Ian A. Burnett,

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Covers Prince Edward island Like the Dew Published every week-day morning at 165 Prince Street Charlottetown, P.E.I., by the Thomson Company Ltd. Publisher and General Manager

Frank Walker, Editor Member Canadian Daily Newspaper Publishers Association Member of The Canadian Press " Member Adult Bureau of Circulation! Bruch ofiices at Summerside. Montague and Alberto]: ttouvesented Nationally by- Thomson Newspaper: Advertising Service (4 King Street West, Toronto, Ont. - 640 Cathcart St. Montreal 1030 West Georgia Street, Vancouver B) Carrier Charlottetown, Summerslde $15.00 per on- num Elsewhere in P.E.l $9.00 other Provinces and U.S. 812.00 per annum.

“T he strongest memory 1.: weaker than the weakest ink.”

Fads 4 sTnx15AY’fJAi\T,—175fi9%§ Plans Going Forward Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s

pre-election promise to work for a

Commonwealth trade conference

was not given idly; nor. has the

‘proposal been dropped by any

means. Last summer’s preparatory

meeting at Mont Tremblant laid the groundwork. It was agreed that the detailed preliminary work should be entrusted to a committee of experts.

That committiee has been studying

the various phases of theproposal

ever since. '

Now comes a report from Lon- don to say that Commonwealth of- ficials and experts will meet in Lon- don sometime in February to make the final preparations. The report

adds that the full-dress conference

at the level of finance ministers or other Government representatives will be heldlater this year, prob- ably in Octobér, although the exact date has yet to be determined. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mac-' millan, who is now on a -tour of the Commonwealth—and by all ac-

izounts, receiving 'a warm reception’

wherever he goes——isA' talking with [Various officials concerning specific proposals which might be taken up at the conference. There is no ink- ling so far as to where the- meeting will be held. The fact that Prime Minister Diefenbaker is the author of the proposal does not necessarily mean that it will be held in Ottawa, although that is afpossibility. But that, in any case, is not the import- ant thing. The important thing is that Commonwealth, Governments believe that -the confsrence will be helpful in stimulating trade among the various members of the as- sociation, with profit to all. At the

jsame time, of course, each -mem-,

ber nation will have "to" make cer- tain concessions, if the plan that is

finally arrived atis to prove success- ful. 1

2 Secret Report

. Just how serious is the danger that faces the‘ free world, today? How good are the West’s defences and, particularly, the defences of the United States vis-a-vis Soviet power and - technological develop,- rnent? Is it a fact that at the present moment the Soviet Union has the upper hand militarily as well as dip- lomatically‘?

‘A These questions and others in the same vein are being asked by many members of the United States Congress and discussed by widely scattered sections of the’ American press. They seem especially urgent

just now in View of a report lprepar- C

ed by a_committee of scientists and other experts at the request of President Eisenhower. For reasons known to himself and his advisors, but not made public, the report is being kept secret, at least officially. Certain sections of it, however, have made their way to the press. These indicate that the United Stated is being exposed to the greatest dan- ger in its history and that unless stern measures are takento streng- then its defences the Soviet Union will soon be in a position—-if, in- deed, it is not already in that posit-

ion——to dictate terms of settlement ,

of international problems.

A copyrighted story in the

Washington Post and Times Her-

ald states that the report “portrays

the United “Statics in great danger ‘

and exposed to an almost immed- iate threat v from the missile- bristling Soviet Union and moving in frightful course to the state of a second-class power.” White House officials have neither confirmed nor denied the allegation. The only comment made by the President’s press secretary was that the Un- lied States is not-“at the moment” ill a position of weakness. That, even if it represents the actual situ- ation, is not very reassuring; and the fact that the President is keep- ing the full text of the report un- der wraps would appear to signify that he is very unhappy over what it contains and is afraid for it to reach the public.

/

to the pedestal of perfection,

Convention Speeches

Now that the tumult and the

shouting are over, it may be in or- ‘

der to say that all the speeches at the Liberal Party Convention with one notable exception, were of a stereotyped ‘pattern. In the main,

with an original thought popping’

up here and there, they were oc- cupied with praising Liberalism and condemning the present Govern- ment. Indeed, much time would. have been saved for more important matters if the speechifying had been confined to the three contestants

for the leadership; and even these ‘

three might have been abbreviated considerably without doing any

.harm to the dispatch of business.

The one bright exception was the address delivered by Mr. St. Laurent. Here was a straightfor- ward, quiet message summarizing without waste of words the political philosophy of a man who had serv- ed his party and his country well; not without making an occasional mistake of judgment but certain- ly without compromising the mor-

'al principles for which he has stood

all during his career. There was no attempt at theatrical bombast, no ‘effort to exalt Liberal politicians no desire to smear or abuse the Gov- ernment of the day——n'othi_ng but

_a plain, quietly-spoken treatise of

what he believes is good for Cana- dian unity and an expression of faith in the future.

As Mr. St. Laurent goes into retirement from the responsibilities

A and burdens of‘ leadership—but not,

it "is hoped, from- public 1ife——all Canadians, irrespective of their party loyalties, will wish him well. He has_,set— a good example -in political integrity for others to

follow. Mr. C. D. Howe’s tribute——

“He stands in the shade of no man living or dea. ”—was not an‘ ex- aggeration. ‘

EDITORIAL NOTES

Another threatened storm has passed us by. Should this pattern continue for a few weeks longer, it will be a short winter, no matter

‘ what March may have in’ store.

~ I ‘I '1'

Now that more than 9,000 scientists have testified that hydro- gen bomb tests are7extremely dan-

‘gerous to the human race, perhaps

the Governments of the world will agree -to put an end to the accursed. things. And perhaps not. i V -k «A» i

Fire ants are a growing menace to farmers in the Southern United States. Brought in by freighters from South_America a few years ago, ..the ants have spread to nine States. They make mounds two feet high that their name from their stinging bite. can break farm equipment. A \ Col" 9 it

The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture has announced plans; for a campaign to raise funds to build a co-operatively owned

vincial Government has agreed to

provide $3 for each $1 invested by farmers. ' -

.3 4 Q! .

Refusal of the “brass” at the

Liberal Convention to permit dis-

cussion of issues from the floor in

lieu of long-winded and wearisome .

speeches shows that Liberal lead- ers have not yet come around to the view that close ,connection with the people is’ a necessary step to- wards public favour. * R I

Grand Jury reports are not pro forma documents without any prac- tical meaning. Too often in the past they have been regarded as such land; shelved, no attention being paid to their recommendations. It is to be hoped that the latest one will be given careful consideration and that prompt action will be taken where it is clearly indicated. A ' P i 1- var :-

There’s “food for thought” in a survey conducted for the Gordon Economic Commission by" Prof. David N. Slater of Queen’s Univer- sity. It reveals that Canadians are spending more money on alcohol, tobacco and automobiles than they did in the 1920's and less on food and clothing. Some statistics: In the 20’s alcoholic beverages accounted for 3 cents of the consumer’s dollar. Today they take 5 cents of it. Adult “consumption” of tobacco went up from 6 pounds to 9 pounds a per- son. Automobile expenditure absor- bed 10.7 of the dollar last year, com-

pared with 6 cents 30 years ago. ..

Food, 26.96 cents now; 28.89 cents in the 20’s. Clothing, 11.5 cents now; 14.8 cents 30 years ago.

ab- . 5 A batoir for the Province. The Pro-

.[A/.W

When Prime Minister Macmil- lan checked his luggage to make sure that it had a good supply of stiff paper collars, gathered his wife and aides around him, kiss- ed good-bye to a handful of his many grandchildren, stepped in- to a Britannia jetliner, and took ‘off for points east on a tour of Commonwealth c o‘ u n t r i e s, he showed more than a good share of his two-generations - removed Scots caution.

Rarely has a British Prime Mi-

PUBLIC AFORUM

This column ll open to the discus- sion. by correlpondentn of question of Interest. The Guaidian does not neceI- . fiarily enclo tho opinion of correl- pondento, I . '

THE N. B. — P.E.I. CAUSEWAY

Sir,—News drifts out occasion- ally regarding the feasibility and possible economic advantage of the (fgnstruction‘of ,a calfsewfiy at the a ove named place and some

ition and the recently construct- edcauseway at the Strait of Can- sowould be interesting. _ .

The natural 'comparison of course, is in the matter of length and roughly speaking this has a ratio of 9 to 1,9 miles at Bor- den to 1 mile at Cape Breton. ‘However, the average depth at the Northumberland Strait av- erages some 65sfeet as co par- ed with 125 feet at Strait of Can- so, about half.

Now this does not mean that it will-, take half as much‘ material per ‘mile at Northumberland as at Canso because on account of the -flat slopes of the sides of the

ial increases very rapidly over certain depths. Actually under the conditions mentioned it will only require about one third the quantity per mile and this for a causeway 9 times as long would mean 3 times -the total quantity.

Another factoris the length of haul from quarry to site which at Canso was about one mile but from the New Brunswick this will average about 61/: miles, that is 2 miles from the nearest quarry to the shore and 4% miles to the centre of the straits. Actually

as the hauling conditions would be much easier at Tormentine as compared with Canso where a high mountain had to be negotia- ted on every trip of the trucks.

The rock fill aticanso amount- ed to some ten million tons and cost 7 million dollars. At Torm- entine some 30 million tons will he required which will cost 20 to 25 million dollars. To this will have to be added the cost of a canal and bridge paving and -trackage on the causeway and possibly a lock which in all would cost another 25 million dollars, so that the estimated total cost of 50 million dollars which has pre- viously been mentioned is likely not far off the mark. ‘

Now if the Federal Govern- ment borrows this 50 million dol- lars what will the annual cost be

lion dollars a year of course. Seems a lot doesn’t it. But what does it cost the Federal Govern- ment annually to operate the pre- sent car ferries and facilities? A matter of two and a half million

. dollars, so that actually there is

a clear annual saving of half a million dollars. Not only that but these operating‘ costs are going to rise sharply from year to year and by the time a causeway could be built they are more likely to be nearer three million dollars. Further the time is not far dis- tant when replacement of fer- ries will loom up.

One ferry is comparatively new but the other cannot last for ever. It was built 43 years ago and sooner or later will have to be replaced. The 3rd'ship is merely and old stand by.

The question is not therefore: Can the Federal Government af- ford to build the causeway, but can it afford not to build it.

Why therefore should the work not proceed at once‘? For the very simple reason that no one knows

if there is 30 million tons of suit-

/\I Aeués/AN }{ARl/ESTMOOM

comparison between this propos-'

Causeway the amount of mater-,

this difference is not very serious

at 4 per cent interest? Why 2 mil- '

PROBLEMS OF A GET/TYSBURG FARMER ‘ End Of An Eggheod

By “Onlooker” Thomson Newspapers, London, England, Bureau

nister departed from these shores leaving such a pile of trouble - and brewing - up of trouble - than has Macmillan with his de- parture on this trip. True, he pro- bably went on ‘the trip hoping that the country. would regard him as still confident, that the trouble’ in the Government was of fleabite proportions. But it has had the opposite effect among po- litical observers here. Most of them think that, with ‘so much trouble at home, India or Aus- tralia is a good place to be right now. EXIT TIIORNEYCROFT

The trouble, of course, started, when Peter Thorneycroft, ong of“ the Government's eggheads and the Chancellor of the Exche- quer —— said two words which, first of all, stunned his colleagues in the Cabinet and then stunned the nation when the two words were passed on to them. The two words were simple: "I quit.”

Thorneycroft, not popular as a

flnani‘ among his party, quit over ,_-$1B5'"mil1ions — one per cent of

the projected British budget which is due to come out around April. The way things are going, it seemed as if Government spen- ding, during the next year would be that amount over the April 1956 — April 1957 spending.

And Thorneycroft, who has spent the past year exhorting ev- eryone -- private citizens, Gov- ernment departments, employers and employees — to be content with what they have and not to ask for more right now, felt that he would look pretty silly when he stood up in Britain’s House of Commons next April and re- vealed that after all the appeals the Government was to ask for $135 millions more.

To save the $135 mil/lions, he ,

proposed that first family allow-

able rock available at or near Tormentine. ,

This is the only phase of the n'1atter,that really stands in the way of the proposition and while it is known that large quantities of suitable rock are available fur- ther steps should be taken to carry this phase to completion; that is, of proving ‘that there is sufficient quantity available for the work.

The urgency is apparent be- cause the tourist industry is grow- ing rapidly and even if the work is started soon it is going to"take yeans, possibly 4 or 5 years, to carry it to completion.

I am, Sir, etc., ENGINEER.

OVERWEIGHT HOGS

Sir,—In reply to Mr. Clay's ar- ticle, telling farmers how they are losingmoney by not weigh- ing their hogs. I have a state- ment for hogs I shipped recent- ly, and the weights and amounts paiidfor «thehogs correspond to the figure given by Mr. Clay, so I take it they were my hogs that Mr. Clay was using for reference.

Now I W-ould like to point out that I am very well acquainted with Mr. Clay and I do not doubt his sincerity, knowing what he has done for the hog industry on P.E.I. However, I would like to defend myself a.nd many farmers who happen to be in the same position.

Sure, I knew those hogs were overweig-ht. But on the day I planned to ship -them, the roads were impassable due to mud. Ev- en tractors were getting stuck, with the result, that I was forced to hold them over one week. N-ow, I would like to add, that a few w eek 5 previous to this, I had eight hogs ready for market, with the same road conditions, with the result, hog prices dropped $2.00 per cwt. How do you think farmers feel when this happens?

It might be interesting if Mr. Clay would compare the amount of overweight hogs shipped from Dec. 1 to April 30 as from May 1 to Nov. 30 especially where farmers are from seven to ten miles from paved roads or ship- ping centres.

I am. Sir, etc, SHALE ROAD FARMER

ances shouldbe cut. Over here, in addition to tax relief ($210 for each child) a parent got $1.12 in cash for each child after the first. It is an -unpopular handout as far as many are concerned, who feel that the tax relief is enough. Ev- en some parents, while taking the‘ $1.12 each week, think that it is all a rather fatuous addition. And some still recall that when Nazi Germany introduced the idea be-

1 fore the war Britain was the first to laugh at Hitler and his “bonus -

for babies" idea. FIRST TARGET’

That was Eggliead Thorney- croft’s first target for cuts —— and he was willing to push it through Parliament. And his colleagues in the Government flinched. They thought that such a move would set {off another round of wage- claims. After arguing strongly for a better part of a week (even go- ing to the Prime Minister during asweek-end to interrupt some sport-shooting Macmillan .was in- dulging in (Thorneycroft lost his argument. And it was then that he uttered his vital two words and left the Government, taking his two aides with him.

I’ve talked of’ the resignation and i-ts/b'ackgrouncl fairly fully be- cause "it is vital not bnly to this week's events but to political e- vents ln the remainder of the life

will take many, many months be- fore the last echoes of the squab- ble dies down. And it will be a talking point at the next general election whether it occurs next year (when it is logically due) or later this year. ' " WHY IS THIS?

It is because that the lack of support Thorneycroft encounter- ed among his colleagues is an in- dication that the present admin- istration has its fingers more than a little of the pulse of public o- pinion here. Britons are getting fed up with the succession of cris- es which has been part of their lives since the war.

They have never liked exhorta- tions to live austerely, whether they came from the late Sir Staf- ford Cripps when Labor swept iinto power at the end of the war or from Peter Thorneycroft when the Conservatives got back on the swing of the pendulum. But they were beginning to get the feel- ing that this present government meant business and were courag- eous enough to court unpopulari- ty in getting the economic pos- ition over here on to an even keel.

.But that feeling has disappear- ed like a will 0’ the wisp with Thorneycroft‘s resignation. T he Government, think most Britons now, have r e f u s e d to jump at one of the final fences. The $135 millions represented just one per cent of the total projected Government expenditure" for 1957- 1958. But it may well prove to be a vital one per cent.

The public, in fact, did think that the Conservatives were get- ting ready to pull victory out of the bag. And the operative word in that last sentence is “did.”

HEALTH SPOT

Harrogate in Yorkshire, Eng- land, has been a health resort since mineral springs were found were in 1571.

x

PAPER TRUCK FIRE

SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP)——Fire believed caused by a shout cir- cuit in the ignition system de- stroyed a Telegraph-Journal de- livery truck in, the Anagance woods area of the Saint John- Moncton highway early Friday, but did not prevent delivery to Campbell-ton, Dalhousie and other north shore points. More papers were run off here and loaded on another truck to complete deliv- ery.

ALGERIAN CLASH

PARIS (AP) — The Tunisian government charged Friday that French soldiers encircled and

the Algerian border Friday. It said when the troops withdrew two young Tunisians were found dead, four persons wounded -and 13 missing. A carefully worded communique from the Tunisian Embassy in Paris did not di- rectly charge French troops with

the casualties. l

of the present administration. It ‘

terrorized T ,- 3 umS1anV1uage°“ ' be seen every day running his

Best Time To Plan For Safety A

By Herman N. Bundcsen, M.D. A glance at the calendar tells me that it’s time to talk about swimming. Oh, I know it’s the middle of January but that's the best time. to discuss swimming precautions and procedures. Next summer, all the health writers will be offering advice on what and what not to do in the I water. However, reading a piece a b o u t swimming in January, might make enough of an impres- sion on you so that you”1l remem- ber it.