LOCAL UNIONS LEAD OFF DRIVE FOR BC QUOTA World-Famous People Sponsor National Campaign for $10,000 First results from the appéal for $2000 emergency fund for returning Canadians from Spain came this week from Street railwaymen, who con- tributed $86.50 to Charles Stewart, delegated by Division 4101, who made the collection -after the union had endorsed the action. _ Street Railwaymen’s Union spon- Sored a motion which was adopted ar the last Trades Council meetine requestins the council and affiliated unions to get behind the Friends of the Maickenzie-Papineau Batta- lion’s drive to aid the returning welunteers, and are now the first to act on the motion. ‘BC Coast District Council of the IWA alse reacted quickly on the motion and donated $10. Efforts of the ational commit- tee to raise an emergency fund of $10,600 are being intensified in an- ticipation of 300 volunteers return- ing to Canada shortiy. Donation recently of $560 by a Prominent Tecronte citizen was followed by another sum of $125 - firem Vincent Sheean, noted in- ternational war correspondent and author, who wished the com- mittee every success. Encouraging messages of sup- port were received from Duncan Jones, Dean of Chichester; Ralph Bates, author, now in Mexico; Wil- fred Roberts. Liberal MP of Lon- Gon, Eneland; Pref. Jerome Davis, American Pederation of Teachers president; Prof. J. B. S. Haldane; DD Ne Pritt, GC; Prof. Albert Hin- stein; Upton Sinclair; Ernest Hem- ingway; Mayor John Queen of Winniper, and a number of pro- Mminent trade union officials. @isted in the organizations sup- portine the campaign are a num- ber of Canadian churches and ehurechmen prominent amonse them being Reverend Dr. Manson Doyle, Toronto; Rev. ©. B. Huestis, rezu- lar correspondent for the Toronto Daily Star; Rabbi Peldman, Ham- iiton. and a number of others. Miost of the leading committees throughout the country are making elaborate plans for raising large Sums of money during January and have already sent in initial dona- tions. Outstanding in the planning are Wainnipes, Vancouver and Montreal committees, the latter having pledged to raise $2000 dur-— ime this month , The national tour of Lieutenant William KEardash and Beckie Bu- hay which starts on January 22, arriving here on February 16 and Vancouver island points between then and February 26, is expected to produce very beneficial results from meetings as indicated from reports coming in to headquarters. NANAIMO, BC, Jan. 12—Per- mission to hold 4 tag day for Cana- dians returning from Spain was granted Charles W. Beasor, a weunded yeteran who appeared be- fore the Nanaimo city council on behalf of the volunteers. The day set aside by the council is Saturday, January 21 Gardiner’s Condition Reported improved _ Gondition of Robert Gardiner, Coryicted Pacific Lime company striker who was rushed from his eell in Oakalla to the Vancouver General Hospital suffering from pneurnonia, is reported out of dan- ger. Gardiner was ordered to hospital last week by chest specialist Dr. Fred. Robertson when he found the man had an abnormally high temperature. Stree S SS SS SSS S Chinese soldiers resist a Japanese attack as fighting continues with no weakening of China’s morale. g= Party for Suing for peace with Japan in contradiction to nati ona} policy.” Troops Resist Attack “desertion of his post and THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE VANCOUVER, B.C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1939 ‘Gallup Poll’ Shows British Voter Favors Soviet Union Over Germany TROTSKYITES IN PROJECT CAMP Disruptive activities of Rodney Young, member of Stanley Panik CCE club and known Trotskyite, were brought to light in a letter to the Relief Project Workers’ Un- ion from Project No. 5, Shawnigan Take, where Young and an indi- widual named Travers are bent on wrecking the men’s union. Until the arrival of an individual named Henderson, Young and Tray- ers were both members of a boss- controlled camp committee, but have since turned their attention to reviving the defunct TWW when they felt their prestige with the rest of the men in camp slipping. At a recent meeting these Trots- lyyites were successful in breaking up a meeting of the men, and then proceeded outside to stone the build- ing. Literature carrying scurrilous and lying statements about the Relief Project Workers’ Union is posted in the huts. Z Typical of all the arguments used by big business to break any work- er organization is the statement that the RPWU is controlled by “reds.”* Attacks on the postoffice sitdown- ers and the men arrested later for tincanning is aided and abetted by Young and his companions in camp, but nothing is said of the government authorities who re- fused to issue relief and who planned the forceful eviction of the sitdowners with clubs and teargas. A letter between Vancouver and Toronto IWwW heads claims that there is a lot of dissension in the RPWU and for the contacts to get in touch with live wires in order to organize the men. Jewelry Union Wins Lengthy Wage Dispute Wage increase up to $2.50 per week, statutory holidays with pay and no employee to be laid off until the 40-hour week has been established are the main points in an agreement signed. Monday by the George H. Hewitt company with Local 42, International Jewelry Workers’ Un- ion. The agreement will be ratified by the Jewelers’ Union at the meet- ing Monday night. This concludes over six weeks of negotiations with this firm, which at one stage threatened to go into arbitration of the dispute that arose when employees refused late in No- vember last to work until the com- pany had negotiated with the un- n. a: Thompson, conciliator appoint ed by the provincial wovernment, under the Labor Conciliation and Arbitration Act, met both parties in the dispute on December 1, rul- ing that if negotiations were not opened the dispute would have to o to arbitration. E The agreement, signed by Gray and MacFarlane for the company, is subject to revision on June 1 and terminates on October i, at which time all other union agree- ments end. Union officials are working on other jewelry houses and expect to have 2 closed shop agreement in all places when the present agreements terminate. - WASHINGTON, DC — United States government has tightened the ban on export of aircraft and bombs to countries waging war on civilian populations by definitely removing Japan from the list as a purehaser. Franco is also understood to come under the ban, passed last July. LONDON, Eng.—British voters back the Soviet Union as against Nazi Germany in almost the same overwhelming proportion as American voters, a survey of British opinion just com- pleted by the British Institute of Public Opinion—the “Gallup poll”—shows. . Eighty-five percent of those expressing a definite Soviet Union in event of a Nazi-Soviet war. “Although official relations between the British and the Soviets have never been marked by any great cordiality,” said Dr. George Gallup, director of the American Institute of Public Opinion and its affiliate in Great Britain, “the survey shows that more than eight out of ten voters say they would sympadthize® with Russia rather than Germany in case of war between these two countries.’ The attitude of British voters parallels almost exactly the atti- tude of the American public, Dr. Gallup said. A recent American in- stitute study found that more than eight in ten of American voters would also stand with the USSR against Hitler Germany. The same question was put to voters in Great Britain and the United States. It read: “Tf there were a war between Germany and Russia, which side would you rather see win?’’ Among voters in the two coun- tries who expressed an opinion, sentiment was divided as follows: In England, 85 percent favored the Soviet Union, 15 percent Ger- many. im United States, 83 percent fay- ered the Soviet Union, 17 percent favored Germany. The American study found that the chief reasons for siding with the Soviet Union are the unpopu- larity of Adolf Hitler and public resentment over Nazi treatment of the Jews, Dr. Gallup reported. Of those who favor the Chamber- lain government, only 24 percent said they would side with Germany, while only six percent of the oppo- sition voters express this sympathy. No More Japanese Oranges Business Men Aid Campaign For Embargo By P. WALSH. CRANBROOK, BC, Jan. 12. — “You can quote me as saying that we will absolutely not handle any more Japanese oranges as long as this infliction upon the Chi- nese people continues.’’ Joseph Schell, manager of Mac- Donald’s Consolidated Grocers, made this statement in an inter- view with the Advocate repre- sentative here recently. Mr. Schell continued: “These goods should not have been al- lowed to land in Canada in the first place.”’ Cranbrook’s two largest gro- cery businesses took a similar stand on the boycott question. The Cranbrook Trading Com- pany and the “Say Mor” Grocers took a hand in the circulation of the embargo petition circulated by the Vancouver Embargo Coun- ei by posting notices in the stores declaring “the management is en- tirely in accord.”’ This progressive gesture of prominent business people of this community will add impetus to the demand for “no truck nor trade with fascism,’ and pro- eressive people here will not for- opinion said get the action. they would favor the FISHING CO-OP RECORDS GAINS Steady growth of the Worth island Trollers’ Co-Operative As- sociation since its formation in 1935 was described this week by George Dolsen, associaton secre— tary, in a meeting at Rosary Hall. From a ‘working capital’ of $27, collected at the first organizational meeting in 1935, the NITCA now has assets of over $35,000, operat-— ing two general stores for handling supplies to the membership and other fishermen as well as two marine service stations. Low fish prices in the year 1935 led to the formulation of the grow- ing co-operative, Dolsen stated. By the end of the first season’s opera-— tions, the co-op had sold $116,080) worth of fish for its 123 members, jumping in 1938 to $183,000 for the 260 members. Was in 1936 the first store cpened to handle supplies, doing 34,000 worth of business in that year. Turnover in 1938 was $46,000 in the stores. The NITCA has also taken a pro- gressive stand regarding relations with various fishenmen’s unions, having voted in 1938 not to handle fish caught in waters where pos- sible strikes might be in progress. Negotiations are now under way between IWNITCA officials, headed by President L. H. ©. Phillips, for merger with the Prince Rupert Co- Operative Fishermen’s Association, the membership having already voted to affiliate at the last gen- eral membership meeting last August. SINGLE JOBLESS AGAIN PARADE Some adjustments were made by provincial relief authorities Wed- nesday in the cases of seven men previously refused relief or had not accepted transportation back to their original province. A parade of 200 men from the Single Unem- ployed Protective Association hall to the relief ofice on Homer street supported the men in their demand. Relef officials refused to see any delegation or any person until the paraders dispersed. I. R. Peters, secretary. for the single men, Sained an interview with Mr: Brown who conceded a point when he agreed to see the individual men concerned, % — Representations had been made or several occasions for these men by the organization’s erievance committee but until now were un- successful. The men had gone to the relief office individually and were refused relief, stated Brown. The association’s secretary claimed that a number of men are being discriminated against for Various reasons, some are not al- lowed to go to forestry camps while others are refused direct re- <2 lief, he said. t Car Men Aid Mac-Paps eading Citizens eplore Vancouver ousing Conditions Clearance of slums and a large scale program of low rent housing as an aid in reducing disease and crime were urged by Hon. George M. Weir, minister of education; Ald. Helena Gut- teridge, and Howard Green, Conservative MF, at the first meet- ing of the Vancouver Housing Association in Elks Hall, Thurs- day night. Howard Green dealt with a section of the housing act and while commending federal authorities for initiating the scheme felt that there was room for improvement. “A start has been made but there are thousands of people in Canada who must be given a chance to lead healthy lives,” he said. Dr. Weir stated his study of the housing problem and surveys of the larger cities had led him to con-— clude that (1) inability of low in- come groups to pay rental sufi- cient to induce private companies to build homes resulted in slum conditions, and (2) bad housing re- sults in greatly increased welfare costs, delinquency, disease and crime. In Toronto’s poor housing areas tuberculosis was 50 percent higher than in the better areas. Winni- peg’s venereal disease rate was 11 in the bad areas compared to 1.8 per thousand population for the rest of the city, while in the same city police arrests were 522 for the bad areas as compared with 11.5 per thousand population for the better areas. Juvenile delinquency in Montreal was thirteen times as high in the bad housing districts, while deaths in the same areas were three times those of the better housed areas Vancouver was shown by the piinister of health to have the most overcrowded housing condi- tions in respect to one and two room households than anywhere else in the Dominion. Hovels and dens were denounced by Dr. Weir who stated he had seen enough, from motion pictures Shown earlier in the evening, to eonvince him that slum ccnditions existed in the city and pointed out thet expenditure of $250,000,000 arnually on health and social wel- fare would be bound to soar high- er if these conditions were permit— ted to remain. “The provincial government had used nearly 32 percent or about 20 million dollars of its expendi- ture on health and welfare, only some $700,000 on preventive ser vices and a third of that amount on cures,” he said. “Is this not a leak in our so- cial structure?” he asked. Helena Gutteridge outlined the work of the civic housing commit-— tee which she heads, quoting from the report herein it was stated that many persons in Wancouver are living in slum conditions of the worst kind and that they are in- habiting dilapidated and con- demned buildings which, were it mot for the housing shortage, would be demolished. : A vote of thanks was extended to Vancouver Youth Gouncil, Trades and Labor Couneil, Work ers’ Alliance and the Tocal Coun- cil of Women for their co-operation and constructive efforts: = Walter S -Owen, city prosecutor, presided and was supported on the platform by Archbishop Sir Firan- cis Heathcote, Rev. Hugh Dobson and John Jopson, association secre— tary. 1938 Forest Fires Set | New Record For Damage VICTORIA, BC, Jan. 12.—(Special) —The British Columbia sovernment was presented this week with a bill for $618,069, total cost of fighting the disastrous forest fires which swept thousands of acres of marketable timber last summer, threatened to wipe out several communities and destroyed one billion feet of timber valued and two and one- quarter million dollars. Altogether the forestry depart- ment combatted 2410 outbreaks, majority of them of minor conse quence at seattered points through- out the interior. several of the big- ger ones in important logging areas on the Coast. The department estimates thait cost of fighting the 1938 fires was 15 times as great as 1937 and two and a half times as large as the average for the past ten years. The report to the government was accompanied by statistics showing the origin of the outbreaks, attributing a big percentage to campers and careless smokers. The statistics failed to mention, however, that the biggest and most costly fires, notably the Campbell River disaster and the big outbreak at Squamish, were directly attribut— able to logging operations. Biggest of the two fires besan on the Bloedel logging claim near Menzies Bay, burned unattended for several days while logging op- erations went ahead, then jumped into slashing and raced southward through valuable timber. The big Squamish fire was also caused through logging operations on the Merril and Ring claim, as were a number of smaller though costly outbreaks on the Dower Mainland during the summer. Minister Defends New Marriage Law Changes VICTORIA, BC, Jan. 12.—While refusing to comment on Archbishop Duke’s attack on the recent Marriage Act amend- ments which will require the future bride and groom to undergo examination for venereal disease, Minister of Health Weir Urge improvements To Victoria Road Sponsored by the Victoria Road Community Association a petition is being circularised among the residents of Victoria road in that section south of Kingsway to Marine Drive for construction of a permanent roadway and concrete Sidewalks. This section of Victoria road is Said to be in a°*“‘dangerous and deplorable condition’? and several serious accidents have occurred there. BC Electric is responsible for one foot on each of its tracks and it is reported that lact of csre in this part of the roadway Was responsible for a fatal acci- dent during the holiday season. A conference of all organizations in that district has-been called for Thursday, January 19, at the Vic- toria Road Community Associa- tion’s hall. Representatives from at least fifteen church bodies are expected to map out plans for the Cenvass, and set up a local Joint Council of the organizations. < »declared this week that the new regulations will go into effect as soon as government laboratories are ready for the work. Dr. Weir did take time out to state, however, that a similar act is in operation in several states be- low the line, notably Connecticut, where, he said, 80 percent of those examined before marriage and found to be suffering from venereal disease were ignorant of their af fliction. = “It would scareely be a good thing to allow persons suffering from smallpox to wed,’ he com-=- mented. “Many people think it much worse to allow people to mar- Ty whose children will almost in- evitably suffer physically or men- tally.”’ This was interpreted as the Min- ister’s answer to Archbishop Duke, who condemned the Marriage Act as being an “umnecessary restric- tion to the right to marrry and pos- Sibly @ virtual prohibition to marry.” it is understood that Dr. Weir will give a full explanation of the Marriage Act in a public address.