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THE PEREOPLEZ’S ADVOCATE

’

PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE

Published Weekly by the Proletarian Publishing
Association, Room 10, 163 West Hastings Street,
Vancouver, B.C. Phone Trinity 2019.

Three Months —_— $ .60
Single Copy -—--—---

Make All Cheques Payable to: The People’s Advocate

Vancouver, B.C., Friday, October 21, 1938

After Munich

HE illusion of having escaped from the ter-
rible danger of world war to enter upon
a period of peace and tranquility, vrhich misled’
many persons when Czechoslovakia was
thrown to the fascist wolves by Chamberlain
and Daladier, is now rapidly giving way to a
feeling of uncertainty, anxiety and, in many
eases, despair and dread.

Hitler’s assurances in his Berlin speech that
if he were given ‘that part of Sudetenland
which is inhabited by Germans, he would
make no further territorial demands in Eu-
rope, and that he definitely renounced any
intention of ever aspiring to annex Alsace-
Lorraine have already been proven false. ‘That
he was concerned only with uniting all Ger-
mans into a greater Third Reich has also
been proven false.
| Already he has taken one-fifth more territory
from Czechoslovakia than the world was told the
Jiunich agreement gave to him, including areas in
which Czechs and Slovaks are far more numerous
than the people of German descent. Nearly a mil-
jion of them already have been brought under the
xule of the Brown Shirts.

But that is not all. While consolidating his
gains and pressing his domination of all Cen-
tral, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, he is
ai the same time making insolent demands
upon Chamberlain and Daladier, his alles
and accomplices in fascist crime. He de-
mands colonies now held by Britain, France
and other European powers. He demands
naval parity with, and air force three times
larger than that of, Britain. Even stronger
and more far reaching demands are made on
France.

e

| © ees is following the line laid down in

his bok, “My Struggle,” in which the
destruction of France and then Great Britain
is given as his objective. It was the hope of
the British Tories and French Rightists that
Hitler could be diverted toward first attacking
the Soviet Union if he were granted conces-
sions in Central Europe. ‘

Now these tories are shaking in their boots
at the new orientation of Hitler’s foreign
policy which in the immediate future is not so
much against the Soviet Union, which he fears
to tackle, as against France and for the isola-
tion of Britain. It is this danger to national
existence that Eden and Churchill, their as-
sociates, and a growing number of British peo-
ple fear, a danger which Ghamberlain is wil-
ling to risk in order to save fascism in Europe
and introduce it in Britain and France.

The enormity of the Munich betrayal is becoming
clear to many who were at first completely fooled
by the faked war danger. They are becoming con-
winced that a firm stand by Britain and France in
defence of Gzechoslovakia would have prevented
war at that time and by a continuation of the
policy of collective resistance to fascist aggression
svould have prevented world war.

ESPITE the strengthening of the war
mongers and the corresponding weak-
ening of the peace forces, it is not too late to
gather together and unite the forces of peace
and democracy to resist and halt fascist ag-
gression. In working to achieve this it must
be remembered that the line-up is not strictly
the democratic states versus the fascist states.
The real line-up is the forces of peace and de-
mocracy in the capitalist states together with
the Soviet Union against the fascist states and
their allies and accomplices, the Chamber-
Jains, Daladiers and other pro-fascists in the
democratic states.

This means a struggle to bring down the
Chamberlain government and to compel the
Mackenzie King government to break with
the pro-fascist foreign policy of the British
tories.

But time does not permit delay. If fascism,
which is united and acts swiftly and decisively,
is to be halted and defeated, the forces of
peace and democracy must act far more
quickly than they have been doing.

Time is an important and decisive factor.
Hitler, Mussolini and their allies can be de-
feated, but only if the process of building up
and uniting the peace front is speeded up.

Another Betrayal To Be Attempted

HERE can be no doubt that at the Munich

meeting of Chamberlain, Hitler, Daladier

and Mussolini, the plot against democracy was

not one involving Czechoslovakia alone; the
destruction of Spain was also planned.

Now that the destruction of Czechoslovakia
has been all but accomplished, Mussolini is
withdrawing only 10,000 men, most of whom
are wounded, from Spain, but leaving all of-
ficers, technicians, airplanes and pilots, tanks,
suns—as well as almost all his effective fight-
ing forces.

Yet on this basis Chamberlain now states
that he is goings to give effect to the agreement
with Mussolini which was tentatively reached
last April.

Tf Chamberlain has his way Spain will fol-
low Czechoslovakia. It is therefore of the ut-
most importance that the maximum assistance
be given to the Spanish government and peo-
ple if fascist aggression is not to be allowed to
follow its Munich triumph by a subjugated
Spain which would in turn soon be followed
by a fascist Europe.

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Manager Plan Failed In Cleveland >»

HE acid test of the city manager plan was made in Cleveland and it failed. The experi-

ment lasted from 1924 to 1931. The last five years of this period was marked by four at-
tempts, the last successful, to return to the mayor-council form.

Cleveland's experience with the
city manager plan is clearly pre-
sented in a study made by i. L.
Kenan, Cleveland newspaperman.
Thestudy, on which this article
is based, shows that Cleveland ex-—
perienced exactly the opposite of
what those sponsoring the mana-—
ger plan claimed it would do. it
gave the city a corrupt govern-—
ment at a greater cost to the tax-
payers.

The movement in Cleveland was
sponsored by a group of reform-
ers led by Dr. A. R. Hatton, who
is at present chainman of the
political science department at
Northwestern University. He was
also a councilman in the city
manager government, and at pre-
sent is serving as honorary vice-
chairman on the Chicago City
Manager Committee.

Banded together in opposing
the Cleveland plan were the poli-
tical bosses, the Chamber of Com-
berce, later one of the strongest
forces favoring the city Manager
government, issued in 1921 a pro-
phetic statement condemning the
plan.

Said the Chamber of Com-
merece: “Given a city manager
who may be amenable, intention-
ally or otherwise, to undue influ-
ence, and you will find your city
burdened with a closed corpora-
tion, a kitchen cabinet, and invis-
ible government with all the evils
that Such conditions breed in a
great city. You have created the
machinery which invites design-
ing persons to manipulate it to
suit their own selfish ends; to pez
fect the highest type of a political
machine; and thus enable the
erafters to prosecute their busi-
ness with the least probability or
being detected.’

The Chamber of Commerce was
right in 1921. It was so right that
it changed its mind immediately

after the plan was adopted. The
manager plan in Cleveland be-
came the closed corporation-. . -
of the local Ghamber of Ccm-—
merce itself.
es

OR the first three years the

gorernment seemed to func-
tion, and most of the citizens be-
lieved the city had an honest, effi-
ecient, and economical administra-
tion.

In 1929, the city was first treat—

ed to an insight of what was hap-
pening in the city manager gov-
ernment. In that year Ray 1.
Miller, a young, vigorous ambi-
tious county prosecutor, un-
earthed a series of scandals in
the city council.
- Councilman Thomas W. Flem-
ing was the first to be convicted
of accepting a bribe for advocat—
ing pension legislation at the city
hall. The prosecutor followed
with an investigation of land pur-
chases made by the city—-Hop-
kins was never penurious in car-
rying on the city’s business.

In March, 1628 it was discov-
ered that the city had purchased
a 50,000 plot of land for a play-—
ground, paying $83,250. Council-
man Liston G. Schooley, Republi-
can chairman of the finance
committee, had made a tidy pro-
fit. He pleaded guilty, and went
to the penitentiary for a S-year
term. How many others shared
in the net profit of $33,250 was
never determined. The city clerx
was also indicted but acquitted.
The city clerk was also indicted
but acquitted. Another council-
man died. Another land deal was
unearthed and a councilman was
indicted for profiteering, but ac-
quitted.

The entire story of what hap-
pened in Cleveland cannot be told
in this short article, but the
people of that city learned enough

THE TWO PLANS EN 15 YEARS

1920—The Mayor Plan

1921—The Mayor Plan

1922—The Diayor Plan

1923—The Miayor Plan _.

1924—The Manager Pian _.

1925—The Manager Plan

1926—The Manager Plan

1927—The Manager Plan

1928—The Manager Plan

1929—The Manager Plan

1930—The Manager Pian

1931—The Manager Plan

1932—The Mayor Plan -

1933—The Mayor Plan

1934—The Mayor Plan -_

Stummarizing, Kenan makes the
following observations:

“The manager plan is undemo-
eratic and fascist in implication
because its very promise is dis-
trust of the voter’s intelligence. It

is predicated on the theory that
we cannot afford to let the people

choose their own chief exectttive,
and that- we must have an ap-
pointed dictator. The system
plays into the hands of those. - -

so that two months after the

Hopkins - Maschke aocusations,
they abandoned the city manager
plan by a vote of 61,267 to 51,970.

in his summary, Kenan has tois
to say about the city manager
plan: “INo plan of government,
without the support of an aroused
and critical electorate, can work
nviracles. The plan of itself
means nothing. .. . If it be true
that good government can be ob-
tained only by aroused civie in-
terest then it is clear that the
manager plan works in the oppo-
site direction for evidence shows
that the manager plan destroys
public interest im- civic govern-
ment because it seeks to elimin-
ate public participation. it re-
moves from the people their right
to choose their own chief execu-
tive. ... The electors simply will
not go to the polls to elect coun-—
Cilmen alone. Their interest dies.
And when a big city is run by a
handful of voters, it is run by
political machines. .- . ”

In 1921, the year in which
Gleveland last elected a mayor
... the vote was 154,123. -

In 1923, the city elected only
councilmen, and the vote fell to
114,613.

In 1925 the vote dropped to
106,736. :

In 1927, the vote jumped be-
cause ..- there was a charter
amendment to knock out the
Manager plan. .. The vote was
163,901.

Back in 1929, the vote dropped
back to 130,101.

In early 1932 the people elected
their mayor for the first time in
ii years .. . the vote rose to
198,742.

And in 1933, the municipal vote
soared to 280,900.

The cost of government rose
sharply. These figures speak for
themselves:

Bonded Debt Operating
(as of Dec. 31) Expenditures
$ 85,547,000 $13,221,000

93,135,000 13,369,000

94,939,000 12,967,000
108,519,000 13,164,000
116,940,000 15,251,000
129,313,000 16,733,000
133,017,000 13,343,000
135,000,000 13,692,000
124,553,000 19,176,000
130,912,000 18,335,000
127,359,000 19,433,000
129,973,000 19,134,000
124,355,000 16,536,000
119,904,000 13,836,000
117,145,000 14,064,000

who are unwilling to permit the
great mass of the people to tell
fheir chief executive what they
want him to be and do. The
people themselves must govern.
They must have the vote or de-
mocracy dies.”

‘Give Hitler Victory Square’

Editor, People's Advocate:

Sitting at the radio with a
neighbor—London, Rome, Berlin,
Prague, Paris—a whole pageant
of human history passed before
us. Here were fifty erganized de-
mocratic nations. A stand by the
fifty would have saved one of
their members. Across the stage
passed the shades of Hoare and
Laval, the betrayal of democracy
and the League.

Then Munich. Two men with
parliaments, neither of them con-
sulted. Russia slapped in the
face at the first treaty at which

¢he conquered nation was not
present. Czechoslovakia was sac-
rificed. Chamberlain becomes the

great democratic statesman, per-
haps because just before his first
meeting with Hitler, he said he
would not call parliament because
it would get in his way. Parla-
ments do get in the way of states-
men sometimes in England. It
even got in the way of an English
king and took his head to show
who was boss.

My conclusion on these events,
after listening to the fate of the
Gzechs, almost knocked my neigh-
bor off his chair.

I stated: “Ever since Stalin be-
came the leader of Russia I have
felt that Socialism was being li-
quidated, that the dream of
human freedom and industrial de-
mocracy with one of the great
nations of the world as its the-
atre, was no longer justifiied-

“Before the Munich agreement
the democracies could have made
all the terms. What's the secret?
There can be only one answer.
Russia has something they hate
worse than defeat. And that

Russia has that thing proves ab-
solutely and beyond argument
that I have been wrong, and the
enly decent thing is to be big
enough to admit it.”

Going over the radical organi-
zations to which I have belonged
since joining the Socialist party
in Boston in 1904, I have often
asked myself why we did not go
farther than we did. Our econo-
mics were fine in the main, but
it was not our economics but our
psychology that was terrible.

We let ourselves be engineered
into a position? where we were
made to appear both anti-
patriotic and anti-democratic. We
were neither—capitalism is both.
Who can be more patriotic than
the Canadian who loves his coun-
try so much that he would like
Canadians to own it. Who can
be more democratic than the one
who wants to apply democracy
in all human relationships, includ-
ing the industries.

IT have said some mean things
about the past tactics of the Com-
munists, tactics which aroused in
the EWW, and specifically in Sam
Scarlett and myself, an antagon-
ism that would not even listen to
reason. But broadly the tactics
which I thought out for myself
are now the tactics of the Com-—
munist party.

People who wanted to eriticize
the CGomemunist party naturally
came to me iquite often. The
trouble with many of old Social-
ists is that we do not apply the
Marxian dialectic to our study of
Marx and our organizations. They
are victims of the mental lagging
behind the facts, who, because
they were pacifists in 1914 or 1917,

think they must be pacifists in
4938. They do not realize that
pacifism or anything else that per-
mits fascism to win in Europe
is treason to the workers.

Ti seems to me now that the
greatest danger to labor is from
4 misunderstanding of democracy-
In fact, I would like to see a
league for democracy with radi-
ealS in it and all the millions
who are not radical, because un-
less there is a general understand-
ing that democracy is not a mere
parliamentary system, the aver-
age man will be a paciist, and
fascism will win by default.

When the Allies marshalled half
the world for war in 1914-1918,
they chose for their slogan the
one thing with the deepest hold
on the emotions, instinets and de-
sides of the averageman—“demo-
eracy.” -

Labor needs and can with every
justice use these emotions, in-
stincts and desires of the millions,
not alone to fight fascism but to

enlist democracy where it be-
longs—on the side of human pro-
gress.

Isn’t it about time that the

labor movement buried its differ-—
ences before the differences bury
them? Recent events have given
fascism a vastly increased pres-
tige. It seems to me that other
tired radicals who, like myself,
have been waiting for the labor
movement to crystallize, should
get busy, because it will take the
combined efforts of all of us to
see that the labor movement does
not more than crystallize — in
fact, jell in its own blood.

J. A. McDonald.
4158 Parker street,
Vancouver, BC.

Digest of Letters

Among letters received by the
Advocate this week is one from
M. J. Griffin, secretary of the Con-
servative Action Club, “an organi-
zation formed over two years ago
among younger men of the prov-
ince,” to quote the writer.

M. J. Griffin
Conservative writes: “j- have

“s been instructed
Action Club by the executive

committee to

write you in regard to an editor-

ial in your issue of Sept. 30 in
which you comment favorably on
the resolutions passed by the Con-
servative convention at Kam-
loops, but express the opinion that
they will never be implemented
by the Conservative party.”

The letter, setting forth the
views of the younger Conserva-
tives, states that the Conservative
Action Club is “fully in accord
with the resolutions passed at
Kamloops,” and concludes:

‘We intend to use our best ef
forts to insure that the principles
enunciated on this platform are
faithfully observed by the CoLm-
servative party. Our support of
the party will last only as long
as we continue to be convinced
¢hat this is being done.”

Tabor News Highlights, the
semi-weekly news— commentary
proadecast presented by the Advo-
cate in cooperation with EB hey eee
Llewellyn Douglas over radio sta-
tion CKMO at 5:45 pm every
Tuesday and Friday, seems to be
popular, judging from letters re-
ceived.

A. FE. Wilbec,
Labor News S&5r., of Vancouver,

* . writes: ‘I have
Highlights had a treat. Been
listening to your
radio talk. Splendid matter and
splendidly given. Yes, I believe
in saying kind things when truth-

ful. Dead people smell mo roses.
Let’s give the roses to the living.”

Another writer, who signs him-
self only Listener, comments in
his letter:

“JT have yet to hear a clearer
analysis of the European situa-
tion than that given by your radio
commentator during the past
three or four weeks. I happened
to tune in Labor News Highlights
for the first time when the crisis
over Czechoslovakia was at its
height. It was a treat, after all
the accounts I had read in the
daily newspapers and heard re-
peated over the air, to hear a2
sane, lucid explanation of eurrent
events. Personally, I was inclined
to think that Chamberlain really
was working for peace. If realize

now how great a crime has been
perpetrated against people
myself whose last desire
go to war.’

like
is to

October 21, 1938

SHORT JABS

A
Weekly

Commentary

By Oi’ Bill

Besides the British big-shots, Lord Stamp, ex
Josiah Stamp, finance wizard, and Lord MacGowan,
_ex-Sir Harry MacGowan, head of
the munitions industry, who were
honored guests of Hitler. at the
five million dollar INurembere mad-—
house get-together, were one hundred Arabs from
Palestine whose entire expenses were paid py the
German government. j
Whether these Arabs received any instruction
or not in bomb-throwing at Nuremberg, shortly
after that glorified circus performance a new wave
of bomb-throwing broke out in Palestine, causing
the deaths of Jewish settlers and British soldiers
alike. In Palestine there are no plants where
bombs can be manufactured. They are ail im-
ported from the munitions factories of Hitler’s boy
friend, Mussolini. Chamberlain and every member
of his government, including the Jewish minister
of war, Hore-Belisha, have had this proved to
them by agents of the British foreign office and
the department of war. i
Mussolini is running out of money and, not as
a reward for his good offices at Munich but as
the duty of one fascist to another, Chamberlain
will now provide him with the facilities for a loan
which may amount to two hundred million, whe-

ther he withdraws his bandit hordes from Spain
or not. :

Tord Stamp, the English fascist Shylock, wall find
the money for Mussolini, who will then be able to
buy from the Scottish fascist, Lord MacGowan,
the explosives to fill the bombs which Hitler's
deluded Arab terrorists will throw into the ranks
of Hnglish and Scottish soldiers and helpless Jew-
ish people and the bombs with which other agents
of Mussolini and Hitler will kill equally helpless
Arab people.

Palestine!

JOIN OL’ BILL'S INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE

There are no barriers here of race, creed, nation-
ality or color. The aggressors include Englishmen,
Scots, Germans, italians, Jews
and Arabs; Christians, Moslems,
Jews and Pagans; so-called Ary-
ans and non Aryans, white and
blacks. Only the class line appears as a demarca-—
tion—the imperialist fascist thieves on the one
hand and the exploited people on the other.

British political tricksters laid the basis for this
murder festival during the last war when they
promised to give Palestine to the Jews for their
help in defeating the Germans and at the same
time made the same promise to the Arabs if they
would help to defeat the Turks.

Wow the result of their duplicity threatens their
Empire with disintegration, the responsible cab-
inet minister, Malcolm MacDonald, son of the in-
famous renegade Ramsey MacDonald, after his in-
Cognito visit to Palestine, exposes the bankruptcy
of “statesmanship.” He says—“‘Sometimes man’s
powers of conciliation and creation seem easily
overthrown by violence and hate which he can
also let loose. But there is a spirit that broods
over Palestine and with God’s help peace will be
restored in the Holy Land.” They made the mess
and now put the burden of cleaning it up onto God!

JOIN OL’ BILL'S INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE

Death from “straight neglect’ Dr. Whitbread,
city coroner, termed the death of a little, 10-year-
old Ghinese baby. “Authorities’’ of different kinds,

medicos and cons, spoke
Death From in whispers of this case
‘Straight Neslect’

Class Lines

as the worst they had
ever known of. The
boy was little better
than a skeleton, wasted away from disease, the result
of “malnutrition” in their jargon, starvation in
our language. His poor old father, not yet dead
from the same cause, was only a sackful of bones.

Death from “straight neglect!” The whole
family was trying to live on the old-age pension
of an aged grandmother, less than $20 a month.
The boy died of neglect all rizht, but not on the
part of the father, as inferred at the inquest. The
father had applied for relief a year ago and was
told to go back to Victoria. Mr. Bumble had noth-
ing for him.

Died from “straight neglect!’ Sure! But those
who neglected him were Mayor Charlie McCarthy
Miller and the aldermen of Vancouver, who are
now watering at the mouth thinking of the blow-
out they will have when the King and Queen visit
the City; Pattullo and his “work and wages” gov-
ernment whose neglect is further demonstrated by
fhe jailing of scores of single unemployed boys, not
much older than the little €hinese victim, for re-
fusing to starve as he did; and lastly, the Liberal
government at Ottawa which neglects the inter
ests of the exploited Canadian people so that the
parasites of St James Street may not go hungry.

JOIN OL’ BILL'S INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE

Even from the British Cabinet we get support
for our contention that the capitalist press is a
lying instrument of
The Truth at Last 1255 Power. | Discuss:
ing the Anglo-American
agreement in the Bri-
tish House of Commons recently, one of the Labor
men, an ex-Cabinet member, Alexander quoted an
item from a capitalist paper. Oliver Stanley, pre-
sident of the Board of Trade, replied with what
is an amazing statement to that large body of de
luded people who declare that, “it must be true, f
read it in black and white in the papers.”

Said Stanley, “The Rt. Hon.’ Member must not
be too easily led to believe that everything that
appears in the capitalist press is necessarily true.”

This is an unanswerable argument that shows
us that we must have our Own news medium, one
that we can’ depend upon and which will mot be
held up to contempt by the class it speaks for as
that capitalist organ was by the Rt Hon. Presi-
dent of the Board of Trade.

Such a press can only be maintained by the gen-
erous support of those in whose interest it is pub-
lished. An instance of the spirit that is Decessary
to keep our papers going came to my notice 2
couple of weeks ago. One of the workers in our
Labor movement lost both his legs in an accident
some years ago. He has now two artificial legs
and he wrote to me offering to give one or both
of them to any of the returned boys from Spain
if they could use them. He had nothing else to
give. The Welfare Community Chest high-pressure
collectors will not meet with any offer during their
drive that exceeds, or even approaches, this ex
ample of real generosity-

This is the spirit that we need behind our press
drive, the spirit which will ensure that we will
weather all financial storms. Our column is com-
mitted to raise $100. Tet the comrade who offers
his artificial le=s be an example to us!

\

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