at

EDITORIAL PAGE x

The road to nowhere

HATEVER accomplishments

last week’s provincial conven-
tion of the CCF may have chalked
up in anticipation. of its becoming
the “next” government of B.C.,
will assuredly founder on its. con-
tinuation of a CCF “go-it-alone”
policy. %

By the adoption of a joint CCF.
CLC electoral policy which pro-
vides that all workingclass candi-
dates for election must be mem-
bers of the CCF, and that delegates
from unions attending a CCF nom-
inating convention must hold mem-
bership in the CCF a return of the
Socreds and their Liberal and Tory
sleeping partners is almost guaran-
.teed by the CCF convention.

Such a policy reduces trade
union and other workingclass par-
ticipation in an election to that of
providing the dough and the votes
for CCF aspirants. It is a gross
distortion of the Canadian Labor
Congress resolution on the need of
a new labor-farmer-people’s alter-
native to the political parties of
big business monopoly.

Under such a CCF “go-it-alone” |
policy the building of a_ broad
united people’s party capable of
wresting victory from the political
yesmen of monopoly—a prime pre-
requisite in today’s political struggle
—is spurned and tossed aside. The

-letter from the Labor-Progressive:

scored this essential need of unit
to assure victory at the ‘polls, c
responding in every way to th
letter and spirit. of the CLC rex
lution. CCF provincial leader
ert Strachan rejected the LPP lett
with a “We don’t want any ht!
from that outfit,” while the :
right-wing leadership by its co
tinued “go-it-alone” policy spurt
united workingclass political acti
—but seeks its cash and its vote)
To talk of “socializing” the BC
Electric, B.C. Telephone, or oth
B.C. industry, and in the
breath continue narrow partisa
policies which obstruct the -unitin
of labor and progressive forces,
right-wing social democratic h
bug of the lowest grade, and whit
if unchanged, will spell disaster o
election day! a
The right-wing CCF lead,
including those -who impose
social democratic policies o
unity upon the BCFL, and whi
tort the CLC resolution to si
their own narrow partisan end
have rendered an ill service to labo
and the people in British Columbi
which the weeks ahead will show.
The only people who have rei
cause to be happy at CCF conyentit
“go-it-alone” stupidity, is the Soe
reds and their political ilk. CC
chatter about “socialization” wil
turn out a poor substitute for th

Zeballos, B.C

» the scene of a spectacular gold rush in 1936.

H omicidal maniacs

[N A RECENT edition Britain’s

largest daily paper, the Daily
Mirror gave U.S. President Eisen-
hower some pointed and timely ad-
vice—to put a damper on “loud-
mouthed American generals” who
individually and collectively consti-
tute a continuous “threat to the
hopes of world peace.”

Whether Ike takes this advice to
heart or not, millions of people on
this and other continents will give
it their unqualified approval, and
continue to hope that some ways

war, it invariably increases in tempo
when the “danger” of a top-level
summit meeting of heads of state
appear imminent. Then the homici-
dal braggadocio of Yankee military
brass is turned on full spate. 3

If a few score of Canada’s lead- -
ing newspapers and other influen-  ~
tial organizations were to follow the
lead of the British Daily Mirror and
lodge a like request with President
Ike, it might assist in silencing this
noisy and obnoxious menace to
peace and world co-existence

and means can be found to gag

these Yankee military homicides.

During recent weeks in particular,
when all sincere hopes for the
Preservation of world peace and
mutual understanding are upper-
most in the minds of all decent
peace-loving people, along comes
some Yankee nuclear-missile ma-
niac, boasting how “Russia can be
wiped out,” how “We can clean
up the Reds,” how “we can prevent

war — by bombing Russia first,”
etc. ‘

While this military brass boast-

ing of “invincibility” (Hitler once -

had the same disease) has continued
unabated during a decade of cold

Pacific Tribune
Phone MUtual 5-5288

Editor — TOM McEWEN
_ Managing Editor — BERT WHYTE

Published weekly at
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Vancouver 4, B.C.

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party to the CCF convention under-

urgency of workingclass unity.

OR THE umpteenth time A. E.

-Dal”’ Grauer of the B.C, Elec-
tric has warned that socialism
would “ruin” British Columbia.
We salute Grauer, not as an
authority on socialism but as a
\‘Tuin” expert. Numerous power-
ful monopolies in British Colum-
bia may equal the power, transit
and gas octopus Grauer heads
up, but none surpass -it in the
fine art of ruinous exploitation!

Editoralizing on Grauer’s latest
belch on socialism under the
catchy caption, “Socialism would
ruin British Columbia,” The
Province draws a fine distinction
between Grauer’s “natural” an-
tagonism to socialism and the
“logic of his reasoning.” The lat-
ter, we are told, “should appeal
to every clear-thinking. British
~Columbian.”

How many of us may qualify |

for this “clear-thinking” category

is anybory’s guess. No doubt The

. Province feels it at least is en-

dowed with such clarity of
thought, otherwise why the grat-
uitous salaam to the Grauer
“logic.”

The essence of Grauer’s “logic”
is scarcely new. Basically it is
the determination of monopoly to
hang: on to its vested right of
resources exploitation, with a
pretext added to its profit-goug-
ing, viz, that’ monopoly concerns
such as the B.C. Electric are now
too big to “take over” and oper-
ate under public ownership.

The “cost of purchase’ would
be too great; the debt obligations
in such a venture would swamp
B.C. now and for all time. The
poor taxpayer would be “saddled”
with a heavier tax load, and the
whole business of public owner-
ship would simply “frighten pri-
vate capital away from B.C.”
Hence Mr. Gauer wants to keep
the “political and economic cli-
mate in B.C.” at a nice comfort-
able temperature—for the mon-
opoly. buccaneers. So runs the
Grauer “logic” for “clear-think-
ing” coupon clippers!

It may be noted in passing

- that every time voices are raised ‘

in support of public ownership
as a means of putting an end
to. B.C. Electric holdups, the

Grauer “logic” is refurbished and _
trotted out to frighten the un-
sophisticated “with the bogey of
“socialism.”

Public ownership of utility or
other resources ‘has little resembl-
ance to socialism, as any brief
study of publicly-owned enter- _
prises in B.C. or Canada, will % |
readily illustrate. Yet with all —
its shortcomings such ~ public
ownership.is. preferable to pri-
vate monopoly ownership. What-
ever benefits accrued might have ~
a chance, of advancing thé public ~
wealth instead of ending up in
the pockets of the monopoly
profit gougers. $

When the people of British Co-
lumbia turn to scientific social-
ism and the rule of the working- ~~
class, as they inevitably will—and
in the not distant future—Grau-
er’s “logic” will have less sub- |
stance than the proverbial snow--
ball. “orien
The people themselves will be
the investors, applying their crea- |
tive energy to the development
of vast natural riches, and them--
selves the sole beneficiaries. Thus _
if the idea ‘of public ownership —
disturbs the sensitive class “logic? 4
of the Grauers, just imagine what _
will happen when genuine social-
ism hits it! ae

“Alas poor--Yorick . . .” —

April 10, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE