In Vilnius, Lithuania -

Vancouver trade unionist Jack Phillips and his wife Cora, visited
Vilnius, Lithuania and were impressed by the progress of this small
country in the 30 years it has been a Socialist Republic. Next week they
will give their impressions of this country infrequently visited before.
Photo shows statue of Lenin with Catholic church in background,
expressing unity of country’s Catholics with socialist goals.

Trade union leader Jack Phillips
and his wife Cora spent the month of
July in the Soviet Union on a holiday
tour. On their return, the Tribune
interviewed them to gain some
impressions of the visit.

Q. Mr. Phillips, you were in
the USSR in 1962. Did you see
many changes this summer?

A: I thought the people were
much better dressed, their
clothes of a better quality and
style. There seemed to be more
consumer. goods available in
more stores. There are big
appliance stores in Moscow, new
office skyscrapers, modern
shopping units sprouting up in

' different parts of the city. The
motor traffic was much heavier _

than in 1962 — this was true of
Leningrad as well.

Q: In this country we are
becoming wary of cars as a
means of transportation, mainly
because of air pollution. Why is
the Soviet Union encouraging
more output of motor vehicles?

A: Well, the public authorities
responsible for planning the
movement of working people to
and from their work believe that
public transportation is the

answer to their problem. It is
very cheap — every city and
town has bus and street car
systems where the fare is only 5
kopeks {5 cents). In cities such
as Moscow, the subway fares are
also only 5 kopeks.

But we have to realize that the
authorities are also trying to
satisfy the increasing demand
for consumer goods, including
cars. The machinery is there to
control pollution. They are
developing car rental systems on
a very wide scale so that citizens
can use them for holidays and
weekends. In the Crimea, for
instance, they are building many
trailer parks and motels to
accommodate travellers, and
thousands of people want to
travel throughout the country by
car.

Q: You said you spent some
time at Yalta. Where exactly is
it?

A: Yalta is in the Crimea, on
the Black Sea. We spent more
time there because it is a
beautiful place to holiday. The
climate is like that of the Medi-
teranean, sub-tropical and witha
dry air. There are beautiful pine

The Real Cause and the Real
Cure — for inflation — is dealt
With in the final pamphlet being
distributed this week by the
Vancouver and District Labor
Council. The Vietnam war is
named as the main culprit.

The Trade Union Research
Bureau, for the VLC, has done a
masterly job in the series of four
informative leaflets which have
been distributed in the hundreds
of thousands—not only in B.C.,
but over Canada as a whole.

The first one issued in early
Spring dealt with the housing
Scandal — particularly the
' Minimal labor cost in house
Construction. The second
covered the question of interest
rates and how it contributed to
the high cost of living.

The third, the Productivity
Hoax, showed how big. business
Prospers from the increase in
Productivity, while workers
receive only ‘‘price’’ increases
from the fruits of their labor.

The Cause and the Cure leaflet
Says, ‘‘previously, we have
Shown that labor is not causing
inflation. Now’ we are obliged to
. Identify the real culprit.”

Every inflation in history has
been associated with war. The
present inflationary crisis is no

exception, the research bureau

economists point out. During the
“peacetime” pe *~4 since 1945,
the United S...es military
expenditures have totalled more
than one trillion dollars.

These astronomical sums
represent goods and services
diverted to military purposes.
Prices for the remaining
production naturally rise to
Cover. the cost of this
unconscionable waste.

_ “Vietnam is a United States
war. For us in Canada, with our
economy closely tied to the
United States, the inflation we
are now experiencing
Tepresents an involuntary tax on
_Us_ to pay for someone else’s
- War.”
When spokesmen of the
_ Trudeau government blame

~ labor as being the major. cause of

inflation, they speak out of both
sides of their mouth, the VLC’
pamphlet charges. Trudeau’s
Prices and Income Commission
explains inflation like this:
“Higher profits leading to

‘stepped-up wage and salary

demands. Price increases to
cover the resulting pay
increases. Still higher wage and
salary demands. Yet more price
increases...” ~

Then comes the old refrain
- from the Trudeau spokesmen

that ‘‘Canadian jobs and payrolls
depend on our ability to sell
goods in markets around the
world and meet import
competition at home. Letting our
costs and prices rise faster than
those of our competitors would
be a dangerously short-sighted
way to run our affairs.”’ In short,
we are pricing ourselves out of
the market. . .

By unlucky coincidence, the
same week that John Young of
the Prices and Incomes

’ Commission issued the above |

words, the facts of life caught up
with Finance Minister Benson,
who was compelled to unpeg the
Canadian dollar on account of
the steep rise in our receipts
from foreign trade.

Our excess of exports over
imports grew in the 3rd quarter
of 1969 to $115 million; 4th
quarter, 1969-$239 million; 1st
quarter, 1970-$672 million.

In the month of May alone, the
government had to put up $622
million to meet the excess inter-
national demand for Canadian
dollars to buy our exports and

- invest in Canada.

So are we pricing ourselves out
of the market as John Young
claims we are, or are our
exports growing faster than the
capacity of the country to meet
the demand, as per Edgar

Benson? : :
The six percent guideline

“advocated by the Prices and

LABOR PAMPHLET ON INFLATION SAYS:
ruse e eon95
Vietnam war main culprit

repeatedly shown, other factors
are responsible for inflation, the
government campaign is
ridiculous and dangerous.

Canada cannot cure inflation
by itself. With prices escalating
briskly in the United States,
Japan, Germany and the United
Kingdom, the prices for our
exports and the cost of our
imports will produce inflation
here whatever we do.

But we can modify the effects
of inflation on our people,- and
perhaps slow up the rate of
inflation somewhat. But this will
require a type of government
policies that does not come
naturally to the servants of big
business in Ottawa.

Five recommendations to ease
the effects of inflation on the
people are outlined. 5

.Interest rates should be
reduced, both by legislation and
by government monetary policy,

-and the floating exchange rate
maintained to guard against U.S.
interest rates being im-

Incomes Commission, would .

only make sense, the leaflet
states, if the government was
right in saying that wages push

up prices. But when, as has been »

mediately transmitted to

Canada.

.The escalation factor in old age
pensions should be changed im-

-mediately to remove the two

percent ceiling and substitute an
annual increase proportionate to
the increase in- average
earnings.

.By every means at its disposal,
the government should put the

unemployed to work to produce -

goods and services.

.The government should
vigorously prosecute all
monopolies that engage in price
fixing practises.

"The Carter Report on taxation

should be implemented,

If John Young sincerely wants
to bring the inflationary crisis to
an end, says the labor pamphlet,
the most constructive thing he
can do is to take his place on the
next picket line in front of the
American embassy!

alle

If Edgar Benson and John Young sincerely want to bring the inflationary crisis
to an end the most constructive thing they can do is to take their place on the
next picket line in front of the American embassy, says the Vancouver Labor

Councils latest pamphlet in its “Inflation — Why?"’ series.

\

PACIFIC TRIBUNE —FRIDAY
£ 20h9--- OVGE > 93d s

by progress in Soviets

trees on the hills along the
beaches.

We were particularly
interested in this area, for there
are hundreds of recreation and
rest homes for working people
there, most of them operated by
trade unions. You know Lenin
signed a decree in 1919
designating this part of the
Crimea as an area for resorts
and.sanitariums for working
people. They can receive
medical treatment, rebuild
their health, or just holiday.
Before the revolution this area

- was used mainly by the family of

the Czar and the aristocrats for
their vacations and pleasure.

Q: Who pays for the facilities
for the unionists who go to the
health resorts?

A: Thirty percent ,is paid by
the individual, the rest is paid by
the trade unions who get their
funds from dues, government
grants and funds from the
enterprises.

Q: What recreational
activities did you see while you
were there?

A: (Mrs. Phillips) Oh, there
are no end of things to see and
do! For one thing, they have a
huge outdoor theatre there,
much like our Malkin Bowl in
Stanley Park, only larger.
Though there is little rain
between May and November, the
theatre is provided with a large
plastic dome to slide over the
theatre in case of rain. The
cinemas, ballets and other_
theatre performances are very
cheap, but so many want to
attend that it is hard’ to get
tickets..

Q: How many people would
you say holiday in the area, or go

’ for health treatment in a year?

A: Well, there are 2,200
sanitoria in the USSR
specializing in lung, heart and
nerve diseases. About 8 million
people received treatment last
year, and a good percentage go
to the Crimea.

Q: What particular things
impressed you while you were in
Moscow and Leningrad?

A: (Mrs. Phillips) I think what
struck me most about our visit
was the concern for beauty every-
where. They are planting trees
by the thousands on the
boulevards of their cities, and
the villages and towns as well.
They plant trees, even apple
trees as green belts around the
cities and around the factories,
even in the centre courtyards of
industries. In one chemical plant

_ we visited there were trees,

flowers and shrubs all through
the plant. We thought there
might be a scientific reason for
having them there, but the
manager told us it was because
the workers wanted to have
beauty around them as well as
test tubes and chemical tanks!
(Mr. Phillips)—Well, you know
the old story of how hungry the
Russian people used to be for

_ ball-point pens? There are plenty

of them now, also watches,
shirts, — all the items foreign
visitors used to report were in
such scarce supply. Another
thing — we attended a concert in
Leningrad where the first half of
the program was devoted to
traditional music, and the
second half to rock music
provided by a long-haired
musical group from Hungary.
The younger members of the
audience seemed to enjoy it
immensely, though we older folk
found it ear-shattering.

Q: Are there many foreign

See SOVIETS, pg. 11