| Return the surplus

As B.C.’s Minister of Finance, Premier Bennett, wound.

up his fiscal year of 1964-65 with a budget surplus of $53.4-million. Not bad at all. In making the announce- ment the Premier wore his most fetching smile and got in a good plug for this fine result of his “dynamic society”.

Behind the glamor of this surplus (and largely be- cause of it), there is not a municipality in British Colum- bia which is not feeling the pinch of mounting tax bur- dens, mounting costs, and general financial stringency. A condition rendered all the more acute by the fact that per capita grant returns to municipalities by the Socred government are doled out more in the form of poltical alms, than as a basic government responsibility.

With this heralded surplus tucked away in his “dy- “namic”’ jeans, now is an appropriate time to repeat a few ideas for: its immediate disposal, to return it to the hard-pressed municipalities to help reduce their tax bur- dens and enable them to carry forward their most press- ing social and community needs.

Another idea might include a whacking reduction of the sales tax gouge. However, since WAC’s surplus is largely achieved by short-changing the hard-pressed municipalities, restitution in that context should have first priority. 3 ~

Our ‘bloody’ imports

pyery so often the half-hearted boycott of South Afri- » can products is resurrected, and more than every so often, promptly forgotten.

Most big chain store shelves are literally loaded with the food products of racist South Africa, as are the shelves of government liquor stores with its wines, etc.

In its recent Statement of External Trade for 1964 the Socred government shows South Africa third on the list of origin in its “Food, Feed, Beverages and Tobacco” imports. Actually S.A. should be second on this list, since “Central America and the Caribbean”’ trade areas consti- tute more than one country of origin.

_ Obviously British Columbians have a taste for food and drinks well spiked with the blood, torture and mis- ery of millions of African peoples, otherwise these goods would remain on the chain shelves—and the LCB left to drink its own bloody “Paarl”.

Tom ~McEWEN

Millions suffered and died in that war to “make the world safe, . .,” not for democracy, but for the international monopoly cartels of both sides who stood to win — regardless of which side ‘lost.’

That was 51 years ago, When the ‘Big Four’ peacemakers of World War 1 were emerging from their labours of concocting a *‘peace;’ Lloyd George of Bri- tain, Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson of the

| U.S. and M, Orlando of Italy,

ifty-one years ago this week,

on August 4, 1914, the guns of World War 1 proclaimed the insanity of man with their opening prelude to four years of death and destruction,

It was to be a “war to end war,” to “make the world safe for democracy,” to create a world “fit for heroes to live in” and so forth ad infinitum, From every poster and billboard, with pointed finger and steely glare, Lord Kitchener shouted at every passerby, “your King and country

need YOU,” caught the essence of their de-

liberations,

Behind one of the stately pil- lars of Versailles as the ‘Big Four’ emerged, a little child hides, weeping, “Me thinks,” says the old ‘Tigre’ of France, Potdammer family” from Kaiser “I hear a child weeping.” He Bill down to the palace dach- ‘did. It was the ‘child’ destined hund to die 21 years later in its

“Hun atrocities” were ladelled out by the pageful, and woe be- tide the *unpatriotic” citizen who didn’t join in the Hell’s chorus of damning the whole “damn

an eminent French cartoonist -

Mass demonstrations by tens of thousands of Grecians are pre- venting an open takeover by Fascist forces in that country, Central issue in the crisis rocking Greece is whether the nation’s duly elected Prime Minister or its King heads the government,

King Constantine, whose mother during the thirties was a member of the Hitler Youth, arbitrarily ousted mildly liberal Premier George Papandreou and replaced him with ultra-rightist Athanasiadis Novas,

When mass demonstrations protesting this challenge to democracy broke out, police in- tervened and a young student demonstrator was killed, Des- pite the threat of further police brutality more than 150,000 people took part in the student’s funeral procession,

Since the King’s dictatorial action on July 15, the Greek Parliament has been the scene of almost continual bedlam, with Novas constantly seeking, but

Dead at 68

PETTIS PERRY, internationally known Communist and U.S. Negro leader, passed away in Moscow July 24 at age 68. At the peak of McCarthyite repression, he shared with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn the major leadership of the U.S. Communist Party. 4

millions in World War 11, be- cause these same ‘peacemakers’ had already planted the evil seed of a Hitler, a Mussolini, a Hiro- hito, which their class suc- essors were to assiduously cul- tivate in preparation for a still greater harvest of death and destruction,

In one of his recent speeches on the U,S, war on Vietnam (now officially declared as such) President Johnson reminded his audience that the “U.S, has twice saved Britain,” and since every- one knows that the U.S, “won? both world wars, all that needs to be recalled on this anniversary is that both wars had been going for nearly three years before the U.S, got around to being not “too proud to fight,”

Needless to add however, these years were immensely profitable to the U.S, merchants of death, since their ‘neutrality’ permitted

gigantic sales of war material to ‘both sides,’

Almost to the day of this his- toric anniversary of 51 years ago, with two world wars and a lot of ‘brushfire’ warsand killing in between in an effort to hang onto an old order, President

"People of Greece protest — ‘grave threat to democracy

Pictured above is a tiny section of a huge throng of 150,000 people who tu! out to mourn the death of student Petroula Sotiris, killed in a street clash

police.

failing to get a vote of confidence by Parliament in thenew regime.

As the PT went to press, re- ports were coming in that fist fights had broken out in Parlia- ment, making it necessary for

fidence yote will be held lat

police to enter the chambe f and quell heated tempers.

It is expected that the co!

on this week, Meanwhile, a people continue to demonstra

Postal workers must get union rights, says CPC

Canada’s postal employees should gét the full wage increase they are asking for, plus the un- qualified right of genuine collec- tive bargaining, says a press re- lease issued by the national exec- utive of the Communist Party of

ganized labor movement 3° whole.” ;

Th¢ postal service picture ee mains somewhat cloudy. JU? J.C, Anderson, appointed PY

government to mediate thes

eanada. is now expected to hand ee ‘ : ae preliminary recommen The statement says; The this’ Week ~ Some ute

right to bargain collectively through union organization and its accompanying right to strike are inseparable, They are an elementary right, The federal government has absolutely no justification for its present denial of this right to the postal workers,

are forecasting a $550 any increase for the posties, bY Judge has failed to verify prediction,

Meanwhile, ominous sound are coming out of Ottawa “drastic action” is beiné a sidered by the government ¥ attempt to force back tyre the 4,100 workers in M0 who have remained 0?

“Compelling the government to concede the right to genuine col- lective bargaining to the postal workers will strengthen the or-

a8? For example, 2 feW a

to be precise, on JUY rggn leading Hanoi newSPaP™’ gop: Dan’ ran a lengthy ee : gratulating the peoples os" and heroic defenders ati (ul Vietnam on the 0 gown © 25) of their shooting ig ti” 400th U.S, plane Vi0 1 cociah sovereignty, peace ee. nv ist construction of the! “— and people,

Johnson’s confirmation last week that the U.S. is now making its murder of Vietnamese, the aged, the youth and the babe-in-arms, an “official” war, indicates an escalated insanity, far in excess of that proclaimed by the guns of August 4, 1914,

In military jargon since the advent of aerial warfare from World War 1, “all our planes returned safely” and similar phoney reassuring formulae, provides a military censorship with a ready cover-up of the grim results of their insanities from the folks ‘back home,’ But it only serves to delay, rather than erase the stark truth,

And covers the Nor of the Pentagon’s returned safely’ yet, poses an old questi nP how long before Reaso” -over madness?

Editor — TOM McEWEN Associate Editor — MAURICE RUSH Circulation Manager — JERRY SHACK Published weekly at St Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings °” Subscription Rates: monwer Canada, $5.00 one year. North dnd South America and COM countries, $6.00 one year. All other countries, $7.00 one ti. for POY” Qs second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottaw? ment of postage in cash.