pr ae. oie “employed workers impos: @ A Pacific Tribune flashback We called them | By BERT WHYTE ne said: President Herber\ succeeding Cool- March, office in ‘We in America idge, 1929, are nearer to the final triumph Over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.” In October that same year the Wall Street stock market erashed ushering in a world- wide depression that deepened in the early thirties and never really ended until the start of the Second World War. The crisis- enveloped all countries except the socialist sixth of the world, the Soviet Union. Just as Hoovervilles — shacktowns constructed of tin and old bricks — grew up around the outskirts of U.S. cities, so Bennett “slave camps” (isolated army-type work camps where jobless young men were paid 20 cents a day for building roads -and air strips) became a symbol of the depression in Canada. They were named after Prime Min- ister R. B. “Iron Heel” Bennett. The youth of Canada pour- ed ‘out of the schools year after year, began a frantic search for non-existent jobs, graduat- ed from casual freight-riders to experienced road stiffs, put in months and years in the soul-destroying “slave camps,” finally rebelled and made their historic On-to-Ottawa trek which turned into a bloodbath ‘one day in Regina, back in 1935 — but started a movement which led to the downfall of the Bennett regime and the end of the “slave camp” sys- It was during. that that the Communist party launched its crusade for un- employment insurance ~ and other social measures designed to make degredation of. un- ble in the future. The Canadian people entered the fray, and* today we have unemployment insurance and other “cushion” safeguards which provide some period protection, at least, in the event of another economic crash. Young Canada today, brought up in a boom period, finds it hard to imagine what it was like for the young gen- eration reared in the Hungry Thirties — the boxcar gener- ation which later became the front-line soldiers in the war against Hitler fascism. Everyone fervently hopes that a depression such as that of the thirties will never come again, and the labor and pro- gressive movement fights for policies of peace and trade that will maintain and extend the C j present period of relative pros- perity. But a flashback to those dark days, and a glimpse of how Canada’s freight-riding gen- eration lived from day to day, may be of interest to the pre- sent young generation, and per- haps stiffen their determina- tion to play a greater role in their trade union and’ political organizations in order to make sure that “it will never happen again.” This, then, is the story of how I first came to B.C. in 1934, and how I made my way from the Crow’s Nest Pass to Van- couver Island. ; * Leo and I (a jobless electri- cian and a jobless Smelter worker) entered B.C. one evening 22 years ago and an obliging motorist gave us a lift to the: coal mining town of Natal. It was raining. heavi- ly and we were broke, so Leo traded his last valuable pos- session, a Shaeffer pencil, to an hotelman in return for a night’s lodging. We hitchhiked to Fernie the following afternoon, slept that night in the police station. A kind-hearted officer gave us bread, sardines and a can of pork and beans. Morning came, and we hit the highway again. For 20 miles we walked through the mountains, marvelling at the superb scenery as we followed a sinuous ribbon of road high above a deep valley where a river twisted and turned. That night we slept in an abandoned hut, eight feet Bennett’s slave cam “..+ When our drag took off for Vancouver over 50 stiffs were abaird, including a girl.” square and lacking a door. Rain came down in torrents but we had gathered pieces of rotten cedar and kept a small fire going. About two or three o’cloek in the morning some curious anima] prowled around outside; we built up the fire and slept no more. A morning wash in an ice- cold mountain creek, and then breakfast provided by a bux- om lady in Elko, who listen- ed sympthetically to a story I manufactured on the spot. Leo, who stuttered and never mas- tered the art of dinging for a handout, was all admiration afterwards. “You talked with tears in your voice, bucko,” he said. When we reached Cranbrook We were both in bad shape, for We had done a lot of walking. My feet were swollen and Leo had a bad blister on his heel. We decided to sample one of Bennett’s “slave camps,” and after going through a doctor’s examination were given food vouchers and a ticket on .a train going west. * Goatfell Relief Camp, be- tween Kitchener and Yalk, was a dreary spot populated by 60 males, all clad in the khaki uniform provided by the gov- ernment. We received an is- sue of socks, shirts, trousers, boots and underwear, and went to work on the wrong end of two government shovels, grad- ing. Near us was a sign which read, “SLOW MEN AT WORK.” Truer words were never spoken. The inhabitants of the camp b were divided into two types — Home Guards and Ramblers. The Home Guards, older ele- ements who had lived in the area until forced out of their homes, were quiet and resign- ed to their fate. The Ramblers were mostly. youngsters, with lots of gab: “T had $100 and got into a crap game in Winnipeg...” “One time I held down a fly- er from Fargo to Chicago, and in the Milwaukee yards 2 “So I grabbed a hot’ shot andi rode her to Frisco...” “We held her to the Peg and the bulls were waiting for us at Transcona.. .” “Capreol Red chaséd us half a mile up the track .. .” “TI goes to the door and rings and out comes the town clowne... 2’ “Our drag was crawling over a bridge when this big guy shows his roll .. .” After three weeks. of this we'd had enough, so we drew our pay, went into Kitchener and downed a few beers. There was another guy with us, a Rambler and a gambler, and somebody pinched a box of berries. The next day we caught a freight at Yalk, rode tops to Creston, where the bulls pick- ed us off, charged Leo with lifting the berries, offered Al and I our freedom if we would back their story. We laughed at them and so we were thrown in the can, but not before the sergeant had smashed Leo in the mouth. Our trial didn’t amount to much: we were convicted and discharged. But the bulls were n’t going to let us| off so light ly, so they slapped a violation of the Railway Act on us, 42 we were handed 14 days in t I provincial jail at Nelson. * ene “What are you in for, questioned the other prisonel® “For firing snowballs at pas ing airplanes,“ Al said tartly Jail routine was simple 4 monotonous.. We arose # seven, cleaned our cells, a mush and bread, paced the cole ridor*until noon, at macaron) and dry bread, played ¢ ot all afternoon, ate beans i" ~ bread for supper, were 10c® ed in our cells ‘after an eve?” ing promenade. We worked four day sweeping the corridor, an on our release received cheque ; for 40 cents each. Hightailine it to the nearby restauram we had a good meal. “Don't take a freight Mee or the bull at Castlegar W and send yO knock you off ay the back for another visit, boys «in jail had told Us: we hitched a lift through 1 Trail, slept that night ae boxcar on a siding, an i next morning climbed 4 seven miles to Rosslat bought bread and_ baloney: and continued over fhe hum® At Grand Forks we deci@® to abandon the highway % travel by rail. A westbound freight wee not due for 24 hours am j settled down in the jungle do wait. The town was “bum out” but some Doukhobor W men gave us bread crusts ; About two dozen stiffs W- in the jungle; we prewed oe j fee, built: a fine fire, sat 1 ing most of the night. It ie chilly and we had no blam = ets; sleep came only snatches. Just as our train wa bu up the next day a local drove up, herded us. inte group, began taking dow? ee names in a little red ae While he was solemnly yh ing us against leaving t0 iD via the railroad our bi high-balled and we all bre and dashed fo ss 5 nade si away catching it on the fly... 4. At Eholt the two ene returned to Grand Forks jn. another section of the a We found some old re net® ties and built a fire. was another long stop at fires way and again we built 4 pad I was horribly cold as I no socks and no unde We came through the at dawn and saw Lake and Penticton in tance, far below. was The jungle at Penticto? ore a large one, home of than a hundred stiffs. Home Guards lived 12 2 shacks along the riversid@ yer the Ramblers jungled al Che: the place. We slept loo! roundhouse, on the warm ~~ near the boilers. . we Next day was a big day 10 went uptown, wangled @ 79 relief order, *squanderé one works on bread, beans, ages coffee, butter and sauee Gl Then we ate, and ate ab : and ate again. Midnight, and our madeup. “‘Foot-toot!” balled the head engine Continued on page 12 $ Jab ad arab . he ‘ ne 4 . 0 OCTOBER 19, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE !