702 PES aE: eri FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 1958 Deportation bares persecution in US. By what authority can U.S. immigration authorities hold persons without charge in Canadian jails? This is the question posed by the revelation this week that William Heikkila, 52- year-old San Francisco drafts- man, was held incommunicado in Vancouver jail last week- end by U.S. immigration of- ficials secretly deporting him to Finland. Arrested on Friday last week as he came off. shift, Heikkila was refused permis- sion to phone his American- born wife or his lawyer and placed on a special plane for Vancouver the same evening. Here he was held incommuni- vado in jail under the name of “William Hudson” until 2 pm. Sunday when he was placed on a Canadian Pacific Airlaines plane for Amster- dam. He arrived in Helsinki still wearing the clothes he had on when he was arrested in San Francisco. The cireumstances of his virtual kidnapping by U.S im- migration officials evoked widespread disgust and indig- nation in this city when the story, obtained through a fel- low passenger to whom he had related his plight, was breken by Vancouver daily papers. The unfavorable publicity re- vealing U.S. government per- secution in its ugliest light was undoubtedly a factor in MAY SUNDAY, APRIL 27 - 2 P.M. the U.S. decision to return Heikkila to the U.S. because of what U.S. Commissioner Joseph S. Swing called “an error in judgment.” But Swing only served to inflame public opinion here further when he declared that his de- partment would deport Heik- kila to Finland takes another “even if it 11 years.” Heikkila, who was taken to the U.S. as a child of 2% months by his parents, was ordered deported for alleged Communist activities in 1955. He won a stay of proceed- ings and was awaiting hear- ing of a second appeal to quash the order when he was arrested. In San Francisco, Judge. Edward P. Murphy declared that “this action against Heik- - kila smacks of the Gestapo . the thumb and screw... things I don’t approve of .. .” And in Vancouver, it also smacked of a _ violation of Canadian jurisdiction to per- petrate rank injustice. Van- couver Police Commision agreed to investigate the case after Police Magistrate Oscar Orr protested to Mayor Fred Hume, At the same time, Justice Minister Davie Fulton an- nounced .that his department was also starting an inquiry. Board wired Education Mini- ster Peterson: “The board _wishes to express in sharpest possible terms its disappoint- ment and dissatisfaction over the 1958 grants for school pur- poses.” ® In Vancouver, Burnaby, Trail, Cowichan and scores of other cities and municipalities, there is indignation and hos- tility over the way the new formula has worked out in practice; how it was rushed through during the final bill- passing marathon at the re- cent session of the legislature, and how it was misrepre- sented even to the govern- ment’s own backbenchers, who themselves are challenging the explanations they re- ceived. A bitter denunciation of the Socred formula has come from CCF leader Robert Strachan, who not only accuses) Prem- jer Bennett “of trying to pay off the provincial debt by cheating the Greater Vancou- ver municipalities on their school costs,” but charges him with failing to live up to the fifty-fifty split of capital costs of new school construction. Total increase in the bud- gets of the province's 81 school districts amounts to $10,000,000 more than in 1957, according to the UBCM. The provincial government claims is over-all aid to education is up $4,000,000 — which leaves $6,000,080 or three-fifths of the increased costs to be, added to the bills of the al- ready over-burdened munici- pal taxpayers. More than one quarter of school districts and almost half the unattached schools have had a cut in grants. Big- gest cut has been suffered by DAY RALLY EXHIBITION PARK (Outdoor Theatre) Daylight Saving Time (In case of: rain.come to Pender Auditorium — 2 p.m.) Sponsored by the May Day Committee — 339 West Pender Street Alberni, where the grant drop- ped from $499,000 in 1957 to $279,000 this year. For Vancouver, with a budget of $21,919,000 —--a jump of $2,500,000—provincial government’s share has been . reduced by $87,000, with a resulting increase of $2.50 per thousand of assessment on every city home. School budgets throughout the province have skyrocket- ed, as a result of rising costs, increased population and school attendance, and neces- Sary improvements in educa- tional standards, Local school budgets have risen from $10,- 500,000 in 1939-40 to an esti- mated $88,000,000 this year. Adding to the hardship of recent years is the Bennett government’s deliberate policy of loading the costs on to the municipal taxpayers. In the case of Vancouver, the pro- vincial government share has dropped from 45 to 34 percent of the school bill. And, ac- cording to UBCM figures, the share throughout the province is down to 47.6 percent. A further flareup can be anticipated in 27 of the 81 school districts where teach- ers’ salaries, now in dispute, are to be settled by provin- cial arbitration but the in- creases will have to be borne by local taxpayers since. they are not allowed by Victoria. Obviously, the present for- mula is totally unsatisfactory -——both inequitable and hope- lessly inadequate in coping with sharply rising school costs. Education is expressly the Flouse on = ovi responsibility of the pr r cial government unde provisions of the British ‘America Act; and by vist of the Public Schools Act school boards act as af ® of the province for a stration purposes. i A bigger share of shoe costs must be undertake?” the provincial authority: ” Ottawa, which allows on a percent of its tax reven! for provincial grants bi on spending 42 percent of its * enues on cold Wat a ments, must be compelled | make additional funds # 8 able for Canadian educ# and welfare. Meanwhile, immediate a lief must be won from yi Bennett government to reee, pense those municipal whose grants have bee? ered and to make it poss! to hold the line on muniel d tax bills. a should Every support ; unic given to city and ™m councils, local school }9% the Union of B.C. Muniet ties and the B.C. School tees Association in thei tests to Victoria. And © thing possible should b@ to encourage and prepare concerted action by all cipalities to reopen the mula, and in the eve? government remains #4 ant, to compel it to boW people’s wishes or res! United action can S4¥° municipal taxpayers province several miJlion lars this year. GUEST SPEAKER HARVEY MURPHY of Toronto — Vice-president Canadian Mine-Mill and MAURICE RUSH — Labor-Progressive Party ANDY BROGAN — Marine Workers Unemploray Committee CHAIRMAN — Homer Stevens, UFAWU CONCERT PROGRAM April 25, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE