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ritish Columbia

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It’s not often that I pay tribute to the
memory of a leading member of the capi-
talist media, but this time I want to make
an exception. That exception concerns
Hal Straight, former managing editor of
the Vancouver Sun in the 1930s and
1940s, who passed away Feb. 12 at the
age of 79.

To many newspaper people in Can-
ada, and. especially in Vancouver,
Straight was a legendary figure who
helped many young promising writers in
their career. It’s not my purpose in writ-
ing this article to recall his journalistic
talents, but to relate his association with
the Pacific Tribune over many years, and
his relationship with Tom McEwen and I
in the 1960s when we edited the paper
during some very difficult days.

By 1962, the Tribune had reached a
crisis, having shrunk to eight three-
quarter tabloid pages. To compound the
crisis, the print shop we dealt with went
out of business and we had to find a new
shop to print the paper. Shops we
approached either would not take the
paper Or quoted prices which were out of
reach. The cold war was at its height and
that was undoubtedly a factor for the
many refusals we got.

The crisis coincided with Hal Straight’s
purchase of a print shop in North Van-
couver which was publishing a small
community paper. When we approached
him, he immediately agreed to print the
paper and quoted a price we could live
with.

The shop had an ancient press which
often broke down. Many were the nights
Tom and I worked late into the night as
the pressmen and linotype operators
tried to produce the paper on their worn
out equipment. But Straight urged us to
stay on because he was planning a large
scale expansion of the community paper
and his printing business.

Finally he made the move to a large
enterprise near the Second Narrows
Bridge and brought in the latest equip-
ment and a modern offset press. His new
shop was the first large enterprise to go
offset, then a new process which was
revolutionizing the printing industry.
The process was blessing for the Tribune
because it enabled the paper to repro-
duce entire pages and features from
other papers such as the Canadian Trib-
une and the U.S. Communist press at
very little cost. It also enabled the use of
photographs and illustrations at little

‘additional expense, and provided the
opportunity to use colour.

The first paper to come off Straight’s
new offset press was the Tribune.

A last tribute to a
maverick publisher

Maurice
Rush

Straight himself was there that day to
share a bottle of the best Scotch whisky
with Tom and me for being the first to
produce a paper on his new equipment.
He even took a few copies as a souvenir.

Later he confided to me that some
officials had been around to inquire
about his shop printing the paper. He
said he told them it was none of their
business and that we had the right to put
out our paper. He was big enough in the
newspaper field not to be intimidated by
the authorities. “Anyway”, he told me,
“it was good business for him to have a
steady weekly paper.”

Over the years that the paper was
printed at Horizon Press, Straight was
often there on publication day and he.
always found time to engage Tom and me
in conversations about events in the
world and Canada. He was a very well
informed man and a good listener.

On one occasion I wrote a feature in
the Tribune exposing the big business
connections of the directors of the Van-
couver Sun. He asked if he could take a
few copies. I didn’t know what he was
going to do with them, but a week later I
found out.

He told me he had taken them to the
head office of the Vancouver Sun and
showed the article to some of the top
directors. One of them berated him for
printing a Communist paper and “stuff
like that.” ‘“‘Well,” Straight told me, “I
told him everything in that article is true,
isn’t it? He had no reply.”

When finally a new management took
over and he was preparing to sell the
business, we decided to move on to
another shop which was more conve-
nient. He was there when the final issue
of the was run off to say goodbye. “You
know”, he said, “I’m a capitalist and I
believe in the capitalist system and I want
to get everything out of the system I can,
but I know that in the end, you guys are
going to win’’. As we shook hands I said,
“Hal, I’m sure you're right.” That was
the last time I saw Hal Straight until I
read about his death this week — and it
brought back memories.

ANKIN
; ae

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Classified Advertising

COMING EVENTS

FEB. 24 — Public forum: Behind the scandals
and splits in Vander Zalm government and
Socred caucus. Speaker: Maurice Rush, B.C.
leader, Communist Party. 1726 E. Hastings St.
7:30 p.m. Auspices: Centre for Socialist Educa-
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MAR. 1 — Hear Hannan Haolikein report
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“What effect has foreign debt on the women of
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MAR. 4 — Vice-president of Salvaide will be
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7 p.m. Admission free. Reception to follow.

MAR. 18 — Tribute banquet to honour Ernie
Knott. Victoria. All friends and comrades
invited. Tickets: $20. Some accommodation
available. To purchase tickets call: Dian
254-9836 in Vancouver; Nadya 386-8075 in
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KAMLOOPS

MARXIST-LENINIST discussion group, open
to all on 2nd Wed. of each month. 7:30 p.m. at
North Kamloops Library. For info 376-7110.

TRIB LENDING LIBRARY — 242 Larch Ave.
Lots of labour and progressive literature for
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EMPLOYMENT

TWO FULL-TIME, two part-time positions
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NOTICES

MANY THANKS to dear friends and comrades
for their best wishes, flowers and cards.
Viola Swann

COMMERCIAL

TRIB PHOTOS — Would you like a specific
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GRAMMA PUBLICATIONS. Complete print-
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LEGAL SERVICES

RANKIN, BOND, McMURRAY. Barristers
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CONSTANCE FOGAL. Family law, wills and
estates. #401-207 W. Hastings St., 687-0588.

DIRECTORY

COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA office
located at 1726 E. Hastings St., Van., VSL 1S9.
Phone: 254-9836. Office hours: 9:30-12 noon;
1-5 p.m. Mon. to Fri. For information on political
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HALLS FOR RENT

RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — Available for
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Classified advertising rates $1.25 per line per
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New Titles

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Pacific Tribune, February 20, 1989 e 11