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LESLIE MORRIS

out of the picture. Their fight
for peace, in all countries, over
the long cold war years, never
happened at all. Perhaps we
can blame his stuffy govern-
ment-office upbringing for that,
because long-time civil servants
and capitalist cabinet ministers
are notoriously far removed
from the ordinary people. He’d
be wiser to take them into ac-
count, because in the end they
decide how history goes.

But on several important mat-
ters he comes close to the truth.

On Germany, he says in a
rather roundabout way that the
U.S. has not convinced the Ger-
man people that membership in
the North Atlantic Treaty Org-
anization (NATO) is good for
them. He adds that it might
- be “the view of the German
people which will be decisive.”

On China, he admits what
millions have known for a long
time, even before the Korean
war, that “no one seriously ex-
pects Chiang Kai-shek to re-
turn to the mainland.” If “we”
support his ambitions that could
well “develop into a war.”

About Israel and the Arab
states, he admits a failure of
Western policy. (After all,
Pearson, the West. have had their
arms deep into Middle East af-
fairs for a long time. It is no
earthly use blaming the Soviet
Union for a situation whose
seeds were planted by Western
policy when the tsar was still
on the throne!)

In South Asia, Pearson says,
a system of military pacts “has
irritated and alarmed nations
like’ India, Burma’ and Indo-
nesia,” and “Americans are
often, though unfairly, suspect-
ed of imperialism.” He hasn’t
discovered America — but bet-
ter late than never.

The North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization (NATO). “will not
. Survive as a mere military coali-

Continued

SOVIET

not in words but in deeds for
the reduction of international
tension and for guaranteeing
peace and security,” said Zverev.

“The Soviet Union will con-
tinue to work for the develop-
ment of international confidence
among nations by means of ne-
gotiations and personal contact
. between the heads of nations.”

He also recalled the Soviet
reduction of its armed forces by-
640,000 men this year, the with-
drawal from the military base
at Porkaala, Finland, and the
Soviet proposals for reduction
of armaments and prohibition
of atomic weapons. ;

Reduction of defense expen-
diture would permit greater
development of Soviet economy
and culture, he told the 1,300
deputies of the Supreme Soviet’s
two chambers.

The budget showed how this
is working. For in a total of
569,000 million roubles, 161,000
million — or about 28 -percent
— is allocated for social ser-
vices. The defense figure is
102,500 million, or about 18 per-
cent.

Here are two comparisons:
U.S. defense spending in 1955
is 65 percent .of the budget.
British arms expenditure | is

about 30 percent of the budget
this year. .

tion,” he writes. True, brother,
true. It is in a crisis.

All in all, he sketches a pretty
dismal list of U.S. diplomatic
failures. He could have add-
ed a lot of others, but his own
choices suffice to come to the
conclusion that the St. Laurent
cabinet must now be taking a
second look at its foreign poli-
cy.

While many of his claims are
outright nonsense (such as the
claim that western capitalism
really is sweet and democratic
and highly civilized although
sadly misunderstood in the
East, while the Soviet leaders
want “a Communist-Soviet dom-
inated world to be achieved by
any method short of all-out
war”) the article does make the
belated discovery, » remarkable
for Pearson in the light of his
political record, if not for mil-
lions of non-diplomatic people,
that the Soviet Union does not
want war and that our policy
must now be to take up the
challenge of peaceful coexist-
ence. ;

We have written, spoken, ar-
gued and appealed. along simi-
lar lines for more years than
we care to recall, and if the
foreign minister of this country
has at last come to the same
conclusion and is willing to live
peacefully in the same world as
the socialist states, so much the
better. Canada’s national in-
terests could not be better serv-

-ed.

Pearson and the cabinet can-
not simply appeal to the U.S.
leaders to do likewise. This
country has its own responsi-
bilities and powers to act. And
Washington often has a remark-
ably deaf ear to appeals — as
our farmers can testify. :

For example, Pearson could
announce on January 10, when
parliament opens, that this
country will exchange with
People’s China. .

He could speak for the Can-
adian people by urging discon-
tinuance of H-bomb tests, as
proposed by Premiers Bulganin
and Nehru the other day.

He could announce that when
the Soviet trade delegation
comes to Canada our policy
will be to reduce all political
trade barriers to the minimum,
and that we will exchange trade
delegations with People’s China
and all other states in the so-
cialist camp.

He could express -dissatisfac-
tion with the slowness of pro-
gress on disarmament and call
for a new attempt to actually
get down to cases and break
through the U.S. sabotage of
progress on practical discus-
sions — just as the U.S. sabo-
tage of entry of. new nations
into the UN was broken by the
SoViet Union, with Canada’s as-
sistance. :

A little salt in Pearson’s soup
would improve it. A little ac-
tion would be a good addition
to his interesting article.

Let us have peaceful compe-
tition with the Soviet Union.
By all means!- Pearson seems
to be more ready for it than
he was not long ago when he
was pushing German rearma-
ment through parliament and'
trying to justify the invasion
of Korea. He lives, he learns,
as do we all.

But we don’t have to wait
for John Foster. Dulles. The
Lord forbid! ;

#.

Anti-Semites defile Ghrictaae

An unknown organization in Toronto seized on the Christmas season to send its ae cae
poison through the mails. A number of people in Vancouver, among~ them Tom McEwen, e li =
of the Pacific Tribune, and Sid Zlotnik, LPP provincial candidate in Vancouver-Burrard, receive
cards like that reproduced above. Mailed in envelopes bearing a Toronto postmark, the cards
were inscribed with the single word “Jew” inside the Christmas cover.

Peace mission to press
resolution at Victoria

A peace mission, organized by B.C. Peace Council, will convene in Victoria on
Monday, January 30,. the council announced this week. hi
The mission will urge the legislature to adopt a resolution on the abolition of
nuclear weapons and general disarmament, similar to the one adopted unanimously last
spring by the Saskatchewan legislature.

Continued from page I

UNITED LABOR ©

Final content of the mission’s
submission to the MLAs will be
discussed and decided upon at
a full-day session of B.C. Peace
Council this Sunday, January
8, in Pender Auditorium can-
teen. The meeting convenes at
10:30 a.m. and will adjourn at
approximately 4 p.m.

Here is the text of the Sas-
katchewan legislature’s resolu-
tion on disarmament:

That this assembly urges the
government of Canada to in-
tensify its efforts to achieve
world disarmament by mutual
consent, together with abolition
of the use, possession and manu-
facture not only of nuclear
weapons, but also all other
weapons of mass destruction, to

the end that the marvellous new.

forces made available to man
may be used for welfare, not
for warfare, and that peace may
be based on the solid founda-
tion of mutual understanding
and cooperation.

Municipalities bucking
BCE pipeline project

Surry and Langley municip-

alities are’ bucking B.C. Elec-
tric plans to build a pipeline in
the Fraser Valley to bring
natural gas from Huntingdon
to South Westminster, claiming
that the proposed route would

affect future development of
subdivisions. '

In Surrey the BCE planned
to route the line through sub-
division lands in a 60-foot strip,
but the municipality says prop-
erty bordering the line would
be rendered useless.

and after the vote declared that
his union would continue to
support Atkinson.

However, Reg Atkinson
showed that he was his own
man by telling Gower bluntly.
“Pm not going to run. I don’t
want to split the labor vote,
and I’m already on record to
that effect.”

First move towards securing
an acclamation for Forster was
made Wednesday by Effie Jones,
progressive independent candi-
date for council in the reéent
civic elections, when she issued
a statement calling on prospec-
tive indepertdent candidates to
leave the field clear for For-
ster so that labor and progres-
sive forces will have a voice in
city hall.

“Even the Non-Partisans ad-
mit that labor should be repre-
sented on council,” said Mrs.
Jones. “To date the NPA has
not nominated a candidate and
it should not do so. Ex-Alder-
man Archie Proctor has sugges-
ted that the four independent
candidates who secured the
highest votes December 15 —

Halford Wilson, Sydney Bow-.

man, Proctor and myself—should
fight it out for the seat.

“I-am not running because I
do not intend to split the labor
and progressive vote, and I
suggest that none of the other
three independents mentioned
should run, either. This would
give Forster an excellent chance
of election by acclamation, or

in the case of an NPA nominee
entering the race it would give
labor a chance to score a re-
sounding victory.”

Forster was born in Salisbury,
Rhodesia, but was educated in
Scotland. He came to Canada
24 years ago, has worked as a
coal miner, trader, trapper and
shipyard worker. He is secre-
tary of Vancouver Labor Council
(CCL) and a member of Inter-
national Woodworkers of Am-
erica. He is married and the
father of four children.

At Tuesday night’s meeting
of the VTLC an early motion
to support Atkinson opened a
hectic debate. Executive mem-
bers, with divided opinions on
the issue, held in reserve a
miotion to back Forster.

Secret ballots rejected At-
kinson 77 to 63 and supported
Forster 72 to 63, with two bal-
lots spoiled..

During the lively debate dele-
gate Cliff Greer held up a

copy of Forster’s platform and _

read the main planks, calling
for tax reform; public owner-
ship of power, gas and transit;
slum clearance and new housing;
improved social ‘assistance; re-
view, of education costs; and
measures .to combat “juvenile
delinquency.”

Gower countered by saying
that “we have 60 Teamster dele-
gates here tonight and we’re
going to ride this through.” The
vote showed that actually there
were 47.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JANUARY 6, 1956 — PAGE 12