VETERANS FORCE PROBE
INTO HOUSING SCHEMES |

AN investigation which veterans and labor or-
ganizations are determined shall probe into all the}
Circumstances under which houses have been built
for and sold to veterans was set afoot*this week as

= - . 2
veterans Affairs Minister lan Mackenzie appreved
ing up of a committee to inquire into hemes erected on

France’s man of the hour

PARIS—Choice of a premier to head the new interim
government of France remained undecided as this dispatch
was filed on Wednesday, Maurice Thorez, Communist
leader, having failed earlier in the day to obtain from the

the Braefoot estate in Victoria. National Assembly the absolute majority of 310 votes $
Establishment of the committee, to be composed: of rep-|$ MECcessary to elect him. Thorez was 51 votes shart of this.

Tesentatives of the Veterans Land Act, the Canadian Legion Previously, Georges Bidaulit,

and the Citizens’ Rehabilitation Council) came only after |? “ouvement” Hepublicain “Eepu-

veterans occupying homes in the Braefoot community had Soo eee Sonn ae

Voiced Strong protests to the veterans affairs department

5 Signed last week, had announced
through the Canadian Legion and threatened to ‘strike? un-_|

that his MRP would not sup-

Vol 2. — << No. 42
Wencouver, British Columbia
Friday, December 6, 1946

Five Cents

Burnaby asks
public busses

By MINERVA MILLER

BURNABY, B. C.—When
Burnaby citizens go to the
polis on December 14 they
will be able to vote for a
progressive alternative to the
20-year franchise sought by
the BCEHlectric.

Gn the proposal of Councilor
Harry Ball at this week's council
meeting, the transportation pleb-
iseite to be placed before the elec-

| torate will be amended to enable

» voters to endorse council action!
for establishment of a municipally-
Owned bus system.

: Councilor Baill’s motion was in-
| troduced in support of a petition
Signed by 1500 residents and pre-
- sented by a delegation of 75 peo-
©» ple, members of Capitol Hill Im-
provement Association, who crowd-

€d into the council chambers.
Spokesmen for the delegation
mere the association’s president,

Ewen Strachan, LPP candidate
ier Ward 4, and its secretary,
E. L. Green.

Gharsing rank discrimination

@Zainst the people of North Bur-
naby and asserting that the plac-
ing of the -BCElectric’s proposal
Was “the work of scoundrels,”
Strachan described the BCHlec-
trie’s policy in terms of retarded
development of the area and
| tansportation difficulties endured
by its residents.

Councilor Harry Ball, who-ear-
liér this year found no seconder
<9 his motion for municipally-
Owned transportation, charged
that the BCElectric, through paid

Camyvassers and expensive : pub-
lieth materials, was falsifying
facets in an extended and costly

| Gampaign to squeeze out all com-
betitors; maintain its grip on Bur-
naby and further strengthen its
hol@ on the economic life of the
Province.

“There is a progressive alterna-
tive m mumicipally-owned trans-
Portation and this referendum
MUSt provide the people with an
| Sbpoertunity to register their sup-
Bert for it,” he said. :

As proof of his contention, he
Gited the successful _ operation
-®f municipal buses in West Van-
conver where hills and scattered
Population created the same dif
ficulties as in Burnaby.
bee The delegation applauded when
) he declared, “The BCElectric is in
© ‘Be business, not for the seed or
the people but for the profits
4p een male out of it. If the BCHlec-
E ie can make money, the people

| ©3n run their own business profit

a {Gontinued on Page 8)
£ See BUSSES

less their demands were met.

Tt was still not clear, however, whether the scope of
the committee’s inquiry would take in veterans housing de-

(Continued

on Page 8)

See HOUSING

For Mayor

T. A. ALSBURY

Anscomb rejects

milk subsidy’plea

VICTORIA, B.O.—Acting-Prem:
ier Herbert Anscomb this week
Was presented by an LPP delega-
tion with a petition, signed by
4500 Victoria citizens, calling up-
On the provincial government to
assume the recently discontinued
federal milk-subsidy. aya

Anscomb expressed doubt that
the government would approve the
request.

When the delegation suggested
that the majority of British Gol-
umibia’s citizens would support
the Campaign for lower milk
Prices. to _ consumers he said, “i
have no doubt that you can ob-
tain the support of 100,000 people
on this question. The people na-
turally will support a petition,
which means in effect, that they
will receive financial assistance
from the province.”

The delegation included Mrs. R.
Noble, Mrs. N. Culhane, Mrs L.
Thompson, Mrs. L. Clarke and

Robert Mezzger:.

port Thorez’s candidacy and, if
the Communist leader failed to
Win election, would put forward
its Own candidate on the next
ballot. This might be either Bid-
ault himself or Robert Schu-
man, former finance minister.

There -is little likelihood that
the MRP, which lest its posi- %
tion as -the strongest political
party in the assembly to the
Communists as a result of the
last election, will be able to win
the necessary majority to elect
its candidate. It can; however,
continue its policy of obstruc-
tion, designed to prevent the
Communists, with~ Socialist sup-
port, from obtaining the leader- 3
ship required to carry through
a popular program for restora—
tion of the country’s economy.
Behind this lies the hope of
strong, reactionary cliques which
have entrenched themselves with-
in the MRP, that out of the
crisis they seek to provoke they.
Can produce a rightist coup.

In this situation the socialist
Party, still a big factor in
-Prench politics despite. a. steady.
loss of support because of its
vacillating position, holds the
key. Many of its leaders are re-
luctant to go along with the
Communists, but. behind them is
the pressure of a militant rank
and file. Unable to resist this
pressure, they nevertheless re—
sort to maneuvers calculated to
defeat its purpose.

Mass labor and progressive vote on election
day can end non-partisan civic dictatorship

The Holden Building headquarters of Vancouver’s hard-hitting Civic Reform Committee, which is
sponsoring two aldermanic candidates, Elgin Ruddell and John Turner, and one school board candidate,
Mrs, Effie Jones, was a busy place this week as supporters organized the last few days of an intensive
campaign to rally the labor and progessive vote for next Wednesday’s civic election. :

“We need every volunteer worker we can get,” John Stanton, Civic Reform campaign manager, told

the Pacific Tribune. “‘Canvassin

we can get the more effective
the final work of our campaign
will be. :

“Our job now is to con-
vince the working people that
the only way they can put the
Civic Non-Partisan candidates
out is by getting out to vote
themselves and swamping the
10,000 business properties
votes that put the Non-Parti-

Sans in.”

Stanton also appealed to
supporters to volunteer Use of
their cars for election day
transportation. :

“The Non-Partisans have

sands of dollars to spend on
eee transportation,” he said.
“We hayen’t—in fact, we urgently
need another $1500 to cover the
cost of even more essential cam
Pa roa Sea that supporters
willing to lend their ears on see
tion day phone Don icin ose
Givie Reform eens man.
ger A. 8152. ae
BE sas is a list of Civic Re-

(Continued on Page 8)

See ELECTIONS

g, telephoning and mailing require scores of workers and the more help

For Alderman

ELGIN RUDDELL

For School Trustee

EFFIE JONES

For Alderman

JOHN TURNER