Human

welfare

before atomic

warfare - LPP

TORONTO

Demands that the St. Laurent government base “its home and
foreign policy squarely upon the UN,” spend “our public monies on
human welfare instead of atomic warfare’ and sell Canadian goods
“to every country that wants to buy them” are made in a program of
“six planks for peace” issued by the Labor-Progressive party’s national
executive as parliament opened this week.

The statement demanded that
the government guarantee that
“no Canadian — man, woman or
child. — suffers hunger or cold
through unemployment.” :

Partial text of the
follows:

As parliament meets, the Tru-
man government, with the full sup-
port of the St. Laurent government,
is brandishing the H-Bomb in a
fresh attempt to intimidate people
and to blow the cold war into flam-
es. A catastrophic economic crisis
is maturing in all capitalist coun-
tries; and Canada is in its grip,
thanks to the policies pursued by
the St. Laurent government.: To
have preserved the hopes for peace
and to have protected Canadian
industry and agriculture from the
developing crisis required policies
rejected by St. Laurent.

To mitigate the evil effects of the
crisis upon our people now will
require policies radically different
from those pursued by the St. Lau-
rent government, it will require
policies and measures which put
the interests and welfare of the
people first. :

The government rejected the path

statement

of world peace because it did not |.

base its policies upon the needs and

interests of Canada’s people. Then,
as now, it sought to serve the aim
of the would-be “world conquerors”
in the United States; to transform
their cold war into a shooting war
> BOON:

That is why Canada’s export mar-
kets are being sacrificed, that is
why Canada’s national economy is
sinking into crisis, that is why
Brooke Claxton boasts that Cana-
da is spending more per head of
population in preparation for war
than is any other country in the
Commonwealth, while the homes
promised by St. Laurent in his elec-
tion speeches remain unbuilt.

That is why the St..Laurent gov-
ernment boasts that it will spend
$50 million for jet fighter planes
this year, while nearly a hundred
thousand unemployed men and wo-
_ men who are receiving nothing from
national unemployment insurance

are refused any help whatever from |-

the St. Laurent government,
That is why the St. Laurent goy-
ernment allows United States troops
_ to strut around here treating Cana-
da and Canadians as though they
were conquerors occupying. our
country. That is why Stuart Gar-
_ Son, minister of justice, “hints” at
action against “the fomenting of
discontent and disaffection”, in
plain English, the revival of the
infamous, discredited “Section 98”
— the stifling of the Civil Rights

of Canadians as part

ration for war.

* Peace and people's welfare go

together,

government can be compelled to
make a very radical change in its
foreign trade policy, the whole of
our national economy will sink
into. an -economic crisis even
worse than that of the “Hungry

Thirties” and the war danger will

become more menacing.

The Labor-Progressive. party
calls upon all democratic Canad-
jians to demand that this session
of parliament compel a change in
the basis and the aims of the gov-
ernment’s policy. Demand of your
MP's that they press for action
to:

@ Withdraw Canada from the war
camp! Spend our public monies
on human welfare instead of on
atomic warfare. Call upon the
St. Laurent government to re-
pudiate and condemn the hydro-
gen bomb.

Tell the U.S. government to
take its troops, its installations,
out of Canada—Canadians want
peace!

@ Demand of the St. Laurent gov-
ernment that it bases its home
and foreign policy squarely upon
the United Nations; upon the
unanimity of the Security Coun-
cil; upon the banning of the
atomic bomb; upon a pact of
peace between the five great
powers,

@ Re-establish the markets upon
which Canada’s agriculture and
industry were built. Sell Canad-
ian products to every country
which wants to buy them. Open
up trade with the Soviet Union,
the People’s Democracies in Eur-
ope,, People’s China. Organize
barter with Britain and the en-
tire Commonwealth.

@ Guarantee that no Canadian—
man, woman or child — suffers
hungex or cold through unem-
ployment. Cash relief to all who
do not receive unemployment in-
surance benefits. $15 per week
for single men, $20 per week to

* married men, $2.50 per week ad-
ditional for each dependent
child. Increase unemployment
insurance benefits by fifty per-
cent; make benefits payable for
as long as unemployment lasts.

@ Amend the Old Age Pensions
legislation to provide federal
pensions of $50 per month, start-
ing at the age of 65, without
means test. - :

@ Protect the civil rights of Can-
ada’s people Demand a People’s
Bill of Rights in a “Made in
Canada” Constitution.

of the prepa-

Cold spell froze up subs -
but they’re thawed out now

Since when have Vancouverites

been afraid) of rain? With one
exception, all February sub-get-
ters to date are from provincial
towns; a most unusual state of
affairs, —

There are 400 unrenewed subs,
which piled up during sub-zero
weather, to pick up this month.
Most of them are in Vancouver.

-So we're asking our supporters

to put on their rubbers, take out
their gamps, and get on the job.

Here’s the Honor Roll so far:

VANCOUVER: T. Habenicht, 2.
PROVINCE: QO MacDonald,
Campbell River, 2; W. Stockand,
Cumberland, 2; E. Tellier, Exten-
sion, 2; A. Sukeroff, Kelowna, 2.
N. Hamilton, New Hamilton, 2.

Unless the St. Laurent |:

The people must take this padlock off

Only a tremendous popular protest against Quebec Premies Maurice Duplessis’ notorious Padlock

Law, already being voiced by

the LPP, McGill students, civil rights bodies and labor organizations

across the country, can rip off the padlock here being fastened to the UJPO Cultural Center in
Montreal by Paul Benoit, head of the Montreal police “Red Squad.”

Ruddell’s probingirks
BCE financial experts |

Because the public “‘pays the shot,’ BCElectric affairs are public business. It is the duty of the Public
Utilites Commission to see that the public is protected. These are truisms, but the fact remains that the
public hearing on fare increases held by the PUC in Vancouver last week was turned into a glorified financial

strip tease on the part of the BCER, with PUC officials

all the facts could be bared.

Sally Rand always claimed that
“it isn’t what you show that
counts, it’s how you show it.” Dal
Grauer and his BCE boys took
Sally’s advice to heart, presented
a few well-padded figures on ris-
ing, operational costs, but quickly
brought down the curtain when
their profits started to show.

H. L. Purdy, BCER’s research
accountant, blandly submitted a
report showing a company “loss”
of $3,000,000 during 1949. He reach-
ed this peculiar conclusion by in-
cluding the full rate of earnings
allowed ‘the company by the PUC
in “cost of service” figures. Later
in the hearing another company
mouthpiece, Bruce Robertson, ad-
mitted that the BCE for all its
services in the lower mainland,
showed a net earnings allowance
of $5,812,152 for 1949.

Further evidence on the fat prof-

its raked in by the company was
disclosed by Emil Bjarnason, stat-

istician for Trade Union Research
Bureau, when he appeared on be-
half .of Branch 168 of the Can-
adian Legion and replied to ques-
tions of Bert Marcuse, who pre-
sented the Legion brief.

Marcuse: To your knowledge,
is the BCER operating profitably
at the present time?

Bjarnason: Its financial state
ment for the year 1948 discloses
a profit before interest, divi-
dends and taxes of $7,390,082,
and net profit after interest and
taxes of $2,603,485.

_ Marcuse: Is this an adequate
profit, by ordinary standards?

Bjarnason: It was adequate to
provide, after payment of divi-
dends, a surplus of nearly $1,000,-
000, <

helping the company by dropping the curtain before

’

ELGIN RUDDELL
The BCER couldn’t explain

Dealing with BCER’s advertis-.
ing costs, Bjarnason pointed out
that the company spends 17 times
as much for advertising as the
Winnipeg Electric,

Elgin Ruddell, appearing for the
Civic Reform Association, probed

_|deeply into BCE expenditures and

sharp crossfife. developed. .

“Who pays for publishing The
Buzzer?” Ruddell quizzed Purdy.

pal is included under items of
traffic expense,” Said Purdy, “be-
cause it gives valuable information
to the public about changed routes,
new schedules, etc.”

“But the principal purpose of
The Buzzer is to act as a ve-

hicle for BCE propaganda, yet
you make the Straphangers pay
the cost of printing it “every

ape: observed Ruddell caustic-
ally.

Later Ruddell asked for a com-

plete breakdown of certain figures
presented in the company’s report.
Company experts were riled and
replied huffily that Ruddell show-

ed “ignorance” of big business
bookkeeping methods.

“You can relieve my ignor-
ance by filing a complete break-
down of the items in question,
lumped under one heading, ‘ad-
ministrative and general’ . and

amounting to $635,698,” answered
Ruddell,

Again Ruddell asked: “How
much is spent on obsolete street

cars and how much on new equip-
ment?”

“We haven't

the breakdown
available,”

was the answer,

“You appear to have little avail-
able except your own case,” com-
mented Ruddell, and continued

firing questions on administrative
costs.

: The hearing ended Friday and
it will be at least three weeks be-
fore the PUC' hands down a ruling
on the BCE’s application to have
the interim fare increase made
permanent or rejected. Because
the city of Vancouver failed to
oppose the fare hoist, the company
had expecteq smooth sailing at
the hearing, but the sharp opposi-
tion of Legion and Civic Reform
officials upset BCR’s calculations.

Ruddell's contention that BCE
financia] figures were “in round
figures and quite inadequate” rais-
ed the question of another PUC
hearing to Permit closer examina-
tion of company finances, Acting
commission chairman D. K, Pen-
fold said he would “put the re-

quest up to members of the com-
mission,”

The obsequious attitude of com-
missioners toward BCE officials,
displayed openly at the hearings,
leaves little hope that they "will
Oppose the fare increase. Once
again the long-suffering straphang-
ers will get no help from PUC
policement” as the BCE contin-
ues to rob them through the med-
ium of Straight dime fares.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 17, 1950—PAGE 6