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Montreal La Presse
Strike issue unique

MONTREAL — The strike at the Montreal La’ Presse is one
Of the most unique in the annals ‘of.trade union history, mainly
€cause it is not a strike for higher wages or fringe benefits. Its
chief purpose ‘is to uphold one of the most important funda-
Mental principles of the labor movement, the granting of leaves

Of absence so that some of
its members may be elected
to responsible posts,

Roger Mathieu, assistant edi-
tor of La Presse, was elected
President of the Canadian
Catholic Confederation of La-

r at its annual convention
last Month, but when ‘he ap-
Phed for leave of absence from
the paper to take up this ex-
“cutive post his. request was
"efused.

La Presse has allowed a
"epresentative from both ‘the
Ypographers’ union and the
Muck drivers’ union to: take
fave of absence from their
Paper Jobs to take up full-time
Union duties. But there is no
Cause: for leave. of absence. in
i Contract for the Le Syndi-

€ des Journalists de Mont-
fal which is now. on strike.
pe union called a meeting
‘ its 78 members at ‘which a
ee Was taken to empower its

€cutive to strike and to up-
a the principle of leave of

Sence. The vote was en-
*tsed by the CCCL General

“Wspaper Syndicate.

Since the union went on
strike October 2 it has had.the
support of sympathetic pickets
from Vickers, Dupuis Freres,
the Montreal Gazette and Mont-
real Star.

The 1,000 workers émployed
at the La Presse building are
refusing to cross the picket
line, Section hands and main-
tenance men remain the only
people on. the job as agreed
upon by both parties.

The company took out an
injunction to prohibit picket-
ing the day following the
strike and, the Quebec Indust-
rial Labor Relations Board was
asked by the company to de-
certify the union.

Striking newspapermen «are
issuing their’ own paper, an
eight page tabloid, named La
Presse Syndicate (Union Press),
published at 100,000 circula-
tion per day and distributed
free,by their own truckers. All
Roman Catholic parishes were
given copies in order to bring
the newspapermen’s case be-
fore the public.

is to do

A
Qive

Successful subscription
fie represents an enormous
Tibution of labor power—
sereds of workers. visiting
a to sign them up as new
eee knocking on doors to
Da up renewals, selling
Pers on downtown streets
“ at plant gatés. The suc-
‘S of the current Pacific Trib-
s drive for 1,000 subs. de-
S entirely upon the amount
Canvassing and doorbell-
Sing done by its readers.
we passed the

Nn

iy : :
igo we can “point with
’ . .
“ and. “view with alarm.”

ay. the credit side there was
Riy sup job done in Powell
ine Where a few supporters
tong “it by .a couple of visi-
+ ai Vancouver — spent
Sub Sgiving Day collecting
Noy, -2d renewals. Result: they
tay 4Ve 32 subs on an original
Set of 20.
Coste buraby press club
Q bt its total to 27 subs on
Week ® of 30 during the past
its “we is sure to surpass
/ fay. Jective in the next few
; edit Major share of the
80es to Bob Towle.
& clubs doing good. work

[First thing to do

it now

include Waterfront (13 on 15);
West End (over the top with
13 on 10); North Van City (18
on 20); North Burnaby (23 on
40); Dry Dock (16 on 20); and
Broadway (17 on 30).

In the province active clubs
are Nanaimo (37 on 75); Vic-
toria (22 on 40); Albernis (15
on 30); Mission (10 on 20, in-
cluding 5 new readers signed
up by F. O. Theiss); North Sur-
rey (10 on 20) and Kamloops
(9 on 20).

We must “view with alarm”
the situation in North Van
District (only 2 subs on _30);
Niilo Makela (1 on 10); East
End (1 on 10) and Georgia
(1 on 10).

Trouble spots in the province
include Courtenay (zero on
10); Lake Cowichan (1 on 35);
Parksville (1 on 10); Alder-
grove (zero. on 5); Fernie (1
on 10); Ladner (zero on 10)
and Haney (3 on 20).

Time is running out and
we're still 490 subs short of
our goal. We appeal to every
reader and supporter, and
members of our press clubs
to make at least one night each
week “Pacific Tribune Night.”
If you do this, the success of
the press drive is ensured.

‘UNFORGETABLE HORROR’

Rush sees Buchenwald camp
where Nazis killed thousands

(This is the second of a series of articles by Maurice Rush
on his recent visit to East Germany).

By MAURICE RUSH

Three hours I shall never forget were spent on a hill over-
looking the famous German city of Weimar, noted for centuries
as a centre of culture and learning. They were not pleasant
hours. Rather they were filled with horror and shock, for this
hill had been the site of a concentration camp, the name of

which is associated with all
the ,terror and bestiality of
Nazism — > Buchenwald. Our

guide had spent. seven years
in Buchenwald and he showed
it on his -face.

As we entered the main gate
I could not help thinking of
the hundreds of thousands of
unfortunate victims from many
lands who had gone through
these gates and of the 60,000
men and women murdered here
by the Nazis, mostly by -+hang-
ing and ‘shooting.

Many of the shacks in which
the prisoners lived have been
torn down, but parts of Buch-
enwald. are being preserved
permanently as a museum to
remind the German people and
the world of what Nazism was.

In one corner there is a
cluster of buildings surrounded
by high fences with a tall
brick smoke stack rising from
the Gentre. This was the mass

murder factory of Buchen-
wald.
I find it hard to’ describe

in words what happened here.
As you go in the gate the first
thing you see standing in the
courtyard is a_ gallows on
which six to eight people were
hanged at one time. In the
basement of one of the build-
ings there are steel hooks all
around the wall on which
others were hanged.

We were shown through a
medical room where prisoners
were supposed to get medical
treatment but which in fact
was an execution chamber
where victims were shot in the
back of the neck as they stood
against the wall to measure
their height.

Elevators were placed in
Such a position that bodies
could be piled on them with a
minimum amount of effort
and carried up to the incin-
erators which were especially
equipped to push two bodies
at a time into the huge ovens.
I was told by my guide that
for many nights before the
camp was liberated the lights
burned brightly all night long
while thousands were murder-
ed by the Storm Troopers.

It was in this compound
that the great German
working class leader, Ernst

Thaelmann, was shot down in
cold blood. The spot is now

marked and covered with
flowers.

We next visited the museum
building. Here before your eyes
is unfolded the whole bloody
story of Buchenwald. You
wonder after looking at some
of the things on display how
it was possible even for the
Nazis to become so depraved.

There are huge urns filled
“with human ashes taken from
the incinerators large
piles of shoes of men and wo-
men murdered here .. . bales
of human hair and cloth made
from hair .. . torture devices.
In a special show case is a
lamp shade made of human
skin for Ilse Koch, mistress of
the commandant of Buchen-

wald, and tattoed patches of

Gert Whgte's

SPOR

human skin cut from victims’
bodies.

On a hillside near Buchen-
wald at a spot which ean be
seen for many miles, the East
German government, with the
aid of many voluntary work-
ers, has now completed an im-
pressive monument to the vic-
tims of Buchenwald and as a
reminder to generations to

come of the terrible years of
Nazism.
As “we drove. away from

Buchenwald I could ‘see that
our driver, a young lad of 25,
was visibly disturbed by what
he had seen. “Isn’t it terrible
that some of the people who
financed Nazism are now back
in power in West Germany,”
he said to me.

But in the east a:new Ger-
many has risen — the social-
ist Germany to prevent which
Hitler was brought to power
and the monstrous Nazi state
created. In the east power is
in the hands of the people and
there is no doubt which of
the two Germanys will ulti-
mately prevail.

HE CUBS have grown up,
T and a lion is a Lion is a
‘LION. Three wins in a row,
all’s right with the world.

True, one swallow doesn’t
make a drink, and three wins

won’t make the Lions con-
tenders for the Grey Cup.
There is still plenty wrong

with the way our team is run,
and considerable strengthen-
ing is needed to come up. with
a first Class club. in 1959.

But right now the football
filberts aren’t in a mood to
quibble. Watching the bedrag-
gled Lions rise from the gut-
ter and conquer Calgary, Win-
nipeg and Regina. was an ex-
hilerating experience, and
hopes are soaring that Edmon-
ton, too, will be humbled.

$e 3 xt xt

The Yankees dood it again,
and Milwaukee is just another
team. After apparently having
the Series wrapped up, Haney’s
boys faded and dropped three
in a row. Two were close, but
those big Yankee bats decided
the issue.

The Yankees proved, as Casey
Stengel acidly observed, that
they could hold their own in

TLIGHT

This
that

American League ball is up to

the National League.
does not prove, however,

National League standard. The
Yanks are far and away the
class of the AL, but in the
National League there are
several top aggregations.
“Just wait until next sea-

son,” is the cry in San Fran-
cisco, where the Giants, with
a rookie team, gave the fans
a great first year. With better

pitching in 1959, the Giants
could be real contenders for
the NL flag.

Of course, they’ll still have
to beat Milwaukee.

GRE Ea Sane ERE
ROOFING

& SHEET METAL

yi
y ‘movi Sa
f=. Fr =
REPAIRS
Duroid, Tar and Gravel
Reasonable

Gutters and Downpipes
NICK BITZ BR. 7-6722

SESE IS OSS
October 17, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 7