—Qeen FORUM ew Board and _ various ent departments, prices cher H.K. Warren lends the ving as an open letter to the Board. ive your November reports of icing and price spreads. I able to see much in it but age and meaningless graphs. xample, you point out that pounds of beef were im- d, 98% of which came from ‘alia and New Zealand. Of % was utilized for cuts used tals and other institutions % was utilized for ground You have piled percentage on mtage until the report es useless to the average tr — and the average con- er, ter working some of the fs out on my pocket com- , | arrived at something more ‘standable. A total of 134.2 in pounds of beef were im- d with Australia and New ind accounting for 98% of imports. Now, the latest S of the Australian farm papers, ‘‘Land: and Country ‘Yeport that Australia sold N tons of beef to the Soviet mM for 19 cents per pound ralian’ —l\roughly 25 1/2 cents Pound Canadian. Since it is h likely that Canada would to pay more than the Soviet , that can safely be assumed the price for our imports of ian beef. also point out that 607,000 cluding: poe, B. i et MUsic an = at 2 S\ VN TSN Pe 3 » (Art, Children’s, Photographic & Others) -ENINGRAD. — ART and ARCHITECTURE bt V. SCHWARTZ ‘ Expo Price $8.95 (Phone or write for complete list by return mail) PEOPLE’S CO-OP BOOKSTORE 341 West Pender St. BRE NARLL EARLE ELIE IAI RE AE je merriment aeons ( Bluegrass 40 Tine) reshape | serttenniall oe Centre, oye eacioes Duk § : pc Tickes hsb a Centre oe sa LO Blast cows of D1, D2, D3 and D4 grade were turned into ground beef at prices to farmers of anywhere from $14 per hundred pounds to $22.50 per hundred pounds. When all your percentages are broken down into readable figures, they show that the consumer public is paying $1.00 to $1.79 per pound for ground beef that cost the processor only 20 cents per pound. No wonder the farmer is com- plaining! No wonder the consumer is complaining! The price spread can be even greater since the consumer has no way of knowing what grade of beef went into his ground beef. Although the Food and Drug Administration specifies that “hamburger’’ shall not contain more than 30% fat and “ground beef” not more than 15% fat, the retail outlets bypass this grading by retailing under such names as ‘‘supreme grade’’, “regular ground beef’’, ‘‘ground chuck” and various other forms of nomenclature, none of ‘which conform to Food and Drug Ad- ministration requirements but all which are nevertheless considered legal. It is high time that a proper labelling system was established for ground beef and all other unidentifiable cuts of meat. It should show what grade of beef, whether froma steer, heifer or cow and clearly state the percentage of fat. This leads us to the question of inspection of ground meat and other cuts. Recently, the CTV television show, ‘“‘Market Place’, SIGN EAE EAA EA LL ELIE EERIE ELIE NIQUE XMAS GIFT BOOKS | Direct From “U.S.S.R. PAVILION EXPO 74 35 English language Titles at Reduced Prices — Now $5.95 685-5836 ofl Reice 8 pm- Lam RR RIE IR IE IOS IO IOS IESE IR WEG OE IUGR OER IORI YO OR OSE ER ORISA OE IORI IOI, RIOR IGG GE OER OTK IR OG OE HOR OES OG YOR POG AIT “) SIA, Be ‘ pointed out that samples of ground beef that they had analyzed showed that bacteria that could only be found in either human or animal excreta were evident. When the program suggested that there should be consistent in- spection, there was a great hue and cry from various government authorities and meat packers that this would .be impossible as it would entail having far more personnel. Yet some interesting facts emerge from the recent near- strike of the meatcutters. It was stated that if the cutters went on strike, more than 90% of all meat would be withdrawn from the public. This was particularly true in Edmonton where there were only two major chains in the retail trade. These two supermarkets received all of their meat from two wholesale houses through which all supplies passed. This being the case, there need only be two in- spection stations — one at each wholesaler — to monitor beef preparation — hardly an onerous burden. The same is true for Vancouver. Here there are four supermarket chains and it is safe to assume that they command the same _ per- centage of retail sales as two chains do in Edmonton. They get their supplies from three main wholesale houses which are in turn wholly owned by the supermarket chains. The independent retail outlet is compelled to buy from these wholesale houses so the supply sources are limited. Again, inspection could easily be carried out.. But all we get are high prices that go with monopoly control of both wholesale and retail outlets. In 1968, when the ministry of Consumer Affairs was established in Ottawa, the public thought it had a department that would deal with all these problems. Instead, the department played with toys, matches and Christmas trees — all worthwhile endeavors, perhaps — but completely ignored the real needs of consumers — food, shelter and clothing. We don’t need any more verbiage or platitudes. If platitudes were protein, the public would be well fed. Annie Stewart ill Annie Stewart, veteran Com- munist woman activist who played -a leading role in the women’s .movement in B.C. during the Hungry Thirties, is in Burnaby General Hospital where she had a serious fall recently and broke her hip. The editor and staff of the Tribune send Annie our warmest greetings and best wishes for a speedy recovery. We are sure many of our readers will also want to extend their best wishes. She is in Room 563 and visiting hours are from 2 to 8 p.m. How sweet itis... The food item registering the highest increase in this in- _ flationary period is sugar. The sugar price index was up a fantastic 123.6 percent in May, 1974 over May, 1973. Since May, 1971 it has increased by over 183 percent. Currently sugar is retailing in Ontario at 50 cents per pound. Not long ago, five pounds cost less than that. Do we pay more to producing countries? Does it cost more to ship, refine and package? . . —UE Research Bulletin. Beaver Transfer * Moving * Packing * Storage 790 Powell St. - Phone 254-3711 — ae Long time A bright chapter in the militant history of the labor movement in this province was closed last month with the passing of Les Walker at the age of 75. A man well known to members of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers — now merged with Steel — as well as hundreds of other trade unionists, Les was born in Leeds, England in September, 1899 and following his immigration to this country, gave a false age to an army recruiting officer in order to serve with the 54th Battalion overseas during the latter two years of World War I. Returning to Canada, he worked for several years as a painting contractor in the Rossland-Trail area and also worked on the railroad in the area. In 1942, he took a job in the Cominco smelter at Trail and joined Mine-Mill, thus beginning an association with what union that was to span the rest of his life. Only a few years later, Les was elected secretary of the Trail local. of the union and, a year lated, in 1951, he was elected secretary of the western district — District 6 — of Mine-Mill. He held the post until 1960 when, in a pioneering move, Mine-Mill appointed him full time compensation officer for the union. Les’ work in the unique position was itself pioneering. During the seven years he held the post, he ‘earned wide respect from trade unionists throughout the province for the campaigns led by the union for compensation legislation and for his own consistent advocacy of compensation claimants’ cases. He was also successful in reopening — and winning — several cases where miners’ widows had for The Simon ‘Fraser University Student Society voiced its protest last week over the continuing British policy of repression against the people of Northern Ireland. In a statement condemning the British government’s ‘‘inhumanely cruel and undemocratic policy’’ in Northern Ireland, the society stated: ‘‘The struggle of this nation for self-determination is a just one. The British government’s stifling interference in the affairs of Northern Ireland is unjust.” The resolution called on the British to withdraw all troops from Northern Ireland and allow the people to solve their internal problems without outside in- terference or reprisal. It demanded the release of all Irish union leader mourned Mine-Mill LES WALKER many years been denied com- pensation pensions. Taking an active part in the cultural and political life of the province for which his union was revered by thousands — and often attacked by its enemies, — Les was instrumental in organizing the *“mammoth Mine-Mill concerts for Paul Robeson in Peace Arch Park and in publicizing the brilliant film produced for the international union by Herbert Biberman, Salt of the Earth. He also served on the editorial board of the now-defunct B.C. District News. He retired from the union following the merger with the United Steelworkers of America in 1967. A close friend of the Pacific Tribune, Les was also a long time member of the Communist Party and held membership in the Party’s Broadway club at the time of his death, November 16. He is survived by his wife Mary, two sons, three daughters, one stepson, two stepdaughters, 27 grandchildren and one great- granddaughter. At the request of © his family a private funeral was held November 19 at the Bell Funeral Chapel. Rate who have See salted “for fighting for this cause.” The student society also en- dorsed the resolution drafted by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association which states: ‘We are opposed in principle to the in- ternment of civilians without trial. We also believe that internment in Northern Ireland, now three years in operation, is both a continuing cause of violence and a primary obstacle to the success of peace initiatives. For these reasons, we call for the immediate release of all internees in Northern Ireland.” The civil rights resolution was to have been presented to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations December 10. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING a | COMING EVENTS HALLS FOR RENT Friday, December 13 LUCKY CASINO NIGHT, Fun Games and Refreshments. Admission $1.00 per person. 8 P.M. till ? At the Stevens’, 4504 River Rd. West, Ladner. Spons.: Surrey YCL. December 31 — NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATION at the RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME, 600 Campbell Ave. Supper 7 to 9 — Dance 9-? $10.00 per person. $5.00 Dance only. Sponspred by ERG. ANNOUNCEMENT The TRIBUNE now has a new telephone number. For those readers who wish to make note — 685-8108. RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — Now available for rentals. For reservations phone 254-3430. UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CULTURAL. CENTRE — 9805 East Pender St., Vancouver 4. Available for banquets, wed- dings, meetings. Phone 254-3436. WEBSTER’S CORNERS HALL Available for banquets, meetings, etc. For rates, Ozzie, 325-4171 or 685-5836. LOST and FOUND Would person who lost blue rain coat at the Mac Pap’s Banquet at the Fisherman’s Hall on November 23rd please phone 325- « 5401. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1974—Page 11