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MONTREAL

the eve of the long-sought
cease-fire in Korea came a fer-
vent appeal of French Canada
for a meeting of the great pow-
ers to ‘set at a distance the dan-
ger of war and help the establish-
ment of peace.” The call came
from the 435 delegates from 12
cities and towns gathered at the
Quebec Congress for Expressions.
of Peace held-in Montreal on
the weekend of June 6-7, a con-
gress expressive’ of widely divers-
ing viewpoints but agreeing on
one main aim: negotiate for
peace.

Trade. unionists, housewives,
merchants, leading artists and
professional workers. proposed.
whats > ;
+All Canadian statesmen, re-

ligious organizations, civic or-
ganizations and trade unions use
all their influence to assist the
holding of a:meeting between
the great powers .. . the mere

fact that the heads of the great.

powers come together to nego-
tiate their differences will itself
lessen international tension . . .
set at a distance the danger of
war, and help the establishment
of peace.”
e

Here at a people’s congress was
the atmosphere of peaceful nego-
tiation. Here was a sincere desire
among people of diverse back-
grounds and beliefs to find com-
mon ground in the interests of
humanity, in the interests of
peace.

The carpenter from Quebec
City, Leonard Methot, member
of the Catholic Syndicates, felt
that “the millions spent for air-
planes, for implements of de-
struction” must be used “for de-
cent homes for workers for our
welfare and security.”

Dr. Stuart Allan, who spent

~ peace.”

22 years in China as a United
Church medical missionary,

warned delegates that “peace
will not come simply because
people say they want peace.” The
fundamental problem he declar-
ed is the “elevation of the spiri-
tual life of the community.

Miss Liliane Vien, Montreal
poet who received Papal Bene-
diction from Pope Pius Xfi in

1950 for her religious works, said.

“differences are inevitable, be-
cause human naturé is still far
from perfect, but the spirit of
negotiation . . . could safeguard

©. ,

The composition of. the con-
gress presidium indicated the
breadth and divergence of the
congress participants. Raymond
Poulin, radio comedian; Armand
Berube, fur worker; Liliane Vien,
poet; Louis-Paul Hamel, poet;
Helen Hall, secretary, Montreal
Peace Council; Jean-Jules Rich-
ard, novelist; Dr. Don Anderson,
physician. :

Armand Berube, secretary-trea-
surer of the committee which in-
itiated the congress, extended a
special welcome to the delega-
tion of 20 from Quebec City, and
to delegates from Sherbrooke,
Valleyfield, Levis, Lauzon, La-
chute, Richmond, St. Therese,
St. Eustache, La Tuque, Hull and
St. Jerome.

He declared: “There is some-
thing providential in the fact that
we have chosen for this meeting
dates which remain indelibly im-
printed on our memories...

“Tt appears that the prayers
of honest men have been heard:
peace will return to the land of
Korea . . . Wherever there are
mothers. and wives, little chil-
dren; wherever. the worker
dreams of building a house for
his family, wherever the artist

seeks to re-create the world, it is
a moment filled with great hope.

“The defense of peace,” he
said, “took on many forms. - In
some countries workers refused
to handle war machines. In others
thousands of faithful pilgrims
gathered about their altars, re-
sponded to the please of His Holi-
ness the Pope. Some people cir-
culated petitions, others wrote
articles in newspapers.

* “What we must understand is

that it is the sum total of these

actions, of all these prayers... .
that has finally forced: the hold-
ing of negotiations.”
@ J *
“Sherbrooke is a beautiful
city,” declared Jene Rene Le-
gault, store clerk from that city.
“English and French - Canadians
live in peace in Sherbrooke, and
the peoples. of the world must
live in peace too,” He presented a
message to the congress signed
by 19 Sherbrooke citizens which

declared: “We, citizens of Sher-
“brooke, conscious ofthe gravity
of the hour, want to manifest our
desire for peace.” .

Louis Marie DesBien, young
bushworker: from La Tuque, told
the congress that in 1939 three
of his brothers had been con-
scripted in the army. One was
killed overseas, another lost both
legs and had an arm paralyzed.
The third returned unscathed but
today declared DesBien “he is
the father of ‘five children and
has been unemployed for several
months. In La Tuque there are
14,000 people, and among them
are more than 3,000 unemployed.
The people of La Tuque know
that war does not bring prosper-
ity. It brings misery and death.

“Save the peace and let peace
save us,” he cried.

A well-known radio artist from
Quebec City, Miss Denise Proulx,
read a moving message from poet
Louis-Paul Hamel. “War respects
artists no more than other peo-

A

ple. Artisits must join with all —
of humanity in opposing the ab-
omination that is war.”

An unemployed seaman, Wil-
liam Mozdir, recounted his eX-
periences during the Second
World War. “In a cave in the
South Pacific I saw the skeletons
of human beings roasted by flame
throwers.” He said the cold war
had thrown thousands of Cana-
dian seamen out of work. “If we
were to trade with all the world,
Canada would again have a mer-
chant fleet that would provide
employment’ for Canada’s sea-
men.”

Charlotte Gautier, representa-
tive of Local 66 of the Fur and
Leather Workers Union, quoted
her union leader, Robert Haddow,
as having said: “It is better to
sit:'and negotiate for 100 years; :
than to let one bomb fall on
Montreal.” 4
up to the women to see that their
men were not torn away from
them, again to die in senseless
wars. :

The former president of the
‘McGill. Student Christian Move
ment, William Wilmott, said that

while he was attending the com

gress as an individual, he was Te
flecting the desires of all stu
dents, and all Christians, when
he declared that “peace is a de
sire and a necessity.”

Novelist Jean-Jules Richard de-
clared it was strange indeed that
the traditional opposition of the
French-Canadian people to wat
and conscription had prompted
certain journalists who parade
as Catholic spokesmen to call the
French - Canadians Communists.
He declared that “these people
are like cancers in the church.
The church which has always
stood for peace, must root them
out.”

The genocidal effects of wat
on minority peoples was dra
matically outlined by Normat
Massey, president of the United
Jewish People’s Order. Massey
recalled that 6,000,000 Jews had)
been suffocated in gas chambers
during World War I. He d&
clared that the Jewish people
stood solidly behind any effort
to settle world differences
through . negotiation.

Ted Baxter, president of youth
for International Friendship,
called for cultural exchange b&
tween the people of all lands t?
strengthen understanding.

He pointed to the forthcoming |
Fourth World Festival of Youth.
and Students for Peace a2
Friendship as a concrete way of
furthering peace and understand-
ing between the peoples.

An outstanding feature of the
congress was the number
young people who came from a”
over the province to voice thet
opposition to war and to conscriP-
tion. : é

During the final session of oy awe
congress, Helen Hall, secretary
the Montreal Peace Council, ech
ed the sentiments of the congres®
and indeed, of the people of OU®
bec, when she declared: pall
solution of the Korean wat - °°
through negotiation opens UP 2
new era in history .. .”

ey

aoc, ALLSIAV-
MIDSUM
SUNDAY, JUNE 21 - 1 p.m.

ANNUAL ;

PICNIC

Seymour (Swedish) Park

_ North of Second Narrows Bridge
SPORTS — OPEN AIR CONCERT — DANCING

SPECIAL BUSES WILL LEAVE FROM c
805 EAST PENDER AND 600 CAMPBELL AVENUE

FROM 12:30 P.M.

MER FESTIVAL ~

T

TASTY SLAV FOOD

PACIFIC TRIBUNE.— JUNE 19, 1953 — PAGE 10

She declared it was — “