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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1956

LPP states stand ©

Ask gov’t take lead
in Middle East crisis

Proposal that Canada take the lead, as an influential

UN power, in bringing “all nations concerned together in |

negotiations to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Middle
East crisis,” is made this week in a statement issued by the

national executive of the Labor-Progressive party.
Text of the statement reads:

As parliament debates foreign
affairs, Canada’s people are dis-
turbed over the threat of war
in the Middle East.

Canada can play a vital part
in bringing about peaceful
settlement—through negotiation
—of this grave Middle East
crisis.

The Labor-Progressive party
urges that parliament act now
to: ,

Propose that emergency action
be taken, in accordance with
the Charter of the United
Nations, to bring all nations con-
cerned together in negotiations
to achieve a peaceful settlement
of the Middle East crisis.

This path of peaceful nego-
tiation is the sure way to guar-
antee that Canada’s sons will
never be dragged into war un-
leashed in the. Middle East. It
is the way for Canada to con-
tribute, as an influential UN
power, to peace — to make sure
that Israel and the Arab lands
will never be devastated in war
and drenched in blood.

Middle East peace is in
Canada’s national interests.
The LPP regrets that parlia-
ment did not deal with the
heart of the question during:
the recent debate on Canadian
arms shipments to the Middle
East. Nor has parliament dealt
with the real causes of the
crisis.
What are the causes:
® The British-Tory govern-
ment, supported by John Fos-
_ ter Dulles, has organized an
aggressive military bloc — the
Baghdad Pact.
® British and American
policies in conflict over pos-
session of the vast oil resources
of the Middle East, neverthe-
less collaborate to uphold
colonialism and defeat the as-
pirations of the people for
national liberation and indepen-
dence. They are the instiga-
tors of the arms drive in the
Middle East. :
® They look on the Baghdad
Pack as a link in their war
plan to entvircle the Soviet
Union. .
® They seek to uphold im-

perialist privilege by putting
Arab against Jew and Jew
against Arab, the discredited
policy of “Divide and rule.”

No camouflage can hide the
truth that the St. Laurent
government has not spoken out
against -__these __British-U.S.
imperilist policies which have
caused this Middle East crisis,
but goes along with them.

Canada’s people should de-
mand that parliament reject this
wrong and dangerous policy.
The St. Laurent government
should be made to recognize the
sovereign rights of the Middle
East nations. This crisis can
be settled, war can be averted
only if there is an end to
interference in the internal
affairs of Israel and the Arab
lands, and if the Baghdad Pact
is rejected.

The peoples of the Middle East
must be masters in their own
homes and free from entangle-
ment in any military blocs.

This is the sure road for

security, prosperity and peace |

for the young state of Israel.

This is the sure road towards
freedom, prosperity and peace
for the Arab lands.

This is the sure road to under-
standing and friendship between
Israel and the Arab countries.

The Labor-Progressive party
stands for peace among all
nations, for the Geneva Spirit
—the settlement of all differ-
ences through peaceful negoti-
ations,

Instead of wars and arms
races the world needs peace and
gradual disarmament, and with-
in this the clear recognition
that every nation has the right
to possess sufficient arms to
ensure the defence of its national
territory.

The Labor-Progressive party

calls upon all Canadians to
make their voices heard: to

demand that our parliament

and government take a clear,
firm stand for peaceful settle-
ment of the grave Middle East
crisis !

‘Major issues before
IWA district parley

The annual convention of the
B. C. - District, International
Woodworkers of America which
opened its sessions this week in
the Hotel. Georgia, promises to
be one of sharp debate on basic
union policies. Problems which
will likely have high priority
in the convention include union
contract negotiations, the com-
ing trade union merger and de-
mocratic representation within
the new congress. —

Duncan IWA local has declar-
ed the bargaining setup of the
IWA ‘outmoded and imprac-
tical”. and wants more direct
local union representation on

the wage negotiating commit-
tee, and a drastic cut-down of
district and international offi-
cers of the committee. That
‘body, in the opinion of the Dun-
can local, should be reduced
from seven to five.

Criticism was also voiced
against the 1955 coastal two-
year wage contract which was
accepted by the wage and poli-.
cy committee without consult-
ing the membership.

(Next week’s Pacific Tribune

will carry a full roundup story
on the many important resolu-
tions and other business which
will come before the IWA con-
vention.)

BERT PRICE
Chaired Socred caucus meeting

Continued

BUDGET

@ Salary increases to govern-
ment employees amounting
to a total of $1,716,000.

© Increased appropriations to
agriculture, universities,
highway development, for-
est protection and hospital
insurance.

ARNOLD WEBSTER
Promised CCF cooperation

Continued from page I

TOM UPHILL
He pledged his support

PEACE DELEGATION

Price, the government whip, took
the trouble to read to the
HouSe one of the many letters
he had received from peace sup-
porters in his riding. The let-
ter he read was from Mrs®
Dorothy Dyson.”

Speaking during the Throne
Speech debate Price, one of the

Continued from page 1

HEALTH SCHEME

percent in 1949-50 to 314 per-
cent in 1953754.”

“Thus the net diversion of re-
sources to the National Health
Service as a whole... has-been
of relatively insignificant pro-
portions.”

Britain is spending only $27
per head per year on health,
compared with nearly $90 per
head per year on “defense”—
though the committee does not
make this comparison.

The report paints an alarm-
ing picture of the condition of
Britain’s hospital buildings —
upon which, it shows, the minis-
try of health is spending an-
nually just one-third of what
was spend in 1938.

One hospital in five, the com-
mittee point out, was built be-
fore 1861 (when Florence
Nightingale was agitating for a
new deal for hospitals), and it
concludes that:

“|... hospitai buildings can-
not continue much longer at a
figure well below replacement
level if it is desired to main-
tain the service at a reason-
able standard.”

The committee, which was
set up in 1953 under the chair-

Editor to speak

Joe Gershman, editor of the
Canadian Jewish Weekly (Voc-
henblatt), visiting Vancouver
this week on behalf of his paper:

manship of C. W. Guillebaud, a

. Cambridge University economist

is a very cautious one.

So cautious that it refuses to
define what an “adequate”
health service might be, regards
planning of future develop-
ments as impossible, and con-
Siders any reorganisation to
unify the health services as
premature.

“If the test of ‘adequacy’
were that the service should be
able to meet every demand
which is justifiable on medical
grounds, then the service is
clearly inadequate now,” it
says.

Nevertheless, having examin-
ed the workings of the present

Service, including the effects :

of the charges introduced in
1951, the Guillebaud Committee
feels obliged to urge:

“ That charges for teeth and
dental treatment shall continue
only so long as there is a short-
age of dentists:

That charges for eyeglasses
should be reduced as “a fairly
high’ priority;”

And it rejects proposals
(evidently put forward with
some vehemence. from some
quarters) that a board charge
for hospital patients should be
introduced. |

But the committee as a whole

_ defends the one shilling (approx-

imately 15 cents) prescription
charge, only Miss Anne God-
win, of the Trades Union Con-
gress general council putting in
a minority opinion ‘that all
charges’ under the National
Health Service must be
abolished.

Annual dinner planned

For the sixth successive year,
fibert Truman, one of British
Columbia’s best known ‘camp
cooks, will prepare his annual
supper for readers of the Paci-
fic Tribune. It will be held at
the Ukrainian Hall, 805 East
Pender Street, here on Satur-
day, February 11, at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $1 each, with all
proceeds divided between the
Pacific Tribune and Ukrainian
Canadian sustaining funds.

FEBRUARY 3, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 12

two Socred members for Van-
couver Burrard, mentioned the
presence of the delegation and
said he hoped that “sufficient
people of the world will even-
tually organize to the point
where we may have interna-
tional control of not only atomic
weapons but all weapons of
warfare.” :

Earlier Price had arranged a
meeting for the entire delega-
tion with eight of his colleagues.
Here Gardner was able to out-
line the full position of the dele-
gation and to answer questions
of the MLAs.

“It was a most stimulating
meeting and we are grateful: to
Price for having arranged it,”
Gardner said.

In summing up, Price, who

chaired the meeting, commend-

ed members of the delegation —
for their interest and their sin-
cerity in “working for the sui-
vival of the people.” He said
that he and “people all over
B.C. and, in fact, the whole
world, agree with your desire
to rid the world of atomic
weapons. and the fear of war.” —

Hon. Tom Irwin, Speaker of | |

the House, told the delegation:
“There is a resolution to be pre”
sented to the House and in the
event of a tie vote I would cast
the deciding vote in its favor.”

Mrs. Lydia Arsens (SC-Vic-
toria City), only woman mem-
bet, addressed the whole dele-

gation, telling them, “I am with

you 100 percent. You can count

' fully on my support.* Of course

there must be peace. If there
were a third world war there’d
never be a fourth.

“We have lost our young men
in two world wars and for
what?
terests can make profits at the
expense of our young men.”

Mrs. Arsens promised to raise
the matter in the government
caucus.

A committee of five met for-
mally with Opposition Leader
Arnold Webster and his CCF
colleagues. ~“ ;

“We were given a most friend”
ly and encouraging hearing,”
Gardner said. “Webster could
hardly have been more help-
ful.
extended beyond the formal —
meeting we held and into the
corridors where individual CCF
MLAs continually encouraged
the delegates.”

Webster later assured Gard-
ner that the CCF would support
a disarmament resolution if one
were to come before the House.

Liberal Leader Arthur Laing
also pledged his support.

“We will support such a re-
solution if it is introduced,”
Laing said. “Anyone would be —
ridiculous not to support it.”

Dr Lorenzo Giovando (In-
dependent, Nanaimo) and Tom |
Uphill (Labor, Fernie) both
pledged their support.

£

So that the moneyed in- |

This spirit of cooperation —