Need help to write true
‘Communist Party history

j After many years of wearing
gOmpulsory “cold war” blinkers,
luring which the public was sub-
@cted to the most outrageous
@ntasies about Communism,
foncocted by the professional
mti-Communist propagandists,

there has been a gradual but

Wide awakening. People want to
Ow what the Communist

party really stands for and its
Tue history.

? This new interest is evinced
mY many serious researchers and
Htudents, and of course especial-
g by militant workers and so-
lalist - minded campaigners in
me cause of peace and demo-
watic rights. They want to
a ae, how events took
} what policies actuall
pore: advocated, and not Sarde:
eody’s interpretation of them,
Particularly that of the spokes-
- of the enemies. They want
© know because that knowledge
(Will help to throw a searchlight
PN today and tomorrow.

hen, Naturally and very pro-
ey are turning to the
Reon! Unist Party itself and the
Boe took part in the
ant an 50 years of the Com-
oe and left-wing movement
And ee for that information.
took ey important that this
fore = 10n be supplied, all the
beerted ice there are today con-
attempts to revive the

falsehoo
Bone ee and slanders of years

dt
au the activity of the Com-
cee Party is always public
ae y. When denied the demo-
tivity right to conduct this ac-
ral seenly, as during the sev-
fdestros tempts to outlaw and
cone it, the Party went under-
3 ui aot to conspire but solely
bicws pt ways to present its
an © the people despite the
and gag. The Party’s his-

tory is contained in the records
of its meetings, the documents
it adopted, and the decisions
that it made. And the more inti-
mate side of it is to be found in
the newspaper accounts, private
letters and personal reminiscen-
ces.

Unfortunately, there is not to-
day available an authentic and
up-to-date history of the Com-
munist Party of Canada that
would obviate the necessity of
plowing through tons of scatter-
ed material, to some of which
access is difficult. Tim Buck’s
Thirty Years is a collector’s item
today—and it’s only up to 1952.
Other books published through-
out the years by the CP and
those issued by several progres-
sive organizations are valuable,
but segmentary.

The 20th convention of the
Communist Party instructed the
National Committee to take
steps to overcome this gap by
preparing and publishing a his-
tory of the Party. A committee
to work on that project has been
set up and has proposed:

1. that a popular one-volume
history of the Communist Party

-and progressive movement of

Canada be prepared for publica-
tion in 1971;

2. that material be collected
on the broadest possible scale
for work on a more detailed and
thorough history to be compiled
and published in the future.

The committee appeals for as-
sistance in carrying out this
undertaking.

We urge that all pertinent ma-
terial that is now in.the hands
of individuals or organizations
be made available to the com-
mittee (minutes, leaflets, clip-
pings from local papers, mem-

oirs, articles or reminiscences
that were published in various
language ‘periodicals, correspon-
dence dealing with various ev-
ents, etc.), either the originals or
tapes (we will return those that
are wanted back).

We further beg that living
participants and eyewitnesses of
various important events in the
history of our movement either
write or have taken down on
tape the description of the peo-
ple and their actions as they re-
call them. These will help to fill
out and animate the historical
record.

The history of the Communist
Party is part of the history of
Canadian politics and of the
Canadian labor movement, and
it is closely interwoven’ with the
left-wing organizations and pro-
gressive struggles which the
Communists inspired and led or
have participated in. Therefore
the material for the history must
embrace not only the Party itself

_ but those organizations, move-

ments and struggles as well.

This book will be of tremen-
dous assistance not only to keep
the record clear—and incidentlly
to hit back at the witch-hunters
and distorters of the present
day — but on the basis of the
struggles, victories—yes, and of
the defeats and errors—of the
past to teach the lessons for our
own time and the future. As we
enter the fateful 1970’s those
lessons are of transcendental
importance to all who desire to
battle for a new and better
Canada.

Please help us to gather all
the materials that will make it
possible to properly carry out
this task.

Address all correspondence to:

W. Sidney, 24 Cecil St.,
Toronto 2B, Ont.

Ly

BLOOD AND SWEAT

Lessons of a long life

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Charlie Lane of Hamilton,
Ont., is 83. Going over his diary
he has culled bits of verse and
philosophical items he has writ-
ten at various times and these
have been turned over to the
Tribune (Charlie Lane is a
staunch progressive). Here are
samples:

ON MY BIRTHDAY

I didn’t have a say
in what Id be,
How long I’d stay

or what I’d see,
Before I was born,

little old me,
No one asked:

“What color would you like?
When war comes, on

which side will you fight?”
No one said:

“There are religions many,
Such a lot—ten a penny.”
So it’s plain to all to see
Someone has made a fool

of me.

Charlie Lane knows all about .

war, of which he wrote in 1918:

War, the folly of Man:

The victor, the vanquished—
Man,

The hero, the coward—Man,

The builder, the wrecker—
Man...

Peace, eternal peace—
the Hope of Man!

Mr. Lane jotted down anec-
dotes—bitter, not amusing—such
as an incident when he was with
the 139th Battery R.F.A. in 1908
and another “from Karachi to
Hyderabad Sind” in 1912. Then
came World War One: _

Gallipoli Landing, April 25,
1915. We plunged into the holo-
caust. No one hesitated: bravery
can be a frightful thing .. .

Pink Farm, 1915. We needed
water. There was a well to our
right rear. I bellied toward it
down a shallow breastwork. I
saw someone on his belly coming
toward me. We recognized each
other from our school days.
We retreated without water,
never to meet again.

Krithia, May 6, 1915. Tiger
Fisher got his today. He went
over the top on impulse. He was
dynamite . . . while he lasted.

Le Tansloy, Oct. 22, 1916. We
are churned into mud and, blood,
and still we fight. Men drown in
this cesspool. Death can be com-
pensating .

At Elverdinge, Oct. 1, 1917.
Heavy bombing. The C.O.’s mare
was killed. The cook cut her up
and we had her for dinner. I felt
like a cannibal.

More recently, in relation to
the two percent increase in old
age pension...on Dec. 15, 1969:

The pioneer who blazed
the trail
Many years ago
Is agéd now and very frail,
And has no place to go.
He’s often praised and
sung about
As young and strong,
without a doubt,
And able to subdue the foe
And march straight on with
heart aglow.
But that is all behind him now,
As he wonders where and
wonders how
He’s going to beat the vicious
squeeze
That could deflate his
bread and cheese.

And finally, from the vantage
of four score and three years of
living a toiler’s life, Charlie Lane
comments:

In spite of our color, we are
humanity .. . not yet humanized.

} TOUR #1 Moscow, Kiev, Ivanova,

mi ©=6TWO TOURS,
i” TWO DEPARTURE DATES

Depart June 29-return July 20
Depart Aug.3- return Aug. 24

Ulanovsk, Minsk, Leningrad. First class,
all costs included—transportation, hotels, meals, excursions, en-

tertainment.
MONTREAL-MOSCOW return $835.00.

: : TOUR #2 See Siberia—the awakening giant. Moscow,
| + Bratsk, Novosibirsk, Academy City, Volgograd,
“— ciass—all inclusive, one price.

é MONTREAL-MOSCOW return $975.00.

For more
details
write:

Both tours the same f
Neighbors Magazine and the Canada-
It is our personal view that this is one 0
“s you can make in your lifetime. Dyson Carter,
Leslie Hunt, Executive director of Cana

Khabarovsk, Irkutsk,

or August 3 departure. Co-sponsored by Northern
USSR Association.

f the finest and most useful journeys
editor of Northern Neighbors.

da-USSR Association.

Leningrad, First

399

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PACIFIC TRIBUN

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E—JANUARY 16, 1970—Page 9.
WR Se ANNO LT