Prince Rupert, British Columbia’s farthest-north city.

The jobless and Dief

ae a for the Diefenbaker

government are again telling the
world, with a lot of statistical bal-
derdash, that unemployment _ is
“tapidly declining,” that jobs. are
becoming “more plentiful,” that
the end of the “recession” is in
sight.

This canned Tory optimism does
not square with the facts, nor do
the computations of its statistical
departments which specialize in
human misery with intricate adding
machines,

Between the Dominion Bureau of
Statistics (DBS) and Unemploy-
ment Insurance Service (UIS)
there is invariably a wide margin
of difference on the number of
workers deprived of the right to
work, a difference often running
into tens of thousands. But they
have one thing in common as have
the Tory jugglers. who use the
figures to sweeten their “optimis-
tic” bilge—to minimize a social evil
that is obvious to all who care to
look in every Canadian city.

If Diefenbaker and his cohorts
were to take a stroll around a dozen
or more Vancouver “mission” and
flop-houses (which they aren't
likely to do) they would see long
lineups of destitute workers, wait-
ing patiently in all kinds of weather
for a cup of coffee or a bowl of
thin soup; thousands. of jobless
workers who don’t see the end of
the “recession,” but whose jobless-
ness, morale and manhood have be-
come captive to its “charitable”

p : e x _ e
acitic Tribune
< Phone MUtual 5-5288
Editor — TOM McEWEN
Managing Editor — BERT WHYTE
.Published weekly at
Room 6 — 426 Main Street S
Vancouver 4, B.C.
Subscription Rates:
One Year: $4.00
Six Months: $2.25
Canadian ‘and Commonwealth
countries (except Australia): $4.00
one year. Australia, United States
and all other countries: $5.00 one
year.

demoralization.

The picture is not confined to
Vancouver. Every Canadian city~in
greater or lesser degree has its
long lines of destitute workers, con-
demned to a “charitable” existence
—victims of a capitalist “recession”
which for them, has no end save
the end of the soup fine. . z

Diefenbaker and his “optimist”
chorus will be seeing the “end” of
the jobless crisis so long as the
labor movement fails to give the
unemployed the organization and
help they need—to win the right
to work and life by organized action
instead of talk. The “charity” soup
lineup get plenty of the latter—
with its soup!

A Cold War agreeme 1

HE NEW International Wheat
Agreement, effective August 1

of this year, and designed to “stab-
ilize” world market wheat prices,
will fare no better that its prede-
cessor. Least of all will it bring any
stability to Canadian wheat growers.

First, it a cold war agreement,
which excludes the Socialist third
of the world (and the greatest area
otf wheat production) from its stip-
ulated marketing provisions. Sec-
ond, since its signatories had to

“agree that “its’ wheat importing

countries would only be required
to buy a percentage of their annual
wheat needs under IWA provisions,
it follows that the capitalistic law

of maximum profits, rather than’

“loyalty” to their own agreements
will apply. *

From the above it is obvious that
the IWA signatories were keenly
aware of the Socialist sector—and
the possibilities of taking up the
slack in their “agreement” with a

bit of shopping on the side!

The disinal fate of the old Inter-
national Wheat Agreement provid-
ed a fine object lesson on the cut-

throat nature of capitalism, with or:

without “agreements.” Utterly re-
gardless of having appended its
signature to the old IWA, govern-

i

wy

ment policy in the U.S. was
dump wheat far and wide at “bai
“gain” prices for cold war supp
and to hell with its effect

other IWA signatory export

When Canada sent a del
to Washington in protest, the
ridors of the conference
rang with Yankee chuckles on
“we fixed them.”

Canadian wheat growers
look to the IWA for econo
improvement in marketing
wheat, will fare no better than the
did with Diefenbaker on their
ifiable demand for “deficie
payments” to help them s
the cost-price squeeze of cold
inflation.

Any market agreement
does not take into full accoun
growing sector of the Soci
world economy, is doomed to 4
eatly demise. What the Canadia
wheat producers need is open a
to the great ne w potent
markets of the Socialist world
Without that he and his fello
wheat producers in other capita
lands are assured of only one thin
under the new International Whe:
Agreement—-to take in each other
washing—to the tune of Yanke
Doodle Dumping!

) Tom
McEwen

ROM ALL we hear it would
F seem that the job of being a
“diplomat” isn’t an easy one.
There was a time when the
“career” -diplomat’s lingo was
mostly limited to two words,
“yes” and “no”, with his rating
determined on his ability to say
“yes” when he meant ‘no’, and
vice versa.
Now all that has been changed.
Such restricted finesse can no
e longer fill the bill. Today the
“ diplomat (Western style) must
be. something of an international
scavenger, an inveterate liar, a
frock-coated poker player with a
marked deck, a coldwar Charley
McCarthy, a “gentleman’s gentle-

In these times the art of such
“diplomacy” is in strong demand
—at home and abroad. At the

man” with no scruples about
anything — save his own skin
and the exploiting class he
serves!

moment for instance there is a
knotty problem in Washington—
the White House expense sheet.
Probably one in Ottawa _ too,
which hasn’t as yet Come to the
surface.

It appears that several ex-
pensive helicopters, a new pri-
vate plane, a couple of yachts,
and no one knows how many
golf balls on Ike’s expense sheet
is causing acute concern in and
around the Pentagon, ealling for
the need of expert “diplomatic”
solution.

How is a careful diplomat
going to broach such matters
with a simple “yes” or “no”
vocabulary? It just can’t be
done. Either way he is on the
horns of a dilemma. If he says
yes, it’s okay for Ike to blow
himself while the blowing is
good, five and a half million un_
employed, to say nothing of mil-
lions of harrassed taxpayers,
might develop “dangerous
thoughts.” If he says no, it
isn’t okay, Ike’s prestige along
with the stock market, takes
a disastrous nose dive. Truly
the way of the diplomat, like
that of the transgressor is hard!

Or another case of diplomatic
cramps. Cardinal Mindszenty,
the priestly kingpin of the 1956_

Hungarian counter-revolution is

still a “refugee” in the U.S.

legation at Budapest. Denied an
exit visa by the Hungarian gov-
ernment, Mindszenty  couldn’t

re

leave with his U.S. “benefactors”

in the event of a U.S.-Hungarian a

diplomatic breach. And since
every other foreign legation in ©

Hungary would prefer to have —
smallpox in the house rather —
than the cardinal, the diplomatic —
pains are acute to say the least— ~
more so since the U.S. legation
would also like to rid itself of its if
star border. :
And here’s a_ very neatly
wrapped piece of diplomacy
which will have the approval of
countless millions of people. The —
pride of the British Army, the
47th Guided Missile Regiment,
Royal Artillery, recently arrived
in Dortmund (West Germany)
to preserve “our-way-of-life”
with nuclear warheads. :

In order to avoid threatened |

hostile demonstrations from the a F
local populace, the regiment had |

to sneak into the city via the 3
back routes. Being somewhat of —
a diplomat as well as a realist, —
the Burgomaster of Dortmund —
greeted the regimental command ~
. with the “fervent hope that your
regiment’s stay will be as short —
as_ possible.”
A most. convincing (and dip-

lomatic) way of saying, “Here’s
your hat!”

t
}

a

April 3, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 4