Kedron : a : How the Toronto Globe and Mail sees the St. Lawrence Seaway deal. By WILLIAM KASHTAN = Events force political action to forefront ‘HE spirit of fight-back in the Canadian labor movement is rising. This was evident at the Trades and Labor Congress con- vention. _ The first few days of the con- vention masked this spirit be- cause of the way the administra- tion organized the agenda. (If the administration had had its way the majority of resolutions would never have seen the light of day.) The delegates however, did not Jet the administration get away with this and once they had the opportunity of biting into the re- solutions they clearly showed they were in no mood to submit to em- ployer and government attacks on their living standards, jobs and trade union rights. Many resolutions adopted went beyond economic iSsues. If this rising spirit is to bring positive results it will have to go beyond the adoption of resolu-— tions. What is now necessary is for the TLC and its affiliates on a local, provincial and national level to build unity with ali sections of the trade union’ movement and begin an organized and united fight for those things the labor movement hold in common. To fail to do so would make these resolutions meaningless. Be Over and above the fight to implement through various forms of pres- sure on governments and em- ployers, which unfortunately the conven- tion did not tackle. This is the question of independent political action. Although there was a number of resolutions on political action to be debated, these never reach- ed the floor. By devious man- oeuvers the administration saw to it that they would never come up for discussion. This fact speaks volumes. If - the administration felt strong in its position of so-called political “neutrality” it would have per mitied debate on the issue. Ap- these resolutions - there is another side ~ political action not one of ab- stract debate, but rather a vital necessity if the labor movement is to protect its limited gains and advance them. And the TLC ad- mninistration’s policy of so-called political “neutrality” (another names for political support of the St. Laurent ‘government and his unti-national aims) is foreing more and more workers to have_ another look at the problem. The fight-back spirit will be- come stillborn unless the workers and the trade union movement break out of the shackles impos- ed on them by the TLC leader- ship in complicity with the St. Laurent government, and boldly begin to take the path of genuine independent political: action. ._ Events are now forcing the is- sue in the sharpest possible: way: Either move forward through the path of independent political ac- tion or be pushed back through ~ continued support of so-called Political “neutrality.” if the convention did not deal with this issue, life will force the ‘vorkers to resolve it, N New prefab By WILLIAM LAUGHLAN _Some of the factories a t Scottish parliament would end yearly exodus of 20,000 people j hese report of the Royal Com- mission on Scottish Affairs has been hailed in some British political circles as the “Scottish Voice.” Nothing could be farth- er from the truth. What the Royal Commission produced, after two years labor, was a report which argued the ease of Torvism and right-wing Labor against a Scottish parlia- ment. But it is certainly not the voice of Scotland. It was the wide expression of support for something to be done to secure greater control by the Seottish people over their own affairs, highlighted in the two million signatures to the Scottish Covenant two years ago, that act- ually compelled the Churchill government to set up the Royal Commission. That was the real voice of Scotland. x x xt A few people advocate separa- tion of Scotland from England. Most workers, however, includ- ing the Communists, support an arrangement whereby the do- mestic affairs of the Scottish peo- ple would be dealt with by a Scottish parliament. There would still be an all- British parliament for the common problems of all and in which the Scottish people ‘would be directly represented. A Scottish parliament would kelp to satisfy the national aspir- ations of the Scottish people, but it would do more than that. Although the establishment of a parliament in Scotland would not in itself solve the in- dustrial, economic and _ social problems in Scotland — that de- pends on the policies pursued by the political parties — it weuld be a means of getting closer to the country’s problems and the possibility of a solution. a Beg x Great sections of the Scottish people have already had their faith in the future of their own country seriously weakened. The rate of unemployment is double that of Britain as a whole. Started after the war have either been closed down or are working on a restricted basis. The prospects of the heavy in- dustries like coal, steel, and ship- building, on which Scotland so largely depends, are less favor- able than a few years ago. Rural population is shrinking at a rapid rate in the Highland and Border areas. Overcrowding is six times greater in Scotland than in England. The local coun- cils, almost ten years after the war, are nowhere near success in tackling the housing problem. bungalow popular in Soviet Union responsible ~ Sugh facts as these coupled -with a great fear that the future in Scotland will not offer real security are responsible for 20,- 000 men and women leaving their native land every year. Tens of thousands of young, skilled industrial workers have turned their backs on Scotland, not immediately because of un- employment, but because of fear of it in the future. No smug complacency, or in- sulting references to “ignorance of the existing machinery of gov- ernment in Scotland’ can wipe out these facts. And trifling pro- posals to strengthen the ‘“stage- coach” bureaucracy at St. An- drew’s House will not alter the mismanagement of Scottish ai- fairs, mm Life itself is: forcing a recon- sideration of the problem of Scot- ish self-government, and is fore- in it by the waste, muddle, inef- ficiency and, indeed, criminal administration of Seotland® by Britain’s . parliament. The case for a Scottish parlia- ment is overwhelming. It is in LETTERS DIGEST Smith Act appeal A letter jointly signed by BERTA PETTUS, HELEN HUFFS, DORTHA BOWEN and MAR- JORIE DASCHBACH states: We would very much appreciate your running the following ap- peal in your Open Forum. We wives of the four North- west Smith Act defendants — Terry Pettus, Henry Huff, Paul Bowen and John Daschbach — are writing to ask Canadians wlio recognize in the attack on our liberties the growing threat vf U.S. reaction to liberty every- where to help us with that last push which will assure printing our appeal. We are very proud of our many friend in the Northwest who, in the past two vears, have raised approximately $50,000 for the ac- tual defense. and $105,000 for bail. Now we are in the final stages of our appeal to the Cir- cuit Court and lack $2,500 to un- derwrite the printing and legal cost of the appeal. Won't you drop a contribution , in the mail? Cheaues should be nade payable to Civil Rights Con- gress, 501 Eitel Building, Second and Pike, Seattle 1, Washingtor. « the united action of the Scottish people now for peace, increasé wages, lower rents and more houses, for a secure and happy future that they can win the guar antee of final satisfaction of their national claims and aspirationS— — a parliament that would really _ serve their interests and secure Scotland’s full development. The Scottish peopie don’t ask that everything should be dope — for them. They want the right to~ run their own affairs. i ae There can:be no doubt’ that théy will vet win the fight for Scotland’s future. co. ee @ William Laughlan is secretary of the Scoftish Committee of the British Communist party: — | Flashbacks 40 years ago (From the files of the 8.C- Federationist, Sept. 11, 1914) Reporting that unemploymext was growing steadily, particularly \ in the building trades, the B-- Federationist estimated the nugr ber of jobless in the Greater Val" couver area at 15,000. Gn 1934, Vancouver claimed a populatio® of 225,000, New Westminster 24,- 000). e ' ‘15 years ago (From the files of The Advocate, September 8, 1939) _ In a speech before the Supreme Soviet, Premier -V. M. Molotov said of the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany: “This pact shows that questior® of peace cannot be solved without the Soviet Union. All attempts to solve these questions withou the Soviet Union must inevitably end in fiasco. This shows that the Soviet. Union exercises a 9 cisive influence on the inter: tional situation.” lO years ago (From the files of The People: September 7, 1944) _ A resolution adopted by Vai couver Trades and Labor Council urged the federal government t sign a 20-year pact of alliance with the Soviet Union “as a-inajo* contribution from our country t? a world of lasting peace, security and prosperity for all.” The t& solution was to be forwarded 1 the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada for consideration at 115. convention at Toronto in October parently it had doubts—and it | was not far wrong. Events of the recent past have made the issue of independent new prefabricated building plant. One type of house now being Pe duced by the Petrozavodsk plant is the attractive five-room peaiigy tt: ‘shown here. This bungalow takes 10 days to erect and finish occupancy. \ The many labor-saving methods being used by the Soviet building industry caught the'eye of Tom Hill of Port Arthur when he visited _the USSR recently. At- Petrozavodsk, from which prefabricated “houses are shipped to all parts of the Soviet Union, Hill inspected the PACIFIC TRIBUNE — SEPTEMBER 10, 1954 — PAGE :