IQ UNIPEG — Manitoba day = 80 to the polls Mon- ate 16, to decide the aa a Liberal administra- ati Which has held office uously since 1922. a occa) elections of ce 1 saw the Conserva- Seats pure all 14 Manitoba sWee, ©w much of the Tory [ees rub off on the pro- Subje Conservatives is the 5 ct of much speculation. he new factor which may aff €ct the outcome in many redis~ iv . tripe tencies is the on Carried out by the Pbell government last a: . . * Winnipeg, which has ‘ito test Liberals been divided into four con- stituencies each of which elected four members to the legislature, will now be split into 16 constituencies each electing one member. Despite the fact that it was clearly evident Premier Camp- bell was aiming the redistri- bution against labor in the urban constituencies, the CCF endorsed the proposition. Main interest in the Winni- peg contests will be in the constituency of Burrows where Ww. A. Kardash, LPP MLA since 1941, is campaigning for re-election. - Port Essington in 1904 ENTER THE — PACIFIC TRIBUNE'S FREE CENTENNIAL CONTEST WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO pe Write, in not more than 500 woras, an anec- dote, serious or humorous, relating to any his- torical event in the labor movement, such as a strike, demonstration or political campaign. Send your entry to the Contest Editor of the Pacific Tribune. Winning entries will be pub- lished in our Canada Day issue. All entries be- come the property of the Pacific Tribune and decision of the editorial board is final. FIRST PRIZE: POLARIOD — LAND CAMERA FOURTEEN OTHER PRIZES (Manitoba election| Mine - Mill fighting scores of silicosis cases rejected by WCB Mine-Mill has more than 100 “tive” silicosis cases on its books at the present time, union district secretary Les Walker told’ the Pacific Tribune this week. “Read ‘em and weep,” said Walker, pointing to a row of files on silicosis. “Since the Zucco case was won — after the patient had died — we have had a flood of people coming into our office, all hoping that the Zucco case would change the attitude of the Workmen’s Compensation Board. “We are fighting six cases involving other widows. There are over 500 silicosis cases in our files — about 25 percent of them ‘live’ cases.” Walker pointed out that none of the specialists called in by the WCB while Jack Zucco was alive ever exam- ined the patient in person. Their findings — that Zucco did not have silicosis — were made strictly on x-ray plates. On the other hand, doctors who examined Zucco in per- son and also studied his x-ray plates (the only way to make a proper diagnosis) correctly stated that he was a victim of silicosis. On June 8, 1955, Dr. Donald Boettner of Bellingham, who had examined Zucco, wrote: “The accompanying radio- logical reports reveal the pres- ence of silicosis complicated by silico tuberculosis as out- lined. “Physical examination re- veals the absence of breath sounds and. a marked decrease in resonance over the entire left lung field. “In reviewing the x-rays with Dr. Cilley it is estimated that there is 100 percent in- volvement of the left lung and approximately 30 percent of the right lung.” Dr. Arne K. Mathisen of Vancouver, in a report to the Workmen’s Compensation Board dated July 4, 1956, wrote: “T would challenge Doctors Riddell, Boyd, Turnbull and Kincaid (the specialists con- sulted by the WCB) to show Prices topic at Burnaby forum “Strike back at rising prices,” is the subject to be discussed at a public forum this coming Sunday, May 11, at the Nordic Centre, Sixth street, Burnaby. Cedric Cox, CCF MLA for Burnaby, will argue for public ownership of power and tele- phone utilities; Harld Pritch- ett , Burnaby LPP secretary, will‘ show how skyrocketting prices deepen the unemploy- ment problem; and Mrs, Dora Stewart, homemaker, will speak on the need for a con~ sumers’ organization to oppose exorbitant food prices. one single case in which the radiological findings have been similar’ to those presented by this patient (Zucco) whoa has been subsequently proven to have only urre, uncompli- cated tuberculosis present ... “J feel that his claim for compensation is justifiable and that he is compensable under the Workmen’s. Compensation Act. The fibrotic condition which shows in his x-rays could only be caused by sili- cosis with superadded tuber- culosis.” Jack Zucco was engaged in mining from 1930 to 1949. In 1949 he was admitted to Tran- quille sanitorium and began his long. and fruitless battle for a. silicosis pension. When he became too ill to carry on, his wife took up the fight and dramatised the case by staging sitdowns outside the WCB office in Vancouver and the Legislative Buildings in Vic- toria. Zucco died on April 2 this year. After Zucco’s death, Dr. A. K. Mathison ordered the body to the Vancouver Gen- eral- Hospital for an autopsy to be performed by the head of the department of patho- logy at UBC, Dr. Taylor. The WCB requested the lungs. Dr. Taylor refused. Then the board got a court order and got possession of the lungs and had them examined by its own pathologist, after Dr. Taylor had completed his examination. Here is a summary of the pathological findings, as stated in the VGH autopsy report: 1. Pulmonary tuberculosis, far advanced, with extensive cavitation of left lung and one small cavity in right lung. ’ 2. Pulmonary silicosis. 3. Acute bronchiolitis. '4. Acute bronchopneumonia. 5. Congestion and hyaline degeneration of liver. 6. Minimal splenic fibrosis. “Dr. Boettner and Dr. Cilley of Bellingham, and Dr. Mathi- son of Vancouver, were proven to have been exactly right by the autopsy report,” said Law- son. Doing a hasty about-face, the WCB awarded Mrs. Zucco $16,650 retroactive compensa- tion, a funeral allowance, and a $175 a month pension for the widow and her four children. At the same time, WCB an- nounced it would deduct $9,000 social assistance allowances “advanced” to Mrs. Zucco since 1949. But when Her lawyer, John Stanton, announced that Mrs. Zucco would sue WCB commissioners for the . full amount, the provincial govern- ment backtracked again and Health Minister Eric Martin said the welfare department would make no attempt to re- claim the $9,000. Mrs. Zucco won a complete victory — after her husband had died. But there are still hundreds of cases where the WCB continues to refuse legi- timate compensation claims, and these still have to be fought. Vancouver 4, B. C. TRIBUNE. Circulation Department Tribune Publishing Company, Ltd. Suite 6 - 426 Main Street, Please enter my subscription to the PACIFIC rN G fe Piss hace or ea ae: $2.25 for 6 months [J $4 for one year [J May 9, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 7