Agency: FBI
Originator: FBI
From: OT
To: HQ
Document date: 11/6/63
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (11 USC 2107 Note).

DATE: 11-14-2017

JFK Assassination System

Date:

4/29/201

Identification Form

Agency Information

AGENCY: FBI

RECORD NUMBER :

124-90120-10097

RECORD SERIES: HQ

AGENCY FILE NUMBER: 97-4196-873

Document Information

ORIGINATOR : FBI

FROM:

OT

TO: HQ

TITLE :

DATE:

PAGES:

SUBJECTS :

11/06/1963

13

FPCC

FAIR PLAY FOR CUBA COMMITTEE

DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION: Secret

RESTRICTIONS: 4

CURRENT STATUS:

Withhold

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 08/28/1998

OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE

COMMENTS:

RPT

v9.1

DocId: 32334992

Page 1

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## Page 2

Released under the Johms Kennetly Assassination Recort Collection Act of 1992 714 USC 2107 Hote)

THE COMMIS

DATE: 11-14-2017

R. C.

M.

SHE"

OTT,

FILE NO. D 944-245-9-1

HEAOQUARTERS

OTTAWA,

8

November 6, 1963

SECRET

Dear Mr. Innes:

A reliable source recently advised that

inder the sponsorship of

Committee of Canada (Irotskyite), Cedri

Vancouver, B.C. was to undertake

a cross-Canada

speaking tour beginning October 5,

1963, pertinent

to his recent visit to Cuba as

a guest of Castro.

This same source now advises

that COX's speaking

tour included stops

in

the U.S.A.

The portion

of

•the schedule of interest to you is as follows:

October 10, 1963 - Leave Montreal 6:30 Pol Old

T.C.A. Flight 279.

Arrive Cleveland 10:30 P.M..

• October 15, 1963 - Arrive Cincinnati.

October 16, 1963 - Leave Cincinnati 12:10 P.M.

• Delta Airlines Flight 432.

Arrive Detroit Municipal

Airport 1:52 P.M.

October 19, 1963. - Leave Detroit 1:00 P.M.

North West Airlines Netro-

politan Airport Flight 218.

Arrive Chicago O'Hara

Airport 1:53 P.M.

October 23, 1963 - Leave Chicago 10:05 A.M.

United Airlines Flight 739.

Arrive Minneapolis 10:15 A.M.

October 26, 1963 - Leave Minneapolis 8:55 A.M.

North West Airlines Flight

419.

Arrive Winnipeg 11:23 A.M.

COX is a recently defeated ex-member of the

Zitish Colunbia Leglalative Hasenbly naving represented

the New Democratic Party, a socialist party in Canada.

He was born on January

27,1913-at- Rossland, B.C.

presently resides at 7081 Stride Avenue (Burnaby) ; Canan

Vancouver, B.C.

In connection with COX's visit to

attached) hereto you will find copy of part

cooldet entitled "Your Canadians who saw cuba"

FOREGSING IS PASSED

by the Fa

the Fair Play for Cuba Committee of Canada.

IT iS NOT TO

BE DISSEMINITED WITHOUT ERIOG ANTHORITY

caNada

Yours very truly,

FROM A.C.V. V.P. HEADOLARIERS. ОТ. +N

WHICH EVENT THE

H. C.M. POLICE IS NOT 10

RE HAMEU AS THE SOURCE

lascriti

Moss

Lee Innes,

Mna id states Embassy,

(J.R.W. Bordeleau) ,•

Ottawa, Ontario.

NOV 1 2 1971

Assistant Commissioner,

Director,

Security and Intelligence.

XEROXED ORIGINAL-RETAIM

91-41.96-873

SECRET

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## Page 3

Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination RecardiG legtion Act of 1992 114 USC 2107 Hoter.

DATE: 11-14-2017°

ADE EOBEESPONY

HE COMA POLICE.,

OTTAWA

FILE NO..

D 944-245-Q-1

HEADQUARTERS

SECRET

OTTAWA,

CANADA

November 6, 1963

SECRET

Dear Mr. Innes:

A reliable source recently advised that

under the sponsorship

of the Fair Play for Cuba

Committee of Canada

(Trotskyite), Cedric COX of

Vancouver, Bolo vas to undertake a cross-Canada

speaking tour beginning October 5,

1963, pertinent

to his recent visit to Cuba as a guest of Castro.

This same source now advises that COX's speaking

tour included stops in the U.s.A.

The portion of

the schedule of interest to you is as follows:

October 10, 1903 - leave Montreal 6:30 P.M.

T.C.Л. Flight 279.

Arrive Cleveland 10:30 P.M.

October 15, 1963 - Arrive Cincinnati.

October. 16, 1963 - Leave Cincinnati 12:10 P.M.

Delta Airlines Flight 132.

Arrive Detroit Municipal

Airport 1:52 P.M.

October 19, 1963: - Leave Detroit 1:00 r.M.

North West Airlines Metro-

politan Airport Flight 218.

Arrive Chicago 0'Hara

Airport 1:53 P.M.

October 23, 1963 - Leave Chicago 10:05 A.M.

United Airlines Flight 739.

Arrive Minneapolis 10:15 A.M.

October 26, 1963 - Leave Minneapolis 8:55 A.M.

North Nest Airlines Flight

419.

Arrive Winnipeg 11:23 A.k.

?.

COX is a recently defeated ex-member of the

Fritish Columbia Legislative Assembly having represented

the wow Denocratic Forty?, 1913 at Possland, B.C.

a socialist party in Canada.

He was born on

January

presently resides at 7081

R.C.

Stride Avenue (Burnaby),

He

Vancouver,

Cuba,

In connection vira dory oi

-nit

book let entitled

"Four Canadians who saw cuba" caleased

by the Fair Play for Cuba Committee of Canada.

LUF SURIGOING IS PASSO FOR THE THrON.

MITION OF YOUR AGENCY ONLY

TIE MAT TO

Yours very truly,

& DISREMINAIEN WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORITY

MM B. C.M. P HEADOUGHIERS.

CH EVENT THE SC

11°.

Moss

Lee Innes,

United States Embassy,

ottawa, Ontario.

(J.R.W. Bordelenu) ,

Assistant Commissioner,

Director,

Security and Intelligence.

911-4196-823

SERDET

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## Page 4

Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination RegordinCollection Act of 1992 (14 USC 2107 Note).

DATE: 11-14-2017

TO SE

ADDRESSED:.

гОКк-564

THE COMMISSIER,

R. C.

M. POLICE,

OTTAWA

FILE NO.

1 944-245-0-1

HEADQUARTERS

SECRE

CANADA

November. 6, 1963

SECRET

Dear Mr. Innes:

A reliable

source recently advised that

under the sponsorship

of the Fair Play for Cuba

Committee of Canada (Trotskyite), Cedric COX of

Vancouver, B.C.

was

to undertake a cross-Canada

speaking

tour beginning October 5, 1963,

to his recent visit to Cuba as a quest of erstrent

same source now advises

that COX's speaking

tour included

stops in

the U.S.A.

The portion of

the schedule of interest to you is as follows:

october 10, 1963 - Leave Montreal 6:30 P.M.

1.C.A. Flight 279.

Arrive Cleveland 10:30 P.M.

October 15, 1963 - Arrive Cincinnati.

October 16, 1963 - Leave Cincinnati 12:10 P.M.

Delta Airlines Flight 432.

Arrive Detroit Municipal

Airport 1:52 P.M.

October 19, 1963 - Leave Detroit 1:00 P.M.

North West Airlines Metro-

politan Airport Flight 218.

Arrive Chicago 0'Hara

Airport 1:53 l.M.

October 23, 1963 - Leave Chicago 10:05 A.M.

United Airlines Flight 739.

Arrive Minneapolis 10:15 1.M.

October 26, 1963 - Leave Minneapolis 8:55 A.M.

North West Airlines Flight

419.

Arrive Winnipeg 11:23 A.M.

2.

COx is a recently defeated ex-member

of the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly having represented

a socialist party in Canada.

1913 at Rossland, B.C.

He

presently resides at 7081

Stride Avenue (Burnaby,

In connection with COX's visit to

vancouvetached hereto you wall tand cory of furt or a

cookiet entitled "Four Canadians who sor Cuba" released.

by the Fair Play for Cuba Committee of Canada.

1Oа THE таВт

Yours very truly,

BE GISGEMINGTEO MITMOOT GRIER AUTHOFITY

ALCH GEN P

EMPt POLICE IS NOT TO

Mr.

Moss

Lee Innes,

United States Embassy,

Ottawa, Ontario.

(J.R.W. Bordeleau),

Assistant Commissioner,

Director,

Security. and Intelligence.

91-4196-823

SECRET

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## Page 5

Released under the. John F, Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (14 USC 2107 Hote)

DATE: 11-14-2017-

SECRET

c.."

..%.

A Report By

CUR CANADIANS

ON CUBA

As They Saw It!

amis du pouplo cubain

Box 923, Adelaide St. P.O.

Toronto, Ontario

9-4196 823 SECRET

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91-4196-873

SECRET

The American State Department has stepped up

efforts

to tighten Its curtain of silence and distortion around the

Cuban Revolution. The American people are not allowed to

Visit Cuba except by special permission of the U.S. State

Department. Canadians and others are finding it Inereas-

ingly difficult to visit Cuba because of the open F.B.l.

interference in Mexico, one of the few countries outside

the Soviet Bloc which permits flights to Havana.

The reason for this "Iron Curtain", we are told, is to.

prevent the Cubans from exporting trained guerrilla fight.

ers, from

exporting

revolution and

subversion

to Latin

America and elsewhere. Such an "explanation" Is designed,

we boliove, to hide the real purpose of this criminal game

of

isolation. At the moment the U.S. State Department Is

working overtime to prevent the Latin American people

from visiting Cuba. Why? Because anyone looking at Cuba

cannet help but contrast the situation In his own country

with that which now prevails Inside Cuba. To see Cuba is

to get a glimpse at the future of America-and to see that

It works.

The people of Canada, the U.S. and Latin Amcrica have

a right to know what is going on in Cuba and the daily

press cannot be relied on for information. The Fair Play

for Cuba

Committee of Canada has strained its financial

resolf ces to make this pamphlet available. The results, we

belie e, have been worth the effort. We hope you will agree.

VERNEL OLSON,

Chairman, Fair Play for Cuba Committee

THE MEMBER OF THE BC LEGISLATURE

Cedric Cox

whose trip to Cuba roused national attention

was there from

January Ist of this year for 1$ days. He has repre-

sented the Burnaby constituency in the BC legislature since .1957.

Ile is a card carrying member of the Mine Mill and Smelter Workers

Union in which he piayed an active role and is chairman of the

Vancouver Chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba Committec. He is

married to a daughter of that pioneer of tho West Coast labor and

socialist movement, Ernest Winch.

See page 4

THE ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

John Glera princinal of the public school in Cobocouk,

Ontario. Ile spent part of the summer of 1962 in Cuba where he

made a special effort to study the educational system there. Ilo is

a member of the provincial councll of the Ontario New Democratic

Party. Ho has taught for six years.

See pago 17

THE MANITORA UNIONIST & JOURNALIST

Charles Biesiel's Inst Cuban trip was in the summer

of 1962. Hie has for sometime been a close student of derclouments

both thore and Latin America and has spoken on the subject many

times to Winnipeg area audiences besides writing at length in his

regular column in the Prairie New Democrat, Commonwealth, of

which he is a co-editor. Fle was editor, prior to its fusion with the

Saskatchewan paper, of the Manitoba

CCF Commonwealth, and has

been long active in railway workers' union cireles.

See page 20

THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO STUDENT

Dick Fidler is in his second year in Political Science

and Economics at the University of Toronto. Fle is a former member

of the Ontario Provincial Council of the New Democratic Party and

vice-president of the York East NDP. He is chairman of the

University of Toronto Student Committee on Cuban Affairs.

visited

Cuba as a guest at the ceremonies marking the Fourth

Auniversary of the Revolution froin January 2 to January 30 of this

year.

See page 23

SECRET

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97-4196-823 SECRET

Codrig

COX

a portion of a speech delivered to over 500 persons who rallied

to a mecting

called by the Oil and Chemical Workers Union and

the Burnaby constituency association of the NDP

I am so filled with emotion tonight I could just about cry with joy.

Three days ago I almost wept with sorrow when I had to lave the

people of Cuba. The people of Cuba are a very enthusiastic and happy

people and when you realize it is quite possible they may be destroyed

you will understand why I cried. The people I met in Cuba were good

people, just like you people here in Burnaby. They are human beings

who enjoy living, who enjoy their families and who want to live in

peacc.

But before I start to tell you about Cuba, I'first want to thank all

those who supported me when I asked them whether I should go

to Cuba. I also would like to thank Mr. and Mrs.

Kornisoff who

offered to address this meeting if by any chance the Mexican govern-

ment delayed my return. I'll have something more to say about that

a little later on. (Applause) I would also like to thank Sam Shannon

who was my first campaign manager, along with the Oil Workers, for

doing such a fine job in organizing this mecting. There is no harder

worker in Burnaby than Sam.

(Appiause) In fact, you don't realize

just how happy I am tonight to see you here. (Audience

"We're

glad to see you"

_ Applause).

While I was down in Cuba the Toronto Globe and Mail sent a

reporter around to intervicw me. He brought along a bunch of clip-

pings. One of the clippines he showed me read: I have been an em-

barrassment to the NDP-CCF for years. (Laughter) Well, friends,

maybe I have. I'll tell you what is behind this so-called embarrass-

ment. If going to Russia to find out the truth about the people of

Russia is an embarrassment, well then I am an embarrassment to the

party. S belonging to the Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers is an cm-

that's too bad. I helped organize the Mine, Mill &

Smelter Workers, and I am still a member. If that's an embarrassment

it's unfortunate. (Applause) And I might say friends that there is no

political party and no person going to tell me what I am going to

say to my union and when I am going to say it.

I am a trade unionist and a union man and I fecl I have the same

right as any other union man to speak out when I want to speak out.

(Applauie)

As for this trip to Cuba I was invited by the Cuban An-

bassador at Ottawa. When I reccived their wire it said I had to reply

within three hours. There wasn't time to call a meeting of our NDP

Constituency club. I phoned various people who I knew supported

me and asked them to

make as many enquiries as they could as to

whether I should so. Within two hours. Ron Irvine, Sam Shannon,

Martin miable and others throughout the riding told me that I had

a lot of support and to go.

A few days later Bob Strachan asked me

if I would reconsider. I told Bob that I would reconsider. But I would

again take it up with the people who I had previously asked whether

I should go. (Remarks from audience. In response to remarks from

the audience: "Bob is still our leader") These same people in Duraby

told me you have received an invitation to go in Cuba, we are the

scople who clected you, who nominated you, we want you to go and

bring back the story. And I went to Cuba with the approval of the

majority of the people who I know support me here in Burnaby. Not

only did I ask members of the NDP, I phoned my in local doctor

and businessmen who I know. They thought it wis a golden oppor-

tunity to get into Cuba so soon after the crisis.

I might say that I am the first elected representative of Canada who

has visited Cuba, they told me. That may be a crime, coming from

Canada, but the British Labor Party was represented by three MP's

and onc of the executive of the party. All of their trips were paid for

by the Cuban government. (Applause) In fact, every socialist party

which spoke up during the crisis was asked to send i representative.

I mct members from the Socialist Party of Norway, Sweden, Holland,

Grecee, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. And ill of these people

told me that they belonged to the socialist party of their country, and

all of them also told me that their expenses

were being paid.

Now this may be a crime - accepting a trip that is paid for by

somebody else, but I know that your elected répresentatives couldn't

afford to travel very far if they had to pay their own way, and the

world today is so small that if you are going to understand the prob-

lems of pcople, you have to go and visit these peopl

My main interest in going to Cuba was not to mect Fidel Castro, be-

cause I didn't mect him. My main interest was to go to Cuba to find

out for myself, to meet and to talk with the Cuban people. By doing

this I think I am working towards the road to pens. If the people in

the province of British Columbia can understand the Cuban people a

little better after I have finished speaking tonight me are that much

closer to peace, and I think we all want that. (Appliuse)

I have another invitation to take a tour. And today I have been

invited to Montreal to address the Sir George Williams University. I

don't know whether I will be criticized or not. I iragine from letters

and telegrams I have been receiving that I will l lept quite busy

this coming spring ..

Well, now I am going to tell you about my trip to Cuba. I left here

on New Year's Day by CPA jet to Mexico. I van in Mexico City in

exactly four hours after I left Vancouver. I had a lauding permit from.

the Mexican Ambassador here in the city of Vancouver for which I

paid $3.00. I told him that I was returning from Cuba at the end of

the month so I wanted to have a permit that was wood for a month.

The gentleman said that's fine. He gave it to ma. So I got off the

plans in Mexico City that day, I got a taxi and I went into the city

of Mexico for three hours. It was all lit up. It is a beautiful city-

all decorated. I have never seen a city so well decorated with Christ-

mas Tree lights. It is really a bcautiful city. I went back to catch

our plane at the airport which was supposed to leave at 2 o'clock.

But 2 o'clock came and went, and the Cuban plane still hadn't arrived.

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After going to Cuba I know now that they meant Cuban time. We

waited around until 6 o'clock in the morning when the Cuban plane

came in and picked us up. But before ave got to this plane we were

intimidated by the Mexican officials. We had to show our passports

and tickets and as we did it some stooges of the CIA look our pictures.

Harassed by the CIA in Mexico

This is nothing but intimidation because Canada is at war with no

one. Cuba is at war with no one.

I didn't know that it was a crime

to go to Cuba.

Yet they were taking all our pictures. I told some of

the Canadian delegates who were on the plane that I admired the

Well, anyway, we got on the plane and went to Cuba. It took us

three hours. When we arrived at the airport they told us: Leave your

We will take everything to the hotel for you. We have

busses waiting here for you. You have missed the parade but if you

rush you will hear Fidel speak.

So we missed the parade but we

got into the grandstand in Revolution Square five minutes before

Now when i left here, accordig to the American press, most.pcople

were out for Castro's blood and at the first opportunity they were

going to kill him. I expected to find everybody there with horns and

everybody booing, you know. Instead of that, what do I find? And 1.

will have my pictures to

prove it in a week or so when they are

developed-providing they all come out, of course. I found here in

this Revolution Square between three quarters of a million and a

million people. At least one third of these people would be members

of the militia, all armed. It would have been quite casy for a sabotcur

young girls carrying their revolvers and the follows are carrying their

revolvers. It would have been quite easy for somebody to have a

revolver there and have taken a pot-shot at Fidel. But no, nobody

took a pot-shot at Fidel.

Fidel starled his speech, "Distinguished visitors, workers, campe-

sinos, students, citizens all-Mr. Kennedy would say that I

am

speaking to the captive people of Cuba. Are you people captives?",

"No! Fidel. We are not captives. We love you Fidel!" Three quarters

of a million people yelling this. Well, right away I could see it was

a different story-five minutes after arriving in Revolution Square.

Well, Fidel went on with his speech for about two hours before

closing. Then they sang the Internationale--three verses of the Inter-

nationale.

1 have movic pictures which I hope come oul... maybe the local tele-

vision will want to use them-(Laughter)-Where the whole crowd

are moving in a mass like this while they are singing the Internation-

ale. They didn't look like people who were ready to kill Fidel. They

looked to me like people who were very happy that they have estab-

lished a now social order in Cuba. (Applause) After the singing of the

Internationale,

Castro returns to the microphones as if he had for-

gotten something: "What are we going to call this year", he asks "The

Ycar of Organization."

Now it has been said that Castro is a communist. He may be. I don't

know. I am quite sure he knows a lot about Marx and Lenin. I do

know that he is establishing a new social order in Cuba. I also know

that he decisively broke with the Secretary of the Communist Party,

Anibal Escalante, and he did not go into a back room to do so. When

he denounced Escalante le did so openly, before the people of Cuba

-while being interviewed by a pancl of newspapermen heard over

all the radio and TV stations of Cuba.

He dropped the axe on the secretary of the CP because he and

others had been turning the new party "into a yoke, a straight-jacket".

This 10 mc is proof that Fidel Castro is running Cuba. He is runn-

ing his own social order. It's not the Communist Party that is running

it. The men of the 26th of July Movement are still in control of the

revolution in Cuba

I am quite sure that if the Americans would remove the embargo

and get off their backs, give them a chance to trade with the world,

that within ten years Cuba would be a paradise. (Applause) Cuba is

one of the richest pieces of land in the world. It can feed over fifty

million people. The population today is seven million. Konni Zillia-

eus, when we were speaking to a Cuban official, said "Don't I wish

we had this piece of land over-in Great Britain. We haven't enough

land in Great Britain to feed ten per cent of our people. We have to

depend on other people for food.

He said: "You people are fortun-

ate. In a few short years you will not only be able to feed all of your

people, but you will be able to export to most of the world." Cuba is

a land where they are assured of three crops a year.

Since the Americans have left, the Cubans have found one of the

largest deposits of nickel ore in the world. Cuba is rich in nickel, it's

rich in chronium, rich in magnesium, they have found 400 million

tons of iron ore. This island is a very rich island. But that is not why

the Americans want Cuba.

The Americans are not at all concerned ahout the wealth of Cuba

or the people of Cuba. What they are concerned about are the ideas

that are implanted in the minds of the people of Cuba and these

ideas have now spread out to all of Latin America. They can drop

bombs on Cuba, they can kill every Cuban if they want, but they

will not kill the ideas that are implanted in the minds of the Latin

Americans now. (Applause) These are impressions, mind you, I am

not a mind reader. I was only down there a short while but these are

niy impressions after talking to people.

Now I suppose I ought to start telling you a little bit about the

life of the Cuban people. Before the revolution, 35% of the work-

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ing force of Cuba was permanently unemployed. How they lived,

managed to survive, I don't know. They lived in bohios, which arc

Jittle grass huts, mud and grass, or maybe some lumber and grass.

1.:: floors. They slept on the ground. 35% of the population lived

liko this. Today there are 10% unemployed. This vast improvement

took place within four years.

I went to a state farm, onc of the largest poultry farms I have

ever seen. I say the new village cities that are being built for these

people, people who lived in bohios, now living in new modern homes,

pre-fabricated, concrete homes, lovely homes, with completely modern

bathrooms. Something that they are not used to-it's going to take

a lot of education just to show these people how to live in these

homes. But Castro is building them and these homes don't cost them

a cent while they work on the state farm. They pay no rent. That is

one of the privileges of working on the state farm. Now they don't

get paid much working on the state farm.

They get around $100

a month. But remember-before they got nothing. They didn't even

know where their next meal was coming from. They never worked.

Now they are raising chickens and ducks. This farm I was on raises

ducks also.

For the first time in the history of Cuba they are producing ducks

and on the 6th of January they processed 80,000 ducks for the cele-

bration. The sixth of January is their Feast of the Wise Men-

exchange gifts day. I think we call it "little Christmas"

Well anyway, on the morning of the oth of January, there was a

knock at my door. I got out of bed and went to the door and a man,

who said he was Santa Claus, handed me a book of records of the

Second Declaration of Havana and an ashtray. Every guest in the

hotel got this treat, so it shows they do believe in Santa Claus.

The

night before I had been out shopping and I enquired what the line-

ups were for. They said everybody was buying gifts for exchange

day — I saw hundreds of bicycles being bought for children. In Cuba

today people have lots of moncy but the shelves are very bare.

But now I want to tell

you more about this state farm. The people

on this farm had lived in bolios as I said before. Ther had nothing.

No schooling, couldn't read or write, didn't even know where their

meals were coming from. Now they have jobs, they have homes, they

have schools and they have hospitals. For the first time in the history

of Cuba people in the country have all this. Before, what facilities

there were of this kind were all concentrated in the cities. We went to

a dairy tarm and there the situation was quite similar. Except that

cople who know very little about dairying are trying to operate it.

They need the help of Michael Kornisoff down there.

That's the

man they need down in Cuba

— a man who's won the first prize in

Canada for five years in a row — teaching them how to do it.

From this state farm I went to a mining camp in Pinar del Kio by

the nam: of Matahambre. Now it's quite a story -

- the way we got

to this camp.

We had been touring through this province, and we

stayed as a hotel called Bonelis for the night. We were told to be sure

00

to be up at 8:30 in the morning as the bus would be ready between 9

and 10 to take us to Matahambre, because, the miners have invited

us for lunch. Well, along came 10 o'clock and no bus. Then they told

us that the bus had broken down and would be along in an hot.

But

of course, knowing this was Cuban time, we thought we would be

lucky if we were out of here by noon. As it was, we did not get out

until 3 - two hours later than the tinie that our lunch was scheduled

for at Matahambrc. So we started off for Matahambre. We got there

at 8 o'clock at night.

Now I can just imagine all this happening in

a mining camp in British Columbia. The miners' wives would have

the meal all prepared. The miners would have been there at 1 o'clock

in the afternoon. And if the guests hadn't shown up by 3, and certainly

by 5 o'clock, they would have said they're not coming and thrown

in the sponge. But we arrived there at 8 o'clock at night and they

will be ready." (Laughter)

The Enthusiasm of the People

Now, here's another thing, we lost six hours that morning.

Well,

these Cuban people are determined people. They're just as determined

• in showing you the country as they are in winning the revolution.

They weren't going to lct us lose six hours, so at 10:30 at night we

climbed in the bus again at Matahambre. Well, I thought, I'm going

to get back to that hotel and get a good sleep anyway. But no sooner

did we get seated in the bus than they said: "We're going to take

you to our new copper refinery." We got to the copper refinery. Here

we were touring a copper refinery at midnight.

• So they made sure they showed us everything there was to see,

anyway. They don't waste a minute. If you lose time in the morning

they make sure you make it up by night. Well, the next day we started

back for Havana. This was just a two and a hall day trip. And on the

way back we stopped at another state farm.

This state farm is producing tomatoes. Now you may think—

what's so significant about producing tomatoes? We produce tomatoes

here in Canada. But in Cuba they have never produced a tomato

before. Most of their green stuffs and tomatoes came from the United

States. U.S. mining corporations and fruit companies there were only

in Cuba to exploit the people. They weren't in there for anything

else. United States Fruit was interested in the bananas, in the papias

and all the natural fruits growing on the land, and the sugar cane.

They weren't interested in letting the people plant tomatoes and

reens so that they could have a decent standard of living. No. The

Cubans had to buy all this from Miami. They brought it over and

the Cubans had to buy it from them. But, now they're growing all

their own green stuffs.

The beds on this tomato farm are about four fect wide and they

stretch, oh, for a couple of hundred yards in length. There are about

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six buildings the size of this one here, all of concrete. The plants are

embedded in pebbles, just small rocks inside these buildings.

The

farm is a plant — it's a fertilizing plant with water. And through

these pebbles, circulating steadily, is fertilized water. That's all there •

is. No earth in these beds at all. The plants are growing in rock and

water, fertilized water. They get anywhere from three to five crops

a ycar off the plants.

Before very long if we can establish a situation where the people

of Cuba can work in peace, Cuba will be exporting tomatoes to all

the rest of the world. Now when I said Cuba can be a paradise in ten

years, it rcally can be a paradise in ten years. You must realize at

the present time, right now, about a third of the population of Cuba is

in arms,

in the militia, and in the army. They are having to work to

till the soil with one hand, point the other with. a revolver in it in

the direction of "Uncle Sam. That's exactly how they're having to

work now. (Applause)

l'acing the Threat of Invasion

Every day, right on the horizon off the shore of Cuba, you see the

Oxford cruising back and forth. The Oxford has been there for eight

months, intimidating the people of Cuba, letting them know that Big

Brother is out there

— watching. That's exactly how the people of

Cuba are

being intimidated,

having to live under the threat of

invasion, not knowing if it's coming today or tomorrow. They know

that the battleship is out there. They can see it every day. They know

there's Guantanamo Bay at the southern end of the island out of

which US forces can start pouring any day. Yet these people are pro-

gressing, and progressing a lot faster than we here in Canada. (Ap-

plause)

In Cuba they have a complete comprehensive medical plan. Since

the revolution they have built over 100 hospitals. There are hospitals

in Cuba in districts where they never thought they would have hospi-

tals in the next hundred years. Under Batista, under that type of

governmen they nee look sic bi die, they vo, hate to he

brought into the city. The hospitals are not big hospitals — they're

small. But in the city of Havana itself I saw three brand-new hospi-

tals. I went through one that was just completed last year. Bcautifully

new hospials for a population of us over sit ition colembias

talk here, we hear

hospital expansion. Well he should go down to Cuba and see what

these people are doing: (Applause)

I went through new housing projects, beautiful, beautiful apart-

ment suites. With three and four bedrooms — absolutely modern -

a mode Way an in by pin ten in he in hit sino?

After tienty years it is theirs — they don't pay anything after that.

If by any chance you happen to be renting an older house that was

10

built before 1945, you pay len per cent of your salary for five years

and then it's yours and you don't pay any more — it's yous. If it's

a house that was built in 1950 you pay ten per cent of your salary

and in seven and a half years it's yours--you do not pay any more

on it. If it's a new one you pay for twenty ycars and then it's yours.

Where does all the money comc from? They have one tax

11.9 per cont of your salary goes to taxes. This is the only tax

there is.

But don't forget this, do not forget that this country is a

socialist country. All of the profits attained from these copper mines,

all of the profits that come from the oil and everything else is now

going into the government's hands. They are not going

into the

pockets of the United Fruit Company.

They are going

into the

government's hands. They are not going over to Miami.

Castro is

working the mines himself. Castro is exporting the ore to Poland

selling the copper ore throughout the world. Hc's getting the money

himself. This is what you can do in a socialist country.

The people are not being exploited and neither is the country. For

a hundred years before this thy were being exploited by the United

States. The mines of Matahambre are fifty ycars old and all that the

miners got out of it was wages. The government got nothing.

The

United States just went in and said they wanted it. You will recall all

the criticism of the nationalization of the oil refinerics in Cuba.

Castro wasn't anxious to expropriate them. He was willing to buy them

out. He had made an arrangement with Venezucla to get oil at a

cheaper price than Standard Oil was selling it to them. Standard Oil

declared they wouldn't supply the tankers to go to Venczucla to bring

in this oil. So Castro said,

"In that case", he said, "I'll bring in oil

from Russia. We don't need to use your tankers." Then Standard Oil

hours later Standard Oil and the rest of them were out of there. (Ap-

plause)

The United Fruit said "Oh, those people living in the bohios. They

don't know anything about growing fruit, or looking after fruit." Well,

they may not know anything about it but by God theres a lot of

fruit down therc. You can cat a lot of it. And as I say, let's have a

peaceful economy in Cuba and we'll have a paradise. We will be

able to cat Cuban fruit then.

A revolution has taken place in Cuba and it is still in revolution.

Every day there's a threat. Yet under this revolution, gasoline for

your car there is 32¢ per gallon. What is it in Vancover? We work-

ers of British Columbia are paying 10% a gallon more and we've

got our own oil here in British Columbia.

What are the wages there? An electrician's wages are $300 a

month, that's for linesmen. For the inside electrician? Well the only

concession the linesman gets is that he works for six hours a day, a

five day week. The inside clectrician works eight hours a day. So he

gets a concession of two hours a day for the risk of having to work

on high tension wires. That's a good differential. He gets the same,

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pay but he's home much more. I think that's a good deal. I would

much sooner that we in BC had that, than what we have today — all

these diffetences in rates of pay.

Electricions are one of the most needed tradesmen in the country

because they have to look after all of the clectric systems. The whole

country is on a thermal-electric system. The electricians were offered

two weeks more holidays than anyone else gets — making in all six

weeks with pay a ycar.

They turned it down.

They said that they're

building a free Cuba, that they did not want to build a Cuba with

different classes of people. They wanted Cuba, when it was finished,

to be one class. (Applause)

The Struggle for Equality.

Now if you want, I can give you miners' rates of pay too. It is the

same as the Matahambre miners' rates of pay before the revolution.

Then, they were 10 to 15 dollars. Now they are 10 to 12 dollars

a $3 cut. The union voted a $3 cut. Why did they vote for a $3 cut?

One of the reasons is that the previous owners had exploited the

and left it unsafe. The miners put the suggestion to Fidel

Castro that if he would put the mine in safe order they were willing

to work for less wages.

Fidel Castro put the mine in safe working

order so that now there's less chance of accidents. The men are much

happier going into a mine, knowing that it's a safe mine, than they

were going into one not knowing whether it was safe or not. Of

course, noiv the miners get their month's holiday with pay. If you

work 11 months, you will get one month off with pay. If you work

3 months you get one week. If you work six months you get 2 weeks.

If you work nine months you get 3 weeks. That is what everybody

working in Cuba gets as their holiday. If you are a miner and get

inur if your injury to sue of t it takes one tina year thor ost

to get back on the job your compensation is reduced to 70% of

your previous wages plus 5% for every child, not in excess of

100%. That is better than any contract in the province of British

Columbia or anywhere else in Canada.

Silicosis? If you have silicosis you get 100% compensation for the

rest of your life. Much better than we have right here in Canada. You

can do this in a socialist regime. But you can not do this in a cap-

italist regime where the capitalists control the purse strings. You can

only do it where the people themselves control the economy of the

country. (Applause)

Now I am going to go back to the housing situation again. I went

to another project where the people had never. worked before, never

had a job and had lived in bohios. Now they are living in compictely

new homes. What the government did was to supply the materials.

Then they paid the men to build their own homes. Put them to work

for the firit time in their life. These people have homes. They had a

bobio befure, but now they have a decent home to live in and have

Tome money i hair the a to kid ng the thom The recoh:

better off than they ever were before. Whether there'll ever come a

time when they're employed one hundred per cent of the year I don't

know. A lot of these people have been able to get by before and I"

do not know that they are worrying too much whether they work the

full year or not. That is why I think the holiday scale is based on

three, six, and nine months. Many of these people are not interested

in working too long

just as long as they can get by.

I went to the old Batista camp

- Camp Columbia. It used to be

a military camp. Today there are thousands of school childien being

tcn

thousand school children

being educated

housed out in the country

As for these schools

- children

who never had an opportunity to be educated before can now

read and write.

One of the criticisms I have heard is - yes i

but they are not educated by qualified school teachers! No, there are

not enough school teachers in Cuba. That's granted. They are sending

their high school and junior high school students into districis to

teach these children and I say what is wrong with sending a high

school student to start to teach adults or anybody else if they can't

read or write?. A high school student can pass on the knowledge to

that a Titian You don gathe to let teach write a them start

ted. As this regime progresses they will have school teachers. All the

districts will have school teachers.

I am very proud to say that British Columbia is doing its part. I

ran into a British Columbia school teacher. She is down there to help

the Revolution - working in Cuba. I ran into a doctor who quit the

, clinic at Trail. He's down there doing his part — helping the revolu-

tion. He said Trail has a good standard of living. He told me he

thinks it is more humanitarian to come to Cuba and help the people

who rcally need help. I think a lot of praise should go to men like

that. (Applause)

anything bed pat ou my talk would not the quest in anthers

really bad, but I did come across people who did not support the

government. I didn't meet anyone who I would say was a counter-

revolutionary. But I did run into a fair number of people who are not

at all huppy about the Castro regime. They are not happy because

they have been hurt.

One man I spoke to - he had twelve apartment blocks before

Castro took eleven of them and left him with onc. (Laughter) He

knows full well that within a few short years all that he is going to

have of that one is his own suite because the apartment was built

around 1950. This man will be able to collect rent for only seven and

a half years at 10% of the tenants' salaries and then he is going to

lose all of the suites except the one he lives in. So you can't blame

the man for being mad, he has lost cleven apartments already and he

is going to lose the twelfth one before long.

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This is part of the revolution in that revolutionary state. Well that's

it - Cuba's got such people. They just won't back the revolution.

They were the ones who were bucking it and have to suffer the

consequences.

I ran into a man who owned a store beforc. What is he doing now?

Hc is black-marketing money. I took all of my badges off and nobody

knew who I was. I was just smart enough to keep my identification

ticket in my pocket in case I was picked up — otherwise they would

have taken me some place and I wouldn't have returned. But I was

told to wander if I wanted to sec things. That's the way to see things

— wander, mix with the people,

so I did. I was walking down the

strect when I was approached. The former store-owner wanted to

find out it I wanted to exchange any money. I asked what is the rate,

what will you give me? He said twelve to onc. For every American

dollar he would give me twelve pesos. Some people say that's nothing.

I got twelve to one in Mexico City. That's the going rate in Mexico

City. But Castro, I have got to admire the man, he's got his peso at

the same value as the American dollar. One peso for one American

dollar.

Castro, every time he speaks to them, he lets them know, "This is

your country".

He takes

every

problem to them. Whenever he has

a problem he holds a mass meeting and asks them "What should we

do? Wenre in trouble here. This is your country. We need help. What

should we do?"

They go out picking chupa beans. Are they glad to sweat! Boy

it's just pourinig off them. They're glad to see how many things they

can do in a day, because it's their country they're doing it for.

Sugar canc — how do they get the workers to go out in the fields

to cut sugar cane? I went to the annual meeting of the Electrical

Workers. Lazaro Pena - I think that is his name

- is the head of

imprisone and cite tie was Ceto at the e trical ore he was

ing to make an appeal to them, to the locals, to get so many volunteer

workers. He asked them how many were going to volunteer because

a weck before they had started cutting cane. Every local representa-

tive came up and said so many men have volunteered for so many

days to go into the sugar fields. When they go this is completely vol-

untary. They don't get paid for it. They just-take their machete and

they go to work.

You will say

_ well; how do they live? How does the factory

where they usually work keep going? The men who remain back in

thou shar he put in extra long home at he the dof hat dicit

hour shilt

companito has gone out into the fields to do. The pay for those

extra hoirs they're putting in goes into the pocket of their companero

for cutting the sugar cone. That's the way they're cutting the sugar

a real croperative effort. (Applause) And the sugar cane is being cut.

Can you imagine us doing that here? Working for a capitalist boss!

Are you going to go and volunteer to do something for a capitalist

14

boss? No! But if the country is yours and you are being educated to

the fhct that the country is yours — you're willing to do anything

for it — like these people are willing to work for it — and willing to

die for it. And they don't mind telling you that. They'll tell you that

they are going to die in the streets before they'll let the Amcricans

take over. And I believe them! (Applause)

I went through a sugar mill and met the workers. All these men

had come from another job to work in the sugar mill while the sugar

season is on. The men back at their plant are having to worl: that

much harder to take care of the plant and handle the jobs that they

were doing. There is a real cooperative spirit -— somcthing that 1

have never seen before in my life. I've seen other people cooperate

but I've never seen them cooperate like these people.

Support the Castro Regime

I only wish that more of us could visit Cuba, because you have to go

down there to sec, you have to go down there to talk to these people

to get the real feel of the situation. When you talk to them you

realize just how far-fetched the stories in our papers are. In some

ways we all know they are because you'll read a story about Cuba on

one page and on the next page there is a conflicting story. You don't.

know who to believe. These impressions are my impressions of what

I think of Cuba. I think the people of Cuba are very happy. I think

that close to 75% of the people are backing Fidel Castro, about 20%

are sitting on the fence and about 5% are absolutely opposed.

Now I did run into a man working right in the Riviera Hotel who

was opposed to the regime — working right there — and the people

he is working with kid him about it. They ask him, why? He says

because before he used to be able to get a lot of tips and he liked

working for the capitalist boss. But when the crisis came, this man

joined the militia.

I asked him, "Why did you join the militia if you don't believe in

the regime? I would have thought you would have been happy to

step aside and let somebody cise fill' in." He said, "The only reason

1 did, Mr. Cox, is I remember the old regime. Under the old regime,"

he said, "I couldn't take my wife for a walk down the street.

Some

American 'gangster' would come along and grab my wife and. I

couldn't put up a fight at all. It I did anything, the Batista police would

grab me as though I were the criminal, not the American. Today"

he said, "I can walk down the streets of Cuba and my wife is safe. My

wife is safe in Cuba even if she is walking down the street by herself."

And that is the truth.

In Cuba there is close to two million people under arms, not all at

one time. They all have to do their stint. But close to two million

people have arms The keith on their himse us were saming

revolvers and it ther haven't a revolver they have a machine gun. Can

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you just imagine any fellow going up to a girl and (rest of sentence

drowned out by laughter). You'd think twice, boy. You'd think twice.

(Voice from audience, referring to a new device being used by Van-

couver police to break up picket lines — "What about police dogs?")

I didn't see any — they may have them but I didn't see any.

In the time of Batista, Havana was known as the brothel of North

America. There were more red light districts in Havana than in any

other city in the whole Western

Hemisphere.

There

was one arca

alone-five square blocks —

filled with girls from the age of nine

years and up,

where American millionaires could

come over and

have a good time. An American millionaire would go to Cuba and

have a good time with a native over there but when he went home

he wouldn't even let the same type of native ride in the same bus with

him. That's the type of American who used to go to Cuba. (Loud

applause)

Well — what's happened to these girls? There are two rchabilita-

tion centers in Cuba for these girls. They are being taught to read

and write — many of them didn't even know how to read and write.

They are very pretty giris. Under the old regime when a farmer had

a very pretty

daughter and he knew he couldn't feed her because

he didn't have a job, he would take her into the city and sell her to

these houses to let the American millionaires and gangsters play with

her.

Do you know the ages of these girls in these rehabilitation cen-

ters? The youngest is thirteen and the oldest is forty five now. There's

the proof that nine year old girls were in these houses four years ago.

And I think a lot of credit should go to Fidel Castro for cleaning

this rat's nest out of Cuba. (Loud long applause)

Well - I'm not going to say much more, other than I am very

happy that I went to Cuba. The Cuban people are determined to

build an independent Cuba and if we as Canadians will only help, by

trying to force our government to trade more with them, force our

government, force the British government,

to ignore United States

policy

— make the United States see the light, make them realize

that the people of Cuba are still human beings and that they have a

right to their own way of life, a right to look at the sun the same as

you and 1. If we can only do that for the Cuban people, ten years

from now you will be happy to go to this paradise.

It will be a

paradise if the American State Department will only give them the

opportunity.

The Cuban people are

my

friends.

The

ones I

met I loved.

I'm telling you right now it just about broke my

heart to leave them knowing full well I may never see them again or

have the opportunity to sce them again — in fact they may even be

killed in a war. I only hope that with my visit to Cuba, and I intend

to travel and do a lot of talking about my trip. I hope that I can

convince a lot of people in Canada that the Cubans are not our

enemies, that the Cubans are our friends, and they deserve the same

privileges and rights as you and I. Thank you. (Ovation, whistling

cheering, loud applause)

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