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and labor organ
izations.

HE second. provincial: convention of the Canadian Legion since the end of World
War Two will be held in Vernon May 10-14. In looking back over the year since
the last convention, ‘it is easy to see that, while many achievements can be credited
to the Legion, a lot remains to be done. In these days of uncertainty, shortages and

speculation about ‘the future,
the Canadian Legion must act
boldly, and with the coopera-
tion of all sincere groups and
‘citizens in the community, for
the successful rehabilitation of
Canada’s war veterans and for
the promotion Of such policies,
by government, that will be
consistent with the aims and
ideals for which tens of thous-
ands ef brave Canadians freely
gave their lives in two world
wars. Rage
The Canadian Legion, Canada’s
largest, ..most authoritative and

‘most -influential organization of

war veterans, is seriously con-
cerned with the problem of win-
ning the peace, so that, not only

‘veterans, but all Canadians. may
enjoy the full fruits of victory.

The scandals in veterans’
housing, in many parts of. the

.province,; have served to focus

public attention on the number
one ‘veterans’ problem.

The returned man did not
come back with the idea that
he was going to be petted and
pampered for the rest of his
life, that he was going to be-
come a permanent government
ward, but he did expect a fair
show in getting himself re-es-
tablished; and he did expect a
rising Canadian standard of: liv-
ing. “@ ,

In housing, more than in any

‘other field of rehabilitation, ‘the
‘governments’ of

this country
have failed and the veterans
are paying the bill, in money,
discomfort, frustration and: un-
happiness. : ‘
What is needed, and the last
provincial convention of the Le-
gion pointed the way, is a con-
certed drive by Dominion, pro-
vincial and local authorities to
tackle the housing situation with
the same spirit they showed in
providing new war plants, ship-
yards and: emergency housing
during the war. In short, we
won the war against fascism
and we must win the war
against insufficient housing.
@
EINSIONS and grants are sad-
ly inadequate, in view of the
rising cost of living. Whereas a

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1947

large section of our wage earn-
ers have won. pay _ increases
through ,their collective bargain-
ing.. power, pensioners and vet-
erans in receipt of training and
out-of-work grants are still try-
ing to exist on allowances
that have been sharply reduced
in value by rising prices.

Take the veterans of World,

War One who are in receipt of
the burnt-out pension. They are
receiving $5 less a “month than
our senior citizens in B.C., and
the latter cannot begin to make
ends meet. The Legion’s posi-
tion that this pension, the Old
Age Pension, must. be raised to
$50 a ‘month, without means
test, is worthy of broad public
support. .

The veteran knows that he
has served his country well, but
he is slightly bewildered by the
many conflicting claims that
are advanced to gain his sup-
port and his allegiance.

The veteran has a sound in-
stinct. He knows that rehabili-

‘tation cannot end with trades

training, grants, hospitalization,
pensions, job preference and so
on. He realizes that his whole
future is tied up with the fu-

ture prosperity and welfare of

the nation and especially of the

community in which he resides.

Just the other day, two young
veterans came to see me with a
view to investing their money
in a shop that would sell and
repair shoes in Parksville, where
I live and where I am an elect-
ed commissioner. Once located
here, the .bulk of their trade
will come from workers and
farmers, people who will have
very little money to spend on
shoes and shoe repairs if an-
other depression hits. Canada.

Therefore, it is easy to see
that the long term interests, of
the veterans are connected with
the maintenance of high pur-
chasing power. In this respect,
the veterans’ path runs parallel
to that of organized labor.

IKE LABOR unions, the
Legion must preserve its
non-partisan status with respect

- World War

to politics, but must work vig-
-orously ‘in cooperation with all
progressive groupings to advance
its own interests and that of
the nation at large.

The fact that the vast major-
ity of our Legion members are
wage earners and farmers has
created a sound basis for a
warm and comradely coopera-
tion between organized labor
and organized veterans.

The soldier, sailor and airman

By W. S. E. MORRISON

in action was always a critical
sort of a chap, but no matter
how critical, he respected the
man who knew his job and pro-
duced results. The coming con-
vention of the Legion must
speak boldly on the problems
facing B.C. veterans and it must
offer constructive proposals.

Further, it must offer con-
structive proposals for the eco-
nomic well-being of the country,
so that the country we served
so well will be truly a land
for heroes to live in.

No man more than the vet-
eran has the right to meet and
offer suggestions for the ad-

vancement of his country's wel
fare. This year, I hope, the Te
gion will speak for progress 1
the economic’ field, for toler-
ance towards all Canadians, 1"
respective of race, creed or poli-
tics, and above all, for a neW,
virile concept of Canadian citi
zenship.

In this great task, that of
making Canada a truly great
and free nation, the Legio®
should extend the hand of
comradeship to organized labor
and to all progressive bodies
who sincerely have as their aim
the winning of this century for
the common man.

© W. S. E. Morrison is second
vice-president of the B.C. Com
mand of the Canadian Legiot
and president of its Mount Ar
rowsmith branch,

New veterans can learn from old

By TOM BARNARD

)ASED upon their experiences

after World War One, vet-
erans of the last war have bene-
fited to a considerable extent
through efforts of veterans’ or-
ganizations, particularly the Ca-
nadian Legion, in pressing the
Dominion government to pre-
pare for postwar problems, and
especially rehabilitation of ex-

service personnel, before the
war ended.
Although some of their re-

commendations have been car-
ried out, many are still out-
standing, and of course the fur-
ther wars recede into history
the more difficult it becomes to
get those problems solved. The
problems of the burnt-out veter-
ans of World War One illus-
trate this. BS
The new veterans of World
War Two have so far demon-
strated they have a slightly
better understanding of their
postwar problems than was
shown by their counterparts of
One. The latter
made a good start, but subse-
quently ( I have in mind partic-
ularly the old GWVA) disinte-
gration set in and in a few
years it lost most of its in-
fluence. Its final collapse was a
blow to the veterans’ cause.
Many internal differences con-
tributed to the disintegration of
the GWVA but I am of the
opinion that partisan politics
was an important contributing

seem,

factor, and, strange as it may
a similar potential dan-
ger looms upon the horizon for
the Canadian Legion.

Members of veterans’ organiz-
ations are politically heterogen-
eous. They are adherents of
every political ‘ism’ prevalent
in Canada today, and any at-
tempt to make veterans’ organ-
izations the appendages of any
political party must immediately
be crushed if those organiza-
tions are to survive.

The date of the next federal
election is uncertain and may

come at any time and there .

are signs that attempts may be
made by some politicians to use
veterans’ organizations, particu-
larly the Canadian Legion with
its large membership, for their
own partisan advantage in that
election. Veterans should remem-
ber that “eternal vigilance is the

price of liberty’ and in this
case, of survival.
@

© return to some outstand-

ing problems. Thousands of
old veterans, unable to work,
have to eke out a_ miserable
existence on $60 a month for
married couples and $30 for
single persons and even this
pittance is not granted without
the humiliating ‘means test.’
This is known as War Veter-
ans Allowance or old age pen-
sion with age preference due
to premature aging from war
service. It is $5 a month less

“and the Empire were

than civilian old age pensioners
are getting in B.C. :
Other outstanding problems
include medical treatment and
hospitalization, inclusion of Im-
perial veterans who have resided
in Canada for 20 years and those
Canadians who served only in
Britain in World War One.
Many old veterans are in their
declining years and their con-
dition’ is pathetic. When Canada
in dan-
ger they offered all they had
to offer, life itself. Now, in their
last days, they are left to exist
on what they can buy for $30
a month with high living costs
constantly reducing their pit-
tance. And this in a country
that boasts of its wealth, real
and potential.
nadian Legion with its great
numerical strength h a §
great numerical strength has
tried) and failed and will try
again, »but it cannot succeed
alone. It must cooperate with
other bodies that are willing to
help, such as old age pension-
ers, some women’s organizations,
trade unions, some service clubs
and churches. The veterans cap
win their demands only to the
extent that they interest them-
selves in the general demands of
the people and seek the CO
operation of these and similar
groups.

© Tom Barnard is a past presi-
dent of the B.C. Command of
the Canadian Legion.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 10