OU have my promise that
Y ic the Conservative party
is returned to power that as
soon after July 28 as possible
parliament will be called to-
gether to deal with the prob-
lem of unemployment by pro-
viding, not doles, but work
(applause) -and that legisla-
tive action wil be taken to
bring about the future securi-
ty of our country and the
well-being of its people. We
cannot tolerate the dole. Men
and women of this country
want work—not charity. Is
there any excuse for Canada
te have hard times if the
government is discharging its
duty as it should?”
—R. B. Bennett, as quoted in
the Victoria Times, June 17,
1930.

50 xt x

ULY - 1, 1935. After
J years of Conservative
Canada is still in the grip of
an economic crisis. Premier
R. B. Bennett’s attempt to
‘blast our way into the mar-
kets of the world” has failed
dismally. More than a mil-
lion Canadians are unemploy-

five

rule,

ed— the cream of our youth
are riding the rods, or are
herded into government
“slave camps” where they
work for 20 cents a day. Ben-
nett has adopted “iron heel”
methods to crush all- rebel-
lion.

July 1, 1935. The place is
Regina. In the market square

some 2,000 young men, halted
by the RCMP while on:a box-
ear “On-to-Ottawa” trek to
place their grievances before
the government, are listening
to a speech by one of their
leaders. These youth, who
have left the ‘slave camps”
and travelled all the way
from: Vancouver to arouse
public interest in their plight,
have won wonderful support
from citizens everywhere and
are confident their trek will
achieve results.

True, an eight-man delega-
tion headed by trek leader
Arthur Evans received a blunt
turndown from R. B. Ben-
nett in Ottawa a few days
before. “The relief camps are
a humanitarian movement...
tell your men to go back to
the camps when work
develops they will be given
an opportunity to take ad-
vantage of it,” the premier
had said. And then, losing
his temper when Evans con-
tinued to press the slave
campers’ demands, Bennett
accused Evans of theft dur-
ing a mine strike in the
sas district. “You’re.a
liar!” back Evans. (Dur-
ing the mine strike, when no
help from international head-
quarters in the U.S. was forth-
coming, Evans and the strike
committee used per capita
payments to the international
to feed starving strikers and
their families)

duly JI, 1935, tn-the
ket square in Regina. The
meeting is peaceful and
derly; the men listen to

shot

or-
the

LEFT: The vanguard of the army of unemployed that made the “On-to-Ottawa

” trek from Vancouver in 1935 naelee into §

Current. RIGHT: Some of the RCMP who provoked the Canada Day riot in Regina’s Market Square assemble to halt the mare

The

speaker; some are dozing in
the sun.

A whistle. bl
every side of the square
RCMP and city police ruch
the camp boys, swinging ba-
tons, firing revolvers. In a
moment everything is in wild
confusion; then quickly ral-
lying, the young men fight
back, with fists, sticks, stones
—any weapon they can. lay
their hands on.

Scattered among the crowd
prior to the premeditated at
tack were many plain clothes
men. One of them, detective
Charles Miller of the Regina
police force, happens to be
about the same height and
general appearance as_ trek
leader Arthur Evans. A
swarm of RCMP are ‘seen
near Miller, their clubs ac-
tive. Later he is found dead
on the square.

David Lyon, a camp striker,
is shot in the abdomen. An
orderly in a Regina hospital,
J. Rothecker, who is some
distance from the square, is
hit in the spine by a richoet-
ing bullet. Scores of young
men are wounded, seven are
taken to hospital with bullet
wounds, Arthur Evans and
100 slave campers: are. ar-
rested and thrown into jail,
charged under Seection 98 of
thee Criminal Code with
being members of “an un-
lawful association,” inciting
to riot, asault, carrying of-
fensive weapons, etc.

Premier R. B. Bennett, the
man behind the police terror,
seems to have carried the
day. The trekkers, fares paid
by the government, ride pas-
senger trains back to theiv
points of departure and re-
turn to the camps. The ‘“On-

ows. From

By BERT WHYTE

to-Ottawa” march appears to
have been halted.

History showed that Ben-
nett won a pyrrhic victory.
The Regina massacre exposed
the Conservative party as the
party of “iron heel” rule,
and Canadians responded by
turning Bennett out of office
that same year. Within the
next 12 months the “slave
camps” were closed perman-
ently and Section 98 was re-
pealed.

a o9 es

What were the conditions
which led up to Canada’s
“Haymarket massacre” in Re-
gina?

Since 1929, the world had
been in the grip of an econ-
omic crisis—a crisis of over-
production in the midst of
underconsumption, embracing
both agricultural and indus-
trial countries.

The crisis—heralded by the
Wall Street stock market
crash of 1929—had ended the
first stabilization of capital-
ism since the 1914-18 World
War.

Developing within and as
a part of the general crisis
of capitalism, the burden of
the crisis was thrown onto
the. backs of the working
class. Rising unemployment
laid bare the antagonism be-
tween the capitalists and the
working class, while at the
same time exposing the dif-
ference between the socialist
and capitalist systems.

It was a period of sharp

class struggle. In an attempt:

to behead the Canadian work-
ing class of most of its most
militant and devoted leaders,
the government had thrown
Tim Buck and seven other
Communist/leaders into Kings-

ton Employers
the trade
strikes were
police,
were
black-

Penitentiary.
sought *to smash
union movement;
brutally crushed by
hundreds of “radicals”
placed on the bosses’
lists.

The workers fought back.
While some right-union lead-
ers caved in under pressure
of the employers, rank-and-
file militancy increased and
new leaders came to the fore.
The Workers Unity League
proved that organisation of
the unorganised was possible
even under the worst econ-
omic conditions “(something
that the right-wing leaders
had said was hopeless) and
led strike after strike.

Communists, advancing a
“gnited front” policy~on the
political field, scored notable
successes in municipal elec-
tions in Winnipeg, Toronto
and Windsor.

And in the government Re-
lief Camps (universally refer-

red to as “slave camps’’)
thousands of young; single

Canadian lads received their
first lessons in class struggle.
They organised against their
isolation and their 20 cents
per day “pay” and_ struck
time and again.

Finally, B.C. “slave camp-
ers” who had been-on strike
in Vancouver since April 4,
voted to organise a mass trek
to Ottawa. Their aim was to
end the buck-passing policy
of municipal and provincial
authorities (“Gerry” McGeer
and “Duff” Pattullo) and take
their case direct to the fed-
eral government.

Prime Minister
nett, screaming “revolution,”
had his RCMP halt the trek
at Regina. Then followed the

R. B. Ben-

June 27, 1958 —

iron heel’
broke at Regina

5
bloodbath of July 4 198

an .event which haste?
downfall of the Bennet
gime.
eo: it 5g got’
July 1, 1958. History
not repeeat itself, bU
parallels can be draw? 8
Again we have a Com’
tive government in powe the
Ottawa—the first sinc®
days of R. B. Bennett ditt
this government, E
learned little from pistom {
employing tra ditional owitt
policies to combat a 8!
economic _ recession. ft”
Once’ again, with Br
ment backing, the empl?
are on the offensive.
are the order of the 9°
the bosses try to sma” se
labor movement and fore ip
workers to shoulder the
den of the crisis.
Again, Ottawa demons,
its callous disregard icy ut”

jobless, by cutting °° jy
employment insurantes “i
plementary” benefits ® ivi

end of June, thus dep!

thousands of workers °

income whatsoever. pak!
Prime Minister Diefe® vast

and the employers © ab
turn back the clock: site
(stronger and more 5 att
today than it was 4 a

century ago) is fe

fend the gains it has o
The unemployed,
through their unions, #9
termined there shall “iif

return to the Hungty ros

ties. And the whole aie
sive movement (labor f
, CCF, LPP) is takin?
fat steps toward unite vit
tical action—the sures! i
antee that the country aM
ture will be determine
its citizens. re

f
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PA°