} Ww

MOTHER BLOOR
Story of great
American woman

SO MOTHER BLOOR is, dead!
She was the greatest woman the
Amtrican labor’ movement has
Produced and’ she will stand in

the history books of the -inter-,

we

national movement by the side_

of Clara Zetkin and La Pasion-
aria, 2

When she died last month she
Was 89 years of age. And what
She had done in her 60 years of
Selfless, militant activity was
€nough for. a dozen average men
°r women,

Ella) Reeve Bloor was born in
1862 near New York into a com-
fortable family, descendants of
Pioneer settlers.

In her early twenties she start-
ed to take an interest in social
Problems, and the. story is told
of how she intervened in a debate
n gold versus silver currency in
the Ethical Culture Society.

t that time she was a member
°f the Textile Workers’ Union.
(You atic,” “she toi: the’ so-
i¢ty’s members, “about gold and
Silver money. But what differ-
BBECaCln Ait mean to the weavers
Whether there are gold dollars
( Silver dollars’ when’ the weiv-
“ts have no dollars?”

She Was to remain “Left” all
nee life, later to become a foun-
dation member of the U.S. Com-
Munist party,

She liked to recall how she met
© great playwright, George

*tnard Shaw, in ‘London around
€ turn of the century when both

&re speakers at a women’s suf-

88e movement.: Shaw was the

only man to. speak at the rally
and he startled some of the Con-

Servative feminists by trying to

Scruit’ them into the Socialist

Movement.

law 1900, at the age of 38, she

2 “elved a degree from the Uni-
*rsity of Pennsylvania at a time

€n she was maintaining her-

i and her four children by

ng children’s books, - includ-

Several text books used wide-

°r grade school children.

Fy er last published work was
a 2utobiography, We Are Many,
hich appeared in 1940,

mange ah ke

FROM HER early days on-
Hey » Wherever there was a pare
(a tly dangerous industrial
Atle, there could Mother Bloor
® found,
of © Was with the copper miners
a q aiumet, Michigan, in 1914,
eh from there she went to Lud-
> Colorada, to help wives of

ci

Writi
ing

Striking miners,

a © raised money all over the
Withy after the Ludlow ’ mas-

Sacre

» When 42 childrén were shot
Mia by the militia and tents in
‘ch evicted miners and their
oe flies were living were burn-
ne °pposed the First World
later and combined then, and
» Peace work with her im-
“Ose trade union activity.
© was in her middle sixties
"i n she spoke to the vast crowd
Agri and Vanzetti’s execu-

And she was over 70:when she

ed

ome.

.

Pet 0) Oe 0 ee a
ft i

WOM

EN’S

news and views

POOL A LLL LU ea

.PRICES PROTEST

Cost of schoo
‘modelled’ for

IT WAS, QUITE an eye-
opener for many delegates to the
prices conference held in Van-
couver last week ‘to see the tags
on the school clothes modelled by
four youngsters. This was one
of several novel methods adopted
by the Congress of Canadian Wo-
men, which sponsored the confer-
ence, to draw attention to the

problems faced by workers’ fami-

US 0 a
é :
.

| outfits
conference —

lies in these days of high living
costs and shameless profiteering.
Two boys and two girls, aged

11 and 6, demonstrated today’s

prices for school clothing as com-
pared to prices in 1939, -

To outfit the 11-year old boy
with essential items, including

‘jacket, pullover and pants, cost

$17.40 as against $10.40 for
the same items in 1939. i

The girl’s outfit cost $25.88
compared to $14.63 in 1939,
items included being blouse, skirt,
sweater and raincoat.

Outfits for the two six-year
olds reflected the same increase
in prices. Cost of the girl’s out-
fit was $17.17 compared to

‘$10.07 in 1939, and of the boy’s

outfit $11.85 compared to $7.65
in 1939,

And, delegates were reminded,
the provincial government now im-
posed a three percent sales tax on
all items included in the demon-

_ stration.
; - 1951 1939
BOY AGE.1]
Corduroy, Panis See re $5.95 $3.55
Siacdeeti peace nes ope FRR RUA EUMTY AMS ACS 7.50 4.50
Palleper a a eae aes Lge 2.35
GIRL AGE |] Ss
UCI LYE Seieesiis pei ae am ee $2.25 $7.35
SEALE sit cee IO ae SEE Se Hee #00
Paillovereee Bases 2 SSE 2.98 :
ROY Ey eS nce ace Capea whale ae 5.95 2.55
TROUICOAES: fe Stn loti Ree aN 9.95 5.95
BOY ‘AGE 6
fl favel io a etoecmee Vea ye tay gE aa $3.95 $2.35
Ramtec 2 eh SAN id Bia 4.95 2.95
Pullover. 6 oe se A Sep 2.35
GIRL AGE 6
Smledter soo 2 ieee 2 oa ee $3.95 Me $2335
OY pre ifere saee ee Boh Brake ae 3329 1.79
(apd iain 2 eae on eee es 2.98 178
iRaincoat: see re ere ares 6.95 4.15
later went to Ohio and Colorado jail hundreds of times. She suf-

to help, striking miners.

At 75 she was picketing the
Chrysler plant in Detroit, teach-
ing in Communist party schools,
leading the women’s work of the
US. Communist party, and speak-
ing at meetings all over the US.

Never for a moment did she
weaken or lose hope, She was in

fered more personal bereavement
than most women are called on
to bear. She raised a large fam-
ily. She made herself into a
Marxist.

And now she is dead. But like
John Brown, her soul goes march-
ing on and her example will live
for ever. -

Re ee

EARL SYKES

E. Hastings St. PA. 3855

—~___ Vancouver, B.C,

tie oeee ;
PENDER -
AUDITORIUM

(Marine Workers)

338 West Pender °
LARGE & SMALL HALLS
FOR RENTALS

Phone PA. 9481
oN OR

al

NEW FAL

—— ORAOE

‘ 1470 Corantercial Driv

You will approve of our choice of, Specialized Styles

COME IN AND LOOK AROUND

SILVER’S LADIES WEAR

OL —1OKIOL =——JOEIOr ono Term0
“Everything in Flowers” 0 i
PROM "|. NEW SEASON APPROACHING! i

L STYLES ARRIVING!

ICES

e 7) HAL 5432"

Coe Ce) = (6) mem

—OfI0r

=6Eior

E10

io

7

At World Youth Bestival

This Australian travelled half Way round the world to Berlin
where he is shown being warmly greeted by German children. He
wes hailed by all at the Berlin World Youth Festival. It is the first
time in history that aboriginal Australians have ever attended a

world meeting.

A SMALL NEWS item which
caught my eye the other day re-
ported that a coroner’s inquiry
found that 18-month-old Gerald
Crosby “met his death by drown-
ing accidentally in one of Rich-
mond’s many water filled ditches
in front of his home. This tragedy
is not the first of its type to occur
in this district. Residents will re-
call that last year little three
year old Brian Clarke drowned
March 13, and two-year old Mar-
lyn Rothery died April 17 in the
municipality's drainage ditches.

-We do not hear of all the “near

deaths” which occur regularly in
these ten feet deep, 12 feet wide
ditches, but I can imagine’ that
every mother must constantly be
on her guard: when the youngsters
are out playing,

Last year Reeve Cunningham
said that, the municipality could
never afford to cover these
ditches, but some day when the
municipality has grown, they will
be part of a proper sewage sy-
stem. Pretty grim words of com-
fort to the bereaved parehts, I’m
‘sure! Especially when they read
about the government spending
three billion dollars on a single
jet bomber or half a million dol-
lars for a new RCAF barracks
to house 180 airmen. What price
do you put on your child's life?

i

x i ke

BECAME INVOLVED this
week in quite a discussion on
what youngsters read these days,
and the relative importance play-
ed by the comic book in the
“average child’s life. Of course,
the cost of children’s books is an
important factor in the growth
of popularity of comic books, but
We should not lose sight of the
fact that the general lack of cul-
tural development in this coun-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — SEPTEMBER 7,

try coupled with the faster tempo
of living and very often a lack
of interest on the part of the
parents are just’ as important.
The comic book violates every
standard of good literature. The
use or misuse of the English
language is highly detrimental.

In the majority of cases they
_ misrepresent reality, and in speci-.

fie cases such as Little Orphan
Annie, Joe Palooka and Steve
Canyon are uséd for definite pur-
poses of propaganda suggesting
racial superiority, intolerance and
giving a complete misrepresenta-
tio of facts.

One firm of publishers states,

, “Our aim is to produeé comics

which will be bought by the child,

, not for him.”, They frankly admit

that a purely commercial motive
prompts them to turn out the
tons of mediocrity which is re-
lieved only by the damnably bad.
One critic states, “An acceptance
with such enthusiasm of a repre-
sentation of human beings in ac-
tion that is so patently false,
must tend to create misunder-
standing in the mind of the read-
er of the nature and motives of
human behavior. Further, it com-
pels him to lead a dual existence
using a part of his energy in an
eXcessive emotional participation
in a life of fantasy at a time
when he needs so much to under-
stand and grapple with the real
world.” F

* vs x

IN GETTING your fall clothes
ready \for the rainy weather you
may find your hat needs cleaning
or you May even be able to afford
a new one. Anyway, don’t forget
the Leong Hat Shop, 70 West
Cordova, which advertises regu-
larly in your paper, and do us
and yourself a good turn.— B.G.

1951 — PAGE 11

Se