This poster was specially made by Peking artists to greet
the national conference of outstanding Chinese workers
in socialist construction.

“The Big Operator’
viciously anti-labor

OLLYWOOD is releasing

what is probably the
worst anti-labor film in a dec-
ade: The Big Operator.

It features Mickey Rooney
“as a corrupt labor leader per-
sistently taking «he Fifth
Amendment.”

Scenes of “senate investiga-
tions, goon-squad pickets, and
a human torch tossed scream-
ing on his own front lawn”
sum up The Big Operator’s
grotesque and distorted pic-
ture of the American labor
movement.

“Fivery scene, every violent
incident, seems designed to
shock, not to enlighten,” pro-
tested a pre-release review in
the Saturday Review.

Comments in film _ trade
papers have been similar.

MGM is readying nation-
wide ballyhoo, for the film.
Fearing’ union protests, the
Hollywood publicity men will
concentrate their propaganda

in the major industrial cities.

Reputedly an ‘‘expose” of
labor racketeering, The Big
Operator is a companion piece
to the Landrum - Griffin bill.
Its release coincided with
President Eisenhower signing
this “Killer” labor bill into
law, and its effect will be, it
is hoped, to lull public opposi-
tion ‘to this attack on labor.

Producer Albert Zugsmith,’

infamous for his High School
Confidential and The Beat
Generatioh, who is respon-
sible for The Big Operator, is
a specialist in lurid films ‘‘ob-
viously out to make a _ fast
buck” (Saturday Review) on
headlined social problems. .

The Big Operator is, how-
ever, more than just another
piece of cheap celluloid sensa-
tionalism. It is a direct attack
on the labor movement.

Unionists beware! The Big
Operator will soon be playing
at your favorite theatre.

MIKE NEWBERRY

Unions and Ireland

R.H., Vancouver, B.C.: Brut-

‘tal police oppression is being

used by England against North
Ireland (Occupied Ireland). I
hope by writing to you it will
help to break the conspiracy
of silence the commercial
press and radio maintain. Pro-
‘tests are now going to Britain
from Scotland, Australia and
no doubt other Commonwealth
countries.

Here are some of the repres-
sive actions: ;

Arrest without charges.

Imprisonment without trial.

Indefinite internment with-

#/out the right of appeal..

Confiscation of bank depos-
its.

Property seizure.

Prisoners denied the right of
counsel.

Witnesses arrested and. com-

i|pelled to: testify, even if it in-

criminates them.

Recently four children, the
oldest 13 years, were held all
day in jail. Police threatened
to burn the eyes of one if he
did not stooge on his people.

Two. prisoners, Talbot and
Mallon, were tortured into
making confessions which
were used against them in
court.

Treland’s economy is _ held
down by terrorism and oppres-
sive laws. Her only growing
export is human beings — vic-
tims of oppression.

Defeated Tory candidates
have been recognized by Brit-
ain over the candidates with
the largest vote.

The Irish Trade Union Con-
gress is not recognized by
Britain.

What I would like to know
is what are Canadian trade
unions and other democratic
organizations. going to do
about it?

If more information is de-
sired, write to Desmond
Greaves, 374 Greys Inn Road,
London, W.C. 1, England.

‘| was there’

CYMRO, Vancouver, B.C.:
This is an account of an inci-
dent’ which happened in
France in the early stages of
the First World War. My unit,
the Army Ordnance Corps, had
workshops at Boulogne and it
was our duty to carry out re-
pairs. We serviced hospitals,
rest’camps and convalescent
camps within a radius of 17
kilometres. Somesof the calls
required immediate attention
and since we had no transport-
ation we submitted a requisi-
tion for a motorcycle to the

appropriate unit.

We knew from experience
that it would take a very long
time for our motorcycle to
come through, in fact, a Cath-
leen Mavourneen — “It might
be for years, and it might be
forever.” The matter was so
urgent, and our patience’ so
exhausted, that a council of
war was held by the men con-
cerned. We decided to resort
to the time honored custom of
scrounging one.

Our unit was stationed near
a marshalling yard where
trains to and from the differ-
ent railheads were made up.
We knew that occasionally a
consignment of motorcycles
came through and knew from
experience the markings - on
the boxcar. At last our pat-
ience was rewarded.

OPEN FORUM |

We located such a boxcar
and with a label addressed to
our unit, entered the boxcar,
selected one of the Douglasses
and affixed our label to it. We
had just finished and were
preparing to lift some of the
other goods out of the way
when the NCO and men res-
ponsible for the safety of the
consignment arrived on the
scene.

Politely they. wanted to
know what the .... we were
doing étc.-etc. Respectfully.
we informed them what we
were after. Their reply nec-
essitated our. immediate de-
parture. We had not gone very
far when a_e shout indicated
that the labelled bike had
been located. We hurried back
and were assisted in lifting
the machine down.

oe

T was an exciting week for

us at the People’s Co-op
Book Store. We unpacked a
new shipment of Soviet pub-
lications — 180 packages of
wonderful literature, all in the
English language!

Among the new arrivals are:

And Quiet Flows the Don:
by- Mikhail Sholokov. Reprint-
ed in a set of 4 volumes. 2600
pp. Cloth. Paper jacket, $5.00
per set. This is perhaps the
best work of Soviet literature.
It was one of the first Soviet
literary works to be translated
into English.

Dmitry Shostakovich —
Composer: By D. Rabinovich.
Illustrated. 180 pp. $1.95.
Cloth. Paper jacket. The auth-
or, a prominent Soviet music
critic, tells us of the life of
that remarkable Soviet com-
poser, his studies ‘at the Len-
ingrad Conservatory and the
influences that helped to shape
his world outlook and his in-
terests. The book offers an an-
alysis of Shostakovich’s major
musical works, including all
his eleven symphonies.

Diary of a Criminologisi: By
L. Sheinin. 203 pp. Paper-
bound. 50 cents. This diary
(1938-1957) aroused wide in-
terest in the Soviet Union, not
because it described homicide
and burglary in true-to-life ac-
counts that read like a detec-
tive novel, but because they
were the work of a gifted
writer.

Antarctica: By V. Lebedev.
259 pp. Paperbound. Illustrat-
ed with documentary photo-
graphs and maps. 50. cents.

;Books about Antarctic explor-

ations have chiefly dealt with
comparatively narrow prob-
lems. Lebedev’s. book, on the
other hand, provides in con-
densed form all the basic in-
formation there is so far about
that continent.

It gives a short but compre-
hensive description of the re-
lief, geology, waters, ice, at-
mospheric processes and fauna
of the Antarctic and its econ-
omic exploitation today. The
author compiled his material
while working with a research
group in the Slava whaling
flotilla.

Strengthen Your Heart: By
V. Zelenin. Doctor of Medi-
cine. 130 pp. Paperbound. 50
cents. What factors strengthen.
the heart? How is one to pre-
vent diseases of the heart and
blood vessels? What are the
early signs of heart trouble
and what must be done about
it. The book by Professor
Zelenin, a distinguished Mos-
cow cardiologist, answers
these and many other quest-
ions.

Curative Properties of Hon-
ey and Bee Venom: By UN.
Yoirish, Candidate of Medi-
cine. 198 pp. Illustrated. Pap-
erbound. 75 cents. The book
analyses the curative proper-
ties of honey and bee venom,
explains how honey is used in
the treatment of various dis-
eases, describes the properties
of different kinds of honey,
profitable bee breeding, etc.

A book worth reading, is
worth buying.

BILL PHILPOVICH

November 6, 1959—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5