a Oe eS a UBC stude nts against China arms shipments Condemnation of Canada’s shipment of arms to the Chiang Kai-shek regime described as “one of the most re- actionary governments in the world,” and support of trade union policy in picketing such shipments, was expressed by a majority of UBC students at two recent meetings on the campus. After hearing Dr. D. K. Faris, former UNRRA worker and vet- eran of 20 years’ missionary work in China, declare that Can- ada’s present foreign policy was building up hatred for Canada among the Chinese people and that “China’s present government has given up the right to rule the country because of its: moral behavior in dealing with the peo- ple,” a resolution protesting such munition shipment and asking the Canadian government to dis- continue such a policy was pass- ed by a large majority of stu- dents at the Parliamentary For- um Friday of last week. “The Nationalist. government has failed to become a govern- ment that serves the people, ana is serving only itself,” Dr. Faris said, describing how the Kuom- tained when whole sections of the Nationalist army have deserted to the Chinese forces, taking with them officers and men, arms and equipment. Frank Lewis, president of UBC Liberal Club, taking the affirma- tive in the resolution that “trade union interference with Canadian Chinese muntions contracts be prohibited,” was roundly de- feated at the Parliamentary For- um Thursday of last week. Lewis took the stand that Canada’s for- eign policy was no concern of the trade unions, and that such action as picketing the shipments was a breach of union contracts. He claimed that Forum en- dorsement of the “communist- sponsored” Colima picketing would pin a bad name on the University. This assertion was strongly pro- tested by those taking the oppo- intang managed to keep UNRRA| sition, who pointed out that the supplies from reaching Commun- ist areas and was maintaining] all beliefs, unions, picket lines included people of religious or- itself by “a refined robbery of| ganizations as well as ° political the” people.” . “Those who think by merely supplying a few arms to China they can stop a civil war” are actually endangering civiliar life far more than military per- sonnel and making the people hostile, he said, since Nation- alist planes were used more for terrorizing villages than in ac- tual combat. UNRRA food ships bound for Communist controlled territory had been strafed by Nationalist planes, sometimes resulting in the wounding of aboard. On the other hand, Dr. Faris point out the high morale and unshakeabe idealism which makes the Chinese Red Army men al- most unbeatable. They can fight and advance against superior forces because they ‘know they are going to win in the end, Communist armies in China have no air force or tanks. Up to the present they have received no aid from the Soviet Union but depend on small arms obtained in raids on Nationalist muni- tions dumps and supplies ob- parties. Sk Wah Wong, one of the two opposition speakers, pointed out that a Nationalist victory in China would destroy all _ possi- bility of political and economic freedom for the great bulk of the Chinese people. He compared the present starvation and _ horrible conditions in Nationalist areas to the progressive agrarian policy and building up of native in- dustries in Red China. Second speaker for the oppo- sition, William Roedde, Jr., quoted fom his own observa- tions in China last summer and compared the lack of democracy in the Kuomintang government with that of the great strides towards democratic represerta- tation in Communist China, borne out by observation of a “number of foreign correspond- ents such as Edgar Snow, Is- rael Epstein, Anna _ Louise Strong, Gunther Stein and. others. The resolution was defeated by 70 percent of the Forum mem- bers present. American interests would start Dominion jurisdiction. During B.C., charged the granting of US eyes Labrador ore OTTAWA—J. A. Retty, chief geologist of the Hollinger- controlled Labrador mining and exploration company, last week told 600 leading Canadian and American geologists attending the 60th annual meeting of the Geological Society of America that the American steel industry was “hungrily eyeing the great beds of virgin ores on the Labrador peninsula. ; Mining operatigns by the Hollingger company financed by were given of quality or size of deposits, his listeners were given enough information to prove that Labrador iron would be a worthy successor to the deposits of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wartime reduction of iron ore supplies in the Lake Superior region had made necessary this race for Labrador’s iron ore treasures, to save America’s “voracious steel industries,” accord- ing to the official releases on Retty’s speech. Behind the story of the race to get Labrador’s iron ore is the anxiety of the Canadian government to complete union with Newfoundland which would bring these huge deposits under dependent CCF member H. W. Herridge of Kootenay West, and other privileges to the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway would give monopoly interest a free hand in the exploitation of Labrador’s natural resources. > soon, he said. While no details last session of Commons, In- a railroad construction charter Profits of chain stores. ‘doubling and redoubling’ “With the removal of the prifits in the food business are Excess Profits tax, chain store doubling and redoubling.” This is revealed in a statement of the Wall Street brokerage firm of Merrill, Lynch and Company. Statistics which each month measures the rapid rise of living costs, said last month: - “Food stores have been absorb- ing an increasing proportion of Canadian expenditures.” Food prices have shown the sharpest increase of all commodi- ties in recent years. As of Decem- ber 1 they stood at 178.7 over the 1935-39 average. Index of wholesale prices on vegetable and animal products stood at 131.6 and 144.1 respectively on a 1926 base of 100. The food business is highly prof- itable these days as the packing industry has discovered. In Canada, four giant grocery and meat chain store corporations dominate the food distribution scene, although there are about 33,000 retail stores owned by some 30,000 companies and individuals. These four gidnts operate only 626 stores out of the 33,000 but they corner one-fifth of all the trade and exercise a crushing eco- nomic influence on the whole bal- ance, There are altogether 65 chain store outfits in Canada, but these Government maneuvers fo suppress details of arms sale to Chiang Kai-shek regime OTTAWA—Officials of the department of external affairs‘ here, have informed news- ‘men that the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a government agency, will not release details of arms shipments to Members of Parliament may if they so desire demand details of the shipments on request, but no public information will be made available, it is learned. An official of the corporation, which acts as a buyer of war ma- terials for Chiang Kai-shek in Canada, said: “The Chinese government has asked us not to divulge this in- formation for security reasons.” Behind the scenes. moves in the diplomatic network here re; veal that Canadiqgn government authorities approached the Chi- nese purchasing mission, asking. them to make a request for séc- recy about details on arms ship- ments. — F The Chinese purchasing mission in Ottawa took the hint, made its official approaches, and was in- formed the Canadian government|by CCF national leader M.. J. would cooperate fully. Key | external affairs said there was nothing on the sta- tute books which gave them au- thority to‘ ban information or de- tails.on war shipments to the Chi-| letter. nese civil war fronts, but that they would apply “security” China to the press. tions about shipments at the next session of parliament, they added. In a letter from the department of external affairs, addressed to the Vancouver Labor Council, in reply. to the council’s protest against shipment of arms _ to China, the government has de- clared that is “not under any international obligation to refuse the shipment of supplies to prop- erly. constituted and _ recognized government which is not backed up. by dissident elements within its own -borders. _The govern- ment considers that in present Gircumstances it should not refuse any. request for supplies made in accordance with these arrange- ments.” A copy of Hansard containing questions raised in the House Coldwell and. the replies given officials;by Extenal Affairs Minister St. Laurent concerning these ship- ments, was enclosed with the Council delegates voted to re to thejiterate their former stand against point of avoiding releases to the| shipment of arms to Chiang Kai- press. Members could ask ques--'shek’s government. ; FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1948 LOuIsS ST. LAURENT A hush-hush policy on China And the Dominion Bureau of four big ones get 70 percent of the trade of all the 65. The four are two Canadian and two U.S. concerns. Dominion Stores and Loblaws are Canadian owned. The A and P Stores and Safeways are American owned, Available figures for 1946 show Loblaws’ net profits to be $1,100,- 000, and Dominion Stores, $1,340,- 000. The latter is up from $1,030,- 000 in 1945. The two U.S. concerns don’t show Canadian profits sep- arately, but their total profits in- cluding Canadian business is sharp- ly up in 1946. The two American chains, A and P and Safeways, are units of the two largest U.S. chains, selling $2,000,000,000 of groceries a year and netting about $20,000,- 000 a year in profits. They are tied in closely with the Morgan bank ing interests. : The two Canadian chains are connected with Dominion finance capitalists. In the case of Dominion Stores, Director E. P. Taylor (Breweries, Massey Harris, New World Illustrated magazine, ete.,) is a director of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Phillips is on the Royal Bank directorate, and Hon. Lucien Moraud sits with the Bank of Montreal. Loblaws has _ Ar- buckle of Price Brothers, giant pulp and paper and power outfit, Asbestos Corporgtion and Howard Smith Paper Company, on its board of ‘directors,. Subsidy held vital CLOVERDALE, B.C.—Immediate restoration of feed grain subsidies in order to save poultry producers from being “wiped out” was urged at a conference of Fraser Valley LPP clubs last weekend, The conference decided to pub- lish a regular farm bulletin through the South Fraser LPP regional committee. Warns against U.S. MONTREAL.—“It is the duty of every Canadian to guard against the encroachment. of American monopoly capital on -the national sovereignty of Canada.” This was the kéyniote of an after dinner speech given by M. J. Coldwell to a group of CCF university students at the close of their national con- ference here. The CCF national leader pointed to specific instances in every prov- ince where “our national resources are being handed over to monopo- lies either directly or indirectly controlled by American interests.” Despite all the evidence he gave of U.S. interference in the internal ported the Marshall Plan as the only means of rehabilitating Eur- ope. He had no doubt there would be “strings attached” to the plan, but he hoped the 16 nations would be able to resist the pressure ex- erted upon them. Canada trains pilots OTTAWA — Confirmation that members of the Chinese Air Force are receiving training in operation of Canadian-built Mos- quito fighter-bombers thas been given here. Col. Yu Ken Wong said last week that a group of about 15 pilot instructors of the Chinese Air Force had been in Canada for “some time” receiv- ing training at the De Havilland plant at the Downsview airport near Toronto. Labor vote higher PORT ARTHUR.—Jack Quinn, AFL Lumber and Sawmill Work- ers’ official polled 3,016 votes to municipal elections here. Quinn, who increased his vote by more than 1,000 over last year when he polled 2,236 ballots, was contesting a seat on the 10-man aldermanic council. Robert Smith, Elevators Union (AFL), who ran for the Public Utilities Board as a labor candi- date, polled 3,251 votes to run third in a field of four with two to be elected. Smith increased his vote by 1,341 over last year when he received 1,910. —— Fare boost sought MONTREAL — Following the lead established by the BCElectric Railway Company in Vancouver, Montreal Tramways Company has applied to the local three-member tramways commission for permis- sion to increase street car fares by reducing tickets from four to three for a quarter. The company complains that it has not paid a dividend since 1941. Nevertheless, its net earnings have been close to $4,500,000 a year, out of which bondholders have received some $2,000,000, and it is estimated that it now has a surplus of more than $2,000,000. ; economy of Canada, Coldwell sup-~ run 12th in a field of 20 in the For a Good REGENT Suit or Overcoat | 324 West Hastings Street ; . e e s TAILORS EVERY GARMENT STRICTLY UNION MADE PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 3