' ilk

C PAGE FOUR

THE GUARDIAl:l

Authorized no Second Class Mail Pout Office Department. Ottawa. The Thomson Co. Ltd.

Editor nnd Manager. Inn A. Burnett. Associate. Editor. Frnnk Walker.

I ('lBCL'l.ATl0N ' "(lovers Prince Edward Island like the dew"

"The strongest memory is weaker thon l the weakest ink".

.. .. --...--.-. . &-j CHAIlL0'l"l'ETO AY. FEB. 10. 1954

Advice from Tile Past

We are fortunate in having a large and representative number of our citizens pre- pared to contest the civic elections today. In view of the increase in the number of eligible voters this year, there should be

a record turnout at the polls. The candi- dates have in many cases indicated their

policies in their election cards, and if we,

fail to elect a first-class administration for the forthcoming two years term, we shall have only ourselves to blame. The con- testants are not seeking monetary reward, and whether they win or lose in today's contest they will have performed a. com- mendable action in offering their services.

On the eve of our first civic election in iS.'i.3. lias'I.ard's Ga7.ettc, the leatiing news- paper of the day, offered some timely com- ments to the voters. "The Corporation of Charlottetown," it said, "is now in action, and much will depend upon the spirit in which the first set, of municipal officers commence proceedings. In all changes of government, whether municipal or other- wise, most men are apt to expect too much from those entrusted with power, while on the other hand, a dread of being consider- ed as extravagant and wasteful, has the effect of introducing in the latter r nig- gardliness, which'is the reverse of good policy and sound economy. In public as in private expenditure, a liberal method of doing business is ever the cheapest in the end. . . . What we would recommend to the municipal authorities, is that when public works are determined upon-and they should not be undertaken except after full consideration of their utility and necessity -they be erected and finished in the most substantial and scientific style. Every member should recollect, that though he is mortal, the Corporation, of which he is a part, is destined to immortality, and that the work, ordered by the Corporation, of which he is a part, should be in accord- ance with this difference, so that, though the original founders have mouldered in the. dust the monuments of their good gov- ernment and prudent administration will proudly rear their heads, and serve as an example to their successors, of the wisdom and propriety of erecting their edifices on eolid foundations."

We can apply this advice to every prob- lem of civic administration, and as a cri- terion of the merits of those applying for civic offices. Our civic fathers of a cen- tury ago were wise in their day and gen- eration, and we can still profit from thcii' example in discharging our own duties as custodians of the privilege of self govern- ment.

Ancient Remedies

Dr. R. A. Hakim is a psychiatrist work- in; at the Mental Hospital of Ahmedabad in India. a group of traditional native herb remedies, reference to which are found in the Ayur- vcda, the centuries-old Hindu holy book of long life. lie scparatefl 146 mental patients - anion: them schi7.oph1'cnics, hysterics and other serious cases-into three comparable groups, prescribing different treatment for each. One group was given electric-shock therapy. a standard method of treating mental patients in hospitals all over th" world; to the second group he administer- cd several Ayurvcdic herb drugs; and the third underwent a combination of the two therapies.

The results were surprising. Whereas the recovery rate of the group on electric- shock treatment was just a little over 30 per cent, patients receiving Ayurvedic drugs had a 50 per cent. recovery rate. But the third group, treated with a combination of electric shock and native drugs, had a re- covery rate of more than 80 per cent.

More experimentation and study is necessary before general conclusions can be drawn about the value of these ancient drugs in the treatment of mental disease, but the work of Dr. Hakim has aroused much optimism, especially since he achiev- ed highly encouraging results in schizo- phrenic ("spilt personality"). in widespread mental illness that frequently resists all standard therapy.

Should the Ayurvedic drugs fulfil their promise. it will not be the first time that modern medicine has drawn on the wisdom

of the past. For example. certain plants of the datum family. to which the potato be- lorm, were used by the Indians of Central Arnericc In narcotics and hypnotics long I learned that they contain I3 pll& drug: II atropine and hello- 1 A&,it we: only in the 10th century

H? but

lie decided to test the value of.

that are themselves hard to see, says the 'National Geographic Society. In one op- eration, a rare radioactive material is

i I i

iqulnine-containing cinchona bark, used for centuries by the Indians of South America to combat malaria. '

There are many other examples. The traditional practice among Balkan peasants of applying stale, mouldy bread to wound: is, in a sense, a forerunner of modern anti- biotic therapy. For the stale bread derives its infection-fighting power from germ-kil- ling substances produced by the mould that covers it; and it was in a species of bread mould that scientists discovered thci first antibiotic-penicillin-a forerunner of even more potent "miracles from moulds” such as terramycin.

All this, notes a bulletin issued by Sci- I ence Information Service, London, has sei'v- t ed to alert todayls researchers to the facti that ancient remedies, no matter how! strange they may seem to 20th centtiry; science, may lead to important new discov-i cries. -

v

Maritime Spirit Commended

When the bill to set up a St. Lawrence ,Seaway Authority was before Parliament !two years ago, Maritime members expres- sed doubts and fears as to what effect the. deep waterway might, have upon the econ- iomy of the Atlantic provinces. Yet, notes the Ottawa. Citizen appreciatively, they did not obstruct the bill. Instead, they asked lthat the rest of Canada would keep in mind ;their own problems, which might conceiv- iably become more difficult as a result of ithe building of the Seaway. These fears lmay prove unfounded. but the point is that the attitude of the Maritimes was very different from that of some sections of the United States toward the same project. In the U. S., sectional interests have success- , fully blocked the scaway as an international iundertaking for more than 20 years.

"The same contrast," says The Citizen, "is to be found in remarks delivered by Premier Angus Macdonald of Nova Scotia. during a visit to Edmonton the other day. He said he thought the seaway would do his province no good, but added: tWc aren't opposing it, because it is for the good of Canada as a whole.'

"Premier Macdonald is also uneasy about what the proposed natural gas pipe- line from Alberta to the central provinces may do to Nova Scotiais coal markets. Here again, he takes a philosophical at- titude: ”It is bound to come and there's no use grumbling." Recognizing this fact, ithe Nova Scotia government is concen- trating on research to find new uses for coal." The Ottawa paper concludes:

”Mr. Macdonald may also feel that any development that helps one part of the country will ultimately benefit the whole. Whatever the results may be, the spirit of forbearance displayed by the Nova Scolia premier and other Maritimers should bring hearty support by all other Canadians for national projects in the Atlantic region as the need for these becomes apparent. The lcause of national unity is greatly strength- ened when public men refuse to think sole- ly in terms of their own sections."

NOTES

EDITORIA

Vote as you like, but vote. 0 O 0

Followers of the "roarin' game." will ,have their eyes and cars tuned to the Pro- lvincial Championship now being played at Summerside. The winning rink will repre- isent the Province in the Dominion Tankard play at Edmonton in March. I I 0

Samuel Plimsoll, "The Sailor's Friend," was born this date 1824. He entered Par- liament. in 1868 and became known for his interest. in the sailors of ,the mercantile marine. One of his objects was to protect seamen's lives by enforcing a compulsory load-line, now universally known as the Plimsoll Line.

0 O Q

The U. S. Court of Appeals recently ruled that the government could not be held responsible for faulty weather fore- casts. Several Kansas City firms were seeking damages resulting from the 1951 flood. They had charged the weather bureau with giving out misinformation. It may be a bit confusing, but it's comforting to know that there's still something the

government canlt control. I O

O i

The art of weighing and measuring, once If matter of fumbling guesswork, has become a science of almost unbelievable ac- curacy. Technicians of the atomic age now weigh invisible substances by "scales"

measured by a quartz fiber so finely drawn that it has to be magnified to show the re- sults. The amount the fiber twists under pressure indicates the weight. Scientists have weighed the earth, and calculated the- thickness of a soap bubble's wall. They have recorded the footfali of the common housefly, and determined the degree to

THE GUARDIAN. CH

He'll Be Watching

D 0

FEB.

1

EL Ei'.TtoN

PUBLIC FORUM

This column is open to the iiiscinsion by cnrrcspondi-i.i.I - of questions of interest. The t Guardian does not nccessur- ; ily endorse the opinion of l cuiresponiicnts.

P. W. C. STANDARDS

Sir,--In my letter published in, your lS5ll0 of yesterday I main-, mined that ifthcre is an excessive; failure rate at Prince of Walcsi Collcce, the blame was not. to be placed upon P. W. C.; that the soluticn of the problem lay not inn lowcriii: the standards in the Col-I lege but in raising the standardst in our City schools. I wish to en- large upon this theme today.

Our schools do not prepare the students to mect hard academic. standards because the schools dot not teach our young people to: study and work in the middle and' higher grades. Why don't they? Because the parents object. Whe- thcr we teachers like to admit it. or not, the parents are the final, judges of what. is taught ill our: schools, and how it is taught. If; they think a certain subject is too hard for their children to master. they bring pressure to bear and he suhj" . rs n-av-2 caster, or elim-3 lnated. A similar reaction occur.-i. .; l!IV in us :i trrtniii teacher is uorking the puptls too hard, or is giving too low marks.

It; is a natural wish of all par- ents to see their offspring making httzh marks in school. Unfortun- ately, all students can't. be lcaclcrs, so IL is pure lolly to give cvcry student a mark of ninety percent whether he deserves it or not, or even to pass all students. Any intelligent parent will RCCr'pi. this in theory, but. no one likes to ac- cept. the fact that his child is not potentially brilliant.

Hence, the teacher must. make one of two decisions-give easy tests and high marks to everyone, or give hard tests and separate the leaders from the rank and file If he adopts the former cours! everyone is happy. and parents and children drift. along in I pleasant pipr--dream until the child reaches Prince of Wales Col- lhzzr when the dream suddenly butsts llkc a bubble. If he adopts the former course he will have nvn to ten satisfied sets of par- ents and twenty-live to thirty set: of dissatisfied parents out to get his professional scalp.

A professor I once had in Edu- cation told the class of which I was a member that we should not "prostitute our professional integ- rity to the capricious whim: of public opinion." Unfortunately, some teachers are forced to do just that, prostitute their, profu- sional opinion to the will of the parents, or find themselves anoth- er job. When one in faced with an alternative like this he or Ihe is forced to knuckle under and obey the popular demmd.

This condition in more prevalent in the country schools than in Charlottetown because in ii small community the teacher has more direct contact. with the parent: end in more vulnerable to parental preuure. The situation does exist in Charlottetown, but not nearly as cxtensively as in the country.

The solution lies in making chil- dren learn to study and work be- fore. they reach Prince of Wniec College. It lies in backing up the iencher in everything he or Ihe does, and not. in trying to thwart his every action, and trelting the teacher like a mental employee hired to entertain the children for five of six hours I day.

It has been suggested that since the pupils pnucd entrance, there- fore they were ready for Prince of Wales College. I maintain that this in not the cue. If they had been ready and capable they would not have failed. twhy aren't. they ready?-nh.t.here'c the rub. Teach- era in Prince Edward bland. and rspeclally. the country teachers are on the horns of a dilemma on one hand they are opposed and quite often He asked toiuve the school if they try to act. hlrd teats Ind mark uvorely in an at.- tempt to separate the potential

which 9. bar of steel is affected by a fly's landing on it.

Prince of Wales College candid- ates from than who should never

to c.u.f”fg(g;craQ.Jr.

I The Maritime Outlook

By Douglas Ilowo

This has been ii. winter to re- lflllld the Maritime region, too uncomfortably, of its past. Un- amployniont, shutdowns, falling farm, lumber and other basic in- comes have all been back to dog prosperityls lagging heels. And to re-em-phasize that the old problem of environment, 5. lack of power and big industry and natural re- sources still are distressingly alive.

But it. is quite possible to state now that these problems have her- er been under study and official siege on a wider scale than they are right. now or are about to be. This statenient. can be documented by a considerable evidence. It is particularly true of Nova scotin for she finds herself with New- foundland on one side engaged in a dramatic courtship of industrial- ization and with New Brunswick on the other with her relatively lavish mining prospect.-1 centered on Bathurst. Faced with the pos- sibility tihat they, too. might soon begin leaving her behind, she is plunging into varied explorations.

. . .

so far there is no sign that the area is even t.hinkl.ng of one major step would that would strengthen its endless battle against. environ- ment-politicnl and economic un- ion. Marks of interest. in the once- llvely question of Maritime Union

........-.-j--ti

higher learning. On the other hand, if they don't succeed in getting their pupils, or nearly all their pupils through entrance, they are pounced upon, labelled' as M good, and asked to leave the com- munlty. Because the teacher is not allowed to work pupils too severely, and because the teacher is also expected to have these pupils pass entrance he, or she, will use the time available not. to teach a. pupil to work and study. but to coach I. pupil to pass en- trance "come hell or high water" If the pupil fails, tough! But. well, "what. could you expect. with the poor teaching and the over-loaded curriculum at Prince of Wales Col- ic e?"

I think it is time that we stop- ped kidding ourselves and faced fncts. All our children are not potential Einsteins capable of Uni- versity training. I think teachers and parent: ohould make a united effort. to spot potential university material at the Junior high level- grade seven or eight, and separate these gifted pupils from the rest and give them an intensified cur- riculum in preparation for what they will be expected to face in Prince of Wales College and in Unlvcrolty.

The rest. of the pupils ahouid be given whatever academic training they are capable of absorbing. In addition to this, they should be given extensive training in the trade or craft. for which theyahow a natural eptltude. In other words, the university material should be trained for university. The rent should be trained for respectable skilled trades at which they would be nuoceuful. They should never be sent. to Prince of Wales Col- lege It all. Instead, they should be sent. to I combination junior high and vocational school.

Before I am nccuud of plum- ism I wish to state that the thought: uprated in the above pct-on-mph are not. my orllimt thoughts. However. the luck of originality don not detract. from the inherent truths of these ideas I Iubscrlbe to them one hundred percent.

1 have children. and it is my fondut. drum that I shall some day see them graduate from Prince of Wales College and from Uni- versity. However, if fete with otherwise and it is established that they are not. capable of ad- vcnced academic training "then I would certainly not ntempt. tasend them to college to become full- uru. I would provide them with the but. vocational tnlnfm lVlii- lblc. happy in the knowledge thnt my children would be nklliod tndumcn llld tnduwomen. and not partially educated fcliurel.

-1 am. Sir, etc, A CITY TIAOHII Clmfottstovrn.

be considered ll clntdldlia for

nre infrequvnt and dwarfed by the local sentiment. Short. of t.l'.at. however, and possibly the remote forerunner of it, is the decision. fathered by the Regional Board of Trade and backed by the four Provincial Governments, to form a joint Council. a body of business and government leaders. to make is searching study of the area's economic structure and ways of strengthening it. The formative proccsa has been slow but. the impeiiding meetings of tilt: Pro- vincial Leglslatuics should mean big step: ahead.

Nova Scotia. not content. with that, has since announced that she is hiring an eminent Ameri- can flnm of economic consultants to spend at least. a year in an ex- haustive survey of the province's induskial potential. From that. she hopes to be able to switch her campnign for new industries from the general to the specific. Sill: has proclaimed. too, that even the wide-ranging minerals search of 1953 will be wr'.l outdlstanced in l951. Virtually the entire Province is being hlnnketcd by firms. some of them big-name firms. working with science: latest instruments.

0 I O ,

At the same tune, the crumbling coal industry is being fortified with mechanization and at widening search for new uses, rewarded re- cently Wiilh development in Mont- real of it new type of coal-burning engiiie capable of supplanting the diesel. But. on this front. the moat news in months is Ottawa: dc- ciaion to get. the continent): No. 1 expert. on the use of coal for

J; Notes Bx

"An ability to laugh at the ridiculous is regarded as 3 great. character asset-except. for the golf caddie."-Hamilton spectator.

The IIIOII loolhln; color I; green. except when it is seen tinting the cheeks of our com- panions on 8 boating trip. -Saul! Ste. Marie Star.

Dr. Kllllbfl Sexual Behaviour in the Human Female. which was enpected by book-sellers to sec 1,- 900-0m CDl3if'S. 15 :v coiiipaintiw. flop. Though 210,000 copies have been bought (v. 230,000 printed), the demand has dropped sharp'y, And many book stores are now overloaded. -Time.

In New Brunswick we are Just beginning to experience how bothersome the starlings can be. They have not been here so long an in other parts of Canada, hav- ing been first seen in this prov-

FEBRUARY 10. 1934

tu;g.

The Wax 4

are increasln n

flocking in the ?:u.u;:l;m'iNmcmn time they eat up .11 me Iv.-glmcil food, drives other more dkunble birds from the clinic during Hm cold months. The ntariln. ms seen all year round. -Suing Jullrs Telegraph-Journal. i m

The power of song." remarkable thing. We dud: 1:31? med in Witch I hyzmotm pm..." to realize it-we see it all lbom in in daily life. Just wnch ut. fn-mily sitting around my .., i table enjoying a deliclmu ,,.,wp”1'f' suddenly, one or thg younng ' exclalmc, "Hey! 1 cm fun 3:" in this." 1:. will not be tow ,,','” fore every one of them can.tuln-3 Q” 3959' and V91? distinctly om, bven after it is discovered ml the soap-taster came to the ,,;,,,i directly after being made to Wm; his face with a plentiful Iatherln of soap, the new will never tan:

ihcc in 1924. But their number.-.

l

0 Loni, thou art my (ind; will unit. thee. I will praise t.b.v, name: for thou hut done wonder-t ful things; thy counsel: of old are faithfulness and truth. . . . And in this mountain shall the, Lord of hosts make unto nil peo-'

pin a feast of fat things. a feast- of wines on the loos, of fat things", full of marrow. of wines on the iI'P.I well refined. And he will (IP- siroy in this mountain the fuels of, the covering cost over all peopii-,1 find the vlil that in spn-zul over' all nations. Ila will ewlllow up death in victory. '