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THE PEOPLE

Published every Wednesday by The People Publishing Co., Room 104, Shelly Building,
119 West Pender Street, Vancourer, B.C. Telephone: MArine 6929.

Epiror . Har Grier
MANAGING EpIToR -.- ste. AL PARKIN
Busrvess MANAGER ......-...----.- MINERVA COOPER

Six Months—$1.00 One Year—$2.00
Printed at Broadway Priniets Limited, 151 Esst 8th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C.

The Crucial Turn

HE May Day celebrations for 1943 will not only signalize

labor’s all-out participation in the war effort, but its de-
mand for an immediate transforming of mere slogans for vic-
tory into actual military action on a second European front.

The urgency of such a move becomes readily apparent by
a glance at the military situation on the Eastern front. Here
the lull in large-scale fighting continues, with two factors
accounting for that lull: the absence of the second front and
the spring thaw.

But both sides are preparing for decisive battles to come.
An article in Pravda points out that the recent German coun-
terattack which recaptured Kharkov was unsuccessful because
it failed to achieve its main objective of establishing bridge-
heads across the Donetz for the coming offensive. It also points
out that Hitler had to call on his strategic reserves to save his
armies from utter rout. It says further that the Red Army
has established a superiority in armament and is well prepared
for the coming campaign.

As the decisive moment of the whole war approaches, the
real question is whether the Anglo-American armies will
launch their operations in Europe at the most advantageous

points and in time to coincide with the major battles on the
Eastern front.

It is expected, of course, that the Axis will undertake some
diversionary actions, perhaps in the Pacific, perhaps in the
Mediterranean or Balkan areas, timed with a new Russian
drive and aimed at delaying the second front. But it would be
nothing short of calamity to be taken in by these maneuvers,
when it is possible to undertake decisive action in Europe now.

The people have a right to expect. that such an effort will
be made soon. Keeping in mind the delays and disappoint-
ments of the past year, as well as the hectic activity of the
appeaser-defeatist elements whose influence reaches into the
highest circles, labor and the people insist that the second front
be opened. The great May Day celebrations here and across
Canada should help to set loose throughout the country a
mighty cry for the second front now.

*

Ralph Bell Again!

hee urgent need of a complete overhaul of Canada’s labor
relations setup, partly conceded by the government in the
series of conferences now being conducted by the National
War Labor Board in Ottawa, is given added point this week
in the dispute over rest periods in the Vancouver aircraft
industry.

The issue here is a perfect example of a confused labor
policy twice confounded. Over the heads of the management
and the union at Canadian Pacific Airlines overhaul plant at
New Westminster, where a union agreement providing for
rest periods has been in effect for over three months, Ralph
Bell, director-general for aircraft production, has stepped in
and arbitrarily ruled that rest periods “are out.’ This in the
face of the company’s own statements that the rest period
system in operation has already boosted production greatly.
Bell is even stated to have ruled that unless the company ob-
serves his ukase, the plant must be shut down.

The question here is—what right has Mr. Bell to interfere
in the matter of an agreement between the Aeronautical Me-
chanics Union and CP Airlines? The answer must be that he
has no such right. All such matters should rightly come under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor and the War
Labor Board. That Mr. Bell should have been allowed to pro-
voke a dispute is further proof of the need for a clearcut labor
policy, under which the authority of the War Labor Board and
other government agencies in war production are clearly de-
fined. Until such a condition is ‘brought about, irresponsible
people can continue to create disputes and hold up production.

Meantime, Ralph Bell, who has on previous occasions gone
out of his way to indulge in the most extreme anti-union out-
bursts, would be well advised to confine his attention to the
real job—that of promoting the increased production of planes.

There is plenty of work for him in that field, as any worker
in aircraft can testify.

The CGF Convention

By TOM McEWEN

Te tenth annual convention of the BC section of the CCE
has just completed its sessions. The consensus of opinion
among the top leaders ‘of the CCF is that it was a very suc-
cessful convention. An estimation of the gathering from press
reports, and from stray bits of political gossip from convention

observers, show that there may be several interpretations of

the term “successful.”

First and foremost, the mighty
conflict of the war against Ger-
man fascism, with all its deep
problems of- national unity and
war effort, were merely incidental
in the deliberations of the con-
ference. Post-war planning and
CCF government; the interesting
topic of how to pick a cabinet—
whether by party caucus or party
leader, ete.; fiscal policies and
taxation by a CCF government,
all occupied a good deal of the
time of the convention.

@
Te keynote speech by Harold
Winch, MILA, recited that

“the CCF is a Socialist party and
will remain a Sociali§t party”...
“the steps to be taken are merely
the steps of a revolutionary gov-
ernment aiming at -the revolu-
tionizing of our system ... and
we intend to be such a militant
government ...” In the opinion
of many, both in the conyention
and on the outside, the professed
socialist aims of the CCF suffered
a decided setback. The socialism
of the CCF as enunciated by Mr.
Winch was whittled down by the
convention to a program of par-
liamentary reform, as a sort of
six percent rate of interest tran-
sitional stage of social Treform,
looking towards CCF socialism—
or more correctly, state capital-
ism, although, of course, this last
would be emphatically denied.

fl Bon greatest single prerequis-
ite to the idea of Socialism—
whether in a single province or
the country as a whole, is the
unity of the common people. This
unity can be effected either or-
ganically or through mutual un-
derstanding and cooperation be-
tween the various groups and or-
ganizations, It could, and would
give tremendous impetus to Can-
ada’s war effort. It would clear
away many of the present ob-
stacles that result from inept and
inadequate government-~- policies.
In any event it is absurd to talk
-of socialism now or later, with-
out first of all setting all the vital
problems of decisively smashing
German fascism.

The CCF convention shelved all
proposals of unity on any basis
whatever. There are many people
within the CCF who. would like
to see better cooperation between
CCF and the Communists. There
are also many people who would
have liked to have seen a real
democratic basis for trade union
affiliation to the CCF worked out.

The convention adopted “in
principle” the proposals of trade
union affillation, but the conven-
tion “machine” sidetracked every
practical proposal that would have
realized this highly desirable
unity. Why? There may be a
number of reasons. We suspect
the main reason is that the fear
of communist or progressive in-
filtration into the ranks of the
CGF would endanger the parlia-
mentary ambitions and machine
control of the Websters, Winches,
Gargraves, et al.

On the basis of this fear the
progress of trade union affilia-
tion was effectively retarded if
not entirely blocked.

ISCUSSION on any kind of
unity with the Communists,
organic, formal or otherwise, was
very effectively sidetracked, al-
though a number of resolutions
on this matter have come in from

CCF clubs throughout the prov-
ince, One would imagine that the
CCF, calling itself a “socialist”
party, and approaching the re-
sponsibility of government, would
find the moral strength in its pol-
icies and program to welcome for-
mal unity with the Communists.
Qne would imagine, that on the
basis of the hard lessons which
history hag taught on the col-
lapse of European social-democ-»*
racy, the CCF in Canada would
avail itself of every opportpnity
to unite the ranks of labor for
the tremendous tasks with which
the future confronts the entire
working class.

But it must be frankly stated
that on these questions as in oth-
ers, the CCF prefers to stake its
future upon the goodwill of fi-
nance capital, rather than upon
the solidarity of the working
class. This fact is clearly set
forth in the convention fiscal pol-
icy of the BC Section of the CCF,
if and when they become the goy-
ernment of BC.

HERE is little to quarrel with

on the general policies adopt-
ed by the convention on post-war
reconstruction. Health insurance,
education, social insurance, all of
it can be found in the shape of
Beveridge, Marsh or other post-
war “plans” now in vogue. One
can even find it in the newly-
evolved program of the Progres-
sive-Conservatives — with ‘slight
modifications. The war policies
adopted by the Convention are
worthy of support, in that if car-
ried out, they enable the greater
mobilization and production of
resources for total war. But one
cannot avoid the suspicion that
they are advanced with an eye
on the ballot box, and with suit-
able “solialist’’ trimmings to
make them attractive.

HE convention dealt at some

length with constitutional
changes to the BNA Act to in-
sure the passage of sneeded .so-
cial legislation.

A socialist convention would
have seen that these changes are
taking place now—on the battle-
fronts of the world, and that
constitutional blueprints, like a
good deal of other post-war
“planninne”’ is a luxury the com-
mon people can well afford to
forego at the moment in the in-
terests of the larger task on hand
—that of determining the out-
come of the war itself.

H% lively debate developed on
the attitude of the CCF to the
Soviet Union, both as reflected
in the columns of the CCF press
and in the attitude of CCF lead-
ers in absenting themselves from
such anniversary occasions as the
Red Army and November revolu-
tion “anniversaries, and so on. A
number of leading CCF members
took the position that the CCF
should make it plain that it stands
behind the Soviet Union and de-
clares its friendship with the So-
viet Union.

N the whole the provincial

CCF convention marks very
limited progress, if estimated
from the basis of the burning
need of sectional and national
unity annd the country’s war ef-
fort. If judged from the angle
of a party seeking power with a
reformist program under a “So=
Cialist’ facade, it can be con-
sidered highly successful.

. long or the newspaper aad

-item was first noticed by Tr

- Mr Blaylock, too,

SHORT
JABS ©

by OV Bill

More Humor
PART of last week’s caluy
was squeezed out at the pr

shop; the manuscript was |

was too short, one or the oth
But because it has a direct be
ing on our sense of humor here ©
the Coast and puts us in the s:
tion of the race from which {
most is to be @oped, I am ~
peating it this week. The ba

McEwen and the others hr
been greeted with loud and 5”
tained laughter throughout 7.
province. a °

On the Bank of Comme;
building at the corner of Ha
ings and Granville there is
ARP air raid shelter sign int
now familiar red, white and b
color scheme, announcing t
there is an air raid shelter
the basement.

Underneath it and in the sa
color scheme is another sign
forming possible air raid y
tims that the shelter is open o
during banking hours. It is
be hoped. that the Japanese f
cist war lords have been notif
that banking hours are fr
10 to 3 and that they will :
operate.

Profitless

Te annual report of the
Power Corporation, - publis!
last week, shows that gross re
nues for 1942 are the highest
record. But, says Mr. Mur.
the net result shows very lh
ehange from. last year. L
year, of course, the BC Collec!
didn’t pay either.

adds

little contribution to this “cc
edie humgine.” For four ye
now, we have been hearing t
the Consolidated is contribut
to the war effort by “working
nothing.” What “working
nothing” means, is explained
the annual report of the cé,
pany; it means $3.72 per share
dividends. Not bad on a $
investment — $12,201,618.00 f
on $16,000,000.00 capital in
year

The real humor of the situat
may appeal more to the sh:
holders (mostly the CPR) thar
the smeltermen at Trail and
miners at Kimberley.

Press Drive

Y the time this appears

print there will be only
week left of the extended t
in the press drive. We have
ready gone well
over the $200 =
mark but if we |
are to double the
quota we will —
have to put on a
little squeeze. We)
will make that
mark; we must, |
for the sake of}
our prestige.

Do you know
Larry Davies?
This is Larrys}
picture here. He®é
may not be the :
youngest rooter for The Pe
but he is the youngest of
Bill’s committee.

He went out celebrating
tenth birthday last week
came back with $15 worth
subs. I think that’s a good
to celebrate anyone’s birth
Try it if you have a birth
If you don’t have a birthday §|
brate something else—getting
subs is the main idea. I ™
tell you anything about La
sales talk; that is his secret,
you can make up your own
help Ol’ Bill’s column to do
its quota. -