NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT THE TORY RECORD By NORMAN FREED he Conservative Party led by John Diefenbaker has decided to contest the election on it’s “record”. Let us have a look at the record. We will find that Diefenbaker will not play many of his records be- cause they are either so badly scratched or are completely out of tune. The Conservative Party just squeezed into power in 1957. Under the new leader, John Diefenbaker, they elect- ed 112 MP’s. The: Liberals elected 105, the CCF 25, and Social Credit 9. This was after the Liber- als’ fiasco in the trans-Canada pipeline debate. The people were in a mood to turn out the Liberals who had been in power for 22 years. With the grace of the CCF and Social Credit, John Diefenbaker formed a minority govern- ment. He lasted one year. In 1958 he called a new election and promised every- thing under the sun. It was one of the most demagogic campaigns in Canadian par- liamentary history. We were going to be “freed from U.S. controls’’. ** Canada was going to be “restored to Canadians” and we were “to build a great Canada”. No one was to be out of a job and many other such great promises were advanced in the 1958 election campaign. — The result was that the Conservatives elected 208 members; Liberals were re- duced to 4 (25 in Quebec) and only 13 in the rest of Canada. Social Credit was wiped out The CCF was reduced to 8 members. For the first time the Con- servatives had the majority of the Quebec seats, 50 mem- bers, twice as many as R. B Bennett got when he formed the government in 1930. This constituted quite a change for the Tory party in Canada. In his book The Con- servative Party of Canada the historian, John R. Williams, describes how during the 22 years of Liberal rule the “Conservatives were close to PABLO CASALS, world fam- ous cellist, who vowed he will never play in Franco Spain, last week took up the baton for his first public con- cert in the U.S. He has an- nounced a “personal crusade for peace” which will take him to many world centres. being wiped out as one of the major parties in Canada.” In 1935, during the ‘“Hun- gry Thirties’, Bennett was reduced from 137 members to 39 members. After this defeat the Tory party for years ex- perienced great difficulties in collecting money from big business for its campaigns. The pattern of Canadian par- liamentary politics has been a case of “ins” and “outs”, the Liberals and Conservatives having been in one or the other of these categories. THE RECORD What about Diefenbaker’s record since 1958, with his swollen majority? (1) Diefenbaker promised to bring about an increase in the annual rate of growth of Canada’s economy. During five years in power the rate has fallen from 414 percent to less than one percent. : In terms of constant dol- lars, production per head of $1,923 in 1957 to $1,893 in 1961. Is this the record Dief- enbaker is going to play for the electors? 4 p.m. Thursday. (2) Diefenbaker promised to provide a job for every- one willing to work as long as he is Prime Minister. After five years of Dief- enbaker rule, about 600,000 Canadians are out of work. In February, 1961, 11.3 per- cent of the labor force was out of work. That was close to a million Canadians. Even today, with some im- provement, about nine per- cent are still unable to find work, unemployment is here to stay. Is this the record Diefenbaker will play for the unemployed Canadians? (3) Diefenbaker promised to increase our export trade with Great Britain by 15 per- cent to ease our dependence on the U.S. market. After five years in gov- ernment instead of increas- ing exports to Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries, such exports have actually dropped. Only 17 percent of all our exports go to Great Britain and this is. now in grave danger of being wiped out with that country planning to join the European Common Market. Is this the record Diefen- baker will play in the elec- tions? (4) Diefenbaker promised to limit the growth of the control of our economy by the United States. After five years of Tory rule U.S. domination over Canada’s economy is great- greater than ever. According to the Dominion Bureau of Statistics U.S. capital invest- D. . . (>. ao w x Vstaie : U IN K—! Sc: OG 2 See Four hours later, West Van- A couver police recovered the Gbody of Alexander Stewart} Campbell, 46, of no fixed ad-} dress, from the water at the toot of Twenty-fifth Street. ments in Canada five years ago were about 41 percent, zontrolling 44 percent of our industry. Today capital in- vestments have increased to 557 percent and control to 69 percent. Is this the record Diefen- baker will play for Canadian patriots in this election? (5) Diefenbaker promised to strengthen Canada’s role in the United Nations, adopt a more independent policy in foreign affairs and follow a policy for peace. In five years in power, in spite of some sweet words by External Affairs Minister Green, the government in the main has gone down the line in support of the US. state department. DOUBLE TALK ON TESTS The government waxed in- dignant when the Soviet Un- ion, in the interest of prevent- ing war, was compelled to carry through nuclear tests. But in this present period when, without any military necessity, other than aggres- sive war plans, the USA “Cancel those ‘Thank you for voting for me’ notices: shall call round and thank them both personally myself. ECCLES, Daily wort about educational opportuni- ties, jobs, and a secure future in a developing economy freed from U.S. domination? Well, these will be part of the new demogogy. The Senate is to be re- formed. The old war horses, particularly the Liberals, will be retired on a $6,000-a-year pension. Not bad! Equal treat- ment for all is Diefenbaker’s record. The Senators, the un- employed, the old-age pen- nemployed Mar Suicides - In 220-Foot Brid REMEMBER DIEF’S PROMISE ON UNEMPLOY- MENT? He said no one would suffer from unemploy- ment while he was prime minister. Above is one of many jobless across Canada who could stand pro- longed unemployment no longer. The above item ap- peared in the Van. Sun, May 11, 1962. qe started testing of nuclear weapons, the government for- got about the effect of fall- out on humanity and is in- julging in double-tallk. The government refused to take a clear-cut position on the issue of atomic weapons on Canadian soil. On the is- sues of Germany, Laos, Viet Nam, the government sup- ports the war policy of the USA. Those in the know maintain that if the Tories return to power they will acquire nuclear weapons for Canada. Is this the record the Dief- enbaker government will play to the peace loving Can- adians in this election? Oh yes, we should not for- get that the government in- creased old-age pensions $10 a month. Now our senior citi- zens can ride a street car or bus once in a while instead of having to walk. They are now going to live in real lux- ury. We should also remember that business firms and un- ions will now have to provide statements of their financial standings. That will surely reduce our dependence on the USA. The French Canadian na- tion has also been looked after by Diefenbaker. All federal cheques will be print- ed in both languages. This should be of great help to the French Canadian people, particularly those who have_ no bank accounts. Canada’s young men and women have also been looked after. We now have a physi- Leap "se cal fitness program. What ‘ should be thankful to sioners, the blind and the ¥ erans, all receive equal te ment. . Diefenbaker will blow © horn in western Canada tell the farmers what things he did for them. ™" did this government do? They sold hundreds of ™ lions of bushels of wheat other grains to the “na Chinese Communists,” country that does not en and the country that his & ernment refused to reco nize, because the state partment in Washingto decrees. If the Canadian far® benefited, and they did, ae People’s Republic of china On their record the ore should be condemned every decent Canadian. did a job for big busi? Canadian and US. By t deeds they should be ju? By their deeds they are = of three parties of big © tal. | Do rich get poorer | as poor get rich? ne of the major myths of these times, is that the rich are getting poorer and the poor are getting rich. The rich, goes the myth, are hav- ing their wealth confiscated by high taxes. The poor are getting rich by high wages, and by becoming sharehold- ers in the big corporations. Powerful evidence to dis- prove this myth has geen gathered by Prof. Robert J. Lampman of the Economics Department of the University of Wisconsin in a study en- titled “The Share of Top Wealth-Holders in National Wealth, 1922-1956.” It is the author’s conten- tion, backed by extensive tables and charts, that while the concentration of wealth lessened between 1929 and 1949, that trend has been re- versed since. NEAR LEVEL OF 1933 By 1956, the rich were about as rich relatively to the rest of us, as they were in 1933, the year when the great disparity between the rich and the poor reached a cli- max in the deepest of Ameri- can economic depressions. The wealthiest one percent of the adult population now owns about 28 percent of the country’s personal wealth. In 1933, the top one percent owned 28.3 percent. Through corporation pro- motion of stock sales to em- ployees, and other drives to» lished their report. . make it appear that ow? int ship of industry is ope? the masses of people, od impression has been crea! that corporations are 00 J ger the property, of wealthy. The image ° poor widow who owns 4 shares of stock has bee? pressed on the public. ONE PERCENT OWNS 76 PERCENT Prof. Lampman found the richest one percent ° 76 percent of all the co? ate stock outstan dinb, a90n:0 1mm. Nev, eres equalled. Corporate stock ownel is the most preferred type assets for the very rich. N comes real estate and ¢4° very poor third. Ft The author of this wa concludes that as people richer they shift from °¥ |; ship of real estate am insurance to gover® bonds and mortgages. A5 “4 get still richer, they put! of their money into cOFF tion stock, state, local ° “other”? bonds. : ‘While the very rich $98 billion in 1922, bY | their total wealth had to $510 billion. — CIGS DROP Holders of British 10%, shares have been tol cigarette sales have 4° materially since the R rit jy" ibe 5 ee ee