| WORLD SCENE

FRENCH COMMUNISTS WON 3,000 NEW SEATS

PARIS — The French Communist Party gained more than 3,000
new: municipal seats in the elections held March 14 and runoffs
March 21. Interior Minister Raymond Marcellin announced the
Communist gain, while claiming that the Gaullist government of
President Georges Pompidou had won control of 52% of the 38,000
communities, villages, towns and cities for the next six years. The
Communists held 17,250 seats as a result of the 1965 municipal
elections, but have boosted their total now to 20,316, gaining six
cities with populations of more than 30,000. The biggest losers
were center parties. :

QUAKERS BARE CHILD LABOR IN U.S.
PHILADELPHIA — A fourth of farm labor workers in the
United States today are under 16 years of age, some as young as 6,
and are being paid wages ranging from a pittance to an hourly

wage of $1.12. Exploiting children in industry is banned by the .

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, while the Federal minimum wage
for farm workers is $1.30 an hour. Moreover, migrant farm children
work sometimes for 10 hours a day, live with their families in
hovels, and many labor in fields sprayed with DDT. These and.
other revelations concerning the exploitation of children on the
farms of the United States were disclosed March 21 by the Ameri-
can Friends Service Committee. :

The Friends’ report was based on information collected last sum-
mer by investigations in Ohio, Maine, California, Oregon and Wash-
ington. The investigators found 35% of the potato acreage in
Aroostook County, Maine, was hand-harvested by crews com-
posed largely of children, 75% of the seasonal force of straw-
berry and bean harvesters in the Williamette Valley of .Oregon are
children. In Skagit County, Washington, 4,500 migrant children
worked in the fields in June and July.

The Quaker report, declared: “It should be intolerable for a sizable
segment of a major industry to depend on child labor. In America,
it is not only tolerated, it is encouraged.”

FARMERS FIGHT COMMON MARKET AXE

BRUSSELS — Despite a demonstration of 100,000 farmers, Min-
isters of Agriculture of the six Common Market countries last week
announced measures which benefit the huge agricultural monopo-
lies which dominate the Common Market.

A demonstration here on March 23 of 100,000 farmers from
France, Italy, West Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxem-
bourg was violently assaulted by the police, resulting in one death
and 160 casualties. The demonstration brought together for the
first time farmers from the six countries, and testified to the anger
of some 25 million farmers against exploitation by the agricultural
trusts. They also protested the Mansholt program of the Common
Market which aims to reduce the number of small farmers from
11 million to 5 million by 1980.

Hundreds of Dutch farmers drove to the West German border
on March 24 and barred roads in protest against the agricultural
policy of the Common Market countries and in sympathy with the
farmers’ demonstration in Brussels.

Bankruptcy and liquidation of small peasant holdings is under

way from Friesland to Sicily. Millions of peasants have already _

been evicted from their land and forced to move to cities where
they swell the already large number of unemployed.

The Ministers of Agriculture set new prices, effective April 1, of
a 6% increase in the price of milk and 10% in the price of beef.
They also agreed on “land reforms,” aimed at eliminating small
land holdings.

CHILE ACTS TO PROVIDE HOUSING

SANTIAGO — The Chilean government has issued a decree auth-
orizing the National Housing Corp, to expropriate 5% of dwellings
leased by private companies for distribution among families in need
of housing.

President Allende also announced that agreement has been
reached on the terms for the nationalization of the iron mines of
the U.S.-owned Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Chile.

Members of the Young Communist League in London, England,
march to the U.S. embassy to demand release of Angela Davis.
Davis. _

< © PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1971—PAGE 8

US. plot behind pipeline ded

Wm. Kashtan, general-secre-
tary of the Communist Party of
Canada, issued the following
statement on March 25, reiterat-
ing the party’s position .on the
Alaska oil pipeline proposal:

Pressures are mounting every
day to have the Alaska oil pipe-
line go through the Mackenzie
River Valley and on to the USA.
This pressure emanates from in-
side the cabinet and from Can-
adian monopoly circles as well
as from important U.S. interests.
Their reasons may not be the
same but the end results will be
similar.

It has become increasingly
clear that the Alaskan tanker
route through B.C. waters is but
a ploy to attain what U.S. im-
perialism really wants—a con-
tinental energy policy which
would tie the Canadian North
and Arctic more tightly to U.S.
imperialism. On the other hand
the Canadian government, and
those interests allied with it,
believe a bargain can be struck
with U.S. imperialism and Ame-
rican oil interests whereby they

will pay for the Mackenzie pipe- _

line which can then be used to
transport the huge reserves of

oil and gas in the Canadian
North and Arctic.

This seems to be the orienta-
tion of Mr. Chretien, Mr. Davis
and Mr. Greene. Indeed, Mr.
Davis is all agog about the pos-
sibility of;having two pipelines
running through the Mackenzie
as well as a railway line, and
the development of towns in the
area. :

What these cabinet ministers
do not speak about is that the
initiative for the Mackenzie
River Valley pipeline comes
from the U.S. A report from
Washington in February 1970
revealed that President Nixon
instructed the Department of
State to enter into negotiations
with the government of Canada
regarding the construction of a
pipeline from Alaska through
Canada to the United States.
This fact was made public by
the NDP leader T. C. Douglas
on March 23 of last week during
the question period in the House
of Commons.

Neither do they say that the
proposed pipeline would be U.S.-
owned and that all other deve-
lopment progress would be
based on the utilization of U.S.

Inflation continues

Is financial crush coming?

dian people pay [0

By V. GRIGOROVICH

A few days ago the Bank of
America lowered the interest
rate for its credits. The Bank of
America followed the example
of the Chase Manhattan bank
and other big U.S. banks which
had reduced their interest rates
somewhat earlier.

The president of the Bank of
America said that the interest
reduction was a consequence of
the policy of the Federal Re-
serve System. However, he
didn’t say what was behind this
policy, or rather behind its

‘change. To combat inflation the

Federal Reserve System (in the
U.S. the role of the issuance
centre is played by a group of
banks united into the Federal
Reserve System, had recently
raised the rate of interest on
credits given to central banks.
This, naturally, led to these
banks increasing the rates of
discount for credits given to
industry and commerce. How-
ever, the latest act of the Bank
of America is a move in the op-
posite direction.

__ President Nixon said that by

. Western Europe. This

raising interest rates and resort-
ing to other “anti-inflation mea-
sures,” he would put an end
to inflation and prevent a slump
and the growth of unemploy-
ment.

Now it is about time to draw
some conclusions. Despite nu-
merous innovations, prices con-
tinue to rise. According to
Lawrence F. O’Brien, the na-
tional chairman of the Demo-
cratic Party, the American eco-
nomy is in a “critical situation.”
Unemployment has reached a
higher figure than for many
years.

In these circumstances, having
thrust the “anti-inflation pro-
gram” aside, Washington is
clutching, like a drowning man
at a straw, at old drugs to
stimulate the sick economy.

The growing influx of the in-
flation-afflicted dollars is auto-
matically bringing inflation to
again
raises the question of dollar de-
valuation, and threatens the
capitalist world’s currency and
financial system with an explo-
sion.

Panthers: ‘Free Angela’

SAN FRANCISCO—The Black
Panther Party published a full
page statement in its newspaper
backing Angela Davis, along
with a large photo of Miss Davis.

The statement concludes: ‘“‘The
Black Panther Party wants
everyone to know that we ap-
preciate our sister, Angela Davis,
for she is herself a unifying
factor in the struggle of Black
people, of all oppressed people
to survive, to live, to fight the
racism, fascism, imperialism un-
der which we all commonly suf-
fer and to put an end to this
forever and institute our new
world.

“And we want the people to

~ know that the Black Panther

Party stands behind Angela. For
by everyone’s making known

his support of, Angela, we can,.

turn the power structure’s trick
into our gain.

“Angela has been the example
herself in her action and practice
that to free Angela is to free
Ruchell, Bobby, Ericka, George,
all political prisoners, the
people.

“Everywhere she spoke she

- used the opportunity of her own

Case, surrounding her teachings
in UCLA, to inform people about
the casé of chairman Bobby
Seale and Ericka Huggins,
“She was in fact the head of
the Bobby Seale Defense Com-
mittee in Los Angeles, helping
to raise support and funds for
our incarcerated chairman. And
she should use every opportun-
ity to bring masses of people to
the cry, “Free Bobby, Free

Ericka,”

-capital—all oriented %

market, not the Cally
world markets.

Thus, instead of a™
corridor, about which!
been written in ©
period, based on thé
independent Canadidi
lopment of the ™)
would be a “U.S.
the North via the pipes
would effectively bill
perialism right into
as the controlling f
Canadian North ame |
economically, poll
militarily. This woul)
a further tightening”)
trol over Canada, efit
dermine Canadian
and Canadian sovelty
lead to the virtual ©)
of Canada by U.S.

ei

It is argued thet

guidelines would prev

is further argued ti

dian-owned _pipeliné 4

sure Canadian sovele?)
the North.

Let us look at the
ments.

Firstly, why should j

f
which is to be used
U.S. oil through ©®
ritory to the USA?

The real situatio? i
U.S. oil interests ‘i!
the pipeline at an Shige
of $5 billion. Is # 3
these financial Brour i
to any Canadian
that $5 billion ns if
likely that they Wg
Canada have the re g
off the flow of oil 2”) 9)
ever it so choose iy

pipeline runs across ij

the U.S. market, poh
continental energy ; fh
have become a faci
dian sovereignty wi

surrendered.

The Communist Hy 4

a pipeline being DU

licly-owned pipelint dt
nationalized gaS d i
Canada’s North, aM
the Canadian marker jy
surpluses sold “tt
needs are satisfied: Noe
that the Canadiaf ig
Arctic have hugé we
and oil, far grea! si)
which exist on est
ern slope. It is th@ a

that U.S. interes'S

their hands upo™ ao
pipeline owned ie!
by them would enti
achieve that obl? pall
continental energy * jf

The argument not /
that Canada does -
funds to build 4 fre
is not so. Part of “ow
building a publicly oii
line could be obtt t
ting the arms 3
part of it could ‘ivt
declaring a mora” oY
dends which go 9 "ig
U.S.-owned plan ne
part of it could © oft “|
Canadian Develop ih
tion which, aS 4 i, #
ration, could usé nal
this kind of all-@® —
lopment program. sith

It is urgent tha gb
gram as_ propos op,
fought for now ! 494

2 Dee
the present cours” pie

by the governme?” cil
quire the widest a fot
of the progress! NDP
trade unions, t - rion
fles, indeed all PY id
dians must go int ave
issue which may — of”

effect of the cola e
, future develop™® q