Portable road camp

A portable gonstraction camp on skids is being used by employees of the fisheries department
now building an emergency road to the slide on the Babine River which is endangering fisheries.
The camp includes bunkhouses, kitchen and tool sheds.

nclude fishermen in
Workmen’s Compensation,

lobby to gov’t demands

VICTORIA, B.C.

More itthan 200 fishermen made a salt water trek.to Victoria this week ‘in a determined bid to

ing all British Columbia fishermen under the protection of the Workmen's Compensation Act. After
{eeeting the cabinet on Tuesday, William Rigby, ex ecutive member of the United Fishermen and Allied

‘will comply with our demands.”

B.C. could

learn 3 from

USSR in farming north

<4 VICTORIA, B.C.
lea aan Columbia might well
OVene, from the Soviet Union in
Wo, oming the difficulties of de-
en ae agriculture in her north-
expe alleys, according to climate
Spans’ John Chapman of UBC,
al R ing at the fifth B.C. Natur.
top; Sources Conference in Vic-

we recently.

‘ ting ‘out the Bulkley,
Ray oy Upper Fraser, Peace and
Song} iver valleys were all now
of . ted on the border. line
Suggs sonable crop growth he
experi drawing on Russian
ine _©nce, especially in introduc-
RS new crops as yet untried in

ea Chapman stressed the
IntewrtY of the climate of ‘the
of 4 °¢ to that of certain parts
has _ Soviet Union. _ Kamloops
toy {climate like that of Sara-

Ove Stalingrad on the

Volga), Prince George like that
of Moscow, while conditions at
Fort St. John in the Peace River
Block closely resemble those of
Kazan on the Upper Volga.

At the same time, speakers in
the agricultural panel failed ‘to
see any large scale expansion in
the North under present circum-
‘stances despite British Colum-
bia’s need to import food pro-
‘ducts. ;

Prof. W. J. Anderson foresaw
a 50 percent increase in agricul-
tural production with less than
a 10 percent extension of land
used. Soils man C. A. Rowles
of UBC predicted that any new
land ‘brought under cultivation
would be in the “brown soil”
areas scattered throughout south-
central B.C. Government De-
velopment Chief W. MacGilliv-
ray pointed to the cost of clear-
ing wooded land as a deterent

Wor rs Union, said, “We have not wasted our. time, ‘but we have no assurance that the government

Delegates from 17 locals of the
United Fishermen’s Union began
arriving in the capital city on
‘Sunday ‘by fishboat, ‘by steamer
and by car. \When !the flotilla of
50 fishboats came #.to Inner Har-
‘bor, whistling ana ‘blowing their
sirens, advance delegates and
spectators lining ‘the Causeway
gave them a big cheer.

Slogans on banners displayed
on the boats read: “Compensa-
tion for all Fishermen,” “We
Want Justice for the Fisher-
man’s Widow,” Fishermen are
Working in Fact, Why Not Un-
der the Compensation Act?”,
“This is 1952 not 1852. All Fish-
ermen Need Compensation.”

Two MLA’s, Frank Calder and
Leo Nimsick, met the fishermen’s
flotilla and expressed support for
the objects of the delegation.

Delegates buttonholed mem-
bers in the lobby and presented
their case prior to meeting with
the cabinet.

to land extension in the North.
It’s uneconomic under present
market conditions, was the ver-
dict.

Conference warns
trade bars pose

threat to

B.C.

VICTORIA, B.C.

Exports in British Columbia’s major industries are seriously
menaced by “cold war” trade restrictions imposed by the St. Laurent
government, according to the picture drawn by speakers at the fifth
B/C. Natural Resources Conference held here recently.

This province’s lumber export market in the U.S.

could be wiped

out iby a 10 percent increase in American supply (or a 10 percent

drop in demand)

Move fo back
frealy upset .
by fishermen

VICTORIA, B.C.

A carefully planned attempt to
secure endorsation of the Japan-
ese Fisheries Treaty by the fifth
B.C. Natural Resources Confer-
ence here. back-fired in face of
opposition of the United Fisher-
men and Allied Workers Union.

The stage was set by the de-
livery in the Fisheries panel of
a speech prepared by Stewart
Bates, federal deputy minister of
fisheries, defending the treaty.
Then, when fishermen rose ‘to
challenge the treaty, the chair-
man, Prof. J. A. ‘Crumb, UBC,
soon limited the so-called discus-
sion period to questions.

Fortunately he found a stand-
in—Art Sager of ‘the Fisheries
Association of B.C. Sager, who
is the ‘bright boy’ for the salmon
canners, and former iprivate sec-
retary to Fisheries Minister May-
hew, just happened to be sub-
stituting for J. M. Buchanan,
president of B.C. Packers.

Sager wasn’t able to answer
any of the questions flung at
him by union men, Reg Payne,
Homer Stevens and “Scotty”
Neish; but the did deliver ‘him-
self of a blistering attack on the
union, alleging their opposition
was not “honest” and “sincere.”

By this time bewildered dele-
gates were beginning to wonder
if there wasn’t more to the whole
question than the slick phrases
of Bates’ speech revealed. So
when a resolution in favor of
the treaty moved by J. N. Hy-
land of B.C. Packers and the
ubiquitous Sager turned up on
the floor of ‘the conference, they
weren't having any.

Opposition was led off by
UFAWU president Reg Payne.
“We would have presented an
exactly opposite resolution to
this conference but we felt there
has not been adequate time for
discussion.” .

But it was no go. Conference

chairman Dr. H. L. ‘Purdy of the.
BCER jettisoned his pals un.- ‘

ceremoniously and ruled that the
resolution be referred to the in-
coming executive.

warned Forestry Dean Lowell Besley of

UBC. Yet he pointed out that
the lumber industry, which ac-
counts for 50 percent of British
‘Columbia’s total production, re-
lies almost entirely on the Am-
erican market. Before the Sec-
ond World War 45 percent of
lumber exports went’ to Britain
and only 26 percent to the United
States; in 1945-49 30 percent to
Britain and 53 percent to the
U.S, and in 1950 just 8 percent

Britain and 84 percent to the
Si

The same pattern was appar-
ent in the fruit industry. The
B.C. apple industry (which ac-
counts for one-third of ‘provincial
agricultural exports) was built
on the British market and has
been in serious difficulties since
it was cut off at the beginning
of the war, stated J. G. Camp-
bell of the B.C. Fruit Growers
Association. B.C. growers have
developed alternative markets in
Brazil, ‘the Philippines and other
places but were forced out by
competition from American
apples which receive $1.25 a box
export subsidy.

Markets for B:C. canned Sal-
mon have disappeared behind the
“iron curtain of dollar deficiency”
reported J. N. Hyland of B.C.
Packers.

Twenty-six British Common-
‘Wealth countries bought canned
salmon in 1939—only 15 in. 1950.
Twenty countries which bought
small ‘to average amounts in 1939
bought none in 1950. Total ex-
ports fell from 1,235,000 cases in
1939 to 687,000 cases in 1950 and
‘to 500,000 in the first 10 months
of 1951.

LPP fo contest

North Vancouver,
Nanaimo ridings

Constituency committees of
the Labor-Progressive party in
Nanaimo and North Vancouver
have decided to enter candidates
in. the forthcoming provincial
elections, according 'to announce-
ments made this week.

In Nanaimo, plans are under
way for the holding of a nomina-
tion conference to name an LPP
candidate. North Vancouver will
hold its nominating meeting on
Friday, March 21.

SYMPTOM: FROTHING

measures,

that there was no reason to
been spread deliberately.

Foot-in-mouth disease

The Toronto Daily Star gave its readers a new example
of irrespcnsible cold-warmongering journalism in its report-
ing of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Saskatchewan.
The purpose, of course, was to divert public attention from the
federal government’s failure to take early and effective

Under ‘a front page headline, “Seek Red Cattle Saboteur,”
the Star quoted Leonard Waas, on whose farm the outbreak
occurred, as saying that government agents had told him the
DP (then still sought) was “no doubt a Communist,” be-
lieved to have brought the deadly virus in a cigarette lighter.

But in Saskatchewan the RCMP was compelled to state

believe that the disease had

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — MARCH 14, 1952 — PAGE 3

a