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FULL No. 5&

Published Weekly

VANCOUVER, B.C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1936

Single Copies: 5 Cents

VOL. Il, No. 6

ik Spanish Elections

Political Prisoners Will
Regain Freedom

MADRID, Spain, Feb. 18.— All po-
litical prisoners in Spain have been
placed under provisional liberty
following the great People’s Front
left wing victory at the elections
held last week-end. Between 25 and
30 thousand prisoners are being
freed. «

Former Premier Manuel Azana, a
leftist leader but not a communist
or socialist, has been chosen to
form a new government since the
former Partele government has re-
signed in face of the election de-
feat.

The election victory was brought
about through the united front tac-
ties of the revolutionary and pro-
fressive movement and created a
State of alarm among the bour-
geoise, the fascists, conserva-
tives, army officials and other re-
actionary elements moving towards
immediate measures to prevent the
people’s front under left leadership
takine control of parliament.

The toiling masses of Barcelona
and Madrid were highly elated at
the victory and immediately hoisted
the red flag over public buildings
in place of the Republican tricolor.

Goncentration of the people's
front will now be directed against a
coup d’etat by fascist reactionary
‘elements.

Waiters Strike
At Deutchland

Demand Back Pay, with
Union Wages and
Conditions

VANCOUVER, B.C., Feb. 19.
Seven waiters struck work yester-
day noon-at-_the-Deutschland-Csfe.
615 Seymour St, demanding their
back pay, union wages, and union
recognition.

The waiters, members of the Ho-
tel and Restaurant Employees Un-
jon, A.F.of L., were treated like pan-
handlers by the proprietors, who

' handed them their wages a dollar
or two at a time whenever they
asked for their pay.

Weeges for services on New Years
in 1934-35 and ’36 were owing to
these workers, some of whom had
not been paid for three weeks,
whilst others had not received any
wages since the Deutschland Cafe
moved from their place of business

MOTHERS, UNIONS,
CCF AID TREKKERS

Support for the arrested “‘On-
to-Ottawa” Trekkers still con-
tinues in British Columbia. Dona-
tions by the Vancouver Mothers
Gounceil of $125; Social Committee,
Victoria C.CF. Club, $10; and
Sheet Metal Workers Union, Rail-
road Local 314 (A-F.cof L.), $5,
have been received this week by
the Vancouver Citizens’ Defence
Committee.

Regretting their inability to
make a donation, owing to low
finances through so many of their
membership being unemployed,
the Journeymen Stone Cutters
Association of North America
(A.F.of L.) endorsed resolutions:
calling for the freeing of those
arrested.

MAY AFFILIATE
WITH THE CCF

Ontario Labor Party
- Secretary States
Position

TORONTO, Ont., Feb. 17 (ALP)
—Arthur Mould, president of the
Labor Party of Ontario, will begin
a tour within two weeks in the in-
terests of the party, it was an-
nounced today following a meeting
of the executive committee held in
Toronto yesterday afternoon.

An enlarged executive committee
meeting is to be held prior to the
provincial convention of the C.C-F.
in April and, according to yester-
day's decisions, oifer of cooperation
or reaffiliation will be made to the
G.CE. by a delegation from the
Labor Party.

“The purpose of the tour,” Arthur
Mould said, “is to make the position

MaclInnis

for those expenses.

could come from him.

as follows:

account.’

Retracts

Statement In House

Charge That Communist Candidate Was Financed
_ by Liberal Party Based on Information He
Believed at the Time To Be Reliable

On Friday, February 14th Mr. Angus MacInnis, C.C.F.
member for Vancouver Hast rose in the House of Commons
on a question of privilege and made a statement with regard
to a statement he made two days previously in the same place
to the effect that the candidature of Malcolm Bruce, Com-
munist candidate in the last federal election in Vancouver
East, was financed by the Libera] Party, and that when
called upon to submit a statement of election expenses the
authorities were referred to the Liberals as being responsible

As stated in the B.C. Workers’ News last week, Bruce,
upon learning of the statement of MacInnis, wired him, re-
questing that he inform him as to just what he did say, as
the charge being wholly untrue it seemed incredible that it

Mr. MacInnis replied as follows:

MALCOLM BRUCE, VANCOUVER, B.C.

MATLING HANSARD OF TODAYS PROCEEDINGS WHICH
WILL GIVE STATEMENT MADE ON
STATEMENT MADE IN HOUSE ON RECEIPT OF WIRE
STOP FIRST STATEMENT WAS ON INFORMATION BE-
LIEVED TO BE REEIABLE STOP HANSARD ADDRESSED
GENERAL DELIVERY MAIN POST OFFICE VANCOUVER

(Signed) ANGUS MACINNIS

WEDNESDAY ALSO

The statement of MacInnis as recorded in Hansard is

“Mr. Speaker: I wish to raise a question of privilege in
reference to a statement made in the House on Wednesday
last. I read the statement from page 168 of Hansard:

“ “However that did not prevent the Liberal party from
helping the Communist party in Vancouver east. I am told
that the Communist candidate in Vancouver Mast did not put
in an account of his election expenses, and I understand his
reasou for refraining was that the Liberal party had provided
the funds and that it was up to them to put im the expense

“Since that time I have received information from Mr.
Bruce, who was the Communist candidate, that my statement
was not correct. As he has no one here to make the state-
ment for him, [I wish to ous gees on record.”

of the Labor r Party clear to all sec=
tions of the labor movement. We
have no intentions of building an
opposition party to the Cooperative
Gommonwealth Federation, but ra-
ther with the view of becoming an
integral part of the C.CF.”

on Granville St., two weeks ago.
- Offers to open negotiations with
the proprietors on wages reached
a climax yesterday when the boss
told the waiters that if they did not
like the way he was running things
to “take the door.’’

A picket line has been estab-

lished.

fence Committee

Successful

Permission to hold a tag day
February 29th to raise funds for
defence of the arrested ‘“‘On-to-
Ottawa’ Trekkers in Regina was
granted the Vancouver Citizens’
Defence Committee by Finance
Committee, Vancouver City Coun-
ceil on Wednesday, February 19.
Acting Mayor Tisdall attempted
to have the letter asking for a per-
mit for the tag day filed, without
allowing the delegation a hearing,
Stating that similar requests had

previously been refused. Alderman
Wilson objected to this and his
|) amendment, seconded by Alderman
MacDonald, that the delegation be
heard was carried.
Asking that the finance commit-
tee make a definite decision, Col.
Iyon, of the Vancouver Citizens’
Defence Committee, stated that he
had been informed by Chief of
Police Foster that when the matter
hed previously been left in the
hands of the Acting Mayor and
himself, a decision was made with-
out his knowledge. This Col. Lyon
pointed out, meant that the matter
was left entirely in the hands of Al-
_derman Tisdall for a decision; a
“Iman who is definitely opposed to
the trekkers and the granting of a
tag day for their support.
Ald. Corey Supports

Strong objection to the granting
of a permit was raised by Alder-
Man Miller, who stated that, “If
this is granted I will vote in favor
of every application for a tag day
Imade to the city.’ Alderman Corey
strongly supported the application,
also pointing out that some of the
city’s leading citizens were sponsor-
ing the Vancouver Gitizens’ Defence
Committee in their efforts to raise
funds to give the arrested trekkers
every opportunity to properly pre-
sent their case before the courts.

The motion of Alderman Wilson
that a permit be granted, with the
usual proviso that a member of the
City Hall staff be empowered to
eheck the collection to ensure the

City Council Grants Tag Day
For Camp Trekkers’ Defence

2 s >
Vancouver Citizens Dyas (ee was carried with support of

funds were used for defence pur-

Aldermen MacDonald, Corey, Gib-
bens and Harvey.

“We need five hundred tag-
gers,” states the secretary of the
Vancouver Gitizens’ Defence Com-
mittee. All persons who can give
their services in this work are
asked to communicate with the
committee at Room $28, Yancou-
ver Block, or phone Trinity 1307.

$4 MONTH RELIEF
INDIAN FAMILIES

DEEP BAY, B.C. Feb. 18.—
Destitute Indians in this district
receive only $4.00 per month in
groceries for themselves and their

families, mo other relief being
granted them.

Single unemployed white men
have now been notified by the

administrator that their relief will
be cut next month from the present
$9.60 to $6.60 per month.

The relief officer states that he
is acting on instructions from Vic-
toria in putting this cut into effect,
but has promised, in answer to pro-
tests of single unemployed, to again
take up the matter with the Pro-
vincial Government.

To work out their relief, recipients
have to travel 15 miles to work in
an open truck, and are so crowded
that when they reach the job they
are so stiff and cold they can
hardly move.

FARMERS GIVE HIM
HIS OWN MEDICINE

SUDBURY, Ont., Feb. 6—(ALP)—
“We'll let him see what it’s like to
be cold and hungry,” was the slozan
of angry farmers of St. Charles, a
farming community near Warren,
Ont., when they imprisoned the re-
lief officer in the relief office with-
out heat or food. This is the gist of
reports reaching here from the
area.

The farmers, 45 in number, ac-
cordine to the reports, barricaded
the officer, GP. Fenson, in the
effice as a demonstration for better

Fishermen

Fold Up Nets

By CARL HICHIN

WINNIPEG, Man., Feb. 13.—Dis-
gusted with current prices paid by
fish dealers, fishermen in the
Cormorant district of the Manitoba
lakes, are folding up their nets for
the season. Two veterans report re-
ceiving $12 for one month’s catch
of about one and a half tons. Re-
tail prices as advertised here today
range from 15 to 20 cents per
pound for the lake fish—an average
of $350 per ton.

Exposure to the most frigid
weather adds to the arduous night
work of the Manitoba lake fisher-
men. During the past two weeks at
Cormorant the thermometer has
registered 50 below zero every night
and has seldom risen to 30 below at
any time of the day.

WhereAreOur

Rich Farmers?

HAMILTON, Ont. Feb. 13.—
(ALP)—Only 262 farmers in the
whole of Canada paid income taxes
last year, according to G. Herbert

Carter, Burlington fruit grower,
who spoke yesterday at the 76th
annual convention of the Fruit

Growers’ Association of Canada.

Against the number who paid in-
come tax, Mr. Carter placed another
figure—90,000 farmers on relief.

“And more coming,’ he added,

The Burlington fruit farmer de-
clared that the position of all fruit
farmers is becoming really des-
perate,

Mysterious Stool’s

ONTRADICTORY POLICE EVIDENCE AT PROBE

Peop le’s Front Victory Affidavit

Submitted By Chief Foster;

Salonen Exposes Fabrication

MOTHERS’ COUNCIL
RAISES MONEY
FOR TREKKERS

The bazaar held by the Mothers’
Council in O’Brien Hall, Homer
Street, on February 11, netted a
Sum of $125 which was handed over
to the committee in charge of rais-
ing money for the defence of the
leaders of the Camp Boys’ strike
and historic trek to Ottawa, -who
come up for trial at Regina on
March 11.

The Mothers’ Council has been
most active in support of the Camp
Boys who were blacklisted from the
camps after the strike and denied
relief by the authorities, and later
in defence work.

The quilt which was raffled was
won by ticket No. 539 and the
hand-worked tablecloth was won by
ticket No. 24.

Those in charge of the bazaar
wish to thank all those who so
generously contributed to and pat-
ronized it.

@ther social affairs are planned
for the future, the proceeds to go
for the same worthy cause. One of
the first of these will be a whist
drive in O’Brien Hall on February
25 at 2 p.m., to which all are in-
vited.

SLY INTIMIDATION
AT CAMP INQUIRY

VANCOUVER, Feb. 20.—Intimi-
dation of witnesses for the camp
boys at the one-man commission
sittings held here in the Moose
Hall is apparent by the placing
of E. E. Kusch, R.C.M.P: stool-
pigeon, as doorkeeper so that he
can scrutinize every witness or
spectator who attends. Citizens
who would gladly testify but who
are timid and dread being perse-
cuted later by the police are
afraid to attend when they are
told that this is the man who gave
evidence at Regina when he de-
Clared that he was “at the dis-
turbance at the WHudson’s Bay
store and attended all the meet-—
ings of the camp boys in his ca-
pacity as an R.C:M.P. undercover
man.”

WINNIPEG, Man. Feb. 13.—
Although the school board of the
neighboring municipality of St.
James approved this week an in-
erease in pay to eight of its teachers,
permission of the provincial sov-
ernment’s supervisor of municipai-
ilies must be obtained before the

increase can be paid.

Italian Troops Deserting At
Rate Of 200-300 Per Week

Officers Accompany
Men; Revolt And
Mutiny

By PIERRE VAN PAASSEN—

MILAN, Italy. (ALP) — Two
thousand Italian soldiers stationed
in the garrisons on the frontier
near the Brenner Pass have de-
serted the colors and crossed into
Austria.

Late in January, the Yuso-Slav
government was organizing an in-
terment camp at Puzla in Bosnia
province for the 2,500 Italian de-
Serters who had come over from the
Venetian Julian districts. Another
camp in Bosnia was being put in
shape at Bistriza for the 127 Italian
officers who had accompanied their
men. The London Times corre-
spondent at Munich, reports that
approximately 1,000 Italian soldiers
had taken refuge in Bavaria by
New Year's Day and that the rate
of desertion from Italy's border gar-

risons was increasing from 200 to
300 per week.
Italian consuls and diplomatic

representatives all over the world
have been instructed to issue cate-
goric denials to these reports wher-

Inside Story of How Cor-
porations Are

Protected

“Behind the scenes in the coron-
er’s court,’”’ might well be the title
of the story which was unwittingly
told The B.C. Workers’ News re-
Porter by one who had sat on the
jury enquiring into the death of
an employee of a large company,

The inquest was being held into
the death of Henry Mumbray,
Burnaby, who was fatally injured
February 5, in a fall from a scaf-
fold at the Vancouver Post Office
Building. The inquest was charac-
terised by this juryman as the most
flagrant case of attempting to
shield the company in his experi-
ence. He has acted on juries in
other cases, but never on one so
openly corrupt as this.

Members of a coroner's jury are
picked up on the streets of the city
at random and warned that failure
to appear for duty at the appointed
time will result in a fine of $40
being imposed. Despite this hap-
hazard way of selecting a jury, and
the consequences of failing to ap-
pear, members of the jury receive
no pay for their services.

When the members were called
into the jury room they found one
already sitting there, he had the
air of being a professional juryman
and proceeded to say that he was
prepared to act as foreman of the
jury if no one had any objection.
The clerk of the court then in-
structed them as to what consti-
tuted jury service and what was

relief.

expected of them.

Coroner’s Court Changes
Verdict Of Jury

Members

In court the foreman of the
construction company, Carter-Halls-
Aldinger Company Itd., explained
the scene of the accident, the scaf-
folding and how the deceased met
his death. He described the ledger
which broke while holding the
plank on which the deceased and
another were standing as being 1’’
by, 10" and grading as No. 1 com-
mon. On further investigation he
stated that the ledger was a 1” by
8” while the coroner, who explained
that he was at one time a lumber
inspector, stated that if he was
grading that piece of lumber he
would call it a cull,

During the hearing of the medical
testimony the coroner said that
the possibility. that the man’s
death was caused by heart failure
rather than by the fall must be con-

MOVE TO UNITE
WOOD-WORKERS

TORONTO, Ont., Feb. 12.—(ALP)
—Unity move which will involve
every branch of the furniture in-
dustry was made last night when
A. Gooper, of local 1415: of the
United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners (A-F.L.), Frank Prior,
of local 30, and Fred Gollins, of
lecal 2, of the Furniture Workers’
Industrial Union (W-.U.L.), decided
to recommend to their - respective
unions to set up a joint council.

“It is undoubtedly one of the
sreatest steps forward to unity ever
taken in the entire trade,’’ Collins
Said, “Under the leadership of this
council, merzer of unions in the
furniture trade is expected to take
place.”

Sidered but covered up this state-
ment when asked by one of de-
ceased’s relatives if he was imply-
ing that death was due to natural
causes.

Place Blame on Company

As the jury retired to consider
their verdict the foreman of the
jury stated that he thought
this was simply a case between
the relatives of deceased and the
insurance company. Other mem-
bers of the jury, however, dis-
agreed with this and stated that the
blame for the fatality should be
placed where it rightly belonged,
squarely on the shoulders of the
construction company.

The section of lumber which had
been produced in court. and the
breaking of which precipitated
Mumbray to his death was in the
jury room and was closely ex-
amined, also measured, It was
found to be only 34” thick and
7%” wide, was cross grained, sec-
ond hand lumber, and in the sec-
tion examined, which was about
three feet in length, there were six
knots ranging in diameter from
1%” to 3” in diameter. This was
part of the scaffolding holding the
plank on which two men had to
stand and which the foreman of the
job admitted he had not inspected
prior to the men commencing work.

Death Due to Negligence

With only the foreman of the
jury opposing it was decided to
bring in a verdict against the com-
Pany for negligence which resulted

+

in the fatality. The completed ver-
dict was that ‘‘Death was due to
nesligence of the company in not

providing good lumber for scaffold-

(Continued on page 4)

ever they appear.
Native Troops Not Dependable
There were 26 minor revolts
and group refusals to leave for the
War in Africa in the course of De-
cember and January. On December

: i3-and—i4,_peasants-in the “Hish- 5

Adigo provinee, which is the former
Austrian Tyrol, were making coffins
for soldiers executed in the mutiny
at Bolzano. Wounded and sick men,
who have returned from Eritrea,
told me that Italy’s native Ascari
troops are so little dependable that
they have to be driven to battle by.
machine gun detachments of the
black-shirt legions. Whenever these
Ascaris showed the slightest hesita-
tion to fight or made ready to cross
ever to join their Abyssinian
brothers, the black-shirts behind
them cracked loose with a rain of
death.
Thousands Incapacitated

This explains in part the high
casualties suffered by the Ascaris,
while few deaths are reported

Harold Winch Brands

‘Specials’ as Cause of
Trouble During the
Camp Strike

SELECT WITNESSES

Branding newspaper headlines as
“ridiculous”. and misleading,
and refuting the affidavit sub—
mitted by Chief of Police Hoster
that $4000 had been offered by the
longshoremen to the Telief camp
strikers if they remained in Van—
couver to aid a proposed longshore
Strike, Oscar Salonen took the stand!
at the Regina Riot Commission:
February 19. Declaring that he had
been asked by Chief Foster and:
Mayor McGeer to be present at the
meeting in the Avenue Theatre,
May 20, in order to see that the
Strikers’ delegation put correctly te-
the men the proposals of Mayor
McGeer that the men returm to
camp. Until these proposals had
been presented and unanimously re—
jected, no person outside of mem--
bers of the delegation had spoken.

After a delegation had been sent
to endeavor to secure more relief,
Salonen testified that he was asked?
to speak and in doing so pointed?
out to the strikers that in all prob—
ability the longshoremen would not
be enabled to assist the Strikers any
further owing to the danger of am
attack on their union by the Ship—
ping Hederation.

On the return of the delegation:
they stated that Mayor McGeer ha&

informed them there would be Re

trouble on the waterfront,
thing haying been setttled.
Salonen, believing that the Mayor
“who had instigated the trouble om
the waterfront” would be im a posi—
tion to know, assured — the camp
strikers, that he had reason to-be=

every—

(Continued on page 4)

among the black-shirts. Suez GanaD
Statistics show that 39,000 men have
been sent back to Italy and to the
hospital cities on the isle of Rhodes_
This means that 39,000 are per—
manently incapacitated and that at
least another 40,000 are in the
hospitals of Eritrea and Somali_
Jand.

At present the Italians are raking=
up children in Tripoli to be draftea
for the armies in Abyssinia, the
boys to ‘amuse’ the black troops,
while the girls are destined for the
military brothels in Eritrea, Hasclee
civilization goes forward!

Huge Building Program
#: For 1936

SC NEW SCHOOLS

MOSCOW, USSR, Feb. 17 (By
Cable to AILP)—Two billion, four
hundred and fifty-six million rubles
will be the sum of capital expendi-
tures in the reconstruction of Mos-
cow for 1936, was the decision of
the Plenum of the Moscow Soviet,
which opened here today.

Bulganin, chairman of the Mos-
cow Soviet, in his report to the as-
Sembled delegates, gave a nun.ber
of brilliant figures on the develop-
ment of life in Moscow. In 1435,
in comparison with 1934, the con-
Sumption of meat in workers’ fami-
lies had increased by nineteen per
cent, on fish by fifteen per cent,
on butter by sixteen per cent, on
milk thirty-three per cent, eggs
thirty per cent, and on clothing by.
forty per cent.

330 Apartment Houses

In Moscow, during the current
year, there is to be construction
work on a scale hitherto unseen.
Construction on 330 large brick
apartment-houses will be com-
menced immediately. Wifty-five
kilometers (approximately 34 miles)
of tramway lines will be taken off
the main streets and thirty-five (ap-
proximately 21 miles) of new roads
will be built. Im this connection
there will be added to the existing

STOP STEWART
SMITH MEETING

NORTH BAY, Ont., Feb. 15—
(ALP)—Declininge to make any
statement, but admitting that he
had orders to stop the meeting,
Chief Constable Clarke refused to
allow a public meeting at which
Stewart ©. Smith, chairman of the
Canadian Delegation to the Seventh
World Congress of the Communist
International, was to have spoken
tonight in the MeIntyre Street

Orange Hall here.

Moscow To Scrap 34 Miles
Of Tramcars; New Buses

Street transportation facilities ance
ther 250 trolley buses and 250 eure
buses.

The 1936 plans for Moscow pro-
vide in addition 50 new schools, five
hospitals, three maternity homes,
five creches and seven automatic
telephone stations.

UNSEATED REEVE
WILL RUN AGAIN

East York C.C.F. Leader
Williams Re-Nomi-

nated
TORONTO, Feo. 15.—(ALP)—
East York’s election to fill the
vacancy caused by the unseating™

of Reeve Arthur Williams will be
held on Webruary 29, with the
Nominations on February 22, Dep—
uty-Reeve John Doggett announced
last night.

The order unseating the €.G.FW
leader was received from the parlia—
ment buildings by the township-
eouncil yesterday.

Leader of the bitterly-fought re—
lief workers’ strike last November
and December, Reeve Williams was
nominated for office by the East

York Workers; Association, mili-
tant C.C.. affiliate and was elected-
Later, under an amendment rushed

through on the Municipal Act by
the Hepburn government, he was
thrown out of office. It was

charged that he was three months
in arrears of rent and was thus
not eligible for office.

Williams will be renominated, it
is assured, but who will be his op-
ponent or opponents is not yet
known.

Williams owed a matter of $2.50
over the amount permitted by law
and the cost of a new election te
the township will be $2,000.

All labor and progressive organi—
zations in East York will support

Williams, it has been announced.

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