sti

labor must
take lead.

PEONEY two months voters in
‘ and municipalities through
igs ore will be going to the
atge again. As in past years, the
these Beet of acclamations in
Prospex €ctions will reflect, not a
able to ous municipal government
and so aie. the education, health
turk = needs of its community,
civic b ate of apathy bordering on
. ankruptcy. 3
aa urban and rural muni-
ee 1es, organized labor and far-
aware ae becoming increasingly
ee the need to elect people’s
“ObE Ree The problem is not
vital inding agreement on this

heed, but rather of finding

er 5 : = 5
it So to united action in meeting

eaves leading Vancouver trade un-

loni
ists have placed it, labor also

s oe : Sis
S to arousé itself from its civic .

apa : Sr : :
Pathy and mobilize its - voting

_ Stre 3 ea
gth for progressive civic ad-

“nistration.

sre peas many municipal councils
aes, ed with old-line party hacks
¥ a erading under various labels
tizeng Partisan associations,” “‘Ci-
: committees” and so on, giv-
: dag time and attention to par-
ie a Itics and very little atten-

© the needs of the people they

pay elected to serve. The NPA

oie Which has dominated Van-
decade Civic politics for nearly three
civic Ri. a classical example of
and = administration by Liberal
ory politicians.
=a €te is only one force that can
ee this type of civic setup
abor €r it exists — the organized
bois By oment, farm organiza-
an : the CCF, LPP, ratepayers,
but in € common people generally;
unifyine important because of their
. § strength and its close iden-
the as interests with the people,
Ment ganized labor and farm move-
Se
a

Aa very municipality local labor

farm groups, the CCF and the
Selveg should be concerning them-
ing with the single idea of elect-
ni , People’s representatives to mu-
“pal office.
.. this is the only way of seeing to
en each municipality becomes a
| Se tather than a victim of
pie and federal taxation,
and welfare policies.

Pacific Tribune

Published weekly at
Room 6 — 426 Main Street
Vancouver 4, B.C.
Phone: MArine 5288
A Editor — TOM McEWEN
SSociate Editor — HAL GRIFFIN
Subscription Rates:
One Year: $4.00
Six months: $2.25 _
x Canadian and Commonwealth
countries (except Australia): $4.00
he year. Australia, United States
8nd all other countries: $5.00 one
year.

Sen

"EDITOR

ook

1 aogot Rome!

CRALLS AWE)

pisiteGnner®

Crauus awe)!

ao0ste®

{ FAS awe)

IAL

PAGE —

JHE launching of the first earth
satellite by the Soviet Union
Union is the crowning proof of the
inherent superiority of the socialist

system.

Forty years ago this same social-

ist state that has taken man on his

first long step toward the planets

Great day for. socialism :

was struggling for its very existence
torn by civil war, its territory dev-
astated, assailed by implacable foes.

Twelve years ago it was emerging
triumphant from world conflict,
but confronted with a monumental
task of reconstructing its uprooted
industry and destroyed cities.

Yet not only has it rebuilt, it
has created the complex of modern
industry necessary ‘to build and
launch the satellite. The country
in which. illiteracy was widespread
two generations ago has produced
thousands of young scientists and
engineers, hundreds of“ thousands
of highly skilled technicians. In 40
years, from being among the most
backward of countries, it has come
to the forefront to challenge the
industrial supremacy of the great-
est capitalist powers and even to
outstrip them.

It’s a great day for socialism —
and a° great day for peace, shater-

ing as it does all the concepts of the*

cold warz

HE word attrition as
‘mn the dictionary 1s 2
of whittling or “wearing
by constant frictional
Thus a drop of water

regularly on a ck
; granite over a long period
will ultimately wear a ho

ly unstable way of life
trition process plays a lar

but not all at once. -Tha
drive home a lesson in c

industry have no desire
press on the workers.

defined

process
away”
contact.
falling

block of hard

of time
le in it.

In our modern and increasing-

the at-
ge part.

For instance -at the moment
in’ leading B.C. industries, and
for that matter all Canadian key
industries, there are steady lay-
offs of workers taking place. A
thousand workers in a given in-

- dustry are cut off the payroll—

t would

probably cause an uproar and

apitalist

economy which the captains of

to im-

So the old attrition technique
is brought into play, with a few
score getting the bounce this
week and a few score next week

and so on, until the total layoff
objective is achieved.

That way no one is supposed
to notice just what is happening
and the overall effect of separat-
ing thousands of workers from
their pay envelopes is cushioned.

The recent Canadian Chamber
of Commerce convention in Vic-
toria showed its profit-grabbing
devotees as being strong follow-
erg of the attrition cult. The
Chamber of Commerce wants to
restrict the collective bargaining
rights of the trade unions and
outlaw strike action. Long en-
gaged in the study and practice
of union busting, the business
leaders of the Chamber of Com-
merce know that to advance such
a wrecking program all in one
swoop would raise too much of
a ruckus. So they decide on the
attrition technique of a little bit
at a time; a well-timed monkey
wrench in union negotiations; a
legislative curb on strikes, or a
similar government action auth-
orizing “certified” lockouts. A
little at a time — with a major
objective: the destruction of ef-
fective trade union organization.

In politics generally the rule
of attrition has been a long-
standing aid for the party in
power. Stripping the people of
simple democratic rights through
a piecemeal process — a little
bit now, a little more later.

Eventually, when the people

‘

become aware that they have
been stripped bare, it is too late.
The attrition process has had the

effect of heading off the full
political’ weight of their protests,
which is precisely what was in-
tended in the whittling-away
process. :

It is much the same with the
give-away _policies of . govern-
ments serving the interests of big
business. First, how much “good”
will accrue to the people. should
a monopoly like the B.C. Elec-
tric take over the development
of this or that resouree. Then
it is a hydro power site here, or
a natural gas field there, until
the first thing the people know,
half of their province has been
given away by,a process of sell-
ing their birthright piecemeal.

Obviously had the attempt been
made to accomplish the same end
by one big giveaway, the indig-
nation of the people would have
been such as to sweep out both
the giveaway governments and
the monopoly grabbers. So the
attrition process is adopted, less
noticeable, less spectacular.— but
no less effective, whether applied
in union busting, the elimination
of the fights of citizens, or in
modern monopoly ‘grabbing of
resources.

October 11, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 5

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