The Seaforth News, 1933-02-02, Page 7THURSDAY, 1REBRUAiRY2, 1933.
THE SEAFORTH NEWS.
Ds N, McInnes
ehiropraetor
Of Wingham, wilt be at the
Commercial Hotel, Seaforth
Monday, Wednesday and
Friday Afternoons
Diseases of all kinds auccesa"
fully treated.
Electricity used.
'Founded in 1100
A Canadian 'R'eview Of ''Reviews
'This 'weekly magazine offers a re-
emendable selection of articles and car-
toons gathered • front 'the latest issues
of 'the leading {British and American
journals and reviews. It reflects the
current thought of 'both 'hemi'spheres
.on all world pt+dbletns,
Beall& this it has 'a .department of
finance , investment and 'insurance,
and features covering :literature and
the arts, the progress of science, edu-
:cation,, the house beautiful, andwo-
,men's interests,, -
Its every page is a window
to some fresh ,vision
Lbs every column is
a live -wire contact with
1i'fell
WORLD WIDE is a FORUM
des editors are Ohairmen, not corn-
Intents.
onIntents. Iits articles are selected for
their outstanding 'm'erit, illumination
:and entertainment.
To sit down in your own 'home for
as quiet 'tete a tete. with some df the.
World's 'best informedand clearest
thinkers ,on 'su'bjects of vital interest
Tis the genet ,adivanta'ge, week by week,
,of those who give welcome to this
+entertaining nnagazine,
"A magazine of which Canadians
may ,well be proud;"
"Literally, 'a feast of reason and,
a flaw of soul.'."
"Almost every article is worth fil-
ing or sharing with a friend." Every one of the pages or World
Wide is 100% interesting to Canadians
Issued Weekly
15 els copy; 53.50 yearly
On Trial to NEW subscribers
8 weeks only 35 cis net
One Year " $2.00 "
AFTER 20 YEARS.
After twenty years 'I nave seen
'England again, and 2 ;ant not disap-
pointed, All .the lovely things I °re-
membered' and hoped ''to see once
more are still 'there and have remain-
ed the same. ht is as (though 4 had
,returned to gaze upon an exquisite
'tapestrythat has ,hung 'formany cen-
turies in the same honored place.
Here and there •a thread has been
+broken or worn away, perhaps, but
it 'has been is-ep'aired so 'thoroughly
that 'the design is undisturbed. (The
'b'ackgroun'd was ,put: in lwi'th .such
solid, (painstaking efiioift that it has
stood ,the test of years; and, if tears
have sometimes (dropped ; .on those
closely 'worked stitches, the 'gold and
silver threads nave ndt'been ta'rniished..
iLooking at London 'w'ith ryes fiat
had ,longed ;for many years, 4 did
not search for ser ,c'oun't the new
buildings; in fact, I snvst c'onfes's'that
there 'were 'some of :vv'hfeh II was not
even 'cognizant. This 'sort Of progress
has been. going on all over iehe world
and there are same Of us veho absorb
tithe results 'uneonsoiously. Regent
Street has maintained' its crescent
and the 'flower Women 6ti11 rest their
'baskets of !fragran'ce at the feet .df
'Eros..Structure by structure a snore
modern 'setting ' is being 'built around
'Wesbminsker, but those delicately
wrought pinnadles, ethereal against.
'the sm'o'ky London ,sky, still 'grip one's
heart; for, unless a frame is sa un -
'fitting as to ibe noticeable, the picture
remains undisturbed. The Morning
sunlight still prays Upon the 'fountain's`
in Trafalgar 'Square and on 'the steel
gray 'wings of pigeons 'wheeling a-
round the base Of Nelson's 'Column,
In Kensington Gardens the sheep
move lazily es 'ever beneath the trees,
cropping the grass as they go, and
one may still imagine :the 'music Of a
pastorale or the far -away echo rail
g
lOne nay Q stood and watched the
throngs on [London 'Bridge. They
might have been the same men. and
women with whom 'I 'had mingled,
as we :passed 'from one side of the
river 'to the 'tithes, so many years
ago. Perhaps, on this occasion, ;I saw
their "children. 'After all, one 'genera-
tion is very similar to another. Be-
neath 'the grim, gray avails of the
,Tower II waited again for a aminate
or so, 'meditating. 'I 'saw no changes
there, +Tif apy had occurred during' my
ing one morning—,the ;first morning
in 'Lindon. -lOwr windows lookedout
to 'Whitehall Court and very early,
while the dight was still faint, I
heard ,the sound of bagpipes skirling.
Nearer andnearer it came until S
was impelled to run to 'the window.
Along the street, his ‘tartans swirl
ing 'around 'him, 'carne . 'a stalwart
piper, tfdllawed iby a detachment of
red -coated guards. They kept penfect
formation and marched with all the
pomp and ceremony Of ;the centuries
that lie 'behind the 'pageantry of 'L'on-
don.: Not even the sonorous chiming
Of Big Ben, close at hand, 'had thrilled
me more. The 'changing of the guard
at 'Buckingham ,Palace 'still goes on. I
walked up the 'Men one morning and,
like IOhristop'her' 'Robin, Waited to
enjoy'the spectacle. 1 'had even hoped
to uatoh a glimpse 'of'bhe King, 'but to
quote Ms. Milne—or Alice: "He •was
much 'too •busy a -signing 'thin'gs" ap-
parently, for 1 iwaa' denied that privi-
lege. ,However, 11 saw the 'gay scarlet
di the uniform's massed against nee
background of those drab did' malls
and 11 heard the band play. 1 watched
the orderly ,orowd olf men, ,women and
ohi'idren lined •up outside the iron .rails
and gathered around •the entrance. 3d
interested me, 'having 'witnessed less
tactful method's in other countries, to
notice the good-humored ,English
F'Bobbie" admonish ,the crowd .when
,they pressed in too closely to'nard'
the big gates. !Everyone opened up
with' willing' grace, as 'he waved 'them
back into place. 'He .did it with a
slight motion of his hand and a smile
on 'his face. II like these London 'police-
men; they are friendly souls, ready to
give you information or prepared to
stretch 'out a pro'tec'ting hand when
the traffic surges too heavily.
i(On trial -in Montreal .and suburbs, absence from England, these 'changes
also in 'U:S. add :I'c for every week o ,of twenty years were lost in a thous-
:service.
e. For other •foreign countrie
add ,and yearsOf 'history,
if shall not soon forget an 'awa'ken-
Editorial Comment Supports
Beatty Consolidation Plan
Editorial opinion throughout
Canada has been very largely in
favor of the proposals advanced
by E. W. Beatty, K.C., Chairman
and President, Canadian Pacific
Railway, looking toward the con-
solidation of the two railway sys-
tems under one management, as
the only practical means of re-
lieving the intolerable burden up-
on. the Canadian taxpayers. Mr.
Beatty made his proposal in a re -
..cent speech before the Toronto
-Canadian Club, and the following
paragraphs from leading editori-
als on the subject, clearly indicate
the nation-wide scope of support-
ing
upport-ing public opinion. A total of 47
daily newspapers commented up
to January 20th, of which 32 were
in favor of consolidation.
"This is far and away the most
.candid, constructive, and striking
contribution to the discussion of
,our transportation problem that
has yet been made." — Montreal
Gazette.
"Drastic action appears to be
essential if the tremendous bur-
den is to be lifted from the should-
ers of our people." -Halifax Her-
ald.
"It is essential with our small
population that the railway mile-
age and service should not outrun
the needs of the country."-13ali-
fax Chronicle.
"Mr. Beatty's call for action is
timely." — Saint John Telegraph -
J ournal.
"There is much that appeals in
dhe suggestion of Mr. E. W. Beatty,
K.C."—Ilamllton Herald.
"We, agree with the President
o f the Canadian Pacific Railway
that thecountry must get down to
bed rock."—Mall & Empire, Tor-
.onto.
"Mr. Beatty has offered a solu-
tion of the railway problem, defin-
ite steps to this end should not
be delayed." -Border Cities Star,
Windsor.
"The most constructive of all
suggestions have emanated from
'Mr. Beatty."—Victoria Colonist.
"He urges the drastic remedies
he deems, necessary, regardless of
every consideration, except the
salvation of the two, great railway
systems and of the State."—Van-
couver News.
"Mr. Beatty's carefully consid-
ered pronouncement compels seri-
ous thought, as to whether the
unexplored perils of a monopoly
are great enough to require that
the Canadian public shall go on
'paying millions annually for the
,doubtful privilege of having sep-
arate systems." Woodstock Sen-
tinel -Review.
"It would be a muddle worse
confounded it the Duff recommen-
dations were to be adopted by
Parliament." — Sherbrooke Daily
Record.
"Mr, Beatty's view is obviously
in accordance with the general
movement as it is coming through-
gout the world."—Ottawa Citizen.
"What the country needs is a
cool-headed solution of a tough
problem. We can't afford to go
ou as we are doing. The ono
fact stands out, that the Dull Com-
mission report was based on poli-
tics, while Mr. Beatty's arguments
rest on the plain business re-
quirements of the situation."—
Sault Ste. Marie Star.
"Mr. Beatty has courageously
made clear the issue between half-
baked quasi public ownership, and
full private ownership and man-
agement, operating under the con-
trol of Parliament."—Moose Jaw.
Times.
With no solution reached, Mr.
Beatty's address should be read
and digested. If there is to be
consolidation there must either be
a publicly owned system or a pri-
vately owned system. That is
the issue. The Duff Commission
did not settle it." — Lethbridge
Herald.
"The more one studies the cold
figures in the case and acquires
a better understanding of the dis-
astrous results financially in the
operation of the C. N. tt., the more
inevitable becomes the conclusion
that public ownership has proven
disastrous." Brantford Exposi-
tor.
"There appears to be no course
open but a merger of the two
great systems." -Galt Reporter.
"Mr. Beatty has shown great
courage in his proposals." —The
Financial Post.
"This merger seems to be the
best ,the only means of getting
out of the dilemma into which we
are thrust." — La Presse,; Mont.
real,
"As put by the President of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, the
choice before Canada seems to be
whether this country would best
be served by two insolvent rail-
roads, or by one solvent roan"—
Toronto Telegram.
"It is significant that Mr. Beatty.
is interested primarily in bringing
about amalgamation, secondly in
the form this amalgamation
should take."—Calgary Albertan.
"When the two systems are
lumped into private or public
ownership, and the Midgets •bal-
anced, then that unified system
can be put to work for Canada."--
Vancouver
anada,"—Vancouver Sun.
"E. W. Beatty, President of the
C. P. R, claims the way out of
the mess is the amalgamation of
our two lines under one manage.,
meat, and the Labor Leader is in-
clined to agree with him."—Labor
Leader, Toronto.
The newspapers in opposition
to Mr. Beatty's proposals include
The Vancouver Province, Edmon-
ton Bulletin, Toronto Globe, Tor-
onto Star, Le Devoir, Montreal;
Le Soleil, Quebec City; Montreal
Daily Star, Victoria Times, Mani
toba Free Press, Winnipeg 'lr'
bone, and the Edmonton Journal,
SEED GRAIN
+Good, seed :grain may be denned as
Mclean, sound and uniformly plump
grain obtained from strong, 'healthy
'plants 'beionging to a pure or relative-
ly pure variety- which is well adapted
to the needsoif'the district in which it
is to the uesd.
+W'her'e one is obliged to purchase
seed, the safest seed in which to invest
is "Registered 'Seed," since it is offic-
ially guaranteed to possess all o'f 'the
qualifications of good seed, as above
delfined by the 'Canadian 'Seed. Grow-
ers' AlsVoc'ration and the 'Dominion
Seed Branch aided by 'the Experim-
en'tal' Farms Branch of the Federal
Department Of Agriculture.
The use of varieties 'which are ad-
apted to 'the district where they are to
be grown is a matter of importance
and since many new varieties are con-
stantly under test at our 'Experimen-
tal Stations,'farmers should note care-
fully the results Obtained sit these in-
stitutions 'and be 'guided by them,
fin the production Of good seed,
care should t be taken to see that the
crap is fully mature before cutting.
Where low spots occur, it may 'be
necessary to handle them .separately
in order to provide against the inclu-
sion of unripe grain.
If* threshing the crop, the concaves
should not 'be set so close ''that the
grain will be damaged. At present a
great deal of really good barley is bad-
ly 'damaged :from 'a seed standpoint,
during the threshing operations,' by
having the ends of the kernels broken
or otherwise injured. Close threshing
is liable to injure the germ.
!The next step in the preparation of
good seed grain consists in the 'fan-
ning and grading of the grain to re-
move light kernels., weed seeds and
dirt. For this undertaking ;the screens
to 'be used must be carefully selected
to insure that the openings are of
the proper size and shape to perform
the ,work required, Many good fan-
ning mills have been discarded simply
on account .of the absence of suitable
screens, whereas material for the
construction of such screens can be
'We had previously decided 'that the
'most interesting 'way 'to, renew our
acquaintance with the !En'glis'h conn
tryside 'would be to 'hire an automo-
bile and drive ourselves 'Whither 'we
would. The courtesy shown us by our
fellow motorists was most gratefully
received, 'for we were conscious 'that
this was our first 'experience in many
years el driving on the left -'hand side
of the road, We 'left {London swibh the
'feeling that everyone traveling tow-
ard, or with us, would be instantly
aware of out inexperience and per-
haps 'consider us objects of annoy -
ante. 'But a 'few ,miles brought us re-
assurance. Before long we gave 'our-
selves up to the, joy of the moment,
Could any't'hing ;be lovelier than Eng-
land in September? 'The trees were
green and leafy, with no suggestion,
as yet, 'of,winter; for the seasons still
seem to came less violently here than
in •same parts of the world. Not
until we .found 'ourselves much 'further
north did we discern any yellowing
leaves. The quiet, low-lying meadows
df tBuckinghamslhire and '0 afords'hire
looked so verdant bhat we wondered if
we had forgotten their 'green, or if
they were more green this year than
ever before. We meandered through
v'ill'ages — rejoicing to find familiar
land'm'arks passing the lovely old
'ivy. overed houses of 'Chalfont St,
Giles and the uns'p'oiled red brick and'
timbered cottages of Wickham End.
There was a common where 3 had
once, as a little child, .gabhened wild
foxgloves; and still 'farther along . a
signpost, 'poirnti:ng to "a footpath across
the 'fields, reminded us of a place
where'ws had both repent many happy
hours. It seemed fitting that night -
;fall should find us in Stratford. -.on
.A,von, the 'little town that nestles in
fhe very heart of 'England and yet the-.
'1:on'gs to al'1 the world. Tosleep in en,
old -Sour-post' bed, in, a room with 1st -
nee windows, appeared a eight cul-
mination to a. day into which so many
memories had been crowded:
And so we 'traveled the highways
and byways, ` passing through some
places, loitering in 'Others, drinking
in the fragrance of the 'hedges and
gardens. 'We • lingered in those shires
that 'border'')Wales, caught in the
coils of the 'colorful, historic past. We
found ourselves, one Sunday evening,
'beneat'h the turrets and 'battlements
of Ludlow. We walked through the
quiet streets of 'the little town that
Min appears : to shelter uadsr .those
do'minan't'walls, .and then our steps led
us to 'the footpath that follows the
outer line of the .castle. In contrast
to, the peaceful •va1'ley df the Tema,
thesd mighty stonew'orks towered
above us 'like cliffs and we were re-
minded of the part this great castle
,had played in the 'history Of the Bor-
der,
'Gradually the dusk crept over the
'Stretton drills beyond the neer and
the s'had'ows deepened, beneath the
arches cif ,the old stone 'bridge. Little
groups of people )passed us, ,saunter-
ing; a band of youths, a mother
taking her small flock home to bed;
an aged ,couple, a 'boy:,and girl, arm
arta, We 'felt ourselves slipping
into place with these people atrd.
once again we felt ourselves a part
'of England,
Send us the names of your visitors,
had ;team, or through, the manufac-
turer o'f the machine.
iDitring the past- seven or eight
years, the difficulty h connection
with the proper cleaning and grading
of seed grain has been •reduced"•con-
siderably by the opening op of sus -
tom cleaning plaints which are equip-
ped' with power fanning ills ,and
graders, and tell supplied with 'sieves
to clean and grade the different kinds
of grain that may be 'brought to
them: Telrse cleaning plants are of-
ten provided with 'blowers for clean-
ing floors, 'bins and' ch'u'tes so that
contamination firo:m 'these sources is
reduced to the minimum. Gleaned
grain should always be ;placed im-
mediately in clean containers and
protected from all danger of • con-
tamination.
'COST STUDIES ON PORK
PRODUCTION,
.(Experimental Farms Note)
'Art this time, when returns to the
,producer are et the lowest ebb known,
for many years, the study of cost of
production is essential to all 'farmers
if a balanced budget is to be 'maintain-
ed. The ,cost of pork praduction is
not standard for all 'provinces or dist-
ricts, and depends to a great degree
on the availability. of various 'feeding
staffs on the Meal mankets. {Farmers.
'having •a supply of -skim-milk and
other 'products not`m'anke'talble in any
other way, may turn these into caeh
through the bacon hog.
At . the Dominion ,Experimental
iFarm, Nappan, N. S., MI feeds are
charged against the hog at ;market or
cost ae 'production- prices. - For : ee-
am'ple, a{oots are charged at present at
$3.36 per ton, oats at nin3-per ton, and
barley tat $25:50, the cost of produc-
tion in 11+9:12.
During the past four years a total
,of 1 i' h4gs'heve been carried through
(Ion the %A.dvanced Registry tests. The
retion's.have been very similar dor all
I
'lois. The weights of each hog are
recorded every 'thirty days; also feeds
consumed. 'From these data'informa-
PAGE SEVEN.
tion hae been 'secured regarding the
gains and feed consumption: per pound
gain dor each period dram :weaning to
finishing, The deed consumption for
,these 1181' hogs was found to 'be 3:19
pounds meal per pound gain, while,`
Croat weaning, (45 days of age), to
finishing, (195 days of age), the daily
gain 'was 1252 pounds, costing 4.89
cents per pound, In .Other words, alp
lowing the pig at 'weaning, (weighing
3 'pounds), a value of $1:50, the total
feed cost Of a 510 pound hog would be
$10.70. :While at the present time 'the
market value of 'pork does not cower
the 'total cost of a bog 'to 'finishing,:
when all feeds are:charged at market
or cost of production prices, the hog
an the average ;farm is a side -line,
ih
turning into utnan 'food many 'waste
products otherwise unmarketable:
Frim. 'this angle, it serves as a cash
product and will give 'fair 'labour se-
turns under average conditions pro-
viding, first, the bulk of the 'feeds is
home-grown and second, that the nog
is o'f 'the best type obtainable and is
properly grown and finished. It
should be borne in mind that the prices
charged, for home-grown feeds in-
clude rent of land, use of machinery
and all labour and other charges
against that particular crop.
(Demonstrating the ;value of proper
type and finish, the premium for "sel-
ect" hogs at the present time amounts
to 1215 per cent. *I the valve of a "ba -
can" hog, :while the penalty, on a "but-
cher" hog is the same amount, or a
difference ;between a "select" and a
"butcher" o'f approximately $2:00 or
P5 per cent df the market value of the
"bacons." -
(The price of 'breeding stock is core
respondingly lo'w and it ibehoov*es. ev-
ery 'farmer :to seriously Consider the
question of improving his breeding
stock to as high a degree as possible
by the selection of sires from Advanc-
ed .Registry ancestry. At present rea-
sonable returns can be made only oar
the best individuals properly fed.
When market 'conelitions invorove,
greater returns will result from 'hav
ing the right type df'foundation stock.
CONSOLIDATE RAILWAYS BEATTY URGES
Canadian Pacific President Outlining Railway Policy Says it
Would Relieve Taxpayers of Intolerable Burden
"TN my opinion we must
1 only limit our capital
r, penditure to those that are
P essential or that will produce
a reasonable return in the near,
1 future, but we must reduce
our present mileage to accord
with the actual needs of
transportation and of national
development, and we must at
the same time eliminate all
expenditure designed to se-
1 cure traffic for a . competing
railway rather than provide a
necessary service for the pub-
lic. These results can, in the
view I` take, only be attained
if we consolidate our two
t railways into one system with
one management.
i "The conclusion appears
inescapable that a means must
} • be provided for, making the
necessary economies without
prejudicing the public inter-
,
man -
agement and the shouldl be acccom
t" panied by a proper measure of
responsibility on some agreed
basis either by the Govern-
; went to the Canadian Pacific
and its shareholders, or by the
Canadian Pacific to the Gov-
ernment in relief of its, rail-
! way burden. By no other
.means can we secure a sound
business administration for
our railway undertakings and
relief to the taxpayers of
Canada." '
- Sn these words E. W. Beatty,
K.C., Chairman and President,
Canadian Pacific Railway, speak-
ing before the Toronto Canadian
Club recently, summed up his con-
sidered judgment of the only pos-
sible solution to Canada's emer-
gent railway. problem._
Mr. Beatty, in leading to his con-
clusion, declared that the railway
problem is now more gravely
vital to Canada's future than
at
any other time, "and," said,
"once again I am afraid the yard-
stick of political expediency is
being hauled out to test the right-
ness or wrongness of suggestions
designed to relieve Canadians of
what has become an intolerable
burden." The tragic humor of
stubbornly adhering to former
policies, and of accepting advice
from those who have consistently
erred in matters of railway pol-
icy since Confederation, was but
another indication of how slowly
political expediency, assumed or
real, died.
Mr. Beatty showed that these
policies ran the gamut from early
and unrelenting opposition to the
construction of the Canadian Pa-
cific, to enthusiastic support of
unrestrained competition from
Government Railways, and the
construction and maintenance of
duplicateities. and even triplicate facil-
Two previous efforts had been
made to forestall the debt and tax
situation arising out of the pres-
ent railway situation. In 1921
Lord Shaughnessy, then President
of the Canadian Pacific Railway,
established his breadth of view and
his vision, by recommending that
the outside enterprises of the
not
ex-
t
Canadian Pacific should be sep■
arated from its railway and ancil-
lary enterprises, and that the
Government should acquire the
railway properties of the Com-
pany, guarantee a certain fixed
return to its shareholders, and,
having acquired the G.T.P., Trans
Continental Canadian Northern,
and Intercoionial Railways, should
enter .into a contract with the
Canadian Pacific to administer
and operate the property on ac-
count of the people of Canada. At
that time Lord Shaughnessy point-
ed to the dangers of the public
ownership and political manage-
ment.
If LordShaughnessy's plan had
been accepted, many hundreds of
millions of dollars would have
been saved to Canada.
In 1925 the Senate of Canada
made a very thorough investiga-
tion of the Railway situation, and
after a most comprehensive re-
port,', strongly recommended the
merging of the two railway sys-
tems for operation and administra-
tion by the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way. "May I suggest to you
again," Mr. Beatty emphasized,
"that if the Senate's report had
been acted upon, several hundred
million dollars would have been
saved to this country."
In dealing with the report of
the Duff Commission, Mr. Beatty
'said that "the conclusion' is ines-
caw..ble; . that the Commission's
r'ecammendations were, in part at
Ieast, based upon their own estim-
ate of Canadian public sentiment
towards the important question of
public ownership, competition,and
of railway monopoly."
This was unfortunate, and he
suggested that if the assumed
political expediency of any plan
was to be the test of its adop-
tion, the creation of a Royal Corn-
mission would not have been ne-
cessary. The work of the Com-
mission was important, but it did
not provide any adequate solu-
tion, or ground for much hope to
the sadly burdened Canadian tax-
payers. The ,Commission's chief
recommendation was the continu-
ance of competition, qualified by
co-operation, and enforcible by
compulsory arbitration. The Cana-
dian Pacific was willing to co-
operate, but was not willing to
rest its future in the hands of an
arbitral tribunal, on which it
would only have a minority rep-
resentation, and which could not
be, responsible for the financial
consequences of its decisions. The,
Canadian Pacific insofar as rates
were concerned was regulated by
the Board of Railway Commis-
sioners, and it could not in justice
to its security holdeg's agree to
any legislation which would take
from them the right to • protect
their investment. "We regard
this," he said, "as a species of
confiscation which no Government'
can justify, and which nothing in
the company's history warrants."
A private company could not
successfully compete with an en-
terprise backed by the long purse
of the State, Mr. Beatty contend-
ed, indicating the waste, and loss
involved in railway competition be-
tween the Government of Canada
and the Canadian Pacific, as proof
of his assertion. It was also im-
possible to have competition and
co-operation. "Why delude our
selves into the belief that we are
supermen?" he asked. '
The report of the Railway Com-
mission showed that the losses
on the Canadian National Rail-
ways during the ten year period
1923-1932, aggregatedapproxi-
mately $549,576,000, equivalent
to $232,944 per day. Federal in-
come taxes from individuals dur-
ing the last ten fiscal years
amounted to $249,274,000 and
from corporation's $341,164,000, a
total of $590,438,000 or only
343,862,000, more than the deficits
on the Canadian National Rail-
ways.
"Can we afford," Mr. Beatty
asked, "to view 'such a situation
with equanimity; or can we rea-
sonably and definitely' ask for
some relief ? Can we regard the
question impersonally, and, be-
cause the figures of the country%
railway losses are so large as to
be almost astronomical, can we
afford to be indifferent when,
based upon the average for the
past three years, we lose $162.0l
every minute of time?"
The only way to increase gross
revenues would be through in-
creasing rates, and based on 1931
results, it would require a freight
rate increase of 63% to make up
the losses of the Government'sys-
tem of that year. It would re-
quire a cut in operating expenses
of almost one half to make up the
1931 deficit, or a wage reduction
of 74% to accomplish the satire
purpose. There were-obvioue
limits to increasing taxation. In
1981 it would have required a
34% increase in tax receipts to
balance the Government Railway
accounts, and continued borrow-
ings could only spell ultimate
disaster.
Two main objections were urged
by .diose opposed to amalgamat
ing the, railways. First, that such
an amalgamation would consti-
tute a virtual monopoly,, and
secondly, that it would be unfair
to . employees, in that it would
mean' a reduction of personnel.
Neither of these objection's were
well founded. In the first in-
stance, a strengthened Board of
Railway Commissioners on the
one hand, and water and motor
competition on the other, would
forma sufficient restraint. From
natural causes, in .the event
vacancies were not filled, the per-
sonnel of the Canadian Railways
would be reduced in five years.
from 25% to 80% and it would
not be possible to administer the
unified properties with a staff
duced below '75 or 70% of normal.
In. conclusion, Mr. Beatty paid
tribute to Canadian public men;
cited the serious note of warning
included in the Report of the Duff
Commission, and said "we have
created or inherited a'system
which is unscientific, unwieldy,
unnecessary. and insupportable by
our ten million people. We can-
not afford it even in normal times,
so why not make it as right a's it
is possible to make it, and why
not do it now 7