Support the striking CSU seame /

‘ Governments in Ottawa and London pulled all the
attempt to smash the Canadian Seamen’s Union strike.
In London, trade union officialdom,

and told to get their men back to
rank-and- file, who listened in ston
economic life of the nation.”

In Ottawa, officials scoured labor ranks

the CSU's Montreal office willing

series of contemptible newspapers

articles denouncing the union.

Around the world, labor solidar-
ity grew and more Canadian ships
were tied up. The World Federa-
tion of Trade Unions reaffirmed its
Support for the CSU, and called on
its affiliates to refuse to handle
“hot” ships.

“We're holding firm until a fair
settlement is arrived at,” said
James Thompson, West Coast
leader of the CSU. “Meanwhile
we need continued financial sup-
port from the public, which has

given us wonderful backing all
along.”

Striking seamen in Vancouver
are throwing a huge “shindig”
‘at Pender Auditorium on Friday,
July 29, and expect to jampack
both upper and lower halls.
There will be dancing, entertain-
ment, and a draw on aq beauti-
ful camphor cheSt. Admission is
free, but the public will be given
a chance to contribute to the
union’s strike fund by participa-
tion in numerous events. Half
the proceeds of the evening will

go to the British dock workers,
who are so courageously support-
_ing the seamen, and half will go
‘into the CSU strike fund.

Under pressure from Ottawa
and Washington, the Trades and
Labor Congress executive has de-
serted the seamen in their hour of

y silence while the jabor

called on the carpet by the
work, went to the’ docks and

ezars told

for weaklings and deserte
to become a pint-sized Judas and

strings at their command this week in ‘a last-ditch

alternately threatened and cajoled their

“Labor leaders of Downing Street”’
them they were “hamstringing the

rs, finally found: an ex-janitor from
“tell all about the red plot” in a

need. But All across Canada, in
;every union local (both AFL and
CCL) there has been a groundswell
;of support and a growing realiz-
jation that the seamen’s struggle
is the Struggle of every union. “To-
| day the attack is
| if their battle is lost, my union may
| be the next to come under attack
aan the bosses,” says the rank-
\and-file union man. .
| Financial aid is urgently need-
| ed by the CSU after four months
of bitter struggle on the picket
lines and in the courts. The time
has come for the workers in
every industry to come to the aid
of the striking seamen; to urge
locals to donate to the strike
_fund regularly; to start collec-
tions in shops ‘and mines and
mills; to organize “food show-
ers” for the CSU soup kitchens.

Vancouver citizens have set a
fine example by giving both food
and money to local CSU strike
headquarters at 53 Powell Street.
This support must now be increas-
ed. Local picket lines are still Op-
erating 24 hours a day, and the
men must be fed. Organizations
are asked to collect canned goods
as well as fresh meats and vege-
tables to aid the strikers. Farm-
ers in the Fraser Valley are asked
to send in produce from the farms.
Unions are asked to make finan-
cial donations; if they have already
done so, to donate again.

.

Let all labor and progressive or-
ganizations stand staunchly behind
|the CSU, and the great strike will
be won.

-

not

All

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& ZZ

MIDSUMMER

CLEARANCE

A‘sale with THE HUB is an event

savings in union-made clothes and
furnishings. . ...

SUITS;

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A good range but
broken sizes.

$57.50 SUITS

Pure wool worsteds
in single and double
breasted

Meadowbrook Tartan

Sport Shirts
Reg. $6.95

$10 Dress Slacks, $3.95
$15 Dress Slacks, $7.95

GRAY POLO SHIRTS—
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Reg. $2.25
“BIG BOB” WORK

SHIRTS— Red Plaid.
Reg.
$8.50 SPORT JACKETS—
Knit cuff and collar
zipper front
SWIM TRUNKS—
Reg.

Postage Prepaid on All Mail
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a habit. Here are genuine

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$97.65

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e

$1.50
$1.95

$2.75

$5.95
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$3.95

against the CSU;,

BCER

A proposal to have the city ask
the B.C. government to take over
the power, light and transporta-
tion divisions of the BCElectric
was advanced by Ald. Laura
Jamieson in city council Wednes-
day, and defeated on g split vote.
Even had the proposal carried it
would not have solved the im-
mediate question of the BCER,
but would only have opened a long
and wrangling series of negotia-
tions dnd counter-proposals on the
part of the provincial government.

Continuing “her probe into the
financial structure of BCElectric,
Effie Jones this week produced
more facts and figures to prove
her contention that no fare in-
crease was necessary. :

“Last year the company upped
street railway fares by 33% per-
cent,” she said. “They will be in-
creased again this time by another
20 percent, making a total in-
crease within two years of 60
percent.”

This is being done in spite of
the following facts:
@ Profits of the BCER last year,

as amnounced in the company’s

annual report a few weeks ago,
were just slightly below an all-
time record. -Nearly .$1,000,000
was left over as undistributed
profits after paying all divi-
dends.
@ The company’s. reconversion
program is rapidly replacing the
old two-man cars with trolley
coaches, cutting operating costs
by using only half as much man-
power on each vehicle,

@® Financial costs have been low-
ered in recent years by refinanc-
, ing the company’s entire’ funded
debt at lower interest rates.

@® BCER fares are already the
highest in Canada.

“The BCER profit-gouging rec-
ord invites comparison with the
publicly-owned Toronto Transport-
ation system, which manages to
operate profitably at four tickets
for 25 cents,” Mrs. Jones said.

“BCElectric complains of rising
costs. Costs are rising in Toronto,
too, but the TTC has met costs in
a different way. a,
“In 1948 Toronto’s street’ rail-
way carried 300,000 more passen-
gers per month than in 1947, This
is in keeping with the growing
population. :
“But the BCER carried 1,500,-'
000 less passengers per month,
although Vancouver’s. population
has been growing rapidly. Why?
Because BCER raised’ its prices
to the point where working men
and women can’t afford to tray-
el. The BCER would rather
make its profits on higher fares
than on increased service,

“In addition, the TTC has used
its profits to reduce debts‘and mod-
ernize the system, whereas the
BCER, until two years ago, let its
equipment go to pot while paying
fat dividends every year. As a re-
sult, the TTC has relatively mod-
ern equipment with low mainten-
ance costs.-Moreover, it has accu-
mulated nearly $30,000,000 surplus
for modernization and fare stabil-
ization.

“By comparison, it pays interest
on only $5,000,000 of borrowed
money, and although it is spend-
ing from $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 a
year on capital expenditure, inter-
est charges have been cut from
over $2,000,000 in 1929 to $400,000
last year. ,

“The BCER, on the other hand,
has used its profits to pay divi-
dends of six to eight percent.
Equipment was allowed to deter-
iorate with. resulting high main-
tenance’ costs. When the decision

Attlee’s ne

&

Dockers are holding firm.

When British _dockers voted to continue their two-month yer é
out in support of the Canadian Seamen’s Union strike, Prime
ister Attlee had the king proclaim a state of emergency, emp?
ing the government to use troops to tr

y and break the strilt

Press comment during the last
crisis in Britain has touched off an
ment circles.

Manchester Guardian cryptically
not certain that the U.S. would

between Russian and Great Bri-
tain.” f-

The paper added that “atom
bombs probably would represent
Britain’s only salvation, while the
U.S. shivered on the brink, as on
two previous occasions when Eu-
rope was in flames.” This was a
reference to the belated entry of
the U.S. in World Wars I-II.
The U.S. Atomic Energy Com-
mittee of Congress called a-special
meeting to study this startling de-
velopment. “Informed circles” in
Britain let it be known that Britain
could probably produce the bomb
without U.S. aid if she “concentrat-
ed on the problem.”

Behind this implied threat of a
hard-pressed imperial rival is the
cold truth that the vast Canadian
and Belgian Congo uranium depos-
its—the one in a nation of the
Commonwealth, the other purely
British-owned, are fully monopol-
ized by the U.S. in its supreme con-
trol of atomic energy for bomb
production,

American contracts for the en-
tire Belgian Congo uranium
"production expiqe this year.
Hence the squeeze-play to con-
siderably up the price to pro-
vide Britain with the dollars
needed to ease her crisis, aug-
mented by the threat of going
into production for herself, and
thus cutting into an exclusive
U.S. war monopoly.

borrowed money, thus loading the
system with interest charges, And
as I have pointed out before, the
PUC permits the company to
show its interest on the bonds at
a higher figure than what it actu-
ally pays.

“In a word, the economics of the
BCER. are the economies of price
increases, Monopoly and public
service do not go together. It is
high time our city of Vancouver

was finally made to buy new

took over the BCER.”

U.S. fears loss o
grip on uranium

Centered around the demand that the United

“ec » bg : Sas, ibe!
release the “‘secret” of atom bomb production to Britain, the I

make prompt entry into any war

equipment it had to be done with|.

ae

week would indicate that the dolla

atom-chain reaction in high 89%

remarked, “. . .

CHINA |

The British i

‘

Latest reports from the fs
. 0. ¢

front placed advance units
i i i side ~~
Liberation armies deep in eithit

nan and Kiangsi .provinces — pelt

striking distance of Canton sie
advance has been aided by;%

pee!

rilla units, which have 1028 ~
as fav"
: y which
able, to their operations and f
rear P ae

aominta?

operating in limited are

are now harrassing the
tions of demoralized K
forces, :

Reports from Canton intl
that the Liberation armies will Wee
counter little more than the ae :
lived resistance they met at SHE e
hai and that the majority enell
population will welcome

‘coming as did the people ® —
great Yangtse port.

ie rant
“ne Tae

Hopes of Chiang that ee i off
be able to hold Hainan Is reer
the south coast of Ce ned
ing shattered by the soe a it
successes of Liberation yo
: the jslaD . ie
extending areas of
der their control. are

tne
Of the half a million ig Pein
Kuomintang still claims 50,00?

under its command, somé in
have already been route z and
past two weeks’ agit of
Chiang has no army ee eat
halting the well-disciplin nerati®
armed and seasoned ly © 4

jo

d
troops between the a
ing front and his

P
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 2, 199°~™

stronghold of, Canton.

oe