Pafe Two

PEOPLE’S

ADVOCATE

The Peoples Advocate

Published Weekly by the

PROLETARIAN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
Room 10, 163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. - Phone, Trin. 2019
Onecyear. oo ee eee $1.80 Half Year ......-+---++++++- $1.00
Three Months ...........--. -50 Single Copy ...-------+++--- -05

Make Al] Gheques Payable to: The People’s Advocate

Vancouver, B.C., Friday, November 19, 1937

The Non-Partisan League
-- A Reactionary Coalition

The reactionary opposition formed to retain
control of civic affairs in Vancouver, a sinister
concentration against which the Communist
party has long warned, has been effected. The
combination of forces calls itself the Non-Par-
tisan Association and its hypocritical slogan is:
“(No Party Politics in our City Hall.”

The worst enemies of the people are repre-
sented in the leadership of the new combination
of Liberal and Tory reactionaries. Millionaire
representatives of the Shipping Federation, the
banks, the railway companies, the logging and
mining interests and the BC Electric, are its
prime movers and leading figures. To these are
added some reactionary labor men, among them
Alderman R. P. Pettipiece, rejected by the CCF
because of his anti-working class record in the
City Hall.

General Odlum, the wealthy Spencers and
Woodwards, the millionaire mining magnate and
race-horse owner Austin Taylor, W. deB. Farris
and ex-Mayors Malkin and McGeer are among
its leaders.

This gang has a huge slush fund for the dis-
semination of propaganda to stampede the elec-
tors into voting for their candidates. Already it
is spreading its poison over the air, with more

to come.
Se

And what are these people out for? They are
out to keep the burden of taxation on the small
home and property owner, on the wage workers
and small business peeple, and continue the eva-
sion of just taxation of the corporations and the
rich.

They are out to continue and intensify the use
of the city police against the workers, as in the
smashing of the waterfront unions in 1935. To
continue the starvation of the unemployed, the
neglect of the children of the poor, the assistance
to the large employers in their campaign to pre-
vent trade union organization and keep down the
purchasing power of the workers.

These are the people who, when reforms are
demanded, when a request is made that wage
cuts of civic employees be restored, that the
health of the people be safeguarded and ade-
quate relief allowances be made, always seek to
set the small taxpayer against those reforms by
howling about increased taxation, thus creating
an unnatural division in the ranks of the common
victims of reactionary rule.

lt is true that the granting of these reforms
would require more revenue, hence an increase
intaxes. But that does not necessarily mean that
the workers and small business people would
have their taxes increased. The necessary added
revenue could be secured by further taxing the
rich and cancelling their large exemptions, with-
out imposing any further burden whatever on
the small taxpayer.

But this is just what the rich who form the
Non-Partisan Association do not want. Already
*¢ has been announced in the city hall that the
tax rate is to be raised by three mills. This, if put
into effect, will work a further hardship on the
working and middle class citizens

@

Formation of the Non-Partisan Association
follows closely the development of reactionary
concentration in the province of Quebec. lts
demagogic slogans and lying pretenses are of a
similar stripe. The Non-Partisan Association is
at once a menace and a challenge to the people
of Vancouver. This danger to the city requires
the coming together and unification of all pro-
gressive forces. The CCF can do a great deal
in this direction if its leadership abandons its
policy of isolation and gives up its claim of a
monopoly of candidates.

One of the most encouraging developments is
the growing awakening of the trade unions to
the imperative need of participation in the poli-
tical struggles of the people. The trade union
movement in Vancouver has put forward Alex
Fordyce, a trade unionist of 40 years’ standing

with an excellent record, as its aldermanic can-
didate.

There are four aldermen to be elected. If the
CCF persists in running a full slate of four it will
mean a division of the progressive voters. The
CCF should welcome, as does the Communist
party, the participation of the unions in politics.

Were the CCF to withdraw one of its candi-
dates and endorse Fordyce it would mean a uni-
fication of progressive voting strength. It would
enhance the prospects for the election of the
three CCF candidates and of Fordyce. lt would
bring the support of many trade unionists who
are not in the CCF and who will not support the
CCF if it denies a place toa trade union candi-
date. Above all, it would preventa split and con-
tribute greatly to the defeat of the candidates of
the reactionary Non-Partisan Association.—M.B.

St. James

By MALCOLM BRUCE.

L: CLARTE, French-Ca-

nadianprogressive
newspaper edited by Jean
Peron, has been suppressed.
The Modern Bookshop has
been raided and its stock
confiscated. Padlocks have
been placed on the premises
of the Old Rose Printing
company. Police have de-
scended on the offices of the
Friends of the Soviet Union,
brutally handled the woman
secretary in charge and car-
ried off 25 copies of Tolstoi’s
“Kongdom of God and Peace,”
clippings of the Sunday New York
Times, copies of Hansard and
other literature. Jean Peron’s
home has been invaded in his ab-
sence, his landlord threatened
with having his premises pad-
locked unless he allowed police
to enter.

All this has happened, not in™
Wazi Germany, but in Montreal,
largest city of a country which
boasts of its democratic tradi-
tions.

Wo wonder that a storm of pro-
test is arising all over Canada
from people representing every
shade of progressive opinion. For
Premier Duplessis of Quebec has
left no doubt that these actions,
which have so alarmed and
aroused progressive people, are
aimed, not at any one working-
elass organization, but at the
whole progressive and trade union
movement.

In this campaign against any-
thing and everything that stands

in the way of reaction, Premier -

Duplessis and his henchmen, be-

Books
and

Authors

ENGLAND: CRADLE OF

CO-OPERATION. By Syd-
ney R. Elliott. Faber &
Faber. $2.75.

VENER history of co-opera--

tion in Canada is neither
extensive nor altogether
happy. The few successfully-
run consumers’ stores in the
country have not provided
the requisite inspiration to
go ahead and develop na-
tionally, yet there must be
many people ready to flock
to such an organization if it
could secure dynamic, honest
and efficient leadership.

The present book may serve to
crystallize public feeling in the
matter.

The Co-operative Wholesale So-
ciety, after 97 years of growth
from the Rochdale Pioneers’ hum-
ble beginning, now claims to be
the world’s biggest big business.
Its retail trade turnover is up-
wards of £250,000,000 annually,
and the “divi,” amounting to ap-
proximately 10 per cent of the
turnover, is apportioned among
nearly 8,000,000 members. There
are 15,000 retail stores in Great
Britain, and factories to turn out
a large variety of co-op. goods and
merchandise. The movement has
its own bank, insurance company,
building society and controls 2
national newspaper of high stan~
dard and several periodicals.

In all this complicated struc-
ture, however, the unit of control
remains the local society, in which
each member has his one vote, re-
gardless of the amount of his
share holding.

The starting of a co-operative
movement today might very well
prove a highly difficult task. As
soon as even moderate success
came it would face the solid hos-
tility of private business. Cham-
bers of Commerce and Manufac-
turers’ Associations. would soon
be lobbying parliament for re-
strictive measures and discrimina-
tory taxation. Manufacturers. on
pressure from large retail custom-
ers would probably boycott the
co-operatives, refusing to either
buy from or sell to them.

All these and other tactics have
been applied against the CwWs in
recent years, but without any:
palpable effect on its continuing
advance. The movement was for-
tunate enough to’ have grown to
power and was firmly entrench-
ed before the consolidation of its
capitalist rivals. Today if boy-
cotted by a private manufacturer
a co-op factory can turn out the
goods.

Tf the national government at-
tempts to impose too crushing 2
tax load or discriminatory legisla-
tion, there are the direct repre-
sentatives of the movement, mem-
bers of the Co-operative party,
seated in parliament and working
jn close association with the La-
bor party. Even this, however, has
not prevented the imposition of
drastic taxation on co-operative
societies after a legal battle to
decide whether co-op surpluses
were “profits.”

This story of the co-operative
movement in England is, unfor-
tunately, not faultless. Its grav-
est defect is that it fails to take
a critical stand on any phase of
the movement’s activities. The
author is of and for the co-oper-
ator all the time. This attitude is
apt to prejudice the sceptical

St. Strikes Through Duplessis

hind whom stand the financial
powers of St, James Street, are
flaunting the law and violating
the constitution and every demo-
cratic precedent and tradition. It
is characteristic of Fascist re-
action that every tenet of dec-
ency, all the customary ameni-
ties, should have been ignored.

QULD anything have been in

worse state, for example, than
the affront to the great French
republic offered in the banning of
the meeting in Montreal at which
Alfred Costes, member of the
French chamber of deputies, and
Tim Buck, general secretary of
the Communist party of Canada,
were to have spoken?

What would the people of Can-
ada think if a member of the
House of Commons were treated
in such a fashion in France?

But it is not primarily a mat-
ter of courtesy. The insult, dis-
graceful as it was, is only inci-
dental to a whole campaign
launched by Duplessis which has
as its purpose the clearing of the
path for the advance of reaction,
for the abrogation of every demo-
cratic right, privilege and hard-
won liberty. It is designed to stem
the advance of t he organized
trade union movement, is a threat
to the Catholic Syndicates, the
AF ofl and CIO alike, although
the CIO is bearing the brunt of
Duplessis’ demagoguery.

Quebec is notorious for the low
wages paid its industrial workers,
wages that are lower than any-
where else in Ganada. It is also
notorious for the fabulous profits
extracted from the workers by
highly trustified finance capital.

But there are Increasing signs
that the workers are awakening-

Realizing the manner in which
they are being exploited they are
organizing to gain a larger share
of the values they create. The
strikes against Dominion Tex
tiles, in the shipyards at Sorrel
and elsewhere, show their grow-
ing militancy. The bosses have
learned that the Catholic syndi-
cates can no longer be depended
upon to hold the workers back
from struggle, for the Catholic
unions have engaged in strike
struggles.
)

HAT has alarmed the profi-
teers and their tools, Duples-
sis and his associates, has been
the growth of the CiO in the
steel and other industries and the
readiness of AF of unions to
take up the struggles of the work-
ers in co-operation with the CIO.
P. M. Draper, secretary of the
Trades and Labor Congress of
Canada (AF of L) and, Raoul Tre-
pannier of Montreal Trades and
Labor Council (also AF of L)
have taken a decided stand
against Duplessis and have de-
nounced enforcement of his un-
constitutional padlock law-~

These trade union leaders know
that Duplessis’ statement that his
drive is against Communism is a
screen behind which a campaign
against the entire progressive and
trade union movement is being
launched in the interests of the
great corporations. At the same
time it represents a distinct ad-
vance toward Fascism.

It cannot be said that these re-
actionary Measures are the con-
cern of Quebec democrats alone.
Duplessis in Quebee is attempt-
ing to set a precedent which will
be eagerly utilized by reaction-
aries throughout Canada unless

OPEN FORUM

Pete Munro

Explains
Editor, People’s Advocate:

Dear Sir: Will you please print
the following in your valuable
paper, At the recent trade union
convention held in Victoria, I was
chairman of the credentials com-
mittee and had a rather difficult
task to perform, and some of the
delegates whom we were unable
to seat find it hard to understand
how it’ happened.

In order that the situation may

be cleared up in the case of the
fire-fighters, it was impossible to
seat these delegates as the rules
were plain, that no dual organi-
zation could take part in the con-
vention.
__The fact that the firemen have
an AF ofl organization within
their ranks, would, of necessity,
bar them.

It was with a great deal of
regret that the committee was
forced to take this action, as it
is well known that the firemen
are and always have been first
elass trade union men.

The invitation to attend the
convention was the initial mistake
of the Victoria Trades and Labor
Gouncil. I think I am voicing the
opinion of the trade union move-
ment of BG when I say that we
want the firemen to be a part
of the trade union movement, and
especially so at this time when
pro-Pascist groups in Vancouver
are trying to split and weaken
the trade union movement which
js the strongest bulwark of demo-
cratic rights. PETE MUNROE.

Vancouver, B.C.

Japanese
Boycott

Editor, People’s Advocate:

Dear Sir: I wish to congratu-
late you for your clear lead given
on the need for boycotting Japan-
ese products. May I point out an-
other reason why the boycott
should be clamped on these goods.
It is quite evident that Japanese
manufacturers are feverishly
dumping goods on the open mar-
ket, not for the benefit of the
people over there, but mainly to
puy munitions and armaments for
the destruction of China. As long
as we buy Japanese goods, so
long as we keep the Japanese
workers grinding out their lives
to provide, not bread, but death-
dealing weapons against civilians
in China.

IT was glad to notice the Federa-
tionist headline the fact that the
CGF was now supporting the boy-
cott but I call the attention of
the CCF executive to the fact that
Don Smith on the CCF news
broadcast has been sabotaging the
boyeott campaign.

In a recent broadcast he en-
deavoured to prove that the boy-
cott would provoke war against
the countries that officially boy-
eott, which is indeed nonsense
when Japan would be without the
means to carry on a war. Let
fhere be a united voice on this
subject.

Ss. WINNERLOW,

South Vancouver.

The New Pictures

Ow the New Film Alliance
sizes the new pictures up:
“THE BARRIER” —Third edi-
tion of Rex Beach’s famous story.
Story seems quite dated now, put
no worse than countless more
modern stories. Well done.

“MERRY-GO-ROUND” — Even
Bert Lahr, Jimmy Savo, Alice
Brady and a host of others don’t
keep this from being an extremely
dull musical.

“ALT BABA GOES TO TOWN”
—Eiddie Cantor sings, jokes and

prances in a slander on the New
Deal, which not only is not funny,
but is vicious.

“CONQUEST” — Garbo looking
very beautiful and Boyer stealing
all acting honors. But still doesn’t
ring completely true and hardly
seems worth the $2,800,000 it cost.

“HURRICANE” Extremely
silly story replete with hokum.
Little better than a cheap sex
thriller. lurricane effect offers
some compensation. All concern-
ed struggle manfully with a ridic-
ulous plot.

reader, for most people know that
the CWS, successful as it is, is
not perfect.

From the true co-operative
standpoint its greatest flaw is
that it is solely a consumer’s co-
operative. Its 300,000 employees
are just that, not sharing any re-
sponsibility for the management.
Until that significant change is
made many informed critics be-
lieve that the CWS will not oc-

cupy its rightful place and fulfill
its potentialities in the national
economy.

Wevertheless, within limits, the
movement in England has suc-
ceeded fairly well in carrying out
the original Rockdale Pioneers’
precept. Their answer to the ques-
tion, “What shall we do with the
capitalist” is still valid — “‘Co-
operate and do without him.”

R.A:

Valedictory

There are quiet things we have dreamed. Of
purple haze upon the uplands

evening on dim fields and

gray seas breaking over unmarked sands
quiet from the turmoil intruding. From
stark misery the dawn has shown—

these are the things we have dreamed

but this other the thing we have known.

Over tomorrow we have caught
illogically the arguments

of guns. Their speech the havoc wrought
by bombers in the night. By

shells upon the city slum

by hatred’s storm unleashed

upon our world. These things have come
and we must stand to meet them. Still
the insane valedictory—

darkedged the steel in blood

the workers shed for victory.

— Harold Griffin.

all progressives, the entire trade
union movement, acts.

The King government must be
forced to declare the padlock law
the unconstitutional act it is and
Ottawa's readiness toe disallow the
antifinance capitalist legislation
of Alberta has provided an argu-
ment that progressives should not
be slow to seize.

The menace to democratic
rights constituted by Duplessis in
Quebec is 2 national one. All
trade unions, every progressive
organization, should pour protests
to both the King and Duplessis
governments. This is a matter
which concerns everyone who
values Canadian democratic prin-
eiples.

Tt is within the competence of
the federal government to put a
stop to the undemocratic, terror-
ist actions of the Duplessis gov-
ernment. But the King govern-
ment will not act unless compelled
by the mighty demand of the out-
raged Canadian people.

@
ASCIST reaction is on the
march. Quebec has been

chosen as the centre for the bold-
est attack yet made in Canada on
democracy and the right of the
people to organize into political
parties of their own and into

trade unions for protection
against the exploitation of the
corporation.

Now is the time to call a halt.
The people of Canada can do it if
they translate their indignation
into an organized, articulate and,
above all, united opposition to re-
action as expressed in Quebec by
Duplessis, as expressed elsewhere
by men who are only watching
the course of events in Quebec
before they, too, assail democracy-

Diary

By VICTORIA POST

= Picketing of
Anti-Japanese fhe Empress

Campaign. of Canada

this week, when a number of
young men and women were
arrested on technical charges
is only the beginning of a
big campaign by the League
for Peace and Democracy
against Japanese, German
and Italian goods.

This is what A. M. Stephen,
president of the league, told me
when I called at his office.

Shipments of Japanese oranges
are already in this city and, un-
fortunately, pickets were unable
to stop this further shipment be-
ing unloaded from the Empress.
Chinese stores have naturally re-
fused to handle Jap oranges, but
big chain stores, such as Pigely
Wiggly and Safeway, state they
intend to push the sale of these
oranges since they will practically
have the monopoly.

A. M, Stephen said that the
league intends to approach all
stores urging them not to sell Ja-
panese goods and to display a
eard to that effect in their win-
dows. If they refuse they will
find a very effective boycott
against them, with an active
picket line outside their stores.
Already the league has had many
requests for such window cards.
Co-operation of the smaller stores
is expected, but the bigger chain
stores may mot be so ready to
assist.

The five big canneries in BC,
manufacturing marmalade, which
in the past have used Jap oranges,
mixed with Empire fruit to dis-
guise the taste, will be approach-
ed to buy only Empire oranges
this year. If not, then an active
boycott of all their brands of mar-
malade will commence.

Hyidence that the boycott is
telling is shown by the fact that
stores are changing the labels on
toys made in Japan, instructing
their girls to push “these” goods,
meaning Japanese goods; ship-
ments of Japanese oranges arriv-
ing in sacks instead of the usual
boxes, and toys from Japan be-
ing marked ‘Made in France,” or
even “Made in China.”

More leaflets are being prepared
with the list of Japanese goods,
and will be distributed in due
eourse. Copies of this leaflet can
always be obtained from the
league offices, 6159 West Hastings
street. Buttons proclaiming that
the wearer will not buy Japanese
soods will be on sale shortly fora
few cents.

A. M. Stephen is naturally
worried about funds. This boy-
cott is an expensive business, and
while the league has already re-
ceived a great deal of help from
Chinese organizations, it is look-
ing to the Canadian people to co-
operate with the Chinese in their
struggle against Japanese im-
perialism. Every organization and
individual can assist the boycott
actively and financially by public-
izing goods made in Japan; by
organizing groups of people to
pledge themselves not to buy
these goods and, above all, by col-
lecting every nickel available to
keep this campaign going.

Any information as to stores
selling Japanese oranges or goods
generally and the way in which
the boycott is received in local
areas will be very welcome to the
league, so that it may link up the
whole population of the province
in its fight against Fascism.

OL’ BILL

Two The passing, almost
Recon simultaneously, of two

* such figures in the
labor Movement as “J. B.” Mac-
Lachlin and Ramsey MacDonald,
compels us to compare the char-
acter and the contributions of the
two, to the upbuilding of the
movement which we have at
heart.

In their lives, whom did they
serve; for whom did they work?
This question is answered by the
Manner in which the news of
their deaths was announced. ~
Radio broadcasting systems car-
ried to all the world on the day
on which MacDonald died, the re= -
grets of Stanley Baidwin, now ~™
Lord Something-or-other, of Pre- -
mier Mackenzie King, of Cordell
Hull, US foreign secretary, and
others of like calibre.

_ When “J. B-’ MacLachlan cash-
ed in his checks, a few lines in
the capitalist press announced the -
passing of “the fiery saboteur of ©
Cape Breton.” Premiers and for-
eign secretaries did not broad-
cast “regrets.” The men and wo-
men who mourned their loss were
miners with black blotches of
powderstain on their faces (ike
Jim’s own face) and lungs scored
and eaten by silicosis; men with
the seared and cinder-blistered
hides of blast-furnace and rolling- ~
mill workers; men from all the
ranks of the exploited and their
wives and bairns.

A bronze bust of Ramsey Mac- —
Donald, just completed by Ep- .
stein, the stormy petrel of the
British art world, will attempt to
keep green the memory of Bri-
tain’s first labor premier. The
memory of “Old Jim” will be kept
alive in the hearts of the miners
and steel-workers by the leader- |
ship he gave them in their strug-
gles with the Dominion Steel and
Coal Company.

Jim MacLachlan never did any-
thing that he had any occasion
to be ashamed of. His friends
were of his own class, by whom
he was loved and respected. His —
enemies were the enemies of the
workers and in them he inspired
fear that landed him in their
lousy jails. If I were asked to
describe Old Jim in a few words _
I would answer, “He was an in-
veterate and incorruptible fighter
for his own class.7 I am proud
to write that he was a personal
friend of mine.

ES * & = :

<6 » The class from
a Goode ich masicey Mace

ory. Donald sprung and

on whose shoulders he rose -to
“fame’’ will ever speak of him in~
such words. They built him up ~
to be repaid with the great be-=
trayal of 1932. Like “Jimmy” ~
Thomas he was shameless for the
Judas deeds that gained him the
sincere friendship of the Bald-~
‘wins, the Kings and the Cordell ©
Hulls.

Opening a hospital bazaar at”
Harrow, England, less than 4
month ago, Thomas told a “good” —
story. He said, ‘I was once at
a dinner at which the present
Duke of Windsor proposed my
health. The Duke said, “Now let's”
sing, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fel- -
low’.” I left with the praises of
princes ringing In my ears. I
felt very happy as I went along=
to a political meeting, but when
I stepped on to the platform I
was greeted by someone shouting, ~
“The dirty dog has arrived.” —
(“Referee,” London, Oct. 24.)

Thomas tells this without shame
as MacDonald was without shame

- for the treason which earned for

him the friendship of the enemies —
of his class. : Bos

“Old Jim” never ate with a duke
or a king, the praise of princes
mever rang in his ears and. no :
worker ever called him a dirty 5
dog! a

> * = *

r 5 We have in
We Have our midst 2

Another Tutor. -eail live

Count. He is only an ex-Balt”
baron it is true; but the fact that
a real-estate shark carries such 2
‘handle indicates to us just what
to expect from him. :

This Count, Robert Keyserlingk,
is an ex-manager of the United
Press in Europe, and this appar=
ently, in his mind, justifies hine
in telling us how news is “cooked”
by governments, of which he men-
tions only two, Russia and Spain.-

Wo reference is made to the
Nazi “Ministry of Public Enlight-~
enment and Propaganda,” and
the Fascist “Department of Pop-
ular Culture,’ both of which in
form the press in their countries”
what may and may not be print
ed. Nor does he tell us that even
without such departments capital-
ist governments decide the kind
of news the press prints. This’
count, or no-account, whichever —
‘he is, picks out Russia and Spain ~
because his sympathies are with -
the Fascists and reaction. ;

Speaking to students at the
‘UBC, he discussed the necessity —
bringing democracy up-to- _

retaining in it only that

| for
* date;

which the nation needs. This 15 —

in line with the statement of Fer
Pimentel ~

eign Minister Mario
Brandao of the new Fascist state
Brazil, that Brazil’s constitution —

is “democracy in the modern

sense,” which means that miiser
ably paid workers are prohibited
from striking to better their In |
ing conditions. 3 :