* PT FLASHBACK -

: 2 couple | of months later.

After riding head end through
_ the Coquahalla Pass, we arrived
at our destination, somewhere
around four o'clock in the
morning, hungry, tired’ and
cold. : :
We had an address on a slip
of paper and set out to find the
‘house. After waking the good
_ people, we were taken in and
treated like royalty. The whole
_ family got up to greet us and
before long we were busy
with the ham and eggs.

Fs

he situation. It was decided that

rs we keep out of sight for a few

he days while arrangements were
s-_ being made to call a mass

After that meeting (which
was a huge success) the town
started to fill up with provincial
police. “‘Polley’s Hocligans,‘ we
| called.them — Pooley being

_ the attorney-general at that
time. -

‘for € every one of them. One was
4 “Dogtace,” another “Rat” and a
third “Mushmouth.” 3

_ These police intruders, un-

-comed by the coal miners.

“Inspector McDonald from
Nelson was in charge of this
force and set a pattern for ar-
rogance. One day I was ejected

_ from his office by two burly

/ A In between mouthfuls Nick,
’ our contact, filled us in on the ©

- meeting of the striking miners.-

Slim Evans had a pet name

like ourselves, were not wel-

By STAN LOWE

henchmen, just because I did
not remove my lid while ad-
dressing him.

Slim Evans took great delight
in getting a rise from these uni-
formed “gentlemen.” Once -we
wrote a note and hid it in the
lining of his suitcase. During
one of the ‘periodic searches,
organized for the purpose of
intimidation; the police found

this important document, open- ——

ed it eagerly, and read:
“Pooley’s Hooligans are a nosey
bunch of bas———S.”

As the strike developed the
issues became clear cut and
miners demanded an answer
from every citizen to the ques-
tion “Which side, are you on?”

Businessmen who supported
‘the company were given a wide
berth, while some local girls
who fraternized with the police
found themselves without part-

-ners at the union dances.

Evans was a mountain of

‘energy. It kept us jumping to

keep up_ with his plans and
proposals. A women’s auxiliary ,
had to be organized, aS well as
a youth group and a children’s
group. ‘ \ .

The Canadian Labor Defense
League sent in: an organizer,
and we gave him a hand in his

work. A strike relief campaign —

was started and a kitchen set
up in, the union headquarters.

February ‘clean-up’

month for PT subs

February is “clean up” month

for sub renewals, and with
- gome 85 January renewals not
A yet picked up, plus another
100 “left-overs” from Novem-

ber and December last year,

ress clubs have a big job to
0...
The only way to succeed is
to begin door-knocking and
_ asking delinquent readers to
_ renew.

It’s a simple method, but
: ane that always works.

_ Several press clubs have
_ written us about their proposed
targets for 1959, and at least
four clubs have voluntarily in-
creased their quotas, while

A few press clubs inform us
that they are already planning
for the March-April financial
drive. “In our club,” says one
press director, “we hope that
every member will raise $25
and become a Press Builder
this year.”

. That’s the kind of news we

like to hear.

Then there is the supporter
who simply signs her letter,
“Madam X.” She writes:

“I won't tell you how much
money I raised during the
last press drive, but I will say,
that I intend to hit the $200
mark this year, and maybe
T’ll challenge Bill Hrehrechuk
for the-top spot.” oy

You can’t scare us, lady~

hich side are ‘you on?”

zs Arthur Evans and I left Vancouver for Princeton on a bitter caia night during Novem-
_ ber, 1931, grabbing a handfull of boxcars as they slithered by at Gore Avenue and Powell
| Street. We were bound for Princeton, where coal miners had’ struck the Tulameen Mine.
| We came back deluxe on the cushions with an escort and a handful of bracelets, but that was

The menu was hoteakes and
mowich (venison) stew.
Corporal Thompson stormed
in one morning demanding to
know where the venison had
come from. “Maybe Santa Claus
brought it,” someone suggest-
ed. The corporal ran out to
find the game warden, but
when they returned the meat
could not be found.
During our “spare” time we
organized the unemployed and
led a demonstration to the

court house. This peaceful
gathering was attacked by po-

lice’ swinging their billies in_

every direction.
One morning shortly after

this incident the town echoed .

with hoof beats. The “Cos-
sacks” had come to town.

That night a huge fiery cross

‘was burned on the hillside,

signifying that the local Ku
Klux Klan was going to lend
the company a hand.

John Baruch (later killed in
Spain) was the first casualty.
Caught on the bridge between
two cars, he was badly beaten
up and thrown in the river.
But he survived this ordeal
and after a few weeks, was
back in the thick of things,
selling the labor press.

The pressure was now on in
earnest, police walking three
abreast, often forcing miners off
the’sidewalk. Picket lines were
attacked. Organizers were ar-
rested and beaten up in jail.
Homes were broken into, with-
out warrants, and strikers “in.
terrogated.”

But in spite of the arrests
and the terror, new leaders
came forward. Evans and other
organizers, such as George
Cassian and Bill Gee, had
given them courage and shown
them the way to fight back.
A “Workers’ Defense Corps”
was set up and went into’ ac-

~ tion.

For many it was a valuable
education — an experience
never to be forgotten. Here
was the class struggle stripped
of all frills and subtleties.
Class lines had been drawn in
no uncertain manner. Every-
one came up against the big,
important question. of our
times: “Which side are you
on?” ;

Are hockey goalies a little crazy? They have the most
dangerous job in hockey with pucks flying in their direc-
tion at speeds of 100 to 120 miles an hour. No wonder so
many goalies suffer nervous breakdowns. Photo shows
acrobatic Terry Sawchuk of Detroit Red Wings.

Gert Whyte ¢

SPORTLIGHT

chuk, pictured in action above

aad and court cases are”

so common in B.C, that it’s
no wonder a section of the
sports public became a little
confused when Victoria an-
nounced it was setting up a
horse ‘racing commission.

“What’s up, Doc?” the bang-
tail followers wanted to know.

Rest easy, fellow punters.
This isn’t a royal commission
to find out how we lost all
that money at the track. It’s
simply a body to regulate
horse racing, all same like
Ontario has had these many
years.

The four-member commis-
sion will settle racing dates,
purses and track appointments,
etc., etc.

It was announced in the
speech from the throne be-
cause racing has become big
business — last year the gov-
ernment received a million
and. a, quarter dollars from
racing in B.C,

xt % 5

Patrons of the turf get clip-
ped, and how. The takeout tax
for racing in this province is
21% percent, of which the pro-
vincial government gets 12 per-
cent, the tracks nine and the
federal government half of
one percent. 4

In Alberta the takeout is
only 14% percent. Figure out
that one, Sherlock.

It’s easy to see why horse
players in B.C. die broke.

eos og ut

In the last five years the
six teams in the National
Hockey League have used up
30 goalkeepers. Proof positive
that a goalie’s lot is not an
easy one.

Take the case of Terry Saw-

.

this column. ;

In 1957 Terry was with Bos-
ton, riding high, his team on
top of the heap in January.

Suddenly he disappeared.
When found at his home in
Detroit he was under a doc
tor’s care, suffering from a
nervous condition.

He played no more that year,
was traded to Detroit in the
off season. Now, his shattered
nerves repaired, he’s back in
goal with the Red Wings.

xt % %

The big buildup is on for a
heavyweight title bout be-
tween Ingemar Johansson,
Sweden’s ring pride, and Floyd
Patterson. *

It reminds me of the bally-
hoo before the Dempsey-Car-
pentier fight back in 1921.
Gorgeous George, a natural
light-heavyweight, had a fine
right hand but was obviously
no match for the savage Demp
sey, then at the height of his

‘career.

So wily Tex Rickard, the

promoter, kept Carpentier out —

of sight almost until the day
of the match: Glowing stories
emanated from the French-
man’s training camp; about his
splendid war record, his good
looks, his perfect manners, his
attractiveness to women.
Before they climbed into the
ring Rickard visited Dempsey’s

dressing room and whispered

in the chiamp’s ear: “T’ve got
a million-dollar gate. Don’t kill
him the first round, please,
Jack.”

Dempsey took it easy for
three rounds, then put Car-
pentier away in the fourth.
Everyone went home satisfied,
and the Golden Age of Box-
ing was ushered in.

January 30, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 7