oe What CBC-TV Didn't Say About “BLOODY SUNDAY” By TOM McEWEN HE recent CBC-TV presentation of Vancouver’s “Bloody Sunday” back in the “Hungry Thirties” has sparked considerable indignation in labor ranks at what was undoubtedly one of the most flagrant distortions of historical fact to be inflicted upon a TV audience. Many of those who “were! played a part, but not in quite ston by official Bavernmentel there” on that fateful Sunday, which was also ‘‘Father’s Day” and were witnesses or partici- pants in the violent police terror unleashed against job- less and destitute workers by municipal and federal police, are unanimous in the opinion that. the CBC version of *‘Bloody Sunday” should have opened with that famed thea- trical cliche; “Any, resem- blance to actual fact or per-| sons living or dead is purely accidental.” In the CBC’s presentation of “Bloody Sunday” two themes predominated: one to _ dis- credit and discount the leader- ship role of the Communists in the organziation and activ- ities of the unemployed in the Hungry Thirties, around the struggles for adequate relief and “work and wages”; the other to cast “socialists” of the Harold Winch vintage in the role of “heroic” leader and wise counsellor of the jobless, which history alas, records him as neither. In such a distorted present- ation it could be expected that the authors would depict the Communists-as being “coward- ly,” always ready to stir up “trouble,” but never around when “trouble” broke out. (Mr. Harold Winch who “‘star- red’’.on this CBC _ distortion, said so). To depict the jobless “‘riot- ers,” or to use the more offi- cial term “mob,” as the vic- tims of Communist ‘“trouble- makers” who deserted them when things got hot, and alongside this. slander to por- tray CCF’er Winch as the safe- and-sane opponent of ‘‘viol- ence,” careful however to create. the illusion that such “violence” was instigated by the jobless rather than by the combined city @&nd_ federal police. Hence the two - pronged theme of the CBC-TV present- ation was beamed at discredit- ing and excluding Communist leadership and influence from the jobless crisis. of today, and with a 25-year gap to enhance the: illusion; .palm off the fic-/ tion. of right-wing social dem- ocracy’s “heroics” as “fact.” .That is not to say that prom- inent CCF: leaders of the day did not take part. in the “Bloody -Sunday’’. episode and its immediate aftermath. Hel- ena. Gutteridge, A.-M. . Step- hen, Dr. Lyle Telford, Arnold Webster and ‘other CCF’ers oO" Saturday, May 21, 1938. the same capacity as Harold Winch, whose “co-operation” was specially requested by the police. Then as now, onan at all levels expressed wordy “sympathy” for the plight of the jobless. Even with his 20- cents - a - day “relief” slave camps for the single unem- ployed. Tory prime minister Richard Bedford “Iron Heel” Bennett wasn’t entirely with- out “sympathy,” readily seen lem of unemployment back to the provinces, while the latter tossed it back and forth be- tween federal and municipal governments. The same with the Liberal ‘ ‘not-a-five-cent- piece’ Mackenzie King who followed Bennett in the mas- terly art of buck-passing and do-nothingness. Thus the unemployed of the Hungry Thirties (as now) be- came a political football in British Columbia between the Liberal “Duff” Pattullo in Victoria, Mackenzie King in Ottawa, and the non-partisan nonentity at City Hall, mayor George Miller. While the “sympathy” of these politicos for the unem- ployed varied, there were some points on which’ they were.all in unanimous agree- ment. That the unemployed in Vancouver should ‘move on,” where to, no one gave a damn; that they should go back to the .20-cent slave camps and consider themselves fortunate; that most of the jobless were “communist troublemakers” ‘and. inherently “lazy,” “not genuinely looking for work” and so forth. On joint police action to herd-the jobless back to relief camps, “out of town,” off CPR and CNR boxcars, off the streets in parades, “tin-can- ning” or other octivities of the unemployed to bring their problem before the _ public, Mayor Miller, “Duff Pattullo and Mackenzie King were in full agreement. That is an im- portant feature of the Hungry Thirties leading up to “Bloody Sunday” which shouldn’t be forgotten, even if the CBC-TV and its “historical” script writ- ers saw fit. to blithely skip over it. * 3 * * some 2,000 of Vancouver’s vast army of single jobless, frustrated, hungry, and driven almost to the point of desper- in his efforts to toss the prob-, run-around and buck-passing,. staged.a demonstrative protest “sit-down” at three city cen- tres; the Georgia Hotel, Art Gallery and central. Post Office. : The Georgia - Hotel “sit- down” was short - lived. Through the joint efforts of the hotel management and the unemployed leaders, the city council agreed (reluctantly) to advance $500.00 to provide bed and meals for the boys over the weekend. With this ~ ar- rangement the Georgia “sit- downers” left the hotel the same evening with not even a dormat disturbed. It is on record that police chief W. W. Foster and Mayor Millar were anxious to throw the jobless out by force, and were only restrained from this attempt at violence by the Georgia management, which preferred to have the ‘‘sit- downers” comfortably bedded down in the hotel: rotunda, rather .than have the’ place wrecked by club - swinging police. A touch of comedy was add- ed to the Georgia incident by a wind-up convention banquet of some “Glad Hand Associa- tion” delegation from Seattle. It was something to see the bejewelled and fancy-gowned matrons of the ‘Glad Hand’ stepping gingerly among the rows of reclining or sleeping “sit-downers”, who were cer- tainly in need of anything that looked like a ‘glad hand.” For over one month the job- less workers in the Art Gal- lery and Post Office saw ver- bal political brickbats fly be- tween Victoria, Ottawa and City Hall, each disclaiming , “responsibility” and each try- ing to fasten it onto the other, | while outside a hard-working “Mother’s Council’ provided food, clothing, tobacco and other essentials for the patient and peaceful “sit-downers.” A magnificent fiasco — of bour- | geois bankruptcy for BeDEOe| duction on. the “silver screen,’ if given a promoter with some imagination and respect for historical truths. On Sunday, June 19, 1938, at 4:30 a.m., massed city, pro- vincial_ and. RCMP police sur- rounded the Art Gallery and Post Office. Police chief W. W. Foster. gave the jobless a 10- minute . “ultimation” to ‘‘get out” or take the consequences. At both places the jobless ask- ed for “mass arrests”; to move quietly if arrested. That wasn’t the “plan” con- cocted in a previous. all-night bull session between civic, provincial and federal police. Violence had been planned with ample teargas bomb, clubs, blackjacks and other persuasive equipment ready to hand to do the job; the sum total of nearly a month of in- ter-government ‘‘planning’’ to solve a social problem. What followed was cold sad- istic police brutality. A reso- lution passed by the CCF pro- vincial executive and MLA’s described the police attack up- on the Post Office “sit-down- ers” as “a ghastly, inhuman, brutal course of action.” Even then the police brutality was understated. Over a score of the evicted workers were arrested and faced with numerous trumped- up charges of ‘‘malicious dam- age, _rioung’, etc. Premier Pattullo boasted that he had “ordered” the forcible eviction, and Mackenzie King chimed in with his “approval . when it became known the men involved were not realiz- ing the error of proceeding as they had.” (Vancouver Sun, June 20, 1938). Some thirty jobless were hospitalized as a result of po- : lice brutality. Communist lead- (ers of the unemployed, well known to the police, were especially singled out for extra vicious manhandling] Steve Brodie had no less than five “stalwarts” beating a_ tatoo on his head and shoulders with | ‘ their clubs. Others exper- ienced similar treatment. .| itself helped to bring doy the Ukrainian La Pee where the evict >| jobless marched after the lice attack, accompanied Harold. Winch( who decliié to go inside), food and fi aid was provided by Mother’s Council and AU women workers. Notewol! among this Mother’s Cou! were outstanding Commu! women like Effie Jones, A? Stewart, Helen Mathie’ Mrs. Lusk, and others. 9d authorities used to dub i “communist front” which pl ably explains Harold Wint) timidity in the environs” that historic hall. At the monster protest monstrations in’ Powell Stl grounds, the police station the CPR pier, probably largest in Vancouver’s hist! prominent CCF, Commu and Church speakers addf ed these vast assemblies, * pressing their solidarity W the unemployed, and voit! the strongest condemnatio? police brutality and gové mental dereliction of ele” tary duty. Contrary to the CBC Winch distortions, there W no “hidden” identities. ©? munist leaders spoke from same platform as CCF Church representatives. ©? munisis were the acceP’ leaders of the unemployed! the Relief Camps, in “tin? ning” to stave off hunget jobless parades and dem strations; “sit-down”, “On-To-Ottawa” trek, the Bennett “Iron Heel” ernment. It was the Com” ists who spear-headed thé | tion-wide campa‘gn to Section 98 of the Crim Code off the statute book Canada, and it was the munists, (with this write chairman of the first all” ada delegotion to Ottaw# demand from the federal ernment a system of natl® unemployment insurance: A bit different from J ‘cowardly communist” pil a conjured up by Harold See McEWEN, page 1 This picture will recall bitter memories to many. It shows the unemployed of the Hungry Thirties riding the freights. It down. was conditions sech as this that led the Regina Trek and the Post Office’ February 17, 1961—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Paé’