Radiation has
$ : e
doomed many,
Scientist warns
LONDON
Radiation from atomic and hydrogen bombs which
have already been exploded will cause the deaths, or pre-
vent the births, of 1,500,000 human beings, in the opinion
_ Of Professor J. B. S. Haldane.
The celebrated British biochemist told over 300 scien-
tists at a Science for Peace meeting that a proportion of
this figure would be miscarriages and still births.
The estimate, he said, was based on earlier knowledge.
ow he had devised a new method for more firmly assessing
the death rate, based on the effects of radiation on animals.
It is ‘‘carefully designed to be free from statistical
etror,”” he said, adding that he had supplied his suggested
experimental design to the atomic centre at Harwell.
But he had also supplied copies to colleagues in India
and Japan as a precaution against any attempt that might be
- made in Britain to suppress any of the results obtained.
: (In Japan a ‘national campaign of protest hee ue
Plans to stage another series of H-bomb tests in the Pacific
— the date has been announced variously for the end of
arch and mid-April — is winning support among all oe
ties. Prime Minister Hatoyama has appealed to the i ;
- to proceed with the tests. The Socialist party 1s calling
Or an outright ban on all nuclear weapons.
(Leading Japanese scientists, among them Nobel Prize-
Winner Dr. Hideki Yukawa, are planning to organize an
international movement for the outlawing of nuclear weap-
Ons, ;

a Vancouver this week, Shoji Shibuya, cea
general of the AllJapan Fishermen’s Council, oe ng
the convention of the United Fishermen and Allied or

ets Union, asserted that H-bomb tests in the Pacific ak
affected Japanese fisheries. ‘“‘Radiation has contaminate
| Some of the fish;’’ he said on his arrival at Vancouver at
}) Port with Masami Hagiwara, chairman of the Japan Counci
of Marine Products and Cold Storage Workers.

i _ Hundred MPs interviewed -.
_ Big peace deputation
Presses for bombban

‘OTTAWA

A deputation from several score Ontario se rs
Constituencies interviewed close to 100 MPs on > ae
Week, asking their support of a proposal for a ee
38teement to stop the tests of nuclear waa eden
tation visited Ottawa on the same day the UN sub-co

°8 disarmament resumed _ its
Sessions in London.

A majority of the MPs ex-

é heed the hope that some-

Ng tangible on world disarm-
ament would be achieved at

‘

2 London sessions. ~ Typical “19:

eas the comment of Frank S. Russia is building the reat
trugvell CLib,, Belleville): “I est fishing fleet in the world
Tust the disarmament negotia- and is hoping to catch 4

bes Proceeding in London will
fruitful as the alternative is
*Qnihilation.”

geene delegation, organized on

© initiative of the Canadian

: Bes Congress, met with two

outers: of the cabinet, Agri-

ine Ure” Minister James Gard-

* and Transport Minister

Tegee® Marler, and with rep-

A Cop tives appointed by the
caucus.

barn CCF officially supports a
by C2 nuclear weapons tests
A International agreement,
BE € taking of practical
PS towards disarniament.
acti Bical of MPs favorable to
®n on disarmament, were: —

con tmore Philpott (Lib., Van-
% Schl South): who favored dis-
~."®Ment and recognition of

N. JA S SINCLAIR
or Jeiuaine for Soviet

Continued on back page fishing techniques

See MPs

y this ~

(ih

ony
nev tlul

WAL

} | Ray

| VOL. 15, No 12 -

PRICE 10 CENTS

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, MARCH 23, 1956

sen Let
Atte ses L tify

Gov't stalls on

‘

silicosis ca

By BERT WHYTE

\

‘

Scores of former hardrock miners, victims of silicosis (“‘miners’ consumption’ )

as a result of their years spent underground, are denied pensions

on technical grounds by

officials of the Workmen’s Compensation Board who ignore the intent of the Compen-

sation Act.

International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers has some 50 “‘live’’ cases

Mrs.Zuccowon’t take
WCB no for answer

on union books right now, but
has only succeeded in winning
pensions for five miners in the

past few years.

Mrs. Bea Zucco of New West-
minster, by staging sitdowns in
front of the WCB buildings in
Vancouver and the legislative
buildings in Victoria, dramatiz--
ed the plight of her own family
(her husband is a patient in
George Pearson TB _ hospital)
and also drew attention to the
widespread suffering of ex-
‘miners who are denied silicosis
pensions.

Mine-Mill files reveal in-
stances of incredible callousness
on the part of Workmen’s Com-

pensation Board authorities.
J

«

Continued on page 6
See SILICOSIS

million tons of fish this year,
Fisheries Minister James Sin-
clair told the 12th annual con-
vention of United Fishermen
and Allied Workers’ Union con-
vention here Wednesday this
week.

If Soviet fishing fleets hit this
target. it will move their coun-
try from third to second place
among the great fishing nations.
Present standing is‘ Japan in~
top spot, followed by the United

States, USSR, Norway, Britain
and Canada.

~ For more than an hour Sin-
clair held delegates spellbound
as he described his tour of
Scandinavian countries and the
Soviet Union and gave details .
of new fishing techniques he
had seen in operation. :

The Canadian fisheries min-
ister found his opposite num-
ber, Soviet Fisheries Minister
A. A. Ishkov, “extraordinarily
well informed, and an able and
energetic man.” Ishkov has

been invited by Ottawa to visit :

Mrs. Bea Zucce’s plea for a
silicosis pension for her TB-
hospitalized husband was re-
jected this week by Workmen’s
Compensation Board chairman
J. E. Eades, who informed her
that ‘a review of the case did
not show any signs of “disabl-
ing silicosis.” ss

Determined to press her fight
further, the plucky New West-

minster housewife now plans to
travel to mining camps through-

Canada this summer to inspect
fisheries operations.

“You all know,” Sinclair told
the convention delegates, “that
I hold opposing views to the
ideology of Russia. But I want
to say that during my ‘entire
tour in that country I feel that
I received honest answers to
every single question I asked.”

Ishkov, the son of a Volga
River fisherman, wanted Sin-
clair to visit Volga and Don
river, Black and Caspian sea
fisheries, but the Canadian min-
ister expressed his desire to ex-
amine methods of fishing in
coastal waters. Permission was
granted after he had a long talk

With Ishkov and Anastas Miko-

yan, first deputy premier, in the
former’s office in the Kremlin.

“Fish is a cold: matter for dis-
cussion but we hope it will lead
to a warm stream\ of friend-
ship,” said Mikoyan.

“I hope to see as many of
your streams as_ possible,”
cracked Sinclair.

out the province, gathering evi-
dence to:help her stage a second
“invasion of Victoria” four or
five months from now.

Mrs. Zucco. gained nation-
wide attention recently when
she and her three of her chil-
dren staged sitdown strikes at
the Workmen’s Compensation
building in Vancouver and on
the stone steps of the Legislative
Buildings in Victoria.

Sinclair tells UFAWU parley
of Soviet fishing techniques

“You will be travelling wide-
ly in our country,” Mikoyan
promised him. “In your coun-
try you have had 200 years of
the industrial revolution. We
have tried to cover the same
ground in 30 years. When you
cross our country you will see
great things and weak things.
I hope when you return home
you won't speak only of the
weak things.”

Sinclair said he would try to
be objective and describe what
he saw. A few hours later ‘he
was told plans had been made
for him to visit the Pacific fish- ,
eries. :

Almost all salmon are caught
in traps, which are spread right «
across the mouth of 190 streams
in the Kamchatka peninsula.
On the Amur, because it is navi-
gable, the traps are put up the
sides of the river.

“I saw two men operating

Continued on back page
See SINCLAIR