P. A, bacic aovocaTe

PEOPLE’S VOICE FOR PROGRESS

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Cc. A. SAUNDERS

Perfect Agreement :

aL HE editorial page of the Vancouver Sun Tuesday, No-
- vember 6, contained two items which make very inter-
esting reading. One is a letter from F. J. MacKenzie, CCF
provincial secretary, the other an editorial. They both deal
with the same subject, namely Labor Unity and the provin-
cial elections. :

This is understandable. But the point for all workers
to note is that both the CCF secretary and the Sun editorial
take essentially the same point of view. The main object
of both is to ‘prove’ that unity would have made no differ-
ence to the outcome.

The point deliberately avoided by both is the fact evi-
denced both by the comparatively low poll: of registered
voters and the diminished vote of individual CCF candidates.
That is, if electoral unity had been achieved, the progressive
people would have seen an attainable alternative to the
Hart-Maitland Coalition, and victory for the people would
have been possible.

There is no doubt, however, that the Sun editorial, with
its talk of calamity for the CCF in such an alliance is wrétten
with full realization of this fact, and is designed to help
widen the breach.

If anything were needed to expose the disastrous results
of the policy of the CCF leadership a study of these two
documents should suffice.

Just as during the elections the real issues were obscured
because of the willingness of the CCF to join in the abortive
‘Private Enterprise vs Socialism’ squabble: so in after elec-
tion appraisal the CCF analysis dovetails with the analysis
of finance capital.

Reaction dreads labor unity, that every worker can und=
erstand, but why do the CCF leaders show exactly the same
dread? é .

Protection for Whom

HE people of Canada are getting a salutory lesson in
T police protection lately. Heads of police departments

have been appealing for more help to cope with the post-
war crime wave. Certainly the increase in hold-ups, burglaries
and other crime in the city of Vancouver warrant action of
some kind to protect the citizens from gangsters.

But apparently there is never any shortage of police
for other purposes. When the big monopolists of the Ford
Empire want help in their fight against the citizens of Wind-
sor, Ontario, RCMP and Provincial police are immediately
available. To protect the citizens? Certainly not. - The citi-
zens from the mayor down are solidly behind the strikers.

No. A plethora of armed minions of the law are avail-
able to protect the interests and the property of
big business, while police are not available to deal with
crooks and gangsters.

Vancouver citizens had a chance to observe something
of this kind first-hand last week.

A family were evicted from their home. There were
plenty of police around. They were certainly not there to
protect the property of the evicted family. Anybody who wit-
nessed the way the sheriff’s thugs. mishandled the property
would have no doubt regarding that. The furniture was
dumped out on the sidewalk in rain. A stove was broken and
a piano dumped in the back yard. No, the police were nor
there to protect the citizens. They were there to protect the
landlord’s property and interests.

Citizens of Canada have a right to ask why there is
always plenty of protection for big business and none for
the general public. : :

Why is it so easy to find police for strikebreaking and
evicting people from their homes and none for protection
against crooks and gangsters. _

What are the functions of the police forces of our cities
and country? The answer to this question might provide
the key to answer many others.

PAGE 4 — PACIFIC ADVOCATE

Truman Draft Is Big Stick.

(reprinted from

PRESIDENT Truman’s message to Congress

urging a year of military training for all
young men who reach the age of 18 has been
greeted with loud cheers by editorial writers in
reactionary newspapers and by a handful of big
army spokesmen in Congress.

But the general response in Congress was
remarkably cool—the reaction of prominent la-
bor leaders like CIO president Philip Murray
and AFL president William Green was undis-
guised hostility.

Criticism of the message indicated the pub-
lic alarm over the development of administra-
tion foreign policy away from the Roosevelt
program of international cooperation and to-
wards a big stick attitude to establish American
dominance in world affairs.

The President summed up his attitude when
he told Congress:

“The surest guarantee that no nation will
dare again to attack us is to remain strong in
the only kind of strength an aggressor under-
stands—military power.”

Truman said that the United States now
has a fighting strength “greater than that of
any other nation in the world”—and he proposed
maintaining that strength.

He said that this “determination to remain
powerful denotes no lack of faith in the United
Nations organization,” but was on’ the contrary

part of our obligation to help preserve the peace.

UT there was general scepticism, that_a vast
Army and Navy was necessary as part of
a foreign policy of international cooperation.

As Ren. Chet Holifield (D-Cal.) put it, the
President “failed to give the American. people
any new information on the views or efforts of
this government to promote an effective interna-
tional security council.”

The President went to some Pains to try
to reassure critics of his program that it did not

‘Sunday Worker’)

mean building up a super-duper
tus with inevitable anti-demec
all phases of American WE

The President. said that he
paratively small Army, Navy an
But official plans call for a r
some 2,500,000 men and a Navy
000 men. a2

On top of this he prope
strengthened National Guard are
serves for the Army, Navy anc.

Universal military training
vide a tremendous general res =
include in time all male citizens |
18. Army figures indicate that
year would be trained under #

;

Although the President Tepe
again that his plan provides q-.
scription nor universal military —
ents of his plan were not convince,
out that a year of compulsory

ed to the same thing as a year
- service. :

Senator Edwin C. Johnson —
ing chairman of the Senate
Committee, which will consider
commented: i

“By whatever name you F 5
don’t like conscription.” as

Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-NY ‘
“We want no truck wit :
military conscription. It is cal
tradition and political philoso;
The underlying fear of mill;
cans that President Truman’s bj
policy based on a vast military
inevitably lead to war was exp
president Murray who said: :

“Greater and more power
chines with men trained to m
can mean only the destruction :
world.”

i
k

Ar ound Town by Cinthia Carter

ON’T let the news get east of the Rockies, of

course, but its winter in Vancouver. Unless

all that white stuff on the ground this week was
a mirage.

Yes, it’s November again, and once again
the spotlight is turned on civic elections. But
this year the civic elections in Vancouver will
be more interesting than they have for a long,
long time. And it’s my be-
lief that the old saying
about “off-year” elections
when the mayor’s seat is
not at stake are pretty dull
affairs will be proved ab-
solutely incorrect in 1945.

Last year, and for several
years before that, our civic
election was fought on a
phony issue. The “Non-
Partisans” beat their breasts
and pledged themselves to
“keep politics lout of the
city hall”, and to “Save Van-
couver from _ Socialism’’.
There was little talk from the Non-Partisan
corner of civic improvements, nor of amending
city charter to extend the franchise. A few labor
or independant candidates who ran for office
were snowed under by the powerful big business
machine and by lack of labor unity, and the
CCFers nominated candidates, refused to co-
operate with anybody, and also went down in
defeat except for winning the odd seat on Park
and Sevhool Boards.

But this year the hold of the Non-Partisans
has been challenged from several quarters. Of
the four retiring aldermen, three will again
stand for election, while the fourth, Gorge Bus-
combe (who, I remember predicting, would be
dropped by the Non-Partisans for his high-
handed application of Non-Partisan policy in the
housing crisis) has decided not to run, official
reason being presure of his swanky imported
china and porcelain business. As for Jones, one
of the worst reactionaries jn the city hall, Jack
Price, who two years ago tried to juggle en-
dorsement by the Non-Partisans and endorse-

. and that with united labor, sw

{
¢.

ment of organized labor and a i
the respect of labor, and Core ;
meaning but ineffectual presence by
any council—well, the people of *
getting a bit wiser as election re 7
The two labor councils, on # ~
have taken the lead in the fighti |
by agreeing that each nominate *
didaes to fill the four empty s
didates from the CCL as yet una j
looks with approval on the AF”
Henderson, long active in the £
housing, and Tom Parkin, well
unionist who was one of Aeron}
most enthusiastic instigators of ;
ferences on reconversion and um
is to be hoped that the CCL will<

men will make q fine showing.
The CCF is nominaing candidat
son, rejected by voters in the prov
has cast her chapeau into #
running against labor, nominees.
So_ it’s going to be interesting,
ber. But it would be a lot more
our city would be assured of a be
ment, if all the people of Vanco
ed to vote. As yet no broad camp
civic franchise has been insity
hoped that labor will make this:
ion fight.

TENcs people tell me: That
landlord who moved ‘the Chi
onto the winter streets last weelk
who is also president of the ~ i
Parisan Association. 2S
That young progressives are
the race barriers at the city ownet
and that some youngsters are
throwing a picket line around tl
.That many rank and file CCF e