OPEN FORUM

Trade with China

WOODWORKER, Vancou- ver, B.C.: There has been much talk .of late about the pos- sibility of increasing our lum- ber trade with China, thus solv- ing the question of dwindling markets in the United States and Britain. :

How realistic is such talk? Does China really need our lumber?

An artcle by Toronto Globe and Mail staff reporter Wil- liam Kinmond, datelined Har- bin, explains why China needs to import lumber at the pres- ent time.

China, where more types of trees grow than in any other country, suffers from the fact that in the past timber was felled without any attempt at reforestation. In addition the Japanese, during their 14 years’ occupation, cut down more than 131 million cubic yards of timber without re- planting one tree. And under the Kuomintang a tremendous quantity of timber in Szechuan province was felled and then left to rot for lack of transpor- . tation.

Today, writes Kinmond, lum- ber is almost as precious as diamonds in China.

Since 1950 an overall plan for the protection of forest resources has -been,in effect. sovernment regulations. limit the proportion of trees that can be felled and large-scale reforestation projects are un- der way. Big shelter: belts, called China’s Great Wall of Trees, are being, planted.

It is obvious. that China needs to buy lumber abroad at the present time. Let’s get a part of this vast potential market, and the lumbering in- dustry in B.C. will be assured of prosperity for decades.

‘

Good for bosses

READER, Vancouver, B.C.: The time will come when peo- ple will look back upon these times and wonder how we eould be so stupid. They will wonder why the frightened, insecure, often jobless people did not change things for themselves. The powers that be tell us that change, when it affects .economics, is wicked, and that we are subversive if we even harbor such! thoughts. They tell us that we shouid welcome insecurity and unem- ployment, and tha®even pov- erty has its uses; that the cult of rugged individualism makes for superior people.

They feel that it is’ alto- gether proper for employeis to take the best years of a per- son’s life, and then cast him aside, like gouging the heart out of a watermelon and leav- ing the rest to rot. They think that we should take for grant- ed there beirfg so many things we would like to have and can- not because there are so many people who would like to pro- duce them who are not given the chance. They feel that un- employment and poverty are necessary spurs to achieve

@ ment. We are used to them and

should keep them. But is it not: like getting u€d to an aching tooth?

And have you noticed that those who claim a) hair ‘shirt is comfortable are not wearing one? And those who claim a bed of spikes is just ducky are not sleeping on one. All these .things are good only for the other fellow.

The trouble is no one knows when he will be in the other fellow’s place, so he works hard for the boss, and takes long hours and short pay for granted. He shells out a dole to support those who are kept in reserve to take his job in case he stumbles or complains, and he gives another slice of his earnings to be used against working people in other coun- tries to kéep them from get- ting anything better than he has. This last is called “Put ting out brush fires,” or ‘“De- fending freedom.” All this is just fine — for the employers.

Help, army style

PACIFIST, Vancouver, B.C.: The young man had been with the British troops in ‘Malaya.

“We built compounds for the people who were in danger of

falling under the influence of Communists,” he said “And we surrounded the compounds with armed guards, so that neither Communists or bandits could get at them.”

“And what did: the natives think of that?” we wanted to know.

“The natives there had been getting into a rut,’’he an- swered. “They were permit- ting Chinese businessmen to take over the business in. their country, and they were happy just farming their rice fields: If it hadn’t been for us the Chinese businessmen would have had the tin mines.”

“Instead of the British?” we asked innocently.

“They might even have com- munized ‘them,” he said.

“And given the profits to the natives,” I said..

“Sometimes we had quite a struggle persuading people to move into the compounds,” he said. “They would simply re- fuse to budge from their huts.’

“What did you do then?” we inquired curiously.

“We put explosives under their huts and blew them up huts and all,” he said calmly.

“How barbarous!” we ex- claimed in horror.

“But we did it! for their own good,” he defended.

Hansard would ease job of historians

NEW and important voice

has been added to those caHMing for a Hansard system of verbatim reporting of de- bates of the B.C. legislature.

Dr. Margaret Ormsby, Uni- versity of B.C. history “profes- sor, who is writing an official history of British Columbia from, 1858 to 1958, said that a Hansard would make her job of collecting political material easier. Hers will be the first general history of B.C. written since 1913. It is being sponsored by the B.C. Centennial Com- mittee.

Both Opposition and Gov- ernment members of the legis- lature over the years have cali- ed for verbatim reporting of debates. New weight has been added from this other source; from the historian who sees a gap that should be filled.

“The archives here really contain a splendid collection — it is rich in government rec- ords, private papers of prem- lers and, an amazing collection of private documents of every- one from fur traders to early settlers and on down through tha years,” she said.

“But a handicap is the lack of a Hansard in this province.

Helen Sobell confident recent court ruling will aid husband

OG? on by a mounting

pressure of U.S. and world opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court has set September 1 as the date for its review of the Morton Sobell “‘espionage” case.

(During the’ Rosenberg

“trials Mort bell was al : eeig EG Sea esse \ this week. She had just. come

charged with “conspiracy to commit espionage” and sen- tenced to 30-years imprison- ment. Upon the recomendation of J. Edgar Hoover, chief of the Federal Bureau of Inves- tigation (FBI), Sobell was in-

carcerated in Alcatraz prison ~

in San. Fransisco’ Bay, three thousand miles away from his home and family.)

On September 1 the U.S. Su- preme Caurt will determine, on the basis of new evidence, the right of an American citizen and brilliant scientist, to a new trial. .

Convicted by prejudice and coldwar hysteria, in which per- jured evidence played a key role, Morton Sobell, was sen- tenced to a living death in Al. catraz prison. Ironical as it may seem, Morton Sobell couid probably leave Alcatraz next week if he would:sign an FBI- prepared “confession of guilt’ which among other things would take the U.S. Justice

-Department and its FBI per-

jurers “off the hook.” This Morton Sobell resolutely re- fuses to do.

The decision of the Supreme Court will not only affect the lives of Morton Sobell, his courageous wife, Helen, and

ss

their two lovely children, but will also restore the confidence of millions of freedom loving people in the U.S. and through- out the world, that the rule of decency, justice and law still lives in America.

I had the honor of a brief interview with Helen Sobell

from visiting her husband. On

HELEN SOBELL

her beautiful face I could see the marks of long years of suf- fering and anguished fears, just as she herself related to me the lines on the face of her courageous husband which the stone and steel of Alcatraz

“write m with the years.

As I talked with Helen So- bell I remembered other great American women who had left their indelible pioneering _im- print upon human dignity and emancipation; “Mother” Jones, “Mother” Bloor, Joe Hill’s

. “Rebel Girl’ Gurley Flynn. I

felt I was meeting them, again.

Helen Sobell is confident that the extensive evidence prepared by the Committee to Secure Justice for Morton So- bell, which. includes official testimony by the Mexican goy- ernment :on the true nature of Sobell’s illegal kidnapping on Mexican territory by FBI agents, in gross violation of U.S. -. Mexican extradition treaties, plus recent important rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court on the victims of the in- famous Smith Act “trials,” will be of great assistarice in reaching a decision favorable to her husband.

Had some of these Supreme Court rulings been in effect four years ago, especially on the right of the citizen to in- voke the “Fifth Amendment” of the Constitution in defence of the rights of the citizen, it might have saved Ethel and Julius Rosenberg from being judicially murdered by the Justice Department. “Four years aftev,” said Helen Sobell, “I:am hoping they will help save my husband from the tyranny of perjured evidence.” _Helen Sobell expressed her happiness at the great en- couragement she was receiv- ing from all classes of people in her efforts to secure justice

‘for her husband.

‘People who at the beginning Were against us,” she said, “are now understanding better what is at stake, and are helping us in many ways.” :

TOM McEWEN .

_tries-on B.C. also has be

ye

It would give us a more com plete picture of political de velopment. There was vely full newspaper coverage of de bates for many years, but noW we have to depend on the House Journals, even orders of the day, and ion scanty news; paper coverage.

“But they have a wonderful newspaper index here and an amazingly good. collection © micro-filmed newspapers, ae we have had access to officlé and departmental records.”

Dr. Ormsby and her assist- ants started work on the © ficial history last summer 42 will be cloistered in the arch ives all this year, They have filled six large wooden boxe of notes already “and theté will be a lot more before thé summer is through,” Dr. Orms” by said.

The book, 400 pages of ? political, social and economl history of the province, W} be out July 1, 1958. Dr. OrmsbY will -have a terrific job of co™ densing and interpreting h® tons of notes before then.

“T'want it to be broader tha? a political history — to tell thé story of what the people have done, and there have bee? many ‘exciting and colorft’ events and people in »: background,” she added. he book will not be written as 4 academic reference book, icf is intended for general publi consumption. .

A delightful feature will Df its illustrations. — engravings photographs and political c# toons taken from newspaPp? dating back to 1790. t

Dr. Ormsby was born 2 Quesnel, B.C., but the famil} moved away when she wat three weeks old. She spent 4 her young years at Vern! where her family still live She received her B.A. and a at UBC, then took her Ph i with a-thesis on B.C. histomy at the famous women’s Oe lege in: the United States, Bry Mawr. Dr. Ofmsby then taué at McMaster University, Hee ilton, for three years bef? coming to UBC in 1943. — “

Dr. Ormsby has writte many articles on Canadian a B.C. history, has edited te bulky annual reports of aa Okanagan Historical Socie’’ from 1948-1954, is past pres dent of the British ColumPy Historical Association which re trying to promote interest } local history. ‘ie

“British Columbia’s turbr lent history centres around ¥ fabulous resources — gover ee ments always having had t task of finding the money develop these resources an attendant lines of communl( tion, and opposition par playing hob when mista were made or which ee thought were made,” she S41"

“The impact of other cov

jf quite noticeable. A stron British tradition with equa strong Canadian and Americ? ; social forces have been’ fish” |

ing it out,’ she added.

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July 19, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE ”