a
ay

federal: assistance on the’
#meils’ present plan for the
@sing of returning veterans.
ecopnizing that over 35,000
vicemen ‘who left Vancouver
anter the services will be re=
ying. within the next six
doths, and that in addition to
{se previously domiciled in
* couver a considerable number
# servicemen will move from
#2r parts of the country to
icouver, the Council feels that
tive plans must be got under
+ without any delay.
spokesman for the Council
P.A. that there has been too
m2h talk about housing on the
Bt of the civic officials and not
fugh action. He stated that it
sbout time that the city make
ne positive move in the direc-
fii of putting into operation
nite plans to meet the crisis
ffi will become more acute as
e passes, “The Council feels
ft a great deal of credit is due
Bihe 5,000 Homes Now Cam-
zn here in Vancouver, which
| ther basis for the work that
Council is going -ahead on
¢-7? the spokesman said.
| ;CULATIVE BUILDING
nes Council is of the opinion
)..although Some speculative
i ding has been carried on in
— couver, it does not begin to
t the needs of the commun-
and. moze than just speculat-
building is-nééessary at this
2, The spokesman-_stated that
sractors are not driven: by the
1 motive of providing housing
jalleviate. the present serious
lition, but to “clean up” on
need for houses. The swollen
h es. for houses (values having
mn in some cases 100 percent
more) are sufficient evidence
a majority of the present
‘ding is done merely to cash
“n the unfortunate. situation
- which house seekers find
saselves.
1e Council points to the fact
at the outbreak of war,
;ouver’s population was “in
‘region of 235,000, and since
“war the population has risen
309,000. In addition _to this
ease, It is expected that near-
40,000 returning ‘servicemen
swell the population and ag-
vate the already serious situ-
‘a. : :
ne Curtis report issued by the
eral government shows a
Sing shortage, for » normal
ds, of 17,731, and the City
meil figures indicate a need
14,771. This is without taking
; consideration the normal in-
ise due to birthrate. And a
‘kup through existing agen-
‘indicates that 8,000 families
aire homes immediately.
| tribute is-paid by the Coun-
to the .Emergenecy Shelter
linistration, which has given
alent service in the commun-
in its-attempts to deal with

‘4mpossible situation.” The
meil ‘points* out that the
iter .» Administration. cannot

‘e‘the-problem through their
acy, although conditions have
"1 ameliorated through their
‘plations and administration.
E POINT RESOLUTION
A Five-Point Resolution has}
| Prepared for distribution by.
Council, in which its propos-
to aid in the easing of the
sent situation are outlined.
neil plans include the release
Jancouver Barracks (formerly

program

yilitation Council .
o Avert City Housing Crisis —

Eee i itical housing crisis that exists in
} Acting to prevent a worsening of the already crit 2 oe
aeoiver ame environs, A.’ W. Cowley, Executive Director of the Vancouver Citi-
His’ Rehabilitation Council has been desp atched on a special trip to Ottawa to appeal

Moves

known-as; the Hotel Vancouver)
and that,it be established as a
Veterans’ Hostel for returning

service peresonnel, and that it be

operated by an independent body,
the details of control and opera-
tion be determined; the use of
the hutments. on the university
endowment Jands and their reno-
vation by Wartime Housing for
the use, as homes, for service
personnel taking university
courses under the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs.

Other. Council . proposals in-
clude the erection of 5000 homes
by the Department of Recon-
struction in cooperation
other federal departments, for
rental at a figure in keeping
with the needs and income of re=
turning overseas personnel ‘and
their families; the extension of
priorities and materials, man-
power and equipment, in order
that the project may be under-
taken with the utmost speed and
that the assistance of any public
body be enlisted that the project
may be concluded this year. Fin-
ally, to restrict speculation in

{ housing, that houses erected by

speculative builders be contin-
gent upon the issuance of a per-
mit establishing the lawful
ceiling prices for the said dwell-
ings, such permits to be issued
by the National Housing Author-
ity or other responsible body
determinig the ceilings, based on
local conditions.

SPECIAL SUBSIDIES

There are many other means
by which the housing situation
may be alleviated immediately.
These include special subsidies to
workers who build theby own
homes, and the release of prior-
ity materials to such builders;
the extension of the provisions of
the National Housing Adminis-
tration to assure finances for the
building of private homes by
small private builders; the imme-
diate implementation of regula-

with |

tions to govern ceiling prices on
houses; and the enforcing of
housing regulations compelling
persons who have vacant space
to rent space to persons requir-
ing living quarters.

The council spokesman scored
those home owners who oppose
building of low rental homes on
the basis that values will be
lowered ‘as a consequence of any
housing plan. He stated that “if
these home-owners have . any
faith at all in the future of Van-
couver, they will not oppose
moves to alleviate the present
situation.”

Broad. plans must be imple-

/ mented immediately. And in such

plans the Fetleral government
will be compelled to play a lead-
ing role. The City Council and
local contractor’s organizations
have proven that their attitude
is one of hindrance rather than
help in this crisis. The city
fathers have kicked the housing
football around for years, exam-
ining and’ rejecting numbers of
realistic proposals to meet the
housing needs. The result has
been that nothing has been done
and the situation has grown
more and more grave.

In a few short months, return-
ing servicemen will swell the
population with their wives and
families. If pressure is not
brought to bear on the civic of-
ficials, and leadership taken by
the. federal government in en:
forcing building to meet the situ-
ation, the whole issue may blow
up in the faces of our city ad-
ministrators. The housing ques-
tion has been kicked around too
long, and it is time that organ-
izations such as the Rehabilita-
tion Council, the Trade Union
councils, and other bodies fight-
ing for a _ realistic housing
program, had their demands con-
sidered and complied with, with-
out the obstruction at present
given to any plans by the Cit
Council. ;

World-Domestic Planning

Urged

y AFL-CIO

AFL and CIO spokesmen, testifying before the House
Committee on Postwar Military Policy in Washington this
week, expressed opposition of their organizations to peace-

time military training.

Peacetime conscription, stated
Nathan E. Cowan, chairman of
the CIO legislative committee,
“would -be equivalent to shouting
from the housetops that we do
not. believe it is possible to create
a world free from war.” Such a
-confession would be an invita-
tion to all other nations of the
world to follow in our footsetps,
and would mean the death of the
ideals which the United Nations
have “professed to be fighting
for.” He'called for a reduction in
world ‘armaments.

‘Lewis “G. Hines, AFL repre-
sentative, urged -that a health
should be substituted
fer, conscription. “We join with
many others,” he declared, “in
urging the development of effect-
ive international machinery to
deal with issues and situations
in advance of their reaching an
acute development that necessi-
tates’ war.”

-E 3 — PACIFIC ADVOCATE

Lack of action, the statement

Fism by Ukranian Foreign Minis-

| viet Ukraine would support the

said “threatens to impair the
morale and productive effciency
of the workers” at a time when
full production must be main-
tained to defeat Japan, and dem-
onstrates failure to cope with the
“Dasie need of maintaining the
purchasing power of wage earn-

‘ersito assure an expanding post-

war economy of full production

and full employment.” As the
minimum requirements for or-
derly reconversion and expand

ing economy, the CIO leaders de-
manded that the following steps
be' taken immediately.

@ Congressional action to pro-
vide adequate unemployment
ecmpensation to displaced war
workers. -

@ Revision of national
policy by the President.

@® Action by the War Produc
tion Board to assure resumption
of consumers goods production
in those plants where war con-
tracts have been terminated.

wage

H. W. HERRIDGE
People’s CCF MP for Kootenay
West

Manuilsky
Speaks Out

SS ie FREES Ss $3 ae.

The assembled delegates of the
San Francisco, Conference ; were
treated tq aastriking example of
“cards-on-the-table” bluntness
last week, in the form of critic-

ter Dmitri Z. Manuilsky_ directed
at the attempts to make the Big
Three violate their Yalta voting
agreement.

The Colombian delegate, Jesus
M. Yepes, who had been identi-
fied with those attempting to
force violation of the Yalta vot-
ing agreement, proposed that the
principle that members fulfil
their obligations under the char=
ter be amended to read “shall ful-
fil in good faith,” adding the
words “in good faith.”

Foreign Minister. Manuilsky
was recognized by the chair, and
speaking slowly in French, asked:
- “In International law, all ob-
ligations must be made in good
faith. Why repeat what is ele-
nrentary ?”

After he had spoken for sev-
eral minutes he added that So-

Colombian proposal, because
some powers—Colombia included
—had sought to have the signa-
tories to the Yalta agreement
violate it.

“Today,” Manuilsky continued,
“Professor. Yepes has mentioned
Bismark and Hitler, but thank
God this is no longer the time

of Bismark and Hitler. We are
now at the time of President:
Truman, Prime Minister Church-
ill and Stalin.’:

“We have won this ‘war,’ the
Soviet“ Ukranian delegate con-
tinued, “‘beease the agreements
concluded betweén the Big Three
powers have been kept. Teheran,
Moscow,..and even Yalta~-gave
examples:of “good faith, and this
is further reason why we thought
the words) ‘good faith’ were un-
necessary.

“But now things have happen-
ed which change our viewpoint,
because during the discussion of
the Yalta agreement, certain
powers have tried to have the
great powers violate the Yalta
agreement. Professor Yepes was
among those who tried to obtain
from the great powers a depar-
ture from the Yalta :agreement,
and that is why we shall now.
support the proposal made by
Mr. Yepes.”

Support For —
Seaway Plan

The St. Lawrence Seaway pro-
ject, an undertaking which re-
ceived the late President Roose-
velt’s support as far. back as the
days when he was governor of
New York State, and which has
been endorsed by both Con-
gresses of Canadian Labor at
their conventions, now appears to.
be on the threshold of endorsa-
tion by the U.S. Senate.

Union leaders in the east are
in agreement that Canadian la-
bor cannot subscribe to any iso-
lationist opposition to the de-
velopment, whether that opposi-

‘tion comes from the reactionary

Tories in Canada, anti-New Deal
elements in the United States,
or from leading reactionaries in
the American labor movement.
Matthew Woll, leading die-hard
in the American Federation of
Labor, has gone on record as op-
posing the seaway, giving as
grounds the contention that -it
will . provide
with jobs at the expense of
American workers. :

Although labor as a whole has
taken a keen interest in the pro-
ject, one of the unions which has
made a thorough study of the
subject is the Canadian Seamen’s
Union. The leaders of this union
have not hesitated to strongly
eppose all who place obstacles in
the way of the development of
the seaway..

Dewar Ferguson, acting presi-

dent of the CSU, took issue with

Woll’s statement of opposition.
“The United States is part of the
Western Hemisphere,’ stated
Ferguson, “and the building of
the seaway is a project which will
benefit both American and Ca-
nadian citizens.”

Ferguson stated that Woll
evidently ‘forgets or overlooks
the fact that the question of ap-
portioning labor for the construc-
tion of the waterway will be a
matter of joint agreement be+
tween the governments of both
countries, to the advantage of
the workers of both countries.”

Tt is estimated that the con-

struction of the seaway will mean

hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Rivetters Fight
Price Reduction

Forced to take strike action last
week-end at the refusal of the
Victoria shipbuilders to maintain
prices paid on transport ferries
which have been paid for the past
year, the union has ordered its
members back to work on the de-
cision of the union and company
to present a joint appeal to the
Wational War Labor Board. for
the prices at present prevailing.

The action of the Victoria ship-
builders draws attention to the
adamant refusal of the Vancou-
ver shipbuilders to consider the
prices at present paid for identi-
eal work in Victoria as a basis
for agreement between the Boil-
ermakers’ Union and Wartime
Shipbuilding Ltd.

Union officials feel that the
board should have no alternative
but to speedily authorize the
Victoria lists, since it has worked
out to the mutual satisfaction of
both company and union from the
beginning of transport ferry con-
struction.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1945.

Canadian workers.

: