‘Urge for peace in China
tremendous, says unionist
on return from peace parley

BY BERT WHYTE

Elgin (Scotty) Neish, one of British Columbia’s three members on the 12-man Canadian delegation
to the Asian-Pacific Peace Conference in Peking last month, arrived back in Vancouver on. Monday

morning this week. .
Over a coffee Neish told

periences and his impressions of the conference.
time was slipping by. and missed his 9:40 a.m. boat to Victoria.
vice-president of the Victoria local of United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union.)

“The urge for peace in China is
tremendous and the enthusiasm at
the conference was terrific,” said
Neish. “But the real success of the
conference will be determined, of
course, by the work all delegates
do in their respective countries
from now on.”

“Did Russia have the biggest
delegation? Did the Russians dom-
inate the conference?” a reporter
from a daily paper asked.

“Russia had six delegates, Can-
ad had 12,” replied Neish. “You
know, every time I pick up a
Vancouver newspaper and read

_about the ‘Russian - dominated
peace conference’ I wish some of
you reporters would get your
papers to send you to one of these
peace parleys, so you could form
your own impressions. On Decem-
ber 12 the Congress of Peoples
for Peace opens in jenna.
There’s your chance.”

“What actually came out of the
Peking conference?” asked another
reporter.

“Tm sorry I haven’t copies of the
main resolutions on me,” said Neish,
“but the main points approved by
the 450 delegates were @ demand for
a new peace treaty for Japan, an
end of the war in Korea on a just
and reasonable basis, conclusion of
a Five Power Peace Pact, the safe-
guarding of the national independ-
ence of all countries, and banning
of war clamor, incitement to race
hatred and persecution of the peace
movement.”

Neish said that he spoke for
10 minutes at Peking, on the ques-
tion of peace and trade. “Chi
Tow Ching, a top government
economist, told me that China
_would be happy to sign a trade
agreement with Canada on terms
of equality,” he said.

Half a million people thronged
the streets of Peking to celebrate
National Liberation Day on October
1. “It was a terrific demonstra-
tion,” said Neishe “When people
discovered that we were peace dele-
gates, everyone wanted to shake our
hands. And everywhere we went
we heard the cry, ‘Ho Ping Wan|
Swei! — ‘Long Live Peace! It was
an experience I'll never forget.”

Because he had to return to work,
Neish wasn’t able to accept an in-
vitation to visit some of the new
construction works in China, such)
as the great Huai river dam. He
did manage a trip to Tientsin, how-
ever, and talked with fishermen in
that port. .

“J also visited a seamen’s club,
a textile milf and other industrial
plants. In the state-owned textile
mill I. found working conditions
were very good. Many of the work-
ers were single girls. They thad a
library, radio, recreation halls, mo-
vies and so on. There was @ nurs-
ery for married women, -and the
plant gives eight weeks’ maternity!
leave with pay.

“] also talked to a capitalist, the

owner of a private textile mill. He
told me things were far better for
small industrialists than before the
liberation. A planned economy
enables the plant to operate on a
three-shift, round the clock sched-
ule” ‘
Neish was able to spend a few
days in Moscow, Prague, Paris and
London on both legs of ‘his journey.
In Moscow he found “no talk of
war, but only a deep desire for

peace.” 5

reporters from the local dailies and the Pacific Tribune some of his ex-
These proved so interesting that Neish forgot how
(Neish, a Victoria fisherman: is a

>

“Wihat did you do in Moscow,” a
reporter asked.

“One night we spent wandering
around the city, going wherever we
pleased,” answered Neish. “I visit-
ed the Bolshoi Theatre to see the
ballet Swan Lake — the first visit
I had ever made to a ballet theatre
—and it was wonderful. I also saw
a three-dimensional movie, Robin-
son Crusoe. Hard on the eyes, but
quite an experience, I assure you.”

One of the highlights of the

Peqing ‘conference, said Neish, was,

the agreement reached between the

India and Pakistan delegations on
the Kashmir dispute between the
two governments. Included in the
delegations, which were the largest
at the conference, were several gov-
ernment officials.

“When the two delegations an-
nounced they had agreed on a
formula that could bring about
settlement of the dispute which
has led to threats of armed con- °
flict between the two nations, the
conference broke into a pandem-

onium of cheering.” said Neish.

“Half a million people thronged the streets of Peking to celebrate
National Liberation Day on October 1,” Elgin (Scotty) Neish of
Victoria reported this week on his return from the Asian-Pacific

Peace Conference.

“And everywhere we went we heard the cry

‘Ho Ping Wan Swei’ — ‘Long Live Peace’.”

Negotiations for wage demand drag on

‘BY MEL COLBY

TORONTO

One hundred and twenty-five thousand Canadian railroaders are as ready today to take strike action
to win a reasonable wage boost as they were in 1950 when they closed the lines down. Negotiations
have now dragged into the fourth month and among the rank-and-file of the 125,000 workers in the
non-operating trades there is a definite “get tough” feeling which the leadership of the 17 rail unions

a |

involved is keenly aware of.

In 1950 the federal government broke the rail strike through compulsory arbitration and with the

tacit agreement of Frank Hall and
A. R. Mosher. (Strike feeling is
again high and if a walkout is de-
cided on it would be legal 14 days
after the conciliation board report
is handed down by federal Labor
Minister Milton Gregg. That report
is expected momentarily.

Thus far the railways have made
the miserly offer of a seven percent
increase — about nine cents an
hour, a long way off the 45-cent
demand put forward by the 17
unions. It would take at least. 45
cents to bring the wages of the
non-operating rail workers to the

level gained by other industrial,

workers.

The railroaders are angry over
the fact that the.seven percent offer

of the companies is far below the
recent 11 percent increase granted
the running trades, the men who
operate the trains. Because of their
higher wage rate the 11 percent
settlement mean an_ increase of
from 25 to 40 cents, as against the
average nine cents an hour. boost
the non-operating trades would get:
under a seven percent settlement.

Rank-and-filers know the rail-
ways can afford to pay the 45 cents.
The CPR, using conservative figures
before the Board of Transport
Commissioners, has estimated thati
its 1952 rail revenue will be $460.2
milion, up 7.3 percent from $428.9
million last year. Operating sexe
penses were expected to total $425.6
million, up 5.8 percent over 1951’s
$402.1 million.

According to these figures CPR
would be left with net railway
earnings of $34.5 million, an in-
crease of 28.8 percent from the
$26.8 million shown in 1951.

This is the estimate in regard to
rail earnings and does not include
CPR investments in shipping,
hotels, communications, real estate
and mining which are expected to
boost the net profit to around $50
million, high enough to estimate
that earnings per ordinary share
stock will jump from the 1951 fig-

ure of $2.90 to around $3.35, ac-
-cording to the Financial Post.

How rank-and-file railroaders
feel about the 45 cents they are
demanding in the face of company

profits is summed-up in the October
issue of Railroader’s Voice, the I.PP

rail shop paper which is read by
thousands of workers across Can-
ada.

Strike sentiment high among railroaders

“We should not shrink from the
possibility of strike action,” say> —
Railroader’s Voice. “If another?
strike is necessary to win the 4%
‘cents, then strike we will. Such @
strike would be as solid as in 1959:
And it would win.

“We are confident that if a strike —

ballot were taken now, our ranks

would be solid for the 45 cents
raise.

“Unity will get the 45 cents.” —
es 0h,

\

35th ANNIVERSARY

OF THE

‘OCTOBER REVOLUTION
‘1917 -

1952

CONCERT PROGRA
EVERYONE WELCOME :

BERT WHYTE

WELL-KNOWN LABOR REPORTER AND COL |
HASTINGS AUDITORIUM
~ Sunday, Nov.9 -. 8p.m.

M
SILVER COLLECTION

Auspices — Vancouver Committee, Labor-Progressive Party