‘shooting stars’ are no big-
ger than rifle bullets, flaring up
because of the huge speeds with
which they hit the air. When the
Tungus meteor is dug up we may
learn a good deal more about
these heavenly wanderers.

No newcomer io the A.
cate’s pages or to the Br
Columbia labor movement:
writer of this article ts pre
cial secretary of the G
munist party, was last 1
nominated to contest Van}
ver East federal constitu:
as a Communist candic
Here he sets forth his si
on the election.
ialism is monopolist capital.
to bribe the upper stratum o7
working Class of these coun;

Only utter ignoramuses, 1
crites, who deceive the wo}
by repeating Commonplaces 2
Capitausm and in this way’)

secure the bitter truth th
whole trend in socialism des.
to the side of imperialist |
gZevisie, can fail to see the
nomic inevitability of the tac +
der imperialism, (Lenin on |
tain, pp. 233-234.

©

| ee of honestly co;

forward, many CGE ¢;
dates privately admit the w:
an imperialist war for pr
and colonies, and opposing C |
da’s participation and ral
mass support for a struggle tc
tain peace, the CCE leade: +
hypocritically poses as def
ers of working class interest

Tt opposes conscription, it :-
opposes the abolition of civil’;
erty, opposes profiteering,
poses placing the additional
of the war on the backs of
workers and farmers, kno) |
perfectly well that all of ¢
measures are necessary in o4
to ‘win the war,’ which it ag
must be won. Gould bare
shameless hypocrisy and betr
of the CCF followers go furtl

Every socialist knows tha |
the course of an imperialist
all belligerents are obliged si
taneously to conduct an econc
war on the home front, whict —
sults im the worsening of li
Standards and restriction of
Civil rights in order that the r
imum effort may be fiver 4
winning the war.

The more living standards ~
reduced the greater the shar
the total wealth produc
which can be devoted to war
terial, and the greater the su
of war material the better
chances of winning the war.

Organ, the Federationigt, ¥
tish economists figure on loy
ing British living standards
25 percent, thus acquirine an
ditional £2,500,000 for war ef

Knowing all of these thi
the position of the CCF lea —
ship in joining the war cam _
one of the grossest betrayai
the annals of labor history.

Scores of powerful trade un. |
and federations of trade un |
in Britain, New Zealand |
Australia have called for t |
ination of the war. The pow
State council of the Austra
Railway union, adopted a
olution which read in part:

“We are opposed to coo}
ation with the Menzies :
Chamberlain governments.
distrust their war aims |.
methods, believing that Brit
reaction is intriguing with C=
man imperialism for the p
pose of strengthening reaci
in Europe, defeating the we -
ing class reyolution in Germ: |
and attacking the Soviet Ux

“We would welcome the «
ing of a peace conference ¢ |
could develop a system of ¢ |
uine Collective security.”

Nehru, former president of
Powerful Indian WNational {
gress, declared:

“Owing to its conviction
the war is being conducted
Ward imperialist ends, the ¢
gress adopted the policy of 7
cooperation.”

The sentiment of South Af
Was expressed by the elec
last week of an anti-war ca
date. But the Canadian I
movement which occupies
most strategie position of all
in the main remained sug
Why?

Partly because of the react
ary influence of certain lear
trade union officials, but a
because Canadian labor is 4
tied through the paralyzing ii 4
ence of the CCF in the 1
movement, which constitutes
Main obstacle to the dey
Ment of a powerful mover
of Canadian labor for term=
tion of the war. r

§

e@
CCORDING to the CGF ¢

e@
EVERTHELHESS, life will
Sert itself; the movement

termination of the war will
tinue to grow. To vote for t
candidates whe support the |
is to vote for continuation of |
burdens and restrictions w
flow from it, including cons =
tion.

Despite the fact that all
major parties are contesting
election on a pro-war platf
thousands of Canadian wor
and farmers will vote for {
war candidates and in those })
stituencies where no anti: :
candidate is running they |
still register their vote agi
Canada’s participation in thej=
by making their ballots}
peace.