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Democracy versus . ..', !

Editor, Pacific Tribune: “
In the various discussions be-
tween Molotov and Bevin on the
definition of ‘democracy’, the lat-
ter is reported to have said that
he could not understand the
Russian idea of democracy at
all. There is little to wonder at
in his inability because he has
been brought up to believe, like
Most people in the capitalistic
World, in ‘formal logic’ and not
Gialectical materialism.

That our Western concept of
democracy is a negation of its
°wn principles and is actually
Wndemocratic, can be easily
demonstrated. Government of
the people, by the people and
for the people, is I think a
_ fairly reasonable definition of
democracy, and I. believe it is
reasonable to assert that such a
Sovernment would function in

the interests of the mass of the
People.

On the other hand, a fascist
Severnment works against the
Interests df the common people
8S a whole, because it takes
away all the freedoms won by
the struggles of their forefath-
€rs. Our Western minds _ pro-
fess to think that it is undemo-
‘ratic to suppress of free ex-
Pression, even when that ex-
Pression, has for its object, the
utter destruction of democracy
_ 88 defined, and this a fascist

‘S0vernment would do. This is
Carrying ‘formal logic’ to the
Point of absurdity, which is
Quite stupid and definitely anti-
-Gemocratic.

Here in Canada, we have Ad-

_ Tien Areand,. chief of Canadian

Fascists, and in Britain Sir Os-

Wald Moseley, both permitted to

Preach their hellish doctrine

Without any restraints from

_ S0vernment’ authorities, all in
© name of democracy!

In Germany, Italy and France
We have fascism rearing its
Ugly head once more. In Greece
and Indonesia, the common
People are being bludgeoned in-
to subjection through the instru-
mentality of the British Labor

 S0vernment, aided and abetted

by the USA. -Here and in the ©

+ we have Bill 39 and the
ratt-Hartiey Act
plemented to smash the trade
Me Cn and destroy democratic
: Stitutions. We will have fas-
to Clamped down on us_ be-

re we know it, if organized

r and the progressive forces

4 the common people do not
Quic’ as,
it,

A. CHEVERTON.

White Rock, B.C.

Anew precedent

Editor, Pacific Tribune:

few weeks ago Magistrate
ae passed certain judge-

. edito Which were received with
ab Tial expression of special
eel in the daily press. The
nions expressed to me of Mr.
ee have not left the im-
oe On that he is a man of
io feigeht or humane inclina-
oa 18 and in my opinion, the
With, ents praised were not only
cy Out merit, but were posi-
ae Cohtrary to genlightened
ioe ‘interest, and encourage a

actionary attitude to crime.
© condemned dope peddlers
receive g paddling. This, to
*: is equivalent to the judg-
a °f medieval witch doctors
a tried to exercise ‘devils’
i Sick people or sinners, by

NE Such subjection of peo-
. 0 AY, AUGUST 1, 1947

a

m&

respectively, ©

Ikly join hands to prevent

Your

ple who recognize the social and

.,. material origin of crime.

“-One might ask Mr. Manson
as he imposes sentence, “If this
is the reward of making harm-
ful narcotics available to people,
what would be the fitting reward
for people who, like H. R. Mac-
Millan, keep necessities of life
out of the hands of needy
people?”

* This judgment’ throws light on

another and to me, more serious ~

judgment by Mr. Manson, his
suspended sentence for Malcolm
Woolridge, who killed his wife
with a revolver.

The jury, in the Woolridge
case, most emphatically recom-
mended clemency. Mr. Manson
enthusiastically accepted the
recommendation, and accom-
panied his sentence with a long
statement, which, to my mind,
reveals the reactionary character
of his thinking.

From the press. reports it
seems clear that Mrs. Woolridge
was an irresponsible and highly
immoral woman, and deserving
the severest condemnation for
her behaviour. However, to re-
fuse to recognize manslaughter

in her killing seems to be equiv-

alent to giving legal sanction to
the use of force in settling do-
mestie differences. If this man-
slaughter is pardonable, then
there are tens of thousands of
husbands, whose wives could kill
them off with equal impunity,
and as many other women, no
doubt,

But that is not the only flaw
in'.the judgment. In commiser-
ating with Woolridge, Judge Ma-
son noted that he |(Woolridge)
had made every kind of effort
(including violent struggle, it
would appear) to make Mrs.
Woolridge fulfill her duties as
a mother to their child. In view
of the confirmed vagrancy char-
acter of her behaviour, it seems
odd to me that,Woolridge should
want such a woman to mother
his child.

Are not divorce laws and sep-
aration facilities designed to
“make possible the peaceable and
socially healthy solution of such
situations? What Mr. Wool-
ridge seems to have acted on
was stubborn jealoysy, not just
the night of the killing, but over
a period of time. A serious fath-
er, and responsible man, in Mr.
Woolridge’s case could have
taken himself and the child out
of the company of Mrs. Wool-
ridge, and secured the coopera-
tion of other - healthy-minded
people in bringing up his child.
By apologizing for the exist-
ence of laws requiring recogni-
tion of the offence as social, and
therefore compelling him to en-
force at least suspended sent-
ence, Judge Manson showed that

he was without serious concern - ,

ever the social aspects of the
case, and was motivated in his
clemency by sympathy with Mr.
Woolridge’s' personal sense of
outrage at the affronts given
him by his wife.

Further, Judge Manson show-
ed bias in slurring over that
fact of Woolridge’s having a
revolver on his person, which he
claimed he had found some-
where downtown the night be-
fore. Assuming that he told the
truth and found the revolver,
Woolridge had on his person, il-
legally, 24 hours later, a lethal
weapon, which he drew, when,
‘according to reports, his wife
overpowered him in a. hand-to-
hand fight carried on when she
“tried to “throw him out.” This,
in itself is a serious responsi-

Cnatjinéat

White what You Please.

bility \against: social responsibili-
ties, VW os 4

The! whole story is not a very
pretty one; but could be re-
peated, unfortunately, of thous-
ands of miserable couples in
this day of capitalist decline
and degeneracy. What is dis-
turbing in the whole affair is
the general. acceptance of the
idea, and the legal endorsement
of it, that such women “deserve
to be shot.” As I have said, on
that basis, as many men deserve
tu be shot; and if this attitude
to such personal maladjustments
is accepted, society is well on
the way into a decline to fas-

‘cist barbarism and strong-arm

rule.

F. BADEN
Vancouver, B.C.

Polio and homes

Editor, Pacific Tribune:

The star} naked truth of your
headline (Pacific Tribune, July
18) ‘Link polio to housing’ must
have struck home to Bumble-
dom, in view of its unholy record
regarding the housing situation.
A public health report declares
the very heart of Vancouver to
be a square mile of vice, because
of the squalid housing condi-
tions prevailing therein.

Where visionless bumbledom
exists, the people perish in the
throes of preventable disease,
crime and early senile decay.

The housing problem must be
tackled with more _ statesman-
ship than the traditional twaddle
of ‘where is the money coming
from. When disease is on the
rampage it knows no bounds.
When the heart of a city is full
of disease, then the suburban
organs will suffer as well. The
Skidroad and Shaughnessy will
both fall victims.

All peace-loving and _health-
loving people must come to-
gether to destory the mad dog
of disease and crime that un-
sanitary living conditions has let
loose on us. ‘A basic measure
towards its destruction would
be the institution of a compre-
hensive housing program for all
the people in need of decent
homes, whether single or mar-
ried.

The hiiman breast yearns for
a home, a place to retreat to
and relax, and where the pieces
of one’s life can be gathered to-
gether from the shattering blows
dealt it by the city’s clangor,
and the rush and tear policies
engendered by the ‘every man
for himself’ philosophy.

As a precaution against polio

Wwe are exorted to avoid rush
hour street cars. The workers
who have to endure them would

. readily avoid them if they could.

It is a crying shame that Van-
couver’s workers should be sub-
jected to such. disgraceful in-
dignities and hazards to their
health.

E. MARSH.
Vancouver, B.C.- ;

Editor’s Note: All letters and
correspondence for publication
in the Pacific Tribune must bear
the signature of the writer. If a
correspondent does nat wish to
pubticly disclose his or her iden-
tity, a pseudonym may be used,
providing the correspondence
also contains a bona fide signa-
ture. Tribune readers who take
time off to write us bouquets or
brickbats can only be assured of
space for their opinions when
these are signed. Letters should
not exceed 500 words.

3 s
on hy Ol? Biff

Ar cCRbIns to newspaper reports the price of butter is goimg
up; the price of bread is going up; the price of gasoline is going
up; the price of domestic gas is going up; street car fares may go
up. Everything, in fact, is going up except the cost of living, at
least that is what the experts tell us, or if they
Goi up ! admit that the cost of living is going up it
ng up is such a teeny-weeny rise as to be ne matter.
Every one of these ‘teeny-weeny’ rises takes a
good-sized bite out of the breakfast bowl, the dinner plate and the
supper dish of the exploited wage-earners, the low income section
of the people and their already undernourished kiddies. But for the
‘experts’ and the capitalist dividend-mongering class for whom they
concoct their misleading statistics, that is a secondary considera-

tion, a long way secondary, to the “acquistion” of profits.

Every proposal for an increase in prices is preceded by the
agents of those who desire the increase putting on a poor face,
pleading poverty, dire, ruinous, debilitating poverty, poverty that
eats into the very vitals, saps the substance and which, if not at-
tended to immediately, must lead to economic collapse.

The latest of these seedy indigents to claim our indulgence is
“Dal” Grauer, the ex-Richmornd farmer, who, having hung up his
lacrosse stick and uniform, now practices his cross-checking on the
street railwaymen and the people who are unfortunate enough te

have to use the street cars.

The streetcar men have asked for an increase in wages in line
with the higher prices of the things they must have if they are to
be able to keep on operating street cars. According to Grauer, to
accede to the demands of the union will cost the company $900,000 a
year. Well, that would still leave them, on the basis of past years
profits, over $29,000,000 to the good. :

But the B.C. Collectric have no intention of meeting any increase
necessary to maintain the standard of living of the streetcar men
out of the loot they have “acquired” through the exploitation of
these same workers. Such an increase can only be met, says Grauer,
if the company is allowed to raise the streetcar fares to 10 cents
The increase in the cost of living is not a bogey. It is a real
and substantial factor in the life of the streetcar man and his
family, as it is with loggers and miners and lengshoremen, and it
must be met

In that contingency, we may expect that the Public Utilities
Commission, since its actions show it to be a sort of sub-committee
of the BCElectric, will over-ride the wishes of the streetcar users.
and very. graciously grant the demand for 10 cent fares, which would
be a crime if justice was based on human relations and not, as it is,
on class relations.

The squawks of the management of the BCElectric about the
increases in prices of the materials they use, can have no applica-
tion in the case of this company. Just taking a look at the condition
of the tracks and riding a couple of times on their dilapidated cars
will convince anyone that they cannot have spent any money on
materials for maintenance at these increased prices. The rolling
stock and tracks seem to have had little or no servicing for the last
ten years. That, of course, might indicate that the BC Electric man-
agement takes the “long view’—that they let their antiquated tooner-
villes and tracks wear right out so they could make a fresh start

e with busses.

But they surely don’t, or they must have the supreme gall to
expect the people of B.C., after giving them a 20-year franchise,
however unwillingly, to also provide them with new capital by buying
their new busses for them, as we gather from another of “Dal”
Grauer’s petulant lamentations about the price of busses going up
since the BCElectric began transforming their equipment.

The BCElectric gouges enough profit out of its employees
‘to meet all its commitments without any increase in fares. This
was made patent and was so scandalous, that when it began te
function the Public Utility Commission had to pass some of the
profits back to the people_in the way of “free” light.

They are making as much profit now but owing to the friendly
spirit which has developed in the Commission, instead of the extra-
surplus being given back to the people who have been robbed, the
company has been allowed to hold it against the “hard times”
that are coming. 3

The BCElectric pulled the same gag back in 1917. During a strike
that year they held the gun up to the head of the City Council and
got an increase from five cents to six cents so they could meet
a demand for increased wages by their employees. But they must
not be allowed to get away with it this time. Every kind of protest
against increased fares must be organized and placed before the
Public Utilities Commission, by everybody interested, directly or
indirectly, in streetcar transportation. %

The cynical treatment of the people whom the BCElectric “serves” -
makes me think that it was the general manager of that company,
who wants 10 cent fares and who says that the “reds” are psycho
pathic cases, neurotics or morons, that the following letter was
addressed to, although I can’t gamble on it:

Sir: Your letter received. Since I am a gentleman and my
stenographer is a lady, am unable to dictate the words that would
express my feelings towards your company. But you being neither
a gentleman nor a lady will know the words yourself. Sincerely —

F you like the “Road to Life” you will like this picture. It is pro-
duced by the children of an Industrial school in Magnitagorsk-
It is one of the best pictures ever to come out of the Soviet Union.
: It is a concrete demonstration of the de-

' velopment of art in communist society where
artists don’t work at their art for a living,
where the‘artist is not limited by the divi-
sion of labor. Where “in a communist society there are no painters,
but at most, men who among other things also paint.” These boys
and girls in the Soviet Union learn a trade which provides for their
living and the artistic side of their individuality finds free expres-
sion impossible in a class society.

‘Hello Moscow’ 3

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 5