British -US ‘get tough’ policy hits snag —

WASHINGTON.—Whither American foreign policy? Having reversed the Roosevelt policy of Big Three unity, is it toward war or peace we
are heading today? These question have been sharpened by the inner-party debate in the British House of Commons, where a “rebel bloc” is chal
lenging the program of Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin in joining with the U.S. in a deliberate “get tough with Russia” line. The British Socialists _
p tracking the footsteps of Winston Churchill and replace the conservative Bevin with 4

who make up the Labor party opposition would like to sto

sort of English Henry Wallace. Outside of Parliament, George

Bernard Shaw has joined the rebel cry, charging Labor party
leaders with “preparing for the next war” by cooperating

with the U.S. against Russia.

With at least 70 members unit-
ed against Bevin, the English sit-
uation is more critical than ours,
where few voices have protested
outside of Sen. Claude Pepper (D.,
Fla.) and Henry A. Wallace.

But the British warning that
“the people of this country will
certainly not follow him (Bevin)
inte war now or in five years
against Soviet Russia in partner-
ship with the barbaric thugs of
Detroit or the narrow imperialists
of Washington or Wall Street,” has
deep meaning here. ;

Most American newspapers and
Big, Business are frightened at
the prospect of this country stand-
ing alone in 2 worid rapidly mov-
ing toward socialism. .And since
we have a“free press,” these pap-
ers and the radio exercise it by

distoring, ignoring or toying with
the truth. :
Because of the fears of Big

Business and the assumption of
power by the Republican Party,
the chances are that American
foreign policy will move increas-
ingly to the right after January.
President Truman’s chief aide in
the Senate will be Arthur Vanden-
bere CR., Mich.) who has approved
the idea of Secretary of State
James Byrnes of opposing Russia
at every turn.

But the Republican path won’t
be all roses and honeysuckle. Re-
member, there is Senator Robert
A. Taft (R., O. who has frequently
epposed Vandenberg’s ideas on
economic foreign policy. And Taft

is leader of a large bloc of GOP
votes—and an even more import-
ant. factor in the 1948 convention
of his partv.

One of the dilemmas for the
GOP is how to have its cake and
eat it too—to maintain a tough,
imperiailstic foreign policy and
be sufficiently liberal in the do-
mestic field to cop the 1948 presi-
dential prize. It is something that
will take a lot of doing.

@ur British friends in the Labor
Party have been trying to demon-
strate this plan of action with
precious little success. They have
a Churchillian, imperialist foreign
policy and a socialistic policy at
heme. Im the one thev have full
Conservative party support, but in
domestic matters if is a dog fight.

The GOP congressional steering
committees are talking -boastfully
of lopping off nine billion dollars
in federal expenditures, including
a 20 per cent cut in income taxes
—and “at the same time softly en-
dorsing the present bi-patrisan for-
eign policy.

The fact is that one can’t cut
taxes and maintain that same for-
eign policy. The policy demands
enormous outlays-for the military
and naval establishments, peace-
time conscription, and lots of
atomic bombs.

So, if we are to continue playing
tough with the Soviets rather than
return now to the smother course
of Big Three unity and trying to
get along as a friend rather than
2 bully-boy, the tax reduction idea
is impossible.

General Assembly of the United Nations ‘ oe

British labor gov’t body opposes
equal pay for women in industry

By JOHN BRANDON

LONDON—British labor’s drive to crack the core of industry’s cheap labor supply re-
ceived a severe setback Nov. 10 when a government-appointed royal commission ended 2
months-long study with a report opposing equal pay for women workers. In many British
industries, women get as little as 50 percent of the pay given men on the same jobs.

Basis for the commission’s rec-
ommendation is. that women are
less efficient and less reliable
than men who spend their whole-

Crisis due unless people’s income
raised, Murray warns CIO meet

ATLANTIC CITY—A charge that “there is not an honest economist in America who
doesn’t predict a bust to follow our present boom” was made Nov. 18 before the opening
session of the CIO convention by Pres. Philip Murray. Reporting on the national econ-
omy, Murray said “it is purely a question of when the bust will occur,” with estimates

ranging from the third «quarter
of 1947 to the early part of
1948. a

“It is generally agreed that the
bust will occur mainly for two
reasons: (1) the level of con-
sumer income is not sufficient
to support the high demand and
high production; (2) prices are
at inflateq levels. At present
prices are higher than at any
other period in our history and
have reached this point because
of the greedy desire for exorbi-
tant profits by Big Business.”

Murray showed that between
April 1945 and August 1946, work-—
ers’ weekly wages in manufactur-
ing industries dropped 5.4 percent
while BLS figures show consum-
er prices have risen 13 percent in
the same period.

“Therefore, August 1946 earn-
ings of $44.61 will purchase only
$34.40 worth of merchandise in
terms of April 1945 dollars. This
indicates a drop of 16.4 percent in
the purchasing power income of
manufacturing -workers.

“The total monthly payroll of
manufacturing industries has alse

declined,” he said, dropping 22
percent in the period, but when
corrected for the rise’ in prices

Cio PHILIP MURRAY
- , - when the bust will occur.”

‘6

“we find that the drop in pay-
rolis has been 31 percent_

“<<. . . Not only workers’ weekly
wages in manufacturing indus-
tries have declined, but the total
national pay envelope is shrink-
ing. Between 1945 and 1946, total
income payments have dropped
only $3 billion, but the annual
rate of payments to wages and
Salaries has declined $10 billion,
or a decrease of 9 percent. Gn
the other hand, payments in
dividends and interest and busi-
mess income have been on the
increase. The shift in income
payments from wages and salar-
ies, which is really consumer
income, to business income and
the recipients of dividends and
interest, is unhealthy. Business
interests have fared better than
-the American consumer in this
postwar era.’

Murray argued that the collapse
could be avoided only by raising
consumer income and reducing
prices which he demonstrated
could be done out of corporate
profits and rising productivity.

Aussie unions urge US quit China

SYDNEY, Australia—Leading unions are pressing the Australian government to use
If necessary,

its influence to have U.S. troops withdrawn from China.

question of U.S. intervention
ity council.

Among the unions asking the
government to take this course ‘are
{he Boilermakers Society, Feder-
ated Clerks Union, Sheetmetal
Workers Union, Building Workers
Union, Blacksmiths Uhion and Ac-
tors Equity.-

Explaining: Australian labor’s
eoncern, Sec. W. Hale of the
Blacksmiths Union pointed out

that although the world war is
PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 2

in China should be placed before the United Naitons secur-

they urge, the

over, the people of China “are not
spared the horrors of war. We
believe that endeavors should be
made by all peace-loving people
to end the Chinese civil war.”

An “increase of $2 a week
for all industrial workers is
expected as a result of the recent
strike wave, which culminated in
the 9-day tie-up of all transport

in Victoria, second largest of Aus-

tralia’s six states.

Another important strike result
is the pledge from the Australian
Labor government that it will
reach a favorable decision beforu
Christmas on labor’s demand for
a 40-hour week.

The strikes forced the first ma-
jor break-through in government-
imposed wage ceilings and in

many cases led to introduction of
the 40-hour week.

lives at a single trade. The com-
mission also placed considerable
weight on the employers’ argu-
ment that any inerease in wom-
en’s wages would have to be
absorbed by price rises.

British unions presented evi-
dence to the commission shew-
ing that the acute manpower

shortage in many industries has {>

been caused by the withdrawaz
of women. They pointed out that
if the government fails to take
@ positive stang this movement
will be accelerated. It will ac-
centuate the manpower shortage
at a time when the government
is proposing to Grain the labor
supply further by a compulsory
draft.

Government figures support the
union presentation. They show
that the number of women in in-
dustry, which hit a wartime peak
of 3,30,000, has already dropped
to the prewar level of 2,250,000.
They also show that women have
moved out of the low-paid indus—

tries in which they predominated
before the war. ;

For example, only 200,000 wom
en were in the chemical en—
gineering and construction im-—
dustries in 1939  \(Teday they
number 540,000. Qn the other
hand, the number of women in
textiles and hosiery has shrunk
from 340,000. to 280,000. Im the
latter industries, important to
British export trade, wages and
conditions are notoriously poor
and there is now a desperate
labor shortage.

The numerous unions in which
men’s scales are directly affect-
ed by the employment of women
at lower rates are certain to meet
the royal commission recommen-
dation with spirited protest

The London ‘Trades Council,
representing 600,000 workers, has
already announced its support of
a conference on the question on
Dec. 7, Intl. Women’s Day. Labor
delegations are also being organ-
ized to visit members of Parlia-
ment on the issue.

Spy commission report
‘@ monstrous injustice’

TORONTO — In a recent copy of its bulletin, ‘Civil
Rights,’ the Emergency Committee for Civil Rights calls at-
tention to the fact that the King’s Printer continues to print
and distribute the report of the Kellock-Taschereau Commis-

sion which incriminates individu-
als interrogated at the secret hear-
ings on the so-called espionage
cases who have since been ac-
quitted of charges of violating the
Official Secrets Act. fae

Two cases in point are Wm. Pap-
pin and E. G Adams who were
acquitted in court after having
been found guilty at the secret
hearings based on evidence given
by Gouzenko and the RCMP de-
tectives. They were held guilty
by the commission on the flimsiest
of hearsay and so-called evidence
much of which was prompted by
the examing judges.

“Readers abroad can have no
check on the accuracy of the state-
ments in the report ... HH is a
reflection on the reputation for
accuracy of the official Canadian
documents and a monstrous injus-
tice to the individuals concerned
that the King’s Printer should con-
tinue to circulate a discredited
document.

This endangers the fund2men-
tal principles of justice designed

te permit the accused to have ac-

cess to counsel and to secure 2
fair trial. This also violates the
principle that every indiviaual
must be presumed innocent until
found guilty in a court of law.”

Suspect !
BOSTON—There’s a lesson for
labor in the award of half the
Wobel peace prize for 1946 te Emily
Greene Balch of Wellesley, 79,
honorary president of the Wo

men’s International League fcr
Peace and Freedom.
She took part in the early

battles of the AFI, and was one
of the founders of the Women’s
Trade Union League. Tong 2
friend to political refugees, she
is a pacifist who early in the 30's
perceived that fascism was “an
€vil force abroad that had toe be
met by force.” ;

In 1919 she was listed among 62
persons named by Military Intelli-
Bence as holding “radical and
pacifist views.” ~~

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1946