Vancouver citizens raise
$545 for striking seamen

Vancouver trade unionists and

Congress president Percy Bengough’s
Seamen’s Union by jamming Pender

Shocked by Bengough’s editorial
are redoubling efforts on behalf of th

four months.

CSU strike headquarters at 53
Powell street continue to feed
35 to 40 seamen daily, and a
steady supply of méats, fruits,
coffee and canned goods are
needed. Citizens are asked to
keep up food donations.

Though their companies are los- |
ing millions, East Coast shipown- |
ers are refusing to negotiate with |
the CSU, ‘which has repeatedly
demonstrated its willingness to
reach a just settlement of the
dispute.

Gangster bullets and police bat-
ons have driven Seamen back from
the dock areas in East Coast
Ports, but seamen and longshore-
men in all parts of the world are
Siving firm support to their strik-

progressive citizens gave a resounding answer to Trades and Labor

shameful advice to unionists to stop financial help to the Canadian

Auditorium last Friday night and adding $545 to the strike “kitty.”

article in the current issue of the Congress Journal, local labor circles

e striking seamen, who have been walking picket lines for more than
|

ing Canadian brothers, and scab-
manned ships limp from port to

port, unable in most cases to un-
load their cargoes.

Typical of the fate of “hot”
ships is the sorry saga of the Ca-
nadian flagship Haligonian Duke.
When the strike was called this
vessel was in Sydney, Australia,
ready to unload a cargo of coal.
The ship was tied up, the coal
remained unloaded for
months. Dock fees mounted to
the $150,000 mark. Desperate ship-
owners smuggled a SIU crew
aboard, but Australian dockers re-
fused to handle the cargo. Finally
the Australian government had
navy men unload some of the coal.

Last week the Haligonian Duke

four.

steamed slowly away, using some
of its own coal cargo to fire the
boilers, and headed for . .. some
port in Ceylon. But dockworkers
in Ceylon are affiliated\ to the
World Federation of Trade Unionris.
The WFTU is backing the CSU.

Will the Haligonian Duke be
tied up in Ceylon? Will the own-
ers have to pay’ another $150,000
in dock fees? The shipping op-
erators are crossing their fingers
and hoping for the best, but they
fear more squalls ahead. For
there is a boycott against their
scab-manned vessels in’ a dozen
countries, and shareholders will
soon be squawking if the bosses’

union-smashing strategy fails. And
the Canadian Seamen’s Union is
still fighting,

LITTLE PEETEE MAKES

HIS BOW

He needs people to work with, too

Circulation boosters in Norquay
district aren’t letting’ the summer
heat slow their drive™ for new
subscriptions’ and renewals. Last
week six people — Dora Madley,
Jeff Power, Effie Jones, Olive
Wilkenson, Percy Padgham and
George Madley — set out in pairs
to do a job for the Pacific Tri-
bune. The result, 11 renewals, 3
new subs, and others promised to
Subscribe on payday.

Kitsilano supporters are doing
800d work, too. They’ve set aside
one night a week for PT can-
vassing, and during the month
of July picked up 11 renewals and
“2 new subs.

’ This business of keeping tab on
renewals is vitally important in
increasing circulation, The job is
to keep our present readers and

win new ones. During July 145
Subs expired and only 42 have
been renewed to date Even win-

ning new readers won't counter-

balance the loss by neglect of 103
readers,

Most of these readers whose
Subscriptions lapse intend to re-
new, but it slips their minds for
a week or two. The paper doesn’t
reach them, another few weeks

pass, and unless they are visited
and asked to renew the sub...
well, every circulation department
on every newspaper knows what
happens in such cases,

That’s why we’re putting Little
PeeTee on the job. He'll appear
in this column every week to re-
mind boosters that getting subs
is a year-round job. He’ll also bob
up at various public affairs, such
as the United Labor Picnic on

Sunday, to sell Pacific Tribune
subs.
Boosters who made the July

Honor Roll by sending in three
or more: subs are:

GREATER VANCOUVER

CSU Striker, Maritime ..... 13
Dora Madley, Norquay ..... 4%
Percy Padgham, Norquay .. 3%
Fel Dorland, West End .... 3%
Bert Whyte, Kitsilano ...... 3

M. Stables, Renfrew Aft. ... 3
A. Gilstead, Sea and Shore .. 3

PROVINCE
J. Ormerod, Mission ........ 5

Ernie Weed, Trail ......... 3

SEE OUR HALF
PRICE TABLE
Wonderful values
in short and
broken lines in

Save Up to $25 on Your Suit at
THE HUB’S Midsummer

CLEARANCE

SUITS

REG. TO’ $42.50 REG. TO $57.50

Good range but not all

$49.95

| SUITS |

Single and DB models
in all sizes.

$37.65

PURE WOOL SHORT SOX 49
(White Only) Reg. 75c, Pair......... a Cc
$15 DRESS SLACKS ........ roche $7.95
GRAY POLO SHIRTS 1 50
Long Sleeves, Reg. ‘$225 -.2).......5. 53 $ a
“BIG BOB” WORK SHIRTS ~~ 1 95
Red Plaid, Reg. $2.75 ..... pe eo Aas $ 1

“MEADOWBROOK” TARTAN _ $4 95
CHECK SPORT SHIRTS, Reg. $6.95... "

45 East Hastings

Justice mourned

Frank Murphy, one of the out-
standing liberals among U.S.
Supreme Court justices, died in
Detroit at the age of 59. Murphy
had been successively mayor of
Detroit, governor general and
high commissioner of the Philip-
pines, governor of Michigan, U.S.
attorney general, and in Jan-
uary, 1940, he was appointed as-
sociate justice of the Supreme
Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
(See story on page 3.)

BCER |

“It's up to you! Take this up
in your organization. Flood the
city council and provincial gov-
ernment with resolutions, Demand
a public hearing. Abolish the 10-
cent fare!”

Several thousand signatures were
obtained during the week on LPP
petitions calling for a public hear-
ing. At a Kitsilano Beach concert
on Monday this week half a dozen
canvassers collected 16 pages of
signatures. In other parts of the
city canvassers went from door
to door and received eager support
from citizens who are “burned up”
by the unwarranted fare boost.

“The campaign is rolling,’ Mrs.
Jones told the Pacific Tribune
this week. “The Civic Reform As-
sociation welcomes support from
every source. Between now and
next December, when civic elec-
tions are held, I’m sure a tre-
mendous protest movement can be
organized.”

Residents in North Vancouver
are doubly penalized. Writing to
the daily press, Bert Marcuse of
the Trade Union Research Bureau
pointed out:

“There is probably no city on
the continent where a worker
must spend so high a proportion
of his wages on transportation
as in Vancouver and district.

“o add insult ‘to injury, the
BCER relegates residents of North
Vancouver to the role of Cinder-
ellas, Any evening in Vancouver
must end abruptly at about mid-
night in order to catch the last
bus to North Vancouver, which
leaves the depot at 1 am.

“However, on Saturday nights
the BCER generously allows us an
additional 20 minutes of night life
in the big city. No doubt they con-
sider that 25 cents fare and no
seat on a crowded bus is a’ small
charge for these extra 20 minutes.
On arrival in North Vancouver all
local buses are off their runs so
that the only alternative to a long
hike is a taxi and more expense,

“I suggest that the thousands
of other North Vancouverites
who feel as I do, write to the
company and let them know we
are thoroughly fed up with their
dictatorial tactics and that we
demand a fair public. hearing
from the Public Utilities Com-
mission on this whole matter.”

Decontrol o

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 5, 1949—PA

rents hit in

VHA brief |

Vancouver Housing Associ
this week blasted proposed deco
trol of rents by the federal 80
ernment next March, and declared
Such a step would be “disastrous”
for thousands of families,

In a brief submitted to the D
minion government on Tuesday
this week, the association pointed
out that a shortage of 20,000 dwell
ings in Vancouver at the end 2
the war has been increased f
5,000 in the last three years,

The VHA brief said that:.

® Rents are out of reach of
wage-earning families,

@ Only 8 to 10 percent °
homes built since the war, ¢X

cluding veterans’ units, have
‘been for rent, Le
@ Relaxation of controls

would boost rents disastro

_ for lower income groups.

The brief also asked that the
National Housing Act be amend?
to grant local housing authoritie®
the same privileges for assis :
financing as given limited-dividen®
corporations. _ i

Dealing witb the question of
“reasonable” rent increases unde!
government control, the associa”
tion warned that such increas®
should be carefully scaled and 20
increase of more than 10 percent’
should be allowed for rentals bes
low $50 a month. ,

Figures for building in Vancou
ver, North and West Vancouvel
Burnaby and New Westminster UP
to the end of July show that 2,
houses were built, compared
3,845 for the first seven mom
of 1948. .

Massey-Harris

provokes strike
TORONTO

Concerned over mounting. layoffs:

tack 24m
some 4,000 Massey-Harris worker

here struck work last week.
spark that touched off the strike
was the firing of popular ste
Anco, president of Massey-

| Local 439, United Auto worker

(CIO). Close to 3,000 workers on :
a stop-work meeting in a nea!

park and decided to stay jout U ¢
Anco was reinstated. An eis
later they ‘were joined oy +p

night shift, swelling the tota
over 4,000 militant strikers.

‘Behind the immediate issu?
of the firing of the union P oe
dent was the anger of the Vii
kers in the face of mass lay? ye
and speedup. More than 500 eer
been released in the last a
weeks alone—and union offici pai
say 1,000 more are scheduled
go. . ae
This is the first strike in ove
years at the sprawling eae
Harris plant, one of the bi 2
farm equipment monopolies in
world. to

Immediate issue which led
the firing of Anco was rte
of the union to agree to ove picb
work in one department we
would, in the union’s opinion, 1ack
led to further layoffs and enth: =
of work in other departm ace
and other shifts, Refusal wa 1)
cording to contract. © Reporting’ ig ‘
the meeting, President Anc® gent.
it was not an isolated ince ;
“There has been continual W! Are
ling over this overtime quel
he said. “There are too
layoffs.” ;

“This involves the entire ae
not just its president,” Ane? |
the huge gathering. “It is men!
day; tomorrow it will be 8° eyes
else. We cannot’ close py! con
to the way the company ™ | oon
niving against us, We have

on,

bulldozed too long.” : nal
Paul Siren, UAW internat the
representative, in assurine = 5,

hota
meeting of the backing aes is

ternational union, said: att

a show of solidarity. The siste

against the union will be rechi’-

to the utmost by the memb ae
; cE B

ntl
r

oy