PACIFIC

Vol. 6 No. 2
Vancouver, British Columbia
Friday, January 10, 1947
Five Cents

Parent jailed on
phoney charge

MONTREAL—Premier Maur-
ice’ Duplessis added another
victim to the .engthening list
of trade union officials he has
successfully persecuted. when
Madeleine Parent, UTWA or-
ganizer,, was recently found
guilty and jsentenced to. one
month in jail on a charge of
Suborning witnesses. :

Case against Madeleine Par.
ent was based on contradictory
stat¢ments of three juvenile
delinquents. They testified she
had tried to influence them
against giving evidence in the
<ases of Rowley and Beaucage.
They disagreed on” important
details, but all denied having
received money from police
chief Norbert L’Abbe, who ad-
mitted on the jstand having!
given ‘loans’ to them.

Despite the ‘weight of evi-
dence pointing to a frame-up,
Judge Cloutier detivered a leng- |.
thy judgment, making a point
of denying that any political
_bias could enter into pis verdict,

LPP SEEKS 60,000 NAMES

TO HALT FREIGHT STEAL

REGINA—Plans for an intensive campaign’ to oppose Canadian railways in.their drive for in-

creased freight rates were mapped by leaders of the Labor-Pro
of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in an inter-

leader. Nigel Morgan, LPP leader in British Columbia, who was unable t

read to the conference that
the ‘mountain differential’ had
been a prime factor in hold-
ing back the industrial devel-
opment of B.C.

“The railways,’ he said,
“are endeavoring to exclude
consideration of the mountain
differential from the inquiry’s
jurisdiction, and this is one
of their reasons for opposing
extension of the hearing -out-
side Ottawa. However, it is
an integral part of the case,
bécause if the railways win a
20 percent increase, it is au-
thoritatively estimated that it
will amount to 25 percent or
more in British Columbia.”

Conference delegates, in consid-
ering the fact that the compli-
cated freight rate structure
poses higher tolls. in the west
than in the east, were reminded
that the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way, when forced to make a
statement on its  comparitive
earnings some 20 years ago, dis-
closed earnings in the west two
and three times greater than in
the east. ‘

It was pointed out that if the
increased freight rates now be-
ing sought by the railways are
granted they will. take more
than $86,000,000 from the pock-
ets of the Canadian people, and
that on the railways’ own ad-
mission, every cent of this will
go for dividends and interest.

“The railways have long used
their monopoly position to exact
additional tribute from the farm-
ers and working people of the
western provinces,” William ‘Kar-
dash declared. “Now they are
heading the drive for higher pro-
fits for the big monopolies, de-
manding even greater returns, al-
though their reserves are now
four times what they were before
the war.”

The conference charged
the King government was
tempting “to hide behind

.(Continued on page 8)
¢ ° See FREIGHT STEAL

that
at-
thé

im- |°

gressive Party representing the provinces

provincial conference held here last week.
Among those attending the conference were B. R. Swankey of Edmonton, Alberta LPP leader, Nelson
Clarke of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan LPP leader, and William Kardash, MLA of Winnipeg, Manitoba LPP

o attend, pointed out in a letter

NS atic

reactionary candidates in last

their constructive program.
the release declared:

labor representatives, Aldermen Ch:
their strength on the 18-member school board from two to four.
Stewart Smith, chief target of the red-baiting campaign, polled 42,090 votes, some 7,500 short
of the number necessary to holq his seat on the control board. :
Alderman’ Norman Freed in Ward 4, and Alderman Charles Sims in Ward 5 topped the polls.
Progressive school trustees re-elected were Mrs. Hazel Wigdor in Ward 4 and Mrs. Edna B.
Ryerson in Ward 5, They will now have the support of two newcomers, John Boyd, elected in
Ward 5, and Mrs. Elizabeth Morton, elected in Ward 6.
A press release commenting on the election results issued by the Canadian Tribune, pointed
out that reactionary candidates, with thousands of dollars at their disposal, could publish big ad-

vertisements in all three Toronto dailies, while labor candidates had only a weekly paper to support

Urging support of the current campaign to raise a $250

_ Labor vote climbs despite losses

TORONTO—Although labor sustained a setback in the defeat of Stewart Smith, outstanding
member of the 1946 board of control, ang Dewar Fer;

failed to win re-election to the council in Ward

a

guson, Canadian Seamen’s Union leader, who
6, the vicious smear campaign conducted by
week’s civic elections failed to shake the position of two other
arles Sims and Norman Freed, and progressives increased

,000 fund to publish a daily paper,
“Publication of the first issue of the daily Tribune on May 1 will be a greater
victory by far than that won by reaction in Toronto elections.”

IWA liadirs

International President James

Pictured here are three leaders of the International Woodworkers of
America at the B.C. district’s convention in Victoria, (Left to right)
B. C. District President Harold Pritchett, Interna-

Fadling,

tional Vice-President Karly Larsen.

IWA seeks 25 percent pay boost

One gone, one to go

News of U.S. Secretary of|
State Byrnes’ resignation was

Teported to have been received with “astonishment and re-

—grét”
Speculation that labor ‘rebels’

drawal to force the resignation
Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin.

in British official quarters. In London there was some

might utilize Byrnes’ with-
of his British counterpart,
Under fire for his policies in

United Nations councils, in Greece and Spain, and confronted
with increasing difficulties in Paletine and India because of

Ais refusal to accept a democratic
with Byrnes, is the chief target

solution, Bevin, shown here
of a growing opposition.

VICTORIA, B.C.—A

national wage drive for an

over-all increase of at least 25 percent for workers
across Canada was advocated by the “International
Woodworkers of America at its 10th annual con-
vention held in the Empress Hotel here last week.
“Earliest possible opening of wage negotiations for

substantial wage increases,
based on at least a 25 percent
payroll boost to be ‘worked
out on an ‘across-the-board’
hourly increase by the wages-
contract conference, was the
unanimous demand of the 104
delegates representing 14 lo-
cals of the union’s B.C. Dis-
trict Council. ;

Other demands of the main
resolution were:

@ Hours reduction to not
more than 40 per week,

with elimination of all

exemptions, and time
and a half for all Satur-
day and Sunday work.
A- union - administered
Health and: Welfare
Fund based on an. ap-

proximate 4 percent as-
sessment on the annual
lumber cut in British
Columbia.

@ Full union security.

The convention instructed dis-
trict. officers to call a district
wage conference not later than
March 31 to draft final demands
and recommended giving special
consideration to
ing grievances of trainmen, cook

_}and bunk house employees, mill

engineers and contract workers.”
Delegates endorsed the demand

€es for a 25 percent pay increase,
pledging to all government em-
ployees and white collar work-
ers their full support of a simi-

jlar demand. Indicating their de-

| Sire to have negotiations con-
ducted in a speedy and efficient
(Continued on page 8)
IWA

“the long-stand- |

of the Vancouver Civic Employ-.

Field Marshal
Belated Bernard L. Mont-

gomery, chief of the British
Imperial General Staff, was in
Moscow this week on a be-
lated mission to pay his res-
pects, as a soldier, to the So-
viet army.