By J. G. MOHL

“We don’t want no nootrals — we wanna belligerent meeting!

199

Sun shines and combines hum;
but gloom pervades Prairies

EDENWOLD, Sask.

b hens sun is laughing from the
clear prairie sky over the end-
less expanse of waving wheat
fields; the combines hum from
morning till late into the night
and spill their rivulets of golden
kernels into granaries, truck
boxes or—on the ground. Har-
vesting has always been a time
of rejoicing for the primary pro-
ducer, and harvesting a bumper
crop of high-grade wheat should
fill the heart of the western farm-
er with joy. But...

The towns and villages are
quiet like ghost towns. There is
no line-up of trucks and horse-
drawn wagons at the elevators;
there are no box cars at the sid-
ings. The elevator men are sit-
ting in their offices with their
feet on the desk. They might as
well take their holidays in what
should be the busiest season of
their year: their houses are full,
and there is little chance that
they will be even partially emp-
tied during the next three or
four months.

There is no joy in the heart of
the farmer. Producing food that
nobody wants is just like walking
from factory to factory only to
find your labor power is not want-

ed, which is another way of say-
ing that you are not wanted, that
you have no place in the scheme
of things and might as well go
jump in the lake.

And how is a fellow to plan
his next year’s operations? Grow
more wheat only to pile it on top
of the 1953 and even the 1952
crop? Let the land lie idle? But
a fellow has to live, has to meet
bills at the store, the implement
dealers, pay taxes, repay bank
loans.

These are the questions which
occupy his mind while he watches
the golden stream run out of the
combine: nature’s bountiful bless-
ing, to him—a curse! And to
think that two-thirds of the
world’s population have never
enough to eat! These are the
topics one can hear discussed in
the stores, on the station plat-
forms all over the West.

The solutions offered in these
discussions are many and varied,
but more and more agreement
is reached as to the causes of

- the catastrophic situation: it is

the trade policies of the federal
government which are blamed.
Since everybody knows that these
policies are dictated by Uncle
Sam, there is a growing under-

Dior caught in squeeze

THRISTIAN DIOR, head of the

French fashion house, has been
told by the French Labor Ministry
that his 800 workers, engaged on
“new look” gowns for American
and other foreign clients, are
packed together too tightly in al-
coves, stairway landings and lofts.
They don’t have enough room to

_ breathe, the ministry stated. So

Dior announced that 150 seam-
stresses would be dismissed.

Dior aecused another govern-
ment bureau, the ministry of econ-

omic affairs, of illegally occupy-
ing premises he bought for ex-
pansion in 1948, thus preventing
his midinettes from having enough
needle room.

Dior said Paris police authori-
ties had declined to carry out an
order to oust the ministry of eco-
nomic affairs from his annex.

Meantime, another government
ministry, that of labor and social
security, insisted he must get
more space.

standing and acceptance of the
demand so appropriately  ex-

pounded by the Labor-Progress- °

ive party during the election cam-
paign: Put Canada First!

People begin to see that only
by adopting trade policies which
are in the interest of Canada can
farming be put on a permanently
secure basis.

There is one point, however,
on which farmers, irrespective of
party affiliation, are unanimous:
the government was wise to hold
the election when it did!

Thi
Write What You Pleme.

Defends Doukhobors

GEORGE TRUSCOTT, Vancou-
ver, B.C.: Regarding the ‘“Douk-
hobor problem,” I am convinced
that there is something (other
than sham religious fanaticism)
behind all this newspaper propa-
ganda.

Having lived in the West Koot-
enays for many years, I became
acquainted with these people.
They came to this country to
make it their home and worked
very hard clearing the land,
which was no easy job.

They made lovely orchards and
comfortable homes. When the
time was ripe and plenty of fruit
on hand they built a splendid
jam factory at Brilliant, spot-
lessly clean.

The jam factory was a success
and made a name for itself. I
may say that the Doukhobors
were a kindly and _ hospitable

- people.

Peter Veregin, the leader, bor-
rewed mohey to the extent of
several hundred thousand dol-
lars, and in my opinion was not

a good financier. . . . Then the
loan company foreclosed and left
the people stranded. They lost
their homes and property and
some set fire to their homes, in
resentment, after losing all they
had after a lifetime struggle.

The daily press keeps mum on
such events; only the Pacific Tri-
bune has the courage to tell the
facts.

‘GOV'T WON'T SILENCE OUR VOICES’

U.S. POWs explain why.
they refuse repatriation

PANMUNJOM
American prinsoners of war in
Korea who have refused direct

, repatriation have done so because

of Senator Joseph McCarthy and
repressive legislation in the Unit-
ed States.

Just before they were handed
over to Indian custody at Pan-
munjom last week, these men,
23 of them, issued a statement
outlining their reasons for re-
fusing repatriation.

They said that they did not in-
tend to give the U.S. government
“a chance to silence their voices”
as other American voices for
peace and freedom had been
silenced. ;

With them was one Briton,
Marine Andrew M. Condron, who
said. that perhaps he was “an
idealist, a humanist, a Commun-
ist or whatever you will,” but he
wanted to play his “small part
in fighting for the better sort of
world I believe in.”

The prisoners were cheerful as
they climbed down from the lor-
ries that brought them to Pan-
munjom. They shook hands with
and thanked the Chinese and Ko-
reans who helped them down.

The Americans said in their
statement that they had only tak-
en the momentous step of refus-
ing repatriation after much
thought and deliberation, and
added that North Korean POW
camp authorities had tried hard
to persuade them to return home.

“Our staying behind does not
change the fact that we are
Americans. We love our country

Truth will oiit

MRS. M.L., Lulu Island, B.C.:
I am sending you a new sub-
scription for the PT. We just
had visitors at our home and of
course who do people talk about
now? Naturally, the Doukho-
bors. Our visitors quoted things
they had read in the Vancouver
Sun, so I read what the Pacific
Tribune had to say about the
land steal and the death of three
Doukhobor babies at Oakalla in
1932. Well, that isssue of the
paper interested them so much

Sold like hotcakes

NELSON PT PRESS
’ CLUB, Nelson, B.C.: Selling
the Pacific Tribune on Nel-
son streets r€cently proved
to be a very thriving busi-
ness. The issue of S€ptem-
ber 18 carrying the story of
the Doukhobors literally
went like hot cakes. One
salesman took out 10 copies
and returned in 10 minutes
for more. He sold over 40
in less than two hours.

One sceptical customer
finally bought a PT with
reluctance after listening
to this salesman. A few
minutes later the customer
came hurrying back and

purchased three more
copies.
All. salesmen reported

their supplies of papers ex-
hausted after about two
hours.

Your Dep

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 2, 1953 —

Therefore We

and our le.
n people ‘helt

love personal freedom,”
statement read. he
“Our greatest conern is to fight
for peace and freedom, not ORY
for ourselves, but for the Amer
can people and the people ®
the world. !
“Unfortunately, under preset:
day conditions in America, a
voices of those who speak %
for peace and freedom are 4
ly being silenced, while the vole
which shout loudest and gcueaam
most publicity are those OF
McCarthy book-burners and those
who demand ‘preventive’ wae
“We do not intend to give f
U.S. government a chance ~~
silencing our voices, too.” i
. They referred to recent tt
ments by General Mark ch i
U.S. Far Eastern Command
and Brig. General Hamble, are
delegate on the Repatriatid
Commission, about “the
can tradition of freedom
that belonging to parties
progressive ones” in the
States “is not a crime.” the
They asked, “What about
56 Communist leaders. a igo!
sentenced to long terms 11 Fo
because of their political bel
What about the Rosenbé
What about their own - wert
among the repatriated wi? re
“dragged off to Valley
Mental Hospital”
spoke out for peace?
Some of them were ;
who said that in the POW. a
for the first time they. them
among people who treated ©"
as equals. :

» and

‘

wimnen |

su
that one person bought @
scription from me on the 5P

You are doing good wore pol
truth will out, no matte ae

much other papers try t0 ©

Doukhobor history

OTTO MACDONALD, a
bell River, B.C.: Complime’, 18
your fine issue of Septer nob
dealing with the hie
question. A supporter reap
paper here dug up a new wit
picture which appeared ming
nipeg or Regina paper U2"),
depression, showing }° sev
hobor women hitched the?’ ich
to a plow to break the sa of {hi
wan soil in the early day
Doukhobor settlement,
there was a shortage
and oxen. The men, @
were out working 4
the surrounding area,
earn enough money tO oe
and equipment. But oon reed
efforts, they were later #°
the land.

The PT articles
hobors are very timely;
the need to study all s!
question.

McCarthy tour?

HOMO SAP, Vancov¥®’” pill
This fellow Beria has eae
skinned a mile. In one
visited Spain, Iran, S04” jack ®
ca and Texas, and now #° pe
the Soviet Union. But dio
can’t believe all you 2°”
papers?

“the
on and
des °

pov
ow
a