Spirit of Schweik captured It must be at least 35 years ago that I read Hasek’s The Good Soldier Schweik and, though I cannot remember all the many episodes of Schweik’s adventures, I distinctly remem- ber the cartoon drawings of a dumpy little man, at least super- ficially not unlike -Goalie Gump Worsley, but in need of a shave, his uniform shamelessly unbut- toned, his moon face beaming in a beatific smile. Schweik, before the formal constitution of Czechoslovakia, is a conscript in the Austro- Hungarian imperial armies of World War I. A member of the lower orders, he is a worker without work, a peasant without land. He is good-natured, dim- witted and guileless. He is so innocent that it is almost impos- sible to defeat him. His instinc- tive, simple-minded shrewdness teaches him somehow to survive and, in the process, he manages again and again to foul up the whole hallowed, bureaucratic establishment—militarist, police, religious and social. The Schweik adventures, as I remember them, filled many pages, but the Canadian poet, Michael Nimchuk, in his stage version for Toronto Workshop Productions (12 Alexander St.) has in two and a-quarter hours caught the essential meaning of the book—its ridiculing of the autocratic class divisions; its anti-militarist satire; its carica- tures of police, army officers, priests, judges, doctors and other apparatus men; its spoof- ing of the method and the very content of Central Europe’s pompous, reactionary, comic- opera capitalism. George Luscombe, the direc- tor, has staged one of TWP’s 7~ productions. The unique TWP trade marks — mime, eccentric movement, accented light, basic costume, bold design, heighten- ed speech, graphic composition, economical sound and music — are all here, but stronger than before, especially Nancy Jow- sey’s projections and shadow screens and John Faulkner’s use of light. The whole production is an advance over Luscombe’s past achievements. Climaxes are bet- ter defined, less ambiguous, more concise. The actors cover the whole stage instead of being cramped into a small playing area. Individual performances are on a higher level. For one thing, some of the TWP veterans are back in the company. It seems to me, in addition, that the ac- tors have been allowed more latitude in characterizations. The result is often exhilarating. Ray Whelan, an Irish, pipe- smoking, near - philosophical Schweik, takes a little time to most ambitious and effective get used to, in view of the car- toon image I remember from the book. But Whelan is a shrewd actor and one soon realizes that Schweik really must be Irish— or French or Chinese or Cana- dian habitant — exasperating, simple, unbeatable. (Yet .. . why the Irish brogue?) The acting company is one of the strongest of the TWP season —Milo Ringham as tavern keep- er and wife on a spree, Charlene Roycht as the baroness, Keith Dalton as judge and general, Jack Boschulte as drunken priest, Francois Regis-Klanfer in several dialect roles, Michael Ayoub as the lieutenant, Peter Faulkner as a sergeant-major, Calvin Butler as muscular doctor and Ditta Paabo as the on-stage pianist. The production, delightful as a whole, is highlighted by some enchanting scenes — a military drill, a medical examination, a trial, a train voyage, a haunting folk song and a bloodthirsty ser- mon by a church dignitary. —Martin Stone Tories waffle over Quebec Writing from Ottawa about the Progressive Conservatives’ annual general conference start- ing March 9, Pierre C. O’Neil of Montreal’s Le Devoir remarks on the misgivings about the con- ference felt by Tory authorities. “What is feared above all,” O’Neil comments, “is the re- opening of the debate on the constitutional policy of the party, the thesis of special sta- tus, that of the two founding peoples.” The Tory party bosses have reason to be fearful. Primé Min- ister Trudeau, immediately fol- lowing the recent abortive fede- “ral- provincial —_constitutional- fiscal conference, challenged the Progressive Conservatives to de- fine their position on Canada’s constitutional question. He well knew his Tory opponents are split on the matter. In the clashes that will ensue from the constitutional debate, the already-tenuous authority of the Tory leader Stanfield will be further weakened. Mr. O’Neil writes, “Lastly, another reason why it is difficult not to reopen the debate is that in the eyes of several party activists who have made concessions, Trudeau took power with a policy’ which for them bears remarkable resem- blance to that advanced by John Diefenbaker.” What of the former Tory “chieftain’s” views? As long ago as the federal election of 1965, Diefenbaker’s - slogan. was. “One Canada, one nation.” The fede-. ~ ral Liberals at that time accused him of being “the best friend of Quebec ‘indépendandistes’.” Speaking in Prince Albert last May, during the 1968 federal election campaign, Diefenbaker roared out of the West, “I shall not accept the two-nation con- cept . . . As long as I have breath, I stand for one nation, maintained and preserved.” And Pierre-Elliott Trudeau? In this same federal election which brought him to power, and before the “Trudeau image” had cracked, the present Prime Minister of Canada declared re- peatedly, “Our point of view is well known. We believe in one Canada, one nation.” Mr. Bertrand, Quebec’s pre- mier and leader of the Union Nationale party which gave great support to the Progressive Conservatives in the last fede- ral elections, has recently restat- ed the late Daniel Johnson’s stand for the “two-nations” con- cept. He has done so in terms sO equivocal that the Tory lead- er of Ontario’s government, Rob- erts can with Bertrand of Que- bec unite against Trudeau’s cen- tralist “one Canada—one na- tion, in the name of increasing the authority and decentralizing powers of all 10 provinces of Canada. Monopoly’s traditional struc- ture ‘of Canadian government, designed to serve their interests first and last, will undergo ex- treme stresses at this annual general assembly of one of their two old-line parties. The “con- ‘stitutional question,” the future PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 7, 1969—Page 10 of Canada as a two-nation fede- ration, may well deepen the divisions in the Progressive Con- servative party to the point where monopoly will have to re- examine its usefulness for the “power establishment.” New Jewish centre opens in Winnipeg The opening of the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Centre, locat- ed at 366 Church Avenue (across from St. John’s High School) near Salter Street in Winnipeg, is awaited with great anticipa- tion by its members and friends. The building is approximately 1,800 sq. ft. and is fully air con- ditioned. The hall can seat 100 to 150 for a meeting and 75 to 100 people at a banquet. There will be a fully modern kitchen and a seperate meeting room which accomodates 20 to 25 comfort- ably. The facilities are of top quality and commodious enough to satisfy the most demanding tastes. An administration office and library completes the main floor. ; The Centre will be an attrac- tive place for private affairs as well as for meetings of members, public lectures, film showings, social, banquets. etc. The Sholem Aleichem Institute House Committee is planning an elaborate oneninge banquet around the first of April. Plans for the opening date will be announced shortly. Mr. Harold Kidd is presi- dent of the Vancouver Kitsi- Janno Ratepayers Associa- tion. Mr. Kidd holds some strong views on what consti- tutes “democracy,” “equality” and all that sort of thing. Mrs, Pat Kidd, as befits a du- tiful wife, shares her spouse’s views implicitly on all such controversial matters. Toge- ther they have come to re- gard the Kitsilano Ratepay- ers Association as their spe- cial political preserve into which no Hippie, near-Hippie non-Hippie—or anyone who looks like a Hippie may dare to tread. Ever since the advent of Hippiedom into the pleasant atmosphere of Kitsilano and its “Great White Way” Fourth Avenue, Harold has assumed the role (in conjunction with unwarranted police persecu- tion) of a valiant knight in shining armor with a great and sacred mission—to run all Hippies, or any young person Harold may deem a Hippie, out of Kitsilano and off Fourth Avenue, Accord- ing to Harold their excess hair adornments, unconform- ing dress styling, way-of-life, etc. “hurts property values.” So with this 20th century Don Quixote of Kitsilano Bab- bitry, its “Heraus Mit” for the Hippies. Many areas ‘of Canada have their quota of Kidds, some with an excess of these who put “property values” as primary to human values, and who regard democracy in all its exclusive manifestations to be sacrosanct in their own being. Some two weeks ago, Feb- ruary 24 to.be exact, the Kidd brand of “democracy” dominating the Kitsilano Ratepayers Association took a severe drubbing, as well it should. It is no secret that presi- dent Kidd and his “better half” never miss an oppor- tunity of lambasting Hippie- dom, or who and what they think are in that category, whenever occasion presents itself, totally oblivious to the fact that the major portion of our Hippie or alleged Hippie population, are also resident ratepayers, taxpayers, voters, etc., entitled to all the bene- fits and priviliges (if any) that our democratic way-of- life provides. To the Kidds however every young person with an excess of beard or hair-do, an “outlandish” mode of dress, or other symbol of non-comformity, must be a Hippie, so—away with them. At that ratepayer’s meet- ing with the president es- consed in his favorite chair with a paunchy city alderman slated as “guest speaker” (who frequently stars in that role, but says nothing) im- patiently waiting in the aisle ge TOM SABI McEWEN to orate, there was an inordi- nate activity at the door, Association treasurer Mrs. K, York was doing a brisk busi- ness signing up new members at $2.00 a crack, mostly all young people, some looking like Hippies, some less so, but to the Kidd “democrats” all looking highly “suspicious.” In no time flat the new youth- ful members out-numbered the old ones. This alarming _ situation prompted president Kidd to advise treasurer Mrs. York at the door that the new mem- ber influx would have to “be reviewed by the executive,” which neither constitution nor precedent provided for. Mrs. York strongly objected to such an undemocratic pro- cedure, tossed her box of treasury contents at the feet of the president’s “better half” and vacated her chair with a “to hell with you” or words to that effect. Meantime the new appli- cants who had been denied Association constitutions and other data relative to Asso- ciation membership, had sec- ured same from the registrar of companies in Victoria, to- gether with copies of “Rob- erts Rules of Order” govern- ing democratic procedure, and which of course runs counter to the “Kidd rules of order” on most, if not | all counts. A Mrs. Jean Knaiger who had been recently elected to. the Kits Ratepayers Associa- tion was acidly informed by Mrs. Kidd, “I am very sorry dear, but you are not on the executive committee. We do not want you on the execu- tive committee.” Just like that. When Mrs. Jean, who may or may not be Hippie orientated, challenged the Kidd “democratic” ruling un- der “Roberts Rules of Order,” president Kidd threatened to close the meeting, Ed Mc- Clure, a well-bearded cham- pion of genuine democracy, quietly advised Herr Kidd that if he adjourned the meet- ing, the 50 new rate-paying members would carry on— and in the process “elect a new pro-tem president.” Somewhere about that point the aldermanic “guest speak- er” made his exit, dolefully muttering “no one wants to listen to me _ tonight,” to which we may add “nor any other night.” The moral of this illuminat- ing incident is that demo- cracy cannot be founded on likes or dislikes, “property values” and so forth, but on the right of the citizen, beard- ed, mini-skirted, long ofr short haired to speak their piece or do their “thing” as they see it— without being subjected to the Kidd brand of “democracy.” And _ that applies to all Canada’s Kidds. _ A plan of activities is now be- ing prepared by the committee and will be published in this ‘journal in the next issue. The enthusiastic response of the membership to the financial appeal has exceeded all expecta- tions. Over $5,000 has been re- ceived in pledges and cash from the Winnipeg membership and friends, and the finance com: mittee feels that it has barely scratched the surface. Shames is chairman of the fit ance committee. They are confident _ that the response by former met bers and friends, who live outside Winnipeg, will be just” as enthusiastic. ;