LOBBY

iment to recognize China.

In a press statement issued
this week following its annual
meeting last Sunday, B.C.
Peace Council said it was con.
fident it had the support of
the majority of the people in
this province in its campaign
for recognition of China.

aban

Vol. 18, Nos. 2, 3

Phone MUtual 5-5288

Authorised as second class mail by
the Post Office Department, Ottawa

10c

VANCOUVER, B.C.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1959

The statement announced

that the delegation will leave
Vancouver for Victoria on the
midnight boat on January 27
and parade from the boat to
Parliament Buildings on Janu-
ary 28 to meet individual
MLAs.

Western farmers organizing
mass delegation to Ottawa

SASKATOON — A total of 1,900 people — farmers,
trade unionists —- jammed the banquet room loung
Hotel here last week, to hear J. H. Wesson, presi
and Alf Gleave, head of the Saskatchewan Farmers’ Union,

business, professional men and
e and main lobby of the Bessborough
dent of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool,

launch the campaign for de-

ficiency payments on prairie grain which is to be climaxed by a march on Ottawa.

No date has yet been set for
the mass delegation, but
Gleave has warned the Diefen.
baker government “to beware
the Ides of March.” (March
15).

The big campaign, sparked
by, the Saskatchewan Farm-
ers Union and the Saskatche-
wan Wheat Pool has the full
_ backing of the Alberta Pool
and Farmers’ Union of Al-
berta, as well as of the Mani-
toba Farmers’ Union.

The Saskatchewan Federa-
tion of Labor has issued a

_ statement through its presi-

dent, F. W. McClelland that
it supports the campaign and
- will help farmers to get signa-
tures on their petition.

McClelland said charges
blaming labor for high farm
costs were “false and malici-
ous.”

He said the fact was “that
whether it is in the realm of
farm machinery prices or in
respect of other costs, the onus
for our economic. trouble rests
with the manipulation of
_ wealth and industry.” Both
_ farmers and workers, he add-

ed, were suffering from a
slump “engendered chiefly by

-big business.”

The Saskatchewan govern-
ment is not “behind” the march
on Ottawa, Agriculture Mini-
ster I. C. Nollet told the press,
“but if you want to know if
we're sympathetic to it the
answer is yes.”

It is expected that the farm-
ers will go to Ottawa by spe-
cial train, with each prairie
community choosing and fi-
nancing its own delegates. The
marchers will take with them
a petition demanding defici-
ency payments. Some 400 are
expected to go from Saskat-
chewan alone.

Mayor Sid Buckwold who
chaired the meeting is Saska-
toon recalled that that city was
the “kick-off point” for two
previous delegations to Ottawa
in 1910 and 1943.

Gleave reminded the meet-
ing that the 1910 delegation
had won action to develop the
Port, of Churchill on Hudson

Continued on back page
~ See FARMERS

rad

IWA local wants a

hig wage increase

Fresh from its election of a
new leadership, the 6,000-mem-
ber Local 1-217 of the Inter-
national Woodworkers is now
setting its sights for a sub-
stantial wage increase in 1959.

A session of the big local
last weekend passed a resolu-
tion calling for a 25 percent
wage increase, which. will be
submitted at the annual IWA
District convention, set for
February 9 in Vancouver.

Much of the dissatisfaction
which brought about the oust-
er of the Whalen leadership,
arose from the fact that des-
pite rank-and-file demands for
wage increases in 1958, the
deposed leadership failed to
register any gains.

RECOGNIZE CHINA
LANNED

Canadian recognition of the People’s Republic of China, the key both to strengthen-
ing friendly relations between Canada and China and to opening a trade that can mean jobs for
Canadian workers, may well become an issue in the forthcoming session of the legislature.
It will be raised by a delegation now being organized by B.C. Peace Council, which plans
to buttonhole MLAs and enlist their support for a resolution calling on the federal govern-

Members of the delegation
will pay their own fares, but
the council is also undertak-
ing to pay the fares of those
who wish to go but cannot
afford to pay their own way.

To underwrite this cost the
council is appealing for dona-
tions to be sent to its offices,
Suite 214, Shelly Building, 119
West, Pender Street; phone
MUtual 5-9958.

Resolutions adopted at the

council’s annual meeting last
Sunday urged:

® That the Canadian gov-
ernment recognize the People’s
Republic of China immediately
“in the interests of world

peace” and insist on the seat-
ing of People’s China in its
“rightful place” in the United
Nations.

@ That the Conference for
the Discontinuence of Nuclear
Weapons Tests at Geneva re-
double its efforts to stop nu-
clear weapons testing and
agree on a system of controls.

In the meantime, the Cana-
dian Peace Congress is circu-
lating postcards, which may be
obtained from -B.C. Peace
Council at one cent each, to
be mailed by peace supporters
to the Conference for the Dis-
continuence of Nuclear Wea-
pons Tests.

Addressed simply to “The
Men at Geneva in 1959,” the
postcard reads:

“You have agreed on the
principles for stopping the
tests. There are no serious Ob-
stacles regarding detection,
since every test so far has
been known by all concerned.
All mankind demands an im-
mediate agreement.”

Need jobs
plan now,

says LPP

This Saturday 16,000 leaf-
lets urging “B.C. Needs A
Jobs Program -Now” will be
distributed throughout the
main centres of the province.

The leaflet emphasizes a
four-point program adopted
by the recent session of the
LPP Provincial Committee
indicating the issues which, in
the opinion of the LPP, should
have priority when the legis-
lature opens January 22.

Nigel Morgan, LPP provin-
cial leader, has placed these
proposals before Premier W.
A. C. Bennett, urging that
“this session must not pass
without action being taken on
these vital issues.”

To assure that action con-
sistent with the need is taken,
Morgan appeals for the “broad-
est and most united labor-
farmer and people’s unity” to
compel decisive action at this
session.

Key points in the LPP pro-
gram proposals are:

1. UNEMPLOYMENT: Register
B.C.’s insistence that the Die-
fenbaker government accept
its responsibility to the un-
employed and provide jobless
benefits for all until employ-
ment is available; press Ot-
tawa to recognize and trade
with People’s China; launch
immediately, with federal aid,
an emergency crash program
to provide 175,000 jobs; ex-
pand public works and con-
‘struction projects in line with
postwar ‘rehabilitation plans;
Continued on back page
See JOBS

What will parliament do?
Read Tim Buck’s article on page 2