WILLIAM (BILL) RIGBY Warm tributes to William Rigby Hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered at the Fishermen’s Hall, 138 E, Cordova Street in Vancouver last Saturday morning to pay tribute and say a last farewell to William (Bill) Rigby, a leading member of the United Fishermen and Allied Worker’s Union, and for many years a leading member of the Communist Party of Canada, The memorial service was arranged by the executive board of the union for which Rigby worked untiringly for 23 years until his death of lung cancer Tuesday, April 6th, in Vancouver General Hospital, Warm tributes were made to Rigby by Maurice Rush, associate editor of the Pacific Tribune and a leading Communist Party member, and Homer Stevens, secretary-treasurer of the union, The service was opened with Rigby’s favorite song, “Freiheit,” song of the Thaelmann Battalion of the Inter- national Brigade of Spain, sung by George Hewison, Recalling Rigby’s services to the labor and Communist movement, Maurice Rush said that “Bill Rigby’s whole life was devoted to the cause of human betterment, That was the creed he lived by,” Rush traced Rigby’s earlier activities in the working class movement and pointed out that he had joined the socialist and Communist youth movement in his early teens, Throughout the 1930s Rigby held many posts in the Communist Party of Canada, For a number of years he was national education director for the Communist Party and in that capacity instructed and helped educate many men and women who today play an active and leading part in the labor movement across Canada, Rush pointed out, *Bill’s work lives on today in the activities of many of us in the labor and Communist movements who were helped to a deeper understanding of society and our country by Bill’s great ability as a teacher,” Rush recalled that shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Rigby moved to Vancouver and continued his activities here in the progressive movement, ‘ “That was the period known as the ‘phoney war’ when the appeasers of Hitler tried to turn the war into an anti- socialist rather than an anti-fascist war,” Rush said, “Bill was a strong anti-fascist and for his efforts he and many left-wing and Communist leaders were interned and later released with the emergence of the anti-Hitler coalition headed by the U,S., Great Britain and the U.S.S.R.” In his tribute to Rigby, union secretary-treasurer Homer Stevens lauded the services of the deceased to the fishermen and shore workers in B,C. He pointed out how Rigby began his union activities by becoming the editor of “The Fisherman” in 1942 and con- tinuing without interruption, to hold various leading posts in the union up to the time of his death, Stevens recalled the many hearings on compensation and unemployment insurance for which Rigby prepared the union’s case, and lauded his contribution to advancing the welfare of B,C,’s fishermen and shore workers, song, “Beloved Comrade.” The union has announced that a William Rigby mem- orial fund will be established which will be used to pro- vide bursaries for sons and daughters of UFAWU members who are seeking a higher education, The service closed with the singing of a moving labor Auto workers urge peace The United Auto Workers Union (AFL-CIO), one of the largest unions in the United States, has taken a stand urging President Johnson to accept UN Secretary General U-Thant’s offer to work our a solution of the Vietnam srisis, The UAWU action came froma meeting of its international exec- utive board in Detroit, It warned against escalation of the war and criticized the use of gas, The only solution it said was “a just settlement of the Vietnam con- flict.” Escalation of peace fight needed to stop war dangé! By WILLIAM KASHTAN Nat. Leader, Communist Party The U.S, policy of *controlled escalation” of the war against Vietnam has failed. There.is no such thing as controlled eseala- tion. Escalation is escalation and leads not peace but to the brink, U.S. policy has led to the virtual isolation of that country from its allies, Despite this, Washington is determined to step up its intervention in Vietnam, It is criminal for the Pearson government to commit Canada to support U.S, aggression and underwrite all the actions taken by the Johnson administration, The debate in Parliament last week, other than the contributions made by some members of the New Democratic Party, gave no indication that either the govern- ment or the Conservative and Social Credit leaders faced up to the danger to Canada and to the world of the policy of con- tinued support for U.S, ag- gression, . The Pearson policy has not only shown how unwilling the Liberal government is to advance an independent foreign policy. Its support of U.S, policy has under- mined confidence in Canada among those countries which be- lieved that Canada was not just an echo of the U.S, By committing Canada to sup- port of U.S, policy the Pearson government was in reality, com- mitting Canada to upholding col- onialism, neo-colonialism, the right of the U.S, to interfere in internal affairs of other coun- tries and to trample on the right of a people to freedom and in- dependence, This is the ugly truth the Canadian people are now con- fronted with. As long as the Canadian government advances the viewpoint that the fight for national liberation is equivalent to aggression, Canada will be committed to a suicidal and futile policy, It is time the Canadian people compelled the Pearson govern- ment to change course, Majority opinion is opposed to U.S. ag- ‘End Vietnam war’ demande? in many Canadian centres Urgent appeals to halt the war in Vietnam were raised in sub- missions made by peace lobbies recently in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In Winnipeg, representatives of all parties promised to meet with a delegation sponsored by the Manitoba Peace Council on April 5, A brief was read by council chairman Dan Brudy, “As we appear before you this evening, a cloud of war hangs over the world because of the hostilities prevailing in Viet- nam,” said Brudy, Each time the U.S,A. bombs North Vietnam we come another step closer to an international confrontation which could spell doom for mankind,” In its brief the peace council urged the provincial govern- ment to “act to stop the war in Vietnam.” The brief said: “We believe that despite the possi- bility of one’s ‘losing face’ the U.S. must withdraw from Viet- nam before we lose our whole being,” Vietnam must become gression and this has forced Prime Minister Pearson to modify government policy some- what by his proposal for a “pause” in U.S. air strikes against North Vietnam, A “pause” is not the same as a cease-fire, but it begins to edge in that direction even though it is ringed with all sorts of escape clauses and excuses for U.S. aggression, : The fact that Prime Minister Pearson was compelled to make that speech and to imply that the Canadian government may not always be able to support U.S, military action, expresses its concern that the policy of “controlled escalation” has failed. It also implies® growing public pressure 18 ginning to have an effect. But it also demonstrate much more needs to be What is needed today i “controlled escalation” lea? to nuclear war, but esca of the peace movement 2 scale which will finally the Pearson government to up against U.S. aggressi0 align Canada with all other tries and peoples demandin U.S. aggression stop, U.S. ¥" and hardware be withdrawn® South Vietnam and allow people of that country to out their own destiny in the’) own way. : W498 ts, arrarsaresesgs ‘y. t Lhe VP ORMPLLIPS, the point “at which we recognize that the will of a people cannot be held back by guns,” The council also asked the Manitoba government to oppose any idea of West German troops training in the province; to“urge the federal government to scrap its nuclear agreement with the U.S.A.:” and to send a provincial trade delegation to Africa, Asia, Latin American and Eastern, as well as Western Europe, The brief said: “We believe Canadians do have a stake in the movements for equality in the U.S., while believing also that we should take encourage- ment from the results there to tackle some of our own injus- tices,” The Saskatchewan Peace Council also recently made its 17th annual visit to the provincial legislature, Two requests were made: settlement of the war in Vietnam and expansion of Can- adian trade with all countries, The province’s new Liberal government did not meet the J PILLS) Oaerezes Ane — L’Humanite, pats | “act lobby, a custom of the past a government for well ov? decade, Premier Thatche! intercepted in the Legislat t hallway and was asked to sup) Fi the call for peace in Viel, “My problems are provinel Thatcher replied, “and I 1e8¥ at to.the federal government t0 with the problems the P council presents in its * | mission,” we if eat! ‘ He felt the U.S, has hadP!® 4) cation; but also there was ' on both sides, ] The. official CCF oppositi met with the lobby, Vetera?™ J.H, Brockelbank, acting 1g of the opposition, said the the agreed with most of submission, ‘Z He assured the delegati0? if brief would be presented ! io CCF-caucus; but he coul ait guarantee what would come of it, Brockelbank left thé ie pression with lobbyists that cot CCF opposition may b® sidering proposals on peac® April 15, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Po9?