This striking drawing illustrates the fear “cold war’’ policies have laid upon the Be of the pegree and their culture. GUIDE TO GOOD READING It can be lified only through a successful fight for peace. Steuben sums up the strike, its history, how to use if THE FIRST BOOK of its kind and, perhaps, one of the most im- portant yet written for members and leaders of the labor move- ment, John Steuben’s Strike Stra- tegy, published by Gaer Associates and available here at the People’s Cooperative Bookstore, 337 West Pender, summarizes the accumu- lated experience of U.S., labor since its early days more than 125 years ago—especially in the development and use of the strike weapon. It is a book which is based frankly on the recognition of the class struggle—and the need by the trade union movement of de- veloping the skill and leadership necessary in that struggle. Its author, John Steuben, has a long and varied experience in or- ganized labor. Presently the sec- retary-treasurer of the AFL Hotel Service Employees Union in New York City, Steuben came into na- tional prominence in the famous “Little Steel” strike of 1937. At that time, a major strike movement which eventually re- sulted in victory against Tom Girdler and the Republic Steel in- terests contributed tremendous ex- perience to the labor movement. Steuben, a member of the original staff of the Steel Workers Organ- izing Committee, and in charge of the Republic strike, liberally from those experiences in his book. The book has, as a result, the great virtue of being based on actual experience, and‘on facts particularly drawn from ‘the great steel strike movements of 1919 as well as of 1936-37-38. * * * STRIKE STRATEGY is divided into four major sections. In the first part, there is full elaboration of the meaning of strikes, their history and develop- ment, and the basic principles of strategy and tactics which are common to all strike movements. Particularly noteworthy in this section is Steuben’s able treatment of the relationship of strike move- ments to politics, and especially the approach the employers have made to that question. While labor had_ to learn, through many bitter experiences, that successful strikes could not be conducted without considera- has drawn tion of politics, employers from the beginning attacked labor with economic and political weapons simultaneously. The importance to labor of “working class politics” is clearly defined in this section. In the second section, Steuben has skilfully laid down some of the basic ‘principles necessary for a successful Every clement of strategy and tactics is handled. Thus, we have in the second section of the book what can be considered a manual for trade unionists in consider- ation of the problems of any strike. , Part three is a careful elabor- ation of the accumulated exper- ience of strike-breaking used by employers throughout the years. Steuben has made a valuable contribution in this section. He has in precise terms given labor a composite picture of the tech- niques used by various employer groups in their efforts to thwart or break strikes. One of the most interesting as- pects of this section is the treat- ment of developing trade union understanding of employer tactics, and how in recent times labor has more and more learned how not to make the same mistake twice. This is demonstrated by the workers of Remington Rand, who in 1947 roundly defeated the com- pany and its president, James H. Rand, author of the notorious Mo- hawk Valley formula for strike- breaking which was used success- fully against the workers in 1936. In part four, Steuben outlines the qualifications for union and strike leadership. Every trade unionist would do well to study this section and its application to his union and his own situation. ‘ Le eee AS A BASIC guide to the labor movement, Strike Strategy offers the aecumulated experience of years of various types of union struggles. Every trade unionist should own a copy of this book. It should be an indispensable part of his library and his study. One obvious. shortcoming is worthy of mention. While noting the various em- ployer formulas for breaking strikes, and how to meet them, Steuben loses sight of another type—the role of labor misleader- strike movement., ship in selling out and breaking strike movements. This is especially important if it is recognized that a good sec- ' tion of organized labor today oper- ates under various international charters and constitutions — the greatest part of which expressly forbid strike action without sanc- tion from the appropriate union authority, Under the cloak of these regu- lations, labor misleadership has from time #0 time succeeded where open employer tactics have failed. Because local unions cannot, with few exceptions, just go ahead and call a strike,-strategy and tactics of strike struggle today must take such matters into con- sideration. A statement of the experiences sof labor in contending with such problems, and particularly with labor misleadership, in the de- velopment of strike strategy, would, in our judgment, enhance the contribution Steuben has ob- viously made. —LEON KAPLAN. 300 TITLES LISTED People’s Bookstore opens lending library IN A CITY whose public library facilities have long lagged behind growth of population and are generally recognized as being the worst of any comparable city in the country, the opening of a new lending library is of more than casual interest to those who find many of the books they want to read unobtainable at the public library and beyond their means to purchase. When the lending library contains a wide selection of books of particular interest to progressives it is serving a need felt by increasing numbers of working people in these days of high prices and growing unemployment. . The People’s Cooperative Book- store, 337 West Pender Street, here, informed the Pacific Tribune this week that its lending library was now open, with an initial selection of more than 300 titles which will be added to each month. “We have been planning this lending library for some time and it was only lack of space that pre- vented us from opening it before this,’ Mervyn Marks, the manager, stated this week. “Our purpose is to make pro- gressive books available to all, and it is a fact, unfortunately, that many people who want to read certain books can’t afford them ‘at the high prices of ordin- ary editions — I'm not talking about cheap reprints, which are within the’ reach of most people, but books in which there may be considerable interest_although still insufficient to justify cheap edi- tions.” é Marks said that the People’s Co- operative Bookstore would be glad to receive donations of books from Pacific Tribune readers—Books should be read and circulated, not used as house furnishings,’ he commented—in order to expand the lending library as rapidly as possible. Titlés now in the library include the works of Howard Fast, James Barke’s series of Robert Burns novels, Ilya Ehrenburg’s. works, including The Storm, works, as part of a wide selection of both fiction and non-fiction. Tolstoy’s CHINESE AIM: Help people build culture A CQMMITTEE of 45 members, | headed by Lao She, popular writer who returned recently from, the United States, has been elected to lead the Peking Writers and Art- ists Association, formed in Peking | this month at a conference of writers and artists addressed by Premier Chou En-lai. The conference unanimously agreed that writers and artists should not only educate the people through their own works but should also help them to master arts and literature themselves. The conference also decided on measures to develop literature and arts in factories, to reform the ancient arts and literature which are still popular among a great number of people and to create new art and literature for the youth and children. - At its closing session, the con- ference sent a message to the World Peace Congress supporting the Stockholm peace appeal. i Publish Stalin on China BULGARIA’S LARGEST pub- lishing house, Szikra, has brought out a book containing all Stalin’s writings on China and the strug- gle for independence of the Chi- nese people. The book, which was published in honor of “Book Day”, also contains some extracts from Stalin’s great work on the colonial question, Cpajinent ou Plene. The quality’s down and the price is up ..“. VAN WAAS, Vancouver, B,“.: The following letter was sent to the Family Herald and Weekly Star, Montreal, over two months ago, but so far has not been print- ed: I have been in this country since 192i and subscribed tc the Family Herald all the time. I always read the Voice of the Farm and this is the first time that I have written About. some beef or beefs. When I came to the Alberta homestead I could buy a fairly deceut smoking tobacco for cigar- edies for 55 cents per one-half pcund. Now it costs $i. 18 and then again I can hardly ‘smoke it. I have to use three or four matches for each cigarctte rolled by my- “self. The cigarette papers are lousy, 400. At 55 cents per one-half pound the tobacco contained 65 percent Canadian-grown and 35 percent U.S, and other tobaccos, During the, late war the government de- cided not to allow tobacco from cther countries and so the manu- facturers had to use Canadian to- bacco only. Now this country is not suited for tobacco growing and therefore the tobacco stinks and won’t burn. The war has teen over five years and why could we not get some better smoking tobacco? °§ The chewing tobacco I have. always used is now full of stalks and sticks. ‘ When T was on the homestead we had a cow of our own and my: PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 16, 1950—PAGE 10 wife made butter that had a !ove- ly taste. Now while living in Van- couver, I buy butter from Alberta, mostly, and it has hardly any taste at all. How come? As long as I have been here I have never been able to buy a No. 1 potato of any kind. They are always No. 2 or No. 3, full of rot- ‘ten-spots on the outside and some- times on the inside too, What are they doing with the No. 1 potatoes, or Can they not grow any in B.C.? I would grow my own potatoes put the last four or five years MY potatoes have always been soggy? not mealy at all. ’ If any readers would give me 4 tip about the questions asked i? this letter I would surely appre ciate it. I hope you will print this letter as something has to be done because I and most workers here cannot afford to smoke cigars.