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"

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