“SEEK 20% ‘ ul al . 702-= CRED | yen =! yall A 1) errant FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1957 Vol. 16 No. 9 VANCOUVER, B.C. S30 2s Authorised as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa less than 200 men contro! country’s life Fewer than 200 men, most of them bank directors, Make up the elite upper-crust in Canadian life concen- trating in their hands ‘“enormous economic power ’, ‘University of Toronto political economist has revealed. Writing in the February issue of the Canadian Jour- nal of Economics and Political Science, Prof. C. A. Ash- ley disputes a previous article appearing in a May, 1956 Issue placing the group,at 922 persons.. - “My own inclination would be to approach the ques’ tion from a different point of view . . . and to arrive at a Continued on page 9 — See NOW You pay this sales tax $54,500,000 $69,000,000 1955 1956 $35,500,000 1954 IWA ASKS FOR HINA TRADE Voicing the determination of the membership to bring woorworkers wages into line with rates prevailing in other industries, delegates to the B.C. district con- vention of the Internation percent wage increase whic hour. Full contract demands for. 1957 are holiday pay, statutory holi- days, removal of wage inequi- ties in the logging end of the industry, rest periods, swing shifts and union shop provis- ions. Deadline for a new agree- ment is June 15. Holiday pay demands are for two weeks after one year, based on 5 percent of wages earned, three weeks after five years’ employment based on 7% percent of wages, plus Box- ing Day as one more statutory holiday with pay. The union’s case for increas- ed wages was bolstered by a brief presented to the conven- tion by Lloyd Whalen on be- half of Local 1-217. Many dele- gates, favorably impressed with the brief, said they were planning to make it available to their local memberships be- cause it ably supplemented the case presented to the con- vention by the district policy committee. Union leaders blasted lum- ber operators as “prophets of doom” who indulged in one- sided propaganda about the poor condition of the lumber market in order to influence the wage demands. ‘In contrast to the gloomy picture of the future of the in- dustry painted by the “proph- ets of doom,” convention dele- gates declared that “govern- ment and business leaders have come to recognize the possibilities of a great market for lumber products in Chi- na.” — “This declaration was contain- ed in a resolution calling for a trade delegation composed of representatives of the fed- eral and provincial govern- ments, the lumber manufactur- ers and the IWA to go to Chi- na and investigate at first hand the possibilities of mar- kets for B.C. lumber. In proposing this action the Continued on back page See CHINA _ Readers’ conference Editors and staff of the Pacific Tribune will meet their readers in Pender Audi- torium Lounge this Friday, March 1, 8 p.m., in a critical discussion®intended to obtain readers’ views for improving the paper and acquaint readers with the paper's problems. al Woodworkers Union voted this week to go after a 20 h would raise the basic wage to approximately $190 an embodied in a 13-point program covering Is Premier Bennett seuttling public power? BENNETT'S AIM SUSPECT Public vs private power fight grows By NIGEL MORGAN A bitter two-way fight has developed over the rich hydro potentialities of the Columbia River. __ The struggle as to whether Canadian or U.S. needs shall have prior consideration is reaching a climax. It is expected to be settled in top level discussion between Ot- tawa and Washington following the federal election. The struggle over development on the Canadian side, whether it is to be undertaken by the publicly-own- ed B.C. Power Commission or given over to the B.C. El- ectric is still in its initial stage. It may be settled by the 1958 session of the legislature if not before. At stake is an estimated $100 million worth of elec tric power annually; enough to operate 150 large pulp mills or similar industries; more than enough to supply 100 cities the size of Nanaimo, Kelowna or Prince George. Whatever the government decides will affect the cost at Continued on page 13 — See IS BENNETT