“Himm, he sleeps so well now since Mr. Hart gave us his word
that Bill 39 would be enforced. Poor dear . . . haa—pfffff.”

Bengough proposes board
fo pass on price boosts

OTTAWA—Establishment
board to hear applications by

increases was urged here this week by Percy Bengough,
president of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada, in

a criticism of the’ government’s
arbitrary price decontrol decisions.
Rather than press for retention
of price controls, the Congress
now urged establishment of a
- board before which legitimate de-
mands by industries for price in-
ereases could be aired, he said.

Bengough pointed out that or-
ganized labor was required to
present arguments for wage in-
q@rease demands before govern-
ment boards. The same treatment,
he said, should be accorded to
Canadian industry, with price in-
* greases resulting onlv after care-
ful study and consultations.

‘Labor must go before boards
to justify demands for ware in-
_ervases,” said Bengough. “We can-
aot subscribe to the government's
action in arbitrarily raising the
eost of living without prior con-
sultation with all groups con-
cerned.” J

“The Canadian Gongress of La-
hor issued a statement declaring
that the federal t, by
its mew price decontro! order.
was inviting workers to seek new

wage increases to meet higher
diving costs.

- “By virtually inviting price in-

creases and allowing prices to
spiral the government is asking

fdr trouble,” CCL said. “In effect,

workers are being invited to seek

mew wage increases in order to
meet higher living costs.

.“Phe government’s action in re-
moving almost all remaining price
eontrols in its decontrol order is
@ complete disregard of the con-
tinual. warnings which this Con-

ng

gress and Canadian workers and

the consuming public have ex-
: pressed.”

of a federal government
Canadian industries for price

Strikes.

the offer with a $2.25 a week wage
increase and the 44hour week.
Now the union is prepared to
modify its original demands if
restaurant owners will write the
40-hour week into the contract.
Meanwhile, workers in two
of the three Vancouver plants
shut down by the United Pack-
inghouse Workers’ strike have
voted overwhelmingly against the
federal government’s proposal that
they return to work pending con-
ciliation of the nation-wide dis-
pute. » '

At the Swift Canadian plant the
vote was 20-1 against a return
to work and at the Canada Pack-
ers plant, 80-1. Workers at the
Burns plant, who were to vote
Thursday, were also expected to
reject the government's proposal.

Another union, driven by aa-
vancing prices to seek wage in-
creases, was also adding to the
provincial government’s difficul-
ties this week. A three-man con-
ciliation board appointed to me-
diate in the dispute between the
BCElectric and the Street Rail-
waymen’s union, reported this
week that it had been unable to
reach agreement. The board’s de-
layed report was to be submitted
to the minister of labor early this

coming week,

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King urged to
help Britain .

TORONTO—With the exception
of Canada, most of the Common-
wealth countries will be repre-
sented at a round table confer-
ence next week in London to
discuss measures on how best to
meet Britain’s dollar crisis.

Two weeks ago Australia came
to the aid of Britain with $5%
million in gold, and pledged her
annual gold production of $23
million to alleviate the crisis, ac-
cepting sterling in payment as a
means of increasing Britain’s gold
reserves with which to purchase
American dollars. 4

Last week Tim Buck, national
leader of the Labor-Progressive
Party, stressing the gravity of the
situation and the ambiguous posi-
tion of Canada, said here:

“TI understand that emergency
meetings of the Dominion cabin-
et and top officials are being held
in. Ottawa on the crisis which
has arisen because of U.S. pres-
sure on Britain. This .U.S. dollar
crisis is indeed serious. It makes
Britain’s position intolerable. It
signals dangerous mounting diffi-
culties for Canada. 3

“Imagine how the British people
feel, being told by their Labor
government that they must eat
less because Uncle Sam turns the
financial screws down. How can
you maintain health, or expect
harder work when your meat ra-
tion is 20 cents worth a week.
Twenty cents worth of meat a
week is the proposed new British
ration! Britain is reaping the re-
sults of knuckling down to USS.
big business. This is the Mar-
shall Plan and the Truman Doc-
trine in action.

“The duty of the King govern-
ment is clear. It is to summon
an immediate session of parlia-
ment to deal with this dollar
crisis, to adopt emergency eco-
nomic policies to -protect Canada
against U.S. dollar domination,
work out means by which the
British people can secure from
Canada, many of the commodi-
ties which they must now stop
getting from the U.S.

“Canada can help Britain to
eat more. Britain and the colonies
can give Canada greater markets
which means more jobs, and as-
sured income for our workers and
farmers. And, if Canada, Britain
and all Commonwealth and Em-
pire countries would take the road
of economic cooperation with the
new democracies of Europe and
the Soviet Union, many of the
present crisis problems, forced
on us by U.S. big business, could
be tackled and solved.”

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Big business wanted
sales tax proposal

HARRISON HOT SPRINGS, B.C. — In a convention
which saw most progressive proposals voted down, the Union
of British Columbia Municipalities this week:

@ Approved the sending of a
mass delegation. of mayors and
reeves to Victoria to ask the gov-
ernment to impose a sales tax,
primary purpose of which would
be to provide for the cost -of
education, with any surplus ap-
plied to municipal hospital, health
and other social service costs.

@ Rejected a proposal brought
in by Vancouver delegates that
the business tax be made manda-
tory throughout the province.

@ Rejected a resolution from
Prince Rupert and Central B.C.
Association urging that the prvc-
vincial government be urged to
repeal the poll tax in its entire-
ty.

@ Referred back a Saanich res-
olution asking the provincial gov-
ernment to institute a compul-
sory health insurance scheme and
to distribute the cost of hospit-
alization equitably among all res-
idents of the province. .
Mayor William Mott of New
Westminster, new UBCM presi-
dent, charged during the acrim-
onious_debate on the business tax
that “big business would rather
see a sales tax,’ claiming that a
lobby had been at work during
the convention to line delegates
up for support of the sales tax
proposal.
One of the few _ progressive

Prices

night to consider raising their de-
mand from the 12% cents an hour
sought during negotiations and
refused by employers. ;
“Reconsideration becomes neces-
sary in view of the announce-
ment from Ottawa,” Park declared.
Bill White, president of the
Marine Workers and Boilermak-
ers Industrial Union, stated that
his union would approach other
unions for a discussion of wage
demands. He held that demands
would have to be boosted because
“increased living costs have just -
about wiped out the 12%-cent in-
crease that we have been able
to establish in three-quarters of
the shipbuilding industry.” :
Harold Pritchett, district presi-’
dent of the International Wood-
workers, 1,000 of whose members
employed by furniture plants 15
Vancouver and Victoria struck
last week for the contract wages

and conditions won by loggers
and sawmill workers, said that
furniture workers would also

boost their demands.

x

6,000 sign petition

TORONTO—Mrs. Rae Luckock,
president of the Housewives Con-
sumer Association here, said this

week that her organization would °
continue its fight to have price
controls on food reestablished. —
More than 6,000 housewives had
already signed petitions support-
ing this demand, she reported.

———

measures. to win the support of a
majority of delegates was the
proposal that East Indians be

view of the fact that they were
given the provincial franchise by.
the legislature earlier this year.
The convention agreed to ask the
government to amend the Munici-
nal Act which now denies East
Indians the right to vote, with
the qualification that an East
Indian shall be defined, as in the
vrovincial act, as “anv native
British subject from India.’

Delegates, however, voted down

O. L. Jones of Kelowna, that the

government be
from the Municipal Act “the en-

elections.

Asks trade with Russia

LONDON—A demand for devel-
opment of trade with Russia and
the new European democracies as
a means of extricating Britain
from her economic difficulties and

plans of Wall Street,” was advo-
cated by a conference of union
shop stewards here last weekend.

given the municipal franchise in.

an amendment suggested bv Ald.
asked to delete,
tire discriminatory clause” which

bars Chinese, Japanese, other Asi-
atics and Indians from voting in

Tribune to report

union conventions’

Two important conventions
will take place soon, where

decisions affecting the future
|] of millions of men and women
will be made. The AFL con
vention will meet in San
Francisco on October 6, and
in Boston the CIO convention
i| will meet October 13. The de
liberations of both these
|| gatherings will be of the ut
most importance to .all trad?
unionists, :

The Pacific Tribune bas
|} made special arrangement
with Federated Press Service
for news coverage of
gatherings. Our October 17 and
24 editions will carry
roundup news _ features
both.

Arrangements have also
been made with the ‘Dally
Tribune’ reporters for a come
plete coverage of the
and Laobr Congress conven
tion, which opens in Hamilto®
September 24.

For up-to-the-minute reports |

if

on.

changing the present disastrous|} on these important trade U2 |
policy of dependence on _ the|| ion. conventions—make sure on
United States and consequent your copy of the ie
commitment to “the imperialist|] Tribune. Local union bundle

orders at special rates cat be
secured if ordered now.

——{—=

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_ ®RIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1947

‘The peop'e want a session NOW’
Friday, September 26, at 9.80 pm.

TUNE IM J,
Nigel Morgan

VINCIAL LEADER \

LABOR. PROGRESSIVE
PARTY

OR

Ee
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—P4S