Sask. Farmers Union
polls locals on strike
against gov't grading

SASKATOON

{
President J. L. Phelps of the Saskatchewan's Farmers. Union said last week that the west is
aflame with revolt against the government’s policies of wheat grading.
their opinions of an immediate farm sirke.

Farmers whose crop yields have
already been reduced by severe
frosts, find insult added to injury
as they haul load after load to
the elevator to see it graded No.
6 or feed. The price for feed
wheat is a dollar a bushel, basis
Fort William, which nets the far-
mer around 75 to 80 cents—far
below present costs of production.
Yet it is well known by every
farmer that the milling quality
of wheat is not affected by frost
in any extent comparable to the
price spread of 40 cents estab-
lish between No. 1 northern and
feed.

Prairie farmers are waiting in
vain for any indication that the
federal] government intends to of-
fer help at a time when the
total extent of frost damage is
acknowledged to be equal to if
not greater than that sustained as
a result of floods this spring in
Manitoba.

Agriculture Minister James Gar-
diner has ignured the strong re-
presentations made by the Saskat-
chewan executive of the Labor-
Progressive party asking special
payment to farmers whose crops
have been damaged by ‘frost.

Dominion as to the
present situation.”
Gardiner’s solution is: feed your

wheat to hogs. This fall the U.S.

may need some Canadian bacon !

and pork. But farmers unwise
enough to follow Gardiner’s advice
by constructing pig pens and in-
vesting Money in hogs may well
find themselves plunged still fur-
ther into debt through dependence
on a shaky market which vanishes
overnight.

‘One Ottawa report indicating
that the government is aware of
_ the need for mending a few fences
in the West states that Western
MP’s are putting pressure on to
have the government pay 12 cents
a bushel in settlement of wheat
_ Sold.in the 1945-50 wheat pool.

Although there has been no of-
ficial statement made, the reports
Suggest that the government has
been feeling the pressure of de-

mands for a final settlement of

25 cents first raised by the LPP
and now supported by farm and
~ organizations throughout the

~~

| “Everything in Flowers”
EARL SYKES

56 E. Hastings St. PA. 3855
Vancouver, B.C,

MILO CAFE
“We Specialize in :
Ukrainian Food”
242 E. Hastings St. PA. 3037
Vancouver

EAST END

a

All union locals are being asked

CCF reeve

tion government’s enabling bill.

When the ROMP absorbed the
B.C. provincial police, Reeve Bea-
mish announced that Burnaby
would not renew its police con-
tract when it expired at the end
of the year and would proceed
immediately to investigate the cost
of setting up its own municipal
police force.

But at this week’s council meet-
ing Beamish, who is reported to
have been under considerable pres-
sure to reverse this position, ad-
vanced as his excuse for deferring
action on his own proposal dis-
cussions he had recently had with
municipal leaders in other prov-
inces policed by the RCMP.
Unlike his provincial CCF leader,
|Harold Winch, who warned the
j legislature last spring that giving

repudiates

own pledge on RCMP,
upsets party's stand

BURNABY, B.C.

Reeve W. R. Beamish, who heads the CCF majority on Burnaby
municipal council, is going back on his promise to the people of the
municipality to establish a municipal police force. He is at the same
time repudiating both his own assurances given a few weeks ago when
the RCMP formally took over policing of the province and the stand
taken by the CCF Opposition in the legislature in opposing the Coali-

provincial police power to the
RCMP represented “a dangerous
tendency towards establishment of
a police. state,” Beamish informed
the council that every one of the
municipal leaders with whom he
had talked had found no complaint
to voice against the. RCMP.

He proposed therefcre, and his

proposal was concurred in by CCF
councillors, that council should
take no action until the 1951 police
contract came up for discussion.
2 Beamish’s action is expected to
evoke protest from ratepayers’ or-
ganizations and from CCF’ers who
see in it further evidence of gen-
eral CCF retreat and abandonment
of its policies.

He forecast that the cost of
living index will continue te go
up.

That new taxes and lowered ex-

emptions are inevitable is shown
by the fact that the new interim
budget will yield only an estimated
$58,900,000 beween now and the end
of the fiscal year, whereas the gov-
ernment has already committed
$1.5 billion for arms spending —
half its total budget brought down
last March. This will have to be
paid for out of taxes next year.

At the same time, the govern-
ment announced that its guns, not
butter policies will continue in 1951
on an increasing scale and the ex-
penditure per family will increase
from $285 this year to $350 in 1951.

Asked about increases in personal
income taxes Abbott grinned and
replied: “Be patient.”

The new tax rate for 1951 is
expected to be from 20 to 45 per-
cent higher than at present.

On the same day these staggering
figures were rattled off by war-
minded government leaders, the
Canadian Wheat Board announced
that the price of No. 1 northern
wheat would be $1.40 per bushel.
This is a knock-out blow to Cana-
dian farmers, already hard-pressed

Income tax boost
seen as certain

Finance Minister Abbott last week held the axe of a new
L wage tax over the heads of the Canadian people and threatened
to drop it at any moment. While using the excise tax method
to raise gun money and at the same time necessary commodi-
ties, setting the pattern for further price increases in all con-
sumer goods, Abbott announced that in. income tax increases,
he was holding “this important source of revenue in reserve.”

OTTAWA

by heavy frost damage.

The government’s Central Mort-
gage and Finance Corporation also
announced that down payments on
housing would be doubled which

will make it almost impossible for
average income families to buy
even the so-called low-priced homes.

Abbott spurned any attempt to
bring in measures to curb profit-
eering. With profits at a record
high, the increase amounts to
only five percent. Profits this year
for big corporations are showing
increases as high as 75 percent
over last year as prices continue
to mount,

This was such welcome news to
big business that stock market
prices on the Toronto Stock Ex-
change on the day following the
Abbott interim budget shot up as
high as $3 a share. Ford of Canada
stocks increased by that amount.

Last year Ford profits hit over $17-

million. and increase of more than
100 percent over 1948.

The Abbott hidden tax budget
will hit a wide range of commodi-
ties such as beer, soft drinks, can-
dy, motor cars and tires, many elec-
trical goods and other products in
daily use by the great majority of
the people.

To speak in city

Tim Buck will address what is
expécted to be his only public
rally during a forthcoming brief
visit to the Coast at Exhibition
Gardens on Sunday, September
24, 8. p.m. This will be the LPP
national leader’s first visit here
since his return from Europe.

Union derby won
by Olsen with
18-pound salmon

With close to 200 competing, top
three prizes in the Marine Workers’
annual salmon derby went to union
members working together in Wel-
lington Shop and Engineering
Works, First award, an electric
mantel clock and the “Kingfish”

| cup, was won by Harold Olsen with

an 18-pound, 12-ounce salmon.

The salmon derby, held last Sat-
urday from Eagle Harbor, saw 387
entrants win prizes valued at $650.

Second prize ‘winner J. Harris
hauled in a salmon weighing 16 lbs.
5 oz. and received a rod, reel and
line. A rod and reel went to Ernest
Wilson for catching a 15-lb., 4-oz.
salmon to take third spot.

Rods went to these union mem-
bers: L. W. Lalonde (12 lbs. 5 oz.
salmon), Frank Priest (11 lbs. 3 02.),
E, Barber (11 Ibs. 2 0z.), J. Dunham
(11 Ibs. 1 0z.), A. Inglis (10 Ibs. 15

oz.), George Brown (10 lbs. 7 02z.),
Syd Lamb (10*lbs. 7 0z.), T. Searle
(10 lbs. 4 oz.), W. Hoffman (10 lbs.
1 oz.), H. Wilson (10 lbs.), Joe Ab-

bott (9 lbs. 6 oz.), Bill Bastedo (9)

lbs. 6 oz.), C. W. Priest (9 lbs. 5 0z.),
D. McKay (9 lbs. 3 0z.), W. Gib-
bong (8 lbs. 12 oz.), J. Douglas (8
lbs. 11 0z.), B. Johnson (8 lbs, 8 02z.),
T. H. Stephens (8 lbs. 7 0z.).

Reels were won by M., Tieken (7
Ibs. 15 oz.), S.: Risa (7 lbs. 5. o2z,.),
C. Lungren (7 lbs. 4 0z.), Ed Kien-
gersky (7 lbs, 4 oz.), R. Edwards
(7 lbs. 2 oz.), W. Crawford (7 lbs.
2,0z.), P. Pearce (6 Ibs. 12 0z.), and
J. Villa (6 lbs. 11 02z.).

Lines were won by F. McDonald
(5 lbs. 12 oz.), Bill White (5 Ibs.
11 oz.), and. Bill Mancuse (5 lbs, 7
0z.).

Prizes of knives went to P.
O'Flaherty (5 Ibs. 4 oz.), T. Risa
(5 lbs.), J. Campbell (4 Ibs, 15 o2z.),
and E. G. Mare (4 Ibs. 12 oz.).

The “hidden prize” for a 3 Ibs.,
1 oz. fish resulted in a tie between
R. Barnett (3 Ibs. 2 oz.) and Eric
Runham (3 Ibs. 2 oz.). They will

draw for the prize, a $10 credit
note.

I

CONGRESS

President Bengough to declare that
“the chair was in doubt” and ask
for a standing vote for the purpose
of intimidating delegates. :

Bengough’s demand for a stand-
ing vote followed a closing floor
speech by Russell Harvey, Ontario
AFL organizer, in which he urged
that all AFL delegates who voted
against the Korean foreign policy

resolution be considered as “com-
munists” or “fellow travellers” and

be barred from convention proceed-
ings by the resolutions committee.
Harvey’s proposal was greeted by
boos from delegates who later voted
for the resolution, but whose vote
did not register their true opinion
because of fear of reprisal.

How delegates really felt was re-
flected on the second day * when
rank .and filers threw back four
resolutions to the resolutions com-
mittee; All-were pork chop items

dealing with such issues as a na-
tional minimum wage, statutory
holidays and union security.

The $1 an hour minimum wage
resolution from the Lumber’ and
Sawmill Workers Union drew the
most fire when the resolutions

|committee moved non-concurrence
lon the grounds that 75¢c an hour

was an adequate figure,

Among the opponents of the 75-
cent proposition was George Ben-
gough (Carpenters and Joiners,
Vancouver), son of President Percy
Bengough. The vote to send the
resolution back was almost unani-
mous.

Another indication of how many
of the delegates really feel was the
spontaneous burst of applause
which greeted the remarks of Wil- |
liam Stewart (United Textile Work-
ers) when he challenged the shame-
ful pro-war Korean resolution by
branding it for what it was when
he said it contained “every foul
red-baiting slander I’ve heard a
boss level against workers on a
picket line.”

Stewart, who is a Second World
War veteran, read the Stockholm
peace petition to the convention
after winning a floor debate with
President Bengough as to his
right to do so. He concluded by
emphasizing: “The sentiments
espoused in the resolution
brought down by the executive
council are the very policies
espoused by the big business
groups who provoked the rail
strike. A note of sanity is needed
in this convention and I am pre-
pared to fight for Canada here
on this floor just as I did over-
seas.” ;

Peter Mongeon, French Canadian
delegate from the Lumber and
Sawmill Workers Union, made it
clear that “French Canada will
never take part in a war of ag-
gression. Let the U.S. army get out
and give the Korean jeople a2
chance to decide their own destiny,”
he declared.

John Martin (AFL Railway
Clerks, Winnipeg) said he support-
ed the proposition of a negotiated
peace and that anyone who ac-
cused him of being a “communist”
or “fellow traveller” was “a liar.”

JO-ANNE’S

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Union House
111 Dunsmuir St.

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PACIFIC _TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 15, 1950—PAGE 6