ha. “Pliers. potatoes. tur-

‘ ‘milk’, meats

ll ‘I iragradln“ regulations sto

.. fifl’;

o

Text-Pol: Premier Jg

any ‘Island Crievdnces ired Before Delegates

‘it Dominion

Conference

wmpigu (if-regulations interfere in other ways

on A118-

c. a,’ Ottawerm m,‘

ruclil"

I ch appear-fed serial]!

3 guardian. ‘ Chairman mg gentlemen:

' the 6

and are supported by Federal pol- icy. Halifax is only one hundred and ten miles from one of the ferries and Sydney one hundred and eighty miles. lf trucks could have been handled in an effici- ent way on that ferry many o! 0U!‘ "M11118 difficulties could have been sol ed

v .

Agriculture on Prince Edward Island ls not adequately assisted. In the years 1941-1044 assistance per farm averaged only $44 while

i1 . Saskatchewan received $158 Sim-

iorc trade bunilinada throlllfh mflrgfig: ‘ formerly W“ . ‘ built in tne and home declined

sill’ rsilmiffifiryry twill rgiiiiif°°trrrrlfrast 5E- alcsrgg-work prodtlclirml 2:: fly “mfipffregerraastoao? manu- Wild calggggxiavemilsiggn

' ductlon and fish- °“"‘,,‘f,‘,‘.‘ pgduce enoufl '-° do ru the requirements of

p morons to Confed- Prrhc; 5d "ard Island was well off as any other of the unforeseen

, or Confederation ll

I“! o‘ Shipping and 0111' 0115' . trading routes.

. . shlili E, self

- fort was made to I Etrrllristportation difficul-

b. widening the railroad ' ‘my transporting railroad w M mainland on a ferry- m w; now transported E, mo; 42.000 annually. will be a success for railroad t-ctloris if ccrtain improve- t, n9..- projcctcd are complet- ii has rmt particularly help- r- ther it has hindered list rrrtrriatn our natural market rr-a scotia. Newfoundland or ‘g9 to New England and the t lntlirs. ly certain send-perishable urts such as potatoes, turnips. lock. meats and dairy pro- 'ran be transported in rail- cars while more perishable ucts for which Prince Edward d is admirably suited such as _ (rah icgctctbles, milk and z. cxcuticd because oi delays rarrsil or slowness of the serv- Passrnger transit is unsatis- pry and slow and latterly not Pullman cars are available

the mainland is reached. rcr an nlr service developed

9 have been applied,

liar treatment oi Prince Edward Island would have cost the Fed- eral Government $1,425,000 more, The income r farm on Prince Edward Islan in the same period was $663, in Saskatchewan $1,233. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act or similar "measures should transportation l3; trucks provided, and coastwise

ipping encouraged, and to re- tain what measure of prosperity there is of course, subventions on fertilizers and free freight on grain should be continued.

Fur Farming

/

The fur farming industry had its genesis on Prince Edward Island. Fur farmers were the bcst tax payers engaged in a primary industry on Prince Ezl-ward Island. During the war the industry ivas taxed ractically out of existence. Only t ose who spent everything to hold on to their investment have survived or those who managed to obtain a new type of fox.

The fishing industry lacks frozen bait and colo storage, while bet- ter methods of fishing further out. to sea should have been encour-

ag .

Industrial concentration has pro- ceeded so far in Canada that now Prince Edward Island with sixty- three per cent in agriculture has a male labour income of only $590 while two other provinces ex- ceed 81,000 with only seventeen

er cent in agriculture. The pol- cy in Canada. seems to be to ens‘.- lze agriculture and reward ndus- try as the farther away from agri- culture, the more money there ls.

Prince Edward Island has the highest percentage of British stock and its people have proven to be most patriotic The French element have equalled or excelled the British cnlistments. The en- listments are second highest of any province. They top Canada in Red Cross subscriptions and in- variably are first "over the top."

But individual subscriptions to the Victory loans show where the money is. The last two loans

lt.-i e Edward island now car-

our-tenth of all passq r gls rn Canada and is a tllnp ill passenger and mailr r ii.

Truck Transportation

are is practically no provision "transport lo and from the inland by trucks. The govern- t owned ferry excludes trucks buses by a very heavy charge by hat providing facilities. The fern‘ Wood Islands. oper-

exceeds c are continual de- k oi accommodation of trucks. The Nova llll cannot be supplied as formerly. I "ng the war, shipping ceas- irld harbours were allowed to

. . adequately market there was iargc extent from

. Jltlillity certificates permits tor export were given llarge proportion to firms who ' ‘did not have much of the

and the regulations and al- tlcn of nsrmits had no repre- turcrr from our province on trade regulating boards. twill bc rrgrecd that agricul-

ilourlshes when large con- at centres are located near- ln the Liarltimes and on the tic seaboard there are mil- ‘ill pcoplc who have to buy .ult.ur.rl products, produced a "ll ilnluts Prince Edward La ' rs the only Maritime province '1“ Surplus to sell. Field crops ‘ ive acres per capita or the ' as Canada as a whole. The ‘m5 "lust be sold outside re Edward island as consum- mhrsrkets are not within the ' ct to any great extent.

Pvt-museum

-_ culture and fishing are In industries. They com“. vhicllhignt- kind of an economy hm wellllllhy fears it will be mid hen. in 1878, a contract hm ‘c. for Confederation with i tincluded s unique clause ‘.23 that continuous and ade- lnhngonrrnunlcation with uro Q lmentillflllld be maintained. d c0 0ft was to make main- , “milea- up to date. 1r i Zlltcmcnt trod been mum, m hgvlllifc instead of 1878, it umcauone JCllld-Od adequotg com. C.“ bus > lOr railway cars, Hes‘ m and automobiles by Mm}, n ln at least two obwy rrrnt- Edward island and n micolrrnrrrnlcatlon by air- for _ would llgéj/Phser travel; or also nkdpmumrl c remained out of "C? Edward 151 p _ and is the only ‘vilneofllgroilnce with a surplus ~ . meats. dairy products, tilts. milk and oysters

“lily anti hlso 521's canned fish and

at,

l

r i

lgflss. berries (frozen) Iull- ‘rash berries,

d "Why other cts cannot be mar. Untllid recently, for cou be marketed °mablv ln Nova Bcotia and

ped t is

illll-lldc.

-l llr Where

arrrgrerrr§°'?,§"°'°" '° "l"

hllflainlond H “Wilt meat sck-

Island

Show $70 per caplta for Prince Edward Island and $172 for Ont- ario for individual subscriptions

or. for all Victory loans, $205 for

individual sales on Prince Edward Island while Ontario is $509. Brit- ish Columbia. $432. Nova Scotia $337. Total individual sales and special names gave Prince Edward

$266, Ontario $1,198 per cspitsr

Migration from Prince Edward Island continues space. The in- increase per family is a close sec- ond to Quebec province. Under the present conditions nearly forty per cent leave the province in their productive years. The populatiox of Prince Edward Island leads Canada in the numbers under twenty years. and also in those over sixty yeurs.

The young leave the province and 'take their educational train- lng and earning power with thorn, both of which were acquired at the province's expense. They also take considerable wealth along and in- herlt a. very consideqable quantity, all of wh h is a direct loss to the province. serious is the decline in recent yea-rs through migration to mainland war work that there are now 5.000 fewer women than men in the rural" areas of Prinnc Edward Island according to Doctor Lattimer, Economist of McGlll Uni- versity, who made an economic starve-y of Prince Edward Island in

The land in rural areas has been considerably exhausted by increas- ed war production. This will nec- essitate a return to better roto- tlons and this: in turn will lessen production in succeeding years.

Unfair System

The people of Prince Edward Island have no quarrel with cor- gorattons as such. They succeed ecause they have great bargain- ing power. But they complain about s system which locates them mostly in one area of Canada and they claim that taxes paid by them belong to the people as a whole. In the provinces ‘where corporations are mostly located the people in secondary industries in- creased their eamings 121 per cent while the percentage increase fn primary industries was only 09 per cent. (The figures ara taken from Canada at War No. B). Gov- ernment policy must have favour- ed corporations and secondary in- dustries during the war or why the greatly proportionate increased es are favoured in policy, and are lo- cated at central points, the taxes collected belong to the whole peo- ple who support them. Certainly such taxes are either passed on to consumers tn a sellers market or passed back to the producer in a buyers market. It matters not to a corporation what the amount of the taxes-all the people pay them. The corporsmns see to that.

The labour employed in war- time was taxed where it was ~10- cated. The migration of labour- ers for war work from Prince Ed- ward Island was about equal to the enlistments. Practically no war work was located in the province. The national. income from i941- 1044 increased 33.6 ber cent in Can. ads but onlv 11.0 per cent on Prince Edward Island. (Financial Post Year Book, 1m. page 21-)

‘ farmers‘ Needs When consumers’ 800d! l"

manufactured elsewhere and sold on Prince Edward Tarland labour

PIWWN- Pm ncial

A: any rate since thei'|

l: provided and taxed in the manu- facturing province. Post-war ex- penditures on Prince Edward Is- land should be much larger be- cause matertnls purchased provide labour in other provinces. Sim- ilarly, agriculture should be kept prosperous to enable farmers Io purchase. Farmers‘ needs are tre- mendous as machinery, buildings, land, tools, vehicles are greatly deteriorated.

The cost of public welfare, edu-_ cation, electricity, etc., is greater inI rural areas than in urban areas. and consequently rural aréas do not; benefit from these services to the- tiegree they should. This merits! special consideration in a rural- community like Prince Edward Island.

It is obvious that a rural prov- lnce like mine depending as ltr does upon the land, can never hope] unassisted, to provide an ecluca-‘ tional service cqual to that in communities having varied re- sources and industries. An im- proved program of education should, of course. and would keep larger numbers of young people ong the land. It cannot, however, keep all. Now. if a province has its own industrial centres to which its young people are drawn, then equalization of educational privil- eges is a problem of adjustment between urban and rural districts. If, however, as in the case of Prince Edward Island. many young people, after receiving their edu- cation, must leave the province ul- together to find employment in the centres of industry. then education becomes extremely costly in terms of benefits accruing to the prov- incc. Surcly there should be some recompense. Dcctor J. E. Lattimer in his report on "An Economic Survey of Prince Edward Island", puts the matter very succinctly thus:

"The the greater tho need to restore the balance. It is the duty of the group to make sure that no area goes without schools and other services. Where centralization takes workers and earners away from the province altogether it follows that this question enters the Federal ficid. Federal funds for educational purposes would in this case be.ns fair and equitable as they are’ necessary."

more centralization

Other Drawbacks

rural areas the government increase taxes. Thc land values have not increased in thirty years in dollars and the dollar has tit-preclated. The Fam- ily Allowances, Old Ago and Blind Pensions, the Dependents Allow- ances arc not taxable and the vet.- crans are largely cxcuscri from tax- ation. Labourers who rcuut‘ money to their families are taxed lIl the Province they work in. Liquor rev- enues are snrall under a Prohibi- tion Act. and if Prince Edward Is- land be criticized for not taxing liquor salcs wt- may say that a rc- cent act to uracil up sale of legal liquor was vetoed by the Governor of the Province. and he is ap- polntcd Federally. It is said thc Assembly cannot now proclaim thc Act. Of course, prohibition crr- ccuraged a new kind of home han- dicraft which gives. considerable ‘concern to Federal Excise Officers. A Federal loss of possibly half a million in taxes occurs yearly.

Since the Dominion-Provincial Tag Agreement was made in 194i. there has been a great increase in taxcs collcclctl. To show how r-npld the increase we need only compare 1038 and i940. In that period taxes on individuals in- creased thlrteen times and taxes on corporations increased five times. This indicates a new ar- rangement is necessary as a com- pensutlon.

The Government of Prince Ed- ward lsland is a frugal one. The deficits are growing larger year by year due to unavoidable expend- litures. In the present fiscal year. lthe deficit is estimated at $400.- 000.00. .The Province has the low- test per capitu debt in Canada. The tCivll Service has only half as lmany employees according to HJOMIIHHOII as several of the prov-

.In j cannot

noes, and salaries are very much lower. As an example of the fru- gality of the Government, the pay for labourers on Government roads ,was only 25c an hour until 1944. when it was slightly increased. This example will explain why a minimum wage law of 50c an hour would be opposed on Prince Ed- iward Island. _ , The rintary industries 0n Prince wuvd Island do not Yet see the need of n Workman! Com- pensation Act. or cannot afford lt. Few labour unions exist. Risks of accidents in primary industry is several times greater than in sec- ondary industry.

. s Fewer Government Aida

THE CHARIDTTETOWN GUARDIAN

PREMIER J. WALTER JONES

Agriculture is not able to afford cv-cn county representatives. The poverty of the government pre- cludes it. Farmers get along and quite efficientlyr too. without many of those government aids extended and considered necessary all other provinces of Canada.

I have spoken at length of our claims‘ for equal treatment anti especially emphasized the great.

{disabilities of war-time. I have not

yet stressed the necessity of a compensatory allowance for the post-war period. But I have shown that agricultural areas should re- celvs treetement equal with other areas. and when goods are manu- factured and purchased on Prince Edward Island providing laboul outside the province, more goods should be delivered to the prov- ince on an adjustment.

If farms on Prince Edward Is; land are to have electricity, they should be assisted Federally. If we raise the health and welfare standards aslstance again is dlcated. VOCQHDIIEI Training should be Federally supported. Education- al improvement could be achieved by a Federal grant to each prov- ince without lnfrlnging on Prov- incial right of control of. the currr- culum and school management The Housing Act provisions should be extended to high schools and

how s country like Newfoundland cm make great progress in war- time, declaring huge surpluses, when a province like Prince Ed- ward Island actually declines in war-time. Last year's farm income declined two per cent under the revious year while the advance K. Canada as a whole was about, 2a per cent. Are conditions in the‘ Maritimes sufliciently good to en- courage Newfoundland to jotti‘ with Canada‘:

small that we are by-passed. We‘ cannot afford to maintain per- manent offices at Ottawa for are doing. The few members we in numbers to influence policy greatly in the Federal House or in. committees.

Would Welcome Experiments

I might eloquently urge that the Federal Government could make a point of using us better. or at least use us as well as other prov- lnces, for we contribute a good deal in men and materials which are valued in other provinces. I‘. might be that because of our in- sular position. because we are email, because we have a really well-bred lllfl homogeneous popu- latlon, we could be used as an ex- perimental area to try out new ideas in health. public welfare and education. The province ls willing to be a pilot plant for such trials. The Family ‘Allowance plan was first tried on Prince Edward Is- land. I suggest more extensive ex- periments be undertaken.

The Province would be pleased to cooperate also if the Island were used to experimtnt with sup- erior types of animals and plants Potatoes, for example, are freer of disease than elsewhere. and al- ready rnore than half the certi- fied seed in Canada is produced on Prince Edward Island. Thc cattle are the freest from disease in Canada. and Tuberculosis and Bangs Disease- practically do not exist. The quality of hogs and poultry is six times as high as some other provinces, in the two top grades There is a great oppor- tunity to mr-k-e this small well- tlefihed area an experimental plot for the development of superior types of plants and animals, anti thus Prince mward Island would benefit, because it is small and because it 1s an island, and Can- ada as a whole. and other coun- tries, would benefit by being able

ones’ Address

resented with almost all Prince

dward Island by the Mother Country in 1757. They might argue that some kind of a gift was given us for joining Confederation. But the facts are that we have been Paving 5 Per cent on this amount slncc 1873, and no bene- fits sccrued from this deal. The landlords were bought out, but the province did not realize more: than enough from the lands to, pay the interest for twenty-five years. We bcrame a landless prov-i

It would appear as if we are so, lncc and for flit-y years since havv-‘inlon that conferences

been Pllllllls the five per cent in~ terest. At the time of Confedera- tion it was recognized that we

lobbying, as several other provinces WEN l-O rcvclvc $45,000“? Yearly ln central oiilt-c cuuiti clear most

lieu of public lands. The loan‘

elect are hardly important enougifsllol-lld have been cancelled longrfrom time m time rm Dnrrrrrrr Iago, and rn fact,

B a ut $35,000.00 for

rcfund of bo made

fifty years :

llillsborough Bridge

In i905 a xailroad bridge across the Hlll-5bCl"'.l;§l'l Rivet‘ visas built. It W35 an old bridge transported front the Mirumiclzi River in New Bruns- wick. It was tieslrable to use it also as a traffic bridge and an agree- ment betwcc-ir Prince Edward Is- land and the government of Can- ada was rustic- ilrrt. the province pay $9,750.00 a ycar for the use of it for traffic. All traffic expenses. such as planking and irroviclirrg guards were to be paid by the prov- ince. We strggest that after forty years the province has paid more than the original cost of the bridge. and iuynrcrrts should cease. and a refund ruade.

I shall quote from a speech by Sir John A. Macdonald in Parlia- mentary Debates oi’ the year i865. “I believe the IYEODlB of Canada east and west to be trulv loyal Bu‘. if they can by tiny jiossrbllity be exceeded in loyalty, it is by the in- habitants of the Maritime Prov- inces. Loyalty with them is an over- ruling passion. There 1s a rivalry between the opposrng political parties as tn which can most ef- fcctivclyl express their loyalty"

The clear intent of Confczlcra- tion was for each province to ilave a fair share of the resultant com- mercial benefits. But the Federa’. parliament has failed Yo function as intended at the timt- of Con- federation. cr as lire Maritime: were promised rt would function The conditions which have devel- oped arc bllgbting the native gen- ius of our nccple.

During the ore-census year, end- ing March 3i, 194i, the average earnings of male wage-earners ill

to secure disease-free livestock and plants. Natlnn-al Research has a fine field here for experimental‘ work.

Confederation Terms

In the Confederation Treaty 011 which the British North America Act is based, clause 2 states, "the system of government best adapt- ed under existing circumstances to protect the diversified interests of the several provinces and secure efficiency, harmony and perman-

,communttv centres.

l It is estimated that 25 per cent of the farm homes on Prince Eo- wartl Island are in need of rehab- rilitaticn. If the provisions of the jFarm Loan Improvements Act .1944 are not considered 'to besuf- flcient, the Government of Prince

Edward Island would recommend.

that Section III of the National Housing Act be broadened to irr- clude loans at low rates of inter- est and payable in a manner corr- sistent with the returns of the farmer from farming operations for the purpose of taking advant- age of rural electrification — such funds would be used for the purpose of installing electric wiring ur houses and outbuildings — electric water supply equipment bath- rooms - septic tanks electric equipment for barns and house- hold applianccs — small household refrigeration plants for storage of firm produce - installation of modern household heating sys- tcms — rural telephones - radios. The provisions should also pro- vlde for removal and replacement of obsolete housing and outbuild-