Vol. 6. eas

Vancouver, British Columbia
Friday, February 14, 1947

Five Cents

No. 7

VICTORIA, B.C.,—The Coalition government's
failure to undertake an emergency road program is
costing British Columbia motorists thousands of
dollars in repairs every day. Even before the recent

cold spell completed the process of breaking them

ROAD NEGLECT COSTS
TAXPAYERS MILLIONS

up, roads on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver
Island, paved with little more than a decade of
Coalition promises to repair them, were in deplor-

able condition.
must be rebuilt.

Now some are beyond repair and
(Continued Page 7—See ROAD NEGLECT)

Needs of democratic. Germany
ignored by King’s peace

By ROBERT LAXER

proposals

OTTAWA,:—Canada’‘s stand on the German peace settlement has received scant attention dur-

ing one week of parliamenary debate,

Prime. Minister Mackenzie King emphasized in his reply to John

Bracken that ‘“great international questions” are the main issues before parliament. Yet foreign policy

is barely:mentioned in the House.
Highlights of the government’s stand are: : :

© Guilt of the Nazi Party and the German government is established. :

e Paramount purpose of the settlement should be “to prevent the recurrence of war.

I PAUL ROBESON
nternationally famous
Ber and actor, who will give
4 concert at University Arm-
Diet here this Saturday night.
p ity sellout house is ex:

Negro

Goldenberg report said
‘step in right direction’

. The Goldenberg Report is seen by the Labor-Progressive
Party as “a step in the right direction,” although the press
statement issued this week by Nigel Morgan, LPP provincial
leader, asserts that it leaves “much to be desired in provid-
ing a solution to the acute problem of municipal financing,

and particularly long overdue edu-
cation and road requirements.”

The statement continues:

“One of the most unsatisfactory
features of the report is its fail-
ure to guarantee the considera-
tion due to small home-owners, al-
though its recommendations right-
ly place the considerably increas-
ed tax load on big business, A
radical overhaul of the assess-
ment ‘system which is the foun-
dation of the tax structure is long
overdue.

“The proposal to establish a uni-
form ‘tax base on improvement
at seventy-five percent of assessed
value is generally a progressive
one which wili have the effect of

—_—

placing upon business and com-

mercial properties a larger share
of the tax. burden. It must, how-
ever, be coupled with a _ sharply
reduced mill rate and basic ex-
emption for small home owners,
which is now possible with a wid-
ened tax basis.

“The proposal for establishment
of a provincial board of ‘assess-
ment is also to be welcomed be-
cause it will make possible re.
vision of an assessment system
that has long been used by big
business to evade tax responsi-
bility.

“The proposed business — tax,
likewise, is a progressive measure
(Continued on Page 7)

See GOLDENBERG REPORT

Coalition attitude

rouses labor lobby

General dissatisfaction with the Hart government’s legislative program as outlined in
the Speech From the Throne was voiced here this week by delegates to the Vancouver

Labo

en the heat. The Speech from
© Throne leaves labor out in the

a The lobby should be going
every day of the week.”
nie resolution, submitted by

mak arine Workers and Boiler-
end €rs’ union and unanimously
°rsed, called for “united action
y la or and veterans’ groups” in
© city to “carry through this

werful lobby at the appropriate
me.” It also proposed that plant
and sh

job ; Op meetings be held, on the
no if necessary, to explain labor’s
Posals:
bone oughout the province, la-
Siete campaign for imple-
mitt, tion of the joint brief sub-
waar to the Hart government,
with into high gear this week,
Public meetings being held
fegeee points throughout the In-
of Tr, and the first of a series
bei Six weekly radio broadcasts
ng given over station CJOR.
sespt#ker was Harold Pritchett,
of La of the B.C. Federation
bor (CCL), who outlined the

r Council (CCL). Speaking on a resolution for mass action to carry through the labor
lobby, Harold Pritchett, IWA district presidenet, declared, “It is time labor started to turn

@ Germany is to be demilitarized.

© International control of the
Ruhr is advocated.

@ Germany is to be a federalized
rather than a centralized state.

@ Peace is to come by _ instal-
ments.

e Reparations to victims of Naz-
ism to be scaled down.

@ Germany’s borders should in-
clude all areas populated by
Germans (except Austria).
Although the Nazis’ guilt is

recognized the submission no-

where establishes that the Ger-
man monopolies are the heart and
core of militarism and any future
aggression. The future of Ruhr

Valley cartels including links with

American and British capital is

eloquently disregarded.

Reference to “further action”
for “renewal from office of the
prewar owners of largest indus-
trial concerns” is weak. No men-
tion of the “extirpation of fas-
cism” as outlined in Yalta and
Potsdam is to be found in the
document, .

From this would appear to fol-
low the basic pattern of Canada’s
pclicy—for a federalized Germany.
Since the big industrialists, the
Junkers, are not to be eliminat-
ed from leadership in German life
and replaced by democratic ele-
ments the Canadian government
expects to keep Germany from
becoming an aggressor by oppos-
ing centralization.

A centralized state would prob-
ably mean a bigger role in the
whole of German life for the

labor movement. More backward
areas like Bavaria, where farmers
and peasants predominate, would
be less influenced by progressive
movements stemming from indus-
trial areas like Berlin and the

(Continued on Page 8)
See PEACE PROPOSALS

ee

PREMIER JOHN HART

Their government did not indi-
cate any major Concessions. ...

main legislative demands'as em-
bodied in the joint brief, placing
special emphasis on the need for
a 40-hour week and a minimum
wage of 75 cents an hour fo
workers in the province.

This week large advertisements
have appeared in newspapers
throughout the province to pub-
licize the need for labor’s de-
mands, Both the B.C. Federation
of Labor (CCL) and the Trades
and Labor Congress’ provincial ex-
ecutive have begun circulation of
a petition to enlist popular public
backing to the impending lobby,
with 300,000 signatures set as the
goal.

Vancouver Labor Council de-
cided to arrange a big public
rally, enlisting the aid of the
Trades and Labor Council, veter-
ans’ and pensioners’ groups, to be
held prior to the labor delegates
leaving for Victoria.

Five délegates were elected by

(Continued on Page 8)
See LOBBY

HERBERT ANSCOMB

. . would be made, but. la-
bor might change their minds.

Amidst all the pomp and
ceremony of pre-war days, the
second session of British Col-

umpia’s ‘Iwenty-first Legis-
lature got under way this
week. The Speech from the
Throne, which outlines major
legislative enactments to be intro-
duced by the government, indi-
cates this will be one of the
heaviest sessions for some years
—probably lasting seven, or per-
haps even eight weeks.

The Throne Speech, while -intro-
ducing a number of important
matters, nevertheless leaves much
to be desired. The fact that the
government has seen fit thus far
to ignore the popular demands
for labor legislation, such as
shorter hours, Workmen’s Comp-
ensation Act amendments, health
insurance, veterans’ housing needs,
as well as implementation of its
own Rehabilitation Committee Re-
port, demonstrates the urgent
need for mobilization of a power-
ful, united, people’s movement and
intensified political action by the
trade unions, farm organizations,
veterans’ and pensioners’ groups.

The only demand of the united
CCL-TLC brief mentioned in the
government policy pronouncement
is “modification of the Industrial
Conciliation and Arbitration Act.”
Authoritative sources predict the
amendment will be limited pretty
well to provisions of the Federal
Wartime Code PC 1003, which ex-
cludes a number of labor’s basic
demands, such as the right to
union security provisions.

Proposed government legisla-
tion includes: Adoption of the
Goldenberg Report; implementa-
tion of the Sloan Commission Re-
Port on forestry; approval of the
Dominion-Provincial agreement on
taxation; ten million dollar ‘in-
crease in capitalization for the
B.C. Power Commission; consid-
eration of extension of the gov-
ernment-owned PGE _ Railway;
some aid to farm settlement, land
clearance, dyking and _ irrigation;
amendment of the Provincial Elec-
tions Act; new controls on life
and health insurance and acci-
dent benefit societies; establish-

(Continued on Page 8)
See THIS WEEK