AG

CP COMMENTS ON THRONE SPEECH

Greets proposed voting changes

Nigel Morgan, provincial leader of the Communist Party, started his current series of
radio broadcasts last Sunday by welcoming the recommendations contained in the Angus
Report for redistribution of provincial constituencies arid calling on the Bennett government
to take steps which would curb the power of monopolies.

Exclusive Viet photos

to be shown by Rush

Exclusive color pictures from
Vietnam will be shown by Maurice
Rush, PT associate editor, dur-
ing his tour of B.C, interior
centres between Feb, 7-18, Never
before seen in Canada, these pic-
tures were taken during Rush’s
recent tour of North Vietnam and
show many aspects of the lives
and struggles of the people of
Vietnam,

Following is the revised itin-
erary for Rush’s tour.

KAMLOOPS, Mon, Feb. 7,
Masonic Hall; PENTICTON, Tue.
Feb. 8; WYNDEL, Wed. Feb, 9;
KIMBERLEY, Thur. Feb, 10;
FERNIE, IOOF Hall, Sat. Feb.
12; TAGHAM, Sun, Feb, 13,
Tagham Community Hall, 2p.m.,;
CASTLEGAR, Sun, Feb, 13, 8
pem.; TRAIL, Tues, Feb, 15;
GRAND FORKS, Wed, Feb, 16;
NOTCH HILL, Thurs, Feb, 17;
VERNON, Fri, Feb, 18, IOOF
Hall,

Fighting

By HAROLD PRITCHETT

Little did young. Mike Quill
know, when fighting as a young-
ster in the Irish Republican Army
against British imperialism, that
he would some day migrate to the
United States, bringing with him
the fighting traditions of the Old
Sod,

Soon after his arrival in New
York (still carrying his thorn
stick) he obtained a job as a
motorman on the New York
Transit system (subway). There,
like. millions of other industrial
workers, he worked long hours
at low wages at the mercy of the
bosses and open shop,

Then came the New Deal of
FDR, which for the first time in
the “land of the free and the
home of the brave” gave workers
the right to organize, Soon,
the magic phrase CIO was sweep-
ing the country,

Mike Quill realized that
workers were divided and at the
mercy of the bosses by the old
forms of craft unionism and that
the industrial form of organiza-
tion was best suited to New York’s
transit industry.

He came to this conclusion
just as William Z, Foster had
arrived at the same realization
while pioneering the organizing
of workers in the basic industry

of the U.S. — the steel industry,

Hand in hand with the rapid
rowth of the CIO (but not without

All meetings unless otherwise
stated start at 8 p.m, Watch local
announcements for meeting
places where not indicated above.

4

‘i

MAURICE RUSH

Mike Quill: the eternal rebel...

His ‘militant opposition to —

‘plood, sweat and tears) Mike and
a handful of sturdy supporters
built the Transport Workers Un-
ion, :

It was at my first meeting of
the Executive Board of the CIO,
along with 43 other International
Presidents who made up the
board, that I first metthis color-=
ful, militant fighting Irishman;
this leader who had the confi-
dence and support of New York’s
many thousands of transit work-
ers — of many nationalities and
denominations,

Mike was undoubtedly one of the
best agitational speakers I have
ever met, besides which he had

pciiavadiniitine emma chin sigs See at

MIKE QUILL Saga
Meg a

In his remarks on redistribu-
tion of provincial ridings, Mor-
gan said:

The Angus Report, which rec-
ommends 52 MLAs representing
52 single-member constituencies
instead of the present 42 (of
which eight are multiple-member
ridings), generally represents a
very substantial improvement
over existing inequalities,

It will end situations like that
in the election of 1960, when it
took only 833 voters to elect an
MLA in Atlin, compared to
49,739 in Vancouver East, The
recommendations would basic-
ally:

(1) Boost Lower Mainland rep-
resentation from 18 to 26, cutting
rural upcountry representation
by seven and lopping one seat off
Victoria, Vancouver would be
divided into 15 single-member
ridings.

(2) Outside Vancouver, Burna~
by would be divided into three
constituencies and the Lower
Fraser Valley and Delta would
get seven,

Thirdly, northern B.C. would
have five MLAs, Okanagan boun-
daries would be redrawn and in
the Kootenays and Boundary
areas several miergers would
reduce representation in line with
population.

Of all B.C, ridings, only New

unlimited energy and guts, And
he needed all these attributes
in order to organize the transit
workers of the world’s largest
city, shot through with gangster-
ism.

I can recall having spent many
a pleasant hour with Mike and
Congressman Mark Antonio, the
late Communist representative
from New York, tell of some of
the trials and tribulations of the
young and growing labor move-
ment in New York.

... and

Fiery Mike Quill passed away
last Friday in New York at the
age of 60, His deathcame shortly
after being released from jail,
where he had been serving a
contempt charge along with other
union leaders,

In what must have been his last
press conference, Quill took
President Johnson to task for his
high handed attitude in denounc-
ing the New York transit strike
settlement as being too high.

“We have prepared to put all
our records before a congres-
sional committee and tell why
our members had to undergo the
suffering of a strike,” he said,
“President Johnson played cheap
politics with the lives and for-
tunes of the people of this citys

“The President was trading on

Westminster would remain un-
changed. The biggest constituen-
cy (Vancouver - Mountainview)
would have 21,400 voters—and the
smallest.(Northland)-6,300;

From what has been divulged
from the report to date, it would
appear to be likely to receive
fairly general, popular support.
Fireworks (if they develop) can
be expected mainly around the
recommendation for Vancouver’s
15 single-member ridings.

This has already been chal-
lenged by one of the three Royal
Commissioners, Kenneth Mor-
ton, the government’s deputy
registrar of voters, He says he
is opposed to a return to the
“ward” system.

Actually, of course, even ifthe
ward or area system of repre-
sentation was wrong (which the
Communist Party won’t concede)
there’s absolutely no comparison
between a single-member con-
stituency for the Provincial
Legislature and ward represen-
tation within a city.

There will be strong and wide-
spread public support for the
majority finding that multiple-
member ridings should be abol-
ished in order to heighten the
sense of individual responsibility
of each MLA, broaden represen~
tation and give the voters a clear-
er choice, prevent weak candi-
dates getting elected on the coat-

But what impressed me most
about Mike were his political
development and convictions
which he was-never adverse to
publicly state.

He continually reminded the
workers that the struggle for
better wages, shorter hours, pen-
sions, etc, was basic to the
working class, but that many of
the problems of the workers
would never be fully resolved
under the present system, where
one man is exploited by another,

his parting shot —

save the 15 cent fare,” Quill de- —

the hardships of the people in the
hope it would give him some
votes in the next election,” he
declared, pointing out that the
President knew his so-called
guidelines did not apply to muni-
cipal workers.

This role was “typical of Mr.
Johnson and his wheeler dealer
approach,” Quill continued, and
added: “Every city of five million
population or more should get
federal aid for its transit, But
Mr, Johnson had money for coun-
tries from Pago Pago to Khyber
Pass, but nothing for New York.”

Governor Nelson Rockefeller
of New York came in for his
share of Quill’s sharp denuncia-
tion, too. Commenting on Rocke-
feller’s announcement that the
state was contributing $100 mil-
lion to the city of New York “to

February 4, 1966—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page |

tails of their party colleagues
and end divided responsibility
and authority in a number. of
ridings presently represented by
MLAs of Opposing parties.

@

Turning to other matters, Mor-
gan pointed out that, like most
Throne Speeches, the address
read by the Lieutenant Governor
(but prepared by the Premier)

. was more significant for what it

left out, than what it contained,
as far as the working people of”
this province are concerned.

“What does it project by way
of relief from the heavy burden
of local school and municipal
taxes?” Morgan asked, He con-
tinued:

aa Sa

“Nothing! Again, the govern-

ment intends to try to evade its
obvious responsibility to take
over the telephone utility and the
automobile insurance racket, to
provide these services at cost.”

The Communist leader then went
on to demand cuts in prices
charged the public for electric
‘and gas power, a complete over-
haul of the province’s labor lawS
(including rescinding of Bills 42
and 43) and elimination of all
elements of compulsory arbitra-

tion, :
The most pressing need, he

concluded, was legislation to curb
the monopolies, protect the con=-

sumer and guarantee labor 2

voice by bringing automation un-

der democratic, public control,

President Johnson’s invasion of
Vietnam and AFL-CIO President

Meany’s support of U.S, gunboat —

diplomacy will be sorely missed —
on this continent — and in the

2

American labor movement, in

particular,

His memory will live on, and
in my opinion if Mike could make ©
one last request now, it would
be something like: “Mourn not
the dead, but carry on the fight —
for a better world.” :

manded:

“How come he didn’t find that “
money before the strike waS —

called?”

Asked by newsmen to elabor- Fi
ate on his pre-strike statement

that it was high time somebody
in the labor movement started to

make a break with respectability, *

Quill said:

=|
i

“labor leaders are only humaie
Many of us got into a rut the
last 15 or 20 years and became
respectable, That’s. why our or=
ganization isnot well, I would like —
to see lots of labor leaders take
off their coats and roll up thei!
sleeves.” 2

So would we, Mike,

we