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PAGE 4 "TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1958.

Mr. Fleming's Letter

Elsewhere in today’s issue we pub- lish a letter from Hon. Mr. Fleming, Federal Minister of Finance, taking exception to our editorial of May 12, in which it was urged—since neither party can find ground for agree- inent—-that the unfortunate contro- versy overwhat was said at the grants-in-aid conference ‘at Halifax should be terminated. He encloses copies of two letters which he had sent to Premier Matheson and which we published, along with the Pre- mier’s replies, on May 14. They were released by the Premier without com- ment.

Mr. Fleming complains that twice in our editorial we ascribed to_ him a threat that he would “restrict his dealings with Premier Matheson” pending a withdrawal of the latter’s complaints against federal officials. He says that at no time did he make such a threat and asks that we indi- cate the source from which this “ut- terly untrue statement has emanat- ed.”

The statement attributed to him is in the very first paragraph of the story which he released to the Canadi- an Press on May 9 and which we pub- lished on the following day. It was broadcast throughout the country, and it reads: “Ottawa (CP). Finance Minister Fleming indicated Friday that he will restrict his dealings with Premier Matheson until the Prince Edward Island Premier withdraws his statements he imputed to two federal civil servants.” If the Finance Minis- ter was misquoted by Canadian ‘Press )1! that occasion, he should immedi- ately have issued a. correction. If it was merely a misinterpretation of his remarks by Canadian Press, and not

a direct quotation, it was still his duty '

to have corrected it. We assumed it to be correct and we were not the only Maritime newspaper which took‘ prompt objection to it. In an editorial which we republished on‘ Saturday, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald stated that the Minister “has carried his feud with P.E.I. Premier Alex Mathe- son too far when he says he will re- strict his dealings with him until the latter withdraws," etc.

We are pleased, and we are sure Premier Matheson will be pleased, to have the Minister’s assurance that he made no such threat. As he says truly, “Any person" bearing the res- ponsibility of Minister of Finance must always be ready to have ~ ‘dealings’ ‘ with the constituted authorities of ' the Provinces in any matter pertaining to their joint constitutional responsibilities.” We can only wish that he had made clear this attitude when he carried his controversy to the Canadian Press in the first place.

Mr. Fleming maintains, further, that we had no right to assume that the Premier's complaint with regard ‘to what was said at the meeting was supported by the Premier’s officials. On the contrary, we had thought that this was self-evident from the Pre- mier’s statement in the Legislature

‘ and from the subsequent correspon- dence. M . Fleming in his first letter to Premier Matheson indicated his awareness that the latter was basing his statements on notes taken at the conference. From whom would the notes come but from the Premier’s officials, who were the only Island representatives in attendance?

As stated in our editorial, how- ever, there is no point in continuing a controversy in which the claims are irreconcilable. This applies to opinions expressed about the whole conference, proceedings, the manner in which it was called and the formula which it produced. We do not think there is afiythiflg “amazing” in our conten- tionthatit should have been held on a l1'Y;;l';1tSteI‘1al level, or that, at the very

would have shot? proceedings. That any, was brou liltn twhat pressure’ If Island repre%:nt' ‘o bear upon our - atives in accepting an amount much less than we had rea- son to expect. Mr. Fleming says that the need for verbatim reporting at such conferences “has never been evident in the past.” We submit that the present controversy proves the need to have been very evident in this Case.

I

The Poultry lnclusiry It is disturbing to hear that the poultry industry in the Province is going through a “recession”. For some time this industry had account- ed for more than 12 per cent of the Island’s total farming economy; but during the past year or two this per- centage has been reduced, according to statements made at a recent meet- ing of agricultural officials sponsored _ by local members of the APEC execu- tive. A Two points of special interest were brought out at» this meeting. One was that although a modern eviscerating plant has been established at Sum- merside, with substantial Govern- ment assistance, a. considerable vol- ume of poultry is shipped to Moncton for processing. One reason for this, undoubtedly, is that many farmers, accustomed to sending their poultry to Moncton, are hesitant about divert- ing their business to the new plant. This is a hurdle which any new busi- ness is likely to confront. But, accord- ing to an APEC official, farmers are of the opinion that grading at the Moncton plant is more favourable for them than it is at Summerside. Just why this should be is a matter for the experts to discuss; but, of course, farmers can't be blamed for sending their products to the plant which they believe gives them the better re- turn. The other point was that eggs

pass through too many hands before '

they reach the consumer—as many as seven agencies, in some instances. N o wonder the price spread between producer and consumer is wide. The wonder is that it is not even wider. It must be that some of the agencies make a very small profit.

Doubtless, all those -interested in the poultry business will do every- thing possible to improve it where it is lagging. An industry whose poten- tial value is more than 12 per cent of our agricultural economy is too valu- able to be allowed to wither away.

Notice Ol Intention Col.‘ John A. Macdonald, M.P. for

, Kings, has given notice of his inten-

tion to introduce a resolution urging the Federal Government to give con- sideration to commencing construc- tion of a P.E.I.——N.B. causeway ‘-‘at the earliest feasible date.” I This, of course, is a formality, since the Federal Government is al-

ready committeed to the construction of the causeway “at the earliest feasible date,” provided the survey now under Way shows the project to be technically and financially sound. It will, however, serve a purpose. It will remind Federal authorities that

. the people of this Province expect the V resu_lts\of the survey to be announced

within a reasonable time after its completion and that they are not go- ing to take -too kindly to any unneces- sary “ands”, _“ifs” and “buts”. Either the survey will be favour- able to construction or it will not. Our people. don’t expect the impossible; but this time they are expecting def- inite action, one way or the other. We have every confidence that the Gov- ernment’s attitude in the matter will be as good as Mr. Diefenbaker’s word given in the_ election campaign. Still, it does no harm to give the Cabinet 3. little prod from time to time; and Mr. Macdonald is to be commended for doing that in his notice of intention.

EDITORIAL NOTES

It was on all counts a pleasant visit which His Excellency Governor General Massey paid us last week. Let us hope that he may find leisure to return for a well-eariied holiday.

I C

Joint action is what is necessary to deal with the unsatisfactory potato market situation, and Friday’s meet- ing of the Potato Marketing Board with executive members of the Potato Producers Association and Potato Dealers Association is promising in this connection. It is hoped that there will be no difficulty in obtaining ac- ceptance of the application before the Agricultural P r i c e s Stabilization Board to guarantee 75 cts. per bushel for stocks remaining unsold at the end of the shipping season.

i Q Q

Australian Government officials recently were hosts to a trade delega- tion from Communist China and an- other from Formosa. Different dis- cussions, however, had to be held for the transaction of business. The Com-

C‘

~ munist group said that China could

l>U.V.more wool from Australia if Aus- tralia would increase her imports from China. The leader of the For- m"-“_"‘ (lelegétlltlll iinrnecl Australia against signing any agreement with the Communists, because such an élI£l'eemeiit, he said, would lead to p().. litical infiltration by agents.

Coniiiiuliist

I)

?o¢11’IC’AL PAL/VIISTQY

ygsvmeuu.

}D)/ Humour

(P

' the facts

Mame: PAL who 0 u ‘I’

THE CLOUDY CRYSTAL BALL

child in a famil.V- These mfants may have thrown in their way as they pru- gress toward adulthood than any subsequent arrival in the family.

deal more fuss over a first child- And, consciously or unconsciously, they often try to dominate his every move.

SPECIAL MEANING

First Child Mcly Feel Handicapped

Bt Herman N Bundesen, KL?-‘ A’ It’s often tough to be the us.

more roadblocks

Parents generally make a g00<1

place . ‘35‘e”..3‘v§“g..s‘“.§’,§Zf~Tf.‘?.o.iT‘ ms repre- sents 1.000

get a penny il;3c;l{li;.—Otta.uia Journal

son visitor asked an old lag. “Burglary own fault.

NOTES BY

THE w

th 1,000 pennies were Mord usglreissly in Ottawa’s new their first

fruitless attempts to to do the work of :1 Well, there's no harm in “How did you get here?" a pri-

_. and "it was all my I spent three months

ular figure in the after the state de ». ests a few remarks hg ing a television lnterv is encouraging to pen‘ lands to recognize thug in the US. is quite l " icize the sterile pong’, been emanating from in recent years. -4)’ icle- Telegraph

Cyrus Eaton may .0‘ llnttei

and 10 pounds of horsemeat mak-

figfggi/0 \'rI?<‘£€ \

told happiness to the family. view this

with his own potential. PARENTAL INTERFERENCE

life to fit their own desires.

To most parents. their first child has a very spec1a1_mean”{‘-'- He is in fulfillment of the m_af- riage contract; he is a Spfifklmg new gift which will bind the mar- riage more closely and «bring un-

Many parents, unfortunately, new arrival as an individual with a life all hls OW“-

There is a great temptation for parents to try to relive their own lives in perfection in their firs. child. Often -they resort to tec- hniques which will prevent the expression of the child’s indivi- dual personality. In effect, tiles’? parents try to mold the childs

ing friends with a dog, and then —Galt Reporter

opment level of the child.

his own.

PUBLIC FORUM

FINANCE MINISTER. REPLIES /

Sir,—My attention has been drawn to the editorial appearing in your issue of May 12th.

- Twice in this editorial you ascribe to me in direct quotation marks a threat that the Minister of Finance will “restrict his dealings with Premier Mathe- son” pending a withdrawal by the latter of his objectionable state- ments concerning officials of this Department It is about time some attempt was made to adhere to in the matter of Premier Matheson’s unwarranted charges against officials of the Department of Finance. At no time have I said that I would re- «strict my dealings with Premier Matheson or make -any statement bearing any resemblance to the one which you attribute to me twice in your editorial. I am the more amazed that you have chosen to ascribe the threat to me in diiect quotation marks. I think it not unfair to ask you to indicate to me from what source this utterly untrue state- ment has emanated.

My communications to Premier Matheson at the date of your editorial were confined to two letters dated April 18th and May 2nd. I enclose herewith copies thereof. You will not find there- in any statement resembling the one you ascribe to me and upon which you have based your mis- leading editorial. .

Any person bearing the respon- sibility of Minister of Finance must always be ready to have “dealings” with the constituted authorities of the Provinces on any matter pert-aining to their join-t constitutional responsibili- ties. Firm' adherence to this rule is in no sense neutralized by a defence of the officials of this Department against aspersions cast upon them without any basis in fact.

I turn now to another part of your editori-al. You state “we find it hard to believe that our own officials, Mr. Massey and Mr. MacLeod, did not faithfully report back to the Premier". You take it for granted and in- vite your readers to take it for granted that these two men have supported the claim of Premier Matheson that an official of this Department made a state- ment that $1.7 million in the case of Prince Edward Island was “more than they deserve”. I suggest to you that this is an assumption which you are not entitled to make, let alone base conclusions upon it.

You have chosen as well to make the amazing statement that the Halifax meeting “should have been held on a ministerial level" On the contrary, the facts are as fol1ows:—

1. The meeting was not con- vened or arranged by Canada. It was requested by representatives of the Provinces concerned who made all the necessary arrange- ments.

2. The meeting was a technical discussion on the best means of arriving at a mutually satisfac- tory division of any amount available as an Atlantic Prov- inces Adjustment Grant. Federal Officials attended only to pro- vide technical assistance as any agreement or understanding was PUI”€1.V a matter of Provincial concern. V

3. The meeting had no power to make decisions. The under- standings reached at the meeting had no effect until approved by the respective Provincial Govern- ments. The Provincial officials reported in due course to their respective Governments and the joint unanimous decision of these four Governments was com- municated to the Prime Minister by Premier Stanfield as spokes- man for the Premiers of the_ four Atlantic Provinces by letter dat- ed January 6th. 1958. cisiou was to share the Atlantic Adjustment Grant in the pro- portions which were subsequent- ly duly logislated by the Par- liamont of Canada in January.

4. It has never been the cus- I dertake to abolish another sim-,

Th-at de- i

- water.

i

at tec ic-a1 meetings or at meet- ings eld in camera. Aside from the practical difficulties which could conceivably be overcome, it has always been the view that such reporting would hinder rather than help the free ex- change of ideas which is the prime purpose‘ of such meetings. Further, the need of verbatim reporting has never been evident in the past.

Thus you will see that the

Fedenal Government simply-ac--

cepted and acted upon an agree- ment reached by the four At- lantic Provinces themselves, and that the Ppemier of Prince Edward Island was ‘a willing party to the u.n.animou«s decision reached by the four Provincial Governments. Their decision was in each case t a kre n in- dependently. _

In the light of these facts it is obvious, that the views expres- sed in your editorial of May 12th

_ are entirely unwarranted.

I am Sir, etc., DONALD M. FLEMING Minister of Finance Ottawa, May 16. . (The Minister’s letter is dealt with editorially in today‘s issue.‘ —Ed.G.).

THE WATER COMMISSION

Sir,--The ‘ Commissioners of Sewers and Water Supply have served Charlottetown since 1888 and through all these years has rendered to the City‘ efficient and economical service and do not at present contemplate any increase in water service rates which is their sole charge for the combined services. This wat- er ra-te takes care -of the main- tenance of that Department and in addition has in the past been sufficient to take care of the interest and sinking funds on its bonds and to turn over to the City a sizable surplus in average years which the City takes into its general revenue to spend for other purposes.

It is claimed by Councillor Gaudet that this Department is lagging in its efforts to keep up with the normal expansion of the City but we would point out in this connection that in 1948 Good- will Avenue, Crestwood Drive and Admiral Street were opened up and served with both sewer and that since that time, a matter of ten years, there have

,been erected in this area some

54 homes, many of them duplex, the taxes of which cons-t.i’tute a

. considerable revenue for the City.

As to the adjoining area of the Toombs property, referred to by Councillor Gaudet, there are

some 75 lots that could be made,

available for building purposes but at present the City has only

' opened up one street in this area.

Can the Commission be blamed for not serving this area further when they do not even know where the streets are to run? This omission was brought to the at- tention of the Council at Fri- day’s night’s meeting. As to the other areas mentioned by Coun- cillor Gaudet, Upper Queen, St, Park St., and Beach St. that have at present no sewer service, the Council should be aware from previous information from the Commission that these areas are below grade and could only be served by an expensive pumping system.

The financial standing of the Commission is at present in ex- cellent shape and according to

Mr.. Crandall the mechanical part of the system equally satisifactory.

As to the charge that the Coun- cil is not getting cooperation from the Commissioers, may we point out that at no time within the term of office of the present Commissioners has the City Council asked for a joint meeting with the Commission to discuss the matter of services (in any shape or form). It is an amazing thing that one elected body of the City Corporation, should un-

poration, particularly when the present City Council is composed of many new members who may not as yet be familiar with the working of the Corporation. Mayor Johnstone is reported to have stated that Parkdvale is pre- pared to lay a sewer on Belmont Street A for combined‘ service that will not cost the City a cent. Does anyone believe this tale or think Parkdale can be this gen- erous? The Commisslon has been in consultation with the Park- dale Commission to consider having Parkdale lay this sewer at their expense but in return have requested substantial water service from the Commission. The Commission has this matter und- er active consideration with the hope that some satisfactory co- operative action can be taken to benefit both parties but a good deal more than a cent is in- volved. ‘ i

As to economy, it is under- stood that a plebiscite will cost about $3,700 or more which the

have difficulty ‘to recover by further economies in service if they are granted authority to handle the Sewar and Water Ser- vice.

children to be perfect in their

economy minded Council may:

Still other parents want their

own right. Here again they 305 to destroy the individuality of the child, usually the first child, th- rough strict discipline and by re- jecting him when he fails to ac- complish the goals they have set.

They create behavior standards that are unnecessarily high. They may insist upon table manners, performance, cleanliness or neat- ness which are beyond the devel-

represented on it and was com- pletely ignored except for one meeting at which the Commis- sioners were invited to sit, as on- lookers only. In spite of this, the Commission encouraged its expert Engineer to give all‘in- formation available from the ef- ficient records prepared and kept by him. No co-operation was be- grudrged or even delayed. So what can be the trouble? Have they been_ neglectful of backslapping or why should they be kicked out? After all, each member‘ of the Commission was elected by the City at large and. not by an area as small as some of the City Wards. It seems strange that three months after the Election, one elected body should undertake to abolish another elected body without giving the Citizens a valid reason for doing so. Since 1887 the Commissioners of Sewers and Water Supply have handled their department effic- iently and economically, and have not been influenced in their de- cisions by Civic Political inter-. ference or intrigue. For many years -this department has been «paying its way and also turning over to the City Council, each year, a~surplus which they, the City Council, were very pleased to receive to aid them in their own financing. All this is done