25 years ago...

ST. LAURENT BACKS

FULL WAR MEASURES
Prime Minister St. Laurent, in
defiance of the growing expres-
sion for peace, declared last week
he would go down the line with
Truman’s “declaration of war”

_address to the U.S. Congress.

Addressing the Canada Club in
London, St. Laurent: 1.) Pledged
his government’s full support to
Truman's 10-point total war pro-
gram; 2.) Put the heat on all
Commonwealth governments to
follow the Truman line of war
against China and the re-arming
of Germany; 3.) Bluntly turned
down the six-point plan for peace
proposed by India’s prime minis-
ter Nehru.

St. Laurent declared that NATO.
must build new armies and stock-
_ pile huge supplies of arms against

the “new communist imperial-
ism”. This will set the stage tor
a push for partial or full con-
scription. Tribune, Jan. 15, 1951

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 16, 1976—Page 4

THE COMMUNIST PRESS

50 years ago...

TAX MONEY SPENT

MAINLY FOR WARS

Almost 80 cents out of every

dollar raised in taxes by the
United States goes to war — past,
present and prospective. Her war
budget is 140% greater than in
1914. Japan’s is up 80%. Britain’s
is up 49%. France spends over 6.5-
billion francs for national defence
in 1926 against 1.5-billion for edu-
cation and less than a billion for
agriculture and labor.

* * *

Thirty journalists engaged in
bringing out working class public-
ations, have been put to death by
the Tsankov. government of Bul-
garia. Three were burnt alive in
the central heating furnace ot the
Bureau of Public Safety in Sofia.

Worker,
Jan. 9, 1926

Free and equal Latin relations

The journey of Prime Minister Tru-
deau to Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela,
Jan. 23-30, holds out encouraging pro-
spects for Canadians.

Here are two countries, Mexico and
Venezuela, where the national bour-
geoisie is in power, and has taken deci-
sive steps to secure independence. Only
on Jan. 1 Venezuela completed the take-
over of its oil industry from the U.S.
multi-nationals. ~

Cuba, the first socialist country in
our hemisphere, at its landmark Com-

“munist Party Congress in December,

launched a five-year plan calculated to
build on the remarkable achievements
of the past 16 years, to raise to new
levels all facets of Cuban life.

In the words of J. R. McLeod, Can-
ada’s Assistant Commercial Secretary
in Havana, writing in Canada Com-
merce, November: “Cuba is seeking
proposals in nearly all fields of indus-

Owe mass labor support

to front line strikers

Never uttered by the ruling-class
media is the truth about the front-line
defence of the whole labor movement
by such striking workers as the inside
postal workers during their strike, by
the pulp and paper workers across Can-
ada, and by the Metro Toronto second-
ary school teachers:

They have been a front line against
the wage-cutting “anti-inflation” legis-
lation of the federal government, legis-
laiton which has not stopped price in-
creases, insurance increases, fare in-
creases, or profit increases, but which
is slashing living standards every day.

Federal and provincial reactionary
governments at the behest of powerful
corporations — in short, state-monop-
oly capitalism — along with their pros-
tituted media, have done all in their
power to defame and defeat such work-
ers, to split them off from the rest of
the population. ee

That is not surprising. The crippling
of collective bargaining by the “anti-
inflation” decree, the attempt to force
boss-worker relationships back to the
dark past is evidence of the serious-
ness of the ruling class.

What is surprising is that there has
not been a torrent of outrage from the
trade union movement, no mass mobili-

zation of support for these defiant |

workers. Not simply speeches, but phy-

sical, monetary and political solidarity .

is called for in the face of efforts to
railroad the labor movement back to
the ugly days of R. B. Bennett.

It is no surprise that big business and
its placement in government are enrag-
ed at defiance which may seem to them
to be verging on a political strike.

Far more credit will be due the trade
union movement when labor’s resist-
ance fighters have the: full unfaltering
backing of the whole labor movement.
This will yet be achieved. The need

grows as the ruling-class conspiracy

advances.
There is an old adage in the labor
movement which deserves contempla-

‘tion: an injury to one isan iniury to

all. It’s an old lesson that must be re-
stated and re-learned.

try of Industrial Development, now un- ©

out to be such a step.

trial development as part of its 1976-80 7
Five-Year Plan.” j

The 38-storey building of the Minis- —

der construction in Havana, “gives”
some idea of the transformation that —
will take place in the Cuban economy
during the next few years and the sys- ~
tematic approach ... taken by the Cu-
ban authorities,” McLeod points out.

As Cuba’s Prime. Minister Castro re-
ported, of investments so far decided —
upon for industrial development alone, ~

2.6 billion pesos is for external pur- |

chases. (1 peso = $1.22) That is for in-
dustrial development, leaving aside
medical, educational, cultural and other
programs. The goals in the Cuban five- ~
year plan are truly breath-taking. :

But trade should not be the only con- ©
sideration on the Trudeau trip. Build-
ing Canada’s relations with countries 7
of Latin America and the Caribbean — ©
and particularly with countries pursu- ©
ing development independent of U.S. 7
domination — is important to peace, ©
development and self-determination in 7
the whole hemisphere, Canada included. ~
Exchanges with Cuba in the educational |
and cultural fields alone would be a tre-~
mendous stimulus for all concerned. —

The development of Canada’s posi- —
tive relations in the area depends upon —
the strengthening of mutually benefi- |
cial bilateral ties, not upon joining the ©
Organization of American States,
which Canada should not do. The OAS, —

long a vehicle of United States domina- 7

tion — spearheading the blockade ©
against Cuba — has all but shaken off ©
its reason for existing as countries de- ©
fied the USA and renewed relations —
with Cuba. ft

As state-monopoly capitalism in Can- —
ada searches’ for avenues out of its —
crisis, it may well be compelled to take —
some steps which have been called for
by Communists and other anti-monopo- —
ly groupings — steps which are benefi-
cial to Canada’s independent develop-
ment. The visit of Pierre Trudeau to ~
Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela could turn

a

Right-wing ambitions

Social Credit in British Columbia has
put social development in reverse and
opened the flood gates to the monopo-
lies. In Ontario. the Tories vie for lead- 7
ership of a reactionary political wave —
on behalf of the monopoly power for
whom capitalist governments act.

Factions of the political right wing ©
have evidently concluded that the time
1s opportune to try to defeat liberation ©
struggles and stop the transition to ~
socialism world-wide, and in capitalist
countries like Canada to put a stop ~
to democratic reforms and to crush the
growing working-class influence. .

But workers owe no allegiance to the |

system of state-monopoly capitalism |

which destroys their rights. Instead, it

is important, as Communists have urg-

ed, for trade unions, the NDP, consum-
er and all organizations of an anti-
monopoly character to come together —
and fight back against the repressive
ideas being tested out by Trudeau and
by aspirants to Tory: leadership like
Hellyer. q