EDITORIAL

How workers can fight crisis

The layoffs day after day, the depressed
living standards, the mass unemployment,
the cutbacks in every social service are not
integral or necessary parts of human life.
They are integral parts of monopoly capital-
ism, the system whose crisis is thrust upon us.

Monopoly capitalism behaves as though it
hates the youth most of all. It denies them
education, it denies them jobs, it denies them
normal social development, it denies them a
future. But history proves it will take them
into the army as cannon fodder, or seduce
them into fascist legions.

All of this need not be and it will not be
when enough workers, enough young
people, yes, and enough senior citizens who
have had a lifetime to hone their anger, unite
and punch back with knockout power.

The capitalist system hasn’t sorted out how
it can do its traditional job for the monopolies
and multi-nationals and still pose as the rep-
resentative of the people. So they don’t rep-
resent the people; they toss them to the
sharks.

Employment Minister (or is it unemploy-
ment minister?) Axworthy offers ever more
spectacular displays of employment pro-
grams while the jobless increase, now to an
official 12.2% or nearly 1.5 million. In truth,
it’s more like two million and 20%.

The reactionary Tories expose their lust
for power. Joe Clark admitted openly that he
would shut down crown companies if he had
the reins of power. That would mean more
layoffs — but more profits for the corporate
elite, and less public influence.

The real answer to capitalist exploitation of
workers is socialism. That is what the Com-
munist Party of Canada stands for and works
for. Recognition is necessary of the main
enemy of Canada, U.S. imperialism which is
taking over our country bit by bit with the
help of traitorous elements in high govern-
ment and monopoly positions.

Meanwhile, while workers are tearing off
capitalist blindfolds, immediate emergency
action is needed.

The fight must be stepped up for pro-

tection of housing and incomes — 90% of
previous earnings in unemployment in-
surance for the full duration of unemploy-
ment. Unemployment insurance is needed
for first-time job seekers who are presently
victimized.

Governments could introduce job-creation
programs if their loyalty were to the country
and its people instead of to corporate wealth.
Rents could be controlled; a moratorium
could be declared on mortgages of low in-
come families.

If the present governments, federal, pro-
vincial and municipal, refuse to side with the
people to take this country out of the crisis,
they should be kicked out and replaced by
true representatives of the workers and the
democratic majority, who can end the crisis.

That is where working people find them-
selves at present. Do they continue to take a
pounding; or do they decide to fight and win?

Will U.S. hush atom victims? |

. the fact that federal District Judge Shermall

The USA is infamous throughout the
world for its disregard for other peoples, the
Vietnamese and Kampucheans whom it tried
to annihilate by mass explosive, personnel
and chemical weapons, the Central and
South Americans it is massacring by proxy,
the Chileans on whom it inflicted fascist hor-
ror, the Lebanese and Palestinians on whom
it turned its Zionist puppets .. . :

But the imperialist rulers in Washington
have little more respect for their own people.

This month the U.S. Government went on
trial in Salt Lake City for anothercrime. More
than 1,100 people have filed suits charging
that the U.S. Government is responsible for
causing cancer in themselves or relatives
while conducting atmospheric atomic tests
230 km from their town, St. George, Utah, in
the 1950s.

One plaintiff in the $2-billion damages suit
knows of 38 people within 300 yards of her
home who have ated of cancer since the tests!
There is much more to that story, including

Make jobs Ottawa’s priority!

The federal government has de-
monstrated over the past number-of years
that it doesn’t give a damn about mass
unemployment — or the trials of the jobless.
That, workers are accustomed to realizing
and fighting against. But it’s a little too much
-~when, from the secret cabinet session at

Flashbacks

25 years 50 years 60 years |

BEING ‘DIFFERENT’

“Dare to be different” was the advice to university.

students by Sidney Smith, the new Tory Minister for
External Affairs, a few weeks ago. Commenting on his
job as president of the University of Toronto, Smith
said he had to be “a ball of fire by day and a bag of gas
by night”.

Although we wonder whether Smith will be a “day”
minister or a “night” minister, it’s his first statement

_ about “daring” which intrigues us.

He has achance to be “different” from his predeces-
sor, Lester Pearson, who managed in his disastrous
career to nail the flag of the U.S. armed forces on
Canadian soil; or even to be different from his boss,
Diefenbaker and Defence Minister Pearkes, who,
without consulting parliament, tied the RCAF to the
tail of the U.S. Air Force.

Will Sidney Smith dare to be a Daniel? We shall see.

Tribune,
September 23, 1957

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 24, 1982—Page 4

Meech Lake, Secretary of State Gerald
Reagan emerges to declare unemployment
now the emergency, only to be counter-
manded by Finance’s Marc Lalonde and
everyone else. It’s not enough for workers to
fight back; they have to be prepared for such
cruel hoaxes as this as well.

CLASS JUSTICE

Two more brokers and five of the York Councillors
have been released from jail. The brokers have left
Kingston cells behind them, while the corrupt Council-
lors have been freed from Guelph jail.

None of these men served their full terms. During
the last few months, nearly a dozen of these rich
thieves have seen the gates of Kingston swing open for
them having served only half their sentences.

At the same time working class prisoners must serve
their full terms. Tim buck and his comrades in Kings-
ton — Tom Ewen, Sam Carr, Tom Hill, Malcolm
Bruce, John Boychuk, Matthew Popovich and Tom
Cacic, are serving five-year terms. On Aug. 2, Premier
Bennett declared that Tim Buck and his fellow prison-
ers would serve their full terms.

Here again we see class justice with a vengeance.

The Worker,
September 17, 1932

_ tests, in their own way, confirm it.

| WISH
THERE WAS
A WAY | COULD
PuT A STOP

ae
r | |
CRIES As.

Christensen declared in August that Wasi
ington deliberately concealed evidence.
The point is that the 80 atomic tests i”
volved were a drop in the bucket compared |
the “winnable” nuclear war the Reagan ad
ministration wants to get started. Doctors an
scientists have warned us of the horrendov®
suffering in such a war. These relatively small

Try this on your income tax. Victoria and Grey
Trustco Ltd. had a nine-month, after-tax profit of
$10,977,000 up to July 31. Up about $700,000 from the
same period a year ago. But profits are stated afte!
setting aside about $6.4-million to cover known 10a"
losses, and $4-million to cover unforeseen losses!

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON

Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR

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LESSONS OF STRUGGLE

Labor learns slowly — by crushing defeats, by shat
tered illusions, by bitter betrayals, by poverty, hung!
and oppression. But it also learns from organizatio™ |
action, militancy and victory.

There is an ever-greater section of the labor mov
ment which says: “Why should so many struggles
doomed to defeat? Why should a section of the work
ing class, after a magnificent struggle of weeks or
months, be crushed? Why should one craft pit itsel
against another? Why should labor leaders be pe!
mitted to preach counsels of concilliation? ;

In response, great sections of the trade unio?
movement have endorsed the principle of alm f
gamating crafts into industrial unions. Hundreds 2
thousands have endorsed policies which declare W4
on the capitalist system and stand for the emancipatio®
of labor and for real international labor cooperatio™ —

The Work
September 15, 1924