U.S. BUDGET Or

WP to

Washmgton witch doctors f

United action can win _
the woodworkers demands

TS final sessions ‘held behind closed doors, the

Conciliation Board sittmg on. the current lumber -

dispute, brought down an “award’’, considerably
short of the union’s demands for a seventeen-cent
wage increase across the board, the 40-hour week
and union shop. Even the [WA representative on
the board, the pedantic CCF braintruster Professor
Eugene Forsey of Ottawa, joined in the ‘‘unanimity”’
of the board’s “‘award’’.

The TWA policy committee promptly rejected
the “‘award’” and recommended its rejection by the
entre TWA membership. Some big IWA locals
have already voted it down, others are in process of
doing so. In this, the Woodworkers Industrial Union
is solidly behind the [WA in the camps and mills in
the rejection of this cheese-paring ““award’ which
nearly cuts the [WA wage demand in half, and scut-

thes the statutory 40-hour week in the .BC. lumber

Under the provisions of the provincial Industrial
and Arbitration Act for a government-supervised

strike vote, it is reported that the ballots are already
on the way out to the various operations, and June 8
has been set for voting day at some 163 camps and
mills throughout B.C. mainland and Island points.

June 15 is the deadline set by the [WA in
line with its ‘‘No contract, no work” Nanaimo con-
vention decision. Aside from some vague references
to possible strike action, the district leadership ‘of the
IWA has done practically nothing in the way of
preparatory work on the job, to see to it that the
maximum unity and solidarity of. the woodworkers

ARLY last month J. Milnikiel, envoy extra-
ordinary and minister plenipotentiary for Poland
in Canada, packed his bag and shook the dust of
Canada from his feet. Before leaving, however, he
handed a note to External Affairs Minister L. B.
Pearson, explaining (if further explanations were
meeded) why he was leaving. _ ; ,
, The monopoly press — which would speedily
develop a case of “cold war’’ ‘nysteria were the case
jn reverse, draped its curtain of silence ‘around the
event. >

techniques of Bill Sykes than with the moral respon-
ila :
_ Unable to recover the Polish art treasures, ship-
- ped to Canada during the war years for safe-keeping
from the Hitler fascists, Milnikeil had requested his
own recall by his government. Undoubtedly he found
it difficult to stomach the thin veneer of official diplo-
around Ottawa, with which Liberal political
- hijackers cover themselves, in order to hide the fact
that they are accessories to a crime against the Polish
at and people. :
A lot of “mystery” has been built up around the

whereabouts and “custodians” of these Polish art

treasures — cultural and religious heritages of the
Polish people. It is reported that the hierarchy of
the Catholic Church in Duplessis’ Quebec became
the “appointed” keepers of these treasures, valued
at millions of dollars by the Polish people. Spokes-
men for the St. Laurent government, with a long

The story is a bit sordid, more in keeping with the

is mobilized behind the “‘No contract, no work’’ deci-
sion.

The WIU, alarmed at this state of affairs, and
realizing the urgent necessity of uniting all section of
the industry, (whether organized or unorganized),
behind the [WA union demands, has not.only advised
its own membership to stand by the IWA in rejecting
the conciliation board’s “‘award’’, but has urged IW A
membership and workers in unorganized operations to
vole solid rejection on the job.

Moreover, it is urging that every lumberworker,
whether in the IWA, the WIU, or unorganized,

where the opportunity is available under a government-

_ supervised ballot, should vote in favor of strike ac-

tion to back up the [WA's full program of demands
for a 17-cent an hour wage increase, preservation of
the 40-hour week, and union security.

The idle talk of some TWA leaders that “‘if”’:

a strike occurs, it will be just a “‘vacation”’ is not only
reckless adventurism and irresponsibility, but can lead
to-disastrous defeat, by dissipating the potential unity
and fighting capacity of 40,000 lumberworkers — a
unity which is, vitally essential to final victory.

Between now and June 8-15 on-the-job Action
Committees should be formed without delay in all
operations, regardless of affiliation or none, to assure
a solid vote in suppori of strike action unless [WA
demands are satisfied. Secondly, united strike com-
mittees are needed in every camp and mill, ready to
act prompily on the advice of the WA district leader-
ship on June 15, es er

That way lies the road to victory, to convince
the boss loggers that the lumberworkers mean what
they say when they say, “No contract, no work.”

Dealers in stolen goods -

training at passing the buck on a stock “‘provincial
rights” alibi, like Pilate, now wash their hands of
responsibility. The matter is presumed to be one for
Herr Duplessis and his top-level Catholic clerics to
settle. ; :

This flimsy excuse will fool no one, and least
of all the people of Poland. An under strapper in

Pearson’s External Affairs department, handed the

Polish minister a note on his* departure; specifying
among other things that ‘‘. . . the matters of contro-
very . . . had been made abundantly clear to the
Polish authorities on a number of occasions’, (Han-
sard, No. 54, p. 2382).

All that has been made “abundantly clear’’ to
the Polish people — to ‘which is now added the

protest departure of their minister plenipotentiary from —
our shores, is that the St. Laurent government, by its.
failure to return prompily the property of the Polish

people to their democratically conslituted (and so
recognized by Canada) government, now occupies the
unenviable position of an apologist for holding onto

stolen property.

Cold war diktats as laid down by Yankee im-
perialism, not only serve to barter away the birth-
right of the Canadian people, but make of us co-

conspirators in stealing the cultural birthright of others.

The St., Laurent government can end this shame-
ful affair by returning, promptly and intact, the art
treasures of the Polish people which Canada pledged
to safeguard. ‘‘Provincial rights” is no excuse for
political knavery. ;

TOM McEWEN ,
_As We See It

TTHIS is not a post-campaign peeve, but rather a few home truths

on unfinished business. On the whole, our readers and supporters
did a bang-up job in the financial drive to keep this paper going,
topping our $15,000 objective by more than $2,000.

The best way to avoid getting dizzy with success is to remind
ourselves that we could have done a whole lot better. Figure it out

‘this way: 213 energetic workers for a fighting paper - - perhaps less

than one-quarter of the total number involved in the financial drive - -
raised approximately $6,000, or over one third of the total. Just imag-
gine the “high” we could have hit had we all piled into the job with
the zip of those 213 press builders!

We still have an opportunity to do so.

During the two months of the drive we let
some important matters slide. For instance, May
1950 represented the 30th anniversary of the Com-
munist press in Canada. Thirty years of exposing
the lying propaganda of the kept press of big
business, thirty years of bringing the truth of local,
national and international events to the working
people of Canada.

We should have been celebrating this 30th mile-
stone of our press in LPP club meé@tings, readers’
groups, Pacific Tribune conferences, family social
gatherings, in a score of ways. But we didn’t be-
cause we were busy with the drive. The results
of course were good, but we dropped a lot of regular readers because
we didn’t have the time to go after them - - and that isn’t good in these
“cold war’ days.

Now there is only one way in celebrating any anniversary of a
fighting labor paper: mo're. readers, wider circulation.

The monopoly press gauges anniversaries by the income from
advertisers, by the subsidies received from the industrial and financial
barons for services rendered and by the dividends paid to its obscure
and not-so-obscure owners. : : set

With publications like thé Canadian Tribune, Pacific Tribune and
National Affairs, it is not a case of subsidies and dividends, but of
readers, holding the interest and support of old readers and winning
hundreds of new. That is the only way to celebrate anniversaries of
papers like the Pacific Tribune. \

"ook at this business of more readers another way. When great
champions of peace such as the Dean of Canterbury or Dr. Endicott
come to town and are able to address meetings of thousands of en-
thusiastie people, we all feel very good about it. And (quite naturally),
if you scan the “reports” the monopoly press carries on such meetings,
it will be readily seen that just as the people are happy to hear how
they can win peace, so also the “cold war” gang feel very bad at having
its war plans exposed and! obstructed. Fighters for “peace and social
justice, like the above mentioned men, cannot be in our provinces
every week, but the Pacific Tribune can spe@k to six, eight or ten
thousand British Columbians every week if all our préss builders,
LPP Clubs, readers and supporters so decide. ‘ ;

Go back as far as you like into labor history and its unremitting
efforts to promote and mainain its own press, and one fact runs
through it all like a shining thread: in the battle to win men’s minds: to
the cause of progress, social security and peace, a little paper con-
taning the granite-hard truth of history, economics and society, was
and still is the most powerful weapon in the battle of ideas, for pro-
giress against reaction, for peace against war.

Today the labor press is the little “David”, a pigmy in size com-
pared to the “Goliath” of the lying monopoly press, but armed with
the scientific truth of history and society, destined to emerge the
victor because the working class, the common people of factory an§ —
farm for whom it speaks, is so destined. But the big job is to get it
into their hands in ever-increasing numbers to speed the victoiry.

In the month of June, the Pacific Tribune should “hit the streets,”
of our readers, by renewing those subs which have expired, by
enlisting their support to win new readers. That is the first and most

important job. : ; ie

In the month of June, the Pacilic Tribune should “hit the streets”,
the factory gates and the news stands. Two hundred and thirteen
press buliders who raised more than $6,000 in less than two months,
can extend circulation in street sales by at least 3,000 copies ‘in the
same length of time. : :

Just imagine what that. would mean in the battle of ideas, in the
fight for peace, jobs, homes, union security, decent wages, and all the
other things that press upon the working people daily. A mass meet-
ing of ten thousand British Columbians weekly, achieved through
extended. cirulation of the PT. It’s enough to give Georgeous George
Drew and the warmongering monopolists he and his kind speak for,

a new round of political delirium tremens. The warmongers in our

cities and towns — and there are still plenty of them around getting

‘their daily dose of “cold war” poison from the daily blah sheets,

wouldn't like to see the circulation of the Pacific Tribune boosted —
which is perhaps the best argument for stepped-up circulation, What
the warmongers, their kept press and their kind don’t like, is always
good for the workers. / ; ‘ .

_...In the “battle of ideas” - ~ for peace, security and progress, we
have a powerful weapon in the Pacific Tribune. Let’s begin to use
it in a big way, by getting it into the hands of new thousands of

readers. . eae x"

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Tom McEwen Editor
Subscription Rates: 1 Year, $2.50; 6 Months, $1.35.
Printed by Union Printers Ltd., 650 Howe Street, Vancouver, B.C:
Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Dept., Ottawa

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JUNE 2, 1950 — PAGE 8

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