VagpepeesOaeEVOOETYEUERUTSEAIIL i F or: ing that the CCF hands of the Tories, -detriment of the Ontario, warns us too many people be | the phoney, propa- I: GCF it will be hi- lay we go for the the federal election: Stop and remember ‘> of their ivory tow- -sive super-socialism a to unite with the ; progressive forces ve licked the Tories, clear where the ‘he Tory victory be- ist a short two weeks if. J. Coldwell, still the warm glow of ‘Ontario, beaming a- midst of his provine- jon colleagues in BC, iz the sword of CCF n one hand and a election promises in stood like a popinjay lroom of the Hotel and cried defiance ces of all who dared that the CCF land- 1 sweep us to CCF “osperity ‘in the fed- “ns. J. Coldwell, -political ‘aes success in poli- jolteacher turned strutted and breath- y fire and brimstone 2 hundred ‘rents salaamed and ys of the political ickle apparently, and B. Jolliffe, the CCF wounds, zat the people of On- = pay heavily for aim and his party in- tical ashean, his spir- ‘er, Coldwell, makes HAT DO SvanuynannecrUausauyaVOSEeusURUAQQ5008000000 00S 000RS S205 500 7255 SE200TESED IEEE PELE 'e GCE been willing a-lately, the shining” £ Horatio Algerish - ehteousness; ~~ while~ dewey-- suauuvecvarvaresuvayeancusoronpenuynaneynrany0s0acegues0e0 C2000 S000 0000505 400000 00L00E 1201 0EECEEES EE LLDETEEYAELEEEREEELEEEELLELEDESY YOU THINK? considerably humbled pleas to the electorate to send “many, many. CCF’ers to the next par- liament.” It is a rather stunned silence interspersed with squawks that “everyone done us wrong” that come from the power-bloated CCF leaders to- day: Ignoring the obvious les- son ofthe Ontario election they continue to try to salvage something of their political \prestige from the ruins of On- tario. 5; It is not enough to hurl barbs at the CCF for the debacle they suffered in Ontario. It is time, and there is still time, to rum- inate the wreckage, to consider. what can prevent the CCF-en- gineered catastrophe from hap- pening to all of Canada. The labor vote must rally around a clear-headed yjrogram of co- alition to defeat. the Tories. The CCF has lost the confidence of the people by its stupidly partisan line. There ‘still re- ‘main the tried and true leaders” of the working class, the Labor- Progressive candidates. The * working class vote must rally around :trusted leaders of the people, who have proven by their history that they deserve to represent the people. The Labor - Progressive candidates are the only candidates who will ensure the people a strong ‘voice, speaking for their inter- ests, in the next government. JAMES GARSTANG, - Vancouver. Housing To the Editor: While the federal election campaign has. occupied the stage for the better part of the last six weeks, a basic problem has continued to exist in Van- couver. This problem is hous- ing. The city. council, ‘well known for their procrastination in’ this regard, have more-or- less been given a momentary respite from any action on housing. : | | jeader” in Ontario licks his | : pitiful. | if | u're Playing with Dynamite, Coldwell PAGE 5 — PACIFIC ADVOCATE It is to be remembered that the influx of returned service- men, coupled with the opening of tourist trade, and still in- ereasing worker’s population, ‘are making Vancouver’s hous- ing situation loom more and more important: The situation is fast approaching the critical stage, The Trades and Labor Coun- cil, Vancouver Labor Council, Citizen’s Rehabilitation Com- mittee, and other groups have already underlined the need for a realistic housing program for Vaneouver. Such a program must be put into operation im- mediately. The citizens of Vancouver must rally around those organ- izations who are offering lead- ership in ‘this question so that immediate action may be effect- ed to alleviate a grave condi- ‘tion. JAMES FURLOW. Racism To the Editor: The Progressive Conserva- tives, as part of their election propaganda, have raised a very dangerous issue. Their assaults on the Japanese are tinged with near-fascist racist jingoism of the worst type, and constitute a danger to our basic .concept of democracy, While the Japan- ese issue in itself is well left until after the war for solution, the dangers arising from any form of race-baiting is not iso- lated to any single racial group. It is a short step from Jap- baiting to Jew-baiting. And as short a step from Jew-baiting to red-baiting. The full effects of the Tory campaign against the Japanese might well be felt in the trade union movement. It is to be remembered that Hitler, in making the Jews his first scapegoat, travelled in easy stages to attaks on all and sundry. None were spared in his gangster attacks on all who opposed his ruthless rise to power, and the high-powered ears that took “enemies of the state” to murder in the night and lime-filled graves carried Jews and Germans, reds and liberals. Trade unionists and progres- sive people mtst be on their guard against racist attacks in any form. When a campaign is conducted against any racial, religious or national group by another group there is some- thing about that campaign that smells strongly of fascism. Racism is fascism regardless of whom the butt of the attack may be. The French government has offered a strong lead by con- ducting a judicial investigation into all anti-semitic organiza- tions and have banned these or- anizations from further opera- tion. Our next government will strike a strong blow for na- tional unity and future har- mony if it passes legislation to prevent the persecution of any person or persons for reason of race, color, creed or national origin. Such legislation must be provided with teeth to make it effective. The Soviet Union has set the example; it is necessary for all forward-looking coun- tries to follow suit. _ FRED WIELMOT. ° ar SRUUEDEDESOUERERRSTEQUUSRUGNSUICUSSAUGTUUOCUUDLCHESORSRUSTORSGE DEG AT Short Jabs wy o si cauapeancensensneunsunuanenenneccocanesnennauensanunnaanesssUnsunauusrsayeuneaspoesa2ereeeOpeDResOAEYLEL2 2208 Election Wisdom EvEsY election has its humorous interludes which add to the general fund of the world’s hilarity. Among the stolid, phlermatic folks who fill out their span of life im the British Columbia coast jungle, however, the humor is not so effervescent as, let us say, in Hollywood, - where losers of election bets may have to push a peanut with their noses for two blocks or more along Sunset Boulevard or execute some other equally elevating performance, but then election punters here do not have the same yen for publicity as the inhabitants of that great metropolitan center of American culture. Here, the humor partakes more of the nature of tragedy. The line between these two qualities is not very wide. It is like the capillary line of demarcation between the needle-wit and the nit-wit which makes one of Shakespeare’s characters proclaim that “Madness is akin to genius.” While listening to a radio commentary last Sunday evening, I heard one of our high-priced columnists advance a “Season” for his political preferences that was a great source of merriment among socialists, even in the early days of B.C. polities; one which was only credited to “political morons,” people whose sole interest in politics was the casting of their ballot on election day. : I laughed out loud. It semed so funny. On second thoughts, however, the tragic aspect supervened and I became saddened almost to the verge of tears. It was heart-breaking to think that a man who is looked upon by many as one of the most enlightened political analysts in our midst should have to be placed in the class referred to above. But that is just what it amounted to. Elmore Philpott was the speaker and the statement that knocked the wind out of me was the old bromide, “I don't believe in losing my vote.” “’Political Morons” Just what does that mean? It means that Philpott, who writes about politics almost every day in the year, would rather vote for something he does not want and get it, than vote for something he does want and not get it, providing he can boast afterwards that he backed a winner, just like the “political morons” who take no imterest in politics, who know nothing about programs, have no conception about the consequences that may follow from the way they mark their ballots and who will show no further interest in politics until next election daly, when they will do it ali over again. What are the consequences of this line of reasoning, if it can be called reasoning? In a horse race it is all right to want to back a winner or to put it the other way, “not to lose two dollars.” But politics is another thing! There may have been occasions when, the dice being loaded, the most reactionary elements were indicated as the surest of election. Fhe man who does not believe in ‘losing his vote” would be committed to vote for candidates of that reaction, will vete for them, even if they were Hitler and Mussolini, for both of these ghouls were at one time in the position when they appeared to be surest of election. And that certainly would not .be the lesser of two evils! Philpott has done some very good work in breaking down prejudices against the progressive forces and their program particularly in the lad against fascism, but see where his fear of losing his vote has led im. He recommends his following, which is extensive, to vote for a selection of B.C. candidates which he announced in the same broadcast. One of these is a Tory, two are Liberals, one Labor-Progressive, one Independent Labor one Indepndent CCF, and the rest are CCF. He does not propose or advocate, or claim that they have, a comr mon program. The lumping of these candidates together is unprincipled. It is done on the basis that the people who vote for them will not be “losing their votes.” Since he is so catholic in his choice as to include almost all parties naturally I can agree with some of them, not, however, because I don’t want to lose my vote, but for the simple reason that they stand for the things I want—and they are the only three candidates on Philpott’s. list who are in favor of uniting the progressive elements in Canadian life against the possibility of Tory-impoved fascism. Philpott only had one Progressive-Conservative on his slate. Had he waited until after the outcome of the Ontario elections and seen the results of the dog-in-the-manger, anti-unity policy of the CCK, he might have had some more Tories on his list and a few less CCF’ ers. “Out of the Mouths” On a MacMillan club quiz program a few days previously, a cons- petition between two elementary schools was staged. The schools were Tecumseh and Strathcona, both dyed-in-the-wool working class. The questions dealt with in the broadcast related to the elections. One little Chinese girl from Strathcona was asked to name a major Canadian political party. Without hesitation and spiritedly she answered, “The Labor-Progressive Party.” The manner in which that little Chinese: elementary school. girl answered that question showed she had a better understanding of a political set-up than all his experience has taught Philpott, whose lone- wolf tacties are not only futile but a menace in a situation such as we find ourselves in at this time. As for myself, I always “lost my vote” voting for something I wanted, except on two occasions when, in the mistaken belief that the CCF might be made the nucleus for a powerful united front movement in Canada, I voted for CCF candidates. The CCF’ers were elected but I really did lose my vote on these two occasions. In this election I will vote Labor-Progressive in Vancouver East. If there were no LPP candidates I would not vote for MacInnis anyway. IT remember when he was an alderman in the City Council and the police were clubbing the unemployed im the streets; MacInnis said in the Council chamber, “I have no criticism of the way the chief of police is handling the unemployed.” SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1945. < oe ae eee