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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1952-01-24, Page 3Essential Services And Public Rights In any industry strikes art: ,roost• ly, wasteful and disturbing enough to the general public. In an es- sential pnhlie industry they are all VIM and a great (teat more. When such ural, everyday neves. Mines as transportation, eon nnini-- cations or power distribution are cut off, every persists awl every business, great and small, are int- - mediately affected. Strikes in a pnhlie utility are aimed straight at the politic; exact- ly like the gnu a thug points at his victim's tread. In :natty places police and. firemen are not allowed to use this weapon and neither should workers in other essential public services be allowed to ase it, These -people are serving the cost- munity in the same way as soldiers, And soldiers do not have the right to strike. For the past week not a street car has moved in Toronto and not only that, but the coach lines oper- ated by a subsidiary over a wide area of Southern Ontario have also been tied up. Hundreds of thousands of people in metropolitan Toronto and scores of thousands living in villages, towns aud cities for a hundred miles around have had to hitch hike- or stay home. Last year there were 12 strikes in essential public iuclustries. In 1950 there were eight including tite eight-day tie up on the nation's railroads, This pad nonsense has gone too far. Public utilities are not like ordin- ary industries. They are the very foundation upon which all industry, our whole economy, absolutely de- pends When disputes arise in them ac- ceptance of arbitration awards should be made compulsory for both parties, Proviucial and federal labor authorities Hurst see that -this is done immediately. No person or group should have the power to paralyze a community, Requiring workers to take the no -strike pledge as a condition of employment in essential public ser- vice industries is asking them to undergo no hardship. It is the mini- mum security the community owes itself, Thousans of people should not have their work, and their personal lives disrupted because of a private wage squabble, —From The Financial Post. World's Biggest Laundry Lists Statistics show that, depending on the size of the family, the aver- age housewife washes and irons from 1,600 to 7,000 items of domes- tic linen every year. And quite enough, too, says Mrs. Average housewife as site straigh- tens her aching back from bte washtub. But how about washing and iron- ing 380,000 articles of soiled linen every week? Yet this staggering figure forms the average laundry bundle of two very respected British ladies. They are those giants of the seas, the "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth." Whenever one of the two ships reaches Southampton she lands the world's biggest wash: 32,000 sheets and pillow cases, 5,000 to 6,000 counterpanes and coverlets, and some 7,000 blankets, for a start, Each vessel has 17,000 tablecloths, which need laundering after every voyage. For however stormy the crossing gravy -stained linen on the dining table of a "Queen" is as un- thinkable as a Christian in Mecca. Something like 10,000 steals a day are served on each voyage in one of Britain's "Queens," which means plenty of washing-up for the domestic staff. Waiters cloths, glass cloths and other kitchen towels to the number of 14.000 swell the sea• going laundry bill. Gentleman: any man who gives a lady a head start before racing her for a bus seat. How Not To Get Lost—Theresa Peters, an airline hostess, sights through a "collimator" at her employer's repair base. The com- plicated looking mechanism is used to test the accuracy of peri- scope sextants with which each airliner is equipped. The sextant, with the help of the stars, is used to determine a plane's position in flight, Found Out His Wife —Was A Man! Paul Rufford put a quick end to paternity proceedings brought against hint at 1'olashi, Virgina, re- cently. A local girl swore he was the father of her child, and Patti snapped: "It's impossible! Put a girl myself 1" The cam t adjourned and the doc- tors took over .There was no doubt about it. And Paul explained that "his" mother had always dressed . "him" as a bo,r when a child. Even his sisters thought him their . brother. \\'hen he went to work the great masquerade continue d. Though the local miliary draft hoard discovered his secret, they kept it quiet , • . for nothing in the law required them to do•otherwise. - Decided In Court And this is just one of many big sex untddie$ in the trews of late. 14 a British court the other day Mr, justice Vaisey had to decide that a woman lieutenant -colonel in the Wracs had changed her sex, married and lived happily with a woman as husband and wife. "There's nothing to be ashamed of;" saki the judge. "it's -a peculiar case but not unknown." I -Ie found that Winifred Mary Swan had legi.im- ately transformed into \\'y-nsley Michael Swan. Now another riddle awaits solu- tion in Paris, where dark and hand- some Jean Fardet married a widow and by legal adoption became the father of two children — and has now confesed that "he" is a woman, too. "He" discovered he could earn. more tips as a waiter than a wait- ress.,, His cronies teased him about his piping voice, So to "show them" he flirted outrageously . • . and eventually married.. But what hap- pens to two adopted children when, in reality, they have no legal fattier. And what does his 'wife" say? Despite searching police ques- tions, she declares that it doesn't matter anyway, As a rule in these queer cases it's the "husband" who proves to be the woman. Yet a case once oc- curred at Liverpool Assizes of a young coliery hand who was always taken for a woman when he dressed as a than and so at last considered himself forced into skirts. fleeting a boy a: the pictures, they walked 'out together and ultimately set up house as man and wife. And when the husband was at last told the truth, he gasped in astonishment, "1 just can't believe it. It isn't pos- sihlel" But the court decided it was! Bible In Her Hand—Mrs. William Gille presents her son, William, o hand -copied edition of the St. James version of the Bible on "h she worked 15 years. Mrs, Gille used 18 bottles of ink, bul only one pen to complete the job, Don't Mistreat Your Vacuum Cleaner A cleaner with dustbag dogged with dirt will give no better re- sults than a soiled duster or mop: nor can efficient service Ile expected from a carpet sweeper with dust- pans filled to brim, bristles snarled with lint and hairs or worn too short to reach the carpet. Euless nozzle adjustment on cleaner is automatic, test adjust- ment on rug or floor. Place clean- er in operating position:with motor on and rug should be lifted to• nozzle by suction, • Operate your cleaner slowly in a straight line, lengthwise -on rug. Each section should be vacuumed twice to remove embedded dirt and grit. - Learn the number of uses of each attachment and the ease with whirl: they're put to use. Manufacturer's directions should he followed for lubrication of motor driven brush or agitator cleaner and caution should he used as over - lubrication is as, harmful to the motor as lack of it. Pins, hairpins, tacks or any small sharp objects should be pic':ed up before using vacuum as they may puncture dust bag or cut belt of machine. The dust bag should he •emptied after each use for spet?on action decreases with dirt in the bag. Periodically turn dust bag inside out after emptying and brush inside thoroughly . , . but never wash it as water destroys dust -proof finish. Disposable paper liners for bag do protect bag and do away with neces- sity of cleaning it. The working parts of machine should be checked closely at all times. Remove revolving cylinder and • brushes from motor -driven brush cleaner once a week and clean off threads and hairs, Melt and brush of either type cleaner should be replaced before being badly worn. motor housing, and handy attach- ments dusted after each use, Work carpet sweeper back and forth ,smoothly and quickly over surface of rug or carpet without using more pressure than is neces- sary. As with cleaner it should he emptied after each use, oiled re- gularly, and brush and -bristles kept clean and free front tangling with threads of hair. Daily use of a carpet sweeper and weekly cleaning with a vacuum prevent grit from settling into rugs. Grit causes most serious damage of the three types of rug soil and sur- face litter crumbs, lint, tracked in dirt, etc.: and allover surface soil which is greasy. Grit, if not removed, sifts •down to the base of nap of rug and when walked art, carts off small pieces of pile. When rug cleaning and caring for them, remember: Lamp cords sltnttld never run beneath rug as it leaves a ridge. Broken or smooth type casters will ruin rug. Move heavy pieces of furniture occasionally to prevent permanent indentations and distri- bute wear, Never pall tufts or knots from rug, clip even. Never shake small rugs, it breaks threads, loosens knots, damage backing, nor should large rugs be hang over line, The weight of entire rug then rests on !Mies which are hent at an extremely sharp angle and are badly strained, Beating rugs with wire or rattan bea:er loosen tufts, knocks sizing from back and softens supporting structure of the rug. Idealist: a person, on noticing that a rose smells better than a' cabbage, concludes that - it will also make a better soup. The Annual Meeting of Shareholders The Royal i s k e Ctaada industrial Development and Freer Trade can be achieved together says President Suggesh Jg g range programme to speed process and brin prices closer to U.S. levels. Seen danger in large budget surplus ... "Reward saving, penctlize spending." Need for a free and flexible ee„aunty to meet the challenge of inflation and foster the long range devc1,pufent of Canada, was the keynote cf the annual address of lanes Muir, President, at the An mull General fleeting of Share holders of The Royal Bank of Can :edit. Inflation, he said, was still a major problem, and he doubted the effectiveness of high taxes as a Curb on either private or corporate spending” Nor did he consider the mn.';p, etc d 1 u Iget surphhs of 4635,- II00,000 n rea 7,0.1 fur complacency it nl,l become an inflationary "time bomb" unless rendered in- ert by h,•iug impounded as a ,le• posit in the Central 11:uhk or used to retire government debt held by the !tank of Canada. "BY itself." said 11r. Muir. "tl is umisuu•d surplus is neither an effective check to inflation nor 't reason for complacency and self-. cougrarhdat'i n, The danger here is that th, Government with its in- creased surp'us and the public with its inereesed savings are better able than ever to increase expenditure in the future, "} do not think we need worry too touch about the private indivi- dual dissipating his savings and so adding to the inflationary pressure. Nevertheless, he should receive every encouragement to. 'odd to rather than spend what he has ac- cumulated.' Unfortunately, exper- ience does mR point in quite the same direction regarding the Gov- ernment's surplus. This surplus, induced as it is by increased taxes, perhaps designed to check infla tion, actually becomes an inflation- ary tittle bomb uuless.it is rendered inert by impounding it as a deposit in the Central.Bank or by using it to retire Government debt held by the Central Bank, FLEXIBILITY NEEDED "The ability of our economy to sustain the sltock of adjustment to tie economic needs of the defence programme depends in large meas- ure upon increased flexibility. By flexibility We mean in the moat general way the ability of prices, interest rates, and exchange rates to adjust to changing economic conditions. An example of this flex- ibility is the Government's interest rate policy of the last year or so. Higher interest rates reduce in- flationary pressure in two Ways: first, they curtail the unwarranted expansion of credit; and second, they encourage thrift by making saving more remunerative, 'Another example of what we have in mind is the freeing' of the Canadian dollar in September, 1950, The removal of import re- strictions of January 1, 1951, car- ried the process another step for- ward. The success of this exchange policy is shown by the strength of the Canadian dollar in the face of a large trade and service deficit. The so-called "hot" money that cause into Canada during the sum- mer of 1950 1 as been effectively cooled off. Indeed, we have seen a significant inflow of stable in- vestment capital into Canada throughout 1951, Moreover, the basic strength of the Canadian dol- lar has been such that the Govern- ment in December, 1951, reproved all remaining exchange control, and so restored to the traditional chan- nels of private finance complete frcedont in the Feld of foreign ex- change. "All in all, the free economy in tl.e Western democracies has gain- ed on balance during 1951. We have seen the urgent denlaud of the defence economy superimposed on an economy already strained by the effort to reconstruct a war torn world. It should be a source of comfort in these trying tines that our advance towards military strength has not required a whole- sale retreat into controls. Indeed, we have managed to gain in ntili- try strength and at the sante time to achieve a fuller measure of flexibility in our economy. Our satisfaetiou should not make us complacent. But, barring the final tragedy. of large-scale war, we can Lope through right policy to con- tinue our advance towards the twin goals of economic as well as politi- cal freedom. "Economic .development means (1) that Canada's population mast expand at a rate possible only with large immigration; (2) that her capital investment moist eontinue for a long period to he a large proportion of iter national income, and (3) that outside capital must have confidence in a government policy of just and equal treatment. Economic development means any- thing but a quiet life for workers, businessmen, and. government offi- cials. FREER TRADE "The need for adjustment would not be so great in the long run if we were content (which we must not be) to continue as a producer of primary products for final man- ufacture elsewhere. On the other hand, the use of the tariff or other HEAVIER TAXES NOT EFFECTIVE AS ' SPENDING CURB '1'l,e- read test of tax policy to combat inflation is whether or not that policy penalizes spend- ing and rewards saving. 1Vitl this in mind our must recognize that a whole multitude of the spctuliug Public are not even touched by tie more eirastit' of the additional imposts. In. con- trast. a large segment of the fixed wage and salary group has been hit and hit again. That is, of course, unfortunate init- self, on grounds ui strict equity. But the teal question is, "blow much of the increase in taxi's on this group in the last half of 1951 catue stn of savings?" The more that came out of sayings, the less the effect on inflation pressure, Corporations were even hard- er bit in the 1951 budget. But again the real question is not, "Is this fair?'" but "Did the new corporate taxes penalize spend- ing and reward saving:" To this question, the answer is simply, "tic,." lluman nature being what it is, heavy corporate taxes tend to increase spending by corporations because the Gov- crmnlet is paying a eorresliond- ingiy large part of tl.e shot. The increase in federal excise and sales taxes is upleasant, but these taxes do hit the spender where it !sorts, Unfortunately he dors not kow what is hitting !tint, Why? Because the •taxes are levied at the manufacturing level, passed on plus mark-up at various points from there an, and finally concealed in the re- tail price, The system is, there- fore, inefficient: for it takes out of the consumer's pocket much more than it yields to the Gov- ernment in revenue. But, worse still the purchaser sees the whole increase in price not as a tax, but as a rise in the cost of liv- ing and a reason for demanding higher wages for his work or a higher price .for his product. A further aggravation i$ that provincial and municipal sales taxes, levied on the retail price, obviously become in part a tax on taxes. This is bad in prin- ciple, and, as we have seen, it lacks even the virtue of exped- iency: in the fight on inflation the feder'l tax Is ineffective be- cause concealed. It is unfortunate that in 1951 this slap at spend- ing had to be administered 'with an anacsthctic, device to force Canadians to buy home -manufactured goods merely reintroduces souse- of the inflexi- bility we have been trying to avoid. Whatever one may think of protection as a means to economic development, it is true that our position next to the United States snakes a high tariff both a cause for discontent and a temptation to break the law, The alternative competition with U.. S. industries enjoying the low costs of a large mass market, night seem at first glance tat least in the opinion of many) to rule out a diversified in- dustrial economy for Canada. "Now the dilemma I have posed is a serious one, particularly in the immediate future; but 1 believe it can he resolved. Indeed the prob- lem may appear bigger than it really is: for tariff protection tends both to retard and to caneeal the true efficiency of a nation's indus- try. "At this point 1 wish to make it clear that in the remarks 1 am about to stake I take no position in the political controversy so long associated with our tariff policy. What 1 shall try to do is to dis- cuss the econoutic problems in- volved, "There is little doubt in my mind that Canada can achieve both in- dustrial development and freer trade. Our problem is to hasten the process. Our first step should be a long -run programmee-to reduce or abolish excise and sales taxes at the manufacturer's level, thereby reducing the disparity between prices to the consumer in Canaula and to the consumer in the United States. The result will be a more rational price and tax structure for the developing Canadian economy. "Our second step should he an- other long -run programme to get reciprocal concessions in trade, par- ticularly from our nearest - neigh- bor, the United St ales. "lloreover, both steps in the suggested programme would re- duce the present disparity between prices on a wide variety of articles to the consumer in Canada and to the consumer in the United States, This is not only good in itself but may give some assurance at least that our trained and talented young people will not he tempted away, but will seek their fortunes in their native land and contribute to its development and progress. "No one with faith in Canada's General Manager eports Assets Over $2.5 Billions 'P, 11, :\1lassoo, General Manta.. ger, in reviewing the bank's 1951 report stated that total • assets of The Royal Bank of Canada has now reached the imposing total of $2,515,615,-208. This, he said, was a new high mark in Canadian banl'ing ]history and a figure which wcnld undoubtedly be noted throughout the financial world- 1/eie,sits likewise had reached record totals, said iti r. Atkisson, "Apart from government balances which, as previously mend/Med, are lower by scone $46,000,000, inter- est-bearing rlcposits have increased 819,805,00o, to $1,123,723,000 and non-interest bearing deposits are up $39,69.},(100 151111 now stand at $1,085,717,000. The - balances in hath categories constitute new records. We are particularly pleas- ed that the number of deposit ac- counts on the books of the bank increased over 100,000 during the• year and -now exceed 2,1(10.000," ° Mr, Atkinson reported profits for the year had increased $1,137,926 although this had been somewhat more than counterbalanced by in- creased taxes, After providing foe taxes, depreciation and dividends, including an additional dividend of $700,000 tat the rate of 20e per Share) the bank transferred two million dollars to the Reserve Fund and carried forward $1,026,- 153. The bank's programme of im- provement to branches; which has gone 00 stradiy since the end of the war, continued during the year to provide the public and staff with modern, up-to-date facilities and surroundings. Branches in opera- tion on November. 30th totalled 7o1, of which 62 were located in coun- tries -outside of Canada. - ROYAL BANK'S UNIQUE SERVICE Mr. Atkinson noted that Canada is today one of the foremost trad- ing nations of the world and he paid a tribute to the Government departments responsible for de- veloping new markets for Cana- dian 'producers. Without world- wide banking facilities, however, Canadian traders would be serious- ly handicapped. he said, The Royal Bank of Canada was in a unique position to provide Such service because of its 62 branches in the Caribbean area, Central and South America and its direct representa- tion in London, England, New York and Paris. - "We have, of course, world-wide relations with correspondent banks in all countries where we have no branches and from these sources obtain information and reports on conditions and comutcrcial regula- tions which are of inestimable value to our trading clients" said Mr, Atkinson, "but based 00 over 50 years of operations abroad and wide experience in foreign fields, WC! are firstly convinced there is no really adequate substitute in any business for direct representa- tion by the organization itself, Ex- perience with trading customs and intimate knowledge of local prac- tices in the many- countries where we operate, coupled with the close liaison which exists between our representatives abroad, both direct and correspondent, and our Head Office I' or e i g n Departments, places us in a position which enabl- es our hank to provide facilities for clients and others directly in- terested in international trade which otherwise would not be available. PRAISE FOR STAFF "It is always a pleasure to con- clude my remarks to you with an enthusiastic tribute to the members of our staff. The success of any company or institution must of necessity bear a direct relation to the degree of efficiency- of its per- sonnel but this is particularly true of a bank where the things we sell are service and friendliness, The 1rien8ly approach is traditional with our staff and service beyond tihe call of duty is the rale rather than floe exception. The staff of 11.e 1)0n1 numbers 12,401), in addi- tion to which we employ approxi- mately 1,20(1 peuple 111 other ca- pacities, or a total of over 13,600; Their loyalty to and enthusiasm for the bank are- most heartening to tTIC Executive and it is proven daily by the reports we -receive in Head Office from elieuts across the country. The gratifying report be- fore you today .k a logical outcome of this fine service and to the staff I wish to say a sincere "thanks" on behalf of the management as well as the. shareholders. What- ever- tray be in store in the year just braining, I 'nn confidant the staff will meet the situation with efficiency, loyalty and enthusiasm." tk, future will deny that, given time, all these difficulties of our economic development will be triumphantly overcome. "1f we Canadians will become fired with pride of country— be- come folly conscious of out' trem- endous material eudovyment --face Our task with imagination. initia- tive and courage, and apply mord work; we can make the nest few decades by far the greatest age yet in Canada's economic history: Says Popeye Wrong About Spinach Whenever you dish up j'unior's spinach, feeling proud of the good you're doing hint; and whenever he eats it to be like Popeye ... you're both living in a fool's paradise, The stuff is useless for strength. Dr. Charles Iii11, a junior mini. ster in tate British Food Ministry, has told the Royal Society of Arts in London: "There's no scientific reason why spinach should give anyone, - even Popeye, strength." The doctor said spinach contains not only iron but oxahe acid which, it is thought, probably combines with the iron and prevents it being absorbed by the body. Adolescence; the period when a boy refuses to believe that some day he'll be as dumb as his father.