JUROR’S DAUGHTER BARES 70-YEAR OLD SECRET

Louis Riel

was innocent

A Mvear-o14 secret kept by the
: aughter of one of the jurors
Rei a at the trial of Louis
ay ather of Manitoba,” has

€en unsealed,

Mrs, Rhoda Sivell, 81, daughter
a Cosgrove, the only one
© jurors to vote against
, H8ing of Riel for “trea-
Daily Eoerted in the Toronto
ateueq a as saying her father
eens Strongly that Riel was in-
and should not be hanged.
oo of one of Canada’s
Novembe Patriots took place on
the r 16, 1885, because of

Wet he Played in the North-
Rebellion.

4

the

Cos
i Srove’s daughter, who lives

ee Hat, said, “Father
hanony @! Should not have been
2hoeg and I also knew Riel was
The information won't

Canadie §00d now. but, I want
haq “7S to know that my father
Rig), ® part in hanging Louis
lather fs Unhappy because my
Was 3, °¢ helped hang a man. I

Ring st eleven then and begin-
© Tealize things.

“Father did not say anything
clse about the trial. It wasn’t
until: years later when he con-
fided his secret that we under-
stood why he was broken-hearted
sick for a month after the trial,
suifered nightmares and couldn’t
sieep nights.

“He maintained then and up
until -his death at 82 that Louis
Rie] should have been released
end allowed to go, somewhere in
the Northwest territories.

“What would you do if some-
one came to Canada and told you
that you had to live on a little plot
of land for the rest of your lives?”
sne asked. “The Metis feared
the surveying of land by the
federal government and the gov-
ernment sales of land’ to incom-
ing settlers would dispossess
them of their homesteads.

‘The disgruntled half-breeds
called back Riel from Montana
and put: him at the head of a
movement to obtain more land.
At a gathering at Saint Laurent
on the Saskatchewan in 1884 a
‘sill of rights’ was adopted ask-

ing that the half-breeds receive

the same grant of 240 acres per

capita that had already been
given (1870) to their kinsmen in
Manitoba.

“This request and others went
to the federal government.’

Mrs. Sivell continued: “A com-
mittee had been appointed to
study them but when the Metis
heard nothing at all they sur-
mised the government had for-

gotten about them and the revolt
started.

“They were simply fighting for
their rights. Wouldn’t you do the
same?”

x

Mrs. Sivell said two great-
nephews of Louis Riel — Riel
Demery and Walter Demery —
bad visited her recently.

“Do you know what I told
them? I told them I was proud
to release this 70-year-old secret
that my father was the only juror
Wiio did not approve of their
great uncle hanging.

“They thanked me over and
over again and said they were
going to tell all their cousins
and friends in the west.”

latin America resents
domination by U.S.

mice’ States government,
igh Res, alking against colonial-
latin © Old World, treats the
Oy Ss Merican countries more
Sugy ;. *S Colonies of its own.
Ish = € conclusion of a Brit-
Witin Pert, N. Pp. Macdonald,
Nightly recently in The Fort-
Onsen Ue Of the most solid and

ative of British magazines.

Wacdgn tin America,” writes
‘temp ald, “Washington | is also
{tong rs to create a defensive
Whi) *8ainst Communism, but
‘Ing ‘imuitaneously maintain-
Sa, eg to the Latin Americans,
trie, . “°Y Of treating their coun-

*S United States colonies.

§
Latin ag Self-determination, the
Vain i Publics have sought it in
Whi re the economic sphere
Cent events in Guatemala
Vishingtee the extent to which
liticg} cn permit it in the

hi
Mica ¢ the United States pro-
On jy, 7PrOSram of industrializa-
tt) yt America and prom-
‘Lipme 3 Tovide the necessary
“ep ty a8 soon as possible

As
wy *CHonala Points out, “from
net ear to December 31,
gg er os Nited States aided its
‘809. mines to the extent of

10n, its former allies

urope .received $5,-
» and the Soviet Union
€llites were given $750

‘ ion
ay
ning’ Sat

aq tt

4

ea,
Mast, the 20 Latin Am-

erican republics received only
$210 million, of which the larg-
est item was for aid to Mexico
in stamping out foot-and-mouth
disease to avoid it spreading
across the United ‘States border.
The whole of Latin America thus
received less dollar aid in this
period than Greece or Turkey.”

The pattern was. continued in
1953-54, when Latin America re-
ceived only $47 million as against
$2,716 million for the Far East
and Europe.

Of U.S. private capital invest-
ed in Latin America, Macdonald
points out, only one-sixth is in-
vested in manufacturing indus-
ries, although Latin Americans
cee industrialization as the way
out of their present low income
status. ‘Five-sixths of U.S. capi-
tal goes into mining, petroleum
and other productive industries.

“As a result,” Macdonald says,
‘the United States controls the
principal means of production in
several of the republics, apart
from dominating the foreign
trade of all of them.”

This, the Latin Americans think,
*ardly represents economic in-
dependence.

Meanwhile, the United States
does almost nothing to improve
the conditions in Latin America
that encourage social unrest and
lead to Communist’ movements.
In fact, Latin Americans see Am-
erican policy as indirectly encour-
aging unrest.

Dictators, attempting to hold
back , needed reforms, are en-

zouraged so long as they protect
U.S. investments.

“It is against the background
or such feelings,’ concludes Mac-
donald, “that the present efforts
ci the United States to create a
defensive front against Commun-
ism in Latin America must be
considered. So far, it must be

. said, these efforts have had little

success, for the Latin Americans
not only resent United States
economic policies towards them
but believe that’ fear of Commun-
ism is being used by Washington
os a pretext for direct interven-
tion in their internal affairs.”

This intervention, Latin Ameri-
cans saw the U.S. put into effect

in Guatemala. Washington state- .

ments about Communist infiltra-
tion in Guatemala were not taken
seriously south of the Rio Grande,
Macdonald observes.
recalled words uttered by Secre-
tary of State John Foster Dulles
enly a few weeks before:

F <
“The slogan of non-interven-
tion can plausibly be invoked
and twisted to give immunity to
what is in reality flagrant inter-
vention.”

“That,” to Latin America,” Mac-
donald says, “is exactly what the
United States did over Guate-
mala.”

The U:S., in his view, has little -

chance of creating an anti-Com-
siunist front in Latin America
from. those who feel themselves
threatened more immediately
from Washington than from Mos-
cow.

They wryly -

The house near Winnipeg (top) in which Louis Riel (bottom

right) lived is now a district post office.

A tribute to Riel, Gabriel

Dumont, the Metis and Indians who fought for independence in
the uprising and saved the West for Canada, is erected in the

vestibule of the rectory at Batoche (centre).
left) is at St. Boniface Cathedral, near Winnipeg.

Riel’s tomb (bottom

Soviet atomic train

MOSCOW _

PETus of Soviet plans for

building atomic submarines,
ships, aircraft and locomotives
capable of travelling tens . of
thousands of miles without re-
fuelling have been given here.

In a broadeast talk over Mos-
cow Radio, Professor Vladimir
Leshkovstev said an atomic liner
using heavy water instead. of
graphite blocks used in station-
ary atomic stations could sail
round the world on less than 1%
Yb. of uranium 235 or plutonium.

Atomic submarines based on
this principle would be capable
of travelling long distances with-

out surfacing. This would ‘be
particularly useful for sailing
under the Arctic Ocean.

An atomic submarine’ could do
the trip between Murmansk and

‘Viadivostok in less than a_ fort-

night, sailing under the ice, he
said.

Describing a working project
of an atomic locomotive, Profes-
sor Leshkovstev said the engine
Was nearly 165 feet long and
weighed 189 tons. It would run
for 50 million miles without re-
fuelling.

It was premature to speak of
atomic automobiles, he said, al-
though two experimental projects
existed. 3

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 5, 1955 — PAGE 9