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EDITORIAL

Gancel the cruise tests

The federal Tory government, which whines inter-
minably about the awful inheritance it received from
the Liberals, changes it tune completely when it comes
to shackling Canada to testing the U.S. Pentagon’s
cruise missile, designed for nuclear attack from Can-
ada on the Soviet Union.

Mulroney’s U.S. party in Canada has made it clear
it intends to serve Reagan and the Pentagon to the last
Canadian.

When the cruise missile plummeted onto the ice of
the Beaufort Sea on Feb. 25 — the second crash end-
ing as in as many tries in 1986 — it should have served
serious notice on Mulroney and company.

Canadians resent being sold to the U.S. nuclear
war-fighting strategy — especially when there are
profound proposal from the “other side”, the Soviet
Union, proposals for lasting peace encompassing all
humanity.

If it is reckless with “unarmed” cruise missiles, and
the “unarmed” Challenger shuttle, what makes the

Mulroneyites think the U.S. would be more expert at
juggling nuclear-armed rockets, and all the pape:
nalia of Star Wars?

The out-of-control cruise missile launched over ~

Canada in January, which went off course and
crashed, and its even less commendable February
twin, which fell where it was unleashed, should give
Canadian a good idea of the “protection” Mulroney is
buying in exchange for Canada’s sovereignty.

While as far as the Ottawa Tories are concerned the
Canadian people have no say in the matter, there is a
groundswell against tying this country to Reagan’s
global nuclear war strategy.

People from every walk of life are telling the
government to count Canada out of all of Washing-
ton’s schemes for military domination of the world.

If ever the argument for cancelling the U.S. agree-
ment to test weapons in Canada held merit, that time
is now.

Greetings 27th Congress

Millions the world over are watching with attention
the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union, in progress in Moscow.

A large proportion of those observers view the
congress in a supportive way and see certain of their
goals in the goals of the 5,000 delegates and the spec-
trum of Soviet people they represent.

Carrying forward the vision of the Great October
Socialist Revolution of 1917, Soviet Communists
move their country and the world closer to a human
existence without war. They lead humankind to the
elimination everywhere of unemployment, exploita-
tion of human life, and racism. -

The Soviet people, led by their Communist Party,
did away with the exploiting system nearly 69 years

ago. They eliminated unemployment more than half a
century ago.

Their 15 Soviet republics, numerous autonomous
republics and regions, and their more than 100
nationalities flourish without racial discrimination.

Struggling people on many parts of the globe enjoy
Soviet solidarity, as the socialist community of coun-
tries counts its successes in close co-operation with the
USSR.

Soviet policies on peace, disarmament, peaceful
space and detente are the Soviet policies which win the
support of perhaps the most diverse body of the

world’s people. That is for good reason. The USSR is
prepared to back up its words with deeds. The far-

reaching proposals recently put forward to eliminate
nuclear weapons from the planet entirely by the year
2000, are buttressed bya preparedness for all forms of
verification.

And the world watches the 27th Congress for what
it offers the Soviet people themselves. Steadily, froma
position inferior to most of Europe, the Soviet system
now provides constantly rising standards.

As the world is free to see, the 27th Congress is
dealing with shortcomings they see in the fulfillment of
their potential. If the U.S. administration, which
repeatedly criticizes the Soviet way of life, were to deal
as frankly with its reality — millions of unemployed,
homeless, crushed by poverty and subjected to racism,
facing deteriorating health and education — the real

_“s comparison would be. obvious.

.. The 27th Congress of Soviet Communists, gives
added assurance that, within its power the Soviet
Union, with the socialist community of countries, will
remain a steadfast bulwark against nuclear war. In
this way its also offers assurance that a better world?s
in birth. The new Soviet laboratory for peace, the
spaceship Mir (peace) is a fitting symbol.

In due course the Soviet people will cross the thre-
shold of communism, a goal which today is embraced
by many of the earth’s peoples. :

We greet the 27th Congress for what it is helping to
create for the Soviet people, and for people every-
where.

SHIP Yarns THE f&NcLY
TrtiNG SISCLAIS STEVENS
HAS PUT oN THE SKID:
6 THE WORKER:

‘Profiteer of the week

Big bucks in the Big Press? You bet! You'd almost think new

sideline. Southam Inc., one of giant media monopolies, sho
1985 profit of $49. 4-million, up from $44.4-million in 1984.
quarter profits jumped to $26. 2-million from a paltry $16.4-mi
year earlier.

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON
Business & Circulation Manager — MIKE PRONIUK

Graphics — ANGELA KENYON

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the rest of the world is urgently
working for realization of the Bibli-
cal invocation that “swords be beaten into

ploughshares,” U.S. industry, it seems, is
busily beating its sewing needles into elec-

People and Issues

Canada Pavilion at Canada Harbor P

Jackson will be also part of a pro;
one month earlier at Expo which ¥
include Bob (Doc) Savage, Jean E
Shiels, Tom Hawken and Steve

tronic warfare systems.

You wouldn’t think of Singer Company
Ltd. which, for generations, has been as
common a household name in sewing
machines as Hoover has been for vacuum
cleaners, as one of the pillars of the
military-industrial complex in the U.S.
But according to recent business reports,
that image is going to change over the next
several months. And the company’s shift
from consumer-related goods to high-tech
weaponry is symptomatic of what is hap-
pening in the U.S. under the Reagan arms
build-up, a build-up pressed for by the
same corporations which will profit from
it.

According to the vice-president for cor-
porate affairs of Singer Co., the sewing
markets have declined over the last decade
in North America and Europe because
“more women are working.” So even
though the company re-structured its cor-
porate empire, closing plants in the U.S.,
Britain and West Germany and succeeded
in making profits after some loss years, it
wants to unload the sewing machine and
related part of the company — and con-
centrate on military contracts. Accord-
ingly, it wants to sell of one of the

consumer divisions to acquire another .

company, the Dalmo-Victor division of
Textron Inc., which is engaged in making
electronic warfare systems.

Actually, Singer has been involved in
the military business since 1968, but the
big jump in business came much later,
coinciding with the first years of the U.S.
build-up in 1978-79. Currently, military
contracting accounts for 60 per cent of its
business and it hopes by the new ——
tion to push it to 80 per cent.

New York finance analyst Mort Langer

in examining Singer’s corporate reorgani-
zation, was particularly revealing in
emphasizing the attraction that U.S. busi-
ness has to military contracting.

“Sewing is not an important industry,”
he said. “It was important to restore profi-
tability. ..The main focus was to stop the
drain of cash flow from that operation
while building the military operation. The
company is smiilidthen rather hand-
somely.”

No doubt. Military contractors in the
U.S. are guaranteed a rate of profit and
according to Edward Spinney, a Pentagon
analyst who studied military contracts in
1983, “defence contractors would go

_adian counterparts, the Socreds —

belly-up if they had to make it in the real
world.”

*x* * *

f for many working people and unem-

ployed, Expo 86 still has the image of a
great extravaganza planned and promoted
by American hucksters — and their Can-
there
are at least a few glimmers of light now
appearing on the program as far as the
labor movement is concerned.

One of them is a week-long series of
shows focusing on the 1930s unemployed
movement, the On-to-Ottawa Trek and
the Regina Riot which will involve
trekkers Bob Jackson who now lives in
Powell River, and Bill Gilbey from Regina.
We don’t have a lot of details yet but we

’ understand they’ll be relating events of the

depression years and the On-to-Ottawa
Trek in a story-telling format. It is one ofa
number of shows being organized by the
federal government under the department
of multiculturalism and will include stories
of early immigrants, and ethnic minorities,
the contribution of Canada’s Native peo-
ples and so on.

Jackson and Gilbey will be doing three
shows a day from Aug. 24 to 31 at the

Tom tells us that they’ll also be doing ®
history from the depression years a
trek, woven together with songs.
Their show runs for a week, from Ji
21-27 at the FolkLife Pavilion on the E¥
site.

* * *

Rais may recall the review ©
we ran Jan. 22 of Samuel Lount,
acclaimed Canadian film which drat™
ized the life of Lount, one of the lea
the 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada
was hanged by the British col
government for his part in the u
We noted at the time, however, that
film was expected to end its run that
week, before any of those reading
review could see it.

Fortunately, CBC, which contrib
to the production, is now bringing !
television and it is scheduled to have it
premiere on Mar. 27 at 8 p.m. on the
network.

Often, films aren’t quite the sam
television but we think in this case, its
suited to the smaller screen and mi
more attention there than it did in
tres, attention which it richly des@
Watch for it.

4e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 5, 1986