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PACIFIC ADVOCATE

MEOOEUUSEKEUDSSSOSTSRCEADSSTRERVERSSSCOSERAS SUSUR PREDESOTELOCSNSSR PRESS ELST CONES

P.A.

PEOPLE’S VOICE FOR PROGRESS

Published every Saturday by The People Publishing Com-.,
pany, Room 104, Shelly Building, 119 West Pender Street, .
Vancouver, British Columbia and printed at East End
Printers, 2303 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, British
Columbia. Subscription Rates: One year $2; six months $1.

Editor Phone
Cc. A. SAUNDERS MA rine 5288

S

| Layoffs 3

The jubilance of final military victory over the

‘fascist aggressors had scarcely died down before the

realities of peace time problems were hurled in the
faces of the people of Canada.

The almost indecent*haste with which the gov-
ernment moved to cancel war contracts, throwing
thousands of war workers out of employment, pre-
sented a challenge to organized labor and the people
of Canada as a whole.

That challenge is being met, and greater unity
even than that achieved during the war is being‘
forged in the determined struggle to realize the
fruits of victory.

Nobody expects or has a right’ to expect that
factories would continue producing material of war.
Everybody expects and has a right to expect that
layoffs will be gradual—that provisions for a tide-
over period will be made. Everybody expects that
plans will be implemented immediately to convert
factories to peace-time production.

Reconversion and rehabilitation plans have
been worked out by Federal and Provincial authori-
ties, every major union in the country has submitted
plans for the conversion and continuance of full
scale production. ; &

These plans must be lifted off of paper and im-
plemented immediately.

Similarly in the shipyard industry in British Co-
lumbia. :

The major shipyard unions have been tackling
the postwar problem for over two years. Everybody
realized that without government action the in-
dustry was in danger of sliding back to its pre-war
status, employing at the most a few hundred men.

There was no need for the sudden and indis-

-criminate action that suddenly threw thousands of

men on the labor market. Other, perhaps than
the end of providing that surplus labor market so
necessary to the enemies of organized labor.

The demands put forward by organized labor
to meet this situation are eminently just. They are
supported by all progressive people.

Organized labor has won the respect of the
nation by its contribution to the winning of the war.
It rightfully assumes the leadership in the fight to
win the peace. .

Reconvene ‘the Dominion-Provincial parley!
Back the demand for a special session of the provin-
cial legislature! Unify and close the ranks of labor
in the fight to exorcise the spectre of unemployment!

PACIFIC ADVOCATE—PAGE 4

in Passing By C. A. pulses

ANYBODY who attended the mass meeting at
Capilane Stadium last Sunday could not but
be impressed by the unity of purpose that brought
this impressive gathering together. .

Over six thousand citizens, representative of
all walks of life attended the meeting with one
specific purpose in mind.
They wished fitst of all to
register their protest against
the precipitate and indis-
sriminate layoffs in war in-
dustries. They also wished
to express their determina-
tion that plans for the open-
ing up of new industries, the
expansion of the economy of
the Province, and immediate
implementation of public
works projects, should be
speeded up to #£acilitate im-
mediate re-employment of
warworkers.

From the platform, rep-
resentatives of the main :
trade union centers united with veterans in put-
ing forward a fighting program that enthused
the audience. MP’s and MLA’s were invited
zuests. The meeting was a great success. A con-
structive program for. immediate action was
drawn up and a_ continuations committee ap-
pointed to carry on.

It was unity in action, the kind of unity that
gets things done by mobilizing all sections of the
population behind a just cause. ;

However, there was one sour note introduced.
It- was introduced from the source that has con-
tinually advocated policies within the ranks of
organized labor that would have left them iso-
lated and friendless today.

The trade union movement was able to rally
the support of the citizens on this issue precisely
because they had shown their responsibility dur-
ing the time of national crisis created by the war
against Fascist aggression and domination.

The Trade Union movement pursued those
policies in B.C. under the guidance of the “Prit-
chetts, the Morgans, Murphys, MacLeods and
Stewarts,” as Union leaders, ‘and many of their
lesser agents” (presumably the shop stewards).
Because of this, they were able to perform mar-
vels of production, played a major role in the

defeat of Germany and Japan. —
they have been able to solidify a
organizations. Because of this the
tion to play a major role in the
peace.
yer it was precisely. these men
Trade union committee chose
scurrilous mimeographed leafiet |
side of the grounds. The leaflet ¢
ususl calamity howling style of th
ward a program distinguished ~
forward by the meeting solely b
't offered no method of procedur
ed merely a set of demands addr
and with no intimation as to how
implemented. The leaflet deman
hour week,-. solely for the reason
ing was putting forward the pe
able and realizable request for
week with no reduction in take4
sumably this was done on the basis
your militancy but outdemanding
We could envision this going,
would make the Trade Union ;
absolutely ridiculous.
However the program was ob;
excuse to. provide a vehicle fo
attack on Trade Union’ leaders. —
such an occasion and at such a9
only be designed to disrupt and «&
nothing to the discussion of the hj
of layoffs and merely served to fui
anscrupulous and disruptive elen
OCF who have long been distingg
ability to sow confusion and misré¢
Fortunately it was amply demo
meeting, that the majority of —
were little impressed by this atta
cd generous applause to all spe
Harvey Murphy, one of those ;
‘tyaitor”’ in the leafiet. E
THE problems of layoffs and recsi
the greatest unity in the labo
will soon be faced with a provi
this province in which it is obvial
way the Tory-Liberal coalition cz
by the greatest unity of all pra
Such attacks as those contained
only make the task of unifying
vote more onerous and lend aid
reaction. = :

Around Town By Cynthia Carier

VERYBODY talks about the weather, accord-
ig to the old joke, but nobody does anything
about it. The same thing can be said, I think,
abcut our favorite indoor sport, comic strip
reading.

Everybody reads comics.

From the ultra-sophisticates
who sneer at everything but
Barnaby, down through the
half-hearted fans who take
a quick glance at Blondie, to
the unashamed addicts who
buy gaudily colored comic
books, we’ve reached the his-
toric phase in which we can
no longer take ’em or leave
’em alone. At the same time,
many of us maintain that
comics are a pretty low form
of entertaimment. But nobody does anything
about it.

We often deplore comics because of their
“terror and blood” motif. Having been brought
up on the relatively more frightening Jack the
Giant Killer and Hansel and Gretel, I think there
is a much greater danger in the anti-democratic
idezs some strip writers serve up daily. In this
connection an investigation of comic strips and
a campaign to purge the worst offenders from
our newspaper pages is long overdue.

In the old days comics had one purpose; to
make us leugh. Characters had pies thrown at
them instead of death rays, and when Happy
Hooligan fell off the end of the pier we didn’t
stay awake nights wondering if he’d fall into the
hands of Super X the Mad Scientist, and his
Atomic Ray Gun. Now all this is changed. Comics
have discovered continuity, and many of them
have messages. Popeye, for instance, plugs for
spinach. Dick Tracy proves that crime doesn’t
pay. And the finest of all comic strips, Terry and
the Pirates, has followed a strongly courageous
anti-fascist course for the past ten years. But
there’ are others whose propaganda is actually
harmful.

Consider for a moment the case of Little
Orphan Annie (who, I strongly suspect, became
an orphan by pushing her parents into a pot of
boiling oil) and the fascist-minded, diamond-stick
pinned Daddy Warbucks.. (That name makes
you think a bit. Does it mean he made his pile
during 1914-187) .

Long before this war the anti-labor, anti-
democratic nature of the strip was apparent. But
at the beginning of hostilities Annie and Daddy
let loose full blast against the forces of pro-

gress. At the outset Daddy coule
saw him cast off in a little boat.
foreign destination, tearfully m
the America of these times (an 7
im a war against fascism) there},
a militant private enterpriser ]f
mediately Annie comes up agal:
villian wartime controls. She taf
cery store where she fights ag:
laws, we are shown how foolis,
other controls are, and are led to
entire price fixing structure is-
against the people. ;
The next episode shows br
battling a villianess whom the wr
fully made a social worker, and
used to poke fun at those who t:
pvloitation of child labor. =
And now in the nick of time,.
returns, lousy with money and
his hatchetmen, to snatch Annief
a bunch of unscrupulous lawyer
democratic means; but by using |
intimidation, and third degree foi!
the only way to win is to defy la
trol legislation, and any sort of ¢
the law into your own hands to
into agreeing with you. 3
Ideas like these, to my way
che real danger in comic strips.-
comics go overboard supplying
should be severely criticized. B
Superman advances the theory
deciding the problems of a bh.
should worry parents infinitely
ther Junior will dream about M
But what to do about it? ¥
of.comics is tied in with a much
of all-over educational reform. 4.
teacher, for imstance, agrees W
pupils that text books, particulai
are practically archaic. (Withi
weeks, by the way, I will tell yc
versations with school teachers —
Comics have a role to play in e
their form is interesting and e
able. But why not substitute hb
human heroes for the Supermt
with the Orphan Annie’s? Many.
cators are using comic strips 1
for example. This is something *
And in the meantime, the 7
.vaise in your Parent-Teacher gro
or discussion group. Decide wl:
are objectionable, and lobby yot |
ber this; to an editor who want”
culation, any mass protest Is Ws

SATURDAY, |