2
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EDITORIAL
The boxed-in ‘truth’

=. becomes a casualty in most wars, Vietnam
seems no exception.” So pontificates The Province

in a May 29 boxed-in editorial,

In order to rescue ‘‘truth” from its alleged traducers
The Province dug up a trio of U.S. medicos who went to
Vietnam (presumably with State Department approval) to
‘texamine the charges” of a million more or less Vietnam
children murdered, horribly burned and maimed by U.S.
bombs,

It now appears this Pentagon-approved U.S, medical team
‘‘only found 270 war-injured children in all the hospitals
they visited, Of these 15 suffered war burns”,

In this philistine presentation of an ersatz ‘‘truth” The
Province carefully omits to make any mention as to where
and which hospitals they visited, in order to arrive at their
270 total,

Perhaps we can fill in the omission from more authori-
tative sources, They probably never looked further than
Saigon, which specializes in military hospitals only, usually
well filled with GI venereal disease “war casualties” — but
no accommodation for sorely wounded children,

Even when the Pearson government briefly emerged from
its “quiet diplomacy” burro to offer to build a hospital in
Saigon to provide medical care and attention to the tens of
thousands of war-stricken children of Vietnam, it had a much
higher total in mind than the 270 in The Province emaciated
“truth”, Saigon responded to that offer with a curt **no”,

“There is great tragedy in Vietnam,” says The Province, On
that all decent people agree — but there the agreement ends,
The horrible truth of Vietnam’s tortured and maimed children,
which the Province attempts to minimize and obscure, makes
the editorial scribblers of that paper contributors to a repul-
sive crime against humanity.

We have a surplus

Bos: it or not, British Columbians have a surplus,
up from an estimated $1-million to a neat $36-million,
This according to Premier Bennett who also acts as the finan-
cial Genie who rubs his Alladin’s Lampto dazzle the over-taxed
taxpayers of B.C,

Hydro, we are told, has a surplus of $9,35-million, and the
Ferry Authority a $1,8-million surplus in the kitty. With all
this mazuma to the good, some may wonder why homeowners
and ferry commuters get price hikes instead of price cuts,

With that question still unanswered, it would appear that we
have other surpluses in B,C,, amongthem asurplus of Socreds.

Tom

McEWEN

e’re living in a changing

world.” How often one
hears these words. Yet when we
dig below the surface a little
in this “free world” sector of
ours, it doesn’t take long to
realize that “the more we change,
the more we remain the same.”

In the Spring, 1967 magazine
edition of the American Dialogue
which a U.S, friend kindly sent
us, it seems there is a new
interest being awakened on the
people’s struggle and culture of
the Hungry 30’s. To give em-
phasis to this new interest in
terms of the present, a selec-
tion from the cartoons of Ameri-
ca’s great workingclass artist,
the late Bob Minor is featured;
not just at random, but a selec-
tion pinpointing the issues of our
times, as seen by “America’s
Daumier” Bob Minor in the 30’s,

There is the cartoon showing.
a great hulk of a human but
headless body, stripped for in-
spection, with an exhuberant mili-
tary warhawk expressing his de-
light in his comment: “At last a
perfect soldier”. The kind the
Pentagon frantically seeks to-
day for its genocide war upon
the people of Vietnam, The truly
*perfect” soldier.

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Then the poignant and dramatic
scene depicting the great Negro
people of America, marching for
freedom from the white lynchers,
the cross. burners, church
bombers, segregationists, their
primitive farm tools held high
like a flag, their faces resolute,
their fists clenched, with Bob
Miner’s simple caption to a
mighty drama — “Exodus from
Dixie”.

Then a reminder closer to
home. Nearly 20,000 Canadian
farmers converged on Ottawa
last week to place their demands
for economic survival, Parlia-
ment’s doors were locked against
them, and Prime Minister Lester
B. Pearson, safe in the sanctum
of his RCMP-~guarded office, ex-
pressed himself as “disapprov-
ing” of the language used by
these farmers in their Brief of
demands to the government they
were denied the right of seeing,

Bob Minor dramatically por-

trayed the end results of do-
nothing governments of the 30’s;
a sheriff’s sale, with the little
farm family, their wordly posses-
sions bundled on their backs,
driven from their homes into the
deep snows of hunger and want.
Behind them stalks the heavily

An overflow crowd estimated
at about 1,000 jammed Vancou-
ver’s Queen Elizabeth Playhouse
Sunday night to hear Mrs, Verdun
Leigh Perl from Britain speak
on Vietnam, watched two recent
films on the struggle of the Viet-
Mamese people, and donated
$2,345 for medical aid tohelpthe
victims of the U.S, war.

Doors had to be closed by 8.

p.m, as the hall was packed to
capacity, But the hundred or so
people left outside passed the
hat and collected nearly $50,
which they sent in to the rally,
swelling the large collection.

Visiting speaker Mrs, Perl,
who is co-chairman of the Brit-
ish Medical Aid Committee for
Vietnam who recently visited
North Vietnam, told of her ob-
servations and impressions, “The
U.S, has no legal basis whatsoever
for being in Vietnam,’’ she said,
The war in Vietnam is the most
tragic war in history because it
need never of have happened,

Mrs, Perl said her own
country Britain shared the guilt
because it was a co-chairman
of the Geneva conference which
drew up the Agreement, but fail-
ed to act to see that it was

implemented.

Telling of her discussion with
Ho Chi Minh, Mrs, Perl asked
him why President Johnson’s
offer of unconditional negotiations
was turned down, He replied that

‘Nou LLL FIND ME VERY EASY To Please
Bul You'p BETTERNOT GNE ME A
CAUSE FoR CoMPLANT! /

monopoly plunderbund, to see to
it that they get off the premises
— their home, He also, like Pear-
son, “disapproves” of farmer’s
language — when it ceases to
“plead” and begins to challenge.

So perhaps, as in the pages of
the American Dialogue, we
shouldn’t:write off the Hungry 30’s
just yet, since monopoly’s search
for the “perfect” soldier, hisdis-
approval of workers and farmers
who demand a greater share of
the wealth their labors produce,
and the multiple struggles for
equality, freedom and _ inde-
-pendence, so dramatically por-
trayed in Bob Minor’s drawings
of the 30’s — still fits the 60’s
with slide-rule precision,

During the 30’s Tory “Iron
Heel” Bennett had a ready solu-
tion for all jobless workers,
young and old; relief camps at
20-cents a day — or jails. Take
your choice, The warning to all
jobless youth: “keep away from
here” resounded from Halifax to
Victoria, issued by the vest-
pocket Bennetts in every pro-
vince, city, town and hamlet.

“Oh,” but someone says, “that’s
nearly 40-years ago, It couldn’t
happen now.”

Last week a Kitsilano Chamber
of Commerce businessman,
“headless” as Bob Minor’s “per-
fect” soldier, came up with a
solution for the socalled Hippie
problem — “throw them all in
jail.” Just as simple as that.
“Their presence here causes
property values to drop,” wailed

fur-coated representative.of the ,another, ignorant.of the fact.that

Overflow rally aids
Vietnam war victims

while the U.S. president was
calling for unconditional nego-
tiations he was laying down con-
ditions, The North Vietnam leader
told her North Vietnam could not
accept a Korean type solution
which would permanently parti-
tion Vietnam.

Describing some ofthe bombed
areas and the victims she had
seen, Mrs, Perl said the Ameri~
can motto in Vietnam is “Kill
all — destory all.’’ ... “Civilian
casualties have been on a ratio

of eight for every one killed,

A terrible thing was that there
were many hospitals bombed and
there is a great scarcity of anti-
biotics and other medical
supplies,”

“We must respect international
agreements or the alternative is
butcher or be butchered,” said
Mrs, Perl as she called for
everyone to speak out for cessa-
tion of the bombing and an end

night.

hour shifts.

Our Lady of Mercy Church,

the following address:

in his remark other values more
precious than property had also
dropped,

“They don’t want to work,”
pipes up another, highly remini-
scent of the 30’s, while yet an-
other, stroking his well-filled
paunch observes: “Who’d want
to hire them anyway with their
long-haired and unwashed ap-
pearance ?” ;

That’s a neat excuse — if
one ignores the reality of tens
of thousands of very well washed
and groomed high school and
university young folks, also un-
able to find anybody to hire
them for a summer’s job in
this changing and affluent society
of ours,

A couple of Hippies called at
our home the other night, that
is if the identity of a Hippie is
determined. by long hair or the
need of soap and water, if so
the Hungry 30’s with its tens
of thousands of young “side-

Appeal for taggers ;

An appeal for taggers to take part in
ver tag day to help the children of Vietnam 9
June 23 was made bythe chairman at the
cal aid rally in the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse Sun

Many hundreds of taggers will be needed
the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. during whic
will take place. Taggers will go out in pairs oo

A letter signed by co-chairman of the Childe
Vietnam Tag Day committee, Father James R. 0

United Church of Canada, has been mailed t
of organizations appealing for support of the tag

All interested taggers are asked to send thet? gi!
address, phone number and where they wish t0

Tag Day Committe, United Church of Cane
Dunsmuir St., Vancouver 2, B.C.

to the war based on the Genel?
accord, : &

A short ten-minute film .
Children Accuse’” brought”
to the shocked audience tenor
of the war in Vietnam 9 ie
the story of a small schol
stroyed by U.S. bombers

Feature film ofthe evel
the outstanding production aie
by the eminent Dutch fit Oi
Joris Ivens, ‘The Thre
Sky.” This film graphics
trays the lives of the Vieni
people and their unity and dent”
in the struggle for indepen”
Chairman of the ral |
lawyer John Stanton, The a
tion appeal was madeby?~
Galloway, treasurer of the 185
dian Aid for Vietnam Oe
which sponsored the "7
part of their campalén to i
$50,000 for medical ald ff
people of Vietnam. :

vanco"
ing Fridoy! :

Vietnam me

betwee"
h tagait

of

Rober’
‘tie
and Rev. Robert S- Christ!
{e) hundt

da, 509

door pullman” (boxca??
dirty and dishevell
coast to coast in sem istlt
non-existant job, could ie st

well qualified for HIP” | :

ag
These two boys had awe

charge thrown at
of all-inclusive legal
fit the innocent 2° por!
guilty, and very V@
back in the 30’S.

the usual three MOP” ys
hoosegow (suspende®
magisterial ukase e
of town in 24-hours »

The old Hungry 50° cyst,
without so much ® "pj
legal verbiage — the pr iff
So we change, but aa the io
still manage to Fe™2 ay Mg
on so many fundame ma
Property values V® topic:
— a nice Centennial

e
for the ay

Thanks friend one ere
Dialogue. we need

Editor—TOM McEWEN

Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288.

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Associate Editor—MAUR
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June 2, 1967—PACIFI

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