Man or donkey?

TENANT, Vancouver, B.C.:
As a tenant, I object to the
fact that I cannot run for
civic office in Vancouver be-
cause I haven’t got certain
property qualifications. Also,
I am denied a vote on money
bylaws, although I spend all
the money I make just to keep
alive in this city.

This business of having to
own property before you can
vote on certain matters re-
minds me of a story Daniel
De Leon once told. It seems
that in the early days of the
U.S. someone wanted the con-
stitution to include a clause
allowing only property-hold-
ers to vote.

Benjamin Franklin asked:
“Suppose a man comes and
wants to enroll. You ask him,

‘What is you name?’ ‘John
Jones.’ ‘Have you any prop-
erty?’ ‘Yes, I have a donkey.’
‘How much is your donkey
worth?’ ‘Five pounds.’ ‘Very
well, you can vote.’

“Next year the same man
comes around and he wants to
register. You ask him, ‘Have

you any property?’ ‘No.’ ‘What
has become of your donkey?’

‘He is dead.’ ‘Well, then, you

can’t vote.’

“Now,” says Franklin, “who
voted last year, the man or
the donkey?”

U.S. war bases
READER, Vancouver, B.C.:
Everybody knows that the

U.S. has military bases in

many countries of the world.
In the two countries which
were our main enemies in
the Second World War, that
is. Germany and Japan, there
are a total of 43> bases.

The following list shows the
number of bases in each coun-
try:

Azores (1); Bahamas (2);
Bermuda (2); Canada (4);
Cuba (2); Dominican Repub-
lic (1); France (11); Great
Britain (18); West Germany
(24); Greenland (3); Hawaii
(8); Iceland (1); LTaly (3);
Japan (19); South Korea (12);
Kwajalein (1); Libya (1:
Marianas (5); Midway Island

(1); Morocco (1); Okinawa
(4); Philippines (3); Puerto
Rico (3); Saudi Arabia (1);

Spain (5) and Trinidad (1).

Ike’s vicuna coats

PATRIOT, Vancouver, B.C.:
So Ike has been visiting Ot-
tawa, and told us, in effect,
that we Canadians had to fall
into line with U.S. policy.

Ike always speaks in a self-
righteous manner, and in the
past he has made a great ado

about the “pureness’” of the
men around him. Unfortun-
ately, the Sherman Adams

af

EISENHOWER

scandal exposed the admini-
stration for what it is.

It seems that this character
Bernard Goldfine thinks that
oriental rugs and vicuna coats
make nice gifts for Republi-
can politicians. Vicunas have
the finest softest. silkiest wool
in the world. As one dealer
said; ‘““‘When a mink wants to
give another mink a nice coat,
he gives it a vicuna.”

Now it happens that Ike
himself has two vicuna coats.
How he got them I don’t know
but since 1952 gifts of all
kinds have poured in on him.
According to .Drew Pearson,
these gifts include 55 head of
cattle,48 Norway spruce trees,
a grove of nut trees, a min-

iature golf course, a $4,000
tractor, a mechanized elec-
tric kitchen, etc.

Yet Ike is the man who

likes to lard his speeches with
such popular bromides as
“honesty is the best policy”
and “a penny saved is a pen-
ny earned” and “an _ honest
man is known by the com-
pany he keeps.”

Regina memories

BOB SAVAGE, South Burn-
aby, B.C.: The article in the
Canada Day issue of the On-
to-Ottawa trek which ended
in a bloodbath at Regina
brought back many memories,
for I was one of the trekkers.

The trek was so well organ-
ized that it had won the sup-
port of thousands of decent
Canadians. True, we weren’t
well dressed, but every effort
was made to keep clean and
neat, and at every stop thous-
ands of people turned out to
greet us.

At Regina no one (except
the government) was alarmed
when we arrived. The tired
trekkers were, with the help
of local citizens, given accom-
modation in the fair ground
on palliases of straw.

In Ottawa Premier Bennett
was alarmed — he saw the
handwriting on the wall. The
trek hadn’t fizzled but was
growing stronger all the time.

Ontario was starting a march.
In Alberta farm groups were
organizing a motorized trek.
Unemployed groups were
being organized in all parts
of the country.

Bennett agreed to meet a
delegation in Ottawa, then
turned around and gave the
trekkers nothing but abuse.
“Get back to your camps, the
20 cents a day you receive is
ample and the food is the very
best,” he told the delegation.

On July 1 the trekkers were
addressing a large group of
citizens, appealing for further
support. The meeting was in
the Market Square. The meet-
ing: was well on its way when
some large doors in a build-
ing at one side of the square
burst open and hundreds of
uniformed police carrying
clubs and baseball bats spew-
ed forth. They came at us like
a pack of drunken animals,
clubbing and beating men,
women and children. Another
group came up with tear gas.

At the same time, huge
moving vans pulled up into
the square, discharging hun-
dreds of RCMP, who joined
in the fray, shooting and
clubbing anyone who got in
their way.

The trekkers, who had won
the support of the Canadian
people by their discipline and
peaceful methods of protest,
found themselves surrounded
by police and hoodlums, who
refused them a path to their
headquarters. They had no al-
ternative but to fight back —
or be clubbed and shot at.

So they fought, and fought
well — in fact, they fought
the police to a standstill.

It all happened a long time
ago, back in the Hungry Thir-
ties, but sometimes it does us
good to review such events,
and learn from the courageous
struggles of the unemployed

in that era. The “work and
wages” battles against the
Bennett regime eventually

helped to topple that gov-
ernment — a lesson which
governments today should re-
member.

Socialist Germany

MAURICE RUSH, Berlin:
I'm writing this letter while
attending the German Com-
mist party congress here. It
is a tremendous gathering.
Real progress is being made
in East Germany in building
Germany, although they still
have many problems. There
is stil: much war damage here
but, many beautiful new
blocks have gone up. Shops
are full of very good qual-
ity goods and they are pack-
ed with people.

The main goal set by the
congress is to surpass West
Germany in per capita pro-

duction by 1961 and to prove
in this advanced nation div-
ided by socialism and capitl-
ism, that socialism is superior
to capitalism. The main slo-
gan seen all over the city is,
“Socialism is Winning!”

It’s really inspiring to see
the great changes. taking
place in this part of the world.
There’s no doubt that social-
ism is winning the race. The
enthusiasm, everywhere is
tremendous. The momentum
towards socialism is irresis-
table. You can’t help but feel
when you are here that you
are in the midst of the great-
est historic change in all his-
tory. People who not long ago
were workers, farmers hunt-
ed révolutionaries, are now
prime ministers, ambassadors,
cabinet ministers, directors of
industry, ministers of justice,
etc

John and Ike

ED CUMMINGS, Vancou-
ver, B.C.: If anyone expected
John to talk up to Ike at
Ottawa, they sure must have
been disappointed.

Eisenhower not only blunt-
ly rejected almost everything

DIEFENBAKER

Diefenbaker proposed; but
talked to John like a master
to a slave.

It seems now that Ike went
to Ottawa to soften John up
for his Middle East adven-
ture.

Even on the one question
where Ike seemed to make a
concession (on the selling of
Canadian cars to China)
a second look reveals that we
really gained nothing.

The New York Times says
the U.S. may “permit” Can-
ada to sell non-strategic goods
to China , on the basis of a
special application in each
case.

Says the Toronto Globe and
Mail: :

“It seems painfully clear,
in fact, that Washington is
still far from accepting two
basic Canadian positions: that
companies incorporated in
this country, even though
they may be owned by Amer-
ican concerns, are subject
only to Canadian law; and
that Canada’s: foreign trade
cannot be regulated or re-

stricted by any other nation.”

July 25, 1958 —

Ben Gurion poll

PEACEMONGER, Yi)
ouver, B.C.; The 108 ff
which the Ben Gute! i
ernment is travelling will vhs
to disaster for Israel. é
thing but a straight follow")
of the Eisenhower Do.

There is every in
that thousands of peor
Israel are alarmed :
Gurion’s adventurism #?
demand a policy of none
ment and neutrality... ill

Meir ‘Vilner, COM i
MP, put the issue "3 ind
words some months @8°
article in Kol Haam 1
he said: at

‘Neutrality does ie
to take a stand agar
West or against the»
States. Israel should),
friendly relations with # Fi
countries of the worl
East and: West, _ bit
basis of. equality, 2° }
basis of serving as ato
the case today.”

Such a policy
Israel closer to art!
African nations 4” et
her future peacefUt, ‘er
ment as a free and ati
ent country. But 4 oe:
tion of the Ben Gurio?
endangers the vely me
of Israel. : m

=

he
vould :
WEE

ste

Unions and youth

J. PERKINS; vanes
BGs Tan glad ; a |
the Pacific Tribune afl j
Vancouver Labor
finally planning 1° yp
thing to organize "pout
ployed. Now how ‘uid
unions doing soma
the young people? Pay

We hear a lot of ta nel
juvenile delinquen” Fe |
days. It is true tha a i
ing generation faces sob
of the new age wat
created by the col a ot}
ade in which theY, © ya
It might be S@ i 4
final answer iS soc Om
though even in soci? i i
tries there remains 1
roblem”). Pia i
: But it ae also a F
ed that the trade ee
ment has a respo™
fight for a parila a
youth problems vi '
in the existing S¥* god

An analysis ° “isto ff
children prough cout s
York’s Children oo
“delinquency” chat at {ep
ed that one-third will
came from a 08

of less tha cf
Ot course, deine 0
merely a matter int
and cents. Home os é
bi
longing” is important
athletics and i in
portant; and ace |
a perspective fe}
tant. : th
eT at these thing oot
unions, which hove ey
to date, have # ;
perform.

PACIFIC TRB

i