THE B.C. LUMBER WOR KER B.C. LUMBER WORKER Published Bi-Weekly, Every Second Monday by DISTRICT COUNCIL, International Woodworkers of America Editor: NIGEL MORGAN Managing Editor: B. J, MELSNESS 504 Holden Building OYER PRESSURE MUST BE OFFSET BY LABOR Blsewhere in this edition is a report of a meeting between a joint le union delegation and the provincial cabinet at the Provincial lature in Victoria. At this meeting, which made history as the time that the three main labor bodies in this province united to- her in making joint representations for a legislative program for bor. Those responsible for achieving such a united presentation for labor are to be highly commended. _ No one could say after the interview that labor was uncertain about it wanted. On the contrray, the proposals brought forward by the gation were very detailed, pointed and specific. They represented aspirations and the most urgent needs of the working men and nen in all industries in this province. To have the right to organize ely into trade unions and to bargain collectively with the employers " without fear of discrimination or intimidation, to be protected in case sickness and ill-health or accidents arising from the hazards of in- = , to have security in old age without the stigma of charity—these ‘are the most elementary desires common to all working people. ‘The labor delegation has reported receiving an attentive and caurteous " hearing from the provincial cabinet. Nevertheless, it would be folly for Tabor to pat itself on the back for a job well done, and leave it at that. he job is not finished. Labor should not rest until its proposals are " enacted into legislations and placed upon the statute books of this prov-!;. pis little booklet called “Rhymes ince, We must make certain that this enactment is completed at the " forthcoming session of the legislative assembly which opens in Victoria ‘on February 6. "That labor's proposals are just is certain. That a sympathetic hearing ” was given by the government is gratifying. But the most powerful in- "dustrial interests in this province have never based their attitude towards labor upon justice. Past history has proven that these interests are not only assured of an equally sympathetic hearing from the government, but have, with unfailing regularity, hitherto been able to get what they desired enacted into legislation. ‘The powerful lumber and mining operators of the province have at all times opposed union organization and it is already known that certain employers’ associations and interests are lobbying on a large scale to prevent labor's proposed amendments to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act from being made law. When the provincial House opens there can be no doubt that such activities will be intensified, _ It is therefore essential that in the period of time remaining until "the session of the House opens every trade union local in this province, every sub-local, and every camp and mill crew, should endorse the pro- posals presented to the government and make certain that Premier Hart, Labor Minister Pearson, and all members of the Legislative Assembly, realize that nothing less than the proposals in the brief will be accept- able to the working people. 2 Even more must be done to‘make certain of favorable legislation at the next session. Eivery local union should elect one or more delegates at their next meeting to be ready on call, if considered necessary, to go to Victoria when labor legislation is brought up for discussion during _ the coming session of the House, in order to counteract the effects of the employers’ lobby and to impress the members of the provincial legislature with the unanimous support of labor for the legislative proposals pre- "sented by the ‘joint delegation. Let labor answer the economic and financial pressure of reactionary interests behind the scenes by a people's lobby at Victoria during the coming session. Let there be no flagging or let-up in energies until labor's just proposals have been ratified as statutes for the province. FOR DEMOCRACY AND VICTORY “ANY MAN THAT MARCHES AGAINST HITLER IS OUR ALLY,” sald Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The vast majority of _ these peoples of the British Commonwealth are in agreement with him, for in all British countries with the exception of Canada, all parties and groups who “MARCH AGAINST HITLER” have full legal freedom, Canada is the ONLY exception to this rule. The Canadian Go nment, particularly the Minister of Justice, refuses to stand by _ this test of the war as outlined by Prime Minister Churchill. In Canada, “the Government ‘persists in banning the Communist Party and a num- é r of national organizations like the Ukrainian Labor-Farmer Temple ociation and the Finnish Organization (although it has releaesed members from interment) despite the universally recognized fact ut these organizations are second to none in their hatred of Hitlerism, n their desire for an all-out war effort, and in their zeal to ‘defend n ’s national freedom from the awful threat of Nazi subjugation. Government persists in the ban of the Communist Party despite the fact that an inter-party Parliamentary Committee at the last ion of the House of Commons recommended the lifting of the ban. jousands of people and prominent leaders from all walks of life ted this recon’mendation. The Church of England, the United highest Courts, the Conventions of both the Canadian Congress bor and the Trades and Labor Congress of Labor (AFofL) as the hundreds of Local Unions, the Civil Liberties Association, Hncial Premiers, and all sections of Canadian society joined ‘this urgent request. We say to the Government, and we urge that Locals, camps, mills and individual members make their voice in demanding that the ban be lifted: (1) Because it fills the of millions of Canadians with misgivings and distrust. It under- the war morale and stands as a barrier to the unity of all classes for winning the war. (2) It is a remnant of the old Hitler ‘of the United Nation smoke screen by which Hitler has and conquered many nations, and not in harmony with the * Alliance signed by Canada as a part of the United Nations Soviet Union. (3) It is a denial of political democracy, which pon the right of individuals to form political parties of their hoice; it excludes from full participation in the war effort one “most active anti-fascist forces. “S destroy this obstacle to a unified war effort! Especially now n the United Nations are gathering heir grea powers for offen- in Africa, and on the continent of Europe, is the utmost 1. Write to Prime Minister King, write your Member of Urge the Government to lift the ban and carry into Phone PAcitic 9727 — Vancouver, B.C.| ‘And even his present job takes him into practically every railroad show on the coast. Most of the verses are in ballad form; they tell the serio-comic, of the tragic, and the laughable aspects of a logger’s life as lived in the camps, and in the cities, where to judge from the cynical and somewhat lurid “The Loggers’ Sweetheart,” our friends find more snags than in the forests. Just as Robert Service is the Bard of the North, it would seem that Swanson is the Rhymster of the West, and the seventeen verses of a Western Logger” make read- able reading. Devoted entirely to the. business of logging, to the men who do it, and to some of the women in the lives of the men who do it, the verses have a wide subject range, and they also have a rugged strength that must have been inspired by the sight of “way out where the timber is godly— hundreds of feet in the air.” Second place in the book is given to “The Logger’s Sweetheart.” “She stalks the street, her prey to mieet, ‘That she may dine and drink; Through hennaed hair, to hide de- pair, She gives her beckoning wink.” In a different, yet similar vein, RHYMES OF A WESTERN LOGGER ARE COLORFUL, CHARACTERISTIC . Robust and colorful as the outdoor life which it portrays in meter and rhyme, is the original book of verses which has just been published, entitled “Rhymes of a Western Logger” by .£ Robert E. Swanson. Its 48 pages contain a selection of verse-|2 tales of the lives and tribulation of the’ lumberjack. Mr. Swanson knows the loggers, for he was in the game himself before he became a government inspector of railways. in his “The Dying Logger’s Lam- ent”: “In a cheap, lousy flop house I’m aying; My wordly possessions are few; The landlord will sell them for rent, To a spectacled Main Street Jew.” The book which has an’attractive cover suggestive of the bark of a Douglas fir is on sale at all book stores and news stands. It can be obtained from World-Wide News Stand at 867 Granville Street, Van- couver, B.C., for fifty cents. Reports on Social Security Plan For Post-War Britain A vision of a post-war Britain freed from want and insecurity has been presented recently in the form of a report written by Sir ‘William Beveridge, on a govern- ment-sponsored social security plan, wider in scope than ever previously put before the country. The plan is broad in the range of population it would ‘protect from birth to death, in the variety of benefits it would provide and the fact that there is nothing in it which would prevent British work- men moving to the dominions or colonies and still enjoying insur- able benefits as may be arranged on a reciprocal basis. Coverage in the plan is provided for practically all workers, includ- ing agricultural, civil service, bank, workers with incomes of more than $1,890, who are exempt from the existing insurance system. It proposes, among other things, unemployment, disability and train- ing, benefits, maternity grant, wid- ows’ benefit, children’s allowance, industrial pension for total disab- jlity, marriage grant for women, and funeral grant. To the present, the plan has not advanced beyond the report stage, and what actually comes out of it remaians to be seen. Opposition was said to have been lining up against it even before its contents recommendations of thelr own Parliamentary Committee. . were known. insurance, railroad and non-manual j RHYMES ofa WESTERN LOGGER Aleut Meee ane THE A NGODS SINCE PAUL BUNYAL? WORLD WIDE NEWS | 867 GRANVILLE ST. Hastings Steam Baths 164 EAST HASTINGS ST. Government Registered Masseurs in Attendance J. WEPSALA, Prop. Also Agent for... Norwegian and Swedish American Steamship Lines High. 6240 ALWAYS OPEN NOTICE ! RE YOU GOING AWAY? Suits or Overcoats stored, 25c a month. Pressing done while you wait, Buy your next Sult or Overcoat from us. Bargains in New and Left-over Clothing. Seven Little Tailors. 836 Carrall St. PAc, 3918 "Styles for Young Men and Men who Stay Young” 301 West Hastings St. Hello, boys! I am having quite a time to strike the keys of my typewriter; my fingers are frostbitten, This shovel business not only blisters my hands, but does not agree with one at all. I finally cleared a path to my old eabin and here I am again. Before I forget, I’ll tell you about the old Irishman who left recently to join his grandson in Canada. He landed in New York and travelled to the west coast, to. land in Vancouver. ‘The news reporters interviewed him at the depot. He had many inter- esting experiences to relate. They asked him what he thought of Am- erica and what impressed him the most on this continent. Says he: “I heard of a great Irishman in the USA, a former road builder; a fel- low named Lincoln, believe his first name was Abraham. Did not have the pleasure to meet him, but I saw a statue erected in his honor. Real giant of an Irishman. He certainly can build roads; built thousands of miles !n no time at all. The only thing I can’t figger is why he kept on with his partner, a fellow named Detour. Why, this Frenchman spoiled half of the good roads Lin- coln built. Yes, he certainly made a mess of some nice straight roads.” Well, boys, maybe this good old Irish citizen did not understand that sometimes you have to go around the hills to get there. You take the building up of the IWA. For years it has had many grades to negotiate. It was an uphill fight, but it managed to get there. Right now, it’s on a level road and in high gear. Watch it forge ahead! HereJ am trying to draw a moral out of a poor story. I'll tell you, when you sip a few Banker’s cock- tails you should not try to lecture. In case you don’t know what’ a Banker’s cocktail means I'll tell you what kind of a solution it is: You take. one drink and lose all interest. Slip down a couple more and you lose all principle. Now, boys, so I will not let you down with only a few lines, I'll tell you my story of the week. There was a university professor lecturing to his class on psychology. Finally he says: “I'll give you an example so you will know what I mean. If the USA is bordered on the south by Mexico, on the north by Canada, the east by the Altantic and the west by the Pacific; how old am I?” The class looked up in amaze- ment at this confused question and could not see any connection with the subject dealt with. Finally the dopiest one in thé class raises his “Professor, I know.” , says the teacher, “how old am I?” “You are 44,” says the stu- dent. “That’s right, son. How did you figure that out?” “Well, says he, “I have a brother that’s half nuts and he is 22.” Boys, in your future arbitration proceedings, do not get confused with the out-of-the-way questions. Keep your wits and answer straight from the shoulder just what you think. You won’t go wrong, even if you do not draw a laugh. Good luck. Will be with you again when I get thawed out.