Page Six PE CO Pee Ee 5 ADVOCATE The Peopie’s Advocate Published Weekly by THE PROLETARIAN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION Room 10, 163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. Telephone: Trinity 2019 Qne Year a = b1280 Half Year Three Months ___ ____—_— 50 Single Copy ————— Make All Checks Payable to the PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE Send All Copy and Manuscript to the Chairman of the Editorial Board, Send all Monies and Letters Pertaining to Advertising and Circulation to the Business Manager. Vancouver, B.C., Friday, April 16, 1937 Farce in Mexico City HE yery people who have been screaming about the Moscow .“frameup” on Trotsky and his fellow counter-revolutionary eonspirators, are now conducting a “trial” of Trotsky in Mexico where the wretched renegade and traitor has found a haven to eontinue his nefarious anti-working-class actiyity under the di- rection and pay of Hearst, McFadden, Hitler, Franco and other Fascist scoundrels. The farce in Mexico is being conducted by a bunch of notori- eus Trotskyist agents together with a handful of liberal dupes, and has for its purpose the securing of a verdict of “not guilty’ in the face of the mountain of evidence, plus the defendants’ own eonfessions, piled up against them in the Moscow trials. The prosecuting attorney in the farce is none other than Al- bert Goldman, notorious US Trotskyist and editor of the Socialist Appeal, a Trotskyist organ. Trotsky himself early took charge of the “trial.”” He refused to lay his correspondence or any of his promised documents before the “court,” and his ‘“evidence” of his innocence was a continuation of his slander of Stalin and the Soviet Union, and a reiteration of his old and exploded theory that socialism cannot be built in one country. “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad,” and those whom history has already exposed as agents of HAatler and Japanese militarism and has branded as enemies of socialism, resort to devious shifts ,as ridiculous as they are futile, in a des- perate effort to cover up their guilt. The exposure of Trotskyism in the Moscow trials and in Spain as disrupters of the People’s Front has lessened the value of Trotsky and his cohorts to Hearst and the Fascist Liberty League, hence the desire to whitewash him. But the burlesque being staged in Mexico by the Trotskyists will excite the people only to contemptuous laughter and derision. eae) Make the Rich Pay R. TELFPORD in his Moose Hall speech last Wednesday evening sounded the right note when he declared for taxing more heayily the banks, the large corporations, the stock gamblers and such institutions and people in order to avoid increasing the public debt and to secure money for social services. This is the practical way to procure necessary funds, and not dreams of socialized finance, which cannot be realized within the limitations of capitalism. The practical Angus McInnis stated this principle in an article in the Mederationist of March 25 in which he said, “Our program must be such that it can be im- plemented by the powers that we now have.” A CCF government at Victoria can not begin to build so- cialism while capitalist class ownership of the means of wealth production prevails, any more than a popular front government can transform capitalism im France. But it can put an end to the rampant corruption in which Tory and Liberal party government wallows; it can put a erimp in many of the most vicious forms of oppression ; and above all, it can deal a stunning blow against reaction, and not only preserve existing democratic rights, but extend and increase them. THE C10 AND UNITY By TOM EWEN. In sOme sections of the trade union movement on the Pacific Coast there is altogether too much of an idea that the AF of LL must be finished off, and that the CIO (Com- mittee for Industrial Organization) will take its place. Such an ap- praisal is incorrect and unsound, and indicates a total lack of under- Standing of the origin and meaning of the CIO and its development. The CIO is not and was never in- tended to be a dual trade union organization of the AFoflL. This is the false premise upon which President William Green of the AF of I. and his reactionary colleagues on the executive council unconsti- tutionally Suspended the CIO affili- ate unions from the AT of L, there- by creating a serious division in the ranks of organized labor. The program and policy of the GIO, consisting of the most pro- gressive unions in the AF of L, was and is to organize the millions of workers in the unorganized indus- tries into industrial unions, i.e., unions embracing all the workers in a given industry into a single union. Fully conscious of the limit- ations of craft unionism in modern mass production, the policy of the CIO is to maintain these unions in- tact and to build up around them, as Part of the AF ofl, powerful all-inclusive industrial unions. The phenomenal successes of the CIO in steel, auto, textile, rubber and ether basic industries, bringing organization and improved condi- tions and wages to tens of thou- sands of hitherto unorganized work- ers, is a vindication of its program and the justification of its existence. Its successes have become a by- word on the lips of millions of workers. It has given them cour- age and confidence to organize and bargain collectively—to desire and strive for organizations. By the same token its successes have driven President William Green and his Satillites to acts of desperation —to seeking by every contemptible and dishonorable means to split the ranks of organized labor. Yet it is precisely in these suc- cesses that danger lurks. Too often we hear trade unionists say, “Lo hell with the AF of I-——let us have the CIO.” Such an attitude is not rendering any service to the CIO, nor to the trade union movement generally. Contrary to some opinions held, the GIO does not issue charters or “certificates of affiliation’ indis- eriminately. To do so would play into the hands of Green. The CIO has agreed, in the face of Green’s actions, to issue Such charters to local unions that have been ex- pelled from the AF ofl by Green, or to groups of such expelled unions which formed central councils after they were expelled. The overwhelming majority of in- ternational unions and Central La- bor Councils have turned down Green’s expulsion edict flat. They at least are convinced of the integ- Yity and honesty of purpose of the CIO. Consequently it is an error Were there a United Front of the CCF and the Communist | Party established, the Pattullo government could easily be thrown] out of office in the coming election. Such a consummation would attract thousands of waning and hesitant elements and would be a prelude to drawing the trade unions into the political arena against the capitalist parties. Although the unity proposals of the Communists have been repeatedly rejected, there is time, even yet, to effect am under- standing which would avoid division and present an unbroken front which would be unbeatable in the provincial elections. a ae) The Perfidy of Baldwin OT in decades have the people of Great Britam been so aroused and angered as they have been by the endorsement of the Spanish rebels’ blockade of Bilbao, by the Baldwin govern- ment. British merchant ships peacefully engaged in commerce with loyalist Spain are prevented from entering government controlled Spanish ports by a rebel junta with a few warships at their disposal. And the British government agrees to it. The Manchester Guardian is wrong when when it says that the tail of the British lion cannot be twisted because it is between his legs. The charge that it is cowardice which causes Balwin to permit Franco to tie up British ships is wrong and misleading: The fact is that the Baldwin government has been secretly helping Franco and knifing the Spanish government ever since the rebel uprising began. The blockade of Bilbao which threatens to starve hundreds of thousands of women and children to death is agreed to by Baldwin as a part of its aid to Franco. Tt is also wrong to regard as boldness or impudence the action of Franco in declaring that he will sink any ships, those of Britain included, that attempt to enter Bilbao. Franco with his puny navy would not have made such a declaration if he were not assured beforehand by the British government that he could get away with it. The pald and shameful fact is that the block ade was declared and is maintained by Franco in collusion with the British government. Tt being well known that the people of the world desire peace, the argument put forward to justify the Baldwin government’s support of Franco is that acquiescing in the blockade is necessary in order to prevent the spread of the war that is raging in Spain. This is like saying that the United States government should not have shot down Italian gangsters or sent Al Capone to prison because it might anger Mussolini and precipitate a world war. The warships of Franco are pirate ships preying on com- merece, including British commerce. But Baldwin is willing to have British commerce suffer temporarily in order to assist the chief pirate, Franco, and destroy the people’s government for any group of trade unionists to think that all they have to do is to organize a small group of workers and apply for a charter of affilia- tion to the ClO. It is equally in error to leave or- ganization of the unorganized “‘until the @I@ can come in.’ The great- est power for organization is pre- cisely those AF of L unions, work- ing jointly through committees with other bodies. They may represent a majority of so-called craft unions, but the bulk of them are keenly aware of the ery for organization, and the turm- ine down of Green's expulsion edict in almost all centres of the Domin- jon is proof of their sincerity for a greater united trade union move- ment. In this they are the supporters of the CIO and against the splitters. It becomes clear, therefore, that to pit.the CIO against the AF of L, or vice versa, in matter of preference is to fail to understand the CIO and its perspectives. "They Say. 7) a | NX ) t as | “We'll never union.”’—Henry Ford. “Henry Ford will change his mind on this subject.’—John L. Lewis: “All but three of the present justices were born in civil war decade, or before. All but two got their legal training 50 years or more ago.”’—Lahbor’s Non-Partisan League. “Tt is time for the American nation to make its own (neutral- ity) policy, based solely upon the joint necessity of stopping Fasc- ism’ and ending war.’—Dr. Harry F. Ward. “The Spanish people are going to win. The only question is how many will be murdered (murder is the correct word) by German and Italian bombs and shells before the victory is won.’—Dr. J. B. S. Haldane, eminent British scientist. recognize any Words are going to be eaten in Canada, too—by a different crowd. Says Pres. Henry Jobnson of Courtaulds, Ltd.: “I have never had to deal with a union here before, never heard of such a thing, and I am not going to be led by a lot of such folk as if I might just have a repe around my neck and be led By HARRY GANNES (Sunday Worker Correspondent) HENEVER I study the military Situation in Spain, I always re- call an unforgettable conversation I had with a French officer who specialized in military tactics in re- lation particularly to the morale of the peoples involved. He was re- turning to Spain, just before the fall of Malaga. At the time those who opposed the idea of the People’s Front were already disseminating gloom and despair. Outright ene- mies of Spanish democracy saw stark defeat confronting the Peo- ple’s Front of Spain. “The fact that the overwhelming majority of the people of Spain are loyal to the legitimate government is the decisive military factor,” said my informant. “Partial de- feats and sometimes important re= treats are inevitable. But the doom of the fascists, short of a world war precipitated by Mussolini and Hit- ler—and that is not out of the ques- tion—is sealed.” These were his conclusions after the most detailed examination of all the factors in- volved. * WOULD be foolish to attempt to draw definite lessons now. But enough has occurred in Spain to follow substantial military and po- litical trends. Some distinct con- clusions can be drawn. If the famous German military theoretician Clausewitz was correct when he said, “War is the continu- ation of politics by other means,” then the brilliant advances of the People's Army of Spain are cer- tainly due to carrying out in the War against fascism the highest form of the politics of the People’s Front. Where this has not been done the state of affairs is sad indeed. In the central front, that is, under the control of the Madrid-Valencia government, the People’s Front idea has been forged into a unified war machine. Therefore, the or- ganization at the front and rear have made possible such spectacles as Guadalajara and Cordoba. %* * * * * OW turn to Catalonia. There the story unfortunately is dif- ferent. ‘Lrotskyist poison, mixed with Anarchist decentralization, worked its havoc. While “unity” was the watchword in the Madrid area, “dualism,” split, war against the People’s Front was the goal of the POUM, the Trotskyist-Brand- lerite unholy alliance against anti- fascist unity. “The proof of the pudding,” Frederick Engels was fond of saying, “is in the eating.” And Lenin put the same idea even more succinctly: “Facts are stub- born things.” What are the facts? At Guada- lajara, 35,000 Italian soldiers were put to rout. The People’s Army This brilliant analysis of the military situation wrl be read with interest by everyone. Loyalist vic- tories in the past few weeks, as the new unihed armies of the people sweep forward on every front after months of stubborn defensive strug- gle against terrific odds, have stirred millions of progressive people the world over. 'did the People’s Armies at Guada- went from the defensive to the counter-offensive. Madrid stood up heroically against the most feroci- ous air and artillery bombardment known Since the last World War. On the Cordoba front, the People’s Army drove back the pic of the Italian, German, Phalanxist and Moorish legions. We recall, also, that those who attacked the Peo- ple’s Front also levelled their slan- ders against the Soviet Union. The story of the assistance of the Soviet Union to Spain is still to be written. It will be one of the most glorious pages in all history. : We must remember that not only lajara and Cordoba drive the fas- cists into shameless rout, but the Spanish government won mastery in the air. HAT happened in Catalonia during this period? The fight- ing lines did not budge. Instead of unleashing an offensive against Huesca and Saragossa to coincide with the People’s Army drive on Siguenza, which would have caught the fascists between gigantic pin- cers and made impossible the pres- ent fascist assault on the Basque country, the Trotskyist agents in Barcelona, assisted by a declining | number of die-hard anarchist lead- ers, precipitated a governmental erisis; a dangerous threat to this important rear. But the situation is rapidly veer-— ing in Catalonia away from the last vestige of Trotskyist miusfor- tune to a genuine People’s Front. When that goal is reached, Cata- lonia will emulate the military vic- tories of Madrid—and not before. It would be impossible to give an adequate survey of the present mili- tary situation in Spain in so brief an article. But a general picture can be presented. * can see eight distinct major fronts. At present the most precarious, for the People’s Front, is the northern strip of territory reaching from Oviedo (Asturias) in the west to a little beyond Bilbao JViscaya) in the east. Actually this sector is divided into two fronts: (1) Asturias, where the miners have long been storming Oviedo without yet reaching their goal; (2) Bilbao, where the fascist General Mola, in * = = * crumble elsewhere. April 16, 1937_ LOYALIST SPAIN ON THE) sioxz OFFENSIVE —an effort to compensate, however slightly, for the huge losses at Guadalajara and Gordoba, is de- termined to win some “yictory”’ in order to keep the morale of his men from cracking as well as to give Mussolini an opportunity of “saving face.’ The Basque drive towards Burgos (yhich has reached Sar- gentes) is really a part of the Bil- bao battles, and is actually a di- versive movement to force with- drawal of some of Mola’s armies. At one time, earlier in the war, Oviedo and Bilbao played a de- cisive role. Now they would be in the category of partial losses or re- treats if the People’s Front lost in either sector. If on the other hand, Mola’s armies are held back, the re- sult would be irreparable for the fascists. It would force them to * Nase most important front still re- mains Madrid. At two places, University City and along the Ja- rama River, the fascists still hold wedge-like positions’ uncomport- ably near the Spanish capital. These fascist wedges are no longer the threats, it is true, that they were either in November or in Feb- Tuary. But until they are com- pletely pushed back here scores of miles, they remain danger spots, especially If Mussolini ships new troops wholesale. ° WMowever, because the fascists have dug deeply into these areas, the People’s Army has directed two offensives at widely separated angles. Employing Archimedes’ principle of the iever, they have concentrated at the furthermost points, aiming the hardest blows where they will force the fascists to move not only at the extreme end of the line but more slowly and surely also on the front nearest Madrid. The two handies of the jever are what we can term front No. 3 (our figures are entirely arbi- trary) at Guadalajara, and No. 4 Gordoba. : Supporting the magnificent show- ing of the armies at Guadalajara and Cordoba is the double headed drive on the fascist lines of com- munications and supplies (5) from El Escorial aimed at Avila, and (6) from the Toledo to the Talavera de la Reina sector. Gonnected with, and as a sort of extension of the Cordoba drive is the fighting around Motril (7) in the direction of Malaga, a movement which sort of straightens out the line from above the Cordoba front to the Mediterranean and offers a formid- able 200-mile stretch to the south, which, if held and fortified, will later prove to be the base for wiping out such fascist centers as Cor- doba, Seville and Cadiz. The eighth front is Catalonia, which, as we explained, remains static. x x By MALCOLM BRUCE » ‘Tf the Communists are so keen for a united front, why not be- gin by having a united front of the Stalinites and the Trotsky- ites?” The foregoing invitation appeared recently in the CCF official press in an article by Mr. J. S. Woodsworth wherein he tried to explain away the defeat of Jack O'’Hanley, CCF candidate in the recent federal by- election in Hamilton, Ont. Woodsworth blames the poor showing made by O’Hanley on the support he was given by the Com- munist Party, and particularly on the support given by Tim Buck, which support, he says, played “right into the hands of our po- litical opponents.” Woodsworth may or may not know the cause of the small vote received by O’Han- ley. It was due largely to the cam- paign conducted by Mr. Garland, National Organizer for the CCF, who took personal charge of the campaign for O’Hanley. Garland made the same mistake that was made by Arnold Webster and Dr. Telford in their campaigns in Burrard, both of whom took up much of their time disavowing as- sociation with Gommunists and re- pudiating Communist support. Gar- Jand went further and directed his fire not against the reactionary Tory and Liberal candidates, but Declined Thanks Without against the Communists; and that was what was chiefly responsible for the poor showing made. Miss Gutteridge made no such mistake, and she is now in the Van- couver City Council. For Commu- nists will vote for a CCF as against a reactionary candidate no matter how much the CCF candidate dis- parages their support. Unfortun- ately, the same cannot be said for all of the large number of voters who are sympathetic to and support the Gommunist Party, and who are alienated by the way Communist support is repudiated in the en- deavor to hold the support of a handful of ultra-respectable voters who are blindly prejudiced against | Communists. As for the gratuitous invita- | tion to the Communists to form | a united front with the Trotsky- ites, the reply is that it is declined. Evidently Woodsworth thinks that the leaders of the building of so- cialism in the Soviet Union, to wit the Communist Party, led by Stalin, represent one wing of the Commu- nist movement, and the Trotskyist counter-reyolutionary wreexers of socialism represent another wing! If so, he is grossly in error. Communists want a united front not because they are politically lonesome and want company — any kind of company. They want a united front of all progressive peo- ple in the struggle for a better life for the toiling people, against fas- cist reaction, and for peace. It is obvious, therefore, that mo fascist organization could be included in such a front, nor could any agents of fascism be included. It has been abundantly proved that Trotsky and his fellow counter- revolutionaries have already en- JABS foo By OL’ BILL Another Bal: £22! Push {one , Premier loon Burst. Hepburn of On- t¢ario, who rode to power by means ef demasogic promises, has been shown in his true colors by the Strike of the automobile workers of the G.M.C. at Oshawa. He swears he will not allow “foreign labor agitators” to stir up trouble in his pailliwick. He is prepared to go the length of calling out the militia to help the foreign capitalist Dupent- J. P. Morfan combination that has. peen robbing the workers of Oshawa for the last 25 years. Before a Senate Committee om Tabor recently, Lieut.-Goy. Ken~ nedy of Pennsylvania tendered eyvi- dence in support of a demand for investigation of this mammoth can- ker on the American body politic. According to Kennedy, the claims made by the directors of the Gen- eral Motors Gorporation, of hish hourly wages, 73 cents, means nothing, for, because of the seasonal nature of the work, 30 to 40 weeks in a year is the highest stretch put in by their employees. Im 1934-35, only one-quarter of their workers earned $25 a week and Jess than one in ten earns the subsistence wage set as a minimun by the U.S. Department of Labor and Home Hconomics. The company consistently fights all efforts of its workers to organize for their owD improvement. How To Qn the other hand ; = the owners of this Become Rich. corporate octopus continue to thrive. John J. Raskob is authority for the statement that 80 millionaires were made by the G.M.C. in four years. Today the figure exceeds 100. Qne share of common stock in 1908 has become multiplied so that today it is represented by 400 shares of the same face value, due to the practice of the company of paying out stock dividends to “defeat the enormous rate of exploitation suffer- ed by its workers. Kennedy claim- ed that although this original com- mon stock represented no actual capital invested it is now worth $3000. Im 1929 it was quoted on the market at $9000. Pierre Dupont, who bought in for 80 millions in 1915 (30 millions of his own and 50 ‘millions of J. P. Morgan’s), took out 300 millions in Jess than ten years in dividends and stock bonuses. From 1909 to 19385, from sales of 15 billions, 2 billions Were paid out in dividends. In 1935, Alf. P. Sloan and W. S. Knudson, president and vice-president, re- Spectively, earned within a few dol- lars of $375,000 each. Notwithstanding these colossal extortions, the corporate greed of the industrial and financial mon- archs has consigned thousands of auto workers to the breadline and would keep the balance of the work- ers in the industry just above the breadline. Hepburn is a hireling of the for- eign millions, that is why he is so venomously antagonistic to the AWU—but the CIO tamed Sloan ane they will make Hepburn eat crow too and give the Oshawa workers @ chance to live like human beings. tered a united front, and that unit— ed front is with Hitler and Japa- nese militarism and counter-revo- Jutionaries everywhere; and his followers, in every country where they exist, are the deadliest ene- mies of the working class and so- cCialism. ‘The great united fronts built in France and Spain do not include Trotskyites. The fact is that the Trotskyites are on the other side of the barricades — with de la Rocque and Franco. Hither Woodsworth does not know what the United Front which the Communists advocate is, or he is throwing dust into the eyes of the people by specious argument, The invitation to the Commu- nists to become political bedfellows with degenerate Trotskyist scum is an insult which Communists re- sent, but not to a degree that will make them cease striving for a united front of all anti-capitalist people and organizations, includ- ing the CCF. Fittinely, in granite. Not that they cared Now that they had exchanged A multitude Of crosses planted in the steel On state occasion; for right To privilege, to held and have. Now-that the banners and the The panoply and propaganda Had served their end. Who fell in war. Intoned a solemn prayer And went their way, Back to their colored pins, Perchance to write a book of Was due the victory. Or from a polished desk ot Spain. like a lamb to the slaughter. To plan their strategy Here, the generals reared a monument, -churned mud For right to strut a little longer But it was customary to honor those So, the generals reared a monument In stone, to symbolize their sorrow, Arranged a wreath of flowers at its base, their maps; That history might recognize to them alone By HAROLD GRIFFIN A MONUWNMENT Against the colored pins of yesterday And those that would adorn their maps to- morrow. While poets wrote Of poppies blowing on an errant wind, Of memories for ever green, The years rolled on And crowds no longer gathered “round the monument. bugles, Eager for the Here, the gene Only the generals profits there had been. rals reared a monument. Do you remember why? (Glance above you, comrade, dark wings rude : the shy. Glance around Here, the gene memoirs again). you, comrade, for what cause will you die?) rals reared a monument. To whom, and whose the gain? (Scan the headlines, comrade; do they speak in vain? Scan the breadlines, comrade; the call to arms The fascist regime Soviet Films : now in the saddic In Jail. ing all the means of force and vio- lence at their command to prevent the people of that unhappy province from learning anything of the ac- complishments of the Soviet Union. The common people under the heel of Duplessis are not to be al- lowed to acquire any knowledge or experience that might inspire them to rise above the political, economic and cultural level of the party in power. Compare this with the modern, liberal outlook of the warden of Sing Sing Prison in New York State, Lewis E. Lawes. Less than @ institution were treated by the man- agement to a view of the Soviet film triumph, “The Road to Life,’’ now being shown at the Little Theatre. This comparison between the Sing Sine jail authorities and the Quebec fascist rulers should be suf ficient condemnation, without fur- ther comnwnt, of the government that opened its initial ceremony With a prince of the chureh dom- inatine the performance and an in- ereased determination on the part of all liberal-minded people to scotch the fascist reptile. Again That Just in case you $200 00 jon’t happen to re- SUED member, the Press Drive is still on and the time for raising that $200 in getting shorter, If we are going to beat Slim we will have to get busy. “Stolid as an ox,”’ is a Phrase commonly applied to people who are hard to stir. It is to be hoped that the readers of this column are not in that class, but rather that they have the spirit of the ox that went after Mussolini in Libya. That ox was the wisest of his tribe and Mussolini acted so cow- ardly that we are sure the Spanish bull-fighters will make short work of him. That may sound like a digression but it is in here to convince you that the initiative of the Libian Ox (he deserves capitals) and the pur- posive determination of the heroic Spaniards will ensure the fulfilment of that quota and help to put the People’s Advocate on a firm footing. in Quebee are us- © month ago the inmates of that penal - Sesion n Siiss