No money for homes, plenty for royal tour JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Seven thousand Negroes demonstrated in the streets of this city to demand decent housing in the largest postwar rally held by native Africans. The demonstration was held shortly before the visit of the British royal family Feb. 17. The demonstrators represented 400,000 natives who are forced to live in segregated areas outside the city. Only the lucky ones have ramshackle houses in which to live. Most of them live in burlap tents or improvised shelters made from discarded oil drums. Native Africans, who number eight million and comprise US plays ‘host’ to two Austrians, prefers nazi By JOSEPH NEW YORK—tThere are STAROBIN two Austrians in the United States today—one of them very anxious to get here, one gf them who’s been trying to One is. travelling on Pullmans mits he’s a monarchist, the man who 13 years ago was murdering Austrian workers in Vienna, the man who opened the gates of Austria to Hitler. : The other Austrian is sitting in a dark cell in the Federal House of Detention, 427 West Street, New York. He is dressed in prison stripes. He is denied any newspapers or books. One Austrian has his wife along with him—the former Countess Vera Fugger-Czernin von Baben- hausen. The other Austrian can see his wife only once a week through #& Pane of glass. He can talk with her only by a_ telephone so that every word between them is recorded. One of these Austrians is Kurt Schuschnigg. The other is Ger- hart Bisler. Just stop and think about this contrast; and you get what is wrong with our country’s policy. This man Schuschnigg is a war criminal in the fundamental sense of the word: a Hapsburg lover, a darling of the Vatican. It was Schuschnigg who or dered his troops to fire on the leave these shores since 1942. all over this country. He ad- urbs 13 years ago. And by so doing, he helped undermine Aus- tria’s defense against Hitler. When Hitler, in March, 1933, decided to walk in Austria, the only defense that Schuschnigg could make was to call for a plebiscite on the subject. Having done his job, he was contemptu- ously brushed aside by the Nazis. For seven years they_ kept him in a comfortable confinement —- no gas chambers for him, you understand. And now this man—who would be booted out of his own country —is given special State Depart- ment permission to visit the Unit- ed States. He travels at his leisure and has the brass to lecture the Am- erican people, who paid with the lives of 300,000 American boys for the cowardice and treachery of men like Schuschnigg! Schuschnigg who was __ booed every in Europe, is a welcome visitor to our shores But Hisler—that’s another story. Eisler is an anti-Fascist, his father, a noted democratic schol- ar of Vienna. Years of Eisler’s life were given to fighting the four-fifths of the country’s pop- ulation, are not allowed to leave their reservation without special passes, They are subject to ar- rest if they are found without necessary passes, which sometimes number a many as a dozen. Nor are the natives allowed to form labor unions. The Johannesburg demonstra- tion highlighted the government’s disregard for the welfare of the natives. Shortly before the de- monstration, the city council had flatly rejected a housing plan that would have cost $180,000, on the grounds that the city couldn't afford it. At the same time, it allotted $160,000 to pay for a 2-day reception of the British monarch and his fam- ily, LONDON--If the 18 dining car waiters now serving the British royal family on their South Afri- ean junket ever become unem- ployed, they may be able to find jobs as tightrope walkers, For days before the royal visit. the waiters practiced walking along a narrow plank suspended in mid-air to perfect their bal- ance, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. Should the royal train lurch or stall, the ex- pert waiters can prevent the soup and salad from spilling 6n regal garments, It was a jolly bit of informa- tion for Britishers suffering from cold, hunger and unem- ployment because of the coal shortage. : Coal Londoners waiting in line for coal during the recent crisis. In Portland, Ore., 21 British seamen walked off a ship, refusing to transport coal to the Orient, and de- manding it be shipped to England. The seamen charged that the British mine owners depleted the coal supply befare na- tionalization by selling it to former enemy countries. rise of Hitlerdom in Germany and Austria, Thirteen years ago Eisler was probably speaking and writing in defense of the same heroic Aus- (Continued on Page 7) See U.S. PLAYS ‘HOST’ heroic workers of Vienna’s sub Non-essential building leads to veterans’ picket on housing issue By JACK PHILLIPS Led by LPP war veterans prominent in local veterans’ circles, and marching under the banners of the Labor-Progressive Party, 25 new veterans, nearly all of them members of the Canadian Legion, staged a protest demonstration in front of the uncompleted ad-)} ent store, in Vancouver, last Saturday afternoon, protesting dition to Woodward’s departm Too many promises not enough homes Tired with governmental buck-passing on the issue of veterans’ homes, the New Vet- erans’ Branch 168 of the Can- adian Legion issued a state- ment last week over the sig- nature of Bert Marcuse, Ist vice-president of Branch 168, and chairman of the veterans’ housing committee. “We are seriously concerned over the manner in which the problem of adequate housing Veterans are fed up and im- patient with glib promises and eternal procrastination. We de- fore the Building Committee of the city council on Monday afternoon. . 4 The representative of Branch 168 will urge that a Municipal Housing Authority be created and that a thousand low rental homes be built without further delay.” FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1947 against the use of much needed building materials and skilled la- bor- for unessential building while thousands of war veterans are still homeless. This demonstration spotlighted the growing movement of protest that is taking form in local vet- erans’ circles over the glaring failure of local, provincial and federal authorities to - effectively grapple with the desperate hous- ing shortage, a shortage that weighs more heavily on new vets and their families than on any other section of the community. The demonstrators were heart- ily commended by dozens of citi- zens who eagerly accepted copies of the leaflet that were distrib- uted. Pointing out that Vancouver enjoyed an unprecedented build- ing boom in 1946, the leaflet went on to expose the fact that permits to the value of $18,021,- 633 were awarded for theaters, bowling alleys, stores, distiller- ies and other unessential build- ings, while the total value of permits for homes, much of these in the luxury class, amounted to only $10,087,305. s s Burma police plan strike RANGOON—Burma police held @ police union conference Febru- ary 16, where they declared their Solidarity with 35,000 striking government and municipal work- ers and civilian employees of British military establishments. The police union announced that unléss Burma has its full inde- pendence by next November, all Burmese police will join “an all- out struggle” to achieve it. The demonstration was organ- ized by the Veterans’ Commis- sion of the lLabor-Progressive Party. In a special statement to the Pacific Tribune, Jack Phillips, chairman of the commission, de- clared: “Several people with good memories asked me if the veter- ans were going to take over the new. addi- tion to Wood- ward’s and con- vert it at neo, suites? This is a reference to the fact that successive LPP veterans’ dem- onstrations last winter sparked the taking over the old Vancou- ver Hotel by homeless veterans. I replied that the purpose of the demonstration was to len@g our bit towards publicizing the fact that big business, the real estate interest, loan sharks, and gov- ernments in Canada have broken faith with the veterans of world war two, and that the veterans are tired of official buck-passing. The Canadian Legion ang other veterans’ organizations, together with trade unions and various other public bodies are their weight towards the allevia- tion of the veterans’ housing shortage. We are only doing our bit, raising the question before the public as a political issue of primary importance. We called the shot last year. You can expect to hear more from Vancouver veterans this year. They want action in housing.” Jack Phillips lending Nanaimo labor prepares for big May Day rally By ALF DEWHURST NANAIMO—Meeting in the Miners’ Hall on Friday evening, February 21, twenty-six delegates representing thir- teen labor organizations laid plans for the observance of the 1947 May Day celebrations in Nanaimo. Interest displayed in this initial organizational meet- ing augurs well for the success of the celebra- tion and May’ Day this year | promises to be & one of the best ever held in this labor town. Elected to head the organization- al committee was Wm. Bowa- ter of the UM- WA with Percy Lawson of the Island Labor Alf, Dewhurst Council as secretary and Harvey Cox of the Foundry Workers, CCL treasurer. Chairman of three sub-committees set -up are Alf Dewhurst, finance; Percy Lawson, entertainment and Mrs. Raffle, refreshments. : The program for the day will |' commence with a parade follow- ed by a mass rally which Harold Pritchett, President of District One of the IWA-CIO has been invited to be the main speaker. An invitation to address the rally will also be extended to Sam Guthrie, CCF MLA for Cowichan- Newcastle and Minerva Miller, provincial educational director for the Labor-Progressive Party. The afternoon will be given over to a display of children’s gymnastics and sports and entertainment for the kiddies. It is the intention of the committee to supply free ice- cream and hot dogs for all the youngsters. Si Organizations participating on the May Day committee to date are: UMWA-CCL, IWA-CCL, Nanaimo UMWA Women’s Aux- iliary, Extension UMWA Wom- en’s Auxiliary, FWA Women's © Auxillary, Women’s Labor League, United Fishermen and Allied Workers, AFL; Laundry Workers, CCL; Teachers’ Feder- | ation, AFL; Foundry Workers, CCL; Marine- Workers, CCL; CBRE, the CCF and LPP, It is expected that several oth- er organizations failing to attend the initial meeting will partici pate in the work of the committee making the 1947 May Day the biggest and most united May Day in the history of Nanaimo. Victoria citizens seek Over 1000 signatures were collected on a public transport petition, which was circulated by workers, on the downtown streets of Victoria on Satur day, February 22. The petition, which called upon the city council to prepare a plebiscite ballot on a publicly owned transportation system, was bor Council. According to Robert Mezzger, Labor Council Secretary, ship- yards, mills, factories and resi ther street corner canvass will take place on Saturday, March 1, when it is anticipated that a ‘total minimum quota of 3,000 the city council to give citi zens an opportunity to vote on ® publicly owned transit sys-— tem. We will continue to im tensify our efforts in support of public ownership until city and provincial government completely take over power, Zas and transportation facili- ties of B.C.” Mezger stated. public-owned utilities | cE sponsored by the Victoria La~ dential areas will be canvassed | | throughout this week. A fur- signatures will be completed. “We are determined to force | PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 2