70TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Tom McEwen honored at
Vancouver banquet

I am a product of the Party.

large

“Everything I am I owe to the Communist Party.

It has given me the greatest riches a man can have—t

his fellow man.”

These were the words of
Tom McEwen, Pacific Tribune
editor and veteran of the Ca-
nadian Communist movement,
to a banquet attended by
about 350 people Saturday
night in Vancouver's Hastings
Auditorium.

Recaiiing the earlier years
of his life McEwen said he re-
alized over 40 years ago that
the only way to fulfill his
dreams for a better world
were to join the Communist
Party. He told those present
that the best gift to him would
be to build a bigger Commun-
ist Party and press.

Singling out a message from
national Communist Party
leader Tim Buck, Tom Mc-
Ewen recalled his years of
work with Tim and said “it
“was a priceless association.”

In his -message Buck said:
‘Happy birthday Tom. Its
been a long battle from _ the
blacksmith shop in Swift Cur-
rent but your tireless work has
#orne fruit. In the rising strug-
@le for peace and socialism
both of us will make the years
ahead of us our best.”

McEwen paid
many “grand old comrades in
B.C. such as Julius Stelp, Alex
Sholdra, George Kassian, Joe
Ivens of Okanagan Mission and
Bob Kidd of Prince Albert, “a
veteran salesman of the labor
press.”

“Tf I had my life to live
over I would do ‘the same,
‘only try to do it better,” said
Tem McEwen amid applause.

Many messages of greeting

“were received from across Ca-

nada, including a warm tribute
from the National Executive
of the Communist Party, (Pub-
lished earlier in the PT). :

ARNOLD K. SMITH

tribute to

j when

he honour and friendship of

Canadian Tribune said “All
around us we can see the rich
fruits being borne by the work
of our party, of which your
own courageous struggle
through the decades has been
such an inspiring part.”

Veteran Communist from
Winnipeg, Alderman Jacob
Penner ,recalled the years

Tom McEwen was Communist
Party organizer in Winnipeg
and said: “At a great personal
sacrifice you came to Winni-
pee from Saskatoon at our re-
quest to aid us to overcome the
great difficulties we were then
confronted with. . . . In Win-
nipeg you laid the cornerstone
of a new working class, revolu-
tionary party.”

In addition to greetings
from British Columbia warm
messages were-also received
from the editors of the nation-
al Finnish paper Vapaus and
Vochenblatt, national Jewish
weekly paper .There were also
greetings from Alf Dewhurst
on behalf of the Toronto Metro
Committee of the Communist
Party, William Ross, Manitoba
Communist Party leader and
William Beeching, party lead-
er in Saskatchewan.

In a special tribute ‘Pacific
Tribune associate editor Maur-
ice Rush outlined the -great
contribution made by ‘Tom
McEwen in 40 years as one of
Canada’s leading advocates of
Marxism-Leninism.

Rush said Tom McEwen had
won for himself a warm place
in the hearts of the working
people all across Canada and
paid special tribute to. his
qualities of leadership, devo-
tion and understanding .

Nelson Clarke, editor of the| “stands as a glowing example

“Your life's work,” he said,

for the generation of young
Communists now coming to
the forefront in Canada.”

Members of Tom McEwen’s
family were introduced at the
banquet .

An excellent concert pro-
gram was provided which in-
cluded vocal solos; reading of
some of Tom McEwen’s favor-
ite poems by Bill Philipovich
who also rendered a powerful
recitation of a poem by Pa-
trice Lumumba. The Mile-
stones, popular folk singers,
who had earlier presented a

tically received.

Tom McEwen, Pacific Tribune editor, is shown cut
special message of greetings to the cake at the banquet last Saturday honoring his

Tom McEwen, sang a program birthday. Standing beside him is master of ceremol
of international folk music in| Harold Pritchett. Seated is PT associate editor Mau
his honor and were enthusias-| RuSh, who paid tribute to the veteran editor in his speé ‘|

rf
ou
ie

|
‘

’ (Photo S. Freidm@Z,

Many gifts were presented
to Tom McEwen after the
birthday cake had been

A strong appeal to ensure
the success of the present Pa:
cific Tribune drive for $17,000"
was made by master of cere-.
monies Harold Pritchett.

TALLIN (Estonia)—The in-
dictment in the case of Ain-
Erwin Mere, Ralph ° Gerrets
and Jan Vijk was made pub-
lic here last week. They are
‘charged with taking part in
exterminating nearly 125,000
civilians and war prisoners on
Estonian territory during the
nazi occupation. It was estab-
lished during the investigation
that Ain-Erwin Mere, former
chief of the Estonian security
police and “SD,” now living
in Britain, was mainly respon-
sible for, and directed the
monstrous crimes.. Mere is held
responsible for the extermin-
ation of thousands of people,
for the establishment of the

UBC Open House

The PT story last week on
the University of B:C Open
House reported that UBC. au-
thorities stopped the display
of the cartoon showing two
children. Following — this ac-
tion. of the officials the objec-
tion to the cartoon was with--
drawn provided some changes
were made. The Students’
Communist Club . complied
.with the changes and the car-
‘toon was displayed during the
Open House. attracting wide
jattention. .__ -

+ Toad

MOSCOW — Canada’s new

f| ambassador to the Soviet Un-

ion, 46-year-old Arnold Ket-
well Smith, gave a press inter-
view to the newspaper Soviet-
skaya Rossiya here recently.

Smith, who spent three
‘years as secretary in the
Canadian embassy in Moscow
during the Second World War
said that although ‘after the
war there was a period of time
relations
good as we would have liked

Preventing war key issue
says new Canadian envoy

weren’t as.

Jagala concentration camp and
| the annihilation of thousands
of citizens of Czechoslovakia,
| Germany, Poland and other
countries on the Kalevi-Liiva
hills. ‘

They helped to wipe out _
en mae ents 15,000 civilians, POWS |

By MARK FRANK
Pacific Tribune Staff Correspondent

Pee

The indictment says: i
“The fact that the Brit
authorities to this day

not extradited Mere to 50
judiciary authorities cal. |
regarded in no other way My
as concealment of a war ch

inal.”

Ralph Gerrets, the assist
commandant of Jagala, i,
the indictment states ha (4
tively participated in it
shootings of prisoners, Wap)
cently arrested in Estoni@
similar charge has been
against former camp
Jan. Vijk who has also
arrested. Both pleaded &
to the charges against t

On March 1, one week
fore the trial opened, 4
titled “Unmasked!” came ig
the press in Tallin. It ®
ments the atrocities com®
by the fascist crimin

them’ to be,” it was his be-|] Re 2

lief. “that good. will exists on !
both. sides “which will over-
come friction and ease ten-
sions in our relations.”

_ He said the most. vital. is-
sue is prevention of a new
war and said his government |!
believes progress.can be made
on disarmament. He would. al-.
so like to see an extension of
trade, and felt certain. there;
would be an extension of cul-|
tural and scientific exchanges. |

March 17, 1961—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Pa® |

Estonia during World W27Z

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Nigel Morgan