Ry The Peoples Advocate Western Canada’s Leading Prog ressive Newspaper ‘LL No. 174. | > © Published Weekly VANCOUVER, B.C., FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1938 Single Copies: 5 Cents VOL. IV. No. 18 : ‘Many B.C. Projects bees Be Included | In Recovery Plan at ne 24 a : HE campaign of residents in the Peace River for the govern- ho ment to undertake completion of the Monkman Pass high- snwy they have already partially constructed through determined SU: (vate effort on the one hand, and the presence in Vancouver 'Sshousands of unemployed men on the other, serve to bring > sharp relief the pressing need for a federal work and re- ete ery program which would serve the dual purpose of provid- : ® work and relieving the present economic recession. there are other things which give weight to this argument. -he people of this province: > questions of slum clearance and a housing program and of mnning up False Creek are continually before Vancouver City cil Reforestation is discussed at every session of the legs- bture—and very little done about it. During the past few t#rs there have been disastrous floods in the Fraser Valley, iating to the inadequacy of the present dying system. Below is listed a number of proyects which have been aired plicly at various times. If they were incorporated in a federal k and recovery program there is no doubt as to their value Construction of the Alaska-Yukon Highway. Completion of the Trans-Canada Highway. False Creek Harbor development. Completion of the PGE Railway. Systematic reforestation. Housing and slum clearance. Completion of the Monkman Pass Peace River outlet. Fraser River dyking project. Completion of the Lougheed Hishway. il Unions In Convention oe be itress Need To Fight ) Beatty, Fairweather ' While determined opposition to railway amalgamation is the * note of the convention of Division Four, Railway Employees /sartments in Canada, now being held in the Hotel Vancouver, Sumber of resolutions affecting wages, pensions, truck com- i Wition and state control over manufacture of armaments in ‘ piada were passed this week. neededs emands that “much nges in the BNA Act be effect- to conform with modern condi- f! is,’ and that the Senate be @® lished were als) voiced. R. J. @ lon, president of Division Four, pressed the convention, which resents over 30,000 workers. jaterviewing a number of dele- es who took part in the pro- "sed discussion on the threatened “@algamation, which, it was claim- ‘% would throw more than 25,000 iroeaders in Canada “into a dan- ous state of economic insecur- ” an Advocate reporter gained impression that great uneasi- his prevailed on this question, and it many were dissatisied with ®:. inadequacy of steps taken by : convention to combat amalga- » tion. N3itter references to recent ‘Beeches made by Sir Hdward fatty and S. W. Fairweather, rail- bid chiefs, who are carrying on S-orous and unscrupulous cam- igus to effect this vicious legis- @ion against the welfare of thou- fids, one carman delegate stating: v4 “It seems like all the fire and fight is coming from the big share- holders after reading their widely published speeches. I think the Division is making a mistake in agreeing to the proposition that the fight against amalgamation should be kept within the railroad unions.” Fairweather, some delegates claimed, represented those vested interests who worked for amalga- mation in piecemeal fashion in an effort to lull the Canadian public. Beatty, they opined, was moving heaven and earth to this end, and nothing short of a national cam- paign involving the widest sec- tions of the dominion would offset his scheming and determination. One shop delegate from the Soo line, outlining the bankrupt state of that railroad declared that Beatty of the CPR is trying des- perately to unload the bonds of the Soo line on the federal treasury. He too expressed misgivings on the semi-hush policy accepted by the division. | tlin Maintains Lead littee’s $108.65. ~-ouncil Move Wage Menace Royal City Council Pays Relief Rates NEW WESTMINSTER, BC, May 2—A sinister move which endan- ‘crs Steady employment of civic ~orkers is seen in the appointment £ relief recipients on the city pay- Jpll at relief Wage scales. This is yeing done at the Arena, a civic yroject, and on the collection of ty garbage. One relief recipient has been put ym each of the three city garbage erucks, to be paid $3.20 per day, ee the steady employee gets ES 65. The rotation of employment echeme is applied to the jobless, Lach working until the limit of his allowance is reached. Grganized labor fears that such = precedent will lead to wider abuses and will endanger wage Scales and the standard of living 2 New Westminster. Ps Vancouver Centre First In City To Attain Quota This week at press drive headquarters saw Vancouver Cen- =e committee top its quota and Atlin maintain its lead over \dustrial sub-committees by a further donation of $49, total to date of $152 as compared with the Transportation com- giving it Vancouver Island again came to the forefront when Nanaimo do- nated $12.80 to bring it near Cum- berland’s standing of $70. The sum of $21.75 from Burnside Club of Victoria, which did fine work in the 1937 campaign, and $4.90 from Esquimalt brought Victoria’s total to $29.90. Worthern British Columbia shows Atlin at $152.45, supported by Ques- nel at $20.80; Prince Rupert, $8.75; Grassy Plains, $6; Premier, $6; Queen Charlotte, $4; Dawson, $4.25; Goat River, $2.25; Shere, $1; Gis- come, $2. In southern British Columbia, Salmon Arm continues to hold the lead with 80.8 percent of its objec- tive, followed by Surrey committee, which has boosted its total with $40.63. A donation of $3.25 from A. Cheverton’s committee at White Rock brought the score to $124.83, or 78 per cent. Surrey committee relied on itS main revenue on a prize ticket dance, the prize being won Mrs. E. H. Hindman, New Westminster, with ticket no. 171-C. One member of the committee, Mrs. McPherson, sold $10 worth of See VANCOUVER (Gontinued on page 5) OLLYWOOD THEATRE IN CITY PICKETTED Dewdney Urged To Vote CCF Must Defeat Old=Line Parties, Win Dewd= ney For Progress, Says McKean. AGASSIZ 1 RALLY Harold Winch, MLA, and Ar- nold Webster, CCF first vice-pres- ident, will be speakers at an elec- tion rally to be held in Agassiz next Monday. “Election of Miss Mildred Osterhout, the CCF candidate, in -the Dewdney byelection would be the best contribution to security, peace and democ- racy the voters in that riding could make It would be a sharp warning, both to the Pattullo government and the Con- servative leaders, that demands of industrial workers, farmers and small businessmen on the coast cannot be ignored,” Fergus Mc- Kean, provincial secretary of the Communist party declared yester- day in a statement to the labor press. The Communist leader expressed the hope that Dewdney voters would assert their dissatisfaction with the failure of Premier Pat- See DEWDNEY (Continued on page 6) New Zealand Backs Spain Should Have Right To Arms, League Is Told GENEVA, Switzerland, May 12.— New Zealand gave a lead to the other self-governing dominions of the British Empire this week when William Jordan, New Zealand rep- resentative, declared his country “to be fully in support of the argu- ments and statements” of Alvarez del Vayo, Spanish delegate to the League of Nations. The scholarly New Zealand dele- gate to the League told the council Wednesday that the democratic Spanish government “should be given the right to buy arms freely.” He charged that the big democ- racies, veering toward the fascist countries, had deserted Spain. In contrast to Jordan’s forthright statements the remarks of Lord Halifax, British foreign secretary, appeaed weak and indefensible, for all the calculated pro-fascist policy they set forth. Jordan declared: “Half a dozen European nations are confronted with the alternative of bowing or disappearing” before fascist aggres- sion. ord Halifax, with the New Zea- land representative's statements ringing in his ears, set forth Prime Minister Chamberlain’s contention that “Branco and Great Britain have the duty of protecting the world from the scourge of war.” He was supported by Georges Bon- net, French foreign minister. In the discussion on Thursday, centering around the proposal to grant Italy’s demand for recogni- tion, Jordan was equally clear. He termed the move “a return to the laws of the jungle and one directly opposed to the fundamen- tal collective security principles of the League.” Wellington Koo, Chinese dele- gate, supported Jordan’s stand. Japan Alarms Nazi Business LONDON, Eng., May 12—Doubts about Japan are developing very fast in the Far East. Important German business interests there have sent a memorandum to the German government to point out the damage caused to them by the policy of the Berlin-Tokio axis. It emphasizes the fact that China is Germany's greatest potential mar- ket and Japan is her most formid- able competitor there. It also contains a warning that China will be the victor in the present struggle againt Japan. Blubber Bay Workers Score In Parley Result Ald. H. Gutteridge, H. Winch, MLA, To Tag For Jobless Tomorrow, Saturday, is tag whom there are estimated to be by the authorities and forced to alleviate their desperate plight. Granted by the civic finance com-© mittee on recommendation of the social services committee of the eity council there was not one dis- senting vote when Ald. Cornett put the question. Spokesman R. W. Campbell, busi- ness-like representative of the Re- lief Project Workers’ Union, made the simple request for a tag day in a few sentences, stressing the point that the single jobless want- ed to keep within the law. Ques- tioned sharply by Mayor G C. Miller, Campbell declared his in- ability to promise that all solicit- ing would cease were the tag-day granted. “Circumstances will decide that question,” Ald. Helena Gutteridge interposed. Eloquent gharagion for the men was Canon Cooper, of St. James Anglican Church. He declared his faith in the bona fides of the union leaders and urged that the council lift its ban on tag day's in the emergent situation. Roundly he condemned the slow- mess of the governments to pro- duce a works program, but he re- minded the council 9f its duty to look after young Canadians who were destitute, declaring it had “great power in the present situa- tion.” Alarming rumours that the tag day had been held up on technical grounds in that the city council as a body had not ratified the fi- nance committee’s decision were reported to the Advocate by John Matts, leader of the unemployed. it appeared that the city clerk had informed the tag day committee of this discrepency, and had warned that preparations be held up until Friday. “We are going ahead with our plans,’ Matts stated, “apparently there seems to be a constitutional crisis.” Among prominent volunteers who will sell tags bearing the slogan “J Favor a Works Program,” will be: Harold Winch, MLA.; Tom Ewen, central committee member of the Communist party; A. M. Stephen, president, Canadian League for Peace and Democracy; Herbert Gargrave, provincial CCF secretary; Fergus McKean, pro- vincial secretary Communist party; Alderman Helena Gutteridge. Crew Opposes Scrap Cargo Hoped Dockers Here Would Block Loading The story of a Finnish crew which sailed unwillingly from the port of Vancouver with a cargo of scrap iron bound for Japan, was told this week to the Advocate by members of the Finnish organizza- tion who met with members of the crew. Because of the hostility and many refusals of longshoremen to load serap iron at American ports, the Finnish freighter, St. Stephen, was ordered by the owners to proceed to Vancouver for this cargo. American longshoremen informed the Finnish crew before leaving San F'rancisco that there was little likelihood of BC workers refusing to load scrap iron for Japan be- cause there was little or no organ- ization on the waterfront since the big strike. The crew was hoping that it could avoid such a cargo, the Advocate learned. Due to sail last Sunday, the St. Stephen did not get away until Tuesday. This was because the FWinnish consul in Vancouver de- manded that full freight charges be prepaid before the ship would be cleared. Partisans Control Shanghai Areas SHANGHAT, China, May 12. Partisan detachments around Shanghai are proving a thorn in the side of the Japanese invaders. They have restored Chinese rule in day for single unemployed, of 6,000 in Vancouver, denied aid appeal to a generous public to Dr. Norman Bethune Montreal surgeon, who won world recognition for his organ- ization of mobile blood transfu- sion units in Spain, is now With the American medical unit at- tached to 8th Route Army forces behind Japanese lines. (See story on page 3) Many Go To Youth Meet BC Delegation Of 20 For Youth Congress British Columbia youth will be represented by 20 delegates at the third Canadian Youth Congress to be held in Toronto on May 24. A large crowd of youth, members of the council movement, are ex- pected to give a send off at the CNR station on Monday at 7:15 pm. Official representatives from the Vancouver Youtn Council are J. Stanton, J. Jopson, J. Hundel and C. Dickens. There will be two Chinese and two Japanese members of the delegation, and Ian HKisen- hardt, leader of the Provincial Rec- reation Centres, has announced his intention of attending the congress. Two delegates from Victoria are also expected to attend. The Canadian Youth Congress committee has issued appeals to all Catholic bishops in Canada and to the Right Reverend Mazzoni, papal attache at Ottawa, asking their co- operation in haying Catholic youth represented. World peace, internal peace and youth rehabilitation are the three main questions to come before the congress, around which dominion- wide interests exists. The Hon. John Hart, provincial minister of finance, on behalf of the Pattullo government, has sent a message to the congress stating that only by stimulating interest in current problems through such gatherings can amicable settlement be reached. Lieutenant-Governor Eric Ham- ber has also sent greetings to the congress, stating that he feels as- sured the congress will be conduct- ed upon Canadian, national and democratic lines and in the inter- ests of the youth of Canada. Travelling with the delegation in the special colonist car will be L. McCrae, W. Palmer and M. Rush, YCL delegates from BC, to the youth congress, who will also at- tend the national convention of the Young Communist League follow- ing the congress. Japan Buys Output Japan is purchasing all the cop- | per Granby Consolidated can pro- duce, the quarterly report of the five districts on the coast. company reveals. Employees’ Position Is Vindicated Board Recommends Committee Be Set Up For Negotiation, Grievance. WAGE BOOSTS Complete unanimity on the findings of the arbitration board, first to be appointed under the BE Conciliation and Arbitration Act, to probe into the dispute at Blubber Bay be- tween the Pacific Lime Com- pany and its employees, has been reached, the Advocate learned Thursday in an inter- view with Harold Winch, MLA, spokesman for the men. Recommendations of the board to the government are of a sweep- ing nature, and, in the opinion of Winch, are a vindication of the po- Sition taken by the employees in past months. An indefinite number of black- listed men come under a recommen- dation that all employees on the payroll on July 23, 1937, should be re-employed. This means that union leaders, strongly objected to by the company, are affected, and that the excuse offered by the company that these men ‘were dismissed before the Act came into operation, was ‘brushed aside as irrelevant. Winch stated that he particularly stressed this point. A minimum wage of 40 cents an hour in the plant was recommended —Chinese workers are now getting 334% cents an hour—and an in- erease of 50 to 75 cents on hour for iboatiloaders. To meet the company's objection to union committees half-way, the board recommended formation of a grievance committee and a nego- tiating committee to be comprised of union and non-union men—sep- arately from the works committee, which is composed of all union men, the grievance committee to meet the company weekly. e Chinese quarters were declared to be in need of fixing and recom- mendation to this effect was made. Also that dangerous debris in the quarry be removed. An important recommendation was made that the company recon- sider its refusal to allow the use of its hall to employees; that is as long as it was used lawfully, better relations between employees and the company would be estab- lished. Only One Without Union Man Owner Championed One-Man Projection Rooms At Hearing Last Fall. UNION CASE Hollywood Theatre, 3100- block West Broadway, is now. being picketed by members of Local 348, BC Projectionists’ Union. The theatre has been declared unfair to labor, and for several very good reasons. In an interview with Guy Gra- ham, the union’s business agent, the Advocate learned that until a few weeks ago a union man was on the job, working with Fairleigh, the owner and manager. But when Fairleigh’s son received his projec- tionist’s licence, they decided to ig- nore the union. “There is no objection to a man employing his son, or to dismissing a union man to do it,” Graham told the Advocate. “But for the protec- tion of union wages and conditions we cannot allow a union man to be fired and a non-union man take his place without registering strenu- ous objection,” he, stated: The Hollywood Theatre is the only moving picture house in Van- couver without a union man on the job, the Advocate was informed, Another objectionable feature of this case is the fact that Fair- leigh has a theatre supply store on Davie street in which he works all day and goes to the theatre until around midnight, a matter ef some 16 hours—in these days of unemployment. Even at that the union is willing to accept young Fairleigh as a member in order to maintain peace- able relations in the theatre in- dustry. The union business agent de- plored the general attitude of Fair— leigh toward labor, citing his atti- tude during the period when the powerful moyie company, Famous Players, tried to reduce the man- power in theatre projectionist rooms from two to one man. Fairleigh was one of the main champions of their proposed reduc- tion, which not only would have meant a loss of $125,000 in wages per year, but would increase the fire hazard in projection rooms 100 | per cent, Graham declared. Leaflets explaining the present trouble haye been distributed around the theatre since last Sat— urday. The leaflet makes it clear that were one theatre allowed to hire non-union help without objec- tion, then all theatre owners would follow suit with consequent disaster to the union. “We believe the public is behind us in our trade union fight,” Gra- ham stated “Already there is 2 serious falling-off of business, and we sincerely hope that Hairleigh will see it our way and join with the general sentiment for organized labor.”’ Union Wins Postponement Sweeping Change In Hours Of Work Act Challenged “Tt is astounding to everyone acquainted with the story that big business such as the CPR ec sweeping change in the Hours generally kept in ignorance.” So declared Bill Gateman, busi-© ness agent of Local 28, Hotel and Restaurant Employees, who, on be- half of his union successfully fought against the introduction of a larger spread of hours for res- taurant shifts, this week obtaining a postponement. The hours of Work Act stipulates that an 8-hour work shift cannot be spread over more than 12 hours. On a plea, mainly from the CPR- owned Hotel Vancouver, the In- dustrial Relations Board decided to extend this spread from 12 to 14 hours. The board, chairman of which is Adam Bell, deputy minis- ter of labor, wired its decision next day. - Excuse of the board was that the change was in the interest of the industry; that hotel managements had stated there was a shortage of help in the summer months. Gate- man declared this to be a deliberate untruth because the union can sup- ply any number of experienced waitresses. “Imagine a girl going on shift at 6 a.m. and not being clear until 8 See RULING (Continued on page 6) ould in 24 hours secure such a of Work Act and the public Union Fights Death Toll IWA Campaigns For Government Action Seeking government action on the high death rate in the BC log- ging industry, the International Woodworkers of America are con- ducting a campaign for this pur- pose. Leaflets issued by the union state that while 20 loggers have been killed this year, the industry is only operating at one-third normal. In the last eleven years, the union points out, 570 men have been killed in logging accidents in this EE ONE ince and over a ten-year period 1642 loggers in the province have Bee permanently or partially, disable: and 29,432 others given comvenen: tion for injuries. The number 9 deaths caused directly by these in; juries over this period is not re- corded.