Over 30,000 Canadians have given their lives in this peoples’ war.

Not

monuments: and memorials of stone but the establishment of the things
for which they fought will keep their memory sacred.
By SERGEANT JACK PeULLIPS

LREADYG

more than 30,000 Canadians have givén their lives in this war

They

died for the principles they believed in, the principles of democracy. By and large,

these young men were little given to arguing or discussing the finer

‘subtleties of the word “Democ-
racy.” Like Honest Abe Lincoln.
they believed in
of the people, by the people,
for the people.” And so they
went bravely to their death, in

the skies over Europe. on the™
high seas, at Hong Kong at
Dieppe, in Italy, France, Bel-

gium, Holland and Germany —
and they are still dying—dying
in the last stages of the battle
to wipe Naziism from the
face .of the earth. And soon
there will be the Pacific war to
finish off, so that ‘Democracy
for the people” will prevail in
“the east, as well as the west,
and more sacrifices will be
-called for, and freely offered.

HAVE seen the graves of

our gallant comrades that
mark the trail of Allied victory
in the west. They are buried in
twos and threes; in their doz-
ens, and in their scores, by the
highways that lead to the front,
-as if to remind those who fol-

lowed that no sacrifice is too -

great for freedom. Under those
white crosses lie Ganadians of

every sort: English, French,
Irish, Scotch, Jews. Chinese.
Russians, Finns, Himgarians,

Czecho-Slovaks, Yugo-Slavs.
Every racial group is represent-
ed. Here, scattered across four
countries lie the sons of- rich
men and poor men:
workers, farmers, profession-
als, artists, scientists; stock-
brokers and labor leaders. As
like as not, a son of a well-to-
do family lies alongside of a

15°

“vovernment

here lie -

nian who came from ‘the relief
roles to join the army. Now,
there is no distinction between
them, for they have both won
immortality in the age old fight
for freedom.

United in death are men of
liberal, conservative and radi-
cal viewpoints, united with a
fay greater number who were
always slow to explain their
problems in the light of any
particular social or politocal
philosophy, and who had little
time or patience for those who
tried to win their allegiance in
cCivvy street for this or that
eause. But the bullet of a Nazi
makes little distinction, and
now they all lie on foreign soil.

If such unity could be forged
in the fire and flame of battle,
would it not be a fitting tribute
to these men if sueh close and
binding unity were formed in
Canada ... if all Canadians of
good will were united to per-
petuate the war-time unity of
the Big Three, in the interna-
tional field, and at home? Such
unity would be the most fitting
tribute to the dead of this war,
because it would banish war for
many generations to come, and
really make Canada “A Country
Fit For Heroes To Live In.” i

How many veterans of the
last war remember the great
uplift they received during the
war, and in the first few months
after the armistice by such slo-

gans as “The War To Make
The World Safe For Democ-
racy.” and “The War To End
All Wars”? These slogans,
seribed on marble and stone in

#3

in-

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Thousands of new readers for the

every city, town and village of
Canada, these words repeated
by countless orators and journ-
alists, are they not immortal
records of a grand illusion, an
illusion of greatness that
brought death to more than

60,000 Canadians?

@
@

REMEMBER walking along

Sherbrook Street in West-
mount, a suburb of Montreal
for the very rich. Along the
sidewalks were young seedling
trees, each neatly encased in a
wooden guard painted green..On
each guard was a metal tablet,
perpetuating the memory of a
Westmount son who had been
killed in action. I was broke

and didn’t have a job, and I:

said to myself then: “What did
these men die for . is the
world a better place because of
their sacrifice. Did they die
so that a Hitler could rise to
murder Jews ...so that thous-
ands like me should exist on the
verge of starvation in the midst
of plenty?” This was in my
early days, when I was starting
to think and to challenge life
as I found it.

I remember Armistice Day
1936, in Vancouver. The sol-
emn ceremony was under way
at the cenotaph. Men, women
and children stood with bowed
heads while a minister spoke
before the flower decked pillar
of stone. Just as the crowd
was about to break up, a half

- a dozen young men started to

distribute mimeographed leaf-
lets. Even though I wrote that

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95 King Street East, Toronto

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PEOPLE’S

420 West Pender Street.

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SIESESESESE SESE cece de dbdedededbdede see

meanings and 4

leaflet and planned
_ bution,
‘exact heading, but it ran some-
-thing like this: “1914 to 1918,

ESESESEESES

- many ugly monuments.
a little green park, tt consisted

SGT. JACK PHILLIPS

its distri-
I don’t remember- the

fathers fought for demo-
eracy! 1929-1936, their sons
fought for work or relief!”

It is
passing, that it is the Conserva—

our

ironical to Fenmark, im

‘tive Party today that is work-

ing might and main te wim the
votes of the men and women
on active service, and the votes
of their families and friends,
by posing as the champions of
the fighters for democracy. It
was only a few months before
the 1936 Armistice ceremony
that a Tory government lead
by R. B. Bennett, proved _ to
Canada, and the worfd, at Re-
gina, how litle they really
cared about the needs of ex-sery-
icemen and the sons of Great
War heroes. The Trekkers,
lead by the late Arthux Evans,
asked no more than the right
to do useful work, and they re-
ceived no reply but clubs, tear
gas and bullets. -

WAS in Brighton, England,

not so long ago, and near the
waterfront I saw a very nice me-
moria] to the dead of the Great
-War. It’s simple, Grecian
beauty was outstandme in 2
country that could boast of so
Set in

of a cluster of columns built in
a circle around a clear pool of
water.

Small as it was, It gave one
the impression that here was a
elassie shrine, adding bright-
ness instead of gloom to the
city and subtly linking the im=-
mortality of the dead to the
immortality of nature. These
thoughts were rudely shattered

_ by, the banshee howl] of the air

raid siren: I loked towards the
sea and saw aithin. vapor of
smoke, high up in the cold
heaven.

A woman about 35, well
dressed and pleasant looking,
gazed up at the sky. Then she
turned to the pretty, four or
five-year-old girl who was hold-
ing on to her dress, ““Now listen

, Betty, and listen closely. If I

tell you to lie down, do as I say,

ent?

and quickly! Lie down on a

road near the sidewalk, wii :

:

your face down. Now don’t }
afraid. Do you understand}
“Ves, mummy,’ replied oe
child, looking upwards with 3 —
.expression of wonder rathe
than fear, “Is it the ‘Germay,

sae again?” ee :
The Grecian cluster .. - Te
War to End Wars” . « . the litt

child asking “is it those Ge
mans again?” Here, in op |
‘quick scene was condensed t
cycle of frustration ‘betwer
1914 and 1936. e

Many national and local fi,
ures, Many organizations, new
papers and communities are 2
ready planning or suggestir ‘
plans for the erection of sui |
able monuments and memoria |
to the dead of this war. Su
from  simy
to scholarship

community centers, - natior
centers of art and culture. Th

the dead are to be fittingly co |

memorated in marble, ston .

brick, art and culture, no a :

doubts. Such memorials are-
old as history itself. But @-
is not enough. Every single (
nadian, veteran and home-iri
worker, must build in his ©
her heart a perpetual mioi
ment to the dead. Let him.
scribe on this monument |
_eause for which they died «

pledge himself to work so il
will not have died in vain.

gestions range

monuments

Let him perpetuate this m
ument by working for the
of a- world the dead men ¢
for, by planting it firmly in ~
tender, young hearts of
erowinge generation.

Let us pick up the torch }
the dead and abolish tyra 7
and war from every cornei
the .earth; let us achieve 1 i
ing unity amongst the nat
of the world so that all per |
may work out their natural | 7!
tinies, free from want and |!
fear of war# let us close ra
at home and unite the true
triots of Canada so that (4)
ada will be-a country fit jj
countless generations of he |
to live in; let us harness |
streams, the forests, the faz |
the factories and the mine: 7
Canada to the chariot of s¢
progress; let us abolish in |
racial strife and promote
widest ‘development of all —
tional cultures that toget
mean Canada; let us remen
every waking hour of our / |
the great destiny that aw
all Canadians In a world w ~
freedom, tolerance, justice, |
cial progress and demoer {
are not empty words inscr |
on marble, but words that §
press the life of our people #
live firmly enthroned in e /
@anadian’s heart. These are #
lasting monuments to the 3
of this war. Such monun §
will not waste, like marbk #
rot like parchment, or be
gotten like the words of ¥ ¥
statesmen. No! Such me;
ments are ageless, and wi.
sacred so long as EASED Wi
human life: :