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British Columbia’s Progressive Home Paper

5| The People’s Advocate

CENTS

VANCOUVER, B.C., FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1938

FULL NO. 180

“VOL. IV. No. 24

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PEARSON
CHARCED

BY UNION

Gfficers of the International
Woodworkers’ Union this week
charged collusion between the
provincial labor department and
employers in the Port Alberni dis-
pute in view of Labor Minister
Pearson’s admission that Deputy
Minister Adam Bell interviewed

Farris, manager of SBloedel’s
mill, Bell, however, did not con-
tact employees dismissed for

union activities.
Farris is 2 brother of J. DeB.
Farris.

By NIGEL MORGAN

VICTORIA, BG, June 23—‘*Don’t
ask me to help you. Why don’t you
go to court?”

This was all the satisfaction ob-
tained from Minister of Labor G.
S. Pearson last Monday when a
delegation, headed by Herold
Pritchett, president of the Interna-
tional Woodworkers’ Union, inter-
viewed him on serious labor dis-
putes at Blubber Bay and Port Al-
berni.

Despite the presentation of affi-
davits proving that Alberni mill-
workers were forced by the threat
of losing their jobs into signing
repudiation of the union, the min-
ister of labar refused to act, sug-
gesting recourse to the courts. On
being asked what kind of evidence
would be needed, he stated, “I don’t
know.”

In the dispute at Blubber Bay,
a promise to investigate was made
by Hon. Pearson to the delegation:

Union officials told the Advocate
that picket lines would be main-
tained at Blubber Bay, and that
reinstatement for the 80 discrim-—
inated workers at APL and Bloedel
mills would continue to be pressed.

The delegation interviewing Hon.
Pearson included, Colin Cameron,
MLA; T. Meciennan, TWA; Sam
Guthrie, MA; GC. Michell, and F.
Gondo, millworkers; Jack Hole,
Biubber Bay; Nigel Morgan, TWA;
W. Atkinson, United Mine Work-
ers; WN. Coe, Imland Boatmen’s

' Union.

Fears Publicity

VICTORIA, BC, June 23. — The
GBC, which halted a news broad-
east on Monday to anrounce that
Vancouver was ‘all clear” for
tourists, yesterday strung telephone
wire to the House to broadcast
demonstrations. The government
ordered the line removed.

Steve Brodie, leader of the single
men in the post office, as he lay in
hospital this week.

—Alfred Krause Photos

Steve Brodie

MAKES SWORN STATEMENT

By STEVE BRODIE.

WO O’CLOCK, Sunday morning, I left a picket line outside
the main door of the post office and lay down im the base-
ment to sleep. At 2:20 am I was awakened by the picket who
informed me that an anonymous phone call came to the Melrose
Cafe, which he had taken, informing us that we could expect
trouble of some sort between four and five o'clock. With in-

structions to call me, I sent him back to the picket line.

T was called at 3:15.

T went out and, close to four o’clock, I

observed two trucks, both full of RCMP, going down the
back lane to the mail truck yard.

I immediately went in, woke thes

boys and asked them to dress. I
ealled them together for a few
minutes when I spoke to them. Tf
told them it was hardly possible
that an attack would be made on
Sunday morning, but that we must
be prepared for an emergency. I
assured them that we, the repre-
sentatives, were prepared for that
emergency and that we would
avoid, if it was humanly possible,
any clash with the authorities. My
position as leader of the men was
endorsed unanimously and the men
were asked to sit down in their
usual places.

At approximately 5 o’clock, the
postmaster, accompanied by Major
Will of the RGMP and some other
officers, stepped into the lobby from
behind the wickets. Postmaster
Clarke made the address as noted
in the press and asked the men
to leave quietly, warning them as
to which doors would be open.

I immediately called to see the
officer in charge and was intro-
duced to Major Hill. On the men’s
behalf and with their endorsation
at that moment I submitted to ar-

rest, en masse. I asked the men
in Major Hill’s hearing if each one
understood that we were prisoners
of the Crown from that moment,
and the men verbally assured me
they understood and accepted.

Major Hill refused to consider
this, stating he had only orders to
evict. I asked him whether he had
no authority to place us under ar-
rest and his only reply was that
he would not argue. IT then sent a
constable of the city force to call
Deputy Chief Grundy, in charge of
the Vancouver police detachment
outside, and asked him to come in.

To Inspector Grundy I made the
proposal that I would bring the
men out if he would arrest them
on the sidewalk. He merely
shrugged his shoulders and said,
“J have no orders for an arrest.”
I warned him then that he must
accept some share of the respon-
sibility for anything that might
bappen. He left without any an-
swer.

I went back to Major Hill and

(Gontinued on page 6)
See BRODIE

STEWART
OPPOSES
TLC VETO

As the Advocate went to press,
it was learned that several prom-
inent persons would endeavor to
organize a mass meeting here for
Sunday.

Disassociating himself from
other executive members of the
Trades and Labor Council, whe
arbitrarily vetoed the calling of
an open-air protest: meetmes on
behalf of single unemployed,
aligning himself with the ma-
jority vote of delegates at the
council meetings Tuesday,
which instructed the executive
to organize a meeting on Sun-
day, C. M. Stewart issued the
following statement:

““The decision of the executive of
the trades and labor council to re-
fer the mass meeting in support
of the sitdown strikers and against
Sundays police attack, to a ref-
erendum of the union membership,
fiies in the face of the expressed
will of the trades and labor coun-
ceil. The vote of the majority of
delegates on Tuesday night was
elear and democratically made.
That the majority of the officers of

the executive refused to carry
through the decision by proposing
a referendum which will take
weeks to carry through, is a de-
plorable breach of trade union de-
mocracy, to say the least.

“Public feeling is incensed at
Sunday’s actions of the police. The
boys are keeping up their fight for
the cause of our youth. Every
union man and woman is vitally
eoncerned with the outcome of
this struggle. Pattullo has shown
himself to be in violent opposition
to the needs of the province and its
people.

“That Premier Pattullo should
receive support from the majority
of the executive of the trades coun-
cil at this moment is something
which IT as a member of that ex-
ecutive wholeheartedly and unre-
servedly condemn.

“The argument that because
Chief Foster has prohibited “un-
lawful gatherings” no meeting

should be held, is nonsense. We
have no desire or intention to be
‘“onilawful.’ The trade unions want
to express their opinion on a mat-
ter of grave public import, as they

have every right to do.”

5

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City Police Looms

Civil Liberties Union
Backs Brodie’'s Legal
Action For A\ssault

With overwhelming public demand for a thorough investiga-
tion of Sunday’s police attack on single unemployed, voiced
through the Civil Liberties Union and other organizations, the
Advocate learned Thursday that a probe of the police force

will probably be made.

King Unveils
Memorial To

1837 Rebels

ironic, Says
J. S. Woodsworth

NTAGARA FATIS, Ont, June
23——One hundred and one years
ago 28 Canadians were executed
for treason. Their crime was that
they had revolted against the
tyranny of the Family Pact and
taken part in the Rebellion of
1837 led by William Lyon Mac-
kenzie and Louis Papineau, whose
mames today have been adopted by
Canadian volunteers in the Inter-
national Brigade in Spain.

Last Saturday, Prime Minister
Mackenzie King, a grandson of the
great democrat, William Lyon Mac-
kenzie, unveiled the Clifton Memo-
rial Areh here in honor of these
Same 28 men. A century ago they
were executed as rebels. Today
they are regarded as the pioneers
of our present democratic form of
government, their names inscribed
for posterity.

The inscription on the memorial
reads:

“This memorial was erected to
honor the memory of the men and
women in this land throughout
their generations who braved the
wilderness, maintained the settle-
ments, performed the common
task without praise or glory and
were the pioneers of political free-
dom and a system of responsible
government which became the
cornerstone of the British Com-
monwealth of Nations.”

In the House of Commons on
Tuesday, J. S. Woodsworth, MP,
commented:

“The irony of it all is that while
the Prime Minister was at Niagara
Falls Jauding his grandfather’s
rebellion, he was taking up arms
against those in Vancouver who
had not taken up arms.”

~ it was also understood that the

plainclothesman shown beating
Steve Brodie in news photos whose
name has been suppressed by the
police, is being disciplined.

An investigation of a different
kind is due to open today when the
37 firemen at the Seymour street
hall will be grilled by First Assist-
pant Chief J. WH. DeGraves because
they jeered at police on Sunday.

Qne man is accused of the hein-
bus crime of yelling his sympathy
to the jobless.

Whether Chief A. McDiarmid’s
suspension of DeGraves on Thurs-
day will affect the proposed en-
quiry is not known, but any at-
tempt of the first assistant fire
chief to dismiss any of the firemen
is bound to bring a storm of public
protest in its wake.

Officers of Local i, Firefighters’
Union, will hold a watching brief
at the enquiry.

Will Bring Suit

Other developments are:

Steve Brodie, with full approval
of the Vancouver Branch, Civil
Liberties Union and E. A. Lucas,
its counsel, appealed Thursday to
the Governor-General of Canada

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Suffers Relapse

A relapse in the condition of
Steve Brodie, unemployed leader,
who was savagely beaten by po-
lice last Sunday, sent him back to
bed again yesterday. Badly
shaken, and walking with the aid
of a cane, he told the Advocate
that he was “feeling pretty
tough.”

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for a fiat under the Petition of
Rights, to bring action against
police authorities for savage beat-—
ings inflicted on him after he had
been evicted from the post office
last Sunday.

Appeals under this ancient law
are seldom, if ever rejected, Lucas
told the Advocate, and when the
crown gives endorsation, the fiat
reads in part: “Let right be done.’
Action will then be taken through

(Continued on page 6)
See JOBLESS

After The Attack

First three pictures show some of the single unemployed having their injuries dressed at Ukrainian Labor Temple,
which was converted into an emergency first-aid station after Sunday’s police attack on the men. At right, one of the
post office sitdowners is seen describing how he received a police club on his head as he left the post office.

—Alired Krause Photos

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