OL’ BILL

SHORT JABS

VEN in hospital one cannot get away from the ballyhoo sur-
rounding visiting potentates to Vancouver. Last week Canada’s

prime minister visited our city—to announce 4 possible “housing

program” which the LPP agitated, wrote and spoke for about five
years ago in its campaign for the building of a million low-cost homes.

Coming from the PM, the latest “housing program’ made big
news, helping people to forget that only a few months ago the same
PM declared emphatically that any government he had anything to

program, or words to that effect.

the belated interest in housing.
da ‘
However, it wasn’t housing that agitated the
staff and patients in Vancouver General Hospital
the day of the PM’s visit. Some brass hat (who
shonld be safely stowed away in the bughouse with
rt ex-U.S. secretary of defense Forrestal) had ordered
_@ plane to do a series of stunts around the hospital smokestack on
12th Avenue.. The main idea the pilot seemed to have was how
close he could zoom around the stack without hitting it.

Every hospital window facing the stack was framed with the
anxious faces of nurses and those patients able to get out of bed.
As the plane came roaring over the maternity hospital and around
the stack, the amazed onlookers expected to see a crash every minute
of the suicidal and altogether out-of-place performance.

Indignant nurses and patients were not exhilarated by this per-
formance, presumably staged to “welcome” the PM. They were
concerned about the injury and death that might follow, if the “fool”
at the controls, as many of the nurses called him, should miscalculate
a fraction of an inch. :

Such a “Roman holiday” staged for a visiting prime minister, in
the neighborhood of an overcrowded hospital, has. too close a re-
semblance to the “bread and circuses” of the Roman emperors by
which they sought to pacify their enslaved millions.

The general opinions of many nurses and patients—and many
of the latter felt the stupid demonstration far from restful, is
that a thorough investigation should be held to discover who,
authorized such a disgraceful stunt in the neighborhood of the
hospital, and to deal with such nitwits in the strictest possible
manner so as to assure that there will be no repeat performance.

If we must put on a war-like demonstration as befits a North
Atlantic pact promoting PM, let it be done where the risk to common
people on the street and in hospitals is totally removed. I might
add—if one can judge from reactions of our hospital population—
that St. Laurent didn’t win any votes from this suicidal aviation
display.

Pretty soon I hope to be in good enough shape to get back into
harness. Meantime, I want to thank all those good friends and
comrades who sent me so many flowers and good wishes while I
have been under the weather. In fact such kindness even made it
worthwhile being on the sick list. I would like to mention everybody
by name, but the “PT” isn’t big enough for that. However, here’s
a comradely handshake to all.

I have been looking over the drive results of this column, and
while they are not so hard to take as the reactions of a plane zoom-

do with would never support a low-cost housing

It naturally follows that the PM didn’t promise
any specified number of houses to be built. Per-
haps just enough to provide a bit of good election
bait. With a federal election in the offing, the
PM badly needs tc win votes for his party, hence

Peace delegate

Effie Jones, well-known com-
munity figure and active in wo-
‘men’s organizations (above) has
been named by the Women’s
Committee for Peace Action here
to represent them at the Nation-
al Peace Congress. This con-
gress will be held in Toronto on
May 6, 7 and 8.

Mrs. Jones was chosem as the
delegate at a tea meeting this
week. The committee will hold
another tea and sale of home
cooking and aprons on Wednes-
|. day, April 27, 2 p.m. in Pender
Canteen, 339 West Pender. Pro-
ceeds of the tea and sale will
be used for delegate’s fare and
expenses to Toronto, Guest speak-
er for the afternoon will be John
Stanton, who will speak on his
recent visit to England.

Sam Carr to
enter appeal

By MARK FRANK
—OTTAWA
Joseph Sedgwich, K.C., chief
counsel for Sam Carr, has announc-
ed that he will appeal County
Court Judge A. G. McDougall’s
sentence of six years to Kingston
penitentiary for “conspiring to ut-
ter a forged passport.”
Sole evidence upon which a jury
found Carr guilty was the verbal
testimony of Dr. John _ Soboloff,
who said Carr had asked him to
sign a false passport application
in 1945. (Soboloff, found guilty for
his part in the signing of the pass-
port at an earlier trial, was given

the same vicious role for profit-heavy

Using the:same ba¢k-door meth-
od the Lundeberg-dominated AFL
Alaska Fish’ Cannery Workers’
Union has signed a fink agree-
ment with the Alaska. Salmon
Industry, Inec., while the CIO Can-
nery Workers’ Local 7 is continuing
its negotiations for $40 monthly
wage increase, 40 hour’ week and
other demands. :

i

The Lundeberg group, a Sea-
farers’ International Union affil-
iate, signed a cdntract for its 190
members at seven small canneries
providing no wage increase and
opening the door to a resurgence
of the vicious “contractor system”
where workers are compelled to
buy jobs from foremen.

Conforming to the © pattern
’worked out in Canada, the agree-
ment also contained a clause giv-
ing “exclusive bargaining rights”
for 3,600 workers to the AFL un-
- ion. This was seen as an industry
attempting to sneak the cannery
‘workers’ jurisdiction away. from
Local 7.

_ Blasting the settlement, Local 7
Business Agent Ernie, Mangaoang
declared “it contains only one im-
provement — an improvement for
dead men. It provides insurance
coverage for workers flying north.”

He said the same proposal as
that accepted by the Lundeberg
outfit was rejected flatly by Local
7 negotiators.

Local 7 demands, in addition to
$40 monthly wage increases, are
for the 40 hour week with time and
one-half for overtime; a union hir-
ing hall free from industry con-
trol; an improved “miscellaneous
work” clause, providing overtime
pay for all non-cannery work; and
elimination of the “abandonment
of operations” clause which per-
mits the employers to duck out of
paying the seasonal guarantee.

The backdoor contract signed
by Ed Coester, former Sailors
Union official defeated for reelec-

bership, Mangaoang charged.

by these figures:
Average yearly profit of Alas-

SIU in back-door

deal with canners

—SEATTLE ~

_ The Seafarers International Union, which is now openly collaborat-
ing with Canadian shipping companies to break the strike they forced
on the Canadian Seamen’s Union in eastern Canada, is prepared to fill -

Alaska salmon packing corporations.

Bianco lauds
city Finnish
cultural work

Guest speaker at the B.C. Distzict
Finnish Organization of Canada
Musical Festival last Sunday, Vi
Bianco, LPP provincial candidate
for Vancouver East, paid a tribute
to the Finnish Organization’s great
contribution to Canadian culture.

“In contrast to the war propa-
ganda, thrown at us from all sides,”
declared Mrs. Bianco, “culture such
as your organization is promoting —
and- encouraging, reflecting the
true struggles of the people, will
give them confidence to create the
peace we all so passionately de-
sire.” ee
“Our government,” said the
speaker,’ has suddenly taken 2
great interest in’ cultural activities
in our country. It recently set up
a Royal Commission to investigate
and bring in recommendations
dealing with the arts and sciences.
In 1944 16 leading cultural organ-
izations in Canada presented 2
wide range of progressive recom-
mendations to the government for
the advancement of Canadian cul-
ture and art. The government
chose to ignore these recommend-
ations completely.

“Why this sudden interest in
culture on the part of the gov-
ernment now? Could it be that —
they wish to set up machinery to | °
control culture in our country—
to mould it along the lines of of-
ficial viewpoint? .

“All cultural organizations such |
as yours must press the govern- —
ment to have the Royal Commis-
sion democratically set. up, with

tion in Seattle, was okayed with-|wide representation from numerous
out being taken before the mem- | cultural and scientific bodies, 5°

that through a series of public

i . arings throughout, the country,

An indication of the huge prof- | hear I

its the SIU affiliate is helping the | the pa oie id the capaacber( be:

companies to protect is provided | heard. We don’t want ‘cann
ture in Canada.”

The speaker dealt with the Van- —

ing around a smokestack in the center of a crowded hospital, Ij a light fine for the offense.)
still think they could have been a lot, better. To date there is $739 Even the prosecution was sur-| $49,000. In 1947 that meager fig
, ° ~

in on a quota of $1,500. It isn't bad considering the fact that | prised at the severe sentence meted| ure had grown to $3,208,000 after
“prosperity” is no longer with us, and it isn’t so good either if we|out to Carr. .Jurors took 90 min- taxes, a percentage increase of
want to keep a fighting paper like the Pacific Tribune in the ring. utes to decide the case, which was! 6447 percent.

However, I know I will catch up with a lot of old timers during Hs das _ ish mato Paepdieal Alaska, Be acific Salmon Com-
the coming months, and while we may not ring the bell completing a ni whhthec ati vas. SRG Ree Lee fie be oo se eden Bay
our quota by May 1, we'll get the rest of that $1,500 somehow. I've| tered the toi: Of the jumia® 1200s ct Pa aes). ey
got strict orders from the doctor not to try and start a revolution While a ponderous effort was| 1947 its profit jumped 796 per.
in the next couple of months—but that order doesn’t include slacken-

made by the Crown to create the| Cent to $860,000 after taxes. This
ing - we — for the Pacific Tribune. That's one paper which impression of a vast “spy network,” | figure represented a return on

through the production of informer| "¢t worth of 47.7 percent.
Igor Gouzenko, an FBI spy, and
p ifi T ; ib :

“surprise witness’ M, N. Krieger
from Los Angeles, the attempt to
PLAN A WIDE DISTRIBUTION reas
FURTHER THE FIGHT FOR

paint Carr as a “master spy” flop-

ped. Instead, the Crown was forced
to prove its case on the basis of
the alleged signing of a false pass-
port application by Carr.
ORDER BUNDLES NOW FOR ALL MAY DAY AFFAIRS
Send In Your May Day Greetings

Personal, Organizations and Business Firms
Greeting Rates: Personal, $1.00 per name

At one point the Crown’s case
backfired, when Carr in his testi-
Organizations and Business Firms:* Special Rates

couver park board’s decision to bar
John Goss from giving the benefit
of his great musical talent to thé
B.C. Institute of Music and Drama-
“Are we, as citizens interested
in extending Canadian culture,
going to allow the park board te
get away with this fascist-like —
ruling?” Mrs. Bianco demanded.
“If persecution and discrimina-
tion as in the case of Goss is
tolerated now, it means that all
genuine people’s culture is en-
dangered.” ge

ka Packers from 1936-39 was

We Always Sell for Less

mony pointed to the fact that
one of his visits to Ottawa, alleg-
ed to have been made for the
purpose of contacting a Russian
Embassy official, was in fact an
occasion for “election negotia-
tions” with Liberal leaders, in-
cluding Health Minister Paul
Martin and Alan McLean, organ-
izer for the National Liberal
Federation.

. EAST END

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 22, 1919 — PAGE

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