People in the news

BERT ANDREWS

Bert Andrews, chief Washing- ton correspondent for the New York Herald-Tribune, has been given the 1947 Heywood Broun Memorial Award, granted an- nually by the American News- paper Guild (CIO) “for the most outstanding journalistic achiev- ment in the spirit of Heywood Broun.”

A series of articles exposing the State Department’s undemo- cratic methods of dismissing em- Ployees won Andrews the honor.

E. T. MAYNARD

Grain commodity prices fell, but for E. T. Maynard, Chicago re. down meant up as he

le a $400,000 profit by buying and selling at the right time. A Senate committee is investi- gating to find out if he had | “inside” information,

FERDINAND C. SMITH

‘Secretary Ferdinand C. Smith of the National Maritime Union (CIO), a native of British West Indies, was seized by govern- ment agents and hustled off to Ellis Island, without bail, for deportation. A New York emer- gency membership meeting of 1,200 seamen immediately voted to set up picket lines around the Immigration Building to de- mand Smith’s release. Smith is charged with being a Communist, and is the latest victim of the red hysteria now gripping gov- ernmen circles,

_ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1948

Alberta CCF leaders in redbaiting blitz

By R. B. SWANKEY Two leaders of the Alberta CCF have publicly comment- ed on the decision of the LPP to support the CCF in the forthcoming elections. Mr. John King, provincial secretary, speaking to the CCF study group at the University of Alberta

on the subject, “CCF, the Best Line of Defence Against Communism,” said that the object of the LPP was was to discredit thea CCF!

Mr. Elmer Roper, provincial lead- er, writing in the “People’s Week- ly,” said that the CCF nomination in the provincial constituency of Pincher Creek-Crow’s Nest “an- swers more effectively than words could do the Sociat Credit false- hood about an alleged liason be- tween the LPP and_ ourselves. Pincher Creek-Crow’s Nest is the constituency in which the Alberta leader of the LPP was nominated a few weeks ago. Somebody asked me why I thought the LPP had ask- ed its followers to support the CCF in the next election. I replied that I supposed it was for the same reason

‘they had supported the Liberals in

1945—they probably want to sup- port the winning party!”

Mr. King’s remarks that our ob- ject is to discredit the CCF is, of course, quite incorrect. We are out to build the greatest possible de- gree of unity of the progréssive forces, in which the CCF can (and we hope it will) play an active and leading part.

Mr Roper’s remark that our ob- ject is to be on the winning side is equally incorrect. The record of Communists everywhere is one of courageous struggle against the greatest odds. Our tactics are de- termined by the needs of the Ca nadia people, not by narrow party considerations.

It would appear that neither Mr. King nor Mr. Roper appreciate the dangers Canada faces today Nor do they see the need for unity. On the contrary, they appear to fear unity with the Communists as the devil fears holy water.

In my opinion, both these gen- tlemen are out of touch with events, as wellas with the senti- ment of their own folowers. I eam confident that the rank and file of progressive people in Al- berta, including CCF supporters, desire unity. After all, unity is the only way to defeat Social Credit, The CCF will not lose votes by adopting a policy of unity. Life and history both prove that unity attracts, it does not repel; and that red-baiting

in the progressive movement

leads to defeat, not to victory.

Mr. Roper’s statement that the LPP supported the Liberals in 1945 is also quite untrue. In Al- berta we contested all but a few seats as Mr. Roper must know. We called for the election of a strong farmer-labor bloc that would form a coalition with the reform wing of the Liberal Party in opposition to a coalition of right-wing Liberals and Tories. We called upon the CCF to join with us in this endeavor, but they refused, The result was a victory for the Liberals.

It would appear that the CCF nomination in Pincher Creek - Crow’s Nest was a denwnstration to prove to the powers that be that

Pollitt to tour Canada in spring

Harry Pollitt, leader of the Brit- ish Communist Party, will arrive in Canada. on April 8 or 9 and his first speaking engagement is in Cape Breton on April 11. The approximate dates for other meet- ings for the British Communist leader are as follows:

Toronto, April 13. or 14; Winni- peg, April 17-18; Regina, April 19; Saskatoon, April 20; Edmonton, April 22; Calgary, Drumheller, Ap- ril 238-25; Vancouver, April 27-30; Toronto, May 2; Hamilton, May 3; St. Catherines, May 4; Windsor, May 7; Sudbury, May 9; Timmins, May 11; Ottawa, May 13, and Montreal, May 14-15.

Further notice on the Pollitt meetings will be featured in the Pacific Tribune when definite

dates are available.

_ comet t : 4

* R. B. SWANKEY Alberta leader, LPP

Mr. Roper and the CCF will have nothing to do with the Commun- ists? :

The subject of Mr. John King’s speech must have surprised even many of his followers. Why should Mr, King direct his main blows not against capitalism but against communism? His object, it seems, is to rally around the CCF all those opposed to commun- ism. This political line places him in some very strange company. Solon Low, Bracken, Mackenzie King, Drew and Duplessis, all fol- low that line today. It is a danger- out path that the provincial sec- retary of the CCF is following, one that leads to unity with reac- tion against the people, as the be- trayals of Bevin and Blum show.

No wheat next fall ’ unless price raised

EDMONTON—There will be no grain deliveries to elevators next fall unless the federal government sets up a@ national grain board and does something about major farm demands, Carl Stimpfle, pres- ident of the Alberta Farmers Union warns. He stated that in the event of a non-delivery grain strike, wheat and other cereal crops would be the only farm pro- duce withheld.

This statement follows on the heels of an interprovincial far- mers’ union council meeting in Saskatoon, where the AFU and the UFC discussed farm demands and decided on a delegation to

Ottawa.

British goods banned in gov't ‘sell-out’

OTTAWA, Feb. 16.—It is not often that a special com- mittee can divert attention from the relatively more spec- tacular goings-on in the green-carpeted House of Commons

chamber.

Still, the neat manoeuver remov- ing the contentious price issue from Commons to the . draughty railway committee room, ould not black out the fact that really legislative things were happenig in Commons.

If the government was not act- ing on prices it was acting on the Abbott Austerity Program. Bill No. 3 was in committee stage of the whole House, its terms and priciple under heavy fire from critical opposition members,

In fact, approval of the Abbott Plan would (as his November 17 announcement did) grvaely influ- ence not only the future price course of the nation, but determine on a permanent level a new and drastic dependency on the US.

Members were alarmed at the ambiguity about the: Hyde Park agreements signed in 1941 during wartime to further North Ameri_ can economic unity. They wanted to know how far the agreements went into the peace. Generous ex- emption from export restrictions which the US applies to other na- tions, had been given Canada.

Were these being extended into the neace, as a sort of silent “inte- gration” without parliament hear- ing its details or approving?

Minister of External Affairs Laurent took a Jong time telling the facts, but finally admitted that way back in May of 1934 there had been an exchange of notes between >the US = and Canada. :

These could now be tabled, said the minister, it being February 13, 1948. He promisea details of the US_Canada economic deal would be set forth and present extended terms of the agreement made public.

T. J. Bentley (CCF-Swift Cur- rent) sharply attacked the influence which the US had on the Canadian economy. He wanted to know whether Canada had become a “forty-ninth state”. Use of the non-discrimination principle in the Geneva agreements by the US was excluding free trade with the United Kingdom, said the member.

“J have been suspicious,” said Mr. Bentley, “of what has been going on in the last few years, and I believe we are actually be- ing sold ‘to the United States. Before we go any further I should like to know the terms, of the sale I can see no earthly reason for banning British goods from this country.”

The insistence of US interests on non-discrimination in their trade deals meant blocking out trade with Britain and real discrimination against the British people who needed the Canadan market

22:20 See ey ner Raa ere Tim Buck to speak at Gardens rally

Arrangements are under way for a big) public rally in the Exhibi- tion Gardens on Sunday, March 14 at 8 pm. with Tim Buck, national leader of the LP as the guest speaker. The LPP leader will speak on “A CCF government for Canada.”

Elgin Ruddell, Vancouver or- ganizer of the LPP will act as chairman at the Gardens meeting. Nigel Morgan, provincial leader will also address the rally.

The Exhibition Gardens has in- stalled an improved public address system and a committee under the direction of John Goss is in charge of stage arrangements. For seat- ing reservations contact the Van- couver city committee offices, phone TA. 2030.

TIM BUCK National Leader, Labor-Progres- sive Party

Johnson gets film protest

NEw YORK -— Continuing its campaign to have 20th Century- Fox’s film, The Iron Curtain, with- drawn from distribution as “ini- mical to the aims and welfare of the United States and the United Nations,” the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship has now taken its case to Eric John- ston, president of the Motion Pic- ture Association of America,

The film, based on “revelations” of the Soviet traitor Igor Gouzenko during the Canadian “spy scare,” was filmed partly in Ottawa, with Dana Andrews playing the lead- ing role.

The coucil through its national chairman, the Reverend William Howard Melish, recently requested Spyyros Skouras, head of 20th Century’s board to halt distribu- tion of the film. The council’s re- quest for, this action, or for a conference to discuss it, remains unanswered Dr. Melish said.

Stressing the fact that it is the “community responsibility” to halt the spread of “dangerous. disease,” Dr. Melish asked for a similar type of action in the case of this film which he described as con taining “the explosive elements which could do irreparable harm to our nation’s international stand- ing and future peace and secur- ity.”

“The political and economic im- plications of this picture for the industry and for peace-loving Am- ericans are too strong to be ignor- ed. The ill-will, the hatred, the suspicion, the revulsion engendered by this film promises to be for beyond the effect of a single-film exhibition. It will have profound and basic adverse effects on our national -interests.” -

(In Moscow this week, David Zaslaysky, commenting on The Iron Curtain in Pravda, char racterized it as “the most filthy commercial undertaking of our time.” He named External Af- fairs Minister Louis St. Laurent and Finance Minister J. Isley as two Canadian cabinet minis- ters who had aided production of the film in an “ignominous attempt to discredit the Soviet Union.)

Jobless iboosted by Abbott plan

WINNIPEG — Fifteen hundred workers per week are losing their jobs on the prairies. This is the trend noted in unemployment conditions as revealed in the weekly reports of the chief em- ployment officer for the prairie regions, j

31,272 men and women’are now looking for work in mid-western Canada, according to the latest available reports.

This total represents an _ in- crease of 9,000 unemployed in the last six weeks—a rate of 1,500 workers a week for this period of ime. Meanwhile the 30 em- ployment offices in the prairies re- gions list only 4,198 jobs available (most of them bush work and domestic services), a six-week drop. of 871 in employment va- cancles,

And in Halifax National Em- ployment Service officials have admitted that in another six weeks or so with present trends, un- employment is expected to total one tenth of the city’s population. NES officials estimate that there are 7,500 in the Halifax area with- out work, and when the seasonal] slack hits its peak at the end of next month, another 2,000 persons are expected to join the ranks of unemployed.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 2