ck hi; ukivalrus aircraft being hoisted by crane on. board the British leship HIVS Warspite, famous for her successful attack | YG yg in 1913 but underwent aut [ie ~ long f bs r0f not We = = tg S 3A bor Board _}cision <7 S that the new members of The Nat ‘GVarvik at the head of British destroyers in April, 1940, ‘7 still doing fine work for the Navy. The Warspite was laid extensive reconstruction in his Week’s Roundup ional War Labor Board has handed down its first two decisions since it was newly-constituted, and in both awards there are obvious indica- the board are going to adopt ing uch More positive approach to the whole question of labor |) tration. elf’ the steel industry decision Wee were soMe recommenda- mgs with which labor will disa- > @, particularly the failure to mide certain big steel plants ing2r a national industry cate- sai. Principally, however, the sd must be conimended for es- ¢eishing a minimum wage rate a0 cents plus the cost-of-living i 1S in a national industry. This Ge orms with the Trades and or Congress’ demand for a 50- br national minimum for all acers and will tend to set a ~medent for other sections of adian industry where sub- *“§ dard wages are paid. Sim- *; their decision in the Mont- ‘aircraft case to increase the of living bonus to a flat a week. This amounts to hing less than a condemnation the Quebec Regional Board, will again set the pace for * parts of the country where e i i j2achers fonvention From now BC school portant dec the bonus is below the govern- ment standard. There will be another result from the above decisions—open- ing of new avenues for labor and Management to find a solution to disputes. This stems from the board's decision te permit the ap- peal by trade unions from a de- cision of the Regional War Labor Board, and their accompanying recommendation that regional boards need not be limited to local and ‘regional conditions alone in considering disputes. Such a broadening out will un- Goubtedly assist in equalizing conditions as between one area and another. ~Qn the whole, there is good reason to believe that the new setup has already performed a service to labor, justifying hopes held out at the time the change to the three-man board ‘was made. until their Easter convention, teachers will be considering what many believe to be the most im- ision in their history; whether ‘not to affiliate the BC Teachers’ Federation to organized @ior. A recent vote on the question showed fifty-six percent mtavor of the move, the rest opposed. ibe issue over which the teach- § camps are divided are simple. #2 group believes that by work- f with persons whose economic solems are similar to their own fuld bring nothing but good, Bt labor affiliation would ce- nt the bonds between teachers fl the community, and that only the ranks of labor can they il active support in their fight decent wages. The second up is afraid that by associat | closely with labor, teachers i “Jose caste.” hYhile most union leaders have | other desire than to see the thers democratically decide at course they should follow, i offer full support to organ- d teachers whether they choose work with either CCL or AFL or councils, it is possible that eer persons might prefer the chers to remain a separate ‘ body rather than to have them affiliate to the rival group. Teachers, well aware of this, view with something approach- ing alarm a statement made by Alex MacAuslane, CCL vice- president, at a meeting of Van- ecouver Labor Council. “T believe,’ MacAuslane is re- ported as saying, “that in view of the small majority vote, the teachers would do well to give the matter much serious considera- tion before they take the step of affiliating the BCTE to the or- ganized labor movement.” Teachers feel that this state- ment, coming so soon after Van- couver Trades and Labor Council chairman Birt Showler told the press that in his opinion the BCTFE should immediately affili- ate to a trade union group, could be interpreted as an attempt to block the entire project. ° IN REVIEW “KEEPER OF THE FLAME, * an MGM production, starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. pele RICKENBACKER was a hero. He flew a plane like an eagle, so that little boys in the fields looked up at almost any plane that passed and whispered, “Gee, I betcha that’s Eddie.” Eddie spent days on an open raft, and when he came home again, crowds gave him the kind of weleome American crowds have perfected, with bands, and ticker-tape floating down from office windows. Robert Forrest was a hero, too. As a private in the first World War he took a hill single-handed, and crept forward under enemy fire to bring his wounded captain back to safety. When he returned to America crowds cheered him, and reporters probably met him at the boat and asked him how it felt to be a hero. After Eddie Rickenbacker came back, he began to make speeches in which he declared that while workers should be patriotic enough to work over- time for straight pay, the taxing of excess profits would remove the “incentive” to production. He headed a company that hired scabs and paid coolie wages, and became a front for the notorious America First Committee. When Robert Forrest came back, he became a big: business man. He, too, made speeches, and became the leader of a movement named “Forward America,’’ which, like America First, be- lieved in “100 percent American- ism.” The story of Eddie Ricken- backer, of course, is all too true. The story of Robert Forrest, as told in the new MGM movie, “Keeper of the Flame,’ is more in the nature of the warning. The picture opens with Robert Forrest's death as his car crashes over a bridge during a storm, Next we are shown a young journalist back from war-torn Europe, to whom Forrest is a symbol] of all America stands for, and who intends to write the great man’s biography. From the first, however, an air of mystery surrounds Horrest. His home is a Mansion surrounded by walls guarded by Iastiffs. His wife is obviously hiding something. His secretary is an overly-affable, secretive snarling young man, who is almost too eager to please. And why, the journalist wonders, did the mem- bers of the Robert Forrest Boys’ Club march to the funeral in military formation, and wear a Special type of shirt? Why does the gatekeeper’s boy, verging on hysteria; insist that it was his fault that Forrest died? Why did the gatelkeeper’s daughter, form- erly Forrest’s secretary, suffer a nervous breakdown? It is a story of the journalist’s Search for the answers to these questions which the film relates. Bit by bit we are shown the real Forrest, the man who dominated all who came into contact with him. We are shown his power- mad, whalf-insane mother, who idolizes her son, Finally, in perhaps the finest Scene in the picture, we are taken to Forrest’s study, where his widow reveals to the journalist all the hidden plans for a fascist seizure of power. Behind locked doors are lists of men and organi- zations which would be “useful,” the Ku Klux Klan, and old soldiers who, failing in business, are hungry for the feel of a uni- form. There are newspaper articles, ready for publication, subtly anti-semetic, anti-Negro, anti-labor, anti-trade union. And there are other plans—to provide that if any one group should be- come too strong, it can be weak- ened to preserye the balance of power. And Forrest was on his way to meet saboteurs, his wife discloses, on the night he died. The real essence of the picture, however, is yet to come: it is the conflict between the two ways of acting on the knowledge of For- rest’s treachery. His widow feels that the facts should be kept secret, so that the people may keep their hero — the belief in whom is the burning flame in their hearts. But the journalist thinks differently. A New Book by The Webbs Sereen Actress Martha Raye shown with some of the souv- enirs picked up during a tour of the North African war fronts where she entertained American troops. “The people,” he explains gently, “are not children. They desire the truth, and they must have it.” Qnly in this way can they keep that greater flame—the love of freedom—burning in their lives. It is almost incredible to movie- goers fed on a diet of “Comrade x” and “Tennessee Johnston,” to realize that “Keeper of the Flame” came from a Hollywood movie studio. However, not only did MGM do a magniifcent job on the production; they also as- Signed two of their top stars, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, to the leading roles. Also seen is the newcomer Rich- ard Whorf. MGM is to be praised for a worthy achievement. May the good work continue! Cynthia Carter. “Soviet Communism’ Condensed THE TRUTH ABOUT SOVIET RUSSIA; by Sidney and Bea- trice Webb. Longmans Green & Co. $1.25. To all who read and admired the Webbs’ book “Soviet GCom- munism; A New Civilization,” as well as the host of new readers it is bound to find, this latest di- gest of part of the work of the celebrated pair will be more than welcome. ? According to the publishers’ note, “Truth About Soviet RusSia” is a “Summary of the conclusions reached by Beatrice and Sidney Webb as to the internal organiza- tion of the Soviet Union (1941-42). It is reprinted, with modifications and additions from the introduc- tion to the re-issue of their book Soviet Communism.’ According to Bernard Shaw, whose introduction is definitely good Yeading, the Webbs themselves are a “super- extraordinary pair. I have never met anyone like them, either sep- arately or in their most fortunate conjunction. Hach of them is an English force; and their marriage was an irresistible reinforcement.” The book is divided into four parts. The first consists of Shaw’s article on the writers, their his- tory, meeting, inevitable collabora- tion on many works which have become classics in their field. The second is “The New Civiliza- tion,” by Beatrice Webb. Many questions repeatedly asked by the public are answered here: is Stalin a dictator? is the USSR a Political democracy? will Russia cooperate on a new world order? Out of much personal experience in the Soviet Union, Beatrice . Webb answers these and many more simply and directly without in- volving the reader in deep dis- cussions on the inner workings of parties, or governments. Part three of the book is the complete text of the new consti- tution of 1936, translated from the Russian by Anna Louise Strong. The book ends with postscripts on the “Rights and Basic Duties of Man as Laid Down by the Gon- stitution of the USSR,” by Sidney and Beatrice Webb. The Webbs, says Shaw, “unhesi- tatingly gave the Soviet system their support, and announced it definitely as a new Civilization.” In this short book (28 pages) they explain why.