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Labor mourns death

of Billy’ Steele

In Vancouver General Hospital Sunday of this week, Wil-
liam (Billy) Steele, veteran union man and well-known in B.C.
labor circles, passed away in his 82nd year.

For over 20 years this stocky little man with white hair, and
infectious smile and often a healthy grouch, served as union

janitor for the United Fisher-
men and Allied Workers Un-
ion, holding that position
since 1936.

Writing in honor of his 81st
birthday last. January 25. The
Fisherman said: “Billy outlast-
ed all the union officers, or-
ganizers, stenographers . and
other employees who ever set
foot in the Fishermen’s Hall.”

Billy Steele was born in
Clifton, Cumberland in 1876,
and came to Canada when a
lad of 19 years. Born of
mining stock Billy had work-
ed in the mines as a boy, and
the calling of a
miner in the Alberta coal
fields, then in Fernie and
later in Nanaimo,

Billy Steele. was working
in the mines at Frank, Al-
-berta in 1903 when the great
rock slide of Turtle Mountain
buried that ill-fated. mining
town and half its population.
Billy’s bunkhouse was just
outside the wide range.of the
giant avalanche.

followed

Finishing with coal mining
Billy Steele became a seaman,
and for 30 years or more fol-
lowed the life of a seafarer.
For a number of years he
sailed the old Empress boats
out of Vancouver to Japan,
China and other Far Eastern
ports.

As The Fisherman wrote in
its tribute to his 81st birthday
a year ago: “Billy was a un-

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FURNACES — STOVES
WATER HEATERS

Harry C. Weinstein
GAS CONTRACTOR

692 East Hastings
MUtual 3-5044
Res.: AL. 2991-L

FREE ESTIMATES

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REPAIRS
Duroid, Tar and Gravel
Gutters and Downpipes
Reasonable

NICK BITZ MU, 1-603],

- Steele

BILLY STEELE

he

went,
and stayed at seafaring until

ion man wherever

after the 1935 strike of sea-
men and longshoremen.” That
was the year of the epic
“Battle of the Ballantyne
Pier,” a high mark in RCMP
and city police brutality
against striking seamen and
longshoremen. In one of the
strikers’ parades Billy, along
with scores of other strikers,
was the victim of police gas
attacks and other RCMP
strike-breaking - tactics.

Loved and respected by all
who knew him, The Fisher-
man expressed the sentiments
of many hundreds when it

said: “His co-workers in the
Fishermen’s Hall and _his
many hundreds of acquaint-

ances in the union and other
organizations which use the
hall (including the (AA’s) are
glad Billy’s around. They
hope he’ll be a fixture for a
long time yet and look for-
ward to always hearing his
familiar and cheerful greet-
ing: ‘Who forgot to turn off
the gas?’”

Funeral services for Billy
were held in Mount
Pleasant Funeral Chapel on
Wednesday, July 30.

PATRONIZE
CEDAR FUEL
& TRANSFER

Phone: 566-R-3
Cedar, B.C.

PENDER
AUDITORIUM

(Marine Workers)

339 West Pender
LARGE & SMALL HALLS
FOR RENTALS
Phone MU. 1-9481

Will action against sugar firms

reveal why prices are soaring?

Will housewives who wonder why the price of sugar (and many other staple comme
continue to soar to find the answer when (and if) legal action is taken against B.

Refining Company and the Manitoba Sugar Co. Ltd.?

Following a report of a Restrictive Trade Practices Commission on the two sugat
panies, Justice Minister Davie Fulton announced “legal action would be taken” as a res

Death of Wasy! Kaplan

blow to labor movement:

The Association of United Ukrainian Canadians lost
hard working and devoted member Sunday of this wee
passing of Wasyl Alexievich Kaplun in Vancouver
Hospital. He was in his 59th year.

the commission’s report. Exe-
cutive heads of the two firms
declined comment.

Meanwhile, contrary to nor-
mal procedure, B.C. Sugar
Refining Company has gone
ahead with’ its merger with
Manitoba Sugar. At Ottawa
Harold, Winch (CCF, Vancou-
ver East) asked in the House:
‘Ts it usual or unusual for
companies under investigation
to go ahead and complete their
merger?”

(During the recent Public
Utilities hearing on B.C Elec-
tric’s application for a rate in-
crease, economist Emil Bjarna-
son asked PUC chairman Dr.
H. F. Angus if he thought it
“appropriate” for him to serve
as chairman while he was still
serving as a director of B.C.
Sugar Refining ~ Company.
Angus replied he could. “see
no reason” why he shouldn’t
preside).

‘If as and when” the legal
action “announced by Justice
Minister Fulton gets under
way, housewives and other
consumers may learn some-
thing about monopoly tech-
niques for jacking up prices.

Born in Ternopilska district
of the Ukraine in 1889, the son
of small peasant parents,
Wasyl Kaplun attended public
school and worked as a farm
boy He also served for a time
in the army of the Ukrainian
Republic.

Married in 1922, Wasyl Kap-
lun is survived by his wife and
three daughters, all of whom
are still living in Ternopilska
district and working as collec-
tive farmers in that area.

Kaplun emigrated to Can-
ada in 1928 and worked on
farms in Saskatchewan and
Alberta, moving to
Rupert in 1948. A capable car-

Prince

Y

ities)
c. Sugt

cot
t d

it

penter and construé i
worker, he followed his
for the past ten years OF
until ill health compelled #=
to retire two years ago.
Wasyl Kaplun was 2
ber of the United Brothel
of Carpenters and Joinels
an active member and wort
in the Vancouver men’s pram
of the Association of U™
Ukrainian Canadians. putt
the past six years he wa? :
a member of the East End
of the Labor-Progressiv€ pat
Funeral services will be 9
in the Ukrainian Hall at i
East Pender Street on sal

day, August 2 at 9 a.m.
ae

CLASSIFIED ADVE

RTISING

“NOTICE

DEADLINE FOR COMING
EVENTS COLUMN — All
copy must be in the Pacific
Tribune office not later
than 12 noon Tuesday.

A charge ot 50 cents for
each insertion of five lines or
less with 10 cents for each ad-
ditional line is made for no-
tices appearing in this column.
No notices will be accepted
later than Tuesday noon of
the week of publication.

COMING EVENTS

AUG —THE JACK BING-
8 HAM GARDEN
PARTY. You are invited to
join the committee of friends
who are preparing a delicious
outdocr supper and garden
party in honor of one of the
Labor Veteran Candidates.
Saturday, Aug. 2 at 6095
Argyle St. from 4:30. p.m. on.
Music - Games - Refreshments.
Admission (includes supper):
Adults, $1; Children, 35. cents.

—sUVIET FILM —
AUG. 3 “SPRING

possible
SONG” to be shown at the
Russian People’s Home, 600

Campbell Ave., Sunday, Aug. 3
at 8 p.m. English sub-titles.
Everyone welcome.

COMING EVENTS

LABOR PICNIC
SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
CONFEDERATION PARK
AUG —MOM HILLAND’S

- FARM PARTY.
Sale of garden produce and
home cooking. Music, games
and eats in the shady coun-
try garden. Saturday, August
2 at 1 p.m. in the log cabin,

top of the hill — 25th Ave:
North Webster Corners

Everyone welcome.
AUG 3 — ANNUAL PIC-

: NIC of the Federa-
tion of Russian Canadians of
Vancouver District Sunday,
August 3 at Confederation
Park in North Burnaby, Games,
good food—fun for all. Mem-
bers and friends of our or-
ganization are urged to attend.

BUSINESS PERSONALS

WESTMINSTER
READERS
Patronize
ALEX’S. SHOE RENU
815 - 12 Cl., New Westminster
Reasonable Rates

NEW

34 TRANSFER - 1420 Commer-
cial Drive. Call Nick - HA.
4058.

August 1, 1958 —

BUSINESS PERSONAE
HASTINGS BAKERIES ©

—Scandinavian producing
specialty. 716 East H gti?
Street. Phone MU. 47 _

4“
REGENT TAILORS LIP, 4
Custom Tailors and Re
to wear. For personal il
vice see Henry Ranker
324 W. Hastings St»
couver 3. MU. 1-8456-

Ps
O.K. RADIO SERVIOE
Specializing in TV rept
Latest precision equiplg
used. 1420 West Pendé?
MU. 4-1012.

HALLS FOR REN?

RUSSIAN PEOPLE'S 0
Available for meeting 0
dings, and banquets # ig
sonable rates. 600 cam?

Ave. MU. 4903): a

CLINTON HALL, 2605 by
Pender. Available f0F if
quets, Weddings, Mee
Etc. Phone HA. 3277.

LABOR VETERAN®
Celebration
at
COLUMBA’S
2747 Grant St
Fri., Aug. 8 8:30 PA
Come & nave fur
— All welcome.

pall

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—