Page 6 — Saturday, March 10,

1945

Nigel Morgan Visits Canadian
Troops During Evropean Tour

(Special to PA.)

First question in the minds of Canadian servicemen
Overseas today is the postwar,

Nigel Morgan, Pacific Coast

labor leader just returned from the World Trade Union

Conference in London, told P.

Canadian
at the con-
visited base

the
of Labor

Representing
Congress
ference, Morgan
hospitals, army camps, rein-
fercement depots, leave centers,
in France, Belgium and Holand
and a prisoner’ of war camp as
well as the Canadian Army Head-
quarters on a special tour prior to
leaving for-home:

“Everywhere,” he said, “there is
a tremendous interest in what is
being done at home regarding jobs
and security for the peace. This
is what everybody asked me,
ranks and officers alike.”

Probably the most often repeat-
ed request he met, Morgan stated,
was summarized in the words of
a BiG: logger, who is now in the
Engineers: “When you go back
home, for God’s sake tell our

people to quit playing dirty

polities and get in behind us so
we can get this mess over with.
There is no politics over here.
it’s war—a life or death mat-
ter for us; we expect support in-
stead of division at home.” This
was typical of the many with
whom he talked, the lJabor rep-
resentative said.

APPRECIATION

Morgan found the morale of
the Canadian troops very high,
“excellent, in fact.” They are
also very highly regarded by
their British and American part
ners on the Western front as
being tough, dependable ° fight-
ers—one of the best trained and
best equipped armies in the
field. ;

“We were asked on numer-

ous occasions,” he said “to con-
yey to Canadian labor, man-/
agement and government ap-|
preciation for Ganada’s out-
standing production record.”

As a seriously wounded
French-Canadian in one of the
base hospitals told him: “It
means a tremendous amount to
us, when the going is tough, to
know we're getting what we
want and particularly when we
need it.’’

Supplies are the lifeline of
the army, Morgan stated, but
very few people realize just how
important these are until you
see hundreds and thousands of
huge transports taking up food
and ammunition to supply only
ome division of men.

In France, Belgium and Hol-
jland he saw thousands of army
twadesmen repairine the dam-
age done. by the resistance
movements to bridges, roads,
power eauipment and so forth
under the Nazi occupation. He
felt that the tradesmen ‘were
doing an excellent job.

“Krom camps, hospitals and
leave centers we visited I have
come home with the highest re-
gard for the way our boys’
meeds are being eared for. I
was most impressed with , how
well both officers and ranks
spoke of the way the Quebec
regiments have accounted for
themselves in the field.
‘Amongst the best we’ve got,’
was the common ‘reaction of
those who had fought beside

|German concentration camps

them.”

A. this weelz.
Very noticeable, in Belgium
particularly, is the complete

ack of male population between
the ages of 10 and 50. Civili-
ans in. these age groups, con-
seripted by the Germans for
forced labor in Germany, are as
searce as “hen’s teeth.”
NO LIVESTOCK

Another startling’ thing in
Belgium and Holland are the
niles and miles of farm Jand on

Which not a cow or other live-
stock is seen. “I passed hun-
dreds of farms,” Morgan said,
“and didn’t see a cow. I saw

two sheep and the odd chicken,
but that was all This was the
result .of Nazi robbery and pil-
lage.

The people in Belgium are
well-dressed but there are. ter-
rific food and fuel shortages.
The black market is one of the
most serious problems. On the
streets, Morgan reported he saw
black market operatives selling
cigarettes at 25 cents apiece and
sik stockings at $18 a pair, as

two examples of what this
meant. Meals in restaurants
are practically prohibitive in
price.

FALSE REPORTS

Commenting on a local news-
paper report of CGF ‘speaker
Harold Mason’s statement that
“Many liberated peoples do not
want to be liberated,” the labor
leader emphatically stated:
“Mason ought to see the 13,700
graves of Dutch trade union
leaders and members, Commun-=
ists and Socialists, many
death, now buried just outside
them beaten and ‘flogged
the compound of one of the big

Holland.

“This camp held 13,000 Dutch
political and religious prisoners
of the Nazis. In the two and

a half years they operated they |

murdered 13,700 of these, with
the typical notation in their
prison record, as I saw it, “Died

trying to escape’ and the date.

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the millions of mothers and
children who have never had a
word of their husbands and
fathers since they were dragged
off by Nazi Storm Troopers to
do forced labor.”
RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS

Morgan was greatly impressed
by the strength of the Resist-
ance Movement, the progress
being made-in the restoration of
democratic rights to the people |
and particularly
manner in which @uislinge ele-
ments who. in any way support-
ed the Nazis are being dealt
with. This last applied espe-
cially to those who were mem-
bers of the local National So-
cialist (Nazi) parties.

Ge had the oportunity of visit-
ing one of the, places where
Quisling elements are being de-
tained and found there, among
others, one of the leading banlx-
ers of the country, burgomeisters
(town mayors), former Dutch
governmental and parliamentary
representatives who had colla-
borated with the

Nazis, con-
tractors and in.fact people from
every walk of life. Everyone

who aided the fascist advance
will stand trial and if guilty pay
a severe penalty, as they rightly
should. ;
ENGLAND

Reporting on what he had seen
in England, Morgan stressed
that,

they have taken it.
“Seeing the suffering

“He ought to talk to some of|{

the forthright |

“Nobody who has seen what
they have gone through can have
anything but the most profound
respect for the way in which

and
hardships of the English people

| NIGEL MORGAN

made me realize that we here
hardly know there is a war on.
A WV-2 which landed about 12
blocks from my hotel destroyed
a church, an- eye hospital and
four blocks of apartments—bury-
ing about 400, of whom about
half were lxlled. Incidents like[
that occur about four or five
times eyery day.

“In spite of this the people
standefirm in the determination
to see every last. vestige of fas-
cism destroyed. Thousands still
sleep in the noisy London sub-
Ways, with trains rushing past
all night at 80 and 40 miles an
hour, thousands of people pass-
ing them, no place to wash or
undress and hard, narrow cots
to sleep in. Some people have
been there almost since the war
began, terrified by the early
German blitzes, while still others
have no place to sleep except the
subway.”

Morgan was told by members
of the Building Workers Union,
as well as many others of the
public, that Canadian lumber was

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going to play a very importa,
part in the tremendous job
reconstruction which has: to.
done in London and hundres 2
other Hnglish towns.
Food standards in England 3 :
far below those in Canada, |
said, but a remarkable job bh :
been done by Lord Woolton —
the Ministry of Supply. Ma :
working class families on 4 F
Clydeside, around the Mond :
dock districts, and in the Wel i
eoalfields told him that the |
children haye had better: fo: if
during the war than in prew/
days. -There is no milk availah”
for adults, but every child ec
rationed supply and basic fo,

requirements regularly. i
He found that the war had Be 3

parently gone hardest on te
older people who bear signs of.

more than any others: Howeya.|
British. children look remarkabl !
well. :
Morgan concluded the inte,
view by saying that after h j
talks to the army boys im Cammy
and in base hospitals regardin
their problems, and after he sg

the civilian problems in Hurop |
he came home with a great pric

[in the position of the labor moy

ment in Canada on support: |

the war wholeheartedly and a
the role played by the Wabo~

Progressive Party in contribu —

ing to and furthering that De

tion,

TTT i

Famous from .Coast te Coa
for his liberal viewpoint af

clarity “and force of expre §
sion, this internationally |
known news analyst af

commentator is a Vancouve §
Sun writer applauded by
progressive readers.

a)
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Informed Comment

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