FRIDAY, APREL 3, 1959 the Bulwark Of Europe “April 4 comes this year as the tenth anniversary of the signing of ‘the North Atlantic Treaty by 12 ‘nations, to whose company three “more were afterwards added. The ‘nations of Western Europe had béeh ‘galvanized into defensive action by ‘the sudden Communist coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948, followed by the Soviet blockade of West Berlin. There was a firm resolve that there would be no more Czechoslovakias. _A prime purpose of the treaty, there- fore, was to facilitate a rearming of ‘nations that had demobilized their ‘millions of soldiers in Europe after “World War II, leaving the Soviet Union with its military millions in- tact. The organization of the new de- ‘fensive coalition was not easy. It began with the setting up of the Western Union of Britain, France -and Benelux; and once the United States had committed herself whole- heartedly to the concept, the main decision was made. The organization in Europe was set up in the autumn of 1949 and the supreme allied com- mand'‘(Europe) under General Eisen- -hower in December 1950, after the @utbreak of the Korean war. Turkey and Greece joined in 1952, and Western Germany in 1955. NATO never did bring even an approximation of the military bal- ‘ance that existed in Europe itself at the close of the war. But by pro- -Viding trans-Atlantic links for the defence of freedom it provided im- mediate effective deterrent to ag- ression. The shape of this deterrent has altered with the years, but it atill exists. It is one of the biggest factors now favoring a just settle- ment of the Berlin crisis and German problems. - . A coalition is one of the hardest things to keep together in time of peace. The fact that NATO has not only held together, but has grown steadily in strength and extended its Scope to embrace political co-opera- tion is one of the most remarkable events of this century. There,is little doubt that it has preserved peace in Europe. The present Soviet manoe- _uver at Berlin is the first challenge to European security that has oc- curred in the last ten years. It may réflect a build-up of Soviet missile Power on the one hand, or pressures ‘within the Soviet orbit on Mr. Khrushchev on the other, or in some degree both. But it is immeasurably less dangerous because of the ten years’ experience that the NATO countries have already had in build- ing unity. ~ No one can predict today what relaxations of tensions in: Europe the future may bring, and what adapta- tions and modifications NATO may undergo as a result; but the habit of co-operation has been established, and NATO will.surely have some part to play when danger of war is Passed. It may even become a stepping stone towards political inte- gration between all the free nations. Into A New Age Described as the most, ambitious éonstruction venture man has at- tempted since the Panama Canal, the St. Lawrence Seaway project will involve not only a reshaping of America’s but of the world’s geog- raphy, and of its economy as well. So says a writer in the National Geographic Magazine, who notes also that the, expenditure is in, keeping with the gigantic nature of the '@cheme. Together, Canada and the United States poured more than a pillion dollars into the ‘four-year undertaking, on which, at peak ef- | fort, 22,000 men were engaged. _" Men marshaled along the river | tite most fantastic array of excavat- mt ever brought together for a enterprise. With $70 million earth and rock, and moved ‘vhole villages to make way for a oad new lake. They dredged moun- tains of muck and glacial till, and 6) 35°4 or’ Lrie that have been the scourge “cal sp: , hauling, and construction equip- — th of machines, they cut canyons | ging Long Sault... For deepwater ships out of world seaports like Liverpool and Ham- burg, completion of the Seaway means that Cleveland is suddenly closer than Baltimore; Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Duluth are now as handy to Europe as Miami and New Orleans. To shippers and manufacturers it means the sudden ~|.addition ‘of 8,300 miles of coast ac- cessible. to. large’ ocean. vessels—a stretch longer than the whole U. | S. Atlantic seaboard. In harnessing “| the river for electric power, energy will be obtained from 246,000 cubic feet of water which flows.out to'sea each second through the St. Law- rence. There is no question as to the upsurge of industry, wealth and em- , [ioyment that will result to some favored sections of the continent from this gargantuan _ undertaking. How it will affect these Atlantic Provinces is another question. Since Confederation, the Maritimes have found their interests sacrificed on many occasions to those of the big industrial Provinces; and now the advantages accruing through their ‘geographical position threaten to be wiped out, leaving only the dis- advantages intact. Exorbitant freight rates and high tariffs—these bar- riers at least should now be greatly reduced. There should be no ques- tion, either, as to the availability of federal aid for work projects com- mensurate with our needs and re- quirements. The Northumberland Strait Causeway, with additional ferry service pending its completion, undoubtedly falls into this category. And why not the Chignecto Canal, if surveys, yet to be undertaken, prove it to be. feasible, advantag- eous, and economically -sound? We should raise our sights as we move into the brave new world en- visioned in the revolutionary chan- ges along the old St. Lawrence. We are a nation, one and indivisible; and our welfare is just as important, and our needs just as urgent, in these Atlantic Provinces as elsewhere. We too have great potentialities, to be developed, with vision and initiative, in the interests of Canada as a whole. We should not sell them short. - eDITORIAL NOTES . “Britain,” says the Ottawa Jour- nal, “has rejected a shipment of potatoes from Egypt, found to be diseased; but these could readily be replaced by disease-free stock from Prince Edward Island or New Bruns- wick.” * » *# The City Council is to be com- mended for striving to keep within its means, as evidenced in the bud- get brought dpwn on Wednesday ‘night by the finance chairman, Councillor Gaudet. It forecasts a surplus of $1,704, with no increase in the prevailing tax rate. * a * There is much talk of Justice Minister Fulton as the new Minister of External Affairs. Mr. Diefenbaker, it is argued, would then be able to appoint a Quebec member to the De- partment of Justice. One of those mentioned is M. Noel Dorion of Belle- chasse. He is considered to be very able though he is thought to be closely identified with the Duplessis doctrines of provincial sovereignty. That might well prove a stumbling block. * *x * Official gobbledygook is not con-- fined to our own country. For prize proof of that a correspondent in the Times Weekly Review of London points to this paragraph from the national insurance bill now before parliament: “For the purpose of this Part of this Schedule a person over pensionable age, not being, an insur- ed person, shall be treated as an em- ployed person if he would be an in- sured person were he under pension- able age and would be an employed person were he an insured person.” * * * One aspect of Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s fiscal quarrel with Premier Smallwood is worth noting, politically. That is that the Provin- cial Conservatives, never numerous, have again demonstrated that they stand solidly with and by Mr. Small- wood in this emergency. There is a. fairly general assumption “on Parlia- ment Hill, writes Arthur Blakely in the Montreal Gazette, that Mr. Diefenbaker’s prosperous Conserva- tive Party, having failed to capture Canada’s newest Province in 1957 and 1958, can now forget for many, } ‘Many years any hopes ‘they have had of repairing this situation. \ ‘a 5 tS p> a eee —— eee . ae . — ee we ve MES ee ee Epo Re oo OTTAWA REPORT Corridors Of Fame By Patrick Nichelsen our national histery, liament Building; can gaze at the portrayed features of men and women who have played lead- ing parts in our government over the past century. They can walk down broad cor- ridors lined with oil paintings, frame touching frame, of form- er Speakers of Senate and of |i House and of pre-Confederation Legislative Councils. They can look around Halls where, from widely spaced and handsomely gold-leafed frames, Kings and Queens stand clad in rich robes out of this world. If they are ob- | servant, they will perceive the }! heads of monafch and minister, of humble fisherman and forgot- ten journalist, carved in stone. But contrasted to this galaxy of tribute to many who have served Canada in secondary or less ac- tive roles, there are some sad gaps in the tribute to those who have filled Canada’s top ex-| ecutive post as Prime Minister. NEW ADDITION OF FAME Around. the Hall outside the interest. The Guardian does not neses sarily en‘orse the opinies ef corres 5 pondents THE FARMER AND THE M. D. Sir,—In your issue of March 2ist, there is a letter from an over-taxed M.D., which I think is worthy of a few comments. Let us take a farmer of Prince Edward Island with three child- ren. If he pays $2.50 a year in come tax, his taxable income is $25. His exemptions are $2.750. This makes an income of $2,775 per annum. , With potatoes going for 75 cents a bag, and for 30 cents a dozen, it tak@s many long hard hours in the field for a farmer to net $2,775 a year, after paying for fertilizer, hired help, and farm machinery. Many are probably making less. The Doctor refers to ‘“‘we urban lers on Prince’ Edwerd work for $3,000 or less? The city of - Charlottetown ~is for policemen at a starting salary The Doctor mentions highway paving, as one of the things he per: ily pays for. Are there not sit Z Liteiii 7 a This is | A bis | | : } i il i , Eft i { 2 was probably their last in the Parliament Building so long they had reigned | engeable. They came to lour to the subject of \img, the second ters who had tunes and jada for years. He was | Honourable i ; ze fh e* Hi ti if | at oe a f | A i it rh if i : | | TH [I twenty - rE of : [f. :" 1 ri he Lj i f l ? is in aE 2 faiik | December 1921 to June 1936. ember 1948. The mar whe served as Pri | Minister ore Mackenzie Ki and who was responsible fer hi first break in office. Rt. Hea. ‘Arthur Meighea. also lives im rf i ie f e : o 4 esl il 2 ee j iii i Rs Thomistic Philosophy ‘English translation by the id: lit is made up if wf i ri a i! ui : : aE bt i | Ee. FF 2 FF u it | i z | é f 3 : j te fil af : . 4 fit i E 3 Hi 1, a i HH : [ ‘ ae i i i b bei ‘ i ‘tt ii fen dea iy Hib Mh ' z il lieltt aft : ti | i i ‘ i 3 } ii i LE te i jis hil x gt Ni sei 5 fe i! , ‘ i : sr i H gist i! ri ao 2 HY fit a 7 » ip a 2 a fyi : E i ; In ite i & i : a iis i L f rH Fe i q s A ht is i g 3 g F Ey : Sek i E te i: g& = : a : é z : : : E pe EF 5 & if i ag E Fg E less s i i as 58 | i if fe s i FEY z 5 Ete ree : z ( q if j i 2 ‘ to bed and stay “Oh, it Let’s put a cold in its proper perspective: The common -old is the most costly ailment in the United States today. Each vear Americans spend a total of $500,- 000,000 to treat colds. Another $420,000,000 is lost in wages. Total expenses in lost time, wag- production and medical bills come to a staggering %5,000- 000,000 a year. That, you might say, is cold cash! QUESTION AND ANSWER Mrs. V.: What can I do to pre- vent cramps in my right leg at night? Answer: Night leg cramps may be caused by a circulatory disturbance. Bed sotks, adequate covers and a warm room may help to prevent them. Small dos- es of quinine at bedtime have been helpful in some cases, as have other medicines which your doctor can prescribe to aid the circulation. Redan BIG STORM IN SMALL TOWN R was snowing upside down. People fell off the ground and hung In a slipstream of powder, Arms out for balance where The tree tops, unstrung, Wigwagged mayday. Through glass I saw the land foundering And houses erasing The underpinnings. Voluminous Swataed ca.s hushed past, lacing And lapping to find An outlet. In that altered land, No one could wait: Doors flurried open And I and everyman Swam_ out, aligned, : Shovels up straight. 2 : —Maxine W. Kimin in the Christian Science Monitor or (b) the condition necessary and sufficient for the acquisition of knowledge. The grades of liv- ing beings correspond to the de- grees of their remoteness from matter. These grades-’in ascend- ing order, are (1) the brute: the { | brute is in a way delivered from the imperfection of first mat- ter by its substantial form which, though not spiritual, is more per- fect than the substantial form of the plant and thus is capable of\ knowledge; (2) man: man has a spiritual substantial form which is united to this, first matter; (3) the angel: the angel has no first matter but has potency , be- cause the essence and the exis- tence of the angel are distinguish- ed as potency and act; (4) God: “God is pure act and excludes all potentiality’: So proclaims Thomism, as interpreted, with ec- clesiastical imprimatur, by Fa- thers Grenier and O’Hanley. ORIGIN OF MAN This section of the volume is particularly interesting. ‘‘Mater- ialistic Evolution’ is rejected as being agreeable to neither faith nor reason. Evolution per.-.se, however, is upheld. The main thesis is: “God, or some other spiritual cause, immediately and naturally disposed first matter correctly understood (that is, in sense mentioned) manifests wonderful manner the power and the dignity of man; same time it safeguards unity of the human spec- (Te be continued) ais § iit i neath it was an apologetic note: “Not you—us."—Ottawa Citizen return to this country or to pay for.—Ottawa Journal NATO's 10th Statesmen from 15 nations gather in Washington this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of an organization that ranks as one of the most unique in the history of collective self-defence. The birthday they mark is that of the North Atlantic Treaty Or- ganization, the defence alliance formed in 1949 to defend the At- lantic community against the in- creasing threat of Soviet expan- sion and aggression. Never in history has a security pact brought together so many and such diverse peoples as this Atlantic alliance. Never has a treaty covered such widely dif- fering areas. With Canada and Greenland, the alliance comes within reach of the North Pole. To the south, through French colonial posses- sions, it touches the great Sahara Desert. It reaches the Pacific Ocean through the western coasts of Canada and the United States and verges on the strategic Cau- casus Mountains through Turkey. ONE-SEVENTH OF EARTH The area_ represents one- seventh of the earth’s surface and includes one-sixth of its in- habitants—450,000,000 people. Despite their diversity, they have much in common. They share much the same way of life making allowance for their various stages of economic de- velopment, and all adhere to the basic democratic principles of Western civilization. Most, though not all, of the pact members have a seaboard George Anniversa Kitchen ry the great ocean that gave alliance its name—the At- Turkey, are Mediterranean agen predominantly agricultural. way, lag behind. In principle, all practise free enterprise on orthodox capitalist lines. Some are “‘liberals” of the old school. Others incline more strongly towards socialism, as I® the case of the Scandinavian low a corporative system. nations t to deferd . themselves against Communist imperialism and all are agreed that an armed attack on one or more of them shall be them all. r MAXIMS The silliest weman can manage a clever man, but it needs a very clever woman te manage a feel! c IF YOUR GUARDIAN IS LATE... OR MISSED DIAL and a Special ry service missed. will be delivered right to your door. ‘a.m. to 9:00 a.m. if your paper is late — or 6561 available between 8:30 ED'S DIAL 173 Great George St. serve For the Fastest Service in Town, call Ed’s Slogan: “To maintain the goodwill we strive!" TAXI 6561 Charlottetown t . , cluding Turkey and Portugal, are ~ Some members of NATO are . One basic principle binds all 15 - ther: all are resolved ‘ regarded as an attack against countries. Portugal tends to fol- ~~