{ IFIC ADVOCATE PEOPLE’S VOICE FOR PROGRESS No. 10. ee 5 Cents Vancouver, B.C., Friday, January 4, 1946 = en. ' ecision to ‘include the | Jnion in a four-power ; commission for Japan ' 2a was a big blow to. “ierican imperislists who | img at using Japanese - as the springboard for | 2ression ‘against the /ar East. ‘yas obvious in General _ MacArthur’s disgrunil- | ion of the Moscow de- s -hur’s principal role as - allied commander in © +s been to maintain as = ossible the stranglehold ' aibatsu—the big family -n Japanese economy, - reserve the authority of § Hirohito. - All his var- /-rees, ostensibly aimed | cratizing Japan’s politi- = have been mainly win- *Sing behind which the » monopolists will con- “exercise a dominant role sition to the democratic (ns of the Japanese. wonder .-then that the commander, speaking most reactionary sec- American imperialism, the Moscow decisions re- _Japan. For now, with “et Union exercising an it role in the control ‘ion, MacArthur will find ingly difficult to cover 2al game, which is basic- can imperialist. inter- in Asia and for an ulti- w attack on the USSR. setions of the American, and Canadian press were y critical of the Moscow Opposition from this was not as openly ex- as from General Mac- Most of the press criti- S by inference; by ask- #stions as to why a. de- vas not made in the ease @ The fact that the Soviet sient has consistently de- sy intervention in Iranian scow Accord Signals ‘urn To Unity Policy-- icks Imperialist Aims +h the decisions of the recent Moscow conference al- * eing felt in the lessened international tension, the shievements of the 11-day meeting of Bevin, Byrnes, and their advisors can best be assessed against the ind of events of the preceding three months and the 1 accorded the conference decisions by reactionary se Japan as the keystone: affairs, and that news reports al- leging, Soviet intervention have all come from such ‘lie factories’ as Ankara, were -conveniently (Continued on Page 8) See MOSCOW AGREEMENT Pres. IWA District Council, whict meets in convention this week ABOR GAINS IN TORONTO Stewart Smith Increases Votes, Ferguson Added To Council In Elections Strong gains were registered this week for backed candidates in the Toronto civic elections Stewart Smith, Toronto board of control member Civic government with a heavy vote, and Alderman Charles Sims returned to office by acclamation. Dewar Ferguson, who has contested the aldermanic seat in Toronto's eS STEWART SMITH Re-elected to Toronto Board = Ward 6 fora in his campaign this year and L.abor-Progressive Party held New Year's Day, as was returned to Toronto’s Freed — and. Norman number of successive ‘elections, was successful was elected to represent that Ward by a comfortable margin. Mrs. Edna Bois, sitting school trustee in Ward 4, was returned by acclamation. Hazel Wigdor, well known in Vancouver for many years for her activity in student circles, cultural and women’s progressive clubs and as a member of the Labor-Progressive party, ‘was elected to the school board in her first Toronto campaign. She went east with her husband, John Wigdor, former director of the Pacific Coast Labor Bureau here and an active shop steward in the Boilermakers’ Union, when he left to take a position with the WEA. He is at present Edu- “cational Director for thé United Electrical Workers .(CIO).. Her many Vancouver~ friends con- gratulate Toronto for their choice. BYLAWS -* The Rapid Transit Plan, which calls for the building of the first of Control abor MP’s Support ed By Indonesians Hail LONDON — The here this week. Driberg’s remarks were fully reported in Batavia in the Eve- ning News, a small sheet. pub- lished by the British psychologi- cal division of the South-east Asia Command. The issue of the Union Continues Fight On Discrimination Case Negotiations were still proceeding this week between Local 289 Metal and Chemical Workers Union and the Macdonell Metal Manufacturing Co., Ltd., as the union moved to gain re-instatement of one of its members, term- inated for union activity under the excuse that his work was “‘unsatisfactory.”’ The dispute between company and union has gone on _ since prior to the certification of Local 239 Metal and Chemical Workers Union as bargaining agents for the workers in the plant. Prior to certification of the union, J. A. MacDonell, siting MLA for Vancouver center, called a meet- ing of employees at which he vilified ‘the union until protests from employees caused him to stop. A notice was posted in the plant over the signature of his son, Allan MacDonell, which stated: “Representatives of a union have made the statement that (Continued on Page 8) See DISCRIMINATION 5 mene Re 8 S strong Indonesia policy made in the House of Commons last week by Tom Driberg and other Labor Members of Parliament received wide publicity in the Dutch colony, it was reported criticism of Britain’s News was promptly banned on orders from British General Headquarters. But the Indonesian-owned In- dependent, printed in the same plant, obtained a copy of the banned edition and devoted an entire front page to reporting the Commons debate under the banner head: “Labor Members Flay Dutch: Bogus Dominion Status Offer Debunked.” In his speech, Driberg said that the British people “had learned with dismay that four months after the end of the war in the Far East, British and In- dian troops were engaged. and were suffering heavy casualties in. Indonesia and in French Indo- China, a war the object of which appeared to be the restoration of the status quo in the Dutch and French empires.” He added that the British peo- ple’s dismay was “not lessened when they learned that we are also employing Japanese troops in a campaign which is not a trifling one, but something quite important.” two subways in Canada and which means 3,000 jobs to the people of Toronto, received the overwhelming support from the electorate. In debate on the rapid transit plan, which will be paid for jointly by Toronto’s publicly- owned Transportation Commission and the federal gov- ernment, determined work by Controller Stewart Smith and. Aldermen Sims and Freed saved the taxpayers of Toronto $10,- 000,000 when the plan was altered to provide for federal payment of this sum. While numerous weaknesses have been recognized in the plan itself, labor in Tor- onto urged support of the plan and this fact contributed largely to the overwhelming ‘support which the proposal met on vot- ing day. : Singular in the Toronto elec- tions was the fact that despite a desperate campaign by the arch-Tory newspapers, the Tor- onto Telegram and the Globe and Mail, to keep Controller Stewart Smith out of office in 1946, org- anized labor rallied behind the campaign of the popular labor figure. ‘Part of the Tory stra- tegy was the move permitting Norman Freed and Charles Sims to be elected by acclamation with the intent that the powerful la- bor vote in these two key labor wards would concede Smith’s vic- tory in’ the controllerships rare a cinch and-stay away from the polls. Labor constantly warned against complaceney in the two labor wards and urged every voter to use his franchise to as- sure labor victory. The Tory strategy obviously missed fired with the election of Stewart Smith, who ran a close second to the candidate topping the poll. Both labor councils in Toronto lent their weight in Smith’s campaign, and it is sig- nificant that other labor candi- dates elected also received the solid backing of labor in Tor- onto.