Effie Jones
blasts PUC

forretting of natural gas rights
or Greater Vancouver ito the B.C.
Rlectric by the Public Utilities
Here ssion came under sharp cri-
Ucism this week from Effie Jones,
Fesident of Civic Reform Associa-
ee CRA president has fought

“4 Control of natural gas night

Wn the line, and recently pres-
Vv a@ brief on the subject to
ancouver City Council.
‘It is obvious that the Public
pees Commission is continu-
oF along the same line as the

PUC,” said Mrs. Jones. “Form-
ie ‘UC policy was to grant the

‘\. Electric’s every request. Des-
pe 4 change in PUC composition,
ete has been no change in poli-
B Granting the franchise to the
a ectric even before it is
be a Whether West Coast will
caic le to build the line (a de-
‘a * Which Jhinges on hearings
in ashington this month) is a
€f example of how the PUC
ma Over ibackwards when _ it
: os to the B.C. Electric.
cide e provincial cabinet must de-
to ratte, sue. It has the power

« Ject the PUC decision.

_ Urge Premier W. A. C. Ben-
on ao Set aside the PUC decis-
tural Nd place distribution of na-

Sas under the B. C Power
Mission,
The issue is now before the
Dulll Credit government. I ap-
organi all interested citizens and
ats to write to Premier
on th t at once, stating their views
€ question,”

At?

Youth in Warsaw

trie:

stay in the USSR.

These four young people were delegates from different coun-
5 at the recently concluded World Youth Fesival in Warsaw.
Six members of the Canadian delegation attending the fesival ac-
cepted an invitation to visit the Soviet Union and are now in Moscow.
They expect to visit Leningrad, Kiev and other centres during their

Fur-Leather workers to
maintain unity in merger

A

Seventy delegates of the Fur a
malgamated Meat Cutters and Butch

TORONTO

nd Leather Department of Canadian District 10, AFL
er Workmen held a special convention August 20-21

Consider demands from the U.S. for the resignation of four Canadian officers. Original

Tetusa]
Under
th

“executive council as part
ss attack on 15 officers in
: and Canada.
tion delegates expressed
resentment against. the
‘ ands for resignations.
Tict mae of the Canadian dist-
1 Mitchell of Montreal, one
Questen whose resignation was 'Te-
that « delivered areport warning
the ‘Canadian district and
™ands Were to yield to these de-
th thout assurances from

xe ; : .
charagn alsamated, the democratic

Testroved. of the union would be].

Distrig Ported that the Canadian
By ty Board. had requested the
the ne Leather Department of
Self gra eamated to dissociate it-
Analg ea demands of the top
With the ee officers negotiating

Ment ct Fur and Leather Depart-
ters offie a ‘Amalgamated Meat Cut-
Sot ot headed by A. Feinglass
Chey adap at the convention.
tive but Imed they had no alterna-
Nands to comply with the de-
Preside ete by George Meany,
nee of the AFL Council.

it wage *S8 said he did not feel
bo he ay Just deal, but that it had
Canaga Ged to in the interests of

3 2nd the US,

fgh maned and threatened that
Wel, 24 splits would ensue as
Worsen. Mner strife which would
Worker, “OMditions for Canadian

Mo;
Co st speakers who took the floor
Ned the demands for re-
ine Tegardless of what
lg Were made. They ap-

of the four to resign brought their immediate su
receivership of U.S. international headquarters.

© recommenda tion

'

spension and the placing of the locals
The resignations were demanded by

SAM WALSH
Four officers resigned

brought into the convention by re-
aautiel of the executive board
that Canada set up a distinctly
independent Canadian union.

This resolution was adopted
overwhelmingly by the convention
with a number abstaining, and
only a couple of delegates voting
agains:.

Before the vote was put, Mitch-
ell recommended that a committee
be struck off to meet with the Fur
and Leather Department.

Following adoption of the reso-
lution a committee of seven was
elected. The result of their meet-
ing with Fur and Leather was to
determine whether the resolution
on an independent union would be
carried through or not.

A meeting was held and the re-

commendation of the convention
committee was not to establish a
Canadian union, but to remain in
the Amalgamated. :

The four officers, W. Mitchell,
Montreal; M. Taub and A. Rifle,
‘Toronto; and S. Walsh, Winnipeg,
tendered their resignations.

Assurances were given by Fur
and Leather Department officials
of minimum guarantees. of district
autonomy and union democracy.

The Canadian affiliates will have
the right to elect leaders from
among their membership, replac-
ing those who have resigned.

Any appointments made by the
Amalgamated will be subject to
approval by the memberships.

No discrimination against mem-
bers will ‘take place for participat-
ing in a secession movement.

Offices of the present union will
continue to function and a nation-
al convention will be convened in
October following approval of the
merger by the AFL Council.

‘The four who resigned said they
had received assurances that the
conditions would be adhered to and
that “they could best serve the
cause of a united Fur and Leather
workers organization in Canada by
submitting their resignations.” '

They termed the demand for
their resignations and suspension
of their local unions without charge
or trial “a flagrant violation of
democratic rights and Canadian
autonomy of the membership .. .
a breach of the terms of the merg-
er agreement between tthe Interna-
tional Fur and Leather Workers’
Union and the Amalgamated Meat
Cutters.”

Festival delegates

Young Canucks

touring

USSR.

WARSAW

Six Canadian delegates to the recent fifth World Youth

Festival left here this week for a

praise for the accomplishments of the Polish people.
was Alex Kucher, of Burnaby, one of four B. C.

to the World Youth Festival.

visit to the Soviet Union full of
Among them
delegates and observers

“It’s hard to believe that so much has been accomplished in

such a short time,” Kucher said,
Warsaw, just before he left.

“T’ve seen the blocks of bombed!
out buildings, the walls pock:
marked with machine gun bullets,
the punctured guide railings along
the banks of the Vistula where
thousands of Polish patriots died,
defending their city.

“But I’ve also seen the “new
apartment buildings, in fact, a
whole new city arising. The ‘Old
Town,’ for instance. Only a people

jj with a fierce pride in their history

and a firm confidence in their
future would have rebuilt an en-
tire section destroyed by the Nazis,
faithfully restoring original ar-
chitecture dating back to the 16th

f) century.”

Kucher remarked that Vancou-
ver, which is now preparing an
anti-litter campaign, could learn
from Warsaw, where the streets
are washed three time a day and

ample receptacles for litter line|

the sidewalks.

“Warsaw is one of the cleanest
cities ’'ve seen,” he said.

The other three BIC. delegates
and observers, Dale Schnee of
Vancouver, L. ‘A. Nilsson of Haney
and Leo Kacherowski of Vernon,
were equally impressed by their
glimpses of life in the new Poland.

Schnee visited the former Nazi
concentration camp at Auswitchtz.
“And what I saw there I never
want to see again,’ he commented
on his return.

“I saw the cremation ovens,
some of them still intact. I saw
tHe water pits where human ashes
were dumped — fragments of
human bones were still visible.

“I saw tons of human hair, moun-
tains of shoes, shaving brushes,
artificial limbs, eye glasses, all
that remained of thousands of
people who loved life and strug-

gled to live. Where they died

summing up ‘his impressions of

ALEX KUCHER

the sand is stained a brownish color
and is packed as hard as clay from
their lifeblood.

“No wonder peace is uppermost
in the minds of everyone ‘here.”

Leo Kacherowski was one of a
number of World Youth Festival
delegates who were guests of a
cooperative farm at Lack.

“They have a security they have
never known and a perspective
for the future. that no peasant
could have had in pre-war Po-
land — those were the important
things for me,’ Kacherwoski com-
mented.

“They were working under han-
dicaps, by our standards, of course.
Most of the work was being done
by hand or with horses. But they
were making the most of what
they had and their stables and
barns would have done credit
to a farm anywhere.”

Dr. Endicott appeals
for more signatures

“We have proved the possibility and desirability of

TORONTO
peaceful co-

existence,” Dr. James G. Endicott told 50 delegates and observers to
the Canadian Peace Congress national council meeting here August
20, in making an,appeal for more volunteers to join in actively dis-
cussing and collecting signatures to the Vienna Appeal.

. Those who met together at the
World Assembly for Peace in
Helsinki, Dr. Endicott said, gave
proof of this possibility, and have
determined to carry through until
agreement tis reached. The Geneva
conference of heads of state was
marked by an absence of recrim-
ination. This approach must be
maintained.

Public opinion must be fully mo-
bilized for the solution of three
main problems: disarmament, Eu-
ropean security and eliminating
the menace of German militarism,
and the overcoming of tensions in
the Far Hast, notably in Indochina
and the Formosa Straits.

Rev. D. ‘CC. Candy of Tor-
ronto, who attended the World As-
sembly for Peace as an observer
for the Church Peace Mission of
Toronto, was among the guests who
spoke at the national council meet-
ing. Never, said Candy, had he
been more cordially welcomed
anywhere by such a variety of
people as at Helsinki. He felt him-

self to be part of a kindred spirit,

in spite of many different opinions
very frankly expressed. “You can’t
mix with people from 68 countries
without some change in your own
thinking.”

A resolution adopted by the
meeting extended greetings to 11
Canadians who have collected over
1,000 signatures and to 150 who
have collected 100 signatures to
the World Appeal against the Pre-
parations for Atomic War. The re-
solution said:

“The fact that 100,000 Cana-
dians have endorsed the Appeal,
circulated by a small number of
canvassers, is eloquent of Cana-
dian opinion on this matter. This
opinion needs greater channels of
expression. We therefore appeal
for many more volunteers to join
in actively discussing and collect-
ing signatures to the Vienna Ap-
peal. Such work is a good way to
defend our country from catas-
trophe and to encourage the diplo-
mats to work out acceptable solu-
tions.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — SEPTEMBER 2, 1955 — PAGE 3

6