14 RIBUNE 702 TPE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1956 School classes should be cut to a maximum of 30 pupils. And better salaries should be paid to teach- ers. That’s the opinion of Harry Rankin (above), one of the best known of the city’s younger community leaders who is contesting a school board seat in the Vancouver civic elections on December 12. Rankin is vice-president of Vancouver Central Council of Rate- payers and president of Grandview Ratepayers and Grandview Community Centre Association. Continued from page 1 EFFIE JONES slopment of Kensing- a community Jones ex- the $1,- purchase bylaw Vancouver voters s their opinion at ; coming Wednes- will be used park develop- for es also backed the land assembly by- will enable the city ) y for later use. to be sub- is for $1,- be Van- or a 10,000- at the Pacific s long felt the arena for big other g that building eum at Exhibition Park v d- stand in the way of construction of a civic auditorium downtown. Mrs. Jones this week criti- cised the NPA council for failure to carry out the wishes of the majority of citizens who three years ago voted for a downtown. civic auditorium. Maintaining that both build- ings are needed, she demand- ed that council: give a forth- right commitment to the pub- lic that building of» the’ coli- seum at Exhibition Park would not interfere with early action a downtown civic audi- torium. In a final appeal this week, Effie Jones urged voters to go to the polls this Wednesday. “Let us not turn over con- trol of our civic life to the NPA by default. Every trade unionist, pensioner, CCF, and homeowner should register their vote for new civic poli- cies on December 12.” Mrs. Jones’ selection head- garters are 900 East. Hastings, MUtual 3-7940. an on ‘their MASS ARRESTS IN S.A. Addressing a peace conferen methodist minister and president of the South African “Peace, like freedom and justice, is indivisible. You cannot have peace without on) justice and freedom for all This week the Nationalist government ot staged country-wide raids upon all the forces of peace and progress opposed to his apartheid (racial segregation) policies. Over 140 persons rep- resenting many races and or- ganizations were arbitrarily arrested by Strijdom’s police and charged with treason. Among those arrested are Rev. D. C. Thompson,. L. B. Leewarden, Cape member of parliament and _ leaders of the African National Con- gress and the Indian Congress. The raids are seen here as an attempt by the Strijdom government to stem the grow- ing opposition among all fac- tors of the population to its fascist-like racial policies. Brigadier H. J. du Plooy, assistant commission of police, announced that this week’s “roundup” is only a beginning and that all opponents of ap- artheid will face arrest on treason charges. The Strijdom government has banned all public meetings by legal organizations which fail to apply for a permit. Permits are only granted if the government is assured the meeting will not discuss free- dom, justice, peace or other subjects touching on apar- theid. Even house meetings and socials are banned if the government’s security police “presume” such domestic gath- erings to be “subversive” of racial segregation. The nationalist racial segre- gation laws are creating tre- mendous hardships for the multi-racial peoples of South Africa. Whole communities are being forcibly ejected from homes and _ businesses and compelled to take up abode in new specified ‘segre- gated areas. One of ‘the Struggles against rtheid is being waged by Cape taxi drivers who are hav- , ing taxi-apartheid forced upon them by government decree. Both owners and drivers are fighting apartheid because they know that it spells ruin to the industry. In a statement of the organ- ized taxi drivers the question is bluntly put: “Why should taxis be singl- ed out? It is not on’y to smash us economically but to further the government’s attempts to degrade the non-whites. Ap- artheid in taxis will bring hardships as it has brought harships in every other sphere of our lives. “The whole structure of ap- artheid is built on oppression and therefore we condemn not only taxi-apartheid, but all forms of apartheid.” The mass “treason” arrests are being interpreted by some observers as an admission of the failure of the government’s anti-Communist and other re- strictive legislation to cripple opposition to its policies. Continued BRITAIN about by the Eden govern- ment’s policies, the trade un- ions are in no mood to forego their wage demands. Even before the invasion of Egypt the unions were vigor- ously pressing their demands to narrow the gap between wage scales and living costs. Now new price increases are widening the gap. Whether the Conservative government can weather the storm it has created is doubt- ful. The probability that Sir An- thony Eden will be replaced as prime minister is being widely discussed and his pres- ent trip to Jamaica, paraphras- ing the governmenm’s own statements on Suez, is describ- ed as a “phased withdrawal” from office. His successor is expected to be either R. A. Butler or Harold..Macmillan. The extent of the crisis was disclosed this. week by Mac- millan when. he. told the House of Commons ‘that Britain would be unable to meet in- terest _payments on U.S. and Canadian loans, Britain’s dol- lar reserves fell by $279 mil- lion last month, bringing them to $1,965 million, well below the $2,000 mil.ion safety lim- it. (At Ottawa this week, the St. Laurent government an- nounced that Canada was wil- ling to forego the current year’s interest on its loan to Britain’ provided the USS. wotild also forego its interest.) Opposition to | apartheid grows. CAPETOWN ce in Cape Town recently, Rev. D. C. Thompson; Peace Council, declared: Prime Minister Johannes Strijdom Continued SUEZ and French troops, the first. 2,500 of whom boarded the 3.8 evacuation fleet the same day He reported later that Keight- ley had told him the complete withdrawal would take “two to three weeks.) L'oyd told the House that — UN Secretary General D& Hammerskjold had undertaky en to open negotiations for a settlement of the future of the Suez Canal, based on the of Security Council resolution ©” October 13, and for discussions between Britain, France @¥> Egypt to promote such settlement. Israel, he said, should with- draw its forces from Egyptl@ territory and from the Gaza strip which, in the British £0V° ernment’s opinion, shoul Fi come a UN responsibility- (It was reported this week that Israel was beginning » troop withdrawal followint discussions with Major “6 eral Burns, despite strong 13 sistence of some Israeli mili tary heads to complete evacl ation of the Egyptian St ) Peninsula and the Gaza striP: % t at é@ The consequences of th Anglo-French invasion Egypt to dwindling British é jes prestige in the Arab countrie — became apparent last weer when Jordanian Premier s d eiman el Nablusi announce to the Chamber af Depults that his government intende® to terminate the present * 4 lo-Jordan military treaty to demand evacuation of ¥ a : { Brit’ ish forces from the coun¥7” — Amid cheers from deputit government would steps and measures, tic, political and econoryer 4. carry out its intention ° ing this treaty and evac¥e . 94 rr : ia British forces from Jordam territory.” : ith Identifying _ Jordan a invasion. 16 DECEMBER 7, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — pAGE yatin’ ' .