t could, and should be a thrilling story, but vide

reduced it to little more than a standardized dis-

sertation on “communism” and Communists, it becomes a
form of mental pollution, nothing more.

Just recently I had the opportunity of reading ‘‘a thesis’’ on
the history of the labor movement of the ‘Pacific North
West’’, or to be more exact an alleged “‘history’’ of the IWA,
the Longshoremen, the Brotherhood of Carpenters, etc., prior
to and during the early C10 days. The thesis in question is by a
university student as ‘‘part’’ of his objective for a Master’s
degree.

This thesis underlines ‘‘inter alia’’ but quite
unintentionally, that basic question confronting university
students on every campus on this hemisphere and beyond— the
aim and purpose of auniversity education; to serve an
established “‘Holy Trinity” of Big Business — or serve the
common people?

Here one doesn’t even mention the burning question of ‘‘a
job”’ upon graduation, although that is also of prime concern
to graduate and common man alike.

Obviously that dwindling minority of university students
who picture themselves as future salesmen, technicians,
scientists or what have you for Big Business, find it to their
liking and advantage, and future “‘prospects’’ to do a thesis on
“labor history’? well spiced with ‘“‘communist’’ intrigues,
conspiracies, scheming and the like, all calculated to sit well
on the jaded political stomachs of Big Bizz. In short, to fawn at
the feet of astatus quo Establishment. __

It may also be noted,-en passant, that the identity of
“references” given in this student’s thesis (as in many other
we have perused), are almost 99-percent of the same vintage
relative to their anti-communist content. One often wonders
what these “brainy” sprouts would do with their socalled
‘labor histories’’ if there were no Sect SD or
Communists to scribble about. -

Some of these lads almost surpass FBI’s a Fagan Hoover |
or the late Senator Joe McCarthy, or better still some of the
dumbest of our own RCMP political sleuths, in determining
who is, or who isn’t a OS ee ES plus all Se we “shades”
in between!’

This particular’ thesis’ ‘pitching for a Masters: Stace?
literally uses up hundreds of pages on the question of whether -
Harold Pritchett, then International President of the IWA and
other leading bodies in the camps and mills of DeEoe,
Washington and B.C. was a ‘“‘communist”’ or not. Now he “
now he ‘“‘isn’t’’, but~all his speeches, writings, policies,
activities, ‘“sound”’ like one.

..Our thesis writer is ina bit of a quandary, but that doesn’t
phase him none. The ‘‘communists”’ are all good guys, good
union men, the fighting core of the great ‘“‘Pacific Northwest’.
Too bad. The Muirs and Hutcheons, the Greens and all the
goons used by the AFL to defeat the CIO thought otherwise, to
say nothing about the big timber barons, who thought it was
great to see working men, mill workers and loggers in
Portland, Seattle and elsewhere, battering hell out of each
other — instead of out of them. For the latter at least, anti-
communism then — and now, is their most potent weapon, so
get on with your thesis boy, you have done a fine job, as have
all your specie of “‘historians’’, and if we don’t ‘‘reward”’ you
owing to periodic recessions’’ on the earth, you will have your
reward in an open-shop ‘“‘heaven’’.

And then, as though a-last and final nostalgic touch, much
like a last twinge of conscience in revolt at all the pages of
garbage compiled on ‘“‘communism”’ and Communists — a
frank admission that Harold Pritchett, British Columbian and
ex-International President of the great IWA, ‘“‘did more than
any other one man to build and establish the International
Woodworkers of America in the Pacific Northwest’’. Not
precisely because he was a Communist, although that is vitally
important for and to every workingman in this century,but
because he was (and is), first, last and all the time a good
union man. . . only one of the prime conditions to being a good
Communist.

Our advice to budding MA’s BA’s or what ever. If you must
write on ‘“‘labor history’’, stick to facts, and leave the
‘““communist”’ fiction to the fiction writers.

SPL re

BETHUNE

MARXIST.
CLASSROOM

WOMEN IN TODAY’S WORLD
Mona Morgan

WESTMINSTER — Royal Towers Hotel

(Fraser Room) ;
SUNDAY —APRIL 18 — 8 P.M. -

NOTE — Class one week later due to Ea ster Holiday

ect tosiw

- elected vice-president,

ennuined

ft bri
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WYSECRS

PACIFIC TRIBUNE--FRIDAYAPRIL2, 1971 — Paces

log yates? intaeniznas n

periene ee Seasons

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—e eo ee

_ City-wide opposition
to NPA giveaway deals

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN ;

The people of Vancouver have’
won another round in’ their:
continuing battle with City-
Council over how Vancouver
should be developed. The victory
occurred on March 23 when
Council was battered for four
hours with 30 briefs backed up by
strong citizen délegations
demanding that Council shelve
its plans for a disguised freeway
through the Jericho Park area.

Faced with such an array of
angry citizens, the NPA
-dominated Council had. to eat
crow. It voted to freeze the
freeway scheme and to open
negotiations. with Ottawa for the
acquisition. of 38 acres more of
Jericho land that Ottawa plans to
sell to private promoters. It also
agreed that Locarno Park will be
préserved.

But the battle of Jericho is by-
no means over. Mayor Campbell
is already talking of re-locating
the freeway, this time running it
alongside the beach. This would

be even more objectionable than | *

the proposal already turned
down. Citizens will have to keep
an eye on Council to see that it
doesn’t try to sneak in the
freeway by another method,
perhaps at secret meetings
where our mayor likes to do so
much Council business. _

The upsurge of citizen protest

_ over the Jericho freeway. again, ..

proves that even the. stiff-
necked, hide-bound, conserva-
tive minded NPA majority on
Council can be persuaded to bow
to public demand. It doesn’t
happen often enough, but it does
happen. It should ‘happen again,
especially when the Four
Seasons project comes up for
public hearing.

When Council first passed this
project the vote was 10 to 1.
TEAM aldermen voted with the’
NPA; I was the only alderman
opposed. Since then TEAM
aldermen appear to have had a_
change of heart, due to the
widespread ‘opposition that has
developed to the project. This
desecration of the entrance to
Stanley Park can _ still be
defeated. :

' Two steps should be urged on
Council. The first is that Council _

Mann elected
as BCA head

Mauritz Mann was elected
president of the. Burnaby
Citizens Association by
acclamation at last week’s
annual meeting. He is a former
member of the Burnaby School
Board: Gordon Smith was
de-
feating trade unionist Tom
Constable by eleven votes.

More than a hundred members
turned out for the annual event
and heard Mayor Prittie -and

_ Councillor Jim Daillie outline

--some of the problems pending
for .the fast-growing muni-
-cipality.

The following were elected to
the Board of Directors: Claire

_-O’ Neil, E- Buckingham, D.
“Evans, G. Houlden, O. Johnson,
H.. McKay, G.- Snell vA;

éTomlinson}) “F! ! Wilson andiD::

n? Gonstaple 1s

zienio EF mere veo!
tq jost to enoitetaaes + 1Ga'teun

should demand that Ottawa
refuse to sign any agreement sub-
leasing National Harbour Board
water lots to: Four Seasons.

‘Without these, the scheme would

fold up.

Secondly, Council should
reverse its decision and cancel
the. whole deal. If the Four
Seasons promoters take us to

OT TOW 90"

a
gala

court, the cost would be We
worth the preservation of”
area. It should be publi
developed as part of Stal
Park; not turned over to pr! ar
promoters to make a fast buck# ¥
the expense of the people ®
Vancouver.

(For more on Four Seasons 8% |

story on page 12) SS

TAK

THE. RICH! ]

my ‘WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THOUSAND

OF PEOPLE WORKED HARD For
: MILLIONS t"

COPE urges campaign
for rapid transit now |

The annual meeting of the Com-
mittee of Progressive Electors
(COPE) held in the Labor

. Temple March 24, instructed the
‘incoming executive to hold

discussions with alderman
Harry Rankin, the Vancouver

“sand 'Distriet: Labor Council, and

the Central Council of Rate-

‘payers for the purpose of

“Yssuing a joint call to a
conference of all interested
groups before the end of April to
establish a committee pledged

‘to mount a major public

campaign around the slogan
“Rapid Transit Now — Free-
ways Never!”’

The resolution calling for the
conference charged that
“attempts are continuing to
smuggle a freeway system into
Vancouver bit by bit’’ and cited
the connectors at both ends of

the-Georgia Viaduct and the new ~~

projected crossing of First
Narrows as examples. It termed
rapid transit as ‘‘the number one
priority for the majority of
working citizens of Vancouver.”’

Alderman Harry Rankin told
the meeting that ‘‘the tempo of
city hall politics has really
moved forward in the last three
months.’’ He charged that
‘Council and the mayor have
projected a ‘‘hard line’’ against
young people who are moving

_ across the country because of

unemployment and who must be
looked after.

The fight over the use of the
Jericho property; he said, is just

: the tip of the iceberg in the real
_ issue which-is whether Van-

couver will have freeways or a
rapid transit system.

“‘We can have one or the
other” , Said alderman Rankin,

“we can’t have both. The fight
for rapid transit is the single
biggest. ssue in civic politics in
Wahtouyer at the -present times:

Beane.

J
The outcome will laréel D

determine the direction a
city’s development.” He ¥
COPE members. to, ac! ais!
participate in a public camP*
in favor of rapid transit. » “a

The annual elections
Ronald Gomez chosen 4% P
dent for the coming Bi 5
addition, Bruce Yorke idet at
elected as vice-pres! tal
Margaret Chunn, sect
Frank Kennedy, reasuret
Swankey, publicity dir@ nell
Dennis Rankin, Jean m4
Terry Clarke, Ruth smit
Alex Watson as members °
executive.

The meeting decided t? se? ll
brief and delegauay Be: “ff |
council on March 3 aru .
‘council to cancel thé

Seasons agreement. |
Opposes freewa) |

Among the 30 briefs pest |
to- city council on the give" |
“freeway” plan was on 0
by Wm. Turner, on behal
B.C. Communist Party- js 0]

Turner said ‘‘Our party all |
the opinion that what is ia moh
involved is not the build ewe!
the extension of a ire
system through the Jer ae
Locarno beach area, but ing ihe
volume of traffic servicl 5
University-Point Grey 4
complement the over? or lg
for rapid transit as fee ;
towards existing wall aA
and the proposed J
Arbutus connector. fi

The Communist party | ie
opposed the construction rel
roadway through the be@
and urged that the i. th
roadway be augmented ? isiot
earliest possible prov wea
rapid transit in conjunc y
the, oxexall: regional pagan!

0c
ou
7th

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