A PROFILE BY EMIL BJARNASON

Economics expert - -four degrees below zero

RE scientists ' regimented?
Are they forced to parrot the
line of a party or a class?

Those who read the daily
press and believe what they
read will answer “Yes—in Rus;
sia.” But in Canada, they will
tell you, science is objective—
‘pure science, interested only in
arriving at the truth regardless
of the interests of party, class
or vested interests. ,

We offer an example: Pro-
fessor Robert M. Clark, B.A.,
B.Comm., M.A., Ph.D., Profes-
sor of Economics, University of
British Columbia.

Is Prof. Clark the product of a
class or is he an individual scien-
list standing above classes?

To answer this question we
must tell you something of Dr.
Clark’s background.

Clark is the son of Dr. R. E.
Clark, longtime head of UBC
chemistry department. He was
not the most brilliant student
in his economics class, nor did
he attain the highest marks.
But he was the only one able
to proceed directly to advanced
studies and the Ph.D. degree,
and the only one to return to
UBC as_a professor. Did this
have nothing to do with his
class origin?

Most of the brighter students

in Clark’s class were radicals,
Delaney, Davis, Hopwood, Glen,
to name some of them. These
were mostly the sons of work-
ing men. Clark, the professor's

son, almost alone among them, |

remained glued to orthodoxy. \

Almost glued, to it that is.
There was a period when a fel-
low student, Dave Brian, , son
of the late Mel Brian, ‘Liberal
MLA, kept young Clark in a
state of acute distress hy bom-

parding home with socialist

ideas. Daily, towards the end
of the day, Dave thought he had
Clark convinted. But just as
regularly, the following morn-
ing, after a nocturnal coaching
‘by Clark Sr., young Clark re-
turned to classes with a renew-
ed faith in capitalist economics.

Bras work was cut’ short
in 1941. The working class lost
a staunch friend when he was
killed in a shipyard accident.

Clark, who was never expos-
ed to this kind of hazard, com-
pleted his Ph.D. and returned
to UBC as a favorite son and
a’ professor.

Do Prof. Clark’s conclusions
flow from impartial academic re-
search or from ‘class interest?

Our first experience with Dr.
Clark’s scientific endeavors oc-
curred a few years ago when he
made an appearance at Vancou-
ver City Hall on the question of
the business tax.

‘Clark represented himself as
a scientist, a public servant com-
ing to testify on the principles
of taxation, for the guidance of
the city council.

He was not appearing on be-
half of anyone, you understand.
He was merely presenting the

results of his labors in the

cloisters of UBC.

What were the principles he
put forward:

1.—A business tax is a ‘bad
tax.

2.—A business tax, if adopted
should not ‘be a graduated tax.

The latter point he defended
by presenting an elaborate sta-
tistical analysis of company pro-
fits. The analysis showed, by
means of imposing charts, that
the bigger the company, the
lower its rate of profit.

It should be noted here that

, the study in question was an
‘ original contribution by Dr.

‘Clark. He had chosen the com-
panies, he ‘had amended their
statements to show ‘what he
deemed to be their actual pro-
fits, and he ‘had made the sta-
tistical breakdown.

His study actually showed
that the bigger the company,

the smaller its rate of profit.

We note, at this point, without
offering any comment, that the
income tax department. has for
years published an annual
breakdown of all Canadian com-
panies (over 30,000 companies
compared to 700 chosen by
Clark) which year after year
shows a rate of profit for the
biggest class of companies that
is four times as high as that
of the smallest class of compan-
ies.

We would also note that at
the same hearing the Down-

town Businessmen’s Association —

-put forward exactly the same
position as young Clark on both
points.

Our next experience with
Clark was in connection with
the recent Milk Board hearings.

Asked who had instructed him
to testify at the hearings, he re-
plied that he had been sent by
the president of the University.
‘Once again ‘this only interest

,in the matter was the propaga-
‘tion of scientific truth.

Let us examine the Scientific
truths that Clark put forward
at this hearing.

First he told us that the price
of milk had nothing to do with
the amount of milk consumed.
This ‘he proved statistically.
The proof consisted of showing
that in the United States al-

Canadians Feel
Soviet Opposes
War With West

By ¢. Poseurs of

In the last year, Canadians have;
altered their thinking in certain ways, |
with respect to the changing interna--"
tional scene.

Just 12 months ago, by f
largest number of Capasa

”

7 in the,
mes all the way.
ent in. Quebec, to 8t
(cnt in the Maritime Provinces.
The second question asked in the"
current poll was:
BF you think the Russias. Govs
nt wants a war with ug at.
this thne?” ;
ie majority’ of Canadians thigh.
not.
*pee not want @ war. Aste 31%.

sree e ew enee

opini
(World Copyright Bceried

This significant expression of
Canadian opinion was published
in the Hamilton Spectator; but it
was suppressed by the Toronto
Star which subscribes to the same
service.

‘

Town Meeting critic

though average incomes had
risen more than the price of
milk, the consumption of milk
fell nevertheless.

A radical chap named Zlot-
nik asked ‘him whether the
average incomes he referred to
included millionaires. He said
it did. Zlotnik ‘then asked
whether a man earning two mil-
lion dollars’ would drink more
milk than a man earning one
million dollars.

if this would not affect the
validity of ‘his statistics he
merely looked irritated.

Second, in his sheltered niche
of pure:science Dr. Clark had
arrived at ‘the conclusion that
skip-a-day deliveries would be
a very good thing.

Third, he presented figures to
show that five of the thirteen
companies. involved ‘had “lost

The professor -
-said no and when asked further .

money, last year. Onder cross-
examination he argued that it
would not ‘be in the interests
of scientific impartiality to dis-
‘close which companies these
were. But he was good enough
to ‘have his statements confirm-
ed iby a chartered accountant
who had not audited 'the books
of the companies concerned.

This very cultured young
man, with four academic
handles, considered it scientifi-
cally valid to deduce that the
dairy industry was on the rocks,
‘from the unverified financial
satements of five anonymous,
companies.

All this in the spirit of pure
science. Dr. Clark, you under-
stand, wouldn’t dream of plead-
ing a case for the milk distribu-

tors. He is a scientist. He is
paid by the public. He is im-
partial.

Oh’ yeah!

“No matter how you slice ae
A cartoon comment on the U.S.
elections from the magazine

Maarch of Labor. \

BERT PADGHAM, Bridall
Falls, B.C.: I sent the following
letter to Town Meeting regard-
ing ‘their meeting of Jasuary
Jigs

As a listener to Town Meet-
ing I would like to send my com-
ment of the subject, Should
Canadian Troops be Sent to
Europe?

As one who knows What war
is, being disabled in the First
World War, I am for peace and
of course’ support. only those

who are for ‘peace. There hap-
pened to be a ‘few neighbors in
to listen and we noticed how
moderator Arthur Helps would

cut short the answers to ques °

‘tions put to both,Mr. Gardner
and Mrs. Young, ‘while he did
not do the same to the two other
speakers. We have noticed the
same thing take place on many
‘of the previous Town Meeting
‘iproadeasts. .Of course that is
‘one-sided democracy.

Another thing that amazed us

was when Mr. Goode, the MP,
asked the question: “I wonder
if Mr. Gardiner is a Canadian or
if he is a Pole or Russian?”

This is the last refuge of a poli-

tical shyster.

Then the final remark of the
warmonger, Colonel SBattum.
which should ‘be Batty, when he
stated:
stop international Communism
and to keep ‘the people under
our own rule.”

Well, the people the world
over are clamoring for a change
and for peace. And change
there will be, in spite of the
warmongers who seek to spill
other men’s blood in another
’ great conflict.

More on sani

S. CORAY CAMPBELL, Van-
couver, B.C.: In the January 25
issue, of the Pacific Tribune
there appeared a letter signed
V. Vesterback~ of Aldergrove,
‘that more than took up my in-
terest. It is not my intention to
enter into a controversy with
friend Vesterback on what a
workingman’s paper should or
should not be, in this letter,

ae

“We are ‘organized to.

lean.

MENT

Op

2 What Yyou Pleme.

Sufficient to say that in practic-
- ally every instance of his letter

I entirely disagree. He has a
right t6 speak his mind, and
the editor has a right to deter-
mine the contents of ‘the paper.

The one item in the above-
mentioned letter, however, that
I wish to dwell on, is brother

Vesterback’s statements in the-

matter of sports and the place
that a sports column can have
in a. workers’ and farmers’
paper. \
Let it be understood at the
outset that we who are readers

of the PT know all about the.

gambling and exploitation that
goes on in many branches of
sport. However, notwithstand-

ing all of this, sport in general.
is socially necessary and what’s —
more, it is the PT’s job—brother |

Vesterback’s job as well as Bert
Whyte’s and mine—to see that
sports are kept clean, the same
as we struggle to bring fresh
air and purification. to other

_ branches of our culture.

The youth of Canada is our
country’s greatest asset. It can
be an asset for war or peace,

for good or evil. Healthy sports.

properly organized, democrati-
cally

an important instrument in the
‘hands of a people.

That’s why a sports column
is important. Would brother

Vesterback, with all due respect

to our veterans in the struggle,
be content that the PT should
be merely a sheet that keeps
oldtimers acquainted with what
goes on in the “inside” of the
labor movement? Hundreds of
young people every year come
into our movement. “They love
sports. They will be lost and

- confused if they can find no

outlet for expression in their
new environment in the labor
movement. We need clean
sports, Jet’s help to make them
Let our readers know
that oldtimers like brother Ves-
erback are tolerant of our youth
and understand the new period
we have entered.

Let’s have sports coverage
and good reporting with a work-
ing class interpretation. And
last, but not least, let’s extend
orchids to brother Bert Whyte

‘PACIFIC TRIBUNE — FEBRUARY 8, 1952 — PAGE 4

guided and directed by’
elected public bodies can ‘become

for a good coverage for the
Olympics that will be held this
year. “Ol Bill’ would have it
that way. Yours for sports.

Extortion racket

JOHN W. POWELL, editor,
China Monthly Review, Shang-
hai: Enclosed is a clipping of
the editorial in the February
China Monthly Review based on
your expose of tthe extortion
racket, which was sent to us ‘by
a friend in California. We are
now receiving our own copies of
the Pacific Tribune and find it
very informative. ;

We were particularly glad to

_ get this clipping for we had seen
a great deal in the Hongkong
press and clippings from the
United States of the way Over-
seas Chinese were being “black-
mailed.”
could check from this end for
the-stories usually quoted some
Lak Bak Pak who “had ‘heard
from a nephew or old mother |
or something in Kwangtung

province that they must pay — 4

money at once. If names of
the relatives were given,-they —
were also anglicized and it
would have ‘been impossible to
trace them.

Again our thanks for sending —
us the Pacific Tribune regular _
ly, and we ‘hope the Review is
reaching you in good ‘time.
With best wishes for your cs
tinued success. ~
st x ok Se
© The article referred to by
Review editor John W. Powell

'was a front-page feature by —

Bert Whyte which appeared in
_ the Pacific Tribune issue of De-—
cember 14. It has been trans:
lated into several languages and —
reprinted in progressive news
papers in many countries. Bas:
ed on interviews with Vancou-
ver Chinese and examination of
 jetters received from relatives
overseas, it traced the extortion
letters to racketeering Kuomin-
tang agents in Hongkong, who,
using their knowledge of friends
and relatives in their home-
_towns, have been trying 0
swindle Chinese in Canada and

the United States.

There was no way we |