ee ae dot

/

WARNING that although in “‘the struggle against
the camp of imperialism and war, the forces of

peace, democracy and socialism have grown in number, __

and strength,” it would be harmful to the cause of peace
“to under-estimate the danger of the new war now being
prepared by imperialist powers headed by the United

States and Britain,” is the salient point of a resolution —

adopted by the Communist Information Bureau at its
meeting in Hungary last month.

Reviewing events in the two years since the Com-
munist Information Bureau first met, in September,
1947, the resolution points out that they confirm “the
correctness of the analysis of the international situation”
given by the Bureau at that time.

“During this-period two lines of world policy took
shape even more clearly and sharply: the line of the
democratic, anti-imperialist camp headed by the USSR,
the camp waging a persistent and consistent struggle
for peace between peoples and for democracy; and the
line of the imperialist, anti-democratic camp headed by
the US, ruling circles, the camp whose main object is
forcibly to establish Anglo-American world domination,
to enslave other countries and peoples, to destroy de-
mocracy and unleash a new war,’ states the resolution,
and it cites these facts as evidence that the USS. and

Britain “openly pursue 2 policy of aggression and prepar-

ation for a new war”:

Frustration of a peaceful settlement of relations
with Germany and Japan. Completion of dismember-
ment of Germany. Turning ,of Western Germany and
occupied Japan into centers of fascism. Spending of
huge sums on armaments and establishment of a net-
work of American military bases around the world
within the framework of the North Atlantic military
bloc. Refusal of the Anglo-American bloc “to prohibit
the atomic weapon despite the fiasco of the myth of
‘U.S. atomic monopoly.”

This policy, states the resolution, “determines the
entire line of the Anglo-American bloc in the United Na-

tions, a line aimed at undermining the UN and making :

it into a weapon of U.S. monopolies.”

The resolution points out, however, that the “present
historical situation differs radically from the situation
in which World War Two was prepared. Under the
present international conditions it is incomparably more
difficult for the warmongers to realize their sanguinary
designs.” :

Quoting Stalin—“The horrors of the recent war are
too fresh in the minds of the people, and the social
forces standing for peace are too great for the Churchill
disciples of aggression to overcome them and turn them
towards a new .war’—the resolution asserts that the US.
imperialists “obviously over-estimate their strength, and

under-estimate the growing power and organization of
_ the anti-imperialist camp. ;

The’ resolution points to the “tireless struggle of

the Soviet Union, the People’s Democracies and the in-
ternational working class and democratic movements
for peace, freedom and independence of peoples,” and
“development of a mightly movement of the partisans
of peace” now rallying over 600 million people in its
ranks. eo ; si .

But again, the resolution warns against complacency,
stating it would be “g profound and unforgivable de-
jusion to think the danger of war has diminished,” be-
cause historical experiences teaches “that the mare
hopeless things are for imperialist reagtion, the more
it rages and the greater the danger of military adven-
tures.” ; : :

‘The resolution sets the following summarized points _

as “vital tasks” in the struggle for peace:

@ To consolidate and extend “the movement of the

- partisans of peace” rallying all genuine peace sup-
porters, regardless of religious beliefs, political views
and party affiliation on the broadest platform. ‘

° “To secure “the ever more active participation of the

working class’ in the peace movement. at

COMMUNIST INFORMATION BUREAU RESOLUTION

orces of peace stronger,
but war danger

@ To struggle for working class unity against the right-

wing socialist leaders and expose them “as the worst
enemies of peace.”

e@ To counter the propaganda of war with the propa-
ganda of peace> —

Cy ‘To apply and develop new forms of mass struggle
for peace.

e@ To show the struggle for peace as merging with the
struggle for national independence. :

The resolution points out that Communist parties
in the People’s Democracies and the Soviet Union have
the task of consolidating “the camp of peace and ‘so-
cialism in the cause of defending peace and the security

of peoples” and of exposing the machinations of the —
. Tito cliques.

‘CIVIC ELECTION

By BERT WHYTE

Register voters,

CRA aim for 1950

O VERLOOKED in the Non-Partisan sweep in this
year’s civic elections in Vancouver was the not

insignificant fact that Civic Reform aldermanic candidate
Effie Jones increased her percentage of the popular vote.
Running for Mayor last year Effie polled 9.7 percent of
the total vote; this year, although she finished far down
the list in the aldermanic contest, her percentage of the

vote was 11.3. wy

Interesting, too, is that Effie increased her vote in
eight polls in the city’s west side, in some quite sub-
stantially. For imstance, in poll 33 she jumped from 109
in 1948 to 133 this year; in poll 43, from 69 to 97; in poll
46, from 61 to 106. $ ;

While Effie Jones’ total vote of 4,281 can be consider-
ed a fair showing in view of the extremely light east end
vote and the fact that Civic Reform, Association conduct-
ed a limited election campaign, the 1,648 votes cast for
her running mate, Elgin Ruddell, reflect a failure on the
CRA’s part to sufficiently publicize this candidate.

The Non-Partisan machine assured its victory last
summer during the registration campaign, when thous.
ands of tenants and working class voters were dropped
from election lists. One of the key tasks facing the CRA
in 1950 is to conduct a vigorous “get out and register”

" campaign in the progressive east end next summer.

Defeat of CCF alderman Laura Jamieson was not
unexpected. Elected in 1947 by the huge vote which roll-
ed out to back “Low Fare” Effie Jones, the CCF member

demonstrated ineptitude in dealing with the problems of
the people at city call, rejected unity with the left-wing
labor movement on the vital issues of fares and public
ownership of BCElectric, and developed a fuzzy-minded
theory to the effect that the NPA-dominated council was
“socialism is practice.” :

“Civic government is the beginning of socialism,”

wrote Laura Jamieson in the CCF News prior to the
elections. “The ownership and operation by the people
of the water system, the roads, the schools, the parks—
this is socialism in its early application. The people in
civic office just now in Vancouver will not admit this.
They should be forced to admit it. This fact—that they
are already administering socialism, but don’t want to
call it by its right name—should be driven home against
the so-called Non-Partisans at every. opportunity.”

: : Xs

_Now that Laura is no longer an alderman she can
spend her time trying to convince the Non-Partisans that
they are really brother socialists under the skin. But
Vancouver workers have lost nothing in being deprived
of the theoretical “services” of such a befogged “repre-
sentative”, ;

Next year there will be a mayoralty contest and con-
sequently greater interest in the civic political scen, Civic
Reform Association plans to contest a number of seats
and will conduct a vigorous campaign to oust the NPA
and elect real fighters for the people. Of major import-
ance will be the battle to have every eligible working
class voter register his name at city hall this summer;

the labor vote next December.

followed by the building of an election machine to get out :

x

PARLIAMENT HILL By LESLIE MORRIS
Not one voice
raised for people

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a batile, -
For Tweedledum, said Tweedledee,
_ © Had spoiled his nice new ratile. .
EWIS CARROLL'S fine wit just about describes the
House of Commons session which ended early this
month in time to give the MPs a long holiday. Tweedle-
dee St. Laurent and Tweedledum Drew twitted and
taunted, but it was all in fun. There is no opposition in

the House of Commons, not even an effective capitalist _

one, let alone a people’s opposition.

Contempt for the people and complete unconcern
about their lives marked this parliamentary session, the
first since the summer general, election. Colonel George
Drew would like to be in St. Laurent’s place, and so
would. M. J. Coldwell. But because His Majesty’s Op-
position has a legal standing Drew is content for the mo-
ment while Coldwell acts as a sort of left bower for every-
body — a sort of Tweedledither. The only opposition
came from outside parliament.

Whenever a cabinet minister is compelled to descend
from the rarefied air of his office to mix for an embarrass-
ing moment with the multitude he loses his parliamentary
poise. Witness the Minister of Finance’s behavior on oc-

casions when the Housewives gave him his come-uppance
or when the Montreal Tenants spent hard-spared dollars

“to take a train ride to Ottawa to see Upthe-Rent Abbott.

What a collision ensued between the politician and the
people! é

Unemployment is ravaging a hundred thousand Can- —

adian homes, and Douglas Abbott jacks up the rent.
@

Paul: Martin, minister of health, boasts of spending

- $2,000,000 for scientific research to help countless suf-

ferers from cancer, arthritis and tuberculosis—less than the
money needed to build one modern bomber plane!

Parliament mumbles about a Bill of Rights, but
ministers of the crown blandly admit that they are screen-

ing the CBC and National Film Board to find out df any —

employees have an ounce of independence of thought left
that is, independent of the manufacturers’ radio moni-
tors who listenin on all CBC programs to stoolpigeon on
any ideas that do not conform to the dog-eat-dog moral-
ity of the profiteers. e :

C. D. Howe, minister of trade, sails into the empyr-

ean blue to tell employers that the trade outlook looks -

good, carefully hiding the facts. of the Dominion Bureau

of Statistics which show just the reverse, including the

point brought out by Tim Buck ‘in last week's Pacific
Tribune that production and profits can remain high while
real wages drop and unemployment. increases.

Stanley Knowles, CCF MP, describes in his suit for
libel that the CCF threw out two pro-Soviet- members
during the war, but kept an anti-Soviet smember—perhaps

during the very battle of Stalingrad whose victory for the —

Soviet Union enables Knowles to speak at all this hour.
The government pleads guilty of trying to suppress

evidence which shows that the baking monopoly got to-
e biead

gether in a smoke-filled room to hike the price o

and puts out as its defense that it permitted these baby-
starvers to do so as the price of having to endure wartime
profit controls.

Brooke Claxton, minister of defense, informs the

House that the expenditures on “defense’” are the highest
for any peacetime year, and that they will go higher yet.

(One anti-aircraft gun costs $600,000, enough to build

150 modern homes for desperate Canadian veterans of

- Dieppe and the Scheldt. )

The government apologizes for sending uranium to :
the Soviet Union in 1943—just after the battle of Staling
grad, and not longvafter these same men were speculating ©
about what would happen*to us “if the Red ‘Army were

defeated.”
we : ‘

What a talking shop! And what a parliament into
whose hands to place the responsibility of preserving the
peace—a parliament in which not one voice was raise
against rebuilding the Nazi army with U.S. dollars, in
which not one whispered protest was heard when the U.S.
atomaniacs made their obscene boast that they will have a
bomb 1,000 times stronger than Hiroshima’s! And in
which CCF MPs find more in common with St. Laurent
and Drew than with the workers and farmers back home
‘who elected them last June. .

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 23, 149—PAGE 9 _