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Hane JANUARY 27, 1950

.C. Tel.

Prac

Deaatd for a thorough probe

‘siphoned off'=

profits

probe

into the corporate structure of the

B.C. Telephone Company ’and contracts with affiliated companies. was

put forward by T. G. Norris, KC,

at the hearing before the Boag of

Transport Commissioners in Vancouver.
Earlier D. E. McTaggart, -KC, counsel for the city, nea: into

the BCT’s system of ‘
Anglo-Canadian, so that the BCT ~
can show “a poor financial pic-
ture when asking for a rate in-
crease.” :

Hearings on the company’s ap-
plication for a boost in phone
rates (which would raise the av-
erage phone user’s bill $1 month-
ly) ended Monday, but a decision”
may not be handed down for
some time.

Despite assertion by Senator
J. W. deB. Farris, senior counsel,
that “all the cards are on the
table,” the hearings uncovered .

“many aces which BCT had been
holding up its sleeve. When these
ecards were removed and put on
the table, the company spokes-
men did some lame explaining.

Chief card which the BCT
vainly sought to conceal was its
system of interlocking director-
ates, under which “indirect ben-

‘siphoning off’’ profits to the parent. company,

efits” are derived by the parent
company, Anglo-Canadian, via a
service contract whereby Anglo
gets ‘one percent of BCT gross
revenue for supplying “technical
assistance”,

BCT is asking a 243 percent
increase in phone rates to ob-
tain $2,600,000 in additional rev-
enue each year. Under pressure,
it was forced ‘to admit that
$900,000 of this “gravy” would be
paid out as common stock divi-
dends.

Whatever decision the Board
of Transport Commissioners
reach, the unsavory revelations
at the hearings were convincing
proof to the average citizen that
no phone rate boost is justified,
and that a searching probe into

the financial affairs of the BCT .

should be undertaken.

Coldwell won’t sign
Ban-Bomb petition

!

-. TORONTO

M. J. Coldwell, CCF national leader, has refused a request Fah the Canadian Peace Congress to sup-

port the national campaign to outlaw the atomic bomb as°an instrument of war.

This was made public

last week by the Peace Congress in the Toronto Peace Council’s bulletin No More War. The bulletin
carried the full text of the correspondence between Mary Jennison, executive eat of oe Congress;

Coldwell, and Dr. J. G. Endicott, chairman of the Congress.

\

Rally demands Ottawa
recognize New China

Resolution calling for recognition of the People’s Republic of °
China and building of a flourishing east-west trade was enthusiastically
passed by a meeting of 1200 Vancouver citizens who filled Pender
Auditorium for a Lenin Memorial Meeting last Sunday. ,

‘The peoples of China have struck a tremendous. blow for peace

in their historic victory over. the
corrupt and reactionary regime
of Chiang’ Kai-shek; 450 millions
of people have thrown off the
deadening past and are proceed-
ing to build’ a new life for them-
selves.’ the resolution said.

“These millions of peoples have
established a new state. They
have placed iin office a govern-
ment of their choice. This gov-
ernment of new China has pro-
ferred the hand of friendship
and peace to the other peoples
of the world.

“Therefore be it resolved: that
this meeting of Vancouver citi-
zens peuites the Chinese people

RIESE CZECH CARS MAKE APPEARANCE IN VANCOUVER oe ;

New Skoda tops in small car field

If you want to. believe the
daily papers, the traditional high
quality of Czechoslovak manufac-
tures: “has deteriorated rapidly
since the people’s democracy was
established. But if you want to
judge fcr yourself, you should
take a close look at a new car
which has just made its appear-
ance on Vancouver streets. It’s
a Skoda, made in Czechoslovakia,
and for engineering, construc-
tion, performance and low cost
of operation it’s tops in the high-
ly competitive small car field.

_ Skoda is a new name to most
Canadian motorists, but among

Here's the new Skoda roolider

Europeans it’s: both well-known
and highly regarded as a leader
‘in the automotive field; To give
you an ides: the, first popular
American cars with four-wheel
brakes were put on the market
in 1928 (reniember the red warn-
ing triangle on the rear fender?)
fourteen years after Skoda in-
troduced them on its 1914 model.

And that’s not all. Skoda has
been manufacturing cars with an
all-round independent wheel sus-
pension since
manufacturers only got around
to. introducing independent front
wheel suspension on _ popular

1923. American —

being demonstrated in Vancouver.

makes in the fries a belated
innovation appreciated by motor-
ists forced to use Vancouver’s
cow-town roads—and they still
have to apply the principle all-
around on these super-duper per-
ambulating juke-boxes that De-
troit fondly imagines represent
the latest in automotive engin-
eering. Even the British cars,
more conservatively designed but

generally better engineered than’

the American, have only had_in-
dependent front-wheel suspension
on the popular small models
since Austin led the way with
its A-40 in 1948.

/

“al

on their historic victory. We
greet their offer of peace and
friendship and we call upon the
government of Canada to follow
the example of Britain by im-
mediately recognizing the gcv-
ernment of the People’s Republic
of Chir.a as the-only lawful gov-
ernment of China, thus making it
possible to resume friendly ard
normal trade relations with 450
million people who are building
and tvansforming that mighty
land.”

Harold Pritchett cheired the
meeting, which was addressed by
Maurice Rush, LPP provincial
organizer.

1

The Skoda has them all seats
--and in more ways than this.
Obviously, all-around independent
wheel suspension makes for
smoother riding, better load ad-
justment and greater ability to
hold the road at higher speeds.

But the average working man
who operates a car is concerned
with durability, ease and cost of
repairs, operation cost and per-
formance under B.C. conditions
and over washboard roads be-
yond thé main highways. Finding
himself priced: out of the big car
market by inflated costs, he still
wants big car appearance and
performance from a° small car.

The new Skoda comes clos-
est to fulfilling all these con-
ditions of any small car now
on the market here. ‘

f t
Streamlined and smart without
being extreme, the Skoda’s
strong metal body is the. best
assurance that it will stay smart.

“What it offers’ a refugee from

” garage bills in he way of cheap
_ operation may be gauged from
‘the fact that it has a one-shot
chassis lubrication system that
“reduces servicing to a minimum.
Its © four-cylinder valve-in-head
motor develops 11,4 h.p., enabling
_the car to do 60 m.p.h. with 35
miles or better to the gallon.
. Naturally, it has all the features
: hailed as innovations .on other —
’ small ‘cars—steering column. gear-
shift, four - wheel hydraulic
brakes, massive radiator grille
and concealed headlamps, smart
instrument panel. And, an im-
,portant feature not found in
* competitive ears is its tubular
chassis backbone which puts it
far ahead in construction.
Price? Well, you can buy the
' sedan for". $1495 (the additional

Similar letters were addressed to all political party Tenders: LPP leader Tim Buck was the only

other to reply,

Unlike Coldwell, the LPP lead-
er backed the proposal:

“Thank you for the invitation
to participate in this great and
noble work,” “In the
name of the national executive
ef the LPP I assure you that
our party will cooperate in every
way, locally’ .and nationally, in
the drive to secure hundreds of
thousands of ‘signatures to the
Canadian Peace Congress peti-,
tion,”

he wrote.

Coldwell in his two letters bas-
ed his refusal to sign or support
the petition campaign urging the
banning of the bomb, on the
argument that “it fails to de-
mand... the right of the United
Nations to have free access to
all,its member countries and to
inspect all plants, industries, etc.,
which may be engaged in the
production of fissionable mater-
jials and atomic energy.” ”

In reply to this point, Miss
Jennison, acting for the Peace
Congress executive, declared:

“We believe the essential point
is contained in the Peace Con-
gress petition as far as inter-
national control is concerned —
‘Press for strictest international
control to insure compliance of
all nations in outlawing the bomb
as a military weapon’ We
feel that until a convertion is
adopted outlawing the use of
atomic weapons, plans for inspec-_
tion are pointless. The two things
go together .; .”

But the CCF national leader
persisted on this point in his
second letter: “To me the ban-
ning of the bomb is a “delusion
without the absolute right of in-
spection of every factory in ey-

ery corner of every country
throughout the world ... Only
the Soviet Union favor(s)

the technical
bomb without any means of en-
forcing such a decision.”

!

To which Dr. Endicott replied:
“First of all the Soviets do not

want to stockpile or use the q

atomic .bomb. Secondly, they do
not wish to deny. to any country
the right to full use of atomic
energy for peaceful purposes and
«re. willing to state how they will
use it. Thirdly, they will agree

to constant inspection after the

bomb has been outlawed.”

sales tax.is an item which even
the daily press cannot blame on
.the Czechs), the station wagon
“for. $1600 and the roadster for

$1720, The guarantee is good for
six months or
miles, +

Yes, we'll hice the new ‘Skoda a”
any time—it’s a fine practical
demonstration of what Czecho-
slovakia has to offer Capada in
trade exchange.

PACING TU) JANUARY 27, 1950—PAGE 12

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