W. G Murrin

im. G. Murrin;—president, B.C. Power Corporation Ltd.; president, B.C. Electric Ry. >. Ltd.; Director—Dominion Bridge Co., Ltd.; London and Western Trusts Co. © -d.; Mutual Life Assurance Co. of Canada Ltd.: Bank of Montreal; Union Steam- fips Co.; Montreal Life Insurance Co.; On the lighter side, Mr. Murrin is also a ember of—Vancouver Little Theatre Assoc.; Vancouver Art Gallery; Vancouver Nmphony, and plays golf in his spare time as president of the posh Shaughnessy Vights Golf Club. (From “Who’s Who,” 1945.)

ho Controls The B.C. Electric?

N THE March 29th issue of the Pacific Tribune, the

first of a series (Lhe Octopus) appeared, prepared by the Trade Union Research Bureau of Vancouver. It was a job well done and widely appreciated by large numbers of people, who are manifesting a keen interest in the monopoly control of the natural and physical resources of British Columbia. “Give us more of The Octopus,” they Say, it helps the common people to understand who owns

British Columbia.

The first “Octopus” dealt entirely with the lumber mon- oepoly, showing the domination of the gigantic MacMillan con- cern in B.C. logging and tim- ber products.

“@ctopus” No. 2 (which is also tied in with the- logging octopus through interlocking di- rectorates — CPR, International Nickel C€o., ete—is a gigantic monopoly in its “own right,” with its tentacles sunk deep in B.C. power resources, steel, the packing trust, finance, etc., and even penetrating, through its Royal Bank connections, into Brazilian Traction. The Braz- ilian peon, like the British Columbian, must pay his per diem to the voracious stomach of the B.C. power octopus.

Apologists' for the monopoly octopus are loud in its defense. “Private enterprise,” they chant, with monotonous regu- larity, ‘must be preserved.” Private enterprise, indeed ? Lenin had something to. say ef private enterprise, which still applies in our day.

“Monopoly is the direct op- posite of free competition; but we have seen the latter being transformed into monopoly be- fore our eyes, creating large- seale production and squeezing eut small-scale production—fi-

JESBITT & THOMPSON J. W. WOODYATT G. TF. Ww. G. MURRIN

CUNNINGHAM

Gordon & Belyea Bank of Montreal

MacKinnon Struc- tural Steel Co. Ltd.

lso directers of:

: Cunningham Drugs -Ower Corpn. of Canada -

M. W. WiLSON

Royal Bank of Canada Dom. Engineering Works Can. General Electric

. Keotenay Power Co. ,orthern B.C. Power

i creigm Power Securities vuthern Canada Power Co- = P anada Nor. Power Corpn. f orthern Qntaric Power Co. Pan. Wire & Cable Co. Ltd. (anadian Oil Companies Ltd.

B.C. POWER CORPORATION, LIVITED

B.C. Electric Railway 2 National Utilities Corporation Vancouver & Fraser Valley & Southern Rly. Columbia Estate Company Victoria Electric Co. B.C. Motor Transportation

BH. GUNDY

}

fe assey Harris |ominion Steel & Coal CC. Packers

HH. McDONALD Vancouver Power

Vancouver Island Power Western Power Company of Canada

.. W. ARNOTT = : Bridge River Power Co.

_'. ©. MAINWARING

EH. GRAUER Burrard Power , tT. GOWARD

INGLEDOW

-IFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE i1

Can. Pacific Railway Gon. Mining and Smelting

S. GODIN, JR.

Gan. Light and Power Claude Neon Gen. Advertising Ltd.

HE, LL. Ruddy Ltd. JOHN DAVIDSON

Brazilian Traction Canadian Western Lumber Co. Ltd.

J. L. TRUMBULL

J. W. SPENCER

A. P. HOLT

lligh Prices —minus Low Wages =equals Big Profits

ELECTRIC RATES ANNUAL WAGES Wear Revenue Net Profit* Percent Baverage Cost Per KWH Motormen, Conductors, 1943 (000s) 5 to Bomestic Consumers 1939 — $15,396 $5298) pe eee es 34 1 fe Montreal © = $2145 1940 — 16,911 G15 37 OD ae st ae 1941 — 18,702 Cele ee eee 36 ee ee 2

NitysS: ugks ie eS 1.00 IUDED NED 333322: 1942 — 21,652 SOV Ge go ee Ie 38 ee ee 1861 Boe a aay Sree See se

Reread ee os bot ee 2.93 VARCOUVER 1943 23,83 2 Wannipe 1729 1944 — 25,207 6302 25

*Before Reduction of Income Tax

8

nally leading to such a con- centration of production and capital that monopoly has been and is the result; cartels, syn- dicates and trusts, and, merg- ing with them, the capital of a dozen or so banks, manipu- lating; thousands of millions.”

Free enterprise? The power octopus exists for the express Purpose of seeing that there will be no free enterprise which does not correspond to the interests of the octopus.

And as Lenin succinctly puts it: “Monopoly is the transition from capitalism to a higher order’’—the imperialist system, which perpetuates itself upon exploitation and fascist meth- ods of class-rule. Thus in the monopoly octopus, the people face a powerful industrial and financial oligarchy, which has only one watchword, one aim— the highest prices, low wages, and big profits.

If The People Owned The

| Power!

A system of public owner-

Ship of the power resources of ~

British Columbia would mean that within a period of ten years the people could have (a) one million h-p. of hydro- electric energy available for sale at rates varying from $10 to $25 a hp. per year. It is estimated by competent au- thorities that this would give the province a revenue of ap- proximately $10,000,000 per year.

(b) The development of our power resources under public ownership would make possible the establishment of a high- quality iron and steel industry oh 2 sound economic basis. Such an industry is impossible under the “private enterprise” grasping policies of the power octopus.

(c) With power developed under public ownership, B.C. could have an aluminum in=

- dustry with an annual capacity

of 100,000 tons.

(d) The pulp industry of B.C. at present no small item, could be doubled with the de- velopment of our power re- sources. AS it is, the lack of power is already curtailing pulp production.

(e) A whole flock of new metal and chemical industries could be established in B.C. were power available at other than monopoly prices and wil- ful curtailment; copper-refin- ing; zine refining; chemicals; magnesium, antimony -and other metals could be pro- cessed. But the “Octopus” says “no.” Not in just that way of course such crudeness would expose the power rack- ett, but in powerful wire-pull- ing behind the scenes, plus an avalanche of sauve propagan- da, intended to lead the people to believe that the octopus is God’s gift to a harassed hu- manity.

ERIDAY, APRIL 19, 1946