UNIONS PLAN VICTORIA TREK toms Cn, ote: | By BERT WHYTE Vancouver Labor Council this week decided to send a mass lobby to Victoria during the early stages of the legislative ses- sion to press for action on B.C. Federation of Labor’s demand for a crash program to relieve unemployment. Delegates also called on the federal government to declare a national emergency to deal with the jobless crisis, after brand- ing “entirely unsatisfactory” a letter from Labor Minister Michael Starr which minimized the unemployment situation. Council has called a meeting on unemployment for Janu- ary 23 with representatives of all municipalities within VLC jurisdiction, church groups, Canadian Legion branches and other interested organizations. arent Siting Vol. 18 No. 1 Phone MUtual 5-5288 Authorised as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa 10c VANCOUVER, B.C. FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1959 LONDON — “Triumph of Communism.” This is how the London Daily Worker heads its editorial comment on the Soviet Union’s success in breaking out of the earth’s gravitational field to put its One and a quarter-ton cosmic rocket into orbit around the sun — the first man-made planet. The paper’s comment reads in part: In October 1920 Winston Churchill wrote in the Sunday Express: “Let the Bolsheviks drop Communism. Let them leave off enforcing this un- natural. system which para- lyses human effort and dries up the springs of enterprise and wealth. ‘Tf they will not do so, nothing will save the cities and towns of Russia or the economic and scientific appa- ratus of the country. We shall soon be increasingly in the presence of that complete downfall of every form of life in Russia, except village life, which Mr. Wells foresees.” But yesterday, (January 4,) 38 years after, the same Sun- day Express wrote: “One day the journey of Planet III (the Rocket triumph of communist idea Soviet moon rocket)) will be ranked with that primitive spark of fire among the turn- ing-points in man’s progress.” Churchill, the cunning, ex- perienced, shrewd capitalist statesman, and H. G. Wells, the brilliant novelist and self- appointed prophet of the fu- ture, were both utterly, wildly, ludicrously wrong. The country and the system which they wrote off have put a new planet into the solar system inscribed with the words: “Union of Socialist Soviet Republics.” Lenin, whom Wells called “the Dreamer in the Kremlin,” was a hundred times right as, amid the devastation, chaos, backwardness and grim pov- erty of Russia in 1920, he look- ed forward into the future and ‘foresaw the triumphs of Com- munism. Stalin many years ago set the Soviet people the aim of first catching up, and then overtaking, the United States. Now it is the United States which has to do the catching up in this major sphere of Continued. on page 3 See SUN ROCKET Labor Minister Starr’s re- jection of labor’s demand that Ottawa pay unemployment benefits to all jobless brought several delegates to the mike in angry voice. “Over 8,000 workers in this Whalen out in IWA vote In a keenly contested elec- tion between two rival groups seeking office in the leader- ship of International Wood- workers’ Local 1-217, Lloyd Whalen, president of the 6,000- member local for approxi- mately 10 years has been swept out of office. Successor to Whalen was Syd Thompson, a comparative newcomer to the coast IWA, who received 2,589 votes to Whalen’s 2,030. With the exception of the big local’s third vice-president Charles Lamarche, who held his position by a slim major- ity of 15 votes, and Andy Paul, warden, who squeezed in by a few votes, the entire Whalen “slate” went down to defeat, despite the fact that interna- tional and district executive officials campaigned actively in support of the Whalen lead- ership, with red-baiting ex- tensively resorted to during the campaign. According to IWA rank-and-_ file opinion, the vote, to oust the Whalenforces in numerous Vancouver and Lower Main- land plants and mills ran as high as 90 percent of the plant crews. Prime. cause of the dramatic ouster is said to be Continued on page 7 See WHALEN area aren’t eligible for unem- ployment insurance benefits,” said Wyman Trineer (IWA). “The Canadian people were urged to ‘Follow John’ be- fore the last federal election —it looks as though we’ve fol- lowed: him over the hill and into the valley of another de- pression.” “The biggest trouble we have is to catch John,” commented Sam Jenkins (Marine Work- ers). “We need a real caval- cade to Victoria and then per- haps we Should keep it going all the way to Ottawa and roll those guys right out of office. “There aren’t any less unem- ployed today — there are just less drawing unemployment in- surance. Ottawa says it doesn’t want to extend benefits be- cause that would deplete the unemployment insurance fund. I say balderdash.” “People whose only ‘crime’ is that they are jobless should Continued on back page See LABOR LOBBY oe . “Victoria must act on a jobs program now.” This will be the theme of a public rally sponsored by Vancouver Com- mittee of the Labor-Progres- sive Party to. be held Sunday, January 18, 2 p.m. in Pender Auditorium here Featured speakers will be Harold Prit- chett (above) and Mrs. Mona Morgan. WORK NOW AIM OF MASS LAB Gov't aid ‘less than crumbs. NANAIMO, B.C.—A confer- ence on unemployment spon- sored by Nanaimo and District Labor Council in the Hub City last Sunday brought together 53 delegates representing some 28 local unions from Duncan and Parksville areas. Two later conferences of a similgr na- ture are scheduled to be held shortly at Courtenay and Port Alberni. When all three conferénces have been completed a Labor Council co-relating committee has been assigned the job of compiling all conference de- liberations and proposals in a projected “plan of action” on unémployment. Strong criticism was voiced by sonte delegates of the idea of three conferences instead of ‘one all-inclusive Vancouver Island conference at which some immediate action ‘on the unemployment crisis ~ could have been taken. Some dele- gates regarded the triple con- ference ideas as a deliberate delaying tactic so as to avoid the necessity and urgency of action now. + A resolution proposed by IWA delebate Walter Tick- son called for a mass trek of trade unionists and unemploy- ed to Victoria during the legis- lative session and advanced the demand for an emergency “crash” program to provide 75,000 jobs in the province now. The resolution was “en- dorsed in principle” and re- fered to the correlating com- mittee. Arnold Smith, vice-president of the Nanaimo Labor Coun- cil, described Ottawa’s muni- cipal aid program as ridiculous and ineffective. “There are today 99,502 un- employed in B.C.,” said Smith, . Continued on page 7 See UNEMPLOYMENT CONFERENCE | | | | | | i | | | | | 1 | | | -f | | | 4 | | | } | i | | | |