“Darn that oil company downstairs and their profits chart!” 25 years ago... WHAT PEARSON SAW IN THE USSR “My chief impression is one of massive collective strength, energy and wealth, along with individual deprivations, but the deprivations are decreasing, especially in the Crimea area. “The Russians in charge are a strong and able group who pro- fess no other desire but to be left = in peace to build their country . and solve their own domestic problems.” In this way, Lester B. Pearson,, Canada’s external affairs min- ister summed up his impressions of the Soviet Union, upon his arrival in Karachi, after a week- long visit that he described as “useful and most interesting”. This was the first official visit ofa Canadian foreign minister to the USSR. The Tribune, Oct. 24, 1954 ‘FLASHBACKS FROM THE COMMUNIST PRESS 50 years ago... RECORD NUMBER OF WORKERS KILLED One hundred and fourteen railroad employees lost their lives in train accidents during 1928. This represents an in- crease of eight deaths over 1928. The record of the present year promises to go even high- er. 10,485 rail men were injured during the same period. The increase in the percen- tage of injuries to workers is re- ally higher than these figures would indicate when we take into account the reduction in the staffs of the railroads through the introduction of speed-up methods and the forcing of less workers to perform more work. Concentrating on greater profits, the bosses entirely ig- nore the question of the safety of the men. Of every large industry in Canada the same story could be told. The Worker, Oct. 26, 1929 Profiteer of the week: Imperial Oil Ltd., profit $309-million in nine months ended Sept. 30 (same period in 1978: $224-million), says it has to gouge consumers to pay for those big holes it digs. But when it finds oil consumers don’t get money back; they pay more. Rich stockholders get richer; executive and directors lounge in Hawaii. Public ownership could dig holes and cut con- sumer prices as well, but tradition would be ruined — the rich would get poorer. Figures used are from the company's financial statements. : Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN Associate Editor — FRED WILSON Business and Circulation Manager — PAT.O’CONNOR Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186 Subscription Rate: Canada $10 one yr.; $6.00 for six months; All other countries, $12 one year. Second class mail registration number 1560 PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 2, 1979—Page 4 IDIITORIAL COMIMIEINT Can the Thirties return? Well, we made it past October 29 with- out a rerun of 50 years ago — October 29, 1929 — the day the stock market crashed. In the capitalist world,.chaos, depression, dust farms, mass unem- ployment and soup kitchens became a way of life. The world’s only socialist country at that time, the USSR, was on the thres- hold of eliminating unemployment for all time, and did so while the depression still raged for a decade in the West. Canada, with a population under 10 mil- lion had 820,000 jobless. Tens of thou- sands lost not only jobs, but homes, farms savings, and faith in capitalism. On this 50th anniversary of the crash, with plant closures, layoffs, government firings, skyrocketing inflation and mass cutbacks in real social benefits, the sys- tem’s economists can only say like the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce: It’s going to be a long, hard winter as Canadians face rising interest rates, more unemployment, and continued high inflation. 1 They say there won’t be a repeat of the Hungry Thirties. And they can bet their bootsif there is, the score will be different. But capitalism — even today’s monopoly stage — has yet to develop any recipe, or guarantee, against catastrophic collapse. Leaders are The increasing assaults on labor by corporate. power and reactionary gov- ernments are every day placing more difficult demands on the labor. move- ment and its leadership. A principled fightback on behalf of all working men and women is demanded of labor leader- ship. Such leadership is constantly being assessed and re-assessed in the light of its willingness — or lack of it — to stand up to the power of the monopoly corpora- tions and the governments they manipu- late, federal or provincial. The recent assessment of Dennis McDermott by delegates to the national convention of the Canadian Union of © Public Employees (CUPE), Canada’s largest union, resulted in a resolution demanding that he resign. It was clear that the overwhelming vote stemmed from long-smouldering dissatisfaction. Everyone knows that while the trade union movement as a whole is under se- vere attack, the service unions are sing- led out for decimation. Perhaps that ex- plains the CUPE delegates’ sensitivity on support from leadership. The resolution cited McDermott’s negative statements and lack of action in the postal workers’ strike which undermined the strikers’ position. It might have. asked also what the McDermott leadership has done about the Boise Cascade lumber work- ers’ 18-month strike on which he made a strong statement, which it is hoped, is not mere rhetoric. Workers have a tradition of rejecting leadership which compromises their struggle — for example against the cur- rent wave of cutbacks of every feature of trade unionism, of the right to strike, of jobs themselves. The bias of a system which jails labor leaders but lets union busting, scab-herding bosses go free, accountable | ter how many votes of confidence. ! The question is being asked by old) timers: Is Tory Joe Clark marching thé coyntry into another abyss like the To” ries of old? He’s on the same old merry” go-round of handouts to corporations and crumbs to workers. - Who is there who sees what is to be) done, except the class-conscious worket) » with their tradition of struggle, thé Communist Party with its proven Marx) ist-Leninist compass, with the added) weight of Canada’s socialist-minded ant democratic minded millions who have a? immense amount in common? a Once again it must be said — unity ® the key to preventing. the system from unloading its fatal crisis onto the work ers. But it goes beyond inflation, beyon® health cuts and jobs. In the ’30s capital ism’s “solution” was war; there is evel) indication that the U.S.-led imperialis! powers are today prepared to go thal, same genocidal route. = | If a coalition of forces of the Canad people is needed to fight for jobs am living standards, it is bound to fight ev@ more relentlessly for disarmament, afl@ a halt to incitement to war. Fifty years after the plunge into ¢ pression, and 40 years after World W4 II’s opening shots, hard political batt must be fought to deny capitalism su@ “solutions” ever again. demands the utmost labor solidarity: | McDermott’s attitude is scandalou®) Instead of learning from criticism, ™ brags of his “friends” who will back hi as did the CLC executive. : a However, it would be more to 4 point to respond to workers’ deman’” for stronger unity throughout the lab?) movement, better support from leadé ship. Criticism cannot be frozen no mat ( stead of separating itself from the mem f bership, the CLC leadership .— an’ McDermott in the first place — had ber ter examine their own behavior and set that it measures up to the challenge: _ Labor unity and solidarity are 4. watchwords in today’s class batt Furthermore, no artificial division ™ be allowed to take place in the abe movement along industrial and pur. sector lines. The old slogan — an 19)", to one is an injury to all — needs to 1 precedence over the other slogan — all right, Jack — which McDermott © cynically flings at the whole labor m0” ment. ' Save Petrocal: _ For the people of Canada Petrocarry stake in their own resources. For thé ‘il ries it is something to be cut in two "4. the profits for their corporate frie? ae and exploration to be paid for by | working people’s taxes. They have ? 13 x told A e Don’t privatize — Canadianizé e Freeze domestic oil and gas P™ (| e Public ownership of oil and ae In the light of grec whole de dia? that Petrocan must be saved, Cana need to come together in a unite? movement. > BS