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ADVOCATE

The Peoples Advocate
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Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, December 23, 1937

Season’s Greetings

HIS is the time of the year when our provincial

news is delayed in the mail, when ““Good King
Wenceslas’’ and ‘‘the First Noel’ are heard in
unharmonious but nevertheless joyful competi-
tion on the street below and when the contagious
festive atmosphere penetrates to even our remote
sanctum. None of this, of course, is conducive
to serious thinking, but it’s all very relevant be-
cause we are so often accused of being something
less than human with no time or consideration for
the ordinary amenities of life.

When we wish you the season’s greetings we
do so in a very sincere sense and with a real
understanding of the import of peace on earth
and goodwill to allmen. This week Aunt Matilda,
dear old Aunt Matilda Southam across the way
from us at The Province, will also be wishing you
a Merry Christmas, Ged bless her hypocritical old
heart. And, farther along the street, Susie Sun-
shine, who has led a double life ever since she was
in her ’teens, will echo the greetings.

Both our contemporaries have waxed lyrical
these past two weeks over the poverty and suffer-
ing among the less fortunate of our citizens in
order to raise money for their Christmas funds.
That’s fine. We only wish these funds were per-
manent, all-year round institutions. Unlike our
contemporaries, we are keenly aware fifty-two
weeks of the year of the suffering they deign to
notice only at this season. Fifty-two weeks of
the year we defend the rights of the people against
those who would destroy them. Week in and
week out, we carry on the struggle against oppres-
sion and poverty. More than that, we offer a
solution whereby inequality and injustice, re-
vealed at this season as at no other, can be

abolished.

When our contemporaries wish you peace and
goodwill we cannot forget that it is the financial
overlords for whom they speak who have turned
the phrase into a mockery. We think of the cities
of Spain and China over which the wings of death
will hover this Christmas and of other cities on
which the shadow of fear will lie heavily. And in
these cities are the homes of thousands of people,
very ordinary people like’ ourselves, who long
more than anything for peace and security.

This is why our Christmas message is also an
appeal for support of the boycott against the
goods of fascist countries and particularly for
support of the boycott against Japanese goods.
Here is one way in which we can all help to realize
the message of peace and goodwill.

When we see eager children in the stores and
good-natured crowds thronging the streets we
are glad. After all, there is no reason why there
should be misery and poverty and war in the world

—-no reason, save the greed and egotism of the
few.

Municipal Elections in Eastern Canada

ROGRESSIVE labor everywhere feels deeply gratified at
the splendid municipal election results in cities like Winni-
peg, Toronto, Windsor and elsewhere in the East. Tim Buek,
general secretary of the Communist party of Canada, running
for the Toronto Board of Control, lost by a bare two hundred
vetes. In 1936, Buck polled 32,000 votes. This year for the
same office, he polled over 44,000 votes. A splendid tribute to the
work of this beloved Communist in “Tory Toronto.” Alderman
Stewart Smith, re-elected in his ward, topped the poll. J. B.
Salsbere, another leading Communist and active trade unionist,
was elected to the Toronto City Council. John Weir, Communist
school trustee, was reelected at the top of the poll. Two CCF-
Labor Unity candidates, Conner and Dennison, were also elected
to civic offices. In Winnipeg, the Communist aldermen and school
trustees were re-elected with growing majorities. In Toronto
suburban municipalities, Communists were elected or re-elected
to civic positions. In Hamilton the veteran trade union, CCE
member and fighter for unity, Sam Lawrence, was elected. In
Windsor the Communist, Reginald Morris, was re-elected with
ever increasing support and popularity.

All of which goes to show that not only is the Communist
party of Canada capable of building unity, but that its members
on civic bodies are capable of transforming that unity into con-
erete results for the great mass of the people when they serve
as aldermen and councillors, and of winning ever-increasing
support.

In many localities in the Eastern municipal elections unity
candidates with the support of all the forees of labor, rode to
victory. Regina elected almost a full labor slate of progressive
CCE-Labor candidates. From these results it is erystal clear that
Jabor can unite and win, when the pettifogeing abstractions of
‘pure socialism” are set aside for the more burning needs of the
people at large. That the people, as some of our contemporary
eritics contend “are afraid of communism” and that it is “sui-
cidal to run as such,” is so much balderdash.

The progressive people of Hastern Canada have dealt reac-
tion a staggering blow in the municipal elections. Jt is up to
the West, to British Columbia municipalities to follow suit. Not
to “go it alone” and go down to defeat before reaction as was
the case in Vancouver, but to set aside theoretical abstractions
and unite on the solid basis of immediate eocnomic and social im-
provements in every municipality. The East has shown us how.
Let us benefit from the lesson.

Democracy Rallies Its Forces

yWrt is happening today in South America?
In this article Vincente Lombardo Teleda-
no, leading figure in the powerful Mexican Con-

MONG the groups which

have already announced
their readiness to participate
mn a congress of Latin Amieri-
can democratic parties are the
Socialist Party of Uruguay;
the Socialist Party, the Radi-
cal Party and the Socialist
Labor Party of Argentina; the
Chilean Popular Front; ail
parties supporting the present
government of Colombia; the
APRA Party of Peru; and the
democratic and Socvalist
parties of Cuba and several
Central American countries.
The Mexican National Revolu-
tionary Party has also been in-

vited.

7H \HE Colorado Party of the

Republic of Uruguay has
presented to all democratic
parties of Latin America the
necessity of an alliance be-
tween them for the purpose
of preventing establishment
on the American continent
of dictatorial regimes of the
fascist type, which heighten the
worst features of the traditional
tyrannies which in different
epochs our history have
swamped the peoples of this

hemisphere with shame and
blood.

In exchange for the opportune
and effective aid that the US
fave to the Allied powers during
the World War, the Versailles
veace Treaty explicitly recog-
nized the Monroe Doctrine with-
out consent of the Latin Amer-
ican countries. It considers the
American continent as a zone of
economic and political influence
of the empire of the United
States.

of

Since then investment of Yan-—

kee capital has increased consid-
erably from Mexico to the Argen-
tine, and the authority of the
US government in internal prob-

federation of Labor (CTM),

discusses the

problems of an alliance between the democratic
people of Latin America to stem the fascist
tide before it swamps the New World.

lems of the 20 nations of the
Wew World has also extended
greatly until it has taken on in
some cases the open aspect of
the intervention of a power upon
peoples subjected to its mandate.
In spite of all, however, fasc-
ism has come to disturb the
Monroe Doctrine. It is a secret
for no one, now, that fascism is
not an European phenomenon,
but a general tactic of capital-
ism organized in order to con-
tinue governing the world with-
in a regime of social injustice;
for this reason it fights its two
natural enemies, the proletariat
as its vital enemy, and democ-
racy as its immediate enemy
which permits the historic devel-
opment of the working class.

HE bloe of fascist countries

which has been constituted—
Germany, Italy and Japan, with
their supporters—has as its ur-
gent objective to suppress the
democratic governments, the form
of bourgeois democracy in all
countries.

Fascism knows that it will be
impossible to triumph in a stable
Sense even in countries that al-
ready for years it has had un-
der its control, as long as dem-
ocratic forms of government of
the peoples, because political in-
terdependence is nothing more
than the natural result of econo-
mic interdependence, increasing-
ly more profound and indivisible.

For this reason fascism has
already directed its sword to-
ward the American continent
and has begun work success-
fully, operating upon the colonies
of the empire of the United

States, as much to broaden its
horizon as to bring pressure
upon the capitalist forces of the
US to oblige them to break with
their individualist and democratic
traditions at the behest of fasc-
ist dictatorship. .

investment of Japanese capi-
tal in Gentral America, the flood
of Japanese merchandise in Car-
ibean countries, co-operation of
italian army technicians in the
primitive or disorganized armies
of the Latin American countries,
construction of arms factories
and of war machines in some
nations of the New World under
the direction of italian and Ger-
man experts, the increasing in-
ternal politics of Latin America
—working closely with the bloc
of fascist governments,.and, fin-
ally, the coup d’etat in Brazil—
establishing the first fascist re-
gime in America, are facts that
demonstrate clearly the conflict
between Pan-Americanism and
fascism, with the grave conse-
quences that soon confront our
semi-feudal and semi-colonial
peoples in this decisive hour for
humanity.

<)

P TO what point will the
United States oppose the fasc-

ist penetration of Latin Amer-
ica? As long as the bloc of fasc-
ist countries might not signify
for Yankee capital a serious dan-

ger, such as a competitor in the,

zone of commercial influence,
that is to say, while the fascist
front does not try to steal the
markets of Yankee capitalism,
the United States will not op-
pose serious resistance to the
suppression of the democratic

forms of government in the
weak countries of the continent,
although this fact might have
some reprecussion within its own
house, because the personal tyr-
annies in Latin America—histor-
ical experience shows this—have
been the best allies of North
American imperialism, lacking
support among its own people.

The example of England in
these moments helps us to un-
derstand the conduct of the im-
perialist powers confronting the
world crisis of democracy: so
long as its material interests are
not gravely menaced by fascism,
they tolerate fascist barbarism
among other peoples and even
come to an understanding with
the fascist powers, although later
on rivalry between predominant
forces provokes war for decisive
control of the great markets
among the allies of today.

The initiative of the Colorado
Party (Partido Colorado) of Uru-
guay must be accepted with-
out reserves and with applause
by all the democratic parties of
Latin America. Already the
Workers Confederation of Mex-
ico has taken the necessary steps
to set up the Latin American
Confederation of Labor. If the
political alliance can be realized
together with the trade union al-
liance, the barrier against fasc-
ism in this hemisphere will be
unbreakable.

Wever have the individual re-
sponsibilities nor the collective
ones been avoidable before great
historic problems; but the re-
sponsibility of the present mo-
ment is so clear that there is no
valid argument confronting the
common responsibility of de-
fending democracy in America.
The internal craft disputes in
each country cannot be offered
seriously as excuses not to co-
operate in the democratic alliance
against fascism. There is no ar-

-gument against the unavoidable

duty of joining the army that
struggles against barbarism.
May the contribution of Am-
erica to civilization translate it-
self this time in positive acts!

Stage
and
Screen

OW the New Film Alliance
Sizes the new pictures up:

SHE LOVED A FIREMAN: All
about a fireman, who is lazy and
has girl trouble. Everything is
fixed up in the end with a big
blaze. The kids might like it.

DANGER PATROL: A disap-
pointed doctor becomes a nitro-
glyccerine carrier! He’s not blown
up and is able to marry the girl.
Just the lower half of a double
feature.

HOTTING A NEW HIGH: Lily
Pons’ beautiful voice, Hdward
Horton and Jack Oakie’s comedy
do much to help this one.

WELLS FARGO: A romanti-
cized history of the express com-
pany. Opens with the firm’s de-
eision to take mail and passengers
across country. Goes through the
“sold rush” and Civil Wer, adding
nothing that has not been present-
ed before. It nevertheless is well
acted and produced in the grand
manner.

TRUE CONFESSION: Very
cockeyed comedy about a girl who
confesses to a erime she didn’t
eommit, so as to give her lawyer-
husband a job. John Barrymore
steals the show as an amiable but
nutty drunk.

@
By JOHN R. CHAPLIN
Federated Press

OLLYWOOD.— The Christmas
stamps issued by the Motion
Picture Artists Committee drive to
raise funds for a Christmas for
Spanish children were very pop-
ular in the film colony, many of
the stars using them to seal their
Christmas cards and answers to
fan letters. Knowing President
Roosevelt's hobby for stamps,
some 50 stars autographed stamps,
bearing the words, “‘Give to a
Spanish Child,” and sent them to
the President for his collection.
Signers include Luise Rainer, Bing
Crosby, Burns and Allen, Edward
Arnold, Lanny Ross, Francis
Lederer, Richard Arlen, Sylvia
Sidney, Lucille Gleason, Edith Fel-
lowes, Mary Carlisle, Gloria Stu-
art, Melvyn Douglas, Porter Hall,
Andy Devine, Lum and Abner, and
others. Many of the stars have
also decided to give their friends,
instead of gifts, cards stating that
the money which would have
bought a gift has been given to a
Spanish child.... Anna May Wong
has also decided not to give any
gifts. Her friends learned that the
gift money went to help the war
victims of Ghina. She led a drive
urging other Orientals in America

to do likewise.
The Fernand Gravet-Carol Lom-
bard film, Food for Scandal, will
have a long sequence of Negro en-

tertainment, featuring Les Hite
and his orchestra, with pert
dancer Jeni LeGon. . . J. Edward
Bromberg, we are told, does

watercolor paintings and exhibits
them under the name of Lester
Strausser. Other film people who
have sidelines are: Edwin Maxwell,
character actor and dialogue di-
rector of De Mille about to pub-
lish a novel titled The More We
Have—, and youthful acters Ed-
ward Marr and Anthony Quinn,
each of whom has authored a play
soon to be produced on Broadway.

OPEN FORUM

Letters to the PA Open Forum should be brief as possible.
We are not responsible for, and often do not agree with ideas

expressed in this column.

Space limitations demand that

portions of long letters be deleted. Every effort is made to
preserve the sense and continuity of letters published.

Thunder On
The Left

Editor, People’s Advocate:

Dear Sir,—No doubt the staff
of the-PA have a few new year
resolutions in the process of
manufacture. During my boyhood
days> in England, I think the
Times used to be referred to as
the Thunderer. This would be a
good mark for the PA to aim at.

The other day in writing to a
progressive MLA at Victoria I
mentioned the fact that the PA
had more pep and punch than its
contemporary. He quite agreed.
So there you are. What are you
going to do about it? Just keep
on, I suppose. Please keep it up
and build circulation.

Now that Don Smith has laid
down the editorial pen, the Fed-
erationist should improve. Con-
gratulations on your recent ex-
posure of Parm Pettipiece, that
Ramsey MeDonald of the CCF.
You made a good job of that all
right. Just tore into the old lad
like an angry bull.

A check-up on DeGrayes and
Corey may be necessary too, but
that fellow Pettipiece, I think,
just got himself into the City
Council to bring discredit on the
CCF. I also believe the old line
parties have agents in the CCH
to keep them fighting among
themselves.

It’s a pity you are unable to
go after Spencer. Did you notice
how he rung in the little woman
and the kids—all throwing their
money into that mine. I got to
wondering if Ol’ Bill had invested
also.

Well, keep up the good work
and build that circulation.

Worth Vancouver, BC. Gade

Victoria
By-Election
Editor, People’s Advocate:

Dear Sir——wZour editorial in
December 10 edition re Victoria
by-election was perfectly true,
but does not give the full story.
That won't be told until the ex
pense accounts for the different
parties have been presented. It is
authoritively estimated that the
Liberals spent at least $50,000 on
the election, which enabled them
to show huge advertisements in
the papers and employ a small
army of canyassers. The Con-
servatives admittedly spent much
less, while the CCF is supposed

to have spent in the neighbor-
hood of $1,000.

The one great difficulty with
the CCF was that owing to lack
of funds, they did not get their
message across to the people. We
have to remember that not 20
per cent of the voters go out to
political meetings and the CCF,
in my opinion, failed to influence
a large part of the 80 percent
leit.

For future elections the labor
movement must meet the power
of money with money, and this
must be obtained by organization
on a mass trade union basis, to
obtain regular small contribu-
tions from hundreds of thousands
of workers. The CIO has the
idea. In any case I’m all for unity
of progressive forces.

Scrutator.
Victoria, BC.

Books and Authors

WHERE SELDOM A GUN IS
HEARD—By Sir Anthony J enk-
inson. Reginald Saunders. To-
ronto. $2.50.

Reviewed by PHIL GIBBENS
HERE Seldom A Gun Is Heard
provides good variety reading
and entertainment. Sir Anthony
Jenkinson does considerable
moseying around and writes as 4
person who can afford to be ami-
able. And although he strikes one
as being a little anxious to remain
the “detached observer,’ yet a
keen sense of fair play allies him
at once with the Salinas lettuce
pickers who stoop to pick, cut and
pack for ten hours a day in the
“sun-drenched valley.” When de-
scribing the strike situation,
which was the natural outcome, he
does not omit mention of the com-
bination allied against the work-
ers—“ . . the Mayor, the Sheriff
and the police do what the Asso-
ciation (Chamber of Commerce)
tell them to.”
One is impressed with the apti-
tude of the author for discovering
interesting places and personali-

ties. An inspection of the Frood
Mine and smelter on the INCO
property brought forth the obser-
vation that “hockey plays an im-
portant part in nickel mining’’—
amongst other things “it takes
their minds off troublesome ques-
itons, such as union organization.”

The New Age Bookstore, one of
Vancouver’s points of major in-
terest, and its manager, Tommy
O’Brien, haye provided Sirs An-
thony with material. Being driven
by R. B. Bennett (a la speaking
tube) to catch a train, managing
to gain an interview with Premier
W. L. Mackenzie King, listening
to Aberhart “knock *em over” at
the Prophetie Bible Institute, are
all experiences recorded in this en-
tertaining volume. The author's
account of his meeting with Tim
Buck and Stewart Smith on “Red
Adelade Streeti’ is refreshing. He
was struck with the political vi-
tality of these two leading Com-
munists, Altogether, in reading
Where Seldom A Gun Is Heard,
one gets the impression that it is
another case of the “spirit is wil-
ling but the flesh is weak.”

()
Diary
3
By VICTORIA POST

TRUGGLING THROUGH the
Christmas crowds in one of
the big stores in town this week,
i came across a woman in the
men’s department literally sur-
rounded by ties of every color and
pattern imaginable. She was hold-
ing aloft one particular gaudy
specimen, and I had visions of it
being presented to some long-suf-
fering male on Christmas morn-
ing.

If you must give him a tie, at
least remember the following
points. Look for an all-wool lin-
ing, cut on the bias. Extra ma-
terial folded under at the end
means that the tie will hang bet-
ter. Fabrics that are tightly woven
will hold. their shape better than
loosely woven materials.

Machine stitching down the
centre inside seam is a bad sign
as it may indicate a crooked lining
that will cause the tie to “rope”
and hang badly. Hand stitching
gives better results.

A good test is to hold the tie at
both ends and stretch it length-
wise. If it twists badly, it has not
been carefully -cut and won’t give
good service. Knitted ties wear
well but the Knot is apt to slip.

C)

Weetees you're going to treat

yourselves to a new radio for
Christmas or just borrowing one,
do the job properly and see that it
bears a union label, or at least is
made under union conditions.
Tests for quality made by the Gon-
sumers’ Union show that only thir-
teen models offering good value
are made under reasonably good
working conditions. Three union

* made models are: Phileo Model
93B, General Electric Model F63
and Zenith Model 98263. Stewart-
Warner Radio Corporation has op-
posed all efforts of AFI. and CIO
organizers to obtain a contract.

And speaking of electric shavers,
even the most expensive model
will not give as good a shave asa
safety razor. So save your men’s
faces and your own pockets and
buy something else.

The newest idea is an electric
toothbrush calculated to save a lot
of arm muscle-ache, but dentists
warn that the high-powered rotat-
ing movement may damage tooth
enamel,

ND now, about stockings. I
heard a rumor that one big
Canadian manufacturer was using
nothing but Chinese silk, and some
of my friends are consequently
haunting the telephone to know if
it’s true. I’ll broadcast the glad
tidings all over the place when it
is confirmed so that you can all
stock up. Im the meantime, ’m
feeling very superior and much
more fashionable, wearing my lisle
stockings than all the other gals
still wearing silk Some of them
go into lengthy explanations to me
that they're wearing their last pair
of silk bought before the boycott
began. They must have worn ex—
traordinary well! But when they
hear of all the smart women now
wearing lisle to support the boy-
cott Broadway stars, prominent
socialites and Frenchwomen, who
are noted universally for their
smartness, theyll decide to go out
and buy some lisle immediately.

COO
By
OL’ BILL
The mind of the
Moscow average “expert” -en-
Gold! gineer or political
economist is an un-
canny and wondrous thing. We

stand amazed before its wonders.
For instance, when there is no
gold in Moscow, they shout,
“Moscow gold is paying for all
the revolutionary disturbances of
the peace; is behind every strike
or threat of strike;’ when there
is Moscow gold, tons of it, they
say, “There is no Moscow gold,
the Russian gold production fig-
ures are falsified.”

So a chauvinistic Canadian
named Dr. McCann ,masquerad-
ing as a “London mining engi-
neer” told the Canadian Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy a few
day ago. A sure case of sour
grapes! A little thought will con-
vince any reasonable individual
of the false and slanderous char-
acter of this “expert’s” state-
ment.

Previous to the war, Russia oc-
cupied fourth place among the
gold producing mations. The
methods of winning the gold then
in use were the most primitive
and wasteful known in the in-
dustry; only the best paying pros-
pects were worked; less than 12
percent of the gold produced
was obtained by mechanical
methods; no systematic prospect-
ing was carried on and trans-
portation was limited to the old
“Shank’s mare” or ox-carts. Gold
miners were practically slaves
and when they went on strike
were shot down, as happened on
the Lena goldfields in 1912 when
270 were killed and 250 wounded.
Under such conditions many rich
finds were never divulged by
their finders.

Today with Socialist produc-
tion in effect, geological surveys
and field prospecting have locat-
ed many new goldfields; in the
Taiga of Northern Siberia, un
Kazakstan, in the Pamirs and
and all the other mountain
ranges, and although the coun-
try has only been partially sur-
veyed, the already known fields
show tat the Soviet Union has
the most extensive gold resources
in the whole world.

Today 70 percent of the gold
industry is carried on with me-
Chanical apparatus. In the placer
deposits the most up-to-date hy-
draulic and electric dredges and
excavators, monitors, ete., are im
use and in the hard-rock mimes
every modern British and Amer-
ican machine is at work.

Transportation is not on foot
any longer but by railroad, auto
and plane. The gold-diggers do
not any longer hide from the
management rich deposits when
they find them, but eagerly ex-
plore every avenue for increas-
ing production. Having reached
second, the USSR will soon take
first place in the production of
gold.

x :
That the national
government of Bri-
tain seems desirous
of bringing about
the disintegration of the British
Empire is the most outstanding
feature of the undeclared war in
the Orient.

The program outlined in the
Memorandum of Baron Tanaka
to the Mikado in 1927, for Japa-
nese domination of Asia is pro-
eressing according to schedule
and the expulsion of Britain from
that continent already started.

The contention of the Japa
nese newspaper “Yomiuri” that
“the Chino-Japanese war is really
a war between Britain and Japan
which has just begun,” the call-
ing for a holy war on Britain
by the “Kokumin Shi Bun’ and
the demand of younger officials
of the Japanese Foreign Office
that Britain and the Netherlands
open their colonies to free Japa-
nese immigration, is the logical
follow-up from the conquest of
Asia. .

This aspect of the question is
one that should particularly in-
terest Australia, New Zealand
and Canada. The discovery by
the British government survey
ship, HMMS Herald, of a Japa-
nese town being established on 2
Briitsh island off the coast of
Borneo, supposedly as a base for
fishing vessels indicates the
“penetrative”’ methods of Japa=
nese imperialism.

The following quotation from
a book published in Japan in
1933, by Senior Lieutenant Tsha-
mura of the Japanese Navy,
“The Inevitability of an Anglo-
Japanese War,” is illuminating:
“The interests of the two coun-
tries are such, that the cause of
war lies in the fact that there is
no choice. Hither Japan will
have to stop its development or
Great Britain will have, in @
friendly manner, to hand over
some of that which it possesses
or wants to possess. - - The
divergence is so great that it is
not possibie for the two coun-
iries to exist together economi-
cally and politically. The final
clash can be delayed for a short
time but it is inevitable. The peo-
ple of Greet Britain and Japan
must look facts in the face. -
India will bie finally lost to Bri-
tain just as the Chinese market.
Australia and New Zealand will
also pass to Japan.”

Yet Maygr Muller does not
know about Japanese spies, BE
Nickel ores are to be sold in
Japan, the Lucky Jim is ship-
ping lead-zine, and BC airplane
spruce limits are now im the
hands of Japanese warmongers.

End of an
Empire!

Fc ela a nh a pita