By JAMES S. ALLEN ANADA suffers from two great handicaps. It is located next to the United States, and it borders on the Arctic Circle. In the age of the American Atomic Century these are first-class misfortunes, Canadian sovereignty is among the first victims of the atomio bomb. The joint-defense agree ment between Canada and the United States would turn Can- ada into a military outpost of the United States. The atomic invasion that they are told threatens from the north ig in reality taking place from the south. ; To be sure, the invasion bears No resemblance to the lurid pic- ture of an atomic foray from the north, as painted by our Searemongers. The invasion is Proceeding by peaceful means. Over a long period Canada’s connection with the British Em- pire provided a certain balance against her powerful southern neighbor. While the economic and political influence of the United States expanded steadily during the past decades, it was only as a consequence of World War IT that the shift of Canada into the American orbit was completed. The defense pact, according to the New York Times more im- portant than ar ordinary mili tary alliance, amounts to a Can- adian declaration of independ- Operation Canada AN AMERICAN VIEW area ee : a oo ence from Britain and of depend- ence upon the United States. Battered and weakened by the war, and now fighting for her economic existence, Britain has had to accept this important step in the Nquidation of her empire, Even before the military alli- ance was forced upon her, Can- ada was becoming an economic adjunct of the United States. During the war the American corporate investment in Canada was greatly expanded, while the British were compelled to sur- render over one-third of their Canadian capital. Today, the United States investment totals at least five billion dollars, as compared with one and one-half billion for the British. The rapid growth of monopoly in Canada during the war was largely an extension of the American trusts into that coun- try. Plants employing over 500 workers, although averaging only one percent of all factories, em- ployed 26 percent of all Canadian industrial workers in 1939. By 1942, the proportion had reached 46 percent. Concentration increased mainly in industries where the American Guide to reading SIGNIFICANT book recently published, which certainly should receive attention in this space is K. Zilliacus’ history of secret diplomacy entitled the of the Past, Zilliacus’ left-wing Labor member of British House of Commons one of the chief opponents Labor Party of Bevin's foreign policy. As readers off British publications like Labor Monthly and The New States- . man and Nation are aware, Zil- Nacus has fought consistently since the British genera) elec- tion against his party's Policy of backing the old Social . Demo- cratic leaders in Europe against the Communists in the interests of British imperialism and re-. action generally. Mirror of The Past shows in every unsavory detail the foun- dations of corrupt diplomacy on which the beautiful dream of the League of Nations was erec- ted in the aftermath of the first world war and how such diplom- acy led directly and inevitably FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1947 to the second world war, trans- forming the League into an in- strument of reaction in the pro- , CeSs. The author's clearcut conclu- Sion is that the British govern- ment had no serious intention at any time of making the po- litical and economic sacrifices necessary for world peace. Zilliacus was a member of the secretariat of the League of Nations and writes with knowl- edge and authority. But his book isn't just an academic survey of water under the bridge of his- tory. It is a living, burning docu- ment which drives home in every implication the deadly: paralle] between the tragic past and today’s dangerous trends. —HAEL MILLER. RECOMMENDED READING MIRROR OF THE PAST by K. Zilliacus, Current Books, $4.50. - BETRAYAL IN THE PHILIP- PINES—Hernando Abaya, Cur- rent Books, $3.25. WHAT HAPPENED IN HIs- TORY—Prof. Gordon Childe, Penguin, 25c. ROAD TO CALVARY (2 vols.), Alexei Tolstoy, Knopf, $6.75. investment is greatest, such as auto, electrical equipment, chem- ical, machinery and non-ferrous metalg (like aluminum). The na- tive Canadian stake in these and other industries also increased. ? But Canadian resources and in- dustry are today largety within the American corporate empire. An atomic invasion in a more literal sense also occurred. Some recently occa- excitement was sioned by newspaper accounts of an atomic energy plant in Can- ada. Actually, this project is not new, and was known for a long time to the atomic overlords. It is an extension of the American atomic industry into Canada, along well-prepared cartel lines. The Canadian mining, electric equipment, ang chemical trusts. themselves offshoots of American corporations, are as fully in- volved in the Canadian atomic project as are their parents ih ~ the American and British de- velopments. The atomic carte! is controlled in the United States. If Canada is to become a mili- _ tary outpost of the United — States, just as it has already be- ~ come an economic outpost, the Canadian people will not accept this role for long. Canada’s own development in recent years has been very swift. She no longer considers herself a small and defenseless nation, but. prides herself as a medium power, ready to play a greater role in -world affairs, Alongside the corporate giants, there has also taken place during the war an expansion of independent Ca- nadian enterprise. : In her present position, there need be no necessity for Canada to accept American imperialist domination as a foregone result of Britain’s weakness and as 2 necessity of the Anglo-American bloc. Prime Minister Mackenzie King, long noted for his prefer- ence for the American corpora- tions, is obviously only too will ‘ ing to accept this new role. But the majority of Canadians, I sus- pect, think otherwise. at" By Ca ae fe a ( THE WORK OF MERCY NEVER ENDS nadians.... For Canadians.. The peacetime field of the Canadian Red Cross is primarily Canada. Many new tasks and greater responsibilities have been accepted by this organization. A new civilian Blood Donor Service will eventually provide FREE whole blood or plasma to any person in need of transfusion .. . Red Cross Outpost Hospitals do a tremendous work among pioneering Canadians in isolated areas... Your Red Cross donations will help the thousands of Canadian veterans still in hospital, the Junior Red Cross, Disaster Relief and many other works of mercy. Your donations are urgently needed. Give generously! National Appeal, 1947 CANADIAN: This space contributed by RED CROS / COAST BREWERIES LIMITED VANCOUVER BREWERIES LIMITED SICK’S CAPILANO BREWERY LIMITED ‘ PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page I