“May Day its not a holiday’

- . | ae ! — ‘OL BILL’ BENNETT

ft

HIS May Day we dip our banners for a moment in honor of the

late William (Ol Bill) Bennett, who served the labor movement : -
for half a century and participated in 40 May Day celebrations.
In place of a regular drive column this week, we are reprinting some
personal notes on May Day wvitten by OF Bill in 1947.
By BILL BENNETT . ;
AY Day - - the day of the workers - - was born out of work-
ing class struggle. May Day is not a holiday any more than Total Turned In: $7 187 98
a respite in a battle means the end of the fighting. - It is but a mo- ‘
mentary pause in the midst of a war which gives us an opportunity to i Cash Still Needed: $7 812.02
calculate our losses and gains and to redress our forces for further ‘ ~
advance. a Fong Sat F : . GREATER VANCOUVER QUOTA - $10,000.00 QUOTA FOR PROVINCE - $5,000.00
‘+ The first May Day I took part m was in » shortly alter VANCOUVER CENTER WEST $3,000.00 $1,283.44 NEW WESTMINSTER AREA $ 550.00 § 156.16
the founding of the Socialist Party of Canada. We were very Victory Square .......-..... 300.00 : pron eta st ia : 4
i ie nil f th Sea and Shore ........... \) a eee tee a
sectarian in those early days and we celebrated the anniversary of the = shore ... 500.00 80.00 Mike Hulmg.....-........... 185.00 69.50
Paris Commune, March 18, more enthusiastically than we did May Bed Prat Steel .........-5: 400.00 78.09 North Surrey ............. . 185.00 17.00
D i 4 d sie Wand sao ire Set, 250.00 223.98 New Westminster Section ae 10.00
ay. : ‘ ‘ SSHL GGNRELE Qo occ. Se Re St 250.00 181.06 ;
* . On that occasion there was no parade. There was an all em- Forest Products ............. * 400.00 16641 NANAIMO AREA ............ $ 700.00 $ 432.26
bracing demonstration of trade unionists and political parties; only |. Maritime ......-.. Rtegh ea aks, 000 1S Nanaimo Club .............. 225.00 19757 Js
a few hundred enthusiasts bent on demonstrating’ their convictions. | VANCOUVER CENTER EAST $3,000.00 $1,222.26 Nanaimo Woodworkers ..... 225.00 83.85 —
We gathered Sn 2 GambianSueer * 2 Building Trades 200.00 42.00 bs on, aaa eS rr ae 41.34
grounds and E. T. (“Old Man”) East End No. 1 116,02 EE ee oes ree 60.00 40.00
ition oe ed; be. id East. End No. 2 159.62 Extemsion .................... , 00 47.50
- Aingsley, first editor of the o Electrical Workers 100.87 ae er 5.00 22.00
Western Clarion, told us what was Peis (Ral sj a6s ski Ser hse 56.50
h Rares ' ~ OTHER POINTS
appening in other parts of the Ryerson ....-...-. 37.50 oes :
1 ; Strathcona’ .2:~......... 102.00 Ns aie ss oe eke oe ae <s $ 500.00 § 99.90
world on that day. Then we all Albi
h : Waterfront ..... 25.00 SOR Speers eee er 30.00 11.00
went home. \ Georgia rote ae 134.00 WiNRIN ons no eed 125.00 50.00 |
Anather May Day I remember Gandvew: Sok Se 448.75 Campbell River ...........!. _ 50.00 12.00
Wasa cot of May Day in. reverse, ; Copper Ee ee 35.00 140.00
held Shy Dsaall Sema taal VANCOUVER EAST Ags <-. Couremiie cee os Sea 5000 2k...
; on the Fowe ree! rounds Hastings East 89.73 Lake Cowithan ..........5.. 175.00 itae*
: . In 1912, and the parade took place Commercial Drive’ .........-- 135.00 72.70 Crantrooks 0550 0<.058 14558 W020.
e, after the speeches were over. pobene’ a RP a Nena eee ra SGreston.. 350. hence ghee? <3
Ac N : : A foherlby NO, 12.652 05. Cumberland =: 300. 3: atc cc4 50.00 25.00
ot want he ald Cone Bes . Nie Gkskea leo Be 200.00 pen Wario. oo ty ee 0 100.00 60.00
wT Was < AO raG 1 ay ay Norquay. 0085 fs ee Se 270.00 142.84 Fort Langley ...... Pee 100.00 95.20
assume its real character. As I fie Fe coi PORN RT ee epee 120.00 64.16 Gibsons Landing ............ 35.00 25.00
recall, 1922, 1923 were years that | Vancouver East Section .... 0 ..-... 5.00 Grassy Plains .........-. ‘a.. 50.00 35.00
witnessed great mass demonstrations, BUBRARD (oe a $1,500.00 $ 951.30 ao Wc fee eee PE Ae 95.00 ays
but still they did not embrace many Civic Workers No. 1 ........ 250.00 182.50 Kimberley ........-..---00005 eo wT eS: <p
‘organizations. “They were still sec- : Civie Workers No. 2 ....... oS MOA S640 Badner: oo. ee Sa 125.00 18.00
tay, closes the Workers’ party! William (Ql’ Bill) Bennett : Avie Wace ose eee ns ~ 225.00 ‘_ 42.00 Sapley or. eas. ORs 100.00 a re
the ex-Servicemen’s League, the OBU (what was left of it) and the _ Se ue pms inate yi Pag i aie pen a 30.00
unemployed. But they numbered between four and five thousand A.B. ‘Smith Glob ,...-:.-.. 200.00 18800 “Michal Natal’. 200.00 «106.00
_men and women. ; : Phillip Halperin Club ...-.. re 50.00 9.00
In 1932, we had an example of the terror that thé tradition of | Burrard: Section -.....---- see At ere : a Sys
May Day inspires in the hearts of reactionaries. While the workers BURNABY AREA ...........-. 55.00
“of Vancouver, mostly from the ranks of the unemployed, were gathered Capitol Hill ...-.. “OGsretes 6 IB OIRO SEI. Asien oo hho. wie a a ee
on Powell Street Grounds, a destroyer was brought over from Es- pa ae rae a Camis Res 25.06
oe ‘ Adel ah Salis stati ate n eas gets pee Ee 60.00 |
7 quimalt. Jt lay in Burrard Inlet with crew at battle stations and its Vartocuver’ feishts ripe
guns trained on the May Day gathering until the meeting was over. : g : Giga ot 150.00 24.00
There was no doubt about May Day, 1935, being a workers’ Ban bibic my otinanes _ pong. $ bey SEES SR pee Bd NORE Rp age
event. Five thousand relief camp workers were on strike and they | Becky Buhay ............-.- 100.00 6334. Salmon. Arm ....--).-..+5--+: 56.00 66.00
furnished the majority of the marchers. The longshoremen struck Seymour Heights. ......----- 125.00 494  Sointula .......... ae aes ok 55.00
work on ‘the waterfront, the fishermen came into town in their boats, Lynn Valley ....--.-+--++--+ eran. 2 ne =e Soe TS Re ap 295.00 5.00
the loggers left the woods. Hundreds of other workers took strike ac- SRUTPONTS 2910 fi es es CORDS 2 seyy oie FOS 5.2 42--s- <caekee 600.00 —«- 210.10
tion and 2,000 high school boys joined the parade to show their NEUEN usuaes sheng eas § 75.00 $ 82.00 Websters Corner ............ 50.00 ......
‘sympathy and solidarity with the young unemployed. HpirnahyaClud 3ic8-.-sccsnss ; ae ae ue Rock .........--+++++- sais ss sees
~ Some of these celebrations I missed through participating in cele- Sparks Club ............-+--+- ose eS ROI m+ sige + SE BE re
; ceieay ! Kevin, Barry. co. ss hes se 20.00 | Youbou ....... ponte sense eet 5.00 «5...
brations elsewhere. I missed the 1946 parade, eS was at ue pobeegd on. gt OE Ue NC “" 77" ggg. Correspondence Club .......- sata 425
celebration in the Crow’s Nest Pass, and that was as good as anything | NEEL, Samobewen Gln oe oN ensae 10.00 ‘s
4 sa x E : ie ; ’ PROVINCE ELLANEOU: Se one 180.00
Svar Meee mnbouver) Sey a einen Huis oS ke ee CI LY eee eee SOUS § s
_. . May Day started on this continent and has spread to all coun- -} cypy,’ MISCELLANEOUS ......--- 182.50 © _TOTAL FOR PROVINCE - $2,181.61
‘tries. May it continue to spread’ until every worker becomes imbued GREATER VANCOUVER TOTAL - $4803.87 OL’ BILL'S MEMORIAL TRIBUTE - $ 20250 |
with the militant spirit of the day and the ideas it symbolizes - - - the! a : ve . ie :

; ,

‘onward surge of democracy to the establishment of a socialist society.

-

ae

_ | RENFREW CLUB LPP
LIFT YOUR VOICES
AGAINST THE WARMON-

GERS AND COME FORWARD
FOR PEACE!

“SHORT JABS FOR MAY DAY”
IN MEMORY OF “OL’ BILL”

Marine Workers & Boilermakers
Industrial Union Local No. 1
SENDS MAY DAY GREETINGS TO

ORGANIZED LABOR

\
Keep the Trib. Press Drive Rolling

BILL BENNETT CLUB, LPP

MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD FOR PEACE

ucthe Shipyard General Workers’ Federation “FOR ‘CANADIAN RECOGNITION OF THE CHINESE

oe eee from ne i of B.C. ‘ PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC AND PEACEFUL TRADE
Ee | SEYMOUR HEIGHTS EXTENDS MAY DAY GREETINGS — BETWEEN OUR COUNTRIES
oN CHUBTER. BR a oo

CHINESE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION |

THE FIGHT FOR UNITY GOES: FORWARD!..... , ()

} : ’ : ' PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 28, 1950—PAGE It :