ALEX EYTON:

The labor and_ progressive
‘Movement in B.C. lost a dedicated
and hard-working activist with the
Passing of Alexander Eyton on
February 16. His passing at the age
of 73 after a heart attack, will be
| ™Mourned by his fellow trade
unionists in the fishing industry, as
Well as by ‘his comrades and
friends in the Communist
Movement and readers of the
Pacific Tribune.

At the memorial service held at

Boal Chapel, North Vancouver, on
February 19, Homer Stevens,
‘President of the United Fishermen
‘and Allied Workers Union, paid a
Warm tribute to this modest,
‘Massuming and dedicated man
Who was a former general
| *xecutive board member and
Tustee of the union.

'. His great strength,” said
evens, “was his firm belief in the
Norking people. He was a socialist,
“nvinced that the future depended
Upon the unity of working people in
pancal as well as economic ac-

nee

_ Throughout his life he was
Closely identified with the
Problems of the Fraser Valley,
| Where he was born at Ladner in
1902. During the thirties he took an
| *ctive part in the struggles of the
) employed and farmers in the
alley, and in 1943 he was elected
@ seat on the Surrey School
ard.
P He Was also an active member
ring this period in building the
RB €rmen’s union and was able to
00k back on more than 30 years’
Membership in the UFAWU and its
a runners. He also played an
Reve part in the co-op movement,
eons on the board of directors of
€ United Fishermen’s Co-op.

Labor veteran mourned

In recent years he had been an
ardent campaigner for measures
to end pollution of the Fraser River
and was well known among en-
vironmentalists.

For most of his adult life, Alex
Eyton was an active, and highly
respected mem@er of the Com-
munist Party, and an ardent
supporter of the Tribune. He never
failed to promote and contribute to
the working class press, and often,
when in Vancouver, would visit the
Tribune office to say hello and
invariably make a contribution.

The Tribune editor and staff
express their deepest sorrow at the
_passing of an old friend and
comrade, and sends its con-
dolences to members of the family,
whose sad loss we share.

He is survived by his wife,
Natalie, in.Steveston; two sons,
Donald in Burnaby and Ray in
Roberts Creek; one daughter, Mrs.
Gladys Slotylak; four grand-
children; one brother, Sidney, and
two sisters, Mrs. Carrie Stickland
and Mrs. Hilda Crowther.

ALEX EYTON

Tim Buck's
Soon to be

a hew book — a biography of
'm Buck — is scheduled to appear
0 March,

Fs book, written\ by Oscar
Yan, and published by Progress
Oks, Toronto, covers the life of
" outStanding and long-time

oe Communist leader and

€sman, from his birth in East

" glia, England, to his death at the
Be of 82 in Mexico.

a Buck — A Conscience for
Tk is the life story of the man
Fk a leading part in virtually
hale” Political conflict during a
and Century of Canadian history,
;,, Played an important role in the

oe tational communist

vement throughout his lifetime.
ie biography is viewed as an
rtant contribution _to

Ree history and to the
| Publi lan labor movement. The

ay 'shers feel that it is essential

Who N€ for Marxists, and for all

Seek fundamental social
€, including that portion of
for Young generation which strives

ce reform, Canadian in-

Bye ce and socialism.
the bie Same token, they believe

k is a useful antidote to all

Pens, be it from direct

Cha
the ne

Poison

biography
published

capitalist sources, from right wing -

social democracy, the ultra left or
from all who want to rewrite
history or whitewash history.

The biography’s author, Oscar
Ryan, who first met Tim Buck in
1926, and was associated with him
for many years, has created good
and exciting reading suitable to a
wide audience. The exact date of
publication will be announced

shortly.

TIM BUCK

ty €conomy. The wire read:

MPs
trag

Price spiral.”

CP supports gov't workers

TORONTO — In a wire to treasury board chairman Jean
chtetien, William Kashtan, leader of the Communist Party of
ada, has called upon the fede

ciple of parity for workers in

traq Government previously had accepted Pp
€S' Workers in private and public service.

a 80vernment moved away from must b

_ “Cate a sound basis for a just settlement o,
Overnment cannot maintain two principles,
Plus tax-free income, and only adj
des workers which would keep them behind th

ral government to return to the
the public and private sectors of

rinciples of parity for
This principle, which
e restored and thereby
f public service strike.
a 50% increase for
ustments in wages for
e inflationary

But revenue raising wrong

Budget puts emphasis
on people’s welfare

It was a massive $3.2 billion
budget finance minister Dave
Barrett brought down last Friday
— up 38 percent from the previous
year. It was a budget that put the
emphasis on expenditures for
people’s welfare — programs for
the construction of new schools,
hospitals, some housing, farm
income assurance, expansion of

the ferry fleet and some expansion. .

of employment’ programs for the
forestry sector, public works and
summer jobs for youth. And,
despite its orthodoxy, it was a very
different kind of budget then could
have been expected from a Socred,
Liberal or Tory government!
Undoubtedly the biggest news to
come out of the Premier Barrett’s
1975-76 budget speeach was his
announcement that ‘‘a deficiency
in excess of $800 million” will have

‘to be financed by the people of

British Columbia as a result of the
massive Columbia River giveway
by the previous Socred ad-
ministration of W. A. C. Bennett
and the federal government. The-
Communist Party led the fight
against the Columbia giveway,
campaigning for over sixteen
years to warn the people of this
province of how they were being
sold short.

The deficiency is accounted for,
the minister of finance reported,

“by $98 million more than the $479

million figure the United States
advanced payment for the Mica
Dam construction; $255.5 million
spent on generation, transmission
and transformer facilities and $450
million still required to finish the
project.”

Among other things, the previous
Socred government failed.to make
any allowance for increased
construction costs when it signed
the agreement in 1964. Barrett told
the Legislature that the excess
costs amount to “‘sixty percent of
the over-all Treaty costs’’ and are
estimated to have cost $600 million
already.

While over sixty cents of every
dollar to be expended_this year by
the provincial government will go
to education, healthy and welfare,
and a new precedent-setting,

SIBERIA

_ Cont'd from pg. 2
some time at a special pedagogical
institute training teachers to work
among their own people.

“T wish our Native People could
come to this area and see how
socialism has enriched the lives of
the Native People during the brief
45 years of its existence here,” said
William Beeching of Saskatche-
wan, where there is a large Indian
and Metis population.

Samotlor is the source of the
great Druzhba (Friendship)
Pipeline funneling oil to the
socialist countries of Europe and
ensuring that the socialist system
will never fall victim to the
“energy crisis” of imperialism. All
along the road to the oil wells there
are colorful signs in many
languages — Mir, Paix, Peace —
testifying to the cause for which
these efforts are made.

Beaver Transfer

* Moving
* Packing
* Storage

790 Powell St.
Phone 254-3711.

ri

° hs = es

—o—

revenue-sharing arrangement
(under which B.C. municipalities
will benefit from the price increase
of B.C. natural gas), there will be
strong and justifiable criticism of
the government’s method of
revenue raising.

For example, the biggest single
revenue source is the Sales and
Fuel Tax — $716.5 million which
comes from the pockets of con-
sumers — compared with only

$533.3 million for all natural

resource taxes, royalties, licenses
and special privileges.

With a Sales and Fuel Tax that is

‘to bring in almost double what it

did in the last Socred Bennett
budget — ($419 million in 1972) —
the new NDP budget has increased
the tax on gasoline by 2 cents per
gallon, for an additional revenue
from this source that will amount
to $65 million. Instead of response
to the popular demand, raised for
several years by the trade union
movement and the Communist
Party among others, for cutback if
not outright replacement of the
Sales Tax, it is being increased:

Notable is the fact that while
natural resource taxes, licenses
and royalties have been increased
31.9 percent in the 1975-76 budget.
Sales and Fuel Taxes have jumped
46.1 percent.

Despite its record-shattering $3.2
billion budget, the government is
undoubtedly going to be under
strong pressure to allocate more
funds to housing (today’s number
one urban problem) and unem-
ployment; hospitals, which are
still feeling the budget squeeze of
year after year of Social Credit
penny-pinching; sharply-rising
educational costs; and fiscal needs
of hard-pressed B.C. municipal
governments, most of which are on
the verge of ordering a con-
siderable increase in tax burdens
on local ratepayers unless the new
gas price comes through quickly.

Premier Barrett has estimated
that if the export price for gas is
upped to $1.50 per mef., it would
mean about $20 million to B.C.

NATH
HEGISHANURIE

By NIGEL MORGAN

municipalities; an increase to $1.75
would yield about $30 milion, and
$2 price approximately $40 million.
Forty million additional revenue
would provide about $20 additional
per capita spread over the

_ province.

USSR FILM SHOWINGS

The Canada-USSR Society in
Vancouver is sponsoring two USSR
film nights at which films from
various republics dealing with
sports, education and travel in the
USSR will be shown. These are on
Thursday, March 13, 8 p.m. at
Vancouver Public Library, 750
Burrard St., and Sunday, March
16, 7 p.m., at the Hastings Com-
munity Centre, 3096 E. Hastings
St.

OBITUARY

VALDI SWAINSON

Valdi Swainson, veteran Com-
munist and pioneer immigrant
from Iceland who settled in Gimli,
Manitoba, in 1883 passed away in
his 95th year at the home of his
daughter and son-in-law, Thora
and John Cherkosh in Burnaby
February 15.

Valdi was one of a family of 13
who homesteaded in Gimli, before
fishing on Lake Winnipeg and later
turning to carpentry. In 1899 he
married Johanna Josephson,
moving to Wynyard, Sask. in 1905.
In 1925 he moved with his family to
Saskatoon where he joined the
Communist Party in 1929. With a
keen sense of humor, a deep
humanism and sympathy for the
oppressed the world around, few
were the causes of mankind that
were not the beneficiaries of
Valdi’s efforts and generosity.

He was a staunch supporter of
the Communist Party and the .
Pacific Tribune to his last days.

He is survived by his daughter,
Thora and son Barney; a 98-year-
old sister, Solvig, in Blaine; sister
Freda in Saskatoon, and brothers
Halldor in Elgin, Wisconsin; and
Kelly in Selkirk, Manitoba, as well
as four grandchildren and four
great grandchildren.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

A a a a

FOR SALE

COMING EVENTS

Beautiful Rabbits. All colors and MARCH 15 — Saturday, March 15

_ sizes. Phone 277-5134.

HALLS FOR RENT

RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME —
Now available for rentals. For
reservations phone 254-3430.

WEBSTER’S CORNERS HALL
Available for banquets,
meetings, etc. For rates, Ozzie,
325-4171 or 685-5836.

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN
CULTURAL CENTRE — 805
East Pender St., Vancouver 4.
Available for banquets, wed-
dings, meetings. Phone 254-3436.

at 8 p.m. ST. PATRICK’s DAY
DANCE at Russian People’s
Home, 600 Campbell Ave. Spons:
FRC. Admission $2.50. Sand-
wiches and coffee served.
Refreshments on sale. All
welcome.

MARCH 16 — Sunday, March 16 —
8 p.m. CONCERT to com-
memorate great Ukrainian poet
. Tarashevchenko at the
UKRAINIAN LABOR TEMPLE,
805 E. Pender St. $2.00. Ad-
mission. $1.00 pensioners. All
welcome.

BUSINESS PERSONALS

RON SOSTAD, writer-researcher.
Ph. 922-6980.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1975—Page 11