a ay

federal: assistance on the’ #meils’ present plan for the @sing of returning veterans. ecopnizing that over 35,000 vicemen ‘who left Vancouver anter the services will be re= ying. within the next six doths, and that in addition to {se previously domiciled in * couver a considerable number # servicemen will move from #2r parts of the country to icouver, the Council feels that tive plans must be got under + without any delay. spokesman for the Council P.A. that there has been too m2h talk about housing on the Bt of the civic officials and not fugh action. He stated that it sbout time that the city make ne positive move in the direc- fii of putting into operation nite plans to meet the crisis ffi will become more acute as e passes, “The Council feels ft a great deal of credit is due Bihe 5,000 Homes Now Cam- zn here in Vancouver, which | ther basis for the work that Council is going -ahead on ¢-7? the spokesman said. | ;CULATIVE BUILDING nes Council is of the opinion )..although Some speculative i ding has been carried on in — couver, it does not begin to t the needs of the commun- and. moze than just speculat- building is-nééessary at this 2, The spokesman-_stated that sractors are not driven: by the 1 motive of providing housing jalleviate. the present serious lition, but to “clean up” on need for houses. The swollen h es. for houses (values having mn in some cases 100 percent more) are sufficient evidence a majority of the present ‘ding is done merely to cash “n the unfortunate. situation - which house seekers find saselves. 1e Council points to the fact at the outbreak of war, ;ouver’s population was “in ‘region of 235,000, and since “war the population has risen 309,000. In addition _to this ease, It is expected that near- 40,000 returning ‘servicemen swell the population and ag- vate the already serious situ- ‘a. : : ne Curtis report issued by the eral government shows a Sing shortage, for » normal ds, of 17,731, and the City meil figures indicate a need 14,771. This is without taking ; consideration the normal in- ise due to birthrate. And a ‘kup through existing agen- ‘indicates that 8,000 families aire homes immediately. | tribute is-paid by the Coun- to the .Emergenecy Shelter linistration, which has given alent service in the commun- in its-attempts to deal with

‘4mpossible situation.” The meil ‘points* out that the iter .» Administration. cannot

‘e‘the-problem through their acy, although conditions have "1 ameliorated through their ‘plations and administration. E POINT RESOLUTION A Five-Point Resolution has} | Prepared for distribution by. Council, in which its propos- to aid in the easing of the sent situation are outlined. neil plans include the release Jancouver Barracks (formerly

program

yilitation Council . o Avert City Housing Crisis —

Eee i itical housing crisis that exists in } Acting to prevent a worsening of the already crit 2 oe aeoiver ame environs, A.’ W. Cowley, Executive Director of the Vancouver Citi- His’ Rehabilitation Council has been desp atched on a special trip to Ottawa to appeal

Moves

known-as; the Hotel Vancouver) and that,it be established as a Veterans’ Hostel for returning

service peresonnel, and that it be

operated by an independent body, the details of control and opera- tion be determined; the use of the hutments. on the university endowment Jands and their reno- vation by Wartime Housing for the use, as homes, for service personnel taking university courses under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Other. Council . proposals in- clude the erection of 5000 homes by the Department of Recon- struction in cooperation other federal departments, for rental at a figure in keeping with the needs and income of re= turning overseas personnel ‘and their families; the extension of priorities and materials, man- power and equipment, in order that the project may be under- taken with the utmost speed and that the assistance of any public body be enlisted that the project may be concluded this year. Fin- ally, to restrict speculation in

{ housing, that houses erected by

speculative builders be contin- gent upon the issuance of a per- mit establishing the lawful ceiling prices for the said dwell- ings, such permits to be issued by the National Housing Author- ity or other responsible body determinig the ceilings, based on local conditions.

SPECIAL SUBSIDIES

There are many other means by which the housing situation may be alleviated immediately. These include special subsidies to workers who build theby own homes, and the release of prior- ity materials to such builders; the extension of the provisions of the National Housing Adminis- tration to assure finances for the building of private homes by small private builders; the imme- diate implementation of regula-

with |

tions to govern ceiling prices on houses; and the enforcing of housing regulations compelling persons who have vacant space to rent space to persons requir- ing living quarters.

The council spokesman scored those home owners who oppose building of low rental homes on the basis that values will be lowered ‘as a consequence of any housing plan. He stated that “if these home-owners have . any faith at all in the future of Van- couver, they will not oppose moves to alleviate the present situation.”

Broad. plans must be imple-

/ mented immediately. And in such

plans the Fetleral government will be compelled to play a lead- ing role. The City Council and local contractor’s organizations have proven that their attitude is one of hindrance rather than help in this crisis. The city fathers have kicked the housing football around for years, exam- ining and’ rejecting numbers of realistic proposals to meet the housing needs. The result has been that nothing has been done and the situation has grown more and more grave.

In a few short months, return- ing servicemen will swell the population with their wives and families. If pressure is not brought to bear on the civic of- ficials, and leadership taken by the. federal government in en: forcing building to meet the situ- ation, the whole issue may blow up in the faces of our city ad- ministrators. The housing ques- tion has been kicked around too long, and it is time that organ- izations such as the Rehabilita- tion Council, the Trade Union councils, and other bodies fight- ing for a _ realistic housing program, had their demands con- sidered and complied with, with- out the obstruction at present given to any plans by the Cit Council. ;

World-Domestic Planning

Urged

y AFL-CIO

AFL and CIO spokesmen, testifying before the House Committee on Postwar Military Policy in Washington this week, expressed opposition of their organizations to peace-

time military training.

Peacetime conscription, stated Nathan E. Cowan, chairman of the CIO legislative committee, “would -be equivalent to shouting from the housetops that we do not. believe it is possible to create a world free from war.” Such a -confession would be an invita- tion to all other nations of the world to follow in our footsetps, and would mean the death of the ideals which the United Nations have “professed to be fighting for.” He'called for a reduction in world ‘armaments.

‘Lewis “G. Hines, AFL repre- sentative, urged -that a health should be substituted fer, conscription. “We join with many others,” he declared, “in urging the development of effect- ive international machinery to deal with issues and situations in advance of their reaching an acute development that necessi- tates’ war.”

-E 3 — PACIFIC ADVOCATE

Lack of action, the statement

Fism by Ukranian Foreign Minis-

| viet Ukraine would support the

said “threatens to impair the morale and productive effciency of the workers” at a time when full production must be main- tained to defeat Japan, and dem- onstrates failure to cope with the “Dasie need of maintaining the purchasing power of wage earn-

‘ersito assure an expanding post-

war economy of full production

and full employment.” As the minimum requirements for or- derly reconversion and expand

ing economy, the CIO leaders de- manded that the following steps be' taken immediately.

@ Congressional action to pro- vide adequate unemployment ecmpensation to displaced war workers. -

@ Revision of national policy by the President.

@® Action by the War Produc tion Board to assure resumption of consumers goods production in those plants where war con- tracts have been terminated.

wage

H. W. HERRIDGE People’s CCF MP for Kootenay West

Manuilsky Speaks Out

SS ie FREES Ss $3 ae.

The assembled delegates of the San Francisco, Conference ; were treated tq aastriking example of “cards-on-the-table” bluntness last week, in the form of critic-

ter Dmitri Z. Manuilsky_ directed at the attempts to make the Big Three violate their Yalta voting agreement.

The Colombian delegate, Jesus M. Yepes, who had been identi- fied with those attempting to force violation of the Yalta vot- ing agreement, proposed that the principle that members fulfil their obligations under the char= ter be amended to read “shall ful- fil in good faith,” adding the words “in good faith.”

Foreign Minister. Manuilsky was recognized by the chair, and speaking slowly in French, asked: - “In International law, all ob- ligations must be made in good faith. Why repeat what is ele- nrentary ?”

After he had spoken for sev- eral minutes he added that So-

Colombian proposal, because some powers—Colombia included —had sought to have the signa- tories to the Yalta agreement violate it.

“Today,” Manuilsky continued, “Professor. Yepes has mentioned Bismark and Hitler, but thank God this is no longer the time

of Bismark and Hitler. We are now at the time of President: Truman, Prime Minister Church- ill and Stalin.’:

“We have won this ‘war,’ the Soviet“ Ukranian delegate con- tinued, “‘beease the agreements concluded betweén the Big Three powers have been kept. Teheran, Moscow,..and even Yalta~-gave examples:of “good faith, and this is further reason why we thought the words) ‘good faith’ were un- necessary.

“But now things have happen- ed which change our viewpoint, because during the discussion of the Yalta agreement, certain powers have tried to have the great powers violate the Yalta agreement. Professor Yepes was among those who tried to obtain from the great powers a depar- ture from the Yalta :agreement, and that is why we shall now. support the proposal made by Mr. Yepes.”

Support For — Seaway Plan

The St. Lawrence Seaway pro- ject, an undertaking which re- ceived the late President Roose- velt’s support as far. back as the days when he was governor of New York State, and which has been endorsed by both Con- gresses of Canadian Labor at their conventions, now appears to. be on the threshold of endorsa- tion by the U.S. Senate.

Union leaders in the east are in agreement that Canadian la- bor cannot subscribe to any iso- lationist opposition to the de- velopment, whether that opposi-

‘tion comes from the reactionary

Tories in Canada, anti-New Deal elements in the United States, or from leading reactionaries in the American labor movement. Matthew Woll, leading die-hard in the American Federation of Labor, has gone on record as op- posing the seaway, giving as grounds the contention that -it will . provide with jobs at the expense of American workers. :

Although labor as a whole has taken a keen interest in the pro- ject, one of the unions which has made a thorough study of the subject is the Canadian Seamen’s Union. The leaders of this union have not hesitated to strongly eppose all who place obstacles in the way of the development of the seaway..

Dewar Ferguson, acting presi-

dent of the CSU, took issue with

Woll’s statement of opposition. “The United States is part of the Western Hemisphere,’ stated Ferguson, “and the building of the seaway is a project which will benefit both American and Ca- nadian citizens.”

Ferguson stated that Woll evidently ‘forgets or overlooks the fact that the question of ap- portioning labor for the construc- tion of the waterway will be a matter of joint agreement be+ tween the governments of both countries, to the advantage of the workers of both countries.”

Tt is estimated that the con-

struction of the seaway will mean

hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Rivetters Fight Price Reduction

Forced to take strike action last week-end at the refusal of the Victoria shipbuilders to maintain prices paid on transport ferries which have been paid for the past year, the union has ordered its members back to work on the de- cision of the union and company to present a joint appeal to the Wational War Labor Board. for the prices at present prevailing.

The action of the Victoria ship- builders draws attention to the adamant refusal of the Vancou- ver shipbuilders to consider the prices at present paid for identi- eal work in Victoria as a basis for agreement between the Boil- ermakers’ Union and Wartime Shipbuilding Ltd.

Union officials feel that the board should have no alternative but to speedily authorize the Victoria lists, since it has worked out to the mutual satisfaction of both company and union from the beginning of transport ferry con- struction.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1945.

Canadian workers.

: