British Columbia

In Kamloops, more than five decades

~ ago; Maurice Rush was one of the founding
_ organizers of the Communist Party branch
Y in the Interior city. He was 17 at the time.
=) Several months later, in Vancouver, he
*. started as a part-time contributor for the
~ B.C. Workers News — the original prede-
qd cessor of the Tribune, launched in
§ 1935 — ”and except for a gap when he was
* in the Canadian Army in World War II,
Sy he’s been working for the Communist
4 movement ever since,” Fred Wilson told the
S crowd ata tribute banquet to Rush May 13.
 —_ Rush, the B.C. provincial leader of the
% Communist Party since 1977, stepped down
y), from his position at the CP’s biennial con-

_ vention in Vancouver May 13-14. His 12
a years of leadership were the culmination of
® along career in the CP during which time he
iQ held several posts, including a brief stint as
lS national education director.
He was re-elected to the party’s provin-
al cial committee, however, and intends to
ly begin working on memoirs from more than

’ 50 years in the communist movement.
4% = More than 300 people filled the Maritime
I Labour Centre Saturday to honour Rush
N and to pay tribute to the work that he has
% done — and still intends to do.
\ CP general secretary George Hewison
% called Rush “a great British Columbian
— who carries on the traditions of working
N class leaders of the 1930s, like Ol’ Bill Ben-
» nett, Art Evans and Harold Pritchett.”
a = “We want to thank Maurice for his dedi-
_ cation, his resoluteness, his lifetime of lead-
Ny ership,” Wilson said. “But we want to make
W it clear that, although he’s stepping down,
al he’s not going anywhere.”

; Wilson noted that few people “know the
a+ resource industries of this province as well
as he does ... and there’s still lots of work

i, for him to do.”
Va

Wilson also praised Rush for his*“‘ability”

Of to give leadership in a time of change,”
a adding that his “open, creative style has
yy been a role model for me and others of my

y generation.”

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Rush honoured at GP banquet

Maurice Rush accepted a gift from MC Eunice Parker at banquet May 13.

Wilson was elected by convention dele-
gates Sunday to replace Rush as provincial
CP leader.

Labour journalist Ben Swankey, a
former provincial leader of the CP in
Alberta, noted that he, too, had ‘always
learned a great deal from Maurice,” as he
outlined some of Rush early activities in the
progressive movement.

“We lived in rieighbouring provinces But
our paths often crossed in the ‘30s, ‘40s and
‘30s,” he said. He cited their work together
in the Young Communist League in the
1930s and the National Youth Congress,
“the biggest youth movement in this coun-
try’s history, ... which Maurice helped to
organize in B.C.”

Then, as now, Swankey said, “Maurice
had an outstanding ability to size up the
political situation; he was always able to be
optimistic even when the situation looked
grim.”

During World War II, the two were

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‘together for two years for military training

at Camp Shilo in Manitoba, Swankey
pointed out.

But as Rush noted in his own comments,
they were only to find out from their ser-
geant after the war, that they were long
delayed in being transferred from artillery
training to “‘sensitive services” — the front
— because they were communists.

' That was only one of the obstacles facing ©

him in a lifetime of activity — he was also
forced to worked underground during a
period from 1940-42 when the party was
banned under the War Measures Act —
“but I consider myself very fortunate to have
worked almost all my adult life for the
Communist Party,” Rush said.

“How many people can say that they
have had the opportunity to work day in
and day out for the ideals they believe in?”
he asked.

“We are living in a time of tremendous
change,” Rush emphasized, noting that by
the end of the month, the leadership of the
Communist Party would be changed all
across the country as various provinces
complete leadership conventions.

“When I first joined the CP we thought
the revolution was just around the corner.
But in the 54 years since, we’ve matured a
bit,” he said to laughs.

“Tim Buck always told us to keep our
feet on the ground and our eyes on the
stars,” he said. “Now, 54 years later, even
though I may need glasses to see them, the
stars shine brighter than they ever did.”

TIM LOUIS
2 | fo OMS te. £

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Pacific Tribune, May 22, 1989 e 11