U.S. policy in crisis HE firing of General Douglas MacArthur from his Japanese-Korean military posts by President Truman, constitutes a big vic- tory for the world’s peace forces. Doubtless the pressures of the people of Britain, France * and other U.S. dollar-dominated nations for an end to the foreign aggression in Korea, and a “go-easy” attitude through fear. of becoming involved in war with China, sparked the Truman move. However, it would be the quintessence of simplicity to think that giving this Yankee Mikado the sack indicated any change-of- heart towards peace by thé atomaniacs of Washington and Wall Street. ‘In fact Yankee big business, through the, medium of its numerous journals and spokesmen, has made it clear that peace now would be disastrous —to its super profits. What actually happened is not without precedent in imperialist wars of aggression. MacArthur’s,. blood-thirsty urge to extend US. (they use the letters UN) aggression in Korea to China and. beyond, got a little ahead of the Pentagon. The top military brass represented by MacArthur, ‘rarin’ to go’ in their planned “Operation Killer”, got a bit out of step — and out in front of the diplomatic double-crossing corps, In all im- perialist wars such an impasse -of conflict between the generals ‘and the politicians creates profound “embarrassment”, among their “allies”, hence a sacrificial goat’ must be offered in appeasement — and in prepar- ation for carrying on their war conspiracies undet more fortuitous ¢ircumstances. MacArthur is back in America, feted as a “hero” and groomed as a coming Repub- lican candidate for president.- His “trium- phal” tour across the country bids fair to surpass anytling since the days of Buffalo sill, Billy Sunday, and William Jennings sryan.. Hollywood would like to get him at any price as a “cultural” attraction. A look at the powerful U.S. financial and industrial monopolies which have got a stranglehold on the key resources of Japan, Formosa, Korea, the Philippines, Burma, Malaya and other Asian lands, ,with General MacArthur ,well entrenched in all, shows that reactionary U.S. imperialism will be ready to “heil’’ MacArthur with the same, vigor as the German. Junkers “heiled” Hitler. They need some one to turn back the clock and MacArthur possesses the qualifications. Meantime the world’s millions-strong partisans of peace, united in their determin- ation -to halt. the warmongers, may, like Palmiro Togliatti of Italy, regard General Douglas MacArthur as a war criminal, rather than a returning “hero” from the wars he wanted to unleash, The dust stirred up by the MacArthur three-ring circus rolling across America has the odor of. the death ovens of Buchenwald. Clip it and canvass with it A magnificent, inspiring, proud gathering: that was the* great National Assembly To Save Peace. Proud of their past work | to arouse Canadians to fight for peace, proud that they helped to stay the bloodstained hands of those who would have hurled atom bombs on: Korea and China, the assembly delegates measured their mighty tasks ahead. _ They launched the campaign for hundréds of thousands of signatures to the Five-Power Peace Pact Petition, and called upon all Canadians and their orgatizations to join in. To action stations! Make our Canada a powerful force in winning this Pact of Peace! As a contribution to this campaign® the Pacific Tribune publishes its petition form below. We shall vigorously campaign *for it. We urge you, and every reader to get to work right away on it. Sign it yourself. set 9 other Canadians to sign it. And then mail it to the Tribune. This petition, for which the peace partis- ans of all lands are fighting, is the decisive job of peace! It provides the key to widen and deepen Canada’s peace movement a hun- dred-fold, to make our country a vital force in saving world peace! Petition To the Government of Canada: government. To fulfill the hopes for peace cherizhed by ified throughout the world, regardless of their views as to the reason for the danger of world war, | We urge the government of Canada to call for a Pact of Peace among thé five great powers — the USA, the USSR, the Chinese People’s Republic, Great © Britain, France — this Pact to be open to all countrieés. — i Refusal by. the Government of any great power to meet for the i of | concluding such a Pact would reveal aggressive designs on the part of that ~ fora WORLD PACT of PEACE ‘ NAME 7 ADDRESS a This petition for a Pact of Peace is being circulated in ALL qountties, it is being initiated in Canada by the Canadian Peace Congress. In common with many organiza- tions, the Pacific Tribune is undertaking to gather signatures to this petition. When filled, send it to the Pacific Tribune office at Room 6, 426 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C., trom where it will be turned over to the national office of the Canadian Peace Congress. y TOM McEWEN As We See lt eibaea its majority and its ability to steam-roller unpopular legis- lation through the legislature, the Johnson-Anscomb government has faced its greatest crisis in the present hospital insurance issue. Never before, with the possible exception of the Bowser’s gov- ernment’s attempts to whitewash the strike-breaking activities of the Vancouver Island coal operators at the turn of the century, has a government faced such an overwhelming weight of public dis- _ approval of its bungling rule-of-thumb BCHIS maladministration. » Alone, it is, possible that BCHIS might have passed the year 1951. as it did 1950 with some sharp public criticism, but little more. Coming on top of a veritable pyramid of unpopular . Coalition policies since the last provincial election, BCEWIS became the “last straw’ that broke the tax-burdened patience of the electorate. The «crass subservience of the Coalition gov- ernment to big monopoly interests; its callous un- concern for the plight of hundreds of fruit growers whose orchards were literally ruined in the winter - of 1949-50; the five-year driver’s license gouge, ex- cessive taxi burdens upon the people and privileged tax exemptions and concessions to the monopolists —these and other grievances, topped off with the BCHIS tax gouge of an additional $9, plus a “co- insurance” penalty of $80-$35, exploded into a great public wave of indignation and protest s ’ Thousands of wires, letters and resolutions to the cabinet and MLA’s, critical and pointed editorials, and thousands of letters in the daily préss, made up a deluge of protest unequalled in our provincial history. 2 The labor movement of Greater Vancouver registered the greatest achievement. In a period of less than 10 days a petition demanding either that the BCHIS premium hoi&t be withdrawn, or the Coalition resign and go'to the people, carried no less than 206,000 signatures of enraged citizens, who resent being fleeced as a penalty for sickness. What was the attitude of the (Coalition throughout this crisis? Two Coalition members, both Tories, bolted the Coalition. The CCE “Op- position” in the legislature offered no opposition in the legislature to government policies on hospital insurance, but instead talked about hospita} insurance under its particular brand of “socialism.’ On the outside thousands of CCF followers and supporters publicly identified _ themselves with labor’s popular demand, “Withdraw the increase, oF resign.” The Coalition Cabinet and its henchmen conducted themselves in “an atmosphere of supreme contempt and cynicism at the efforts of labor and the people to win an efficiently administered hospital in- surance scheme for a modest premium. “‘Petitions,’’ bleated Tory Anscomb, “why, anybody will-:sign a petition if they think it will save money. I’d sign it myself.” His statement indicates above all else that the chief spokesmen for Coalition policies hold an utter contempt for the right of the people to place the grievances in petition before the throne. Aside from the polite form letters sent to reputed or- ganizations and individuals, acknowledging receipt of their protests against BCHIS hoists, the Coalition demonstrated its complete aliena- — tion from the electorate of B.C., forfeiting the confidence of the people, and its-right to govern. : The question may be asked, how is it possible for a Tory-domin- ~ ated government and its ake ewe war policies to prevail against such a storm of public disappro¥Val and public anger? : As we have stated, the CCF “Opposition” put up no effective argu- ment or fight on this BCHIS issue—a fact which underscores the close. tie-in of top CCF brass in Victoria and Ottawa with the war goverD- ments of reactionary monopoly.: In the central labor councils the — CCF leadership in the CCL sought to make political kudos for the ‘CCF out of the BCHIS protest—to make the united front of labor and the people on this issue,a vehicle for CCF partisan ambitions. In the TLC (AFL) the Gervins and Showlers are the agents of the Coalition within the labor movement, with a TUC-CCF president catapulted into that position by an election maneuver, engineered ‘by the bureaucrats to do a job’ on the “Reds.” “I wish,” said Gervin to a packed shop stewards meeting in the Pender Auditorium, “that the government could see this great assembly gathered in protest” —and then he did his damndest to make sure the government woul ‘See as small a lobby as possible at Victoria! With such top leaders of social democracy jand old-line party trade unioh bureaucrats at the controls in directing the mass opposition © the people against the Coalition, it is obvious that two main tactical maneuvers must follow: the promotion of the stock-in-trade-cap-iD- hand delegation to present the people’s grievances to the government, plus the crying-down of any and all efforts towards a mass delegatio® or lobby at Victoria, so as not to “embarrass the government.” Under the guise of “left” phrases, social democracy can shed tears of well- feigned indignation at the “embarrassment” of a dying citizen trys: ing to get a hospital bed ... and then work persistently behind the scenes to save the Coalition the “embarrassment” of its stupi4 bungling hospital maladministration. The political lessons to be drawn to date from the BCHIS fiasc© are obvious: A government which espouses a policy of “guns before butter” also puts “guns” before hospital beds; its thinking, tax policies’ - and ultimate objectives are geared to the overall policy of war, no peace. The top leaders of social democracy are also in the war camp: the agents of imperialism within the ranks of labor. Their prime ‘concern is to head off the anger of the people, to lead them down thé blind * alleys of futility and frustration—to save reaction from embarrassment” of its own criminal follies. Tn preparation for the ultimate defeat of the Coalition, leadershi on the BCHIS issue must now come from the ranks of labor an ly people—not from the proven lackies of reaction. The real fight is on ‘oe Sa beginning, to win health, and peace, Gl il C. is Kya Cl} ar Tar ee le ES H i 1 Mavaretflvevaneved dosssnsescerecaettll iy ey eee Wi ; i) I wi) i ih | the! i \ Alin EYE 2 _ Published Weekly at Room 6 - 426 Main Street, Vancouver, BO By THE nee tole PUBLISHING COMPANY LTD. elephone MA. Tom McEwen .... mies ei Editor py Co Subscription Rates: 1 Year, $2.50: 6 ths, $1.35. 1 Printed by Union Printers Ltd., a eve Rea tare Bo Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Dept. Ottaw? — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 20, 1951 — P38° me ‘ il uN )