PACIFIC ADVOCATE MAEARUOFOSEREVEEEEOTSEOSVIS ESS ReROEEROOSUCSESSSRUESSERCIRELEESSSEEREESSSLESLEREE P.A. PEOPLE’S VOICE FOR PROGRESS Published every Saturday by The People Publishing Gom- pany, Room 104, Shelly Building, 119 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia and printed at East End : Prizters, 2303 Bast Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia. Subscription Rates: One year $2; six months $1. Editor Phone Cc. A. SAUNDERS MA rine 5288 & A Brake on Progress Py ROED Winch, CCF opposition leader in the Provincial House, once stated that the present government was the best in the history of the prov- ince. Nevertheless it is generally retognized that the Tory half of the coalition has acted as a brake On progressive legislation. It is Primarily respon- sible for the stall on such vital issues as publicly- owned power and the establishment of a steel indus- try, vital prerequisites for industrial expansion in this province. It is the main stumbling block in the way of progressive labor legislation and social se- curity measures. The CCF were invited to participate in the Provincial government before the present Tory-Lib- eral coalition was formed: they refused. Since then they have persistently followed their traditional iSO- lationist policy, with the avowed aim of strengthen- ing reaction by driving the Liberals and Tories into further consolidation. Obviously the Tory-Liberal coalition can only be broken and defeated by the combined vote of all progressives. Just as obviously, the CCF refusal to consider any form of electoral unity, weakens the progressives in the face of the threat of reaction. Despite appeals from the ranks of organized labor and from the LPP the CCF continue their iso- lationist stand. ; They prefer to ignore the wishes of organized labor as expressed in the resolution of the B.C. Fed- eration of Labor convention. They prefer to split the progressive vote in the face of the Tory-Liberal combination, in pursuit of their own political fortunes. The Labor-Progressive party, following vain, at- tempts to come to an understanding with the CCF that would have ensured a united progressive vote in each constituency enters the field with 25 candi- dates, bringing its own independent program before the people. The problems that will face the people of Brit- ish Columbia in the immediate future, the problems that the next government of B.C. will be called on to solve, are the problems of reconversion, indus- trial expansion and rehabilitation, that adds up to JOBS and SECURITY, the main questions in the minds of every worker and returning veteran today. The wholesale layoffs in war industry were checked as a result of united action by all sections of the population, including business men who real- ize that declining payrolls do not keep cash registers ringing. The whole weight of the people must be brought to bear to see that the victory over fascism opens the door to social and economic advance. The Labor-Progressive Party will continue in its fight to establish genuine ‘labor unity in ac- tion, GS a prerequisite to that broader unity of all of the forces for progress necessary to beat back the forces of reaction. PACIFIC ADVOCATE — PAGE 4 ‘on Union Street. In ABOR day this year affords the first peace- L time celebrations in six years. It marks the end of a period of stress and trial throughout which labor has acquitted itself with honor. It marks the beginning of a period in which all of the strength and experience gained over years of strife and battle will be needed to solve the problems of the peace — to continue the march forward. Looking backward labor can assess-its successes and failures, and learning from the past. face the future stronger, better organised and better informed than ever before. The labor movement can point with pride to its share im wartime accomplish- ? ; ments, can claim a major share in Canada’s magnificent contribution to the defeat of the axis powers. Labor faces a future in which world forces have undergone tremendous changes. In Europe the forces of reaction have been decisively de- feated. Governments of the people are replacing the pro-fascist and quisling regimes of pre-war years. In Britain the forces of Munich were repudiated. A labor government elected. A tre- mendous step forward for the British people evén though Bevin demonstrates the weakness of so- cial-democracy by carrying forward the tradi-- tional foreign policy of British Imperialism. Pro- tests within the ranks of the labor party demon- strate the influence of the trade union movement, the basis of the British Labor party. The American continent, primarily the Uni- ted States and Canada, emerge as the bastion of Imperialism. And within these countries the contradictions of capitalism are sharpening, causing tremendous shiftings in political forces and relaticnships. In this situation, labor stands out as the force most capable of leading the forward drive. WHat has been accomplished during the war years? First there are the tremendous organ- izational gains. Thousands of workers have been brought into contact with the trade union move- At the corner of Campbell and Prior Streets here in Vancouver, the Grandview Steam Laundry belches live sparks from its high chimney onto the roofs of the surrounding houses. These roofs,, which cover working class homes, are made of sun- dried, light’ weight shingles. The houses, too, are of dry wood that goes up in smoke like a pile of paper matches at the slightest provocation. Which all adds up to a fire hazard of no mean propor- tion. During the past few weeks the city fire department’s roaring red trucks have been a common sight in the neigh- borhood. Three homes close to the laundry have been so badly burned that families have had to move out, and there have been numerous smaller fires. One widow with children who lives next door to the laundry reports that her poof has been on fire five times in the last month. Every woman in the neighborhood complains that laundry aired outside comes in scorched and sooty, and many a neighborhood baby, they’ll tel] you, is wearing diapers peppered with tiny holes burned by -the flying sparks. (And our Little Carl can prove it!) Monday night this week the people in this section of Grandview could sit idly by no longer. Under the leadership of the Grandview Labor- Progressive Party club a _ sireet meeting was called to discuss our fire problem. Mimeographed notices were laid on doorsteps, a bunch. of kids heiped spread the word from door to door, and by eight o’clock a crowd of fifty people had gathered on the steps of Stella Nicolétte’s house They heard a summing up of the situation by P.A. Associate Editor Fred Wil- mot, who gave facts and figures on the fire pre- vention and control setup in Vancouver, and laid blame for inadequate protection on Vancouver’s penny-pinching city council. Then the discussion became less formal, and the people got together and appointed a delegation to visit the Fire Com- “aSSing By C. A. Saunders a Fr ound Town By Cynthia Carter : ment for the first time through 4} of war imdustries. Wherever t 2 time the vast majority will res ranks of organized labor. ~ i The trade union movement || the province of Quebec and the: | of that province are on the mai.¥j Closer to home the basic j; province are organized; the jj of company unions dealt a sme! huge lumber industry, from lo sawmills, is organized for the i4 history of the province. Th # strength oi the trade union mov; |} the respect of people and gove,. In the legislative field labor kept pace. Huge steps forward but labor has been slow to mot} political action. The powerfu CC: obilised as a political force hj, adoption of the CCF as its “pol j] the protest of its largest affilic.4j largely been made through indep } local unions or by such organ: BCFederation of Labor. = hal Always and inevitably, labo | be traced to disunity within its iy unity which prevents the bringing . huge potential strength. It is ob can never be achieved by attemj trade union movement into the political party. The trade union — adherents of all parties within it — only hope for political unity is 4° tical action around the problems ' trade unionists. Further attempts must be 7 about a closer: working unity b. | trade union centers. The CCL en CCF stands as a bar in the waro- unity. Se ‘-ACING the future then, labor | conscious of its added strengi = conscious of its added strength | will prove a tremendous force problems of employment, recon;_ nabilitation. In the struggle to a (| it will progress further in the q i uine workingclass unity by -allyin; progressive forces in the current - the direction of the nation in the e missioner and register a prote. § shameful situation. Vancouver’s fire protect | agreed, is pretty disgraceful. Le : port that the fire department is’ ~ staffed, and that only enough equ : able to fight one fair-sized fire } little group meeting in the stre — their unpainted, wooden houses, | Suppose, sometime while the i = rushed out to a big fire in Kit °& from the Grandview laundry sei & of houses on Union Street ? Nor long ago the people of NF held their first municipal el ff years, taking affairs of their eity 4 of a commissioner and putting *. hands of sn elected body. At i @ ever, the ferces of labor in that ¢ | of which Vancouver is the large @ not united. The result: a council - Z any stretch of the imagination, *' 4 of the north shore’s huge working | ; This week North Vancouver ing resolutions for submission to of Municipalities, was worrying : nese problem again. Under a cl ing Canada from disloyal Japan: & councillors will ask repatriation i But under it all, the council has f it fears a depression which wo 4 Vancouver with no plans for recc ey cilities for employing returning :{ patriation of Japanese won’t sol ay ment problem for North Vancouv this council’s former shameful a relief to prairie workers who came i in the war industries that made |= what it is today, in the hope ti siders” would ali go home and giv there are to pre-war residents. ' This is a-lazy excuse for poor 7 come to think of it, the councillc 8 this “back where you came from” ! goes too far. If everybody in N back where they came from” th community could be managed f Indian reservation. SATURDAY, SEP.