THE GQALRIZIAN. __CI'I_,AK N

___irsce_r<>uR_._.__ TH E G UAR D IAN

Hauling Dally (Founded In I651) Authorised a: elenauil Clue: flail. PM! 9"!" - Department, Ottawa.

The llllud Guardian Publishing Co. Idltar and Managing Dlroator. J- R- FIRM“- Aeeoatlte Editor, Frank Walker.

f’The Strongest Memory is Weaker "W" the Weakest Ink."

mAaLorrm-owiv, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11. 194B

Keep The lloors Open

The City Council would do well to avoid caucus huddles as much as possible. There are doubtless many matters on which preliminary caucus discussions are desirable, but it is m the interests neither of the Council nor of the public that such a practice be substituted for open debate on matters of general importance- Our Councillors have minds and opinions of their own, and it is is their duty to let fhclr constituents know where they standnand. how they vote, on every issue affecting civic inter- ests. That is what they were elected to d0-

ln late years there has been a lameotubls tendency to sidestep this responsibility. The re- sult has been to reduce enlightening discussion at Council meetings to a minimum and in maul’ cases votes on important issues have been re- corded without any open discussion at all. How have these matters been decided? Behind clos- ed doors. This reversal to Star Chamber meth- ods is unworthy of representative men, and sub- versive in the highest degree to democratic gov- eminent. _ ,

We are inclined to believe that our civic fathers have drifted into this deplorable course unintentionally, and without quite ‘reallllw where they are heading. ln any case it is the duty of the Press to sound a warning. ""4 t" do so in this instance in the hope and expecta- tion that further comment will be unnecessary.

New Income Tax Forms

it is interesting to note, in connection with the new form of income tax schedules now being issued, that the information asked for is put in the simplest English. Even this is riot very ex- plicit so far as the average taxpayer is concern- ed. lt is satisfactory, however, l0 lam" PM" "I the past year the responses on the part of_ our farmers have been admirable; they have assisted the Department in every way possrble to make the returns complete. When it is borne in mind that there are some 12,000 farmers in this Pro- vince, all of whom must make returns, it will be realized that it is no simple matter for the offic- ials to keep a-breast with their examinations and reports. The new returns will be sent in before - I there is a clean-up oi the P10110115 Yell" 7°‘ ports. _ _ lt is announced that whereas in previous y ars the size of the income governed the form 3'1‘ be used, this year the source of the income ilhdetermine the use of the new form. Special in tructions are provideddor farmers and_fish- ermms an aid to stating clearly and simp.y their special expenses, but they will not be re- quired to use a special form as was the case in reporting their i947 income. Other advances in simplification of tax forms have been made, to which reference appears in a news article in

today's issue. Churchill's Presclenoe

r‘ Mr. Churchill has furnished the British House of Commons and the world at large with another example of his profound prescience in the matter of international‘ relations. lt is in the form of a letter which he wrote when Prime Minister, on April 29, 1945, to Marshal Stalin- The letter, which will probably become iflmflllt, was apparently in its first part a rather routine statement in which Mr. Churchill sought to smooth out with the Russian leader matters pend- ing in Poland and in Greece. In both of those countries there had already arisen differences between the Western powers and Soviet Rus- sia. He assured Stalin that Britain thought it fair that Moscow insist there not be an anti- Pussian regime in Poland. ln Greece, he wrote, Britain sought a democratically elected govern- merit.

Then in his last two paragraphs he made his appeal to Russia. "There is not much com- fart," the letter read, "in looking into a fu- ture where you and the countries you dominate plus the Communist parties in many other states are all drawn up on one side and those who rallied to the English-speaking nations and, their associates or dominions are an the other.’

The linal paragrapn of the letter read: "lt i5 quite obvious that their quarrel would tear the world to pieces and all of us leadingmen on either side who had anything to do with that would be shamed before history. Even embark- ing on a long period of suspicion, of abuse and counter-abuse and of opposing policies would be disaster hampering tne great development of world prosperity for tlie masses which is oh- tainable only by our trinity. l hope there is no ward or phrase in this outpouring of my heart to you, Mr. Stalin, which unwittingly gives of- fense. lf so, let me know, but do not, l'beg_of you, my friend, underrate the divergericies which are happening about matters which you may think are small but which are symbolic of the way the English-speaking democracies look at "'9' As a New York Times commentator paints out, there was certainly no crystal bu" ""0 Wlllfill Mr. Churchill could have looked in the spring of i945 and seen the picture of the blockade of Berlin, the rape of Czechoslovakia, the war in Greece, tlie seizure of Rumania and the war- morigering charges of the Russians in the Unit- ed Nations. Perhaps he could only have guess- ed at the East-West conflict of ideologies which has led to a conflict of notional interests. But, if ir was a guess it W! u 0°“! ""-

For the world is split iust as Mr. Churchill hoped it would not be, Abuse and counter-abuse —there has been and is plenty of that. Soviet propaganda has been losing out of late in coun- tries where the Kremlin has no military force at hand. ‘But that has led to another and more real fear, the fear of the Russian Army, the largest in the world. As the tear of Red propa- ganda has decreased so the fear of direct use of Russian military might, the Kremlin's other weapon, has grown. Western Europe is organiz- ing and arming because of that fear and with the help of the United ‘States. In other words, the situation has gotten even worse than that the dread of which caused Mr. Churchill's "out- pouring of my heart" in his effort to avoid it. lt would be interesting to know what answer Mr. Churchill received from Marshal Stalin, if any. If there was ‘one it may be surmised that Stalin spoke softly. But that would not change the matter. Stalin has more than once stated that communism and capitalism could work to- gether in the world. He has just as often said the contrary. Certainly under his government the vast majority of Russians are led to believe that a war between communism and capitalism is inevitable at some time. That preochment goes back to Lenin and has never been renounc- ed.

EDITORIAL NOTES

First Airplane Flight by the Wright 5015-.

this date i903. 1r I i

The Mayor and City Councillors are realiz- ing that their offices are not beds of roses, these days-at least without thorns.

Catalogue businesses, with offices, and doc- tors, dentists, etc. without offices are to find that it costs them more to do business in the City than heretofore.

i I Q

Today, Friday, the S. S. Arabia soils from Saint John with the first bulk cargo of food from Canada to Britain under the United Emergency Fund for Britain.

O i

Waltzing Matilda, the best-known of all Australian tunes, is being adopted 05 l! "Si" mental march by the Queen's Royal Second Foot Regiment of the British Army. The regiment is at present,stotioned in Berlin.

O

W

Be it noted that one reason why margar- ine is so much l_ower retailed in Newfound- land than butter is because there is a ceiling of 39c. Toke off the ceiling, and up will go the price.

I i

The Rt. Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie King, ex-Prime Minister of Canada, born this date i874 has the proud distinction of having held the Premiership for a longer period than any other in the history of the British Empire. The only head of an administration who survived World War ll and lived to tell the tale.

I

"I er

9 i»

Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer born this date i770: One of the supreme com- posers of all time, his earliest works were akin to Mozart and Haydn; his later works marked entirely new departures, characterized by amazing individuality of style and classical beauty and perfection of form. i it "k

The people of China are to have an oppor- tunity of tasting, for the first. time, herrings from Britain. The Herring lndustry Board has just sent over 8,000 samples cured in brine. Sev- eral thousand more samples are also being sent to the West Indies. The method of dry curing in concentrated brine for 48 hours riot only im- proves the flavour but eliminates the need for cumbersome packing.

I I I

British butchers a-nnbunce they will be able to sell an extra ”third" of a sausage to each customer for Christmas. The season there may be merry, but not exactly bright, There will be a small additional ration of tea, sugar, candy and fat but except in the case of tea the Christmas bonus rations will be smaller than lust year.

‘fi i *

Two thousand five hundred manufacturers in the United Kingdom will probably be receiv- ing, in the fourth quarterof i948 and the first quarter of i949, deliveries of industrial machin- ery and equipment ordered from the U. S. A. and Canada and now financed under the Europ- ean Recovery Programme. The United Kingdom Treasury, announcing" this, states that items scheduled for delivery include constructional and mining equipment, turbines, generators and motors, machine tools and textile machinery. Over $95 i-Z million worth of orders for such goods, scheduled for delivery before March i949, have been approved by the Economic Coopera- tion Administration.

W ‘It

Nine years ago, on December I7, I939, Britain ioyously received an early and hearten- ing Christmas present iii the shape of some 7,500 Canadian troops — the vanguard of more than 335,000 she was to welcome before World War l-l was over and'wori. The first contingent of the Ist. Canadian Division arrived that morn- ing in the Clyde River, unannounced and heav- ily escorted, in one of the mast impressive con- voys to make the Atlantic crossing during the war, There were the liners Aquitania, Empress of Britain, Empress of Australia, Duchess of Bedford and Monarch of Bermuda, and they were esgorted by some of tlie most famous ves- sels of the Royal Navy - the bottle-cruiser Re- pulse, the battleship Resolution and the air- craft carrier Furious. Several other ships of war, including four Canadian destroyers, were also in the convoy. The Canadians lost no time in- traduclng themselves. From the crowded trans- ports they loudly and unmistakably spelt out in unison "C-A-N-A-D-A" and concluded on a mighty crescendo "Canada!" The Canadians had

arrived in Bjjtgin,

"'TM'“*WW“*““I' ' '

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PUBLIC FORUM

Thle column l: open to the dleaugelou by correspondence of queeflon: of t. The Guardian doe: not ueceenr- lly e ’ the opinion of correspondents.

ktee-te PLEASE!) AND AMAZED

$113»! had not. known that The Guardian was a daily. ‘he pur- pose I had lu mlnd lii subscribing will be filled 1! I receive a. Sniur- day copy each week. 1 am pleased and amazed at. the advances made since I left. 1n the '90‘s, as re~ Elected lii your columns. Oui" Ill~ ile Island seems to have received much of the blessings resulting from the great IXICJIBSB 1n know- ledge of the past. fifty years with less of those evils associated with them as a result of their misuse vvtilcli 1s evident in other coun- tries. I am, Sir, elc.,

JAMES P. KELLY. 2407 4th Street, Santa Monlce, California.

RURAL MAIL SERVIOI

Slrf-The mall service from Charlottetown and return via North River. Cornwall, Clyde Riv- cr, and further points west, 1s far from satisfactory of late, and tliai. 1s putting l: very mildly. People a.re walilng hour after hon: to re- ceive their mail. as wel.l es to post their Jesters, parcels, etc.

To’ the ivr1ter's own knowledge, the residents along the Clyde River R. R.1 received no rrmll at all last Saturday, December 11th. and again yesterday. Dec. 15th. there was no delivery along 1111s route. Due to the mall arriving so late in the day at Clyde River. ‘lie courier refuses to undertake the twenty-five mile trip by horse and wagon vle Si. Catherine's. Long Creek, New Dominion, Nine Mlle Creek. Rice Point and Canoe Cove, as the journey could not be completed before nlg-litfall, and one can hardly blame hlm. ‘

Are we living 1n 1948. or are we getting back to the olden days when mall was delivered to the rural areas only two or three times weekly?

Al: the Christmas season. when the mail ls especially heavy, this la-ck of prompt and efllclerii mall service Is doubly regretted, and 1f some one can furnish e reason uihy this condition exists. it had better be good. .

I am. Sir, em. WEARY WATCHER. New Dominion. RE. I.

(The explanation, as obtained from the dlstricl. postal director's office. l1. that. the regular courier on 1111's route has been ill for the past few days, and there 1s a new man on the job. It ls hoped to have the service functioning nor- mally iodav —Ed. G.)

Britain's Health Programme (British Medical Journal)

No one expected that such a vast scheme as that outlined in the Na; tlonal Health Service Act of 134v would begin ‘in a way that would please everybody-least of all those upon whom the main burden 0f U“? work falls, the medical men and \VOI’TICTI of this country. The situa- tlon ls still too confused to SW9 anything like a clear picture of what is happening. but perhaps m‘ most. noteworthy fact is the cage!“ ness syith svhicti the public "B5 sought to take advantage of a ser- vice VVhlClI, ln effect, guarantees tlie supply. free of direct vharge- 01' everything from wigs to iron lungs.

There has been nii ovevivlivlmiui; demand for spectacles and den- tures. and a ruii oii the chemist shops so fast at times as almost to exhaust the supplies of vermin pharmaceutical products. Prvsuiii- ably iii time tlie iiovclly will wear all and tho ilomund for SllCll things as spectacles will decrease as the numbers of those apparently iieoil- lng them rlimlrilsli. This rusli of the public for remedies and appliances lias put nii acute strain upon the medical profession. especially those in grnernl pi-nctlvc. If the demand for tho (locloi-‘s tiirie continues at the present level we can foresee that iii the event of un epidemic iri the winter tlie life of tlie general practitioner" ln particular wlll be- came intolerable.

If medical man and women are to continue to give of their best the country at. largo must. act lri a more responsible manner and not creme circumstances which wlll exhaust the profession and Incidentally dis- couruge those who may bi:- contem- plating inking up medicine as u career; Altliouizli rio exact figures can yet be given, li. seems that o large proportion of those who might well have been expected l0 pay direct for their medical treat- ment have, ln fact, asked to be car- ed for under the National I-lenltli Service scheme. There has been a much sharper fall lri private prac- tice, specialist and general. than was expected by the profession. This ls probably a reflection of the herd economic times ln which we llve. ln conditions which fall with particular severity on the profess- lorial classes.

Our correspondence olumns show tliot general practitioners from all parts of the country are crltlcal of many aspects of the Ser- vloe and are especially apprehen- slve about. their economic position. It i: not yet possible to assess the volume of discontent or to measure the extent of the economic distress. The Secretary of the B. M. A.. ln a letter to all practitioners gave n careful analysis of those factors which enter lnto the general prac- titioner's income, and recorded the fact that the total available ln- come for general practitioners ls now in the region of £6,000,000, as against 528,000,000 that was earri- ed lri 1938.

In an Industrial country such es

Britain the miilorlly o! general practitioner's will rccplve llio greet.-

TWO DOMINIOIIS SIGN

TO THEIR MUTUAL ADVANTAGE»

ON THE OOTTED Lilli

‘\ \‘ "Pr: 1171M)’; \

BLUE BLOOD

We thought at. first, this men is s king for sure,

Or the branch of a mighty and ancient and famous lineage

411ml: silly, sulky, illiterate, black- evlsed boor

Who was hatched by foreign vul- garity under e hedge!

The good men of Clare were drink- ing his health lri a flood.

Arid gazing. with me, 1n ewe at tlie princely led: r

And asking each other from what blues! ‘lueriess of blood

I-ILs daddy was squeezed and the pa of the do of lils dad?

We waited there, gaping end won- derlng. anxiously,

Until he'd-slop eating. and let the glad tidings out:

Arid tho slack-jawed booby proved to the hill. that he

Was lout, son of lout. by old lout. and was do to a lout!

—James Stephens.

er part of their income from what were formerly described as "panel patients". So, given the number which any one doctor may have on his list, if would seem fair to as- sume that the general practitioner in the big industrial area should be earning not less than he did before July of this year; but lie ls having to work very niuch harder for it. and ln conditions which he de- plores as unsuitable for the prac- tice at good medicine.

The position af general practi- tioners ln turn! and semi-rural areas ls, however. different, al- though lt. will not be possible ac- curately to assess their economic position until mileage and special inducement moneys have been paid out. Topographical factors alone make it quite impossible for doc- tors ln this type of practice to sec- ure an equivalent lricome 1f all those in their district decide to lake fldYflfliflge of the National Health Service. The economic posi- lion of medical men arid women lii such areas is causing concern, and is a matter which the B. M. A. is taking up with n full sense of tlie urgency of the problem.

Among tlie points that have conic out in our correspondence columns are tho proposals that the ("uplan- lion for: should be increased llllil flxed. that separate funds should bc established for mileage and basic salary, arid that there should be u reduction 1n the numbers of pi"- 5005 all)’ 0H0 Practitioner- liave oii lils lisl. Another polnr 15 that the maximum of £400,000 for 5Peclol inducement payments should be reconsidered. It ls well to recall that. the Government gave general approval to the Spens Re- Dort on tlie Remuneration, of Gen- crfil practitioners. In terms of inc- 1959 value of money, the Spens; Pa», port recommended that between the egos of 40 and 50 approximately 50% °f 39'1"!“ Practitioner: ehould receive net incomes of $1.300 a your or over, that 75% should IECHVP net incomes over £1,000 a yggr, and that approximately 25% should re. celve net incomes of £1,600, ma; lees than 10% should receive a.ne| income of £2,000. and that 1t should be posslble for a small prqpofflgn to receive net Incomes of at least £2,500. These figures, lt may be em. phaslzed, are net figure: and 1,, tegms of the 1939 value of money. m0 he medical profession la at (no d “lent 3°01! its lob ln extremely

lfflcult circumstances, and i; p. "P tfluthe Government to meet Dfvmb y the eaua whlch new prevames of discontent

The llge-lllil Story

should l

Old Charlottetown (And P. E. L)

__._ DEATH PENALTY FOB WBECKERS

For the security of navigation

and the preservation of ships wrecked or stranded on the coast, the punishment of wrecker: and plunderers of shipwrecked vessels and good: we: en object of grour Importance to Island lezlsletor: ln colonial days. The death penalty was deemed not inappropriate .'or such offenses, as appears from "lie following excerpt from a stating passed 1n 1829: "If any person or persona what- soever shall plunder, eteel, take BWBY or destroy any part of my ship or vessel which shall be n distress, or wrecked, stranded, ir cast on shore . . or any goods, merchandise, or articles of any kind, belonging to such etilp or vessel, or which shall be wrecked, lost. stranded or cast on shore on the coasts of this Island, or shill steal or take away any kind of ship-wrecked or lost goods, wares or merchandise which shall be found floating in the rivers. bays ur harbours of flils Island. or can» tlguous lo the shores thereof. ex- cept. so far us it may be necessary to fake possession of them for sec- urity, or shall beat or wound, with intent to kill or destroy. or other- wise wilfully obstruct the escape of any Person or persons endeavor-in: to save lils or her or their life or lives from such ship or vessel, 0r put out any false light or lights with intent. to bring any ship m- vessel into danger, than and 1n n11 such cases, the pergon or peraam so offending shall be deemed guilty of Felony, and, being lawfully can- silctieii thereof. shall suffer death, as ln cases of Felony, without benefit of clergy."