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2 ' THE LIBERAL, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Thursday, September 22, 1960 There have been many assertions that North Americas farm lands are be- ing concentrated in the hands of big farmers and corporations, with a de- cline in family units. ' In the winter of 1957-58 the US. Agriculture Department set out to in- vestigate this aspect of farm ownership. It made a survey of the Great Plains, taking in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. , This covers an important farming area comprising 47 per cent of the farm and ranch land in the country. A report on that survey has just been completed. It said that it might be assumed that the total number of farms and ranch owners in the ten Great Plains states had decreased during the past ten or twelve years. Estimates show that the average size of farm own- ership units has- increased from 570 acres in 1945 to 643 acres in 1958. “Any increase in the concentration of ownership during this period was slight,” the report said. Generally speaking, those making such assertions contend that the family type of farm is the ideal base for the nation’s agricultural industry. 0f the 830,000 ownership units es- timated in 1958, less than one per cent were said to be corporations. These cor- porations held about 8 per cent of the land on an acreage basis but only two per cent on a value basis. "The husband and wife combination is the most common type of owner,” the report said. “Husbands and wives own either jointly or s parately 49 per cent of the farm and ranch land. Partner- ships other than husband and wife own another 20 per cent.. “Before one assumes that corpora- tions, which, in this study. (includes some private institutions) own a dis- proportionate share of the farm and ranch land, one should realize," the deâ€" partment continued, “that much of this land (owned by corporations) is in ar- The debt rose from $220 million in 1947 to $1,305 million in 1959. Not all of the new debt can be attributed to new population needs. In 1932, the On- tario municipalities were $506 million in debt. The decline by more than 50 percent between that year and 1947 was caused by the reduction in services dur- ing the depression and the war. In the next decade, the municipalities not only had to meet the needs of a rapidly grow- ing population, most of it urban, but also had to fill the backlog left by the lack of work done from 1932 to 1947. Small wonder that, from 1947 to 1959, the municipal debt increased more than five times. The yearly statistics on Ontario‘s municipalities, now published, reflect a rapid growth in population, physical services, and above all, debt. It is clear that debt cannot accumulate at the rate of the past few years without seriously undermining the credit rating of the province’s municipalities. Either the pace of installing new services will have to decelerate, or extra financial help will have to be given the munici- palities by Queen’s Park. Family Farm SIiII Important Ontario's High Municipal Debi : Ecome An Independent Weekly: Established 1878 7% Subscription Rate $8.50 per year; to United States $4.50; 10c single copy Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association J. E. SMITH, Editor and Publisher W. S. COOKâ€"Managing Editor MONA ROBERTSON. Associate Editor “Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa.” FREE BURNER SERVICE whéfiPwL IE DH’ 9 0‘ ( RCULAYI “Without counting indirect inter- ests of persons through corporation and credit arrangements, at least 1,400,000 people have some direct ownership in- terest in the rural land of the Plains States,” the department reported. The business and professional group of owners was said to represent only 9 per cent of all the owners. They heid 8 per cent of both the acreage and va ue. Individuals, as distinguished from corporations, were said to own about 89 per cent of the grazing land and 96 per cent of the crop land. The number of persons with some in- terest in land was said to be much greater than the number of ownership units. The survey showed that active farmers and ranchers were the predom- inant type of land owner. They repres- ented 45 per cent of the owners. They owned 62 per cent of the acreage and 58 per cent of the land value. Housewives, laborers, clerical workers and persons of miscellaneous occupations combined represented slightly more than 25 per cent of the owners. They held 16 per cent of the land. Admittedly, the province itself faces financial difficulties, and has had to cut back on some services this year. For the time being, the municipalities must make do with what they have. But there can be no tampering with ed- ucation, which should have first call on the taxpayer’s dollar. In a democratic, technological society, progress is found- ed on education. Unless some way can be found of attracting new assessment at a faster rate, some reduction in ser- vices may be in prospect for Ontario’s municipalities. eas that contain the less productive land â€"grazing areas, for example.” About 18 per cent of the owners were retired persons two-fifths of whom had been farmers or ranchers. They held 714 per cent of the land. The survey showed that 45 per cent of the land owners did not live on their farm or ranch lands. They held 54 per cent of the land. “Some of the owners who do not live on their land can be accounted for by farmers and ranchers who live on their farms only during the peak of a worlz season or who commute daily from their residences to their land," the report said. 1 The survey showed also that half of the owners were between 45 and 64 years of age and nearly 30 per cent were 65 or older. The effect of the high birth rate during and after the war may be seen in the figures for education. The gross debenture debt for education stands at almost $800 million, compared with $250 million for general municipal improve- ments and about $300 million for utili- ties such as water and electricity. And it is precisely in the education field that the municipalities have lacked the ‘help they need. However much provincial grants have risen, education now takes about half the tax dollar in virtually all towns in Ontario. Your Gas company does not ‘ employ door-to-door salesmen nor telephone canvassers. For information about dealers licensed by lhe Ontario Fuel Board to sell and install natural gas equipment call or write the Sales Department of l RICHMOND- HILL @onsumers’Cflas "You’ll always be glad you chose Natural Gas” MARKHAM â€" Members of this year’s Grade 13 class at Markham District High School. Howard Gribble, Linda Murison, Lorna Harrington and Robert Eadie have been granted Dominion Pro- vincial Bursaries of the value of $500, and Linda Murison and Ho- ward Gribble have also been granted Atkinson Foundation Scholarships of the value of If being a Christian involved you in a situation where you were laughed at, ridiculed for your particular stand, what would be your attitude toward those who persecuted you? The church of the first century chose to love their enemies even when those same enemies had them put to death in cruel sport. The Christians of the middle ages were willing to forgive and bless even when they suffered for their faith on the stake. Can a man rightly think of himself as a Christian, if he is not prepar- ed to let Christ' empower him with the dynamic to forgive his enemies? Our Lord forgave, be- cause He had the fulness of love in his heart. When we accept Him, that love comes into our lives, and we are able, if we want to, to love our enemies, and to do good to those who persecute us. Belief in Christ means some- thing when we are confronted with the 'concrete problems of life. If what He said about Him- self is true, then He can give us the power to be what we should be. His power and pres- ence in us can give us the ab- ility to express in action what we believe in our hearts. r WILLOWDALE -â€" North York electors will give their verdict on Sunday sports when muncipal el- ections are held in December. $400 But if he believes that Christ was God incarnate in human flesh; if he believes that in Christ we actually meet with God, his whole approach to the question or loving one's enemies comes in- to a different light. These words of our Lord become, not just wise teaching. but a definite command. There can be no “if” or “buts”, if we face Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We must take steps to obey His com- mand, if He is our rightful Lord. Even if it causes us humiliation, or the loss of pride or inner hurt, we must be .prepared to obey. Belief mlfst ’be expresseii in action. £9 Now what happens when a man, who has some real enem- ies, and is on the "outs" with his next deor neighbor, really faces up to this teaching. What does he do with it? If it is a sincere, practicing Christian, he may take it seriously and try to change the relationship which exists. Yet, what he does, not only depends on Christ‘s teaching, but on what he believes about Jesus. If he believes that Jesus was the greatest teacher of high moral ethics, he may decide that it isn’t the time for him to be noble. Or he may insist that exceptions must be made to the rule, and perhaps Christ didn’t mean this to apply to everyone. Even if he thinks of Jesus as the great- est man who ever lived, he may still feel that His teaching does not necessarily apply to the kind of world in which we live today. For example, one of Christ’s plainest teachings is that we should love our enemies and do good to them that hate us. This doesn't mean that we are to whitewash everyone and go a- round with a Pollyanna attitude that there is nothing wrong with the world. But it does mean that we must be concerned about the highest good of every man. ACTIONS REVEAL RELIEF We have all heard the old pro- verb, “actions speak louder than words.” To be a Christian one must reveal by character and con- duct the reality of one’s faith. This presenfs some feal ficulties and a tremendous chal- lenge. 'AV. 5-3722 A Weekly Comment 011 Christian Life and Action â€" By Calvin H. Chambers -â€" Faith? Facts and The purpose of thisâ€"is E0 aéoid the necessity of repeating a full grade brought about by failure In Richmond Hill the 15 per cent of more capable students complete four grades in three years on an organized basis, in- volving grades three, four, five and six. This is obtained by di- viding the work of each grade into three portions which puts them ahead of the average stream by one grade, The so-called ‘slow' stream is provided for those students un- able to complete the three parts of a grade in one year. De- pending on ability they may get through one or two portions of a grade in one year, and continue at this rate until they have fallen behind a full grade from the pupils of their own age group. Generally, Richmond Hill Pub- lic Schools recognize three levels of students, the accelerated, av- erage or slow stream types, who complete the eight grades in se- ven, eight or nine years respec- tively. Theoretically, all but about 6 per cent of these 3,250 students will reach high school. Experience shows that from 50 to 75 per cent of the 3,250 (excluding kindergar- teners) will complete the eight grades in eight years. About 15 per cent will be ready for grade 9 at the end of seven years and 15 per cent at the end of nine years. These are rough approximations, it was pointed out. While some students will require ten years to reach high school, these represent a small percentage. The regiment, in the historian’s mind is vividly associated with such great battles as Salamanca, Pyrenees, Toulouse, Nivelle Nive, Quatra Bra and others, Young Davidson lived a charmed life, escaping unscratched until the French counter-attack after Ho- gonment when Napoleon sent 18,000 troops against the Bri- tish. During this bloody set to, Davidson received a bayonet thrust in the back. And a bloody battle it was; the 92nd High- landers, for example; went in with 992 men and came out with only 92. The 79th was also larg- ely wiped out but we do not have the exact figures. Davidson re- ceived the Waterloo medal for his services and lost it eight years later (after serving seven years in Ireland) during a storm at sea on his way to Canada with three regiments of the Cameronians. In Canada he served at Niagara during the stirring days of 1836- 37 under a Captain Munro. He was at Navy Island and saw the blazing “Caroline” go over the falls. As Chippewa, while sound- inga retreat, a nine pound shot from the enemy struck the bugle from his mouth. Total Enrollment 3,250 For Six Public Schools Enrollment at the six Richmond Hill Public Schools this year totals 3,250, about 100 more than had been an- ticipated, according to Superintendent Gordon McIntyre. He said that about 90 of the extra 100 came from the Crosby Heights and Walter Scott school population. Davidson must 'have been a hardy type. Twenty six years of rugged army life on a crude, of- ten brutal catch-as-catch-can bas- Davidson served 26 years in the army. He was born in Stirling. Scotland and as a little boy was apprenticed to a weaver. At 13 he enlisted in the 79th Regiment of the Cameronian Highlanders under the Duke of Wellington and, still as a bugler, shared at least 20 historic engagements with the regiment which brought it much military glory that exist- ed long after shot, shell and sword wiped out the great minor- it; of the original members. ............... i é looking flatktnatb... ’ é ; AAAAAA Surely one of the world's un- sung heroes was John Davidson of Richmond Hill of long ago. In 1882. when William Harrison (the scribe of Richmond Hill and dis- trict) wrote about him, he was 82 years‘old and had lived here al- most 40 years. Just where he died is not exactly known but that is of less importance to our story than the light his life thrOWS on one’ aspect of the times for which Mr. Harrison had little sympathy. ’6 W In Richmond Hill 59-61 Vaughan township farm of R. Hedges, east of Bathurst and north of Highway 7, where the parents are employed. The baby apparently crawled out of a fenced enclosure behind his par- ents’ home, and tumbled into the pool. Richvale firemen applied artificial respiration and used an inhalator on the child for two hours without results. The boy was pronounced dead at 8.30 pm. by Dr. Peter Morse of Thornhill. The remains rested at the Wright and Taylor Funeral Home, Rich- mond Hill and a graveside serv- ice at York Cemetery, Willowdale was officiated at by the Rev. C. G. Higginson of Richmond Hill United Church on Saturday. One-year-old Jackie Boll, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Boll, drowned September 15 in a par- tially filled swimming pool on the post-school life Year Old J. Boll Drowning Victim Mr. McIntyre said that in such a case the teacher makes every effort to find out why the stud- ent reacts as he does, whether the reason is individual to the student or whether he reacts ne- gatively to the school program itself. Mr. McIntyre said that a school staff can only do so much in some cases. For example, when such a student is found to have no personal out-ofâ€"school friends or hobbies, then , the school is not set up to solve the problem. On the other hand, it is not unusual to find that a bright but disinterested student is un- usually sports minded. In such a case a teacher often can effect the desired rehabilitation of the student by securing his confi- dence through the physical train- ing program and showing him that however desirable sports might be it is not the end in it- self to a rounded, productive It is assumed that until he grew too old to work he earned a liv- ing as general labourer and han- dy man. Mr. Harrison’s story con- cludes: “Davidson is now over 80 years of age and somewhat deaf, though able to walk around and tell of the reminiscences of the past. He has long been unable to earn a livelihood, and has been dependent on municipal generos- ity for subsistence. Through the kindness of Mr. Teefy, Post Mas- ter, his case has been made kown to the authorities at the Horse Guards, England and else- where, where his past services ought to be recognized, but in vain. Distant as well as dead enefactors are soon forgotten and Davidson’s deserts remain unnoticed. At the present, one teacher can best teach three groups of children at one time, provided that the number of pupils does not exceed 30-35. The ideal is considered attained when a group can be kept down to 30 and when, as is the case of Richmond Hill, a school has a full time principal- administrator who can devote his full time to coâ€"ordinating overall school programs. High on the ‘problem’ agenda facing teachers here as well as elsewhere is the student who re- fuses to exploit his ability. This type of student has the mental ability to shine but for one rea- son or another simply pokes a- long in a rather indifferent man- ner. at the end of a school year. Davidson had seen many cele- brities; the Emperor of Russia. King of Prussia, King of Han- over, Wellington, Bonaparte, General Blucher, Sir Thomas Picton, and many others recorded in history. Until the end, he was always ready to relive his army days and never lost his cheery outlook. He always had a kind word and a charming smile to dispense. is left his cheerfulness unim- paired. He seems never to have soured. Discharged in 1839 “with very high commendations for his promptness and sobriety,” and the promise of 100 acres of land (which he never got) he came [0 Thornhill where, through the kindness of Captain Munro he lived, rent free, for seven years. He came to Richmond Hill in 1845. “He is about, however, to con- tribute one more unselfish act of patriotism to his country's great- ness - one more noble act to ob- tain his country’s gratitude. _ He expects to go to the County Poor House as soon as it is ready for habitation Where, as life dwindles to its shortest span, he will have more time to reflect on a nation’s indifference to those who, in the past, fought and bled to preserve their political freedom from foreign supremacy and secured to their present gen- eration their national indepen- dence.” Phone TUrner 4-1212 4 BIG DAYS 'Mon., Tues., Wed-, Thurs. - Sept. 26, 27, 28, 29 :ms: RAFT- »! O'BRIEN .10: r. BROWN- was: RAFT- »! O'BRIEN ~10! E BROWN-scam 9va av BILLY WILDER and LA. L. DIAMOND ' DIRECTED av BILLY WILDER - An ASHTON PICTURE A Minsoh Company Pleaenmion - Released Um] Thurs., Fri. 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