| Vietnam Buddists protest

Tens of thousands of South Vietnam Buddhist believers took part
in mass demonstrations this week against atrocities perpetrated
by the Ngo Diem clique. This photo shows recent demonstrators in
Saigon. Buddhists, who make up 70 percent of the population,
have accused the government of religious discrimination. This

week's demonstrations sharply

attacked Diem’s sister-in-law,

Mmme Dinh Nhu, who has bitterly assailed Buddhists in recent

speeches.

Every year, the July issue
of Fortune magazine carried
a directory of the 500 largest
U.S. industrial corporations.
The directory reveals, once
again that these giants have
control of the American eco-
nomy—and also a heavy hand
in the Canadian business
scene.

Fortune said the year 1962
was “excellent for the 500”.

Listed were combined sales -
of $299 billion—9.5 per cent
higher than in 1961—and ac-
counting for more than half

LABOR
BRIEFS

International Longshore-
men and Warehousemen’s
Union locals are presently
voting on the new wage
agreement concluded two
weeks ago between repre-
sentatives of the Shipping

Federation and the ILWU. Re .

sults of the vote and terms of
the new agreement will pro-
bably be released by the
ILWU during the coming
week,

* * *

First break in a
which extended over two
months and involving ap-
proximately 30,000 workers,

strike

the lumber workers of Nor-_

thern California, Oregon and
Washington have won a 33'%-
cent hourly wage hike on a
three-year contract.

Some of the largest lumber
enterprises such as the Geor-
gia-Pacific| Simpson Timber
and Coos Head Lumber com-
panies were tied up. Prior to
strike action, forced upon the
union by the refusal of the
lumber tycoons to negotiate,
base pay rates ranged from
$2.52 to $2.56 an hour. This
settlement does not as yet.
cover the “Big Six’’, includ-,
ing, Crown-Zellerbach and

Weyerhauser. :
om ee

rr

Top U.S. monopolie
make $3,000 profit
from each employee

the sales of all U.S. manufac-
turing and mining companies
and for more than 70 per cent
of the profits.
The combined profits rose
from $11.6 billion in 1961 to
a record $13.5 billion in 1962.
The $13.5 billion figure
shows that the 500 biggest
corporations in 1962 made an

average net profit of more.

than $1,500 from the work of
each of their 9.6 million em-
ployees and a gross profit of
over $3,000 (before taxes) on

each employee. That’s a big

jump over the previous year.

This profit security con-
trasts sharply with the job in-
security of many of the work-
ers.

—LABOR STATESMAN

Canadian
firms show
big profits

Canada’s giant monopo-
lies continue to add to the
vast pyramid of profits ex-
tracted from the sweat and
resources of the communi-
ties they exploit.

This week B.C. Forest
Products report their sec-
ond quarter of 1963 profits
at $2.480.500 as against
$1,405,200 for the first
quarter. A company
spokesman also reported
that, “tax rate had drop-
ped . .. because the comp-
any is able to claim addi:
tional capital cost allow-.
ances for tax. purposes,”
thereby getting under the
tax wire.

Another monopoly - giant,
the International Nickel
Company (INCO), reports
a het profit for the first six
months of 1963 of $52,882,-
000 (in U.S. dollars), an in-
crease of well over halfa
million over the corres-

ponding period last year. ©

2iubbe

Lett decision threat
to public ownership

By NIGEL MORGAN
Public ownership development
received a sharp setback in the
decision of Chief Justice Lett on
the B.C. Electric court case.
First, the already excessive $171
million compensation paid com-
pany shareholders at our expense
by the Benneit government was
boosted by 12 percent. This means
an added charge against consum-
er rates of the publicly-ownec
system.
B.C. Hydro rates in Canada’s
third largest metropolis,

Van. —

couver, are already among the
highest across the country—1.9
cents per kilowatt-hour—and this
in spite of the finest natural hydro
sources on the continent. Com-
pare this with Manitoba’s 1.15
cents; Ontario’s 1.34 cents and
Quebec’s 1.48 cents.

At 1.9 cents, B.C. is already
one third of a cent per kilowatt-
hour above the national average
of 1.61 cents—without adding the
$21 million,charge added by Just-
ice Lett, the additional $29 mil-
lion presently being negotiated,

Fish companies stall
early dispute talks

The Union has written to Fed-
aral Fisheries Minister H. J.
Robichaud and B.C. Labor Min-
ister L. R. Peterson, enclosing
copies of the proposed agreement.

The letter said, ‘‘the onus is
now on the Asociation to accept
voluntary arbitration of all dis-
putes between the Association and
the union, including what mat-
ters are in dispute, the scope of
arbitration and the terms of ref-
erence.”

The Union also declared it,
“has done everything possible to
prevent further loss of produc-
tion. We have asked the two

Ministers to act with the same.

sense of urgency in convincing
the Association they should ac-
cept the arbitrator’s decision on

Labor Day
e@
special
The Aug. 30 issue of
the PT will be a special
12-page Labor Day edi-
tion. With that issue the
PT will resume publica-
tion of the alternate 8and
12 page paper. ZS
Greetings and ads for
the special issue should
bein by Wed., Aug. 21.
Press clubs are urged to
put on a special dyive for
_wide distribution of the
LaborDay edition which
will contain ‘many: feat-
ures of interest to work-
‘ing people.
Deadline for bundle or-
ders is Wed., Aug. 28.

all matters.”

Meanwhile: Labor_ Minister
Peterson announced- this week
that three senior B.C. civil serv-
ants will soon be appointed to
join three Federal appointees to
‘investigate’’ the west coast fish-
ing industry.

Union secretary Homer Stev-
ens said this week proposals of
the fish companies are designed
to fatten the “‘profits’’. He said,
“as a union we welcome a serious
study of the problems of fisher-
men, tendermen and shorework-

rs,’ but warned ‘‘we will not be
sucked in to a net of legal chains
prepared for us”
monopolies.

Hearings by Justice V. L.
Dryer, arbitrator appointed
in the recent dispute in B.C.’s
fishing industry, were _ post-
poned until August 23rd fol-
lowing refusal by the Fisher-
ies Association to give an
early reply to a proposal by
the United Fishermen and Al-
lied Workers’ Union to accept
the arbitrator’s decision on
the definition of questions to
be arbitrated.

' The Union had submitted
a signed agreement to Justice
Dryer agreeing that he act as
sole arbitrator to hear evid-

_ ence from both parties on the

issues in dispute, and, ‘‘as to
the scope of the arbitration
you will later conduct con-
cerning such matters.”

Since 1960, People’s China
has bought 5,130,000 tons of
wheat worth $291 million
from Australia and has made
all payments ahead of sched-
ule..

by the fish.

and the considerable p fees
involved and chargeable to our
monthly light and power rates.
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE
Twenty-one million dollars is
the ‘constitutional’ basis of
Justice Lett’s finding. For if it
is upheld in an appeal to the
Supreme Court of Canada, it
could be used to outlaw acts of
any provincial legislature to bring
utilities under public ownership.

Justice Lett found the B.C.
Legislature’s act ultra-vires be-
cause it has no right under the
British North America Act, ‘‘to
strangle’? a company which as
a private and public utility, had
an electrical interconnection at
the U.S. border, a cable to Van;
couver Island which passes
through U.S. waters; And that it
operates a natural gas pipeline
connecting with other provinces
and has utility interests outside ~
Canada.

The B.N.A. Act of 1867 (the
iCanadian Constitution), defines
the powers of the Federal and
Provincial governments under
Sections 91 and 92. Sub-section
10 of Section 92 give the provinces
exclusive control of ‘Local works
and undertakings other than such
as are in the following classes:
(a) Lines of steam and other
ships, railways, canals, telegraph,
and other works and undertakings
connecting the provinces, or ex-
tending beyond the border of the
province’.

BLOCK PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

Thus a Constitution (written
before there were such things as
hydro power systems, telephone,
oil and gas pipelines) is utilized
as a roadblock to provincial en-
actment of the popular and wide-
spread demand for public owner-
ship of public utilities and key
industries. The dangers of such —
a ruling being allowed to stand

_ are obvious.

The vital interests of the peo-
ple of British Columbia, in fact
of Canadians as a whole, demands
the strongest of protest of the Lett
decision. We must insist it be ap-: —
pealed to the highest court in the
land, and that whatever grounds
for confusion may exist in the
B.N.A. Act be clarified and
amended to bring the Constitu-
tion up to date and protect prov-

‘incial rights.

The Lett judgement can help
provide the political dynamite to
break through a major legisla-
tive log-jam and bring the Can-
adian Constitution in line with
the realities and needs of the
twentieth century on this and a —
number of other key issues.

Don’t submit to Govt. control
on Great Lakes warns Curran

“When unions submit to gov-
ernment controls to solve immed-
iate problems, however painful
and damaging, they are far too

- JOSEPH CURRAN
_ ++ Sent a letter to CLC president

likely to find themselves saddled
with controls and even greater
problems for workers and for the
labor movement”’.

That is the advice tendered in

a letter to Canadian Labor Cong-’

ress (CLC) president Claude
Jodoin from president Joseph
Curran of the National Maritime
Union of America.

The NMU president’s letter is |

in reference to the Norris rec-
ommendation for a government
appointed “‘trusteeship”’ for all
Canadian seamen’s unions, al-
legedly for the purpose of re.
moving the Seafarer’s Internation-
al Union (SIU) and its Hal Banks
leadership from Canadian ship-
ping.

The gist of Curran’s letter to.

CLC Jodoin is for the CLC to fight
its own Great Lakes battles with
the Banks-SIU outfit ‘without

¢SQuerument intervention” (trust.

ERGe

eeship), thereby avoiding the
danger of Canadian unions be-
ing “‘saddled with continuing con-
trols’.

CLAUDE JODOIN
. .. warning against government
trusteeship

ALINE 16,'1963—PACIFIC TRIBUNEPage 6