i OL. 6, No. 4. Full No. 265. Helsinki Regime Admits Reverses In Heavy Fighting While in newspaper offices throughout the cap- alist worid teletypes continued toe pour out an in- arminable serial of Finnish victories for headlines Dp scream at bored readers, diplomatic circles in .ondon heard a different story of White Guard re- erses “‘the exact importance of which was not lear.”’ No news this, te a discerning public, for falsity f ‘victory’ stories have been indirectly admitted S Desperate appeals for greater aid made by Baron Man- srheim and Finnish diplomats, coupled with the warning that ‘ie White Guard forces cannot continue much longer with an i.ereasingly restive populace at their back unless world im- sn and Paris for sending more Advocate Dispatch Confirmed olunteers, more planes, more Finn Here States ~maments to Finland. 3. Refusal of the British govern- Peasant Mentioned Is His Brother ent to issue passports to Prank iteairn and Hon. Ivor Montague, ogndon Daily Worker correspon- mts, Piteairm, who covered the nanish war, was to have gone to mland, Montague to the Soviet aion. Most ominous news of the week - the labor movement was that Accuracy of Advocate dis- patehes of the Finnish-Soviet conflict was this week attest- ed to by D. Tillikainen, a Fin- nish - Canadian resident of British Columbia whose ad- dress is withheld because of threats made by local White Guard Finns against those inting to increasing British and -ench intervention in Finland. At who do not support the Ryti- Mannerheim regime. e same time as Prime Minister hamberlain was telling the House Commons that further British 4d was on its way to Finland, »ndon newspapers carried the in- rmation that the first contingent British ‘volunteers’ to Finland Last week, in its Short Jabs column, the Advocate told of a Finnish peasant who, out of a total family income of 8,000 marks in 1939, was obliged to pay 6,517 marks in taxes, make a payment on his debt of 13,200 marks to the i] leave next week. Replying to a question put by bank, spend 1035 marks at the local salmo or cooperative for Villiam Gallacher, Communist provisions. {P, in the House as to whether © was aware that inducements The peasant referred to, by re- markable coincidence, was, D. tad been offered to persons in ;lasgow to leave the British army nd ‘volunteer for service in #in- and, Sir Victor Warrender, fin- mcial secretary to the war of- ice, admitted ‘volunteers’ for Fin- and were being recruited in 3ritain, This despite the Foreign Snlistment Act invoked against olunteers for Republican Spain. Tillikainen told the Advocate, his brother. Tillikainen told the Advocate how on several occasions he had Sent money to his sister in Fin- land to help pay his brother’s taxes and how the sister had kept him informed of wages and taxa- tion in the land he left 30-odd years ago. TELLS OF CONDITIONS. “*# handyman earned 60 marks a day,” related Tillikainen. “Tf he was Single he paid 500 marks a month for a room and 9 mariks for each meal.” Summing up this worker’s earnings on a 26-work- day basis, he would earn 1,560 marks a month, if fortunate enough to secure steady work, out of which he paid 1,310 marks for room and board, leaying him only 250 marks to buy clothes, a heavy item in Finland, and other neces- sities. But not all workers received these relatively high wages. Lab- orers before the present civi] war tributions from labor organiza-| Were paid 50 marks a day and ns which already have donatead| bad to pay the same board and 00. room rates. A mark is worth less than two cents. One brother, who fought against POWELL RIVER, BC.—At its | jannerheim in the people’s forces eeting last week Pulp and Sul- in 1918 and was captured, ite Workers’ union here pro- told after his release how sted eviction of Pioneer miners every second day the prisoners the provincial government, do- were thrown some rotten fish as ted $50 to the strike fund to food, the while they never knew ing its total aid to strikers to when they would be taken out and ore than $300. shot without trial. (Continued on Page 2) See FINNS -victions -vaded PIONEER, BC.—According to the ter of the law, eviction of strik- ; Pioneer miners from company- med bunkhouses has been car- d out. Actually, the miners are ll tenants in the same bunk- uses. All they have done is to ve from one bunkhouse room to other. Sompany officials, it is believed, l not be able to secure further ection orders until March, when . county court reopens in lcoet. trike negotiations continue dead- ked and union officials are re- wing their appeal] for continued ‘in Seattle what he would not dare’ ‘after the aged, young and infirm,” NEW INTERVENTION INLAND IS PREPARED Telford Will Not Retract Remarks Ignoring Threats, Mayor Will Repeat Seattle Address Mayor J. Lyle Telford has no intention of withdrawing the remarks on war and the eco- nomic system he made last weekend at the Washington Commonwealth Fed eration’s convention at Seattle. The fact that Vancouver's reac- tionary WNon-Partisan Association - controlled city council passed a resolution of condemnation will not deter him from repeating the speech at Maple hall this Sunday as a reply to the charge that he said to say in Vancouver. Threats have been made that ‘patriotic’ elements will try to break up the meeting and it is anticipated that RCMPolice will be present to report ‘subversive’ Statements. An Advocate reporter on Thursday, however, found Mayor Telford unperturbed. “I did not say anything at Seattle I have not already said in Canada,” the mayor stated. “I am opposed to war and the system that pro- duces it. If we must have war let us all get into it; the higher up in public and financial life people are the closer they should be to the front — then there will be fewer wars. “I have been saying the same thing for years and I am not go- ing to back down now,” he con- tinued, adding, “I am every bit opposed to the totalitarianism of Germany as I am to the imperial- ism of Britain. Refusal by authorities of susten- ance to men, who, after being re- jected by the army, are now com_ pelled to live in flophouses or be arrested as vagrants, was scored by Mayor Telford. “We should remem- ber that the measure of civilization is the manner in which it looks he declared. Stewart Refuses To Accept Trades Council Expulsion | Expulsion of William Stewart, Hotel and Res- from Vancouver Trades and Labor council Tuesday by President E. A. Jamieson and abrupt adjournment of the semi-monthly meeting left undecided a motion re- ferring to local unions the question of forming a provincial federation of labor, which Delegate D. Cook, Boilermakers, had offered as a solution to taurant Employes’ delegate, ‘unsatisfactory handling of legislative affairs.’ Cook’s motion referred to a report made to the last meeting by J. N. Ross for the legislative committee of the Trades and Labor Congress’ provincial executive. Ross high-handedly told delegates he was not obliged to make the report, but did so ‘out of courtesy.’ Giting Ross’ attitude at the last meeting, Cook said he believed that—establishment of a= central body representing all affiliated unions in BC would bring more ef- ficient handling of labor’s prob- lems, eliminate a great deal of confusion. “T am opposed to setting up an- other per capita organization,” objected Birt Showler, Teamsters, opining that it would take more money, would not accomplish what Was now being done. Secretary P. R. Bengough did not know why delegates berated the provincial executive. Had it not been successful in saving jobs for projectionists through amend- ments to the Fire Marshal’s Act? His idea was that organizations outside the trade union movement were pressing for a provincial fed- eration of labor. “I believe the desire for a pro- vinelal federation of labor was prompted by the last meeting,” re- torted W. Stewart, recalling that Six separate amendments to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbi- tration Act had been ignored by the Trades and Labor Congress’ provincial executive. “And then the Labor Statesman, our own or- gan, comes out and states that the provincial executive was correct,” he declared. “We need a proymelal feder- ation of labor,” said Stewart, “in order to break the dictatorship (Continued on Page Two) See LABOR 1) F zie’s Colonial Advocate. WIN A NEW READER A LITTLE more than a century ago, in June, 1826, when the people of Upper Canada were struggling against the tyrannical rule of the Family Compact, a mob organized by the ruling party wrecked the offices of William Lyon Macken- Seventy-odd years ago, when British Columbia colonists were fighting for institution of representative government, autocratic Governor James Douglas imposed a fine of £1000 on Amor De Cosmos’ British Colonist in Victoria and ordered him to halt publication until it was paid. The fine was paid by public subscription and the British Colonist continued its fight for democratic rights. Today, the labor press, carrying the traditions of Macken- zie to a new and higher level, is threatened by reaction. Two labor papers have already been Suppressed. Sinister voices have been raised against the Advocate, because it dares to champion the interests of the people. You can do your part in the fight to maintain civil liberties by extending the influence of the Advocate among British Columbia’s workers and farmers. The campaign to elect anti- war candidates to parliament affords splendid opportunities to win new readers for the Advocate and, at the same time, bring the real issues of the election before the people. We want 1000 new readers for the Advocate before April 1. And we are still short of the 25 volunteers to compete in our subscription-getting contest for whom we appealed last week. Finally, if you are not already a subscriber to the Advocate, take advantage of our special offer. Turn to page three, fill in the sub blank, and mail it in today. Fight Will Continue, Says CSA Move To Reinstate Suspended Group Narrowly Defeated Denied reinstatement when a general meeting on the UBC campus this week voted 359-288 to uphold the action of the student council in sus- pending the Canadian Stu- dent Assembly, members of the UBC branch intend to press their fight against the council on the ground that its decision constitutes “a direct attack on our democratic rights.” The vote was influenced by the fact that members of the student council strove to make the issue one of confidence or non-confi- dence in themselves. Following introduction of a motion for reinstatement by Al- fred Carlsen, theological student, and McGoun cup debater, Donald McGill declared that such a mo- tion, if won, would be a vote of non-confidence in the Student Council, necessitating re-election of all its officers. Thus students were not given an opportunity to vote solely on the question of CSA reinstatement. MeGill, referring to the CSA as a group of “alphabetical part- time revolutionaries,’ whatever they may be, demanded that the assembly be abolished from the campus. Students, however, re- jected this demand, decided to await submission of a full re port from the CSA. For three hours more than fif- teen speakers argued for and against reinstatement of the As- sembly which, at its recent con- ference, urged extension of educa_ tion, preservation of civil liberties, measures to prevent profiteering and an independent foreign policy for Canada. Questions as to youth’s attitude towards civil liberties and con- scription are being asked in a questionnaire circulated through- out the Dominion by the Ca- nadian Youth Congress through its affiliated organizations, Christian Student Movement, Ga- nadian Student Assembly, CCF Youth Movement, YCL, branches of the YMCA and others, (Continued on Page 2) See STUDENTS ousewives In Victoria Organize | The ADVOCATE FOR PEACE, PROGRESS AND DEMOCRACY VANCOUVER, B.C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1940 League Branch Formed Delegate Meeting Called In Nanaimo; Campaign Planned VICTORIA, BC.— Following a well-attended meeting here Tuesday, a branch of the Housewives’ League of BC was successfully established by Provincial Organizer Mrs. M. E. Norton. Outlining aims and objects of the League in her address, Mrs. Norton told the women present that main interest of the League at the pres- ent time was to fight war profiteer- ing, lower unreasonable prices and reduce the cost of living. Anything of importance to the best interests of the household was the concern of the Housewives’ League, she Said, pointing to the discussions al- ready held between the League and Vancouver city council on price in- creases in the tanning, bakery and leather industries, Elected te executive positions in the new branch here were, president, Mrs. P. Rayment; vice- president, Mr. P. Bennett; secre- tary, Mrs. H. W. Naylor; treas_ urer, Mrs. H. A. Bowden. NANAIMO, BC.—Having success- fully set up a new branch in Vic- toria, Mrs. M. EH. Norton, House- wives’ League provincial organizer, will speak at a delegate conference to be held in Canadian Legion hall here this Friday at 8 p.m. Rising food prices and war profi- teering will be discussed by dele- gates. Mrs. Norton expressed the hope that some plan would be evolved to further the work of the Housewives’ League in Nanaimo and reduce the cost of living. A call to all organizations inter- ested in combatting profiteering to attend a conference on Thursday, Feb. 29, 8 p.m., in Canadian Legion hall, 856 Seymour street, has been issued by the Gonsumers’ Research council. Reports of work undertaken by Various council committees since its inception will be heard. Resohi- tions and proposals for future work will also be presented. Organiza- tions have been inyited to send in any resolutions relative to the sub- ject cof consumer interest they wish discussed. Organizations wishing to send delegates which have not received a copy of the call are asked to con- tact Mrs. Jean Mason at 3284 Heather street; telephone WAir. 0158-M. Throughout the city, Starting next week, the Housewives’ League is launching an energetic campaign to enrol housewives in the fight against the increased cost of livins. Publicity material setting out the aims of the League has already been prepared for circulation ameng prospective members and other women who, while unpre- pared to take an active part in the League’s work, are ready to give it support. Union Calls For Peace SYDNEY, Australia.— The state council of the Australian Railway union has adopted a declaration calling for a peace conference to end the war and to build a genuine peace system. “We recognize that the continu- ance of the present war intensifies the everpresent threat to the lib- erties, standards and rights of the working class, and that the im- portant task confronting us, as a working class, is the defense of our liberties and our standards from reaction at home,” states the reso- lution. “We are opposed to cooperation with the Menzies and Ghamber- lain governments, We distrust their war aims and methods, be- lieving that British reaction is intriguing with German militar- ists for the purpose of strengthen, ing reaction in Europe, defeating the working class revolution in Germany and attacking the Soviet Union. “We pledge ourselves to oppose conscription in Australia, to reject any lowering of standards to re- Sist any limitation of Australian liberties. We are opposed to the Sending of troops overseas. We de mand that all parts of the labor movement unite to organize a de- termined campaign for the improve- ment of our standards and the de- fense of our liberties. “We would welcome the calling of a peace conference which in- cluded the USSR and out of which could develop a system of genuine collective security.”