PRESS REPORTS DISTORTED

By BERT WHYTE

The 15,000 young people
who shelled out from $1.50 to
$3.50 to hear and see Elvis
Presley at Empire Stadium
last Saturday night weren’t
“writhing, frenzied idiots” as
reported by a Vancouver Sun
writer, nor were they “de-
mented children.” They were
— at least 95 percent of them
— ordinary kids going through
a phase of life which demands
a certain degree o! idol-wor-
ship.

Their idol of the moment
happens to be a Tennessee ex-
truck driver named Presley.
Their parents and grandpar-
ents worshipped idols’ named
Rudolph Valentino, Rudy Val-

lee, Bing Crosby, Frank Sin-"

atra. And the parents and
grandparents turned out none
the worse for the epics:

As entertainment, the Pres-
ley extravaganza was a flop.
It began shortly after 8 p.m.
with a number of mediocre
acts. Elvis didn’t put in an
appearance until 9.35. At 10
o'clock he disappeared from
the stage and the show was
over.

The kids had been short-
changed and they knew it.

Adults. might have reacted
more violently. .As it was,
- 12,000 youngsters left the

Stadium quietly. Two or three
thousand miiled around the
stage, hoping Presley might
reappear. A handful started
a minor rumble. The cops got
tough, the hassle ended in a
few moments and everyone
went home.

Then came the lurid head-
lines (“Presley Whips Up De-
mented Army,” shrieked the
Sun) and the completely false
assertion that the “hard, bit-
ter core of teenage trouble-
makers” had turned the big
show into “the most disgust-
ing exhibition of mass hysteria
and lunacy this city has ever
Witnessed.”

52 $e: wt

TI went to the Presley show

with the express purpose’ -of

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SENS CER RNS BNE SEER HEN EE

A.

Promoters of the Elvis Presley show at Empire Stadium

normal kids

shortchanged the youngsters who paid from $1.50 to $3.50
for seats, by not allowing Presley to appear until the last

half hour: of the show.

watching the behavior of the
predominantly teenage audi-
ence. I spent most of my time
observing the reactions of the
kids. My wife and a friend
who came with us agreed that
the children’s reactions were
completely normal.

Sure the kids shrieked a bit
when Elvis appeared. Sure
the youngster sitting behind
me —. she was about 13 —
said, “I feel I could just die!”
(Ten minutes later, while El-
vis was singing, she -ran off
to buy a hot dog and a coke.)

We were in the $1.50 seats
— about a block away from

the stage where Elvis was
singing and shaking. The
youngsters around us ‘took

turns peering at him through
cheap binoculars — “He Iooks
dreamy” — and a few dozen

_of them left their seats to go

down onto the turf and join
other boys and girls who want-
ed to “get their money’s worth”
by having a closer look at
Elvis.

Presley’s performance hard-
ly requires critical comment.
His voice is pleasing enough;
most members of the audience
were so far removed from the
stage that the notorious Pres-
ley wiggles — his trademark
— were scarcely distinguish-
able. He sang All Shook Up,
I Was The One, Fool’s Hall of
Fame, Don’t Be Cruel, Love
Me, I Got A Woman, Mean
Woman Blues and Hound Dog.
Then he disappeared suddenly
and the announcer said: “It’s
all over, friends, Elvis Presley
has already left the stadium.
Thank you and goodnight.”

Surrounded by teenagers in
the bus going downtown, I
bent an attentive ear.

“Red Robinson is going to
play Elvis Presley records un-
til 6 am.;” a lad of 13 or 14
told his companion. ~

“Did you see the cop whack
that sailor with his billy?”
said the other lad. ;
~ “No, I didn’t see any fight-
ing. Why did he hit him?”

“Oh, the sailor tried to grab
a guard’s hat. He wasn’t one
of us — he was an old’ guy
about 25. But I suppose we’ll
get the blame in the papers.”

That was all the talk on
Presley. The conversation
veered around to the opening
of school; to heavy dates; to
the PNE.

As I said before, these kids
aren’t “idiots” or “demented
children.” They’re just nor-
mal, healthy youngsters, pass-
ing through an unavoidable—
and not unpleasant — phase
of life. :

Unions urged to act)
Handful of hoods, but Presley in civie elections’
audience mostly

Some months ago Vancouver
Labor Council decided to work
for the election of three trade
union aldermanic candidates in
the Vancouver civic elections
in December, but unless af-
filiated unions show a greater
interest in political actidn than
they have demonstrated during
the summer months, prospects
do not look bright.

Calling upon delegates to get
into the political swim, Bill
Black, chairman of the VLC
political education committee,
told council Tuesday night that
he is “not discouraged” yet but
that all locals must take a
greater interest in political ac-
tion if results are to be
achieved.

He stressed the need for
local unions to submit names
of prospective aldermanic can-
didates, and urged the setting
up of political education com-
mittees in all locals.

103 % Bos

Some 400.members of Local
1-252 IWA employed in 17 de-
tail mill work sash and door
plants have voted 92 percent
in favor of'strike action. No
date has been set for the walk-
out and the union’s negotiat-
ing committee is still willing
to consider any new company
offer on wages,

Bos Ton ‘

Local 1005, Western. District
Diamond Drillers Union, made
trade union history when it
was certified for all of Boyles
Brothers operations in British
Columbia, for this is the first
time the drillers of this com-
pany have ever been organ-
ized.

The Mine-Mill Herald re-
ports that in 1947 a Boyles
spokesman stated béfore Board
of Industrial Relations that
when ‘the company’s men
worked “16 hours a day for
seven days of the week they
make a happy and contended
crew. But when men have to

‘lie around on shorter hours,

dissention creeps. into the
camps.” :

One clause of the propose
contract provides for el§

hours and a five days wee
with punitive pay thereaftel:
bo % tt ‘ ‘
On orders from Canadlt
Labor Congress, Locals 116 an’)
882, International ‘Union °
Operating Engineers, have
been expelled from Vancouv?
District Labor Council. ~+™
union was suspended som}
months ago for alleged rai
ing, but it had been hoped #®)
the issue could be settle!
amicably. i
Local 115, which has a dire!
tieup with the AFL-CIO i
stead of the CLC, is still #
filiated with the local Buil®
ing Trades Council.
Ee $e 50
Complaints against’ the
handling of cases by the Wort ;
mens Compensation Board W}
be land. before the provi
cial cabinet September’ 17 i
the form of a brief present®
by Vancouver Labor Countl
the B.C. Federation of Lab
and the legislative committe’
of the Brotherhood of Ral
way Trainmen. aS
Oi 0 te

Discussing. entertainmen
Latin-American unionists wht
stop. over in Vancouver #}
week on their way to atte”
an ICFTU seinar at Ban
VLC delegate George |

ta

urged that local. unionists tall
visitors into their homes # i
show them how. “a type
Canadian family” spends 2
evening. 2
“If you watch TV; let- thé
watch TV. If you go to
movie, take them along. If ¥
spend the evéning in a b&
parlor, invite them to go.”
Sam -Jenkins of Marit
Workers, who is a lay preach
er, grabbed the mike
asked: “Is it all right to i»
vite them to church?” y

Ny}

a)

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COMING EVENTS
Let’s celebrate

OCT. 6 8th -NATIONAL

DAY — People’s Republic of
China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 1 p.m.
Russian People’s Home,
Campbell Ave. CONCERT
MEETING featuring

music ,folk dances, skits. of
People’s China. Everyone wel-
come. Admission - free.

16 COURSE CHINESE BAN-
QUET at 6 p.m. Forbidden
City, 90 E. Pender St. Tickets
$3.00 per; person available now
at People’s Co-op Bookstore,
337 Wes tPender. PPhone MA.
5836, . '

600 ~

songs, .

SEPT 8 — SOVIET FILM

: “TANYA” to be
shown at the Russian People’s
Home - 600 Campbell Ave.,
Sunday Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. Tng-
lish sub-titles. Everyone wel-
ome.

BUSINESS PERSONALS

PATRONIZE  POLITANO’S
BARBER SHOP — 204 Main
St., 2 blks. north of Hastings,

REGENT TAILORS LTD. —
Custom Tailors and Ready
to wear. For personal ser-
vice see Henry, Rankin at
324 W. Hastings St., Van-
couver 3. PAcific 8456.

BIG %7 USED FURNITURE
STORE — 1420 Commercial «
Drive. Phone HA. 4058. (For-
merly % Transfer and Mov-
ing — N. Stoochnov).

IWASTINGS BAKERIES LTD.
—Scandinavian products a
specialty. 716 East Hastings
Street. Phone TA. 9719,

September 6, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAG!

0.K. RADIO SERVICE ob

Latest \ factory _ precisi@?
equipment used.

MAR sf:
SERVICE, 1420 Pender ~ :
West., TA. 1012, ae

HALLS FOR RENT _

RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S pow
Available for meetings, W@ |.
dings, and banquets at ‘Al
sonable rates. 600 Camp?”
Ave. TA. 9939.

CLINTON HALL, 2605
Pender. Available for
quets, Weddings, 3
Etc. Phone HA, 3277. |

PENDER
AUDITORIUM —

(Marine: Workers)

339 West Pender _|
LARGE & SMALL. HALLS |
FOR RENTALS.
© Phone PA, 9481