AMMAR: : i DUET TTC HE HE OT CT UCT Ue OO Lb Li ae da 4 SLUT nen MER ET Ue Ch hh PHERS are dangerous, as every farmer in ‘Canada’s wheat ‘belt can Tell you; dangerous in ‘the sense that they chew up about the same amount Wheat annually as do Canadians. ‘There was a time not so long ago, back in the Hungry ‘Thirties, when an 3 bundant wheat crop just couldn't be ‘Sold’ Farmers fed good No. 1 wheat to the hogs—and ‘then couldn’t sell the ‘hogs. ‘They used it for fuel, and what they couldn’t burn they watched rot ©n the ground. In those days the lowly gopher could chew into moun- tains ‘of wheat to his heart’s (or stom- -"ch’s) content. ‘Moreover, in those Stirring days: of capitalism's prosperi- ~Just-around-the-corner swansong, the lowly gopher also became the chief Piece-de-resistance on many a dirt far- aos table, In fact, if one wasn’t too eee. about species, a good gopher Sl€w ‘tasted very much like tender Spting chicken! , But all that is “so many gophers Own the hole.” The modern cold- ‘War gopher has been transformed into th angerous” animal. ‘According to |. Calgary Albert*n of September 17 72 an editorial entitled “Gophers -are angerous,” it appears that gophers ‘ave now become the carriers of such Raeses as tularemia (rabbit fever), a ky Mountain spotted fever and the fadly bubonic plague. Evidence of ity three diseases is reported over @ ee area by ‘the Alberta provincial bartment of public health. ‘he government maintains a large at etiological experimental station top uftield, Alberta, under ‘the direc” °n of O. M. Solandt. At various — qites Solandt has let it be known tough press interviews and other bp pronouncements ‘that this ig Ch Of science under his direction 4S Not exclusively dedicated to the sav- the of human life. Be that as it may, we incidence of these dangerous dis- ae on the loose in Alberta is alarm- 18 t0 say ‘the least, and points up the Whee, Canadians ‘to ask themselves _,, ether gophers or experimentation in iJ Science of coldwar is the most dangerous,” st a a consumer of wheat, the gopher lint about the same amount as the dite elevator monopolists but with this _ Glfterence, that while the latter have thotmulated millions in profits from oie organized thievery, the lowly peter, like ‘Robbie Burns’ equally tie ly field mouse, is given justifica- fun, for its thieving in seven beautl = Y simple words: “. . . but then poor ~~astie, thou maun live.” : “the Sa germ carrier we can “eradicate su Todents,” as the Calgary Albertan moos but ‘the key question re- ate what about the germ manufac Bonn... “That we cannot blame the : Phers for. That is a problem for Bolen humanity, requiring to_be inne Speedily and decisively. The : bance of these serious diseases -Te- owed in Alberta and ‘their proximity pe Suffield germ experimental sta- *@ nN are not unrelated. : apes Calgary Albertan editorial Published Weekly at Room 6 Tom McEwen, Editor — One Year $3.00 One Year $4.00 Subscription Rates: Canada and British Commonwealth coun ‘Australia, United States an Printed by Union Printers Ltd., 9 ne Authorized: as second class mail, Po echo in another centre of germ ex perimentation in Utah. A newspaper correspondent, writing in the National Guardian of September 25, relates the outbreak of encephalitis in (California, Utah and Idaho. ‘Commenting on the spread of tthe disease. the Guardian’s correspondent says: “This becomes in- teresting when one remembers that encephalitis germs are being ‘develop- ed as a part of the bacteriological war- fare program of the U.S., and there is reason to believe that encephalitis germs have been used against tthe citizens of Korea and China. “t realize that this sort of thing is nebulous, and very difficult of proof, put there have been press reports that ‘the chemical ‘corps has spent ‘tens of thousands of dollars on white rats, ete., for the Dugway Proving Ground station in Utah, and the encephalitis incidence in the West is the highest ever.” All of which ‘goes ‘to show ‘that it is time we took serious need ‘of the warning issued ‘by the International Scientific ‘Commission which investi- gated bacterial warfare in Korea and ‘China: “It is essential that the world should take warning from what has happened and is still happening. All people should be aware of ‘the poten- tialities of this kind of warfare, with its incalculable dangers.” “Death from self-inflicted wounds, with no blame attached to anyone.” Such was the verdict of a coroner’s jury on the passing of Fred Svensson, 45 years’ of age, prominent member of the International Woodworkers of America, and one of the seven TWA delegates barred recently at the bor- der by the U.S. immigration inquisi- tion from attending an IWA interna- tional convention. This “no blame attached ‘to any- one” verdict is a gross inaccuracy. (Had ‘the Yankee witch-hunters shot Fred Svensson at the border, they would ‘have been no more ‘or no less responsible for his untimely death than ‘they were several days later, when, brooding deeply over their re- fusal to grant him entry to the US., the took this own life. ‘Fred Svensson wasn’t even what one might term a ‘pale pink’ in his politi- cal thinking, but ‘he was a good ‘trade unionist. He ‘believed in ‘trade union organization, in trade union unity to win better wages and working condi- tions; 'to win a greater measure of wellbeing and peace for ‘his fellow workers. ‘The actions of the Yankee witch-hunters disturbed him so much that even (before he sought an end to it all with a shotgun, it ts reported Svensson went to’ see_the RCMP to see if they could “explain” or set his mind at ease on why ihe had ‘been bar- red at “our unguarded border”! The irony of this unhappy incident came a few days after his death, when: the U.S. Immigration forwarded a let- ter to Svensson advising ‘him “that ‘he could now travel anywhere he wished in the U.S... “No ‘blame attached to anyone” ?: The blame lies directly ‘on the door- step of those powers at the jhead of a great nation, who have traded a great (Constitution and Bill of Rights for a Smith \Act; who see in every man and woman, ‘American, (Canadian, or other who does not conform to their war- mad thinking and actions, a “threat” to itheir own class rule. Regardless of ‘the coroner's jury verdict on the death of Fred Svensson, the larger jury of ‘(Canadian labor will decide, and correctly so, that his death was precipitated ‘by the hysterical ac- tions of Yankee warmongers. ut “dangerous” gophers finds an Pacific TRIBUNE _ . 426 Main Street, Vancouver _4, B.C. Hal Griffin, Associate Editor ‘ tries (except Australia) _ Six Months $1.60 — d all other countries Six Months $2.50 Powell Street, Vancouver 4, BC. st Office Department, Ottawa ert ee ~