VoL i- No. 26.

Five Cents

Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, August 9, 1946
Formerly PACIFIC ADVOCATE

BCER TRANSIT
GRAB HITS SNAG
AS PLANS SCORED

Mitchell must go, steelworkers declare

©rime Minister Wackenzie King has often said in the Hiouse of Commons that a member is oftener in

trouble for what he says than for what he doesn’t say.

Labor Minister Mitchell before that parliamentary buffoon made his

are the caricatures of Mitchell and Hing carried in the huge parade of

He should have impressed that kingly moral upon
“ten-cent-an-hour” speech. Above
Hamilton steel workers a week ago.

Strikers’ delegation at Ottawa
demand rank and file be heard

By ROBERT M. LAXER

OTTAWA.— Working class history was made this week when 600 striking delegates from
the heart of industrial Ontario marched up to Parliament Hill. Humphrey Mitchell, sitting
Safely behind the windshield of his car, sneaked up at the tail end to catch a fleeting

glance at a parade which augured his end as labor minister.

because in a few minutes a threat-
ening chant was to be heard in
the halls of parliament as strik-

ers sang, “And we'll hang Hum-
pPhrey Mitchell on a sour apple
tree.”

Cabinet ministers and M.P.’s

wore faint smiles as they peered
Out of their windows at the in-
austrial workers below. Parlia-
ment was-being picketed in a de—
termined demonstration of work-
ine class unity. What made their
Pulses beat quickly and irregu-
larly was the feeling that soon

Franco must go

Enterviewed on the decision
Of the WETU conference held
recently in Moscow, Pat Con-
FrOy, general secretary of the

-€anadian Congress of Labor,
Stated:
' *G conform completely to
the decisions on Spain
reached by the executive of
the WETU. We have cir-

Cularized all our unions
from the CCL office to take
2cHion on this important
matter.”

Tt is expected that the ex-
ecutive of the Trades and La-
bor Congress of Canada will
take a similar stand prior to
©r during the coming Con-
&ress convention. Mass de-
mands from world labor are
expected to pour into the
UN Security Council when it
Meets later in the year, for
decisive action against the
Franco regime.

He did well to move on

the very workers below would be
occupying the parliamentary. of-
fices and directing the affairs of
Canada. They were not reassured

; Fantastic

‘Fantastic’ is how CCE leader M.
J. Coldwell characterized the
press report that the CCE and
the Liberals would scon merge.
“True, .suggestions -have .been
Inmade from time to time... .”
Coldwell is quoted as_ saying,
but believes the source as tory-

*| noon.

inspired.

when 600 voices shouted in uni-
son, “We want Gordon, we want
Gordon” (Donald Gordon).

How fearful M.P.’s were to meet
these working class citizens face
to face was to be seen that after-
A delegation made up of
George Burt, UAW. Ross Russell,
U_E., and a rank and file repre-
sentative from UAW, U.E., Rub-
ber, and Mine, Mill and Smelter
proposed that the Industrial Re
lations Committee hold a “Rank
and Wilers Session’ to hear how
the man at the bench, at the ma-
chine and the open hearth feels.
But every M-.P. on the Steering
Committee, including Angus Mac-
Innis of the CCK, turned the idea
down cold. It was in order to
invite Justice Roach, that ser-
vile spokesman for the greedy
millionaires, who have robbed
Canada’s children of their milk,
veterans of their houses, mothers
of their household budgets and

fathers of any shred of security
for the future. It jfwas in
order to allow the name of
those who produce Canada’s

wealth to be besmirched by one
of Ontario’s “justices.” But when
honest factory workers ask for
a chance to reply they are told
to get out. What a travesty of
democracy.

And yet what a lesson in poli-
ties. Not one of the political par-
ties in the House favored a meet-
ing with rank and file strikers.
The 50,000 on the picket lines
will remember, The millions who
know that the battling unions
are fighting for them too will

note and remember.

BURNABY—A strong fight for establishment of
a municipally-owned bus system is being conducted,
by LPP Councillor Harry Ball as Burnaby Municipal
Council remains evenly split over the issue of a trans-
portation franchise.

Pour members of the council are proposing acceptance
of the offer received from Blue Lines for a 12-year exclusive
franchise and four are holding out for the B.C. Eectric’s
offer, which calls for a 20-year exclusive: franchise similar
to that already approved in principle by Vancouver’s big:
business-dominated city council.

Under the Blue Lines’ offer,
Burnaby Municipal Council may
take over the transit system after
three years by giving the com-
pany one year’s notice, but the
B.C. Flectrie’s offer extends the
period to five years.

“Now that the B.C. Electric has
the approval of Vancouver City
Council for its plans, it is trying
to extend and consolidate its
transit monopoly,” Ball charged

- Threat

this week. “It’s attempting to
freeze out all competition and
prevent future councils in the

Lower Mainland, on which. labor
ean be expected to win more rep-
resentation, from proceeding with
municipal Schemes which are in
the people’s best interests.

“The Vancouver franchise is
one aspect of these plans to dom-
inate all transportation. The re

eent acquisition of - Moorhouse
Stages in the Fraser Valley is
another.

“Tabor has no real yoice on the
council in Yancouver and unless
the people can change the Non-
Partisan administration at the
next election, the B.C. Electric
may be able to get away with its
plans. In Burnaby the labor rep-
resentatives intend to put up a
fight.

“Burnaby has never had ade-
quate transportation. In the last
few years the problem has be-
come acute because of the muni-
cipality’s rapid growth. Until a
Short time ago, Burnaby was
acutally cut in half, with no trans—
portation link between north and
south, In my opinion, we can best
Selve our problems by taking
over transportation ourselves and
Tunning buses where they are
needed and where they will help
the planned development of the
municipality.”

2 GEORGE BURT
Canadian Director, United Au-
tomobile WYorkers Union (CIO).
Press reports state that Burt
and two other officials of the
UWA-CIO were charged “with
conspiring to compel employees
of the Chrysler Corporation of
Canada to abstain from work-
ing.” While this was buried in
an inconspicuous section of the
daily press, its gravity (if au
thentic) cannot be wunderesti-
mated. Union headquarters of
the WAW-CIO have termed the
charges “the most serious threat
to the existence of the trade
union movement in recent
years.”

Miss B.C. Industry

try” at the LPP picnic last Sunday. Running as “Miss
Lumberworker,” she bested 13 other entrants in the pop-

ular girl contest.

7