Suite 1738 of Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel has become the latest battle-ground in Beatle John Lennon's campaign for world peace.

It's a very peaceful battleground, however, as the British singer's protest take the form of a round-the-clock response in bed with his wife Yoko Ono and five-year-old daughter Kyoko.

Lennon has traded singing for selling world peace, and promised to devote the rest of his life to the peace cause.

"We invite all other peace lovers to join us in our campaign, but they can do it in their own beds," said John.

He said it would be physically impossible to have visitors during their stay in Montreal.

"This is no time for shaking hands or meeting fans, we're here to sell peace," he added.

John and Yoko conceded that not everyone could afford to spend entire days in bed but pleaded with peace-lovers to at least spend some of their holidays in a symbolic lie-in.

"Our main objective is to stimulate other ideas for the promotion of peace," said Yoko as young Kyoko busied herself tearing flowers apart and casting them around the room.

They encourage anybody to come up with any gimmick that might help their cause.

"I've even got a few other gimmicks up my sleeve which I will use if this idea wears off," continued John.

Rapping the state of violence throughout the world, he said the solution lies only in the hands of individuals and their collective efforts to correct the situation.

Commenting on student violence in universities throughout the world, the Beatle maintained that "students will get nowhere."

"Sit-ins are okay," he said, "but if they are militants I'm not for them at all. Show me one military revolution that has ever worked -- all it does is create another establishment."

On the Vietnam war, he called on President Richard Nixon to declare peace.

"The taxpayers are also responsible," he said, "they are handing over the money which keeps violence going."

"When we can convince people that there is profit to made through peace, then I think we will be well on our way to victory."

John, Yoko and Kyoko will return to Toronto on June 5 where a special hearing will decide whether or not they will be allowed to stay in Canada for a longer period of time.

Copyright by The Montreal Gazette, May 28, 1969, all rights reserved.