CANADA MAJOR SUPPLIER OF ARMS TO AMERICANS By THELMA CARTWRIGHT . OF arms and the man, I ‘sing,” wrote the poet Virgil at the beginning of his epic poem celebrating the birth of the Roman State. For ancients like Virgil there was no mor- al conflict between arms and men. Military virtues and human values were all one. Centuries later Irish play- wright, George Bernard Shaw, also wrote of arms and men in a play called “Major Barbara.” “Major Barbara” has a par- . ticular significance for Cana- dians today, because it states our current moral dilemma over the Vietnam war and our involvement in it. And we are involved. LARGEST SUPPLIER Canada is the largest for- eign supplier of military equipment to the U.S.A. Cur- rently we are selling close to 400 million dollars worth of military hardware to our American friends. It is a safe assumption to make that this equipment from Canada aids the Saigon regime in Vietnam both directly and indirectly. It therefore makes a mockery of our claims of ‘neutrality’ in the conflict and undermines our position as an ‘honest broker’ on the International Control Commission in Viet- nam. We are also a direct sup- plier to Vietnam of goods that could be considered in one way or another as giving com- fort and aid to the Saigon regime. Trucks, tractors, medical equipment and whis- key are among these goods. Our sales of this non-mili- tary material is the direct re- sult of the American escala- tion of the Vietnam conflict. In other words we are profi- teering from the war. HALT TO SALES But this is not a problem for which there is a simple solution. Several prominent political figures have called for a halt to our sales of mili- tary equipment to the U.S.A. Eric Kierans, Liberal lead- ership contender for one, and Andrew Brewin, NDP MP for Toronto - Greenwood for an- other. But the consequences of a boycott such as this would be far reaching. “The first impact would be unemployment in those in- dustries affected by the arms boycott. In Shaw’s “Major Barbara,” the armaments manufacturer, Undershaft, argued that he was helping the British work- er by providing him with good wages. His daughter, Barbara, a Salvation Army worker, claimed that he was profiting immorally from death and destruction. The argument continues in Can- ada today. BREACH IN RELATIONS The second impact would undoubtedly be a serious breach in our relations with the United States. An embar- go on arms shipments to the U.S. would hardly be consi- dered a friendly act on our part by the Johnson adminis- tration. But both of these objec- tions can be considered ‘short term’ difficulties. The John- son administration is not go- ing to last forever (possibly only another six months). And the administration that follows, if it were led by Ken-> nedy or McCarthy, might well consider our actions a friend- ly gesture towards the ‘doves’ in the United States who op- pose the war. As for the question of un- employment, it can be argued that our massive sales of mili- tary equipment to the US. represents a long term danger to Canada’s economy. If the Vietnam war were to end this year, there would be a sig- nificant cut-back in our arma- ments production in any event. We cannot, and we must not, rely on our arma- ments industry to keep our economy buoyant. REAL PROBLEM The real problem for Can- ada goes beyond the immedi- ate moral dilemma of the Vietnam war. The fact is that we are heavily involved in the Vietnam war because we are heavily committed, eco- nomically and politically, to our U.S. neighbour. Our armaments industry is integrated with that of the U.S. through production shar- ing agreements. Our political independence is compromised by our in- volvement in NATO and NORAD. In short we are part and parcel of the whole American political - diplomatic - military complex. If we ever. hope to regain our independent voice and posture in international affairs, we are going to have to re-examine all our ‘com- mitments — including the NATO and NORAD agree- ments. WHY NOT? A man was carrying a grandfather’s clock down a crowded main street to a re- pair shop. As the clock limit- ed his vision, he collided with a woman, knocking her down, the woman struggled to her feet and hissed: “Why don’t you carry a wrist watch like everybody else?” HANEY BUSINESS GUIDE ESQUIRE MEN’S WEAR (Graham Mowatt) Complete Stock of Work and Dress Clothing “THE STORE WITH THE POPULAR BRANDS” HANEY BRITISH COLUMBIA THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER AT_VAN-ISLE PLANT DREW PRAISES FACILITIES Proper lunchroom and washroom facilities provided for some 40 workers at Van- Isle Door Factory Ltd.’s moulding and door plant in Victoria are lauded by Presi- dent Murray Drew of Local 1-118, IWA. Both rooms are equipped with fluorescent lighting, proper window space, tile floors, electric heat, hot and cold running water, white ceiling tiles and finished ply- wood walls. : Arborite tables, individual plastic - covered chairs and kitchen sink (including elec- tric coffee percolator and in- gredients) make the: workers’ rest and lunch periods much more relaxing, while enclos- ed toilet cabinets and proper washbasins add greatly to the’ workers’ dignity. Says Murray Drew: “In my opinion, these facilities come as close to the regula- tions prescribed in the Fac- tory Act as I have ever seen anywhere.” fe ee LIGHTER SIDE For those who enjoy having a raw egg for breakfast but object to the taste of a raw egg. George Fuermann sug- gests: First shake the egg well, then punch a tiny hole in each end (an ice pick will do) and blow out the con- tents; then fill the shell care- fully with rye. To serve, just break into cup. Delicious! You will notice that the eggy taste is entirely gone. * * * A man telephoned the police to report that thieves had been at work on his car, and had stolen the steering wheel, brake pedal, acceler- ator, and dashboard. A police- man said he would imvesti- gate. Then the phone rang again: “Don’t bother,” said the same thick voice, “I got into the back seat by mistake.” a). PROPER KITCHEN facilities including percolator and ingredients .. . aes” ee PROPER LIGHTING, arborite tables and indivi- dual chairs... PROPER WASHBASINS and enclosed toilet facilities . .. This advertisement is not published or displayed by the Liquor Control Board or by the Government of British Ce i Logger's Days are Lucky Days - when the heat hits hard, and Lucky goes down cold + and quenching. Lucky cuts through thirst like a chain saw; delivers big beer flavour glass after glass, great beer quality case after case. 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