Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 9, 1966, Winnipeg, Manitoba Does nominating system 1 lawyer considers adoption of primary elections a Winnipeg lawyer j. F. Foj sol Livow is a former Campaign Cha Man of the provincial Liberal party and co chairman of the party s National committee on organization. 6y j. F. O Sullivan a recent suggestion by Arthur e. So Guin Independent member of the Quebec legislature Calls for a form of primary elections in Canadian polities. He asks that candidates political office should be selected by primary elections rather than by the present system of political conventions which he says Are often ringed. Tinder the primary system voters who want to Register As of a political party could do would have an Opportunity to participate in the selection of a party s candidate by voting in a government supervised primary election. The suggestion merits careful consideration. 11 could contribute in a vital Way to the maintenance in Canada of stronger political party organization by broadening the base of c o n i Luncy associations arid by bringing system into candidate selection procedures that parties in Canada need strengthening should be obvious Loi anyone who is in touch with the state of political organization in the country. We Are not Only in danger of fragmentation through the multiplication of splinter and regional parties even in the. Older established parties the liberals conserva Tives and nip there is an appalling Lack of citizen participation and party loyalties in most parts of the country Are so weak that we face everywhere the Prospect of new and untried political groups taking Over provincial governments Ami sending woes to parliament. A political Fli Rale which can see 26 credit social members elected to Parlia ment from Quebec in a Short Campaign of which can see a new Man like Aberhart overnight t a k e Over the. Government of a province is a which cannot but give concern id those who value stable government. Our parliamentary system depends for its viability on a party Strong to con mind the support of a working majority in the legislature and at least one .1. Of o suf cuban Strong opposition party which is generally accepted As a credible alternative to the party in Power. Contrary to the assume peking acts ruthlessly to crush opposition by John Kirkwood Hong Kong staff China watching. An Earnest of observers in Hrog Kong is not an easy business. By examining communist chinese newspapers a n d periodicals interpreting the statements of radio peking and the new China news Agency talking with recent arrivals from China and often by educated guessing foreign correspondents and scholarly observers Are generally Able to build up a fairly accurate picture of the Broad Over All events taking place in China today but the system often Breaks Down. Take the Case recently of observers who confidently reported that communist party chairman Mao tsp Tung was quite definitely dead. The very next Day China released a photograph show ing a smiling seemingly healthy chairman Mao embracing the visiting Alban Ian Premier. And frequently travellers arriving Here from Canton gloomily report that China is definitely preparing for armed invasion by the United states by digging vast networks of under ground air raid shelters and by mounting anti aircraft guns on the roofs of build Ings in the cities and by massing tens of thousands of troops in Southern Border regions particularly along the Frontier with North Viet Nam. Dutifully observers Here note the reports and pass them on to the Western world. But. A bit be singly other travellers arrive Here to contradict their counterparts by reporting exactly the. Opposite however China watchers internal political affairs no evidence of air raid shelters or guns of mass troop movements Field Day in the weeks a o w v e r China watchers have Boon having a Field Day trying to interpret the country s simmering intern Al problems. And this time the usually reticent except for propaganda that is Iladio peking and new China news Agency Are making no secret of the fact that China is indeed undergoing a severe period of trial in her in Strnal poli Lieal affairs. So far two facts have come to Light the chinese communist party is indulging in a wide free Wheeling purge of its own members. A. Likely successor to the ageing chairman Mao has emerged from the ranks of the rival contenders. What has been happening in the vast secretive land across the River the Brood sealed off giant which could Well hold the future of the entire world in its hands the present have so far been aimed specifically at an element referred to As representing Bourgeois and revisionist Cul Ture within the communist party. Now be called a Ruvi Monist in China today is just. The worst thing that can happen to anyone. To be called Bourgeois is not much better. Menacingly the parly has turned on intellectuals artists editors h i s t o r playwrights poets even in Short anyone who has dared to criticize or even question the leadership of chairman Mao and his handling of the revolution Ary cause. Among those who have Felt the keen Blade of the axe have been Teng to former editor in chief of the poking people s daily and considered China s Foremost journalist accused of being anti parly and a n t i thru k u o Mojo regarded As China s top Intel has publicly made an agonizing and humiliating self criticism of his past sins in questioning chairman Mao s leadership a. Move which most observers Sre was coldly calculated and engineered by the party to dramatize the current purges of the so called anti party d Middle of the Road writers. Writers. Recently the parly described purged officials of peking University the key Centre of communist Cul nothing More than Bourgeois royalists who were plotting a return to capitalism at the same time the editorial boards of peking s three newspapers were sacked because the party claimed the had used their publications to push the revisionist counter revolution Ary line of several writers. Most dramatic. And in us most dramatic move of All the party quietly sacked one of its most powerful and influential members Peng Chen the mayor of peking since 1951, and believed to have occupied the number six position in the communist party Hierarchy. Peng who was reported fired along with a top general who led an anti Mao movement within the ranks of the army occupied the Post of first Secretary of the communist party Central committee and As such was the immediate Superior of two of the purged writers. His Post peking radio has announced has been filled by Lihsueh Fengo but no statement has been made regarding Peng who has not been seen in Public for months. The exact reasons behind the current purging Are not yet Crystal Clear in All their complexities and behind the scenes Mamun irvings. Jubilantly and predict ably some officials of the in Taipei have seen them As evidence of wholesale discontent by the chinese masses and the first step toward the retaking of the Mainland by Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek. Such thinking is patently Over optimistic but there does appear to be some discontent arid the for rent professional or commercial office space in air conditioned building Logan and Keewatin. Phone or. Harper up 2-5847 party obviously aware of it has acted swiftly and sternly in an apparent Effort to suppress it in the Early stages. Radio peking already Speaks of 95 per cent of the supporting chair Man Mao s leadership. But an opposition group five per cent could mean As Many As 35 million people opposed to Mao which could provide the government with severe headaches in the future. Probably what worries the party most of All is that with communist China now in its 16th year As a people s r c p u b 1 i c t he Post liberation generation grow ing up has never experienced the hardships and sufferings undergone b y their elders in the Days before the revolution. Thus party leaders Rea son the younger Coule of today despite heavy indoctrination child Hood might Well see. No reason to uphold tire revolutionary cause and might rebel against the party line. And certainly the decision to Start the purging within the party must have been triggered to. A great extent by the internal Power Strug Gle Over who will succeed chairman Mao who is now 72 and reported to be seriously ill. To Dale observers see the struggle As a Clear Cut Victory of marshal Lin Piao China s defence minister and Boss of the army. The dismissal of mayor Peng Chen has been widely hailed As a Victory for marshal Lin and it s re ported the purges were actually started by marshal Lin operating through the newspaper liberation army daily. To Many marshal Lin has even How emerged Fly the most powerful Man in All of China and the undoubted successor to chairman Mao. And adding fuel to this travellers is riving Here these Days from can ton report that new propaganda posters have blossomed on the Walls of buildings in chinese cities and towns. The posters they say Bear the portraits of chair Man Mao and marshal Lin. The captions underneath say Long live chairman Mao Long live Lin fishing is getting expensive in by James Conway London up fishing is getting More expensive Alt the time for the average briton. There is no Way of finding out How Many fishing enthusiasts there Are in the country but rough estimates put them at Between and 000 and the number is increase affluence is the cause of the Boom and the cause of com plaint. Prime stretch e s of River lakes pools flooded quarries and pits Aro being snapped up by Rich business men. Small clubs and groups of enthusiasts have traditional fishing snatched away from them. When leases come up Tor renewal rents Are in creased in some cases As much of 10 or 20 times. They Are being bought up by business combines. Landowners along the Banks of the Salmon Rivers like the scottish Tay or on Hampshire River known. As. The Queen of the English Trout have found it More thaa profitable to sell out to Rich fishing clubs. A Day s fishing on the exclusive reaches of the Tay can j Cost plus a lip in the form of a bottle of whisky for the services of a knowledgeable Boatman. In their own defence the Pri vate clubs say Many of the popular pools and Rivers Are Over fished. The clubs can re strict catches and replenish Stock during the closed season. Problems press in on the sport Fisherman All sides. Industrial pollution is fouling Many off fish and driving local fishermen farther afield. Disused quarries and gravel prize by Small boys and weekend dab being filled with waste and rubbish. Yachtsmen canoeists water skiers and skin diver s have interests that largely conflict with the Angler s quiet Fisher men protest usually in vain that other water users could arrange not to interfere with them. There is no unified body to fight British anglers Battles for them. However a move ment among fishermen for a National Angling association is gaining support. Sports minister Denis Howell is being urged to turn the at Tention of his year old sports Council towards Angling s com plaints. Proposals for a country wide plan allocating various seasons and areas to water sports have been put Forward the most revolutionary being the nationalization of fishing rights. The fishermen s parliamentary Champion Ted Garrett labor member for the North of England Riding of Wallsend on Tyne believes that if the government took control of fishing it could open the sport to every one As w e 11 As protecting spawning grounds and prevent ing Over fishing. Tion of some naive democrats p a r i a m c n t a r y government just will not work effectively without Strong political parties. In England and in the United Stales stable parties flour ish but it is not by Accident that they exist in those countries. There is not Only a tradition of partisan loyalty but also a party Structure in those countries that involve Large numbers of people. In Canada on the other hand party structures generally Are ineffective and disorganized. Reform essential my experience in the Liberal party which is the parly slut has been Able Over the years to attract More supporters than any other in Canada leads me to believe that a Reform of party Structure is essential to the preservation of the party s y s t e m in our country. In theory live Liberal party like the other parties is a voluntary association of citizens who participate in presenting candidates and policies for the consideration of the Public. In fact in Many parts of the country parly Organiza Tion is haphazard and spotty and nominating procedures Are chaotic. When i became Campaign chairman of the provincial Liberal party in 1050, i found that coast Lutency associations were completely lacking in numbers of constituencies although Only a year earlier the party had been in Power. In seven Ridings i personally had to Call nominating conventions and determine who should receive n o t i c e s of the meetings. In the recent provincial election in Manitoba the candidates in a number of were chosen by one or iwo men. Often non resident without any Opportunity being Given to party supporters to have an effective voice in who their candidate should be not unique when i was for a Short time in 1963-4 co chairman of the National committee on organization of the lib eral federation of Canada i found the situation in Mani Toba was by no Means unique. The Liberal candidates in Newfoundland were hand picked by Joe Smallwood. In Many Mont re a 1 Ridings members elected in 1sjg2 were automatically renominated in without having to submit themselves to nominating Ottawa East an aspirant had he greatest difficulty in forcing a convention against the sitting member. In a by cd Eclips in Waterloo South one candidate got 150 extra credentials because of the Lack of agreed rules of procedure. In some of the Rural parts of Eastern Canada the situation has been much better particularly where Federal constituency Boun Daries coincided with provincial countries or groups of Coatie f. There the Struc Ture of the party was the same on both provincial and Federal Levels and there was a continuity of personnel As Well As a tradition of democratic nomination conventions. This continuity of personnel is now threatened by the new. Redistribution cuts across provincial constituency boundaries and in the province of Quebec there Are now separate provincial and Federal Liberal parties contributing to the fragmentation of politics in our country. The chaos in nominating procedure is not due to any Lack of Good will on the part of parly directors and Lea Ders. It is the Lack. Of agreed procedures and stable political mechanics that prevent term development of political organization difficult problem this is a particularly difficult problem for pro Vinces like the Prairies where there is Seldom any relationship Between Federal and provincial constituency boundaries and hence a difference in personnel in Federal and provincial constituency difficulties of developing and maintaining stable poll organization is magnified especially in the cities by a frequent Redelin cation of poll boundaries and by a Complete divergence of fed eral and provincial poll boundaries. La the United states a precinct is a. Precinct for Federal p r o v i n c a 1 and municipal purposes. P r e Ciricus May be redefined from time to time to take into account shifts in popu lation but they Are stable As regards the various Levels of government. It is therefore possible to elect precinct captains and precinct organizations without the difficulty encountered in Canada where the Basic unit of voting is so widely divergent at the three Levels Aad from e 1 e c t i o a to election. Those areas Ocanada where there is a tradition of submitting candidates to d e m o erotic conventions there is a tradition of submitting candidates to d e m o erotic conventions there is Seldom any kind of previously agreed procedure for selecting them. In very Many constituencies the expedient of an open convention is to be cause the Lack of poll Urgani itt Tion. A convention is announced by Public notice and supporters of the party Are resident in the constituency Are invited to Atud and vote. This Lead s to packing and to in any warm is notorious that in. Manitoba on occasion partisans of one Side have packed the convention of the other to elect the Man whom they regarded As the weakest candidate. The late John Sinnott in this became the Liberal member for Springfield some years ago when a group of conservatives miscalculated on his elect ability manifestly unfair but open conventions Are manifestly unfair in Rural areas where the site chosen for the convention is a distinct advantage to the candidate whose supporters live close to the site. The alternative to the open convention in the absence of a system of primary elections is the closed or Delegate convention where in theory party sup porters in each poll arc entitled to elect delegates who will in the party Hansard bearer. Unfortunately delegated conventions in this country often end lip As More packed than open ones. This is Beau or poll organization is so weak that democratic selection of delegates at the. Pel level is next to impossible. In the first place the poll boundaries Are Seldom known at the time of the nominating convention be cause returning officers change them at will in most areas poll captains or chairmen Are simply Lack ing. There being no voter registration enumeration is rarely completed until after nominating conventions Are held. Made by few in practice a constituency executive i t s e 1 f usually elected by a handful of party regulars appoints poll captains shortly before the nominating convention and these poll captains in turn select As delegates their friends and allies. In practice therefore the selection of a candidate Al a delegated convention is often made by the handful who control t h e party machinery at the constituency level or in those cases where there is no e f f e i v constituency organization by the Central committee of the party. At a recon Federal nominating convention in Mani Toba in 1965, the executive arbitrarily gave out credentials to provincial constituency presidents in the area and they in turn for the most party gave out credentials to supporters of their favorite candidate. Some credentials were handed Over at the very door of the meeting to those who said they would Vole for the favorite while other liberals were unable to get credentials at All. Is it any wonder that parties in Manitoba and in Canada cannot really count on the support of More than perhaps 20 per cent of. The people in All while the others a re. Independent floating voters As Likely to turn o a splinter Pery As o an old party when i was co chairman of the Liberal National organization committee the committee made a proposal to the federation executive to make a Start at Reform by surveying the present Situa committee called for the adoption of the goal of holding democratic convention in every single imprisoned for stealing world cup London re ulcers Edward Walter Becheley 47, who pleaded guilty to helping steal the world cup Symbol of world soccer supremacy from a Lon i Don showcase in March was sen j ten cd Friday to two year Sam prison Mont. But Chuly who ap-1 Pear cd in court three Days be a fore the world gup series opens i guilty to demanding a Ransom for the cup s i return. Athlete defects Oslo Cap a member of the romanian track team defected thursday and asked per Mission to stay in Norway police said. Informed sources said he is Afansev Savin who was to have taken part in the pole vault event in thursday night s nor Way Romania track meet Here constituency in Canada and also on agreed procedures for selecting delegates. The procedure might vary from place to place but the portent thins is that procedure would be agreed on in Advance and would give a fair Chance to All party supporters to participate in choosing the party Standard bearer. Unfortunately it was not possible or appears it was not possible for the executive to do very much about this problem. Acute recent reports from que Bec and recent experience in Manitoba reveal that the problem is still As acute As Ever. Party candidates Are designated by the Leader the party in some instances and in others Are imposed by the handful of persons who control constituency machinery. Now or. Seguin has brought Forward an answer that has Promise of effect ing much needed Reform. If parliament and the Legisla Tures would co operate to set up electoral boards to define poll boundaries that have stability and would provide for Advance regi Strat Kra of voters by party c those who want to be members of a party with set procedures for voting at primary elections the resultant increase in participation would not Only preserve politics from the domination of the handfuls who now run the parties but also strengthen the parties and enable them to. Fill the Peculiar role that our Type of democracy assigns to them. The time to join you have Only 8 Days left new Home in Manor for Only Down with no second mortgage monthly includes taxes principal and interest up until the nth of july you can move into the tandem townhouses of Manor North for this amazing Low Price. This is possible because metropolitan Homes foreseeing the rising costs of labor and materials were Able to build in volume before these Cost increases took effect. 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