etme

_ CHURCHILL’S PLEDGE TO

STALIN BROKEN AGAIN

Pledges once given by Chur-
chill, Attlee, Eden, Bevin Morri-
son never again to allow the
rearming of Germany were re-
called last week by R.P. Dutt,
vice-chairman of the British
Communist Party speaking in
Hull.

He recalled that Churchill
wrote in his war memoirs of how
he gave a personal pledge to Sta-
lin never to agree to German
rearmament, declaring that
“our duty is to make the world
safe for at least 50 years”

Reminded by Stalin that this
pledge had been made after the
First World War, and broken,
‘Churchill answered, “We were
inexperienced then” and swore
that this time the promise would
be kept. :

CANADA IS RICH

OTTAWA — The Dominion
Bureau of Statistics estimates
Canada’s wealth exclusive of
undeveloped resources at $26-
billion or about $2,842 per capi-
ta. In five years the increase has
been nearly $3-billion.

The. per capita of Canada’s
wealth is possible the highest in
the world, but this by no means
gives comfort to the working
class, or the large mass of poor
farmers. The millionaires of
Canada own the largest portion
of this wealth.

If one was to estimate the av-
erage family in Canada has five
persons it would mean that each |

family is worth $14,210. This is’
by no means a small sum; but, .

and there’s the rub, there’s no
such thing for the workers and
poor farmers. Canada is a rich

The Tribune, country! The Worker.
March 19, 1954 March 20, 1929
Profiteer of the week:

It's easy to see why corporations shun the
idea of public ownership. For instance Dome |
- Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, had an after-tax pro-
fit for 1978 of $125,132,000. Just think, that
money might have been “wasted” by going to
the people of Canada if Dome Pete (as it’s
affectionately known) had been publicly
owned and democratically controlled.

Likewise its 1977 profit: $104,285,000. And
Dome’s just one of many.

Figures used are from the company’s financial statements. —

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Associate Editor — FRED WILSON
Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O’CONNOR

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 23, 1979—Page 4

EDITORIAL
COMMENT

Need united prices fight

The federal overnment, and Con-
sumer Affairs Minister Allmond, have
stirred up a lot of verbal dust lately in a
skirmish with high consumer prices. The
dense dust made it difficult.to see that

|. the government was actually doing any-

thing. It is still difficult to discern any
achievement.

In the light of all this, it was a welcome
sound to hear New Democratic Party
leader, Ed Broadbent, speak out for
some real action on prices. In the long
House of Commons debate on “unfair
price increases,” Feb. 27, Broadbent

- proposed a fair prices commission with

real powers to investigate and delay price
increases, obtain full information from
corporations, and “order rollbacks when
unfair prices are discovered.”

The NDP leader’s vigorous arguments

New Mideast war threat _

The desperation of U.S. imperialism
in the Middle East has increased the war
danger in the area, Carter’s shaky
Israeli-Egyptian “peace agreement”
notwithstanding. After examining the
stuff of which U.S. policy is made, we
should, with one voice, urge Canada’s
government to detach itself entirely
from such policy. ss

In sabre-rattling, nationwide tele-
vision-appearances.on Feb. 25, two Car-

ter men, Defence Secretary Harold.

Brown, and Energy Secretary James R.
Schlesinger, threatened U.S. military
force in the Persian Gulf to protect the
interests of U.S.-controlled oil

monopolies, euphemistically called the:

“vital interests” of the USA. .
Admitting “it sounds a little crazy,”
U.S. Senator H.M. Jackson advocated a
joint Israeli-Egyptian military force to
hold Saudi Arabian oilfields against any-
one, including Saudis who might object.
Soon afterward, Carter flew off to ce-
ment relations between Israel and Egypt,

‘to make them “reliable” members of the

U.S. team — at a reported $5-billion cost
to U.S taxpayers.

The present Saudi government is no
problem for Washington; itis backing
the North Yemeni attempts to invade the
People’s Republic of Yemen, to the
south. What is really happening, concur-
rently with that invasion, is that feudal
Saudi Arabia is using advanced U.S.
arms to try to save the skin of the North

Venezuela oil to Petrocan

Last month the Exxon oil multi-
national put its corporate interests above
its contract with its offspring, Imperial
Oil Ltd., and decided to divert 25,000
barrels a day of Venezuelan oil from
Canada to other customers.

At that time (Feb. 16) Communist
Party leader, William Kashtan, speaking
for the Party’s Central Committee,
urged among other steps, that the fed-
eral government and parliament instruct
Petro-Canada “to make purchasing ag-
reements with the Venezuelan and Mex-
ican state companies.”

Evidence that this was the only logical
approach, short of sabotaging Canada’s
energy imports, is seen in the fact that at

_concern. .

*
Br
~
4
iH

are welcome, as was his non-confidenct
motion (defeated 200-16, with all Torie
and Liberals voting against!). :
’ These demands and those of the
Communist Party are not entirely
similar. Communists are on record d
manding price controls to curb inflatio
they call for an immediate total freeze
prices, with a rollback on prices of foo
children’s clothing and footwear.
The federal election campaign, ne¢
idling, is certain when it bursts into
gear, to bring a rash of promises, but 0
this issue the record is there. It all point
to the necessity, oft pointed out by tht
Communist Party: working-class an¢
democratic unity is essential for gains in
the day-to-day struggle. It is essential for
a real change in parliament, the election —
of a progressive majority.

F a
Yemen regime which has already
two provinces to the People’s Revo
tionary Force of North Yemen. Fort
dual purposes the U.S. Defence
partment is handing over to Sa
Arabia a squadron of F-15 fighte
That’s in advance of the 60 F-15s ¢
Saudis ordered for 1981.
Likewise the U.S. has sent two of it
giant radar planes from South Korea
The $120-million AWACS aircraft (Air
borne Warning and Control Systems)
can direct fighter plane assaults anc
monitor the defenders’ planes. The U.!
aircraft carrier, Constellation and oth
naval vessels have sped to the area. |
These U.S. moves in the Persian Gul
and Arabian Sea are a sobering threat to
peace — there and on a world e
Taken together with revelations o
NATO’s atomic war plans, and aggres
sion by the U.S. puppets of Peking, i
becomes obligatory for all who wanti
say in life or death to have that say now.
Carter’s shaping, by blackmail o
whatever, .of a so-called “Middle
peace”, a hypocritical cover for militar
zation, gives greater, not less, cause fo

The U.S. militarists are obviously ta
ing a stronger hand in U.S. policy. Cana
dians are called upon to demand that t
federal government extricate Cana
from U.S. war policy, including gettin —
out of NATO, and taking an indepen
dent position on the Middle East.

least part of the equation is being worked
through. aa

Energy Minister Gillespie told thé
House of Commons, March 14, that il
appears Venezuela is willing to provide
100,000 barrels a day to Petrocan whet
the Exxon contract comes up later thi’
year. >

There are a lot of other fields in which
the people of Canada would be serv
the Canadian Government had
courage to challenge the multi-nation
and Canada’s home-grown monopolies.
It’s time the big business governm nl
looked at some other of the useful ideas
that have been pounding on its doors fol
years. :