PAGE FOUR A

THE GUARDIAN. Cl-I A D7,O'FTET0WN

THE GUARDIAN

Authorised no second Clue mu Poss omen Department. 0tf.IwI. ' The Island Gun-dim Publishing cc. CIRCULATION

Total City Zone 5.105 Retail Trudlng Zone L............. 8.l.'o'l All Others -... 827 Total Net Paid IMHO

-President and Auoclnfa Editor, III: A. Burnett, Auoclute Editor. Funk Walker.

"The Strongest Memory is Weaker Yhoii the Weakest Ink".

CHARLOTTETOWN. SATURDAY. DEC. 2 1951

some Timely Reflections

At this Christmas season, as on many similar occasions, it is worth asking our- selves why world conditions are so out of tune with the message of gladness and good- will. Have men failed because they have sought a better world on too superficial a level? Is the secret of failure to be discov- ered not so much in faulty planning and in- ept diplomacy as in some deep disorder in human nature--what theologians call orig- inal sin? A writer in the London Times raises this question, and suggests that if this is where the truth lies-if man's great- est enemy is within himself-if the chaos of the world is but the chaos of the individual soul writ large-then the religious observ- ance of Christmas may well, if rightly used, point the way to the remedy of the present malaise.

The Christian gospel does proclaim a message to men in their corporate capacity --its concern with the Kingdom of God is evidence of this. But, more particularly, it speaks to each individual. St. Paul fre- quently speaks of "newness of life" as the supreme gift of the Gospel. It is all too possible to look for a better world order on a level where, simply because the diag- nosis of present evils is not sufficiently rad- lcal, and because the attempted remedies tend,to deal with mere symptoms and do not tackle the roots of the disease, there can be no assurance of permanence.

The union of nations for mutual de- fense, security councils, welfare states -- all these are necessary in the contemporary world situation. But deeper than all is the need for a readjustment of personal and corporate life to the world of the spirit, which involves not only an acceptance of Christian ethical values, but A personal re- lationship which has been symbolized su- premely and for all time in the cradle at Bethlehemr The nature of this relationship is made clear in the teaching and example of Jesus. It is the acknowledgement of God's sovereignty, the seeking and doing of His will, the willing' acceptance of all the implications of divine sonship and human brotherhood. Failure to accept this simple truth' accounts for our sense of frustration in the midst of unprecedented scientific progress and social and economic develop- ment. So much has been attempted, and yet so little that makes for true human hap- piness and stability has been accomplished. Creeds and particular modes of worship have indeed their significance in this con- nection, but underlying them all is the nec- essity of transforming our attitude of mind. The Christmas festival is an opportunity for every Christian to build his own Bethle- hem in his heart.

C cultural council

Historically the arts, that is the fine arts, have flourished most when they could find'a patron or patrons in high place. Artists are notoriously unskilful in the arts of business and for that very reason do not show up well in the hurly-burly of a com- petitive market. In the past those patrons have been kings, tyrants, emperors, popes, merchant princes and industrialists who had the means and inclination to relieve genius of the task of breadwinning so that art might be served and incidentally the patron celebrated. '

In more democratic times genius has been hard put to it to survive, much less flourish. Generally the artist must earn his daily bread in ways unconnected with his art or else pander to the lowest common denominator of popular taste.

The present proposal that the Canadian Government set up a council to help paint- ers, musicians, writers, scientists and stu- dents is at least a hint that it may be pos- sible for a. democracy to encourage the arts at least as effectively as did ancient .princes. At any rate the experiment is well worth making.

EDIIORIAI. NUll:S

Monday, it should be noted, is the next Market hm, the last before Christmas.

0 C O ,. Tomornow, the fourth Sunday in Ad-.

be oqmy Minister of Health eon; lilout.-Ooi.J'iolding, now.

splendid educational and practical medical record which ensures that he will make good in his department. 0 9 We. have both Christmas Sunday and

Christmas Day for celebrations next week. 0 O 0

Prime Minister Winston Churchill will broadcast to the British nations today; the King on Tuesday.

0

It will not be long now before the blessed Christmas bells will be pealing out

their joyful sounds. Q

The Christmas tree is the focus of hol- iday pleasure, but unless common sense rules are followed it can be a threat to safety.

0

Trade is booming, farming is remuner- ative; only regret is that our potato supply is insufficient to meet the demand.

0 O 0

As the result of a request by the Amer- icans, British soldiers in Korea recently re- corded a selection of Iavourie Christmas carols.

A two-and-a-half million Provincial Gov- ernment 4C6 bond loan at S9620 has been issued to repay previous loans and to pro- vid for capital expenditures on highways and public buildings.

0 O 0

Though old age and blind pensions are to go into force next week, it will not be till toward the end of January that cheques

will be received. 0

Further cuts in the British bacon and candy rations serve as reminders of our own relatively fortunate situation-and of the sacrifices of others which make it pos- sible.

Troops in Korea are receiving Christmas presents from the Chinese Communists. Psychologically that should have more ben- eficial effect on the donors than on the

recipients.

Visual storm signals, such as that blown down at Souris this week, have long served a useful purpose but today they are very largely relics. The real warnings are

passed in more up-to-date fashion.

N

I O 0

All that is now necessary to make the St. Lawrence seaway feasible-apart from the raising of the money--is the Royal As- sent to the legislation passed this last week by both Commons and” Senate. Maritime opposition was insignificant and purely

theoretical.

O O I

Canadians are not concerned on any large scale, but the lists being released of prisoners in Communist hands means joy to many families that have been under a cloud of doubt, but they mean also heartbreak for the families of missing servicemen whose

names are not included.

0 O C

It is a satisfaction having wise financial advisers in government such as Britain now has. First repayments on Canadian and United States post-war loans to Britain fall due Dec. 31 and ministers in London favor meeting them in full. The U. S. loan was 54.359.000.000 and lcanadals 51,250,- 000,000 (Canadian). The agreement spec- ified iannual repayments spread over the remainder of this century.

I

George Eliot (Marian Evans), English novelist. died this date 1880. She edited the Westminster Review and contributed to it and to Blackwood. ”Adam Bede" was her first novel, followed by "The Mill on the Floss”, which is generally regarded as her masterpiece, although ”Middlemarch", despite over-elaboration of plot and lan- guage, is also favored.

J I

The threat of the closure on debate in the House of Commons used to be looked upon as a challenge to all democratically inclined members,to stand on guard of their rights to talk as long as they could on the measure. involved in the dispute. It is so long since anybody heard of the "big stick" behind the Prime Minister's back that the official opposition could hardly believe it was still there. It seemed too bad that it should be brought out to delay the return home for Christmas of the hard-working, liberty-loving legislators.

0

Senate Leader John I-laig, P.C., declares that elevation to membership in the Sen- ate does not come easily. It is unlikely for any green individual unless (1) the senator currently representing his section of the country should die; (2) the political Party to which he adhered faithfully chanced to be in office at the time and (3)

, other influsgtisl partydmemberg in the um. ,; . -y - 'area.meegtodeciewhomth dlik . Is to be congratunited on his er 6

to get rid lof, should pick his mine. Added

Senator Halg: "rho Senate has many

fsutlltt. but it has itllgbbd points infill: it I

9" WW hater-1 .......

DECEMBER 22. 1951

That. tlce I-roblem Again

IF rut Pos-I-Mm oossu-r nine, ,

Mme: uc's our COLD - on lcsf

Mirage For Consumers

(The Printed Word)

By the time the joint; committee of the House of Commons and Senate get along in the study of the proposal to prevent a manu- facturer from fixing the retallprfcc of his goods. the public, if it fol- lows the technicalities of argu- ment. will be as befuddled as the MscQuIi-rle committee which re-

mincnds such I law. The interim report of that committee. which purports to discuss the pros and cons dlspassionately. reaches con- clusions about as valid and valu- able as I. long-range weather fore- cut. Possibly it discusses the world of merchandising as it should be, dismissing sin as blundly and in- nocently as Marie Antoinette re-

mmendcd cake when bread was absent. But it is as for from reall- ty us In unsympathetic maiden aunt who knows not the problems of parents. The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix has a point when it. urges that the in- terests of neither the large stores nor the small retailer are import- ent in comparison with the inter- ests of the consumer! The large store is pictured as poised ready to rip the bottom out of the price structure the moment the wicked manufacturer is forced to with- drew his maintained retail price. The little fellow in business, as ii consequence, is seen as cowering before the expected onslaught.

O O 0 I

It is assumed that a. price fixed by the manufacturer gives the re- tailer .I larger spread between buying did selling prices than he would set if the price were not fixed. The MacQuai-rle committee just states this as a fact. with no justification whatever. It is not even alwsys true of luxury goods.

Probably evidence that main- talned prices are generally low prices could easily be found. In fact, most merchants will say that their margin of profit is less on the fixed-price goods. nationally ndvertiscd. than on other lines.

It must be remembered that the objective of the manufacturer in fixing the retail price is not to as- sure the retailer a comfortable ex- istence but to make sure that the ultimate market for the brand will be broad, and not confined to the great shores and mail-order houses Advertising is depended upon to create the demand so that merch- rnts are forced to stock the goods. The markup is only sufficient to keep the retailer displaying them.

It. is argued that the trend to- ward price maintenance is a fac- tor in higher prices. But this does not square with the current and universal concern among retailer about lower spreads and lower no pionts per dollar of sales. This has been going on for years. with the result thnt today. despite higher wages, taxes and other costs. food- stuffs (to mention a non-luxuryl are distributed at less markup than ever before.

0 O I

It would take a Stevens army of accountants and much time to de- termine whether all price-spreads on mslntsincd lines are above or below price spreads on other goods What should be of more concern is whether there is ndeouste compe- tition in the getting of goods from producer to consulmcr. Any retali- er will In there is severe compe- tition, and some glory in the fact. Even the Juci-chant In the remote village knows (and his customer knows) Ibout mail-orders and there would be I surplus of newsprint if mu-clients were not forever strug- gling to lure to their own cash regisurs I larger shere of the consumer's dollsr. The argument that mIlnl.IInsd prices tend to lower competition is I pleuslblllty at theory not borne out by prec-

re.

.lntli-sly ignored by th author of the Msonuerric r the fact (pointed out before) that merchants live on Ivsregu. If they don't got enough profit on one mm they mint make up the dono- lonoy on othgrs. so ovon if the proposed law reduced some pi-loss (perhaps on gold watches). other pricol w the (perhaps on fur- niture). merchants today no fighting twp forces-higher costs on the one 'hInd and I diminish- ing om-Iodlon the other. when

Ii(hRIItmv!(iJIl011D1I1dll

-'&GOmGOmI0'me0OdmeO9”m

Q Old Charlottetown

i

'(AnIl P. I I.)

am.

ROAD ACT DEFECTS

"The present Road Law is. in many respects, faulty. A man rc- sldlng in Charlottetown, by paying five, or three shillings for two horses. or one, respectively, may keep his carriage, or gig, and cut up the roads all over the country; but I. former is required to pay ten shillings for two horses, and n eight shillings for one. besldel two shillings for each additional horse above two. The uxtravngsnce of the tax defeats the object of it, Is is usually the case with extrIvIg- ant taxes. It is very rarely paid. ”The practice is for a farmer, having perhaps half a. doiien horses, to go on the road himself for I. couple of days. for I. bit of s frolic with I friendly overseer, talk over the news. and not labour. but dswdle, and thus. like I wise man. he keeps hls,.eightccn shil- lings in his pocket. There is. no sufficient rceson why the tax should be higher in the country than in town. and if the owner of two or more horses had only to pay five shillings, double the money would be -collected. Ind thrice the labour performed for thst five shillings, by contract. than the farmer is now in the habit of personally executing. It may be some consolation for farm- ers to be informed that there is no road tax on mares.

"Another great defect in the Road Law is exempting all persons over 60 years of age. A man in indigent circumstances, and infirm health. should be exempted at any age: but it is difficult to perceive why our most substantial farmers, who would have to pay more than Vnny other class in the country. if road money were collected by voila, should be permitted to cut up the highways. altogether free of ex- pense. But the privilege is very much abused. It is hard for I man to swear to the date of his birth- no oath is required-and it is be- coming quite I common practice for men hardly turned of fifty. to lei! the overseer that they are ten years older." -

-The Islander. Nov. 29. 1850.

757-66? ? G-ma:

ANNO DOMINI

Thus the sun rose as never sun

of

th th lh

of

of

in

within the stall. O nevcnhud I. sun so s-hone be- fore In llidihle years of time Is on that l

! Blast were the winging lsrks, ole ”

A -unou A. Pratt.

Tllo Ago-illlltttoff

- INRE g

joyous Ildc. vice expresseist thed th N H H tholevvhownesse e avyc . tlkukdi g m in VWM ""m- The ””"''"l W" sii)d;lddr3:dl:g single: an?! srelimihel:

emotion It God. Those arose in the eleventh century. By the

fury thousands of in all the local dialects of France. These Christmas Carols have an important place in literary his- tory. religious name, they were soon to

in honour of tho carols. distinguished personalities; gay carols with humor taken from episodes eighteenth century the had been preserved. We have evi- dence in the Burgundlan

their Iudlonces. 0 0

Christmas In France

(By Albert Mousset)

The mysteries of the Christian religion hIvo I large piece in the popular trsditions, literature. on and music of France. but not one has had Iuch a lasting influence. such diverse . national customs as the Christmas festival.

Until the Ages Christmas marked the start

interpretation in

end of the Middle

the official year in a great.

number of French provinces. His- toric events canco of this date in the minds of the faithful. The celebration of

enhanced the signi-

o Natl lty was associated with e mos memorable episode in e life of Charlemagne. and not

least with that night in the year K30 when. in a flood of light, he was crowned. "great and pacific emperor". It was also a Christmas Day when Baudouln. the brother

Godcfroy do Bouillon, had

himself crowned in the very city of Bethlehem where David celved the sacraments from the Prophet Samuel himself.

With its poetic sense of mystic sequences. French -medieval an-t grouped into one cycle thc.sdor- Itlon of the Angels. the baptism of Jesus and the Feast of Cans. calling it the Theophsny.

IE-

But what lm ressed the people

"W" i” "H in i i5 temval W” m the biblical characters were acted by the more educated villagers. '(

The Christmas ser- jublletlon of

splred by the words of the

Bible and indulged in cclcbrationl

combining piety with simple ex- ruenung the ubcrunce. Jesus drew large and pious crowds eygmeemh century. but into the festivities carried the celebrating met, in the vlucmse reglom on on over the first days of the new chrntmu year. Out of this sacred and profune came the de lightful traditions that have been omy. A" the hmmm. figure. of perpetuated .to .ou.r day.

While the birth of

churches, the secular

It was the "joyous week". original Imixture of

First, there were countless

songs of popular origin. with rus- tic themes evoking the shepherds

the Adoration and their simple beholding the Infant

slxteeneth cen- them existed

For. while retaining their

elude couplets based on the

some popular tunes but with I secular significance.

There was a "Royal Carol" sung king; political

of and

composed in honour

in daily life. In the tradition

carols

before ' l (some of which were written to Across the land. and mounting tunes taken from Lulli). that ' with the ink. were sung in Dijon -and obtained il-lesrtencd the fisher putting out great comic effect, if frequently from shore, somewhat unkind. from the mil- Arousod the shepherd in the stone- adventures of high society. They roofed dark, were Eombihud with gavottel Ind Traced in pure gold the lilies of mlnueh -1 interludes. - me geld, - The early Christmues also do- And pm-Md me ugewq 1,, an rived from the scenes which de- cobbled W," velopsd and became the "mystery -I-0 wake me mxmn mowsmg on plays. the biblical ti-ugl-comedies M, wield. performed in the cathedral To wreath. the sleeping mud squares where the French theatre

first come into existence. These consisted of a series of scenes in- terspersed with singing In which Iupernetursl and human. pathetic and comic. elements mingled. the whole thing often inning for hull

day Ind thoroughly fucinotlng

m hlunbs plIy, p . e lweop in out In -”””ea --. ..n'. '.r:..:'l.'..'.":'::: z:.::'.:":. me” "9" '3" ml” "'4 ""5 to reconstitution: of than "my- ””'i"3"'3 9”" stories". end on the occasion of And all that lived inc ' day tint the bl-millenlum ceiobi-IilonI of 5"” W” '701'"- the Capitol performances took

place in the square before Nairo- Dome Cathedral. Everyone knows Ibout the Bsvorlsn town of Obonmmorgeu produced ovary ton yours with emuuur actors of I vow mode in 1681. ,

Punlon Ploy which the

In commemoration

A feet, of which not so many Die In Ivan is that than ya been and I II on perform-

Incoeof I similar 'cliIi-Ictor In It-snot, only the subject In this one II in ru-

M um ban on sianuwc relates to the ulna of Two centurion before inadmi- uos was ouuusu Is outsm-

&liBt aithful. The

...x.x.x.w..

Notes By,

"Are You g losing Beef?" - headline of In article. We on not. I-nd it's been just ages since we dissolved any pearls in our wine. -- Kingston Whig- stlindsrd. .

Fluorlnntlou of Edmonton's wet- or supply to reduce tooth decay is to be recommended shortly to the city board of health. It should be approved by the board and in turn, by city council. for its value now has been established by ex- periments elsewhere. It has also been acknowledged, if cautiously, by the Federal Department of Health, while it has been endorsed in the United states by the feder- sl public health service and the National Dental Association. Edmonton Joumsl

Officials report mat in recent weeks signal lamps in the vicinity of the CNR-New York central diamond.-west of the ONE station, have been shattered by bullets from small-calibre rifles and pel- lets from air guns. Investigating

officers have concluded that youngsters out on week-end hunt- ing expeditions are responsible

for the damsgo. Anyone convicted of I charge of interfering with ISWWIY Ilznnls can be sent to pen-