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—@ANADIAN a) 44 as

The grisly cost of war

The money spent for military
Purposes by all countries in the
Past 10 years would have suf-
ficed to provide decent housing
for every man, woman and child

in the world.
* * *

U.S. economists have estim-
ated that in five years following
disarmament the U.S. Adminis-
tration could spend $330,000
million to meet urgent domestic
needs: $160,000 million for slum
clearance, housing construction,
and waterworks: $30,000 million
for pbuilding schools and for
education; $35,000 million for
medical care; $105,000 million .

for road building and other pub-
lic needs.

a * *

In 20 years the NATO coun-
tries spent $1,300,000 million on
armaments. At present these
expenditures exceed $100,000
million a year. Over 75% of this
1S spent by the United States.

% oo a

_ Together with the appropria-
tions for the Atomic Energy
Commission and for civil de-
fence and strategic stockpiles,
military spending eats up 60%

| of the U.S. national budget. In-

i@ cluding appropriations for pur-
U Poses connected with past wars

West Coast edition, Canadi e

(interest on the national debt,

etc.), direct and indirect military

expenditure comes to nearly

80% of the budget.
ae * %

The American strategic bomb-
er B-17 cost $200,000, the B-29
$600,000, the B-36 $4,000,000,
the B-52 $8,000,000. Each new
generation of weapons costs two
or three times more than the
previous one.

* % *

According to researches made
by the Swiss scholar Jean
Jacques Babel, 14,513 wars have
been fought in the past 5,559
years. Their death toll was 3,640
million — more than the entire
present population of the globe.

ok * *

In World War I there were
10 million killed, 20 million
maimed, millions dead from
starvation and epidemics. Mater-
ial treasure was destroyed to the
amount of $338,000 million.

a a co

In World War II there were
54.8 million killed and 90 million
wounded. Materia! losses
amounted to over $4,000,000
million. In Europe alone 23.6
million dwelling houses and 14.5
million public buildings and in-
dustrial plants were destroyed.

(New Times)

ay
otetete

Editor—MAURICE RUSH
Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hostings St.

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

é . Circulation Manager, ERNIE CRIST
Subscription Rate: Canada, $5.00 one year; $2.75 for six months.
North and South America and Commonwealth countries, $6.00 one year.

All other countries, $7.00 one year

Why U.S. monopolies
raise ‘dumping’ cry

_ Ottawa did not even try to explain
its cancellation of the $2-million Soviet
order for the Canadian-built submer-
sible Pisces IV. Even ardent apologists
for the government couldn’t seriously
argue about some sort of “secret
equipment.” An article in the Financial
Post of January 8 provides the answer
in the form of a question: “Did Tru-
deau’s more recent visit to President
Nixon have anything to do with the
cancellation? Did Nixon put the squeeze
on Trudeau—tell him to stop helping
the Russians if Canada wants relief
from U.S. trade restrictions?”

Actually the Soviet Union will buy
elsewhere (it is available) or build its
own such submersible. The only loser is
Canada.

The drive of the U.S. monopolies to
prevent Canadian-Soviet trade from
developing normally has now been
taken up by Dominion Engineering
Ltd., which is wholly owned by Cana-
dian General Electric Co., which in
turn is a segment of the big U.S. Gen-
eral Electric corporation. It is making
a formal complaint, asking the govern-
ment to disallow a recent turbine order
by B.C. Hydro from the USSR on the
grounds of “Soviet dumping.”

Why dumping”? Because the price
charged by the USSR, although profit-
able, is less than the inflated price de-
manded by U.S. monopoly!

V. N. Myshov, head of the USSR
trade mission, reasonably asked: “Why
should we rob the Canadian taxpayers
by asking them to pay more than they
have to? Of course, if you want to pay
us more, then that is all right...”

The facts of life are not only that
socialism produces goods more cheaply
because there are no capitalists to skim
off the cream, no billions to go into un-
necessary advertising, etc., but over
and above that, there are no monopo-
lies to set prices at all the traffic will
bear, having no relation not only to
costs of production but even to what
used to be considered legitimate profit
on capital investment.

No wage freeze here!

What kind of gamble is Prime Min-
ister Trudeau talking about? “We've
got to gamble,” he says, if Canada is
to preserve its identity. But just what

is it that he and the monopolists he

speaks for are gambling on?

In his most recent pre-election speech
he rhapsodized about a “tremendous
surge” that lies ahead, all the while
pouring out self-congratulations about
the present “strong” economy.

Joining him in broad strokes of dis-
tortion and contrived camouflage, the
Minister of Finance eulogizes the
“sound” position of the economy. Ben-
son bouncingly reports that good times
are here and that still more prosperity
lies ahead in 1972.

What lies ahead, of course, is the fed-
eral election! And that’s why the Lib-
eral government conceals the truth of
the real economic situation.

There is, however, some substance in
what they say. Times are good, very
good for big business. If Trudeau, Ben-
son and Co. have their way, and on this
the Tories will be as one with them,
times will get even better .. . for mono-
poly.

The truth is exemplified by the loss
of the jobs of another 300 New Bruns-
wick miners last week; by the fact of
the continued increase in the huge num-
ber of unemployed in Canada; by the
threatened loss of thousands of auto
workers’ jobs in the looming sell-out to
the U.S. of the auto pact safeguards.

Trudeau’s gamble? The wage freeze
he’s threatening to use. Monopoly’s big
gamble is that this threat, or its out-
right application a la Nixon in Canada.
will block and split labor’s growing
unity in struggle for higher wages and
for jobs.

Organized workers should move fast
to tell the. government it’s a losing
gamble.

End Nixon’s war now!

The first labor and peace movement
delegates have already been named to
attend the World Assembly for the
Peace and Independence of the Indo-
chinese Peoples that will open in Paris
on February 11.

Many more should be chosen because
it is clear that only the greatest inter-
national pressure will compel Nixon to
stop the war short of completely des-
troying the entire area and exterminat-
ing its population.

Piling lie on lie, Nixon now uses the
excuse that North Vietnam had refus-
ed to swap U.S. prisoners of war for a
definitive U.S. withdrawal date from
Vietnam. Radio Hanoi was quite right
to call this a phoney and declare, “Nix-
on is using the POW issue as an ex-
cuse to escalate the war of aggression,
to continue bombing North Vietnam,
and to forever put South Vietnam un-
der U.S. neo-colonialism.”

The armed forces of U.S. imperialism
and its puppets are being driven to the
wall by the patriots of Vietnam, Cam-
bodia and Laos. The GI’s are in revolt
against this cruel and senseless war. In
the U.S. the majority of the people cry
for a halt. Labor is acting for peace.
Most churches have joined the demand,
the latest being the American Bishops
of the Roman Catholic Church, who
adopted a resolution saying, “At this
point in history it seems clear to us that
whatever good we hope to achieve
through continued involvement in this
war is now outweighed by the destruc-
tion of human life and moral values
which it inflicts.”

Canada’s Minister of External Af-
fairs Mitchell Sharp has stated in re-
gard to U.S. new acts of aggression
that Canada had openly declared its
condemnation of any activities which
could lead to the extension of the war
in Indochina. But Canada’s voice should
be like the thunder, not a whisper...

Nixon and the beasts of the Penta-
gon are continuing . . . Only such an
international protest that would shake
their seats of power can move them to

end the slaughter. The Paris meeting

will be a big step to set in motion such
a powerful wave of protest.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1972—PAGE 3