The complete disregard of the public interest
shown by Vancouver's Non-Partisan City Council in
rushing through its 20-year renewal of the BCElec-
tric franchise, now awaiting the Legislature’s deci-
sion, was sharply underlined this week by the spec-
tacular streetcar smash-up outside the BCElectric

LABOR CONDEMNS BCER
IN STREETCAR SMASH

depot on Hastings Street, involving a runaway inter-
uban, two streetcars and two autos.

Wreckage from the accident, in which four per-
sons narrowly escaped death in a crushed auto, 13
were sent to hospital for treatment and scores suffer-

(Continued on Page 8—See BCELECTRIC)

Vol 6.

Vancouver, British Columbia

representatives be presented with the draft labor bill

CCL leader demands government
submit draft proposals to labor

Complete unity of British Columbia’s trade union movement in carrying out the labor lobby to Vic-
toria this coming month was urged by Daniel O’Brien, president of the B.C. Federation of Labor (CCL),

when he addressed delegates to Vancouver Labor Council this week, O’Brien demanded that “‘labor’s

(Continued on Page 8 — See LOBBY)

Friday, February 28, 1947

Five Cents

re

No military value

SEATTLE—Construction of &
Coastal highway linking Van-
Couver with Fairbanks, Alaska,

Way of Prince George and
tehorse, long demanded by
Progressive groups on the Coast
4S a means of developing nor-
thern B.C., is not favored by

questions placed on the order paper by T. J. Bentley (CCF,
Washington. The road would

to cause the King government some embarrassment.

Withdrawal of ‘espionage’ report
raised in House by CCF member

OTTAWA—Is the government giving any consideration to withdrawing the report of
the Taschereau-Kellock Commission on espionage in view of the fact that several of the
persons named by that report have since been acquitted by the courts? This is one of the

Swift Current) which is likely

have no military value.

Bentley, one of three CCF mem- e “Are copies available to

A letter written by General
Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S.
chief of staff, to Senator Harry
P. Cain, states:

“Since receiving your letter, I
have had an estimate made of
the military value of the high-
Way proposed, Last year a si-
Milar evaluation was made by
the joint chiefs of staff at the
request of the secretary of
State, ss

“I am sorry to say that these
Studies have indicated quite
clearly that the proposed high-
Way would not have sufficient
Military value to justify its
Construction and maintenance
by the U.S. on a military basis.”

—

bers seeking information on the
so-called espionage investigation
from the government, also has
four pointed questions on the pe-
tition to the House of Commons
prepared by Fred Rose, ousted
LPP member for Montreal-Cartier,
but not permitted to be read on
the contention that it was ad-
dressed to the Speaker when it
should have been presented
through another member.
Bentley’s questions are:

e° “To whom was the petition
of Fred Rose re his alleged es-
pionage activities addressed?

@ “When was it received?

Sos

e@ “Was his petition seen by
the government?

Wednesday closing

Retail Clerks Union picketing
the

Se Se

Hudson’s Bay store in

ancouver and securing signatures in support of Wed-
Nesday closing. The majority of stores close on Wed-
nesday, but a few hold out. The union is carrying on an
intensive campaign, and winning wide public support.

members of parliament?”

William Irvina (CCF, Cariboo)
has asked whether Igor Gouzenko,
runaway olerk from the Soviet
embassy, wanted by his own gov-
ernment on theft charges, is be-
ing supported by the government
and whether the amounts dis-
bursed Yor his support are re-
garded as loans or gifts.

(The government has already
denied that it is supporting Gou-
zenko, who, in any case, has prob-
ably named his own price for the
anti-Soviet articles he is currently
doing for Hearst publications.)

Answering a question recently
asked by Russell Boucher (PC,
Carleton), Justice Minister Ilsley
informed the House that the
Royal Commission on espionage
cost Canadian taxpayers $47,744.74,
most of which went in fees to
special counsel.

Unions get seats
in Indonesia

SYDNEY, Australia—Indonesian
unions will have 35 representa-
tives in the new provisional parlia-
ment, according to a message
from Djokjakarta, headquarters of
the Indonesian republic in Java.
The provisional parliament is be-
ing set up while the country is
still fighting for its freedom from
Dutch rule.

Other seats will be divided as
follows: Moslems, 60; Nationals,
45; Christians, 8; Catholics, 4. Na-
tional minorities will also have
representation. The Dutch minor-
ity has three seats, Chinese seven
and Arab three.

Court order on franchise
served on Vancouver City

An order, issued by Justice A. M. Manson of the Supreme
Court of British Columbia, requiring the City of Vancouver
to show reason why its Bylaw 2966, authorizing execution
of its 20-year franchise renewal agreement with the BCElec-
tric, should not be quashed, was served on the city this week

by John Stanton, well-known

Vancouver barrister.

The city has 10 days in which
to present its case.

Stanton is acting for John Tur-
ner, secretary of Vancouver Labor
Council (CCL), who launched his
action a month ago in an effort
to prevent Vancouver City Coun-
cil from proceeding with the fran-
chise agreement without first
submitting it. to a plebiscite.

Turner’s claim is that the city,
by obtaining approval of the city
council for the agreement and
seeking enabling legislation from
the legislature, as it is now do-
ing, is violating the city charter
and depriving ratepayers of their
right to vote on the agreement
before its provisions go into effect.

(In Victoria this week some Coa-
lition members were reported to be
reluctant to support the special
legislation sought by Vancouver
City Council.)

Rent increase seen

OTTAWA — Indication that
the Wartime Prices and Trade
Board is preparing to incredse
house and apartment rents by
10 percent—an increase that
would bear heaviest on low-
income groups already hard-hit
by the government’s relaxation
of price controls—was given in
an’ exchange between M. J.
Coldwell, CCF leader, and Fi-
nance Minister Abbott in the
House of Commons this week.

While Coldwell declined to
reveal the contents of the note
passed to him by Abbott after
he had questioned the minister
on a form he had obtained, it
was believed that the WPTB
was prepared to allow the in-
crease on May 1.

week’s
legislative activities in the
capital was not in the legi-
slature itself, where members
wound up the debate on the
Throne Spech in record time, but
in the cabinet’s reception of two
important delegations with fun-

Highlight of this

damentally opposed aims — the
progressive, reform-seeking Na-
tive Brotherhood, representing

British Columbia’s 25,000 disfran-
chised ang neglected Native In-
dians, and the reactionary, iabor-
hating Mining Association of B.C.
speaking for the small clique of
powerful mining magnates who
want the government to give legal
force to their union-busting cam-
paign.

Exposing the sell-out role play-
ed by Andy Paul and his so-called
North American Brotherhood in
appearing before the cabinet to
claim that Native Indians “want
to remain wards of the govern-
ment,” the Native Brotherhood
delegation backed its demands
with impressive argumentation.
Headed by Chief William Scow
and Guy Williams, the Native
Brotherhood’s capable secretary,
the delegation asked for a system
of Native representation similar
to that adopted by New Zealand.
where the Maoris not only have
the franchise but elect four na-
tive representatives. Native In-
dians, the delegation held, should
be given full democratic rights
as Canadians without prejudice to

their ‘aboriginal rights’ as the
original inhabitants of the Do-
minion.

The Native Brotherhood’s brief
made a strong case for extension
to Indians withoyt discrimination
of all provincial and federal so-
cial service benefits, old age and
blind pensions, mothers’ and so-
cial assistance allowances, as well
as health and educational facili-
ties.

‘It is our contention that the
Indian population of this province
has received a far lower standard
of educational, health and welfare
services than other citizens and
that much of the deplorable con-
ditions under ;which Indians are
living today can be traced to

(Continued on Page 8)
See THIS WEEK