French left unity hailed
as ‘historic agreement’

PARIS—An historic agreement
between the Communist Party and
the Socialist Party in Paris ahd
the Seine Department to put up a
United list for the March muni-

Cipal elections has aroused a’

howl of anger from the right-
wing French press,

The agreement was published
last week, and followed a new
electoral law brought out last
June by the de Gaulle regime,

_The new law bars the forma-
tion of election coalitions be-

tween the first round and second -

round of voting in districts with
More than 30,000 inhabitants.

The first round takes place on
March 14, the second a week

PENTAGON HOTHEAD
Kukriniksi (Pravda)

later, In the past, many Gaullist
and other reactionary candidates
were defeated by local agree-
ments between anti-Gaullist par-
ties if in the first round no one
obtained a sufficient majority.

The joint Communist-Socialist
communique, which roused the
right wing press to issue howls
of “Popular Front,” invited other
democratic groups to join in this
anti-Gaullist struggle.

The importance of this left wing
unity move in the Paris region
is accentuated by the fact that
the municipal elections will be
followed by the December presi-
dential elections,

Out of 39 local councils affect-
ed by the new law in the Seine
Department round Paris, 18 have
a Communist mayor, and eight
a Socialist Party one,

The breakaway Socialist Party,
P.S.U,, which has not yet signed
the agreement, heads two coun-
cils;

Paris itself will this time be
divided into 14 electoral dist-
ricts, instead of nine previously,
to elect 90 councillors,

In the present 90-member

council,
has 29, the Socialist Party eight
and the P,S,U, one,

Britons urge Labor gov't
to help end Vietnam war

LONDON — A moving appeal to
Harold Wilson to “take action
in every possible way to bring the
War in South Vietnam to an end”
Was issued last week by anumber

BENJAMIN BRITTEN

of leading British personalities.

It was made ina letter sent to
the Prime Minister by more than
20 Labor MP’s, Bertrand Russ-
ell, Fenner Brockway and Mrs.
Olive Gibbs, chairman of the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarma-

ment,

Other signatories included
Benjamin Britten, Benn Levy,
John Platts-Mills, Q.C., Dame
Sybil Thorndike and the. Rev.,.
Donald Soper.

Pointing out that the fighting
in South Vietnam was resulting
in untold misery for the people,
the letter said there was “ strong
evidence that napalm bombs and
other inhuman weapons have been
used,” and called on the govern-
ment to condemn such brutalities,

The letter calls on Britain to
take independent initiative to con-.
vene a conference to endthe war.

the Communist Party _

Profs urge public aid
in free speech battle

EDMONTON — “Freedom of
Speech” is no abstract principle
to Alberta teachers, In a current
pattle around the issue, 148 Uni-
versity of Alberta faculty mem-
bers recently signed a statement
protesting “a growing atmos-
phere of restricted freedom in
Alberta,”

The free speech struggle began
in earnest last November when
Raymond Hertzog, a 26-year-old
teacher, was suspended from
Ardrossan high school on charges
that he was ridiculing Christiani-
ty and using the publication
“Edge” in the classroom,

Edge, published by some UofA
faculty members, also came un-
der fire by Social Credit govern-
ment members in the provincial
legislature,

The statement of the U of A
faculty members outlines aprin-
cipled stand on academic free-
dom, “Freedoms of speech, of
the press, of religion, and of as-
sociation, must be defended at all
times so that they are not lost,”
it says,

But “the recent exercise of
such freedoms in Alberta has
resulted in strong condemnation
by some members of the provin-
cial cabinet and other influential
figures,”

This has produced an “intel-
lecutal atmosphere” that threat-
ens the exercise of freedom and
“the very existence of the Uni-
versity of Alberta as a univer-
sity.”

The signers state: “We believe
that individuals and groups should
be free to. write about, support
and criticize the government and
its acts; to discuss, criticize,
advocate or oppose changes in
social mores; to question all
views, even those held by the
majority of citizens, whether
these views concern religion,
politics, morality,
public expenditures,

“Without the freedom to dis-
cuss, to propose and advocate
change, rational social evolution

the law or .

can hardly continue,”

The statement asks for public
support for three key principles:

* “Freedom of inquiry is the
foundation stone which supports
the entire structure of a demo-
cratic society and it must not be
disturbed.” Teachers “should be
free to discuss all topics rele-
vant to their subject” and “free
to choose methods appropriate to
the discussion, tempered only by
an understanding of the limita-
tions of the human mind and the
possibility of error,” Students
“should be free to criticize and

reject a teacher’s position with-
out pressure on, or detriment to
themselves as students,”

* “Religious or political views
are not and should never”be the
criteria for engaging teachers or
for removing them from their
positions,”

* “The ultimate goal of educa-
tion, especially at the university
level, is to equip the individualto
make his own evaluations and to
develop his own preferences, his
own standards of conduct and his
own objects of social, political
and religious allegiance,”

Bethune medicare speech
in latest issue of MQ

The Winter (1965) issue of
Marxist Quarterly is offthe press
with features of interest tomem-
bers of the labor movement, med-
ical and teaching profession and
the church,

_ A pioneer address by Dr. Nor-
man Bethune on the subject of
medicare, delivered to the Mont-
real Chirurgical Society, ap-
pears, as well as the text of a
memorial lecture on Bethune by
Stanley Ryerson,

Margaret Fairley writes on
“Moral Responsibility of the
Communist”, F, W. Park submits
a critical review of Dr. Leslie
Dewart’s book, Christianity and
Revolution, and S, Samson, a
teacher, writes “On the Con-
ditions of Teachers”, dealing with
the work load problem,

In the same issue are two
features on the centenary of the
first working-class International
and an illuminating study, “1837:
Labor and the Democratic Trad-
ition”, by C. Vance, covering the
close connections between Can-
ada’s nacent labor movementand
the struggles of Mackenzie and
Papineau,

George Hunter is the author
of an important article on science
and society — “Galileo and Tel-
escopes and Truth”, A background
article on the Congo is also car-
ried: “Congo: Mirror of Africa?”

A voluntary partnership of En-
glish and French - speaking nat-
ions under a new constitution is
advanced in a pamphlet “Two
Nations, One Country” by Nelson
Clarke, national organizer of the -
Communist Party,

The Communist proposals for a
democratic solution of the pres- .
ent crisis of Confederation and a
detailed outline of a proposed
new Constitution for Canada is
set forth,

The small pamphlet, handy for
mailing to friends or MPs, sells
for five cents a copy, Bundles
of five copies are available for
25 cents a copy. Bundles of five
copies are available for 25 cents
postpaid by ordering from Prog-
ress Books, 44 Stafford St., To-
ronto 3, Ont. or People’s Co-op,
Book Store, 341 W, Pender St.,
Vancouver,

HEAR
DR. JAMES ENDICOTT

speak on his .

WORLD PEACE TOUR

Tues., Jan. 26, 8 p.m.

KENNEDY HALL
Scott Rd. in SURREY
Ausp. Surrey Peace C’ttee

30TH ANNIVERSARY

Iutroductory Offer

CONCERT & FOLK SINGING

featuring
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. and Celebrations. Please send the paper to: :
Prominent Vancouver Folksingers
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January 22, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 11