Doctors’ bills, hospital bills, the high price of prescribed _ Inedicines—the most worri- _ some item in the budget of @ny working class family! _ Because of these high medi- _ ¢al costs a breadwinner under _ apitalism often ‘“economizes” on family health, and often - with serious results, q ’ How different in the Soviet _ Union and_. other socialist - By WILLIAM KASHTAN The Roadmen’s Association is quite an institution in the Canadian trade union move- _ ment. Composed of appointed _ international __ representatives « of AFL unions it constituted Bee the real power behind the scenes in the old Trades and __ Labor Congress, and constantly © strove to curb the rank and file and prevent the TLC from adopting progressive policies. _ The roadmen forced the TLC to retreat when it raised the banner of “co-operation -ever, domination never” in relation tothe AFL. . ae att. preety Merger.of the TLC and CCL “in the Canadian Labor Con- _ gress created a different rela- _ tionship of forcés in the trade union movement and weaken- éd the roadmen somewhat. But the Roadmen’s Association still exists, still meets, still tries to influence the policies of the Congress and of many of its affiliates, backed by the au- thority of some elements in _ the AFL-CIO. They constitute a baneful influence in the trade union movement of this country and probably are the basic force within it opposing < the implementation of the CLC TEsolution on political action. Ris ae President: Jodoin has issued | many -statements about the’ growing attacks on the demo- » cratic rights of the trade union “movement by big business. ' How serious is he when he joins in attacks on the demo- cratic rights of workers to stand for election and the democratic rights of workers to elect whom they choose. _ President Jodoin, backed by the authority of the CLC, has called upon the Diefenbaker fovernment to enact a Bill of Rights with teeth in it to rantee the democratic ‘et of the Canadian people, cluding the rights to associa. ei ; countries where medical care and hospitalization is comple- tely free, and where the health of the individual is the prime concern of the state! Vancouver worker, Joe Freedman has. just returned home after a: full month’s checkup and rest in.one of the thousands of Sanatoria now in operation in the USSR. Freedman’s experiences are AFL-CIO ‘roadmen’ Vs. union democracy The question presents itself: isn’t it timely also to have a Trade Union Bill of Rights which adequately protects the democratic rights of all mem- bers of the trade union move- ment and-puts an end to dis- crimination against any worker because of his political views? Shh om Anti-Communism and dem- ocracy are two opposing con- cepts. Anti - communism is monopoly’s smokescreen to at. tack democratic rights, work- ing-class standards and the rights of the trade union move. ment. The witchhunt now being proposed by some of the-road- men is directed at big game. It is the opening gun of-prep- arations for the forthcoming convention of the Canadian Labour Congress where major questions of policy will be fought out: ‘ @ All-inclusive action — or continued support, tacit or otherwise, of the old line part- ies of monopoly. © Militant trade union unity to advance living standards and reduce hours of work—or retreat before monopoly ’s’ at- — tacks. ® United action to defend trade union rights—or accomo- dation to anti-labor legislation. @ Organization of the unor- ganized — or continued juris- dictional squabbles and raiding while automation displaces manpower and creates new problems for the workers and the trade union movement of this country. ho ee ae The roadmen want to pre- . vent the workers, who are in- creasingly dissatisfied with their policies, from discussing these and other matters of policy. The rank and file must be alert to this development and unite their strength to defeat she ~ SPENT MONTH IN SANATORIUM No doctors’ bills in USSR Vancouver traveller discovers typical of the top priority given to human health and well-being in the Soviet Union. First a thorough examination at the great Moscow Medical Polyclinic by eight or nine Soviet doctors, each a specialist in his own field of diagnosis and research. (Just figure out the cost of that examination. alone, in terms of dollars). Following the three-day checkup at the Moscow Poly- clinic, scribe a sanatorium, where the results of their diagnosis will receive special attention, so Freedman was sent to one of the many magnificent sana- toriums at Yalta on the Black Sea. There he was put on a “diet” which he said would “sometimes stump a healthy logger to put it all away four times a day.” Supplementary to ‘dieting’ a prescribed routine of mineral baths, in which many of the. Black Sea Sanatoria are world_ famous in their healing and energizing properties. In addition to this excellent sanatoria treatment, Jie Freed- man and his fellow patients had many pleasant tours around the Yalta,coast, visiting former Tsarist and princes’ palaces, now used as sanatoria and rest homes for Soviet workers. Now I know,” Joe told the Pacific Tribune, “what they mean in the Soviet Union when they say medicine is free. It is not only free, but con- sists of the best that medical science can contribute to hu- man health.” While in the USSR, Freed- man had an opportunity to see the gigantic May Day dem- onstration in Moscow, attend the great operas in Moscow ‘and Leningrad, and visit many places of interest. - “In the Soviet Union,” Freed. man stated. “the scars of war have been completely obliter- ated by new cities, and the people now work and build for + peace.” ‘| was there’ contest Many fine articles were re- ceived by the Pacific Tribune in its “I was There” contest Some of these stories will be published in coming weeks, beginning with our next issue. We believe that publica- tion of such articles, dealing with personal experiences of our readers, will encourage many other supporters to try. their hand at the game. All contributions are | welcome, and will receive considera- tion by the editorial board. these specialists pre- ~ Ken Pears was the outstanding star Monday night at Empire Stadium as B.C. All-Stars whipped West Brom- wich 3-2, the second time in three years that a local side beat a first division English club. e) SPORTLIGHT. S B.C. soccer improving, or - is Old Country soccer deteriorating? A bit of both we venture to say. “The ordinary fan in Eng- land is far from satisfied with the way soccer is run by the brass. The players have plenty of beefs, too. Perhaps this has more than a little to do with the recent defeats touring Old Country teams have suffered ‘in South America. and _the _United States. An irate English fan sent a letter to the annual meeting of the Football League: in London last week, in which he urged improved facilities for the crowd, better soccer, and better treatment of play- ers. We quote: “Although you are often over-generous when signing a cheque to buy a player it June 5, 1959 — PACIFIC TRISUNE—PAGE 3 often seems your generosity falls short when it comes to the player himself. “The. players’ _union _has been fighting on and off over the years for a decent wage scale for footballers; this has not yet been achieved, due mainly to the miserly atti- tude of many clubs. “These same players are also tied down unfairly by a very one-sided contract sys- tem, and it’s woe-betide any player who dares to swim against the tide. “This insistance that the club is the most important of all in the structure of | soccer is ruining our inter- national reputation. “Also,” how about slinging out the bottom half-dozen clubs in the fourth division and signing up some of the more promising outsiders, such as Peterborough?”