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PAGE FOUR

TIIE lillhllLllTTETllWllllIAlillEl

‘ _ Dally (Founded lei 1881i as Second Class Moli- Pofl Office Department. Dttawn.

a Ills " “' Vice-i‘ I Wm. I, Burnett; SocL-Tregu. G. M. Barnett; Editor and l! T "' ‘ml-KB “ ' ' Editor.

Mo Albhorllel

[rank Walker.

“The Strongest Memory is Weaker Than the Weakest Ink."

MONDAY, DECEMBER Z3, 19“

liov. llr. Genge, Poet

lt is not necessary to produce rhymes_to be a poet, or most of our greatest poems including those of the Bible, would be unknownto the general reader. A poet has the gift of illustrat- ing in words, as a painter does on canvas, what he sees, hears and feels intensely and spiritually, commonly called inspiration or the divine afflatus. To the few only is this act given, and mare often than not they are unrecognized by the world at large, though appreciated by the few having had the good fortune to know them intimately. Among the number may be included lev._Dr. Conga, who passed away yesterday after a brief illness at the ripe age of eighty-three, Latterly he was a preacher professionally, but at heart he was a literateur, and was never happier than in congenial company discussing books, poetry and philosophy. As a preacher he was noted for the comprehension of his dis- course, and the facility with which he brought home to his hearers in graphic language what to him seemed the meaning and interest of the text, in the subject under discussion. When he was Minister of the Central Christian Church, he was invited to address a Service Club then recently formed. Among the audience were two distinguished University men, one a professor of philosophy, and the other a dean of law. At the close of the address they concurred in de- claring it was one of the ablest, most forceful and eloquent orations they had_ ever listened to. Most of his sermons were of this description and quality, but unfortunately he did not often have so learned and appreciative o congregation. He, though lacking the opportunity of an early classical education, made up for it in later life, and revelled in learning. He wrote a number of poems, but published only a few. He delighted in singing of the common things in life, of ships, of sailors, of toilers of the soil, of youth and its inspirations, and of the part the common man played in the advancement and the progress of the world. Such, for instance, as in these verses of Thomas Hardy:

Only a man harrowing clods In a slow, silent walk

With an old horse that stumbles oral nods Half asleep as they stalk.

Only thick smoke without flame From the heaps of couch-grass;

Yet this will go onward the same Through Dynasties pass.

Yonder a maid and her wight Came whispering by;

War's annals will cloud into night Ere their story die.

The last verses he wrote did not do him credit as a poet, but reflected gloriously on his appre- ciation of and admiration for a fellow captain of the sea, viz Angus Walters of the Blue- nose.

It is a great good fortune to meet with such men as Dr. Genge and to have them in one's community. Unfortuniately they do not always meet with the appreciation and rewards which their talents deserved, but it was ever thus.

When my poor bones an hearsed in clay,

And final sleep hath sealed my wondering eyes, The moon as now will~ sail through tranquil skies, The soft wind in the meadow grasses play;

And sacred Eve, with half-closed eye-lids, dream; And Dawn, with rosy fingers, draw the veils

Of silver from the shining face; and gales

Sing loudly; and the rain from eaveshoots stream With bubbling music. Seek my soul in these;

I am part of them; and they will keep Perchance the music which l wrought with tears, When the moon shines above the silent trees Your eyes shall see me; and when soft as sleep Come murmurs of the rain, ah, bend your ears!

Why Thirty Por in...

In his correspondence with the Premier of ‘Nova Scotia Prime Minister Mackenzie King concedes the right of the Maritime Provinces to have 30 per cent of the White Commission lward for special claims restored to thorn, over Ind above the amounts fixed under the new tax agreements. This offer represents the sum of $825M annually to this Province; to Nova Sco- 150' ll’ "Pfllllli! $390,000 annually. Not ‘very large sums, as subsidies go, in either case. But why 30 per cent only? Both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island ale asking for the full I00 per cent restoration of these subsidies, which wan deducted from the grants paid us under .th_a wartime tax agreements. As suggested in these columns the other day, Mr. King's latest offer has a "phonay" look, more in keeping with Jtba principles of horse-trading than with re- " l sible statesmaiiship. This is evidently the

' Appleton of the’ Sydney Post-Record, which says

lit: ,

hen effaijlng to restore only 30 p" w" ‘ White award of BLINMN Mr. King says ls the fermeleodapted in the case of tho ‘ ~ ' Provinces. eiiil would place Nova Scotia ~< _ them In the er ef Domin-

~ a , ‘ This eieans that lie brushes aside ‘ ‘- i atlons of the White speclfical eii the ‘eco- wlileh e Maritime mablect, ewin to their - in rel to the _ of Canada.’ What f is that these ‘eco- fer n, es well as the ncen end Wiiira

Commissions, both appointed by hls own Gov- ernments, awarded this Province, when similar awards were made to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, to balance the picture as be- tween. the Maritimes and the rest of the Domin- ion. lf he expects the Government of Nova Scotia to take that kind of thing lying down, he needs to do some more thinking."

It is a vital principle in Dominion-Provincial relations that is at stake in this issue. It would seem that Mr. King once again has forgotten what "Maritime rights" are, and is in need of a reminder. If so he will find it in the follow- ing paragraph af an editorial from the Hali- fax Chronicle (Liberal):

"Mr. King is deliberately destroying the bal- ance that is essential between the Dominion and the Provinces. .As the Dawson Report declared in I944: ’lt may well be that the only defence the Provinces will be able to invoke against an aggressive Dominion will be an appeal to their awn people for political support.’ lt might be appropriate for such an appeal ta be made at this time, when it is not merely a matter of a financial dole that-is at issue, but the rights and status of a proud people and the general ques- tion of the unity of Canada at large "

e- EDITORIAL NOTES —.

On the last short lap for Christmas.

Fur buyers are here again as usiial; its the cold weather makes them our welcome tourists. I I I I If one wishes to see a human hive—like bees working for others not themselves-—the post of- fice these days is the place to go. * i l‘ i

Seventy-six per cent of North American housewives refer to newspaper advertising for grocery news according to a recent survey by the Home Makers Guild of America.

i i i l’

Bacon, ham and pork is to cost us more‘, and at the same time the British consumer will get less. His ration from now an will be reduced from eight to six ounces per week- less than an ounce per day for an average fam-

ily of five.

fl O Q i

Samuel Smiley, British author and biograph- er, born this date i812; first practised medi- cine, then took to iournalism, and became known for a series of books of which Self-Help had the most notable success. "The common saying ‘Do as l say, not as l do’ is usually re- versed in the actual experience of life."

Though milk will cost the consumer more —at least a cent per quart—there is no in- dication that potatoes, of which there is a sur- plus will cost him less. The Federal Govern- merit has refused N. B. potato growers a sub- sidy to replace the drop ii: export prices.

Fred Rose, Labor-Progressive, convicted of espionage, has lost his appeal and must serve his six years’ sentence. But though in "durance vile" he will continue to be "M.P." until such time as the House of Commons by motion and vote expell him fiom’: membership.

ln view of the elections, the Federal Gov- ernment is reversing its policy in almost every direction. The latest is in connection with its previous decision to allow 200 Hun prisoners to remain here in competition with veterans. Now

—out they must go! w Q

e I

1m: CHARLOTTETOWN scanning

llotos By The Way

News fraiastlsaoeaetistliatlrt- tleh Columbia is drveloplng her own lobster. In a t ' _ shortage, the carpenter would be even more welcome. Jlbronto Telegram,

It lilrsaa oat. that a character- ts waking sideways from coast to aout. Oinlookers had naturally sup. POeed it was a politician rehearsing his Pflfillikiai on a hot issue. —Wln- nipeg ‘Tribune.

A Cleveland doctor aaya in; m. dlvldual ls a combination or hopeg, disappointments. ambitions and frustrations. He left. out fallen archee from standing in ]l,n¢_ __ Chotharn News.

A sneele. which some would rather hllle lllln U161!‘ breakfast, becgugg of alleged benefits to the human System. cost a. west Virginian some $1.250. He lost control of his coi- and gmflshed mm another. There's a time and place" for everything —- includlng beneficial 51102195, _.$r_ Thomas ‘limes-Journal.

Ayoimgeaiatlaerliaatoldueof 801118 into a toy atorevthe other day to see about. getting hes- little boy a rubber bell for his Christ- nms stocking. "Why, Madam, we haven't had my for years!" the ‘clerk exclaimed. Then, 1° re-nssure the customer. he added “But I know ljusi what yOu mean." -Th¢ New iYorker.

l Large-scale nohiral gas develop- ment in the Uoydmineter oil field in Saskatchewan ls seen no a dis- tinct possibility after recent drill- ing operations which have recent- ly extended the field from l0 to 2'2 miles. ’I.‘he development. of the field, now believed to be one of the largest ln Canada, has led to many towns. such as Saskatoon and North Baitleford. being given franchises to construct pipe, lines once a care- ful study has been made of the pres- sure and capacity of the wells. "- Ottawa Olilnem.

Americans are showing; tendency to d-rlnk ‘hemsclves into ilCHdBBhca arid even convulsions, Dr. Ilicster Kennedy. director of the department of neurology at. Bellevue Hospital mid, but the beverage that dlstiube Dr. Kennedy ls not. alcoholic. It's water. Plain water. In a. talk at a meeting 1n the New York Aoed y of Medicine. he explained that the American habit of rushing the water cooler, countless glasses of water each day. might cause edema of the brain. resulting in convulsions. Two lltresr-allghtly more than two quarts-are enough for any normal. temperate person. Dr. Kennedy said severely. —New York Herald-Tribune. '

tford has no roam to be smug. Here the people pronounce "Greenwich" with the "w" sound included. And they mulce Delhi. B piece in neighboring Norfolk, into “Del-hlgh". Also some Bluenases nicer at. what the imagine to be a localized pronunc tloin of "Disl- housie" is; "Dloozy" when (as the Biuexioees say) it should be "Dal- how-zle," with accent on the "how." But wait a minute for that. one! According to Funk and Wagnalls, Brantfordlies are nearer the mark than the Nova Sections, "Dalhcusle" according to this authority ls "Dal- hoo-si" with accent on the second syllable! You never con‘ tell about names unless you take the troilsle to look them up. —Bramford Ex- posltar.

Surgeons are now advising that their pati- ents should get up and walk the _day after the operation is performed. That is |ust a sort of return to the old days, when _it _was the rule for mothers to get out of bed within three_days of child birth. There seems to be nothing new under the sun, only history,‘ repeating itself.

"Oh to think of it, oh to dream of it!" The Hon. Mrfii-lowe assures us there "is some evi- dence to indicate that domestic stocks of coal, coke and solid fuels were larger than in previ- ous winters," hence control of distributions of these will be terminated December 3i Naili- ing like opposition gains to make ministers sit up and take llliilfis. i i

Islanders will be pleased to learn that an Christmas Day, between l2.l5 and 1.2.30 P-Mv Mrs. H. A. Jenkins, wife of Flight l._ieut. H. _A. Jenkins, R.A.F., and formerly Miss Marion Andrew, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Melville Andrew, Charlottetown, will broadcast a Christ- mas Message over B.B.C. and C.B.C. from Lon-

don, England.

i

Now is the time to remember the necessity of taking precautions against those Christmas- tree fires. Strings of electric lights should be checked over carefully, lighted candles and cigarettes kept at a safe distance. Candles are the greatest menace in home decorations, and should be kept carefully out of the reach of children.

l fl

O Q I

A wartime device originated by Britain also has a peacetime role. The Customs and Ex- cise authorities are assembling a fleet of trawl- ers and minesweepors especially equipped with Radar — an invention by Britain which WW“ so vital a part in wartime aeronautics — to de- feat smuggling. Radar gear will enable Cus- toms’ ships ta detect smugglers craft in the thickest fog and overhaul them when ather- wise they would be helpless from poor visibil-

ity. ‘

eats

Mr. L. I. Pearson as next leader of the Federal Liberal party was mentioned by Pre- mier Maurice L. Duplessis whgn addressing _a National Union rally at St. Pie. The Premier was answering the charge against him that he refused to co-aperaie with anyone, and cited lat- tars froin It. Han. Louis St. Laurent, Hon. Phil-

lrais, "and also from l..'l. Pearson, Can- adian Ambassador at Washington, who has been mentioned as successor to Prime Minister Mac- lienale King." Mr. Pearson ls now Undersecre-

tary of State for External Affairs at Ottawa.

There are 10.000 postal chess player's in this country. according to Jack Straley Battell, editor of The Chess Review. The game ‘ls played with pasteboards equipped with slots and pieces, the player moving from slot to slot. as his cor- respondent indicates. Many fans keep several -games going at once. Mr. Battell is currently managing forty games. William Preiwltt. of Auburn. Calif, is the champion at this simultaneous game business. confessing to have had 500 going. Players entering these tournaments by-mell are of all ages. The young- est is ten. and Dr. John Hogan. a dentist, of Bedford, 1nd, eighty- faur is said to be the oldest particl- perit. It goes to show there are a1! kinds of people in the world-and all kinds of pastimes. —Ncw Haven Journal Courier.

A quaint English Christmas cue- tom ls the tolling of the "Devil's Knoll" at the parish church cf the Yorkshire irrwn of Dewdoury. Every Gurlstmus 2m far foo years this ceremony has been peaformed- only broken by World War 11 when, for security reasons the church bells of mlialn were slleni. The tenor bell of Dewsbury is tolled once for each year since the bltth o! Christ. and this year the 1046 strokes being timed exactly to fell at the mid- night hour. A legend connected with the custom tells haw s local baron named Thomas dc Booihill, back in the 13th century. killed one of his servants. and to expleie hi4 crime presented the-tenor bell to the church wi the request that it should be toiled annually. If is said the inhabitants of Dewsbury of those days believed that the toll- ing of the bell would keep the devil away from the perish for another year.

A aelinoss, bruised and torn, its once proud allvar-blue sheen tarn- ished and yellowing. glides from the back eddy where It rested with its fellows. For a moment it hangs in the stream, nose pointed against the current, tell waving slowly. holding ground. In a quick, desper- ate f1 it fight; lis wny over the ihl s. bony eicpoiea and thraehliig in its ruah so the next pool of sanctuary. There its reeta, lllliflllil 0M!!! for another dash. Here. in the water; ‘of Ooldsiream the annual drama of fish battling to the sveirnlne around is renewed in ell its gallantry and lllllffli- Up lhla cobbleetrewn bed. rimming with cold, shadowed 4y, "ll Within! inose-oovared branches ‘of lea ees trees. they siflilale. It ls a miracle that they “l! Illa stress illiter- eiretches of use stream. a miracle that they mos they was

slioulitptlrn wti

Federal Government Troubles

The Dosalnlon-Peovlnclal negot- iations over financial relations are taking a form which should be hllllly satisfactory 00 the only bene- flolarles or sufferers- the fax- peyera. By degrees. the Dominion authorities have been forced away from their irreconcilable attitude of take it. or leave it. They now make concession after concession, and as a result, Dominion-Prov- incial financial Bkreementa be- came far l8§ dangerous.

Health Insurance, for example. which was to cost. i050 nullion e year. or the interest an $8 billion is now pretty well out of reach; cer- tainly will never come info effect. imless Ontario and Quebec make on unexpected surrender. That. is. the obatlnacy of the rum-concurring Provinces ls to be thanked for hov- lrrg saved this amount of taxation, to b9 devoted to a cumbeir . Im- necessarlly costly scheme.

Improvements in the field of public health. added expenditures by public authorities. are, of course, essential and inevitable. The ln- telligent example of Manitoba show; that important steps can be token in this field ‘by Provincial Govern- ments, without colossal expendi- tmcs. 1i ls safe to say that, s; is result of Mr. Haley's failure -to curry his original proposals info effect, public health improvements will be made ln this country over the next few years, which will be more effective than would have been Mr. ClBXIOlTS schem and which will still cost the taxpayers e. more frmfon of what his plans would have involved.

Mr. Cliaxion can be blamed for the Social Security hysteria, the dying down of which seems likely m involve great political losses for the present Administration. The common sense ad the Comdlm people revolts against. such a theory as that, in the two items of Fam- ily Allowances and Health Insur- ance, up to 5500 million a year —- equlvalent to the interest on the whole oost of the poet war-chould be diverted from the incomes of producers to the relief of non-pro- druoers. Desirable as ue intelligent measures to increase the public health and to relieve distress, there never was any reason for Dlunelrfl into. half-baked schemes of this soft.

The Federal system of Govern- ment. which haa preserved us from this rash experiment, is well worth maintaining. Adrnlitdly. 1i is not perfect. Admittedly, there will be a slow process of centralizing neces- sary fimctlsxia at Ottawa. The fed- eral system docs exist however. and lt i; now clear that the public opinion of the majority of Curi- ediains, Socialists excluded, against destroying it.

The realistic f t. is that the Provinces have . and that they are not going to surrender them to Ottawa, merely lo provide m "opportunity far large scale waste of taxation on some experiments devised by half n dozen theorists Ln Government service at Ottawa. Emergency housing is. of course. o proper activity for the Govern- ment ln conditions like this. but it. should be emergency housing. of a-n emergency standard. When the provision of emergency housing gets mixed up with the converting of slums into suburbs. and the building of apartment houses, then public authorities get into a field which L; scarcely theirs in n, non- Soclallsi country.

U. K. reports. from Mr. A. Bevin himself. one thing that he would try to get a subsidy for the Pmlll-lc‘ lion o! feed grolna. The thinking ln this case seems to be b little confused. 1m an effort to get beck to common sense in public affairs. W.P.T.B. stopped the subsidy on milk. while ln om effort to avoid get/ting back to common sense, W. P.T.B. also retained the control on the price of butter. The net result has been an obvious tendency to a further decrease in dairy pro- ductlom 1n Canada, so the Minister qt Agriculture now llllkests that the answer is to subsldlu the pro- duction of feed grains.

A buyers’ strike would be an en- tirely logical outcome of Mr. Gor- don’; repetition of the fact that there is no real need to decontrol prices at once; that. all that woliavc to do is to wait patiently and have prices come down. or at, least until they will not rise when they are deoontralled.

The direct consequence of any- ihlng Ike a buyers’ strike would be a deflarilonery panic, with unem- plovmcni. soup kitchens. and l fine chance for Socialists and oiiher rt- volutioneriei.

‘The public memory 1s short. Few people realize that in 1009, at the height. of s , it was a little blues-s’ strike in the U25. which started a. deflationary panic. The stock market was over-extended. The inevitable oraeh produced re- mu which we mlgh-f remember.