She Never Was Afraid
The Biography of Annie Buller, by Louise Watson
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Prices campaign
When the Second World War finally came to an end,
there followed here in Canada as elsewhere, a period of great disruption
which officialdom called "reconversion". The factories which had been
manufacturing war materials closed down, throwing their thousands upon
thousands of workers out of jobs. No plans were ready for extending
peacetime production and much of the war machinery was obsolete. The
great numbers of women who had operated those machines were now without
jobs. They had learned many things, and were justly proud of the
contribution they had made to the defeat of Hitler fascism. The myth
that "women's place is in the home" had been very much exploded, and
they wanted to continue to exercise their skills in the building of a
prosperous peacetime economy: In addition the men and women of the Armed
Forces were returning home, being demobilized, and in search of work.
It was a period of great turmoil, and monster
meetings of workers were taking place to discuss ways and means of
getting industry into peacetime production and getting our people back
to work.
The controls which had been in effect during the
war were being lifted, with a resulting increase in rents and prices of
food and commodities. The women of the Party began to tackle the problem
of rising prices, and Annie, who was now business manager of The
Tribune and National Affairs, gave a helpful hand.
In 1947, it was decided to arrange a delegation
to Ottawa on the question of prices. Annie contacted a number of
professional people in medical and family welfare circles, and a lunch
time meeting was arranged at the YWCA. An organizing committee was set
up with Mrs. Lily Phelps as Chairman. The Toronto Housewives Association
offered to help, as did some unions whose members included many women,
such as the Bookbinders, UE, etc. Trade union locals were visited,
church organizations, and others. Letters went out across the country
and the support was very heartening. An appointment was arranged with
Prime Minister Mackenzie King, and a delegation of a hundred or so
journeyed to Ottawa in June. Mr. King received the delegation, the women
presented their brief, promises were made to them that "something would
be done" — never kept, of course, and prices continued to rise.
That delegation was the forerunner of the March
of a Million Names campaign which followed a couple of years later. The
Housewives Association spearheaded the campaign, and a working committee
of three was set up to get the campaign under way — Marge Ferguson,
Helen Weir, and Louise Watson. Mrs. Rae Luckock was the president at the
time, a very sincere and honest woman who loved people and was
especially concerned with the welfare of the working class family. She
was accorded a warm welcome wherever she went to speak, and drew a great
deal of support for the job in hand. The Rubber Workers Union Local in
Parkdale offered the use of their hall as an office, and the use of
their mimeo machine. Here the committee began to work and the campaign
got under way.
The objective was to collect, if possible, a
million names on a petition to reduce the prices of goods and services
to pre-war levels. The slogan "Roll Back Prices" was coined by the women
and appeared on all literature sent out. One housewife designed a pin in
the form of a rolling-pin, and hundreds of them were sold. They became
the badge of all those working in the campaign.
All over Canada women's groups took up the
challenge, and through the winter petitions kept pouring in from every
province. There were block petitions from trade union locals, members of
churches, home and school associations, all sorts of groups, even some
wholesale fruit concerns.
By spring, when a tally was taken, between seven
and eight hundred thousand signatures were in. Now it was time to get a
delegation together to take the petition to Ottawa. Louis St. Laurent
was now the prime minister, and he had not granted an appointment, but
in April the delegation of some 500 went to Ottawa anyway.
Prior arrangements had been made for
accommodation for the delegates, the rent of a hall at Carleton
University for a public meeting, and the use of a theatre as
headquarters during the day. Also a permit had been secured for a
parade, with police escort. Well, the day came for the presentation, and
a donkey and cart were secured to carry the petitions to the Parliament
Buildings. The driver, who was the owner of the outfit, felt the
importance of the occasion and headed the parade, wearing his top hat.
It might be interesting to mention here that as the parade wound its way
up the drive to the Parliament Buildings, a police-escorted government
staff car bearing a Belgian Prince on a state visit arrived. The
entourage managed to pass, but when reaching the Parliament Buildings
there were so many women in front of the main entrance they had to take
the Prince around to a back door.
Ottawa residents had never seen such a
demonstration, and along the route people were leaning out of windows
cheering and waving. Press photographers were on hand. Placards were
carried bearing the slogans "Give us this day our daily bread", "Milk
for our children", "Give us back the ten cent loaf", "Roll back prices".
Upon reaching the Parliament Buildings, two RCMP officers stationed at
the door told Mrs. Luckock that the delegates could not enter. She told
them, "Inform the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament that they are
the servants of the people, and we are the people, so we will wait."
There she stood with calm and dignity for over an
hour. Finally she was told that she would be given a hearing by one of
the Ministers, and other delegates might "sit quietly in the gallery".
The petitions were brought into the lobby and
Helen Weir stood guard over all the boxes, barrels, and packages. It was
the source of great curiosity and wonderment by people going back and
forth in the corridor. One Cabinet Minister came and said, "What's all
this?" "Our petitions for the roll back of prices" was the answer. "We
are here to present them to Mr. St. Laurent." "Well, you can't do that,"
said he. Later the women took the petitions by taxi to the residence of
the Prime Minister, along with an affidavit stating the number of
signatures.
That evening the hall at Carleton University was
filled for the public meeting, and plans were agreed upon for further
work.
The next day information was filed at the office
of the Combines Investigation Branch against the flour milling companies
and certain bread companies, for fixing the price of bread.
It was a terrific demonstration, and one which
gladdened the heart of Annie. She was filled with pride in the women of
this land who could organize and carry through such action. She referred
to it many times in articles she wrote for National Affairs Monthly
and other publications.
Later on the housewives' organization was
superseded by the Congress of Canadian Women so as to provide a vehicle
for the coming together on a much broader scale of professional women,
trade unionists, women in the cultural fields, and so on.
In 1960 the Congress initiated International
Women's Day Jubilee Year, which was celebrated with spirit in all the
provinces where there were branches of the Congress. One of the events
in Toronto was a banquet in the Oak Room of the Union Station where
honour was paid to outstanding women of our country by the guest speaker
Bob Ward. Annie was presented with a scroll signed by the Jubilee
Committee.
Annie served on the National Women's Commission
of the Party for several years. She gathered data on the various
problems of Canadian women, and wrote numerous articles for publication.
She prepared material for study, and conducted classes for women on the
principles of Marxism, and how they apply to the position of women.
As time went on the effects of the furious pace
at which she worked for so many years, and the rigors of those years,
began to take a toll of her energies and health. It was becoming
difficult for her to travel around to meetings, so it became customary
for the Commission to meet in her home on Winett Avenue.
Work among women is an area that is very complex
and requires patience, tact, and thoughtful understanding. It is easy to
become discouraged sometimes, but discouragement was something Annie
didn't seem to suffer from. The members of the Commission found her full
of enthusiasm, and the tremendous experiences of her years in the Party
were a source of inspiration to them all.
continued
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