Jamaica which — lies only ninety miles from Cuba and which enjoys virtually similar conditions of climate and soil plus having the world's largest known supply of bauxite, from which aluminum is derived. In addition both British and American capitalist interests are deeply entrenched in
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the island's economy. How have things been going there in comparison with Cuba?
the Unemployed Workers Council of Kingston, Jamaica, wo learn the following:
From a pamphlet why Tolerate Poverty and Oppression? issued by
‘More: than 300,000 men and women arc without a sccure means of existence in Jamaica -- some permanently without jobs, some finding jobs for only a few weeks of the year.
More than 60,000 families lack homes while 250,000 other families live in over-crowded rooms under extzemely unhealthy con ditions.
. Nearly half the familics in Jamaica have only one meal a day.
Throughout the country hundreds of young and old beggars —. wander. Prostitution, involving girls as young as twelve, is rampant. More than 71 per cent of the children born in Jamaica are illegitimate.
Out of a population of 1,700,000, some 1,200,000 are recorded as attending the country's public health institutions, which gives an indication of the disease-ridden conditions.
More than CO per cent of the children abdve the ago of five . never have milk. Oo " oe TO
More than two-thirds of the country's 400,000 children between the ages of five and fourteen lack shoes.
Today Jamaica has 169,000 persons above the age of ten who _ cannot read or write, an averago of onc out of six. For the past .eCight ycars, some 7,000 children reaching the age of seven have had no schools to go to. . A common daily occurrence is the seizure of furniture and other ' belongings because of the failure of familics to keep up time payments, a
'.Economic crimes such as burglary, housebreaking, shop-breaking, fraud, general theft and traffic in narcotics, which st6od at 24,680 reported cases in 1959-60 rose by 5,035 in 1960-61 and -3,019 in 1961-62 -~ a rise of more than 32 per cent in two years.
Coupled with this is a steep rise in the cost of living. From December 1959 to December 1962 the cost of living went up by twenty per cent above the rise in wages.
Profits plundered by an alliance of foreign imperialists and “native capitalists rose. from 260,000,000 in 1956 to £100,000,000 yearly by 19€2. During this samc period wages rose from £84,000,000 to £124,000,000; but this is accounted for mainly by an increase in the work force of 50,000. Yet almost 20,000 workers were .
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G "retrenched" from industries during this same period.
"IZVESTIA" ATTACKS THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL
In the language of Stalinism, the word "Trotskyism" is about’ the strongest epithet that can be hurled at: an opponent. Both Moscow. and Peking have referred to "Trotskyism" in this. way curing their current dispute. Ncither of them, unfortunately, have offered to discuss the real positions of the world Trotskyist movement or even to present them accurately although they relate directly to the great questions of war and peace, revolution and socialism which lie at the heart of the conflict on its ideological side.
On September 13 Izvestia printed an article signed by ng, Ivanovitch, " taking up almost half the socond page of the issue, purporting to give its readers an account of the present status of the world Trotskyist movement. This is the first time this has occurred in the Sino-Soviet dispute and the first time in many years that a Soviet publication has offered anything so extensive on "Trotskyism" to its readers. Below we print a translation of this article. Watch for our follow up on its meaning -= and its departures fron factual accuracy,
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