— UTA TCCnN Ac WHAT DO YOU TH O pinions contained in these columns are strictly those of the writers. We welcome correspondence, but ask that letters be held to 300 words. Reception John T. Lamont, Abbotsford, writes: I have observed the frequency with which BBC broadcasts are cancelled, but I do not think that the studio announcers are to blame. It is a frequently-observed phe- nomenon that the atmosphere of world capitals is impervious to outside waves of thought Ot- tawa is no exception and recent- ly the ether has become so load- ed with electronic dust, mounting from a disturbed political field, it is not surprising that recep- tion is poor. Aithcugh I am no meteorologist, i fear there is no remedy for this static condition, unless it be the removal of the headquarters of the CBC to a less-disturbed area, where the staff would be more isolated from interference. Fascists Jack Boyd, Vancouver, writes: The Vancouver Province, in an editcrial answering charges made the other day by the Soviet maga- zine “War and the Working Class.” not only admitted that high-standing former fascist offi- cials are on the payroll in Sicily but actually boasted about it. Ac- cording to the Province, the eariy Success of the application of Gemocratic principles to a defeat- ed Axis country depends on the collaboration obtained from for- mer fascist officials. It is indeed astounding that an influential paper like the Provy- ince should befoul its pages by endorsing any action that up- holds any of the fascist hang- men who for 25 years haye smoothed the way for Hitler by murdering and torturing untold millions of innocent citizens, Surely, if these fascist butchers are to be on the Allied payroll to assist in the government of the fascist occupied countries, it is a direct denial of the high pur- pose of our war against fascism! The fact that fascists are on the Allied payroll is confirmed by newsreels currently exhibited showing Mussolini's chief of pol- ice functioning for the Allies by reading to the people of a proc- lamation of our military govern- ment of Sicily. All decent-mind- ed people will agree it would have been much more fitting for some democratic member of the population to read a proclama- tion urging the people to round up the fascists, so they could be properly punished. We know that our success de- pends upon the complete elemin- ation of all fascists from Hitler, Goering and Mussolini down to the men who are willing to do their barbarous work. THE PEOPLE Published every Friday by The People Publishing Co.. Rm. 104, Shelly Bldg.. 119 West Pender St, Vancouver, B.C. Tele. MAr. 6929. itor Hal Griffin Managing Editor _ _ Al Parkin Business Mgr. _. Minerva Cooper Six Months: $1.00 One Year: $2.00 Printed at Broadway Printers, Ltd., 151 East 8th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. INI? LETTERS from OUR READERS LLL Vil Take Vanilla... by we coy HIS column is being written on the eve of Labor few bitter observations regarding Hum phrey Mi ance at Ottawa as the minister of labor, has increase English language by 10 percent. As evidence d by th and Labor Congress, Mr. Mitchell’s popularity seems to Day and we had meant to make a tchell, the man who, since his appear- d the number of harsh words in the e 59th annual convention of the Trades have reached the point where even Dale Carnegie would shrug his shoulders in helpless frustration. But while we were considering Mr. Mitchell's case it was brought to our attention that Toronto had just been presented with a pitiful exhibition by a man without a tite—ex-alderman Balfour. Mr. Balfour, it will be remembered, is the man who lost his seat to Ald. J. B. Salsberg during the last civic election. If memory serves us right, Mr. Balfour, at the time, was quite nasty about the whole affair and placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Karl Marx. 2 AST week ex-alderman Bal- four came out of hibernation long enough to pay a fiying visit to the city hall. Several tax- payers noticed him fiying through the corridors, but, remembering that he was now only a private citizen, did not bother to stop and boo. One or two, however, re- called later that he wore the stern look of a man who had a mission to perform and chided themselves for thinking that a leopard could change its spots. In the council chamber, in whose direction Mr. Balfour was plunging, the Toronto Board of Control and the Mayor were dis- cussing civic business, among which was the forthcoming trip of the mayor to the United States, where, along with Ald. Stewart Smith, he was to look over hous- ing projects. Everything was as usual. One of -the controllers was sitting comfortably back in his chair with tented fingers, wondering whether the blue plate special at Child’s would carry chicken pot pie, while at the same time retaining on his face the eager expression of a man who is de- youring every word being spoken. This is an art that is rapidly dying out due to the fact that old-line politicians are speedily being discarded by the voters. | RAISE ASDA ete SRA Saag NS DES Se STN SES ea te Books and People by Kay Gregory 7 ALL lists of new books show a few which look very prom- ising. While it is difficult to tell how good a book will be until it has at least been reviewed nevertheless it is possible to get an idea by studying the list of authors and their sub- jects. One of the most promising, solely on the author’s past reputation, is a new novel on Cockney life, None But the Lonely Heart, by Richard Llewellyn, author of How Green is My Valley, to be published this month by Macmillan. Pearl Buck’s new novel, The Promise, is definitely good. It will be out in October, but already readers of Asia will have seen it in serial form. Phyllis Bottome has a new book, Survival, slated fcr publication this month, which is reported to be a study in psychiatry as was her last novel, Private Worlds. Pulitzer Prizewinner Esther Forbes (Paul Revere and the World He Lived In) has written another historical novel, Johnny Tremain, about the American Revolution, to be published by Houghton Mifflin. Mary Heaton Vorse, who is known to readers of the labor press for her articles and pam- phiets on social condtions, has written Here Are the People, a summary of her tour of America’s defense plants, housing projects, slums and factories. Three others which look good conjecturally are Retreat, Hell! by William M. Camp, a novel about the Marines on Bataan; The Dark Stain, by Benjamin Appel, a timely novel about the role of American fascists in race riots; The Darker Brother, by Bucklin Moon, compared in an- nouncements to Richard Wright's Native Son. Another good bet is Paul de Kruif’s analysis of the Kaiser health plan, title of which is not yet announced, Of particular interest to Cana- dian readers will be Our New Frontier, Alaska and the Cana- dian-American Northwest, by Harold J. Griffin, announced for publication this fall by W. W-. Norton, Ine. e Dee by New Masses as “far and away a first rate filmic achievement,’ the Army Signal Corps documentary film, Report from the Aleutians, is ap- parently receiving excellent press notices but sly boycotting from theater circuits as a result of OW! appeasement of the “busi- ness-as-usual’ crowd. Completed five months ago, the OWI then declared the film’s length, 47 minutes, to be too long for popular consumption. The United States Army correctly maintained that a shorter film could not do justice to one of the least publicized and most try- ing sections of the fighting fronts. Although the Army won its point, the film was reluctantly released by the OWI with sev- eral strikes against it. Its first appearances were made with very weak feature films and little or no advance publicity. It will not be generally released through the RKO circuits until the middle of the month and so far has book- ings for only nine out of the 45 RKO houses in New York, de- spite unanimous plaudits- from press reviewers of its premiere. Two other members of the board were carrying on a whis- pered conversation but whether it was about their respective Victory Gardens the difficulty of obtaining a glass of ale at their local taverns, or proposed city business, there is no way of ascer- taining. The mayor and the fourth controller were earnestly discussing affairs affecting this thriving metropolis. 8S Tee this peaceful scene burst ex-alderman Balfour with a gleam in his eye. “Stop!” he screamed, his voice choked with emotion. From the startled ex- pressions on the faces of the mayor and the four board of control: members, one could see that they thought their worst fears were realized and that the waters of the Don River had burst their natural barriers and were enveloping the city in a tidal wave. A few words by Mr. Balfour, who was by now leering into the mayor's face, swept aside their fears. “Are you,” screamed Mr. Bal- four, “going on a visit to the United States with the Commun- ist alderman, Stewart Smith?” The mayor, we are sorry to re- port, did not strike Mr. Balfour ever the noggin with his gavel. We hope his only reason for omitting such action was because there are no parliamentary rules covering such procedure. Instead the mayor explained that he did intend making such a trip, and that if Ald. Smith was also mak- ing such a visit he had every right to do so. The mayor wasn’t too explicit at this point and we suspect a little-appeasement. Ex-alderman Balfour then sobbed out his whole bitter story. “J couldn't sleep all last night,” he wailed, “thinking of the mayor of Toronto visiting the United States in the company of a Com- munist alderman.” e N CASE the idea of Mr. Balfour not being able to sleep should make you wince, it must be re- membered that not one man present had the presence of mind to motion his into his old alr- ermanic seat. Mr, Balfour slept very comfortably in that seat during his entire tenure of office. Some of the people who once voted for him claim that the seat had the same effect on him as chloroform. This being the case, no great harm would have been done by lending him the chair for a quick cat-nap. We predict a horrible future for ex-alderman Balfour. It looks to us as if he is going to be afflicted with a permanent case of insomnia after the next civic elections. What the election of a bloc of Labor-Progressives to parliament will do to him is too frightening to contemplate. He might as well sell his bed right now while prices are up. Mr. Balfour won't be alone. He should have enough com- pany to make up several tables of gin rummy during those sleep- less nights that are to come. Or if he and the other discarded politicians with fifth column men- talities don’t indulge in card games, they can bore each other to death by exchanging personal anecdotes. “at that time. Many Successi| eps of the main fun the Communist Party the twenty years of i someone better qualifii job it often fell to me to jeading part in this wi ing as jnsiructor in ¢ have passed on to hundr party members, ; lads, some of the know have acquired through experience and reading J have every reason to of some of these stude of them I should say, of them have more the time and energy Spe helping them to fit then™ for their part in the strug; labor. : The proudest moment of the nearly fifty years |} been in this movement W day I received a letter Yorkie Burton, one of the: dents who was battling £ in Spain, telling me that hi pany had just received } machine gun and had chr i: “OL Bii= : There were many oth them in Spain and there many others of them fighti cism and reaction in othe —the organization of the union and political fronts” prove the lot of the worke mediately and for the wi establishment of socialism. And Failure WOULD be too much ever, to expect that f forts would meet with w fied success. This week a new experience to fe It came from the Trades gress convention at Quebe: BC delegates reported on @ cess of the united efforts AFL, CCL and ABWC in amendments made to the IC in the past year, amendme incalculable value to BC w The Province news ite’ ports: “Objection to suck ciation was raised by J. N of Vancouver.” Ross was! the students who attended» on trade union history a5 tics. He is the only one that multitude of student whom I had anything to d ratted from the position h What he i about the trade union moy in these classes ,he is now for his own aggrandizemen downward path of a reneg swift and Ross has 4 reached the bottom. To have one’s efforts g¢ like that would shock som ple. As for me, when ! about that turncoat, I ft about Yorkie Burton, kil action in Spain: about 7 Lawrence, deported to Si after doing a good job in tt ing industry, and about Ni toff dying in Dawson C€ wounds he got in the § war. And my sympathy goes the union that has Ross member! Civie Election ET on the voters list are qualified. Regis fore September 15. The many reasons why! One ¢ is that we need an efficik council instead of a bu fiddlers without fiddles.