REPORT FROM BUDAPEST

Hungarian workers discussing
best methods of organization

BUDAPEST

N terms of cash alone, the

damage done to the Hun-

garian socialist economy by

last year’s counter-revolution
was devastating.

The total is reckoned at 23,-
000 million forints, against the
national income of 72,000 mil-
lion forints for 1956. This rep-

resents a loss of nearly one--

ird. .
a great proportion of the
loss was due to reduced pro-
duction in. industry.

While discontent among the
workers and bad administra-
tive work under the former
government bear a share of
blame, the greater proportion
of the fall in output was plain-
ly due to confusion and direct
sabotage under counter-revo-
lutionary control of workers
councils. ,

As * the counter-revolution
was quelled, the question
arose, what to do with these
councils. Within the Workers
party the view that they
should forthwith be broken up
found some support.

The majority opinion, which
prevailed, however, rejected
any use of administrative ac-
tion against workers’ councils
in general. This is not because
the party leadership partic+
ularly favors them but be-
eause the faith held by many
workers in such councils is
recognised.

The party therefore under-
took the unmasking of the
fraud and robbery from which
the workers themselves had

suffered at the Hands of the-

counter - revolutionaries who
had seized control of councils
by undemocratic means.

Facts about corrupt methods
and downright looting of in-
dustry were placed. by the
arty before the workers in
industry.. The exposure, com-.
bined with the workers’ own
recognition of the -economic
plight to which they Had been
brought, proved effective.

By March last it was pos-
sible to report that the power
of counter - revolutionaries to
harm the socialist economy
through workers’ councils had
been broken.

In some factories such
agents had* been thrown off
the councils and honest work-
ers elected. © .

Other factories decided, like
the Beloyannis electrical
works, that such councils were
of no value to their workshop
democracy, and they would
rely on their party and. trade
union committees.

xt xt xt

Meanwhile; the Hungarian
Trade Union Council had been
considering the question from
its own special viewpoint.

To disband the workers’
councils would be wrong. Any-
way, experience was showing
that the workers were losing
faith and interest in the coun-
ceils for the simple reason that
they were not doing what the

workers had expected of them,
particularly in the matter of
improving their conditions.

If not by workers’ councils,
then how was the worker’s in-
terest in production to be
raised and his direct coopera-
tion won? The Trade Union
Council is now deeply occu-
pied with this problem.

The Yugoslav -experiment
with workers’ councils had
been restudied and the conclu-

sion reached that, whéther it’

meets Yugoslav needs or not,
it would not suit the Hungar-
ian socialist economy..

In Hungary the trade unions
must play a decisive part. The
trade Union movement can call
on a century of honorable ex-
perience of which it is ‘proud.
_ Its membership now em-
braces 85 percent of workers
in industry. F

Widening of the scope of
the trade’ union’s facilities for
directly increasing the work-
ers’ interests is under discus-
sion. So is the extension of

~

onnorton, designer of the Centennial crest.

workers’ production meetings.
‘this method is in use in the
Soviet Union and in other Peo-
ples’ Democracies.

These meetings provide the
forum for discussion, expesure
of failings, proposals by work-
ers for improvement, new
ideas, anything in short con-
cerning: production.

By this method democracy
is brought to the workshop
floor. A trade union leader
who favors it gave as reasons:
“It checks the tendency of
directors to keep information
to themselves; thus dissatisfac-
tion and distrust will not
grow up. Workers’ councils
would not have done this.”

As an afterthought he added:
“We could have done all this
before, when we were discus-
sing these problems under the
former government. But you
know well enough now why
we failed then. We shall not
make those mistakes again.”

WALTER HOLMES

Printer designs official

crest for B.C. Centennial

Ee official symbol of the
B.C. Centennial Committee
has been released for use by
all B.C. newspapers and local
Centennial groups to indicate
their part in British Colum-
bia’s birthday celebrations
next year.

The official announcement
says it is hoped. all the 91
weekly and 11 daily papers
in the province will adopt the
official crest for masthead use
during the centennial year.

The dignified crest does its
big job in a.wsimple manner.
Cyril Connorton, artist fore-
man at the Queen’s Printer,
was asked to submit some pro-
posed designs to the commit-
tee. After a dozen false starts
he. arrived at the design
chosen: by the. committee.

“The trees,’ Connorton ex-

plains, “are our heritage. The
water is symbolic of the sea-
coast and our mountains are
shown too. The initials B.C.

are on top, they can’t be play- |

ed too highly, and the. dates
of our first hundred years are
also shown prominently.”.

All these surround. the prov-

incial emblem of the crown
and union jack above a glow-
ing sun.

Connorton, who has done
designing for 31. years, has
been in the lithographic de-
partment at the Queen’s Print-
er for 11 years. Although he
has painted the compelling
scenery of B.C. on hundreds
of travel folders and other far-
reaching materials, nothing
ever to come .from his hand
before will likely become so
well known ‘as his design of
the Centennial crest.

ea

“Galloway,

OPEN FORUM

Produce for peace

CARL ERICKSON, B.C.
Peace Council, Vancouver: On
Sunday, September 22, Carl
and Annie Hilland will play
hosts. to peace workers from
Vancouver, Haney and Web-

sters as they hold a farm pro-—

duce sale at their home, 24881

Dewdney Trunk-~ Road. in

Haney. :
They invite all friends of the

peace movement to come out .

to their home, where they will

have a variety of entertain- _

ment during the afternoon.

Dinner will be served from .-

4 p.m. onward and everyone
is welcome.

To get there, drive to Haney,
then take the Dewdney Trunk
Road and their house is on the
left side past 21st Avenue.

Thanks for donations

B.W.,/ Vancouver, $1; PP;
$10; M.Z., Kam-
loops, $3; W.J.S., Kamloops,
$2.05; G.C., Kamloops, $2; F.H.,
Kamloops, $1.70; ©.Z., Van-
couver, $5; L.A., Vancouver,
$1; ILP.S., Vancouver, $1; Mr:
F. B., Vancouver; $10; L. H.,
Vancouver, $10; C.L., Vancou-
ver, $3; N.V., Englewood, $2;
R.P., Vancouver, $10; R.M.M.,
Mission City, $1;

N.R., Victoria, $2; Friends,
Cumberland, $5; L.S., Granlea,
Alberta, $1; E.H., Mount Sheer,
$1; B.J.L., Saskatoon, Saskat-
chewan, $2; C.F.C., Salmon
Arm,. $5; E.C.K., Parksville,
$1; Mrs. J.K., Okanagan Falis,
$1; W.M., Victoria, $1; G.H.,
Campbell River, $7; R.L., Lake
Cowichan, $20; L.G., Victoria,

$1; Friends, Campbell River, |

$11.26; : : ;
Friends, Albernis, $13.87;
_Friends, Parksville, $14;

Friends, Victoria, $10; Friends,
Lake Cowichan, $9.50; B.W.,
Squamish, $2; H.V.S., Castle-
gar, $1; J.L., Okanagan Mission,
$2; Mrs. J.Z., Vancouver, $100;
Friends, Nelson, $5.50; Friends,
Nanaimo, $16;..G.O., Prince
George, $1; D.S., New West-
minster, $3; C.Z., Vancouver,
$1; A.J., Vancouver, $15;
J.C., Vancouver, $3; L.A.,

Vancouver, $1; H.K., Galiano, .

$2; Mrs. A.L.T., White Rock,
$1; R.N., Butedale, $6; T.By,
Vancouver, $6; W.M.K., Van-
couver, $1; G.K., Vancouver,
$6; J.K., Shawnigan Lake, $16;
Wm.J., Kaslo, $1; C.R.F., Al-
lison Harbour, $6; C.Z., Van-
‘couver, $5; S.H.B., Victoria,
$1; M.L., Vancouver, $1.

An English opinion
JAMES CASSIDY, Orping-
ton, Kent, England: May I say
something about the great hue
and cry being raised by

“many Canadians (who claim to

be either staunch unionists or
Christians) about the Amer-
ican boasts of freedom while
abusing it with the Negroes.
At least the southern Amer-
icans are not hypocrites, they
are honest and above board
about it (Gf that’s possible).
They “don’t mind n - - rs‘as
long as they stay in their
place” (which is, of course, in

7

Prizewinning letters
Each week the Paci
fic Tribune will present:
a book to the writer of
the most interesting, e2-
tertaining and_ topical
letter published on :
page. Contributors ate
urged to keep their Jet-
ters to a reasonable:
length. /

The prize-winning let
ter in our last issue W>
written by C. Fk Coleman, ~

Salmon Arm, B.C. 338

“gutters made by. the whl
master race). They don’t m™
“nh - = =.= rs’ living) oe An
same planet, in the same col g
try; don’t mind them wort”
or making a profit, or 4y!?

in a war for them, but ie
must stay clear of us W™
folks. gous

Canadians express Tip :
. indignation over this. fot
can offer no justification

such racial prejudice, yet ‘

justify their own bigotry is0

the same matter. They # 5

don’t mind “n - - - - TS +

long as they don't pe:

whites — as long as “they 5”

in their place.”

Of course, they justify
“limited” bigotry by S@¥
“Tt makes it hard for he such
dren of such marriages. (
joving concern!)

Life is not easy on an,
it gives him good tim!

a it either makes or brea
him — and this has noth) is
whatsoever to do with ‘
color, nationality, parents ~
with whom he plays. ——__ in

There are no limitations
cur-love for our fellow ry
‘we either love and accept ‘
as nature made him, or W© ad
not what we claim to ke ®
are, therefore, hypocrites: aice

In whatever form, prej¥"™:.
is still prejudice, and th ere
no justification for any ¢©
or- fraction of prejudice aa
cause of a person’s color, @
or country (whether the the
lent American type phe
“quiet” Canadian type): 44,
blood of ail mankind }§ ee
we all stand naked before we
Maker, and He does not ese
special blessings to those Be by
sking have; not, been tanne?
the life-giving rays of the ® 3

All nature decrees that a \
and female meet, fall 12 a
marry (legally or otherw""
bear children, raise aD
cate them and build a b
society through them, 4?

‘formula is the same the
over. If our white
race” believes its for
of a higher brand, this acee ity
for the insecurity, instaDy
and insanity of our “civil!

this
ing

child,
‘2 and

tion,” ad? 1
Racial ignorance in ae
may not cause mass TAP" y

beating and murdering pil
Negro men, women and Ted
dren, as it does in the Une
States, but it is neverth@™y
the same evil] enenty, 2 PAY pe
' the same evil theory that Bs
world is trying to destroy
the “master race” theory: :

September 20; 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE_PA® |