ne

GUIDE TO GOOD READING

Book Union selection dramatic
novel of new Czechoslovakia

THE EYES OF REASON by
Stefan Heym (McClelland, Stew-
art), which is the current Book
Union selection, is a fascinating
and illuminating story of what
happened to three brothers in
postwar Czechoslovakia.

The Renda brothers come back
to the little town of Rodnik in
Czechoslovakia after the Red
Army had driven the Nazis out
of their country. The» eldest,
Joseph, had been an officer in a
Czech squadron -with the Royal
Air Force. He took over the
ownership of the Benda Glass
Works again, and brought them
back into production.

Later the works were national-
ized and Joseph made their man-
ager. Trying to regain ownership
of the factory he became involv-
ed in the struggle to prevent the
development of socialism in
Czechoslovakia.

Thomas, who was a writer, had
been doing publicity work in Am-
erica during the war, where he

became known as the Spokesman
of Czechoslovakia.

On his return he found it hard
to adjust to new ways of life and
do creative work as a .writer.
He began a long painful study of
the nature of freedom. In the end
he came to understand that the
American idea of freedom, free-
dom for the exploiters, was false.
He came to see that the coop-
erative freedom of a socialist so-
ciety was real freedom, even
though it also meant the accept-
ance of responsibility and dis-
cipline.

Thomas, however, lacked the

will to fight for socialism, and to

overcome the bourgeois outlook
in himself, and so he committed
suicide. .

Karel, the third brother, had
survived Buchenwald, where he
had used his medical skill to help
others to live. The experience
had madé it clear to him which
side was the side of the future
and life. With some hesitations,

PLAY WELL RECEIVED

it could be shown.

orial Fund.

‘Stoolpigeon’ at Royal City

VANCOUVER THEATRE of Action’s new produc-
tion, Stoolpigeon, drew a, good audience at Tatra Hall,
New Westminster, last Sunday night, attracted by the
discussion and controversy the play has aroused since
its opening performance in Vancouver two weeks ago.

With the breaks in continuity, caused by frequent
and long scene changes, which marred the opening per-
formance. now jargely overcome, the play ‘was well
‘received; and in the discussion that followed the theatre
group was urged to take the play to other centres,
and particularly to trade union raudienceg wherever

Néxt presentation of Stoolpigeon will be at the
AUUC Hall, 805 East Pender Street, here on June 15.
when it will be staged-in aid of the Shevchenko Mem-

e

ARTS FOR THE PEOPLE

New Democracies fight

~ for cultural

“J DO NOT want art for a few,
any more than education for
few, or freedom: for a few,” said ,
William Morris as far back as
1877. :

‘And 11 years later he defined
his view of the purpose of art—
“To increase the happiness of
men, by giving them beauty and
interest of incident to amuse their
leisure, and by giving them hope
and bodily pleasure in their work;
or shortly, to make man’s work
happy and his rest fruitful.”

It is a good, working definition,
even today. It describes what sort
of paintings, books and music
people really need under capital-
ism. And if it is true of capital-
ism, it is a hundred times true
for socialist society, where the
many have triumphed over the
few. 538s

But things are not quite as easy
as that. You can nationalize a
bank, a railway, by means of a
decree. You can plan a country’s
economy with a slide rule, a good
staff of statisticians and a set of
sound principles. You can arrest
a@ saboteur and reorganize a police
force. ‘i

All these things can be done
when power is in the hands of
the people. :

revival

But no decree produces a book

which will inspire working peo- °

ple and give them confidence in
the future.

‘There are no slide rules which
ean serve to compose great sym-
phonies that people will listen to
enraptured.

To produce the new art which
will «serve the new society,
patience, understanding, a crystal-
clear theory, constant trial and
error, and genuine help to the
creative artists are needed.

Not surprisingly, a great battle
is raging around this topic in the
Peoples’ Democracies today.

They are countries building
Socialism. They reject, under-
standably, the triviality, pessi-
mism and fog-like obscurity of
the writing and painting they used
to have. They ask their artists
to do something better, brighter,
more hoeful, more in tune with
the times, \

So today in Hungary, Czecho-
slovakia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Po-
land, even in little Albania which
is experiencing a remarkable cul-
tural revival, this fight is being
conducted for as big a revival
in the arts as there is in in-,
dustry, agriculture and life it-
self—DEREK KARTUN.

he came to pull his full weight
in the work and politics of build-
ing a socialist Czechoslovakia.

* * *

THE EYES OF REASON is a
story with, particular meaning for
us in the capitalist world. It
helps us to pierce the confusion
with which the bourgeois press
cévers the events by which the
Czech people took the road to
socialism. ‘

We can see how a (Czech cap-
italist could come to oppose the
welfare of his own people, en-
gage in dounter4revolutionary
activity, and join with American
imperialism to restore the old

- order.

In Thomas we can understand
how a man like the younger
Masaryk could believe in the
futuré of his people under so-
cialism, and yet commit suicide
rather than join them.

Most important of all, from
Karel we can learn that socialism
offers a new life to everyone,
even those with bourgeois back-
grounds, if they will only give
their talents to thé welfare of the
people.

Because The Eyes of Reason
probes deeply into the true nature
of freedom, it helps us to see bet-
ter the real issues in the contro-
versies which rage around this
world. It helps us not only ‘to
realize the meaning of the con-
cepts of freedom which are be-
ing developed in the New Demo-
cracies. It also makes it easier
for us to see through the shams
that are put forward in free-

- dom’s name under capitalism.

For instance,. Stefan , Heym’s
portrait of Elinor Simpson, an
American woman who writes a
syndicated newspaper column,
helps us to see the American
freedom of the press for what it
really is. We see how American
journalists abroad work leand in
glove with their state depart-
ment. We see how shoddy is the
claim of American journalists to

write with freedom and, knowl-

edge. ; :
* * *

A WEAKNESS of the novel is
that it is perhaps too much con-
cerned with making us under-
stand how the dying elements in
Czechoslovakia came to the end
they did. Although the scope of
the novel is broad and mclusive,
it hardly seems to place enough
emphasis on the dynamic will to
a better life of the Czech work-
ers and their Communist party.
Also, there are few youthful char-
acters in the book, and no one
who could be considered to speak
fully for the energetic and joyful
young people
Democracies.

Another weakness is that the
organization of the counter-revo-
lutionary forces takes place off-
stage. It is not brought out
sharply enough that the\ Ameri-
can government is the chief pro-

moter of such activity, that such ©
‘activity can only lead towards

war, and that the most important
thing today is for all people
everywhere to stop the warmak-
ers.

But in spite of its faults, The
Eyes of Reason is an important
and dramatic novel. Its char-
arters are convincing and drawn
from real life. From real life it

passes on to us the conviction .

that the common people of the
world can decide their own des-
tiny and build their own society.

This book will make it harder
for the American imperialists to
trap the common people into hat-
ing their brothers in other lands
who are building a better world.

rs
‘

of the People’s“

NOW BEING PREPARED

and Egypt.

Marxist world history —

A GROUP OF Soviet historians headed by Acade-
mician Boris Dimitrijevich Grekov, director of the
Moscow Institute of History, is now preparing a seven-
volume Marxist World History.

Soviet historians are also working on the histories
of Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Britain, Germany,
Spain, Turkey, Iran, the Far “East, the Arab countries

The Academy of Science of the Soviet Union is
now publishing’ a ten-volume History of the Soviet '
Union and a six-volume History of Moscow.

‘BIGGEST THIEF IN- TOWN’

UJPO Drama Workshop
play opens this week

WHEN THE Drama Workshop
of the United Jewish People’s
Order opens with The Biggest
Thief in Town for a week’s run
at the Everyman Theatre, 2237
Main Street here, ,this coming
Monday, June 4, Vancouver audi-
ences will have an opportunity to
see the work of one of America’s
finest progressive writers, Dalton
Trumbo, whose screen plays have
earned the admiration of millions
.of Americans—and the hatred of
the notorious [Un-American Activi-
ties Committee which indicted
him for contempt of its fascist-
style proceedings.

The Biggest Thief in Town is a
skilful blending of comedy and
satire leavened’ by a genuine sym-
pathy for and understanding of
the common folk of America, upon
whose fears the Un-American
Activities Committee has played
to produce hysteria and yet upon
whose traditional desire for peace
must depend the outcome of the
present struggle against the trend
to fascism. \

Trumbo’s play does not touch
upon this struggle directly, but
indirectly in its presentation of
the millionaire around whose
death the play revolves it does
deal a shrewd and skillful thrust

at the crooked manipulations of —

high ‘finances which, in their over-
all operation today, pose the
threat of a new war to a world
that is weary of war.

In its choice of a play which
counterposes the sanity of a pro-
gresive writer, striving to make
his work serve the true interests
of the people, to the cultural

idiocies of Hollywood today, the —

UJPO Drama Workshop deserves —
the support of all’ progressive~
minded people in this city. Only
by such support can this group
sustain itself and be encouraged
to grow and develop, The fight
that this and other progressivé
drama groups are conducting
against the pernicious war pro-
paganda of Hollywood is part of
the struggle for peace, the im
portance of which the Un-Amer

ican Activities Committee, by its —

efforts to silence Trumbo and
others, has demonstrated.

With The Biggest Thief in Tow”
as its presentation and a cast in”
cluding many of the actors wh?
made Awake and Sing and It’s
Hard To Be a Jew memorable.
producitons, the UJPO Drama
Workshop promises an enjoyable
evening to what is to be hopé
will be full audiences.

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PEACE
THE COMMUNISTS
PUBLIC LECTURE

BERT WHYTE
Sunday, June 3, 8 p.m.

PENDER AUDITORIUM (LOWER HALL)
: 339 West Pender St:

Question Period — Silver Collection
Auspices: City Committee LPP

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U.J.P.0. Drama Workshop

PRESENTS hotel 2s ar
DALTON TRUMBO‘S 3

THE BIGGEST THIEF IN TOWN

JUNE 4 to 9
AT THE

_ EVERYMAN THEATRE

2237 MAIN ST. —
LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE
For Reservations Phone Mrs. B. Chud, CE. 4376.
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PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JUNE 1, 1951 — PAGE ie

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