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PAGE FOUR TllE GIIARLOTTETWIN GUARDIAN

Morning Dally (Founded in 1887) Authorized as Second Class Mull, Pout Oilioo Department, Ottawa.

President, Ian A. Burnett; Vice-President. Wm. R. Burnett; Sony-Trans" G. M. Burnett; Editor and Managing Director, J. R. Burnett; Associate Editor, l-‘rirnk “Ialker.

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“The Strongest Memory is Weaker Than fire Weakest Ink." nTdsTriTirT Silurian 1791-1

Prorrrlor Jones vs. Tire Auditor-General

ln his political address before tho Can- adian Lcgian last week, Premier Jones maintain- ed that the Dominion Government was con- ducting Canada's affairs "economically." Ho offered no proof of this statement, which in- de-ed would be hard to produce. No less an authority than the Auditor-General supports the majority of taxpayers in their conviction that they could spend their own money far more effi- ciently than the King administration is spend- ing it.

The Auditor-Generals states is that of an independmt official responsible only to Parlia- ment. He tablcs annually in the House of Com- mons a report upon the way the Government handles the spending of public monies. This session's document arrived the other day, and parliamentarians who have perused it are talk- ing about little clsc- lt literally bristles with cases of extravagances, inefficiencies and wastes.

For example:

The Labor Gazette, published by the De- partment af Labor, us-ed to employ correspond- ents in many localities to furnish it with cost-of- living information. Then the Bureau of Sto- tistics took ovcr the function of furnishing this data from its own facilities. That was back in 1943. But tho Labor Gazette correspondents have still bzsn getting their pay envelopes. Somebody simply forgot to tell them that their services were no longer required. The sum they were paid last fiscal year-—for nathing—was $6,418.18.

Here is another case:

lt had been the Government's practise to pay a feo of $160.00 for an architect's drawing. This payment gave the Government the right to use the design 16 times. If used oftener, an ad- ditional fee of $10 was paid per time. This was a fair enough arrangement for normal departmental operations. Unfortunately, the Government forgot all about how it would work out in any mass building project. lt was re- minded when it set out to build a block of 2,- 200 houses for veterans from only seven de- signs,—-and received and had to pay a bill of $1d,370 from the architects’. Thereafter the ar- rangement was mada that the initial fee paid any architect for drafting a plan should cover its use in any mass building scheme.

Another case of bad judgment at the tax- payer's expense which the Auditor-General cites is also concerned with houses for veterans. lt happened at Boucherville, Quebec, in connec- tion with a project far building nine ex-servico men's hames- The Government rejected firm bids ranging from. $45,884 to $70,200 as ex- cessive, and commissioned a contractor to do the work at cost, plus a fee of $175 per house. So for, $87,018 has been paid out under this deal, and another $103,820 still is being claim- od by the contractor.

Continuing in the same vein: Up in Daw- son Creek, British Columbia, tho Department of Veterans Affairs negotiated for the purchase of a hospital for the R. C. A. F. Then the R. C. A. F. decided that it didn't need and didn't want a hospital th-are. The Department of Veterans Affairs went through with the deal regardless, paid the $68,000,—and turned the property over to the War Assets Corporation to be sold for whatever it would bring. lt wasn't used as a hospital for even a day.

Even in the field of family allowances tho Auditor-General finds serious irregularities for which the public is footing the bill. Ho notes that the legislation itself provides that no pay- merits should be made to "any person who is in Canada contrary to the provisions of the Im- migration Act." Despite this regulation, the Auditor-General estimates that "child allow- ances are in payment with respect to over 4,000 children who on entry into Canada were not re- corded in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration Act."

Then there is the. case of John Grierson, former Wartime Information Board and National Film Board head to \Vll0fi'|, incidentally, the F- B. l. have rcfuscd a hill of health to enable him to obtain u vfsa to live in the United States. Gricrson lcft the public payroll on October 31, 1945. But on January 24, 1946, the London office of the National Film Board paid his air passage to Canada at a cost of eighty-five pounds sterling (about $375).

Many other instances are cited by the Auditor-General, indicating pretty clearly that Premier Jon'es was drawing a long bow when he bodsted before the Legion of the King Govern- ment's "economy."

M. L. A. For Indians?

In Victoria, B. C., it has been suggested that the Provincial Government might add a soot to _tho Legislature for a native Indian. Such on M. L. A. apparently would only concern him- solf with tho native tribes ‘bf British Columbia- Ho would be unable to have his. say in gonoral

' law-making of tho Province.

Tho Vancouver News-Herald says that while it is wholly in favor of the native Indians-those who can road and write, at any rate-having the franchise. But it does not think nativo Indians should have their own special repro- sontativos in tho House. If an Indian is elected by o-maiority of all tho pooplo in his constitu- ency’, woll and good. ‘To have tho Indians nomo their own mombor would only load to further ‘vision among tho races.

Yotjr mms to in tho practice in New Zeal- ‘flyyigyg nbovourro spacial logislotlvo soots

for Moorl representatives.

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-— IIUIIURIAL NUIII) —

Unhappy lios the head that wears a crown,

or runs a government. .

x o o

Tho government of Alberta is sponsoring a $1,000 cooking contest, the object of’ which is to develop a full-course tourist meal for which Alberta will become famous.

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Honeymoons are not always what they are cracked up to be. who marricd Mary Churchill, daughter of tho wartime Prime Minister, two weeks ago, was taken seriously ill on their honeymoon in Swit- zorland.

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Chief McLeoso, of Saint John, points out that contrary to a great deal of publicity given recently about an increase in crime with re- gard to returned service men, he found no in- dication of this being a fact in his territory.

Forgotten or overlooked wealth for whom it may concern. A nest-egg of about $1,500,000 has piled up in Canadian banks awaiting claim- ants_who left their money gathering dust-and compound interest-in their vaults. Unclaimed balances and other dormant funds had accumu- lated to that amount at the end of 1946-

Mrs. MacKinnon, formerly of Grand River, who now resides with Mrs. O'Brien at Elmsdale, must be proud of her granddaughter, Mary Knowles who hirs just been crowned Queen of Edmonton at the Winter Fair there. Miss Knowles, or "Miss Edmonton of 1947", polled 135,000 votes. Her mother, the former Laura MacKinnon, hailed from Grand River. Mary was crowned by Mayor Arnley of Edmonton.-

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Tragedy has entered into the Barbara Ann Scott world champion figure skate rejoicings. Nadine Adair Phillips, 19-year-old runner-up for the Canadian women's figure-skating champion- ship in January, died in a Toronto hospital a week ago. She was to have skated in Ottawa this month as a member of the Canadian team competing for the North American figure-skat- ing championships. Miss Phillips was at one time Canadian junior lgdies’ champion skater.

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A synthetic bar of soap which is as good as the "real thing" is to be produced by an Eng- lish firm in Manchester. The formula, perfect- ed by Mr. Fraser Johnson, excludes the oils and fats commonly used in tho manufacture of soap. Stringent tests have proved that the new pro- duct is equal to soap for most purposes for which it is generally used. lt is also a quick re-

mover of ink-stains. i

a ro u

John Wesley, founder of Methodism, died this date 1791 -at the age of eighty-eight. He travelled extensively as an evangelist, and his preaching, zeal and popular appeal were enor- mous. There are no Methodists now in Can- ada, but the last world census showed there were 54,475 ministers, 98,733 local preachers, 10,110,677 members and probationers, 95,566 Sunday Schools, 961,728 teachers and officers, 9,209,300 scholars, and 100,113 Churches and

halls for services. i

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Displaced persons are beginning to real- izo they are not to be allowed to eat the bread of idleness. A system of compulsory work for displaced persons in the British zone of Ger- many is announced by Air Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas. The British commander-in-c ief said tho 234,000 displaced persons left in the Brit- ish zono, of which 157,000 are employable, will be obliged immediately to register for work. The announcement followed months of negotia- tion to meet objections of UNRRA officials. Air Marshal Douglas said displaced persons who ro- fuse to register or to accept "reasonable offers of employment" will be liable to prosecution, as, for example, by being put on fatigue duty in dis- placed pershns’ camps, or, if necessary, by im- prisonrnent. '

in only throo casos out of the 64 death claims filod with tho Saskatchewan Government Insurance Office could the circumstances have given rise to a claim being made under the standard policy of public liability coverage, rec- ently released insurance office figures indicate. Over 95 per ce-nt of tho dependents of people killed in Saskatchewan automobile accidents during 1946 would have been unable to collect insurance benefits if the Saskatchewan plan had been a standard public liability one. A test analysis showed that in 25 cases out of 200 per- sonal injury claims thero was negligence that would allow, the injured party to file a claim under-public liability coverage of a standard policy. The analysis therefore indicated that the percentage of those not protected was 87.5 por cont, and sinco the total number of in- juries sustained in accidents up to January 15, 1947, was 1,338, it indicates that in only about 167 of the 1,338 cases could the injgyd per- sons have collected under the liabili cover- age of a standard policy.‘

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Labour Government in Australia is at log- gerheads with its followers, just as is the Attlee Government in London. Differences between Prime Minister Joseph B. Chifley, with his Cab- inet supporters, and the trades union oxecu- tivo have grown with strikes _ of railwaynren, tram and bus employees, gasworkers, foundry workers, waterfront workers and shipyard em- ployees. At tho moment most of those employ- ees are on tho job under agreements that they work while tho arbitration court decides their claims for highor pay, reduced hours and other items of improvement. Tho Government's can; tontion is that their claims might have been re- fomd to tho court in tho first place without ro- sort to striko and it supposedly blames tho Aus- tralian Council of Trade Union's for failing to koop tlro mon at work when increased produc- tion is noeded to roliovo shortages. Relations botwosn political and industrial leaders of labor aro said to have boon strained further by tlio Government's appointment of q‘ spacial com- mittee of tho political branch-the Australian

Capt. Christopher Soamos,~

THE Cl-IARLOTTETOWN GUAkDiAN j

tlotos By 'l'lro

A traveller friend called our n. (option recently lo tho difficulty ho Hsherlerwod tn many urban municipalities of fuming street r names and, house numbers. ThLs : is a common complaint and oaro s which need not. exist, because councils o.‘ urban mimrlclporllties are specifically empowered to pass bYliflvs "for odflxlng the names at street corners on public or» prlvslo Property" and "forjrvumburlng the bulldlflls and 101s along the high- “BY! amIfm- affixing numbers to the buildings and for charging the owner or occupsnc with the exponao incident to thfnrurnbering of his b1111d1~118s or lot." Most municipal- lilcs have street names and house numbers but the fault lies in not; 111M118 1110 flames rind numbers pro- perly located for guidance by night as well as by Coy. -Mir.nlclpal World. _

Bfltrlllr‘; strtngth is in her people. They seem to endure more, and endure if belles" than any other P6001! known to history; they whine less when tho going ls hard, and boast loss when- the going is easy, than the great nations of the earth trio wont lo do. There are many werurble arguments as to why they should not emerge from their preselnt difficulties with new PPESLlQ-g and new strength, but the grealer argument of history disposes of them. Britain will manage. some- how. Her greatest resource i; hor- T/Wplc. and they have not been Evaluated. -Pelen‘borough Exam- er.

Faith Baldwin, one of America's most prolific woman novelists, has written 55 novels in something 111w 50 sears. She goes to Flufldl for the winter season; if that rs What her next heroine L; supposed to do. or she spends time at Palm Springs, Calif, lf she intend; to place her next leading character lhere. or she goes lo Washington for the same reason. says The Christian Science Monitor. In that ‘Way she gels the feeling of the life she describes, and being on observant person, she comes away with shanply defined impressions which-she selidown on; paper- with equal clarity.

Remember wbon- they taught children lable manners; they asked grace before meals: they made the kids say ‘slr‘ to the old man; they sent. thorn to bed at 9:30; they had to be in by U130 if they went to a dance; they had a barrel stave hanging in the woodshed-and used it; they believed in political leaders; they enjoyed peace, plenty and low-priced tobacco rm-dJiquor; they had no income lax; they had nol yet endured two world wars; they had one swell time in Can- ada? ~Lorvdcn Free Press.

At the end of tho rainbow Io the tax 511p. The ralnbbw is u beautiful thing to look at - until you come to the end of it. There you find "Govemmen-t“ which is “other people" and moro import- ant, yourself. Juggling between Peter and Paul does not add to lhe wealth of either. In the end it hits everybody. Who was the old duller "who said that the best security of all ls-n prosper-om and aggressive country? Or what doors "security" mean’) Who was lt who said that. half a loaf is less than a whole lonf no "taller how you cut ii. up? —f-lamllton-Spectator.

More mon aro scouring plain knit lies, we learn ham a press report. This brings up the quest- lcfr. why wear lies at all? One of lhe most foolish custom; L; that. of mien who bind their neck! llrrlo-rt to the strangling point with various kinds of fabrics. some o! the gaudy lie; that one soon are almost as ridiculous as the women's hills 1111i strike your eyes in the master P111‘- axle. Mon- who b11811 It 11w 1111118! women are pleased lo on)! hats might do well to take a second laok of their tlos. -—Chatho.m News.

I road somewhere lately that 27,000 public clocks in this coun- try were put out of urn ' i011 by enemy action during the war. It. seems lo me that this figure must include practically all those that ever catch my eye-they are nearly always wrong. The homologie- rrl societies have wanted for a 1on8 time l0 have n modeum-lswful to exhibit a clock which is not rlgfhl by official time, but at P1959111» r1 purollc clock Cln alve who: time it likes; and most of thorn do. — Ijendon New Statesman:

The newspaper in stlllmnrl w'If long remain the leading pirrvevor o! news lmd information. includ- ing advertising lnformatlosr. T11! radio has its olwe; so have 11w other media. Taken together l1!!!’ are, in the main, complementary rather than competitive. And freo- 1y operated. as they are in lhln country and ln the United Btroiiolr they afford the people an unfl- r-cllod example of freedom o! news, of speech and of expression- Brnntford Expositor.

Excuses tendered by manufac- tutors will not increase tho number of shirts on the market; 5111111114 prefer to hers/r what step-B 1 ll! 1"" token to ensure increased “P9110! ln six mcnlhs. ‘Their reuods ore not rmllko those cf-American monu- facturors to whom Charles Lwkmlrt president of Igver Brothers "P1195? "since tho faults of bmlnom W01‘! the fertile grounds upon which grow many of the vices of of!!!‘ 1m lobar, no will rho reformat!” of business have to 011E946 111° rotor-motion of from." Ills advifl gppllfl to srrarrlua whatnot- they consist of workmen. 0P machinery. Acoorstinlly. our manu- facturers need to reform before no will have] mgto oairu. vim!’ 1:‘? might eln Y N! W!

end tho shortages. Ahterbosollh Examiner.

PUBLIC FORUM

This column ls open u; tho .dlsousalorr by “up. launder!!! of questions or. interest. Th: Charlottetown Guardian rlooo not narrate. fly oadoroo tho opinion ql rrrrrrcltwhdorsh

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TALKING ABOUT MOGUIJ Sin-Now that. the farmers havo learned according to Premiu- Jotres, first "that they should pick n wife as they would a heifer" ll l-hefwould their servo better u producers of cheap labour; second. that farmers who 10mm their money to the 'GOVe[nmgn[ when the dollars were so urg. ently nccded for furthering the war effort, were n thing bellm- than “tlrrerper cc t nfogvug"; third. that any farmer's son who wishes to make his living ln.an- other class of labour shall be de- nied the right. to assure himself of a fair price for his labour by organizing. Are they as happy with their farmer Premier as their Premier seems to be tn believing himself "The Great Mogul." I am. Sir. i-lc. DlSI-‘RANCIHSED SOLDIER ____.___._

our: svs-rrzrn or r-rnucnnorv

Sir, - Those of rhe present gen- eraiiazr- cn Prince Edward 151mg who are interested in our public schools, including especially lhe pineal; of school children; and o: course the teachers as well, must surely be familiar enough with the lamentations of certain persons and groups of person-s who incess- 31111)’ bewail and bemoan our pres- en-l school system. and incessantly demand a new one. Those persons Ere beyond, doubt generally well- melmlflg- BTW-loll! some C8585 \veIl- educated, and Yet one may well doubt if they dont do more harm than good lo lhe came which they have at heart. In i118 first. place. no matter what. the system might be, the continual belittling of ll in public and pflv- ate would-lend to degrade it ln the minds of the public. In the oase of our Island system. it would tend lo weaken a favorable attitude on the purl of the parents toward the school. causing them to doubt the wisdom of compelling or per- suading their younger children l0 pursue the full course in all -lhe grades of the public school, and lt would ternd also to cause the ad- Vflmell Pupils to doubt the value cf pursuing the course that leads lo P.W.c entrance examinations la order lo enler the trashing profes- sion. 0n ille part of the teachers. lt would lend to demorallze and discourage lhem. and to create in their minds a lciw conception of their calling and a desire to escape from ll as soon as possible. Thai these unfavorable attitudes exist all loo largely today in lhe minds of parents, puplls and teachers can hardly be dented. But some c-f you: readers may pejoln; “Supposing the present sys- lem to be a wholly bad one. how else can lt be discarded except by creating tn the minds of the public rm unfavorable opinion of it, so that in keeping with our theory of democracy, rhe old system may be clwpsea for the new one with the consent of the people"? To this I reply that the present system is not a wholly bad one, and further- more, lho prospect of the new pro pootd one ls for from satisfactory. The grand ldca of iotalltarrloa or composite high schools combined perlmp; with art and craft centres that has l0 captured m, minds of certain modern- educallonisls has in itself the, danger of breaking arway from’ time-honored and well- charted bearings, and drifting out to sea in courses that lead every- where, and yet nowhere. Thar is. in our own province, providing the money to available for the more material equipment for rhe gnu-rd expodltlorv; and -the recent sober discussion in Charlottetown by RW. Hyndrman on the cost o! erecting, equipping, staffing and mountain-big one single composite high school ln this city should olonre be sufficient cause la make over-optimistic promoters pause and think realistically in regard ‘to tho financial aspect when they propose to estarbllsh E0 or more composite high schools throughout Prince Edward Island. And even if tho money weto av- ailable to provide such_ a 831519111 of schools, the people cjf Prince lildward Island. as I have already suggested. are by no men-no in r105- saesfon of enough evidence lo 9N" that composite high schools nso everywhere by every educator coa- aiderod to be the ideal ones. There are of course enthusiasts among u; who dogmallcolly declare that. they are the ideal ones. Bu: one has only lo road quotations in tho dolly press to learn that thoro are eminent educators who lust u dol- moflcally affirm that they no not. Ami yet again, supposing that the composite schools are 1118 16811 ones, 30 of them no fair from suf- ffclont lo allow of easy access to

atlonrd them. 11bi- be it remembered that all pupils obovo grade 0- of tho publlc- school would be sup- poood to attend the composite blah ocliool. and I little examination of the geography of Prince Edward Island. along with s llttio calcula- flan rrr respect to drrunm ‘and mlnbor of common odrooll. will goon rovoal to all concussed that ovor one-half of these Irldo 0 and 10 lfllhlls would have to travel from b to perhaps I miles in order to roach jhefr ollotod high echoolsp- s moot. serious consideration for III- onu whose children hovo boon ao- oustolnod lo receive lndo 0 and l0 courses almost. st the doors of their homer. - fat moo at" your renders no! ufu because r an rrru