ae: a . eos
U.S. cold. war planners are now experimenting with ice
tunnels running as deep as 250 feet beneath the Greenland
icecap in attempts to move U.S. air bases in the Danish territory
closer to the North Pole.

Tunnel, Rock Workers
fight for B.C. scale

The “fired” officials of Tunnel and Rock Workers’ Local
168 barred doors of their offices at 529 Beatty this week to
international officers who are trying to get the members to
work on the natural gas pipeline at wages 40 cents an hour
below the B.C. scale, and declared that they would fight side’
bys Sideernith she: Membehun to Consultation with them, demand
win a new contract at union rates. | }y,, right to elect their local of-
As the Pacific Tribune went to, ficers and to negotiate their own
press a protest meeting was be- agreements.
ing held in Pender Auditorium. | Some 50 union members who
Union secretary Bill Hunchuk : walked off the job at Harrison be-

said Laborers’ president Joseph cause wages were about 40 cents
Moreschi of Washington had writ- | lower than the B.C. union mini-

ten suspending all officers and mum have ignored orders. of:

appointing Stacey Warner, inter- | western regional director Carl

: : a k
national representative, as ad-' Berg to return to work.
TinieeROe © Position of Local 168 members

i i iy ipeline agreement
The membership, determined is that the pipeline :
not to accept wages negotiated | has never been ratified by union
by Washington officials without members. .

Doukhobors press for
return of children

NELSON, B.C.

Some 40 Doukhobor women, including 25 who were re-
leased from prison here last week after serving short sentences
for demonstrating for the return of the children seized by the
authorities and held in New Denver, visited school and gov-
ernment officials Monday this week demanding release of the

children, , | ernment schools, are being given
The women remained at the;

| educational training in the New
door of Emmett Gulley’s home | Denver institution where they are
until told by police that Gulley | being held. Sons of Freedom sect
was out of town. They hold Gul-) of the Doukhobors oppose educa-
ley, who is secretary of a gov-| tion in provincial schools because
ernment commission set up to, they claim that “war is glorified
deal with Doukhobor problems, | in the teaching of history.” Douk-
partly responsible for the abduc- | hobors are pacifists. F
tion of the children. - | The women talked to school in-

The 75 or more children seized | spector Nelson A. Allen, who told
by RCMP and local police over | them that their complaints would
the past year because their par- | be forwarded to the provincial
ents refused to send them to gov-' education department.

ok

CRA opposes proposal
for commissioner gov’t

Civic Reform Association is planning to present a brief to Vancouver City Council
giving its views and proposals with regard toa changes in civic government. CRA president
Effie Jones will present the brief. :
Opposing the proposals now being discussed by council — a city manager plan, a
commissioner-type council and a reorganization of council — the CRA brief states:

“The city manager plan would
mark a big step backward in civic
democracy. Members of city
council and general purposes
committee are to be congratu-
lated on rejecting the city man-
ager plan.

“The commissioner council type ,

of civic government comes very,
close to containing all the undem-
ocratic features of the city man-!
ager plan. In place of one ap-
pointed manager it proposes that
three officials be appointed by:
city council to assume the major
edministrative responsibilities for
running the city.

“This, like the city manager
plan, would mark a big step
backward for civic democracy.
Its total effect would be to
further separate elected repre-
sentatives from the people, from
whom the right to govern stems.
This plan should be rejected.

“The plan for a simple reorg- '
anization of council procedures,
proposed by the minority report,
would leave unchanged the pre-
sent civic structure and does not,
in our opinion, meet the require-
ments of the present. situation.”

Main problems facing civie gov-
ernment here stem from absence
of a ward system, contends the
Civic Reform brief.

“Each alderman in Vancouver
represents more than four times
the number of citizens represent-
ed by elected officials in Hamil-
ton, Ottawa, Calgary and Wind-
sor.
“With the absence of a ward,

the true spirit of democratic
government for any person, or’
group of persons other than the
duly elected representatives of
the people, to be completely
vested with power to make all

administrative decisions.”

The CRA brief agrees with
Thompson’s statement, and says
that it “sums up the main weak-
ness of the proposal put forward
in the majority report.”

Continued from page I

LABOR COUNCIL

Officers of the new council
were sworn in by’ Percy Ben-
gough, former president of Trades
and Labor Congress and honor-

‘ary president of Canadian Labor

Congress.

Main business of the inaugural
meeting was ratification of a
draft charter prepared by the
executive. No real dissension
was expressed but one or two
clauses were referred back to the

' executive for clearer wording.

The 152 affiliated unions, rep-
resenting 79,000 organized work-
ers, are entitled to elect 564 dele-
gates. Basis of representation,

which favors the smaller craft}

unions, is as follows: two dele-

, gates to unions up to 100 mem-

bers} three delegates up to 250;

{four up to 450; five up to 700;

six up to 1,000; and an extra dele-
gate for each additional 500
members.

President Whalen announced
that the draft constitution and
bylaws would be read and dealt
with section by section, and when

Said vice-president Alsbury: “I
i suggest we let it lie.”
| Only major division of opinion
| Was recorded in a vote on a clause
| stating that “before a member
fcan become a delegate (to the
council) he shall have been a
, member of an affiliated union for
; at least 12 months except in the
_ case of new locals.”
; “This ruling, if passed, will bar
me from continuing as a delegate
, to this council,” said a Province
, Newspaper Guild delegate. “It
|might well bar others who have
,come to Vancouver, joined a
-union, and are interested in trade
‘union activities.”
| Sam Jenkins of Marine Work-
.ers also objected to the wording
|of the clause. “If a man comes
‘from the Yukon, joins our union,
and is elected as a delegate, why
‘should he be barred by this one-
year rule?” he wanted to know.
| When the vote was taken, about
150 delegates voted “nay”, but the
motion easily carried,

As the meeting prepared to ad-
journ shortly after 10 p.m., dele-

system citizens have no way of, one delegate suggested speeding gate Jenkins asked if the execu-
taking up problems except by | things up, he bluntly rejected the tive had considered nomination
placing them directly before city; idea and quipped, “You should of a labor candidate to contest

council,

“Of the four largest Canadian |
cities, Vancouver is the only one |
which does not have.a ward sys-
tem.” |

The CRA advances two main>
proposals:

@ That Vancouver be divided
into five large wards with
two aldermen elected from
each ward.

That a board of control of
four members and the mayor
be elected by city-wide vote.
The board of control would
function as the executive of

/

be happy to have a chance to dis-
cuss this constitution. I know
another one where you didn’t
have a chance.”

As
read the constitution and bylaws,
familiar labor figures popped up
to question this or that point—
George Home, Sam _ Jenkins,
George Mitchell, Mel Kemmis,
James Barton and others.

As Roberts’ Rules of Order
have been scuttled by the Can-
adian Labor Congress and its
affiliates in favor of a Canadian
production, Bourinot’s Rules of

secretary Ted Jamieson

.the city byelection caused by the
death of Ald. D. E. McTaggart
last Saturday.

Whalen answered that the next
meeting of the executive would
have the question on its agenda,
and council could deal with any
proposal at its meeting May 29.

‘B.C. labor veteran

dead at Kifchener

| KITCHENER
A man who helped to organize

the council, as in other cities. | Order, Whalen occasionally found | unions in B. C. logging camps and

This proposal would provide |
Vancouver with a city council
of 15 members.

Before any such proposal can

himself in minor difficulties.

Biggest laugh of the evening
came when Jamieson read a sec-
tion dealing with amendments,

be seriously considered, however,! which should first “be submitted
city council must reject the ma-' to the council in writing and lie
jority report of its general pur- upon the table... ”
poses committee which advocates! “Lie?” he questioned. “It
a commissioner council type of, seems to me that should be aaye
civic government. In’a minority suggest we amend the grammar.”
report, city clerk R, Thompson, There was general laughter and
condemned the plan in these|a few guffaws, and one delegate
words:
“In my view, it is contrary to |Tom Alsbury about that.”

EXHI

May 18, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 1

_| Shouted, “I suggest you consult |

j jon the Vanconver waterfront in

| the thirties diced on April 23 at the
age of 71.

He was Sam Guistini, Italian-
born worker who came to this
country in 1910 and played an
active part in its labor movement
for more than 40 years. Until he
moved to Kitchener in. 1939 he
made his home in Vancouver,
where he was’ a member of the
old Canadian Labor Defense
‘League. He joined the LPP in
' Kitchener. .

HE WAS THERE — at 20th Congress Soviet Communist Party !

TIM BUCK

HEAR THE LPP NATIONAL LEADER ON TODAY'S VITAL ISSUES

BITION

GARDENS
Friday, June 1 — 8 p.m.

.

*