pie wh ian

By RUTH FIRST |

Cabinet ministers fled before
angry South African women

N a mass multi-racial demon-
_ stration against unjust laws,
nearly 2,000 women descended
on Pretoria recently to present
their protest to four cabinet
ministers. ‘

Pretoria had never seen any-
thing like it before. Overcom-
ing every obstacle, major and
petty, placed in their path, the
women came from all parts of
South Africa to take part in the
demonstration. For hours they
poured up the steps of the
Union Buildings and congre-
gated in the concourses while
their leaders attempted to de-
liver their protest.

The police resorted to every
stratagem to try to stop the
demonstration. The wome
were banned from holding a
meeting or walking in proces-
sion. The transportation board
at the last minute refused per-
mits for chartered buses.

The railways refused the re-
quest of the Federation of South
African Women for special
coaches. _When the women
presented. themselves at ticket
offices clerks at some stations
refused to sell any woman a
ticket to Pretoria.

were stopped on roads
leading to Pretoria; taxis tick-
eted; large contingents of women
held up at police stations.

But the women were indom-
itable. They were determined
to get to the Union Buildings.
And they did!

In all 1,600 of them converged
on Pretoria; sitting for hours
outside the Pretoria station

while a ferry service of taxis
and private cars was organized
to take them to the Unio
Buildings.
For hours on the morning of
October 26,there was an end-
less and colorful stream of

-women, many of them carrying}
winding up

their children,
through the lovely government
gardens and to the amphi-
theatre.

There they filled the great
granite semi-circle; triumphant
that they had arrived, elated as
the hours went by and their
numbers swelled, but calm,
disciplined and quiet in their
unanimous protest against pas-
ses for African women, Bantu
education, the Population Regis-
ter, the Group Areas Act, the
Suppression . of Communism
Act, Criminal Laws Amendment

Act, Public Safety Act and all-

oppressive laws, associated with
the Nationalist government’s
apartheid programs.

From the early hours of the
morning the women—African,
European, Colored and Indian—
began to assemble at arranged
meeting places in their town-
ships. They came with their
infants, carrying lunch baskets
and stitcases and paper carriers;
some with blankets, many’ with
huge sunshades. Many found
their way blocked at the last
minute, but undeterred they gig’
round the. obstacles.

The women of Nataalspruit
found their buses had been can-
celled and drivers of hired
trucks threatened with prosecu-

tion by the police if they con-
veyed them. So they set out for
Germinston station—a distance
of eight miles—and there they
bought their tickets to Pretoria.

A large number of women
from Marabastad in Pretoria

were kept. in police custody and |

released only when the protest
_was over. =

One Johannesburg’ garment
factory was forced to close
for the day: the workers were
‘in Pretoria. ~

Indian women were there in
their exquisite saris; Colored
women from the Colored town-
ships; European women from
the cities. é

An old African woman, half
blind, brought her  grand-
daughter, to lead her. African
churchwomen were there in
their brilliant blue and white:
women dingaka in their beads
and skins with all regalia;
smartly dressed and emanci-
pated young factory workers;
housewives and mothers: do-
mestic servants and washer-4
women, and, holding the dele-
gations together and giving the
great gathering that impressive
discipline, the ‘women who
started this protest rolling in
the locations and townships
some eight weeks ago when
the Mothers’ Congress first re-
solved on it.

mt 5 og wt

For hours the women stream-
ed up through the amphitheatre
and as each reached the top she
handed in her signed protest
to four women from the four

2. aca nonsense !”’ said the
sceptics. “Three warm
months. Nine months of
winter! How on earth do
you expect to grow anything
there ?”

But the champions of far
northern agriculture in the
Soviet Union refused to be
discouraged. “If you apply
science, like Michurin did,
then you can do anything,”
they said.

The argument went on; but
it has ended now. In fact it
came to an end years ago.
Today farms of many kinds
are flourishing in the Soviet
Arctic.

Take, for example,
Pechora state farm. One of
its five livestock sections is
centred precisely on the
Arctic Circle. ; :

But that farm breeds cat-
tle and raises fodder crops
and perennial grasses.

It grows vegetables and
root crops, and every day,
winter and summer, sends
fresh milk, dairy produce
and vegetables to the town
of Pechora. .

Farming started 15 years
ago here in the Arctic Circle,
when the railway line to the
coal city of Vorkuta, in the
north of the European USSR
was being built. ;

Foodstuffs had to be
brought for its builders all
the way from the central
parts of the country.

The question became sharp-
er all the time—was it pos-
sible to raise these products
on the spot.

In the old days a fresh
earrot was as rare as an
orange north of the Arctic
Circle. But today they grow,

Soviet farmers. in

the

Farmers af Pechora in the Soviet Arctic exhibit
their produce at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition.
Shown here is the Siberian Pavilion. :

large and juicy, on the Pec-
hora farm’s fields.

And so do turnips, radishes
and cabbage, cauliflower and
onions and many other veg-
etables.

In the farm’s hothouses,
cucumber and tomatoes ripen.
The farm’s yields are as high
as those harvested in the
heart of the country.

The farm has 560 head of
cattle, all pure Kholmogory
breed. It has cows’ which
yield over 1500 gallons of
milk a year.

The-farm is working hard
to increase the dairy herds
and raise their output. But
this requires plenty of coarse
and juicy feed. ‘

That isnot so simple in
the*Arctic, for the grass grow-
ing there yields very little
hay, and that is of rather
poor quality.

Attempts were made by
the farm to plant clover and
timothy, brought from the
south, but nothing came of
it.

the Arctic

Clover could not with-
stand the severe frost, so the -
crops were negligible.

However, the Pechora area
has a wild clover, which’ has
become acclimatised to the
north. The trouble was that
it was very rare:

The decision was taken to
try to cultivate this elusive
plant. ‘

Three years ago, after a
good deal of effort, some 30
pounds of that clover was col-
lected — practically seed by
seed.

This was barely enough
to sow about two acres, but
a year later the farm ob-
tained five tons of excellent
clover from the plot, and
enough seed for 37 acres.

Starting with 50. acres
wrested from marshes and «
thinly-wooded areas, the
farm now has 1250 acres of
arable land, and this year
another 150 acres will be
grubbed up, and: the hot-

houses will be enlarged.

[THIS LIFT IS FOR EUROPEANS ONLY |

SERVICE LIFT iS PROVIDED FOR TRADESMEN,
NON-EUROPEANS, PRAMS & DOGS.

ire

NO HAWKERS ALLOWED.

ee’,

' A typical South African sign over an elevator en-
trance at Park Court, an apartment house on Twist Sta

Johannesburg.

organisations stationed there
to receive them.

Then, the women took their
seats round the amphitheatre.
Throughout they sat in hushed
silence and as the morning
went by the crowd swelled.
From the windows and balcon-
ies of the Union Buildings the
civil service looked on in
amazement at this impressive
demonstration. The pile of pro-
test forms grew.

From the cupola Mrs. Helen
Joseph, Mrs. Lilian Ngoyi, Miss
Sophia Williams and Mrs. Rah-
ima Moosa announced that they
would deliver the protests to
the cabinet ministers. They
moved off to a great cry of
“Afrika”, and the raised thumb
salute. The women went on
sitting quietly. \

Trailed by
photographers

reporters
and with the

police agents of the Special
branch never far off, the four
went first to the office of Dr.
Verwoerd, minister of Native

and .

Affairs, who only a week be-

‘fore had told the women his

policies were a subject for
“praise not protest.’ The door

was locked (it was the lunch-

hour) so a pile of protests weré
left on the doormat to await
the minister’s return. In turD
the delegation visited the office®
of each of four cabinet minister®
found the minister gone and
left the protest forms in a pile
before his door.

_Then they returned to the

amphitheatre and reported that —

they had delivered the protests.

me

The great assembly of wome?

rose, sang Inkosi Sikele and the?
filed out of the amphitheatre
and down the gardens again-

No orders had been give?
there was no bustle, no co®
fusion, no panic or any hitches-

The silent protest was developed —

by the women themselves
With their dignity, their d
eipline and their determinatio™

they had carried the day. 4

OPEN FORUM

Vote for independents —

H. CASEY, Vancouver, B.C.:

_ The best way to oust the NPA on

December 14 is to vote for pro-
gressive candidates not tied to
any partisan political machine.
Everyone knows that the Non-
Partisans are just a bunch of
Tories and Liberals in disguise.

Effie Jones has been fighting
this gang for as long as I can
remember, and she will get my
vote for sure, as I know she
will make a fine alderman and
fight for the people’s interests.

I’m going to vote for Sam
Jenkins, too, because he is an
honest labor man; and for Mau-
rice Rush, whom I’ve seen lead-
ing many delegations to city
council on issues affecting the
working people.

If these three fine labor rep-
resentatives are elected to coun-
cil we'll see areal change in
civic administration next year.

O'Donohue's platform

Pp. J. (Pat) O’DONOHUE,
Vancouver, B.C.: I would like
very much like to bring to your
attention one or two points

«

received full value for thei?

Vancouver should be interes®
in, and which I sincerely hoP€ 1
if elected, I will be instrume?
in carrying to a happy conclt:
ion in the interests of OUF
people, -

Firstly, believing that ‘© —

e
people of Vancouver havé tax
dollar, I will, to the best ©
my ability, through research a
eareful analysis, endeavour
see that the civic departme
economize and institute P :
which, will give to the citizens
full value for their tax d0¥*

Secondly, I believe that it i
possible to compel both the fi
eral and provincial governmen”
to carry through just resp
bilities concerning the conc “es
sions that they received from ee
city authorities at the exP®
of the tax payer.

Thirdly, I will press for th’
appointment of a chief of P
from the ranks of the Pre
police force where I believe é
have the material and —
character necessary to ™
good police chief.

There are many mor
in my policy but I beli
three are very essential.

TiVO Py IT in i ce ee CA ae cy

which I believe the citizens &

lice

ae