OL’ BILL

SHORT JABS

HE capitalists, we are told by their economists, venture their
wealth, which is the result, we are further informed, of their
thrift, hard work and self-sacrifice of going without the luxuries that
make life enjoyable, while the spendthrift workers are battening on
the fat of the land. Marx, of course, had a different tale to account
for that primitive accumulation, but let that go for the time being.
These paid economists of the capitalists, college professors like
the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, and Dr. Grauer
of the BCElectric, tell us how the capitalists take chances on losing
their wealth in order to create jobs for the work-
ers, who, for lack of initiative and “know how”
to find jobs for themselves, would die of starva-

ston...

So the good, kind capitalists, out of the good-
ness of their hearts and not from any desire to
make. profits, put their hard-won money into
industries, transportation and other job-creating
activities (but remember, not because they want
to exploit those workers for whom they “made”
jobs) but because of the milk of human kindness
welling up in their hearts. fe

These capitalists, entrepreneurs, venturers, they

: were called, bought the things necessary to put the
workers producing wealth: buildings for factories, tools, machinery,
engines, wagons, cars, busses, steel rails and track and other raw
materials. Having provided these things, they then hired workers
whose wages they paid out of their remaining capital. For their
philanthropic efforts, of course, they took a profit and they renewed
theit worn-out machinery, engines, cars, busses, tracks and so on
out of that profit.
, Well, that was the way it used to be told us by the economists.
But these economists never heard of the BCCollectric or they certain-
ly would have to devise a different story if they wanted it to go
Over with the plugs and the unfortunates who are compelled by
circumstances to use the alleged mass public transportation facilities
provided by that greedy plunderbund.
6

Whatever primitive capital the original owners of this monopoly
invested of their own, the soulless corporation of today does not
conform to that classical conception of a venturesome entrepreneur.
It does not, out of its profits, renew its worn-out equipment (and how
worn-out it is!). It does not pay the wages of its employees out of
its earnings. It makes the people of Vancouver foot all the bills
for these purposes. When the street-car and bus operators compel

it to pay a few more cents a day in wages, it turns blandly to its

patrons, knowing it has them by the short hair, and says, you will
have to pay these increases in wages, and it gets the blessing in doing
so of the jellyfish in the city council and the provincia] legislature
with the added plaudits of the Public Futility Commission. ‘
When, through absolute compulsion, it has to replace the Tooner-
ville trolleys—like our streets, they have provided visiting stage and
‘radio comedians with jokes for half a century—it tells the people
it robs daily, you iwll have to buy us new busses. Hg oe
In its recent advertsement explaining the reason for the higher
fares that went into force this week is the bald and unashamed
statement over the signature of the company that “118 trolley coaches
costing in the neighborhood of $3,000,000 cannot be purchased to carry
through next year’s transit developments unless it is known that
the money will be available.” So the people of Vancouver are told
to dig up and give to the dear company. Altogether they are told
in the same statement that they will have to raise $16,000,000, which,
of course, will become the property of the BCCollectric,
The streets have to be fixed for it at the expense of the citizens.
A recent report stated that the transit system may be extended in
the East End, according to a brief submitted to the Civic Utilities
Committee, but the plan will depend on the availability of paving
funds. That is just as though a railroad demanded that the govern-
ment build a road for it and pay section men to keep it in repair.
The same dodging of responsibility as a capitalist entrepreneur
in the matter of power production is seen. Many people thought
that the B.C. government's power development on Vancouver Island
was for the benefit of the people who lived there but it now trans-
-pires that it was for the BCCollectric octopus. A pole line is being
built to carry the power to the south end of the Island. That will
save the money that should otherwise be spent by the BCCollectric
in extending its own power. facilities and the people who should
have gotten the juice can go short as the people of Vancouver did
last ‘winter.

_ This corapany has been gypping the people of the districts where
it operates for 50 years. The city buys street lighting from the
company which is turned on and off and always has been, An item
in the defunct Vancouver World of May 5, 1899 reads: “Police were
directed to make sure that street lights were turned on every night
except two nights before and three nights after a full moon.” The
BCCollectric is still doing it with the statistics it furnishes itself to
prove that somebody else should shoulder its burdens. If the city and
the citizens have to pay all the bills it is about time they took over.
They will save themselves money.

Ladies’ and Gents’
Custom Tailors

SMILE
DRY CLEANING SERVICE
3 504 Richards St. PA. 4418

Brother's Bakery
Specializing in Z
Sweet and Sour Rye Breads

342 E. HASTINGS ST.
PA. 8419

PACIFIC 9588

FERRY MEAT MARKET

- 119 EAST HASTINGS
VANCOUVER, B.C.

FREE DELIVERY
Supplying Fishing Boats Our Specialty
Jack Cooney, Mgr. Nite Calls GL. 1740L

Say FBI ‘commits
more crimes than
it ever detects’

By MARY DOBBS.

—NEW YORK.

The real story of how the FBI, America’s secret police, operates
was revealed at a two-day Bill of Rights conference here which brought
together over 1,300 fighters for the defense of the American people’s
civil liberties.

From this conference came documented proof that the Federal
Bureau of Investigation “‘commits many more federal crimes than it
ever detects.’’ The crimes include extensive wiretapping, illegal searches,

seizures and arrests, spying on_ perfectly
lawful political activities and associations,
holding up and reading personal mail and
diaries, prying into opinions and beliefs.
The proof was provided by the FBI
itself, albeit unwillingly and with great
protestations that the national security of
the U.S. would be endangered if its pri-
vate investigation reports were made pub-
lic. The issue arose at the recently con-
cluded Judith Coplon espionage trial when
the young justice department employee’s
lawyer succeded in getting FBI reports
put into the public record of the, trial.
The reports themselves, once made pub-
lic, utterly discredited any assertion that

their disclosure would menace the security of the
shocking revelations of the FBI’s methods, scant attention was given
to them in the newspapers, which prefer witch-hunts against progressives
to proof that the chief American law enforcement agency itself violates
the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, every day in the week,

Delegates to the Bill of Rights conference, however, were given
the full story of the FBI by Washington attorney Joseph Forer, a
leading member of the progressive national Lawyers Guild. Analyzing
the FBI reports, Forer said:

‘The first thing that is plain is that in almost all the cases in-
volved, the investigator had no reason or basis to believe that a violation
of federal law had been com- :
mitted. What is more, the investi-
gations in these cases were not
addressed to discovering whether
the subject of investigation had
violated any federal law. What the
investigator was trying to find out

+ was not what acts the subject
had committed but what kind of a
person he was, what organiza-
tions he had belonged to, what:
kind of ideas and opinions he had,
and what people he associated
with.

J. EDGAR HOOVER
U.S. Despite their’

FBI has 112,000.00 |
fingerprints filed
WASHINGTON

A 4year report issued by U.S.
Attorney-General Tom Clark
shows he has broken all records
for deportations. It contains
shocking statistics of the vast ge-
‘stapo organization built by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
‘During 1948,” brags Clark, “the
Bureau (FBI) handled 547,528
investigative matters ., . highest
_work load in the Bureau’s hist-
ory ... The number of sets of
fingerprints in FBI files has
srown to approximately 112,000,-
000.” (Total U.S. population is
about 150,000,000.) Under Clark,
830,000 “deportable aliens” were
deported or “permitted to depart.”
For all previous attorney gen-
erals in U.S. history the score
was 575,000.

“Page after page of the reports
is devoted to the recording of in-
formation, obtained by consider-
able effort, concerning the per-
son’s general biography, his views
-and associations. In. other words,
the reports are dossiers, with
emphasis on the social, economic
and political views of the subject.

Persons who became subjects
of extensive FBI investigations
were, it developed, considered
possibly “disloyal” for such var-
ied crimes as: membership in the
Progressive party, led by Henry
A. Wallace; opposing the witch-
hunting House un-American ac-
tivities committee; writing a
master’s thesis on the New Deal
in New Zealand; attending func-
tions of the embassies or lega-
tions of eastern European coun-
tries; writing a book about a
heroic Russian woman; advocat-

aid to Russia in 1941 and
do work for Russian War Re-
lief; giving money for Spaniards
exiled in France; making a
speech attacking an anti-Semitic
teacher; supporting national
health insurance; anid complain-
ing of Nazi destruction of schools.

mand for the removal of Attorney-
General Tom Clark and FBI chief
J. Edgar Hoover, The conference,
although it represented a rather
broad coalition of Americans gen-
uinely concerned over the rising
attacks on civil liberties, was red-
baited in the press and even drew
a flip attack from Truman.

At a press interview before the
conference opened, Truman refer-
red to three of its sponsors—Henry
Wallace, the Negro artist Paul
Robeson and former New Dealer
Clifford Durr—as “that gang” he
had taken care of in the November
elections.

Not only does the FBI violate the
rights of privacy, Forer showed,
but it injures people economically
and in their reputations since their
business associates and acquain-|
tances are queried during the in-
vestigations. Undoubtedly much of
the material gathered by the FBI
is turned over to the House un-
American activities committee,
which savagely destroys reputa-
tions and people’s lives without al-
lowing them any recourse,

Although he has been forced
by public pressure to dissociate
himself from the government-in-
Spired attacks on civil liberties,
Truman ig still firmly behind’
Clark and Hoover. In fact, the
death of Supreme Court Justice
Frank Murphy, one of the most
liberal of the high court judges,

reports Truman
would appoint the _ reactionary

Clark to succeed hi :
bench. mote ane

The Bill of Rights “conference;
where these revelations were made,
responded with a unanimous de-

UE council —
rejects CCL
suspenssion

TORO:

Rejection of the Canadian
gress of Labor's suspension ord
barring officers of the Uni
Electrical Workers from takid
part in CCL affairs was voiced
strongest terms at the UE’s quay
terly district council meeting W*
105 delegates from 23 Ontario #
Quebec locals representing the ih
000 members in Canada declat
that “silencing opposition by Mb,
pension or threats leads on :
destruction of democracy.”

UE President C. S. Jackson, #
George Harris, district secret
treasurer, were again unanimou~
endorsed as district delegates *
CCL convention despite the sus
sion order, Sig

UE sees the bar against its b ,
ficers, who were prominent amore
those opposing the present admit: ‘
istration in 1948 convention debate
as an attempt of CCL leaders ~
rid themselves of the conscience ©
the working people when they
not stand being faced with
hard facts of life baie: Bie’
the errors of. their policies.

In particular, many delereie
castigated CCL officers for tye
to recognize and take action _
“cushion” the depression ae
resulting from “bankruptcy of ee
ernment policies and the acquie ‘
ence of certain labor leaders © oy
in Canada and the United St@ aye
This had special reference t& all
offs resulting from the anit
plan, Atlantic pact restrict
and the foreign trade breakdow

Resolutions for the CCL a
vention next October called ve
positive program of action o# and :
employment, housing, wage> {0
living’ standards, affiliation
‘the World Federation of cL)
Unions (abandoned by the race
and opposition to the us
crossing ban imposed by
Immigration. !

UE position on political ace
calling for independent labor po et
cal activity rather than i litle
endorsement of the CCF as “P!
cal arm of labor” as ad
by the CCL leadership, rE
further vote of confidence. san :
delegates reported on exper iat?
of the recent election to illus thie
correctness of UE policy 0# :
question. ’

Charge Commission

aiding fare steal :
tacow*

Walking out in protest ae
branding a public service ©?
sion hearing as a farce,
Citizens’ Committee ~
creased Bus Fare has won 4

|in its fight to. prevent 7

Transit Company from ° ‘
another fare increase —
from 10 to 13 cents, whie
make Tacoma’s fares the }
on the continent. The
foreed a postponement of the ©”
ing. aes
A statement issued by tne 2%
mittee accused the commis! pile
trying to ‘deceive the publi wit
the decision to collaborate tne
the bus company to PICK cep
people’s pockets has already “tbe
mavie.” It further chat virtue
commission with making 1 Noy ¢ye
ly impossible for opponee es alte
increase to present evidenct —

New Irish weekly. sos

ag JOUR
A new working clas) yore

called. the Irish Work ‘S
has just been published Hereent,
It is produced by Iecps sib apd
formed Irish Workers oeed on its
in its first’ pain it aa sep | oy
front page a picture mee
noly, “internationally eae ae nd
ist thinker, trade nla gor. Be
anti-imperialist, execut' ar gurree”
part in the Easter Week ~~

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 29,

tion of 1916.” athe