PLAYING 9 POLITICS s IN view of the consequences as they affect the workers in British Columbia, this publication must express regret that Premier Bennett gave only the minimum legal notice for the provincial general election, September 19th. It must be noted that he decided to seek a man- date at the polls after only three years of his pres- ent term of office, instead of the customary four or five years. For this reason his actions provoke the suspicion that he hopes to stampede the elec- tors into blank cheque endorsation of his record. He cannot safely condemn his opponents if they charge that he is hurrying an election to avoid exposure of irregularities in the conduct of Cabi- net members. The decision to hold a “snap” election has trig- gered off campaign charges and counter-charges that have beclouded any serious consideration of the welfare of the province. In this respect, the Premier’s action. has proved to be a retrograde influence in the conduct of election campaigns. It is in the best British tradition that the elec- tors should be given ample time to consider all the issues upon which the contending’ parties seek a mandate for their respective policies. This pub- lic discussion is traditionally one of the checks and balances which safeguard “government of the people, for the people, by the people”. The almost indecent haste with which Mr. Ben- nett has used the prerogatives of government to set the date of an election minimizes this time- honored democratic discussion. It would seem that the Premier considers any political advan- tage for his own party as having priority to all other considerations. In this he is “playing poli- tics” with unstatesmanlike motives. In trade union circles, this attitude is viewed with alarm. Between elections, politicians, who subscribe to Mr. Bennett’s philosophy, are prone to stress the importance of acceptance by organ- ized labor of responsibility in meeting the obliga- tions of democracy. When our political leaders virtually “thumb their noses” at sound democratic considerations to gain their own ends, they tend to destroy the workers’ confidence in the demo- cratic procedures. The trade union movement has devoted con- siderable effort and expense in arousing its mem- bers to use the vote intelligently. In this work, they have received encouragement from all par- ties. All political observers unite to declare that public apathy with regard to the exercise of the electoral franchise is a distinct menace to political progress. It is one of the seedbeds for Fascism and Communism. It is extremely disappointing to trade union- ists engaged in this effort to discover that Mr. Bennett’s hasty election call has disenfranchised many thousands of workers. This is a matter of grave concern to the IWA, for loggers have been deprived of the right to vote in large numbers. It follows that this is like- wise true in other industries, where the workers must make a special effort to get their names on the voters’ lists. Some day, Mr. Bennett should explain why he persists in this disregard of the interests of the workers. Does he consider that the workers can be easily misled, or does he believe that he can successfully govern the province without giving any consideration to the legitimate aims of the trade unions? Mr. Bennett has no cause for complaint, if the organized workers demand a day of reckoning, when provocation heaped upon provocation arouses their wrath. Some working having nothing to do with politics. ical monkeys of themselves by Smart working people make monkeys out of such politicians by using their votes to demand a fair deal for the trade unions. Adopted from Union News, OCAWIU-AFL-CIO Federation Supports CCF Decision reached by the Executive Committee of the B.C. Federation of Labor at a recent meeting reaffirmed the policy formerly declared by the Federation and the Canadian Congress of Labor on the question of political action, endorsing the CCF as the political arm of labor, until such time as further decisions may be made by the merged convention now scheduled for November. The statement issued to all af- filiates stated in part: “Premier Bennett, using to the utmost his prerogative in naming the date for election, announced on August 13, 1956, that an elec- tion would be held on September 19, 1956, thereby keeping close to the minimum allowed by ‘the Election Act of 35 days’ notice. This action must be viewed by the citizens of British Columbia in its true light. The British system of parlia- ment was founded on the party system of government, and what- ever party had a majority of the members elected was then em- powered to govern for five years, except in certain circumstances: (1) where for some reason the government is defeated on a ma- jor piece of legislation proposed in the house, or (2) where there is a public outcry against a sug- gested piece of legislation by the Government. In order to sound the temper of the people an election is called at which time the government has the opportunity of explaining its reasons for the proposed action. Otherwise the government gen- erally stays in office for at least a four-year period and holds an election a few months prior to the conclusion of its term. We find in this instance that none of these three questions are due. The B.C, Government at the present time: holds a substantial working majority in the House; there was no proposed legislation defeated or seriously questioned at the last sitting of the Legisla- ture; and there is no public out- cry against a proposed piece of legislation. The Government can stay in power until 1958. Conclusions Therefore we must come to the conclusion that the Government has called this election for pur- poses best known to themselves. We may ask the following ques- tions: 1. Does Premier Bennett wish to remain the head of his Party, or is he planning on abdicating at the next Federal election in order to take over as the head of an opposition group in Federal poli- ties? 2. Would the coming Court case of the Sommers-Sturdy action create embarrassment to the Goy- ernment and possibly lead to their defeat at the next Session of the Legislature? 3. Are there signs of an eco- nomic reconversion because of the overweighted borrowing for pro- vincial projects by the present government? While these questions remain unanswered we feel that the citi- zens of this Province should severely condemn and censure the Social Credit for their abuse of our parliamentary system of goy- ernment in. calling this unneces- sary election on short notice and thereby denying thousands of citizens their right to exercise their franchise.” The statement concluded with the following recommendation: Recommendation “The Canadian Congress of La- bor had for years endorsed the CCF as the political arm of La- bor, and that policy had also been pursued by the B.C. Federa- tion of Labor. “Until such time as the merger convention of the B.C, Trade Union Congress and the B.C. Fed- eration of Labor is held, we recommend to our members the continuation of that policy and also strongly recommend all of our local unions to encourage their membership to work with the local CCF organizations for the election of the CCF candidate in their constituency.” Alex B. Macdonald Barrister & Solicitor Notary Public 751 Granville Street VANCOUVER, B.C, Telephone TAtlow 6641 SOLICITOR TO THE 1. W.A. ve.