___ LPP maps peace program for B.C.
Blasts war pact and
police state plan

On the day the Atlantic Suicide Pact was bared, the B.C. section
of the Labor-Progressive Party—Canada’s peace party—met in con-
vention to hurl a challenge at the war parties—a challenge it will carry

‘Coalition of —
disaster’ hit

“The proposal to have Canada
sign’ the North Atlantic war pact
is the center of a deliberate plan

to voters throughout the province in this year’s elections.

Voicing the mounting opposition of thousands, the convention’s first
act was the flat demand, “in the name of all peace-loving Canadians,
that the Atlantic Pact be unconditionally rejected by the government

and parliament of Canada.”

In a week-end of activity, pre-
ceded by intense discussion in
clubs and committees throughout
the province, 125 delegates ham-
mered out a battle plan designed
to:

—Increase tenfold B.C. participa-
tion in-the LPP’s national peace
campaign, with concentrated ef-
forts to help elect LPP national
leader Tim Buck in  Toronto-

Trinity and to elect LPP candi-|'

dates in Burnaby-Richmond, and
Vancouver Center.

—Help lay low B.C.’s_ govern-
ment (branded by provincial lead-
er Nigel Morgan a “coalition of
disaster”) in a campaign focussed
around all-out efforts to elect Mor-
gan in. the industrial riding of
Alberni,

Every speech of every delegate
was stamped with the urgency of
winning what one housewife call-
ed “the race against time’—the
race to gear the party to place its
program for peace, living stan-
dards and freedom before addi-
tional scores of thousands of Brit-
ish Columbians in a_ situation
where the Atlantic Pact brings
them face to face with catas-
trophe.

Tom McEwen, in offering a pro-
gram to the convention, projected
the following immediate needs of
the citizens as points around which
the LPP will campaign to rally
the people against the Coalition:

MARKETS AND DEVELOP-
MENT: jobs through barter and
other agreements with “soft cur-
rency” countries to break the
Marshall-Abbott vise on B.C.’
trade and jobs, as. well as
through industrial development
under public control.

GENUINE LABOR CODE: re-
placement of the present “bosses’
code” by collective bargaining
laws as promised during the
war. .

TAXATION: replacement of
the 3 percent sales tax by a
levy on corporate wealth; repeal

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SE-
CURITY: health insurance | to
cover medical, dental, optical

and = maternity requirements,

Army and Navy

with contributions based on in-
come; 100 percent workmen’s
compensation; demand fer in-
creased and all-inclusive unem-
ployment insurance; doubling of
hospital capacity.

PUBLIC WORKS AUTHOW-
ITY: to direct and supply all
publie projects, so as to wipe
out graft and patronage.

FLOOD CONTROL: perman-
ent elective authority to carry
through 5-year plan of river con-
trol and development, with im-
mediate preparations to meet

possible disaster this spring; Ot- -

tawa to pay 50 percent of all
costs.

CIVIL RIGHTS: provincial’
bill of rights to guard freedom
of speech, assembly, conscience
and vocation; 18-year-old vote.

Every aspect of party work and
policies was subjected to search-
ing examination. :
“The enemies of peace can take
little comfort from our criticism
and self-criticism,” said a_ girl
from the sawmills. “It forges a
stronger party better able to lead
the struggles of the woodworkers,
the fishermen, the miners, the
farmers—al] the working people
of our province.”

“A- rapid stepping up of our
public work is the key to building
a united front of the people for
peace,” declared provincial organ-
izer Maurice Rush in his report.
“At the center of this is the need
to win thousands of CCF follow-
ers for the peace fight. Fle

“Our election fight and every
aspect of our work must be direct-
ed squarely towards the decisive
sections of industrial workers as
the lever to lifting the struggles
of every section of the people.”
‘Delegates voted for a series of
proposals aimed at streamlining
party machinery and removing
what Rush termed “some cumber-
some methods.”

They also laid out the basis of
a fight. for deepened mastery of

theory as against “superficial”
treatment of problems. .
Industrial director Alf Dew-

hurst’s report highlighted the need
to unite the woodworkers in action
so that the employers may not
contimue to profit by the present
split. ~

Reports, by Bruce Mickleburgh
and*Vi Bianco projected plans for

will never know-

ingly be undersold. We will meet
any competitor’s price at any time,
not°only ceiling price but*floor price,
and we will gladly refund any differ-
ence. Army and Navy prices are
guaranteed to be the lowest in Van-
couver’ at all: times.

ARMY & NAVY

DEPARTMENT STORES

Vancouver and New Westminster

’

NIGEL MORGAN:

“Speed is decisive.”

tapping for the peace forces the
reservoirs of strength resident in
the youth and ‘women’s movements.

Minerva Miller told delegates
farmers would respond with a
sweeping mass movement to lead-
ership in the fight for markets.

The youngest delegate, 18 years
old, told how day-to-day help from
the North Surrey LPP club had
resulted in building of a National
Federation of Labor Youth club
there.

Delegates stood in silence to hon-
or the memory of Malcolm Mc-
Leod and Bill Shaw, comrades
who had passed away during the
year.

Practical nature of the conven-
tion was illustrated by Claire Po-
sen’s appeal to delegates to pitch
in at once to selling Tim Buck's
5-cent pamphlet, “The Suicide
Pact.” Scores of delegates left
with their pockets—and suitcases—
loaded, challenged by Forest Pro-
ducts club delegate Harold Prit-
chett to sell at least’ 25 each.

“And if this convention means
anything it means we are thor-
oughly dissatisfied with the pint-
sized order of 3,500 copies we or-
iginally undertook to sell,” Morgan
observed in the course of his clos-
ing remarks. “That’s only two

for every member—oyt of all pro-

portion to the job we have to do.
“We will have to sell. thousands
more of these and other pam-
phlets. Apri] 5, date projected for
signing the Atlantic Pact, is very
close. t ;

“We will have to move immedi-
ately to stimulate the raising of
every possible voice against the
LaCroix police state bill? s

“This convention stands out for
its fighting spirit rooted in the
strength of the people.

“Tt stands out for
unity flowing from
cussion. ~ -

“But we will have to fight to
translate our realization of the
war danger into. gearing every
aspect of work to the election
fight.

“Speed — time — the way we
make the turn to strip away the

old and use the new—that is de-
cisive.” ‘s

its strong
critical dis-

VLC spurns
Harry Strange

Vancouver’s Labor Council this
week washed its hands of Harry
Strange, who CCL officers recom-
mended and the Coalition appoint-
ed 17 months ago to the Labor
Board.

Strange’s actions in sharing in
the writing of Bill 87 and a num-
ber of anti-labor decisions of the
board have kept him under fire
from local unions for over a year,
leading .council executive to re-
commend “complete repudiation.”
Council’s vote was unanimous.

It was reported that the Cana-
dian Brotherhood of Railway Em-
p oyees has not renewed his leave
of absence. ;

(This does not mean loss of
Strange’s $5,000 a year job. Labor
Minister Wismer, who at first said
Strange and TLC nominee George

Wilkinson were “representatives”
of labor, last year changed his
tune and said they represented

“the public.”) rye

A motion of congratulation to
CCF MPs Rod Young and Harry
Archibald for reported opposition
to the Atlantic Pact was referred
to the legislative committee.

The fellowing changes in un-
employment. insurance provisions
were requested: cuttingyof waiting
period from 9 to 5 days; elimina-
tion of non-compensable days; and
inclusion of hospitalized workers.

A demand was also raised for
old-age pensions of $60 at 60, with-
out means test, and, financed by
levies on corporate wealth.

Roy England wins
re-election 2-1

“ —WINDSOR.

Roy England was re-elected pres-
ident of Ford Local 200 UAW-CIO
with 4,079 votes to 1,999 for former
vice-president Pat Lauzon. Lorne
Powers, running with England for
vice-president, received 3,083 votes,
a majority of more than 500 over
Harry Ford and Jack Stephens.

vention
Auditorium.

to transform the ‘cold’ war into
a shooting war,’ LPP provincial
leader Nigel, Morgan charged in
a report given at a public opening
session of the LPP provincial con-
in Vancouver's Pénder

“The decisive issue before the

people of British Columbia today

is peace or war.”

He quoted the Wall Street Jour-
nal as admitting what the Pa-
cific Tribune had charged for
months (that fear of depression
impels Wall Street’s war drive) in
these words: “While a peace scare
is not probable in the near future,
its impact — if . . . it implied a
lowering of the arms outlay —
might easily be worse than a mod-
erate tax increase from the stan-
dard of corporate profits.”

“The increase of $124,000,000 for
War preparations in the new byd-
get is only the beginning of’ the
pattern being dictated by Wall
Street.”

He predicted “the same kind
of budgeting as in the U.S.
where 76 percent of the national -
revenue is devoted to war and
6 percent for scial welfare,
health and education.”

“The warning signs of acute ec-
onomic crisis ... have been has-
tened by preparation for war.”
(See P. 4.) ;

He cited record of national and
provincial CCF leaders. as reasons
why. the LPP would not support
them at , the polls, spotlighting
Coldwell’s support of the war pact.
In the provincial house, he stated,
Winch and other CCF MLAs had
voted for the BCE 20-year fran-
chise, backed away from demand-
ing outright repeal of the sales
tax, and failed to force a division
on the ICA Act last year or this
year.

These actions he saw as arous-
ing worry and opposition among
growing numbers of CCF fol-
lowers, and urged stepping up
of unity in action with the latter
group.

The Coalition was castigated in
the report as follows:

Faced with a market crisis,
the Coalition’s only action is to
pass the buck to Ottawa, dis-
tract attention by shouting anti-
Communism, and at the same
time intensify its attack upon
“ile people’s living standards—
enacting a sales tax to protect
the profits of the MacMillans
and the CM & S§, granting price
increases to private utilities, pet-
roleum and insurance monopo-
lies and the dairy combine—un-
dermining the trade unions ‘by
adopting the anti-labor proyi-
sions of Bills 39 and 8%—and at-
tacking civil liberties as in the
Martin case and the outlawing
of the anti-fascist film, “Diary of
a Nazi ‘

He outlined an election policy
concentrated on electing LPP can-
didates, with support to be given
to other candidates fighting for
peace, living standards and free-
dom,

(See Page 12.)

i

Executive named

Following the B.C.-Yukon dis-
trict convention of the Labor-
Progressive Party, the newly
elected provincial committee.
chose the following executive to
lead the work of the party until
the next committee meeting:
Nigel Morgan, Minerva MiHer,
Tom McEwen, Vi Bianco, Maur-
ice Rush, Harvey Murphy, Har-
old Pritchett, Hal Griffin, Sid
Sarkin, Elgin Ruddell, Alf Dew-
hurst, The convention had un-
animously selected Morgan as
provincial leader,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — MARCH 25, 1949 — PAGE 2