“ALL MY LIFE’

A. E. Smith’s.biography

recalls jobless’ struggle

CANADA’S UNEMPLOYED and employed workers, facing
a bleak future as the country slides into another depression, can learn
a great deal about how to fight back by reading the late A. E.. Smith’s
biography, All My Life, just published by Progress Books, Toronto,
and available at the People’s Cooperative Bookstore, 337 West Pen-
der Street here. Relating one experience of the Hungry Thirties per-
iod, when he led the Canadian Labor Defense League which fought

|
in Memoriam!
WILLIAM BENNETT agemeee

‘‘Man’s dearest possession is life, and since it is given to him to live but once, he must
so live as to feel no torturing regrets for years without purpose; so Rve as not to be seared ss
with the shame of a cowardly and trivial past, so live, that dying, he can say, all my lifa ae
and all my strength were given to the fimest cause in all the world, the liberation of ‘
mankind.”’—V. 1: Lenin.

the battles of thousands of Cana-
dian workers, A. E. Smith writes:

At the end of 1929 the myth of
capitalist prosperity exploded.
The bubble burst. On October
29 and November 13 the Cana-
dian stock market crashes brought
a total loss estimated at $5,000,-
000,000. There were 7,000,000 un-
employed in the United States.
There were already half a mil-
lion unemployed in Canada.

My work called for’ many jour-
neys to Ottawa and I became
quite well known to many of the
dignitories of the government.
I recall one of these journeys
which took place a few months
after the famous general elec-
tions of 1930. The reins of office
had fallen, as it were, from the

mised to blast his way into new
world markets.

At this point the workers’ Uni-
ty League took the field and
challenged the attention of Mr.
Bennett. The right-wing policies
in the AFL, with splittings and
expulsions, forced the formation
of the WUL as a vehicle of eco-

‘nomic self-defense for the work-

ers. This militant left-wing
group, under the leadership of
Tom McEwen, had succeeded in
organizing its forces in numerous
industrial centres across Canada.
The problem of unemployment
was first on the agenda with the
WUL. Three main demands were
advanced for action: 1) Non-con-
tributory unemployment insur-
ance, 2) A five day week with a
seven-hour day, 3) A minimum
wage of $25 per week for men
and women workers.

The WUL prepared a bill em-
bodying these proposals for pre-
sentation, as a government mea-
sure, to parliament. A monster
petition was circulated which
secured over 100,000 signatures
calling for this program to be
adopted. They proposed to ap-
pear in Ottawa and to place their
proposals and petition before the
new premier. I had taken an
active part in the campaign and
the request was made that I
should arrange an appointment
for the delegation to see Mr.
Bennett. .

The auspicious day arrived in
April, 1931. The ‘delegation, with
Tom at its head, entered the buil-
ding and was ushered into the

Railway Committee Room, a huge
chamber capable of seating some
300 people. We were 35 in all.

Suddenly, a door opens and
Mr. Bennett enters. He lays
down his walking stick, removes
his gloves and swings out of his
light’ coat, placing them, along
with his hard hat, on a chair
near the door.

He dashes to the platform and
seats himself. “I want some pa-
per!” he exclaims’ in a loud voice,
The flunkeys all begin to dash
about hunting for paper. In a
minute one of them runs to the
desk with a bundle of about 500
sheets and drops it before the
great man. “Now,” he shouts,
and this is the first notice of us
he condescends to take, “I want

“Smith, what’s your name and
where do you live?” All of our
names were asked for and writ-
ten down on paper with his own
hand. He was in a fit of ill-
humor.

Our delegation was 90 percent
made up of English-Canadian
workers. Mr. Bennett had ex-
pected he would receive .names
of foreign born people which he
could hand over to the police for
intimidation and, possibly depor-
tation. .

“What have you got to say?”
was the next remark from the
gentleman, on the platform. He
pointed his question again at me.
I introduced Tom as the leader
and spokesman of the delegation.

In reply to McEwen’s clear and
decisive statements, the prime
minister arose in stiff formality
as if to deliver judgment in court.

This man’s words were amazing

for their utter irrelevance and
bombastic pretense. We were in-
formed that the destitution which
prevailed among working people
was due to “wasteful living” and
“unwise investments”. He de-
nounced unemployment  insur-
ance. It would undermine the
“free institutions’ of Canada...

The last I saw of Mr. Bennet
that day was as we were going
out, I looked back and Bennett

was shaking his finger angrily at -

Tom and shouting: “I'll not be

misrepresented by you, young

man.” :

And Tom shouted back: “Never
fear, I’ll not misrepresent you,
Mr. Bennett.”

Stalin: Political Biography

since we have had to carry on our
work without Lenin, there has
been no major development in

our labors, no innovation, no slo-/

gan, or trend of policy .. . of
which Comrade Stalin was not
the author . .. the mighty and
organizational genius of this man
ensure. our party the timely ac-

complishments of the big histori- .

cal turns involved in the victori-
ous construction of socialism.”
* * *

How true did this prove in the
whole struggle for peace carried
on by the Soviet Union? Today
when Wall Street and its Cana-
dian imperialist puppets hysteri-
cally forward the “cold war’ it
is well to remember Stalin’s pro-
phecies that the results of the
reactionary policy of appeasing
Hitler would end in a fiasco ‘for

»

the appeasers!

The genius of Marxist-Leninist
action and strategy was shown
at its best during the course of
he second world war, climaxed
in the glorious battle of Stalin-
grad, which saved not only the
Soviet Union but the world from
the -Hitler-fascist hordes.

This compass of Leninism—un-
der the direction of the great
Stalin, will help the Canadian
people to better find the answer
to their problems and to under-
stand, that scientific socialism—
now either built or in’ structure
in a third of the world—is the
inevitable path which Canadians
through their majority must tra-
verse as the only path that can
lead them to lasting peace, peo-
ple’s democracy, happiness and
a better life. —BECKIE BUHAY

CENTRAL BURNABY CLUB,

Pr

WATERFRONT CLUB, LPP
ELLEN, BETTY AND DUSTY

GREENWELL,

SOUTH WELLINGTON

HENRY SPENCER,
CHEMAINUS

MR. AND MRS. CHEN

| adroit hands of Mr. King, and the names and addresses of all ALF BINGHAM ED AND MARIA BENGER 3
had been eagerly grasped by the of you.” s
heavy hands of Mr, Bennett, the He began with me, because he :

; unhappy premier who had pro- happened to know my osname. |

Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie, dust unto dust,
The calm sweet earth that mothers all who die, as all men must.

Mourn not your captive comrades who must dwell, too strong to ‘strive,
Within each steel bound coffin of a cell, buried alive.

But rather mourn the apathetic throng, the cowed and the meek,
Who see the world’s great anguish and its wrong, and dare not speak.

—RALPH CHAPLIN, IWW POET.
NORTH VANCOUVER CLUB, LPP

The news of the death of Comrade Bill Bennett grieved us profoundly. He was
one of the staunchest fighters in the struggle to build a happier society. We pledge

ourselves to carry that struggle forward, to the establishment of a communist society.

NANAIMO AREA COMMITTEE, LPP

The members of our club will greatly miss our beloved Conwade Bill Bennett, who
dedicated his whole life to the cause of the working class in their struggle for emancipation.
We will honor Ol’ Bill by pledging to redouble our efforts in the fight towards socialism

and a classless society.

WOODWORKERS CLUB, LPP, NANAIMO

We were deeply grieved to hear of the passing of our comrade, OF Bill. He was’
always in the forefront of the workers’ struggle for their emancipation and to build a

ABE KARME
J. G. ARCHIBALD
MRS. HARRIETT PARKER

CHINESE WORKERS’
PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

FAIRVIEW - MOUNT y.
PLEASANT CLUB, LPP 3

RUTH AND BILL TURNER

happier society, We vow to carry forward the fight that Comrade Bill Bennett ‘dedi-
cated his life to, the building of a socialist Canada.

NANAIMO AREA CLUB, LPP , i

EXTENSION CLUB LPP and swmpathizers regret to hear of the death of thai —

or Bill believed that the bingdout of ian must be created not in heaven but or}

tion of tens of thousands of workers.

beloved veteran of labor, William (Ol' Bill) Bennett. While the passing of our Com-
rade Bill is a severe loss to the working class movement, it can be overcome by each one

of us increasing our efforts to bring about those things he fought for.

» EXTENSION CLUB, LPP

ih is:

earth. He worked for more than 50 years to help create # and won the love and devo;

BURRARD SECTION, LPP

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 13, 1950—PAGE li