BY BERT WHYTE

Boom’s “false front’
hides slump threat

ARK TWAIN once said that a

mine was “a hole in the

ground with a liar sitting at the
top.”

Twain was taking a crack. at
the unscrupulous stock promoters
who got rich quick by selling
worthless mining stocks to gull-
ible citizens who were also hop-
ing to get rich quick.

For every mine that comes into
production, a dozen holes in the
ground cease operations after
the stock-buying suckers have
been thoroughly trimmed.

One producing mine and a doz-
en holes in the ground: usually
means the birth of a thriving, if
short-lived, mining boom town.
They all look the Same—and the
inevitable label is a busy busi-
ness section of false-fronted clap-
board buildings.

A false front, in case you aren’t
familiar with boom towns, is a
two or three-storey “front” on
a one-storey building. From the
street such a building looks im-
pressive; take a walk around back
and you see that the frontier
“skyscraper” isn’t really much
larger than a good-sized privy.

Canadians industrialists are
erecting many a “false front”
these days to conceal the actual
state of the country’s economy.
And nowhere are they busier
than in British Columbia, where
our sagging economy has to be
camouflaged more and more each
day.

Like Mark Twain’s stock pro-
moters, British Columbian busi-

*ness tycoons are raking in money
hand over fist. They are doing
this by exploiting labor and ex-
ploiting our province’s natural
resources. In most cases these
natural resources aren’t being de-
veloped with the wellbeing of the
Canadian people in mind; they
are, instead, being handed over
to big business in the United
States, for the sake of quick
profits.

Industry in Canada is coming
under the complete domination
of the Yankee colossus to the
south; our economy becomes de-
pendent upon ge whims of Wash-
ington.

Some day. sie sat such policies
of betrayal are reversed—we'll
wake up to find B.C.’s “false
front” of prosperity has collaps-
ed. We'll be left with the shacks
(a Canadianized Hooverville) and
the hole in the ground—known
as a depression. The liars will
be lolling on the sands at Palm
Beach or Bermuda, while we join
the breadlines in Vancouver.

On the same day that the Paci-
fic Tribune appeared on the strets
last week with a story giving fig-
ures on mounting layoffs in in-
dustry, the daily papers*ran glow-
ing articles about this province’s
postwar industrial boom — the
building of new pulp and paper
plants, plywood annd lumber
mills, hydro-electric and alumin-
um projects, railroad building, oil
refineries and manufacturing
plants.

Industry has developed with
seven-league hoots in B.C.—but
in a fashion that makes an econ-
emic crisis a certainty unless
economic and political policies
undergo a rapid change. The
growing lines of jobless, the loss
of markets for lumber, fish, min-
ing and farm products, all add
up to a coming depression—un-
less.

Unless what?

Unless we, the people, unite

to Put Canada First, to stop the
United States domination of. our

This means a fight against the
“sell and give-away” policies of
Canadian big business, which is
tied hand and foot to the U.S.
trusts and monopolies, which are
only too eager to gobble up our
country.

It means a fight in the field of
parliamentary action and among
the workers to win support for a
program of peace, people’s wel-
fare, democracy and Canadian in-
dependence.

Capitalism inevitably breeds de-
pressions and wars. But people’s
action can delay or halt certain
depressions and certain wars. Do

that, and, because history is dy- ,

namic, relationships change in
the course of struggle, and it be-
comes possible—and easier—to

carry forward the fight to end .

depressions and war altogether,
by the ushering in of a new so-
cial system.

The Labor-Progressive party
has launched a National Plan to
Beat the Threat of Depression and
Put Canada First. It puts for-
ward the idea that productive
employment and people’s purch-
asing power can be maintained at
prosperity levels by national ac-
tion to develop Canada in peace
and trade with all countries.

Planks in the LPP plan call

for British Commonwealth trade’

through acceptance of sterling in
exchange for Canadian products;
Canadian trade missions to the
Soviet Union, People’s China, In-
dia and the People’s Democracies;
building Canadian economy by
processing our own raw materials:
immediate work on an All-Cana-
dian St. Lawrence Seaway; fed-
eral-provincial construction of a
publicly-owned Trans-Canada
natural gas pipeline; and other
measures waich add up to a new
national policy, a democratic
people’s alternative to the crisis-
producing policy now being fol-
lowed by the St. Laurent gov-
ernment.

“Not a Single Worker Needs
to be Laid Off if We Put Canada
First!” is the LPP slogan which
in coming months will be raised
in every industry and community.

The thousands of unemployed
workers in B.C. should be among
the first to respond to this slog-
an; and before B.C.’s “boom” in
industry reaches the “bust” stage,
thousands of trade unionists will
begin to understand-and support
the LPP’s Put Canada First pro-
gram.

LETTERS
DIGEST

Cc. S. STEWART of Yellow-
knife, N.W.T., sends in a long
letter touching on a variety of
questions (war, peace, Social
Credit, communism, militarism,
consumer credit, big power ne-
gotiations). We would like him
to develop at least one of his

_ ideas in greater detail. -

LEOPOLD LAMOUREUX of
Vancouver sends in a subscrip-
tion and says that it makes him
“very happy that we are fighting
for something worth while . .
peace and independence from
control of the United States.”

JOCK TAYLOR of Kelowna
writes on “the Doug Hepburn
controversy” and asks corre-
spondent Frank Coller to “re-
member that politics penetrates
barbells, too.” He warns Bert
Whyte that “you are running in-
to ‘strong’ competition, exclud-
ing this writer.”

“For heayven’s sake stop worrying about the depression, Henry.”

BY WILLIAM KASHTAN

Mine-Mill gives lead in fight
for Canadian union aufonom)

 Sapeteeat the proceedings ~ of
the international conventions
of the Mine-Mill and the United
Electrical Workers I was struck
not only by the generally for-
ward looking policies these con-
ventions adopted but more so by
the way they dealt with the ques-
tion of Canadian autonomy.

Mine-Mill unanimously adopt-
ed a proposal to amend its con-
stitution with the aim of spelling
out the rights and duties of its
recently established Canadian
council. The amendment is in-
teresting enough to merit reprint
here. This is the section.

“In recognition of the fact
that the membership of the In-
ternational Union in Canada
has district and separate na-
tional aspirations and is con-
cerned with distinct and separ-
ate national problems, the local
unions in Canada shall have the
right and the duty to organize a
Canadian Mine-Mill Council of

which all such local unions shall ,

be a part and which shall have
its own bylaws. Upon approval
of the International Executive
Board, such bylaws shall be
binding upon the International
Union and all local unions in
Canada. The International Ex-
ecutive Board shall take no
action inconsistent with such by-
laws and shall otherwise take
. no action having specific and
direct application to the Cana-
dian membership without con-
sultation with, and approval of
the Canadian Mine-Mill Coun-

cil.”
Another amendment to the

constitution was also. endorsed
by the convention. This has to
do with the election of vice-presi-
dents. Where before only. two
were elected now there will be
three, one of whom is to be a
Canadian elected by the Cana-
dian membership only.

These two amendments will be
the Subject of a referendum
vote on November 2. Once adopt-

‘for what purpose?

ed they will be immediately op-
erative. Every indication points
to overwhelming membership en-
dorsation of the two proposals.

Undoubtedly it will mark an
important step forward in the
further strengthening of the
autonomy of Mine-Mill in Can-
ada. And, by example, it is
bound to give considerable im-
petus to the growing demand for
the autonomy and independence
of the Canadian trade union
movement.

“The fact that the international
convention
amendments attests to the strong
understanding of what interna-
tionalism means today by both
the leadership and American
membership of Mine-Mill.

6

These developments ‘ contrast
rather sharply with the policies
of those international unions
which are under right-wing lead-
ership.

In these unions the tendency
is.in the opposite direction —
towards the further suppression
of the democratic and autono-
mous rights of the Conrgien
membership. Nor is this acci-
dental for behind this policy of
domination rather than cooper-
ation between equals is the ob-
jective of subordinating the ec-
onomy of Canada to the needs
of ‘U.S. imperialism.

Consider what has happened
since this stepped-up drive to
deminate and control the Cana-
dian trade -union movement
started here.

Not only was the CSU destroy-
ed but in the process the SIU
was established as a U.S. instru-
ment to control Canadian ship-
pink. And now that the Fisher-
men’s Union in B.C. is suspend-
ed from the TLC, the SIU is
again being brought forward —
To advance
the interests of the fishermen?

All the evidence again points
to the fact that its purpose will

endorsed _ these

be to dominate and C0
dian fishing in the in
the U.S.

A similar situation
in the textile industry’

ership of th

not only becaus
militantly on beh
membership — but
they fought against
policies, largely res
undermining both
and livelihood of Ca?
ers.

e

A growing body
ists now begin to. see
tion betweeen the
dian sovereignty 20
gle for Canadian au
trade movement.
gether. To fail to.

aso

of ta oe
thot

tony

‘adian autonomy is

Canandian soverel
to fight in aerense 6
sovereignty 1S
achievement 0 auton?
independence.
How true thi
in the textile,’
implements and
industries wher
are undermining
the pee.
living standa
Aue the cen toe
omic crisis deepe?s
to many other ind gustris |
Thus, the in 0
tonomy is m
trade union
ed to a, much
the fight to preserv!
Canadian indu oat fo
Canadian sovere att
and higher living
This fight nee
up with renewed ©
trade union mov"

Mill’s decisions oul,
namattl