Now hear this eee Problems of a peace petit- ‘ioner — A man who was out on the streets of Vancouver last Saturday asking people to sign an appeal addressed to MPs for the stopping of all atomic tests reported this story to us. A watery-eyed and some- what testy individual stopped to ask him what he was col- lecting signatures for. He handed the man his list and explained what he was doing and why. The testy individual read the appeal and snorted. “Young man,” he said, fum- bling for his handkerchief, “tf you would get out a petition to stop the common cold, you’d be doing humanity a great service.” x * x It used to be said, quite inaccurately, that two could live as cheaply as one. The trouble with this reasoning was that the average worker was never paid enough to keep two decently — and certainly not three or four or more. And in this decade -of inflated living costs, when many wives are compelled to go out to work, even two people are frequently unable to keep abreast of their needs. All of which makes it sur- prising that Vancouver City Hall Employees Association should have sent a letter to Vancouver City Hall asking the city not to hire married women. Doesn’t the Trades and Labor Congress oppose dis- crimination against married women? And what about organized labor’s responsibil- ity for upholding the equal right of all women, single and married, to a job if they want one ? * * * The refrigerators in the U.S. State Department are working overtime to offset the thaw in the cold war, and maybe that explains this item. Vodka is becoming a most popular drink in the United States. But some Americans, so they say, have been so — conditioned by 10 years of cold war propaganda that they hesitate to buy it because they regard it as a Russian drink. So now one company is wording its advertising this way: “Insist on the plutoc- ratic capitalist type of vodka.” ’ But isn’t the martini an American drink ? x * x A report from Victoria says that a modern diving rod called the “electronic witch” was demonstrated before of- ficials of the provincial pur- , chasing commission on the lawn of the legislative build- ings. Government officials said the device would aid many departments. It’s just as well the “elec- tronic witch” is intended to detect metal, not water. Otherwise the Liquor Control Board would be rushing to buy it. OPEN FORUM Protests Robeson ban ROY REID, Saskatoon: The St. Laurent government has banned Paul Robeson’s singing tour in Canada, a concert trip which was to have begun this month. A struggle is being carried on by American Negroes against the “jimecrow” laws of the southern states. Is there any connection between the Ottawa ban on Robeson’s singing and the Negro Struggle against ‘“jimcrow”’? Does our government still fol- low the policy of integrating our Canadian foreign policy with the U.S. foreign policy? If there is no connection, why should we ban a concert tour by a famous American artist? On this continent we are still suffering from the after-effects of chattel slavery. One , group is the victim of an inferiority complex: The'other suffers from a superiority complex. Bad. as it no doubt is, the in- feriority compléx does not car- ry within it the same demoraliz- Ing, corrupting effect that a superiority complex has on the mentality of people. The child- ren of the slave owners were . left with. a worse and longer lasting blight than the slaves themselves got out of it. Where human rights are concerned the whites of the south are still cursed with abnormal habits of thought. ; Someone once wrote: “Ye are slaves, base slaves in- * deed, Slaves unworthy to be freed, If ye do not feel the chain When it works another pain.” What about the right of free speech? What about the rights of those Canadians who want to hear Paul Robeson sing? If the federal government wanted the Canadian people to stop, listen and pay attention to what left-wingers, reds and communists tell them, the au- thorities could scarcely have done anything more calculated to bring about just such a re- sult, than to bar the proposed tour of Paul Robeson. Is not this decision on the part of the department of citi- zenship and immigration, evi- dence of an infantile disorder in their thinking apparatus ? The Canadian people should make an organized protest to the government against the banning of Robeson. We should compel our servants at Ottawa to re- verse their decision. Was it Liberal meet?g G.H.H., Vancouver, B.C.: I attended an Old Age Pensioners meeting last week and the first thing on the agenda was a pic- ture of Forest Lawn Cemetery. Good grief! And pensioners — many of them — are living in one badly furnished room, friendless and not wanted, wait- ing for the end. ‘ : Some cards were left for pros-: pective customers to fill out and send in. I think it is the most ghastly idea to place be- forg us elderly folk. Things are coming to a nice pass when we are solicited to pick our graves. What cheap advertising! I am a retired nurse, 88 years young, going strong after an ac- cident three years ago this De- cember. I was run over twice by a bus while en route to a Labor Ghoir practice — but I’m still singing and happy. On cult of individual ELAINE JOHNSON, Vancou- ver, B.C.: In this “re-evaluation” of Stalin and his policies, let it not be forgotten that whether it- was because or in spite of Stalin, a socialist society has been created, and in 30-odd years has accomplished myriads of wonderful achievements. It may be a “shock” to the Soviet people, but such honest criticism of their dead leader’s policies is necessary, particu- larly for all others who play an important part in establishing a society that has the wellbeing of the whole human family at heart. And in no capitalist country. is such “re-evaluation” probable or possible. What of our own policies? What impression do they make upon the Asians who must now be more considered, now that they are no longer “backward”? What do they think of “Christi- anity” when we gloat and cheer when the USSR criticizes its rulers, past and present, for failures and mistakes — but threaten them when they make comments on past policies of our rulers, policies which caused world disasters? The re-evaluation of social- ism’s past leaders should be no surprise to anyone for, even if it takes many years, all evils and mistakes will be revealed and re-evaluated to the benefit of all concerned, and there will never be any Capones, Lucianos or Mulligans able to operate without being punished. The fact that re-evaluation and purging are’ part of the USSR’s policies, is just another example why socialism is the society that represents all walks of life, another proof that no one’s mistakes or crimes go un- punshed or uncriticised in a socialist society. There is no pre- tending to be the perfect society (Christianity), only a striving to create the perfect society. And as God has promised just such a society “on earth as in Heaven” I only hope that He doesn’t permit the meanness and ignorance, that now inspires them, to snuff out the lives of such people as Philpott, Weir, Sheean and Roberts and other hypocritical “scribes and phar- isees” before it is His will for the poor people of every land to take over their country and run it for the benefit of everyone. I hope He permits them to live long enough to receive the just punshment when their people’s government “re-evaluates” their past opposition to the people’s wishes and needs. e There is a letter at our of- fice addressed: to Elaine Johnson. Kindly send your address and we will forward it to you. PATTERN-MAKING FOR PEACE THAT WEDDING! Not only Monaco will breathe sigh of relief N these final days of our Grace (Miss Kelly is to be Her Serene Highness as of Wednes- day this week) there is only one topic to try and forget: the mar- riage. THAT marriage. But as almost every organ of, influencing public opinion seems intent on keeping the subject before our eyes we make no apologies for weighing in with our own profile of the Groom of the Moment—Prince Rainier qs : Of medium height, with a smooth face running to chub- biness, Rainier may not be everybody’s idea of Prince Charming. But he still has plenty to commend himself to the average hard-working mil- ionairess. When Rainier took over as Monaco’s ruler in 1949 the gambling boys of the pocket state predicted happy days a- head. His grandfather had cared little for the fortunes of the cas- ino—save to collect his steady $300,000 a year income from it. But the young prince, on the other hand, had what passed for a modern outlook in the million- aires’ summer-in-winter play- ground. More precisely that means he enjoys the good things in life... and runs a fleet of fast ears, a yacht and a private zoo just to prove it. Well, he did liven things up a bit. Almost from the moment Rainier took sole charge of the 290 rooms in the royal house- hold Monaco was beset with fin- ancial difficulties. The Casino tottered on the brink of disaster until Greek shipping millionaire Aristotle Onassis took over. One of the banks in which Rainier had a vital interest went bust. Cabinet FoR Years HE HAD ME BELIEVING THAT HIS UNION WOULDN T LET HIM DO HOUSEWoREK. ministers were dismissed. Fric- tion was reported between Rain- ier-and Onassis. x x * The wedding of course, comes as an immense relief not only to the 33-year-old prince, but also to a large section of the popula- tion, A bachelor prince wouid have left no heir, and under the pre- sent constitution that means: Monaco would no longer func- tion as an indepertient state. If that had come about the existing no tax, no death duties, and no conscription laws would have ended and the state come under French rule. So Ranier was more or less duty bound to take a wife—al- though the financial syndicates; which are the real power in the four square miles of the princi- pality, did not want just any old marriage. Because of these demands Ranier broke off his romance with the French actress Gisele Pascal in 1952 after a friendship which had lasted five years. The semi-official explanation for the end of the romance was that Miss Pascal had no royal blood, an explanation which overlooked the fact that the prince’s grandfather had mar- ried an actress without any com- plaints being made. So great became the wedding clamor that last October the prince was forced to take the undignified course of broadcast- ing to the population on the sub- ject. “The question of my mar- riage,” he declared, “which rightly preoccupies you, inter- ests me, believe me, just as much and more.” : At that time Miss Kelly was already being mentioned as # prospective wife. In March Ra- nier had conducted her round his private zoo. Miss Kelly wa suitably impressed. Father Tuck- er, the cheerful grey eminence © the Monaco court, gave his O.B: The hoteliers rubbed the? well-groomed hands with glee: This was a romance with an Un questionable cash-register ring: And the publicity which has fol- lowed the announcement of the wedding is surely proof of the}¥ point. So this Wednesday, when the — Hollywood actress, daughter © an Irish-American millionaité becomes the wife of the 15t# cousin of Queen Elizabeth, thé hoteliers might well murmur: “There by the grace of Kelly goes our bank balance.” Miss Kelly’s father had some” what ambiguously remarked! “She went over there to make ® picture called Catch a Thief and look what she came back witb- There doesn’t seern much we c4? add to that. APRIL 20, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 4