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Canadians Alf Dewhurst, Nigel Morgan and

VISIT TO POLAND

Bill Ross have lunch together in Warsaw.

Poland suffered greatly in war:
new nation rises from the ruins

By NIGEL MORGAN

In Poland—as in all the socialist count ries—I found an amazing advance in agricul-
tural and industrial production and in the living standards of the people. And this, in spite of
terrific damage wrought by Nazi invasion, which left 80 percent of Warsaw—one of the oldest
and most beautiful cities of Europe—razed to the ground.

On a sunny morning five
Sufhdays ago, I stood in awed
silence before the monument
to the tragic victims of the
Warsaw Ghetto. All around are
now rising the fine new apart-
ment blocks of a city rebuild-
ing; new stores, new buildings,
new restaurants, and towering
high above them all the beauti-
ful, modern Palace of Culture
—gift of the Soviet Union to
the heroic people of Poland.

It was in the auditorium of
this Warsaw’s magnificent
Palace of Culture that 1,431
delegates of the Polish United
Workers Party gathered for
their Third Congress along
with fraternal delegates from
the Communist parties of 43
other countries, including Bill
Rass Alf Dewhurst and myself
from Canada,

The Polish economy, and its
ability to satisfy the needs of
the Polish people is progress-
ing at’a truly remarkable ‘pace.
In the past five years gross
industrial production has clim-
be by 63 percent; output of
electric power has been boost-
ed from 13.7 billion to 23.9
billion kilowatt hours, which is
almost eight times the pre-war
figure. Steel production has
risen from 3.6 to 5.6 million
tons, and output of the mach-
ine-building industry in 1958
was almost double that of 1953.
Agricultural production in-
creased by more than one
quarter. Food consumption of

the people has increased con-
siderably, universal education
has been introduced in the

country and illiteracy has been
practically wiped out.

What this has meant to the
average citizen was very graph-
ically described for me over

the supper table by a former ,

Vancouver millworker, Joe
Lasota, who had returned to
his native Poland 10 years ago.
“After all the war damage we
had to work hard to rebuild
our country,” Joe told me. “It
wasn’t easy, but today we're
really going ahead; living con-
ditions are getting better every
month, and best of all we
don’t have any fear of unem-
ployment. You tell all my old
comrades and friends back in
Vancouver how happy I am in
this socfalist land. Mind, I miss
them all very much, but when
I decided to come home and
help build socialism, it was
the best move I ever made.”

Joe Lasota works in a big
textile mill employing some
7,000 workers. It was quite a
tribute to Joe’s work that 960
out of 964 party members in
the plant voted to send him to
the Warsaw Congress.

“Like the Soviet Union, we’re
going to boost our industrial
output by 80 percent between
now and 1965,” he told me con-
fidently. “Agricultura] produc-
tion will go up about 30 per-
cent, and with it, of course, the
standard “of living of all the
people.

“We've had a big change
since 1948,” Joe said, “but the
biggest change is the one that
is coming now. You know,

there’s only one thing that
could slow our advance—that’s
war. That’s why ‘everyone in
cur mill and everyone in
Poland wants and works tire-
lessly for peace.”

Few people in the world
know better than do the people
of Poland whata toll of deaths
destruction, suffering and
hardship a war leaves in its
wake. Imagine living near a
small town of 12,000 like Au-
sthwitz, where I visited, and
where the equivalent of one
quarter of the population of all
Canada were brutally slaught-
ered by German S.S. troops.
Here was located the principal
“slaughter house” of the Nazis
—the most notorious of all Ger-
Man camps where the most
appaling, inhuman crimes and
outright biological destruction
was carried out on over four
million people of 28 different
nations.

The martrydom’ and death
of these and other millions of
victims of Nazi concentration
camps constitute a warning to
all mankind of the danger of
an ideology based on violence
and war. They should stimulate
every one of us, as they do the
loved ones and neighbors of
those who died, to fight for a
future where hatred and war
shall be no more and where
friendship and peace _ shall
reign supreme.

®@ This is the third of a series
of five articles by Nigel Mor-
gan on his recent trip abroad.

Continued

MANIFESTO |

@® To defend our very lives
from the menace of Atomic
War.

@ To defend our living
standards, and improve them,
at a time of growing eco-
nomic crisis.

@ To defend our trade un-
ions from harsh and violent
attacks. :

xt xt og

Canadian security is threat-
ened and our lives are in
danger because Canada has
been made a military satellite
of the United States. _\

The road to peace is: to end
the cold war and replace it
by policies of peaceful co-
existence with the Socialist
countries.

U.S. atomic bases in Can-
ade should be removed. Can-
ada must regain control of
its own foreign policy. Our
national interests, our very
lives, demand:

© The peaceful negotiations
of the German crisis through
a peace treaty with Germany
and support for the proposal
to withdraw all foreign troops
from European. countries.

@ Unhitching Canada from
the U.S. war machine, which
automatically commits us to
war at the orders of the USA.

@ Agreement to ban atomic
tests, to outlaw the H-bomb.
Peace is in your hands!

se3 x %

Unemployment is the curse
of almost a million Cana-
dians. Lower wages and
higher prices — all are cut-
ting into the standard of liv-
ing — this while monopoly
profits remain swollen at the
cost of living standards.

‘On this May Day, raise
your voices against economic
crisis, for the shorter work
day, for wage increases, and
a reduction of monopoly
profits.

Not a man or woman need
be out of a job in this rich
country! Demand the factor-
ies be open and run full-time,
producing the things we
need, and trading with the
world.

% xt t

Violent attacks by the
RCMP in Newfoundland and
Ontario is a warning to la-
bor that it must unite its
ranks against police state vio-
lence, for trade union rights,
for the right to picket with-
out police interference.

Newfoundland and British
Columbia legislatures have al-

ready cut down the rights of
labor; others may follow,

This great trade  ynion
movement, and the farmers’
organizations must unite to
beat back this bosses’ on-
slaught on dearly-won demo
cratic rights. These rights ate
ours only to the extent that
we constantly defend them
They must be guaranteed in
a Bill of Rights.

se se) x

One country in the wor
the Soviet Union, has bt
socialism and is now movin
to communism, when nat
shall receive according td)
his need.” The socialist camp}
of 12 countries has provel
that people can live in peace
and brotherhood. -

On the other hand, the im
perialist system is becoming
weaker as country after coun.
try wins its independence.

The cause of socialism and
peace in the world is triumph
ing over capitalism and wah

On this May Day, let w
greet the peoples of tht
world who are building theif
free and democratic socialist
systems, and resolve in Can
ada that we shall work fo
peaceful coexistence and
trade with the Socialist coum!

tries, and for the ultimate vit
tory of socialism in our ow
mt at m

The workers and farmels
their own united parliamer
tary party. The Winnipe
Labor Congregs shows
way by which it can be é
labor and _ progressive |
ments into a new parliamel
and farm interests—and
mately a parliamentary m®

In the present discussions
insist on the principle of all
movement. No  anti-commt
nism, no red-baiting, must b
and only unity, can win!

Let us resolve that by May
farmer party will be in &
istence! h

country.

now have the chance to build
Resolution of the Canadiat
at last; to bring togeth
tary party, to rally the lz
jority.

inclusive unity in this neW
allowed to prevent it. Uniti
Day, 1960, a united labor

For peace, democracy; jobs
and higher living standaré
Workers of all Countries
Unite! at

—National Executive Cou
mittee Labor-Progressivé
Party. qi

May 1, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE!