y

-"

| humanist,

Walter Lowenfels, poet,
philosopher and
Communist died July 7 in Tarry-
town, New York at the age of 79.
__ To the end of his life, Lowenfels

Worked with verve and purpose.

_ Even in the past year, ill as he.
_ knew himself to be, he prepared
_ three books for publication.

Only a month ago, his regret was
that he would not see the

Effie Rost
; mourned

The progressive movement lost a

‘| friend and supporter of many

.

‘years ‘in the passing of Effie Rost
on June 21, shortly before her 87th
birthday.

_ Mrs. Rost was known to hun-
dreds of progressive people as an

active member of the Women’s

| Labor League, the Housewives

| League,

the Canadian Labor

| Defence League and many other

_ organizations of working people of
_the nineteen-thirties and forties.

Her Howe Street roominghouse

_ was a favorite gathering place and

| refuge for organizers of the
| unemployed movement.

A lifelong supporter of the

Pacific Tribune, Effie is survived

by her husband, Peder Rost, and
her daughters Irene Smith, Gladise
Bjarnason and Jean Rathbone.

WALTER LOWENFELS

_ Renowned poet passes

publication — scheduled for late
summer — of his Autobiography of
an Empire, to be issued by
Stonehill.

His work — his own poems and
prose as well as anthologies he
edited [Where is Vietnam?; In a
Time of Revolution; The Writing
on the Wall; From the Belly of the
Shark; For Neruda, For Chile] —
left no reader in doubt of his
position. He was proud of his
membership in the Communist
Party of the U.S. and made no
secret of his affiliation.

In the world of literature, Walter
Lowenfels held an _ outstanding
place. He was acclaimed by out-
standing critics and literary
figures. But more indicative of the
honor and respect in which he was
held: the new, young, up-and-
coming and already-arrived poets
of today flocked to his home, in-
vited him to read at their affairs
and considered him one of their
own — which he was.

He was born in New York in 1897,’

lived in Paris in the 1920s and early
1930s, returned to the U.S. in 1934,
edited the Philadelphia Daily

Worker and then, in the 1950s, was

convicted under the Smith Act.

(Higher courts overturned the.

conviction in 1957.)

During this period he resumed
writing poetry and he never again
stopped. His lifelong comrade and
wife, Lillian, died last year. He is
survived by four daughters.

—Ellen Perlo

THE COMPLETE
TRAVEL SERVICE

We will professionally look after
all your travel needs. We specialize
in tickets, tours, passports, permits
and reservations. Call us today—
for prompt personalized service.

2679 E. Hastings St..,.
Vancouver, B.C.
253-1221

: GLOBE TOURS

Left wing—

By. .

MIKE

GIDORA

In the final few hours before the

. opening ceremonies for the XXI

Olympiad, the games are no freer
from controversy than they were
six years ago when they were
awarded Mayor Jean Drapeau and

the city of Montreal, in defiance of:

“basic logic.”

Against a backdrop of graft,
corruption, greed, the possible
bankruptcy of Montreal, an
overcrowded and unfinished site
facilities; the mandarins of the
International Olympic Committee
issue daily statements in praise of
the elusive *‘Olympic ideals’’ while
engaging in petty politicking
behind closed doors.

For example, the IOC member
from the U.S. threatens to take his
team home if the team from the
U.S. puppet state of Taiwan cannot
compete under the name of the
Republic of China. The president of
the IOC threatens to cancel the
games, a statement which he very
hastily retracts, under the same
pretext. And, Taiwan threatens to
hold its breath until it turns blue.

At the same time, a parade of
professional anti-Soviets and
reactionaries are trundled out to
warn the world of impending doom

and calamity should the socialist -

countries do well in the next two
weeks of competition at Montreal.

It’s interesting that all of these
things — the graft, corruption,
threats and anti-Soviet campaign
— all manage to come together
under the auspices of the IOC.

Interesting, but not surprising
when the IOC itself is examined.

When the Olympics were revived
in the late 19th century, it was
under the guidance of a number of
very wealthy individuals who had
nothing better to do with their time
other than stage great in-
ternational. sporting extrava-
ganzas. That 19th century thought
process still dominates the IOC.

In the eyes of the International
Olympic Movement, the Olympic
games are to be the ultimate
display of personal ac-
complishment, completely
divorced from the realities of the
world around. There is to be no
mention of things like ‘‘boycott” or
“protest” or even ‘government
assistance.’’ The Olympic games
are there for the gentlemen
sportsmen (by 1976 even the IOC
has been forced to add the word
“sportswomen”’ to its vocabulary)
to display their talents in pursuit of
the Olympic ideal of physical
perfeetion before the adoring
masses of the people. -

And, heaven forbid that a con-
troversy develop over which states
shall take part. For years, the IOC
steadfastedly ignored the racial

- policies of South Africa and

allowed it to remain in the Olympic
movement. For years, the IOC
discouraged participation from the
socialist world, and even when the
socialist states finally were par-
ticipants in the games, it was
always under the shadow of
harrassment from the IOC.

And now, the IOC wishes to
pretend that the Chinese revolution
never happened, and that the

BOLER TRAILER
TO RENT

CARL WARDER
534-2675

PICNIC &
SALMON BAR- B-Q
SUNDAY JULY 25, 1 P.M.

at the Knotthole
4810 Sooke Rd. Victoria
Dinner $2.50 Ph. 642-5120
Spons. Victoria CPC

national spirit of China is em-
bodied in the tiny island of Taiwan.

While piously mouthing phrases
condemning the ‘intrusion’ of
politics into sport, the IOC itself
consistently aligns itself with the
most reactionary forces in the
world today. Its defence of Taiwan
was certainly a statement of
politics. Its refusal to act against
New Zealand’s participation in the
games because of that country’s
athletic ties with South Africa
while nearly every sporting body in
the world has urged a complete
boycott of South Africa is just as
much a political statement as is the’
threatened boycott of the Games
by the Organization of African
Unity.

Yet the IOC lives on in its own
little world, travelling about the
globe being entertained by
prospective hosts of the games
much as Montreal entertained
every IOC member at Expo 67
before it was awarded the 1976
games. Possibly the Olympic oath
of non-compensation for sport
doesn’t extend to the board room of
the International Olympic. Com-
mittee.

At the same time that the IOC
buries its head in the sand away
from the real world, another in-
teresting phenomenon is
developing. The old red herring of
‘“‘professionalism”’ of socialist
athletes is being dragged across
the Montreal Olympic park.

Because the IOC is composed of
mainly wealthy individuals who
have never needed state assistance
to take part in athletics, it is unable
to see*how anyone could benefit
from such assistance. In fact, for
years the IOC barred that type of
aid, but as the socialist sporting

structure was set up and as the
results of that system started to
become apparent, the IOC relented
and now allows a certain amount of
government assistance.

But, still the cry goes out that the
Soviets are.all professional, or that
the Cuban athletes are part of the
state machinery. And, where does
it come from? Not from the
athletes here in this country who
see the benefits which such a
system will offer, and are starting
to demand the same for this
country, but from the crusty old
men who make up the IOC.

Now, for a few straight sporting
predictions. First, these games
will be dominated more than ever
by athletes from the socialist
world, particularly the Soviet
Union and the German Democratic
Republic, with Cuba making a
surprisingly strong showing in
many areas. Second, Canada’s
performance will be the best in
more than 40 years, not necessarily
in terms of medals but in the over-
all improvement in the quality of
our athletes. Canada will place
more people in the finals than ever
before. The Canadian men’s
basketball team will be a medal
contender. The volleyball teams
will finish fairly high up. And the
swimmers will make the finals in
at least 75 per cent of the events.

But, when it’s all over, though
Canada’s performance will be up
in comparison with this country’s
past record, the countries which
we will be surpassing or relatively
improving our position with will
not be the socialist countries.
Relatively speaking they will have
improved even more than Canada
has since the 1972 games. in
Munich.

GARDEN PARTY

TO CELEBRATE

CUBA’S NATIONAL HOLIDAY

SUNDAY, JULY 25th, 2:30 - 7 P.M.

3883 Yale Street,

North Burnaby

DINNER AT 5:30 P.M.
Adults $3.50 — Children under 12, $1.50

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

COMING EVENTS

JULY 18 — FEDERATION of
RUSSIAN CANADIANS —
Vancouver Branch ANNUAL
PICNIC, Sunday, July 18, 1976 at
12 Noon, Confederation Park,
North Burnaby. Games, food,
entertainment and raffle. In case
of rain picnic will be held in the
Russian People’s Home, 600
Campbell Ave., Vancouver.
Phone 254-3430.

JULY 18 — Fraser Valley Picnic,
Sunday, July 18, 1 p.m. Finnish
Hall, Websters Corners, 25470
Dewdney Trunk Road. Music,
food, refreshments. “If you can
pay — O.K.”’ Spons. Maple Ridge
Club, CPC.

AUGUST 8 — Fraser Valley
Regional Picnic’ — Bianco’s
Ranch, 10246-132nd _ Street,
Surrey at 1 p.m. Refreshments,
Concessions, Sports, Games and
topnotch entertainment. Speaker
Nigel Morgan. Admission $1.
Barbeque Salmon Supper at 5
p.m. Price $2.50. Ausp. North
and South Fraser Regional
Committees, CPC.

BUSINESS PERSONALS

RON SOSTAD, Writer-Researcher.
Ph. 922-6980.

HELPING HAND — Moving and
light delivery — Antiques,
pianos, kitchen appliances,
demolition and construction
clean-up, also garden services.
Phone 929-6833, 980-7318 or 738-
0251.

MOVING? CLEANUP — Wanted
articles for resale. All proceeds
to P.T. Phone 526-5226. “THE
GOODIE BIN.”

HALLS FOR RENT

WEBSTER’S CORNERS HALL —
Available for banquets,
meetings, etc. For rates: Ozzie,
325-4171-or 685-5836.

RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME —
Now available for rentals. For
reservations phone 254-3430.

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN
CULTURAL CENTRE — 805
East Pender St., Vancouver 4.
Available for banquets, wed-
dings, meetings. Ph. 254-3436.

NOTICE ©

ANYONE interested in playing
creative street music, phone 682-
1074.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 16, 1976—Page 7