Page Four

THE PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE

THE
PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE

Published Weekly by the Proletarian Publishing
Association, Room 20, 163 West Hastings Street,
Vancouver, B.C. Phone TRinity 2019.

Editor: Hal Griffin
One Year —__.._____ $2.00 Three Months
Haif Year -—__-___---$1.00 Single Copy
Male All Cheques Payable to: The People’s Advocate

Vancouver, B.C. - Friday, August 18, 1939

The Real Oriental
Issues -- And Those
Who Distort Them

LD. HALFORD WILSON, like many an
ambitious politician before him, is en-
deavoring to turn the Oriental question in this
province to personal advantage. Repeatedly
he has demanded that the city council restrict
the number of trade licenses issued to Ori-
entals. This week, when the council again
rejected his motion, he declared that the
sooner the Japanese were driven out of the
country the better it would be, ignoring the
fact that 13,000 of British Columbia’s esti-
mated 25,000 Japanese are Canadian-born.

Ald. Wilson is nof the only member of the
Conservative party making unscrupulous use
of the Oriental question for reactionary ends.

“Only a short time ago, Col. George Drew,

pro-fascist Conservative leader in Ontario
and one of the political figureheads for mon-
opolistic big business, opposing the proposed
Japanese “soodwill” flight to Worth America,
asserted, “It is time for us to say in clear and
understandable terms to the Japanese that if
they declare a definite course of antagonism
to British people, then we shall be obliged to
order all of the Japanese in Canada to leave
our country.”

Similarly John A. Marsh, Conservative MP
for Hamilton West, following his recent trip
to the coast, declared that “Canadians must
constantly be on guard against the insidious
peril of Japanese penetration of British Co-
lumbia.”

From progressives some of these would

be points weil taken and honestly made.

But coming from spokesmen of the Con-

servative party, prominent members of

-which, like Col. Nelson Spencer, are en-

gaged in the unpatriotic but profitable busi-

ness of supplying Japan with essential war

materials and in the equally profitable

business of assisting Japanese capital to

gain control of our natural resources, they

are strange indeed.

They reveal at once the hypocrisy and
demagogy of reaction. What is not so clear
is the motive underlying them.

By attacking the Japanese people in BC
without attempting to differentiate, dema-
gogues like Col. George Drew are only help-
ing to tighten the fascist stranglehold on the
Japanese people here, many of whom are an-
tagonistic to Japan’s imperialistic aims. Such
attacks, by creating a division between the
Japanese and other sections of the people of
BC, aid Japan’s fascist agents here in their
attempts to make of the Japanese population
a weapon for furtherance of their intrigues.
Such attacks, by driving the Japanese people
in BC towards fascism, are helping to create
a fascist base here that Canadian reactionaries
will later attempt to utilize in their offensive
against democracy.

An honest politician, concerned for the

security of the Canadian people and not the

security of Canadian profits, would demand

action against the Japanese fascist agents

operating along our coast and press for an

investigation of the Japanese consul’s place

in directing their activities. He would de-

mand an embargo on export of Canadian

war materials to Japan, a severance of Ca-

nadian-Japanese commercial relations and a

probe of the interests fronting for Japanese

big capital in this province, which, by their

are making

actions, Japanese economic

penetration possible.

But no, men like Col. George Drew attempt
to divert the hatred British Columbians have
for Japanese fascism against the Japanese
people here and away from the mining mag-
nates and other economic royalists they them-
selves represent.

There is some merit in Ald. Wilson’s re-
marks. It cannot be ignored that some
Japanese merchants in this province are sup-
porting Japanese fascism and aiding it financi-
ally, although the alderman makes no men-
tion of this. But if Ald. Wilson is sincere in
his purpose, his attack will be directed
against those fascist influences which now
dominate the Japanese people in BC, at the
Japanese consul, the Continental Daily News,
mouthpiece of Japanese fascism here, and the
hidden espionage network which, through its
link with Nazi agents, is engaged in under-=
mining our democratic institutions.

THE PEOPLE
MUSE PREVAIL LESLIE MORRIS

Throughout the Length of Canada Ring the People’s Demands;
Disaster Threatens Unless They Are Heeded.

IES THE open and behind the scenes a bitter fight is proceeding in Canada around the ques-
= tion of how to defeat the reactionary candidates of the old-line party machines in the com-
ing election. Never has there been such an interest in the matter of electoral cooperation as
now. Never has the simple and direct issue of unity at the polls been so much the talk of
the town. And, unfortunately, never has the possibility of victory and the election of a ma-
jority of progressive MP’s been so endangered as at this moment.

: Waturally enough, the fight
is centered at the moment in
the Western provinces, and

more particularly on the prair-
ies. This is easily understood.
The people of the prairies are
farther away from the old-line
party machines than those of
the GCentral and Maritime prov-
ineces, as this paper has con-
stantly pointed out. For ex-
ample, there would be a pro-
eressive government in Saskat-
chewan today had the CCF and
Social Credit vote combined last
summer to lick the Liberals.

But this is not a Western
problem only. Many of the
experiences of the past several
weeks will likely be duplicated
in one form or another in the
Eastern contituencies. Conse
quently the Western struggle
for unity around progressive
eandidates and platforms is of
ereat importance for the whole
of the country.

Unanimity
Of Desire

He fact is that the election

campaign is on in the West.
Tories, Liberals, CCE’ers, Com-
munists, Social Crediters, New
Democracy committees —all are
in the fray up to their eyes. No-
mination conventions are being
held everywhere. Party confer-
ences have met and laid down the
policy for their adherents.

What strikes any observer as
outstanding in the West is that
there is hardly any discussion of
platform and policy between
any of the progressive groups ¢

The CCF is unanimous in its
stated desire to smash the posi-
tions of the old-line parties, and
to enact lasting reforms at Ot
tawa pending the introduction of
Socialism. Coldwell made that
clear in his speech to the Alberta
CCF convention.

Social Credit, the second
strongest Western progressive
force, is not emphasising its mon—
etary policy at all, but is advo—
eating the defeat of the old-line
party machines.

Wew Democracy has caught
on in the West, say what you
will, and is unanimously in favor
of the breaking of the old poli-
tical machines and the election
of a free parliament.

The Communists have stated in
a hundred places that they stand
100 per cent for the election of
a majority of progressives to en-
act measures of peace, national
recovery and social security.

Wever in the history of Canada
has there been such an unani-
mity about the need for electing
progressives to make laws to aid
the people.

Majority Want
A New Deal

MAJORITY of the people of
Western Canada, and in

all probability of Canada as a

whole, want a new deal and

are not particularly concerned
which party is going to make
it possible.

There is no great division on
the question of platform and
policy. And that preat and sali-
ent feature in the present politi-
cal situation marks a tremendous
step forward, a2 remarkable vc-
tory in the fight for national re-
covery and civil liberty.

Yet there is a dark side to this
bright picture.

There is an amount of bitter-
ness, division and open political
strike-breaking in the progressive
camp which, if continued, will
spell disaster.

TELEVISION

WICE daily Moscow telyision
center, a product of the Third
Five-year Plan, broadcasts a va-
riety of sight-and-sound programs.
Its equipment among the best in
the world, it holds first place in
point of variety and regularity of
transmissions.

The Moscow television center is
fitted with American-made equip-
ment, but Soviet television ex-
perts and the pudding television
industry are catching up and soon
will outstrip their American
friends, who work under the dis-
advantage of a profit system.

Leningrad television center,
younger brother of the Moscow
eenter, is operated exclusively
with Soviet equipment which costs
only one-seventh as much as the
Moscow center and is only slight-
ly inferior to it in terms of excel-
lence of transmission.

Soviet television is progressing
with seven-league boots. In order
to picture its development in fig-
ures, it is necessary to make 2

The overwhelming share of
blame for this rests upon the
shoulders of the CCE leaders,
who refuse point blank to con-
sider any practical proposals for
electoral co-operation in the con-
stituencies between the various
Erogeressive groups.

This inflexible line is bringing
havoc to place after place.

It has created such situa-
tions as that in Coldwell’s own
Saskatchewan constituency of
Rosetown-Bigzgar where, al-
though Needham, Social Credit
MEP, prevailed upon New De
mocracy and Social Credit
people in Coldwell’s constitu-
ency not to nominate against
Coldwell, the CCF leader went
straight to Needham’s seat to
insist upon the nomination of
a CCF candidate against him!

It has brought about a situa-
tion in Maple Greek constituency
in Saskatchewan which is hard
to surpass for sheer political au-
dacity and stupidity. In that
constituency, the heart of the dry
belt, the CCE candidate, after
allowing his name to go before
sa convention of over 400 progres-
sives of all parties, insisted up-
on his right to run after T. G.
McManus, the provincial Com-
munist leader, had won the nom-
ination by a vote of 210 to 179!
It has resulted in the “spite”
nomination of Walter Hill for
the CCF in Temiskaming, INor-
thern Oniario riding, after the
enthusiastic nomination of Coun-
ecillor Church as a farmer-labor
candidate.

Will Mistakes
Be Repeated?

NW SHORT, it is leading to a

situation similar to that in the
west in 1935, and in the Saskatche-
wan provincial election last year,
where the Liberals were able to
get seats in the face of the ma-
jority of votes cast against them,
simply because these votes were
divided between candidates who
were opposing each other in an
unprincipled, opportunist way-

Ts the same thing to be repeat-
ed this year? That is the ques-
tion on the lips of every think-
ing person in the West, for upon
the answer to it depends the
pread and butter, the very life,
of these millions of Canadians.
Tt is a life and death problem
which goes far beyond the petty,
party considerations which ani-
mate the CCF, and to a lesser

degree, some Social Credit lead-
ers.
Unfortunately, the question of

progressive unity is not only 2
matter of CCF official stubborn-
ness.

In Alberta, a dangerous fea-
ture emerges which may also
spell joy in the Taberal party of
fices. Everyone who has listened
to Herridge remembers clearly
that he emphasised:

1. Need to break the old party
machines and elect a parliament
of free men and women, devoted
only to popular interests.

2 Need for all progressives
getting together in the constitu-
ency to choose the person best
able to unite the whole vote.

3. Fact that New Democracy
did not intend to be a new party
put a vehicle for progressive col-
laboration which would provide
leadership and hope for thou-
sands of people who want action.

Errors Made By

New Democracy

ee ALBERTA, however, and to
a lesser degree in Saskatche-
wan, New Democracy is appear-
ing as the federal election ma-

By

chine of the Social Credit party.
Consequently, it is not fulfilling
the hopes which many people
placed in it, and particularly
those voters who are not Social
Crediters or adherents of any
particular party.

Aberhart is following his pecu-
liar practice of having Social
Credit candidates proposed at
conventions which are termed
iNew Democracy meetings, and
reserving the right to have the
Social Credit board pass on the
names proposed by these conven-
tions, which is exactly the way
in which regular Social Credit
candidates are chosen for both
provincial and federal elections.

Surely this is wrong, and to-
tally at variance with what Her-
ridge proposed ! It will mean that
many thousands of voters who
may be convinced of the need for
voting progressive tickets will
feel that they are called upon to
be Social Crediters if they do so.
In fact, in one instance, a Social
Credit MP definitely laid it down
that those who attended a New
Democracy nominating conyen-
tion must signify their willing-
ness to support Social Credit.

Things like this, if persisted in
by Social Credit and CCF lead-
ers, not to speak of the mistake
some New Democracy spokesmen
are making by advancing it as a
“new party,” will mean disaster.
Such methods will split the vote
and drive the wedge even more
deeply between the different
groups. They will bring votes ta
the Liberals.

Position Of

Communist Party

HE Communist party has

stated quite definitely that
the way to defeat the old-line par-
ties in every province is to get
co-operation in the constituencies
and to subordinate immediate
party considerations to the larg-
er, immediate aim of stopping the
advance of reaction.

Following such a simple, direct
and completely logical Hne, the
Communists are expressing their
profound disagreement with the
methods briefly sketched-in this
article.

We say that New Democracy
will be of value as a unifying
force if it seeks to work out ways
and means of co-operation be-
tween the various groups, parti-
cularly in the West where these
groups already have a majority
influence. If it appears as a2
new party, or if it serves as the
federal election apparatus for So-
cial Credit, then it will not serve
the purpose which was so cearly
stated by Herridge in his
speeches.

Our life, liberty and happiness
depend largely on the outcome
of the next election. Whether
we get jobs or miserable relief;
whether we get democratic rights
or extensions of the padlock
law; peace or war, health or dis-
ease, security or the wolf at the
door, depends upon the composi-
tion of the next parliament.

That is why the people must
take a hand, and compel the
leaders concerned to stop their
party politics and let the people
in the constituencies decide. They
will decide on unity against the
reactionary candidates, of that
there can be no doubt.

The people have made it pos-
sible to get a great measure of
agreement on platform and pol-
icy at this moment; they should
now with one voice demand the
same agreement on the nomina-
tion of candidates who will speak
for the masses, not for one party
group alone.

IN THE SOVIET UNION

short excursion
of pure science.

Electrical impulses or signals
from which the final televised
picture is formed are transmitted
in succession, that is, one after
another, or line after line. Clarity
of the picture depends directly on
the number of lines, which means
the rapidity of transmission.

Yet Moscow television center
has attained clarity of transmis-
sion in 343 lines and the Lenin-
grad center in 242. The problem
is already being solved of 441-
line transmission.

into the realms

Se

HE PROBLEM of large-sereen
jmages can be considered fin-
ally solved. During the 18th Con-
press of the Communist party of
fhe Soviet Union, transmissions
were demonstrated in the Mos-
cow technical museum on a screen
one meter by one and a half met-

ers (4 meter is 3.3 feet).
It has been proposed to place a
screen six Meters square in front

of the future Palace of Soviets,
now in construction.

Having triumphantly solved the
problem of a big screen, televi-
sion is now on the point of soly-
ing the problem of distance. For
the time point, in order to receive
high quality television images, it
is necessary to make use only of
ultra-short wave transmissions,
which have a radius of action
limited by the distance of direct
visibility, 20, 30 and at the most
60 miles.

Soviet experts have proposed
an ether-wire system by which
ether transmission would be com-
bined with wire transmissions. It
is proposed in the near future to
apply this system in practice and
+o instal television apparatus in 2
Moscow apartment house.

In any case, successes already
achieved by Soviet television are
the best guarantee that it will
successfully solve the problem of
long-distance transmissions.

SHORT
JABS

by OF Bill

The business world, in ie 3
Stocks eutlook and hope for the i‘
Rising. future, is about equally diy 7

ided between pessimism and optimism. On the!)
one hand is the group which hollers blue ruin ang
blames the trade unions and the reds for every
failure to bring prosperity nearer than its prac
tically established place ‘around the corner” Qp
the other*hand, there is the group which see pro. =
fitable markets in the war-torn lands, that eje =
ment among the capitalists which may be com.
pared to the yultures that perch in the trees sy
rounding the Parsee Towers of Silence in India
waiting for the dead to be brought to them, :
Among them all, none is so optimistic, so wish
fully hopeful, so sanguine, as those who Own sf ’ ae
in the English companies, which, in the faraway |
past operated in Tsarist Russia, or a little later
during the NEP, secured concessions from fe
Soviet government, concessions which were ean.
celled when they were discovered to be blinds for
nests of spies and saboteurs, or when the conces.
sionaries consistently broke their contracts by re Z
fusing to live up to the labor laws of the USSE.
The holders of stock in these moribund corpor
ations never admit defeat They are like the de
throned capitalists who stood in the markets in
Moscow five years after the establishment of work ~
ing class rule... These merchants would have five
or six pieces of lump sugar On a tray, apparently ©
offering it for sale. They never sold any; they dig
not want to. They did this merely to show to ths
‘upstart Soviet’ of workers, peasants and soldiers
that they were still in existence and that they
hoped one day to rule Russia again, soon, if they
could secure sufficient help from their fellow cape ©
talists abroad). if

Lent
eR

jehiciersiacl entree

some ga eer Here nip nae eee

net yrreer

th

ters

re

R. 2 So, if there is not much stir ~
enascence: in the stock market outside ~
of war-production industries, there is at least some ©
movement from the holders of so-called Russian ~
stocks. The discussions between Britain and the (7
Soviet Union for the setting up of a peace bloe |
has galvanized the ‘owners’ of these ‘properties,’ just
as a dead frog is made to simulate the muscular ©
movements of a live one, kicking its legs and 50°
forth, when current irom 4 galvanic battery is ap
plied to it. J

Sir Henry Deterding, friend and admirer of —
Hitler, will not be interested this time as he has ~
gone where the temperature is reputed to be much |
warmer than it has been in Vancouver during the
past few weeks, but he has left behind a valiant
brigade of jackals. J

One of the companies in which they are inter-
ested is known among the stock-jobbers and bond
sharks as Russo-Asiatics. This company was capi: |
talized at 1314 million dollars. Through the British —
government it claimed 2380 million dollars from i
the Soviet government for properties confiseates |
in 1918. Half of its capital steck was in half-crowi i
shares. These are now offered for sale at ‘tup i
pence,’ the price of a copy of the Dean of Canter. ©
bury’s pamphlet, ‘Act Now.”

,
There has been a renascence |

But Of a rejuvenation, a revival of
Hope Only. hopes, (mot, however, of the

the belief that pressure can be brought to bear er
the Soviet government to acknowledge the claim:
of these buzzards whose right to exploit and rok
the Russian workers was peremptorily ended wher
the rule of their class ceased.

But their hopes or desires are vain. If, ang ©
when, this treaty or pact is signed by the Soyie ;
government, it will be on the terms laid down by |
the Soviet government. It will be signed in “the 2
interest of peace for the people of Europe, of tht :
world, in fact. The Soviet government can weather
the storm without this pact. She is not buying”

i

Ee

value of Russo-Asiatic stock). This grows out of E
rE

}

&

i
g

¥

anything. ;
‘ “Safe as the Bank of Ene i
Safe As - land.” That used to be sf ~
The Bank. axiom. It was the criterion —

of security, the assurance of all gilt-edged doch is
ments, the last word in investment safety. What Hl
do the Czechs who once believed that slogan
think, now that the money tney placed there fet
safety, after turning down New York, has been
handed to Hitler? And what will the Chinese |
people think when they find that the $50,000,000
worth of silver they placed in the safe-keeping or 3
English controlled banks in Tientsin has been hand:
ed over to the Japanese war-lords?

While this is being written, the transfer has nol
yet been made, but since the London Times S&yt 7
there is no truth in the rumor, it is probably 4b Yi
ready an accomplished fact. That paper denied
that the Bank of England would give Hitler the ©
Czech’s money, too. For the truth is generally
what the Times, Independent organ of Chamber
lain and the Cliveden set, denies! E

The chairman of the Boare
A Land Of of Directors of the Bank ol |
Promises. Nova Scotia, John Moore, i }

an old man, 80 years of age. Celebrating his birth |
day last week, he announced to the world in ge
eral and to Canadian youth in particular, that ther
is no country so full of promise as Canada.

Our youth do not have to spend 80 years #
find that out. They already know it. Only th
old gentleman should have used the plural. Tor
promises, Liberal promises, promises of jobs, lk
promises of hay for the horse that died.

Canada is a land of promise all right, just ©
it is a land of great bluffs—but there is no
ference between the promise and the bluffs. Ps:
estine was once known as the promised land. 2
is now known as the twice promised land, once
the Arabs and once to the Jews. None of thes
promises have been kept and the Ganadian promis
is of the same kind.

Art In While I don’t desire that any,
ene should get the idea thé
The Park. I am cold to the appeals ©

art and culture, I must throw my weight on
side of those who opposed the roping off of 4 p#
of Stanley Park for a venture, utterly commercl!
in its character. 5

Wext to the singers against whom I have zi)
protests to make, for they had nothing to do wil
the arrangements and were both great artists, th
leading figure was a local department store; at}
the parks board entered into this commercial 4
venture to the profit of $700.

A wire fence enclosing a section of the pat
half a mile square, not only made provision #
the cash customers but prevented the checker plas
ers from getting the use of the open-air checks)
boards unless they were willing to pay 60c adm
sion to the enclosure.

The protesting crowd which tore down the fen'
did the right thing ! : &

i

em. cn dW mam ©

oe aot

ee et at