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THE PEOPLE

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119 West Pender Street, Yancouyer, B.C. Telephone: MArine 6929.

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We Can Still Win
Victory In 1943

IRECENE events on the battlefronts have in no wise changed
the position that the basis for defeat of Hitler in 1943 still
exists. This is true in spite of the effect that may have been
created by Prime Minister Churchill’s reference to 1945 as
the critical year.

Two recent military moves of great significance serve to
emphasize this fact. The first is the long-awaited offensive
launched this week by Allied armies in North Africa against
the positions of Rommel ‘and von Arnim. The second is the
report from Great Britain about the largest full scale maneu-
vers yet conducted by the Canadian Army overseas, and the
terse statement by General McNaughton that the Canadians
are “fit and ready for action.”

In the ease of North Africa and the combined offensives of
the British and American armies, there is every reason to ex-
pect this to be the final offensive. After several months of
see-saw action, during which the Americans, lacking battle
experience, suffered some reverses, the tide has turned and
the last great drive to wipe out Hitler’s bridgehead in Tunisia
seems under way. Victory in Tunisia will, of course, open up
the immediate prospects of an attack on the continent, though
even here, qualified military observers declare that victory
in North Africa is by no means a pre-condition to the opening
of a second front in Europe.

General McNaughton’s statement serves to further streng-
then the demand for immediate action against continental
Europe. He has said his troops are “fit and ready.” He is
confident that the Canadians are mere than a match for the
Wazis on the coast of France. In addition, we are definitely
winning the battle for production. Our output of arms and
explosives is fully able to maintain our front-line fighters in
action. Only one thing is lacking—the command from the gov-
ernments that will swing the Allies into action.

Admittedly, the dangers are great. But the present policy
of delay, of failing to seize the moment when a concerted at-
tack from the West will combine with the Red Army’s con-
tinued offensive to break Hitler’s back, is so dangerous as to
raise the possibility of a United Nations’ defeat. That is why
the demand of the people for the second front-is correct. We
can still win the war in 1943 if we move now!

A Reason For Settlement

Or of the worst features of the present dispute within
the Boilermakers Union provoked by certain officials
of the CCl has been the extremely bad situation created
within the shipyards. There is no doubt that it has adversely
affected production, for one thing. In addition, it has pre-
vented the implementing of the Richards Commission re-
port, which recommended a number of quite important eco-
nomic gains which can not be realized until the Boilermakers
Union is out of the courts.

During the hearings conducted by Justice S. E. Richards,
the unions involved generally accepted the principle of the
seven-day plan providing the men were granted certain wage
and hour improvements which would compensate for the
sacrifices resulting from acceptance of continuous operations.
This demand was recognized by the Commission and in the
award handed down, day shift men were granted one hour’s
extra pay, afternoon and graveyard shifts two hours’ extra
pay, the companies were ordered to grant all employees with
a year’s service one week’s holiday with pay, and provision
was made for alternating the men’s day off.

Well, that report, with its recommendations, was handed
down over three months ago. Unofficially, though none the less
completely, the unions have accepted and are working under
the seven-day continuous operations plan. Yet because the
principal union in the yard is unable to function in a demo-
cratic manner, none of the thousands of Vancouver shipyard
workers can benefit from the award.

All this is further reason why the membership of the
Boilermakers Union should be permitted to conduct another
democratic election as soon as possible, and let the shipyard
workers get on as soon as possible with the job of strengthen-
ing their unions, furthering their economic interests, and in-
creasing the output of much-needed ships.

\W/hat Mr. Churchill
Did Not Say ,

By TOM McEWEN
prs Minister Churchill’s speech of March 21, vigorous
and farseeing as it was, left much to be desired. What
millions of people of the Allied Nations and in the countries
under the jackboot of Hitler barbarism awaited to hear was

not forthcoming. :

The high hopes generated at the recent Casablanca confer-
ence between Mr. Churchill and Mr. Roosevelt for the inva-

sion of Burope and the crushing
of the Hitlerite bandits between
the mighty jaws of a two-front
war;—of this, nothing to indi-
cate decisive action now.

Wo one would expect Mr.
Churchill to go into detail as
to time and place for a concerted
Allied Nation invasion of Europe.
To express the view, however,
in the light of the Casablanca
spirit—“that some time next
year, but it may well be the year
after—we might beat Hitler, by
which I mean, beat him and his
powers of evil unto death, dust
and ashes,” is hardly calculated
to stimulate the will and deter-
mination that leads to speedy and
decisive victory. On the contrary;
in spite of Mr. Churchill’s warn-
ings against complacency and the
danger of losing sight of the
fact that the war is not yet won,
his omission to reaffirm the de-
cisions of Casablanca and the
hurling of the full weight of the
armed might of the Allied Nations
against Hitler in the immedite
future can only add to the grow-
ing fear and perturbation that the
initiative, time, and opportunity
for decisive action on the con-
tinent of Europe is being frittered
away.

e

% can only welcome Mr.

Churchill’s elaborate program
of social reconstruction for a
post-war Britain. It will serve a
good purpose in eliminating the
fears of a growlng section of the
British people, that perhaps their
post-war Britain will be a replica
of 1918.

It is significant to note, that
in the proposals for a recon-
structed world, Mr. Churchill
warned his listeners that all post-
war schemes for peace and human
prosperity would be doomed
“without the cordial and concerted
agreement of the United States
and Russia.”” It would be well
for some of our home-grown pian-
ners to keep this in mind; to
realize, as Mr. Churchill empha-
sized in his concluding sentences,
that the job of winning the war
comes before the job of planning
the peace, and that neither can be
accomplished unless mutual trust,
confidence and goodwill prevail,
between the peoples and leaders
of the Allied Nations; that poli-
tical differences on post-war plan-
ning and projects can be highly
detrimental to the realization of
victory.

It is a matter of deep disap-
pointment to millions of People,
that, since Mr. Churchill saw in
the closet unity of the Allied Na-
tions, and particularly the unity
of Britain, the United States and
Soviet Russia, the only guaran-
tee for victory and a post-war
world of amity and peace,—that
he did not see fit to warn those
influential remnants of Munich
against their concerted fifth-col-
umn attacks upon the integrity of
the people and the government of
the Soviet Union who happen to
be our valiant ally in this mighty
struggle. Of this, not a word, al-
though in Britain, Canada and
the US.A. these attacks almost
reached the tempo of an organized
campaign.

@
% do not presume to teach
history to Mr. Churchill, but
it is precisely the idea that Rus-
sla is fighting alone that caused

tnillions to listen expectantly for
a word of hope from Mr. Chur
chill, a word that would signalize
the early opening of a European
invasion, not to “save jRussia’
but to achieve speedy victory. -

The millions developed this idea
before Casablanca, and that his-
toric conference confirmed it;
that with the smashing Soviet ad-
vances and the great winter of-
fensive of the Red Army, that
the time is NOW ripe to crush
the Nazi beast in a two-front war.

The people of the Allied Nations,
and particularly the people of
Canada whose sons, brothers,
sweethearts and fathers, consti-
tute the men of the glorious Ga-
nadian Divisions are in full agree-
ment with Mr. Churchill when
he says:——“Let us bend all our
efforts to the war and to ever-
more vigorous prosecution of our
supreme task.” They also ask,
and with every right of an em-
battled people to do so;—“‘what
is holding us back?” ;

+)
f Dees people of underground
France, Norway, Belgium, the
Netherlands also have a right to
ask of Mr. Churchill, “what is
holding you back? They await,
with the talons of Nazi vultures
hovering over them day and night,
the word from our Allied Nations’
leaders that will give them cour-
age to strike at the vitals of the
Wazi monster with renewed cour-
age. They do not disagree with
Mr. Churchill's word-portrait of
a post-war Britain, and a post-
war world, for in it they may
well find something of a pattern
for their own. But between them
and that dream of an ordered
and peaceful homeland stands a
brutal force that can only be
crushed by the armed might of
the Allied Nations on the soil of
Europe. They await the word and
opportunity to join with the Ca-
nadian divisions in driving the
dagger deep into the foul carcass
of the Hitler Axis.
e@
Me: CHURCHILL'S speech Is
important from two angles;
firstly, that it left un-said what
the common people are thinking
and what they themselves must
now say — Imvade Europe now
and smash Hitler in 1942 and
not “next year’ or “the year
after.” And secondly, that the
plan of post-war social recon-
struction for Britain is at once
and incentive and a war aim, con-
ditioned entirely upon victory
over Hitler and not upon the
promises of careerist politicians.
This latter Mr. Churchill made
very clear.

No matter which way one looks
at it ,every single constructive
proposition and hope put forward
by Mr. Churchill is conditioned
upon beating Nazism “unto death,
dust and ashes.” “Councils of
Europe” or “Councils of Asia,”
comprising singly or jointly a
world League of Nations, can
never materialize until Hitler is
definitely and decisively smashed.
Any compromise in between would
only be another Versailles, ann
the stern reality that powerful
forces still exist who sabotage
and obstruct total war against
Hitler now show that such a
danger is by no means ruled out.

(Continued on Page 8)
See CHURCHILL

SHORT
JABS

by OV Bill

Press Drive

HE Press Drive is off 1

good start. The enthusj:
with which the readers of
paper are entering into the 8)
of the drive to raise a $4,000 ©
taining fund is an endorsem«
The. People and the polic
advocates.

It is not to be expected —
everyone will endorse 100 ~
cent every line in ours pap
but is there eny paper of
kind? If so, I have never +!
it and if I did, I believe I wi
take issue with something ii
immediately. ;

These remarks are prelimir
to an appeal. This column, as
can read in another part of
paper, is urged to raise $150
donations, by securing subse @
tions, and by the sale of da
tickets and by any other me
known to honest financiers,
there are such animals.

This is not an SOS, but I @
want some helpers from the ra:
of those who are not associa
with any press committee. If -
are in this category, come
to the bookstore and talk thi
over. If you are satisfied t
the paper suits you, why shoul
you accept a quota of that $4
yourself. And if we get enoi§
lined up behind Ol’ Bill’s colu: }
we will show “them shipy }
guys” how to raise real mor

A Good Chance

ie this same connection,
have devised a plan wher
you might get a set of Leni
selected works for the mod
sum of two bits. This set of
volumes contains everything tf
is fundamentaj in Leninism. W
it as a guide, any worker Ww |
aims to do his share of the nec:
sary work of organizing the we
ers for victory, will be bet
equipped than if he had on i
bookshevles all the encycloped!
that were ever printed. T
knowledge acquired from Ler
himself is the base upon wh
ultimate victory will rest.

These books might not be
much use to some people, he
ever, but I know that does r
apply to the readers of this c
umn. I remember 2 case
one worker who went to
union school which lasted for
month or six weeks. For sixte |
hours a day, in school and |
home, he stewed over trade unir |
history, organization, policies a1
tactics, the growth and develo:
ment of working class politic
parties and other kindred sul
jects.

When the school finished he ha
reached the point where he we
competent to go out organizin'
and he did. Six months later E
was asked if he had kept up wit
the progress of the movement an
still read the books he had bee
introduced to at the school.

His reply was an eye-opener. H
had been too busy and had n
time to read anthing, not even th
working class paper which car
ried the news of the phase o
the movement he belonged to.

Had he had Lenin’s selectet
works at hand this could not hay
happened. His interest -woult
never have been allowed to flaj
andn he would have made tim
to read, no matter how busy hi
was with other work or how ne
cessary such work might be.

With a little help there is nt
reason in the world why this col
umn’s contribution should stop a
$150. If we aim at $200, we ar
sure to make $150. If we aim stil
higher and call it $500, we will hi
sure to make $300. How about it’