Pafe Two PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE Wovember 5, 1937 The Peoples Advocate Published Weekly by the PROLETARIAN PUBLISHING ASSN. Room 10, 163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. Telephone: Trinity 2019 One Wear .-....c+-- $1.80 Half Year Three Months ..... -50 Single Copy ...-..-- 05 take All Checks Payable to: The People’s Advocate. tend All Gopy and Manuscript to the Chairman of the ®ditorial Board. Send all Monies and Letters Pertain- ing to Advertising and Circulation to Business Mer. Vancouver, B.C., Friday, November 5, 1937 A Veteran Passes ipa B. McLACHLAN of Glace Bay, Nova Seotia, many years leader of the Nova Scotia miners, veteran editor and champion of Labor, is dead. “Old Jim,” as he was popularly known in Cape Breton Island, was ldentitied for over twenty years as a militant in Canadian labor. He was editor of the Maritime Labor Herald away back in the early ’20’s, and later editor of the Nova Scotia Miner. Wis rapier-like pen dug below the skins of labor’s enemies. He flayed the British Empire Steel Corporation (abbreviated to Besco, and later changed to Dosco, Dominion Steel and Coal Company ) mercilessly. In the Royal Commission to ““in- vestigate” the conditions of the miners of Nova Scotia in 1924, the Wolvins and MeClurgs, officials of Doseo, wilted under Old Jim’s scath- ing indictment of exploitation of the miners. Following the 1925 strike the same powers framed him on a charge of “seditious conspir- acy” and sent him to Dorchester Penitentiary for a two-year term. Upon his release he took up his old activities as a champion of labor. He was on the 1932 délegation that visited the Bennett government on Unemployment Tn- surance and Relief, and Old Jim with his char- acteristic keenness got under the skin of Blus- tering Bennett with: “Yes, Mr. Bennett, you should know sonie- thing about payrolls. That is right im your line.” Up until some months ago Jim Mclachlan was a member of the Communist party of Canada. He was president of the Workers’ Unity League during its lifetime. He agreed with the party’s policy of trade union unity, but could never reconcile his political beliefs with his personal hatred of President John L. Lewis of the UMWA. He could never grasp the deep-going fundamental changes that have taken place in the AF of L and among many of its chiefs. He could never believe that the miners of Canada could place trust in Lewis again. On this issue he left the Communist party, and in doing so separated himself and his life’s work from the ranks of progressive labor. In doing so he became the unwilling pawn ot the elements of reaction, Trotslxyism and disrup- tion, with which the miners as well as all other workers are periodically cursed. Tn his passing we will remember “Old Jim” by his great contribution to Canadian labor, by his kindly hospitality, by his indomitable What Japan’s Propag \ )) Labor’s Democratic Rights Must Be Safeguarded — PROGRES ES will see in the recent adoption by the trade union conference in Victoria of the now well known Trade Union Bill a further strengthening of the campaign to establish the elementary rights of democracy everywhere in the province and for a higher standard of living to those who work by hand and brain. Realization by the convention that the number of clauses in a Bill has little to do with its eventual enactment, is proof that the delegates understand they are dealing with conditions that exist and not as they would like them to be. Here is demonstrated a sturdy determination to win concessions from an unfriendly administration. Organized labor, while it has made steady gains in the last few months, must attain a faster or- ganizational tempo in the prov- ince to attain its modest objec- tives and combat undermining forces, allies of big business, which have already placed alibis in the hands of the government to help defeat the trade union bill. The number of BC employers who rule over “‘little kingdoms”’ in the shape of company towns and carefully guarded properties calculated to exclude trade union organizers, is a guage of the pressure brought to bear on the government to preserve the status quo. On the other hand is a vast mass of progressive pub- lic opinion of potential pressure, waiting to be directed and utilized. The Victoria convention took a step in the direction of that wide section of public opinion not directly associated with or- ganized labor, when it extended an invitation to Harold Winch, MLA, to address the convention and showed appreciation of his work on behalf of labor. The CCF group made more than a gesture when full support was pledged for the convention bill. The fight for enactment of the trade union bill is one of many issues on which unity can be reached. In the recent success- ful pressure on the government on behalf of the single unem- ployed, even wider circles were reached. The unions, CCF, CP, professional and church people forced an amelioration of condi- tions. _ The old quibbling and ani- mosities can dropped in face of the present truculence of the reactionaries which grows more menacing as the progressive forces remain divided inte group interests and viewpoints. Resuscitation of the BC Fed- eration of Labor, adopted unanimously by the convention, is further indication of a maturing plan in the minds of trade unionists for wide unity in the province. done quickly reason that reaction has a head start in this province and its speed is dependent largely on the sincerity and efficiency of trade union leaders. liberation and forethought is necessary in the various stages toward wide, effective unity, yet time must be considered preci- ous by progressive forces. An opportunity to express the spirit of the Victoria convention is afforded in the municipal elections when pro- gressives struggle with reaction- ary candidates at the polls. A victory for the new, progressive forces will give movement in the making which will be capable of defeating re- action on a big scale. The enemies of unity may gloat on his defections, but our sincerity to forge a great unity will long outlive theiz sham sym- Old “J.B.” is gone, but all that was best in his labors for the miners of Nova Scotia will live, and so living, keep his memory ereen.T. H. David Lewis Gives the Lead 66 & have made tremendous progress, we have tremendous hope,” David Lewis, national secretary of the Co-operative Com- monwealth Federation declared at the Quebec CCF convention held last week in Montreal. “But we are living at a time when the tempo of social and political development is s0 fast that we cannot measure our accomplishments by the ordinary political yardstick. We cannot afford thirty years to build, as they did in “The CCF must, in a planned, co-ordinated, in every popular activity. Where possible, it must lead; where that is not possible, it must work just as hard. “Tn the trade union, among the unemployed, the farmers, among youth, women, im the work for peace, civil liberties, the Japanese boyeott, Spain, there must be CCF people working im a co-ordinated, planned way, to make these ac ‘tivities successtul, to lead them in a progres- sive direction, and to establish contacts with as wide a section of the people as possible. “We must participate with imagination, without fear, no matter who else may be par “That was one of the most important things recommended by the national convention of 1936: participation in all immediate issues in co-operation with any and all groups. “Above all, there is the field of trade unions. Nothing has been more important for our coun- try and the world in recent times than the ad- No section of the Canadian common people will weleome more than British Columbia this statement coming from the national secretary of the CCF. This province has suffered severely at the hands of predatory interests which have taken full advantage of the present condition of the working class, divided as it is imto sec tions that remain aloof from one another. A well-organized and co-ordinated effort to effect a boycott of Japan will only come through unity. The CP, CCE and trade unions are working separately in this important campaign, separately and therefore not as effectively as they might. A change is imperative if the suffering of the Chinese people is to be really shortened by a Canadian boyeott of Japan. There are many problems closer to home that can only be solved when unity of the CP CCE is an accomplished fact and through this the badly-needed lead will be given to the great army of inarticulate, progressive people. — Most provincial leaders of the CCF have in the past kept in step with the lead given by the national executive; the last BC convention eave further proof of this and therefore it 1s to be hoped they will implement the obviously sincere lead given by David Lewis. ) fighting spirit. pathy. Great Britain. way, participate and must be ticipating. a proposal This should be vance of trade unionism.” if for the only While de- December impetus to a yy) women and children murdered by anything to do with Japan's bloody acts and extend her Asiatic andists Would Have Us Believe By TOM EWEN IDELY distributed in Vancouver this week is a sixteen-page pamphlet is- sued by the Canadian-Japa- nese Association entitled “Sing - Japanese Conflict Elucidated.” It contains four distinctive parts: “What Japan wants to say”; “Significance of Worth China Problem’: “Statement of Japa- nese Government”; “Address of Japanese Foreign Minister.” A few short weeks apo when the massacre of women and chil- dren was in its early stages in Shanghai, when Canadians were awakening to this new horro of Fascist war fare, the News Herald contain ed a lengthy statement from Japanese Con- sul WNemishi to the effect that Japan has nothing but the most burning desire to help China. This pamphlet is much to the same ef- fect, only that it goes more fully into the matter of “kindly” con- cern for China. It begins by reminding us that there is a great bond of friendship existing between Great Britain and Japan, “and, of course, be- tween Japan and Canada,’”’ and that this “bond” is obligatory on our part since Japan defended our hearths and homes on the Pacific Coast during the World War. People don’t seem to believe Japanese spokesmen who reiterate with monotonous regularity the good intentions of their country towards China. This the pamph- leteer ascribes to the fact that “the Japanese are poor propa- gandists . . . possibly the poorest in the world.” Those Ganadians who read this pamphlet and remember Chapei and Shanghai in flames; tens of thousands of Chinese people, men, Tom Ewen the bombing squadrons of jmperi- al Japan, will at once concur—to the contrary—that Japanese dip- lomats, patriots and pamphieteers are diabolically clever propagand- ists. They can commit murder and wear the mask of an jnjured saint while doing so. In the fine art of’ Western diplomacy they have out- diplomatted the diplomats! i) RE the Japanese carrying on an unprovoked war of aggres- sion in China, the author of the pamphlet asks? — and the im- perialist echo answers nay. “The action of Japan was necessary to save the whole of the Hast, includ- ing Great Britain's own India... that ready subject for revolution _.. from the advancing epidemic of Communism .. -” Who hasn’t heard that argu- ment from every charlatan de- fending reaction against progress? Hitler and Mussolini in Europe; Hearst, Langdon, Coughlin and Co. in the USA; Bennett, Holt, Beatty et al in Canada; Hirota and Co. in Japan; all pillaging and slaughtering the subjugated peo- ples of the world under the guise of “saving them from Commu- nism’! “War,’ quoth another imperial mouthpiece of Japan, “is not war when undeclared.” And so Japan’s signatories to the Covenant of the League of Nations has this to say of her actions against a peaceful neighbor: ‘With regard to the allegation that there has been no declaration of war, it may be pointed out that there was no responsible Chinese government upon which such a declaration might be rightly served, and that the war is being fought against the anti-Japanese element, not against the whole Chinese people.” The bombing squadrons of Ja- pan raining death upon defence- less civil populations give the le direct to this hypocritical state- ment. One might assume a naivete equal to the Wipponese provoca- teurs and ask if the unification of the Chinese people and the de- cision to end ciyil strife has had i November 9th — COMMUNIST PARTY ... onthe Air... CJOR EVERY TUESDAY 7:45 P.M. Guest Speaker, JOHN MATTS, will speak on Canadian Volunteers in the Mackenzie-Papineat Battalion. a ae ee CJOR t changed attitude towards WNan- king. e Apes pamphlet goes back to the Great War for justification of Japanese aerial terror. “Our military activities against the cities which we shelled and - bombed have not been different from the military activities of both sides in the Great War, and that all cities were enemy strong points where troops were massed, where military supplies were stored or which were used in some other way for military advantage. “That civilians were killed and wounded is most unhappy and un- fortunate, but while wars are per-— mitted, such things are bound to happen. “Although it is really beside the issue, it might be pointed out that the great individual loss of life to civilians was that caused in Shanghai by the bombing of parts of the city by Chinese aviators.” The points here are: Why worry —wars, even undeclared ones, can- not be humanized; you, Messrs. Imperialists of the World War, re- sorted to brutalities, so why get indignant when we “better the in- struction.’ It is most “unfortun- ate’ that civilians suffer, for whom we have nothing but love, but since they are mostly all “ban- dits” and ‘‘pirates” it is all in the interests of “peace, order and good government’’—to paraphrase RS: Bennett. “Pirates and bandits!” Japan requires these appellations against the centuries-old mother of all her culture, in order to screen her Empire. Formosa, Korea, Man- churia, Jehol, Charhar — almost fifty years of annexation, and all for China’s own good. A burglar enters your house with a moving van at the door to carry away your effects. You ar- gue with him against this pro- cedure. He tells you that what he is doing is strictly for your own good. Outside of dispossessing: you of your home and fireside, he has no other designs upon your person or property. You still ar- gue that his actions are against all the written rules of neighbor- ly behavior. He knocks you down, destroys your family, and annexes your possessions—all for your own good. What the pamphleteers of Japan wish to convey in this lying pamphlet is that their form of rob- bery, pillage and murder, in the role of an imperialist burglar, is justifiable—and they cannot un- derstand why you should think otherwise. @ Mo of the pamphlet is dedi- eated to the grossest slander of the Chinese people. “By her very nature China is the seat of continuous internal disturbances,’ forgetful, of course, of the major contributions of Ja- pan in fomenting these “disturb- ances.” “It is very painful for Japan, to see such a state of af- fairs in a country which in the ordinary course of events should be considered her sister nation.” Very “painful,” indeed, when the Chinese people decide to unite their ranks and drive the parri- DWPALAStn SDN RRCHITECTES League of Nations special police prepare for mock air raids on Geneva to be staged today, Friday, when the city will be ‘blacked out’ for six hours. * China’s soldiers, cide from her shores. “Tt is now said that recently among the troops which have been trained by the Nanking govern- ment there are some who have attained a comparatively high standard of morality, but it is gen- erally conceded” Gve might inter- ject, by whom?) “that the great majority of the Chinese troops have an extremely low moral standard.” The ‘suicide’ companies of the “doomed” battalion of Chapei, the unsur- passed feats of heroism and sheer courage grip the imagination of the whole world and give the an- swer to these cheap slanders of a Fascist scribbler. It is claimed that “the whole world is deceived by Chinese propaganda,” that the poor Japa- nese, “who are not clever in the art of spreading propaganda, are quite at a loss as to how to retort to such attacks.” The working and middle class people of the world, the peace- lovers and humanitarians are not moved by these glib apologies. Japan in her mad drive to build an Asiatic Empire, has written such a deep impression upon his- tory with the blood of her muti- lated victims, that such argu- ments by her imperial spokesmen are just valued at their proper worth—as falsehoods. e LL are in the same strain. In a recent issue of the “News- Herald,’ a Vancouver paper with pro-Fascist leanings, the Japanese Consul, M. Nemishi, cited that his government had no designs upon China, but was merely there for the good of the Chinese. Aside from a grave breach of diplomatic etiquette on the part of the honorable consul, it consti- tutes a justification for his re- moval from Canadian territory as a menace to the peaceful rela- tionship between Canadian-Japa- nese and Canadian-Chinese citi- zens. Further, “explanatory on the situation in North China,” a batch of mimeographed press releases from the same sources tell us that “Japan has the right to station her troops in North China ...as stipulated in the Final Protocol concerning the Boxer Rebellion, signed at Peking, September 7, 1901.” As Britishers we are not par- ticularly proud today of our role in the Boxer Rebellion, of the un- equal “treaties” imposed upon the Chinese, of the vicious system of extra-territoriality which gives foreign imperialism a strangle- hold in China. As a great world mass movement, outside of par- liaments, we will not permit the rape of China under the guise of infringements of these contempt- ible treaties. Our reply to the Japanese “ex- plainers’” of their pillage of China must be: Strengthen the boycott on all imports from Japan. Re- fuse to insult our families and friends by buying for ourselves or for them good stained with the blood of Ghinese women and chil- dren. Build a great mass movement that will compel the government of Canada to place an embargo on all exports to Japan for any and all purposes. Seek the greatest unity with the Japanese people of Canada, and through them with the people of their homeland to call a halt to the marauding bar- barism of the Japanese war-mone- ers who dictate the policies of Imperial Japan. Ganadian people have the deep- est sympathy with the great mass of Japanese people, but they have none with Foreign Minister An- anias Koki Hirota and his vest- pocket prototype in Canada, who pollute the minds of our people with suave lies against a peaceful people as a justification for ex- termination. The sympathies of the broadest masses of the Canadian people are with the Chinese in their heroic struggle for liberation, and this sympathy, as time goes on, will take more concrete forms of ex- pression against the Fascist ag- eressors of Japan. The Canadian people can see the mailed fist under the silk glove of Japanese diplomacy, and the voices of tens of thousands of China’s dead speak louder than the soit words of Tokyo. EVERYBODY WELOME aa ae COLONIAL THEATRE d d SUNDAY, NOV. 14th. -. - 8 P.M. d ‘WHITHER THE CANADIAN PEOPLE” q é é 4 q 2 P P 4 ¥ P - :