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NDP HITS MONOPOLY
TAKEOVER IN B.C.

Public ownership of monopolies urged

Strong condemnation of monopoly takeover of B.C. forests, oil
and natural gas resources came last weekend from the provincial coun-
cil of the New Democratic Party meeting in Vancouver. The council said
the monopoly takeover was disturbing and called for public ownership
of the natural gas utility, and urged that no further forest licences be

MTT

PAY, JUNE 5, 1964
SOL. 25, No, 23

rae 10¢

THIS WEEK

® Resources Giveaway
Behind ‘Boom Talk

—PAGE 2
*
“Columbia Hearings

Mockery’—NDP-MPs

—PAGE 3

*

WHEN CIA WAS READY
TO DEFY KENNEDY

—PAGE 9
*

B.C. LABOR SCENE
AT BOILING POINT

—PAGE 12

Qp
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rag Tati

IT
Ons}, oN GROWS IN U.S. TO VIETNAM WAR. Photo shows a recent
©n in New York demanding U.S. end the “dirty” war. The

dy, Stre
Yng Mo, tched for five blocks. Many influential voices, such as Senator

&, Were again raised this week against U.S. involvement.

issued.

Speaking to the meeting, NDP
Provincial leader RobertStrach-
an said. **the present battle be-
tween the few huge corporations,
who now control most of our for-
ests, over the tree farm and pulp
licences in the north, makes it
quite plain that this government
is prepared to sell out control of
our forests with no regard for the
public interest,”’

He said that no moretree farm
licenses should be issued and
all existing licences should be
reviewed, Strachan said the NDP
stands for expansion of the for-
est service to control our for-
ests and the setting up of a pro-
vincial timber board to allocate
timber supplies to users,

Referring to the recent take-
over of Gas Trunk Pipeline by
Westcoast Transmission, Stra-
chan said this ‘confirmed fears
we expressed at the last legis-
lative session that the Frank Mc-
Mahon interests, with the assis-
tance of theSocial Credit govern-
ment, are aiming at complete
monopoly control of our natural
gas and oil resources,”

*‘There is only one solution
that will reduce prices to the
consumer,’’ he said, ‘‘and that
is public ownership of this public
utility.’’ Strachan also revealed
the NDP would submit a brief
to the Royal Commission on
Gasoline Pricing advocating an
equalized wholesale price
throughout B,C, andifnecessary,
this would be accomplished by
some measure of public owner-
ship of the distribution of petro-
leum products,

ROBERT STRACHAN

NIGEL MORGAN

Both political leaders this week urged action to halt
the monopoly takeover in B.C.

Commenting on the stand taken
at last weekend’s NDP council
meeting, Nigel Morgan B,C,
Communist Party leader told the
PT that ‘*the NDP’s declaration
that it opposes any extension of
forest licences, and that it isde-
manding an equalized wholesale
priee for petroleum products
throughout B,C, is an important
and welcome development.”’

ACTION URGED

Morgan said ‘‘these foreign
dominated monopolies have had
their own way for too long, ruth-
lessly exploiting’ the rich re-
sources of our province on one
hand, while on the other they pick
the pockets of B.C, consumers,

‘It is evident that, just as
the Communist Party warned in
the last election, return of the
Bennett government would sig-

nalize a fresh expansion of re-
sources giveaways, United action
of all labor and progressive
forces is the prerequisite for a
change,”’

Morgan added that ‘‘by halt-
ing the resources giveaway and
bringing our rich forest lands
and the highly profitable gas and
petroleum industries under pub-
lic ownership, B,C, could become
a tax-free province, Such vitally
important public utilities should
be public-owned,’*

. “The NDP’s decision is anim-

portant contribution to the fight
to save our resources from the
profit-hungry monopolies, What
is needed now is the launching
of a great broad popular crusade
by all labor and progressive
forces to back up these de-
mands,’’ concluded Morgan,

YANKS PUSHING WORLD
TO BRINK IN VIETNAM

U,S, top military and State
Department brass met in Hono-
lulu this week amid growing spe-
culation that major moves are be-
ing planned by the U,S, govern-
ment which could spread the war
to all Southwest Asia and lead
the world dangerously close to the
brink of world war,

While State Secretary Rusk
and Defence Secretary McNam-
ara denied that they have pro-
posed any new plans to President
Johnson to ‘‘enlarge’’ the war,
serious warnings were being giv-
en in many quarters that the U,S,
is in fact making preparations for
spreading the fighting,

Writing in the ‘‘Sun’’ this week,
Keyes Beech said he ‘‘found eyvi-

dence of such planning in South
Vietnam more than two weeks
ago.’’

It was also revealed last week
by New York Times military
expert Hanson Baldwin thatSena-
tor Barry Goldwater’s idea to use
low yield atomic weapons in S,
Vietnam, ‘thas long been under
study in the Pentagon by many
of the top brass there,”’

A special interview in U,S,
News and World Report with-an
American who fought with the US,

forces in S, Vietnam, Robert L,

Moore Jr., said the capability for
carrying the war north ‘if not
already created, is almost creat-
ed,”’

Meanwhile, a meeting at Vien-

tiane between ambassadors on the
Laos crisis was postponed, Bri-
tain and the U,S, have pressed for
the ‘‘fact-finding’’ consultations
in Vientiane in the hope of avoid-
ing a full-scale conference on
Indo-China, but it has failed to
drum up sufficient support for a
respectable start, Only Canada,
Thailand and S, Vietnam had been
persuaded to join the British and
U.S, envoys—out of the 14nations
who took part in the 1962 Gen-
eva conference on Laos,

The Soviet Union. China and
France are among the major pow-
ers who took part in the Geneva
conference, who have urged that
the 14-nation conference be re-
called to save the critical situa-
tion,