CANADA LINKED IN TIE-UP U.5., West German monopolists expand hold throughout world HE tie-up between Ameri can and West German in- dustrial giants is rapidly ex- panding — both within the Federal Republic and farther afield in Canada, South Am- erica, India and the Middle East. American capital is flowing into Western Germany, and the Ruhr barons are busy forming joint companies with their U.S. counterparts. First steps were recently taken for a gigantic West Ger- man-American project to re- place Britain and France in exploiting the Middle East countries. At ithe beginning of the ‘year, a group of Americans, members of the Public Coun- cil of the Joint Security Pro- gram, visited Western Ger- many. Leading the group was Ben- jamin Fairless, former presi- dent of the U.S. Steel Corpor- ation and Jesse Trapp, chair- man of the board of directors of the Bank of America. It was agreed that West Ger- man firms, helped by Ameri- can capital should make an even more determined drive to oust Britain and France from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Trag, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries. The Americans argued that West Germany would provide a suitable cover for joint ex- ploitaiion of these lands, since it has no recent colonial his- tory. In short, American capi- tal ewill be provided for the West Germans to do the dirty work. Details were worked out With representatives of Krupps Kloeckners, Thyssens, Phoe- nix-Rheinrorh and other huge Ruhr concerns. Joint companies are to be formed, and a West German- American finance institute and technical institute, for ex- change of information on the Middle East countries. Where American firms openly carry out contracts, West German machinery will be used in part. : 5 503 x Cooperation between West German and American big business interests, however, is not confined to the Middle East. The chiefs of U.S, steel trusis and Ruhr heavy indus- try are busy getting together, often linking up with their Canadian counterparts. Around the middle of last year, the huge Krupp concern signed an agreement with the American. Blaw Knox Steel Company for joint exploita- tion of underdeveloped coun- tries. The Thyssen steel con- cern is linked with the Am- erican ARMCO Steel Corpor- ation and Mannesmanns with other American firms. Currently, negotiations are being conducted between the Duesseldorf industrial giant Phoenix-Rheinrohr and the American Bethlehem Steel Corporation, The idea is that Bethlehem buy a 50 percent interest in the Phoenix - Rheinrohr’s newly formed New York company. Ostensibly, it is for the pur- pose of the American company supplying scrap metal and for the West German company’s furnaces. coal Behind it, however, lies the plan for Bethlehem to supply the capital to enable Phoenix- Rheinrohr to carry out con- tracts in Venezuela and Brazil. Phoenix-Rheinrohr already has close ties with Canadian and American firms, through its two Canadian companies. Western. Pipe Mills and Al- berta Phoenix Tube and Pipe Ltd. It is associated with Gil- more Steel and Supply Com- pany of San Francisco (the leading steel company on Am- erica’s West. coast) and the Canadian West Coast Trans- mission Company Ltd. West German firms are al- ready collaborating with other concerns in .exploiting Cana- dian iron-ore deposits. Last month, for instance, Kloeckners signed a contract’ with Ferguson Wild and Com- pany of London, the American Frank Samuels and Company, and the Canadian Aconomic Mining Corporation, for joint exploiting of iron ore in east- ern Quebec. Phoenix is currently nego- tiating for a similar project, and Krupps is actively inter- ested in joint exploitation of iron ore deposits in the Can- adian north. xt $e ¢ at The traffic is not one-way: huge amounts of American Seeds of tragedy’ sown in South Africa “yyOU are hereby ordered to leave the Union of South Africa not later than January 15, 1957,” said the deportation letter served. on Rabbi Dr. Andre Ungar. Dr. Ungar, who is a Rabbi of a Jewish community in Port Elizabeth, went to South Africa two years ago. He was born and grew up in Hun- gary where he witnessed the spectacle of Jews being herded into ghettos by the Nazis. When the Strijdom govern- ment’s Group Areas Commit- tee announced the dates for its sittings at Port Elizabeth to consider proposals for capital have been invested in Western Germany since the end of the war. The U.S. concerns of Ford and General Motors control 30 percent of the West Ger- man motor car industry, ac- cording to the American jour- nal Fortune. Standard Oil, together with the British Shell and Anglo- Iranian oil companies, are es- timated to control. between 70 and 80 percent of the West German fuel market. Fortune calculates that at present about 40 percent of West Germany’s iron and steel industry, and about a quarter of its coal industry, are in the hands of foreigners. There has been a meteoric rise in export of West German capital, having increased nearly twenty-fold between 1952 and 1955 alone. Throughout the Middle East in South America, in Africa and Asia, the West German nonopolists, the thinly cam- ouflaged successors to I..G. Farben and _ similar firms which helped Hitler to power, are extending their influence. It is estimated that in the Arab League countries alone West German firms are under- taking long-term projects to the value of 1,000 million marks (about $230 million.) In West Europe the picture is the same. The industrial barons of the Ruhr have their hands in projects in Spain, Holland and France and they have ambitious plans for ex- tending their influence. West Germany’s merchants of death are on the march again, this time helped by their American “big broth- ers,” grouping of races under the Group Areas Act, he appeared on a public platform with others who were opposed to the apartheid legislation. The government’s answer was the deportation order. On the eve of his deporta- tion Dr. Ungar gave an inter- view to New Age, South Afri- can progressive weekly, sev- eral of whose staff members have been arrested for oppos- ing the government’s racist measures, Dr. Ungar said it would be misleading to:-claim that the Jewish community as a whole either suppports or opposes Correction please STANLEY LOWE, Vancou- ver, B.C.: The survey on union demands carried in your Feb- ruary 1 issue contained a few inaccuracies which I hope you will correct. First, the IWA loggers’ local is 171, not 1-217. A ay Second, at its recent con- vention, Local 171 did not go on record for a 30 percent Wage increase. The conven- tion passed a resolution on wages which called for an across-the-board increase, the amount to be. determined by the IWA district policy com- mittee. While the convention was in favor of having a wage revi- -sion clause written into the new agreement, many dele- gates felt than an equal wage boost would make for greater unity in the event of a strug- gle. The need for a complete wage revision in the logging industry is apparent. Some categories, such as railroad em- ployees, have already receiv- ed a revision to the extent of 7.5 cents an hour. No doubt other categories will follow. I hope your contributors will This is the cover of the lively handbook on politi- cal education recently pub- lished by the Canadian Labor Congress. The CLC commit- tee on political education is headed by Donovan Swailes, chairman, Roger Provost, vice chairman, and Howard Con- querwood, secretary and pro- gram director. the principles he professed but, he said: “I do hold that if my com- munity were fully aware of the ethical implications of the religious tradition they pro- fess to uphold they would pre- sent a solid and unmistakable opposition to racialistic theor- ies and practices in all forms.” Commenting on his impres- sions of the racial situation in South Africa and on the apar- theid policy he said: : “It seems to me obvious that ‘segregation of inter-linked and inter-dependent sections of the community is utterly imprac- ticable, Also I think it is ludi- FEBRUARY 22, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 4 _Will give another boost to ov! "-an oppresive and discriminat- Prizewinning letters Each week the Paci- fic Tribune will present a. book to the writer of | the most interesting, en- tertaining and_ topical letter published on this page. Contributors are urged to keep their let- ters to a reasonable | length. Aye The prize-winning let- L ter in our last issue was written by Woodworker, — Vancouver, B.C. henencio ee ee check the facts in future be fore reporting on union policy: Editor’s note: Reporting 1wA Local 1 -- 217 as the logge local was a contributor’s & ror. Local 1-217 is the Va™ couver millworkers’ local al! } the facts of the report as the pertained to this local W' correct. That pension boost | A. R., Vancouver, B.C. J penned the following vers’ after reading the report th#| | the federal cabinet is debatiné whether to increase the prese? $40 old age pension by $5 % $10 a month. ; The government is raising ov pension, eo) At least that’s what the new papers say, Fi And we are just hoping al waiting For that five dollar boost i? our pay. 4 Oh what will we do with tb? money? ° I heard an old pensioner 54: Vl perhaps buy a yacht or # mansion And leave my fine home skidway. : An old lady said she would save it, Till she got old at two hundred and three, God bless the Liberal gover?” ment! They’re so good to people like me. So old folks, save your money For it may be many a day t Before a generous governme? pay. crous to hope that a small mil ority can keep either by fore? or persuasion a large majoritY in permanent subjection. “From. this angle,” he con | tinued, “I see the racial situa tion in this country as tens® explosive and pregnant with seeds of tragedy to all con cerned. “From the moral angle I find it quite indefensible to tr¥ ahX and justify the continuation 0 ory system. The white com munity, by its acquiescence its own privileged position a lows its own ethical and cult tural heritage to be poisoned: