Political prospect for storm, not stability, says LPP letter

TORONTO — “The prospect ahead in Canadian politics and economy is not of stabil- ity — but of increasing storminess. The Tory party is the party of monopoly capital and has replaced the Liberals as the chief political instrument — the executive committee — of big business, The conflict between monopoly and its Tory government, and the needs of our country and its people, will become sharp in the next period of time.”

This is the conclusion drawn by the national executive of the Labor-Progressive party in a letter sent to all its com- mittees and clubs last week.

Examining the results of the March 31 federal election, the letter notes:

“It would be wrong to play down the extent of the Tory parliamentary victory, or to dismiss the large Liberal vote. In the 1953 and 1957 elections, 80 per cent of the ballots were cast for Tory and Liberal can- didates. On March 31, this rose to 87 percent—54 percent for the Tories and 33 percent for the Liberals.

“The CCF vote dropped slightly from 11 percent of the 1957 vote to 10 percent of the 1958 vote. The LPP vote re- mained about the same, pro- portionately, as in the 1957 election, and was lower than in 1953.

“Social Credit dropped from 5 percent to 2 percent.

“Tt is important to see the unrepresentative nature of the capitalist voting system — for example 54 percent of the popular vote gave the Tories 80 percent of the parliamen- tary seats. :

“These figures show that the capitalist parties are still in command of politics, and labor still has to find the way to ex- press its class interests in parliament and to unite with farmers. They show, too, that the struggle for independent working class political action is a long and complex one, and that there are no easy shortcuts.

“The capitalist two-party system operates to prevent the growth of labor political action by offering to the workers an alternative in the shape of another capitalist party.

“Thus, when the Liberals lost some public spuport after 22 years in office, it was nec- essary for monopoly to win back this support through the Tory party- This is what Dief- énbaker did, and the most im- portant single effect of his campaign of promises was to head off genuine labor farmer expression.

“Many workers voted Tory under the influence of this de- ception—but it must also be said that reforms they voted for and which the Tories promise, were and are quite real and are urgently demand- ed by the people. This is the weak spot of the Tory govern- ment.

“When the working class and farm voters see through the deception of the capitalist two-party system, they will move into independent politi- cal action.”

The letter notes that the CCF leadership, “which has moved to the right since the 1956 CCF convention,” re- jected all proposals for united labor-farmer political action.

“Instead they competed with the Liberals, on capitalist party terms to replace them as the “opposition” in parliament.

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They spurned unity. Their platform was hardly disting- uishable from the Liberals’. Thus, they betrayed the poli- tical class interests of the workers and actually assisted the Tory election strategy.”

The letter also points out that the LPP, both before and at its national committee meet. ing last February, further de- veloped its united front pol- icy by putting forward “the idea of a working agreement between the unions, farmers’ groups, the CCF and LPP, to nominate and elect genuine people’s fighters to parlia- ment.

“It was clear from the out- set that this proposal — a step to larger unity through a La- bor-Farmer party or some such medium ceuld not be rea- lized in the 60-day election campaign. Nevertheless, it is a practical proposal containing the basic idea of unity and our party, in the campaign, opened it up for discussion in the labor movement.”

The letter termed the great- est weakness of the LPP’s own campaign “the failure to make Canadian indepencence a more central issue.”

Noting that the Conserva- tive campaign “included elie- ments of Canadian indepen- dence” the letter said the LPP itself, “with a fine record of several years of agitation for independence, and first rais- ing it as a central issue, “was wrong in not continuing to place it in the forefront of its election campaign.

In conclusion, the le‘ter said it would be a mistake “to think that there is any harmony be- tween what .the people who voted Tory really voted for, and what the Tories will do. Actually, on Canadian inde- pendence, peace, action to protect workers and farmers from economic crisis, the Tories will obey the command of big business.”

That is why it was so im- portant for the LPP “to de- mand that the Tories come through with their promised reforms and live up to the expectations of the thousands of working people who voted for them, believing they ‘should be given a chance.”

% A giant 165-foot jumping tower has been built a

Stadium for the centennial ski jumping tou spt May 1-3. Special ice-making machines will be mov ets the stadium next week. Some 30 world-famous !

~will participate in the event.

Gert Whyte's

SPORTLIGH

wr: opening of the local racing season just around the corner (May 16 is the date) horseologists are mailing their entries to a Name the Foal contest being staged by a daily newspaper, in the hope of picking up $50 plus a pair of season passes.

The colt this year is a son of Ky Lea, out of Charlobelle, so there’ll likely be a hundred- odd racing buffs sending in Ky Belle as their selection. But how about something like Ky Yippee, Kyack or Folderol?

$e bos 533

All’s_ right for. Vancouver fans in the sports world. Van- couver Mounties got away to a flying start in the Pacific Coast League; Vancouver Can- ucks won a_ tough series against Winnipeg; and B.C. Lions for the first time since they entered the WIFU in 1954 appear to have a team that could make the playoffs next fall.

Set ’em up for everybody, bartender. No, no, the dime glasses will do!

% os xt

An item of interest to those people (and they are legion) who believe that amateur box- ing should be made safer for youngsters.

Rules for boys’ boxing in the Soviet Union have been tight- ened up- No lad under the age of 15 will be allowed to box in tournaments. A knockdown will in future end the bout. The points verdice will go to the youngster who had the ad- vantage in skill and tactics.

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From this corné: Mot but appplause for the move.

Te eee sf

For a guy who § i" the suggestion of a CO” pl er, the antics of te oo Bearg club members #* "ol Bay every New Ye# : fo send shivers of puwe # up and down my SP i chilblains even watchiné on TV. 1

Now, in Soviet weekly we that similar screwP in the USSR. It |i? enough to shatter oDe® socialism. What sort oa ip? am I building for ™Y Socialist Canada? ‘ J

On a recent sub-zet® bs @@’, in Moscow 50 men 4 en in swim togs * wt} across the snow and Po into the ice-free 1a0© jo? Moscaw River, while id ands cheered. (Didnt jeer?)

“They swim in the e twice a week, whate¥ rd weather,” reports SOV” ly, and quotes som swimmers’ comments: ff

Pavel Supruno, 46: been swimming in > 4 for the last three yea® wonderful and dont F ber when I had a cold if

Pantelei Shatalov, or you heard of Ivan * wi a poet who lives i® His father lived © ff and for 87 years of ni swam in the Northe™® og! both summer and ws

Quick, Watson, 4 leave out the ice-cuP®

A April 25, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE? |