The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1941-01-09, Page 2towt, mi THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE
DETAILS ROWELL-.SIROIS REPORT TOLD IN
address by secretary
In order to. enlighten, the public
on the important question of the
Rowell-Sirois Report we are re
printing from the Bowmanville
Statesman the report of an address
given by R, M. Fowler, Toronto, at
Blackstock. Mr. Fowler relates in
‘a most comprehensive and under
standable way the background, de
tails of the Commission’s activities
and recommendations.
. .-i& . 4K ’
On January 14, 1941, Canada’s
Prime Minister welcomes to the up
holstered stillness of the Capitol’s
conference room the premiers of
all the provinces, or there dele
gates, to discuss the Rowell-Sirois
report with a view of implementing
some or all of its provisions.
Only an informed and determin
ed public opinion can underwrite
a sane and statesmanlike approach
to the question and prevent the pos
sibility becoming a shambles.
With this in view, a few far-
seeing and informed individuals
( have moved to inform the public.
Outstanding among them is R, M.
Fowler, brilliant young Toronto
lawyer, one of the Secretaries of
the Commission during its 3-year
studies. Few can be. better inform
ed and few could more ably present
the matter than Mr. Fowler, youth
ful, personable, forceful—an ora
tor of ability.
The annual Rural-Urban Rotary
Club banquet at Blackstock, a Dur
ham County feature of 15 years’
standing, was fortunate in securing
Mr. Fowler as guest speaker.
In meetings of this kind, public
opinion is influenced where pub
lic. opinion, counts—among the key
citizens of the nation who subscribe
to and support the rural press which
devotes much space to public ques
tions,
A complete report, of Mr. Fow
ler’s speech, regretably, cannot be
given because of lack of space, but
hreewith are some of the highlights
that impressed an attentive aud
ience:
Importance of Report
’’This Report, is, in my opinion,
the most important document af
fecting Canadian development since
the Durham Report, It will pro
foundly affect the future of every
Canadian citizen. It deserves the
thoughtful study of everyone inter
ested in Canadian well-being.
Everyone has heard of the size of
the Report—it fills 32 large red
volumes, but it is not as difficult
to know the contents of these vol
umes as the size
would Suggest.
The ■ Coinmission
in August of 1937
possible terms of reference,
word, it was asked to find out
what was wrong with the Canadian
form of government. After seven
ty years it was quite Clear some
thing was radically wrong with our
constitution. Changes were neces
sary and the problem was to dis
cover
take.
To
lying
called’ in a group of experts in var
ious fields of study—accountants,
economists and lawyers were ask
ed to prepare factual reports on dif
ferent phases of the Commission’s
problem.
Having started these studies* the
Commission set forth, on its travels.
It went to every province in Canada
and to its public sittings came re
presentatives of provincial govern
ments, municipalities, teachers’ as
sociations, doctors’ associations,
social service workers, civil ser
vants and others.
In these public hearings and pri
vate discussions, the Commission
ers learned a great deal about the
realities of the Canadian picture.
When they came to write their re
port they were able to do so with
a knowledge of how Canadians
thought and felt. They sought to
make their report realistic and-
politically practicable.
The main Report of
mission consists of two
volumes, plus a volume
tieal tables. The main volumes
deal first with the historical back*1
ground and secondly with the re
commendations.
annual sum equivalent la amount
to the present amount from re*
venue-producing assets. * Provision
was also made for co-ordinated bor
rowing In the future.
3. Taxes; The Commission re-
■ commended that the Dominion alone
should have power to levy person
al income taxes, corporation, taxes
and succession duties. Revenue
, from these taxes should be retained
by the Dominion .except in respect
of a very important rebate of Cor
poration taxes collected from min
ing companies, such rebate to be
paid to the province in which the
mining company carries on its op
erations;
4. The present system of subsi
dies from the Dominion to the pro
vinces should be abolished; and
5. In its place a new system of
national adjustment grants should
be paid by the Dominion to the pro
vinces, such grants to be sufficient
in amount to enable each province
to provide to its people education
al and social services at a national
average of quality provided each
province would tax its people with
average severity.
(These five recommendations
and the reasons that lead to their
being made were amplified and dis
cussed in some detail by Mr, Fow
ler.,..
with a catastrophe and in. the fol
lowing five or six years we dealt
with th® emergency badly and with
great waste of human and. material
assets. We had at least the excuse
that we were coping with an unpre
cedented situation. We will have no
such excuse next time. We must
prepare for future unemployment
and improve our administrative
system at a time when unemploy
ment is low. When the full force
Of unemployment strikes us, we will
have no time to make necessary
and proper changes. Our chance in
this regard may never come again.
Ontario’s Position
I,
Aid to War Effort
He continued; lfI believe that the
recommendations of the Report
can be taken one by one and shown
to make an immediate practical con
tribution to the war effort. Take,
for example, the recommendation
as to corporation taxes, If I am
right in suggesting that the present
corporation tax structure is stifling
business expansion, a simplification
of the same would tend to create an
expansion of business activity. If
this results, new wealth is produced,
the national income rises and it is
easier to pay the enormous costs of
the war effort.
Consider the
commendations,
income will be
venues will fall,
will be lost, the burden of war ex
penditures will be made correspond
ingly greater and harder to carry.
Consider unemployment recom
mendations. When the war is over
and men on active service are de
mobilized and those in war indus
tries fall out of employment, we
may be faced again with another
problem, In 1929 we were faced
> ..........................-..-
I very much hope that we in On
tario, as the largest and most pros
perous province, will be able to take
the broad view of this Report. It is
foolish io suggest that there are not
costs to be paid if the Report is im
plemented, and by the nature of
things a fair proportion of those
costs must fall upon Ontario; but it
must also be kept in mind that if
the Report is not implemented there
will also be costs to be paid and a
great proportion of those costs
would certainly fall upon, ’the pro
vince-of Ontario,
- I suggest that we must realize
here in Ontario that we are de
pendent in large measure upon the
rest of Canada for our prosperity
and that dependency creates for On
tario a certain responsibility for
conditions in all parts of Canada.
I would like to feel that Ontario
would not shirk that responsibility.
But on the lower and more prac
tical ground, I think it can be ar
gued that the deal for Ontario of
fered in the Report is a very good
deal indeed,
made certain
the year 1937
aneial effects
its proposals,
tario show that the financial plan
of the Report would produce an
improvement in the provincial fin
ances of Ontario by 85,326,000 and
in the finances of municipal govern
ments in Ontario an improvement
of 82,388,900. Those are .the
ures
FAST ACTION
HELPS PREVENT
MANY COLDS
from Developing Right at Start
At the first sign of a cold, put a few
drops of Va-tro-nol up each, nostril. Its stimulating action aids Nature’s
defenses against colds.
... And remeinbsr—w^n a head cold
makes you suffer, or transient conges
tion, ‘‘fills up” nose, spoils sleep, 3-pur-
pose Va-tro-nol gives valuable help as
it (1) shrinks swollen membranes, (2)
relieves irritation,
(3) helps flush out
nasal passages, clearing clogging WICKS'
mucus. Enjoy the wnA relief Jt.brings, VA’lKO’WOl
of the Report
was appointed
with the widest.
In a
what form the changes should
assist in discovering under
facts, the Commissioners
the Com-
important
of statis-
Recornimen (la ti on s
The recommendations volume
fills some 300 pages and deals with
many matters which may be impor
tant to individual
Which are collateral' to the main
recommendations of the Commis
sion which make up the Commis
sion’s main financial proposals,
T. Unemployment: The Commis
sion recommended that the Domin
ion should be responsible for the
entire cost and. administration of
unemployment relief to all unem
ployed persons in Canada who are
able to work. ______,
minion should have power to in
augurate unemployment Insurance
and a national system of employ
ment offices;
2, Provincial FtiWe DeW: W®
Commission recommended that the
Dominion take over the entire
^dead-weight” debt burdens of the
provinces,. and it should do so by
taking over all provincial debts and
receiving from each province an
groups but
Xtt addition* the Do*
provincial debt re-
If default occurs
diminished, tax re
business confidence
The commission has
calculations, taking
as a base, of the fin-
on each province of
The figures for Cn-
fig-
for 1937,
'Ontario’s Opposition
has been argued that the
for 1937 are not typical
if the year 1940 were taken
fig-
and
It
ures
that
the result would be very different.
Notably, an elaborate argument
was put forward by The Toronto Ev
ening Telegram in its -issue of No
vember 15, 1940; with headlines
across a full page, The Telegram an
nounced, “Sirois Report Spells '810,-
000,090 Annual Loss to Ontario.”
The argument of‘the writer of the
article is that 1940 conditions are
different to 1937 conditions and
that under improved industrial con
ditions of 1940 the profit in the plan
of some seven million dollars on
the 1937 figures is converted to a
loss. An elaborate table is pre
pared showing comparative figures
for 1937 and 1940, These, the
Telegram says, produce this result.
The difficulty is that the Telegram
has completed 310,000,000 op the
credit side of the Ontario ledger
for 1940* namely the estimated
.amount that would be rebated to
the province under the provisions
for the mining tax rebate. In ad
dition, the Telegram has taken for
1940 the same net debt service as
was required in 1937 when actual
ly the net debt service is increased
by more than three million dollars.
In other- words, the alleged “net
loss” to Ontario, as shown in the
Telegram figures, of over five mil
lion dollars is actually a profit to
Ontario of more than seven million
dollars.
These figures illustrate how
beautifully the plan compensates
itself. 1937 and 1940, as the Tele
gram .states, are undoubtedly very
different years but the financial
results to Ontario in both years
was approximately the same and
in both years was a substantial
profit. Arguments such as the
Telegram put forward are, how
ever, dangerous and misleading,
because it is so difficult to check
the misconception which such ar
guments create.
High Faith
I have discussed the Report, at
tempted, to outline it and attempt
ed to show that it will produce, for
I Canada as a whole and for Ontario
in particular, great practical bene
fits. I have suggested that the re-
i commendations will make an im-
i mediate contribution to the war ef
fort. I feel moreover, that the re
port has a deeper significance. We
Is are to-day engaged in a war in which
we are fighting for more than our
material possessions. We are fight
ing for our way of life, for the
forms of government and society in
which we believe. That fight must
include the production of guns and
tanks and aeroplanes to resist ex
ternal aggression but I, for one, be
lieve that we must also be prepar
ed to fight against internal obso
lescence and decay. The fight
against external aggression and the
fight against internal decay are
parts of the same fight. We must
match the perverted faith of fas
cism with a faith in democracy that
is equally strong, equally capable
of evoking loyalty and equally suc
cessful in commanding sacrifice,
We must make our faith in democ
racy a living faith with positive be
lief in our ability to make our forms
of government work.
f
Vision Needed
As a nation, have we the courage
to make necessary improvements
in our system when the need is
apparent and the method is plac
ed ready to our hands? Have we
the necessary vision, have we ag
gressive leadership to point the
way? Have we understanding
among the people of all provinces
to follow our leaders unflinchingly?
Beyond the practical advantages
which I feel the Report will give,
I feel that our actions in the next
few months will provide a test of
the character of Canadian citizen
ship. Our action in regard to this
report will give us a measure of the
quality of our democracy.
In view of the shortness of time
before the Ottawa conference and
the impossibility of outstanding
speakers reaching the public to in
form and stabilize public opinion, it
iso believed -a national service can
be rendered by the rural press
carrying Mr, Fowler’s message dir
ect to the people upon whom gov
ernments and politicians depend for
their survival.
A Prolific Cow
Mr. Anson Coleman of the Par
line, Stanley Township, has a very
productive cow, besides giving her
daily supply of milk she gave 'birth
to four calves during the calendar
year 1'940, having twice given birth
to twins within the twelve months.
The cow is of Hereford breed.—
Zurich Herald
A FRAXEB AT NEW WS
Dedicated to Their Majesties, qui
well-beloved King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth, in -grateful mem
ory of their Visit to Canada.
0
AN EMPIRE KNEELING
Lord, another year has gone
And still the war drum beats—
Grant us, 0 Christ, the courage
high,
That flames in London streets,
0 Son of Mary and Thy Saints,'
We humbly call to Thee
To arm and guard our fighting
men—
On land, in sky and sea.
Jehovah, God of Israel,
Thy chosen ones implore
That Thou wilt be their God
Hosts
Amid the battle’s roar.
of
And we, who name Thee other
names—■
At other altars bow—
Our millions pray in many tongues,
iGod keep our Empire now.
Our noble allies, Lord, uphold
Throughout the Hitler night;
And may their Spartan spirit, fine,
Inspire our Empire’s might.
And we at home in lesser ways,
■ Whate’er our task may be—
God make us kind and strong and
brave
To strive for Victory.
God save our King—our statesmen
.guide,
Our men and- women bless
As we rededicate our lands
To Thee and righteousness.
Ottawa,
December 22nd,JL940.
Amen.
Wm. Jordan 'Dies at Dublin
The oldest resident of this dis
trict and a highly respected citizen,
William Jordan, died at the home
of his son, Patrick Jordan, on New
Year’s Day, in his 97th year. He
had been in declining health for
several weeks. Mr. Jordan was a
native of Stre^tsville, iOnt., but
spent virtually all his life in Hib
bert Township, on a farm near
Dublin from which he retired 5
years ago. His parents came from
Ireland to Canada in 1849. He was
married to Miss Mary Ann Roach in
1881, who predeceased him in -1935.
He is survived by one daughter and
eight sons.
Andrew’s
was the
wedding
O’NEIL—-FERGUSON
The chapelW old St
United Church, Toronto,
setting for a charming
when Rev. G. W. Rivers, of Bolton,
assisted by Rev. Gray Rivers, of
Toronto, united in marriage Mar
garet Gertrude Ferguson, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Ferguson of
Auburn, and Ray Wilson O’Neill,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson O’Neill,
of Rarkhill. The bride was smart
in an ensemble of precious rose
crepe with gold embroidery, with a
matching . turban and shoulder-
length veil. She wore a corsage of
Talisman roses. After a wedding
dinner at the home of the groom’s
sister, Mrs. Harold O’Dell and Mr,
O’Dell, Toronto, the bridal couple
left on a motoi’ trip to Eastern On
tario,
FINE CONCERT GIVEN
•Zurich town hall Friday even
ing was the setting for a delight
ful concert, sponsored by the pupils
of S.S, No, '9, BJake, under the dir
ection of Arthur Finlayson, teacher.
The program was rated one of the
best ever presented in the hall.
The entire proceeds will be contrib
uted to the British War Victims’'
Fund. David Gesek acted in the
capacity of chairman, and S. Ren
nie directed the musical portion of
con-
dia*
pro-
and.
the program/' The program
sisted of choruses, recitations,
logues, songs, drills, radio
gram, minstrel show, clowns
an acrobatic performance.
He is broad-minded if he
doesn’t give a darn about
morals as long as you don’t bother
about his.
just
your
Backache-Kidneys
Most people fail to recognize the-
seriousness of a bad back.
The stitches, twitches, and twinges.
> are. bad enough and cause great suf.
fering, but back of the backache-
and the cause of it all is the dis
ordered kidneys crying out a warn
ing through the back.
A pain in the back is the kidneys *
cry for help. Go • to their assistance.
Get a box of Doan’s Kidney Pills.
A remedy for backache and sick
kidneys.
“Doan’s” are put up in an
oblong, grey box with our trade
mark a “Maple Leaf” on the
wrapper. , “
Ref us e substitutes. Get “ Doan’s. ”
The T. Milburn Co., Ltd., Toronto. Ont.
I
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