» Orthopedic

@112 fiuurdiou

Lovers Prince Edward Island Like the Dew Published every week-day morning at 165 Prince Street Charlottetown, P.E.I., by the Thomson Company Ltd.

[an A. Burnett, Publisher and General Manager Frank Walker, Editor Member Canadian Daily Newspaper Publishers Association Member of The Canadian Press Member Adult Bureau of Circulation: Branch oiices at Summerside. Montague and Aiberton ltei.-resented Nationally by» Thomson Newspapers _ Advertising Service “ K1112 Street West, Toronto, Out. 640 Cathcari St, Montreal 1030 West Georgia Street, Vancouver 3) Carrier Charlottetown, Summerside $13.00 per gn. llum Elsewhere in P.E.l $9.00 Other Provinces and Us $12.00 per annum.

“The strongest memory is weaker than the weakest ink.”

TUESDAY, Jan., 7, E55‘

PAGE 4

Challenging Figures , Just how serious our education problem is in this Province has been

revealed by Mr. K. A. Parker, Sup- _

erintendent of Schools for Charlotte- town, in his contribution to the “Educational Horizons” series in yes- terday’s Guardian. The following figures which he cites will bear re- petition and close study:

Out of 3054 pupils enrolled in Grade 1 in 1944, only 1778 were left in Grade 8 in 1952-—a loss of 48_per cent. Only 1147 were left in Grade

10 in 1954‘~—a loss of 62.4 per cent. '

Only 439 enrolled in Grade 12 in 1956—a loss of 85.6 per cent. And of the Grade 12 students, only 299 reached certificate standing on the final examinations. The most serious implications are the dropouts on the Grade 8 level which ' show nearly one-half of our boys and girls leav- ing school with less than Grade 8 standing. .

The 1' core of the problem, Mr. Parker emphasizes, is the inadequate supply of properly qualified teachers. The recruitment -of teachers involves not only adequate salaries, but.”ade- quateand acceptable working con- ditions. 70 per cent of‘ the children of, this Province are in ‘rural-and vil-' lage schools, and it is here that edu- cational opportunities are of prime importance. Parker suggests

-that to ensure equal opportunity for ~

these childr-en,Vtwo immediate steps could be taken with very little added cost to the taxpayer. First,-the ac-

ceptance of the principle of the lar- ;

ger school administrative unit,’ a

procedure urged and recommended

in’ practically every brief presented to the Legislative Standing Com- mittee on Education last spring. Also, complete revision of our pre- sent assessment policy which places such heavy penalties on the land- owners, overlooking the fact that school taxes should be shared pro-

portionately by the non-farmer, the-

professional people, civil servants, merchants and other business men.

The worst deterrent to progress of any kind educatfonallyis not so much active opposition as public

‘apathy. Eventually, we believe, the

Federal Government will have to recognize its -responsibility to assist in raising the -general standards of secondary education throughout the country. In the meantime, however, we cannot simply drift aloiig in

view of the challenge presented by - such statements ‘as the City school

superintendent has made.

Worthy Cause

The “Polio Post”, issued from the Centre in Charlotte- town, with its “views, news, facts and fiction”, spiced by touches of humour, is an attractive, well pro- duced magazine. It reflects much credit on Dr. T. Gencheff and his associates who, guite evidently, spent a good deal of time in putting it to- gether and found pleasure in I the work.

While the emphasis is on polio- myelitis and its treatment, attent- ion is paid to reliabilitatgion from other crippling diseases. In the words of Mr. H. Baxter, campaign mana- ger for this year’s March on Polio and Rehabilitation, “our ultimate goal must be rehabilitation of all our handicapped, whether young or old”. This theme runs through the whole publication; and certainly it is one which merits the generous support of all our citizens.

Asto polio, it is not the scourge it once was, thanks to Salk vacc-ine, one of the great medical discoveries of this century. Nevertheless, there is still much research to be.don'e be- fore the disease can be said to have been totally conquered. On this sub- ject, Dr. Gencheff’s answer to the question “Why are we having an- other March of Dimes campaign” deserves the widest publicity. “Many people feel that with the wider use of Salk vaccine, the need for contin- ued support of the Polio Foundation is no longer apparent. This is not so, however. Many victims of polio epidemics of former years still need assistance. We must also realize that polio cannot be stamped out over

winter, even‘ though it may . late spring.

night nor even in a matter of a few years. Research into its prevention and treatment must continue for some time to come. However, as a pronounced reduction in the inci- dence of polio is already evident, the scope of the work undertaken by the Foundation has been widened to in- clude the rehabilitation of persons suffering from-a variety of disabling diseases”. Hence, the new name of the organization—The Canadian Foundation of Poliomyelitis and Re- habilitation. _ This yearts objective for "the March of Dimes campaign is $10,000, all of which will be spent for the benefit of handicapped persons in this Province. It is a small enough amount, considering the ‘work that remains to be done; and we are con- fident that it will be raised without, difficulty. ‘

Fa rm~ Loans

The 27th annual report of the Canadian Farm Loan Board for the year ended March 31, 1958, shows that luring the period under review 2057 loans fora total of $8,309,650 were approved. This compares with $8,255,000 in the previous fiscal year. The average loan was $4040.00, compared with $3,835.00 the year before. .

At the end of the fiscal year there were 18,931 first mortgage loans and, 2,389 second mortgage loans outstanding. These loans re- presented 'a total of approximately $45 million, an increase of nearly $5 million over the previous year.

There was little to becomplained of as far as farmers’ honouring their obligations under the Act was con- cerned. 87 per cent of the amount due on interest had been paid by the end of the year. Moreover, of the total of $3,623,518 of principal re- paid during the year, ovbr 54 per cent was received ahead of time.

Subsequent changes in the Farm Loans’Act will make more farmers eligible for loans. with longer periods in which to repay them. In the first ‘six months of the curre/nt year there

' was a substantial increase in re-

quests. For that six month period, loan approvals were 45 percent hig- her than in the coirespoiiding per-' iod last year.

EDITORIAL NOTES

“Above normal temperature" is the forecast for another month a"t. least in this area. It will shorten the mean a

* 1- -it » Canadian oil production has cer-

‘ tainly climbed rapidly in the last ten ‘

years. In-1946 it looked after only

9.4 per cent of domestic require- --

ments. In "1955 it amounted to 66,- per ‘cent. And of coursethe demand in-

creased steadily‘ during the period.

- . 4- :4: it The United States has sentj,10,-

.000 tons of wheat to Ceyon as a.‘ V

practical means of sympathy to that country which in recent weeks has been hard hit by floods. ‘It would be a gool thing if Canada were ‘to take action along similar lines. 3 ‘~ in v: vi» I Heat, like almost everything else, is relative. On Dec. 22 when summer officially began in the South Pole region," the temperature went to 2 degrees below zero, the highest lvel for several months. The weather station in Antarctica referred to this as a “heat wave”. * * i We understand that the chief electoral officer in Ottawa has ad- vised returning officers and poll clerks who served in such positions during last summer’s “stand by”. That may or may not mean that a new election is just’ around the corner, but it evidently means that the electoral officer is of that opinion. . * 1' I ' The Premier of Sikkim, a tiny in- dependent kingdom in the Himalayan Region of India, reports that his country is going into the Scotch whiskey business. Since Sikkim’s water closely resembles thatgof Scot-, land, he thinks “there would be no‘ difficulty to distill good Scotch”. Others have been under a similar wishfulness until experience disillus- ioned them. We are afraid that Sikkim is not going to make a for- tune in Scotch. * * it A Nikita_Khrushcl vv, leader of the Russian Communists, must have tip- ped his elbow beyond the limit of discretion at his New Year’s party in the Kremlin. First, he said he had no intention of toasting the Soviet Army. But, after a few extra drinks of his favourite beverage, he changed his mind and made a long speech extolling the armed forces.

election to -

a

Ottawa: Every year about 7,- 000,000 Canadians and Americans visit Niagara Falls. Many of them are honeymooners keeping in the groove. One or two are madcaps trying to dodge the watchful police, and ride over the suicidal 180‘foot precipice in a barrel. But most of them are- tourists, come to watch the awe- - inspiring cascade, shrouded in spray by day and jazzed up by coloured floodlights at night-

The two hundred thousand cu- his feet of water which thunder over the twin falls every second are typical of the white horses which Canada is fast taming in every accessible part of this wa- ter-blessed country. _

The year, just ended came near to- setting up a record for the growth in our harnessed water powér, Hon. Alvin Hamilton, Mi-

. nister of Northern Affairs and

National Resources tells me. New -hydro-electric capacity put into operation during 1957 amounted to one and one-half million hoijse power, he disclosed. ‘ 1958 on the other hand will be the banner. year, with the newly installed capacity‘ totalling 2,200,- 000 horse power, or nearly half a million horse power more than the previous record in 1954. . ‘B.C. IN THE; LEAD New ‘hydro? electric capacity

/ higher level in British Columbia than in any other province. The total exceeded 600,000-horse pow- er, and exactly 300,000 came from the two newunits at the Kitimat-Kemauo‘ aluminum devel- opment.

, Quebec came second among the provinces in harnessing water Po- wer with a 1957 total of 473,900 newhorsepower. Like B.C., Que- bec saw a large part of ‘this growth come in thecform of new

PUBLIC. l=oRu/vi

. This column is open to the discus- sion by correspondent: of question of interest. the Guai dian does not necelr sarily endorse um opinion of corres- pondents

TOO MANY FIRES IN 1957

Sir, —- Looking back over the year 1957 we take a long look at the fire list topped by a million dollar fire in Nova Scotia at Christmas. Most of these fires are described as “of unknown origin”. That is a very poor explanation. In most cases someone knows how fires started. We see it every day of the week right in our own homes and places of employ- me-_nt. Lighted matches, burning cigaret butts, hot ashes, blow torches and neglected stoves-« these are at least some of the answers to “unknown fires. .

How many times do we see people smoking around piles of straw? How many times have we seen cigaret butts dropped on the floor and roll still burning into dirt-filled cracks and simmer there? How many times have we seen oil stove tanks filled to over- flowing and creep across the floor or soak into the walls? How many times have we seen stoves turned on too high and forgotten during morning work? Fires starting in basements, fires starting in closets and fires starting in gar- bage piles are also due to some- >ne’s carelessness.

Let us think for a moment, if fire raced through this city and burned sixteen stores in one night, how many of us would be idle and without homes‘? Think of the misery such a fire could bring, maybe all from a neglected match or cigaret. Years ago a a fire was a rare thing; now every paper has a fire report, most of them of “unknown origin.”

Let us now, in this new year, see our weak spots every source of danger at our work and in our homes. Don't. wait to put a fire oiit---Don't let it start. Let that be our slogan for 1958.

I am, Sir, etc., Vt’. A. O'BRIEN

Charlottetown.

o'TiAwA REPORT, A Huge Hydro Resources

By Patrick Nicholson Special Correspondent for The Guardian

developed during the year hit a,

origin” '

and check 1

units added to an existing mon- ster. Two new units, each of 150,- 000 horse power, were added to the Bersimis power plant, hun- dreds of miles north of Montreal. That throbbing monster is now ov- er half its planned final size of 1,200,000 horse power.

Just how fortunate Canada is, in havingthis natural and undi- minishing source of abundant po- wer in her lakes and rivers, ‘is shown by the final statistic given me by Resources Minister Alvin Hamilton. This. is that, although our harnessed hydro-electric pow- er capacity nowtotals a. whop- ping 19,871,008 horse power, there remain over 50,000,000 potential horse power not yet harnessed in Canada. ‘

Some of this valuable power- still running to waste is near ex- isting power-hungry communities and likewise near the date of its harnessing. Typical of\these fu- ture projects may be the propos- ed irrigation and power plan for the South Saskatchewan River.

It is possible, even probable, that

a start may be made on this.

HELP OUR" HANDICAPPED"

\

long-deferred aid for Saskatche-

wan this year; it all depends up-‘

on how quickly the federal and

Saskatchewan governments can reach agreement on the financ-

ing arrangements. - WHAT HYDRO MEANS The thunder

force.

Our hydroelectric power today ‘represents the equivalent ‘of 52,- 000,000 tens of coal per year. Or in terms of manpower, this de- velopment adds the equivalent of a stupendous 630,000,000 able-bo- died men, labouring eight hours a day for 300 days a year. Thus one hundred hydro-eclectric rob- ots are at the elbow of every,‘ man or woman in Canada's lab- our force today, assisting and

multiplying his, or her output.

And with hydro"-electric power as cheap ‘as it is, each of these robots costs only $4 _, per year,‘ compared to a- human wcmker costing about $3,300 per year at‘

present wages.

And yet, inthe-Lface of this ina- tural blessing; there is a fear in Canada of the competition of so-

called low-cost, foreign ‘labour;

ter by taking heavy clothes out of storage, wild animals and’ birds simply grow new outfits.

In North America, certain crea- tures provide themselves with the equivalent of down comforters, white suits to match the snow, and snowshoes for easier travel.

Birds that flew south this au- tumnmade the journey on new pinions. Just before migratiouthe birds shed flight feathers, frayed from nest-building and family du- ties, and grew fresh ones.

The bi-rds‘that stay north also molt, and develop new outfits conta-ining a heavier growth of feathers to conserve body heat- AVIAN SNOWSHOES

The feet of the ruffed grouse, a favorite game bird, are bare in summer. As cold weather ap- proaches, the scales on the edges of the toes become longer, pro- ducing a comblike fringe that serves as a snow-shoe when the grouse searches for food among the drifts.

Another wintertime trick of the ruffed grouseprotects it from keen-nosed predators. When bed- ding down for the night,~it flies rather than walks to a snow-

hideaway. No scent trail is left to‘ betray it. "

Snowshoes aren't only for the birds. The snowshoe hare, an an- imal superbly equipped for life in changing seasons, grows long, coarse fur around its feet in win- ter.

The snowshoe hare has another ability that gives it an alternate name —— varying hare. In sum- mer it wears ‘brown fur. But when winter comes, the dark hair drops out and white hair grows in, providing camouflage in the snow. For late fall and early spring, when the snow on- ly blotches the ground, the hare has a two-tone coat.

WEASEL GOES ROYAL

Also famous for this trick is the weasel, a ferocious little pred- ator that apparently kills for the pleasure of "it and tackles ani-

. mals much larger than itself. In

summer it is brown with white underparts. But in northern win- ters the common weasel becomes the regal ermine, clad in imma- culate white except for a black-' tippe‘d tail.

The transformation, which has no effect on the weasel’s disposi- tion, takes from ten .days to three weeks. The thick, white coat not only protects the animal from the weather, but makes it harder for potential enemies —— hawks, lowls. and house cats — to find it in the snow. The white guise al- so helps the ermine stalking prey.

Weasels living in regions with little or no snow do not change color when they molt. Transplant- ed to the north. a southern wea- sel stays brown in winter. Simi-

drift, plunging into the insulated,

Their Winter Wardrobes _Natlonal Geographic Society '

While humans prepare for win-, larly, an ermine from‘ the» north will continue to change its color

in the snowless south.

(From The Guardian Files)

' TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO (Jali. 7, 1933)

will be capable of cleaning most all types of seed.

_ The Prince Edward Island High- landers held their annual regi- mental dinner Thursday evening at the Armouries. Col. U. G. Daw- son, Bedeque, Commanding Offi- cer of the Highlanders, presided, with Major W.-J. MacDonald se- cond in cpmrnand. Among those Sparling, W. Chester S. McLure, Major Hold, Col. GAE. Full, Col. And- rew, Major Conrad and Col.-Mc-v

who spoke were Col.

Nevin.

TEN YEARS AGO (Jan. 7, 1948)

A truck loaded witlj"eight tons of frozen smelts left the plant of Jenkins Bros., Ltd., Summer- side, Monday and will arrive in

New York today. This is th

smelts are fished and they at

considered quite a delicacy on Tourist Class from l75 s 50 . American tab1es_ $ 3 Tourist Class from 5130 Mr. Wilfred Gaudet, Manager '55“ ''°''‘ “"5", TI vissn y,,.,,",",“ I. of the Summerside Branch of the ‘ Provincial Bank of Canada for the sYLvANiA 5,, “N H C05,, L, _ _ . . , | _ past six years, has been trans- $a>é%rTlLAlA gm. .17 H.,,.,i?i':::(Tiibuiy) at" :2 gobli.l-lverfoolmwy, ferred to the post of Assistant sixom flit’ FEB: ii §:tl‘$hi:,°'.l’°°'(1-ii, M59“ Fri. ' JAN: 17 i.-3.'.'.2:..i’" °" I Manager of the Bank in Monc- SYLVANIA so}. FEB. 22 Cobh,'Liv:rp?oI' WY) sl.I’s'AyIE1H s\)v7,' MN‘ n Ch°'b°"'°’s°"'h°mpl°: ton, a much larger branch of this 'g§:,N,,';*,,,, :2; W3, 2: §g;;°:L!°"d°n llilbvrvl PARTHIA res?" §? $::§Z',i°’s°""'°"p° bank. I-Iis successor at Summer- SAXONIA . Fri.‘ MAR. 14 Huvro,l::rir¢lpo°ri)l(Tilbwy) Fri. res. 7 CoblI,LiverP°°‘ , side will be Mr. G. M. Mulhol- 5“-V‘~N'A 5°'- MR 22 Coblhl-iverpool Q '“."" ‘El '3 Huvrmlondonlriibinyl IVERNIA Fri. MAR 28 Ha L d - "5" EUZAIEIH hi. FEI. 14 Chorbourg Soin|wmP'°" land: 3¢°°“nt3“t at the SL 301111 CARlNTH|A Sal APR.’ 5 coivii:'Li::rp:'olT"bwY) AMA M‘ FE" 2' C°“"'“"’;”°°' N.B. branch. i _'$AXONlA Fri. APR. ii Hnvre, London (TilburYl MEDl‘AM I'‘"'‘' m‘ 27 "°""t°"d°"m"m’ '. res. ~ From MONTREAL QUEEN EUIAIEIH 5:». mi 2i %i'.§'.'i3§‘5lo, SoufhamP'°' .M :|$JEl.|;/rfilillfi yxea. 2:2. 16 Greenock, iimpooi ;;,‘,;" 7 Cobb, liverpoolflbwy, ncAR|N.|.H|A Wuerg. APR. léavra, Ltimtlinn (Tilbury) PAR1'H|A Fri MA‘ tluvvcétfndcn ( I :$YwANlA Thu”: MAY- 8 Greenock, Livsrpfiol QUEEN ELIZAIETM Wed MAR: 19 C'h:':our9r 3°VilW"lP'°“ Nothing can be great which is '$AX0NIA- Thurs. MAY 3 H¢r:fe:;°lfOl\dlt::r(¥::llJry) 3/Yels/rm“ M‘ WW‘ 7‘ C°"""“'°"’°°' not right .5 S R f A l Thuu MAR 27 Haws, London (TilbuIYl ' vmmer GGSOII G 05 Y,

FRENCH MISSILE BASE

PARIS (AP)~—Exp1oratory dis- cussions have opened in Washing- ton for the location of inter- mediate range ballistic missile bases in France, a government spokesman said Monday. State Secretary Dulles and Ambas- sador Herve Alphant are en- gaged in talks but these cannot

yet be called negotiations. he said.

in the Niagara Gorge, the reshaping of the St. Lawrence River Valley south -I of Ottawa to create the St. Law- rence Seaway and power project, the blue—prints for the South Sask- atchewan dam —-all these mean one thing: an expanded‘ produc- tion capacity for Canada's labour

OUR YESTERDAYS.‘

Recently a number of interest- ed seed growers met and organ- ized a company to be known as the Island Seeds, -Incorporated.‘ It is the intention of_this Com- pany to use the building formerly owned by, the P.E.I. Grass Seed Growers.‘ It is understood that - machinery will be installed which al-

third consignment to be shipped to American markets in this way. The gulf of St. Lawrence is the only area in the world where

Getting Off To Right Stoirt

By Herman N. Biindesen, M. ‘D. You have to live a healthy life every day. Unfortunately, not too many of you do. ' \. While I am against regimenta- tion, there are a few things all of us can and should do every day to get the most out of our lives and, at the same time, keep our- selves in good physical and men- tal condition. , So, for the next few days, let me take you step by step. through a full day, from the time you arise ryou’ll be getting up a little earlier now),’through your hours