By

JACK

On the march, in the
battle lines, lone
sentry duty
death stalked close by;
on the seas, or to the

on
when

music of the bomber’s
motors, thé boys sang
that old
expressed their

song which
ideal
of victory and peace:
« . - well build a lit-
tle nest out there in the
West, and let the rest
of the world go by.”

With the coming of
peace, “business as
usual~ has strangied

the hope of the song
in a raucous medley

of official ‘“explana-
tions,” promises and
studied evasion. A

black market in lum-
ber has turned the ob-
jective of veterans’
homes imto a sorry de-
bacie, in which “no
become the
the day-

vacancies”
order of

PHILLIPS

a HE slick chick was singing in a soft, sentimental strain.
Something about how sweet it would be to live in a
bungalow, “with the girl of my dreams.”

“Turn that radio off! Turn it off,” I say.

Sue looked at her husband

in surprise. “Why, Jim!

Don’t shout so loud! You'll wake baby in the next room.”

* Jim, a blonde haired young
giant, looked disgusted. “Why do
fT have to listen to that tripe all
the time ...and those singing
commercials? I sometimes wonder
if the radio is a blessing or a
eurse.” -

Sue, dark and tiny, turned down
the radio. “You like the radio,
too, Jim. You listen- to the news
and you like Vienna waltzes and
light concert music. The trouble
is that this two room flat is too
small for a home, and its getting
On our nerves. Do you think T
enjoy, living in a shabby, down-
town housekeeping suite...
where you walk up three flights
and cook on a single gas plate?
Where people come and go all
night .. and where you can
hear your next door neighbors
fighting every Saturday night?”

“Yes, I guess this place is hard-
‘er on you than it is on me. Every
time you go shopping, you have“
to carry parcels up those stairs
. . - and the drabness of this place
must get you down.”

“Are you kidding, brother?
Lucky I have a sense of humor.
You do get a lot of laughs in a
Place like this. There was the
night that chap came to my door
three times. He had a bottle in
his hand and he was looking for
Mable, You were working late that
night and I was seared stiff, but
after it was all over it struck
me as very funny.”

“T can imagine. But what we
are going to do about getting a
place of our own, I don’t know.”

“Have you given up the idea
of a small holding under the Vet-
erans’ Land Act in Burnaby?
That’s a pretty good piece of land
your dad wants to sell us, and
pretty cheap.”

“The trouble is that the VLA
have passed a new regulation for-
bidding small holdings in areas
like Burnaby.”

“But there is so much unde-
veloped acreage there. It would be
ideal. So near your work in town.
Do you think there is any chance
of getting one of those War Time
houses?”

“Not for a while. Last time I
went to see them they told me
that they are down to placing
married vets with two children.
When they'll get downto placing

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 10

people like us, with one child, is
hard to say.”
e@

IM lit a cigarette and took a

deep puff. “Damn it all,
there’s plenty of building going
on all over town, but not for
people like you and me, the people
who need it the most. They’re
building plenty of expensive
houses, and theyre putting up all
kinds of commercial and indus-
trial property ... but they have
no materials and labor for vet-
erans’ homes, or so they say.
Look at Pete: He started build-
ing his house eight months ago,
and the contractor hasn’t done a
tap in three months. No material,
he says. But the contractors have
materials for the new theater go-
ing up downtown, and for the
new office building around the
eorner. And if you want to pay
six, Seven or eight thousand dol-
lars for a cheap bungalow worth
half the price, you can have your
pick, if you can pay a few thous-
and dollars down. I’m not a man
to grumble, and I don’t think the
world owes me a living... but
I do believe the vets of this war
are getting a shabby deal. You
waited three years for me to come
back and marry you, but I had
hopes of giving you something
better than this!”

T this juncture, a fast-talking

radio announcer spoke from
the radio. Wine o’clock, U-Lova
time. Wear a U-Lova watch and
you'll never have to ask what
time it is! And now, by courtesy
ef your morning newspaper, the
Daily Blah, we bring you the
latest headline news. First head-
line comes from London, England.
Flash! Communist led squatters
are seizing vacant apartments and
hotels in widely separated parts
of London. Harry Pollitt, British
Communist chief, spoke to a mass
rally today and demanded that
the King should open Windsor
Castle and Buckingham Palace
to homeless citizens. Prime Min-
ister Atlee has called a special
cabinet meeting to discuss the
Situation, after making a state-
ment to the press in which he
branded the squatters as law
breakers and declared that they

kid,

will not be allowed to break the
law with impunity.”

“Flash! Closer to home, in Ot-
tawa, Canadian veterans and,
their families are seizing vacant
government buildings. Whether
this move is, or is not, inspired
by Communists, is not known,
but city police and RCMP are
taking every precaution to pre-
vent it from spreading.”

When the last sentence was
read, Sue turned the radio off.
“You know, I think those people
have a good idea. It’s one way to
get homes.”

Jim seratched his head. “I guess
you're right, but will they get
away with it?”

“They are still in the Old Hotel
Vancouver.”

“But how many buildings have
Wwe got like that—old hotels slated
to be torn down?”

I don’t know, but there might
be others ... and what about all
the old military buildings? And
why couldn’t some people like us
move into some of those swank
apartments they are buildigg in
this town?”

Jim laughed. “Sue, you’re get-
ting reddei: every day! Suppose
you land up in jail!”

“So what! If a lot of us people
got together and moved into a
few luxury apartments, it might
wake up the authorities ... and
it might arouse the people to do
something.”

“But something like that takes
a lot of organizing.”

“But why can’t we speak to
some of our friends, like Pete and
Jenny, and Art and ea. You
could get a few boys to join from
your veterans’ club. That’s all it
takes 7. ~. just some one to
start.”

“Maybe I am old fashioned, Sue,
but I have a healthy respect for
the law. Where would this coun-
try be if such a movement spread,
and if people could just move in
and take anything they wanted?
After all, the same law that says
its wrong for us to do what you
say makes it wrong for some one
to sté€al our personal property, or
the few hundred dollars I have
in the bank.”

But the law doesn’t stop the
Sharks from charging five thous-
and for a 30 year old shack that
was worth eighteen hundred be—
fore the war; it doesn’t stop the
cost of living from going up; it
doesn’t stop the big fellows from
staging a sit-down strike because
they want to pay low wages and
sell for high prices; it doesn’t
stop people from living in slums,
to raise children in this un-
healthy atmosphere. The trouble
with you is that you don’t read
enough, Jim. Like Anatole France
wrote: The law forbids both the
rich and the poor from sleeping
under bridges. (Maybe I’m not
quoting word for word, but I
hope you understand.)”

yi

IM laughed heartily. “So you

want us to go squatting? Well
kid, if you feel so keenly about
it and I can get some of the
gang together, I’m game. But I’m
still a bit leary of landing in the
hoosegow.”’

“If they put you in Jim, they’ll
have to take baby and TI. Listen
Jim: You are always bragging
about your brother in the States
and how far ahead of this coun-
try the USA is?” :

“And they are .. aren’t they?”

“In some ways, yes, in others
no. But did you ever stop to think
that the USA became a nation
only after the thirteen colonies
broke the law and started a revo-
lution ?”

“Good Lord, woman! ‘You don’t
want to start a revolution, do
you?”

No, I only want a decent
home for us, for our baby, and

for the babies to come. The point
is this: You can’t blame people
for breaking laws that keep them
from having a decent, normal
life. If the law said! you were only
allowed to eat once a day, would
you obey it?” :

“Gee whizz! You sure did a lot
of reading while I was away. You
talk like one of those Karl Marx
guys.”

“Karl Marx? Who is he?”

“Some guy who wrote a lot of
books ...all about capitalism
and socialism.”’ :

“He ought to write about the
way they are giving veterans and
their families a poor deal. That’s
something to write about!”

“O.K. pal, but how’s about a
bit of coffee and toast. Let’s think
it over for a day or two. Maybe
something will turn up.”

Like you getting a job at
$3,000 a week, crooning over the
radio, and renting a penthouse in
New York?”

“Could be...in a pig’s eye.
Let’s have the “coffee!”

e

YEN days later, the mayor was

‘having a stormy conference
with an agitated apartment house
owner, the chief of police and a
representative of the Department
of Veterans’ Affairs. The property
Cwner was furious. “Mr. Mayors
You have to get them out of
there I tell you! And you, Mr.
police chief! jYou must arrest
every one of them, and especially
Jim and Sue Peters, the ringlead-
ers. They have no right to be in
my building and I want them
cut!”

The mayor looked apologetic.
“But we must devise a method.
Public opinion won’t stand for
violence. After all, these men
were heroes, only yesterday. Mind

For a very small percentage
the housing problem is being solved. The above picture.
shows an RCAF veteran and his wife looking over the

building of their home at LaSalle Barracks,

Ont.

=-*We'll build a little nest---’

you, I sympathize with your posi-
Lion 24

“Sympathy, bah! I want action!
What this town needs is a mayor
with a firm hand! The trouble
with you is that you have one
eye on the law and one eye on
the next election!”

The mayor flushed, “I will not
have you talk to me that way,
sir.” 2

Then do something! Why do
you think the solid citizens of
this efty supported you in your
last election campaign? Because
we wanted to see a bunch of reds
walk in and take over our prop-
erty?”

The DVA representative spoke.
“But haven’t they offered to pay
Tent

“Rent! Do you call $25 a month

_ rent? I can get $50 for the cheap-

est suite in that place! What do
you think TI am, a philantrophist?
Certainly, I want to help our yvet-
erans, but Im only a private
citizen. What will Ottawa do
about this?” :

“Ottawa wired me today, and
Stated that the situation is one
for the local law enforcement
authorities to deal with.”

The landlord turned to the
chief. “And what do you say?”

“IT am merely a servant of the
people. If I am instructed to act,
I will do so. But I know this city
quite well, Any violence in this
case would raise public feeling to
a fever pitch.”

Then what is the solution?”

The DVA representative leaned
over. “It may seem like a plati-
tude gentlemen, but the solution
is very simple.” :

Every one turned to him. “What
is the solution?”

“Just this: GIVE THEM
HOMES!”

of veterans and workers,

_ Kingston,

Por the majority of veterans the problem of a

home is still “operation No. 1.” Promises made during
the war are now being replaced by governmental “ex-
planations” and official buck-passing.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1946