" Page Four THE PECPLE’S ADVOCATE October 21, Nanaimo No. 1 Mine Closes Down <— TWO HUNDRED MINERS THROWN OUT OF WORK Alderman Kerr Informs City Council Nanaimo Facing Unemployment Emergency NANAIMO, BC, Oct. 20.— Nanaimo is faced with an emergency as a result of the permanent closing of No. 1 mine here, Ald. Kerr told Na- naimo City Council Monday night. Closing of the mine has thrown 250 miners out of work and many of these and their families will be forced to apply for relief. INo. 1 mine was first worked in 1883 and at one time was knowu all over the continent. In its hey- Gay the payroll averaged $250,000 every two weeks. its closing was hastened by a re— cent cave-in. Dhe dismantled shaft will be used to dispose of washer rock and refuse. At the recent conference on un- employment and social welfare held in Vancouver under auspices of the British Columbia Federa- tion on Unemployment delegates from the Wanaimo local of the United Mine Workers obtained del- egates’ endorsation of a resolution ealling upon the provincial govern- ment to conduct a survey of the coal-mining industry with a view to increasing sale fo coal and its byproducts. The resolution pointed out that miners in BC were either working part time or were unemployed and stated that a survey leading to an increased use of coal for various purposes would guarantee miners a decent living and eliminate much of present unemployment. Statistics presented by UMWA delegates Showed that employment in the coal-mining industry had fallen from 3700 in 1920 to 1660 in 1038, with a consequent decrease in the payroll from $7,000,000 to $5,000,000. Urges Break With Chamberlain Gov’t SALMON ARM, BC, Oct. 20-— “Tf the Canadian people insist that the King government break with the pro-fascist policies of Cham- berlain, policies that are leading the world to war, Canada can play a strong role in the struggle for world peace and democracy,” Fer- gus McKean, provincial secretary of the Communist party, told an audience in the Orange Hall here last Saturday. Maurice Rush, provincial secre- tary of the Young Communist League, who is accompanying Mc- Kean on a tour of the Interior, stressed the responsibility of the Jabor movement and the progres— sive people of BC in building a strong youth movement in this prevince. Women Canvassed Vernen For Fund The recent Vernon donation of $70 to the Spanish Relief Ship Fund was made by a committee of four, members of which canvassed Vernon district for donations, Stephen Freeman, leading CCE member in the Okanagan Valley, ‘States in a letter to the Advocate this week. Members of this committee, in addition to PE reeman, were Miss M. Watson, Miss M. Forester and Mrs. Len Tornbiad. Mreeman asked the Advocate to point out that the donation was mot a personal one made by him- self, as might be construed from the list of donors to the fund as published in our last issue. Changes In Mine Act Proposed Prospector Will Benefit, Union Secretary Opines Proposed ‘amendments to the BC Mineral Act slated to come before the fall session of the leg- islature will be generally ap- proved by working prospectors and miners, was expressed by George Price, district council sec- retary of the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers’ Union this week. According to Price, best fea- tures of the proposed amend- ments include those which will foree all miners holding claims to put in at least 20 days’ devel- opment work on each claim for the first year. “This will have the effect of preventins large mining corpora- tious from staking whole sections of mineral territory and prevent-— ing individual prospectors from getting in on new ground,” Price stated. “At the same time, the ruling will work-no hard- ship on the average small pros- pector since he normally puts in more than that amount of work on his claim each year in any case.” , Price cited as an example of “blanket staking’ by big corpera- tions the action of Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company which, in March, 1937, staked an entire mineral belt in the Quat- Sino area, leaving no ground open for other prospectors. None of these claims have yet been de- veloped. The mine union secretary, him- self an old time prospector, also approved another amendment givine= prospectors right to stake eight claims, or 24 for a three man partnership. They will be debarred, however, trom hold- ing any block interest in new territory, which at present al lows large corporations to stake whole mineral belts. The proposals will be intro- duced in the legislature by Hon. W. J.