VoL 1. No. 37.

Five Cents

Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday,

Gctober 25, 1946

Formerly PACIFIC ADVOCATE

POLICE ACTIVE
IN BUSH STRIKE

By DARSHAN S. SANGHA

Province pickets get vicious sentences

aA Ith ough Attorney-
General Gordon Wismer

recently assured a delega-
tion from the British Colum-
bia Bederation of Labor that

his department was not inter-
ested in obtaining severe penal-
ties and C. W: Tysoe, K.C., crown
prosecutor, informed the court
that “the crown is not seeking
any Severe sentence,” Justice Wil-
son im assize court this week
handed down vicious sentences
against three trade unionists con-
wacted on unlawful assembly
charges arising out of a demon-
stration last .July outside the
strikebound Vancouver Daily
Province.

Earlier this month an assize
court jury acquitted seven other
trade unionists on similar charges,
dismissed charges against two
more.

Those sentenced were:

Wilfred B. Friesen, 36, writer,
eight months for unlawful as-
sembly. :

Jack Rockandel, 21, engineer,
Six months for unlawful as-
sembly.

Rebert Daniels, 31, laborer,
four months for unlawful as-

sembly.

J. S. Burton, defense counsel,
had suggested that the sentences
should be confined to the two
weeks the accused had spent in
Qakalla since their conviction or
that fines should be imposed.

“They are good citizens of this
country and thought that they
were doing something for a
cause to which they are aligned.
Perhaps they went too far, but
many others were doing the same
thing they were doing.”

Justice Wilson brushed aside
this allusion to the fact that the
demonstration had been a popu-
lar protest against the anti-labor
Stand of a powerful newspaper
combine and his comments in
passing sentence revealed his ig-
norance of labor affairs.

“You thought you were friends
of labor. You turned out to be

enemies,” he asserted, overlook-
ing the fact that the MInterna-
tional Typographical Wnion had

publicly thankeq these same “ene-
mies” for their efforts on its be-
half and that the entire trade

union movement had rallied to;

their defense.

A few of the 12,000 bushworkers who hit the picket line over the weekend are
shown taking up positions before the Feldman Timber Company in the Cochrane area.

“The rights of ship’s delegates
are jeopardized by the sentences
imposed in this case,” James
Thompson, CSU vice-president for
the Pacific Coast, said. “Magistrate
MeInnes singled out the four ship’s
delegates as the ringleaders, sen-
tencing them to hard labor and
suspended sentence on the other
crew members. Regardless. of
the merits of the case, the ship’s
delegates were acting on the crew’s
instructions democratically agreed
upon in ship’s meetings.”

Charges that they- had wilfully

disobeyed the jlawful commands
| of the Waihemo’s master, to which

ithe 19 crew members arraigned in

To appeal Waihemo seamen case
on basis of gross discrimination

Sentences of three months’ hard labor imposed on four crew members of the Canadian-
Australasian freighter Waihemo when they appeared before Magistrate W. W. B. McInnes
in Vancouver police court last week will be appealed by the Canadian Seamen’s Union on
the ground that they are discriminatory, John Stanton, union counsel, has announced.

court pleaded guilty, arose out of
their refusal to sail from Auck-
land, New Zealand, last August, un-
til a “distressed British seaman”
was removed from their quarters.
Similar charges against six other
crew Members were withdrawn.

Evidence was given by Captain
John MRitchie, reading from the
ship’s log, that. most of the crew
members had been logged! for vari-
ous offenses before the Auckland
incident.

This was countered by John
Stanton ,defense counsel, with the
(Continued on Page 8)

See SEAMEN

intention of entering the alder-
manic contest this December as
a Labor candidate.

Woe newcomer to Vancouver
Civie politics, John Turner is se-
eretary of Vancouver Labor
Council (CCL), last year polled
More than 5000 votes for council
On a United Labor ticket.

His candidacy this
Sponsored by a group of trade
unionists, among whom are Tom
Parkin, John McCuish, Gladys

year is

John Turner gets aldermanic nomination
in forthcoming civic election contest

ivic Reform Committee, which has already nominated Elgin Ruddell to con-
test ae eee Vancouver civic byelection necessitated by the death of Ald. H. J-
Corey, has now endorsed the candidacy of John Turner, who this week announced his

Shunaman, George Pulling, Jack
Greenall, William Rigby, May
Ansell, Ed. Wennerlow, Bert
Melsness and Don Barbour.

Chairman of the sponsoring
group is Fraser Wilson and the
secretary is Malcolm McLeod.

Defining his platform, Turner
declared his opposition to “tax
favors lavished on big business
concerns, including public utili-
ties,’ voiced his support for “a
readjustment of civic finances to

give a square deal to the small
taxpayer.”

Turner remarked that it was
high time “the Non-Partisan re-
Bime’s short-sighted neglect of
our civic services” should be re-
placed by “a long-range plan for
civic development.”

Fraser Wilson announced that
his group would seek the endor-
sation of labor and community.
organizations for Turners can-
didacy.

Nanaimo citizens
in milk campaign

By AL DEWHURST

NANATMO. — Some 2,000 WNa-
naimo citizens signed a monster
petition last Saturday afternoon,
demanding that the provincial gov-
ernment assume the responsibility
of restoring the recently removed
milk subsidy. The petition was}
Sponsored by 2a
united committee
comprising the
UMWA, the
UMWA § Auxili_
ary, the TWA
and the TWA
Auxiliary, the
Women’s Labor
iheague, the Lo-
eal Council of
Women, the Old
‘Age Pensioners,
the CCF and the

Al Dewhurst LPP.

A delegation from the commit
tee waited on the city council to
seek their support for the restora-
tion of the milk subsidy and the
permission of the council to set
up booths on the city streets for
the purpose of soliciting signatures
for the milk petition. The council
granted permission to solicit signa-
tures on the city streets but saw
fit to refuse to lend its support
to the demand for the restoration
of the subsidy.

Aldermen Wilson and Ross op-
posed the endorsation of the com-
mittee’s resolution or the grounds
that Labor has received substan-
Gal wage increases and could well
afford to pay higher prices for
commodities.

he man.

-attempt

TRUSTEE, INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (Ci®), BC. DISTRICT

PORT ARTHUR— Another chapter of labor history is being written by 12,000
striking woodworkers of Ontario, led by the AFL Lumber and Sawmill Workers’
Union, in the fight of the Canadian people for decent living standards and se-
curity. On October 12 they walked off the job as o

Today, from the
Quebec border to Atikokan
in the southwest, the shut-
down of the industry is one
hundred percent effective. The
tanks of the strikers are solid.
Picket lines have been thrown
around nearly all points of
production and the vital com-
munication centers leading to
the camps. While the Drew govern-
ment has already ordered provin-
cial police to interfere with pic_
keting in the Timmins area,
there as yet has been no such
in the Port Arthur re-
gion.

The bush-workers are striking
against the conditions that pre--
vail in most of the industry. The

Wages are generally miserably
low. Working hours are long.
Living and working; conditions

are intolerable.

The average basic daily wage
rate is between $3.00 and $3.50
plus board: and lodging. Piece
workers are able to make 2
lite more. But it is hardly
comparable to the minimum
wage of 82 cents an hour that

has been established in the
British Columbia lumber in-
dustry by the International

Woodworkers of America.

While wages have arisen else—
where, the Ontario bush workers
have received no general wage in-
crease during past years: Steeply
rising living: costs have further
reduced their net earnings:

The lumber barons of Ontario
are reaping fabulous profits. The
price of newsprint, of which Can-
ada holds virtually world, mon-
oply, has arisen from $48 to $84
a ton during the war years. The
value of pulp and paper stock has
increased by no less than 357
percent. ‘ ‘

Living conditions
able in most camps. The bunk-
houses are dilapidated and un-
Sanitary. The workers have to
sleep on double decker bunks. In
a majority of the camps, blankets
are not cleaned. Sheets and pil-
low cases are not provided at all.
Bed bugs, lice and vermin reign
supreme. Bathing and washing fa-
cilities are totally inadequate.
The civilization of the shower
bath has not penetrated into the
jungle empires of these lumber
barons. There is no central heat-
ing system even in the face ot
extreme freezing temperatures.

For over twenty years the On-
tario woodworkers have endeay-
ored to organize. Hach time they.
have encountered the. dogsed op-
position of the operators.

Today, however, after < long
and hard struggle they are or-
ganized into the AFL, Lumber
and Sawmill Workers’ Wnion
(Locals 2786 and 2995). Prior
to the strike the two Iccals had
a membership of over 4,000.
Scores of new members are en-
rolling now.

Even today the workers enjoy.
mo union security. In fact, even
union recognition has been de-
nied them. Intimidation and vic—
timization of active unionists has
been common. Open violence has
been used aginst union organ-
izers. In the fall of 1929, two
union organizers were murdered
near Onion Lake on the property
of Pigeon Timber Company. Their
bodies were not recovered until
the spring of 1930. No investiga-
tion was conducted by the au-
thorities.

The program of the Ontario
bushworkers calls for € a mini-
mum daily wage of $5.00 plus
free board and lodging; 6 in-
creased rates for piece workers;
© free tool for piece workers
and day workers and day lab-

(Continued on Page 8) :
See BUSH STEREIERE

are unbear-