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Page 2

THE WILLIAMS

LAKE TRIBUNE

wednesday, May 6, 1959

EDITORIAL PAGE

OUR ‘WILLY-NILLY’ SYSTEM

We think there is a lot of food for thought in the
recommendation made by the North Vancouver Teach-
ers’ Association to the Chant Commission on the subject
of qualifying examinations for high school entrance.

The teachers suggested that all students be re-
quired to write a qualifying examination and should
be selected for specific courses. The brief submitted
also criticized the current education system ‘“ which
sists willy-nilly that every man’s child is entitled to
@ secondary school education as now constituted.”

The idea of qualifying examinations is not new.
In England these entrance exams are taken when the
Student is about 10 or 11 years old. If the youngster
Shows by his performance that the standard high
school course is going to be a little too-much for his
capabilities, he goes on to a school that would be the
equivalent of the vocational or technical schools in
this country. Here a general subjects course is aug-
mented by practical training in a trade.

In B.C. we are showing little inclination to do any-
thing for this student who isn’t going to make the
university entrance-grade. He can take a “ general
course” in high school, but it still doesn’t equip him
to make a living, unless he is taking a commercial
course.

We realize that outside of Vancouver it would be
difficult, and costly, to build and equip vocational
schools, but there should be some sign of a long-range
plan. Such schools should eventually make their ap-
pearance in such spots as the Okanagan, Kamloops
area and Prince George.

We have now reached a ridiculous situation with
out “ willy-nilly’ system. We have a lot of young
men eventually leaving school] at an almost marriage-
able age with no training whatsoever, and a financial
appetite that precludes the possibility of any industry-
training plan. And we also have a shortage of skilled
tradesmen.

The problem is a very real one, and the only way
we have got around the tradesmen shortage part of it
is by enticing trained men from other countries. But
this isn’t facing up to the responsibility we have to
young Canadians—the ones who will never make the
ranks of the professions.

AMEND THE LAW -

‘Gra Mian trained in the law and noted for his
respect of the law, Prime Minister Diefenbaker is per-
mitting his administration to act in a strange manner

—Abbotsford News

“indeed on the matter of capital punishment.

In recent days two Canadians, under sentence of
death for murder, have had their sentences commuted
to life imprisonment by executive action. This has
happened in a majority of murders since the present
government took office.

The result, of course, is a circumvention of the
law which says the penalty for murder is hanging.
Unless exceptional circumstances enter into a case, the
law of Canada has:provided only one penalty for mur-
der. Yet the government, by order-in-council, gets
around the law.

This newspaper does not believe in capita] panish-
ment. We would like to see the law changed, so that
in many of the cases for which the government has
ordered commutation of sentences to life imprisonment
such a penalty would actually be the law of the land.
We realize, of course, that public opinion is somewhat
divided on’the question. It will not: help in solving
the problem, however, for the government to adopt
methods which seem to evade the purpose of what is
the law of Canada.

If the government thinks hanging is wreng in the
majority of cases, as its actions would seem to indicate,
then it should amend the existing law: To seem* to
adopt a method of circumventing it does not breed
respect for law. It is a dangerous principle indeed.

The prime minister and his cabinet should face
up to this question of capital punishment. Their
present method of dealing with it is.wrong. Parlia-
ment is in session, and there is no excuse for continuing
to ignore the problem.

ENTERPRISE

: —tThe Printed Word

Bruce West, the columnist, entertained his read-
ers a while back by asserting that although a house
had been purloined in Britain without anybody ever
again finding it, nothing of the kind ever had hap-
pered.in Canada. The implication was that Canadians
were either more honest than Britons or less enter-
prising. Take your pick.

If Bruce West had come to The Printed Word’s
walking archives, he would have learned that there is
one instance of a house, or at least a summer cottage,
in Canada having been stolen, and neither police nor
owners have seen it since. Moreover, it was taken on
a warm summer night when occupants of nearby cot-
tages were sleeping. Its loss was discovered the fol-
lowing morning when a neighbor cried in astonish-
ment, ‘‘ Where on earth is the wee McGregor cottage? ”
Only the posts on which is had rested were in sight.

Even more remarkable perhaps is the fact that in
Welland County a few years back, a steel bridge, not a
very good steel bridge, was stolen from its foundations.
It is a fact that the bridge was not in use, having been
replaced by another structure a hundred yards west,
but in the days when scrap metal was scarce it was
quite a feat to move a bridge without its owners, the
county, knowing anything about it.

Bruce West, in his enterprise, might start a con-
test for records of remarkable thefts. The first prize
in the contest could be, say, a piece of soap stolen from
a hotel.

This scene hasn’t changed so much
from the. early 1920’s when this
There are more
trees around the house now, but

picture was taken.

AS IT- USED TO LOOK

Mission.

residents will recognize the lovely
setting of Onward Ranch as you
approach it

from St. Joseph’s

THE MACDUFF OTTAWA REPORT

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

OTTAWA — Nineteen fifty-
nine is rapidly developing into
a year of reckoning for the
Conservative government.

For months the government

ily -““on
by
nearly $1,400 million to lower
taxe$ and at the same time in-
crease old age pensions, farm
price supports and a host of
osher benefits.

When he brought down his
budget last month, Finance
Minister Fleming was forced to
tell Canadians that the party
was just about over. He an-
nounced tax increases this year
of $245,000,000, nearly $40,-
000,000 more than the tax re-
ductions granted over the
previous two years. Next year,
when the increased rates are
in effect for a full 12 months,
the increased tax take will be
$352,000,000.

During thg election cam~

paign that biought “ther to

office im 1957, the Conserva-
tives made a promise of a fair
share of the national income
for farmers a major plank in
their platform.

Soon after, they were. elected

they introduced legislation
which, if it fell considerably
short of promise, still raised

farm price supports consider-
ably above the level that ex-
isted before.

RISING SURPLUSES

Only a few days after Mr.
Fleming introduced his budget,
however, Agriculture Minister
Harkness was forced to ack-
nowledge that the support
prices for many products were
too high, presenting the gov-
ernment with the problem of
rapidly rising surplusses. As a
result support levels for such
products as hogs, cheese and
skim milk were cut back
sharply. But even though the
Conservative ministry has
started to take its courage in
hand and face up to some of
the problems that confront it.
it is still not out of the woods
yet. When they were in
opposition during 1956 and
1957, members of the Conser-
vative party, many of whom
now sit on the government
benches, vigorously condemned
the Liberal administration for
the tight-money policy that
then was in effect.

In the months ahead, how-
ever, the Conservative govern-
ment may find itself faced with
a new tight-money era that
will make that of a few years
ago seem mild by comparison.
During his remarks on the bud-
get debate, Mr. Fleming
pointed to an important factor
that could bring this about. He
noted that in one week alone
the general loans of the char-
tered banks jumped by nearly
$100,000,000. Since the be-
ginning of the year they have
risen by some $400,000,00.
INTEREST UP

During most of last year the
demand for bank loans re-
mained almost stationary. It
has started to increase sharply
now, with the rising tempo of
the economy. In order to find
the money they need to make
Joans, the banks have been sell-
ing off their short-term govern-
ment securities. The effect has
been to drive up almost all
interest rates to levels that are
already well above anything hit
during the last tight-money
period. The federal govern-
ment itself will have to hor-

Tow some $800,000,000 in new
money this year to pay off its
anticipated deficit of $393,000,-
000 and meet other commit-
ments.

The demand for tredit from
private sources is expected to
continue climbing. The result
may be not only a steady rise
in interest rates, but also sby-
ere restrictions on the avail-
ability of money from the
banks, finance companies and
other lending agencies. Mr.
Fleming has already tried to
wipe his hands of any respons-
ibility for this development by
trying to shift the blame to the
Bank of Canada, rates in U.S.
and other circumstances be-
yond the government's control.

In fact, the government to-
day is in no different a posi-
tion than was the Liberal gov-
ernment two years ago and is
as equally vulnerable to the

stérm of protest that might, We
espeltoh. develop. Actuayy,
of course, the administratfon

today has little choice but to
accept the situation, unhappy
and all as it may be.

The only alternative is for
the Bank of Canada to begin
once again to churn money off
its presses—as it did, last year
to keep the government.afloat.
The money supply was allowed
to! expand by nearly 1.4 billion
or 12 percent during the first
10 months of 1958, although
real output increased relatively
little for the period.

Such a move would only
serve to further water down
the value of the dollar and
could pave the way for an ex-
plosive price inflation.
CAPITAL HILL CAPSULES

A move is underway in

Quebes to unite the forces op-
Posed to Premier Duplessis’
Union Nationale party into a
solid front. Menibers of a
number of groups, including
the provincial Liberal party,
the Social Democratic party—
Quebec wing of the CCF, the
Catholic labor syndicates and
Quebec Federation of Labor—
provincial arm of the Canadian
Labor Congress, have issued a
manifesto calling for the res-
toration of democracy in the
province. They have urged their
leaders to consider some form
of alliance against the Dup-
lessis machine. Proposed are
an out-and-out merger, a limi-
ted coalition or, at very least,
an agreement that only one
member of the opposing forces
would contest each seat in the
next provincial election — exe-
pected next year.

}
4

{2 Rpe arsy Conse
‘Minister, Sir) Johd a

donald, used to be dubbed

“Old Tomorrow,” but when it .

comes to the question of ap-
pointments Prime Minister
Diefenbaker can match his rec-
ord as a procrastinator any
time. For more than a year
the prime minister has been
considering a shuffle in his
ministry from Quebec and ap-
Pointment of another represen-

tative. The appointment of
parliamentary assistants — or
parliamentary secretaries, as

they are now to be called —
has been pending for even
longer, much to the annoyance
of the young hopefuls in the
Conservative ranks. Still to be
filled as well, of course, is the
external affairs portfolio.

CARIBOO COMMENT

By William Speare, MLA

The idea of a modern road
from Quesnel to Likely is a
good one, opening up the area
to settlement, tourists and gen-
eral communication. Long
advocated by businessmen and
Board of Trade members at
Quesnel, this group spear-
headed a public subscription
drive to push a pilot road
through on a route they re-
located.

Private subscription for pub-
lic road building, designed to
supposedly overcome govern-
ment indifference, was based
largely upon the timber poten-
tiol which would be made
available to Quesnel enter-
prises. This idea was of ut-
most importance to
Cariboo lumber operators as
well, for it would tap an area
already involved in a serious
problem of over-cutting.

To clear up the thought of
government indifference, I
talked it over with the Hon.
P. A. Gaglardi. The minister
was fully acquainted with the
subject from past representa-
tions by local committees. In
his viewpoint, the project has
been earmarked for attention
soon more immediate
highway needs of greater bene-
fit to our economy and people
are attended to.

Swinging to the access road
idea with the Hon. Ray Will-
iston, Minister of Lands and
Forests, on the strength of
possible timber prospects, I re-
ceived assurance that the pro-
posal would be investigated
from a Forestry Access and

as as

South:

Fire Protection standpoint. A
subsequent report received
from the Hon. Ray Williston
gives the forestry economics of
construction an access road
over this route.

It states in part, “The En-
gineering Services Division of
my department is, and will be
for some time to come, fully
occupied with surveys in Pub-
lic Working Circles and Sus-
tained Yield Units, which,
through lack of access, are not
fully committed and are not
likely to be committed until a
forest access road is built to
them.

“In the case of the road to
Morehead Lake, I would advise
that this lake lies well within
the boundaries of the present
Quesnel Lake Public Working
Circle. This Working Circle is
fully committed, and, as far as
my Department can foresee,
there will be ample competi-
tion for years to come from
operators therein established
on existing public or private
roads; e.g., from Quesnel Lake
to Macalister or Williams Lake
and from Horsefly Lake to
Williams Lake.

The present lumber haul
road from Morehead Lake to
Macalister is approximately 40
miles in length. The present
road from Morehead Lake to
Quesnel, which, according to
the District Engineer of
Highways Department,
need re-location and
struction for a great part of
the distance, would be at least

recon-

Continued on Page Six

By Clive Stangoe

I’m moving part of the classified advertising
Dage over to “ Top Rail” space this week.

You see, originally
I intended to care-
fully set-up an ad for
insertion underé
“help wanted - male.
Since we are looking
for a young fellow
with the desire to

opportunity for
young man to learn journalism
on staff of progressive weekly
newspaper.” (Never admit
you're not. progressive).

Next thing I knew I was
trying to honestly ascertain
just how valuable an oppor-
tunity this would be, and
not alone in dollar value, but
in those of a more intrinsic
nature.

Since the young man in
question is going’ to spend a
good percentage of his time in
the next few years at this job
he is contemplating, these val-
ues are extremely important.
Is he going to enjoy newspaper
work? Will it broaden his
outlook on life? Will he event-
ually look back over the years
and think his choice of career
was a wise one?

Provided the young man has
a fundamental interest in
people—their joys, their sor-
rows, their ambitions, and even
their sometimes petty griev-
ances, I believe the answers to
all the above ‘questions is
“yes.”

Looking back over the years
to this columnist’s own “ cub”
days, there were enough
bright and fresh highlights en-
countered to more than offset
the necessary routine of writ-
ing stylized items like obituar-
ies and annual meetings.

The paper I worked on cir-
culated in what was then pri-
marily a dairy country, and
consequently a great deal of
the rural news evolved around
dairy cattle breeds, perform-
ange test results, ang what was
happening ‘to /the Huid milk
market. Since the publisher

—~<

had been born and
brought

newspaper's authority
on the subject of the
dairy industry. He
was also inclined to
believe that the in-
dustry would « con-
tinue to dominate the
agricultural scéne.
Of course it didn’t. Times
changed, and a great number
of people started settling in the
valley. From this influx came
a demand for more services,
and an increasingly heavy tax
load on the land. Result was
a breaking up of the large
acreage blocks necessary for
dairying, and the appearance of
a new industry—berry raising.

About this time a little more
responsibility was being handed
the fledgling member of the
newspaper staff, and since the
Editor didn’t want to “cover”
the activities of the berry
growers, my services were vol-
unteered. Through the process
of being underfoot most of the
time, I eventually acquired a
working knowledge of the
growers’ problems, traced the
growth of their co-operatives,
and learned to watch the mar-
ket for strawberries in S02
solution.

Suddenly (at least during
berry season), I was an import-
ant cog in the newsgathering
machine. Even the editor
couldn’t dispute my stories,
since I alone collected the facts
and knew the people involved.

There have been similar
incidents during the years,
minor triumphs, but satisfying,
and through the thousands of
stories written, the skein of
humanity is woven—the gene-
Tous, the grasping, the fana-
tics, the pompous, the tolerant
—the people.

We think is was all worth it
orate is still worth it now.

Any cdndillate to joi the
ranks of the working press?

F Gile!

— LOOKS AT —

The Community Chest
organizational _ pangs

At our last hold-forth, the boys were confronted
with a news item set forth in bold type in the cur-

rent issue of The Tribune

“Another step
taken in organization
of Communty Chest,”
stated the headline,
but upon reading
further they learned
it was indeed a hesi-
tant step. Also, that
all but 11 residents
found more congenial
occupation that par-
ticular evening. Even
so, a squabble appears to have
developed over the distribution
of the spoils should a chest
campaign be oyer-subscribed.
The. boys admit that showed a
spirit of optimism. No one
questions the good work being
done by the Red Cross Society,
the Cancer Society and similar
groups. The need for funds to
carry on their work is a press-
ing one nevertheless the num-
erous canvasses for these pur-
poses gets a little irksome at
times.

After studying ‘the pattern
of community chest campaigns
in some of our larger centres,
the boys wonder if it is wise
to inaugurate such procedure
in a small community like
Cowtown. It may be feasible
yet inadvisable.

It seems that once an organ-
ization is formed, its’ compon-
ents mushroom like govern-
ment bureaux, which feel in
order to justify their participa-
tion, they must continually
expand their operations, dis-
cover more ‘‘ deserving ” cases
and presenting bigger and bet-
ter budgets. Having determined
the amount to be aimed for,
quotas are set for business in-
stitutions, the professions, the
residential areas, and so on.

In Vancouver last year we
witnessed a process of canvass-
ing that contained elements of
intimidation, ignomy and a

mild form of black=
mail. When some
failed to respond as
expected, they were
subjected to a publi-
city campaign -that
was an abomination
to the eyes of most
onlookers. Most of
our local __profes-
sionals, businessmen,
tradesmen and. their
staffs are very active members
in our seryice organizations
and the like, devoting
much of their time and
substance furtherjng the well-
being of the cdi anity: in-
cluding much effort in behalt of
the sick and indigent.

Will they become victimizea
if they fail to make their quota
set for them? Will Peter be
played against Paul? will
they feel constrained to cough
up More than they can really
afford lest their business suffer
through publicized comparisons
and innuendoes?

WORTH CONSIDERING

If it is intended to incluge
the surrounding rural settle-
ments in this operation, jt
should be pointed out that here
again the responsible residents
have many claims upon their
generosity they would not will.
ingly neglect in order to con-
tribute more liberally to a chest
campaign. We hope all these
matters will be seriously con.
sidered before embarking upon
this new innovation. Anything
approaching the regrettable
campaign carried on in’ Van-
couver last year would have
catastrophic repercussions in a
small community like Cow-
town. The present method of
fund raising may have its irk-
some moments, but at least -it
has no sinister over-tones.

ONE YEAR AGO
May 7, 1958
Six hundred children and a

good turnout of adults sat en-

thralled through an hour-long
program of the music of the

‘Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

yesterday afternoon. The-rapt

attention of the children and
their repeated calls for “‘ more,
more,” at the end of the pro-
gram, were tributes to the sel-
ective ability of conductor

Irwin Hoffman and the artistry

of the 65 musicians in the or-

chestra . . . With the help of

a little academic skulduggery

on the part of “ Professor”

Clive Stangoe, the top Grade

Six class carried off thé honors

in their battle with their par-

ents at last Saturday's spelling
bee . . . William (Bill) Sharpe
was returned as president of

South’ Cariboo War Memorial

Recreational and Agricultural

Society at their annual meeting

held last week.

FIVE YEARS AGO
May 6, 1954
Funeral services were con-
ducted this afternoon from St.
Andrew’s United Church for
Albert Joseph Patenaude,
grand old pioneer of the Horse-
fly country, who passed away
at War Memorial Hospital last

Sunday morning in his $1st
year ... The poster and essay
contest sponsored by the

Wonlen’s Auxiliary to the War
Memorial Hospital closed with
the judging of entries Satur-
day and proved to be the most
successful one since the custom
was started three years ago...
First tournament play on the
J6cal golf course was held last
Sunday . . . Their association
with Scouting, “the greatest
game in the world,” in the
words of the guest of honor,
drew 110 persons together on
Monday night at Columbus
Hall to take part in the ist
Williams Lake Troop re-union
dinner . . . Twenty-five years
ago a French-Canadian preda-
tor animal hunter whose know-
ledge of the outdoors was as
vast as his English was limited,
joined the B.C. Game Depart-
méht i game warden for the
Kamloops area. April 4 of this
year the connection was sey-
ered, and Leo Jobin, who dur-
ing the intervening years had
earned a reputation as one of
the department’s most respec-
ted and also most colorful
custodians of the Game Att,
officially went into retirement.

TEN YEARS aGo
May 5, 1949

Four Vancouver contractors
have secured plans and specifi-
cations of the proposed new
four-room elementary school to
be built at Williams Lake...
The sound of hammers flying
and saws biting into timber
will soon be heard at the new
Elks Hall site. The major
part of the concrete work has
been poured, and work on the
framing can get started within
a few days .. . Experiments
in burning-over range lands
are being conducted
Cariboo now . . . A one-room
high school will be built at
Forest Grove this year, in ad-
dition to the two-room elemen-
tary school alreadp planned.

TWENTY YEARS aco
May 11, 1939

The big 70 horsepower, 15-
ton diesel tractor for the Cari-
boo Midas Mine arrivea at
Williams Lake on the Friday
train last week... J. ander-
son, secretary and sports
manager of the Stampede, after
consulting with Tepresentatives
of Quesnel and Prince George,
announces that the Quesnel
Lacross team will be down to
Williams Lake at the Stampede
to play the Williams Lake team
- . - Rev. Norman Coyne has
been transferred to Bast Kil-
donan, Winnipeg. Father
Moore, of Vancouver, will be
the new assistant at the Sacred
Heart Mission,

THE WILLIAMS LAKE
TRIBUNE

Established 1931
Editor, Clive Stangoe

Published every Wednesday at
‘Williams Lake, B.C., by the
Cariboo Press Limited.
Subscription per year _ $3.00
Outside Canada «4.00
Advertising rates on application
Authorized as Second Class
Mail by the Post Offiee