a wit neha CA ROE Ro Neti: Pay SEY. 448 May 28, 1937 PEHEOPLE’S ADVOCATE Page Three Board Has Ab | Fitiers Not Allowed To Sell Own Potatoes Movement For Democratic Election of Market Board Representative of All Farmers Rapidly Gaining Favor (This ts the second of two acti Cc les dealing with marketing problems tin BC written specially for the People’s Advocate by Mrs. C C. Tibbits, editor of the Marpole-Richmond Review.) 4n Oriental in Richmond, who has had both tags- and sacks from the Potato Board (no one is allowed to ship with- out these officia] tags and sacks), grew desperate two weeks ago because he had not been granted a quota, and took a load of spuds in to the Board, demanding that they either take his potatoes or permit him to sell them himself. He was denied both pleas, and had to haul his load home again. He expects to lose all of his 30 tons. Sitting at home, with a market just ten miles away where resiau- rants and stores are Payine $i a Sack, or better, and yet to be de- nied the right to sell to them is fast turning many farmers against mar- Ket control as it is being carried on by the present government. These cases can be duplicated by hundreds of other growers, showing that between grower and consumer from $1 to $8 per sack has dis- appeared Somehow, somewhere. Potatoes are now rotting in the pits, denied even a chance at this uncertain market. Statements taten fo Victoria last spring by the writer and presented to the potato investigation commit-— tee in the House contained one from a neighbor, who had received returns at the rate of $9.40 per ton in July for early potatoes. This was for the same kind of potatoes for which he was paid $40 a ton at Prince Rupert the same month. This gentleman has lived in BC nearly half a century and never in all his farming history, he Says, has he taken a price of $9.40 in July for earlies. At this time consumers in the city were buying spuds at eight pounds for 2c, or at the rate of over $60 per ton. = | Where Did Spread Go? Where did all the spread £07 Farmers have honestly tried to be loyal to the Board and to con- trolled marketing. Many of them looked to this new dispensation: as a remedy for their marketing ills, and quite a number yoted for estab- lishment of government control. To Say, however, that “the farmers asked for it’ is not stating the truth, as only a percentage of farmers ever expressed themselves on the matter one way or the other. 4 petition was taken around and enough names were secured to per- Suade the sovernment that the farmers wanted controlled market- ing, Even at that, what the farmers thought they were asking for, and What they got, were two very. dif- ferent matters. They believed such control was going to work for their benefit, to help them secure a sure and certain marxet for their pro- Guet. They did not know that such control was going to result in a legalized racket for the benefit of a monopolistic selling agenecy. They did not know they were going te be denied access to the only good market which this province has known for years, when prices were unusually high because of drought to the east and to the south. They did not imagine they were going to be stuck with thousands of tons 1025 West Pender Street (Cor. Burrard) OTTO LIEN, Prop. i | KITCHEN RANGE AND WATER HEATERS | Manufactured only by LEADER BURNERS at _ RAY’S PATTERN | WORKS | 323 Alexander Ave., Vancouver| | Phone: Dous. 390 | They Listened To Wrong Radio MADRID, Spain, May 27. — A Spanish rebel radio station recently announced the capture of the town of Urquiola with such assurance that the listeners believed it. A German captain and ayia- tion inspector, two of his fliers, and their interpreter, decided to have 2 look at their new con- quest which was in the neigh- borhood. To their intense sur- prise they were challenged and taken prisoner by the govern- ment forces which had never lost the town. Now they are in prison with ample time to pon- der Fascist propaganda. which would never be permitted to come to market at all, but which represent to them an immeasurable loss in labor, cash and returns. Other discoveries which have come to the farmers with ‘“‘control’”’ have included these restrictions: a farmer must plant only the acreage the Board dictates; he must not market his spuds except when and where the Board tells him; he can- not haul his own potatoes except he first obtain a permit, and only the favored few have been allowed hauling permits. All these would have been ac- cepted by the farmer as necessary and permissible had the experiment worked out for his benefit. Principle is Sound That it has not worked for his benefit he is now. admitting in ever increasing numbers. The exploita~ tion he has suffered at the hands of the Vancouver wholesaler has made him willing to take a lot of abuse from the government before he is ready to pronounce the remedy of government control worse than the disease of uncontrolled mar_ keting. An instance of farmer exploita- tion is that of a Vancouver whole- Saler who openly brags that he pur- chased potatoes from a farmer in the good old days for $7 a ton and Sold them to a relief camp for 920 per ton. That there is a law on the statute books to put that kind of a man in jail does not seem to have occurred to him. Probably he realizes under the present system he is perfectly safe, as law in this province does not seem to operate for the benefit of the humble toiler but for the grafter and the ex ploiter. It is such memories as these which have made farmers tolerant of government exploitation, but when this season is over and they find they have really fared much worse under government super vision than they did under the free-for-all program there will be a cry for liberty from the restric- . tions that now give them less bene- fit than that they knew before. Drought Sends Prices Up The fact that prices have natur- ally been higher this year than for Many seasons (because of drought and flood conditions elsewhere( has greatly aided the Board to hold the loyalty of farmers. Many agricultur- ists do not seem to be able to get their thoughts above the sod, and if they had $20 a ton in their hand this year instead of the $10 which they got two years ago they were prone to attribute the increase to the Board. Another year of abund- ance, with plenty of supplies on the Prairies and in the US, will change the color of things and put spuds back to $10 a ton again. And, jucging from past deductions, if this should transpire, the Board will require all it can get out of a ton to pay their handling charges and the farmer will be getting a bill for his spuds instead of a check. That the principle of orderly Westing- house Electric Washer $1.00 DOWN $1.25 WEEKLY _ Repaired — ; ie Meikle Electric & Radio Company 1010 DAVIE ST. SEY. 9025 Western The Third Pa Canada’s Leading Progressive VANCOUVER, B.C., MAY 28, 1937 Always the biggest demonstration of the year in the Soviet Union, May Day this year celebrated the Success of the second Five - Year Plan, the new constitution and the increased defensive strength of the country. Legions of the army. are shown marching past Lenin’s tomb (left background). Follow- ing the military display, 25,000 gymnasts walked in the civilian section of the parade. New Government Stronger Costigan Has Refused Post SEATTLE, Wash., May 27.—Act- ing in accordance with instruction by the Washington Commonwealth Federation executive committee, Howard G. Costigan, WCR execu- tive secretary, declined a post on the King country social security. advisory board offered him by the county commissioners Jast wee'x. Costigan, in a letter to the com- Missioners, said the board ‘was “powerless” and his acceptance of a place on it might be interpreted as a WCF endorsement of the one- man state social security setup. marketing is sound is undisputed. But the manner in which this per- fectly good principle has been per- verted and abused by the present Board and its agent, George HH. Snow, has converted government contro] into a mockery. it was in the appoIntment of its selling agent that much of the blame for failure has been charged. Why the Board needed to choose George H. Snow has been explained by Board members. He was the only man who had money with which to start the ball rolling, they claim, and the fact that he put up $20,000 to buy the first shipments of potatoes is regarded as ground for the charge that he “bought his job.” It is also ground for the al legation that that act put the Board under an obligation to him which continues to this day. Wait On Auditors Two independent audits of the books of George H. Snow have been in progress for several weeks. To mato growers have been investi- gating his records at Victoria, while potato growers have their auditor at worx on the Yancouver records. Something will be heard from these auditors in the near future. This fight to gain access to the records has been a long one and would make an interesting story in itself. The fact that a new Board has been appointed, including two of the former members, does not mean that farmers are behind the present officials. These elections are not conducted on a democratic basis. Each district sends a delegate” and these delegates meet and choose the Board. Farmers are not permitted to ballot directly on Board mem- bers, Agitation is under way to have the Board elected democratically, with each farmer given a ballot. Consumers who have suffered as greatly as have the farmers have been patient under Board control. They declare they would submit to the exorbitant prices which they have had to pay were they sure the farmer was getting the benefit. They can be very sure the farmer has not obtained the benefit, as a drive through country districts will reveal; and it is up to them to make a united war cry against this monopolistic racket which places in the hands of one man the entire business of selling all the potatoes that grow in the Fraser Valley. improvised. This was effective, then. Later when Spanish Fascism enlisted more and more aid from Hitler and Mussolini, greater unity of military practice and command became necessary. Today strategic necessity implies a centralized com- mand, uniform: methods and a reg- ular arm. This is already achieved in the armies around Madrid, but not fully elsewhere. Principal parties, therefore, have demanded total re- organization and separation of the prime minister’s post from the min- istry of war. This program was backed by the Socialists, Left Re- publicans, Basque Nationalists, the Catalan Left and the Communists. Similarly in the early days, im- Provised control was set up over in- dustries abandoned by Fascist sup- porters. There were some unwise experiments. As a result of a lack of co-ordination of production, there was failure to convert fac- tories adequately to war industries. Principal political parties demand- ed nationalization and national Planning in these factories to help the military command to a speedy finish of the war. The new govern- ment is pledged to this. Rearsuard Strensthened Furthermore, weal rearguard control had been permitting pro- vocateurs to disturb the peace. This culminated in the Barcelona disorders. There is widespread de- mand for stricter vigilance. The new government is pledged to this. Certain parties—the Left Repub- licans, Basque Nationalists, Cata- lan Left—are not revolutionary, but have contributed magnificent aid and demand closer contact between the Cortes (parliament) and the government. The demand is sup- ported by the Communists. The new government is pledged to call the Cortes into session immedi- ately. Thus the new government repre- Sents a step forward in clarity, vision and realization of necessary measures. There is a {ote of growing confidence. The vast mass of followers of the UGT trade union federation — Socialists, Commun- ists, Republicans—are represented in the government, which further declares that the way is open for the Anarcho-Syndicalist CNT to enter the government when it de- sires, | TOKIO, Japan.—Japan’s second geisha strike in three months be- gan with a walkout in Asahigawa of 150 girls as a protest against rising prices of food, kimonos, ling- erie and cosmetics. Loyalist Forces More Efficient By RALPH BATES (Federated Press) MADRID, May 27.—(FP) .—In explaining the recent cab- inet crisis in Spain, it must be emphatically stated that it was not due to any personal reasons. In the early days of the war, necessity for immediate military resistance to Fascism called for improvisation. Regiments had a political basis. Directive committees, military organizations and the like also were Bomb Labor Leaders’ : ‘Homes SEATTLE, Wash., May 27.—Fasc- ist terror hit Everett again last | week. Tear gas bombs were thrown into the Workers! Bookstore, into lithe residence of Lawrence Krattley, vice-president of the Everett Cen- tral Labor Council and the residence of Paul Butt, former leader of the Communist Party, in Snohomish county. Krattley’s house was bombed about the same time as the book- store. Mrs. Krattley, Lawrence's mother, was taken to the hospital, almost overcome by the gas. Butt’s house was also bombed about the same time. Mrs. Car- man Abbott and Mrs. Wm. Glan- don of Marysville were visiting in the Butt home when the bomb was thrown in the living room. Mrs. Abbott’s two little girls were in bed. They were all driven from the house by the gas_ Ask Admission Of Basque Refugees NEW YORK, May 27—(FP)—A Waiver of immigration regulations to permit entry into the US of Basque Catholic refugees now being: evacuated from Bilbao is requested of President Roosevelt in a tele- Sram dispatched by 19 leading social workers. Jailed For Tuning USSR HAMBURG, Germany, May 27.— A group of Hamburgers were sen- tenced today to prison terms rang- ing from two to Six years for listen- ing in on a Moscow radio broad- cast. The number of defendants was not revealed but were believed to have totalled more than 12 because they were charged with meeting in stoups of from three to five to listen to the broadcasts. The court admitted that listen- ing to the Communist radio pro- Tams was “not prohibited legally”’ but justified its sentences by stat- ing that such acts must be regard— ed as “preparation for high trea- son.” it must be assumed, the court Said, that the defendants listened either to utilize what they heard or “to fortify their own Communist convictions.” Nazis Extend Danzig Rule DANZIG, May- 27.—(PP)—The Wazi government of Danzig is pre- paring a fresh setup toward com- plete co-ordination of the city. The “Aryan paragraph” is to be put into force here as in Germany. As usual, the League of Wations is to be confronted with an accomplished fact. Peasants To Obtain Land MEXICO CITY, May 27.—(FP)— Mexican peasants near, Mexicali Lower California, will have nearly a million acres of land divided among them, according to an an- nouncement by President Cardenas. For the most part it belonged to Americans who got their profits through absentee ownership. HOLLYWOOD, Calif. May films should continue until the personal boycott of stars, as this As technicians of many crafts kept marching on the pic’set line in front of major studios, the smaller independent studios ‘were being pushed to sign 100 per cent closed shop contracts with the federation or face a strike which would put 3000 more workers on the licket line. The principal independents af fected are Wanger, Selznick, Schul- berg, Major, Republic and 20 This advertisement is not published or dispzayea by the Liquor Control Board or by the Government of British Columbia. Boycott Hollywood Films, But Not Stars, Says Union By JOHN R. CHAPLIN 27 —(FP).—'The boycott of all Hollywood Strike is settled, but there should be no matter is not on a personal basis,” Charles Lessing, head of the Pederated Motion Picture Crafts, declares, ‘others. President B. LL. Alperson of Grand Wational has declared he always uses 100 Per cent union labor and sees no reason why pres- ent negotiations should not end in 4 contract. This would make him the first independent to come to terms with the federation. Four thousand attended a strike benefit the night of May 19, indi- cating the good general] outlook for the strikers and the financial aiq with is forthcoming to help them continue as long as need be. The Screen Writers’ Guild is holding secret meetines to elabor- ate plans for recognition. The Sereen Directors’ Guild is preparing demands under the Wagner Act, and taking assistants into the guild. CZECHOSLOVAEKIO Feat Pge S used Market Control Se Newspaper Mussolini Is Faced With Opposition Unrest in Italy Growing As Internal Crisis Deepens DEMONSTRATIONS LONDON, Eng., May 27.—Iron rule of Mussolini in Italy has not been able to suppress anti-Fascist propaganda in many of the in- dustrial districts, especially in the north. Reports from Genoa indicate that in the steel works of San Giorgio, Campi, Fossati, and others, revolu- tionary slogans are appearing on the walls, and on cases of munitions intended for Franco. Many workers have been arrested, but the police have been compelled to release them for want of evidence. Workers’ demonstrations took place recently in Sestri Ponente, and the police shot into the ranks of the crowd, killing three outright and wounding many others. Parma Was the scene of Serious collisions between anti-Fascist demonstrators and the police, but the censorship has hushed up the details. In San- dinia and in Sicily similar scenes occurred. Know of Defeats Hiven in Milan, the very source of Fascism in Ttaly, demonstrations took place in the Corso Buenes Aires in the late evening after news of the Genoa events reached the city. Sixty arrests were made. . The Guadalajara defeat is now common knowledge despite censor- ship, and Mussolini’s pro-Hitler policy 1s becoming increasingly un- popular even in the Fascist ranks. In military circles there is some un_ of Spain and to Mussolini’s ruth- less measures against officers who failed to win victories. Nazi Leader Under Arrest BUDAPEST, Hungary, May 27.— (PP)—Arrest of Maj. Szalasy, lead- er of the Hungarian Nazi move- ment, and the order disbanding his organization on the charge of pre- Paring to overthrow the govern- ment, have created a sensation throughout Hungary. The actions Seem to foreshadow a comprehen- sive Campaign against Nazi agents in @ country which in the recent past has been strongly under the influence of Hitler’s Reich. STEEL WORKERS ORGANIZE. SYDNEY, NS—afore than 3,000 Steel workers in Nova Scotia now belong to the new steel workers’ union affiliated to the CIO. In two weeks over a thousand signed up although there was no full time or- Sanizer in the field. Dr. R. Douctas Phone Sey. 5577 Corner Richards and Hastings PATRONIZE NEW LION HOTEL 122 Sas EAST HASTINGS STREET APOLLO CAFE 28 West Cordova St. OYSTER AND CHOP HOUSE $4.50 Meal Ticket for $4.00 THEO: ANGELL Prop. deniable opposition to the invasion.