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In relief affairs public men have a manyâ€"sided problem to deal with, and the sooner something is done to obviate the necessity for the present forms of relief, the better for all concerned. At Windsor the other day a man gave up a $80.00 a month position because it did not allow him oppor- tunity to provide for his family in the way he said he desired. So he went on relief ! Another man who had been provided with clothing was found to be again in rags and tatters. Investigation showed that this fellow had $6,000 in the bank. He had sold the clothing received. A stranger in Timmins some weeks ago was seen twice in the one night by the one local citizen. Early in the evening he was seen when he accosted the citizen, asking for a quarter for a bed. He secured this quarter, and several other quarters from other citizens, and he was next seen when the police had him at the jail for being drunk and disorderly. The city of Ottawa has found that a large proportion of the families on relief have been receiving charity literally for years. So it goes! There are many worthy, many deserv- d v"- .. ~v .. ovvu . -A-v- v. “A V IAAWJIJ u UL uALJ , lllall‘y ucccx V' ing céses needing relief, but there are also too many who are making relief take the place of effort and energy. The same argument for centralization applies to town- ships, as has often been pointed out on several occasions. In the old days, when transportation was crude and com- munication difficult, it was necessary to establish township councils and school sections within a few miles of each other. The coming of the automobile has changed all that. A school section or township representative can now travel fifty or a hundred miles with ease and with loss of little time. For this reason the need of so many local organiza~ tions has disappeared. Unified control would result in greater efficiency and more economy. Like all new things, the suggestion will, of course, meet with disapproval from those who desire to let things stand as they are. The amalgamation of school sections and townships is bound to come in time, and these difficult days present an un- answerable argument in its favor without further delay. It should not be difficult to prove that both efficiency and economy would be promoted by county school boards. No' doubt, the objection will be raised that this form of control would be out of touch with local problems, and. some people will see perils in centralization, but it will be agreed that a board with county jurisdiction would attract men of greater experience than often are available for individual schools. Dr. Peter Sanford, director of educational research at the Ontario College of Education, Toronto, has had some- thing to say about the system of administering rural schools The whole plan, he says, is an anachronism. There are too many trustees, too much government, and he would make the county the administrative unit. instead of the school section. There is good sense in this observation, declares the Ottawa Journal. The school section unit survives, of course, from the old days when settlements were few and isolated from one another, when communication was diffi- cult. To-day conditions have changed, but not the practice, and we have, according to Dr. Sandiford, 16,965 trustees controling rural schools with 7,118 teachers. Toronto, by contrast, .has 3,000 teachers and only twenty trustees. The Gatineau contract and the five “secret” suppleâ€" mentary contracts Were denounced in vigorous language by the militant Attorneyâ€"General. He endeavoured to Show that these contracts, made in addition to a main contract for pdwer from the Gatineau, were detrimental to the best interests of the province as a whole Mr. Roebuck’s speech served to bringpunder the spot- light the much-discussed Hydro contracts with Quebec corâ€" porations. And Premier Hepburn accentuated the signifi- cance of certain references made by the Attorney-General when he announced his intention of bringing before the Legislature his government’s proposals with regard to power contracts with these private corporations. If these contracts can be broken, the Hepburn government, it is reported, will attempt to remove the burden of overbought power from the shoulders of themunicipalities. _ -_-_ v; Interesting, ,,too, was the fact that much of the in- formation brought to light by Mr. Roebuck appeared to be news to most of the Conservatives in the House. Rarely was the Attorneyâ€"General interrupted by Opposition mem- bers. His subject matter was too interesting. too well pre- pared, to allow of anything but a calculated reply. «n l v-- --‘, w- .. -1. -_ “,7- Not only did the Attorney-General in his 11â€"hour speech brand the former Commissioners as “betrayers of Sir Adam Beck,” but he devoted considerable time to revealing how the Municipal Underwriters had dabbled in political propa- ganda, using Hydro money to further their ends. The Attorney-General was not satisfied with merely making charges, but intrigued the interest of the House by pro- ducing a mass of information about the “inside” dealings of the former Hydro commissions which Liberals for years had vainly tried to secure on the floor of the House when in the Opposition. .. . .. . ‘ n ‘1 The Attorney-General pried the lid off the Hydro pot and when he produced its .contents before a tremendously interested House, there were cries of “shame” as the recital of irregularities and secret agreements was brought to light Space is too short to give anything but a cursory account of the Attorney-General’s address. Summed up, it was an indictment of the Henry and Ferguson governments and the Hydro commissions of those administrations. So much private power had been purchased from Quebec interests, said Mr. Roebuck, that the power users and taxpayers of Ontario had been bound in bondage to the province of Quebec. Huge deficits were the prospects for many years on Hydro operation in many parts of the province, he said. -41 No ‘more stinging attack upon the policies of public men has ever been heard in the House and the Attorney- General made no bones about charging the former Conserva- tive Hydro Commissions with a betrayal of the citizens by their purchase of power from private interests. Even hardened legislators, accustomed to brilliant efforts in past years from Conservatives and Liberals alike, professed astonishment at the prodigious effort put forth by the Hep- burn cabinet minister. HYDRO BETRAYED BY FORMER GOVERNMENT The longest and most sensational address on Hydro since the inception of the great publicly-owned enterprise, that delivered by Attorney-General Roebuck in the Legisâ€" lature, has had resoun'ding reverberations throughout the length and breadth of the province. PAGE TWO THURSDAY, MARCH 7th, 1935 COUNTY SCHOOL BOARDS ABUSING A PRIVILEGE ADVERTISING PAYS The increased advertising patronage enjoyed by The Liberal is evidence that advea-tising in this paper gets results. If you want the best results, advertise in The Liberal. Next Sunday morning there will be a special laymens service in the New- tonbrook United Church. Rev. L. A. Neelands, President of the Toronto Conference Laymens Association, will give the address and will be as- sisted by lay members of the local church. A hearty welcome to all. Don’t forget the Irish Supper to be held under the auspices of the Women’s Association followed by a good program. There will be further announcements. Miss Sutterly’s side won in the correct answers on the Bible. There was a keen interest taken and the young people are to be commended on their knowledge of the Scriptures. The Y.P.S. met last Monday eveâ€" ning with Miss Cora. Good, Christian Fellowship Convener, directing the meeting. Miss Mary Douglas, assistâ€" anrt Vioe-Pwsident, presided. The topic was taken by Mr. Leslie Gris- dale. Miss Eva Thomas rendered a. 5010. A main feature of the meeting was a Scriptural baseball game, with Miss Gladys Sutteu'ly and Mr. Clif- ford Bvett as Captains, and Rev. A. H. Halbert as referee. While walking on Yonge Street last Friday evening Mrs. Hadley was struck by a motor car and was! badly bruised. We hope she will soon be around again. ‘Several of our young ladies are taking ad’vantage of the Home Nurs- ing Couxse which is held every Thurs day evening under the direction of Miss Helen Bales, R.N. Rev. C. W. Follett of Riverdale United Church, Toronto, gave a very interesting travelogue on “The Fishâ€" er Folk of Newfoundland and Labra- dor” at the evening service in New- tonbrook United Church last Sunday evening. The pastor conducted the devotional service and introduced the speaker of the evening. Rev. Mr. Follett travelled extensively through- out Newfoundland and Labrador last summer in the interests of the Mis- sionary and Maintenance work of the United Church. The lecturer describ- ed the scenes of his early boyhood days in Newfoundland and showed numerous slides depicting the life of the natives and their main industry seals and cod fishing. A numer from here at‘t‘e‘ndjed Lhc Witness meeting in the Maple Leaf Gardens last Tuesday evening. Mr. Gifford Summers held a to- b-oggan party for his Sunday School class of boys 1am: Friday evening and all report a gqod time. The annual United Church Sunday School supper was a fine success and largely attended last Saturday. The program of pictures which followed was thorngth enjoyed by the chil- dren. The play which was to be presented at the Public School last Monday eveâ€" ning under the auspices of the Home and School Club has been indefinitely postponed owing to the icy condition of the streets. The women of the various churches in this district, ‘York Mills, Lansing, Willowdale and Newtonbrook will hold a Joint Prayer Service in Lans~ ing, Friday. The Girls Mission Circle Will hold their .March meeting next Wednesday evening, March 13th, (instead of Thursday) at 8 o’clock at the Par- sonage. Mrs. Orpha Houston of the Chinese Mission will be' the guest speaker. The young ladies of the congregation are cordially invited. The World Day of Prayer will be observed on Friday and from the rising to the setLing of the sun Christian women of all nations, Kindreds, peoples and tongues will bow in supplication before the Throne of the Heavenly Father and follow the same program in their own. language. The program has been translated into forty languages. The day starts with a sunrise prayer meeting in New Zeiland at 5 am. and closes with the evening service in Honolulu. In Africa the drum booming calls the women to the pray- er service. In India the worshippers wear their wedding garments as at a. feast. In China and Japan the mothers carry their children to the service at sunrise. The following lands have already received the pro- gram which has been prepared by Baroness Van Boetzelaear Van Dub- ble-dam of Holland: Africa. (north, south and central) Argentina, Aus- tralia, Austria, Brazil, British Guiana Bulgaria, Burma, Chili, China, Colum- bia, Cuba, Denmark, 'Dominican Re- public, Egypt, England, Fiji Islands, Finland, France, Guateni‘ala, Gerâ€" many, Greece, Holland, Honduras, Hungary, India,_Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand,'Nica_ ragua, NorWay, Paraguay, Venezuela West Indies. The offerings from the Day of Prayer are given to the writ- ing, translating and printing of Christian literature ,in many lands. N EW'F‘ DNBROOK THE LIBERAL, RICHMOND HILL. ONTARIO But when the old-timers called it the land of the free, they meant peo- ple instead of board. Uoliticians must love the poor or they wouldn’t try so hard to make us all that way. To Farmersâ€"Cooper ' 'Products are the bestâ€"DrLKil Pow- : der, Kerol Farm % Disinfectant, also Warble Fly Powder. For Sale by I. D. RAMER .& SON Phone 10 Emphasizing that agriculture was the primary industry, and voicing his appreciation that agriculture in -Western Canada was passingr through a period of great difficulty, Mr. Beatty said that Governmental assistance and that of private business instituâ€" tions had on the whole, been conâ€" structive. w “I may say,” he added, “without boasting, that the emergency reâ€" ductions in freight rates volunâ€" tarily made by the Canadian Pacific Railway for farm relief during the past five years repreâ€" sent a loss in income to us of at least $3,000,000.” There were two necessary measures looking toward perma- nent recovery. First there was what the farmer could do and was doing for himself, to make the farm home largely self-sup- porting through‘the use of better seed, improved methods, and the expansion of live-stock opera- tions. Secondly there was What others could do to help Western agriculture. The capital invested in the farms of Canada must re- ceive returns if any important block of capital was to be regard- ed as safe. Other labor could not hope for the permanence of a level of wages too high above the earnings of labor on the land. Mr. Benny expressed unswerving muridence that private business Would flnd a road, now being t-azerEy your“. whereby it could tender nmtuiul assistance to flask Ilux‘e. - In the light of this argument Mr. Beatty felt that he had every right to discuss the tariff, citing the fact that the Canadian Pacific Railway was most decidedly sus- ceptible to the effects of unstable tariff conditions. “Give me a tariff policy advantageous to the Canadian National Railways and I shall be quite content," he said. Mr. Beatty illustrated his argu- ment by citing the fact that Can- ada enjoyed a greater foreign commerce per capita than either of the two more important Am- erican Republics, namely the United States and the Argentine, and said that he' would like to see the preparation of a tariff balance sheet which would give an analysis of the effect of the tariff on the total income and purchasing power of the Canadian people, and urged that in view of the present position of capital and labor, an examination of the economic soundness of our tariff policy should look to future im- provement rather than to drastic attempts to correct past errors. Again voicing his sincere belief in the ultimate destiny of Canada, Mr. Beatty emphasized the neces- sity of a. mutual understanding between all sections of the coun- try, and insisted that sh‘ould this objective be achieved, the unified effort of all citizens would go far toward solving problems which now threaten the integrity of the State. ' ‘ ‘ f‘ser'vice of individuals, individual groups, and sections of the coun- try to the whole State is the only safe road for the future”, Mr. Beatty appealed to the country at large to make this theme the dominating note in approaching the problems of the day” Mr. Beatty was neither a. be- liever in protection with no limit nor in free trade. He believed in the maximum of national wealth fairly distributed among the citi- zens. The Canadian tariff should be one which would keep our in« ‘ternal and external trade com‘ bined at a maximum. Atarift structure based solely upon the actual economic needs of the country; a deeper appreciation of and a wider and more active application of sym- pathetically intelligent thought to agricultural problems; and the unification of Canadian railroads for the purpose of operation as the only means of overcoming the present disastrous debt structure created through public owner- ship, were the three major themes emphasized by E. W. Beatty, K.C., LL.D., Chair- man and Presi- dent, Canadian Pacific Railâ€" way, during the course of a forceful outâ€" line of this E. W. BEATTY, K.C. Tariff,» agriculture and railway situation discussed by E. W. Beatty,‘ K.C., LL.D., Chairman and President, Canadian Pacific Railwayâ€"Urges unified effort to solve questions threatening integrity of State. ’residcnt fic Ry. peal upon the firm founda- tion that a gina. Boa Trade on ruary . Basing hi problems fore the 5th. 3 ap- l the The fact that only 2% of the excessive debt of the Canadian National Railways was due to the errors of private capitalists, or any arguments dealing with errors either private or Governâ€" mental would not help the situaâ€" tion of today. Interest charges on the .Canadian National debt which in 1919 were $38,000,U00, last year were $92.000,000. No man capable of facing facts be- lieved that the country could carry the burden indefinitely. “We, the people of Canada, owe directly or indirectly to private capitalists, over $2,700,000,000. on account of the Canadian National Railways system. We are going to pay this because we promised to. “Unified management will do nothing of the kind. The physical assets of the Canadian National will remain the property of its owners. Similarly the liabilities of the Canadian National must remain the responsibility of the Government and the liabilities of the Canadian Pacific must remain that of its owners. However, if the assets of both companies are administered by a. unified man- agement an end will be put to the waste of competition and the owners of the Canadian National will receive more money -with which to meet their obligations.” “Taking it that as business men you will not wish to gamble with a burden of railway deficits which already threatens the fin- ancial stability of the nation when a reasonable alternative is available, I have suggested what seems to me to be the only ade- quate course -â€" the unified man- agement of the two major railway systems. The amount which can be saved annually ~ now, not in Mr. Beatty replied to argu- ments that under his unification proposal the Canadian Pacific would take over the assets of the Canadian National while the liab- ilities would be left to the Gov- ernment. “Are you going to allow your judgment to be warped by com- plex arguments about doing jus- tice to public ownership? Or are you going to agree with me to leave the ownership of the Cana- dian National Railways in the hands of the public â€"â€" since they could not possibly get rid of itâ€" and devote our entire energy to finding a. method of making the burden of this ownership as light as possible to the people of Can- ada? ( Pointing out that the Canadian people pay for the railway ser- vices which they receive, and all the costs of Government, Mr. Beatty emphasized that the rail- way problem was in reality the problem of every individual citi- zen. The cost to the public in freight charges of moving a ton a mile in Canada was as low as in any major country in the world. Unhappily the full ad- vantage of these low rates was not retained because taxes paid, or to be paid, to meet the annual deficits of the Canadian National Railways must be added to the actual freight charges. The real cost of transportation in Canada was not as cheap as it seemed to be, or as it should be. Two cur- rent suggestions for improve- ment in operating efficiency were, first, the adoption of mod- ernistic equipment, and secondly, The argument that there was no waste in transportation and all that the country needed to do was to await the return of prosperity was not, Mr. Beatty considered, sound. Restoration of business to the high levels of 1925â€"1929, would not come as a gift of Hea- ven, or overnight, but only as a result of national industry and thrift. a. drastic reduction in wages. Owing to the huge investment in existing equipment, and the dif- ficulty of finding capital to finan~ ce new equipment, be indicated that progress along the lines of the first suggestion would of necessity be slow. Mr. Beatty argued strongly against reduced wages, and point- ed out that railway employees spent wages as Well as earned them. He felt that railway. as well as other wages were out of line with the returns to the farm- ers for their labor, but emphasiz- ed his belief that the remedy lay in an increase in the farmers’ earnings rather than a. lowering of the standard of living among railway workers. ‘ Another suggested solution was the proposal to increase freight rates. The freight rate trend was downward, and Mr. Beatty would greatly regret to see an increase in rates until everything possible was done to eliminate waste. . RN SYRUP moducr of The CANADA STARCH 00.. Limited Edwardsburg FAMOUS ERGY ED ” l E N F “TH E THURSDAY, MARCH 7th, 1935 In conclusion, Mr. Beatty again pointed out t‘hat if such a plan had been adopted 20 years ago, or even 15 years ago, the national debt of the country would be hundreds of millions of dollars less than it was today. “You and your children will pay it. Are you in favor of piling it “D 7" Stressing that the report of the recent Royal Commission stated that some of the Commissioners would have preferred a. plan which would take the Govern- ment of Canada out of the rail- way business; and that the Cana- dian Pacific was not a bankrupt undertaking, but on the other hand a thoroughly solvent one, Mr. Beatty went on to say: He said: “It is indeed my hope and belief that the methods; which I suggest Will operate to prevent an even more disastrous period of low wages and unemml ployment than that through: which we are passing. Surely- the labor leaders of this coun- try are the intelligent men that I have always found them to be and will tell their constituents that waste of the country’sl wealth on useless services can damage no one more certainly‘ and more severely than those Who depend on their labor for their living. I venture the pro-( phecy that as events develop andl the increased thought being given to the subject produces its effectJ railway employees generally, and particularly the recognized repâ€"‘ resentatives of organized labor‘ which forms such a considerable part of railway staffs, will not‘.‘ only recognize the inevitability of, but will come to urge rather.‘ than to oppose some such mead‘ sure as I have suggested as in' their own best interest.” ' “What I have suggested, and suggest today, is that we should plan to divide the net earnings of the unified properties to give to each group of owners the net earnings which would have re- sulted if each had operated their own railway, together with a fair share of the savings resulting from unification. There is much misunderstanding in this regard. Many have confused the total net earnings after unification with the savings from unification. The earning power of the two sepa- rate systems is amatter of rec- ord. The increased earning power of the combined properties arising from unification is an- other matter. My plan contemâ€" plates the division of such in- creased earnings on a fair basis. This is a matter which can only be settled by negotiations be~ tween the interested parties but obviously the shareholders of the Canadian Pacific would have to concede to the Government at least one-half of the net gain re- sulting from unified management. Those who have said the Cana- dian Pacific would claim the lion’s share have either misun- derstood my proposal or pur- posely misrepresented it." some bright day to come - was calculated by officers of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and their figures tallied closely with those given to the Royal Commis- sion by the late Sir Henry Thom- ton, and by Mr. S. W. Fair- weather of the Canadian National Railways. My estimate was based on the traffic conditions of 1930, an average traffic year, and on that basis I put the figure at $75,000,000. Sir Henry Thornton, who opposed my plan, gave his estimate as $60,000,000 and Mr. Fairweather suggested $56,000:! 000 for a year of normal traffic. In justice to Mr. Fairweather I must state that he has since said that he told the Commission that his estimate could not be realized; I believed then and believe now, that mine can be." IMr. Beatty said his proposal had met with much criticism, â€"- that no one group of men could properly administer the unified railways; that he was talking of setting up a great monopoly: that rates might be raised; and that he proposed to throw thou- sands of men out of Work. Mr" Beatty disposed of these criti-I clams by pointing to the efficien-y cy and loyalty of the employees of both railways; to the supervis- ing body set up by the Canadian“ Government to control railway rates, and in connection with" labor, solemnly pledged himself. to do everything he could within his power to prevent such a. deâ€"f velopment. Savings in this re-i gard would be made gradually.1 wisely, and considerately, and without hardship to those now: dependent on railway employ- ment.