ital I : ni 4 a | { itt : ; i ; ell ny! Wily shy ivi " Bebb baat 4 iy i cet eile dae (bob byte Hi at oriars SRI pe vy hel Pees 1 UE ne ANS ts LLL CTRL ARR BT A At + Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, December 30, 1949 Ottawa delay blamed LOSS OF CHINA TRADE CUTS bless pledge ; support to organization In two days. some 1500 Van- couver jobless signed their names to petitions outlining the program of the newly formed Unemployed Action Association and pledged their support in the battle for jobs, and pending jobs, decent living standards for those out of work. < Headquarters of the Ass0cia- tion in Room 10, Pender Audi- torium, is a busy place these days as the table officers of the Association complete plans for a membership drive and the var- ious committees (grievance, so- - cial, publicity and organizing) get-down to work. Next meeting of the UAA will be held in Fishermen’s Hall, 138 East Cordova, at 2 pm. on Fri- day, January 6. Table officers pro tem are Wil- liam Gee, Stan. Forkin, W. J. Robson and W. Whittaker. Last meeting of the Association ad- opted bylaws and ‘agireed that the aims of the organization would _be to organize all unem- ployed workers and promote and lead the struggles of these workers for decent living stand- ards. . het “We shall promote and strive to maintain the closest fraternal relations with all the trade union movement and will actively par- x VENEER MERE NRE REM ticipate in any council set up for the purpose of combining with other organizations to elim- inate the problem of unemploy- ment,” says Article Two.of the bylaws. The grievance committee has already taken up several cases and in one instance succeeded in winning relief payments for a 65-yeatr-old member, Dues for the new organization have been. set at 10 cents per month. Initiation fee is 25 cents which includes the first month’s dues, At the last meeting close to 50 unemployed workers signed application forms to join the UAA., Let us tell Ottawa with one voice:, ANADIAN JOBS People’s China is holding the door wide open for trade with Can- ada. The moment Ottawa decides to establish diplomatic and trade relations with her great neighbor in the Pacific, a two-way flow of goods totalling millions of dollars annually can begin, creating thousands of jobs for Canadian workers. What can we sell to China? Machinery, rails, lumber, wheat, flour, paper, typewriters, radios, aluminum, brass, copper, lead, clocks, dynamos, electric motors, aircraft and aircraft parts, fertilizer—the list is endless. And what can we buy in return? Antimony, nuts, oil, hair brisles, cotton goods, flax, hemp and jute products, tea—and many other things. What is holding up this profitable trade, which would be a big factor in putting our unemployed citizens back into industry? Only the reluctance of our federal government to change its foreign policy (which sought vainly to uphold the crumbling fascist regime of Chiang Kai-shek during the past few years) and adopt a new, progressive policy of friendship and trade with the people’s government in New China. Recégnition must come. At this moment hundreds of ships, in- cluding Canadian ships, are waiting with full cargoes at Hong Kong, ready to sail for Shanghai. Some have already run the Kuomintang blockade. Chinese merchants in Hong Kong are putting strong pres- sure on British authorities to hasten recognition of New China. British businessmen are supporting this demand. There are other ships at Hong Kong, too. Some of them are American freighters, bound for Formosa with war weapons for Chiang Kai-shek. (And at Terminal Dock, New Westminster, to our eternal shame, the Kuomintang freighter SS Tung Ping is loading a full cargo of ammonium sulphate—classed as fertilizer but valuable for war pur- poses also—while our government does nothing to halt this trade with the fascist Chiang.) ‘A look at the larger items in our export trade with China since the war shows that the main exports to Chiang were war materials. In 1948 we sold Chiang $5,500,- 000 worth of ships; aircraft to the value of $1,600,000; million dollars’ worth of aircraft parts; and some $3,000,000 worth of lumber. Total exports One dollar cost for $2.64 benefit For every $2.64 the Unem- ployment Insurance Commis- sion paid out to unemployed another were valued at $29,000,000, workers in the fiscal year compared - with $35,000,000 in >| 1948-42 1t cost $4 in admin. istration. 1947 and $43,000,000 in 1946. This is revealed by the an- nual report of the [Unemploy- ment Insurance Commission, printed copies of which are now available from Ottawa. The report shows that for 1948-49 the commission paid $49,826,752.16 in benefits and expended $18,965,130.67 in ad- ministration ‘costs. At the close of the fiscal year, the unemployment in- surance fund stood at $529,- 826,752.16. Imports from Chiang’s China were never high; only $2,300,- 000 1947 and the same amount the preceding year. in Today Canada has an oppor- tunity to establish flourishing trade with the new China. Recog- nition and trade go hand in hand. Recognize China Now! ra Phe ber ber ber ber her ber b ork for peace-a happy New Year