EDITORIAL PAGE

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5S UttTTLE BIRMINGHAM
MARTYRS

THE WAGES OF

WHITE

SUPREMACY 1S DEATH

The above cartoon was sent to the PT by one of its readers.

Yes’ and ‘no’ of it!

On December 4 the UN Security
Council unanimously adopted a
resolution put forward by Norway,
calling for a world-wide ban on the
export of arms and armament
manufacturing equipment to the
racist “apartheid” government of
South Africa.

The adoption of this historic
call was unanimous, but the rep-
resentative from Tory Britain, Sir
Patrick Dean, upholding the
standard traditions of “Perfidious
Albion” made it quite clear that
while Tory Britain wouldn’t ship
arms to South Africa to be used
in the enforcement of “apartheid,”’
it would continue to ship arms to

_ the Verwoerd government for its

“apartheid” South Africa. Pre-
serves, jams, oranges, wines, no
end of goods, all well saturated
with the blood, tears, sweat and
whiplash toil of a sorely oppressed
Native people.

Somehow we don’t see the blood
of an African worker in a pot of
S.A. jam quite so clearly as a Brit-
ish “Sir” sees the need to vote

“no’’, but say “‘yes”’ to the racist
demand for arms to continue the
oppression.

For Canada the UN resolution
has a simple follow-up; make the
boycott on the purchase of all
South African goods 100-percent
effective as of NOW.

own “self-defense.”

A previous UN resolution call-
ing upon the South African gov-
ernment to “cease forthwith its
continued imposition of discrim-
inatory and repressive measures

_,.. contrary to the principles and
purposes of the UN Charter” has
gone unheeded. In fact if anything,
the killings, mass imprisonment,
mass deportation, and general re-
pression of the native peoples of
S.A. has greatly increased.

All of which reminds us that we
here in Canada in the organiza-
tions of labor and the people have
some very fine “resolutions” of
international solidarity on file, in
which we have pledged to “‘boy-
cott” the purchase of all goods
made.in South Africa.

But like the British Tory on the
UN Security Council, we some-
how match his inconsistency, even
if we do lack his brassy perfidity.

To help us celebrate Yuletide
and the Christmas .‘spirit”, most
of B.C.’s big chain stores are well
stocked with the products of

Pacific Tribune

Editor — TOM McEWEN
Associate Editor — MAURICE RUSH
Published weekly at
~ Room 6 — 426 Main Street
Vancouver 4, B.C.

Phone MUtual 5-5288
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prysationny! Ottawa and for payment

of postage in cash. ©

; eh ae
a cot ever et Oat SENT

T HE announcement by Defense
Minister Paul Hellyer last week
of a $37-million cut in Canada’s de-
fense spending, is undoubtedly a

very welcome and long-overdue °
event. There is no doubt such a *

step, inadequate as it is, will meet

with the wholehearted approval of
a great majority of the Canadian
people.

In assessing the Minister’s pro-
posed cut in defense expenditures
however, it will be readily seen
that welcome as this initial cut-
back is, it is still far short of what
is required for a return to the san-
ity of a constructive peace-time
economy.

In adefense budget getting
close to the staggering total of two
billion dollars annually of the tax-
payer’s money down the arms
drain, this $37- million “saving”
falls far short of the widespread
demand of the Canadian people,
expressed through themedium of
their trade unions, political affilia-
tions and peace movements; that
Canada’s spiralling arms spending
be cut by 50-percent or more.

While the Defense Minister’s
proposal to effect this “37-million
dollar saving” will probably close
down ascore or more of military
and naval units across the country,
and bring about the termination of
services of 20,000 or more military
and civilian personnel now man-
ning these units, this “saving” is
obviously not earmarked to pro-
vide employment for these or
other wage-earning Canadians.

Moreover, it should be noted
that the armament monopolists,
those “‘Merchants of Death” who
garner vast profits on government
contracts for the production of
armaments, (much of which is de-

Seal up the drain

Comment

clared ‘‘obsolete”’ before it ever
gets into production), are not un-
duly disturbed by the Hellyer cut-
back announcement.

They at least have the Min-
ister’s assurance that new and
more up-to-date armaments will
be purchased or built, as alleged
“defense” needs warrant.

At bottom this cutback in arms
spending is a tribute to the efforts
of a growing number of the Cana-
dian people for the emergence of
policies leading to disarmament
and peace. It is a modest begin-
ning, a first step, but only a step
towards a beginning to put the lid
on a suicidal arms drain; a drain
which has all but swallowed Can-
ada’s resources, independence, and
opportunity.

A mounting of public pressure
to further close the drain by at
least 50-percent of its total intake
is now the imperative of the times.

Washington Alchemist

Ghago in Revolucion ‘Cuba)

Tom
McEwen

E very year it seems Big Business
aims to get the Christmas ‘‘spirit’’
moving into high gear well ahead of
the normal time schedule. Already in
this year of 1963 the volume of
**bargains’’ and ‘‘buy-now-pay-later’’
advertising got under way a good two
months before Christmas,

So, if you’re short of cash—and what
workingclass family isn't? — the big
financial loan sharks remind you almost
hourly on TV and radio, that ‘‘you can
borrow with confidence’’ at Skinem and
Fleecem Corporation.
your needs’’, warble these legalized
usurers, and whether its a turkey, a
sugar-cured ham or a new ‘‘prestige’”’
car, ‘‘you’ll find our easy loan services
accommodating’*, Later it will be fully
discovered just who ‘‘accommodates’’
whom in the Christmas ‘‘loan’’ trans-
action.

The payments plus the 10-20-30 per-
cent interest gouge—ah, that comes
later. That’s where the trusting ‘‘con-
fidence’’ gets a hefty solar-plexus
wallop, with the much-heralded Christ-
mas ‘‘spirit’’ nowhere in sight.

All down the line it’s the same tune.
**Don't ruin your wife’s hands with a
life sentence of dishwashing. Get her
the latest in an electric dishwasher.
Give her a’real Christmas gift. No
down payment, and no payments until
March, 1964'’. What could be easier
than that?

‘Just tell us —

- bined

Then there’s that new car you've
been dreaming about. Wouldn’t that
make a dandy Christmas gift? And
so easy. Just ‘‘drive now--pay later’’.
A **miracle’’ deal. Again by the time
*‘later”’ arrives the Christmas
**spirit’’ will have gone like the last
tankful of gas, and in its place a
brusque reminder from the finance
corporation that ‘‘your prompt attention
to current payments in future will be
appreciated’’.

Another field where the Christmas
“‘spirit’? has a special allure. What
would ‘‘she’’ like as a Christmas gift
from “‘him’’, or vise versa? Diamonds,
a multi-jeweled watch, a sparkling
bracelet, ad infinitum. Again with no-
money-down and long-term ‘‘easy pay-
ments’’, ‘*Make her Christmas a gay
one’’, Such ‘‘gaiety’’ nets millions in
profits for Big Business, With a cor-
responding number of‘‘easy payments’’
headaches for the lovelorn.

But why bellyache? Just look what a
Christmas we had, all set to the com-
music of carols and cash
registers, Business is ‘‘bouyant’’ when
**pay later’’ time rolls around,

* + *

There are other phenomena of this
1963 ‘* Yuletide season’’ worthy of note
since it has something to do with the
mass ability to ‘‘pay later.’’

A gander through recent press items
other than the Christmas ‘‘bargain’’

_ section, indicates a strong emphasis

on the ‘fur’’, Doctor's fees going ‘‘up’’,
MSA premiums going ‘‘up’’, car in-
surance going ‘‘up’’, food prices going

‘tup’’, taxes going ‘‘up’’, funeral costs
going ‘‘up’’, government salaries (at
all levels) going ‘‘up’’ (and how!). In
fact it is pretty difficult to find anything
of any importance to domestic budgets
that isn’t going ‘‘up’’, As we said, a
glance at the ‘‘news’’ and financial
pages of any newspaper will reveal
plenty of ‘‘ups’’, and an annual profit
intake by big business monopoly
breaking all previous records.

This steady spiral of ‘‘up’’ in living
and dying costs has a direct bearing
on the ‘‘borrow-with-confidence-buy-
now-pay-later’* binge now in full spate
to make Christmas a record profit-
maker, Seemingly the sales promoters
for Big Business reason that if Christ
were born twenty centuries ago, there’s
no valid reason why Homo Sapiens
shouldn’t contribute handsomely to
Monopoly profits in recognition of that
*‘nativity’’,

And if Homo Sapiens is pretty well
cleaned out by the ‘fups’’ of the period,
all the more reason to feed him a good
strong diet of ‘*borrow - with -
confidence’’ in order that he maycele-
brate Christmas with allthe trimmings
and with a time-honored abandon of
any thoughts about ‘‘cost’’,

After all Christmas only happens
once a year, and the cash register like
Christmas bells has got to ring, even
if the future of Homo Sapiens has got
to be heavily mortgaged to keep it
ringing,

Thus monopoly’s. watchword for
Christmas of 1963; ‘‘celebrate now—
pay later’. But don't try it onthe LCB.

yapa eres!

i Sa gh ty eh ah EE ec

December 13, 1963—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 4