By NIGEL MORGAN B.C. Communist Leader

Tttce-auarters of a century ee the first May Day demon- * Ons were launched by eeroan labor, with hundreds of iii: coming out in the main a Strial centres in support of eee rour day, Out of this Co rete arose the Mc- aa - pavester: Company mere in Chicago, with its four ne of the HaymarketSquare Spi ng — Parsons, Fischer,

€S and Engel—victims of capi-

talist Provocation, violence and frameup,

« There will come a time when

a pace will be more power- ae, - ane voices your are ae ing,” were the defiant a na they carried on their lips Fr €y were led to the gallows, Om that day on (1866) May : eee destined to become the ae ol of struggle, of hard-won a Sean of a world to win, It i © become the symbol of yea National solidarity and unity Sg € working people of the world ; @ unity that has cut across all © artificial racial and national Oundaries,

Now—78 years later—May Day Se Become the biggest and most joe demonstration in human fae And, while demonstra- a in America have grown

2 ae for the present, May Day bs te acclaimed by hundreds oc lions the world over who a at long last won their free- mith and are marching forward Seven-league boots,

a tides of battle may ebb se but the great historic a icance of May Day loses € of its inspiring traditions, pect not be otherwise be- ae May Day symbolizes al- aE 4 century of international Tuggle by the working people of * World—a struggle that has Ought tremendous changes.

PT the ‘spark’

Like the history of May Day, ‘ et history of our “Pa- ES Tribune” is a history of ee for social progress, a Om and peace, Many years aaa 1903) Lenin wrote on the

a ead of the little illegal eee paper “Iskra” the famous ae of Pushkin—*The Spark ke Become a Flame,” as, in-

eed it did!

the through the back files of ee acific Tribune (as I’ve been ape in preparation of this

Cle) and you'll find a hand- oe Of history, a story of great ye of triumphs and set- ee eat always a record of ee for policies and de-

ds which would help the work-

NE class, their province and Country,

The “Pacific Tribune” has the

distinction of not only being Brit-_

‘Pacific Tribune inspires today’s

struggles for peace and a better life’

May Day - milestone

in a changing world

ish Columbia’s leading labor

‘weekly, but of having the longest

period of continuous publication of any working class paper in the province, For 30 years ithas been striking sparks—and thousands of them, All through the struggles of the Hungry Thirties; the great war that destroyed fascism as a world force; the building of the labor movement, and more re~ cently the difficult years of cold war,

During the “Dirty Thirties” (as the depression years were known) it was the “Pacific Tri- bune,” and its predecessors, the ® Advocate” and the “ Worker” that gave heart and encouragement to the unemployed, On hundreds of street corners, inthe unemployed “slave camps,” in the flophouses and soup-lines it was the Com- munist press which led the battle to organize the unemployed, “work or Wages” was the battle-

cry.

Inspired struggle

In those days, malnutrition dug deep into the health of the people —over a million of thei living on macaroni and beans. Thous- ands of boys and girls beat their way from east to west, and from west to east, and back again, But those days are gone,

The “PT"’ has led the fight in B.C. against the sellout of our natural re- sources to the U.S. and for nationat independence.

Tremendous changes have been forced, The basic industries have’ been organized, Braving the placklist, intimidation, hunger and often naked violence Com- munists went into the “company towns,” to the logging camps and sawmill towns, to the mining camps and fishing grounds, among the longshoremen and sea- men, and many other industries to establish the early industrial unions which form the backbone of the B,C, labor movement to-

day.

Communists, helped and in- spired by their press, led great struggles which improved con- ditions, raised wages, won

‘shorter hours, and recognition for

the unions,

As we look back over 30 years of publication, we can be proud

20

nomic domination; and HOW Ca- nadian monopoly power can be crimped and curbed to permit these economic changes to take place,

In this we too need abigger and more influential press to pinpoint and publicize our proposals,

We need to spell out what Ca- nadian independence means to British Columbians—in terms of jobs, trade, security, and higher living standards, We must show what independent economic de- velopment of our country means; how it can be directed against

WORKING FOR the power of the monopolies, Ca-

LABOR UNITY

of the fact that it was the “Pa~ cific Tribune” which first warned of the cold war; which first pio- neered the fight for peace, for panning of nuclear weapons, and for disarmament, It was the* Pa- cific Tribune” which first raised the fight against the sellout of our natural resources; against so-called economic“ integration” of Canada with the U,S,; and for defence of the interests of the people against the Canadian and foreign monopolies,

In the new conditions of today: the “Pacific Tribune” carries a message ‘which needs to be spread to ever wider circles, It reveals the truth about U,S, aggression in South East Asia, and serves to mobilize public opinion to stop the war in Vietnam, It exposes the brutalities being perpetrated in the Congo, and arouses public opinion against thenefarious US, scheme (which with the aid of Liberal Pearson and Laborite Wilson) aims to handover nuclear weapons to the West German militarists,

In this it gives invaluable di- rection to the struggle for peace and peaceful coexistence, to im- pose peace on the warmakers, and thus help eliminate world war as a factor in human re- lations, : :

Fight for peace

The world willexperience something quite new when weap~ ons and armies are done away ‘with, We will have an exciting

nadian and U,S, alike,

We need to show the Canadian people that Canada has sufficient potential capital to underwrite its own development, round out our economy in abalanced way, stim- ulating manufacturing, creating new jobs, helping toindustrialize the newly-mdependent countries and exchanging with them our respective needs,

National unity

Still another characteristic of this time is the rise of the great movement for French-Canadian liberation from Anglo-Canadian domination — the democratic revolution that has brought on a crisis of Confederation with its demand for final settlement of intolerable conditions of injus- tice and inequality,

The only basis for a new unity between our two nations is a new Constitution adopted in a Consti- tutional Conference where Eng- lish and French Canada sit down as equals—as two nations—with recognition of the right of self-- determination,

We need our press to speak out clearly and widely on the

-erisis of Confederation; to ex-

release of freedom from fear,

Today’s “all for war” could then become “everything for people,” What are we waiting for? For people to speak up in such num- bers that the few who make for- tunes out of preparations for war will be forced to pay heed to that great majority of us who do the paying, the suffering and. the dying. What. better way of winning people than the written word?

’ The road is opening to new struggles of Canadian indepen- dence, around the question of HOW Canada can be developed; HOW it can be liberated from U,S, control; HOW we can gain new markets in the socialist and newly-liberated countries; HOW nationalization can be put into operation to eliminate U,S, eco-

plain the two-nation character of the Canadian state, our pro- posals and how they link in turn to the big political issues of pension rights, medicare, educa- tions needs, municipal aid and tax reform, We must show howout of these democratic actions the people of Canada can go forward to a socialist future,

The class struggle goes on, even though its forms are alter- ing, With the advance of tech- nology and automation, the labor movement has to move with the times. Unbridled monopoly, changing composition of the working class, the technological and scientific revolution and speedup—all these require a new kind of leadership,

What is needed most is an all- round battle for real working class policies on the issues of the day—for peace, and an end to the cold war; trade and jobs; struggles for the economic and social needs of the people—good pensions, medicare, a shorter working week, more provisions

for the leisure time of workers

and farmers, a purposeful place in society for our young people, and security for the sunset of life,

New chapters

This is the working-class ap- proach, a working-class policy directed in the people’s interests and against the greedy, grasping monopolies, It runs counter to the shamefaced collaborationist of the right-wing of the labor movement, involving as it does independent working class politi- cal action aimed at winning seats in governing bodies, and even- tually government itself,

These are the paths the “Pa- cific Tribune” is dedicated to opening in a rapidly changing world in which socialism has be=- come the decisive force, This is proud tradition bequeathed to us by the legions of struggles that have engaged millions of mankind in the 78 years since May Day was first initiated,

The next decade belongs to us, It will be the decade which will see peace made secure, the re- maining colonial countries freed,

‘imperialism smashed and social-

ism advance by leaps and bounds in every country of the world,

In this decade the “Pacific - Tribune” will undoubtedly write many more heroic chapters in the

‘struggle of the working people for

social progress, socialism,

peace and

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— PACIFIC TRIBUNE

GENERAL* PROFESSOR, CAN YOU READ THAT SIGN, BACK THERE?”

_ PROFESSOR: “YES... !T SAYS —“ GET OUT OF VIET NAM: ”

April 30, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 9