The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page 8 THE NEWS THIS WEEK AND NEXT by Ray Argyle The Quiet Canadians Among the many paradoxes of the Vietnam war, none was more mystifying this week than the unexplained reluctance of Canada to attempt to move the conflict from the jungle to the conference table. Canada's failure to act was doubly strange because aS a member of the International Control Commission which had been given the job of truce- watching in Vietnam by the 1954 Geneva Conference, this country is one of three nations having a recognized legal right to speak out on the war. Along with neutralist India and Communist Poland, Canada accepted the Geneva Conference request to maintain observers in Vietnam when that country was partitioned after the French withdrawal. The ICC grew increasingly helpless as the Communist led National Liberation Front stepped up its guerilla war in South Vietnam, and the U.S. reacted with material and mili- tary aid. External Affairs Minister Martin, who two years ago tried to get Japan to take over Cana- da's role, assured Parliament re- cently that Canada would stay on with the truce commission. But because of Prime Minis- ter Pearson's reluctance to even discuss the Vietnam conflict, there has been a growing suspi- cion that Ottawa would not make any moves which had not first been cleared with Wash- ington. As prime minister, Mr. Pear- son's preoccupation with domes- tic politics has isolated him from the kind of international diplomacy at which he showed such daring in the 1956 Suez cri- sis. Also unexplained has been President Johnson's famous let- ter to Ottawa of last summer. Did Mr. Johnson ask Canada to send troops to Vietnam or did he not? If he did, it would indi- cate the U.S. expected Canada to give Washington its full backing despite this country's commit- ment to the Vietnam truce com- mission. But because the President re- fuses to give Mr. Pearson per- mission to make the letter pub- lic, it is doubtful if we will ever know what it contained. It is recognized around the world that it will take another Geneva conference to extricate the U.S. from Vietnam. Why then has Canada not taken the lead to get one going? The explanation is either that behind-the-scenes efforts are al- ready being made in this direc- tion, or that Mr. Pearson has de- cided the problem is too critical to Ottawa-Washington relations for Canada to dabble in. The North Vietnamese, backed up solidly by China and reluctantly by the Soviet Union, have said that U.S. troops will have to get out of Vietnam be- fore talks. can begin. They've added that the U.S. would then have to sit down with the Na- tional Liberation Front -- the Viet Cong -- to work out peace terms. The U.S., on the other hand, contends that the negotiations would have to be between two entirely different parties -- the South Vietnamese government in Saigon and the North Viet- namese regime in Hanoi. The Communists view the conflict as an undeclared war between the U.S. and the people of South Vietnam (the Viet Cong.) The Americans view it as an invasion of South Vietnam by the Hanoi regime in the north. Following the Honolulu con- ference between President Johnson and Saigon Premier N. C. Ky (rhymes with he), the U.S. appeared to have at last settled on a basic strategy to maintain maximum pressure without escalating the war be- yond recovery. The main elements of the strategy are to try to recover the three-quarters of South Vietnam now controlled by the Cor munists, but to avoid any troop incursions into North Vietnam. Such super-escalation would bring the Chinese Army marching into the Indochina deltas, The hope is that a war of at- trition -- and time -- will even- tually convince the Communists that they cannot win a military victory in the south. The U.S. already appears re- signed to being unable to win military victory. The chorus of rising dissent at home will even- tually make it politically safer for President Johnson to nego- tiate a settlement, providing he can find some way of presenting it to the American public as a settlement, and not a sell-out. CENTENNIAL (Continued from page 7( the chosing and hiring of contractors or anyone else who may be required to do work on the project and who will expect pay for their services. Council will keep a cost record and the onus will be on Council to maintain cost control . A map of the site and sketch of the project were March 10, 1966 forwarded to Reeve Adamo which he will forward to the Centennial Co-ordinator in Toronto. A letter is to be forwarded to the Provincial Park Commission in the Lakehead as to what services are available. CURLING NEWS Ladies Club - We are now over the half way mark in the final round for Club Champions and winner of the Canadian Oil Trophy. Tied for Ist place with two losses each are rinks skipped by Stella Gusul, Mary Hale and Ann Latour. Dean Clancy, Ollie Chapman, Peg Wellings and Norma Crockford each have three losses. With four games to be played there will be a re-shuffle. of positions with the winner unknown till the last game is played. Over the weekend two rinks from Terrace Bay par- ticipated in the Lakehead Ladies International 'Spiel . Peggy Wellings, with Ann Latour, Lila Gray and Aggie Sinkins took fourth place in the first event to win cut glass vases. Kay Thorsteinsen, Stella Gusul, Inga Schmeidschen and Jean Briden didn't make the prizes but had close games and a very enjoyable time. Don't forget the Kimberly-Clark mixed bonspiel on March 11-12 & 13. More entries are needed so check the men's bulletin board or call Ollie Chapman. Live music will be provided for the social Saturday evening and novelty prizes will be given for dance contests. Entries for the Ladies Bonspiel March 25-26-27 are still coming in. Get a rink together now as last day for registration is March 21. Contact Mrs.P.Kelty, Bonspiel chairman. Men's Club - Hayes Rink Takes Club Championship Last Wednesday the Benny Hayes Rink, skipped by Vic Fenton, defeated the MacDonald rink to emerge 1966 Club Champions. The extra-end game was a thriller, the outcome of which was not decided until the last rock. Derek Wills plays second for Benny and Paul Rochon is his lead. Jim MacDonald had Jack Cac- camo, Brian McDonald and George Nugent with him; they are runners-up. In the Thirds Bonspiel, Joe Dejonghe, with Ted Kostuik, Bill McKie and Jim MacDonald emerged winners over George Churney, H enry Hermes, George Dakin and Emil Boucher. Charlie Sitch, with Reg .Fawcett, Ed.Stachiw and Rocky Gavin won the consolation event. Special thanks is extended to Elaine Zwir, Phyl Kelty and Louise Gavin for picking up rinks and helping to fill out the draw. Coming Ev ents There is still room for two or three teams in the Kimberly-Clark Mixed Event which starts March 11th. Entries will be cut-off at sixteen so sign up now. The Masons and the Knights of Columbus have a challenge event scheduled for March 19th, the Ladies Bonspiel is on the next weekend, followed by the Men's Bonspiel March 31, April 1, 2 and 3. Local curlers are advised to get their bonspiel entries in early. Entries are coming in fast and the limit has been set at thirty-two rinks. Two things are bad for the heart--running up stairs and running down people.