RERTOy EES Chee i swig VOL. 18, NO. 50 _ Phone MUtual 5-5288 Authorized as second class mail by the Post O1tice Department, Ottawa. 10° VANCOUVER, B.C. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1959 Farmers Union urges, general disarmament LANGLEY, B.C. — Some 44 enthusiastic delegates from locals in the Peace River, Salmon Arm, Kootenays, Lower Fraser Valley and other points gathered in Langley on Nov. 30 for the fifth annual convention of the Farmers Union of B.C. Keynote of the convention was the determination to build this still small but lively farm union into a large and strong organization that would be able to successfully proteet and defend the livelihood of the - small farmer and the family farm. In a spirited debate the delegates passed over 50 reso- lutions pertaining to farm problems. Decisivey rejecting any type of political action aimed at endorsation of the CCF in the 100 hear McKnight PT. ALBERNI, B.C. — More than 100 ratepayers turned out to a. meeting in the Nordly’s Centre to hear Gus Prigstad, mayoralty candidate and George McKnight, aldermanic candidate, outline their plat- form for election here. McKnight and Prigstad both agreed on a plan to solve the tax problem by the fixed as- sessment agreement. (See ' page 3). A leaflet describing the plan was. circulated by McKnight, and no opposition to the plan was registered during a lively question period. coming provincial elections, the delegates at the same time endorsed ‘co-operation with labor organizations on all mat- ters of mutual concern.” The resolution pointed out that “the problems of markets and prices affect the living of both labor and farmer, and increas- ing unemployment and below; cost prices to producers are steadily lowering the living standards of Canadians.” Another important resolu- tion, this time from the floor, that was endorsed without opposition, called for general disarmament under strict in- ternational control. Affiliation with the B.C. Federation of Agriculture (which is controlled by the big commercial farmers) was re- jected, although delegates agreed to co-operate with it. Delegates voted to maintain their affiliation with the Inter- provincial Farm Union Coun- cil, the central body of all farm unions in Canada, and also supported the formation of a National Farmers Union. The convention asked for a scale of deficiency payments on farm products to be paid by the federal treasury that would make up “the difference be- tween the price actually re- ceived on the market by the farmer and the parity price.” LD HOMES, SCHOOLS’ “1Money spent on ‘defense’ over the past 12 years would have enabled us, had it been diverted to peacetime use, to double the number of homes and schools built in Canada since the Second World War and pay the total cost of medical, dental and hospital care,” William Stewart, Communist Party of Canada candidate for North Vancouver in the coming provincial elections, charged Case of the union welfare funds Profiteering at the expense of union welfare funds has been charged by two construction unions ina statement demanding intervention by Attorney this week. Stewart, a leading trade unionist and secretary of the; Marine Workers Union, pre- sented figures to support his claim. Canada’s defense expendi- tures in the period 1946-1958 amounted to $21,048,083,000. Housing units built in the same period numbered 1,288,- 440 and cost $13,059,000,000. Schools built during the 12 years cost $1,814.650,000. Total cost of medical, den- tal and hospital care, 1946- 1958 was $6,544,000,000. “This makes a total of $21,- 417,650,000,” said Stewart, compared with defense expen- ditures of slightly more than $21. billion. “In other words, our total defense expenditures since 1946 would have been suffic- ient to: “Double the number of hom- es built in Canada sinee the war — that is, it would have built an additional 1,250,000 housing units, enough for 5,- 000,000 people; plus “Double the number of schools built in Canada and thereby end the problem of swing shifts and overcrowded classes; plus “Pay the total cost incurred by the Canadian people since 1946 for medical, dental and hospital care. éSurely it is obvious,” Stew- are .concluded, “that Canada must withdraw from the pres- ent suicidal arms race, press for world disarmament, and divert this money into useful channels, as I have outlined.” CPC hits CBC ban TORONTO — A protest against the action of radio stations in refusing to sell ra- dio time to Communist Party committees for the purpose of presenting its - disarmament proposals, is being sent to the CBC by the CPC national ex- ecutive committee. s These broadcasts were inten- ded to counteract the propa- ganda hostile to disarmament General Robert Bonner, set up. trators, who are paid at of the fund. The essence of the charge by the Tunnel and - Rock and Ironworkers’ Union is that the fund’s administrator, Vernon L. Hembling, and consult- ant. M. A. Cornell, have received $75,000 in fees during the past two years, at the expense of med- ical and insurance benefits for which the fund was Union investigators estimate that the adminis- member, have been collecting the fee on about four times the actual membership. ’ In the meantime, the workers, who have been contributing seven cents per man-hour of their wages into the fund, have had great difficulty in getting the benefits to which they are entitled. When the report was released last week, the Daily Province and the Sun rushed to the aid of the administrators with anonymous charges that the report was a “communist plot” to gain control The Pacific Tribune has obtained a copy of the union report. Full details of the charges will be described in our next issue. the rate of 33 cents per Progressives poll high vote in city election Progressive candidates polled substantial votes in Vancouver civic elections this week, but a light turnout of voters, particularly in the working class East End, en- abled the reactionary Non-Partisan Association to make almost a clean sweep. The NPA captured 10 of 12 seats contested, while the CVA elected one alderman and one park board member. Failure of labor to wage a united campaign hurt Sam Jenkins, Vancouver Labor Council candidate, who ran ninth (five to be elected) in the 16-man aldermanic race. Jenkins polled 14,048 votes. In 12th position was Mona Morgan, Independent, w ith 8,370, and John Dubno, Inde- pendent, ran 15th with 4,707 in his first try. Donald “Dusty” Greenwell, Independent candidate for park board, polled over 12,000 votes in his second attempt. which is frequently heard on radio and TV in Canada. Runner-up for school board (four to be elected) was Harry Rankin, Independent, with over 16,000 votes. He led all four CVA candidates, and was only about 1,000 votes behind the last-elected NPA candidate. (Final returns were not avail- able at PT press time). About 25 percent of the voters went to the polls—some 20 percent in the working class East End, and 30 percent in the West End. ‘Voters passed a referendum for a $240,000 school for retard« ed children, but defeated by- laws for a $300,000 downtown parking program, a $360,000 swimming pool at Memorial Park West, and a $300,000 East End community centre.