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Neglect of flood cont¥l work was-responsible for the Fraser River
flood in 1948. Precautionary work now can confine a possible flood

this year.

physically impossible.”

Flood warnings were ignored. So w ere demands that preparations be made to
protect Winnipeg, even when it was known that the rampaging waters cf the Red
River which have since overwhelmed sections of the city itself were bursting out of
the upper reaches and spreading devastation through the valley.
Fraser River flood, this is the picture of governmental neglect and indifference that
emerges from the disastrous Red River flood, for which the thousands of people who
have been driven from their ruined homes and farms are holding Manitoba’s Coalition
Premier Douglas Campbell and Winnipeg’s Mayor Garnet Coulter responsible.

W. A. Kardash, LPP MLA for Winnipeg North, on May 4 wrcte to Premier
Campbell urging that the federal government be compelled to accept responsibility for
full compensation of flood victims and that*immediate consideration be given to projects
necessary to prevent repetition of the flood. Labor Aldermen Jacob Penner and Joe
Forkin, whose demand for construction of adequate dykes after the 1948 flood was
shelved by Winnipeg city’ council, were similarly turned down when they proposed
emergency measures to cope with the disaster—before it assumed its present propor-
tions. Now the same daily press that red-(baited their proposals is quoting American
filcod experts as stating cynically that adequate flood contr

.

The dispatches below tell the story:

ols may be “economically and

As in the 1948

Gov't, ‘Peg council
blamed by public

for flood ne

Put jobless on dvkec. |
Collins urges Johnson

The provincial government has
been notified by Vancouver Un-
employed Action Association that
1000 or mere of its members are
only waiting an opportunity to
participate in. flood prevention
work in the Fraser Valley.

Ove: the signature of Fred
- Collins, UAA president, the fol-
lowing wire was forwarded to
Premier Byro: Johnson _ this
week: ‘

“Situation in Fraser Valley de-
mands your government take im-

mediate action prevent flood.
Vancouver Unemployed Action
Association urges your govern-
ment employ one thousand un-
employed now to _ reinforce
dykes.”

This proposal has the appro-
val of scores of Valley farmers
who‘ believe unemployed workers
could be gainfully employed now,
reinfercing and patrolling the
dykes and taking all preventive
measures to:reduce the flood
menace to a minimum.

*

By MITCH SAGO

giect

WINNIPEG

The ruthless force of the raging Red River continues tc batter away at this flood-weary city as

this is being written.

The waters that have already inundated thousands of homes and flooded entire

districts are still threatening to burst through “the hastily improvised dikes that now stand between the river
and other thousands of homes. Six of the city’s 60 square miles are now under water.

The life of the city has been
slowed down to a snail’s pace,
many of its arteries cut, and oth-
ers being fought for in what may
yet prove to be a losing battle.
The population itself has been up-
rooted, with 65,000 refugees driv-
en out of their homes by the Red
River. 2

Meanwhile 50,000 civilians are
fighting the flood along the miles

of dykes still being strengthened
and built higher.

Although tremendous voluntary
effort has been organized to fight
the flood at all danger points, the
full maximum power of labor and
material sources has yet to be
used and directed in the most ef-
fective ‘way. The Labor-Progres-
sive party, whose members} are

Dykes held by workers, youth

in huge volunteer endeavor |

By ROLAND PENNER
WINNIPEG

You can measure the rise of a
flooding river in terms of the num-
ber of feet above datum. You
ean get a pretty good estimate of
_ the damage in dollars. It’s not

too difficult to calculate the num-
ber of evacuees. But the real story
of the disastrous Red River flood
_ will not be told in such figures.
It is being written in terms of
hardship and heartbreak, and that
can't be measured.

The story is, in part, a tragic
one concerning individuals — men,
women and children, not quanti-
ties. And some people would
rather not be reminded of this
because they’ve got ‘a lot to an-
swer for. The people of the Red
River valley will never forget this
flood, and they'll never let the

warfare-instead-of-welfare crowd -

forget it either.

One of the hard-hit groups, the
people of Point Douglas (an _over-
whelmingly working-class district
in Winnipeg) have suffered and
are conscious of the fact that it
could have. been prevented. Not
So many workers own their own
homes, and when they do those
homés represent a lifetime of

\

back-breaking work, sacrifice and
hardship.

At Point’ Douglas, small bunga-
lows on tiny lots, frame dwellings
mostly, awe disappearing into the
inexorable flood, ruined beyond
repair or beyond the possibility
of paying for repairs.

Those who don’t own their own
homes put everything they work-
ed for into furniture, a chester-
field, a small radio, maybe a sec-
ond-hand refrigerator. A lot of
these are now submerged, the fur-
nishings ruined.

The flood still washes at weak-
ening dykes and still these work-
ers refuse to leave their homes.
It’s everything they’ve got. They
gather around our boat depot on a
flooded street and talk about one
thing above all else: how the flood

could hove been prevented, for

they know that in 1948 Labor Ald-

~ ermen Penner and Forkin called

for building .of dykes and were
turned down. '
_ That is part of the story. An-
other part is-in the labor of the
volunteer workers.

~ You go out to visit a dyking par-
ty from the National Federation
of Labor, Youth; members of the

.

Ukrainian Canadian and Russian-
Canadian clubs, youth from the
community who work with us,
workers from the shops.
an eight-foot wall of sandbags
holding back as much water and’
all along it boys and girls, men
and women in the thousands car-
rying sandbags, filling them, and
tying them. One girl has been
on duty for a solid eight hours
without a break and still refuses
to go home even though she must

/go to work tomorrow. They come

back to the center for soup and
coffee, physically worn out but
mentally elated because they have
done something in ‘a community
effort, a cooperative effort. It took
a disaster to unite people in a
collective enterprise.

A 14-year-old begs “Please give
me a job to do!” A worker from
the shop asks, “When is. the next
dyke crew going out, I’m tired of
waiting?” An NFLY’er says “Let
me stay all night. I slept five
hours last night.”” All that is best
in people is being brought out in
this work. And all the healthy
anger of workers who have’ stood
about as much as possible’ from
reactionary governments i§ being
aroused.

You see .

La

among the most active flood work-
ers, has urged the following meas-
ures upon Brigadier R. E. Morton,
flood control chief.

—Immediate conscription of all
necessary manpower, mater-
ials and accomodation.

2Z—Closing down of all non-essen-
tial enterprises, such as brew-
eries, liquor stores, beer parlors,
pool rooms, bowling alleys.
—Stringent enforcement of traf-
fic control into and over food
danger areas

4.—Compulsory evacuation of
women and children from the

city at government expense,
5a flood victims to be assured

now of full compensation by
the senior governments of losses
sustained.

The memorandum also empha-

sized the need for vesting the flood.

control administration with full
powers in all fields of operation.
Since this memo_ was dispatched
and publicized through a news-
paper advertisement, half-meas-
ures in the.general direction of
some of the proposals have been
taken. ;

There is stricter traffic control
in a number of areas, for example,
but still inadequate and largely
dependent for enforcement upon
appeals, Evacuees are transport-
ed cost-free only if they register
with the Red Cross and are moved
outside the city at their direction.
Many refugees, for example, who
are ready to leave, but wish to
join members of their families
in-other parts of Canada and the
U.S. for the duration of the emer-
gency, must pay the full fare. .

I saw women with family al-
lowance cheques at the train tick-
et wickets trying to scrape to-
gether the price of a fare out of
town—obviously hard-pressed to
meet the price of evacuation. On
all sides, one hears such comment

as: “I lost everything, but the
CPR is doing a ‘bang-up _ busi-
ness!” . ;

Conscious of the flood of anger
that no amount of “political dyk-
ing” can Withstand, promises are
now being made that post-flood re-
lief will be provided for replacing
furniture, clothing and household

effects out of the Manitoba Relief
Fund. Setting up of this fund, a
Canadian jappeal for voluntary
contributions, is calculated to pla-
cate the growing demand for the
redress, of flood victims at gov-
ernment expense. :

Demand of the LPP for full
compensation to all victims by the
senior governments has met with
universal approval. While such
organizations as the Red Cross
and others are doing yeoman work
in providing emergency relief, it
is the responsibility of the gov-
ernment, with the resources of
the country behind it, to reassure
the thousands of families who
have been wiped out by the flood

that their life’s work and posses-

sions will be restored to them,

Moreover, the people are plac-
ing the guilt of the flood upon the
senior governments and are de-
termined to see that the price of
this disaster is now paid for by
them. %

Every one knows that the gZOv-
ernments were aware of this city’s
vulnerability to flooding should
disaster strike the Red River Val-
ley. Every one knows that only
a. few weeks ago the Coalition gov-
ernment turned down offers of aid
and that the city council hoisted
& move by Labor Alderman Pen-
ner and Forkin for an emergency
conference with other affected
municipalities to plan anti-flood
defenses,

Knowing it will face demands
for flood control projects once this
disaster is over, the Campbell coa-
lition is already preparing to turn
the people down by bringing in
flood experts from the U.S. who
Say it can’t be done.

“It may prove both economical-
ly and physically impossible to
control any recurrence of such a
flood as the record torrent now
paralyzing Manitoba and daily
driving thouasnds from. their
homes.” This cynical disclosure
was made by H. W. Harich, hy-
draulic engineer of St. Paul, Minn.,
at a press conference called by
Premier D. L. Compbell.

The people have the proper an-
Swer. They know that the disast-

_€r now upon them could have

been ‘averted. They know that
they can be compensated and their
homes made secure in the future
by adequate flood control if. the
government makes grants equiv-
alent to the amounts it is now
squandering on armaments,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — MAY 19, 1950 — PAGE 12