HE Canadian delegation to
the Second W: wild Peace
Congress has arrived in War-
saw via the now _ historic
Peace Airlift. And already we
have had demonstrated to us
in the most moving way, the
the great will desire for peace
which pervades Eastern FEu-
rope. Not only in Poland, but
in Czechoslovakia.

We fiew to Warsaw as _ the
guests of the Polish Peace Com-
mittee by way of Brussels and
Prague. Out of London we flew
in a regular Belgium airliner
und held tickets supplied by the
Polish fighters for peace. At
Brussels we changed to a Czech
plame — and tickets were no
longer needed.

At Prague airport we had an
unforgettable experience. At the
door of our plane, as we stepped
out, we were completely taken
over by a throng of Czech teen-
agers. Into the arms of each
of us, men and women alike,
they thrust huge bouquets of the
most beautiful fall flowers. And
all the while they shouted slo-
gans: “We want Peace!” “Long
Live Peace!” and “For Peace!”

They crowded into the airport
reception room with us and then,
for more than an hour, took
place a scene which none of us
could ever forget. We' sang till
we were hoarse—and then sang
some more. Danced till we al-
most dropped—and danced some
more. It was late at night and
we were close to missing our
second night’s sleep in a row,
but -that was forgotten as we
caught the youthful spirit and
desire for peace of these fine,
smiling young Czechs.

The songs We sang were Czech
folk and youth- songs and al-
though none of us, as far as I
know, understands a word of
Czech we somehow joined in and

sang as loud, though not.as well,
as our young friends. Young girls
and boys grabbed us by the arm
and made us join their dancing.
Even the most reticent members
of our party found their inhibi-
tions melt away as we danced
on and on.

Dr. James Endicott, the leader
of our delegation, spoke briefly
to thank the Czech people for
this wonderful reception and
then introduced Mary Clarer,
representative of Canadian youth
and Canada’s champion signa-
ture-getter. After saying that
the young people of Canada also
want peace, Miss Clarer led the
Canadians in singing the peace
song she composed, “I’m Going
to Put My Name Down.” Then
we all joined hands and sang
“Auld Lang’s Syne.”

Eventually we were dragged
away to eat dinner, but some
members of the party were so
struck by the youngsters they left
their dinners to talk with them
some more. Arthur Wray, In-
dependent Social Credit member
of the Alberta legislature, was
one of these.

A great swapping of peace

e

Report from

Te

badges went on. Some of us
are now wearing “shock work-
er” badges given to young Czechs
who helped rebuild Lidice, the
Czech town which Hitler de-
stroyed and angered the world.

And, finally and _ reluctantly,
we left for our plane and the
singing and shouting of peace
slogans" went on until it was
drowned out by the noise of the
aircraft engines.

It is quite impossible to de-
scribe the effect ' this wonderful
demonstration had upon us. It
may sound emotional of us, but
it is nonetheless true that many
cf us, including the men, were
moved to tears by this genuine
gesture of friendship in the fight
to preserve peace.

After Prague—and the shower
of flowers which descended upon

Warsaw |

By RAY GARDNER

us—-we have decided that

“what
we passed through was. the
Flower Curtain.

e

Things have been no less im-
pressive here in Warsaw. It was
early morning when we arrived,
so no young people were on
hand to greet us. But the air-
port tarmac was simply flooded
with klieg lights and each of
the party was photographed for
the news reels.

And: ‘it is well worth noting
that our bags were checked
through without being opened or
without us being questioned as
to their contents. Nearly every-
one in our party has had con-
siderable experience in travelling
across international borders, and
all were amazed by the trust

the Polish people have placed in

OT Tie He Ee Ce Se

the delegates to the World Peace
Congress: No questions were
asked by immigration officials
either. They merely pe our
passports,

If I may interject a personal
note: this was a great contrast
to the way I had to turn my
pockets out, while locked in a
room, for the Canadian customs
at Montreal.

The significance of this j is per-

haps not so much the light it
throws on talk about Iron Cur-

tains, but that the Polish people.

in their great desire for peace
are ready to risk letting anyone
into” the country who wishes to
attend a Peace Congress.

From the airport we were
taken. m aé_ special bus to the
Hotel Bristol—for more food in

spite of the buffet supper and,

tations,

duced to our

dinner which we had during a
two-hour stopover in Prague. We
were struck immediately by the
tremendous preparations the peo-
Ple of Warsaw have made for
this Congress on such short no-
tice.

The airport was decorated with
peace doves and posters. Almost
every building is festooned with
bags, and huge banners which
not only run the full width of
the building but right down its
face from top to bottom.

In daylight, today, these pre-
parations hit us with even great-
er impact. Not only are the
buildings covered from top to
bottom with banners, but shop
window after shop window is
crowded with peace. displays.
Picasso’s dove is everywhere.
You see it on the windows of
workers flats and even on match
boxes bearing special labels de-
sighed to herald the Congress.
All this preparation, mind, on 72
hours’ notice.

@'

To return to a chronological
account of: our experiences in
Warsaw. When we arrived in
the dining room of the’ Bristol
Hotel, our interpreter apologized,
saying they had had so little
time to prepare for us that our
meal might not be up to expec-

The waiters brought on ham
and huge dill pickles, beer and
Polish vodka and coffee. We
were well satisfied and were
dumbfounded when this turned
out to be the first of some four
or five courses which concluded
with a roast pheasant each. It
has been the same today. Ob-
viously the tactic is either to
please us by keeping us well fed
—or to kill us off from over-
eating. %

Then we were billetted in the
Block Maranov. This is a new,
huge block .of workers’ apart-
ments. We are the first tenants.
Again, a few fast finishing
teuches have been made so the
flats ‘would be ready for our
occupancy. The Block Maranov
—and there are dozens more
like it on either hand—is built
on the ruins of the old Ghetto.

After a late sleep, we - were
again taken to the Bristol Hotel
for a fine meal and there intro-
guide and inter-
preter, Ivan Reifer, a professor
of bio-chemistry. He spent 20
years abroad, in England and
New Zealind among other coun-
tries, as a political exile.. He told
us of the arrangements which
have been made for our stay,
advised us to ask for anything
we might want or to be shown
anything we might most want to
see,

We spent the afternoon tour-
ing the Polish National Art Gal- —
lery. At the beginning we were
shown the works of Poland’s
greatest painters of the past,
which we enjoyed, but the high-
light of the tour was a special
display of. peace paintings by

Concluded on Page 9

Shining houses

Magical creatures are houses,
With gates for mouths,

Steps for teeth,
And clear eyes of Windows;

At night they droop their long lashes, , :

going to MeAD.

Firmly astride the ground stands See,

house,
Chimneys contentedly breathing
And gossips to the neighbours,
Talks of the past, remembers
How once he was a tiny tent—
That was when there were. reindeer
about—
He was a fidgety little tent
With the wind blowing in from all
sides—
And sheltered Gengis Khan...
A hundred-handed want in each house,

Bearing in each palm

Man and wife and child and grand-

; mother and all

Who would be homeless,

Who would not have S Aa to lay their
head,

If their home were to be destroyed...

You want to bring back the black-out?

Fumbling your way blindly
Down musty stairways to the cellar?
You want the house to be crippled and
dumb again?
The wailing siren to tear you from your
sleep
And bombs to hurl rocks and children

in a whirlwind to the sky? —

I have seen houses brace themselves
; like maddened horses

To face the pangs of death, against the
hurricane,

Like a Jament in stone, cursing war.

Loving creatures, who nursed those
bodies

Which now beneath the weight of your
shattered bones lie buried,
Gravediggers of the living, yourselves
/ unburied.

_ You house with shining eyes,

How you would have wept —
But where are your burnt-out eyes
today?
You magical creatures, houses,
War has touched your conscience,
hen there were men who had not
where to lay their head
Vou rocked some to sleep on fair white
linen—
And others you left to sleep in caves
Open to the cold and hunger and snow,
Or under bridges.
The green, green grass is ploughed up
/ once more
And from your ‘graves a new young life

is rising

f

Houses :
And a roof over your head and solid
earth beneath your feet,
In the name of those hands which built
: these walls,
In the name of those children born
within them,
In the name of Stalingrad, Warsaw,
Lidice risen from the dead,
We shall not let the cavalcade of furies
in again—
Here the voice of the people decides. |

‘Shine, shine like a lighthouse into

the May twilight

With the clear eye of your future, |

Shine, shine, houses, calmly on—
We shall not give in.
—MARIE PUJMANNOVA/ Czech
poet and novelist, in her latest
collection of poems, Millions of
Doves, Translated by Iris: Urwin.

+

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — NOVEMBER 24, 1950 — PAGE 8