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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1932-04-14, Page 3THURSDAY; APRIL.,"14 1932. THE SEAFORTH NEWS PAGE THREE � i • tees darts ince. Saturday, April 9th, . was 'the•; fit man trenelies we'd•ashed into the op,- tteemth anniversary of .the ed'pture of T1lieny Ridge by the Gantadian's, one of ;the Most costly and decisive victories of the Great War: The intervening 'years have seen :asofte'i,ing of the hitter war -time annnosittes; in ,their stead has crept in friendship an ad mira'tion for ,former. foe's: But Ne 'memory of 'the dead is ever'cheris'h- ed in the ;hearts of! their 'lov'ed:ones'' and of their; country..' The Seafortli . News liars been pelt•- !mitte, to reproduce a' letter written, Iby-a lieu.,tenaiel to, his. young wife •fm-` ediately ,after Wry,. which,' presents: vivid pic.fure of the ;events orf _that row thistoric fight. . g t He 'was killed one. (month later, ori May firth, 19117: e5141112. In the Middle .of It ;Dearest K 'IHd` Curb w h utvsca'thed�the and aiael a my apt in 'af .fire,: an'd carne g y out sef the little croltvd who went up to re idfpree the 50th. 'alit lovas ' a; livid christening,— 'three gimes "over the top"':in five days. I•t was a reah'spent, Jimmie 'with hands 'born with barbed wire and feet all ' blistered, who limped 'back' into calrap 'at 3 a.m. the other morning. His 'face 'hadn't been , shaved since he started out,''his clothes' and every wee bit exeosed,' were. caked With mud. You " wouldn't have known him. He twastoo tough for words. It has taken .three. days ;to, rest 'his nvearied bones alter the• week of sul- phur and gas and •snow and he11..You will 'have read'about the 'taking • of •'Vimy Ridge by the Canadians. We were in. the hottest of it. • +The Hattalion, with an attack in !'Find,went out gaily enough one ev- ening to take its stand in the trenchee preparatory to -launching an�'assault. , It got to its allotted place in some ol'd•chalk 'pits swept by• shell and Arap•nel and, re ared'to settle down P A orteng . utte or•uneofwar was againat us. __Another battalion', hadn't quite reached its -objective that 'day and .the 50Th was detailed to doe qts work, '. The ground was mud np to the waist, iSo out of the' ohalk pits we march- +with ,shetl hole's of water, in which ed, scrambling through very exposed many, a .man was drowned. -Even to :sections of the country in. scattered :walk over, let alone •charge over, it ;fragments, and down to another focal-' was•ex'haus'ting work. However, we ity. We stood.' by 'all- 'that night; got there, with companies, and even and at noon received sudden. word 'battalions; hopelessly mixed up. et wewere to attack'on that front. No- snowed so that you eouldai't see more 'body knew much about the plan, but than a few yards ahead. When dawn we:rushe'd'off—and for the first time broke, we consolidated our eew ,posi .tawa real : Ba'ttle'field. tion, with more prisoners conning in. Re had to' go across the original 1!111 alone Jimmie took in .a•,prisoner. INo plan's Land, and than again ac- He got behind -his' own lime, of course rose several recently captured trenches without knowing it. ^ He 'ha'dn't.. a to our assembling point. Luckily; bomb -or 'a'rifle. ' His revolver was so 'there wasn't much time to think, and clogged with mud it couldn't be used. we just tumbled as quiet as we could 'But there .ahead of him were Heinies. into our places. The hourwas set The two furthest away skedaddled 'for the advance, anartillery barrage. hke blazes (I don't wonder, J'immie behind us :set up horrible music, anti 'poked so tough). The other _"chucked Just :as it ditiished battering in the Ger down his. rifle and threw Up his 'hands. Crackle, ,crackle, :bang, bang, bmtg; �b•ing shej!Ils I and shrapnelsand bullets, and machine ,guns played an'orches- ;tra olf,hell, The blue'coatsed "Henries" as--..theyt.are 'called(iere, put up' a little scrap, but;were kicked. out of tate first trreuch ', Then the artillery ,put a barrage 'on the west of our .trenches, and thud We goat on from ptoin,t'to point—en—lite at last out of the confusion, tante sametthing .definite—we had. reached our objective and were consbldating. 1 had one section of it .ali (alon:e vei'th 'a'•nisxture of men from all companies,: and met an officer in. sight.' I hari seneeenough to try, and.' make"our po- clition more- secure. While we were doing that,• who should tumble into: the trench out of N10 Mary's IJand but a• whole '• wad af: Germans. They were crying "IO'amerad" pad' holding up their hands, :in they came in scores and In pairs—iron', over 120 had pass - To liven thinge up a ltittle, counter- attack with bomlbe was made" at one point.' It wasone of the most excit- ing'momeslts of all, because we could- n't tel1.'far a minute whether it was a, real 'ane or just 'a raid. ' Luckily it was only a raid. • We 'lost some few men before it was beaten off, and a bomb• that 'eteploded.within 'bwo feet of me stunned'atie For a se'cond, or so. alt killed a: man right aoross my chest. He.saved me though. Things quieted 'clover then and we were relieved by another,- battalion about midnight. We were 'sure we were relieved permanently, 'but after keeping us in nearby trenches all night and the next day, they sent us back to complete the attack upon .which•we first set out. You can imagine how Jimmie ' felt then•. IWe' walked straight into peel= tion all night, with the, time for ad- vance ,fixedfor just before: dawn.' It was light moonlight when we started, but thick clouds soon leaped up, and by the.time we assembled, it was bitterly cold with' a driving snotty, storm. -and I hadn't any • gloves. 'The enemy saw us as we assembled on top of the ridge, and' began to pep- per us in earnest as we moved over. I made savage menaces with my use- less pistol; and pointted toward our own Inci.; He beat it in as fast as lais lege could carry him.- , , All i•m.- Alt .t'hat d'ay, we hung oe to our new,position, All that night we stood to, expecting 'a counter-attack. The followinrgday we were due for relict.' Word eanse in, in fact, that we were' to he relieved, when suddenly excite meat was' in the air again. We were to advance, Newshad come of a 1Gerntan retirement to ,the east direct ly in front of us. So we "got over the top", for the third tiine, '• This time it Was pos'i'tively weird. There wasn't a IIeinie to be seen. We went forward fa etctended order through the towns of Givetiely and I.evion where the. Germans had been in force Only ,a few hours before' 0Fot„evert a sraiper^am'ang the ruins. We, went' for 1,000„ .yards, taolc up position an a ridge, ate some dry bread and bully beef (all the same .a'picnic). At dusk` We were relieved by an Imperial regi And that walk 'back to the billets.' I shall. never forget it. I was so ex- hausted, .I just'lwanited to lay dowry in the mud ,and do nothing. And what a joy to .get back to a hoe meal and billet$—''billets in huts in: the grounds of a:real. old French chateau. ” The re-' action was enornfous. Some of the officers got nice wounds, I was a'm'ong them. THE BUDGET. ;In' his budget speech on ;Wednes- day last, Hon. E N. Rhodes dealt' with the fall in customsreceipts' and other ,revenues from which Canada has, continued to •suffer dueled' the, past year in common with perhaps ev- ery other country' in the world. Cus- toms' receipts de'cli'ned to •theex'tenit of nearly one hundred and three million d'o'llars,'the' drop being due' partly to. increased tariff protection irepose,d by this government and in part to lower commodity prices. Revenue from in- come tax fell off about ten million dollars. The total. receipts from text - tion for the ,fiscal year ending March '31,' 1932, are estimated. ' at '$273,000,000, Whitt' compares with $296,000,000 last year and $378,000,000 the year before,? a drop' of about $105,000,000 in two years. A .summary of all.. revenues for the past fiscal year gives the 'Govern- ment an income of $33'4,000,000, as compared with $4446,000,000 two years] ago, the •shrinkage 'thus,, being $1012,- 000,000. . 'This was a tremendous falling off in available resources, and the .Govern- ment has had to cut its cloth accord- ingly. 'Outlay has for the inost part; been kept well within the estimates. rdinaryexpenditures for the fistall year just •ended totalled just under; $379,000,000, or '$19,000,000 :less than was estimated. 'Capital expenditures were almost cut in two, but special expenditures were necessitated by the. unemployment situation and by the distressful ,co•ndi't'ipns existing in Wes- tern Canada owing to thea success- ive crop'failures over 'angel areas, and to the excessively low price obtained for the wheat that -'was grown. The, bonus of five cents a bushel on wheat cost the Federal treasury $1'1,000,000. The 'Minister gave an interesting' analysis of The manner in which the money' devoted to unemployment was spent in association with the prov- inces and "municipalities. The ,contri- tbutionof the Federal treasury in the; ounter • e igre Selling"Quality Books :Books are. Well Made, Carbon is Clean and Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf'and Black. Back. Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere. ;Get our Quotation :on Your Next Order. eaforth SEAFORTH, ONTARIO.': ews 0 Great ships which go to sea make doubly sure by carrying 'two anchors. 'If one should not hold in an emergency,' there is 'another available to take its place. In their personal finances, many men rely chiefly on the one anchor of their regular earnings. But the wiser ones prepare for "It is est to trust to tt. .o tie. anchors" — Latin Proverb. an emergency by creating a• second anchor — a Savings Reserve. Come what may, you. will have security and peace of mind if you • have built up ,'a strong Savings Account. Start now ' deposit regularly a pro- portion of your income so that you may, week by week, develop a secondary safeguard. Seventeen Branches in Ontario PROVINCE OF a £WRY.DEPrOS?GURU �' HEAD OFFICE SEAFORTH BRANCH AVINGS OFFICE TAR/OIiOVFRNMENT PAR NGS - J. M. McMI+LLAN, MANAGER • financing ,of "public works for relief purposes during the fiscal year just concluded totalled $26,986,000,, This figure constitutes an absolute' justific- ation o'f'the blank •cheque ;policy upon which' 'Mr. .Bennett : has steadily in- sisted. The Oppositionwished to earmark from $100,000,000 to $200,- 000,000 for relief purposes, but it will be remembered that the Prime Minis- ter steadily • refused to take any 'such sum front Parliament ,on the ground that if ;he took it he would have to spend ' it, and that his job was to con- sider the taxpayer as well as the un- employed. I't was to enforce this policy to protect the taxpayers that closure was used. by „Mr. Bennett w thin the :past couple of weeks. In addition to 'unemployment and farm relief the -.Fede'ral Government hashad to assist. several of the pro- vincial governments, particularly in regard to the meeting of o'bliga'tions 'falling ,dee ori the New York market where they were unable to:float new issues. In order to protect the nat- ional credit the Dominion has granted, the provinces referred to temporary financial ,relief to the tune of ,nearly $112,000;000. IAitogether under the 'Relief Act of 1930 and 1931 the Gov- ernmtetit has ,expended• or loaned near- ly $61,000,000, Coming to total figures we find that the estimated total ex- penditures for the past fiscal year were $454;000,000 as compared with $395,000,000 twoyearsago, an increase of $516,000,000, this increase being wholly accounted for by elle unem- ployment situation and .the crop dis- aster inn' Western. Canada. The Minister of Finance evinced a g Loan Y n r natural pride 5n the overwhelnain success of the 1'93'1 Conversion Loa' and of the subsequentNational Ser vice iCoaleThese two flotations star prised _even Canadians and great' Strengthened Canada's reputatio abroad. Nothing could be better fo the country's, credit, than the eager- ness with which our own people have backed the : National Administration with their savings. It is worthy of emphasis that of-les!s than 109,000 subscriptions received dor ,the iNa'tioe- al Service Loan nearly 56,000 were for $1,000 or' less, and nearly 49,000 for amounts beteveen$1,000 and' '$5,000. 'This reaves fewer than 5,''000 subscrip- tions for larger` sums, 'It is to be remarked, that though controllalble expenditure. amounts to only 318% of the total estimated ex- penditure, iel`r: Rhodes has succeeded in. cutting his aggregate outgo by 20%, or $38,000,000 in round figures. 'Arfter this ,drastic elimination' of un- necessa'ry. outlays there is still a gap of $5'5,000,000 .between estimated' ex peuditures and estimated ` receipts on the old, basis of taxati'om • The in- creased taxation.. an•n'dunced •in the ,bud'ge't is to bridge this 'hiatus and give a 'surplus af:'$4,300;000 for the 'fiscal year upon which t we • are now entered,. This forecast takes auto ac - comet et all' current 'services Of the 'G ,v e'rnfacnt; • including those ,capital ex- penditures'• which have liids :erto been paid out of current income, But/it does net include public works charge- able to capital account which will run messages and 'long-distance telephone into.prabably $9,600,000, nor does the calls coating more than 1''5 cents are 'estimated surplus allow for expertdi- taxed 'five cents each, payable by the tures on unemployment relief or the Canadian National Railways . Two reasons for this have been adduced by the Minister; one is that the coun- try could not in its present condition stand for the taxation necessary to take care Of these items, and . another is that no one can tell at present what the cost of unemployment relief dur- ing 1932-33 will amount to. Lastly, The ,financing Of the Canadian 'Nations al Railways- will remain in an =ascer- tained .position until after 'the Royal Commission ont: Transportation has presented its report. The increases in taxation annonnc- ed- by the. Minister of Finance were less than were expected. There' is, a reduction in. the exemptions on_•per- s'onal incomes, and thetwenty per cent. reduction 'heretofore allowed is eliminated. These changes .are so far retroactive as to apply on 1931 in- come. Pise new rates increase" the levy an large incomes more than upon small incomes. The rates of taxation oar corporations and joint stock COM. palsies is raised, .In order to expedite the collection of revenue the payment of these taxes is accelerated: This de- vice is'. copied 'from Great :Britain. The increase of two per cent. in the sales tax is no more .than was expected, and is preferable to the turnover tax pro- posed by some. The 'sales tax ail] now be six per cent„ and some articles formerly exempt will now be levied upon. There will be a tax of one 'per cent. on the net premiums of insur- ance companies other than life, mar- ine and farm insurance companies. ,No one likes nuisance taxes, but the .Government has to snake ends meet, sothat the increase in stamp taxes will have eo be accepted with the best possible grace by all concerned, Practically no changes are made in the custom's tariff. This is due to the imminence of the II'nrperial Economic Conferece, whmi ich is to, meet next IJulyat nOttawa•" Taxation 'measures may be 'sum- marized as follows: ' .(1) The 'sales tax is increased from four to six per cent., effective Thurs- day, ,April 7th, '(12) 'The special import excise tax is raised (from one to three per cent., ef- fective immediately. '('3) Income -tax exemptions for married persons are reduced from $3,000 to $2,400 and for single . per- sons from 41,500 to $1,200. The 20 per cent. ,rebate on income 'taxes is abolished and a five per ' cent.' sur -tax is imposed on. all taxpayers ,paying on more ,than $5,000 income. These changes; apply on .19131 incomes. ('4); The cor'parationi in,cotiie tax is. increased from ten to eleven per ceutt:, and ,the exemption granted :family corp'oration's is abolished. (5) The e'hegtte tax is raised from two to threecents on instruments of from $5 to $100 value „and.:to six cents above $100, (6) Aten per r cent 'tax, with a min- imum charge of 25 cents, is imposed on sleeping car tickets, and a ten- cen.t, levy is 'put on all chair car tick - (7) All telegrams, cables, "radio sender or caller. This tax, the Cheque• tax and 'the ,ptallman tax do not be- came effective until May 2. ,(18) IAII insurance companies other• -than life, marine and farm mutual. musk pay a one per cent. tax on their total net premium. '(9) All persons insuring property' with any British or foreign company not maintaining a deposit in Canada shall pay a tax of 15 per cent. of the premium, effective on 1931 premiums. Services We Can Render In the time of need PROTECTION• is your best !friend, Life Insurance • -To ,protect your LOVED ONES,. Auto Insurance— To protect you against LIABILITY to PUBLIC and their PROPERTY. Fire Insurance 7.b protect your HOME and its CONTENTS. Sickness and Accident, Insurance— To protect your INCOME:. Any of the above lines we can .give. you in strong and reliable companies.. If interested, call or write, E. C.:CHAr1BERLAIN INSURANCE AGENCY Phone 334 Seaforth, Ont. Blood Tested Chicks. Hatcheryand flocks are both ire- spected under the -Dominion Depart-• Meet of Agriculture's Hatchery Ap- - proval policy. The testing of the. blood samples • was done by,Capitail Laboratories, Ottawa, The bred -to - ley qualities of our birds are kept up- to-date by the purchase of male birds. from high record R.'OJP. liens owned: by some of the most successful breed.. eats in the country, We expect to hatch about 1500+ Barre,d Rocks, 250 White;Rocks and: 500 Leghorns per week. Please order a'botat one month before you want the chicks if you can. Don't think ton lunch about price; we will use you right, Come and see us, or phone 97 r 4, Heusall. We will he glad to talk thingsover with you. Feed, stoves,„ and other supplies kept oti'hand. J. ELGIN McKINR.EY, ZURICH' BABY CH.IiCKIS AND CUS'TOM_` HATCHING ,We are offering six popular. breeds in Blood -tested Qtia'I- ' ity Baby Chicks, Barred and White Rocks, Black Minorcas Jersey Black Giant, White Wyaiado'ttes and White Leg, horns. Wehave installed a neve.' 30,000 egg capacity incubator for cui'tons hatching- only, Trays hold eleven dozen egg -s.' each. Plant in charge of an experienced operator. Phone• or write your reservation early. THE H'OGARTH BABY 'CHICK' HATCHERY Exeter, Ont., Phone 184W