Page Four B.C. WORKERS’ NEWS B.C WorkKERS NEWS _ Published Weekly by THE PROLETARIAN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION Room 10, 163 West Hastings Street - Vancouver, B.C. — Subscription Rates — One: Near = $180 Half Year ey OU) Three Months _______.50 Single Gopy ————— -05 Make All Ghecks Payable to the B.C. WORKERS’ NEWS Send All Copy and Manuscript to the Chairman of the Edoitorial Board. Send All Monies and Letters Pertaining to Advertising and Circulation to the Business Manager. Vancouver, B.C., Friday, September 18, 1936 Scotch The Snake In Canada! AZIS in Ontario have dropped their masks and come out into the open as the “German Labor Party.” In their recent eonference in Toronto, greetings of Der Fuehrer were conveyed by no less a person than Herr L. Kempf, German Consul-ceneral at Montreal. Hitler-heiline, Jew-baiting, and Bolshevik-smashing made the welkin ring for three days. The pimp Horst Wessel song was sung with Nazi eusto, alternating with Deutschland Wher Alles. The hall was decorated with swastikas—onee an old symbol for good luck—now a twisted, dreaded symbol of terror and death. A leading Montreal business man and Fascist held his audience spell-bound with fairy tales about the well-being of the German people under the Third Reich of Hitler; how these German people were far better off than “the half-starved people of the Soviet - Union,” and how the people of Canada must strain every eiort to ‘fight the rising tide of Bolshevism.” More “heiling’ and Nazi saluting. When the Consul-General spoke his speech was greeted sith “heils” and again the assembly pledged its faith—an Hitler; in Fsacist barbarity ; with the song of a Nazi “hero” —a jail-bird, procurer and pimp. One of the delegates, a woman, who jotted down a few notes of the proceedings on her programme was promptly relieved of it. Nazi ullur does not permit of such liberties. Tn the three-day session—“Dret Deutchen Tages,” as it was officially dubbed, reports, and discussion showed that German Fas- cism has built an organization of some considerable proportions in Eastern Canada, and particularly in Ontario. Nazi clubs and schools— ‘Deutscher Kulfurbund’ as they are called, are Joeated in half a dozen Ontario cities. The poisonous plague of Fascism is rooting itself in Canada while its parent bodies scatter devastating desolation and death over large areas of the world’s surtace ; endangers the world’s peace and the very future of civilization. Tt is sowing death and desolation in Spain in an effort to drag her people back to the Inq wisition——only in this case far more hor- rible and cruel. And yet the government of Canada in whom the defense of democratic institutions is reposed by the people ot Canada,—permit this vile and murderous baccili to be spread without molestation or restraint throughout every province, permits the representative of a foreign power, the Consul-General of the Third Reich of Nazi barbarity, to greet, agitate and inspire the growth of its murderous brood in Canada. It is little wonder that the fascist ogre Tom McInnes raves with impunity im Vaneouver for a fascist set-up against the forces of progress, when in the East the incubators of fascist kultur are permitted to work over- time to the end that democracy and all that it stands for may be destroyed. ; The time is long overdue when the people of Canada must “speak; must declare to the responsible governments their un- swerving determination to preserve democracy, and their undi- vided sympathy with and support of the people of Spain defending their home and institutions against Hascist reaction and destruc- tion of civil and democratic rights. Canadians must declare against the growth of this deadly plague in Canada and for the steps necessary to stamp it out. - Press Censorship And Gag-Rule EE proposal of Premier Aberhart of Alberta to “license the press” has raised a storm of protest from wide sections of Canadian publishers. ; ; During his term in office and up until the present, Premier Aberhart bas made it clear on more than one occasion, by public speeches, on the radio, and through the columns of the Social Credit organ, the Albertan, that he does not like criticism ot policy. On occasion he has waxed very bitter against his contem- porary bourgeois journalistic eritics, and at times real bitter against the labor press. His chagrined bitterness has only whet- ted the editorial appetite and resulted in a more sharp and caustic eriticism of Aberhartian policy. Now Premier Aberhart would muzzle the press by a restrictive and regimented regulation ; would silence the press by statutory decree. 2 : Working men and women know something of the “free” press ; they know, that through subsidy, extensive advertising, party polities, etc., the “freedom” of capitalist journalism 1s mainly limited to the interests of a privileged class, with shades of differ- ence in the ranks of bourgeois journalists between the “ims” and the “outs” in governmental party set-ups. Limited as it is by. party politics and political axe-grinding, working men and women prefer to see such “freedom? remain as it is than have it saddled with extra-parliamentary restrictions. : The main danger in Premier Aberhart’s proposal to hog-tie the press is the possible suppression of working-class publications. To place regulations on the labor press that would prohibit them from criticizing governmental policy from a workine-class stand- point, to bar the great mass of the working people from giving articulate expression to their just grievances through the medium of their own press—the only press with a bona tide claim to being a “free press,” would be equivalent to suppressing such papers. The same power—the power of the working class that swept the infamous Section 98 of the Criminal Code trom the statute books of Canada, must give the same answer to Premier Aberhart. Greater and real freedom ot the press is what is required in Ganada today. A freedom that will make TRUTH its axis and brave the consequences. This is the allimportant lesson Premier Aberhart requires to learn. The labor press of Canada has had too many experiences of throttling and gag-rule from the Canadian ruling class to ignore the sinister threat embodied in Premier Aberhart’s latest regimentation proposal. Investigate the Jubilee Racket [A PUBLIC investigation into the disbursements ot the Jubilee funds is timely. Firms who contracted to furnish material and service (at least nine of them so far) lave been forced to resort to the courts to recover their claims. The winner of the Jubilee Queen Contest, and the runners-up were told after the Jubilee ended that the prizes were off. Some 200 returned veterans, who staged the most successiul program of the Jubilee, have received $5.00 for their summer s work. Tt is difficult to believe that the performances of the veterans were not a financial success. Throngs paid 25¢ admission to that fete, the proceeds of which, after expenses were met, was to be divided amongst the performers. After splendid consecutive dis- plays throughout the Jubilee, and only after the vets had threat- ened drastic action, they were doled out the handsome sum of : ach. zs ee musicians and a host of others were also left “holding the bag.’ In spite of this disgraceful state of affairs, Mayor McGeer proclaimed to the world that the Jubilee was a The World This Week By F. B. The European Situation has be- come very tense owing to the speeches of Hitler at the Wational Socialist congress in Wuremberg. Hitler has never before fired such a verbal broadside as on this occasion. He denounced the Jews; he threat- ened the Soviet Union claiming that if war came with that country his armies would be yictorious; he de- manded colonies, a threat to any country that has colonies; he wel- comed the delegates from JFascist Italy saying that Germany felt bound to all countries that followed the same impulses, and he said that wages in Germany could not be raised just now. Of all his remarks those on the Soviet Union were the most plain and the most sinister: “Ii I had the Urals, if we possessed Siberia, if we had the Ukraine, National Sotialist Germany would be swimming in prosperity.” There is no mistaking the import of those words; they mean that the zero hour of Nazi- ism is approaching, internal eco- nomic conditions are hastening the time when Germany has got to risk war or else go bankrupt. The Hitler menace is not only directed at the Soyiet Union as his Statement that Germany must be returned former colonies shows. France has some of those colonies, so has Britain, and if Hitler wants te get them back he will have to jake them. Neither France nor Britain should voluntarily sive up a foot of the former German col- onies. These colonies are not simply Jaree stretches of land; they are peo- pled with millions of men and women to whom Nazi rule would be a greater disaster that the rule of British or French Imperialism. Any territorial expansion in any direction means a strengthening of Fascism and increases the world menace of German WNazi-ism. If Hitler were to be given even a small fraction ot former German colonies it would mean a weakening of the anti- fascist elements throughout the world, with a corresponding strengthening of world fascism, and it would be but a short time before Hitler demanded that his first re- turned colony be increased by more. To yield to Hitlers demands for the return of colonies would be the biggest bit of international black- mail on record. Tf Hitler had done nothing but make bombastic speeches there would be little occasion for immedi- ate alarm, but he has done much more. He has built up, with the aid of foreign capitalists, what is re- earded as the strongest military force in capitalist Hurope. The tre- mendous outlay for this war expend- iture, an outlay that yields no na- tional interest like other invest ments do, is making German fi- nances top-heavy; it can only yield a return when used in war for col- onies or fresh fields of capitalist exploitation. If it is not so used ¢hen an internal collapse must fol- low. Fascism, it is remembered, is decaying, dying capitalism. German capitalism, in its final stage, is go- ing to go out fighting, even at the risk of bringing world ruin, hoping with the hope of desperation it will win. Hitler’s agents in European coun- tries have been very busy. It seems more than a mere coincidence that Trotsky’s abortive plot to murder ‘Soviet leaders was exposed a few weeks before Hitler's aggressive speeches at Nuremberg, Tf the ter- rorists had been successful the chances are a million to one that Nazi armies would be marching to- wards the coveted Ukraine by now. Im a number of countries Nazi diplomacy has been successful in in- creasing the number of countries available for the anti-Soviet bloc Hitler has planned. In Greece a pro- Wazi fascist dictatorship is now definitely established and Bulgaria has also joined the bloc. Another in- tended result of this anti-Soviet fascist unification has been to isolate France. As regards Britain’s posi- tion in the Nazi plan, Hitler hopes that when he attacks the Soviet Union and France, Britain will be neutral and stand aside. There is no doubt that the Baldwin govern- ment would adopt such a policy if it could get away with it, but the British working class is too wide awake to the menace of German fascism to stand for pro-Nazi neu- trality in event of such a conflict. Once the Nazi stream is allowed to trickle outside its present confines it will soon grow into such a raging torrent that all democratic forces in every country will be needed to stem the flood. On the borders of Soviet territory in Siberia and along the borders of Japanese military activity is being speeded up. New roads are being rushed to completion, more supplies and equipment are being rushed to the areas. This activity is part and parcel of the Nazi plams for attack on the Soviet Union. Neither Ger- many nor Japan would dare attack alone. It will be a joint attack sup- ported by as many smaller nations as they can drag into it. the People’s Republic of Mongolia. Former B.C. Worker Now In belted to their robes. yen priests are being incorporated into Japan’s growing military forces as the island’s imperialists lay new plans for con- quest on the Asiatic mainland. These young priests of the Sodo sect of Buddhists are taking time out from religious affairs to drill under the guidance of army officers. Spain Blasts Atrocity Japanese Priests in Goosestep Wote the bayonets Convention Can Become a Mighty Force for Unity By T. A. EWEN. The 6th convention of the All- Canadian Gongress of Labor (A-C. G.L.) will open its session in To- ronto on the 29th of this month. The report of the executive board will show a marked activity over previous years, both in regard to lesislative endeayor and increased membership. There are, however, some negative aspects to this progress. Wrest of the Great Lakes the rep- resentation from rank and file unions will be very small owing to unemployment and the general financial rigours of the crisis on union treasuries. As far as can be learned from B.C. points, pre-con- vention discussion in the locals and resolutions on working-class needs are practically nil. AS a prominent A.C.C.L. member stated a few days ago, “These will be left to the con- vention to evolve.’ we