‘Return children to mothers’.-
Sons of Freedom leaders :
send stirring plea to Bonner

An appeal to Attorney-General Robert Bonner to “return the Doukhobor children to their mothers”
was made this week by the executive committee of the Christian Community and Brotherhood of Reform-

ed Doukhobors—the Sons of Freedom.

The appeal reads, in part:

“You have made your declaration through the radio and press that you will take severe measures

against the Doukhobors. Those
that refuse to accept your school
education, vital statistics and as-
similation into the general system

of living like Canadians and be-

coming Canadian citizens.

“For all this you intend to pun-
ish us by taking away our property
and selling it to pay for the fines
for refusing to comply with your
School Act, sending our people to
jail, taking our children away from
us. .

“By all this you wish to break
our hearts and the hearts of our
children.

“Mr. Bonn€r, do you not real-
ize that Canadian authorities,
prior te your coming into office,

» took the same action against the
Doukhobors, by exactly the sam&
technique and method? But what
have they gained by all this?

Tremendous expense was involv- -

ed and is put on the shoulders

of hard-working people. .. .

“Our children who were segre-
gated from their parents in 1932
have not forgotten and very likely
shall never forget the evil proced-
ure adopted .’. . they suffered all
sorts of punishment through hun-
ger, beatings by straps and sticks,
being thrown. into damp cellars
and other very rough methods.
Furthermore, in order to break
the hearts of their mothers, the
attendants neglected the infants
and caused them to die. By this
they believed that their parents
would forsake their faith... .

“You, Mr. Bonner, should know
the history of our people from
the very beginning — how the
Doukhobors first settled in’ Canada
and for what reasons they left
Russia and came here. The Douk-
hobor people suffered the depriv-
ations not of their own fancy of
some personal material gains but
through their deep convictions of
their religious faith in God and
the teachings of Jesus Christ and
shall never agree to accept your
schools, vital statistics and oath
of allegiance.

“Recall the history of their exo-
dus in 1902, when two thousand
people, young and old, resolved
to leave Canada regardless ofthe
oncoming cold winter. They began
to march because the Canadian
government declared to them that
they should accept and comply with
the School Act and take the oath
of allegiance. . . . They trekked
200 miles, but the government
forced them back into their homes.

“The government at that time
realized the difficulty in handling
the situation in order to pacify the
people. They had asked the Rus-
sian government to release their
leader, Peter Lordly Veregin, who
was in Siberia at that time, and
this at once changed the situation.
Veregin actually brought peace to
the people, talked them into ac-
eepting land according to the laws
of the country. Each head of the
family was to own 160 acres.

“Nine y€ars after they had
arrived in Canada the Doukho-
bors had developed the wild Sas-
katchewan prairi€s into the

beautiful grain fields, built 57

villages, built good roads and

bridges.

“Once again the government be-
gan to force upon the Doukhobors
that they accept the vital statistics,
school and oath of allegiance,
threatening to take away their land
if they did not accept this. But
the Doukhobors could not betray
their faith in the teachings of
Christ—a servant could not serve

two masters. Therefore, a Douk-
hobor could never be a traitor to
his cause for any material wealth.
They did not accept what the Can-
adian government offered. For
this, the government confiscated

CCF, Socred
clash on

Doukhobors

al

ROBERT BONNER

LEO NIMSICK

The Bennett government’s poli-
cy toward the Doukhobors was
sharply criticized in the legisla-
ture this week by Leo Nimsick
(CCF, Cranbrook). Nimsick stat-
ed bluntly what many people in
the West Kootenays have long
maintained — that not all the
dynamiting, fires and bombings
blamed on the Sons-of Freedom
sect have actually been caused
by them. Attorney General Rob-
ert Bonner int€rrupted Nimsick,
questioning whether the legisla-
-ture should discuss the issue
while arrested members of the
Sons of Freedom were still be-
fore the courts. He thought the
discussion might be sub judice.
Nimsick refused to be headed off.
He had considered the question,
he said, and proceeded to lam-
bast the government for its
“procrastination and bungling”
in handling the Doukhobors‘
grievances.

‘ :

all their property in 1907. Hon.
Frank Oliver, minister of lands,
took away 400,000 acres of develop-
ed land valued at $9 millions at
that time.

“Mr. Bonner, we wish you to
consider this very seriously. What
was the cause of the B.C. govern-
ment to send a Royal Commission
in 1912 to investigate the matter
of registration and school? When
Commissioner Judge _ William
Blackmore spent three weeks in his
research he had the following re-
port to make to Victoria:

“J—Doukhobors are very good
farmers, hard workers and are
well adapted to farm life.

“2—Investigation shows no reas-
on for which the people could be
blamed except for refusing to com-
ply with the regulations of regist-
ering births and deaths and
schools; 25).

“We trust that you, Mr. Bonner,
shall understand why we refuse to
accept your school and education,
vital statistics and oath of alleg-
iance.

“We could not accept on the

us. By all this you wish
children.”

“. .. Sending our people to jail, taking our children away fae
to break our hearts and the hearts of

teachings of Christ.
stand that in this country there is
freedom of religion. Why then do
you not obey your own laws? You
wish.to deprive us of all the neces-
sities of life’ for our religious

basis of our religious faith and the

rights by putting us into prison

We under-jand taking away our childre®. «~~

“We beg you, Mr. Bonner «*”
return the children to their M@”
ers and do not committ the
nocents to harsh suffering ©
your actions.”

Effie Jones charges attempt
by big business to put over _
new city manager plan

Vancouver business groups are trying to foist the discredited city manager plan on citizeps

apd
He

to narrow down civic democracy with their proposals for reorganization of civic government, MTs
Jones, who polled 17,000 votes in last year’s aldermanic contest, charged this week. : whi
Mrs. Jones’ charge was aimed at the Clark report drawn up last spring by a committee “og

included most businessmen’s organizations in the city.

Clark, UBC Professor of Econom-
ics, and a notorious spokesman for
reactionary interests.

Main proposals of the Clark re-
port are:

To hand the business of run-

ning the city over to a Board
of Commissioners which would
be made up of the mayor and
two appointed commissioners.
This board, of which only the
mayor will be elected, will have
sweeping powers to run the city,
and its recommendations will re-
quire a two-thirds vote of the
elected city council to be chang-
ed. ki

To change the term of office

for aldermen from two years
to three, with the council en-
larged from eight to twelve alder-
men. Under this proposal four
aldermen would come up for
election each year.

_The committee was headed by Professor ;

a city of Vancouver’s size needs 12
aldermen, she disputed the pro-
posal because “‘the three year term
under which four aldermen would
come up for election each year
would not make for the best civic
government. Only a minority of
aldermen would come up for elec-
tion at any one time, thus making
it extremely difficult for voters to
change the composition of the city
council at any one election. This
proposal would ensure firmer con-
trol for big business over the af-
fairs at our city hall.”

Mrs. Jones said “‘there is a need
for far-reaching civic reforms, but
the ‘Clark proposals are not the
answer. Vancouver needs civic re-
forms which will extend democ-
racy and not narrow it—we need
progressive reforms in our civic
government,” she added.

Here are Mrs. Jones’ own pro-
posals for improving Vancouver's

Commenting on these recom-
mendations, Mrs. Jones said:

“The elected council would be
reduced to a rubber stamp. The
power to decide on matters af-
f€cting citizens would rest in the
hands of three members of a
board, two of whom would not
be elected and therefore not
dir€ctly responsible to citizens.
This is very similar to the city
management plan which citizens
repudiated beforé, only this time

it’s a three-headed city-manager
plan.”

Mrs. Jones also denounced the
plan to extend the term for alder-
men to three years. Agreeing that

civic government:

ect!
That there be an :

Board of Commissione® Bee
with a city council of 12 M@ of
each serving a two-year
office. estat’
That a ward system be wit

lished similar to that 1? sto
nipeg, dividing Vancouve? sor.
three large wards with four with
men elected in each ware ‘
the two-year ‘term of offic ould
would mean two alderme? eat B
come up for election each Visite
a ward. This plan would tion
more democratic representa’ 3
the city hall, and togethet (oq #
Board of Commissioners a es of
large, would avoid the ab ned ip
the old ward system abolis™
the mid-thirties. “ 1 jabor

Mrs. Jones appealed to? 4g
ratepayer and all civic! oppo
ganizations and citizens ' .—-¢he
the big business propos? ort yet
Clark report and to suns
fight for progressive refor fl

Ue

I
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