You said following your elec-
tion that the Communist Party

vis Setting its sights on becom-

Ing a national force in Canada.

How do you expect to achieve
this?

rac my opinion the Commun-
ti arty can become an effec-
Ive national force in English
and French Canada by reacting
Be a timely way to all national,
Scial and economic problems
and advancing policies which

elp unite the people against
€ monopolies,

are Sect cannot become a na-

Nal force. Nor can a party
Which restricts itself to propa-
sana work; or which sits and
Sls for a “better day.” It is
ns a party does today and
tere®,<°2¥ to champion the in-

rests of the working people
a will hasten the “better

; How can a small party like
es Communist Party become
Well effective national force?
» Size isn’t everything, al-
ee size is important. More
ee is the correctness of
ie being advanced and the
dia to bring them to the Cana-
wee: If these two factors
ae we can literally move
in untains, The key to becom-
me an effective national force
Pa cenentied in the Communist
ee Ee three-point program; as
, €atn how to bring these
Points in a living and concrete

. William (“Bill”) Kashtan, 56,
eaaee ew general secretary

national leader of the Com-
Munist Party of Canada.

evitting at a small round table
ee gee mural of Dr.
n Bethune in the part
headquarters at 24 Cecil St,
eetan was interviewed by
a Smen from the dailies, press
agencies, TV and radio at a
Onference last week.

new ashtan answered the dozen
fr Smen’s questions quietly,
ankly and concisely. He field-
ae few curves thrown at him
ith professional ‘aplomb.
“How
Paid on
radio

much money are you
n this job?” one brash
interviewer wanted to

answers some questions about the
party's prospects and perspectives.

way to the Canadian people we
will grow in size and influence.

Do you visualize an upsurge
of the Left in Canada?

Yes. Such an upsurge is be-
ginning to find expression in
Western Europe — note the
election gains of Communist
parties in Italy, Sweden, Fin-
land, Belgium. It can be seen in
the agreement between the
Communist and Socialist parties
of France for cooperation in the
coming elections. It finds ex-
pression on a somewhat differ-
ent plane in electoral successes
of the Social Democratic Party
in West Germany, in the elec-
tion of a Labor government in
Britain and in the electoral de-
feat of Goldwater and the ultra-
Right in the U.S.

In our country an upsurge is
also in the making, although not
yet on a level with what is tran-
spiring in Western Europe.
Municipal elections reflected it
in a small way, as did the re-
sults of the Riverdale and
Waterloo byelections, and the
growing militancy of workers
across the country. This desire
for social change will expand
and be stimulated by the strug-
gle for peace, for a democratic
solution of the constitutional
crisis and around the struggle
for far-reaching reforms to curb
the power of monopoly in this
period of technological advance.
It is around all such movements
of the people versus monopoly

SuasmaaaNee

From $6 shipper to political

know. It is doubtful if he would
have asked Diefenbaker or Pear-
son such a question.

“Our Communist Party pay
scale for full-time functionaries
is based on the average indus-
trial wage,” said Kashtan with
a slight smile. “My wages are
$80 a week.”

Back in the depression, the
Communist Party leader recal-
led, his pay as Young Com-
munist League secretary was
supposed to be $14a week, “but
often there was only enough

_money in the cashbox to draw

half that amount.”

Born in Montreal in 1909, Bill
Kashtan, like many Canadians
of his generation, had to leave

The road ahead for

Canada’s Communists

WILLIAM KASHTAN, newly-elected
leader of the Communist Party,

that the ground-work for a
movement toward the left will
evolve. It could well find ex-
pression in the coming federal
elections.

Do you believe present social
developments will lead to a
return to the militancy of the
1930’s?

History rarely repeats itself.
The conditions of the Thirties
and the conditions of today are
not the same. The revolutionary
processes at work throughout
the world are wider and deeper
than they could be three de-
cades ago. Those who look back
longingly to the Thirties fail to
see the forest for the trees.

Capitalism has learned from
the Thirties. It is still capital-
ism, but it has evolved new tac-
tics to try to meet the problems
of modern society. It strives to
modify the cycle to prevent
deep-going economic crisis. It
makes concessions to the work-
ing class based on the super-
profits of monopoly exploita-
tion. It strives to regulate the
economy. Laissez faire capital-
ism has given way to monopoly
and state monopoly capitalism
with the state playing an ever-
increasing economic role. All
efforts are directed to saving
the system, to iron out contra-
dictions inherent in the system.

The basic contradictions of
capitalism, in the first place be-
tween capital and labor, re-

leader

high school after one year and
go to work. His first job, as a
shipper in the textile industry,
paid $6 a week. He walked to
work to save carfare.

A combination of reading and
practical experience attracted
him to the socialist movement.
He joined the Young Com-
munist League in 1927 and be-
came its national secretary in
1929 — a post he held for nine
years. Since then he has been a
full-time official of the Com-
munist Party, working in various
fields. For the past several
years he has been national exe-
cutive secretary and labor
secretary. ~

As a young man Kashtan was
a sports enthusiast, but “today

main and become sharper. The
very growth of monopoly
creates objective conditions for
ments. Efforts to regulate the
economy, with the state playing
an ever-increasing economic
role, strengthens the movement
among workers for genuine
planning based on social owner-
ship.

It is not accidental that a
growing body of workers are
striving to determine the rate of
production in their plants; that
the movement to curb manage-
ment rights is rising. Technolo-
gical progress and automation
will stimulate that movement
and place before workers the
need to fight for reforms in the
very structure of capitalism. In
essence their struggles take on
a—political character. As they
battle on this front workers will
inevitably move to the next
stage of the struggle, directed
toward a basic social trans-
formation of society.

It has been admitted by Com-
munist Party spokesmen that
the age level of your member-
ship is too high. What do you
intend to do about this problem?

Basically the problem is one
of ensuring that the young
generation, or a goodly part of
it, will be on the side of pro-
gress and against reaction and
war.

It has often been said ‘(Wat
the young generation has swung

ci secs

I am more sedentary,” he said.
Carpentry, cameras and clas-
sical music take up most of
whatever spare time he has.

In 1936 Kashtan was in Gene-
va, as a member of a Canadian
delegation taking part én a
world conference against war,
when the civil war broke out
in Spain. He visited that coun-
try, saw at first hand how Hitler
and Mussolini were using Spain
as a testing-ground for world
war. Convinced that Spain was
the first round in a great anti-
fascist struggle that could en-
gulf the world, he helped organ-
ize the Mackenzie-Papineau Bat-
talion, made up of 1,200 young
Canadians—600 of whom were
killed — forming part of the In-
ternational Brigade. “Had Hitler
been stopped in Spain, the
Second World War might have
been prevented,” said Kashtan.

Over the years Kashtan tra-

ay

to the right. We deny this.
Their heroic participation in the
civil rights struggle in the U.S.,
the rising movement for social-
change in Canada, growing
questioning of the capitalist
system, all indicate that young
peonle are aware of the great
challenges of our time, and are,
in fact. in the leadership in
manv of these struggles.

The Communist Party is re-
cruiting young workers, univer-
sit students and’ others into its
ranks. We intend to sten up
this work, not only because we
wish to revitalize our nartv. but
because it is in the interests of
the entire labor movement and
of nrogress generally.

We are giving particular at-
tention to the big issues which
confront the young generation
in this period of technological
change and automation. Today,
more than ever, the problems of
education, of trainine. of useful
creative work. leisure and
snorts have a bearing on the
future of the young generation.
We shall do what needs to be
done to ensure that the labor
movement and democratic
forces face un to their respon-
sibility ‘in this regard.

Bringing young neople into
our ranks is part of the neces-
sary process of revitalizing our
party, as is the constant promo-:
tion of young neonle to posi-
tions of responsibility and lead-
ership. ;

velled extensively in Europe,
visited the Soviet Union on
several occasions, and made
one trip to China in 1962 with
Leslie Morris, the late leader of
the Communist Party who died
last November. On that Visit to
Peking he and Morris tried —
unsuccessfuly — to resolve the
differences existing between the
Canadian and Chinese parties
on peaceful” coexistence, the
road to socialism and other
theoretical questions which to-
day devide China from the
majority of the 92 Communist
parties in the world.

Following the press confer-
ence, Kashtan gave a series of
special interviews to Time ma-
gazine, various S agencies,
and newspapers. His answers
to some questions asked by the
Tribune representative are pub-
lished on this page. Others will
be covered in future’ issues.

February 5, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7\