When will they start taking bankers into custody ?

La Villette, N.B.

At noon on October 15, we arrived at New Castle, Northumberland county, New Brunswick. There we were greeted by a number of the workers of our paper, Vers Demain, who had just come from witnessing a very sad spectacle at Neguac.

Some twenty fathers of families, dwelling at La Villette, the neighboring municipality of Néguac, had arrived that morning in Néguac for a meeting there with the "father of the poor". Now we must explain that, in New Brunswick, the "father of the poor" is a municipal official whose job it is to distribute aid, in the name of the municipality, to poor families. This aid is financed, 35% by the federal government, 35% by the provincial and 30% by the municipal government.

The municipality of Northumberland, which actually makes up the county of Northumberland, distributed aid to families to the amount of $20,000 and that in the space of two weeks only! As a result the municipal council decided that it would cut off all such aid except to such families as were in the extremities of misery.

"From now on all aid will be cut!" Can you imagine what a catastrophe this was for the men, women and children who hadn't a penny to their name? How could they possibly get along on the miserable pittance which came to them in the form of family allowances?

This is the reason why, on the morning of October 15, the fathers of these poor families had gathered to protest to the "father of the poor" this cutting off of municipal aid, and to plead for pity.

Eddy Savoie, the "father of the poor" in the town of La Villette, told the gathering that he had received his orders from the Council and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Plunged in desolation, these poor people left the house of the "father of the poor". Dejectedly they stood about in the road awaiting what would come hoping for succour from some source. Just at that time a carload of Crediters, sporting the distinctive white berets of the movement came along. The men standing in the road, and knowing our reputation, made a sign for the car to stop and then gathered about to ask for help.

The whole group then set off to visit Councillor Solomon Curry, a merchant. Seeing the group approaching, the councillor came out of his store, and on the porch, without asking them to come in, told them that he, certainly, would have been only too glad to continue the aid - wanted to, in fact - but the other councillors got after him when he expressed this desire. We should mention that Curry is the only councillor in this parish, there being one councillor per parish. They had reproached him with distributing aid little too freely to the poor so he said. He swore that there wasn't a thing he could do now; that when he had come to the defense of the poor in the council, the others had jumped down his throat.

While this discussion was under way, a private automobile, driven by David Stewart, a big wood merchant from Chatham, drove up very quietly. In the auto along with Stewart, was Constable Jos. Dickson, in civilian clothing. Dickson also lived in Chatham. The automobile stopped about a hundred feet from the group on the store porch. Now, among the fathers gathered on the porch was a certain Alphonse Smith of La Villette. A sign was made for him to come over to the automobile. The constable, dressed in civils remember, showed him a document written in English, and motioned him to get into the car. The constable them seized him by the shoulder and the car took off for New Castle where Alphonse Smith, the father of four hungry children, was thrown into jail where he was to remain for 42 days.

Why not jail the bankers?

This then is what the fathers of poor families get from the authorities when they ask for bread. They, the officials, throw one of them in jail to intimidate the others.

In the province of New Brunswick you find everywhere, examples of the most extreme misery. Poverty and destitution is rampant. It must be seen to be believed. In the counties of Restigouche, Gloucester, Kent, Northumberland, Westmorland and in the town of St. Jean, the majority of the population lives mainly on pensions. The miserly family-allowance allotments are the only means of livelihood in numerous families. Those who are lucky enough to enjoy the old-age pension, or the invalid pension or that given to veterans, are considered to be well-to-do! The others have to rely upon the aid to the needy of which we spoke at the beginning of this article. Now it is quite obvious that the small majority who earn salaries or make a small profit from some business, cannot possibly provide a living for the majority who are destitute. When the majority are without the means of livelihood, then the whole society begins to crumble.

The federal government pays 35% of this municipal aid. That's all very well, but where is the province of New Brunswick going to get the other 35%? By taxing the revenues of the ever-decreasing number of those who earn salaries or have some other form of revenue from business? That's obviously quite impossible. The only possible source of the needed money would be the taxation of the banks. Likewise, how are the poverty-stricken municipalities going to supply the 30%? The property owners are getting poorer every day and also decreasing in numbers. In the county of Gloucester, 67% of the property belongs to companies who pay no such taxes. The other 33% is owned by private citizens. How can this small number possibly provide a living for the poor who are in the majority? Furthermore, these 33% proprietors are themselves for the most part, classed among the destitute, having no income to speak of from their property. The point will soon be reached when the municipalities of New Brunswick are going to have to get money from the banks — and by that we mean tax the banks instead of taxing families, tax the big banking institutions instead of the poor individual.

If the banks don't get down to business and start fulfilling their obligation to finance New Brunswick, there soon won't be a soul living there. For it is actually happening; all those who can get out of the province are doing so. Those who are too weak to do so, remain behind to die of malnutrition and general misery.

If anyone in New Brunswick should go to prison it is the bankers who obstinately refuse to face their obligations; not the fathers of poor family who in reality have the right and obligation to steal food, if this drastic measure is necessary to keep their children alive but who, instead, peacably and respectfully address themselves to the authorities for aid.

And all those who actively or passively, contributed to the imprisonment of Alphonse Smith are part and parcel of a ruinous regime, whether they know it or not. Instead of relying upon someone to get rid of these irritating poor, in order not to have to face their responsibilities towards these poor, they should be ranging themselves solidly alongside the poor and striking hard at the walls of the banking institutions so that the life-blood of our economy, money and credit, might flow forth into their province.

When will they start taking into custody the bankers, who are the real thieves of the country's wealth, instead of the poor fathers of these destitute families?

Cowardly Pilates

Alphonse Smith was arrested at the moment when he, along with the other fathers, was in the act of asking bread for his children. There will be those who will say that Smith was arrested not because he asked for bread but because of some accusation brought against him.

I know that a warrant of arrest had been issued against Smith, November 24, 1959, 11 months before the date of his actual arrest. But why did they wait until Smith was in the act of protesting the halting of aid to the poor before they executed the warrant? It seems fairly obvious that those guilty of this act were only too happy to have the chance to use Smith's arrest in order to intimidate the others. And the other fathers really believed that Smith had been arrested for protesting the cutting off of aid to the poor. Furthermore, if the authorities were able to wait eleven months, why could they not delay the arrest for one more month in order not to discourage this very legitimate appeal of the parents of poor families? Any civilized society should guarantee to its members the necessities of life.

With regard to Smith's arrest, isn't it a bit suspicious that the police should have arrived just at the moment that the delegation arrived at the Councillor's? Who warned the police?

This particular parish is made up of Catholics who are supposed to follow diligently the teachings of the gospel, especially with regard to the poor. Was there to be found anyone to stand up and defend the poor? Was there to be found anyone to come to the defense and aid of Alphonse Smith? No! No one! No one visited him in prison, examined his case, tried to obtain his liberation, warned his wife, undertook to help the family in these desperate straits. Where are the elite of our people who will come to the help of such as these? Where were the big talkers of election time, the pompous orators of civic occasions, so fond of prating about their great "devotion" to the people; so ready with promise of "all their service and loyalty"? Where were these public men, these leaders of the community on that noon of October 15? We saw not one, neither in Neguac, nor La Villette nor in New Castle.

All day Saturday we were on the go visiting Smith in prison, examing his case, pleading with the magistrate, Miss Frances Fish, telephoning the Senior Solicitor at the office of the Attorney-General at Fredericton, J. M. Leblanc, and having to swallow the disgusting philosophy of a certain Tracy Gould, a New Castle lawyer, who answered our pleas for his prayers for the poor by saying that he would pray that they would be more honest. As if the rich were guiltless!

It is one of the most shameful things to see all these cowardly Pilates, so energetically washing their hands of the miseries of their brothers! What possible future is their for our society when its so-called leaders and elite betray the common man? The elite of our society lived under the ensign of the dollar, and their philosophy leads to one place only: the concentration camps of Communism.

Sunday night Smith was still behind bars. The accusation against him non-payment of a debt of $20.00 he owed David Stewart, the same who Judas-like, led the police to Smith in his own automobile. And what a curious manner they have of executing "justice". Smith now has to pay $42.75. He can't pay $20.00. But they expect him to hand over $42.75 plus the cost of his keep in prison, which runs to about $1.50 a day. Smith is in jail for a debt which he cannot pay! In New Brunswick! In jail for a debt he can't pay and this, in spite of the law!

We reproduce at the beginning of this article, a letter from the office of the Attorney-General of New Brunswick, which declares that in New Brunswick, no one is put in jail for debt.

If that is so, then we state quite flatly that in the county of Northumberland the law of New Brunswick is not obeyed or respected. And Smith is obliged to pass 42 days in jail for a debt of $20.00 which he cannot pay. And do not forget that the warrant for his arrest was made out in English which Smith does not understand.

We strongly urge that the lowly and the weak start uniting and joining their forces if they are successfully to stand up against the "great" who do, in fact, combine to protect themselves against the pitiful efforts of the weak.

POSTSCRIPT: Since the events set down above, we learn that Mr. Solomon Curry went to Fredericton on October 20, to ask the Provincial Government to give relief or jobs to the poor of his district.

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THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK

DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK.

June 8, 1959

Mme. John Daigle Robertville R.R. 2, Gloucester Co., N.B.

Dear Mme. Daigle:

Imprisonment for debt is non-existent in the Province of New Brunswick; a debtor may be imprisoned if he is found to be in contempt of court; he may be found in contempt of court if he refuses to comply with the ruling of the court as to payments etc.

Yours very truly

........

J. M. LeBlanc

Senior Solicitor