_ Bennett gov't preparing sellout | of water resources to U.S. A sellout by the Bennett government of the water ince stop it. The deal would give Yankee monopolies a stra The Pacific Tribune was the first paper in the provin U.S. power interests that would choke the future growth Some three months ago when the plans for a dam a pointed to the basic question: Who is going to benefit from the propos- ed dams on the Canadian part of the Columbia and Kootenay rivers? Are they first of all to generate ‘power for an all-Canadian hydro network stretching from Edmon- ton to Victoria over most of south- ern B.C. and Alberta? Or are they to be captive subsidiaries of the Grand Coulee-Bonneville system in the United States, operated as the Americans dictate? Those favoring the US. plan’ argue that it’ would produce a’ larger total amount of power than' of British Columbia. bloc VICTORIA, B.C. power resources of the Columbia River is in the making unless the people of this prov nglehold over the growth of new industry in all southern British Columbia and at. ce.to warn that the Social Credit government was contemplating an agreement t Mica Creek on the Big Bend of the Columbia were made public, the Pacific Tribune U.S. political pressure on the So- cred government has been stepped up. The recent meeting of the Northwest Governors Power Policy Committee which consists of the heads of four American states and a B.C, representative was held vin Victoria. ; The committee was presented with a report from the, Internation- al Columbia River Engineering Board urging further “international cooperation”—in other words more integration on the U.S. plan. Significantly the B.C. member of any independent Canadian scheme. the Engineering Board, J. F. Miles; But the U.S. monopolies want this of increased power for their own use. They are not at all interested in the needs of B.C. and Alberta. Until now they have always re- fused to consider giving us back ! any of the extra power generated by the use of our storage facilities. The negotiations over the Libbey Dam on the Kootenay River in Montana collapsed when the B.C.| government demanded power, and not money, in settlement: of Cana- dian claims. : There are reports now that the U.S. has reversed its stand and will give back some of the extra power to get control of the dams on the whole river. But U.S. thinking about the sec- ondary position of B.C. dams is clearly revealed in an article by Roy Brown in the Vancouver, Sun of May 1. Brown quotes U.S. gov- ernment power expert Jack Stev- ens as saying, “Every possible ef- fort. should be made to set up a vast storage of water in Canada, Our need is acute and on a tre- mendous scale.” Not hydro de- velopment in Canada but storage of water in Canada for U.S. power _ Purposes is the aim. © : Signs are multiplying that the B.C. government is going to go along with the U.S. plan for “in- tegrated” operation of the water of the Columbia Basin. : Just last week Lands and For- ests Minister Robert Sommers gave | the go-ahead ‘signal to the Kaiser Aluminum monopoly for. a dam near Castlegar to step up power production at Grand Coulee. This dam would release the waters of | the Arrow Lake when the flow in the Water Rights Branch, a | strong advocate of- integration, has’ resigned. His new job?—with the _ |B.C. Electric which is tied to the Bonneville Power Pool. Undoubtedly the Socreds will try, to sweeten the bitter surren- der of the control over the Col- umbia. They will claim a big victory because -the U.S. has agreed to set aside power for B.C. instead of paying us off in a lump sum. Will a U.S.-dominated power net- work embracing the whole of the Columbia basin, even with a block of kilowatts reserved for B.C. use, ,Serve the interests of the people of this province? This correspondent the*reasons: — ie 1 ‘Far less power will be produc- - ed at the dams in Canada than __ under an all-Canadian scheme. storage dam, most of the water will be let go at one season of the year so Grand Coulee can run at full capacity. At. Mica Creek itself small power plant using just a year round minimum flow of the river. would release its water at an even be able to run much larger turbines, thus providing a bigger amount of power for Canadian needs. This surplus could be transmitted far as Edmonton or Calgary or nee George. Most of the power will not be produced in the right place to be available for new indus- | _ try in the B.C, Interior. as | Pri thinks not—and here are some of ; For instance, if Mica Creek Dam| ~ on the Big Bend is built as a oy F there will be only. a comparatively | ‘A Canadian-operated Mica Creek rate over the whole year and would’ the Columbia is at its lowest. Kais-; It is technically impossible to er plants in Washirigton state have had to go on short time during the ‘winter when they could not get enough electricity. | , transmit alum of the Grand Coulee Power to Prince George, Calgary or Edmon- Dailies ignore ‘ton. But Canadian-operated dams May Day — but rally seen on CBUT “Vancouver — daily newspapers willl carry reports of. May Day de- monstrations in Moscow, London, Peking, Paris and other cities in all parts of the world, but I pre- dict that they will not print a line about this meeting here today,” . chairman Harvey Murphy said at’ the May Day Rally on Sunday this week at Brockton Point Oval. Murphy was right. «The Sun, Province and News-Herald lowered a newspaper curtain over the event; their readers would never have known that a May Day rally was held, had it not been for one | thing. . CBUT, Vancouver’s CBC tele- ' o vision outlet, covered the. meeting and did a good job. a And so it happened that at 7 p.m. Sunday evening thousands of —including many ®readers of the daily papers—béth saw and heard May Day speakers Harvey Murphy, Bill Stewart, Homer Stevens and A. A. MacLeod, and had the opport- Wilson do ae Churchill. - i Shaughnessy Heights is thick “chalk talk” on one trade unionist to remark: “I guess 1954 is the first year so many people in Shaughnessy attended a May Day rally!” : ritish Columbia’s ‘share | TV owners in all parts of the city | unity of watching artist Fraser with TV aerials, and this prompted | would make hydro available to all these places. 8 The fixed amount of power _ allotted to B.C. by interna- tional treaty would be a strait jacket for our growing indus- try. The day to day operation of the power system would be -under the control of Ameri- can-dominated agencies. Examples ‘of the advantage this would give the U.S. can. be seen when it is realized that they would control the switching of power be- tween the different plants, the re- lease of water, and so forth. Does a wholly Canadian power system on the Columbia mean no benefit for Washington and Ore- gon? Of course not. U.S. hydro plants down river would still be able to increase their production, though naturally not as much as under the U.S. scheme. ol Plan to construct a 600-foot dam at Mica Creek (top) was heralded as the first step in Creating an industrial centre in the Kootenays when it was an- nounced in the legislature at the recent session. The Kaiser Dam (below) was announced later. Should be banned?” | ‘No place io hide’ | declares Prof. Phelps TORONTO: “Phere is no place to hide when a planet is in jeopardy.” This 15 the view of Professor A. L. Phelps as voiced to the Easter hoe meetings of the Ontario Educational Association on April 20. Ee Phelps is former professor of English of McGill University and one 0 Canada’s foremost scholars. “Perhaps we are coming rapidly to the point,” he continued, “where the respect for human life, as such, is disappearing among us. The tolerated crime and comic ’ books It is insanity that takes granted.” Prof. Phelps offered as a solu tion the getting together of those who. possess the weapons to destroy it for and the dramatized brutality of the humanity to prevent their use. wrestling matches testify to, our growing insensibility. “While we talk blandly about the bomb, while*we watch its ter- rifying beauty, while with calcu- _ lating zest we estimate the de- grees of political insanity behind the political hair triggers, we know that any evening we may lean into a dinner table conver- sation and say: ‘Don‘t you know we may all be dead or blighted or mad next month?’ : “It is all or death. It is only Sanity that sees and deplores this. “I cannot accept the doctrine that we of the West alone, in our selves, have a monopoly of the secret of the right way of life for humans on this planet. .. . I think can come, the Russians and the Chinese and those others will come. = to our principles. If these principles are human fundamentals, as I think — they are, they will do so... . Wé may come to some of their pril- ciples if they are human fundo- mentals, as I think surely some of them must be.” MacDougall forced to retract UN slam J. L. MacDougall, Liberal MP for Burrard, was forced to backtrack. hurriedly after making a statement at a meeting in Peter Pan Ballroom here to the effect that he “thought one H-bomb was worth ten United Nations.” The meeting held on April 20, was called to enable Mac- Dougall to report during the Easter recess on the present session of parliament. > : MacDougall made his slip while attempting’to answer a young man who asked him, during the question |- period, “What is the Liberal gov- ernment going 'to do about the H- bomb? Do-you think further tests ner of the United Nations. Does © n‘t our government belong to the United Nations? Is our . MP - voicing his own opinion, or that of his party? 1 must say i? wor: ries me to have a -representa- . tive who would make such . an statement.” : } “You misunderstood me, young lady,” MacDougall said hurriedly. “Tm not trying. to attack the UN At least, while they’re talking they’re not fighting.” That, however, ended the ques “T know the kind of people who ask such questions,” replied Mac- Dougall angrily. “I know all about these peace movements. Well, let me tell you, I think one H-bomb is worth ten UN organizations,” A young woman raised her hand to ask a question but her voice could not be heard _distinetly. | tion and discussion period; :/) 7 Come up to the front,” invited the; In his report to his constitu: — Liberal MP. : in some human consolidation, if it — The young woman walked to the front of the hall, faced the audi- ence, and said: “" think it when ‘our Bu Parliament spe is very dangerous trard member of aks in such a man- ents, MacDougall lavishly praise the Liberals’ housing program, d& fended the government’s right t — extend the Emergency Powers Ach | and advocated a Canadian flag ¢Ol taining the Union Jack, the royal crown‘and the fleur-de-lis. Vancouver Alderman Adams’ recently voiced Opinion that “if we got Quebee’s scale of Wages out here to B.C. a lot of in- dustry would come here” drew a Sharp reply this week from Maurice Rush, LPP city secretary. “Adams’ , the Quebec Earle G, statement advocating : Seale of Wages here and his further hailing of unem- ployment as ‘a good thing because it would attract new industry’ should receive the strongest con- demnation from labor and. all fair- minded people,” said Rush. : “The NPA alderman gave ex- t ‘ taf PACIFIC TRIBUNE — may 7, 1954 — PAGE 2 |Rush assails Adams’ | Statement on wages Pression to the aim of big busi- ness, which is to drive wages down to the subsistence level. His statement also indicated why Vancouver City Council has turn ed a deaf ear to all pleas for action to meet the serious unen™ ployment problem here. J a “Adams is the darling of the Te? estate and big business interest: oh, who promoted him as an NPA ca’ didate. His statement again unde { lines the big business control % city hall, and points to the ae for united action in the Decembe™ civic election. to elect genuine labor and people’s represent? tives.” ;