ene Around the Slipways By Charles Saunders Te atmosphere of Vancouver is fresh and invigorating compared with clammy, sticky, heavy, oppressive Ottawa. Perhaps it is due to the terrible weight of responsibility centered there, or possibly, because so many of them are all wet. There is a heavy air of responsibility around the place, and the harrassed and careworn expressions found in government offices can only be understood after you yourself have en- countered the huge piles of red tape, and struggled to present a problem against a mass of rules and regulations. The atmosphere is more understandable after we hear such blurbs as that recently let loose by Humphrey Mitchell, min- ister of labor. He is certainly not a minister for labor, and most of us are of the opinion he is a minister against labor. The present unrest, leading to stoppages of vital war produc- tion throughout the country, can be traced directly to the arrogant mishandling of this eminent statesman. If it had not been for the good sense of the workers in the BC ship- yards, Mitchell would have precipitated a province-wide strike over the continuous production program. I am willing to believe, for the sake of argument, that Mitchell is a patriotic loyal Canadian who wishes to do his utmost to further the war effort, and to offer him a suggestion, in good faith. It is my considered opinion, and, I believe, one that is shared by the majority of trade unionists ,the greatest contribution Humphrey Mitchell could make toward industrial peace, and all-out war production, would be to tender his resignation from the office he is so obviously unfitted to hold. e eo manpower shortage is one instance of incredible bungling. Men are taken from the woods and mines for the armed forces; they are taken from the shipyards for the armed forces. They take them from the shipyards for the woods and mines, and the present muddle in the shipyards has all the foremen tearing their hair. Every yard is short of stagers, and these men, who are underpaid anyway for the work they are doing, are being asked to work with as many as 60 men short. Meanwhile foremen try to hold the men they have in the lower paid brackets, and stand in the way of promotion. There is no plan, just muddling along from one situation to the next. It is obvious that the government has no over-all manpower policy. Something will have to be done, and quickly, if the Vancouver shipyards are going to meet their commit- ments. Already there are suggestions that one shift will have to be cut out entirely, and the whole working of the continuous production plan is in jeopardy. Meanwhile some of the employers show a remarkable stu- pidity in the face of such a problem. Men are fired on the flimsiest of excuses, and no real attempt made to keep them on the job. Numerous cases coming to my attention could be easily settled short of dismissal. In some cases it is a foreman who must preserve his authority and dignity; in others, mis- understandings that could be explained away. Surely, when the situation is so desperate, we can stop long enough to iron these matters out. e IS admitted that it is going to be necessary to employ hundreds of women to alleviate the situation, but still no real preparations are being made to facilitate this. In most yards accommodations for women are being prepared, but so far no real attempt to solve the problem of children has been made. In other cities where it has been necessary to em- ploy women on a large scale nurseries have been provided, but, so far this problem has not been seriously tackled here. If the manpower shortage is going to be solved, then this must be tackled immediately. What is needed is a series of nurseries centerd in the various districts, where children can be competently cared for and fed from around 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., so that working mothers can put in their shift free from worry or anxiety about their offspring. nas. Boeing Unionists ers in boosting production. Active members of the Vancouver Aeronautical M Photo shows Pete Canavan, pop 756, receiving an award and a handshake having turned in a suggestion to speed pro business agent, while international vice-presi Back Production Committee echanics Union have always been 4 ular vice-president of I from Boeing superintendent Harry Foste duction. Standing at right is Tom Price, 1 dent Steve Lyons (seated) looks on. 2 Anti-Axis Fighting Rages In Yugoslavia BERNE, Switzerland—Bloody battles on widely separated sectors of southern Yugoslavia are continuing, with the People’s Liberation Army holding firm and repulsing repeated Axis at- tacks, says the radio “Free Yugoslavia,” summarizing the past week's fighting. While guerrilla actions are re ported everywhere throughout the country, the heaviest and most or- ganized warfare is taking place in the Lika region of central Bosnia and the territory at the southeast- ern corner of Montenegro, Herzo- govina and Serbia. The radio repeatedly stresses this week the Piva-Volujaak-Fot- za sector and the nearby region of Gatsko and Tentiscoe, where the partisan armies are carrying through tactical counter-attacks. The radio cities the rivers of Piva, Tara, Drina, Lao and Su- leska as the regions of fierce fighting, with the partisans at- tacking strongly at the latter river. All reports emphasize also the dimensions of the German air ac- tivities, which have delivered heavy blows at many undefended towns and villages in southern Continued Millmen work in sawmills, mecessary under BO labor laws, have car- ried no stipulation as to time and one-half pay, though such a prin- ciple has long been recognized in the lumber industry of Wash- ington and Oregon. That it marks a big econtribu- tion, both by the TWA and the pro- vincial department of labor, to the raising of morale and increasing of production so necessary to an early Allied victory jis conceded generally by labor men through- out the province. DR. W. J. CURRY DENTIST 207 West Hastings Street Tel. PAc. 1526 — SHIPYARD WORKERS! Bat at the Sugar Bowl Cafe NORTH VAN Ve Yugoslavia. But the most recent communigues point out that the partisan anti-aircraft units are in- creasingly successful in lessening the power of the Axis air attack. The Nazis scored a success in taking the town of Piva, after bringing up reinforcements, but enemy advances from this town have been checked. Rourke’s Death Mourned Here There passed away in the Royal Columbian Hospital, New West minster, on June 24, J. E. Rourke, an old battle-scarred veteran of elass struggle in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Thirty-five years of the 69 he had lived were spent in this part Continued ‘ Crate | of Montreal, lieutenant o | Arcand, Paul Bouchard ~ Chaloult, the secret Kni | Jacques Cartier, the Nazi : in Professor Hirkconnell’s — jan Canadian Committee Then there are the 13 were the open leaders of National Unity Party in | before the war and close ators of Charles Crate | Here are their names, a | them still free: Herbert — Kuley, Joseph Magee Watt, Henry Vanderwini | Smale, Leo Fortney, Will / ton, E. Wadllace, Charl © William Morton, J. McB | ald Bernardi. z Canadian labor has - | drawn attention to the } these known fascists ani a ed wholesale cleanups © RCMP moves against ti” feels that Canada’s -t- war is in danger of bt fr of the world doing the jobs of the “Jimmie Higginses.” His heart and soul were in the labor movement. He was one of the most active figures in the unemployed move- ment in Surrey in the depression period and he fought valiantly for the rights of the small farmers and ranchers. During the drives for the labor press he walked miles raising sub- scriptions and selling literature, for in the spread of knowledge, he knew, lay the hope of better or- ganization of the workers, political and industrial. =4 Soviet Women in the War Against Hitlerism 14 Stories, including one about Pavlichenko; 76 Pages — 40c. WE CARRY ON 172 Pages — 75c THE HEROIC DEFENCE OF SEVASTOPOL 128 Pages — 65c UNIVERSAL NEWS 188 East Hastings taged. 4 John Stan | Barrister, Solicitor, : 508 Holden Bld — 16 E. Hastings St. Te! 828 E. Hasting MODERATE RENTS! 1100% Union House _ Meet Me at KING’S for a Square Mi THE BEST 0 Your Host .. GEORG 212 Carrall Sit PAINT =," Mills’ 156 West Cordor Buy now while buyin’