HE campaign, initiated fj by the Labor-Progres- 5 ‘Sive Party, to com- memorate the 100th anni- versary of Marxism, coming . as it does at a time when Canadian labor and the en- tire progressive people’s move- ment is moving toward a new Tound of hard battles against fascist-minded monopoly, will help to arm progressive Canad- ians in the fight for democracy @nd social advance, for peace, and for socialism. At a conference held some Weeks ago in Toronto under the auspices of National Affairs Monthly, a comprehensive plan _ Was worked out for production _ f a number of new Canadian Marxist books and pamphlets during the : anniversary years, 1947-48, ; Included in the plan are: ® A short people’s history of Canada ® A history of Canadian labor ® Studies of Canadian monop~ Sly capital, on “who owns Canada—the 50 Big Shots” ® A short history of the Com- munist movement. In the course of their produc- tion articles on many phases Sf Canadian life will be pre- Pared for the new Daily Tri- une, the Pacific Tribune, Na- tional Affairs, and the labor Press generally; regional studies °f monopoly control, workers’ euecitions, reminiscences of vet- Tans of the labor movement, development of the arts and Sciences, The National Affairs Confer- *ce on Marxist Studies opened With an introductory report by Stanley Ryerson on the treat- ment of Canadian history by | bourgeois historians and econo- Mists, and the scientific Marx- ist conception of our country’s Past—and future. Mrs. Margaret Fairley then introduced propos- als for the over-all plan of study _®nd production, Participating in the discussion were research Workers, teachers, economists ‘8nd party educational workers °m Toronto and Montreal. Tim Buck, national leader, ad- resseg the conference on the Significance of the 100th anni- Versary of Marxism for the LPP soa the labor movement. Trac- ng the rise of Marxism in the Past century in relation to the Madian working-class con- Sciousness and political action, a seuis leader emphasized the ieee creative power of Marx- ™, and the need in Lenin’s Words to “boldly foresee the fu- ture and advance valiantly to its achievement.” >. This address, which placed the Work of the conference in its istoric setting, provided invalu- able guidance for a deepened 8rasp of the relation of practice *nd theory in the Canadian Working-class movement. (It is’ Published, together with the in- troductory report to the. confer- €nce, in the February issue of ational Affairs.) f ot Decisions adopted at the con- clusion of the conference were: @ To constitute the National Affairs Conference on Marxist Studies as a continuing project, With S. Ryerson as chairman ee Margaret Fairley as secre- . ry. @ Committees were set up as - follows: - ‘ @® Study of Canadian monop- Sly capitalism: Michael Free- man, chairman, _® History of Canadian labor: Beckie Buhay, chairman, @ People’s history of Canada: Margaret Fairley, chairman. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1947 : =» ry : @. The Labor-Progressive Party’ plans a short people's history of Canada as one of several new works to mark the anni- versary years - - - 1847 1947-8 LMOST one hundred years ago, in June 1847, on the eve of great struggles that swept every nation in Europe, the Communist League was formed. The Communist Manifesto, written by Marx and Engels, which was to become, the guiding document of a living movement of millions of people of every color and nation the world over, was published one year later, It heralded the political emergence on an international scale of a new class, the work- ing class, which within a cen- tury would have established a socialist state on one-sixth of the: earth and would stand on the threshold of power over most of the continent of Europe. . The achievements of one hun- dread years of Marxism will be celebrated by the world Com- munist movement in the years 1947-48. It will be commemor- ated in a period when the un. folding of tremendous events is leading to a new birth of creat- ive activity. Throughout the world democratic front, through Europe’s new governments, in the growing tempo of colonial struggles, in the great upsurge of labor’s strength in the Latin- American countries and in the achievements of labor in Can- ada and the United States, a fertile soil is provided rich in all the requirements for new achievements. In all fields of human activity, men and women in increasing numbers are look- ing to the living, dynamic me- thod of Marxism as their daily guide. : Canada’s Marxist party, the LPP, is preparing to make a planned contribution to the edu- cation of the progressive move- ment, through the assembling of data and in the production of theoretical documents on Canad- ian problems. On February 15 and 16, a Marxist Anniversary Conferencé will be held in Vancouver, at which ‘plans will be discussed and assignments undertaken to extend Marxist-Leninist teach- ing and activity to wider sec-. tions of the British Columbia people. The work of the con- ference has been departmental- ized and the agenda promises a . level of discussion that will be highly stimulating and produc- tive of real achievements on the theoretical front. DDITIONAL courses for the: projected Labor College, new methods in education and a series of Marxist lectures on basic theoretical themes are among the questions which will be considered by the section on , education under the chairman- ship of Ike Schulman, UBC law student, who is at present con- ducting several very successful study groups. ° The literature committee, head- ed by Stu Kennedy, will work out: plans for the distribution. of at least 5,000 copies of the anni- versary edition of the Commun- ist Manifesto. Socialist compe- ‘tition in sales of Marxist clas- sies will receive close attention in this commission. Tom McEwen, editor of the Pacific Tribune, is leading the committee on the press, which can be counted on for a lively historical treatment of the role of the press. It is a Study which will have important implica- tions for the whole B.C. labor movement. One of Western Canada’s: most outstanding young economists, Emil Bjarnason, has consented to lead the section on research, Under his direction an energetic committee is assigning projects on Canadian political and eco- nomic development with empha- sig on the growth of monopoly in the province. Bill Bennett and Al Parkin will make a special contribution in the field of B.C. labor history. . What is the role of the work- ing class play? How can the main issues facing Canadian la- bor be dramatized? What can be done to start the labor move- ment singing its own songs? These are among the important questions which will be tackled by the committee on drama and music under the chairmanship of Rosaleen Ross, with John Goss assisting in an advisory capacity. The Marxist anniversary con- ference marks a new departure in educational work in B.C. and is arousing keen interest in la- bor circles. NNIVERSARY eet have al- ready taken shape in Vancou- ver in the organization of a Labor College where studies on questions of vital interest to the labor and progressive move- ment will be conducted every Monday, Tuesday and Friday night for an eight-week period in the West End Hall, 1332 Davie Street. ‘to Courses are: @ Wages, Prices and Inflation, an advanced course in political economy with Emil Bjarnason as instructor, on Monday nights, beginning February 10 at.8 p.m. @ Labor Workshop, under the direction of Alex. Gordon, 2 course on public speaking, mim- eographing, and writing for the labor press, beginning Tuesday, February 11, at 8 p.m. @ The Communists and the Labor Movement: a Marxist in- terpretation of the history of Canadian labor and the role of the Communists in the trade unions; under the direction of Bill Bennett, with additional lectures by Nigel Morgan, Mau- rice Rush; and Al Parkin; every Friday night, beginning Febru- ary 14 at 8 p.m. : e AS part of this educational pro- gram, a women’s afternoon study group will be hela at the home of Rose Kaplan, 1081 West 16th Avenue, with Min- erva Miller, Florence Stanton and Effie Jones leading discus- sions. - A challenging study of current issues and the role of women in labor’s struggle for peace and social advance, material will be dealt with under the following headings: From Food-gatherer Industrial Worker; Twen- tieth Century Advances; Social Legislation; Women and Civic Politics; High Prices, Inflation and Depression; Women and the Fight for Peace. A welcome innovation which will make the classes available to mothers is an arrangement for a separate supervised play- room for children in a nearby home. ‘ PACIFIC ‘TRIBUNE — PAGE 11 .