’

‘ea

oe

_ THE NATION

- Gov't reports conceal fact

Se By TIM BUCK

‘it's decline that leads to bust’

A reader of the Tribune asked me on Labor Day:
“How come that you keep referring to “the ap-
Proaching economic crisis’ as though it were already
_ Visible, while the financial papers claim that business is

healthy and still booming, with profits and dividend dis- ~

bursements at the highest level in history?”

“Whom do you believe?” I asked the comrade, and

his reply made me realize that'there has been a de-
ficiency in our explanation of the approaching crisis.
“I believe you,” he said, “but I can’t contradict news-
_ Paper reports about high employment, high production,
high dividend payments, and so, on, and I can’t explain
the seeming contradiction between those reports and
What you say.” :
That difficulty has probably been experienced by
Other Tribune readers besides the one who approached
Mme. There does seem to be a contradiction between
(Our call for Action Now!—to protect the workers against
the effects of the approaching crisis, and the fact that
Capitalist profits were greater during the first half of
this year than for ‘any previous half year in the history
Of Canada. I should add that, in most industries, pro-
duction also continued to increase during the first half
Of this year. Altogether the economic picture suggested

by official reports is one of lush prosperity—for the >

Capitalist class.

For the average person the difficulty is complicated

_ the more because the crisis is developing in Canada as

_ Part of the historical general world crisis of capitalism

Which is acute today in the form of a capitalist trade

, crisis, At the risk of being considered as lacking mod-

€sty I should point out that I explained ‘this in Canada:
the Communist Viewpoint.

The measures by which Wall Street is exporting the
U.S. economic crisis while securing a stranglehold on
the economics of one after another of the capitalist
countries under the pretense of helping them, is il-

_lustrated by the Marshallized countries.

These measures are misrepresented to the. public
as measures of great assistance to Canada. The truth
is, of course, that precisely because they invoke U.S. fi-
Nancing of virtually all the exports permitted across
the Atlantic from Canada, the conditions imposed by the
U.S. government; and the favored conditions thereby

- €stablished for U.S. exporters, these measures are al-
ready undermining Canada’s economy even in the midst
Of the appearances of a boom, Even the statistics pub-
‘lished by the government cannot hide that fact. The
Finamcial Post is provoked to ask its readers: “Who
will buy our wheat?”

For the time being, however, the fact that Canada
is being hobbled and hamstrung by agreements with
the U.S., preparatory to the trade disaster to which the
St. Laurent government is heading, is overshadowed
by optimistic government reports of rising production

_ and profits.
ee.

; But government reports of production and profit,
as they are published, don't reveal] the whole picture
of Canadian economy, and still less its trend. For ex-
ample: consider the recent boasts that Canada’s nine

leading industries produced’ nearly 10 percent more

goods during the first half of 1949 than they produced
during the first half of 1948 (which saw the highest
_ production ever until then). The press reports looked
good. The day after those reports appeared the cap-
italist papers reported “Employment at high level.”

Reading’ the reports one could learn that the nine
leading industries which had increased their production
by nearly 10 percent had increased the number of work-
ers in their plants by only 1 percent. ‘

The widespread intensification of exploitation of
which that is a result is illustrated in the following ex-
ample. At the Ford plant in Windsor a new machine
has been installed recently for drilling of cylinder blocks.
The new machine drills every hole in the block simul-

taneously. The result is that where 82 workers were
employed drilling cylinder blocks each shift, 96 men
in all, with the new machine one man on each shift,
_ three men in’ all, drill the same number. ;

Two days after that report the papers commented
upon the fact that, contrasting with last year, there
has been little change in wage rates during the first

half of this year. There, in that group of reports on

Canada’s economic activity, was revealed the marked >
- growth of the contradiction that Marx described as |

the ultimate cause of all real crises, namely, the growing

. disparity between. the “restricted consumption of the

Masses as compared to the tendency of capitalist pro-
duction to expand the productive forces as if only the
absolute power of consumption of the entire society
Would be their limit.” (Capital, Vol. 3, p. 568.) ;
The inevitable contradiction between rapidly expand-
ing productive capacity and declining demand is be-
coming evident in Canada now. Unemployment is grow-
ing. The steady increase in the number of workers who
cannot find jobs, the growth of large permanent pools

of unemployed workers in all the industrial centers, the

=

| put it’s the decline that leads to the bust.

’ Calgary will do that.

public admission by officials of the National Employ-
ment Service that it is now impossible to place appli-
cants for employment if they are over 50 (45 if they
are women), al] these elements of the permanent “in-
dustrial reserve army” of capitalism belie the govern-
ment’s propaganda about “full employment” and con-
tinuing prosperity.”

Now basic industries are beginning to reduce pro-
duction. Internationa] Nickel announced a 10 percent
reduction in operation because of a decline in the world

demand for nickel. Anaconda Copper and Brass laid off .

15 percent of its employees, announcing the same rea-
son. Dominion Steel and Coal has just announced the
closing down of one last furnace because of declining de-

“mand. The lumber and sawmill industry is in a crises.

‘Massey-Harris of Toronto, Cockshutt Plow of Brantford,
and numerous other companies have laid off workers
during the past few weeks. It’s only a “decline” today,

-

LABOR FOCUS’ By J. B. SALSBERG

AFL domination
issue before ILC

N Thursday this week, the Trades and Labor Con-

gress convention opened in Calgary. What happens
at Calgary will have a’far-reaching influence on the
future of the Congress and the role Congress unions
will play in the serious national and international situa-
tion now unfolding. N 2

The AFL bosses in Washington and their slavish

_ tools in Canada, the “roadmen,” make it appear as if

the suspension of the CSU from the Congress were
the only issue facing the delegates. This is true only
to the extent that the CSU issue contains the basic
element of a long brewing crisis in the Canadian trade
union movement. :

I refer, wf course, to the profound question of

whether the Canadian membership of the AFL and
‘the other members of the TL€ shall be masters of
their own house and enjoy the rights due the working
class of a sovereign country, or whether those rights

shall be destroyed and the handful of top AFL men
in Washington shall decide for Canadian workers in
the same way that the colonial office of an imperialist
power decides for the “natives”, of an oppressed country.

But it would be wrong to think that the suspension
of the CSU would end the crisis. It wouldn’t, of
course, because the basic issue of the autonomous
rights and freedom of the Canadian unions is inherent

_in many other important issues which are bound to

arise at the -convention. In fact this problem has
plagued the TLC throughout the years and will con-
tinue to do so unless and until settled to: the complete
satisfaction of the Canadian trade union movement.

“It is an abominable situation when a trade union
center in a foreign country attempts to influence
delegates attending a convention in this country,”
declared the statement issued over the signatures
of Percy Bengough and J. W. Buckley last March,
“Can we permit a situation where Canadians at-
tending a convention in Canada and voting on na-
tional affairs may suffer reprisals from abroad?”

The question the Congress leaders placed before their
members seven months ago is even bigger and more
challenging today.

' William Green issued a diktat to his affiliated unions —
_ to send every possible ‘delegate to the TLC convention

and to vote for the suspension of the CSU. Everybody
knows that. Talk about “a trade union center in a
foreign country attempting to influence. delegates attend-
ing a convention in this country”! When was it done
more cynically and more brazenly, Brother Bengough?

AFL leaders from the U.S. finance delegates here on
condition that they will vote as they are ordered from
Washington. Everybody knows that too, It’s the
erudest expression of outside attempts to pack and
capture a labor -convention in this country. Talk
about an “abominable situation,’ Brother Bengough!
When was it more “abominable”? :

Is all this related to the seamen only? Of course
not. What of forcing TLC local unions to be surren-
dered to the AFL? What of the drive to rob the
rank and file of its control of conventions and handing
such control over to the “roadmen”? What of the
scheming to elect only “roadmen” to the executive?

Will the delegates “permit a situation” like that?
I can’t imagine that the rank-and-file delegates at

‘

Big business
probes culture

eae: and submissions te the Massey Arts and
Sciences Commission by social science organizations,
the film agencies, library and community groups, bear
universal testimony, to the miserably inadequate re-
sources and programs of cultural and educational de-
velopment in Canada.

Thus far hearings have been restricted to Ottawa.
Toronto will be visited November 15 for four days and
Montreal November 23 for a similar period. Hearings
will be conducted during October and November in
Western Canada at Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton,
Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary'and Regina. The Maritimes
will be visited in January, 1950.

Submissions can be made by any organization with
the exception of political parties. Trade unions and in-
dividuals or small groups of people can appear before
the commission, it is reported here by A. A. Day, sec-
retary of the inquiry. The commission, however, reserves
the right of rejecting the hearing of a given submission.
e

MASSEY INQUIRY By MARK

Listening to depositions made in the richly panelled
Exchequer Court of the Supreme Court of Canada, leaves
one with the strong impression that Canadian cultural
traditions, the history of our country, its future scholar-
ships and creative resources are in grave danger’ of
virtual extinction. Not a single brief has as yet sought
the roots of the problem which lies in basic social and
economic factors like the growth of Canadian monopoly,
the long period of dependence on British imperialism and
present-day U.S. imperialist penetration. 7

The scanty endowments in the field of the “humani-
ties” and research in social sciences and history, an
oft-repeated complaint in briefs presented, is to be traced
to the reluctance of a powerful monopoly group for

real objective inquiry into a subject pregnant with revo-

lutionary consequences. In addition, of course, the rapa-
cious drive for corporation profits has given a lopsided
direction to investments in our rich cultural potentials.

These are but some initial impressions, and future
hearings will unfold the picture in still greater detail.
Treasures of French-Canadian folklore unearthed by
the researches of professors remain buried and unseen
for lack of endowment,

e } :

A word about the chairman of the commission, the
Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey, PC, CH, and director of the
National Trust Company. While the capitalist press
waxes lyrical about his “magical” powers and the “Mas-
sey touch,” his selection as chairman of the commision
bodes ill for a fundamental solution of the problem of
Canadian development in the arts and sciences. For
Massey is a representative of the corporations—the same
group which has in the main through its self-engorge-
ment and preoccupation with profit-making, abandoned
cultural development, leading to the actual] decay and
deterioration of our treasured heritage and future cul-
tural advance. ‘

Illustrative of his contribution to the hearings was
his comment during discussion of a submission made
by Dr. J. S. Thomson of McGill University on the subject
of vastly enlarging student scholarships. Dr. Thomson’

referred to the tremendous increase in registration,

pointing out it was a remarkable thing that some 50,000
veterans attended university under the DVA plan, pro-
viding a great hunger for education which could only
be satisfied through federal aid in the form of greatly
expanded scholarships.

But Dr. Hilda Neatby of the University of Saskat-
chewan, a member of the commission, asked, “Is there
any way of eliminating students who should never be
in university at all?’ Massey termed her question a.
“key” one, illustrating the conflict in views between
educators who want to see educational facilities and
opportunities widened and the commission members
themselves, who seem to be more concerned with re-
trenchment, a subject publicly aired by University of.
Toronto officials, who come under the direction of
Massey, as its chancellor. |

Massey has company in another commissioner on
the five-member board. He is Arthur Surveyer, de-
scribed as a consulting engineer, but incidentally “well
suited” for the job of inquiring into the arts and sciences

‘through his directorship of Shawinigan Water and

Power, Chromium Mining and Smelting, Holland Canada
Mortgage, Credit Foncier Franco-Canadien. :

Whether the presence of such personages on th
commission will block the successful solution of our
cultural future will depend on the tenacity with which
people’s cultural organizations, trade unions and pro-
gressive, groups press for the implementation of the
many really good recommendations which will undoubt-
edly accumulate as hearings continue.

Cut profits - not wages

XCESSIVE profits , not high labor costs as

employers contend, are the main reason why
many European countries find it difficult to price
their goods properly for export markets. This con-
clusion is stated in a report by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe, now meeting at
Geneva, on the basis of exhaustive field research
in’ many nations. U.S. Marshall planners, who
have long urged European countries to cut costs
have always neglected to mention profits, thus
‘leaving the assumption that it was wages which
needed to be reduced.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — SEPTEMBER 16, 1949 — PAGE 9 |