i if / s apt, Ah, HEEL ATM gUhitlygGt Te lia ice EAT — ; ELLE MN LTS YY cana ALE aie Lt Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, July 8, 1949 449 Fas La ? Price Five Cents ‘Hearing before hoist’-Effie — re Zs Vs ee I LIL eee as se peace Aae = ne owi/son West's unity buckles Under crisis impact gee K. Smith, CBS London com- unig ‘ in his June 26 broadcast, said that the ik Of the west this week has been crumbling me a castle made of sand.” So question is inevitable: what has happened 8S 'so suddenly begun to disintegrate the unity M4 Western countries? And the answer seems a. that an ald problem, after a long war and ar period, has come back home to roost— "8 unsolved problem of 1929 is back among us 0 1949, We've learned to turn out the goods and pro- ae the wealth better than any previous civiliza- ee dreamed, but -we still haven't got the phage: distributing it. Badly distributed pur- ‘NS power, inside the nations is decreasing de- Ma toes ‘ ‘am for goods, (diminishing) markets are Caus- » “ayoffs and recession. eS in A Europe, and to some extent apparently also- m 2 go ftica, it’s causing the workers to grow restive, Work; on strike for more purchasing power, causing Sup ng class parties over here to withdraw their Port from governments and go into opposition. tue the nations it’s forcing each individual bgh veg to look after its own little interests, to *n trade restrictions, protecting its own markets for its own industries. The western countries. . . are in fact splitting up in suspicion that each is try- ing to do the other out of markets in a crucial period, that each is trying, as the London Times put it in a gloomy editorial this week, to ‘export its recession to its neighbor’s economy.’ “This week also in Brussels there was one of those Marshall plan conferences that used to end in agreement, only this time it ended in about the most perfect disagreement so far. The object of the conference was to negotiate an accord for trade among the Marshall nations to replace the current trade arrangements which go out of date on June 30. “The conflict that came to a head this week has been smoldering beneath the surface for a long time. “The British, supported by Scandinavia, want to continue to trade by means of bilateral barter agreements that assure them a market for their expensive goods. “The Americans, supported mainly by Belgium, want to put an end to bilateral restrictions and to open up Europe to free competition which would enable America to sell more goods. Continued on back page See WEST REFORM FIGHTS PHONE INCREASES Pulling another ‘‘fast one” on the public, BCElectric this week flouted provisions in the Public Utilities Act providing for public hearings before transit fare increases are granted, and applied for “an interim increase” to a 10-cent straight fare to become effective within two weeks. “Interim increases are only supposed to be granted in the event of an emergency,” declared Effie Jones, president of Civic Reform Association, which is fighting the proposed fare boost. “There is certainly no emergency facing BCElectric, but the company is ob- viously taking advantage of loosely written clauses in the Public Utilities Act to put over another raw deal on Vancouver citizens.” The fare hike, due to become effective within a fortnight, will raise city fares from three tickets for 25 cents to a straight 10-cent fare, and children’s tickets from eight for 25 cents to six for 25 cents. In addition, the company is asking that settlers’ tickets, now 10 for 90 cents, be- raised to.9 for $1; that 10-for-90 cents Vancouver- Marpole-New Westminster interurban tickets be increased to 10 cents each and that the Earles Road-Park Avenue differential on inter- unban lines be discontinued for a straight 10-cent fare which would take passengers to Boundary Road. . In 12 months the increases would add $800,000 to BCElectric revenue, according to company president Dal Grauer. Official application for the steep increase was made to the Public Utilities Commission at Victoria on Tuesday, and Vancouver's Non- Partisan-dominated city council immediately let it be known that no attempt would be made to block the interim increase. For wittdow-dressing — purposes council declared that two city “‘experts” will study the BCElectric finan- cial position before deciding whether or not to oppose the in- crease at the full public hearing which must be held before the interim increase becomes perman- ent. “IT warned the public several weeks ago that BCElectric was plotting to put over another fare increase,” said Effie Jones, “and I said at that time I would fight to prevent -such a move. The Civic Reform Association execu- tive is meeting Friday to plan ‘a broad campaign against this unwarranted profit-grab by the BCE, and we will certainly pre- sent a brief to the Public Utilities Commission opposing the fare in- crease.” Last week Mrs. Jones released figures -showing that introduction of trackless trolleys has cut oper- ating. costs, and the rapid con- version program will lower oper- ating expenses still further. “The Civic Reform Associa- tion will present figures at the PUC hearings proving that the latest transit fare boosts are both unjust and unnecessary,” con- cluded Mrs. Jones. FIGURES PROVE Phone boost not | tifi ry Civic Reform Association will demand that federal authorities hold public hearings in Vancou- ver before making any decision on B. C. Telephone Company’s application for higher telephene rates, it was announced this week by CRA vice-president Elgin Ruddell. ““We are prepared to present a comprehensive brief at such a hearing, proving that the propos- ed increases are entirely unneces- sary,” said Ruddell. “‘That is why we are going to press city council to ask the Board of Transport ‘ Commissioners for Canada to hold local hearings.”’ Pointing out that in. 1948 B.C. Telephone made the largest profits in the last 10 years, and regularly pays eight percent divi- dends on its ordinary shares and six percent on preferred shares, Continued on back page See B.C. TELEPHONE a ie