ih Around the Slipways i By Charles Saunders (ee growth of the trade union movement throughout Can- ada during the last two wears has been tremendous. That 15 growth has been a healthy one is evidenced by the man- cin which the rank and file members of the Boilermakers’ ¥uon have rallied to preserve their organization during the spute over the recent elections. ge ee 4 The backbone of any trade union is its shop stewards ovement, and the strength of the union may well be gauged § the strength of its shop stewards. The manner in which {2 shop stewards of the Boilermakers have come forward fill the breach and provide leadership while the continuing spute deprives the union of its regularly constituted ex- wutive, is evidence of the strength and solidity of the mem- ¢rship in this crisis. 3 Whatever may be the eventual outcome of this dispute, nich already has assumed such proportions that the threat- led suspensions include over one half ef the membership the ©Cl in this proyince, it is regrettable that it should ive occurred at a time when the whole energies of our |} tion should be expended in the supreme task of defeating @ Axis powers. It would seem to be in the best interests of {concerned that a speedy solution should be found. Such a solution to be satisfactory, must, it is evident from & attitude of the men on the job and the solidarity of the iop stewards involved, include the removal of the adminis- ation board and the return of the union to the membership ith full power to elect their own officers within the pro- sions of the constitution. (Hit yards these days are full of men gathering in groups to = discuss the developments which already have seriously fected one union and which now threaten to involve several hers. Almost invariably they are highly indignant and =e it as a personal as well as an organizational affront that Sir wishes as expressed through a referendum authorized * the Congress’ national secretary himself should be so over- | dden. , | The fact of the matter is, of course, that the constitution ‘the €C€L needs amending to make proper provision for ‘ections.in the case of affiliated locals as big as the* Boiler- akers. Obviously, it would be impossible to obtain a hall % enough to accommodate the reputed 12,000 members of ie union, while to call these men together in one meeting ‘ould necessitate the complete stoppage of work on at least vo shifts, at a time when ship production is of paramount aportance to our war effort. To use the deficiencies in the Dnstitution to overthrow an election at which provision was jade for all members in good standing to vote cannot, I think, . judged as carrying out the purposes of the Congress. | The news that the threat of suspension was also being wected against the Dock and Shipyard Workers for alleged folation of the constitution or the purposes of the Congress fas received with consternation by the shop stewards. After Bing assured by the local representatives of the Congress aat their union had committed no violations of the constitu- on they speculated as to what the phrase “purposes of the ‘ongress’ might refer. If it refers to the policy of the Con- ress as laid down in convention then, they believe their mion has carried out this policy to the best of its ability. The lain theme of the past convention was the need for all-out reduction behind a total war effort and the demand for ail partnership ot labor and representation on all government oards. That the union has not been unmindful of the need md just demands of its own membership is shown by the aree-quarters of a million doilars in extra wages earned by its 1embership this year. If the recommendations of the Richards Commission are pproved in Ottawa, 1 should not be surprised if the economic aims made by this union over the last twelve-month period xceed any other union affiliated to the CCL. some 200 CLO workers. Since last April, the yard has been working on a huge drydock gate for the navy, which ‘was scheduled to be launched at noon on Dec. 22. Because of the shozt- age of skilled workers and delay in deliveries of materials and tools, construction fell behind schedule. On Dec. 19, in the midst of the severest cold spell to hit New York and New Jersey in tweniy years, it seemed impossible to finish the job on time. On Dec. 20, when the men reported to woris, it was 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. From Sunday morning itll Tuesday noon, a crew of 20 pro- duction welders worked a con tinuous 56-hour shift. For the last 24 hours they refused to take time off’to eat. Because of the cramped working quarters they were unable to wear the cus- tomary protective masks, and several were severely burned. While one welder was lying on his back his legs caught on fire. His helper put out the flames and he went on working without interruption. The job was finished promptly at 12 o’clock Tuesday. A navy department delegation attended the Jaunching, the first of its kind on the Hast Coast. Angus Fergu- son, naval engineer in charge of Worked 56 Hours To Complete Job NEW YORK (ALN).—A dramatic example of the spirit of American war workers and the problems they face because of the lack of centralized control of America’s war economy, took place recently in a small East Coast shipyard employing the project, told newspaper re- porters <:“Korget about the big shots and the officials. Give the eredit to the men who stayed on the job though they had not rested for days and were sick and weary from lack of sleep and food. They’ve fought as nobly as any of our men on the fighting fronts. They de- serve the bouquets and they should get them.” The story of these 20 production welders is one of the first to ap- pear here which compares with the heroic wartime performances of British and Soviet workers. But because of the absence of adequate manpower controls in the U.S., because of unco-ordinated methods of scheduling production, the 200 shipyard workers are now “shaping-up” each day at the ship- yard looking for work. Other yards nearby have a shortage of skilled workers, but the company, wanting to be sure of workers when it gets another navy con- tract, has refused to release them. The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers (CIO), to which the 200 workers belong, is among the many important APL and CIO groups which are pressing Gongress to pass the Pepper-Tolain bill providing for an Office of War Mobilization to centralize control over all phases of U.S. production. Signed by such outstanding anti- fascist fighters as Major Sam Wild, last commander of the British Bat- talion and Lieut-Col. Hans Kahle, commander of the first Interna- tional Brigade in the second phase of Madrid’s defense, the message was from men of many nationalities who fought with Rodimtzey in Spain. Recalling those days when “there was no time for parade ground in- structions,” Dieut-Col. Kahle said that “the young, physically fit, in- telligent and also humorous Red Army men were known only by such names as “Pablo, Nicolas, or Alberto.” Their task was to instruct the Republican soldiers and interna- tional volunteers in the use and tac- tical employment of the weapons. “Machine guns, automatic rifles, and anti-tank guns had to be un- packed on the battlefield,” Kahle said. “Thus the instructors had to teach our gunners how to handle and use them against real targets in the trenches.” “T remember one who was as- tonished that I had not organized a strong anti-tank defense around my headquarters,” he stated. He told me as early as 1936 that Ger- man tanks were instructed to go for the rear organization of their opponents. “Maybe he was Rodimtzev or only an unknown Pablo, who fights now on another sector of the Russian front against the same fascist enemy. ‘When reading about the fierce struggle in the factories of Stalin- grad and the methods applied by Rodimtzev in the street fighting, War Veterans Greet Soviet Commander LONDON .— Greetings to one of “the handful of young Red Army officers” from men with whom he fought in the defense of Madrid have been received by Lieut.-Gen. Rodimtzevy in his underground headquarters at Stalingrad on the seventh anni- versary of the formation. of the International Brigades. I remember how we used the old First World War tanks as pillboxes blocking a thoroughfare. “f remember how during the hand-to-hand fighting in Madrid’s Agricultural Institute, where we held the ground floor and the fascists the top ene, we finally blew them up with dynamite the Asturian miners had brought us.” “Methods like these were applied successfully under the still more severe onslaught of the German War machine at Stalingrad by Lieut.-Gen. Rodimtzey. They and the strong resolution of Stalingrad’s people made its resistance possible.” New Boilermakers Loeeal Organized NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Tiocal 5 of the Boilermakers’ and Iron Shipbuilders’ Union of Can- ada, recently organized in the Royal City, elected officers for 1943 by acclamation at a meeting in New Westminster Legion Hall. The new local comprises employ- ees of Blair Iron Works, Westmin- ster Boiler and Tank Works, West- minster Iron Works and Westmin- ster Welding Shop. Slate of officers for 1943 is: Presi- dent, W. H. Hind; Vice-President, Fred Barry; Secretary-treasurer, Sam Lloyd; Recording Secretary, Stan Williamson; and H. Hazel- wood, guard. Trustees will be, W. McLeod, P. White and A. Gendron; and executive officers are M. Wad- ling and Howard Noble. V. W. Forster is business agent for the new local. Letters to the Editor | Steel Mill On Coast Urged Editor, The People. Sir; Kindly boost for British Go- lumbia by a relentless campaign for a blast furnace and stecl roll- ing mill, which are so much in heed at the present time, and will continue to be after the war, The chief requisites for a blast furnace in the making of pig iron, are coal for coking, iron ore, and limestone. These we possess and in close proximity to one another to make the project a profitable one, They are also found in suffi- cient quantity to fill our require- ments for many years. Plenty of coking coal is to be found at Comox, with coking ovens lying idle, but in good condition at Union Bay. Large deposits of limestone exist on Texada Island and are amon: the best, being very pure. These deposits are already mined and supply our pulp and paper indus- tries on this coast, along with our domestic requirements. Tests have shown the lime- Stone of Texada Island and Iron Hill suitable fluxes for a blast furnace. Magnetic iron ores similar to those found in Sweden and parts of the USSR are located at Iron Hill, Zeballos, Iron jRiver and Tex- ada Island and are in sufficient quantities to meet our require- ments for many years. The United States government considers these magnetic ores so valuable that it will not allow them to be used in blast furnaces but confines their use only to mix ing with pig iron and scrap, in the manufacture of steel, in their open hearth furnaces. As there are certain individuals in our midst who wish to discredit our iron ores for ulterior purposes I wish to quote from the McKee report on the analysis: Iron Hill, 61.2 percent iron; Iron River, 65.8 percent iron; Zeballos, 68.4 percent iron, and Teada Island, 60.4 percent iron. Impurities in the ore are of no detriment to a good quality of iron. To quote further, the reports state that these properties produce a good quality of pig iron and an adequate supply is assured for many years. As many of us the magnetic iron ore must first be crushed and sintered before placing in the blast furnace, but the crushing and sintering of the ore is repaid in the extra yield produced which renders the cost of that operation negligible. Since B.C. is blessed with all the major requisites for the man- ufacture of pig iron and steel I ask why the delay? A steel mill manufacturing from scrap would be very limited in scope, and would be at the merey of the scrap steel trade. In manufactur- ing our basic materials into pig iron our scrap could be utilized for mixing with -the pig iron in the manufacture of steel. The cost of such a project will vary all the way from seven to thirty-five million dollars depend- Ing on the magnitude of our re- quirements. Possibly twelve to eigh- teen million dollars judiciously spent would build us a very sery- iceable mill and meet our require- ments for some time to come. Personally, I would be pleased to hear from those interested in the project. W. J. CHARLES WEBSTER. ibeleyen New Westminster, already know, B.C.