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Prov. LPP issues
convention call

The B.C.-Yukon = executive
of the LPP announced this
week that the fifth annual
convention of the Pacific
Coast organization will meet in
Vancouver, January 17-19.

In its call sent out this week
to nearly 100 clubs, the LPP ex-
écutive pointed to the many prob-
liems before the labor and peoples
movement today. Emphasizing the
Srowing threat of world reaction
@mbodied in the U.S. imperialist
drive for world mastery, and the
reactionary policies flowing from
our government’s adherence to the
Truman doctrine, the LPP execu-
tive urged all clubs to discuss
and adopt resolutions on how to
further strengthen the democratic
forces in B.C. to meet the grow-
ing threat to our independence
and security.

Drawing attention to the politi-
tal crisis in B.C. and the course
followed by the Coalition govern-
ment during the past year, the
call urged clubs to discuss how
the LPP could more effectively
Carry forward: the fight to unite
labor and farmers to oust the big
business. coalition and elect a
Progressive government at the
next provincial elections. -

The LPP executive has also
called on B.C. ‘membership for
Tenewed activity to compel the
Coming session of. parliament to
take stens to curb profiteers, and
raise the .people’s . purchasing

Schuschnigg gets
cold reception

VICTORIA, B.C.—Attempts to
Present a glamorized Von Schusch-
nige to the Victoria public Mor-
day met a setback due to the
Activities of Victoria members of
the Book Union, progressive Can-
Adian book club. The latter were
on hand at the doors of the
Metropolitan Church where Von
Schuschnigg was lecturing ($1.00
admittance) and presented all
those entering with a reprint of
Elmore Philpott’s column im the
Vancouver Sun exposing Schusch-
higg as a “prettified” fascist.

The leaflet caused considerable
comment. Many of those who took
it inside to read returned to the
door for more to give to their
friends.

MioNn’S WHAK
Work Clothes For Workers
BELIEVE IT. OR NOT
Our Prices Are hight!
54 West Cordova
(% block east of Woodwards)

AFL union stages jurisdictional
foray on USW-CIO during strike

Attempts by the AFL-affiliated Bridge and Structural Ironworkers to organize a
Shopmen’s Union among workers at the strike-bound Dominion Bridge plant in Burnaby
this week brought the charge from Pen Baskin, international representative of the CIO
United Steelworkers of America, that the “move to set up a dual union can only result

in weakening the position of
the striking union, and prolong-
ing, the strike.”

According — to Baskin, the
Bridge and’ Structural Ironwork-
ers cooperated with the United
Steelworkers through the first two
months of the strike.in Vancou-
ver steel fabricating plants, par-
tially won by the USA last month
when it signed agreements with
four of the five plants involved.
The hold-out plant is’ Dominion
Bridge, still closed by a USA
picket. line. ; Vy :

“When I heard rumors that the

Bridge and Structural Ironwork-'

ers were trying to organize a
back-to-work movement I imme-

diately phoned up E. G. Cook,”

the secretary, and asked him
about them. He assured me.that
there was nothing to the rumors
and . promised his continued co-
operation,” Baskin told a. Pacific
Tribune reporter. |

"The. next ‘day, however, some
of our members received a letter
from Cook inviting them to a
meeting at which it was proposed
to set up. a Shopmen’s Union. Not
all of our members received the
letter—out of 157 employees .all
but 14 are members of our union
—and' it was obvious that it had
been sent to a picked list, indi-
cating access to the Dominion
Bridge Company’s payroll list.

“According to our information,
the two persons who took the
lead at this AFL organizing meet-
ing were men named Steers and
Cameron, both of whom were ac-
tive in trying to organize a com-
pany union in 1945.”

Baskin reported that he had sent
photostatic copies of Cook’s let-
ter with a covering letter from
his own. union to AFL locals here
urging them to protest the Bridge
and Structural Ironworkers’ action.

Pointing out that the Bridge
and Structural Ironworkers had

é : oS SaxtenNationar assoctA TION ox 3
. Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforced Ironworkers,
“Machinery Movers, Derrickmen and Riggers

‘Loca. 9

VANCOUVER AND VI

PLO. BOX 3028
Vancouver. B.C,

” Wovember 10; 1947.

Dear \Sir:

We are holding-a Meeting this coming

bh “the Ford Bldg.»
hursday, November 13th.at'8-p.m. int

Eye 218, 193 East Hastings Street, for the purpose
‘of organizing an A,.F. L. Shopmen's Union in the
various fabricating plants in Vancouver.

We would like to have you attend this

Meeting and would ask’ you

to bring this letter with

you’ for identification: purposes only, and would ask

you, to make every ©

re, \
BRIDGE AND STRUCTURAL IRONWORKERS \.
* LOCAL, 97,

ROOM ‘216 193 EAST HASTINGS STREET. |

VANCOUVER, B.’'C,

ffort.to attend thie Meeting.

had. confined its organizing ef-
forts to construction work, the
letter stated:

“We are satisfied that this is
not the policy of the AFL and
are asking your local to use its

never before attempted to organ-| best -offices to stop this type of
ize shops or steel plants here but action, particularly in this case

where our union has maintained
a solid strike against a powerful
company. We are confident that if
this matter is raised in the
Trades and Labor Councl, such
a body will definitely disapprove
of such action that could lead to
strike-breaking.”

Morgan urges action on prices

Immediate and decisive action to roll back prices and curb profiteering was urged in a
series of public meetings addressed by Nigel Morgan, Provincial LPP Leader, who has
just returned from a two weeks speaking tour through the Okanagan and Kootenays. Re-
porting an enthusiastic response to the LPP’s plan to halt price increases and stave off the

threat of depression, Morgan ad-
dressed 19 meetings in the two-
week period.

Citing government figures to
show that the cost-of-living had
reached its highest point in the
last quarter of a century, he ac-
cused ‘big business interests of
driving Canada towards the rocks
of another depression. “A year
ago,” he said, “Prime Minister
Mackenzie King had stated that
once price and profit controls
were done away with we could
depend on ‘free enterprize’ to lower
prices and to provide the thous-

—

Open and League Play Invited

THE PENDER BOWLING ALLEYS
FIVE AND 10 PINS
Open Noon Till Midnight — Monday to Saturday

839 West Pender Street

THE GREAT ANTI-FASCIST FILM

now t popular prices

v

AN AATRING RELEAS ©

FILM OF THE YEAR

STATE

Starts Sunday Midnite, Nov. 28rd
ANT WETK ONLY

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1947

ands of additional housing units
so urgently needed by returned
veterans and other citizens. . But
just the opposite has happened;
The rich are getting richer, the
housing problem remains un-
solved and the people are being
fleeced right and left.”

“The King government are
guilty of a cowardly betrayal of
the peoples interest,” he said;
“Their adoption of the Tory line
of price decontrol is responsible
for the most serious encroachment
on Canadian living standards, as
is indicated by the jump in the
price of a barrel of rye flour from
$4.40 to $23.20 almost overnight.
Big business profiteers are knock-
ing the bottom out of our pay
envelopes, so that every dollar is
worth little better than half it was
in 1939,” Morgan stated.

Scoring those who are trying to
propagandize the people into be-
lieving that wage increases gained
by the trade unions are responsible
for current price increases, he
quoted figures of the Department
of National Revenue to prove that
the profits of 20,951 corporations
reporting last year had increased
their returns by 225 percent above
the pre-war average for the years
1936-39. “It is a crime and a shame
and it must be stopped,” he said,
urging the audience to join the

L.P.P. in fighting to defend the
‘bread and butter of the people.

“Since 1939 the capitalist profit-
eers have collected close to 21
billion dollars,” Morgan stated.
“Last year they took over $3
billions in profits from the national
income and this year unless we
curb their greed, they will take
about $4 billion. While Canadian
workers and farmers will produce
over 12 billion dollars worth‘ of
goods—more than double the 1939
production — a total of 3,757,050
Canadians—in a périod called the
most prosperous in all our history
—earned less than $2,000.”

“Twelve billion dollars would
equal $1,000 for every Canadian
man, woman and child or $4,500 for
the average family. Our workers
and farmers are producing the
goods. Enough to give every family
a good standard of life and a
decent home, with enough over
to ship more food and exports to
help labor Britain, devastated
Europe and starving Asia, provid-
ing the government will act and
ACT IMMEDIATELY to protect
the peoples interests against the
few greedy profiteers that are
bringing our nation to ruination
and the inevitable return of the
‘hungry thirties’,’ Morgan said.

HIGH QUALITY LOGGERS AND WORK BOOTS
-MADE

HAND

JOHNSON
63 West Cordova Street - -

‘$ BOOTS

ers of Alberta

Who owns Canada?

TORONTO — A recent survey
shows that fifty “big shots” dom-
inate the Canadian ecomomy. With
the exception of -four who were
born in the United States of
America, not one of the 50 is
what is called “foreign born.” Four
of the 50 “big shots” were born
in England, and all of the re
maining 42 were botn in Canada.
All of them are of English, Scot-
tish, Irish or French origin, and
none of them can be suspected of
having an “international foreign
banker” among the skeletons in
his closet. There. is not a Jew
among them. ;
The total ‘gross assets
425 Canadian - robimeaiene —
have these 50 men. on their boards
of directors amounted. to $15,646,-
146,000 in 1948 ... The Compa
ies whose board rooms they adorn
hold 97 percent of all the assets
of all. transportation companies, 90
percent of the assets of all: chart-
ered banks in Canada, 90 percent
of the assets of* all chemical and
glass companies, 83 percent of the
assets of all non-ferrous metal
companies, 79 percent of the assets
of all gas and oil companies, and

‘| 73 percent of the assets of all Can-
adian insurance companies,

Pe
UFA rejects unity
EDMONTON— According to -a
statement made last week -by Car]
Stimpfle, president of the Alberta
Farmers’ Union, the United Farm-
have withdrawn
from amalgamation negotiations
on the grounds that the ABU has
porn assisting the organizing of
armers’ unions in ©
Manitoba. eee
Mr. Stimpfle felt that it
was re-
grettable that negotiations for the
Consolidation of farm groups had
broken down. He blamed the UFA
for terminating negotiations with
insufficient reasons. Aid given to
ore and Ontario farmers by
e was given
he stated. = a
ME ee

Protest arms to Chiang

and mem-
bers of the Toronto Council of
Women’s International Union

Auxiliaries,
The Council's protes
the federal coverument, unt ae
ed that military representatives of
all countries, including Canada,
“should withdraw from China and
leave her to settle her internal
affairs in her own way and so
end the civil war more quickly,”

Farmers may strike

SASKATOON — Carl Stimpfie,
President of the Alberta Farmers’
Union declared in an address here
that unless the Federal govern-
ment takes steps to establish a
national board to market all
grains, and eliminates the Winni-
peg Grain Exchange, that he will
recomend a non-delivery grain
strike next year. His pronosals
will be submitted to the December
2 convention of the Alberta Farm-

ers’ Union which meets in - Bd-
monton. :

In 1946 tens of thousands of
farmers in Alberta and’ Saskat-
chewan instituted a non-delivery
strike to secure price adjustments.
In many areas the farmers’ strike
was marked by police intimidation
and arrests of farmers’ pickets.

Drew finds a recruit

TORONTO—Dr. Charles Philips
of the University of Toronto last
week told teachers and the Tor-
onto Board of Education that “we
must declare war cold-bloodedly
on Russia right away.” The doc-
tor has no war record but is an
ardent admirer of Premier George

Drew - who also wants an
atom-blitz on the Soviet Union.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 3

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