age Twa

B.C. WORKERS’ NEWS

December ii, 1936

What Mr. Lefeaux Didn't

By BECKIE BUHAY EWEN
{Concluded From Last Issue)

Paris
Here

@ne day we visited the huge
Commune factory in Moscow.
the conditions were similar to those
4n the Ball Bearing Plant. The large
Wall Newspaper in this plant was
proclaiming the fact that the work-
4rs had surpassed their quota, they
had manufactured 700,000 more
pairs of shoes than the production
of the previous year. What did this
mean not only in the terms of in-
ereased wages and better conditions
#o these workers, but to the whole
of the S.U.2 Remember that in the
days of Czarism, only about 25 per
eent of the population wore shoes,
and these were imported. The peas-
ant wore and, of course, many of
4hem still wear the straw “‘lapsl’” as
they call them. Now, with the enor-
guous increase in production the
4ime has almost arrived when every
joody in the Soviet Union will be in
position to buy several pairs of
Shoes a year.

Mr. Lefeaux says that collective
goanagement was abolished in 1934,
and that now the workers have no
eontrol. Well, its true that the So-
wiet made quite a number of experi-
ments in its democratic forms of
fandling the major operations of in-
dusiry—they found the old form of
feaying it completely to the factories
4hemselves often cumbersome, and
gacking in general perspectives, they
Zelt the need of developing speciai-
47eq departments of experts (and
Mir. Lefeaux, these experts come
#rom the factories and are trained
gnainly from the workers ranks).
But if Mr. Lefeaux had seen the
avorkers of this factory in action at
4heir meeting as I saw them, sev-
erely criticizing the foremen, and
proposing radical changes that ef-
Zected not only their shop, but the
axibole industry, and heard subse-
quentiy how the workers’ reeom-
gnendations were carried through by
the government, he would think
¢wice before leaving the impression
4hat industrial management is un-
democratic. It is a combination of

a@emocracy and efficiency that they
gre today practising and finding
wery effective.

Wational Problem Solved

Fifty miles from Moscow, is the
eity of Orekhova, where a larfze
fextile mill is situated. What im-
pressed us most here was the clean-
finess of the women at work, and
one of them took us home to have
tea with her, she and three children
jived in the new two-room apart-
mnent with all conveniences, and how
proud she was of it, and here again,
As jn so many cases, we were given
A graphie description of the terrible
eld Cbarist days. The beautiful
mansion of the old capitalist boss
jaas been turned into a Sanitorium
for the textile workers. She told us
at Jength of the child welfare scheme
the factory had put into operation,
of the many new schools they were
building, of the fourteen new kinder-
gartens. Here, like in all cities and
4owns, construction was going on
capacs, In this small city of 91,000
‘pepulation, the government is ex-
spending four and a half million
soubles for education purposes alone’

Perhaps the greatest thrill we got
“was in the eastern part of the So-
-vief Union, Baku, Tiflis, Eerivan. it
“was more than inspiring to see the
mew socialist cities alongside of the
oid Oriental hoyels, to see the wo-
men of the harem, living just a few
years ago in the most extreme back
syvardness, emancipated and taking
her place in industry, Sovernment
and culture. In Erivan, Soviet Ar-
menia, the workers told of the old
horrors of Czarism, when the Turks
and Armenians were constantly
slaughtering each other. Now they
were living together, working to-
gether in harmony, each nationality
svith its own autonomy, eulture and
mational consciousness; but operat-
ine in a true international spirit.
‘This solution of the national prob-
jem has only ben accomplished in
the U-S.S-R.

Just a final personal touch. In
Wroscow I made a number of Russia
acquaintances amone workers and
fechnicians. One thing I know, they
are still poorly housed, according to
our standards, and maybe from the
glittering: angie, not too well dress-
ed, but they ate well, had a wonder-
ful social life, and radiated with
ereative happiness. Creative happi-
mess—i mean by that they were al-
ways doing things in a social sense
— undertaking a new project, at-
fending studies, enjoying themselves
in sroups—engaged in remaking
¢heir own lives and that of others.

Couple Are Symbolic of Soviet
Citizens
remember particularly the
of Wolodya and Nadya. ng
ean't remember their first
mames. WVolodya was 2 worker in
the Metro—he had had little educa-
dion until a few years ago—but he
Jearned rapidly, and when the Metro
was being built he became a very
able shock brigadier in his gans.-
Wadya had eraduated in the techni-
eum, where she had received, while
studying, a monthly allowance of 150
roubles. They both met in the Metro,
WWadya became a chemical engineer—
and when I met them they had been
snarried six months. Voldya, when
ZT met him, was making 410 roubles
4 month, Nayda (a woman) 600
roubles.
They were
father in a large,
furnished room, which was parti-
#joned and the three of them were
fine companions and seemed very
happy. I went to their place to tea
a number of times (Nayda spoke a
Zittle Mnelish). They paid 35 roubles
@ month for their room, were eating
wery well and dressed fairly well.
They were always buying books, and
Woldya was making payments on a
piano since he was musically in-
eined. Just before I left Moscow
¢hey told me that they both received
@ raise which amounted to 25 per

I
eases

jiving with Nayda’s
neat and simply

cent, and for their good work a spe-
cail vacation and free trip to
South Caucases.

I believe that this couple are sym-
bolic of many of the young Soviet
citizens today, and their alertness,
interest in politics, arts and their
work made you feel that they were
intensely alive, so different to the
despairing youth of the main capital-
ist cities.

Soviets Inherited Poverty

When one reaiizes what life meant
for the masses under Czarism—then

you get a clear picture of the
miraculous improvements already
achieved, It is true that there are

still many problems confronting the
people, but their problems are so
different from ours, they are prob-
Jems of growth, how to build houses
quick enough, how to get more of
the good things of life speedily. We
must understand that the Soviets
are dealing with a population of a
170 million people, in a country that
had possibly the smallest and most
undeveloped working class in the
world. Wevertheless what these
heroic people have already accom-
plished gives the real reply to the
Menshevik theory that you cannot
go from Feudalism to Socialism —
as Lenin pointed out this develop-
ment takes place at a time when
the major part of the world was
living in a fully developed capital-
ist society on its downward path.

The Soviet Union nineteen years
ago took over a bankrupt backward
country, surrounded by enemies on
all sides, and through its socialist
determination and Communist Party
leadership, particularly through the
practical leadership and understand-
ing of Lenin and Stalin have reach-
ed the remarkable stage of progress
that they have today. The Social-
ist motive in Soviet Society is to-
day the uppermost motive, it has
eonquered over all capitalist rem-
nants on city and farm.
The creative will of a freed people
has made it possible to organize
industry and agriculture under such
efficient collective methods (Stakano-
vite) that unprecented heights have
been reached in production, thou-
sands of heroes of labor have been
created, whose wages and welfare
has improved a thousand fold
through their individual and collec-
tive efforts, spurring on through this
medium of reward based on merit,
millions of people away from slug-
eish old forms into new active en-
deavors, whose results will bring real
prosperity for all -

Socialist Foundation Laid
This is what Mr. Lefeaux has
failed to see. Ihe Soviet Union has
reached the stage of a classless so-
ciety and isthus in a position to put
into effect the most democratic con-
stitution the world has ever known.
Mr. Lefeaux insults both the Soviet
and Ganadian workers when he says,
“Jn any other country the working
elass would not stand the conditions,
there would have been a counter
revolution long ago.” The workers
of the Soviet Union understand that
every day they were fighting for
their betterment, and the workers of
Spain understand the same thing,
and the day is not distant when the
Canadian workers will understand it
despite the philosophy of the Le-
feaux’s! They also know that the
heroic struggles for socialism in the
U.S.S-R. will make the problem
easier for the rest of the world’s
workers when power has been at-
tained, for they will have learned
from the great deeds of the Soviet
masses.
Now the tasks before all genuine
friends of the Soviet Union is not to
malign and misrepresent that coun-
try, but to fight for the greatest
degree of unity in progressive ranks
to prevent the forces of fascism and
reaction from making its onslaught
on the Soviet Union, as well as on
our own people. The Soviet Union
has now firmly laid the foundation
of allp,t,con-letacincmfiwyetaoinetao
of socialism, where each is being
paid according to his work and
merit. With peace, successful cul-
mination of all its productive plans
and inventiveness, the time will not
be distant in that great land, when
the people will fully ‘realize the
sreat ideal of Communism, “rom
each according to his ability, to each
according to his needs!”

BERLIN.—(2P)—It is a woman’s
duty to be a child-bearing machine
in honor of the gods of war, accord-
ing to the draft code of the penal
law commission’s plan for the reform
of 2 German penal law. The code
imposes heavy penalties on any
propazanda for preventing large
families.

OSLO, Norway.—(FP)—A final
count of the votes cast in the Nor-
wegian elections shows that the La-

the |

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{

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DIVERTED CARGO

See In The Soviet Union |§ A BOOMERANG

Goods Dumped Over-

board; Banana Ship-
ment Declared Hot

The strike of the B.C. locals of
the International Longshoremen’s
Association is daily taking more
effect. Despite the fact that ton-
nage arriving into these ports since
the maritime strike started has
increased manyfold, much of this
extra diverted cargo has actually
turned out a boomerang.

The SS. ‘“‘Antonio,” diverted here
from San Francisco, is now dump-
ing her eargo of smelter sand into
the waters of Burrard Inlet, about
three miles east of the Second Nar-
rows. Cargoes of moss, peat and
other ‘‘cheap” commodities are also
to be destroyed, to save the expense
of trans-shipment to U.S. ports by
rail and the probability that even
trans-shipped cargo will be effec-
tively blocked by union pickets in
coast ports.

A shipment of bananas diverted
from Seattle, and trans-shipped
from Vancouver by rail is now tied
up in a fruit warehouse in the
Sound city behind an effective
longshore picket line. Action on
other trans-shipped cargoes will be
widespread as information from the
B.C. unions, posting the U.S. unions
in all trans-shipped cargo and un-
fair ships from 8B.C. ports, is
thoroughly distributed through all
U.S. union channels,

The U.S. unions have made the
eoncession during the strike to take
mail and baggage and allow pas-
sengers to disembark off all incom-
ing fair ships. These ships were
also serviced with stores, fuel, etc.
for passage through the Panama
Ganal. Several vessels which called
at BG. ports on the way, and
worked with unfair longshoremen,
managed to be serviced earlier in
the strike by U.S. longshoremen
who were not aware that the ships
had been in B.C. ports. For some
days now, however, this service has
been refused. resulting in many ves-
sels, long overdue to sail, remain-
ing tied up in B.C. ports.

/}mediate purpose

Reduced Sub Rate Appeals

Judging by the way the new subs are roiling in to the
office of the B.C. Workers’ News. our subscription list will
be greatly. lengthened by January 18, when the offer

expires.

The response is greater from places outside Vancouver

than in the city; although m

have taken advantage of the offer of reduced rates in cele-
bration of the second anniversary of the “News.”

The regular rate will pcsitively be again in effect after
January 18. So take advantage of the opportunity for a

year’s subscription for $1.00
and $1.50 in Vancouver.

The B.C. Workers’ News
YOU need the B.C. Workers’
an avalanche of subs.

The Ruling Clawss

By REDFIELD

any new Vancouver readers

to points outside Yancouver

needs miore subscribers, and
News. Don’t delay. Send in

Spain Coveted As Fascist
Colony By Adolph Hitler

PARIS.—(EP)—Hitler is develop-
ing as a fine art the techniques ot
overthrowing the democratic govern-
ments of other countries by force
and violence. s

Wazi efforts are centered for the
moment on fighting republican
Spain. Spain, Hitler intends, shall
become a virtual German colony.
Nazi equipment and technicians
have lone backed the rebels, and the
actual movement of German troops
into Seville is reported under way.

But the Nazis aim also at the
overthrow of the French People’s
Front government and the Czecho-
slovak democratic regime. They
count on backing reactionary ele-
ments within these countries to be-
come the spearhead of the invasion.

Right now, next to Spain, Czecho-
slovakia stands in the greatest
danger. There are grounds for be-
lievine that while the ultimate goal
of the German-Japanese pact is the
conquest of Soviet soil, Hitler’s im-
in signing is to
strengthen his hand for early inter-
vention in Czechoslovakia.

@zechoslovakia is the passageway
to the Ukraine, which Hitler covets
As a Source of ray materials and for
which he openly expressed his ap-
petite in his Nuremberg speech. Of
late, he has been laying the ground
by declaring that democratic Czecho-

Think Of Labor Prisoners

In Jail This Christmas

Every, year during the Christmas-New Year holiday
period the Canadian Labor Defence League sends gifts
to all those who are in prison for labor activity.

This year there are over two hundred in Oakalla Jail

for labor’s cause.

In order to supply this large number of class-war pris-
eners with fruit, candy, cake, butter, cigarettes, tobacco,
toothpaste and other articles that are allowed in by the

prison authorities during the

appeals to all workers and sympathizers for a contribution,
however small, to this worthy cause.

Let us give those who are
cheer and comfort in order to break the monotony of prison
life, and at the same time show our front-rank fighters
that they are not forgotten by us.

The Canadian Sabor Defence

Send all donations to:

League, Room 28, 163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver.
Sincerely, yours,
T. NELSON, District Secretary.

holiday season, the C.L.D.L.

behind the bars a little

Aid The Spanish People

By BOB LEALESS

Realizing the tremendous historic
significance of the neroic Spanish
struggle it is a crime on humanity—
to see the way the Ganadian press,
with a few exceptions, 1s sabotaging
the struggle of the Spaniards against
blood thirsty mercenarzes-

It is even more ersminal the way
some sections of the labor press view
the proud struggles of the Spanish
people.

For many weeks now The Fed-

erationist has carried on consistent
and well planned attacks against the
People’s Front in France, agains.
the anti-fascist and anti-war policies
of the U.S.S.R. and against the pro-
posals of the B.C. Gommunist Party
to render every possible assistance
to Spain.

Another of these attacks has been
featured in the December 3 issue
of The Federationist, under the bis-
toric slogan of Marx: ‘workers of
the World Unite,” a supposedly anti-
war editorial from the “Socialist
Call” asks the workers of the world
to unite in support of imperialist
war in order to bring about revolu-
tion. ‘A new world war,” states this
editorial, “will be the acid test of
international workers’ solidarity ..- -
The continuance of the war will not
weaken but will strengthen the rev-

bor Party received 70 seats in par- | olutionary movement.”
liament. But the question of world war or
ia

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world peace is now being fought out
in Spain.

Dimitrov in his last appeal to the
peoples of the world to unite against
fascism and war truly states:

“At the very time when the fas-
cist rebels in Spain are slaughter-
ing Socialist and Communist
workers as they fight shoulder
to shoulder at the front, when the

rebels are dealing death and de-
struction throughout the country,
the leaders of the Labor and S0-
cialist International obdurately
refuse to organize aid for the
Spanish people jointly with the
Communist International.”

Did The Federationist publish
this editorial because it, too, believes
with the “Socialist Call” that unity
cannot be established on the desper-
ate need of sending immediate aid
to Spain but must he postponed
until a world war breaks out in

slovakia is becoming “‘communistic.””
His agent, Henlein, is busy setting
up Fascist groups within Czecho-

slovakia to combat this ‘‘commu- |
nism.’’ Some secret aid, a putsch, a
little bloodshed, recognition of the
mew ‘‘anti-communist’” regime—and
presto, the job is done! Or so thinks
Hitler.

None too soon are the democratic
nations beginning to view with
alarm the Japanese-German-Italian
coalition. None too soon do they re-
eall how Japan seized Manchuria in
1931 in violation of treaties, how
Italy conquered Ethiopia whose in-
dependence she had helped suaran-—

tee, how Italy and Germany are
now actively aiding Pranco to sét

up Fascism in Spain.
How audacious are Hitler’s dreams

BOM GS, PoiSoN- GAS, ELAME-
THROWERS, DYNAMITE, GUNS,

ergs

sree Hee

re.

0 aig dleersagliLsnbalicd heal

z “Tust think what were

giving Civilization—a bomb
that can blow up a city in six seconds!”

of conquest in Spain are too little
realized even now. The well-informed
journalist, Genevieve Tabouis, writ-
ing in L’Qeuvre, asserts that the
Wazis seek not only naval bases in
the Canaries, Morocco and along the
coastline of the Iberian peninsula,
but to turn all of Spain into a near
German colony.

Germany already plans to lay
claim to iron ore, mercury and Rio
Tinto copper. Nazis intend to play
a decisive part in the ‘‘work of re-
construction,” sending unemployed
there as workers who will remain as
colonists. Germany wants to arm a
Fascist Spain for the “total war’’
envisaged by Ludendorff. A net-
work of motor roads, fortified bar-
racks, ports and airdromes is to be
constructed. The Seville-Tetuan air
line is already run by Germany.
Guns are to be pointed at France
on the Pyrenees. The Fascist
Walange Espanola which never got
anywhere under the late young
Primo de Rivera is being turned over
to the Nazis in rebel territory. They
are officered by former officials of
Nazi organizations abroad and by
members of the Nazi Labor Front.

No, it is not too soon for world |
democracy to take note,

NEW LISKEARD, Ont.—(F'P)—
Provincial police found Gilbert Moir,
69, jobless and penniless, with no
food or fuel in his hut. He was
unconscious. They diagnosed the case
as paralysis.

HAMILTON, Ont.—P)—The new
policy of the Steel Workers’ Organ-
izing Committee to ask no initiation
fee or dues for 90 days has brought
in hundreds of new Canadian mem-
bers.

ROCHESTER, N-Y. — (FP) — The
Rochester Central Trades and Labor
Council has voted $200 to assist the
victims of fascism in Spain.

lies in the hands of the supporters
and members of the €.C.&. to see

¥

Ay

New Films

tL

How the New Film Alliance sizes
them up:

“LLOYDS OF LONDON’’—Neither
history nor fiction, and doesn’t quite
elick. Plays up the personal angle
of the founding of Lloyds’ insurance
company.

“THREE MEN ON A HORSE”—
Very merry comedy paralleling the
stage success. About a bird named
Oiwin who never plays the horses,
but figures out the winners every
time. The fun besins when a couple
of serious racers get hold of him.
“WANTED: JANE TURNER” —
Lee Tracy and Gloria Stuart amiably
do their partto make this story of
postal clerks catching crooks seem
less like last year’s hat, but there’s
no use.

“WHITE HUNTER’’—Very bor-
ing story of love, danger and re-
venge in African deserts with War-
ner Batxer and June Lanse. - When
this appears on your local double-
feature bill, ses the other picture.
“WEDDING PRESENT’ — Mad
and foolish comedy with Cary Grant,
Joan Bennett and somebody's cur-
iously distorted notion of how news-
paper reporters behave.

PROGRESSIVE ARTS
IN ‘PRIVATE HICKS’

Whether “Private Hicks,” the
new one-act play by Albert Maltz,
will rank with “Waiting For
Lefty’ as one of the notable prole-
tarian plays of the time, may be re-
vealed when the Progressive Arts
Players present the two plays at the
Ukrainian Labor Theatre on Fri-
day and Saturday, December 18
and 19.

“Private Hicks” will undoubtedly
recall some of the problems pre-

that correct policies are advanced on
behalf of the people in their strug-
gles. >

All of the editorials, and the at-
tacks against unity, the French
people’s front are in direct violation
of the decisions of the last C-C.F.
convention. >

That convention was hailed as a
ereat forward step by all progres-
sives because it agreed to co-operate
on immediate economic issues with
the Communists and other progres-
sive organizations, and because the
delezates unanimously agreed to
eliminate ‘‘Red baiting’’ from the
activities of the C-C.F.

Whereas the defeated leadership

order to apply the “acid test of in-
ternational workers’ solidarity?”

Does not this policy place The
Federationist and the imperialists
in the same recruiting stations for
the next war? Yet this editorial has
the effrontery to accuse the Soviet
Union of haying “become so en-
meshed in capitalist diplomacy that
it unable to move without the
blessings of Great Britain.” It is
the policy of the “‘Socialist Call” that
has become enmeshed in capitalist
politics.

is

Compare such a defeatest policy
with the clear and rousing call of
Dimitrov as the helmsman of the

Communist International:

“Phe most pnportant task of the
present moment, the battle task,
is the organization of international
aid for the Spanish people, so as
to bring about their victory over
fascism.”’

The responsibility for the policies

of The Wederationist rests in the

| hands of the Provincial Executive of
the

CCF. The responsibility also

Secretary,
(Mr. Costigan speaks every

Admission Free. Collection.

“FRO

HOWARD COSTIGAN

Washington Commonwealth Federation

MOOSE TEMPLE

636 Burrard Street

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13th, $ P. M.

Also Speaking at:
44 Begbie Street, New Westminster, Monday, Dec. i4th, 3 p™.

carried on these disruptive tactics in
a shameless, downright reactionary
manner, some of the present leaders
achieve the Same result under the
eloak of high sounding revolutionary
phrases and “Socialist” dogma. Both
accomplish the same result: disrup-
tion and lack of unity in the peo-
ple’s ranks.

The eleventh hour for the forma-
tion of the fiehting united front of
the international proletariat in aid
of Spain has struck.

Roused by recent events, the
workers are full of indignation. We

must rouse them even more, Wwe
must make them more indignant
still.

A cry of many million throats
must ring throushout the world:
SEN CRE

Stop the sabotage of the united
stru s Give us a united fighting

front of the world proletariat.

Let us in B.C. establish unity of
action to aid Spain. Let us exert
all our power to bring this unity into
being to defeat fascism.

NT I

SPAIN”

evening over KIRO, Seattle)

Auspices Spanish Defence Com.

sented by Lefty, but its theme and
treatment—the conflict between the
militia and strikers—is quite dif-
ferent from that of the Odets play-
Appearing in “Private Hicks” are
Tore Glinton, David Rankin, Bill
Turner, Harry Louis, Mike Kunka,
Harry Hoshowsky, Ted Love and
Paddy O'Neil. Miss Victoria Rendell
will play the nurse. The play is di-
rected by Garfield A. King. An in-
teresting stage setting has been
designed by Mr. Peter Purdy, an
artist of the theatre.

Tickets are obtainable at the M-
A. Kelly Piano Store, 659 Granville.

BOSTON .FP)—Striking seamen
are picketing Boston harbor with a
launch and loud speaker.

RAINI

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