Mac-P ap Veterans Adopt
\panish War Orphans

7A : :

ae Two Spanish war orphans, brought to Mexico by refugee committees and veterans of the
“Sjanish war, are being adopted by the Veterans of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, it
Suis announced in a press release issued by the secretary of the association recently.

a i? “Through our communications with the veterans of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion, we
nugirned that at the beginning of February no less than 40,000 Spanish and international

Suei-fascists were still being held

ior) the Vichy established conéen-

) AujHien camps in North Africa,”
ited the release,

/Representation to the Foreign
loihiretary of the U.S. elicited the
timely that nothing could be done
ingw@gil the return of a commission
-o@ enquiry, who are at present
lsh yhering information in North Af-

Ten ssomething must be done about

fe, -tascist Strength chained down
ijp #2 COuntry that has been liber-
maemel by a military force who are
ma eased in fighting fascism.

We also received information to
es /effect tnat 1,750,000 republicans
the Deld im FBrance’s concentration
qum'pS- Our organization sent a

“ution to our Prime Minister
esting the appointment to Van-
ver of a Franco consul with dip-

patic immunity.

» Vhen surviving members of the
skenzie - Papineau Battalion,
.£ with the rest of the inter-

#@ onal Brigades, were being ev-
ited from Spain on the orders
[the government of Dr. Juan

at al

are

n yw

—
‘rin, we made a solemn pledge
that government; the pledge
» we would carry on the fight

( inst fascist aggression, in what-
* corner of the world we found
bielves.

ihe Mac-Pap veterans since

[i r return to Canada four years

XN have never ceased as individ-
§ to carry on anti-fascist ac-
pies. At the beginning of the

ek@ent war, we offered to raise

4 @ shting unit of Mac-Paps for

Mice with the Canadian forces—
; iffer which was refused by the
G@rnment. At the present time

See are a number of Mac-Paps on

tee “e service on the fighting fronts

lei in. war industry.”

= ntinued

7 Ban

|

| med the following statement:
fr. St. Laurent’s attitude on the
ition of the lifting of the ban
ot oniy undemocratic and con-
say to all British legal and politi-
-@m practice, but is a definite part
he quisling tendency which is
rearing its head, mot only in
ada but in Britain and the U.S.
vell. The only result that this
© ency can have is to divide the
Hl war forces and weaken the
ti = effort. If the tendency repre-
feed by the Hon. Louis St. Laur-
were entirely successful, it

“id save Hitler.”
§ is expected that the question
Heceturning confiscated property
the Ukrainian WLabor-Farmer
‘ple organizations will be one
vhe questions confronting the
|= committee.

t
bE

qa

if

)IICAGO.—A local of the Inter-
onal Association of Machinists
i) has placed a unique clause
ache contract it is now seeking
the Chicago Aircraft assembly
it. If seeks roller skates, motor
ters and skis for guards at the
it, now under construction,

poe rationing and’ the desire to
!Manhours have been given as
fons for the clause.

a

Pritchett To Continue

As IWA

Re-elected for a second term
of office as district president
of International Woodworkers
of America, CIO, Harold Prit-
chett received overwhelming

Gandhi's Immediate Release

Demanded By B.C.-Sikhs

While reports recahed Vancouver that Mahatma Gandhi,
approaching the end of the first two weeks of his proposed
21-day fast, grew steadily weaker, East Indians from all parts
of the province gathered in the Sikh Temple here to endorse

sending of telegrams of protest to
Lord Linton Gowes, Viceroy of In-
dia; Prime Minister Churchill,
President Roosevelt, Premier Jo-
seph Stalin, Generalissimo Chiang
Kai-shek, and Prime Minister
King, urging immediate, uncondi-
tional release of the aged Indian
leader.

The telegrams, signed by Na-

gindar Singh Gill, secretary of the
Khalsa Diwan Society, appealed

for Gandhi's release on the grounds
that this act would influence In-
dia’s 400 millions to support whole-
heartedly the war against fascism.

A telegram to the Archbishop of
Canterbury read:

“British Columbia Sikh com-
munity begs you to urge British
government to free Gandhi and

also reopen friendly negotiations
for an honorable settlement of the
India deadlock. We believe the

Union Investigates
Sick Benefit Plan

In an endeavor to relieve its
membership of many pressing
financial burdens due to ill-
ness, Dock and Shipyard
Workers Local-2 has establish-
ed a committee to investigate
the question of a sick benefit
fund based on contrbiutions by
the membership on a regular
monthly basis.

“Ti is obvious to most people
that men earning fifty to sixty
cents an hour are unable te meet
unexpected expenditures for doc-
tors’ bills and hospitalization,”
President Charles Saunders stat-
ed.

“In a questionnaire now being
circulated among the lower-paid
members of our union, evidence is
being gathered proving beyond a
doubt that these wages are far from
adequate to meet even the every-
days needs of a family. Most of the
questionnaires returned so far
have mentioned the need for medi-
cal and dental care.

“While we certainly can go on
record as endorsing health insur-
ance plans now mooted by the
federal government ,we feel that
establishment of a sick benefit fund
in our union would be of immedi-
ate benefit to numbers of our mem-
bers who find a week’s illness runs
them into debt and brings a load
of financial worries, since their

Ast. 6240 766 BE. Hastings
@astings Steam Bathe:

Vancouver, B.C.
Ways Open — Expert Masseursj
in Attendance 5
a.m. to 11 p.m.... 40c and 50cl
a ete

(7

John Stanton
Barrister, Solicitor, Notary

503 Holden Bldg.
16 E. Hastings St. MAr. 5746

~ i

wages are too low for them to have
any savings put by for the time
when income is stopped.”

Bert Marcuse, Pacific Coast
Labor Bureau director in charge
of the questionnaire now being cir-
culated, stated, ‘There is not any
doubt in my mind that this in-
vestigation will disclose some
shocking facts about the condi-
tions of our shipyard workers. The
common fallacy about high wages
should be blasted. Actually some
of the lower paid men have an
income qnly sufficient to keep their
families on relief levels. Statistics
issued by the government prove
conclusively that fifty cents an
hour will not buy the common ne-
cessities of life in sufficient abund-
ance to provide health and well-
being for the families of these
workers. And when illness strikes
it is a dread disaster.”

PAY
CHEQUES
Cashed

If you cannot get to your
bank, bring your Pay
Cheques to the Army &
Navy. We shail gladly
eash them for you. There
is no obligation to buy.

ARMY & NAVY

DEPT STORES

death of Gandhi under the cirecum-
stances will do untold injury.”

A resolution passed by the So-
ciety pointed out that “the silence
of the leaders of the United Na-
tions should no longer aggravate
the already disappointed people of
India,” and that such silence
seemed almost an attempt to force
India towards the cause of the
Axis.

“With the life of Gandhi hanging
in the balance, the people of India
are united as never before,” Gill
stated this week, “but his death
would be a signal for Axis agents
fo bend every effort to use the re-
sulting mass indignation to alien-
ate the Indians from the just cause
of the United Nations.

“Victory over fascism depends
to a great extent on the willing-
ness of United Nations leaders to
keep faith with the leaders of
the Indian people, who have been
consistently anti-fascist, oppos-
ing Italy’s attack on Ethiopia,
the fascist attack on Spain, and
every act of aggression commit-
ted by Nazi Germany.”

President

support in the recently com-
pleted referendum ballot con-
ducted in logsings camps from
the Queen Charlotte Islands to

Victoria during 48 days since
the loggers’ 1948 convention when
nominations were taken. Pritchett
represents Local 1-217, Vancouver
Plywoods.

Executive secretary for the next
year will be Bert Melsness, also
representing Local 1-217. Nigel
Morgan, who previously held this
post, declined the nomination at
the last convention, stating that it
is his intention to devote his full
time to the position of Interna-
tional Executive Board member.
Melsness has been acting secretary
for the district for the past five
months, and is well known as presi-
dent of local 1-217.

Hjalmer Bergren of local 1-80,
Lake Cowichan, was elected. first
vice-president, and Ernie Dalskog
of Vancouver~- local 1-71, which
takes in operations on Queen Char-
lotte Islands, second vice-president,
while Mark Mosher of local 1-85,
Alberni logging camp, will become
third vice-president. ;

Elected as trustee for a three-
year term was Jack Lindsay of
Wew . Westminster Sawmills, local
1-357. Trustee for the next two-
year period will be Darshan Singh,
local 1-118, Victoria sawmills, and
for the one year period, Heman

Valley, local 1-80, will represent
Dunean loggers,

“Seige of Leningrad,” Soviet
documentary film scheduled to

open at the Plaza theater here
last Tuesday, Was held over at the
Imperial theater in Toronto and
will commence on Friday, Feb. 26,
it has been announced.

Nicholas Mikhailov

Alexander Poliakov

TWO CAPTAINS,

118 West Pender’

VICTORY ...
and AFTER

By EARL BROWDER

-- Now on Sale --

| @

| Books about how the Soviet Union is able to
throw back the Nazi onslaught.

RUSSIA’S FIGHTING FORCES,

Captain Sergei Kournakoff

LAND OF THE SOVIETS,

RUSSIANS DON’T SURRENDER,

|

THE VOICE OF FIGHTING RUSSIA,

| Edited by Lucien Zacharoff

THE SOCIALIST SIXTH OF THE WORLD,
The Dean of Canterbury

Benjamm Kaverin, a novel

TALES OF LENINGRAD, Nikolai Tikhonov,
stories of the people who saved the city_..... $ .10

The People

105 Shelly Building
MA. 6929

ookshop

Vancouver, B.C.

Vancouver and Westminster
ne ee