THE GUARDIAN

Published every weekday morals; ll IJI Prince ltreet. Char Iettetown. P.l:.l.. by TIA Company Limited

Covers Prince IIIAM IAIAAI use the Dev”

Editor. Prank Walker General Manager. in A. Burnett

Bram-ii offices II summers-do. Montague Ana Aibencn. Autno ind As Second Class Hall by the Post Oillce Department. 0ttAwA.

ly Cairier: Cnuiottetown. Summersidn 015.00 per Annum. Elsewhere in P,liI.L 89.00. other Provinces And US. 812.01 per Annum

"The strongest memory is weaker than the weakest ink."

FRIDAY. JUNE 24. 1955

Confidence And Caution

Not too much importance should be attached to the statement made by a Brit- ish med-ical scientist to the effect that British doctors are not planning to use the Salk anti-polio vaccine to any great ex- tent until more intensive research into its effectiveness has been completed. The statement does not indicate British doubt as to the value of the vaccine, much less A fear that it is dangerous. It merely Sig- nlfies A ”wait and see" attitude, which is perfectly understandable when one con- siders the confusion which surrounded the first large-scale use of the vaccine in the United States-A confusion which has by no means been dispelled, although it is not nearly as troublesome as it was a few weeks ago. The full story has not yet been told: but enough of it has been told to re- veal that one of the great discoveries of all time was put under a cloud of sus- picion by bureaucratic ineptitude. or neg- ligence, or both. Add to this the traditional conservatism and cautious ways of British medical practitioners. and it is easy enough to see why the Salk vaccine must pass more stringent tests before it is put to general use in Britain and other Europ- ean countries.

It is to be noted, too, that European scientists are working on vaccines of their own. While none of these preperations has

received the same measure oi' publicity that accompanied the Salk product. some of them have demonstrated definite effec- ijveness. No one. not even Dr. Salk him- self. has claimed that the Salk prepar- ation ls the final and incontrovertiible an- swer to the problem of poliomyelitis. Carefully prepared and tested. it is the best answer that has been suggested so far: one of these days perfection will be found--perhaps in the Salk product. per- haps in A combination of the many vac- cines which are now undergoing tests. Meanwhile, parents should not lose con- fidence in the current vaccination pro- gramme, especially as it. is being carried out in this country. every time they hear that a medical scientist in some European country is a little less than enthusiastic in his commendation of the vaccine. On the other hand. they should bear in mind that the vaccine has not been declared 100'”); effective in all cases. The actual over-all rate is somewhere between 60 and 70”f;. As Mr. Justice Currie. President of the Canadian Foundation for Poliomyelitis, said in his annual report, much remains to be done before it can be said that the end of polio as it menace to human well-being has arrived.

How Many Fishermen? Appearing before the Standing Com- mittee on Industrial Relations of the House of Commons to discuss unemploy- ment insurance for fishermen, a number of members of the House of Commons quoted figures calculated to prove that the number of fishermen in Canada had fallen from 88.000 in 1949 to about 54.- 000 in 1951.

The Dominion Bureau of Statistics has published. iinnually, figures on the num- ber of fishermen by provinces. For Bril- ish Columbia. New Brunswick, Prince Ed- ward Island. Nova Scotia and Newfound- land. these figures are supplied by the Department of Fisheries. For Quebec and the inland provinces. the figures are sup- plicd by the provincial governments. This return listed the total number of fisher- men in Canada as being 87.440 in 1950 and 86.291 in 1951. However, in 1951 the Census included a detailed survey of the fishing industry and the DES. re- ported in the Census A total of 53,995 fishermen in Canada.

So we have two sets of figures for the same year-one set. the annual re- port. says we have 86.291 fishermen and the other. the Census. lists 53.995. In actual fact. says A bulletin issued by the Fisheries Council of Canada. there has been no appreciable reduction since 1949 in the number of fishermen engaged in the industry. There has been, however. a careful count of fishermen by the D. B. S. in the 1951 Census. using A new definition of A fisherman, and this ac- counts for A great deal of the differenc?

in the figures. In addition. it is known that there is undoubtedly some duplica- tion in the figures As supplied by the fish- eries inspectors, And the provincial gov- ernments. for the Annuafreoort. The addition for A commercial fish- and

"considerable portion of

carrying nsh to the point of processing: in order to qualify he had to be actively operating a fish catching enterprise or earning wages as a fisherman in the form of cash or of a share in the catch and he had to spend 15 or more days fishing or earn 55100 or more from fish- ing during the 12 months preceding the date of enumeration" ,

The 19.556 Newfoundland fishermen reported by the 1951 Census compares with 29,135 referred to in a study bv lhi' Unemployment Insurance Commission. which was released in 1951. The def- inition used by the Census in 1951, plus inaccuracies used in tabuiating the 29.- 135 figure (the 1951 annual D. B. S. re- D0Ft Shows 20.900), could account for a the difference. Tliils is substantiated by the fact that the Census figures for New Brunswick and British Columbia for 1951 show only ap- proxiimaiely half the number of fisher- men as are reported for the same year on the regular annual returns of the D. B. S.-and these annual returns have ac- counted for the acceptance of a popula- tion figure of some 88.000 fishermen in Canada.

Rail Competition

. The House of Commons has approved in principle an amendment to the Trans- port Act giving the railways greater lati- tude in setting agreed charge freight rates, and the measure has now been referred to the railway committee where interested parties, including truckers, will be heard. An agreed charge is a special low freight rate given by the railways to a company; in return, the company agrees to give the railway A certain percentage of all its freight shipments. In the past, before a mi1Wa.V could enter into an agreed charge contract, tihe charge had to be approv- ed by the board of transport commission- ers. Other shippers-truckers and ship companies - could dispute the charge be- fore the board. and often a yaariwould pass before the railway could make the agreed charge effedtive.

The new bill permits the railways to put agreed charges into effect on 20 days notice without. approval of the transport boa-rd. Other shippers. who feel that they will be adversely affected. still have the right. to appeal to the board; but they will not be able to hold up the imple- mentation of the agreed charge while they argue.

When the Turgeon royal commission on agreed changes made its recommenda- tions (which the legislation implements), the itruicking industry claimed it would be endangered as never before. The recom- mendations were not altered. however, and truckers would have to face tough- er competition. More agreed charge con- trvactls by the railways and more com- petilti-on for the trucking industry should result in lower freight costs to the benefit of the consumer.

Alarming

United States officials who lilave re- sponsibility for the countryls technologi- cal proficiency, especially as it relates to national security and defence, are per- turbed-some of them are deeply alarm- ed-at what they believe to be a growing danger in the field of engineering and its allied sciences. The fact that every year fewer college and university undergrad- uates are looking forward to taking up engineering would indicate a serious isituaiion at any time. It is especially lserious now in view of reliable reports that the Soviet Union is training en- gincers at a fa.siei' rate than ever before --so fast, indeed, that the free world is in danger of losing the advantage it has had all along in industrial and mech- anical potential. on which so much de- pends.

According to figures recently released by the Scientific Manpower Commission. A Federal agency. the alarm is by "0 means unjustified. These figures show. among other things, that chemistry and physics, both essential to the engineering profession. are losing ground in the na- lion's high schools: more than half of the schools do not teach them at all. Algebra and Geometry have been sub- jected to even worse treatment: less than 2570 of all high school students have made their acquaintance. In Mathemat- ics generally more than a half million students are being coached by incom- petent teachers; the same applies to

physics.

EDITORIAL NOTES

Strange as it may seem to western- ers, the oldest state owned public utility in the world is not in the west but in the East. It is the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in India

0 0

Recent archaeological findings indicate that there was human life in the terri- tory now known as Nevada at least 23,- 888 years Ago. While impressive. the fig- ures Are much less than those clai-ned for

Lebanon in the Near East-77,000.

Throughlihi

Canada is pushing a 4.600-mile. hard-surfaced highway through for- ests, across broad prairie and rug- ged ninuntains from the Atlantic to

the Pacific. Construction crews have been at it four and A half years.

Experts say it will be at least that long again before Canadians can drive on pavement. through their own country from coast to coast. By the end of next year they may be able to go ”all-Can- ada" by using back roads to con- nect with various completed sec'- tinns of the highway in different provinces But admittedly it would be a spring-breaking proposition.

I949 AGREEMENT.

The trans-'Canada highway was conceived in A six-year, share-cost agreement between the federal government and the provinces late in 1949.

Work on the two-lane highway be- gan the following year with the provinces doing the construction at their own speed along a prescribed route within their boundaries. The federal treasury is matching their costs dollar for dollar up to a maxinum of S150.000,000 by De- ccmberv 1956.

But laying the road across the country proved A different thing than laying it down on paper. There were unavoidable delays. Weather interfered in some provinces. Oth- ers found themselves pinched for highway funds.

In the mountains of British Col-

umbia, for instance, the highway costs 31,000,000 a mile or more to blast through sheer rock. In the more than four years of construction effort little more than 1.000 miles has been paved to the agreement standard of 22-to-Z4-foot width with 10-foot graded shoulders on each side. Another 1.400 miles has been graded.

EXPIRES IN 1956

Federal officials agree the high- way won't even be half completed before the agreement expires at the end of next year. The subject may come up at the federal-provincial fiscal conference next Octobe but officials say a full-scale highway mecling probably will be called with the provinces next year to renew the agreement.

Quebec is the only province which didn't sign. Premier Du- plessis claimed the agreement iiidnit provide sufficient safeguards of provincial rights. But indications are the federal government will try to get Quebec to participate. Quebec already has some of the finest highways in the country, ex- ceeding standards laid down for the trans-Canada. Federal authori- iics are expected to argue that Quebec would have little actual work to do if the province came in because existing roads which meet agleement standards could be incorporated into the highway sys-

lcm.

To the end of May. the federal government had matched 865.462.- 051 spent by the provinces nn trans- (lanada highway construction. To-' ial cost of the road is expected to lot? 5-300,000,000.

GRADING APPROVED

To the same date, 1.755 miles of grading construction had been fed- erally-apprnved and 1-481 miles completed. A total of 1.223 miles of paving had been approved and 1.- 074 miles of it done.

Ontario with an allotment of 1,- 412 miles has more of the highway running through its territory than any other province. Ontario now has paved 314 miles and graded 403 miles and received federal pay- ments totalling 3N.6.'i7.935. The fed- eral payments were held up for A time last year during investigation of highway contract irregularities bui now are being made agein.

British Columbia has received the next biggest chunk of federal highway cash. B.C. has Aved 140 miles of the 692 miles 0 highway within its boundaries and has graded '163 miles more. Because of the high per-mile coals this con- struction ate up S29.01ii.988. half of which was paid by the federal treasury.

Newfoundland has graded 177 oi an allotted 289 miles of highway but is the only province that has done no paving so far. This year it hopes to complete A lo-mile sec-' lion iieiween Codroy And St. Georges on the west coast, making it possible to drive from Port Aux Basques tn Gander through use of some back roads.

01 the other provinces. Prince Edward island has plved 46 of its

The Trans-Canada Highway

Canadian Press. 0ttawA

come into the agreement until 1952 -four of 310 miles; New Brunswick 52 of 388 miles; Manitoba 130 of 305 miles; Saskatchewan 203 of 414 miles and Alberta 150 of 292 miles. in Banff and Yolio national parks. where the federal government is doing the work. i'ive of 03 miles have been paved.

Oi. the grading side. Prince Ed- ward lsla;.d has graded 64 miles: Nova Sculls 9; New Brunswick 58; Manitoba 117: Saskatchewan 317: Alberta 196. A total of 13 miles of grading has been done in Banff and Ynho parks.

Of the 141 bridges so far ap- proved for the highway. 113 have been completed- including 33 of 39 in B.C. alone.

During the year New Brunswick

plans to complete 22 miles. in- cluding three bridges; Manitoba, completion of 16 miles of concrete and 26 miles of bituminous road; Alberta, completion of 114 miles; and B.C., 31 miles in the 1955-56 season. Spring flooding put a kink in aon-' struction in Saskatchewan and damaged sections of the highway already down.

Flash Gun For TV

(Ottawa Journal)

Come now word of the great- est invention since somebody dis- covered television. It is A device to silence the TV set or to try con- clusions with a different channel.

The gadget is a flash gun work- ing on the principle of the elec- trnnic light beam which can open the garage door or the door to A shop. TV receivers on which the gun can be used have a sensitive patch in each corner.

The viewer armed with this weapon can control the machines without 1 ea v i n 11 his comfortable chair. If he aims the beam at either of the upper patches the program hanges - another chan- nel comes into operation. A shot at the lower lefihand window and the set goes off if it's on. or goes on if it's off. A beam on the lower right corner tunes out the ommer- cial message or any other bit of sound that might disturb A not-so- captive audience.

Occasionally it has happened - perhaps more often than the news- papers have been told-that A view- er irritated beyond the bounds of prudence lies tossed A chair into the TV screen to silence the men- ster. Such violence is not to be condoned althought any patron of this form of entertainment will

UITAWA REPORT

' A former Liberal Cabinet Min- ister put some powerful ammuni- tion into the hands of all Provin- cial Premiers on the eve of the brief Dominion-Provincial confer- ence here this week. This was Senator Tom Crerar, who tabled the dynamite - laden report of his Standing Committee on Finance last Thursday.

The crisis in Domiuion-'Provln- cial relations goes much deeper than this week's minor squabble about which level of government should carry the burden of emer- gency unemployment relicf. While Ottawa sees this growing split with naturally partisan eyes. it is recognized here that so far Quebec's Premier Duplessis has taken action to show it up in all its gravity.

In simple terms the trouble stems from the present unfair Split of our tax dollar. The Federal Government takes the lion's share; the Provincial Governments and- at A lower scale. the Municipal Governments, get only the crumbs from the rich Federal feast. and they are starving on this slim pickings.

Under the emergency of war, the Federal Government invaded every tax field where it could trespass with reason and often without reason. This included these tax fields which our consti- tution and custom awarded to the Provincial Governments. One of Ottawa's perennial debates. high- lighted by this week's Conservative filibuster in the House of Commons, centres upon the justification for the Federal Government to con- tinue its wartime trespasses in these piping tim.es.of peace.

True, the Federal Government does share out some of its tax re- venue to the Provinces. under the terms of the iiocalled tax rental Agreements. But even so. this re- distribution does not correct the imbalance. as Premier Dupleiis- is has not hesitated to point out. He has gone further, by return- ing himaeif to the field of income tax collection.

Tucked Away at the back of Sen- ator Crerar's Report is A short table showing the total revenue and expenditure of each level of government in certain s e l e c t e d years. This may seem like dry-am dust statistics. But to Provincial Treasurers and to hard-pressed City Halls all over Canada. it is comforting reading.

In 1939- the revenue of the Fed- eral Government was Mil) million. This year. so much hAve our tax payments increased. this revenue has jumped to nearly ten times as much. namely 84.242 million.

The combined revenue of Prov- incial Governmenta has risen oni luuirtoid. from 8238 million in 81.01 million. in the some period. And the mbined revenue of our Muni-l cipal Governments has risen less than three times, from 8317 mil- lion to 9005 million.

In others words. the Federal Government's share of our tax dollar has risen in the past fifteen years from less than 48 cents to over 68 cents. Our other levels of government have suffered Ac-

M miles; Nove senile-which didn't

Federal Tax Revenues By Patrick Nicholson

All these prosperous years of "cyclical budgets" introduced by Finance Minister Abbott have yielded large and often unpredict- ed surpluses. Mr. Abbott has pat- ted hlmseif upon his back. as if he was achieving wonders. But in fact he was merely taking money out of the pockets of other governments and ovei-stuffing - needless1y- the pockets of the Federal Government.

In the years since 1940. for ex- ample, the Federal Government collected in taxes 523,340 million: it spent only 821,975. The balance was largely used to pay our Nat- tional Debt, a treansaction to which Finance Minister Ab b o t t never failed to call attention pub-

Medically Speaking

lle N. lundeeel. BLD.

AN INFECTION COMMON T0 SCHOOL-AGE GROUP

Strict Attention to personal cleanliness is essential for any- one suffering from pinworm in- fection. It's especially important for parents to-know what to do for it, since About 45 per cent of school-Age ”” become in- fected with pinwonns.

Generally, these small white worms are found in the upper partiof the large intestine and cause intense itching Around the rectum and frequently in the nose.

Medication

Piperazine is effective in treat- ing this infection. But whatever the drug your doctor will prescribe for you or your youngster. you must heed the following general instructions:

Scrub Hands

The patient must scrub his hands and fingernails with A brush And soap after toilet and before each meal. Keep the fingernails short. because pinworma are frequently carried to the mouth or nose under fingernails. Also. keep the fingers away from the mouth and nose.

If your child is the one who is infected. be sure that he keeps all toys out of his mouth. Sterillze his metal toys in A hot oven.

The patient should take A show- er each morning. washing es- pecially well around the rectal And genitalia areas. Toilet seats should be scrubbed after use.

Use A separate towel And wash- cloth for the face.

Wear snug cotton underpuiti to bed each night. Soak or Boll

Each day change any soiled underwear. bed ' ” T ' ” and towels. You can either boil all linen well or Aoak it in A solution of household ammonia for one hour and then rinse thoroughly. Make this solution by Adding two teacups of onia to each 10 gallons of water.

Air out all rooms in your house for two hours each day.

Vacuum each room every day. QUESTION AND ANSWER

M. J. S.: I am concerned about an enlarged liver. What treatment do you advise?

Answer: An enlarged liver comes. from many causes, such as infec- tions of various types. malaria. typhoid fever, tumors, gallstones. or congestion due to poor condition of the heart. An examination is needed in every case to determine the exact cause for the difficulty. Whether or not the treatment will clear up the condition depends en- tirely upon what la .1. d ' .