B.C. LUMBER WORKER

EDITORIAL

Calling B.C.

IN this issue of the B.C. Lumber Worker, the

International Secretary-Treasurer, Carl Winn
states the case for the IWA strikers in the Pacific
Northwest States.

The lumber workers in that area are facing a
grim fight for the survival of their union—the
same union which speaks for the lumber workers
of British Columbia.

They have battled on their picket lines for
more than eight weeks against heavy odds. They
‘haye faced violence at many points. At all points
they have met with highly organized strike-break-
ing tactics on the part of the employer groups.

Eight weeks of strike action, as all experienced
trade unionists well know, places an exhausting
drain on the resources of Local Unions, Districts,
and especially the families. The strikers in the
Northwest States, as Car] Winn makes plain, are
now facing complete impoverishment, if they are
to remain true.to the call of the Union.

The B.C. District is the largest in the Interna-
tional Union. It has the greatest membership
strength. It is one District that has already man-
aged to negotiate its contract terms for the year.
It is naturally the District toward which the dis-
tressed strikers should now turn, when outside
aid is so desperately required.

At the recent District Delegate Conference,
when International President Hartung told the in-
side story of the fight in the States, every man
present enthusiastically approved steps to extend
immediate aid, if such should be required. Now
that an appeal is officially before the membership,
it is difficult to conceive that a single [WA mem-
ber will shirk his obvious duty.

As requested by the District Executive Board,
all Local Unions, and every member of every
Local Union should make certain that the maxi-
mum aid is immediately forthcoming. A very little
self-denial now on the part of the individual em-
ployed worker in this province will in the total
mean the possible difference between defeat and
victory on th other side.of the border.

Th B.C. lumber worker is in the same Union
as the American lumber worker because the prob-
lems of both are indivisible. The struggle now
under way south of the national boundary, is our
struggle in B.C. as truly as though we all lived in
the same District in the same country.

The interests which are seeking the destruction
of the Union in the Northwest States are exactly
the same interests which by right of investment
now dominate the scene in this province.

If they succeed in smashing the IWA in Wash-
ington and Oregon today, they will have a much
better chance of repeating the exploit against the
IWA in British Columbia tomorrow.

These facts call to mind the reasons for‘sup-
porting the strikers, which are based on self-
preservation. There are even more important
reasons for the utmost generosity at this time.
These reasons are those of a common brotherhood,
to which members of the IWA in British Columbia
have pledged allegiance in fair weather and foul.

In British Columbia, we would betray all the
principles and traditions with which the IWA has
proudly won its finest achievements, if we turn
as backs on the struggle of the workers in the

tates.

The District President pledged this support,
on the recommendation of the District Delegate
Conference, when he recently addressed the
strikers.

We present the appeal of the International
Secretary on behalf of the strikers with complete
confidence that his faith in the B.C. lumber work-
ers will not prove to be misplaced.

|

“THEIR LAWS
PUT LABOR
IN SHACKLES”

The Editor:

The Social Crediters through
Premier Bennett endorses free
private enterprise as is, and they
claim to be a party of reform.
The S.C. supporters have not yet
comprehended they are backing
nothing but a reformed political
party, although the Alberta evi-
dence is conclusive enough.

In spite of much proof that
free private enterprise has no
solution for the problems it
creates, stupidly limiting its own
markets, while engaged in waste-
iul and parasitical efforts to pro-
vide markets, which is evidence
enough of its incompetence, and
which was greatly stressed at the
beginning of S.C., it is indeed
fantastic to hear Premier Bennett
endorsing the debt creating sys-

| tem, known as free private enter-
| prise, while claiming government

debt reduction, and greater ex-
penditure by the government.

Instead of evolving laws to put
labor in a_strait-jacket, as if
labor was the guilty party of
free private enterprise behaviour;
it would have been more to the
point to find out the actual cost
of labor in prices, for instance
the actual labor cost in a thou-
sand feet of finished lumber. By
establishing what the labor costs
are in anything produced for sale,
the base would be laid for estab~
lishing the just price, that was
so much talked about in Alberta,
when S.C. was in the flower, and
great promises were made.

If labor costs are the cause of
high prices, then these should be
brought to light, but at present
there is no reason to put labor
under restraint, and ignore other
factors that might need more
than restraint.

The reason given that labor’
needs holding down to encourage
capital investment is political
eye wash, for during the depres-
sion years when labor cost next
to nothing, there was no observ-
able capital investment. ~

The S.C. party established it-
self on a theory of economics,
and it is about time it got down
to collecting some practical evi-

ANS

dence to support it. This of course
would be the scientific approach,
and the political opportunists
now in power would not agree to
that.

It is about time the Social
Crediters realized that, they are
a damning illustration of faith
without works, which hardly fits
| Bible instructions. Electing gov-
ernments that handout natural
resources of wealth to free priv-
ate enterprise with only slight
drawbacks, is not going to pro-
vide the now infamous social
credit dividends that lifted the
S.C. government of Alberta into
power in the first case.

W.S. W.

GOOD MEMBER
GETS A
| HEARING

Dear Sir and Brother:

| I received your letter of July
| 29th for which I wish to thank
you very much. The information
given in it was certainly of in-
terest, In regard to your fares
being taken off your Income Tax
payments, I have found out that
this CANNOT BE DONE, as
there is no provision yet in the
Income Tax regulations for this.

I would like to inform you that
remedial action has been pro-
posed in the House of Commons,
Ottawa by Tom Barnett, Member
of Parliament for Port Alberni
requesting that this Income Tax
exemption be granted.

I want to further draw your
attention to the fact that while
your letter was of tremendous
interest, it is the policy of the

Readers
Vheinkel

, B.C. Lumber Worker which we
jcannot violate for anyone, that
| any letters received must bear
the writer’s name. Your letter did
not bear your name, therefore,
we could not print it in the Lum-
ber Worker. We do not print the
name of the writer of any letter
when we publish the letter, in
the Lumber Worker, if we are
requested not to do so, but retain
the name on file, We then use a
non de plume instead of the orig-
inal name.

I hope that you will write to
me again giving me information
of happenings in your Camp, and
also that you will please sign
your name so that we may print
your views. Letters such as this
one are of tremendous interest
to our membership.

Kindest personal regards.
Fraternally yours,
Geo. H. Mitchell,
Managing Editor.

NEWSMEN
BAR REDS

LOS ANGELES (CPA) — The
annual convention of the Ameri-
can Newspaper Guild (CIO) has
unanimously agreed to debar
communists of any similar sub-
versive organization from guild
membership.

A resolution adopted unani-
mously by delegates after a long
debate holds “ineligible for mem-

or admitted member of the Com-
munist Party or any person who
consistently adheres to the poli-
cies and actions of the Commun-
ist Party or any similar subersive
organization.”

Alex'B. Macdona

Barrister & Solicitor
Notary Public

751 Granville Street
VANCOUVER, B.C.

Telephone TAtiow 6641

SOLICITOR TO THE |

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