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THE TRIBUNE, WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C,

Thursday, May 12, 1954.

Williams Lake Tribune
Established 1931

Published every Thursday at Williams Lake, B.C.

By The Tribune Publishing Co.

Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association
British Columbia Division, C.W.N.
- $2.50
. $3.00

Clive Stangoe, Editor

Subscription: per year .
Outside Canada :
Payable in Advance
5 ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION
Authorized as Second Class Mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa

Considering Isn't Doing

PGE General Manager’ Bowman’s announcement that hi:
company is “‘considering” engagement of a firm of engineers
to study the problem of land development around Williams
Lake will hardly be received with any flag waving enthusiasm.
While the thought has a lot of merit, we had hoped for a more
Positive line of action. If Mr. Bowman had said a firm of en-
gineers had been engaged to study the problem, that would
Nave been another story, but as the matter stands now- we
cannot see any move to release land being made this summe)
if the railway company is at this late date only thinking o!
Ways to approach the question.

Mr. Bowman has signified that he will be in town May 29
for the cattlemen’s annual meeting and will at that time he
happy to talk over the problem with Board of Trade members
Perhaps by that time he will have a more definite statement
to make. We certainly hope he will. Room for town expansion
ig needed desperately and while we are only too willing tc
agree that development should not be allowed in a haphazare
manner, there is little doubt that certain sections could be
opened up in the very near future without jeopardizing any
long-range blueprint of a model townsite.

‘Strange Resporise

One of a series of questions put recently to Hon. Eric
Martin, minister of health and welfare, by officials of the B.C.
Hospitals’ Association, drew what to our mind was a rather
strange response,

The association was asking the Provincial Government to
erganize hospital districts, work that is now undertaken by
citizens in each area concerned. According to the association’s
impression of the reply, Mr. Martin said that at the present
time the number of new construction projects under considera-
tion call for an amount of money far in excess of the provincial
money available to meet the province’s share of the cost. The
governinent is not likely, at the present time, to consider
legislation making it easier to further multiply the demands
for construction grants.

We find this strange because it implies that, whether hos-
pitals are needed or not, the government has no intention of
easing the way to making additional beds available. It should
be the other way around. If hospital space is urgently required,
as it is in most parts of this booming province, the govefnment
should do all in its power to see that this space is provided.

If the government has not the funds to meet present hos-
pital construction needs, it would appear that money should
be borrowed for this purpose, since no hospital construction
project would have the approval of the department unless it
Was urgently needed. Certainly the situation is not going to
improve while the necessary funds are being waited for.

From Mr. Martin’s answer on improvement districts, it
would appear that he is in a most unenviable position trying
to divert an avalanche of construction grant demands into
holding files while he works on the present mountain of
building projects with a very small treasury spoon.

‘Part Of The Team

The daily fight against disease, of repairing bodies
maimed in accidents, is the more successful in this modern age
because of the teamwork involved. In the background are the
men of reasearch searching the answers to the cause of specific
diseases. On the front line of battlé are the medical practicion-
ers and the nursing profession. Not the least of the team is the
hospital, with its facilities for diagnosis, operation and re-
cuperation,

Onceza year we are impressed with the part the public
ean play in supporting our own institution to the end that the
facilites for care can be continually improved. The day is
known as National Hospital Day, or Pound Day, the latter
expression coming fromthe practice of donating a pound of
goods to the hospital as a tangible contribution.

In Williams Lake the Hospital Auxiliary is again spon-
soring the observance. They have organized a poster and essay
contest among the school children as part of an educational
program of outlining public responsibility. Saturday they will
hold their pound day tea, although this year because of the
crowded hospital, the tea will be held in the nurses’ home.

War Memorial Hospital is a primary responsibility of the
community and district. It deserves a full measure of our
support.

Niquidet Transport
Williams Lake - Horsefly

R. M. Blair’s office, Wms. Lake, phone R64
Horsefly Phone, 3 short i long

EDWARD M. TAKAHASHI
OPTOMETRIST
will be at the
RANCH HOTEL - WILLIAMS LAKE
Monday, May 16th
12:00 noon to 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 17th
9:00 arm. fo 8

Wednesday, May 18th

9:00 acm. to 3:00 p.m.

30 p.m.

For Complete Eye Examination Appointment
’phone or write The Ranch Hotel

By AJ

The Cracker Barrel Forum

Drinkell

When one of the boys produced a
volume entitled © Schools of
the Province of British Columbia,’
Righty-third annual report, with sun-
dry pieces of paper inserted between
the leaves we knew we were in for
one of those dry as dust statistical
hold-forths. It was not until he
reached page 13 that any interest
was evinced. On that page appears a
comparative table of enrolment and
expenditures for public edneation
from the year 1877-78. Those were
ihe good old days when the entire
cost of education was met out of con-
olidated revenue — the whole
$113,000 of it.

Until the year 19
in both enrolment and expenditure
S very gradual. At the end ot
World War I the total enrolment was
67,500 and the total cost $3%4 million
or $53.50 per pupil, of which 50%
“ume out of consolidated revenue. In
1922-3 the figures were enrolment
15,000, revenue gs
$784 millions or
79.00 per pupil,
with the same
proportion being
met by the gov-
ernment. By ’31-
32 enrolment had §
reached 116,000
for a cost of $9 %4
millions: and the k - aes
cost per pupil had risen to $84. The
increased cost was no doubt due to
the high prices prevailing during the
war and. the boom years following in
its wake. Then followed the depres-
sion years at which time the gov-
ernment of the day displayed, alarm
at the growing costs and sought vo
impose a greater proportion upon
the individual school districts.

From 1932 to 1937 there was no
appreciable change excepting that
under the new financial structure
only 22% of the costs was paid out
of consolidated revenue. The re-
mainder had to be paid by the school
districts. A minimum wage scale wa
established with the government

the increase

paying a portion of the teachers sal-

aries which varied according to the
ed. value of the district con-
cerned. All other costs were borne
by the districts. Coming at a timo
when conditions were at their worst
this arrangement led to chaotic con-
ditions in a a

cover

were made be-
tween school hoards and_ teachers
which resulted in many of the
teachers going without the board’s
portion of their salaries. Supplies
and services suffered likewise. It
be recorded that but for the
unprecedented restraint aud forbear-
ance of the teaching profession con-
ditions would have been far more
critical,

PUPIL Costs UP

Even their pension fund was jeo-
pardized by .a totally incompetent
government. Naturally. there had to
be a goat and the three-man school
boards were it. During the period
1938-46,’ which included World War
II and the years immediately follow-
ing, enrolment only increased by
10,000 but the effect of wartime fin-
ancing is very noticeable as the cost
per pupil is raised to-$113. The local
beards being thoroughly in disgrace
were replaced by the consolidated
schoo! districts. All this in the in-
terests of efficiency, economy and ail
that stuff. Under this system in eight
years hetween 1946-7 and 1953-4 the
enrolment has risen to 210,000 or ap-
proximately 52%. In the same period
the costs have risen from $20 million
to $70 million, a jump of 350% and
the cost per pupil has climbed from
145.00 to 00 .

That is something for the taxpay-
to ponder. After making due al-
lowance for increased wage scales.
building costs ete., Which we do not
think have gone up $350, we must
ask in all seriousness if the large
districts have lived up to expecta-
tions, and what are we getting for
the increased cost per pupil. -
SYSTEM AT FAULT

We believe that once again the
system is at fault and not the indi-
viduals who give of their time and

must

From the Files

of the Tribune

ONE YEAR AGo a"
May 13,1954 € %
A 17,000 fire destroyed the Lac

La Hache Light & Power Company

plant owned by Voth Bros. The plant

supplied thirty-five homes at Lac ia

Hache with light— Plans have been

approved for two commercial build-

ings. Williams Lake Dry Cleaners
and McKay Equipent— Death took
another Cariboo pioneer in the per-
son of Claude “Joe” Demarre in his
eighty-fourth year— B.C. Power

Commission announced plans to ex-

and the capacity of the local diesel

electrict generating station— A two-

day dowpour was called a million
dollar rain, It squelched six small
Yorest fires and gave the wild and
tame grass meadows a much needed
spurt— Eight town and district mem-
bers of the province's ground ob-
server corps received their wings at
a ceremony held at the Elks Hall—

FIVE YEARS Aco
May 11, 1950

Rey. Gordon Hunter, United
Church minister, announced he is re-
signing his post to take a church in
Schomberg, Ontario— Wilf. Paten-
aude was elected president of the
Horsefly Cattlemen's Association—
A steam inhalator has been purchas-
ed by the War Memorial Hospitalt—
Alterations are being made at gov-
ernment building to provide more
space for the public— Allan Wilkin-
son, well known village water works
employee was accidentally killed
when the hoist on his truck gave
way— J. Norquay set a trap-line in
the basement of the Cariboo Cold
Storage and the following morning
@ young muskrat was in it—

TEN YRAR AGO
May 10, 1945
The ice went out at Lac La Hache
on May 2nd— Victory in Europe wi
officially announced at 2:41 a.m
Monday, May 7th— Due to the ir
crease in air travel C.P. Airways are

success at the Dran
held ik Prince Geor.
Lake and District reached the '$100.-
000 mark in the Righth Victory Loan
campaign—

TWENTY YEARS AGO
May 16, 1935
The annual Pound Day, held under
the auspices of the Hospital was a
big suecess— ‘Charlie’ Moxon pass-
ed away in Vancouver after a lengthy
illness. He will be greatly missed in
Williams Lake— Full course meals
advertised at

ability with unstinted generosity. We
believe they just do not have the |
time to adequately administer such |
Jarge areas and much detail work
and altogether too much authority
must of necessity be delegated to the
paid secretary. There are too many
Pressures. It is our opinion that
greater economy and efficiency will |
Prevail if the three-man boards are
reinstated, responsible to a small
parent group of permanent super-
visors. ‘The inspector of school, if
given a supervisory staff would not
only be able to act as the correlating
agent but would be able to arrange
for more frequent inspection of both
teachers and pupils.

It should also be possible for a
school hoard to request a change of
teacher without attaching a stigma
to the teacher involved inasmuch as

a teacher may not fit ‘well into one
type of school, or community and yet
be an unqualified success in another.
Great care would be needed to pre-
vent the parent body becoming too
bureaucratic. Our educators should
have no compunction about re-estai)-
lishing the small boards; this is if
they have made good use of all the
millions now being spent on educa-
tion. Present day product should be
infinitely better equipped to fulfill
those duties than were th-ir fore-
bears who got into such tervible dis-
Brace. Reluctance to admit the pres-
ent system is not working and shy-
ing away from the logic | change
would imply a lack of faith in their
own product. In any cas page 13
of the current annual report furnish~
es every taxpayer with some potent
food for thought.

DO YOU WANT TO

Build a home

mortgage loans are

Mortgage loans

If you need financial help to build a
house or duplex, see the manager of our
nearest branch. He will gladly tell you how

National Housing Act 1954.

many services we offer our customers at
any of our more than 680 branches.

THE CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE

Williams Lake Branch — Felix Nicholson, Manager

of your own?

arranged under the

are only one of the i

NW-235

ready

WESTMINSTER

Bolted skin-strcssed panels of alloy steel permit

1135 QUEENS AVENUE
Het age

semovel of our new lightweight refuse

burner to new locetions, Volcano blast-furnace
type grate and smooth interior standard
‘models. Priced as low os $2,200. Terms

all

lable. Approved by B.C. Underwriters,

For details contact

IRON WORKS CO. LTD

NEW WESTMINSTER,

now stopping daily at Williams Lake
— Williams Lake children scored
Brailes « | LONG DISTANCE 7. him close to hom
Preacher Jenkins’ sermon was full ‘Ceps- uum Close lo home
of fire and brimstone. Manay pane
tuted his sermon frequently with | See the inside of your Directory for Station-to-Station
and “Phat’s sure tellin’ . i. . afte D y,
did. ehinius ally eehoe | rates throughout B.C. after 6 p.m. and all day Sunday.
ieher’s denunciations of lyin 2

eu 2 and drinki

When the preache:
disapproval to petty
eased back into the pew and mutter-
ed: “Now he’s done quit preachin’
and gone to meddlin’,”

* BRITISH COLUMBIA
COMPA?

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