ae ri ' OW iy MiNi ehh oa Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, August 5, 1949 Price Five Cents BCER fears plebiscite demand THOUSANDS JOIN DRIVE THIS SUNDAY, AT CONFEDERATION PARK “Bring along a healthy appetite and, if you ie, a bottle of sun tan lotion. Leave the rest up 0 tie?” ee That's the advice . given to picnickers by the ‘ited Labor Picnic committee, whose members ve Worked hard and lined up a day-long program S8ned to please everyone. The big picnic takes Place at Confederation Park, North Burnaby, this Sming Sunday. (To: get there, take a No. 14 street 4 Out Hastings East to Boundary Road, where Picnic buses will be waiting to take you to the Park.) i Light lunches and full-course meals will be “tved on the grounds. A long sports program will Bet Underway at. p.m., continue until a dance | We'llsee you at the picnic begins early in the evening. Carnival attractions operate all day long. Crowds of kiddies: like the one shown above will enjoy the wrestling, boxing and acrobatic events. Older folks will appreciate sitting under trees in the shade as the hours slip by. A well-organized nurs- ery, complete with sandpile and skilled supervisors, will relieve tired mothers of the need to keep a con- s ‘ stant eye on the smaller. fry. Feature of the day will be the choosing of “‘Miss B.C. Labor’ from among seven pretty contestants, running under the labels of Miss Burnaby, Miss Burrard, Miss North Vancouver, Miss East End, Miss Fisher Lassie, Miss Lumber Worker and Miss Vancouver East. ‘AGAINST DIM E FARES _ More Vancouverites are walking to work daily; more are or- ganizing car pools; more are shopping near home instead of seeking downtown “‘bargains.’’ All this has happened since the BCElectric hoisted fares to a dime two weeks ago. Effie Jones, leader of the anti-BCER fight, is receiving hun- dreds of letters and telephone calls from indignant citizens, who want to do something: about the unjustified fare hike. Some have suggestions for action; here is what they say to Effie. “Let’s stop being suckers. I didn’t vote for you last year, Mrs. Jones, but now I know you were right when you warned another fare boost was coming. Send me a copy of your chain letter and I'll start it going in my district.” (Last week Civic Reform Association, of which Mrs. Jones is vice-president, began circulating a chain letter advising citizens to save carfare by shop- ping near home; and calling for a plebiscite in December on the issue of the city taking over the BCER.) “I’m mad clear through at the BCElectric. I’m so mad, Mrs. Jones, that I’ve been putting 10 coppers in the box instead of a dime, just to cause that company some trouble. But I know something more constructive must be done, so I’m shopping near home and saving at least three trips a week that way.” “Yiou have the right idea, Mrs. Jones. It is high time the city took over the BCElectric. I’m spreading the idea among housewives in my block and we'll vote for you as alderman next December, and if we can force a plebiscite on public owner- ship of BCER we'll vote for that, too.” “I admire your spirit, Mrs. Jones, and I copied your chain letter and sent it to three friends. Five of us in this neighborhood have organized a car pool and now I seldom ride the BCER cars. It took the fare increase to make us wake up.” “I’m a business man, situated quite a distance from the center of the city, but for 35 years I’ve done business with a downtown bank. Now I’ve transferred to a branch. bank near my store.”” . “Since the dime fare started, I’m walking every place I can. The more cash fares the BCER lose the sooner they'll come to reason.” Civic Reform Association will set up an outdoor office at the United Labor Picnic in Confederation Park’on Sunday, and Effie Jones will be there to discuss the anti-BCER campaign with people who attend the big picnic. CRA signs reading, “Save Money: Shop Near Home,” have been printed and will be displayed in many districts throughout the city. LPP canvassers distributed 15,000 leaflets this week, calling on the public to fight back against the fare steal. “The increase is not necessary,”’ said the leaflet. ‘‘Despite increased wage rates, the BCElectric wage bill is falling per vehicle-mile through replacement of two-man street cars by one-man trolley buses. The company’s 1948 profits were the highest since 1929. Net profits after taxes were over $2,600,000 in 1948 as compared to $1,900,000 in 1947. “This latest increase in fares highlights the need for public ownership of the transportation system. Immediate action should be taken by organizations and individuals to secure a plebiscite in De- cember on this issue. Failure to act this year will mean a delay of five years, even if a majority of civic voters want to put an end to the BCElectric’s franchise. “The company would like the fare increase to be permanent. Dr. Carrothers (chairman of the Public Utilities Commission) has already paved the way by indefinitely postponing a hearing. You can stop this steal. The increase is technically an ‘interim’ one. Demand a public hearing to investigate the financial condition and relations of the BCElectric. Continued on back page—See BCER