April 26; 1940 THE ADVOCATE Page Three ae ) atmosphere inside these shores | The German invasion of Den- ; Maark and Norway, following the / British minelaying, the great sea battles off the Norwegian coast fand the increased danger of air -YTaids, have all contributed to the ) increased war feeling. _ he war was taken coolly before ;this week, but the temperature and tempers are rising. There is a } noticeable change in the tone of the press towards the jingoism characteristic of the last war. There is a sharper note in the House of Commons, This will un- doubtedly take a keener edge when the dreaded casualty lists are pub- " lished and the human cost of the | Norwegian battles becomes known. Shouting the loudest in the last i tew weeks for more vigorous ac- 1 tion have been Labor leaders, such ' as Hugh Dalton and Major GC. R. Attlee. Well, they now have the more vigorous action they demand- ed—and they do not like it. But they will shout even more loudly » for reprisals and more reprisals. j With this may be allied a more intensive drive against the Com- munists. The same thing is hap- } pening in France, where already ; the death sentence has been ex- ’ tended against working-class ac- ) tion. In: France you can now be Suillotined for the yague offense of any action “tending to the de- moralization of the army or the civil population.” And that might mean anything from talking left- wing politics to a soldier to advo- cating action for better wages in the factory. The Socialist leaders will no doubt have noticed that the death penalty has now gone far beyond its application te Com- munist propaganda. : Just as no one can say now what consequences the events in Nor Way will have—how the fight will go in Norway, how rapidly it will spread to the other neutrals, who mH are already jittery—so also no one ) Can say how much fiercer the ac- tien against the workins class will become here and in France in the near future. . But both here and in France the movement for the defense of the working class and to end the War grows. Only a few hours before the Bri- tish mine-laying expedition off the Norwegian coast, which started the action in Scandinavia, repre- sentatives of more than 300,000 or- ganized workers met in Glasgow for the- Scottish Peace convention, organized by the Scottish Peace council * A resolution passed by the con- yention declared the war to be “neither a& war for democracy against fascism nor for the liber- ation of nations, but a war be- ‘tween rival imperialist powers for ‘world supremacy.” It stated fur- ther that “victory for the people of all countries” and not victory for either imperialism could be guaranteed only by a common struggle against war. The convention decided to draw up a peace appeal for signature throughout Britain and to com- municate its decision to the Welsh and English peace councils. During the same week-end a eonference of shop stewards from 93 machine-construction and allied factories, represent- ing 217,000 workers, met at Bir- | mingham and decided to estab- lish a committee to co-ordinate the shop stewards movement | throughout the country. It also formulated a program for better hours and wages. This was probably the most important workers’ conference | held since the war began. Im the last war the machinists’ tshop-stewards movement played fan immensely important part. it ent Pane Minister David Lloyd George and his satellites hurrying ito the factories on Numerous occa- Sions and eventually gave rise to (the Soldiers’ and Workers’ coun- eils which provided the govern- Iment with the biggest fright it had in the war. That is how Britain is reacting on the economic and political fronts. And it is full of encourage- ment. ; information from France is Scanty and censored, but enough is reaching here to show a great and widespread movement for peace and against the conditions on the French working class. ‘Extension Of War Increases Tension By PHILIP BOLSOVER { LONDON, England.—Overshadowing all else this week has “been, of course, the extension of the war to Scandinavia. The /-war front is now more than 1,000 miles longer—but 300 miles » nearer to the hitherto undisturbed shores of Britain. And the is correspondingly more tense. Labor Wins Byelection In London Defend Seat In Interests Of Gov’t, Urges Morrison LONDON, Eng. — Support- ed by the full weight of the official Labor party machine, F. C. R. Douglas, Labor, won the North Battersea byelection last week, polling 9947 votes to the 701 given to his anti-war opponent, Eric Joyce, a young trade unionist just conscripted who conducted a whirlwind 10- day campaign. The seat, once held by the Indian Communist, Shapurgi Saklatvala, was vacated by re- tirement of W. S. Sanders, La- bor, from the House of Com- mons. Joyce was the only can- didate to challenge the official Labor nominee, Conservative and Liberal parties adhering to the parliamentary truce which has obtained since the war started. But if the Conservative and Liberal parties did not nomi- nate they rallied to the call issued by Herbert Marrison, London Labor leader, to de- fend the seat in the govern- ment’s interests. A well-timed campaign en- deavoring to link Nazis and Communists as ‘fifth column- ists’ was launched concurrently with the election campaign in an effort to influence voters. On the same day as the elec- tion, April 17, Information Min- ister Sir John Reith denounced what he termed ‘neutral mind- edness.’ Declared he: “Neutrality is not confined to the low countries or Scandinavia, Italy and America. I have met neutrals walking in the streets of Britain. There js apathy and boredom, and yet this is a war of will as much as of guns.” The French law permits the im- position of severe penalties on workers in munition plants. For a breach of factory discipline a worker can be fined 50 percent of his wages or can be punished by dismissal. For striking he can be sentenced to imprisonment from six days to five years, and fined from 500 to 30,000 francs. For re- fusal to obey orders the punish- ment is imprisonment from six days to five years. These are only a few of the penalties. But throughout France there is continuous underground activity to organize the workers for an 1Im- provement in industrial conditions and to end the war. The illezal Communist newspaper, L’Human- ite, is selling in dozens of different editions in various districts of the country. Working class slogans are constantly chalked on the Streets and other cities. Leaflets appear frequently in the Paris subways and in many other places. And the authorities are finding it impossible to remove the skilled Communist workers from the fac- tories. In the famous Renault au- to factory, now engaged in manu- facturing supplies for the army, there is a group of 6,000 Commun- ists. The authorities tried to weed them out. But the factory manage- ment said the factory could not continue if they were taken. So they are still there. The same sit- uation exists in other factories. We shall hear from these Com- munist workers in France and from the British shop stewards one of these days. Gq sas Bed zs BEd ed psa bra fe ze Be fea px =a a 4} SEUSS] | bs 3x bed ods | bs PoP Be PS os sed Os IST s cs BROTHERS BAKERY | High Quality Bread — Cakes — Pastry 5 2558 East Hastings St. Phone High. 3028. = sl moses Mme ea EE Ask Open Trial Of Deputies NEW YORK, NY. — Forty American writers, artists and educators, including Theodore Dreiser, Rockwell Kent, Irwin Shaw, Dashiell Hammett, William Gropper, Dr. Wendell S. Phillips, Reginald Marsh and Raphael Soyer, have issued a Statement urging the Reynaud government to conduct an open trial on the appeal of the 44 French Communist deputies re- cently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after secret trial by a military tribunal. Calling attention to the fact that the Communist deputies Were “Jailed and sentenced because ‘they signed a letter to Edouard Herriot calling on the Daladier government to give the most serious consideration to bringing about peace,’” the statement condemned the secret trial and heavy sentences as a “erime against those fundamental principles of justice and de- mocracy which may not be violated anywhere without the gravest repercussions everywhere.” Congress To Launch Civil Disobedience LONDON, England—Hundi Vishnu Kamath, secretary of the leftist bloc of the All-India Congress led by Subhas Chandra Bose which is opposing Mohandas K. Gandhi’s compromise tac- tics, was last week arrested in Bombay under the Defense of India regulations. Kamath was arrested on April 12; a day before the twenty-first anniversary of the Amritsar mas- Sacre of 1919 when British troops fired on a huge gathering of In- dian men, women and children, killing or wounding 2000 of them. Around the same time, in the House of Commons here, Sir Hugh O'Neill, parliamentary un- dersecretary for India, stated that the Chamberlain govern- ment had rejected the all-India Congress’ demand for independ- ence because its acceptance would mean “complete sever- ance of India from the empire.” Stated O’Neill: “His majesty’s government can mot accept now the demand of the Indian Congress for Indian independence and notes with deep regret the rejection by the same Congress of the status of domin- jon or any other imperial status.” He added: “If civil disobedi- ence were resorted to, his majes- ty’s government would be bound te take full measures to counter- act it.” In Wardha, India, this week, the working committee of the Indian Wational Congress adopted a reso- jution calling upon all Congress committees to prepare for a cam- Paign of civil disobedience, follow- ing rejection of its demand for in- dependence by the British goyern- ment. The Congress resolution stated: “The committee has given full consideration to the situation in the country as it has deyeloped Since the Rampgarh congress and to the necessity of preparing the Congress organization for saty- agraha (Civil disobedience), which the Ramgahr congress de- clared to be inevitable in the fu- ture. “The committee welcomes the steps taken by the provincial Congress committees in pursu- ance of the directions issued by Gandhi to function as satyagra- ha committees and to enrol ac- tive and passive satyagrahis. The committee trusts that all Con- gress committees throughout the country will pursue this program with all earnesimess and thor- oughness and will put their af- fairs in order for such action as may be required of them. “The committee recommends that those members of Congress executives who are unable to take the prescribed pledge and shoulder the burden of the strug- gle under the disciplined guid- ance of the Congress withdraw from their executive positions. “The committee stresses once more the fulfillment of the con- ditions laid down by Gandhi, compliance with which is essen- tial for civil disobedience.” Civil Rights Federation Scores Dies Committee DETROIT, Mich—The Civil Rights Federation has con- ‘Australian Official Labor Policy Narrowly Misses Defeat Trades Union Council Returns 67-65 Vote SYDNEY, Ausiralia—By a bare majority of only two votes the Australian Trades Union Council in a 67-65 vote last week- end endorsed the official policy supporting the war. This vote is a Strong indication of the widespread anti-war senti- ment in Australia, for it must be remembered that prior to the meet- ing of the ocuncil great pressure Was brdught to bear on the trade unions and local labor parties by the dominant federal Labor party leadership. It explains recent threats made and it also indicates that these threats are directed not only against the Communists but also against the entire trade union movement, 650,000 of whese 750,- 000 members have, through their elected representatives, gone on record against the war. _ Indeed, the attitude of the Men- Zies government towards the trade unions was clearly set forth by Governor-General Lord Gowrie in his speech opening the current ses- sion of the federal parliament last week. Referring to the strike of 30,000 coal miners, now in its sixth week, the governor-general declar- ed that the government was de- termined to take all necessary measures to ensure adequate sup- plies, He also announced that the goy- ernment had decided to censor all Communist publications and insti- tute prosecutions against those charged with ‘subversive activi- ties’. Information Minister Sir Henry Gullett on Saturday announced that Communist newspapers throughout - Australia would be compelled to cease publication within two weeks. The government, he stated, did not intend to ban the Commun- ist press outright Instead, it would be suppressed by a drastic of the federal Labor party in censorship under which it will be forbidden to write anything on the war, the recruiting and training of troops, the Soviet Union or on any strike or indus- trial unrest. This censorship, he predicted, would effectively silence the Com- Mmunist press, There is no doubt that the gov- ernment’s action is influenced by. the resolution passed by the New. South Wales Labor conference on March 24, when delegates vot- ed 195-88 against Australian par- ticipation in any war overseas and opposed extension or redi- rection of the present war against the Soviet Union. Federal Labor party leaders, claiming that the resolution had harmed the party’s prospects of being returned to power in the next federal election, demanded that the New South Wales Labor party executive expunge the resolution from its bovks. RECOGNIZE SENTIMENT John Curtin, federal Labor party leader, however, has been forced to recognize the demand for peace, and, in a recent broadcast to South Africa, he attempted to represent himself as favoring a peace move while still maintaining the official Labor stand in support of the war. Asserting that Australian Labor stood unequivocally in support of the war, he stated that neverthe- less “the hope and desires of mil- lions of people for peace ought not to be thrust aside.” This is interpreted here as an effort to capitalize on the peace Sentiment, the while the federal Labor party endeavors to suppress all anti-war declarations within the party. demned as ‘political persecution’ and as an ‘abrogation of civil rights’ the action of the Dies Committee in citing for contempt Witnesses who refused to reveal membership lists of their or- ganizations on the grounds that this meant loss of livelihood for those disclosed, according to President Rev. Owen A. Knox. The Federation, in telegrams to Michigan congressmen, urged them to vote against contempt citations for all witnesses who thus refused to jeopardize positions of their members. Rey. O. A. Knox stated: “The Dies Committee on un-Am- erican Activities was created by Congress as an investigating com- mittee. In the past several weeks, the committee has repeatedly cited for contempt witnesses who re- fused to disclose membership lists of their organizations. The wit- messes contended that such dis- closure would mean loss of live- lihood for their members and that Membership in a legal political or- Zanization was a private matter. “The Dies Committee, in avow- ing its intention to use these con- tempt proceedings against scores of Communist party leaders, has obviously overstepped its investi- gating authority. It has hit upon a technique that will jail and fine economic views. This is political persecution of the worst order. The Civil Rights Federation joins With the American Civil Liberties Union in opposing any inquiry by the Dies Committee directed to the production of any organization’s membership lists. Such a pro- cedure is undemocratic and an ab- rogation of civil rights.” May Day Greetings! Johnson’s Shoe Repair 105614 W. Pender St. Vancouver, B.C. “PRO-RECS” DEMONSTRATION in Hastings Park Forum NECESSITATES A REPEAT PERFORMANCE Saturday, April 27th, at 8 P.M. . Adults 25c, Children 15c Complete Sell-out at Friday’s $ General Admission Only - May Day Greetings 324 West Hastings St. Vancouver, B.C. $ 3 i = REGENT TAILORS ? 3 La a> >, a>, Lo, b> > b> a yr oN Ly by by Oy > > > Ge > Oe Oy Oy hoy ly bow lo bm bo 2 >< 3 End May Da $ ight Way! 3 The Right Way! .. $ } >< } e } } $ DAN CE 3 } rs $ }$ $ $ ; : ; } 3 NEW CROATIAN HALL $ >< 600 Campbell Avenue e } 7 Ww M i 3 »¢ T 2? $ ednesday, Gy ist 3 . >< + ALBERTA RANCH BOYS — Modern Music $ $ REFRESHMENTS ADMISSION 25c $ $ - Auspices: CANADIAN LABOR DEFENSE LEAGUE >< } $ POLLS IOHHO $00 006-995 09090990 900099 000600000 09006 WSSSHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSGHSSSHSGHGo SSS osSsSsqsqoqsGsqsqosqgo % Mien’s Fine Shoes % 4 % (i, Y % 2s A, oF Ms b = Agents for Astoria, Worthmore, % : 5 aes 2 3 2 Sy ~ Slater and Florsheim SHOES ¢ % SES % % ... and Our Famous % ‘ : % 6.60 ; A, 3 e ‘ %, 4 % FOOT FRIEND : $ % % % § * CORNETT BROS. x 33 East Hastings St. Vancouver, B.C. PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsSsssssssssssssssssssss Dominion Furniture Chain Stores Ltd. ve QUALITY FURNITURE PRICED for ECONOMY! Only “DOMINION” with its Chain Store distribution can give you high quality at such low prices. . . . Dominion’s all-union factory sells direct to you.