The Huron Expositor, 1949-07-15, Page 2eafQrth, Q tario, ev-
ernoon by Mclean
ember of Canadian
eekly Newspapers
Association.
on rates, $2.00 a year in
pre) gru $2,50 a year. Single
Bents each.
'NrertiSing rates on application.
A1itkir)se4 as Second Class Mail
kit OM'ice Department, Ottawa
AFORTH, Friday, July 15, 1949
.mething New in Chickens
farmer at Des Moines, Idaho,
One Peter Baumann, has developed
a flockof wingless ch' kens. He
batches 95 out of every 100 birds
without wings.
The advantage of the wingless
variety, he ' says, is that the birds
have larger breasts and thicker legs.
Now if he can only develop a bird
with no neck and a couple of extra
drumsticks, even the most particular
fainly should be satisfied.
•
Building Bp -Law Trouble
. Seaforth apparently is not the on-
ly town where difficulty is being ex-
perienced in administering a build-
ing by-law. The Exeter Times -Ad-
vocate, in reporting a meeting of the
Exeter municipal council, said:
"Councillors thrashed over an old
problem of getting some teeth into
the building permit by-law Monday
night. Some violators in the village
have either failed to apply for per-
mits, or failed to build according to
permit specifications, and the coun-
cil feels that the by-law should be
,strictly enforced. How it can be done
is another question, however, and no
solution has been arrived at yet."
Seaforth has been faced with the
same problem. for some years. Ap-
plications for permits, when such
are made, invariably give little or no
information upon which council can
arrive at an informed decision. And
once granted there is no machinery
set up to ensure that the construc-
tion as applied for has been carried
mut in the manner approved by the
permit.
The purpose of a building by-law
is to ensure that the rights and priv-
ileges of all the citizens are protect-
ed: • To do this, however, it is neces-
sary that the by-law governing the
issuing of building permits be suf-
ficiently broad and establish the nec-
essary administrative procedure to
permit its terms being carried out in
a practical fashion. '
•
Forestry Program
The extent to which proper forest
conditions in an area contributes to
the economic position of that area is
well known, but it remained for John
Gilmour, well-known forestry en-
gineer, to point out the low ebb at
which forestry obtains in Old On-
tario.
While stressing the seriousness of
the situation, Mr. Gilmour believes
natural forest conditions are favor-
able to recovery in Ontario;
"°It is not a matter of fighting
against nature to produce some sort
Of forest cover, regardless of its
commercial value. Old Ontario was
one of the great forest regions of
Canada, and money spent on forestry
will pay excellent dividends," he said.
"Forestry is a long-term proposi-
tion. Especially is this true where
we must start either with bare
ground or very badly damaged wood -
10t8. However, with good forest
practise some returns can be looked
for even inone or two decades, and
these will increase in later years.
'The private owner who has the Cour-
age and the patience will get a good
Ireturp even if he pays all the costs
iin'self from the start," Mr. Gilmour
adds.
This year, in an effort to further
ttterease its work of reforestation,
e Ontario Department of Forestry
ki§ that all applications for seed -
for 1950 planting be completed
Aust :15th. Any information
pied may be obtained from the
ti l (!`rore'ater.
Ice i'storp in the Russian Mannei
'According to a recent despatch
from Moscow, a new historical text
book, used in secondary schools to
tell the story of the Second World
War, teaches the Russian student
that it was 'the policy of Churchill to
drag out the war at all costs and
thereby weaken the Soviet Union and
inflict as much damage as possible
on the 'Red •• Army.
The text runs like this: "Reac-
tionary elements asserted that unity
among the great powers was a tem-
porary phenomenon and that only
the war imposed it on them. In-
trigues and machinations of reac-
tionaries headed by Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and his adherents
in Britain and the United States
were aimed at weakening the Soviet
Union in every way in its struggle
,.against Hitler Germany and at drag-
ging out at all costs military opera-
tions in progress on the Soviet -Ger-
man front."
Perhaps that was the reason the
Western Allies carried* out the haz-
ardous Murmansk runs by the Navy
and Merchant Marine at such a cost
in men and ships. Or, possibly it
was to prolong the war that fantas-
tic amounts of military equipment
were poured into Russia under lend-
lease.
The textbook goes on: "The Sov- -
iet Army's victories were the deci-
sive factor in ensuring the Allies'
military success in North Africa and
Italy, and the fact that the Germans?
main strategical reserves had been
withdrawn from the West and that
the finest German divisions had been
annihilated on the Soviet -German
front enabled the Allies successfully
to develop large-scale offensive oper-
ations in Europe."
Which all adds up to the fact that
history is not always what you read.
H
RE'k`":;
A XI or
•
Still a Going Concern
In an effort to determine the ex-
tent to which mechanization might
eliminate or have permanently dig'
astus effects on farm family life,
the Financial Post recently forward-
ed a questionaire to representative
groups and individual's. The Post
asked: "Do you fear the results, so-
cial or otherwise, of the reputed de-
cline of the family -operated farm?"
While most answers showed there
had been some decline, and that so-
cial and economic conditions have
been affected, there was disagree-
ment about what those effects have
been. However, most agreed that
function of the farm family in our
national life is at leastt as important
.. in its social aspects as it is economic-
ally.
Farm life, where it seems to be de-
teriorating, cannot be maintained
simply by sentimental appeals ; it
must compete—and successfully -
with other forms of social life. While
almost all agreed a careful 'study
should be made to see exactly what
is happening to the institution of the
family -farm in Canada, few thought
it likely to disappear.
•
WHAT OTHERPAPERS SAY:
ENGINES FOR INDIA
(Montreal Daily Star)
The ceremonies surrounding the
big shipment of Canadian -built loco-
motives to India were a suitable send-
off. There will be great local pride
that the contract given to the Mont-
real Locomotive Works is working
out so well. It is sparking an enhanc-
ed trade with that great country, a
trade which is closely balanced at the
present time and thus devoid of the
monetary complications that afflict
so much of the world.
India's great need is for capital
equipment for the vast development
plans now before it. It is a happy
thing that indu'etrialists of the stamp
of Sir Frederick' Carson and others
have the skills and resources to pro-
vide some at least of India's needs.
Hay has a WOnit'erfni, R;n4l about
it. Poets and writers furCenturies
hr,ve been going into'. raptures
about the incense of new brown
hay. They get a little tow raptur-
ous about it at 'times, but I can
well understand the feelings of a
city dweller driving in' the coun-
try about the time the farmers are
haying, getting a thrill out- of the
smell.
We had hay this year in the
field next to the house., This is
the patch that has beeen used for
garden truck and 'potatoek for so
long that I decided to give it a
rest and put clover in it. There
was a good stand. of bay in spite
of the dry weather. In fact it put
the rest of the hay on the farm to
shame.
In some ways I am mighty glad
we had put hay in that patch. Sit-
ting
itting on the veranda :having a
smoke before going to bed, with
the dew sifting around on • every-
thing, the aroma of that hay was
ons of the pleasant things about
the' night. When I went- to bed
the aroma came into the bedroom
as well, and although it was a hot
night andsleep wasslow in com-
ing, I am -positive that the smell
of the hay helped to bring it on.
These are warm and wonderful
clays, however, A rainstorm last
week came along to help salvage
some of the harvest, but .lh spite
of our bad luck this year, a per
son can't help but like this season.
I noticed Mrs. Higgins out replant-
ing her cucumbers. I think every-
body at the Higgins place hada
been worrying about the cucumber
shortage more than they have
about the .possibility of a had har-
vest. The 'Higgins family are what
my grandmother called "pickle -
eaters."
Now, my .grandmother was al-
ways
lways fond of the Higgins family,
so you can't take it that her re-
mark was made in a disparaging
way. She based it ou the fact that
they ate so many pickles. Ed.
once boasted, that he always eats
pickles for breakfast. I know as a
matter of fact that in the winter-
time
intertime when we drop over for a
game of cards and Mrs. Higgins
makes a latish, there's always a
big dish of pickles which Ed..Bn-
ishes with the remark, "Have to
eat these up! They might spoilt"
I noticed the berrypickers
streaming across the fiats by, the
river to the slash where it is re-
ported that a new stand of black-
berries have come along. The wo-
men dragoon the children into go-
ing along with them, and you can
hear them yelling clear up the con-
cession. ,
Several of the hired men of the
district the other day had to spend
about three hours in the big hole
in the river. It seems that they
neglected to wear bathing suits,
and when- the berrypickers came
along, a certain sense of modesty
prevented them from making a
dash for their clothes.
Yes, summer is getting along in-
to harvest time.
Just A Smile Or Two
"Do you have fits of giddiness?"
the doctor asked a patient.
"No, .I don't," she snapped. "I'm
a respectable married woman."
•
"Eh, but I'•m tired," exclaimed a
tall and thin man, meeting a
friend in the street.
"What have you been doing to
get so tired?"
"Well," exclaimed the thin man,
drawing a deep breath, "my wife
wants new carpets. She couldn't
find a tape measure to measure
the rooms, and I am exactly six
feet high, so, to oblige her, I've
been lying down and• getting up all
over the house."
•
"Father (to small son) : "If I
have seven pounds today, and I
lost two pounds, how much would
I have left tomorrow?"
Son: "Nothing, father."
Father: "Why nothing?"
Son.: "Well, mother usually
goes through your pockets after
you've gone to bed."
Huron Federation of
Agriculture Farm News
Save the Forests
This is the time of year to watch
that camp or picnic fire when out
in the bush country. Fires take a
heavy toil of Canada's forest re-
sources every year, arid it is a .de-
plorable fact that most of them
c eld be prevented with proper
care
In 1946, only 16 per cent of the
5,900 forest fires, which laid waste
many thousand acres of forest land.
were caused by lightning—the only
unpreventable cause. Forty per
cent were caused by carelessness
with camp fires—an increase of six
per cent over the 10 -year average
—and an additional 22 per cent
were attributed to smokers, both
campers and others. Settlers ac-
counted for 10 per cent and rail-
ways for 12 per cent.
Tractor Accident Rank High
Tractors account for 28 per cent
of farm machinery accidents in the
United States according to official
figures; and most often it is while
cranking the tractor that farmers
get sprained or 'broken wrists or
aem s. Next most frequently report -
41 are accidents that happen while
attaching other implements to
tractors, being struck or run over
by tractors that tip over or rear,
and jumping or falling off tractors.
Combines and threshing ma-
chines account for about a third as
many accidents as tractors, and
corn pickers and corn shelters ac-
count for six per cent of machine
accidents. Home machinery used
chiefly by women accounts for on-
ly three per cent of all machinery
accidents.
Though these figures apply to
farms in the United States, there
is no reason to assume that ma-
cku ery accidents are less frequent
in Canada. More careful handling
of farm and home machinery will
prevent many aches and pains, or
accidents of a more serious na-
ture.
How Weeds Winter Over
It is well that a farmer should
know the different kinds of' weeds
in order to be able to combat
them. When growth is checked in
the fall of the year, the interesting
question arises as to what becomes
of the various weeds at that time.
Vlrhat provision is made for the
survival and renewal the following
year? This should be known so
that suitable opportunity may be
taken to attack and exterminate
them, says George A. Elliott, Seed
Laboratory Services, Dominion De-
partment of Agriculture, Ottawa.
Weeds are commonly classified
as annuals., biennials and peren-
nials. Annual weeds are those
that germinate in spring or early
summer, grow and reproduce be-
fore winter, dying naturally or
when caught by autumn frosts,
and leaving its progeny tucked,
away within seed coats capaable of
withstanding winter's adversities.
For the annual, therefore, it is the
seed that holds the strategic posi-
tion, and its Importance is well
attested by the abundance of its
seeds as compared with other
weeds. For most annuals, any
practice which will ha.sten apritig
gerbaination is all to the goad,
Most annuals are thus started be-
fore any crop is in the way of
their destruction. Winter annuals
are able to survive the winter as
seedlings. They are soon too stur-
dy to be easily uprooted and some
are in bloom by the time other veg-
etation is starting. Winter annuals
include such weeds as shepherd's
purse, stinkweed, tumbling mus-
tard, false flax and chess.
Perennial weeds, while also pro-
ducing by seed, maintain them-
selves from year to year by their
strong root systems, which may
be creeping like those of Canada
and perennial sow thistles or short
aand fleshy as with docks and dan-
delion.
For weeds generally it cannot be
over -emphasized that a regular,
short rotation of crops is the best
insurance against weeds., In addi-
tion, enough should be known of
the life history of each weed to be
a guide in the best method of
control.
Farm Review Now and Year Ago
In the June issue of "Current
Review" of the Agricultural Con-
ditions in Canada, a publication of
the Economics Division, Dominion
Department of Agriculture, the
agricultural situation is reviewed
for the early months of the year.
Indications on April 30 were that
weeetern farmers planned to in-
crease wheat by about three mil-
lion acres over that of 1948, and
to reduce the area seeded to
coarse grain's and flaxseed. In On-
tario, farmers intended to reduce
their 1949 wheat acreage and to
increase the area seeded to coarse
grains. Rains followed.. by warm
weather during the latter part of
May and early June made for good•
growth in the Prairie Provinces.
However, moisture reserves were
relatively low this spring so that
continued satisfactory growth will
depend on timely rains. Parts of
Saskatchewan, Alberta and On-
tario urgently requiredrain by the
middle of June.
Cattle marketings increased
while marketings of other kinds of
livestock declined sharply during
the first five months of 1949 as
compared with the same period in
1948. Toronto prices for steers and
for calves in May and .Tune were
three to four dollars above those
of a year ago. Hogs were selling
about one dollar a hundred pounds
more in May, 1949, than a year
ago. Lambs averaged seven dol-
lars a hundred pounds more at
Toronto in May, 1949, than in
May, 1948.
Total milk production during the
first part of 1949 was greater than
for the comparable period of last
year. The production of cheddar
cheese and concentrated milk pro-
ducts during the first quarter of
1949 increased considerably over
the first 'quarter of 1948. Fluid milk
and Bream sales, as well as butter
production, were slightly higher
this year, although it is not likely
theta= increased percentage of the
total milit •production• was diverted
to these uses.
Egg production. during January
to April, 1949, was 11 per eent 'be-
low that of 1948 with .prices, aver-
aging
veraging slightly 'higher. Dressed
poultry wan, moving into domestic
•
,Continued 011 Page 't)
Here's a warning to the wise!
When it's dull, or night,
Don't unduly strain your eyes,
Use sufficient light!
&&&&&&& ENT of NaT,ONAL AWE V
Years Agone
Interesting Items Picked From
The Huron Expositor of Twen-
ty -live and Fifty Years Ago.
From The Huron Expositor
July 18, 1924
Mr. Gordon Hays has been trans-
ferred to the Windsor branch of
the Dominion Bank. He left Sat-
urday to take up his new duties.
His place not only in all sports but
in the social life of the town will
be hard to fill.
Miss Isabel Lowery is spending
a few days with, her" aunt, Mrs. J.
Vroman in Goderich.
Mr. Chas. Dungey is erecting a
cement verandah in front of the
Commercial Hotel, which will add
most materially to the appearance
of the building.
Dr. Charlie Campbell, of Brook-
lyn, N.Y., writes that he is bring-
ing the celebrated New York Pipe
Band to the Old Boys' Reunion
here at his own expense. He says
that he would like his band to take
part in the sacred, band concert,
but his band only plays one hymn,
"The Campbells Are Corpin'." The
Broderick Decorating Co. has had
a busy week stringing lines of
lights across the street and up the
flag pole, where Jack Adams hop-
ped around as if he were on the
ground.
Among the first old-timers to ar-
rive for the Old Boys' Reunion are
Miss Fergus Campbell, from Nash-
ville, Tenn.; Mr. and Mrs. Alex
Broadfoot, of Moose Jaw; Senator
John McFadzean, Del Norte, Colo-
rado, and Lorne Porter, Kansas
City.
No. 3 School in Tuckersmith es-
tablished a record for itself at the
Entrance examinations, when nine
pupils were successful out of the
ten who wrote. Both teacher, Miss
MeNain, of Lucknow, and the .puip-
ils are to be congratulated on
their splendid showing.
On Thursday evening last a ser-
ious motor accident occurred' at
the end of the pavement on Gore -
rich St. • West about 10 o'clock,
when a coupe,driven by Mr. Keys,
of Stratford, struck a buggy going
west, driven by Luther Saunders,
'McKillop. One of the occupants,
Robert Hogg, son of Mr. Jos. Hogg
had his arm badly fractured when
thrown out of the buggy. The boy
was taken to Dr, H. H. Ross' office
and later to the hospital, but was
able to return to his home the
following day.
•
From The Huron Expositor
July 14, 1899
On the evening of Wednesday,
nearly 250 invited guests assemb-
led at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
John Mills, Mount Pleasant Farm,
Hullett, to witness the wedding of
Amelia Mills and Rev. C. C. Koine.
The wedding march was played by
Miss Moore, Seaforth, while the
page boy was Cecil Oke, nephew
o° the bride. The bride was at-
tended by her sister, Miss Kezia
Mills, and the groom was attended
by his brother, John Koine.
The children of S't. James'
Sunday School held their annual
picnic in Case's Grove on Thurs-
day afternoon of last week.
Mr. Keith McLean •sailed from
Montreal on Wednesday of last
week for Liverpool, and, will go to
London to visit his 'brother, Allan,
who is located there.
Mr.Chas. Glew, of the Huron
Road West, had seven 'lambs and
four ewes, out of a flock of 17,
killed by lightning on Friday.
Wheat cutting has commenced
in Tuckersmith with James Dallas
leading the way.
Mr. Nelson Contine, of at. Jos-
eph, is 'expected to return in a few
days. It is rumoured that he has
induced several wealthy gentle-
men to invest in St. Joseph and he
will bring back $100,000.
The 100 -acre farm of the late
Wm. Dougall, 2nd concession of
Hay, was sold Saturday last, the
•p::rchaaer being Wm. Dougall, Jr.,
and the price paid was $6,000,
Last week Mr. Robt. Armstrong,
of Hullett, had a hay bee, and the
following evening had a party for
the young folks. Excellent music
was furnished by Messrs. Best, Al-
lan and Staples.
A large number of hands on Sat-
urday .turned out in good style to
do good service to their old friend',
Mr. Thomas Dinsdale, of Kippen,
in the way of assisting in the rais-
ing of his large barn.
The laying of the cornerstone of
the new Methodist Church, Kip -
pen, was lmld on July 2. Rev. J.
E. Ford, of Parkhill, preached two
eloquent sermons in the morning
and evening. On Monday a supper
was held at the home of Mr, Geo.
Taylor. Miss L. Wightman Was the
organist and was responsible for
the musical part of the evening.
The choir was ably assisted by Mr.
E. Ronnie, Hensel), and Mr. and
Mrs. J. Balfour, Tappan. The pro-
ceeds amottnted to $184.60,
AA lherel.Spotttng Pianea at GpdTe"h
with several of the moat acieer
tiRcally equipped 'aircraft for min-
sral detection in the world, planes
of the Lunlberg Exploration Com -
,pang of o'Sf ky OklaHhoare?niperal-fioperatingnd
out arborma. `lu-
ing operation's' throughout Western
and Northern Ontario. The planes
are said to have met with consid-
erable success in spotting miner=
al deposits in southern United
States. Their operations' over On-
tario are aimed, chiefly at 'making
more perfect their specialized Bei -
entitle equipment.—Goderica- Sig-
nal -Star.
Minister .Inducted At Bayfield
The induction of Rev. Peter
Rennor as minister of St. Andrew's
United 'Church, Bayfield, and Grace
United' Church, Porter's Hill, took
place Thursday evening last. Rev.
C. P. Tavener, Holmesville, was in
charge of t'he service and sddress-
ed the congregation, and Rev.
Reba Hern, Varna, gave the charge
to the minister. Mr. Rennor comes
frcm the charge of Rydalbank in
Algoma and he and his daughter,
Dolores, motored from there to
Bayfield, Mrs. Rennor; with an in-
valid aunt, came by boat to Sarnia
the following day. Rev. and Mrs.
Rennor and family are welcomed
to the church and community. His
predecessor, Rev. F. G. Stoteshury,
was inducted the same evening in
South Caradoc United Church, as
minister of Cook's, Sutherland's
arf~d South Caradoc charge, Middle-
sex Presbytery. — Clinton News -
Record.
Lightning Strikes Barn
Two fire departments, a volun-
teer bucket brigade and heavy
vain combined Wednesday night to
save a barn on"tlre farm of Gordon
Walsh, one mile south of Belgrave
as a severe electrical storm lash-
ed the district. The blaze was at-
tributed to lightning. Firemen
from Wingham and Blyth respond-
ed immediately to the call for
help. The Wingham groupfought
the fire from the interior of the
large structure, while the Blyth
brigade and volunteers centred
their efforts on the outside. The
bucket brigade carried water
through the rain and passed it to
volunteers astride the roof. Dam-
age to the barn was confined main-
ly to the roof.--Wingham Advance -
Times.
Turnberry Appoints Clerk
Mr. George Thomson, of .Blue -
vale, was appointed township clerk
by the Turnberry Council at their
meeting held on Monday"—Wing-
ham Advance -Times,
To Put Roof On Grandstand
Roof on the new added grand-
stand and rest rooms will be in-
stalled
nst'alled before the annual race
meet here July 20. When the new
grandstand is painted, a uniform
seating platform nearly 240 feet
long will accommodate fan's at
the races.—Exeter Times -Advocate.
Falls From Load of Hay
Mr. James Willis, of Usborne,
had the misfortune to fall from a
load of hay Tuesday and is suffer-
ing from undetermined injuries to
his neck. He is being treated by
Dr. Fletcher and. an X-ray has been
taken.—Exeter Times -Advocate,
Doctor Goes To Mitchell.
Dr. A. N. Atkinson has sold his
practice and residence to Dr. H. years to take up the study of law.
B. Such, of Toronto, and will move i —Mitchell Advocate.
to Mitchell, where he is building g:
new', *Mae, He was in •praettce'
here" ata 'chiropractor for twenty-
live years' and et the same tune'
also conducted a practice at Mit—
chell, although" orwing to the: press
sure of business Q had deacon-
tinued his practice there for the
last three years. Miss Mary .Me-
Kaig, of Wailaceburg, the"'mese "in
-attendance, will remain with Dr.
Such.—"Goderleh Signal -Star.
Honored .Prior To Leaving
Mr. and •Mrs, Irvine Wallace, Mr.-'
and Mrs. James I.awri'e, ` Mr. and
Mrs, Howard Wallace, Mrs. Walter
Buttell and Miss Alice Rogerson•
held a fareWell picnic' 'party 'on
Friday in honor of Mr. and Mrs.
Glenn Kechnie. Irvine expressed
sincere regret at their departure,
mentioning they would always re-
member many happy times spent
together, and wishing Glenn every.
success in his new work. On be-
half of the Blyth male quartette -
and their accompanist, Jim pre-
sented Barbara and Glenn with x
pair of crystal candelabra—Blyth
Standard.
Newlyweds Honored
A large crowd, gathered 'at the'
Bluevale Community Hall on Fri-
day night to honor Edwin Elston
and his bride, the former Miss
Margaret Cardiff, of Brussels. An
address was read by Maitland Ed-
gar and Leonard James presented
a purse of money to the newly-
weds to which they made a suit-
able
uitable reply. Lunch was served by
the women and dancing was en-
joyed to music supplied by Mr. and
Mrs. George Evans.—Blyth Stand-
ard.
tandard.
Airport Opened Seven Years Ago
Seven years. ago Monday, No. 9
S.F.T.S., was born, when airmen
and W.D.'a moved from Summer -
side, P.E.I., to establish what ie
now the busiest airport in the
Dominion of Canada. Exeter
Times -Advocate.
Killed' in Motor Accident
Mr. and Mrs. Norman Stacey and
Marion, Mrs. J G. Rogers, Toron-
to; Mr. Howard Stacey and Mr..
and Mrs. E. J. Hingst were in;
North Branch, Mich., for the fun-
eral of Jack Stacey, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Roy Stacey, who met
death in a motor accident there
when the car in which he was a
passenger failed to negotiate a
turn. He was the grandson of the
late Thomas Stacey, who managed
Fullerton Creamery some years
ago.—Mitchell Advocate.
Garduates in Law
Edwin Myers, son of Mr. ands
Mrs. J. A. Myers, was called to
the bar of the 'Supreme Court of
Ontario on Wednesday last week,
after attending Osgoode Hall for
the past three years. The gradua-
tion ceremony took place at Con-
vocation Hall, in connection with
Osgoode, 'and. a garden party was
held on the grounds. Mr. and Mrs.
J. A. Myers and Mr. and Mrs. Mac
Norris were in attendance. Ed has
accepted a .position as public trus-
tee in Osgood° Hall. His wife is
the former Faye Norris, of Mit-
chell. He received his .public and
high school education here and
graduated from the University of
Toronto with his B.A. During the
war he served with the Canadian
Navy. Ed is the first graduate
from Mitchell High .School in many
Should We Have
Compulsory Voting?
(By R. J. Deac'hman)
The people of the Dominion of
Canada, if I may judge from re-
plies to my query, do not want
compulsory voting. Frankly they
object to compulsion in any form.
Even those who give it a passing
nod did so with regret; they felt
there was no other way of getting
the voters to the polls. Here are
a few opinions:
From a Senator: "I am a believ-
er in compulsory votirig, not be-
cause I like the idea per se but in
view of the now almost universal
demand for votes for every citi-
zen, I feel that the other side of
the question should be taken un-
der review, the right to vote should
carry some compulsion with it."
From a Toronto Manufacturer:
"I don't like the idea of compul-
sory voting any better than com-
pulsion applied to other things. No
government would dare pass a law
making voting compulsory; it
might bring a protest vote that
would kick it out of power."
From Two Business Men: "Much
as I .11islike the word compulsion,
especially in giving power to the
state over our personal actions, I
would be in favor of compulsory
voting. The penalty should not be
a fine, but simply the loss of his
vote. There is nothing wrong in
depriving a voter of a right when
:he refuses to exercise it.
"The advantages that you point
out are good but overweighing ,ev-
erything else is the encroachment
on freedom. The less compulsory
things we have, the better. Our
democracy is a very precious
thing and while we realize a larg-
er vote ,wbuld be a good, thing for
democracy, yet 4t smacks too much
of the ideals bf dictators to have
it made compulsory.''
An .Ontario Farmer—Tie's Dyna-
mic: "No, I don't believe in com-
pulsory voting, There is no law
which compels a human being to
go to heaven, He can go to pt1rga-
tory if, be wants to. It is 'that
which brakes heaven what it b—
and hell.
"Detrroeracy is a thing 01 the
spirit as Well as of the mind and
1
body. The living character of dem-
ocracy is as the living character in
man.
"Subject it to compulsion and
the vital and eternal part of it
dies."
From a Subtle Humorist — he.
lives in Toronto: "It seems tomer
that as a member of Party A, that
it is shameful for other members:
of that party to abstain from vot-
ing, but I can contemplate with a
considerable degree of equanimity
the abstention of members of Par-
ties B, C and D.
"More seriously I think the ques-
tionof whether to vote or not to
vote is a matter of morality, and
matters of 'morality, as such are.
things which the law should leave
alone, since personswith differ-
ent consciences can come to quite
different .conclusions about them—
but if the question of voting is a
matter of morality it follows that
it is up to the politicians and the
party organizers to persuade the•
voters to get out and support them„
'just as it isthe duty of 'preachers
to persuade their.congregations to
lead the good life rather than to
lobby for legislation that will make
compulsory the observance of al'}
the laws to .be found .111 Exodus
and. Deuteronomy,"
From a Canadian Journalist:,
"The cure for apathy in elections,
is not a law to make every one
vote, but a constant effort through
the schools, the home, the press
and other media to cultivate an in-
terest in government. It would be
deplorable if a few votersi with no
interest at all in affairs, but com-
pelled to cast a .ballot, should
blindly settle important tames, as
in all likelihood they do on occa-
stens when close issues are fought
out in countries with compulsory
voting.
From a Retired Business Man:;
"Unless Canadians get out and
vote the very freedom we enjoy,
will be lost to srs for generations'.
If the people did get out and vote
they would have a different feel-
ing towards .polities and valid -
(Continued on Page 3)