By Bruce Mickleburgh

The Johnson-Anscomb govern-
ment has already spent 420,728 of
the pennies it plans to obtain
from pilfering the pockets of the
poor with a sales tax.

It has spent them on a leaflet
aimed at convincing the same
poor that what the government
is doing is really in their inter-
ests;

Appropriately: enough, title of
the leaflet is “Purchasers’ Pen-
nies Pay the Bill.” It is a par-
tisan and untruthful piece of
old-line party propaganda paid
for with the taxpayers’ money,
printed by government order at
the King’s Printer and mailed
to every household in the pro-
vince. ‘

: e

A conservative rough estimate
of total printing and mailing costs
runs to $4,207.08. =

The leaflet’ tells the “Citizen
Shareholder” to whom it is
flatteringly addressed that
“Everyone commenced, aS soon
&s ‘the government’s plan was
known to the public, to talk about
the iniquities and iniquities of
Such a tax.’ This is the most
truthful statement in the leaflet
and explains why it was written.

Taxpayers’ money pays for an
attack on opposition political par-
ties and the taxpayer|majority who
backed them. The leaflet® tells
“Citizen Shareholder” that “plen-
ty of people were not above using
the proposed tax as a political
weapon.”

Finance Minister Anscomb’s en-
larged staff of “experts” are then
deified when the leaflet says they
knew a little more about the tax
“than the average politician and
the man in the street.” Follow-
ing this argument to its conclu-
‘Sion could leave Citizen Share-
holder wondering why we should
have political parties and voting
rights at all, especially if the “ex-
Perts” could be proved to be im-
Mune to any big business influ-
ences which might flow through
Anscomb into their hallowed
chambers,

Citizen Shareholder is told that
the experts’ advantage, for one
thing lay in “having studied the
application of the tax in 27 of
the United States and in other
Parts of Canada.”

Give-away here is that 27 hap-

The nation’s business

The Coalition adds insult to injury on the ‘sales tax

pens to be the number of states
ciied in a big business mimeo-
graphed pressure letter mailed to
legislators requesting the tax.

The leaflet calls the sales tax
a “social security tax” and im-
plies that all the items in British
Columbia’s skimpy social secur-
ity program hinge on its imposi-
tion, This is a fraud because all
the social security measure listed
were already in force long before
the sales tax’ was enacted.

“Just as the cost of living has
gone up,” pleads the Coalition,
“so has the cost of . .. govern-
ment—and for exactly the same
reasons.” ‘This attempt of the
government to identify itself with
the budgeting problems of the
harassed housewife was exploded
during the last session when ‘the
CCF showed government costs to
be soaring as a result of wanton
extravagance in every depart-
ment.

“The Social Security Tax is in-
tended to obviate borrowing in
times of crisis,’ borders on an
admission that the government
will use the tax to fill a huge pork
barrel. Harold Winch has already
proved this year’s budget wil more

LaCroix

—OTTAWA

EFFORTS to reach some alter- ©

native formula other than the
notorious . LaCroix Bill for im-
posing thought-control legislation
are to be seen in recent state-
ments of cabinet ministers here.

While the-LaCroix Bill, talked
out in the House last week, has
occupied the legislative spotlight,
careful study is made of the
tactics employed in the U.S.
House of Representatives when
recent’ endorsation of the Mundat-
Nixon Bill was effected.

this bill sidesteps the formal
outlawing of the U.S. Communist
Party to escape the charge of
sidestepping the American Con-
stitution. Formal denial of the
rights of a citizen to advocate is
replaced by a definition of Com-
munists as being “foreign agents.”
It orders the registration of its
members as such, and those of
all so-called “front” organiza-
tions.

BRUCE MICKLEBURGH

_ writer of this article, has joined
the editorial staff of the Pacific
Tribune. Well known throughout
the labor movement in this prov-
ince, he has been a frequent con-
tributoer to the Pacific Tribune
and was its legislative corres-
pondent in Victoria during the
last session of the House,

Bill defeat

Chief aim of such legislation
is .to legally impose thought-
control without appearing to du-
plicate the exact technique em-
ployed in Nazi Germany. It is
significant that Tory Premier
Drew and his friends in Ottawa
are advocating similar laws for
Canada. ot

Most alarming for Canadian
citizens is the fact that top cabi-
net ministers are beginning to
express a sympathy for such
legislation.

In a letter to one of his con-

stituents on the subject of the
LaCroix Bill, Transport Minister
Lionel Chevrier has this to say:

“There are many commend-
able features in the LaCroix
Bill. Recent events lead me to
believe that unless strong meth-
ods are adopted to counteract
the revolutionary tendencies of
the Communists, nothing but
chaos can‘ follow.”

Liberal Party MP Jean T. Rich-
ard of ‘Ottawa East recently
told a group of his constituents,

Science gets a gilt-edged impulse —

By TED TINSLEY

YEs, SIR. there’s a scientist for
| everything! They come in
mighty handy, too, Never can tell
when you're going to need a good
Scientist. Take this Dr. James Asa
: Shiela of Richmond, Virginia.
He’s a nutritionist who recently
Presented a paper to the Amer-

tt Academy of Applied Nutri-
on,

According to the news report,
Dr. Shield “criticized ‘biologically
inferior’ people who want to curb
Man’s aggressiveness and make
him. content to ‘live on the same
level as inferior men’, ... Dr.
Shiela directed his fire at people
SO constituted mentally that they
Cannot see the necessity for re-
‘SPecting healthy biological drives.’

€ said they wanted to level hu-
man aggressiveness to make in-
ferior people more comfortable.”

- Picture the scene as one of our
top politicians leaps out of bed

in the morning, turns to his wife,
and says: “Darling. I have a bio-
logical urg2 to remove rent con-
trols.”

“Oh,” answers his wife, possib-
ly a trifle disappointed.

Then a lumber company boss
leaps up from his chair, pounds
the desk, and howls, “I have a
biological urge not to grant a
wage increase to the biologically
inferior people who work for me.”

Not to be outdone, scientifically
speaking, by Dr. Shield, a Dr. A.
C. Ivy, physiologist of the Univer-
sity of Illinois, predicts that man
will som day live to be 150 years
old.

This is a harmless and positive-
ly pleasant prediction. But Dr.
Ivy won’t let well enough alone.
He wants to get into the act, too.
He believes that age is a combin-
ation of psychological, genetic and
biological factors. :

“For this reason.” according to
the news dispatch, “he believes
John L, Lewis’ retirement plan
may be a curse in disguise for
many mine workers who, retiring
abruptly at 62 after a. vigorously
active life. will be signing an early
death warrant.”

If the coal operators haven't
yet snapped up this Dr. Ivy,
they'd better get on the ball. But
personally I can.think of nothing
better calculated to. make for long
life than to stop coal mining —
abruptly. :

Dr. Ivy is also against worry
because worry shortens life, Coal

. miners are foolish to worry about

cave-ins. After all, just because
mines cave in is no reason to wor-
ry about it! ©

Gosh, if only we biologically in-
ferior people had all the vast
knowledge these two scientists
possess, wouldn’t it be wonder-
ful? :

language

than balance without a sales tax.

The government talks radical to
its citiz:n shareholders. “Big bus-
iness will pay the greater share
.. . the little fellow will get the
big benefit.” If the tax were ap-
plied to big business the way Wis-
mer claimed it,would be, the net
yield would likely be coser to $30,-

000,000 than $12,000,000, But the

Pacific Tribune will not believe
this till it sees it because big
business was the only group in
the province that did not rise in
wrath -to fight the tax—and big
business knows how to howl.

The leaflet imputes that 90 per-
cent of the people are irrespon-
sible the great majority of
citizens who through organiza-
tions of every type, including the
CCF and LPP, fought the bill to.
the extent that four Coalitionists
broke ranks to vote against it.
“It is difficult to see how anyone
with a sense of responsibility can
deny its value and its justifica-
tion,” states the “responsible” gov-
ernment propagandist, after tell-
ing a heartrending story of the
last depression. :

Yet ex-Premier John Hart has
told the House that the govern-

members of the Ottawa Labor-
Progressive Party, that his only
difference with the LaCroix Bill
was in its “technique.” He ex-
pressed no opposition to the sub-
stance of the Bill.

A similar point of view was:
expressed by George J. MclIlrath,
parliamentary assistant to Minis-
ter of Trade and Commerce, C.
D. Howe, in which he declared
disapproval for the “technique”
of the LaCroix Bill.

Although the Bill has been
“talked out,” the discussion that
has been taking place in the

special committee on human
rights and fundamental free-
doms, leaves little doubt that

search for an alternative form-
ula is proceeding apace.

While members appeared to
favor accepting Article Three of
the draft United Nations declar-
ation on human rights, there was
the carefully worded statement of
Justice Minister J. L. Isley, who
announced his impending retire-
ment this week, that repressive
measures were still open.

The article speaks of granting
all rights and freedoms to all
persons regardless of “political or
other opinion.” Adoption of such
a clause, said Isley, would “un-
doubtedly have an effect on do-
mestic legislation.”

Isley felt that adopting the
of the international
draft would mean that members
of the Senate and Commons could
Say “in dealing with the LaCroix
Bill . . . was to deprive people
of their rights and freedoms be-
cause of the political opinions...”

He believed that supporters of
the Bill would argue very strong-
ly that they were not punishing
persons for their political opin-
ions, but they were doing some-.
thing to prevent “doing harm,
overt actual harm.” :

“That is a right which is not
taken away by this proposal at
all,” concluded Isley.

“Which would mean that we
should keep this section but if
those people infringe the lew,
prosecute them before the courts,”
interjected an MP.

“That is not exactly what I
meant,” replied Ilsley.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 4, 1943_PAGE 7

ment was hard up many times
since 1933 and always found the
money without a sales tax.

Even the slanted figures in the
leaflet admit the government will
with this tax take $20 a year
from wage-earners, $6 a year
from old age pensioners. :

This—while Consolidated Mining
and Smelting Company profited
$39,000,000 from its 1947 operations
and the government already has
on the books a mineral tax which,
if the percentage were graduated
steeply, could take more from
Consolidated alone than the sales
tax is officially estimated to
raise in the whole province.

Trying to sugar their case, Ans-
comb’s “experts” lift from con-
text a table of figures quoted by
the Trade Union Research Bur-
eau in its widely read booklet
The Case of the Dwindling Dollar.

“How do you feel about being
recognized by government ‘ex-
perts’?” the Pacific Tribune ask-
ed the Trade Union Research Bur-
eau.

“Citizen Shareholder” will be
able to read the Bureau’s full re-
Ply in next week’s Pacific Tri-
bune. -

does not end threat

In a later meeting of the com-
mittee, Ilsley amplified his posi-
tion when he declared there was
a reservation article in the draft
convention providing “in time of
war or other public emergency”
for departing from terms of the
draft Bill.

The minister, referred to prece-
dent in the matter of the espion-
age “inquiry” and the application
of the Defence of Canada Regu-
lations: “We were charged with
having violated the principles of
personal liberty under the De-
fence of Canada regulations, and
certainly, we were charged with
having done so in the spy in-
quiry.” ;

Anual Provincial
Picnic
SUNDAY, JUNE 13th -
Confederation Park

GAMES, SPORTS, MUSIC _
& REFRTSHMENTS

Auspices: Association of United
Ukrainian Canadians