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PAGE FOUR

THE GUARDIAN

Morning Dally tFoundcd in i887). Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Ofliee Department. Ottawa. fiesident. lan A. Burnett; Vice-President, “in. A Burnett; Secy.-Treas., G. M. Burnett: Editor and Managing Director. J. R. Burnett; Associate Editor. Frank Walker.

"The Strongest Memory is Weaker Than the Weakest Ink.”

oiinxnovvisvoivrv. mrovunv. Jr\.\'L‘.~\Ii\'Tl2,wll)T8'

Who Pays ti; in?

A favourite scapegoat now being held up as a target for public wrath is the "soulless blood- iucking corporation" which has fastened 115911 upon the nation and squeezes the last Pt-‘tml’ iit in their annual slatcniciits.

The corporations, we are told, uic the ineiiiy of the farmer uiid tlie labouring man urld

his contention is regarded as being sufficiently provcd hy pointing to the IHIllIUIH shew" 11* W0 "rt in tlicir annual \l(ll'.‘lIt(‘lll\

An incidental fact that lcw voles uric lost in this tvpe campaigning is u warming stimulus i" (he right LIIClCS. The average voter cannot he expected to lcel any pain when he is told >huf hi; rust-c or: rsr be lghtcncil and the ad- jitionril lead barn; by the unfecling vampire.

Lgi» n5 look for a moment at the "enemy":

Processors of forest products.

Processors of agricultural and iroducts.

Processors ol animals and animal products.

Processors of fibres and textiles.

Processors of ferrous and nan-ferrous metals.

Processors of nan-metallic minerals.

Proccsiors of chemicals and allied products.

The (rho-c are only broad classifications under which a host of corporations supply the daily requirements of every man, woman and child in this Dominion and export their surplus to make Canada one of the leading trade coun tries in the world. _

Now let us see what happens when a dir- ect tax is placed on the producer of any one of the above. A tax is iust as much a cost of pra- duction as labour or material and must be in- cluded in the cost of the finished product. Just for example let us say it is an item costing S0 cents; the broker handles it at 52 cents, the wholesaler at 65 cents and the retailer at $1.30. A tax arises the manufacturer's price to S5 cents, the broker still gets his fixed commission mflhlllg it 57.2, the wholesaler 71.5 and the retailer $1.43. ln other words a small tax of 2% collect- id at the source amounts to 10% at the con- iumer end.

Another popular form of tnx is the profits tax, This is a bare 39% of the actual money rarned, It is paid before distribution to the iliareholders, who are obliged ta WY "Milt" large slice on receipt. What effect has it on prices? To finance any large enterprise capital must be raised. Business must compete in the money market with other forms of investment such as banks, government and municipal bonds, mortgages and real estate. A! these Sufel‘ forms of investment will nethhe investor up ta 5 or 6 per cent, business must hold out inducements of e higher return considering the risk involved.

For example, a maniifacturing firm produc- ing a 50 cent item on which it makes 10% M1151’ add immediately 8 cents to its selling price. This is pyramidcd as in the previous example so that the consumer must pay an additional 24 cents that the government may collect 3 cents at the source. '

Who then really pays the corporation tax?

vegetable

Encouraging Report

Canada's record of achievement is strikingly summed up in the annual report of Mr. Sydney G. Dobson, president of the Royal Bank of Can- ada, which appears elsewhere in today's issue. As one example, he stressed the significant rise in the standard of living. Our national income increased by 97 per cent between the years 1938 and 1946, equal to an addition of $379 per per- son per year. Total personal expenditure on con- sumer gocds and services increased 60 per cent in the samqperiod, as against an increase of l0 percent in “population. While these and other figures are gratifying, there are grave dangers to be faced, first in the possibility of economic collapse in Europe which woul-:l vitally affect Ca- nadian interests, and, second, through inflation. Rising prices mcke it more necessary than ever to measure our rsal advance in dollars of con- stant value. When mcncy incomes are excessive relative to the available supply of goods, as they are now, the logical way to reduce the pics- sure on prices is to increase the supply of goods. This has been preached by all sound economists, and applies particularly to such basic industries as agriculture.

In presenting the Bank's 78th. annual report, Mr. James Muir, general manager, noted as a feature of the year's balance sheet the mark- ed increase in commercial loans in Canada, re- flecting a higher level of business activity, ex‘ pension of production facilities, increased vol- ume of goods on hand and, of course, the in- fluence of higher prices. The Bank's total as- sets now stand at over $2,093,64l,2l8, with liq- uid assets constituting 74 per cent of the Bank's liabilities t0 the public.

' Slow-Motion Exlt

The announcement that the Advisory ‘Coun- cil of the National Liberal Federation has been iummoiied to meet at Ottawa on January 20 iiiid 2| is interpreted in political circles as the

ilecand-last step in the protracted process of Rt.

Hon. "Mackenzie King's retirement from public

life. ' . “This dispatchjram the Montreal Star's Ot-

tewo-bureau purports to outline the course the

Liberal Advisory Council intends to follow:

~‘ "Prime Minister Mackenzie King, it is ex-

pected, will consult with the advisory council a:

this meeting concerning the holding of ii ria- tional convention of the Liberal party to choose a successor to the leadership in the event of his retirement later this year.

"The month of August has been suggested as a likely time to be chosen for the holding of o national convention.

"ln making the announcement of the meet- ing Mr. Fago said that all standing committees would meet a day earlier on January 19.

"The advisory council is made" up of dele- gates from each province, including delegates of each provincial Liberal Women's Association and each Provincial Association of Young Lib- cral Clubs."

An exchange recalls that when Charles ll was on his death bed, he is said to have turned to his weeping courtiers, who had been await- ing the end for hours, and to have apologized to them urbancly for "taking so unconscionable a time in dying." Some may rend into rhig legend an analogy with the long and decorous process of Mr. King's exit frani the stage of public lifc.

.. _ . ...._..._.___.._.____ ._.___. _ ..~_._ ..

—— LUllLllilAl. NUILS - Today Greece is ihe king-pm in the con- trol of the near east and the last thing in the world that is likely lo happen is for the Greeks to bc left to settle their own affairs. ln snow shovclling no.w, as in the past, right minded people do their duty as a matter of course; the otherwise minded wait in vain for the City Council to take the necessary action.

)4 i k A i Reports indicate that the whole North Am- erican continent has been rocking or quivering for the last two weeks presumably as a result of heavy storms. The motion was not percept- ible here to the man in the street but the storms were quite apparent.

i W I I

lt is almost awe-inspiring to watch the process by which a great democracy like the United States finds a head for itself. The maneuvers of civic politics, involved as they may sometimes be, are simplicity itself compared with the task of electing a president. W 1k i i!‘

The freight car shortage is a universal phenomena. island potatoes, Western wheat, American coal, British coal, African groundnuts (peanuts to us) and products of every descrip- tion in Europe are held up and production held down by the scarcity of rolling stock. i W i It

Now the four or five year old pledge of the Jones Government re frost-proof potato warehouses is to be fulfilled with the aid of the Federal authorities and 259i; of local enterprise. Everything comes to him who waits, but the 25% local contribution will amount to more today than it would have done four years ago.

lint

The possibility that U. S. Marines may be sent to Palestine calls to mind one of the ad- vantages of that peculiar corps. In the days when the niceties of international law were re- garded parties of marines or seamen could be landed in a troubled spot to protect life and property without committing an act of war as would have been the case if military forces had been used. I W fi I lt will be generally admitted that Prime Minister Mackenzie King looks after the inter- ests of his favorites. General McNaughton is a shining example. He has lost nothing, but pecuniarily and officially gained much, in sid- ing with the Prime Minister in his successful endeavor to dish his prospective heir to the Liberal leadership, Col Ralston. Ne English King was ever more kind to his favourites than our own Canadian King. u- a- ‘ e e

The Provincial Government has "passed the buck" to the City Council in the proposed Queen Square improvement scheme. There can be no doubt about it, were the City to acquire some of the old property west of the Royal Bank it could erect a first class modern market building there that would prove a distinct asset ta the City and Province. Then a suitable Federal building could be erected on the present market site to the advantage of all, except those landlords who at present reap rentals for housing bureaucrats. But has the City Council got any sufficiently wise and enterprising member to tackle and carry through successfully such a project?

w ~A- w w

Doctors are to receive a dose of their own medicine when the American Medical Assacia; tion meets in Cleveland this week, many of them to be examined to ascertain whether they have cancer in a special detection clinic. This is the most spectacular step yet made in the fight against cancer, and may be the mast useful. The purpose is not only to find cancer in doctors but to show the medical profession methods that family doctors can use in their own offices to defect cancer early enough to save lives. Up to now cancer has had to be discovered by special- ists in malignant diseases and more recently by cancer detection clinics. But there are not near- ly enough of these clinics and there is little hope of doing the icb with clinics alone.

e r e- n»

Edmund Burke, British statesman, writer and orator, born this date "I729. Was a popular re- former, but his attitude towards the French Revolution ended some of his political friend- ships. He had ‘already incurred some unpopular- ity owing to his VclTEINEHCE in debates on the Indian bill and on Hastings’ impeachment. In the debate an the Canada bill, May 179i, lie inveiglcd against the Revolution in answer to Fox's praises of the new French situation, and a public rupture between the two statesmen re- sulted: "He has put to hazard his ease, his security, his interest, his power, even his darling popularity, for the benefit of a people whom he has never seen." - - - "Fliittery corrupts both the

rap GUARDIAN.

Ottawa lift; excise tax on stoves

and leaves it on refrigerators. Blowing hot and cold as usual. -- l-lamilton Spectator.

Often a girl who always shuts her eyse when kissed keeps her eyes open in order not. t.o miss opportunities to close her eyes. - Toronto Star.

Tokyo has put a ban an kissing in public and there are those who ivlll agree that. Lbe public kiss doesrft. amount to much anyway. -Port. Arthur News-Chronicle.

lluiing iiilslrciil the rake lveiiealli llie leaves, the lazy lllllll hopes for a srwivfall of clglit. inches, as you can hardly lose a snow shovel un- der less. -Sherbrool\e Record.

Wlien hens lriid only in llie »\l1l'il1$. lll response to Nritirrclss urg‘; llie storage egg ‘was a respectable commodity‘. Naivadayi skllful pout. trymen trick the liens liito laying all the time. observes The Farm- ers Advocate.

If you talk to an cldcrly nilnir you'll find he's proud of his job. James Griffiths for example. one Minister of National Insurance, rlflS those blue marks on his face

v CHARLOTTETOW l! Dre-Election Talk

During the week previous to the re- ibllng of Parliament there will be sessions lu Ottawa of the National Liberal Federation's ad- visory council preceded by meet.- lngs of the many standing com-

mittees and concluded by the annual banquet. and addresses from their Leader and Cabinet colleagues. i

Young Liberals ill many parts of the country rind notably those in Quebec many times have been reported to be restive, even ill revolt against. the continued sil- ence of Mackenzie King as to when he intends t.o allow an uri- devstudy to step in and get. pre- pared. for the next. general elec- tion. But up t.o date these rather incipient revolts’ have come to littlc. Mi". Kiru: repeatedly nssirr- iiig llieni he will iiiake l(ll0\\'l1 lllS intentions when lie is good and ready.

Wlille it. is believed extremely" rlnipi-obable he ivill mnkc any dis- closures nt. llie party gathering, Mr. King may have something lu say ivlihln three uionllis or" before the Easter recess. It. ls held by some who profess t.o know that the progress of the session, the fate of the Government's emerg- i-izcy legislation, how roughly that is tr'c.i:l;d--lhuse may prove to be n factor" lll hastening the Prime nlinislefs decision.

The Government is being as- sailed even by some of its tradi-

ivliicli show that. lit some time ilr} worked at the foal face, and Jo's justly proud of them. - Vernon Bartlett. an BBC.

Britain‘! reappearance an an u- parter of coal t.o Europe ls one of the most. surprising rind promising contributions yet. mode to m: framework of European recovery. In this country it. has been taken for granted that Britain was {in- islied with this role. though prior to the ivar the mines of Wolds had been a chief source of can- Linenlzal supply. -Detrall'. News.

A gentleman back from a busi- ness trip t.o Australia reports that. ivhlle tn sydney he got into con- versation with a taxi driver who, on realizing that his fnxe was an American, sold that; lie hoped some day b0 settle in the United States himself. "I'd probably have e net.- ter chance of making a go of it than most Aussies," the eabby said. "I've "been able t.o talk just. like a Yank ever since I broke my nose." - New Yorker.

Signs are appearing t.o show that the ranks of free spenders are trun- nlng noticeably and consumers are confining themselves more and more to purchasing bare essentials. Prices can only go so high and then the people buy only those things they fee] they must. have. When demand lessens the supply of goods increases, and the increas- ing stocks have a. tendency to pu‘1 clown. — Kitchener Record.

One of the trials of being a vol.- eran lri the red tape one must. go through in dealing with the vet.- crans administration. But. things are going ta be better from now on. V. A,’s main office in Wasti- lngton has put. out. a long mln-icn-_ graphed statement that. it has ‘streamlined’ its procedures in the interest. of "better service" to the veteran. Whereas the iidminisua- Lion was using 19,841 forms fifteen months ago, it now uses only 3.608 forms in its paper work. -- Mm- neapolls Star.

1t sounds like an Irisliisni to say that. the majority of English lulu; have been Irish, but it. is perfect.- ly true, observes The Brandon Sun. Most of them resolutely declined t.o live in Ireland, spent. the great.- er part. of their lives in England and became, t! not. naturalized, at least anglicized; but. they managed t.o make the country of their a- doption unplcasantly aware of ilier: native wit. Four of them, Gold- smith, Sheridan, Oscar Wilde arid Bernard Shaw, wrote the best. eon-r- edios in the English language since Shakespearefs. The mast. humorous. most. frivolous and the most pru- foundly vrltty of these four was Oscar Wilde.

I remember Margot. Oxford lcll- ing me a story which lllusirrincrl King George V's univise behnv or t.o his son. The Prince of Wnlou came into the room in a knlclnr- backer costume \Vlll§‘l1"l‘llS father thought. unsuitable. He shouted at hlm as a. naval officer might at ail AB who had come improper-y ilresscd on parade. The Prince blushed and stzinimered rind l-Pl‘ the room. Margot. siiid that. she ventured on this occasion to re- moiislrale with the King, pointing out how sensitive ri boy in his Leer: must; be to a public rebuke in Lrti‘ presence of visitors. London New Sliitcsmen and NflLlOll.

The coming year will lice a eon- ccrted battle against rising prices. Since the end of the wnr prices have gone up and up. Shortages caused by lack of steady production during the war liave brought. s demand for goods that. cannot. bl met. by present. supplies. As farm- ers, industrialists and all produc- ers step up the efficiency of their work and get. production coming at increasingly iiteadler pace, there will be o. check to price in- creases. The old law of supply and demand still rules in the world cmarkeu. As supply catches up t.o demand. prices will assume more reasonable levels. The people ‘rave the solution t.o high prices ln ollUl-i own hands. By increasing the ei- tlclency and amount. of production, they r-an curb the skyward trend of living caste. — Windsor Daily Star.

Suppose we decided to forget ‘all about. this headache of foreign bfldfl, l8 801118 IMGIMGGG QCOPI! suggest, and try t.o live within our- selves, what would'lt mean? risks The Finenclsl Post. H. V. Lush,

receiver and giver; and adulation is not of more service to the people than to Kings."

t

president of the Canadian unort-

iional supporters for" having tliroivii Liberalism into llie dis- card by its restrictive measures, and those supporters are even charging that some of the fiscal fix the administration Ls in now is the result of the Government's own financial and tariff policy, that. its food pacts have done harm Lo what. Canada. might have won from the Geneva agreements, that less brain-trusting and more de- pendence on the levelling of tariff barriers would make much less necessary the present, if tempor- ary, rule by Washington. Government members are under no illusion about. the unpopular-fly of its restrictive program for it. has been hearing from the peo- ple through llie electors, the press, the radio and from Parlia- ment itself, and this uripapularlty is probably better known by Mr. King than by others. Moreover, the Liberal Leader is not ce- customed to stand idly by and watch the polltlcal position of his Government go sour, and the next. three months are likely to de- termlrie just. how much a! that soaring process he can absorb.

A Market To Recover

('I'0ranlo Globe and Mail)

It does not require a great. know- ledge of the business to understand ivliat has happened t.o Canada's housing program. A burnt child dreads fire and too many would-be home owners have been badly burn- ed by the flash-fire of construction costs. As a result only the wealthy the headless or the desperate re- ma‘n in the market. There is no lack of statistics to show that liausc building is on-ihc decline and there is no lac}; of evidence as to the cause. The lisr, includes examples like these:

One man. preparing to build a house, was quoted $36 a thousand for bricks, "pick-up an site.” Wlien they were called for a short time later the price was $52 a thausand— an increase of 44 per cent.

A second man orderedwallboard on a quoted price of 9 cents a. square foot. It; was delivered after a lOng delay, at 13 1-3 cents-an increase of 50 per rent.

A third man ndeded twelve four- lnch drainage tiles laid in his base- ment, Ten years ago the job cost; $12.25. This time the price was 256250-4111 increase of more than 300 per eeiil.

Things like this are responsible for the fact that most people who elceled to builrl s'nce the war now fnd themselves living ln houses they cannot nfford. The man who plans a $4.501) bungalow ls more likely i0 find it has (0st liim $7.000 or more when it is finished; the family which decides on a $10,000 home may have to pny rlaublc- that. amount when thb hills come in. In nether-vase is the home owner irreparerl tn carry the urlrftloiial Jinunea] burden. let rilnnc pay the difference out of his pocket.

Neither the bulldini: supply ln- rlustry nor construction workers hnvr- shown much concern over this

development. Sn frir tliev have been rihle ta ianniw it because llie rlcmrinil for l‘f7l1tT‘l(‘l'l‘lr’\l Irulrllni:

has been nvlrl enough to tolerate the continual prlcc-pumplnc pro- cess. This yemmr-ommr-rclnl eon- slruellon is not, s9 likely tn i-onflille its upward surge, important bniis 0n essential materials are bouiirl to iloler many pntonllal builders in this market. Housing contracts should aeeordlnillv- have murli more meaning than they have recently possessed. , The rlemnnrl rind the need for houses is as pressing as ever. There can he plenty at work for the conlrucfon industry in this field but only if all concerned with bulldlniz casts realize the necessity of holding the price tins-of bring. trig homes wlthln the reach of or- dlnary men and women nizaln. A return to the time-honored prne- tlce nl’ flrrn quotiWons. rlellverv nn schedule and conscientious work- manship can do much toward solv- ing the housing shortage In i948.