‘July 25, 1942 > THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER Page Three MORE SHIPS NEEDED FOR SECOND FRONT Printed below is the full text of a radio address given over CKMO Monday by Charles Stewart, well known ‘trade unionist and chairman of the Vancouver Communist-Labor Total War Committee. The B.C. Lumber Worker prints this in the belief that organized loggers and mill- workers, making their own important contribution to the war effort, will he interested in the positive and comprehensive approach to problems in British Columbia shipyards. Text of the broadcast follows: These summer months of 1942 are anxious days for all of us, for on the eastern front what may be the decisive battles of the war are being fought. The gravity of the situation is apparent. By an overwhelming concentration of strength, the Nazi armies have succeeded in blasting a gap in this two-thousand mile front, forcing the Red armies to retreat. These initial Nazi successes do not mean irretrievable disaster for the United Nations. They do emphasize the urgent necessity of opening the second front immediately. Hitler's strategy is obvious. He is gambling everything on attaining his ob- jectives in’the Soviet Union before he is confronted with, an Allied invasion of Burope and forced to divert his forces to a second front, Into his supreme gamble for victory he is pouring all his available resources, ‘The United Nations’ answer is also ob- vious, The second front must be opened before Hitler can exploit his initial gains and reach his objectives. And into this decisive action the United Nations must pour all their available resources. True, there are great difficulties to be over- come before a second front can be opened, but these difficulties are not insuperable. Other armies too, fighting past wars for freedom that helped to secure the lib- erties we are defending today, also faced their difficulties. Cromwell's armies, battling to the relief of Gloucester in 1643 and turning the tide in the English revolutionary war; Washington's ragged troops crossing the Delaware in 1776 to strike a telling blow for American inde- pendence at Trenton, faced and overcame tremendous obstacles, In this, a war for world freedom, the democratic strength of the United Nations can likewise over- come every difficulty. Uninterrupted Production Essential In the war industries’ of the United Nations, in factories and on farms, the struggle to overcome these difficulties is now being conducted by millions of workers producing the tools of war for thelr own and national freedom. If a second front is essential to military victory, it is equally true that winning of the battle for production is essen- tial to opening of a second front. And a vital part-bf the battle for production 1s the building of ships, Every shipyard worker knows the need for ships and is eager to speed produc- tion, The question as it has been dis- cussed among shipyard workers is not whether production shall be speeded, but how and under what conditions, In these discussions on and off the job dissatisfac- tion with some of the government's ac- tions and disgust with examples of inef- ficient organization in-the yards have often obscured the workers’ view of their own work and responsibilities in relation to the strategical needs of the war and the second front in particular. Important as are wages and working conditions in the shipyards — and they This adyt. is not published or displayed by the Liquor Control . Board or by the Government of British Columbla. are important as an integral part of the rights for which we are fighting — they must be made secondary to the all-im- portant need for uninterrupted maximum production, This fact is apparent the moment we accept this war, despite its many imperfections, injustices and ine- qualities, as a war for freedom which will determine, not only our right to hold our present liberties but our ability in the future to make new and greater social advances. The maximum production of ships is the contribution to victory the thou- sands of Vancouver shipyard workers can and will make, Without victory, all ‘The high seas are the United Nations’ most vital and vulnerable lines of com- munications against which the Axis pow- ers are concentrating all their own sea forces, One ship sunk may not mean a battle lost, but the sinking of ships with their precious cargoes day after day may well determine the ability of Britain, the United States and Canada to supply ex- isting fronts and maintain the second front when it is established, . ‘Today thé Japanese are in the Aleutian Islands, on the threshold of the American continent, threatening our own homes. By this one action they have bridged the gap between Asia and America and ob- tained bases within feasible raiding dis- tance of our own coasts, Undoubtedly our own and the United States governments are acting to meet this new threat, but until land communications now being built are completed, they must rely mainly on sea-born reinforcements to Alaska, Through the Arctic Sea to Murmansk and Archangel and across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Persian Gulf ships are carrying supplies and muni- tions to our Russian allies on the de- cisive eastern front. The limit of these supplles. is not so much the output of our war industries, which are now mak- ing new records in production, but the availability of ships to transport them. The Soviet people know very well the importance of ships in their great struggle against the Nazi invaders. To bring these “We should naturally bear in mind that delivery of arms and materials to the Soviet Union presented and continues to present no small amount of difficulties. German warcraft are engaged in plunder and piracy in the Atlantic, and. German submarines .and aircraft constantly at- tack vessels transporting these weapons to the Soviet Union. “A number of ships carrying cargoes for the USSR were lost en route to Mur- mansk and Archangel, despite naval con- voys provided by our allies, Nevertheless, deliveries of weapons and materials from the United States and Britain, far from SE 7-Jewel Walthams and Elgins at _——---—__-—-- $6.15 and up 15Jewel Walthams, Elgins at ——$9.95 and up 17-Jewel Walthams, Elgins and Hamiltons, as low as.._._..__.$14.50 19-Jewel Elgins, Walthams Ch i a ee 21-Jewel Walthams, Elgins and Hamiltons, as low 2s.______$29.75 We carry a fine stock of Diamond Rings and Wedding Rings to match, as low as $12.95 per set. Mail Orders Promptly filled. Expert Watch Re- Pairing. LONDON ewellers 70 West Hastings Street Vancouver, B.0. Reg. Cross, Mgr. Diamond Brokers our rights are destroyed. The workers in the countries already overrun by Hitler’s armies have neither free or- ganizations nor elementary civil rights today. Nazi bayonets have obliterated the gains the workers have made in decades of bitter struggle until Allied victory shall enable them to be re- claimed. Stoppages of work in the shipyards, whatever the reason, neither help labor to defend its rights in this wider sense nor aid the workers enslaved by Hitler to regain their freedom. In every instance production time is lost, and production is the prerequisite for victory. Sea Routes Must Be Maintained ships through dangerous waters under constant enemy attack Soviet and British sailors have performed feats of valor. Let me quote a brief press despatch from Murmansk. “The port of Murmansk can without exaggeration be called a front line posi- tion, Caravans of vessels constantly sail to and from the Arctic port which in these days of the patriotic war has been visited by ships sailing under the flags of all or almost all freedom-loving coun- tries. “Unloading of ships goes on in spite of alerts and bombings, Workers are steadily improving production. In Janu- ary, longshoremen were handling 2.8 tons a shift, in February 41 tons, in March 5.1 tons and in May 9.3 tons. “From the very first day of the war, Soviet destroyers and patrol cutters have been doing difficult and dangerous work guarding the Soviet bases, coastline and communications against enemy attacks. Small ships are away from their bases for weeks at a stretch patrolling the Arc- tic Sea, Day and night, seemingly beyond the limits of human endurance, the Soviet northern fleet maintains its watch so that valuable cargoes may get through.” What this means to the Soviet Union, V. M. Molotov, people's commissar of foreign affairs, made clear in his speech to the Supreme Soviet last month, when he said: Deliveries Vital to Soviet Aid declining, have increased in recent months. These deliveries ~ constitute a necessary and important supplement to the weapons and supplies, the overwhelm- ing proportion of which the Red Army receives from home resources. “We continue to consider it necessary to expand and improve these deliveries both at present and in the future. It should also be borne in mind that these deliveries have played and will continue to play in the future an important Part in strengthening friendly relations be- tween USSR, Britain and the United States.” 5 ; = a AEA CE CALE 938 Gi ST. A Satisfied Customer is Our Best Advertisement 100% UNION HOUSE peneesecunwasaccucusunuseees ‘ When In Vancouver - 4 i Stop at i id ‘ COLUMBIA HOTEL : ; Licensed Premises 4 { 303 COLUMBIA AVE. { H MA. 3757 ' 6 sundae inns eni eee ee