THE PEOPLE Published every Wednesday by The People Publishing Go., Room 104, Shelly Building, 119 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. Telephone: MArine 6929. EpIToR Hat GRIFFIN MANAGING EDITOR -—...--..--...---.— .~ Kay GREecorY BUSINESS MANAGER -cce---es----------- EDNA SHEARD Six Mon tis—$1.00 Gne Year—$2.00 Printed at Broadway Printers Limited, 151 East 8th Arenus, Vancourer, B.C. An Unsatisfactory Report “Regarding Morii’s affiliation with the Sokukai (Fatherland So- ciety), the commissioner reports there was not sufficient evidence to prove there was a branch of that organization in B.C., though Kita, its national director, once claimed Morii was president of the B.C. branch. Nor is there evidence fhat Morii ever distributed the Sokuku magazine, though it came to the Nippen Club. “We finds, therefore, that charges in this connection were un- proven. Furthermore, the commissioner eoncludes that the Black Dragon Society of Japan, a secret terrorist society, does not operate in British Columbia.” es is a quotation from the press summary of Commissioner C. J. A. Cameron’s findings in the enquiry he conducted here into charges made by the Vancouver News-Herald bear- ing directly on the evacuation of Japanese from the Coast and, though restricted by the scope of the investigation, indirectly on Japanese fascist activities in B.C. “An emissary of the Black Dragon Society came to Los Angeles in 1987. Working out of the Japanese consulate, this man, whose name was Tadaaiki Iizuka, organized the Japanese Military Servicemen’s League, which b y1941 had 7,200 members, and the Imperial Com- radeship League, which by 1941 had 4,200 members. Both of these organizations were controlled by the Black Dragon, and served as schools of espionage and sabotage. They operated chiefly among the Japanese-American communities on the West Coast and in Hawaii.” This quotation, based on the FBI’s investigation into Japa- nese fascist activities in the United States, is not, of course, taken from Commissioner Cameron’s report, but from a book published last year, Sabotage! The Secret War Against Am- erica, by Michael Sayers and Albert E. Kahn. It is to be supposed that if the Black Dragon Society con- ducted such intensive activities among Japanese in the United States, Mexico and Hawaii, it did not neglect the 25,000 Japa- nese living in British Columbia. Commissioner Cameron would probably dismiss this as unproven, as he has dismissed the charges made in the News-Herald’s articles. His contention that the charges were unproven would, however, be more ac- ceptable if he had not refused the request for scrutiny of avail- able FBI files and had he compelled the RCMP to produce its own pertinent files. Similarly, his high praise of the RCMP and the B.C. Security Commission, justified or not, would be more convincing had officials of these bodies not acted at the enquiry as though they were on trial and throwing the onus of proof on the News-Herald. r) OMMISSIONER CAMERON’S report has unfortunately served not to strengthen public confidence that the goy- ernment is vigorously pursuing its investigation into fascist activities, but to heighten fear that the official attitude of tol- erance towards fascist elements which characterized pre-war policies still prevails in some quarters. And the evidence of this is Commissioner Cameron’s report itself. The only positive note is the recommendation that “Morii be further investigated,” and even this is qualified by comment that “evidence available did not indicate that the RCMP should have caused his internment on the basis of known activity, as had been suggested in some quarters.” This willingness to give the benefit of the doubt to Morii, whose activities are admitted to be questionable, stands in sharp contrast to Cameron’s dis- missal of the appeals of Communists and other antifascists now released from internment when they appeared before him earlier. In these circumstances, Commissioner Cameron’s report will satisfy none except those involved in the charges, and, of course, the Vancouver Sun, which seems to regard it as a per- sonal victory. ; “A sreat deal of clamor, public uneasiness and many thou- sand dollars expenses would have been avoided if other news- papers had followed the Sun when the material was first brought out, namely, to relegate it to the wastepaper basket,” the Sun comments editorially, proving nothing except that its own political level is the wastepaper basket. The people, however, will not be inclined to regard the re- port as a victory. They know that the Japanese consulate here, as elsewhere, was a hotbed of fascist activity before the war. They know the Japanese consul employed others than his own nationals and that Japanese fascist espionage did not automatically end with the return of the consul and his staff to Japan and evacuation of the Japanese from the Coast. These are matters for the secret services that it may not be in the interests of national security to divulge at this time. But the people, at least, should be assured that the complacency re- flected in Commissioner Cameron’s report does not represent the government’s own attitude towards fascist activities. THINK BEFORE YOU TALK !.. eet Ea — = E yo) _..AND, MY DEAR, YOULL DIE WHEN YOU HEAR WHERE ! AND SO WIL JM! =sae V-340 -i//2 A. New. Zealander peaks For Yugoslavia In one of its weekly English Broadcasts the radio station, Free Yugoslavia, recently revealed that a number of British prisoners of war being transported across Slovenian territory to prison camps in Germany had been rescued by guerrilla groups and now are fighting as volunteers with the Yugoslav People’s Army of Lib- eration. Among the British prisoners of war freed was Corporal Jack Denver of the 20th Battalion, Fourth Infantry Brigade, Second New Zealand Expeditionary Corps, whose statement, published below, was broadcast by the radio station. I TAKE this opportunity to let you know that I am alive and well. Here is what has happened to me: I was taken prisoner in Greece on April 28, 1941, and was transferred with others to Maribor, where we were kept as prisoners-of-war. On August 1 I escaped to Zagreb where I was recaptured by the Ustasi and sent back to Maribor. After three weeks under ar- rest I began to draw up a new plan for escape. This plan three of my comrades and I carried out on December 9. We managed to get back to Lubliana, where we became convinced that it was almost impossible to es- cape from Europe, so we decided to carry on the struggle against the enemy here and joined the People’s Army of Liberation. For twelve months we have been fighting Italians and White Guards in Slovenia. The partisan army is made up of Slovenes, but there are also Poles, Germans, Italians and MBritishers in its ranks. In the war here, the partisan army is fighting to free its ter- ritory and displays the greatest courage and daring in the strug- gle against the enemy. Its prin- ciples are justice and humanity, eontrary to the principles held by the Germans, Italians and White Guards, who help the con- querors in every way. Italian in- structors give them military training. Their arms are mainly of Italian origin. During military operations they work together. I have convinced myself of this with my own eyes. These people are not helping BEhe- land and America at all. By help- ing Germany and Italy, they are making soldiers and munitions available for other fronts. The leader of this organization is General Mihailovic. Third, the Italian so-called cul- ture. If only the people of Bri- tain and America could see the destructive work done by these wild invaders. I myself have seen how entire villages have been put to the torch and how men, wom- en and children have been mur-~ dered by them. It is quite the usual thing for these places to be bombed. Churches are used by them as military barracks and as stables for mules. All this is done by the White Guards and Italians. To be a prisoner in the hands of these enemies means only one thing— death. Everybody should know this. My mate, Colin Cargill, was taken prisoner and shot by them. The facts I have given show the real position. I have written them down of my own free will in the hope that they will help my country and the nations which Books Ks MARX once ‘wrol “Books are my servants, | make them do my bidding.” Tf) had at his command while he w” writing his great masterpiece o: A of the finest collections of boo! in the world—the library of British Museum. Here we §. stored for his use the works of © F, the great classical economists, 2- quisitive minded individuals w. wanted to know how capitalis f- worked; of the Utopians wig dreamed of other systems of < — ciety to take the place of the m’ ery, suffering and ignorance th fF _. saw in capitalism; of the apo) F gists who held up that same ca F jtalism as the best and only sy tem of life. Books, not in one b in many languages. Already, other books had open up to him, in the days before } went to-live in London, the whr¢ range of the writings of Fren socialism, of classical Germ: philosophy and English politic economy, of the literature 2 drama of all ages and most pi ples. If we in Vancouver are not fortunate in our library faciliti cause we have the writings: Marx and his co-worker Eng §& and the wealth of literature ce: | tributed to the socialist moveme since, and particularly since : cialism became an active faci § in the life of the world. We ha & the writings of Lenin and Stal & We have books dealing with eve aspect of the socialism built the Soviet people and demc strated now by the accompli: | ments of the Red Army in ?t titanic struggle to hold and =: | stroy the hordes of fascism. ! Library HESE remarks are by way prefacings the information t? a lending library has been est lished in The People’s new be department and that on its shel ~ are to be found books on soci ism, economics and philosop There are books on the Sov Union and its people, in peace & in war. If you want to kn. all about fascism in its ruthie ~ mess and savagery, you will fi books written by men who he lived under it and fought agai - it. If you are a trade union the history of the trade un™ movement is contained in books here for the reading. &- ence, biography, drama and poet reportage and fiction, all are re resented, but not as well rep sented as they might be. Mr books are needed. Perhaps you have books ga ering dust on your shelves, may_ books you have not read for long time and can spare or mé be books of which you haye m than one copy. If they were j into circulation, they ‘would filling the purpose for which tl | were intended. Why not — through your library and give books you are through with the lending library? Such bo: as I have in mind were ne more needed than today dur the world’s greatest travail. The book now standing your bookshelf unread cireula: among others may haye some fluence in helping to determ: the character of the peace t will follow this war. And w better place to give it wider « in their struggle are basing them-- culation than in our lending © selves on America, England and Russia. rary ? How about it?