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Hancox,

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NATO Defense Plans

By indorsing the American policy of increasing conventional (non-nuclear) armaments in Eur- opc the .\'ATO ministerial council probably acted under pressure. Nevertheless. this policy has every- thing to commend it, since its pur- pose is to meet conventional ug- grcssion by the Communists with- out instant danger of precipitating a nuclear war. It will enable the national units of the Western pow- ers to he merged into a NATO force possessing high flexibility and mo- bility, and. eventually, to grapple with any situation, short of nuc- lear attack. which may arise.

As it is, NATO said to be running five to seven divisions be- hind its basic goal of 30 divisions in the front line of European de- fenses. France contributes only a little more than two divisions; the German contribution is weak, in- adequately trained. and ill-prepared for Co-ordinatcd action, and the British contribution (British Army of the Rhine) is below strength and lacks modern equipment.

As for nuclear weapons, the NATO council meeting had little choice but to steer clear of this controversial issue. British, French and American foreign ministers held their own meeting in Paris during the NATO session. The re- sult of their deliberations has not been made public. but it is likely that they discussed a closer pool- ing of their activities. This would involve, on the part of Britain and the United States, a recognition of France’s determination to have nuclear strength and a willingness to co-operate with her. The pOoling would extend to warning and com- munications systems and distribu- tion of targets—not necessarily to the point of France allowing US. nuclear weapons on her soil.

The vital question of who would be in command of a combined nuc- lear armament force in Europe still waits to be resolved. If the NATO nations are to trust someone with that role, they must forget na- tional differences and have a com- pletely formulated policy and 'atrategy. Was this point raised by Prime Minister Macmillan in his talks with President de Gaulle over the weekend; before he left for Nassau to keep his rendezvnus with President Kennedy? Here again, there is little to be gleaned from the news releases. They report "close agreement on defense views” at the Paris talks, and that is about all the public is likely to hear until some clearcut policy emerges.

Bread Upon The Waters

From an Ottawa commentator We learn that in his 25 years’ ex- perience the House of Commons Postmaster has never seen a mail come within tons of this Decem- ber’ls. A staff of 16 men, with two a u t o m a tic cancelling machines, 1 working a 13-hour day with two teddy nights of overtime, has been but a daily 50,000 pieces mil. By Thursday night, when the Ilqttae. rises for the month-long Tuletide holiday, the cou nt will climbed beyond a record ‘ 1.000.000. What is of concern to the taxpayer itthet this spate of mail not to much Christmas greet-

‘~ ; it’s Mostly election stuff. i, Most of the mail, of course. is ’ claim that this it A [£8118 really costs I ' 3W Mthe mails

men/rest ink"

is

have to be carried anyway, and the additional weight of letters franked by parliamentarians is as nothing to the overall bulk. We could all use that. argument with our own in- dividual mail, but it wouldn’t get us anywhere.

A more plausible wreason is that the {ranking privilege makes for free and unrestricted intercourse between the public and Parliament; 3 good democratic principle. But at this particular season. and with talk of another federal general election in the air, this privilege could well be restricted without im- pairment to the public interest.

Last year the Christmas Com- mons. mail ran a modest 480,049 pioccs, most of it greetings with two of every three cards franked. The other half million plus pieces this December. figures the Post- master, is made Lip of reprints of

r Hansard speeches, circular letters,

pamphlets, and whatnot—all of a political nature.

This is how the members cast their bread upon the waters, hop- ing to find it after many days. And it’s all perfectly legal; for under the act they are free to ship out any “mailable matter", which is broadly defined as “anything that can be sent by post.” The Post- master is even grateful that the boys are making such modest de- mands on his facilities at this time ——lt could be much worse, he opines, if they took to sending out bulkier tokens of their solicitude to the voters in their constituencies!

Laughton And The Bible'

The late Charles Laughton not only excelled as a stage and film poisouulity. but as a great inter- proicr of imperishable passages of English literature. During the Second World War, when he had become famous as an actor, he took to reading to wounded soldiers in hospital. lie started with such authors as Dickens, Thomas Wolfe, Whitman. Hans Anderson and oth- ers. and found a heart-warming re- sponse from his hearers.

“One evening," he recalled in an autobiographical sketch. “I said I would like to read a piece from the Bible. There was a grumble of protest. I learned they thought the Bible dull. Then when I started to read they put on extra solemn pud- dingey faces, which was not my ltlt‘él of how the Bible should be listened to. So I set about how not to make the Good Book sound dull and how to cajole them into enjoy- ing it."

Laughton’s success in this field was as outstanding as anything he achieved in his great film roles. From captivating small groups in a hospital ward he was soon broad- casting his Biblical readings across the continent, and recording them for posterity.

He read from the sonorous King James Version, choosing some of the most dramatic incidents in the Old Testament. No one who has heard him in such passages as The Garden of Eden, Shadrach, Mesh- ach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace, Noah’s Ark, or David and Goliath will ever again have reason to think that the Bible is "dull".

As one critic has remarked, Laughton’s achievement here was not due to dramatic talent alone. It involved years of intensive Bible study as well. Instead of declaiming the words as though they were over~ familiar texts, he re-animated them with fervor and passion—read them as though they were a new experi- ence, almost as though they had never been read before. The fresh interest and understanding he brought to the sacred narratives proved an inspiration to millions of people, to read and study them for themselves.

EDITORIAL NOTES

This year. we note, the popula- tion of West Germany will refrain from putting millions of candles on theI Berlin Wall and along the zonal boundary as was done last your. This Christmas greeting, which last year was made to ex- prcss tho solidarity of the entire (‘mrmun nation on both sides of the Wall and the iron Curtain, will be discontinued lest thrl people in the Soviet Zone of Germany should be reminded of their desperate, gloomy situation. A sad commentary on the existing state. of affairs, and 'an example, in the circumstances, of Christian charity and underlitanding on the part of the West German.

‘ 7'».

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MAYBE we ouenr To oer ’I’bGETHER. AND sumo A HOUSE

‘ .0 BRICKS 5' \" F O

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?

OTTAWA REPORT by Patrick Nicholson

Absentee Problem Still Untockled

It is open season on our ab- sentee M.Ps.

The Oshawa "Times" draws timely attention to the revival of the “Tuesday - to-Thurs- day Club." which consists of those M.Ps who attend Parlia- ment only three mid - week days each week, and spend Fri- day to Monday at home. When the Speaker called the House to order on 3rd December, only 133 of our 265 M.Ps were in their seats. This attendance record, points out the “Times.” is not a powerful argument in support of the agitation by M.Ps for an increase in their annual indem. nity of $8.000 plus $2,000 expense allowance.

The Sarnia "Observer" sug- gests that too many of our M.Ps are like the Roman emperor Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned. Our modern “Neros” in the Tuesday - to — Thursday Club are fiddling. says the “Oh- server.” They are shirking their well - paid jobs at this time when “our parliament is probably at the lowest ebbb in its history.”

INCREASING T. Toi'l‘.

Surveys when the House

PUBLIC FORUM

3 column to open to (be dlecuselmi by correspondents of quelliona of In

is

ice! to ed mg and condeneutlon when necessan '1‘ la la able '1 enter Into

any correspondence regard. mg letter: aubmllte . ——

ELECTION AFTERTHOUGHTS Sir, -— It was with pleasure that I read the letter of Mr. Zakem which was published in your Saturday edition. Whether much comment is produced or not, will not alter

r the fact that a very large num-

ber of people feel as Mr. Zakem does. Having voted elsewhere I was deeply disturbed to discov- er that in this Province the bal- lot ls handled by someone oth- er than the voter after it has been marked. I do not suggest that.my ballot was scrutinized before being deposited in the box. Frankly if I felt it had I would make a great public out- cry. Yet with a heavy cross up- on the ballot it would not be difficult for anyone handling it to obtain a fairly accurate idea of what was going into the box. One is thankful, that there is intention of electoral refer-m. It 1| long overdue. Even place of balloting was not clear in some instances. Personally. although balloting was taking place where I had voted for the past eight years, I was directed elsewhere on this occasion and nothing had been posted to in- dicate that such a change had . This is apart from this iniquitous business of per- mitting property holders to vote In a number of districts. Congratulations. too, to all who have protested this filthy busi- ness of bribery to obtain votes. Clearly no man or party is fit to govern anything when they resort to such tactics. If re- ports are to be accepted, and at least one editor has accept- ed them. neither of the parties in this Province are Interested in high morality, nor the main- tainence of law. Rather a lust for power moves them. This may not be official policy, but it is tolerated. If they a re so untrustworthy In seeking vo- tes. I wonder how safe our in- stltutlons are at other times when the chips are down. Many of us are frightened of the dis-

regard for law which charac- ‘

terlua too much of our Provin- clal life.

Knowing that there are men of integrity involved we appeal to them to struggle for honesty in every area of while life.

I am. Sir, etc., I K. I. DODSON

called to order on Monday af—, ternoons show a sharp fallingl off in attcndancc. Early in the 1 session in October, a full house

was actually recorded. By the

end of October, the Monday at-

tendance was only 139 M.Ps. On

5th November it hit an unusually

high 234. Two weeks later it was

down to 157. And last Monday it

was a discreditablc 117. with 77

per cent of the Socrods. 64 per

cent of the Liberals, 47 per cent

of the NDPs and 45 per cent

of the Conservatives not present.

That absentee figure for the

Socreds was higher than nor-

mal through illness; the other

parties showed about their nor-

mal attendance.

Against. this background. it is astonishing to find one lone voicc raised to urge M.Ps ac~ tually to stay away from Par- liament in even greater num‘ bers. the baby among our political parties. the NDP.

“H 1110 high calibre of the New Democratic M.Ps is to reach its full potential. we sub- mit these M.Ps should spend more of their time outside Par- liament. They should he making tours, arranging schools and conferences. writing pamphlets and raising money. Only a cor- poral's guard need man the benches of Parliament."

This proposal for an expan- sion of the T-to-T club is con- tained in the editorial in the December lssuc of the “ 7

self as "the official organ of the New Democratic Party. Eas- tern Canada." The editor of this young periodical. I undcrstand is the son of a rookie MP of the NDP, Mr. A. Brewin, a Toronto lawyerr.

C.C.I-‘. SHUDDERS

The political father of 'the NDP is the former CCF, a was- tern protest party whose mem- bers took their parliamentary work and their political princip- les very seriously indeed. I feel sure that its parliamentary lea- ders‘ and stalwarts such as J. S. Woodsworth, M. J. Coldwell, Alastair Stewart, Bert Herrldge. a (1 Tommy Douglas, would be shocked by this proposal.

The place of an MP. when the House is sitting is in Par- liament. Sure, there is a need for party organisers. pamphlet writers and fund raisers. But these should be the backroom boys and the hired help of the party machine. The MP: w h o are elected to attend Parliament certainly should not go moon- lighting on such non-parliamen- tary chores. With such a tradi- tion, the NDP will never elect more than that corporal'l guard to Parliament anyhow.

Every MP. has work to do in his constituency as well as in Ottawa. There can be no doubt that the working hours and sit- ting days of parliament are now so stupidly arranged that all M.Ps are severely handicap- ped, while those from distant constituencies are especially pe- nalised. This is one of the many reforms which should he made

WARRANT ISSUED

PARIS (Reutersl—Justice au- thorities announced Saturday night that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Jacque- Soustelle. ’a leading under- ground opponent of President Charles de Gaulle's govern- ment. The authorities said the warrant against the 50-year-old ormer governor-general of Al- geria was issued several weeks

EXPORTING CHURCH

LONDON (CP) —- One of Sir Christopher Wren's churches to to be dismantled, shipped across

This heresy comes from ‘

e w . . . . | Democrat," which describes it-l

the Atlautlc and rebuilt on the , campus of Fulton University. Mo. The bomb-damaged church stands in the middle of Lon Ibu'e commercial district.

to update our horse-and-buggy parliament. which pays undue respect to the traditions of the Fathers of Confederation.

That, owever, is no justifi- cation for this NDP heresy - from Parliament even more than now - except no doubt on

Do Germs Live On Big Germs?

By Dr. Theodore ‘R. Van Della-

WE have all heard the saying that little fleas have smaller fleas. Are bacteria pagued by Imaller bacteria? This is a moot question but there have been re- ports that viruses attack bacter- la. Viruses are many. ma times tinier than bacteria; cou- eequently it is lo 3 i c al to as- sume that this occur

But viruses do not kill bacter- ia. In 1951, Dr. Victor Freeman discovered that a nontoxin pro- ducing diptheria bacillus could be infected by a virus. Wh en this took place, the bacillus still was capabe of causing an in. fection in the throat and, at the same time, switched to a toxin- producer. Perhaps the virus remained in the bacillus and was the toxin-producer.

Unwed expectant m o t h e rs have less backache and easier confinements than married mo- thers. according to Dr. Albert W. Bauer. a Viennese obstetri- cian. He ascribes this situation to the posture of the pregnant women. Married mothers-to-be, unlike the nonmarrleds, flaun their condition as a matter of

r de.

The more the abdomen is pro- truded. the more the back sway . e ensuing strain is likely to lead to backache. which may become chronic. The un- wed woman attempts to conceal her enlargement by pulling in her bottocks. This flattens the abdomen somewhat and keeps the vertebras in better align- ment. In addition, the abdomin- al muscles are spared overstret- chlng. and the baby lies in 0 re parallel to the spinal column.

Dr. Bauer suggests that all pregnant women assume the stance of the unwed expected mother. He discourages the wearing of high heels because they tend to accentuate abdo- minal protrusion and 10rdosia of the spine.

(Dr. Van Dellen will answer questions on medical topics if stamped, self-addressed enve- lope accompanies request.)

es: How long does it take to cure tuberculosis in the early stages?

REPL

co

From six weeks to six months, provided modern remedies are used. With tuberculosis, we pre- fer to use the term arrested ra- ther than cured. The disease is notorious for returning it the

pay day.

individual neglects his health.

NOTES BY . THE WAYfi

Canon Anthony Byline. Rdmn Catholic rural dean of Bedford- ehlre. England. after be blessed cars at a ord ceremony, said: “Don’t you think you can drive recklessly now because you are relyinu on God. He ex- pects everyone to drive careful- ly." -— Winnipeg Tribune.

Publicity about the substan- tial Irish sweepstakes prizes won by a few lucky Canadians seems to have fostered wide-sprea delusion that legalized lotteries could easily pay all or most of Canada's hospital costs. Per- haps it is slm an extension of the something-for - nothing delusion fostered by the modern welfare state philosophy. — St. Catherines Standard.

a-

Our Yesterday} )

(From the Guardian

TWENTY - FIVE YEARS AGO (December 18, 1937)

J. G. Murdock of Charlotte- town was a member of the cast in the oomedy drama “The Im- portance of Being Earnest”, presented recently by the Acad- ia University Dramatic frater~ nlty. It is also noted that Mr.

urdock was awarded a dra- matic distinction following the

st. Dunstan's University for hockey team w make first official appearance of the season, Tuesday night at the Forum, when they will meet the Charlottetown Junior AbegWelts in a [ire-season junior hockey

me.

jun- its

TEN YEARS AGO (December 18, 1952) Twelve attractive new traffic "signs" which should greatly increase the safety of the trav- elling pu b 11c. have been pur- chased by the Town of Alber- ton, and all but one have now been erected. The lettering on these signs is in scotchlite. which illuminates at night from the headlights of approaching

cars.

The appointment has been announced of Rev. Louis . Dougan. RCN, as Roman Cath- olic Chaplain, to HMCS Stada- cona, Halifax. During the war Father Dougan was Padre at HMCS Queen Charlotte, a n d recently at HMCS Esqulmalt, Naden B.C.

. "

Salesman — “I‘ve been try. lug to see you .for a week. When may I have an appointment?" Executive ——- “Make a date with my secretary." Salesman— " did, and we had a swell time but I still want to see you." J Montreal Star.

Mr. Kennedy. trying to navl. gate between Mr. Khrushchev on one side and two old conser. vative gentlemen in Paris and Bonn on the other side, must feel remarkably like Ulysses he. t-ween,Seylla and Chanybdxisfi. London Economist.

In Marolles, one voter wag not content to cast his ballot for de Gaulle. He also enclosed a cheque to express his grail. tude. At St. ie, on the other hand. officials couldn't Gpen the ballot box to count the votes be. cause they had lost the key. The mayor opened it with his belt buckle. It was a trick he learn when he w s a war prisoner of the Nazis. “But I hadn't tried it since." he insist. ed. - Le Meridlonal, Marseilles.