Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 31, 1948, Winnipeg, Manitoba Freedom of Trade Liberty of. Religion Equality of civil rights free press Britain s Chance Here with the arrival of a distinguished group of British industrialists in Canada a first hand Survey of the Canadian Market for British products is under Way. The tour which these gentlemen Are making Here involves much More than the usual courtesies and the casual inspection of Canadian conditions which too often have served in the past to give British visitors a superficial or even a misleading impression of the Canadian Economy. Coming Here under the auspices of the British government and using the excellent facilities of the British Trade commissioners from coast to coast the ors intend to find out precisely Why More British goods Are not being sold in Canada and where and How More can be sold. This is of vital importance alike to Britain and Canada since present Trade Between the two nations cannot be considered satisfactory. In the main this is due to the distortion of the world Economy for which neither Britain nor Canada is responsible. In part however it is due to the failure of Britain to take advantage of Canada s demand for British goods. This latter Factor the British industrialists Hope to remedy. When Canada encountered a critical shortage of United states dollars last year it was compelled to restrict the importation of United states goods at a time when Canada needed such goods but lacked the dollars to buy them in the United states. Our system of quotas and embargoes therefore was shaped to encourage a maximum importation of British goods to replace those which we could not afford for the to import from our neighbor. The effect of the Trade restrictions was to Grant Britain temporarily in some lines a highly protected Canadian Market. It had been expected that Britain taking advantage of this Windau would Export heavily to the Canadian Market especially in the textile Field where Canada limited its imports from the United states this year to 32 per cent of the 1947 total. The results so far As British textile imports Are concerned is extremely disappointing. British textiles Are moving into Canada at about a Quarter of the prewar rate. They Are hardly beginning to fill the Canadian demand. Canada is not securing the textiles it wants and Britain is not securing the Canadian dollars it needs to buy Canadian goods. Winnipeg tuesday. August 31, 1948 printed and published by the Winnipeg free press company limited. 300 Carlton Street. Winnipeg. Manitoba. Authorized As second claw matter by. The Post of face department. Ottawa. Victor Sifton Grant Dexter publisher. Executive editor. We. Lord Bruce Hutchiso general manager. Associate editor. Hang on boys there Are More loops ahead. Letter to a Democrat in Ether lines of business notably in such machine pro ducts As automobiles electrical goods and Telephone equip ment the results have been better. The British industrialists now in Canada Are among the most successful producers of 1 these Complex products and they believe that Canada can use Many More of them. To this end British firms have begun at ast to consider the exact demands of the Canadian buyer to make goods precisely suited to his requirements instead of building a product of British design and letting the customer Lake it or leave it. Some of the British machinery imported Here since the War has proved the Best of its sort Ever Avail Able in this country. In the automotive business for Tish firms have begun to provide Complete servicing for their machinery after it has been sold. An expansion of these facilities is essential the business is to Prosper. A a a a Start has been made and no doubt the process will be ipe eded up by the studies of the British on the ground. How far Britain has yet to go in taking advantage of the Canadian Market is indicated by a few simple figures printed elsewhere on this Page. Canada imported millions Worth of goods from Britain in the first half of this year an increase of millions Over last year s figure but rising prices account for most of the increase. The expectations of the Canadian government when it relied on much heavier British imports have not been fulfilled. Another thing should be remembered by British exporters present highly protected Market for certain Bri Tish goods Here is artificial unsound in the Long run and temporary. It was created for one reason Only to save United states dollars. The present Canadian. Government is pledged to remove restrictions on United states imports at the earliest possible moment and to go much further than that into a system of real reciprocity with its neighbor. This course offers Canada its Only Chance to escape from the Long term Dollar shortage. It does not mean however that Canada desires less goods from Britain. Quite the contrary the Canadian policy is based on the Hope and expectation of greater Trade throughout the world in which Britain can sell to Canada far More goods than it sold us before the War. But the British exporter cannot count Long on the direct Protection he is now receiving in the Canadian Market. He will be Wise to establish his product Here to create a continuing demand for it so that he May still sell it when he has to face Sharp Competition from the United states and per haps from other countries. The presence of the distinguished group of British industrialists who have begun their Canadian Survey indicates that they and the British government Are becoming aware of these facts. But whose real Aims Are too Well known to be disguised. It challenges South Africa s Constitution because it is modelled on British parliamentary traditions opposes the economic and political influence of the non dutch ele ments in the Community is anti semitic and has As its ultimate aim the domination of the coun try by the afrikaans. These plans May seem fantastic in a society of less than members and they certainly Are not capable of Early fulfilment. But its membership with key positions in the civil ser vice and business with support from the dutch reformed Church and with four members in pre Mier Malan s Cabinet has already Given a formidable hint of its Power. The Man who Defeated marshal Smuts in his own Riding in the last election had been dismissed from the civil service because he belonged to this society. In 1944 marshal Smuts said it is Clear that the Broede Bond is a danger Ous cunning political fascist organization of which no civil ser vant if he is to his loyalty to the. State and the administration can be allowed to be a Mem that this verdict was True Only increased the Rancour and hostility of the society driving it to work All the harder to Over throw the Smuts government. South Africa s racial prob lems Are deeply rooted. The coun try whose majority is coloured and economically submerged is con trolled by a m i n o r i to of White people sharply divided among rumours in Ottawa or. St. Laurent s Cabinet 0 Ottawa while Ern Canadian some East newspapers timing the Jay walkers respect for one another s rights on the streets Between motorists Nril pedestrians will never be developed in Winnipeg Imless some fresh ideas on traffic regulation Are produced by the traffic Board and put into effect by the police. The reason Why traffic has always been so poorly handled City is that responsibility for observing the experience in United Sta Tes cities where traffic control Means something is that effective traffic handling is achieved by 1 Good rules which fair rights to both pedestrians and motorists and 2 rigid enforce ment. The Public has trained. In other cities pedestrians learn to Cross the streets at intersections and obey the traffic lights. At All Busy intersections there Are walk Waif signs. And motorists learn that they must obey it could happen Here. But in Winnipeg pedestrians wander Over the streets almost at will. They Are Seldom checked be cause there arc no proper regulations for them. There Are plenty of regulations for motorists but the fact that Are not obliged to conform throws the sys tem out of gear. Winni Eggers too Are beginning to realize that there can be no effective vehicle control in this themselves. Only political Wisdom can preserve a proper equipoise Between these various races and religions. With All his faults mar Shal Smuts had a far better rec Ord in this Field than the new administration will Likely achieve. The Broede Bond seeks to touch old antagonisms with flame. That is Why its influence is so evil and Why its repudiation by the Maian government is needed As proof that it has freed itself from this secret and sinister pressure. As yet there Are no signs of any such declaration being made. City without pedestrian control Al so. But the City traffic officials not seem to know where to Start with pedestrian control. They Are afraid it will be unpopular. The City of Portland Oregon some time ago also had doubts about pedestrian control but its growing traffic problem made it necessary to do something. Traffic officials found that warnings were not very effective in training people to Cross the streets with the. Lights at intersections. So they began imposing fines. These fines were greatly resented As undoubtedly they would be Here. So the Portland traffic com missioner offered an alternative. Those who broke the rules and did not want to pay the Fine were Iven the option of attending a tuesday evening traffic school where the traffic rules the Rea sons for them and the dangers of disobeying them were made Abun Dantly Clear. It was. A Case of pay ing a 52 Fine or spending two hours learning the rules. Saboteur of National Unity among the More disturbing aspects of South african affairs is the influence of secret societies based on race and religion and working under cover against the Unity of the state. The most important of these societies is the afrikaner Broede Bond which claims to be of More than a society interested in dutch culture or. Bell Calls it democracy the conservative party has Felt it necessary to put its Able Young National director or. Richard Bell on the air to declare again that its forthcoming convention will be entirely democratic. This or. Bell has asserted in the most general. Terms. But the pro posed pre election rules As out lined on this Page a few Days ago so far have not been altered. Under these rules a Large proportion of the convention delegates will not be elected by any meeting of local conservative supporters but will be chosen by provincial executives by the Bosses of the party. The delegates thus chosen should be numerous enough to decide who is the new party Leader i their Choice is not difficult whether which make a mockery of or. Bell s assurances will be altered before the Conven Tion is not known but presumably not for the appointed non elected delegates already Are being chosen or have been chosen. Concerning arrangements or. Drew for one has made no com plaint. Have interpreted or. King s last Public statement As meaning that he will remain in or. St. Laur ent s government after resigning As prime minister there has been no word of confirmation in. Official quarters. On the other hand there is nothing in or. King s statement to deny this Rumor. Or. King has announced simply that he will resign As prime min ister after his trip to Europe and Britain at the convenience of or. St. Laurent. Presumably there or. St. Laurent will decide the Date on which a new govern ment be fore the new year and certainly before parliament meets a g a i n. So far As this statement goes or. King could take office in the new administration. It is suggested mostly in conservative circles that or. King May be a minister without port Folio or president of the Council a Post which would involve no departmental duties but would enable him by sitting in the Cabinet to offer it the Benefit of his unequalled experience in Public affairs. In the role of elder states Man it is said he would be con stantly available for consultation with or. St. Laurent and his ministers in a period which is bound to be difficult for any govern ment. No information special correspondence believe the opening of this Nev chapter has been delayed by or King s decision to attend the United nations Assembly in Pari and a meeting of prime ministers in London. If in addition to postponing the formation of the new government or. St. Laurent decides to retail or. King As a Cabinet colleague Many liberals fear that the Tram sit Ion from the old government t the new May be blurred in the Public mind that the Public maj begin to believe that or. King i still prime minister in everything but name. Damaging Liberal politicians in Ottawa have no Way of knowing whether such a plan has been considered by or. St. Laurent and or. King. Members of the Cabinet have no More information on it than priv ate members of parliament. The matter apparently has not been discussed either in the Cabinet or the party caucus and was not mentioned at the recent Liberal convention. The convention delegates took from or. King s Farewell speech the Assurance that he would re tire not Only from the Post of prime minister but from the government. It was understood that he would retain his present seat in the House of commons until the next election but would take no part in government and Little part in parliamentary debate As it is known that he desires time to Complete his memoirs a task which has been Long postponed against his personal inclinations. For this reason even the Rumor that he May decide after All to remain in the St. Laurent cab inet has been greeted sur prise and incredulity in Liberal circles. Most Liberal politicians find the Story extremely hard to believe and some suspect that it is a canard hatched by the conservative i party to embarrass1 or. Such a feeling if it became Gen eral would be damaging to or St. Laurent whose Best Chance of Success in parliament and in the next election is certain to depend on his ability to demonstrate his own Power of leadership and freely to exercise his own talents which Are very different from those of or. King. If therefore or. King does re main in the government it will be essential for or. St. Laurant to convince parliament and the people that he is in the fullest sense the actual government Leader benefiting by or. King s advice but himself taking the com plete and final responsibility of leadership. Those who know or. St. Laur ent Best believe that he will do so in fact and they assume that or. King will Aid him to that end not Only out of Friendship but because or. King knows better than any Canadian the requirements and responsibilities of the prime min ister s Post. The ability of . Laurent to achieve the dominant position in his party which or. King established for himself is not doubted in the Liberal party. The Conven Tion proved that. What is doubted is that the Public will clearly understand or. St. Laurent s Posi Tion if he has As a colleague n statesman As eminent As or. King. Should this arrangement be Fol Lowed it will obviously be Neces sary for or. St. Laurent to make abundantly Clear to his party to parliament and the Public that he is actually in the Driver s seat and that is a distinguished passenger. It can be taken or granted that the opposition parties if Given the slightest Opportunity will do everything possible to Embarrass or. St. Laurent by. Alleging that or. King actually is still the dominant figure in the Cabinet. Such a Campaign no doubt will be launched by the conservatives As soon As parliament meets or. King is still in the Cabinet at that time. The. Conservatives unquestionably Hope that or King stays on to provide a target to be used against or. St. Laurent. But there has been no indication from or. St. Laurent or or. King that any such Opportunity will be provided for the use of the opposition. As of today the Liberal party under stands that when or. King resigns As prime minister he will become a private member of parliament and a retired gentleman occupied in writing an inside history of our times in Canada. By Bruce Hutchison when president Peron of Argentina took time off from liquidating the opposition in his parliament to Confer the order of Liberator san Martin on Premier Duplessis of Quebec it is to be sup posed that he wrote a covering let Ter of congratulation. South american statesmen Are great sticklers for these Fine Points of protocol. Or. Peron s letter to or Duplessis of course is personal and perhaps none of the Public s business. But it would be interest ing to read just the same. And it is not difficult to imagine the con tents if or. Peron actually let his hair Down and wrote from the heart. As for example the presidential Palace Buenos Aires. His excellency Hon. Maurice Duplessis parliament Quebec Canada. My dear Maurice for some time i have been observing your work and it. Looks mighty Good to me. Your methods of protecting the sacred cause of democracy and maintaining the rights of free men surely deserve Reward. As the Cham Pion of Liberty in South America. I am sending you a medal. We democrats must stick together As the unhappy and Downtrodden Yankees say. The medal i am sending you is not quite first class. I have other better ones in storage and i am confident that if you keep up your Good work i shall be Able o award you our highest Decora Tion the order of Freedom with out opposition before Long. Mean while i am getting in touch with that other chivalrous Knight of Freedom my pal Franco of Spain and recommending that he award you the Emblem of his Span so National sport the order of the Bull. As i said before we democrats must stick together be cause there Are not Many of us Eft. Everywhere Freedom is besieged by subversive ele ments. You will have noted by the press that i am keeping the Taan of Liberty aloft in Argentina by expelling the opposition in Par lament the men who would trample democracy in. The dust by criticizing the government. You May rest assured that so Long As am dictator these forces which a Ould destroy democracy will be crushed. If i have to stand alone against the entire nation i shall enforce democracy despite any majority however Large and subversive. I note that you too have made admirable Progress in the same direction. Your method of crushing the Jehovah witnesses those dangerous reactionaries who imperil the Freedom of Quebec has my Heartiest commendation. I was thrilled to find that you could mobilize in Quebec sufficient Power to Deal with miscreants who threat ened at one time to overthrow constitutional government by handing out tracts on the Street Corners. I am also greatly impressed by your padlock Law and would like to have a copy of it by airmail so that i can Model my own legis lation along the same lines. If we do not put a padlock on the lips of All those who oppose the exist ing government what i ask you is the use of Freedom a govern ment which is powerless to lock up the opposition assuredly cannot be considered a free government. And your record shows that while you have not been is successful As i have so far you have proved that you have More free Dom than any statesman in Canada. You have dared you alone have dared to Chal Enge the Long and bloody record of oppression and slavery which has marked the history of your wretched and unhappy country or which my heart bleeds. If you care to reciprocate my Friendly gesture i shall be glad to receive from you the award of the order of the padlock and in car no the padlock on my breast i shall always be reminded that de Noracy in peril everywhere else s Safe in Quebec so Long As you Are running it single Hamied. I see in the papers some talk about an Axis you Are founding with some unknown persons in Ontario. As i have so often demonstrated i am a Strong advocate the principle i he Axis though the americans quite mis understand my attitude. The More axes the bettor. Good Luck Ami go in your new common front to protect Liberty. Viva democracy Viva Axis Viva padlock Viva Houde sincerely Juan Peron. Dictator and guardian of the people s rights. The straight and n Arrow orthodoxy incorporated i f there is one faint cause tarts and sciences that it was re its rigidity As far As these matters were concerned. Humor was beginning to flourish the stage was developing along strik ing and imaginative lines russian musicians were leading the world with a series of Brilliant compositions which were among the Best advertisements for the soviet for optimism in these bowl Dering times it is the strange be Saviour of the soviet authorities i heir own country. The men we run the Kremlin Are behaving Lik a very nervous Bunch of citizens the test of a nation s internal strength is the degree to which i an permit non conformity no Only in. Politics but in general soc Al attitudes. It is the weakness o a dictatorship and the proof tha t is such a dictatorship that i demands uniformity of opinion rom every Branch its citizen rom top to Bottom. Politically the soviet Union sex ept for the Early years after the revolution has always demanded orthodoxy of its people but in re cent years there were signs Iti the imports from Britain 0 from the Golden books Shelley from Adonais the one remains the Many change and pass heaven s Light forever shines Earth s shadows Fly life like a dome of Many coloured Glass stains the White radiance of eternity until death tramples it. To fragments. Die if thou wouldst be with that which thou Dost seek follow where All is birthdays James Angus Stockton Man born Bruce county ont., aug. 31, 1865. St. Laurent. General he expectation t a the Liberal party As clearly expressed by the attitude of the convention delegates is that or. St. Laurent on taking office will open a new chapter in the party s history and Cut clean with the past. This indeed was the Assur Ance which the convention tried to convey and did convey to the Canadian people. As Many liberals today s scripture every Good tree bring eth Forth Good fruit but a corrupt tree bring eth Forth evil fruit. A Good tree cannot bring Forth evil neither can a corrupt tree bring Forth Good fruit. Every tree that bring eth not Forth Good fruit is Hen Down and cast into the fire. Where fore by their fruits be shall know them. .7 17-20. Ottawa for the first six months of 1948 ending Juni 30, Canada s total imports from the United kingdom were in round numbers this compares with of imports from the United kingdom in the same six months of _ 1947. But the increase of some 000 or about 60 per cent is extremely disappointing since in creased prices account for a Large Par t of s tried Dollar increase re figures of imports from the United kingdom Are not yet available for june. But the figures for the first five months to the end of May 1948, show comparatively Small increase in textile and textile Fibre imports compared to for the same five months of 194.7. When Price rises Are taken into consideration the increase of including textile fibres is far be Low the British Promise to in crease textile yardage exports to Canada. Last year these textiles exports Only totalled some four million Yards the British target this year was Yards. Canada made big cuts in tariffs on the main lines of Cotton textile fabrics and severely limited import of such fabrics from the . the first five months of of such fabrics on which tariffs were Cut came from the United kingdom As against of the same category of Cotton fabrics from the United states. Department of Trade and com Merce figures of Canadian imports from the United kingdom for the first five months of 1948 compared to the Suhie period of 1947 follow 1947 figures in parentheses agricultural and vegetable pro ducts except chemicals fibres and Wool and animal products except chemicals fibres textiles and textile pro Wood Wood products and paper Iron and its products non ferrous metals and their pro non metallic minerals and their products except chemical 533 chemicals and Allied products miscellaneous commodities totals in the Canada s exports to Britain remain almost Static for the first six months of 194s ending june 30, Canada s Otal. Exports to the United King Dom were this com pares with in the same in months period of 1947, an. In crease of Only probably no increase in. Volume at All when Price rises Are a. B. Then with the War Over the Campaign for orthodoxy was pressed anew. The arts were the first to fall under the Hammer. Artists were forced to deny their own ideological error and return to the lines of party doctrine. Taken to task the writer the musician the Painter All Felt the whip of critic ism. The Dean of soviet painters Cor Grabar was taken to task by the Organ of the Young communist league an instrument far More devastating because it is backed by the full authority of the state than the criticism of any Western critic however Shostakovich Mlasovsky Proko ave Khachaturian All musicians of International stature were among those summoned to appear t the january meeting of the Cen ral committee of the communist arty. The leading soviet producer Vas another called on the carpet or non conformity to the artistic standards of the soviet Union. More recently the writer paint is and musicians having recanted and promised to mend their ways tie scientists have come in for treatment. Four russian genetic to whom professor Anton Zebrak is a scientist of great Eminence have a been forced to disavow the theories on which their previous work has been ased and accept those More fax red by the ruling class of the Oviet Union. The world is poorer for the treatment handed out the soviet artist but the direct loss from this onslaught on science can be Meas red in immediate and practical Erms for the treatment handed professor. Zebrak is the result of of a scientific dispute among dentists but a political Victory by politically ambitious scientist in state where politics Are Allim a Octant. I it does not matter apparently o the soviet authorities that they have Given Victory in the world of science to a second class political Hack and driven into denial of his truths a Man of International reputation. They prefer at what Cost the world Only can guess subservience to Independence. The Price the russians and the world May have to pay for this unwillingness to accept anything but the palatable fact was illustrated in the nazi dictatorship where Hitler gradually shut him self from reality by punishing those who would Lell him the truth. If soviet diplomats Are Asun Able to report the facts As the soviet scientist is and must Only give their masters in Moscow such evidence As fits the Laws and the ories of Marx then the world might be plunged into ruin on that account alone. It the fact that within Russia itself the truth must be twisted to fit the theories the authorities is cause at least for the rest the world to be Lieve that things Are not going As Well in Moscow As Moscow would have us believe. To demand party orthodoxy in science Means that the science cannot grow and develop to de Mand it in the arts Means that the system is too Brittle to stand the Impact of criticism. That it least is a Good sign for the rest of us. Straight theft b along with the present Campaign has been the claim that the discoveries of Western inventors such As Marconi Watt Edison and others Are nothing More than the straight theft of russian achieve ments. This again does not matter much except insofar As it shows the lengths to which the russian sys tem must go to bolster popular morale in the russian state. Not so Many years ago it the Hope of Western liberals that the soviet system would gradually be Able to relax its tight grip on he russian people and allow them the luxury of Freedom. For a time As the arts and sciences received he Opportunity to develop along Ines of their own choosing t seemed As though this indeed might happen. Now h appears that Reedom not Only cannot grow in he soviet soil but that it cannot even b. W ;