The Seaforth News, 1941-02-20, Page 2PAGE TWO
THE SEAFORTH NEWS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY ?_ID, 1941
Pledge fo/r Warr Stav►'ngs
"SALAD
TEA
Defer Judgment On
Closing C.N.R. Branch
Hearing At Goderich Reives
Guarantee Based on the
Bonus
Vigorous opposition from farmers.
,trovers, IRs nlifact!tl•trs and ether
''business men was pre:ente1 to the
Board of Transport Commissioners,
which met at 'Goderieh last week to
':ear the application of rhe Canadian
National Railways to aln:urdon its
railway 'line from Clinton to 1\Vin.g-
hant, a distance of 22:43 utiles. The
witnesses came from Renee. ,Morris
and East 'Waiw•anash townships, from
I.ondeshoro, Blyth. Ge"Zrave, \Vin!-
haan, -Atwood and 'i.tttktme. all of
which places, i; was testitied. wonted
•be vitally affected by the chtsin.a.
At the conclusion of a hearine ex-
tending over ten hours, during which
high officials and expert: of the
C.N.R. also .lave evidence. ilnl;g-
ment was reserved. The Beard is
composed of Col. i, A. Cross, K.C..
chief commissioner, :std Ilttalt Ward -
tone assistant contntiasioner. both of
whom are lawyers. and i. A. Stone-
man, a Western Canada farther.
A. D. telae l)onai i w t 0.11111.4'1 for
rhe railway; J It. t raw ford \\ ins-
'tatti, for the tenmr, thole. r hetero:
Frank Fit!.;lst l l ., ,'lit. n, .n
r'i 'l't•wn,'n ll "ett. ,117. R. S
ANhnelient. ;or
• Treleavea t'. ear \li'.'... L t l:now.
en industry t.i!.'h e i ',e !ry af-
1
eeel:i ,.,is "tti.r'i .,
t.t een re
Ti e : e to t". N.
Ts :,i!leay- \1r .\1';. 0.11 stated that
i,on,le•., Hurn mei itrec Rail-
way. a partion e; ,.,f - w his e i, proposed
to he abandoned, wa. :Wed in l,376.
pnrehased by the Grand Trunk in
1,893 and taken .ter by the i aottlian
National in 1923. He said nearly all
• the Sts pound steel rails laid in 1912
were in good condition and were 'irid-
Iy needed in other parts of the rail-
way. system %there eseat d to due to
the war was in progress. The
three 5 -rear -o11 -stel `trid.es. he
told the commission. wottid have to
be replaced ,v th n tri yt'r- to a east
of ;140.000. The e:elny-:'eree cul-
verts were in w cod canal tion, the
'hallast fair. Aaont e'a't'y eer Cent, sets
tit; ties were in good condition, the
,rade: and rnrtalures ,goers. These
atati.tioe all had reference to the
stretch of raiiway line the company
proposes to albandon. At present the
territory is served !bp one .passenger
train each way on week days and hy-
a three -day -a -week freight.
11r. ,1IacDonadd quoted exhaustive
figures from a prepared statement of
passengers, freight, express and tele-
graph busines, done at Lontleshoro,
Myth and Firl;LI'ave, conolodiug Iby
states; that the railway had lost, in
actual operation, 'net including cor-
poration or municipal tax; $5,d77 in
3937, $0,468 in '10301 and $9,661 in
1939. Revenues had suffered trentend-
onsly '(ram truck, bus and ,private
ear competition in recent years, he
said, owing Chiefly to the fact chat a
sated eig•htyay, No.- 4, paralleled the
rai)wate. it being not more than a
mile distant at any point. He .saw no
trope of improvement.
"'New $O -potent rails .are ,41,111'g to
he hard to get," counsel went on.
"The chief elgineer tells me he needs
this type of rail badly. He could use
teirtc-five miles -.if it et ole indust-
rial plan; near Toronto alone, The
rills 'At' would like to take up - are
torth 40 em,"
Is it material that these rails are
needed elsewhere? \VI,t pick on this
tul.,,htr tett at of the ''1'1l •'
rice i t ..t . 1. r,lnnt:,sn ,nrr
-We .t.e.: 1•• lift :lir rai's eeer.• it
will do .-e lc'n•t harm," replied .'1!'
.'11'11 171'. c•. ,, 1,1..0„•..1'1,1
t -it' t'.N le. .t1011e.
k: 1 nee• ,tt th
ell'11Y!JIl n. :'la rati'a ae talc .n etir
•,-l. Ile .aid that the •,ride,', erre
f e tt!ee rot r. ul,t 11 4 11 trt,txth
ned, They %% amid have to ht replaced
in rive or ten years, The pri eat pow-
er was too heavy for these bridges. he
said. fluty light engines and freight
ears could he rotted over theta and
this was a deterrent to .1 itdtlr iiza-
tion and economical operatiell.
i, F. Pringle. gt^,cral su erietend-
e•m , of the ,ottthern district, main.
t fitted that a better service could he
sea via Stratar.l and I.istowel
uecanse there was sufficient hthsincss
t.o uiev a daily freight service. All
the gain from 'Goderieh -to Luck -
now was now routed via Stratford
HE KEPT THEM OUT
Harold Stade, who did an outstanding job of goal -tending in the Sea•
orth intermediate nets on lvlonclay night, in the game at Tavistock, which he
is credited with whuting, "Hal” Is the son & Mr, -and Mrs, R. F'. Stade of
Zurich, and assists his father in business,
96 cars to Lucknow and •fifty nine
cars to \\,'intttant in the -first elecven
months of (941)•
"']'here was nice traffic on this line
at one time," ale Pringle told Col.
Prose "Gut railway 'husi.nese at all
small towns has fallen off, owing to
truck competition. .\s for the -passen-
ger decrease, I sesame the private tat
more titan the hos."
]\Witness e tolls not concede to Mr.
Crawford, under eto;.-examin :etion,
that the ,ere-ent less,s cotud 'hv made
•e tee e eepanyo solicited leis t .
Ha dei tot the tine .11,m1.1 'te
,.X, terra 'nor, :a,1 `.,e ,l,euo. \\e.
I n;i,l ,itni':.-tt ve'teri,•nce- all over
Inc•
to said.
\Ir:'raitfort .1e—sae—led that C.N.
arealoyees 'eel,. above doiitlthe nom-
ad irk, ,...rvlicitin.i, but Mr. Pringle
dn:.ta, d. -
\\ i.. ttnc that tl,e ,t',N.R. knows
best how too run it, own business,"
commented ,Commissioner Stoneman.
1. S, i\Itun•o, divisional freight ag-
ents, Stratford, testified thatthe grain
rate from Godtriclt to Lueknow, un-
der the proposed change, was likely
to he raised from six to twelve cents
per hundred pounds and the milling-
in -transit or 'top -ower rate raised
from too and a half to foto cents.
At this point lair. Fiugland filed as
exhibite agreements .between the
Township of. Hullett and the Lon-
don, Huron and Bruce Railway. made
in 1071 and 1,87:2. whereby the muni-
cipality subsidized the railway to the
extent of 825,000. for which it was to
receive a reittwaw servicein perpetuity
or the menicipality was to the reim-
bursed. \ similar a,;reentent' was tiled
for the 1'ownshin al' East Wawanosh,
also involving' S2S,)0t and !: was ex-
tlaincd the "l v h li t „f t\lorris had
-.till another Inc L rl_ 3311,000 hut
eo:ild not „Cite. h Ir. al!. $3at-tee had
been 4tVell the 1 t 3e.i ay the nnttti-
r')'ttlitics, :he Th.11:•:Ii:t Pura:terry
letvina ..r.utt,. t :'e• It , a.000,
111. 1 '4.ti it i ! .:rder4i ,t•1 there
also ate ...treemeet. elft the County
o3 Mitran, but there ia r•, ore here
to
reeresent 1:'0aittti
u
R.n tv it,tt:t•e, Meal) 1 t:..i said
''e•. had - tia e,lltec i.xi ts. the tilts.- of
tate exhibits. l In vere a inat'er for
the eel;irt., he sik.
\\ E. 'i'rt,taten zeicknow Hour
nti::et. said that if the litre were
abandoned it wt,test be ruinous for
him, for he ssimply Could not pay
higher freight rate, than he was .now
paving. For year. he .had been oper-
atin: under the disadvantage of ex-
!essive freight rates, and when he
started trucking his wheat 'from Go-
derich, as the surely wcould do again
if the railway tine were closed, the
railway- came to '.tilt and offered him
s rate nnf five cents pea cwt. on grain
ir.sm ,Goderic't and a milling -in -tran-
sit rate of two and a -half cents, The
railway also built ititn a siding, his
-911
"Every duty, well and honestly dome, is a contribution to
victor)." THE PRIME MINISTER OP CANADA.
A MECHANIZED ARMY SERVING YOU
Mechanized and motorized units—these make up
the modern army. You have often noticed Bell line
crews with their trucks along the highway. Those
too are mechanized, motorized units, each with a
highly skilled crew; each completely equipped
with tools, power, materiae
In an emergency they can be mobilized—quietly,
quickly, efficiently— to repair the havoc wrought
by storm, fire, or flood'. The equipment they carry
—standardizes apparatus of many kinds—makes
possible the speedy restoration of vital service.
Preventive maintenance, preparedness, experience,
and skill — these all
serve to ensure that your A tg se potee
message will get through tPai Tr
with minimtun delay inL
any emergency—a vital
contribution to the GUMod�
S w
country's war effort. GtrJGq
k� ettetoN,
E. M. HOGGARTH
Manager.
share 'of the cost being $11,000. This
accommodation he would lose if the
Clin'ton•IWdngham line were ahandoe.
ed. He said he b;Cottght 5'000 tuns if
grain from Csoderich in 111941), and ex•
ported 35011 ton; .;f four, .;besides
shipping .11500 ,naris of flour locally.
One year after he Lad been '„sten 0
five cent rate on grain the railway
raised 'hint to six cents, but he did
not object to this and was operating
profitably at present +.nt this basis.
Flowerer, if the new tang -haul rates
went ilt'tc effect he would be forced
to cease exporting, for the increase:
meant a 4 1-15 cent, per barrel advance
on the selling ,price of the Hour. This,
he said, vas exactly the profit he was
making at present. In the last five
years, under favorable fre0ight rates,
he had increased his export ,business:,
from b00 tons to 11100 tots per year.
In 11940 Ione had paid the C.N.R. $17,-
000 for 'freight, but all this would be
lost if the line were closed,
"The year .before the ttai•lway gave
me a square deal. when 'I'was truck-
ing my grain, I paid them exactly
$2.70, and that is what they are go-
ing to get again if they close this
line," said tale, Treleaven hotly. "This
,b.usiness has been in our fatuity for
seventy-five years. I was born in
Luaknoty and I ant going to die
there. The C.N.R. is not ,going to
close me up and drive me out sts has
tbeen the case with so many small
-mills in small towns. If they take
away the rate I now enjoy, I will
track everything, export and local."
Witness said he had lbrouglrt his
-
production up to 2150 ,barrels a day.
Now the railway sought to se: hint
back thirty year,.
Mr. Treleaven preeed an excellent
witness and was closely questioned
by the commissioners.
F. R. Howson. doter :biller of
%Vinghant, told a ,tay ntttctt the
sante as did Mr. 1'r. eeeu The eos-
in.; of the Chire t\..luau et'
.3 t!te C.N.R.t.ye':i , the :re•a!,t
rats: on wheat fr n. n.*•••
i,titt'pe•titiwe and
ennnterated _!. ,mal' -i vo
ttti?1. that '.t rt as,'',! ., ., - .7:11
down for th•; r e . t s..e .e -
today eighty ••tn: •- ti,
ntanttfac:urc,i " ,eatea, etas
by ;even •nt.:, 31r H,eer.on sail he
seas uneasy ani ees,aus abate; the
,tetnlF. tient.
F.. Taman, stock food manufac-
turer of Atwood, said his first also
got Itis grain from Goderich and the
abandonment of 'rite short route
would mean a twa-cent per cwt. in-
crease. In that case his firm would
not be able to use the railway and
the loss in revenue to the C.V.R.
would !be greater than it now claimed
On the operation of the ,Clintoll-
l\Wingham line.
Another whose business would be
.affected in the sante manner was F.
Spry, manager of tate ,Western Foun-
dry, W'inghatn.
Warden Janne; Leiner. Reeve of
Mullett, testified that the closing of
Loudeehoro station would work to
the disadvantage of 'Calf the 'farmers
in the municipality. They would haee
to take their stock to 'Clinton, Sea -
forth or Myth at much greater cost.
The 'Warden complained that the
tC.N'.R. never asked for 'business hast
he admitted to railway counsel that
he had known aor -some time that the
(branch .was losing money.
Chas, Coupes, '.Belgrave drover and
chairman of the committee opposing
the closing, told the Board if proper
figures were available to farmers
they could soon be ,convinced that
trucking of 'hogs and cattle to mar-
ket vas costly business because of
extra shrinkage. Personally, he bad
proved this by experiment and as a
result used the railway exclusively,
shippingi 1125 cars a year front Bel -
grave.
Mr, Coultes charged that the rail-
way at one time drove business
away because of Its arbitrary rates.
These had been adjusted. but the
business, once Lost, was difficult to
recover.f.
ChieCommissioner Cross --"I do
not think you should base your op-
position to closing on criticism of
the C. N. R.
Mr. Crawford—••'It appears that
everybody has been asleep for
$tears.,' •
Witness said. North Huron could
accommodate vast numbers of immi-
grant, farmers. The farms now were
much too large to till. Canada was
on the verge of a big development
and the present was no time to be
ripping up rails in one of the best
agricultural sections of Canada.
On Tuesday morning Robert Coul-
ter, prominent East Wawanosh far-
mer, told the Board that the closing
of the railway would add greatly to
the farmer's burden, already too
heavy. The coming of the paved
highway and the snowplow - had
proved a great handicap in winter.
Only a few years ago No. 4 highway
was snowbound for weeks. Last win-
ter it was blocked for days at a
time. Snowplows made it impossible
for sleighs to travel over it and stock
had to be traristerred at concession
intersections from sleighs to trucks
It was almost itnpoesible for a far-
mer to drive cattle on No. 4 high
way, something that would have to
be done over much greater distaucee
if the railway line were closed
"Farmers are slow to grasp
things. If they really thought this
dine was going to be closed they
'\, I
YO
PRAISE
FOR
YES UR
s'= 'VASTY
AD"
:ton wake tip Many t,{.:•
gate .,'.ttomobiir crazy'.- i>n, '.til,
Z.•t ,; w, -r Mat.
r nntisaiun_r Stoneaut -- h eeat!d
Lis ,nntt• ditfi/ pity itt
Cha* farmers al" ,lull."
i'otmeillor Deacon Wheeler r it E„.o.
i et -.nosh estimated that it tt !'7
aaaa dosed the aepteetaten, en
fat•ut would b - 01, •.,'•.
• .lames 1111•hie of Morrie said r;
ae would cost fah me.. an t e ea,.
nt $11,) a year in added tra11SP1l .1
tion costs.
Reeve Raymond Redmond of hair.
Wawanosh told of one farm of .sole
acres purchased eighteen year • ago
for $1.0,000 selling recently for V.
500. Closing of the railway lin,..
would further depreciate it by live
dollar.; an acre. He estimated that
Belgrave station served 400 farmers
each of Whom would be penalized at
least $50 a year by closing.
Reeve William Morritt of Sly tit
told of an expected revival of th'
flax industry which would mean
much to the railway. Otte tltoesaad
acres of flax had been grows iu 1949
and the same acreage was contract
ed for in 1941.
-Closing will make a big diderene'
to us," std Albert Taylor. Blyth
platting mill owner. He estinta ed
that if the Job were properly 01
taken, the C.N.R. could increase s
business by 15.000 a year in Blyth
alone:
John Armstrong told of a proposed
new egg grading depot at Londe:,
boro and what it would .mean in ea
press business to the C.N.R.
If the railway line is abandoned
delays in mail service to points at
fected will be inevitable, said W. J.
May of London, district euperiutente
ent of postal services. Motor trucks,
would have to carry mail. from
Clinton to Loudesboro and from!
Winghaun south to Belgrave. "We
can give a service, but it will not be
as good," said Mr. MaY. -
Railway counsel, gave the expres0
and telegraph revenue at Lendes
boro, Blyth and Belgrave. It was
negligible. -
General Superintehident Single
told Mr. Hetherington there was nn
"saw -off" with the C.P.R. ;In the pro•
posed closing.
In his argument Mut McDonald
said he wished to make it clear to
the public that the Canadian Nation
al. Railways had Rot had au .operat
ing loss since 1933. Last year it had .
an operating surplus of 45 •millions.
What loss there was was because 01
interest and taxes that had to he,
paid. Where any particular miler\ge
an the system showed an - actual
operating "lose, as did the line from
Clinton to Winghain, It was the pot
icy of the t'. N. R., toy have it closed.
-We are no more anxious to eloss
lines than you are, but where thea
Is a loss our duty to the people is to
,eek to have the litre closed," he .
argued.
J. H. Crawford reasoned that a
proper picture had not been present•
ed by the railway. The municipali-
ties had no facilities to dispute its
statistics, but no estimate had been
given of the "bridge traffic" carried
(Continued on Page 30
of DEAD or
DISABLED ANIMALS
Phone
"Collect"to this numbed
219 MITCHELL
or 21 INGERSOLL
A f I'LLIAh'° TORSON : LTD