The Huron Expositor, 1954-03-05, Page 2;ta
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posrron
Established 1860
ed at Seaforth, On'talrio,.ev-
't rsday afternoon by McLean
A. Y. McLean, Editor
Subscription rates, $2.50 a year in
lav; foreign $3.50 a year. Single
copies, 5 cents each.
Member of Canadian
Weekly Newspapers
Association.
Advertising rates on application.
PHONE 41
Authorized a, Second Class Mail
Post Office Department. Ottawa
SEAFORTH, Friday, March 5, 1954
A -LANDMARK DISAPPEARS
There is always a sense of almost
personal loss when anything that
.has been with us for a long time is
destroyed. So it was when the 10(: -
year -old Huron County Court House
was razed by fire Friday evening.
While it was known that the plans
of County Council provided for the
wrecking of the building in a matter
of months, this didn't alter the feel-
ing of finality that the flames creat-
ed. To many, there was always the
possibility that cl anges in plans
would perhaps have saved the build-
ing as a memorial to those pioneer
days when it was erected.
Now that fire has done i work,
the possibility of what \
ay well
have been an acrimonious debate as
to the future of the building has been
eliminated. The task facing County
Council now is to proceed with the
erection of the new Court House as
quickly as possible.
It is being suggested in certain
quarters that consideration should be
given the removal of the county seat
from Goderich to a more. central
point, perhaps Clinton, since, it is
said, Clinton is more the hub of the
County than is Goderich. But sure-
ly those advancing such- a proposal
have not given serious consideration
to all the factors involved.
Apart altogether from the histori-
cal sentiments that attaches to the
present county seat, it must be re-
membered that there are located in
Goderich many of the departments
that complement county government.
It is hardly feasible to move the
county gaol or the registry office, but
unless this were done any potential
saving in mileage would be offset by
the increased mileage created by de-
centralization.
We doubt that there is any broad
demand throughout the County for a
change in location of the court house.
In these days, with modern transpor-
tation, a few miles more or less
makes little difference—certainly not
enough to justify the confusion and
feeling that would be engendered in
a search for a new site satisfactory
to everyone.
LOOKING TO THE PAST
"The recent disappearance of the
Canada Company recalls to the St.
Catharines Standard events of the
days when the Company-- was the
prime factor in the settlement of the
Mu -on area.
"Now all the land is gone in the
tract from Galt to 'Goderich. But the
old marks of settlement remain.
Where is Secretary John Galt's
_spokes -of -a -wheel plan for Guelph
and Goderich—and for tiny Bayfield
which forgot to grow. There's the
twist in the old Huron Road at Pun-
lCeydoodle's Corners where the sur-
veyors changed course to hit Gode-
rich—and crossed a river at a ford
a few miles west to found Stratford."
It tells of the stone houses and the
soft brick of early days, the carriage
stops, the old Canada Company's of-
fice at Goderich, and the nearly 100 -
year -old Goderich Court Houe,
which The Standard, almost.as if4 it
was anticipating the fire of Friday,
says is "now slated for destruction."
We sometimes that in terms
of history we are living in a part of
Canada that is far from ancient. In
fact, it is notmuch over a hundred
ears, since the first settlers came to
Ui'ou. There are, in fact, many liv-
e Vihe County today, the sons or
Iters of those who first cut
the virgin forest.
relative youth results in a
her to look to the past, or for
Mat r to appreciate the pant.
The Standard puts it this way:
"Unfortunately there are only a few
people (typical are' those' who encour-
aged the Goderich Museum in an old
school house) who give two hoots
about saving some of the past.
"Canada, west of Montreal, is a
very young land, built by men who.
died only yesterday. It may be an-
other 100 years before people realize
that treasures from the past should
be honored."
What Other Papers Say:
Box Supper
(Ottawa Journal)
There was a time, before uninhibit-
ed antics on a screen and heterogen-
eous noises from a little box with
dials kept people occupied in the eve-
nings, that a box supper at District
School No. 9 was an important high-
light of the social season.
On a Friday evening in Winter,
chores would be finished early and
the district's families gathered at the
school by six o'clock . The fire in the
potbellied stove had the room a com-
fortable 75 degrees; teachers had let
the big boys sweep up, clean,, the
blackboards, and sweep the front en-
try on school time inthe afternoon.
Girls had strung some crayon pic-
tuies on a string; Mary Lou who was
clever with colored chalk, had drawn
a picture of the school on the black-
board.
Fat1 e-rs and' mothers who had. at-
tended District Nine years before
squeezed themselves into desk seats
at the back of the room. Seth Ald-
rich, local auctioneer, stood on the
teacher's platform and auctioneered
the boxes. Women folks then took
pride in the boxes they packed with
chicken, ham and cold pork sand-
wiches. Certain ladies were famous
for their pies, cakes and puddings;
solid farmers bidding for the right to
e t supper with a neighbor lady made
"eepected and laughed -at comments
on their own wives' cooking. •
After supper there was a program:
recitations, piano solos and duets,
And perhaps 'a little one -act play.,.
Old-fashioned, we'd call it now; but
in wholesome home-made fun, young
folks and old found true recreation
that added richness to living.
When Is a Surplus?
(Toronto Star)
On March 12, 1953, Premier Frost,
as provincial treasurer, annoup-cede a'
surplus of only $67,000 for the year
ending with that month, a calcula-
tion based on 10 m'nths actual and
two months estimated financing. This
surplus was achieved after allocat-
ing nearly. $18,000,000 to sinking fund
account. Now it turns out. the ac-
tual surplus was over $1,100,000 af-
ter allocating $30,859,000 to sinking
fund account! Here are the budget
figures on ordinary account and- the
actual figures:
Frost's • "- Actual
Figures Figures
Revenue $341,418,000 $349,500,385
Exenpditure 323,492,000 . 317,540,514
Balance be-
fore provid-
ing sinking
funds s $ 17,926,000 $ 31,959,871
Less sinking
funds 17,859,000 30,859,000
Surplus ... $ 67;000 $ 1,100,871
As only about $9,359,000 was re-
qu*ed to meet the absolute require-
ments of the sinking fund, it is evi-
dent that, in addition to the $1,000,-
000 surplus, the government provid-
ed $21,500,Q00 for sinking fund more -
than was needed for the existing
debt. In that sense the amount tak-
en from the public in taxes was $22,-
600,000 above requirements. In addi-
tion, the government got rid of $11,-
500,000
11;500,000 in last-minute grants to cer-
tain worthy- purposes which would
otherwise have figured as surplus.
The last-minute grants were, as
we have said, for worthy purposes.
And if a province has extra money,
there is nowhere better to put it than
in the sinking fund for debt reduc-
tion. Due chiefly. to the ,province's
tremendous capital expenditure on
roads, the net debt increased nearly
$50,000,000 despite this impressive,
. allocation.
But when is a surplus not a sur -
'plus?
plus? When,`in a Prost budget ad-
dres , its onlyy a fraction of the real
surplus..
1 EXPOsITO
SEEN IN THE COUNTY . PAPERS
Co-op Officers Elected
Following the annual meeting of
he Blyth Farmers' Co-operative As-
sociation held on Tuesday of last
week, the directors met and elect-
ed the following officers: president.
Kenneth Taylor, who was returned
for his second term; vice-president,
William Dalrymple;. directors, Geo.
Watt, Nelson Piekell, Stanley Ly-
on, John Young and Bert flunking,
-,-Blyth Standard. °
Injured With 'Hot Water
Little Diane McKinley, aged 3,
eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Robert McKinley, of the Goshen
Line North, had the misifortun,e of
backing into a bucket of hot water
one day last week. Medical atten-
tion was given immediately and we
are pleased' to report Diane is pro-
gressing as well as can be expect-
ed. We wish her a speedy recov-
ery.—Zurich Herald.
Returns From Korea
Cpl. Robert Walker arrived in
Toronto by air on Friday from
Korea where he has been for al-
most a year, having sailed for that
country on February 26, 1953. , He
immediately went to Sunnybrook
Hospital for treatment, but was
able to join his family at Carp
Borden for the. weekend. He told
his father, J. W. Walker, town, by
phone on Saturday that he was
feeling frnel—Mitchell Adeocate.
Suffers Accident With Pole
Bill Hilbert, an employee of the
rural hydro in Wingham, received
several head injuries when he was
struck by a swinging pole Monday
morning. Removed to Wingham
General Hospital, his condition is
reported! oto be improving, Mr. Hil-
bert was working with a hydro
gang which was replacing a pole
near the Wishing Well plant at
the north end of town. The new
pole was resting on a horse with a
pulley attached to it in readiness
for raising, wthen the horse fell
from under it, putting a strain on
the pulley line. The pole swung
sideways on the line, hitting Mr.
Hilbert on the temple. The acci-
dent occurred about 11 o'clock.-
Wingham Advance -Times.
Celebrate 55th Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. William Tabb,
highly -esteemed residents of Au-
burn district, quietly observed
their 55th wedding anniversary on
Saturday, February 20. Mr. Tabb
was born in Durham County and
came with his parents to Huron
County in 1871. In 1899 the was
Married at Clinton to Mary Cath-
erine' Witmer, of East Wawanosh.
In 1908 they moved with their -fam-
ily to • Maple Creek, Sask., where
they farmed for almost 30 years,
returning to Onta.rie in 1937. They
have two children, Eeta, White
Rock, B.C., and Torrance, with
whom they reside in Hullett Town-
ship; four grandchildren and eight
great grandchildren. — Clinton
News -Record.
Teachers Enjoy Evening
Members- of the Huron Local
Public School Men Teachers' Fed-
eration entertained their wives to
a banquet and social evening in
Seaforth Monday evening.. Dinner
was served at Northside United
Church, where C. A. Trott, NB,A.,
Clinton, president of the local, act-
ed as chairman, and, Mervyn Stev-
ens, Goderiph, was toastmaster. A
tour of inspection was made of the
new public school at Seaforth, ,af-
ter which John Talbot, ;principal,
acted as host for a social time.
Winners in nd
were Mrs. Georgecontests
HaJeffersongames,
•Clinton; Mrs. d. Talbot, Seaforth;
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Beattie, Wing-
haah; James Shysekar, Wingham,-;
Mr. and Mrs. Evan Hoffman, Sea -
forth, and Mrs. C. Trott, Clinton.
The evep•ing was arranged by the
executive, which includes besides
the president, the vice-president,
Mervyn Stevens, Goderich, and sec-
retary -treasurer Clayton O. Martin
Clinton,—Clinton News -Record.
Plan New Church
Arrangements ,were completed
through the H. C. MacLean Realty
last week for the sale of the house
of the late Tama. Isard, on Vic-
toria St. The house has been pur-
chased, by the Pentecostal Assem-
blies of Canada, and will be used
b that organiza�tion as a residence
r one of their—Ministers who is
coming tq eVingham to live. The
organization is active in the sur-
rounding district and has churches
in Listowel, Goderich and Exeter.
Rev, Harold Kendrick, of Exeter,
made arrangements for the sale.
It is planned to erect a new church
for the organization in Wingham
in the near •future, and interested
parties are now looking for a suit-
able site. At present there are
about 10 families in town who are
members of the sect. The Pente-
costal Church has been establish-
ed in, Exeter for about 10 years,
and during that tithe two churches
have been built there, one of them
having burned' a short, time after
it was erected.—Wingham Advance -
Times.
Fire Damages Retsaurant
Fire caused $5.000 damage to the
Exeter Grill early on Wednesday
morning and threatened a ' five -
store business block is the. south
end of the retail section of Main
St. Firefighters used gas masks to
fight their way through the smoke -
clouded: restaurant and put out a
blaze in the basement. Tom Wong,
owner of the Grill, said the floor
would !have to be replaced, wiring
repaired and the rooms may need,
decorating because of the smoke
damage. The business will be clos-
ed for two weeks. Other four stores
in the block—White's Ice Creadh
Bar, Ersman's' Bakery, John Hock-
ey's' barber shop and Sanders' Gro-
cery -were not affected. A smoul-
dering cigarette butt is believed re-
sponsible for the blaze. Owners
said sweepings from the"floor and
butts from ash trays were dumped
into a box after closing Tuesday
night and placed downstairs near
the furnace. Owner Yee, Wing
Wong and Lee Sing, who . were
sleeping in. the upstairs apartment,
were awakened by the smoke. Yee
was slightly injured when he fell
downstairs to turn in the alarm
about 6 a.m. Groping through the
smoke, he missed the top step and
tumbled down the stairs. Firemen
could - iitgt enter the , building
through t'he front door because of
t'he smoke. Access was made to
the building through a cellar win-
dow in Sanders' Grocery and
through a cOal 4Sh.ute in the apart-
ment doorway. Members' of the
town brigade remained 'on the
scene for almost two hours, ' The
fire was the second major one in
town in 1954. Damage amounted to
$20,000 at the Huron Lumber Mill
blaze in January. These two fires
during the first two months' of this
year present sharp contrast to the
fire -free record of the town in 1953.
There were no major fires and dam-
age from minor ones was negligent
last year.—Exeter Times -Advocate,
Huron County Farm News
Petition forms are being circu-
lated in six townships in the coun-
ty in hopes of inaugurating a Calf -
hood Vaccination Program. Meet-
ings held to date in the county tp
explain the Brucellosis Control
Act have been well attended anct
in all cases - those attending the
meetings were much in favor of
the "calfhood vaccination pro-
gram,"
All agricultural societies were re-
presented at a meeting the •past
week and Fall Fair dates were set
for fairs in the county.
Corn and Oats Cbsts Per Acre
W'hat is the relative cost' of
growing an acre of corn compared
with an acre of oats?
Type of seal. size of implements,
power availaIe to operate them or
custom rates for combines and
corn pickers all have a bearing on
the cost of growing the two crops.
From estimates of the cost of the
various operations in eastern Can-
ada, worked out by the Agricultur-
al engineering Division, Department
of Agriculture, Ottawa, as revised
in 1953. indicate the difference -be-
tween growing and harvesting an
acre of grain corn and an acre of
oats is, approximately $9.00 per
acre.
Seeding costs with a 9 -foot trac-
tor -drawn grain drill, •seedin•g 65
acres a year, is $1.40 an acre. Plant-
ing corn with a two -row tractor -
acres a year, cdsts $1.82 an acre:
'Harvesting cost for oats with a
5 or 6 -foot combine, with power
take -off, tutting 120 acres a year,
is estimated by the Division as $4
per acre. For a one -row corn pick-,
er, harvesting 50 acres of corn a
year, $5.35 per acre.
Cultivation of the growing crap
is the major difference in prodnte-
tion costs. With a two -row tractor -
drawn cultivator the estimated cost
of cultivating corn is $1.28 an acre
for each cultivation. With a Sill-
gle-roar horse souther the' cost ris-
es to $2.20. Fot three Cultivatipng
the total' value would Ibe $3,88 or
g.60 an acre ardoMing to which
1 , merit Was Used.
the actival rhaftdIing of theerop
corn has, some' advantages. It can
be seeded later in the spring and
harvested over a longer •period in
the fall. Once the ears are ripe,
corn can stand. several "weeks in
the field without serious danger of
loss, or damage by -frost. One far-
mer in eastern Ontario has suc-
cessfully harvested a large acre-
age late in November in each of
the last two years. This permits a
longer 'period for custom use of a
corn picker and greater acreages
for each machine.
Corn and oats are' not inter-
changeable as feeds for live stock.
Corn is generally recognized...as a
good fattening feed for mature ani-
mals but oats are preferred for
young, growing stock. In the Unit-
ed States corn belt corn has been
used as a major feed for all class-
es of live stock, including horses
and poultry. In Canada where most
of the corn has had to be imported,
oats and barley have been^'more
commonly used because they were
readily available.
Poultry nutritionists at the Cen-
tral Experimental Farm report the
protein of oats is of higher quality
than that in corn but that corn has
higher energy value dune to the
percentage of hull in oats. In'broil-
er rations or tfor fatteding mature
steck corn is :an excellent feed.
Relative prices for corn and oats
on the market may be taken as. re-
presenting the co-operative value
placed ',on the two grains by feed
buyers.
In areas where grain corn ca.n
be grown -there will be some farms
and fields ,where oats and barley
will be •safer crops to grow, But
where corn crops of 50 bushels or
more per acre can be produced con-
sistently it will give higher returns
than far possible with the smaller
grains, The new 'hybrids are s'tead-
ily extending the areas in which
such Corn crops. are possible.
Tests conducted at the wide-
spread network of p'ederal Experi-
mental Stations and Illustration,
Stations provide an accurate guide
to new areas in which' growing of
grain corp from these new hybrids
Cast be oleo attehtlited,
eiL.est 's
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HERE'S HEALTH
•
Is your car about to drop?
A test of driving skill?
Best take it to the
repair shop
Before it starts to kill.
Dept. of National Health and Welfare
Years Agone
Interesting
The Huron
t
_five and
Items Picked From
Expositor of Twen-
Fifty Years Ago
+t�
MARCH 5, 1954
To The Editor
Toronto, Feb. 27, 1954.
Editor, The Aaron Expositdr:
Dear Sir: I have..no particular
fault to find) in the assertion by one
of your netionlel advertisers, in the
general cause of Brotherhood
Weeks, in taking. apart the idea
expressed by the term "Tolerance",
and concluding that:-, "True toler-
ance has and is understanding, and
'tolerance' lacking understanding
can be evil."
However; on 'the (basis of the
philosopher's thought that "Our
life is an, apprenticeship to the fact
that around every circle another
may be drawn" (sage of Concord),
it seems to me that the following
picture, as credited that same
issue to your Ottawa Journal con-
temporary, draws, a wider circle in
dealing with the efforts of .Oana-
dian statesmen, with specific refer-
ence to Prime Minister. St, Laur-
ent's global friendship tour: "Un-
.derstanding is of the mind but
brotherhood is of the heart, and
each one of us; in our daily round,
can help build a happier future_ by
opposing bigotry and finding the
common ground of understanding
friendsihi p."
I was reminded of. this latter
"common ground" in reading an
item in the daily news recording
the all -too -seldom gathering of the
representatives of the organized
farmers and Union leaders around
From The 'Huron Expositor
March 8, 1929
A surprise party was given at
-the home of Mr. and Mrs. M. E.
Clarke, Winthrop, last Friday eve-
ning in honor of Mr. Clarkes' .birth-
day. The evening was spent in
playing euchre, and the prizes were
won by Mrs, .Ferg Bullard, Moody
Holland and Mr,. and Mrs. Joseph
Dolmage.
One of the worst blizzards of the
winter visited Manley Thursday
morning, damaging roofs, 'wind-
mills and doors of buildings.
Miss Mabel Livingstone, Hullett,
who was employed some time ago
by the Palmer Publishing Co., To-
ronto, and who through her efforts
won a trip to the coast, is leaving
the first of the week for an ex-
tended trip in the interests of the
company.
Mr. J. Dennison, Seaforth, has
got settled on his new 'farm on the
12th concession, McKillop,
The members of the'`' Seaforth
Fire Brigade entertained the ex-
members
xmembers at a. uchre in.their club
rooms Tuesday evening, when the
following won, prizes: most games,
A. W. Dick; lone hands, Thomas
Johnstone; cohsolation, Reg 'Kers-
lake. -
Miss Mona Sills left town Mon-
day to train for a nurse in St. Jos-
eph's Hospital, London.
Miss Alice Joynt, Hensall; was in
London 'the first part of the week
attending a play which was* held in
the auditorium of the University
of Western Ontario, in which her
son, Laird, who is attendinguni-
versity, took a prominent part.
Mr. Riebert Jamieson, t onstance,
is at present in Seaforth Memorial
Hospital, as on Saturday he. under-
went an operation for appendicitis.
The Jolly Ten of the -Mill Road;
Tuckersmith, met at the beautiful
home of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Rich-
ardson Wednesday afternoon. The
two former meetings were held at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alex
Wright and Mr. and Mrs, Alex
Broadfoot.
Miss Rose McQuaid, of Beech-
wood, is recuperating at her fath-
er's !home from an attack of flu
received while in training at St.
Michael's Hospital, Toronto.
A pleasant evening was spent at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alex
Smith, HensaIl, Wednesday even;
ing, when the Ladies' Club pleas-
antly entertained their husband's.
The winners at euchre were Allan
McDonnell and, Lloyd Hudson.
e
From The 'Huron Expositor
March 4, 1904
The following were ticketed to
distant points this week by W.
Somerville: H. W. Cresswell, Sr.,
to Chicago; Fred Millson•, to Ar-
cola, Assina,boia; John Scott and
wife to Buffalo, N.D.; Mrs. Francis
McCulla, to Park Rapids, Minn.;
Mrs. Jas. •13roadfoot, Tuckersmi'th,
and Mrs. Wm. Morrow, Seaforth, to
Detroit.
On Saturday Mr. John Abell, of
town, drew a• load of flour weigh-
ing .7,000' pounfls, from the railway
freight shed to Cardno's store, with
one horse. This is a tremendous
load, but the horse seemed to draw
it without making any fuss about
it.
' Mrs.. James Murray, town, • had,
the misfortune to slip and fall on
the sidewalk near the post office,
on Saturday night and, fracture her
leg.
During the high wind Monday
afternoon one of the tall chimneys
on the Town Hall blew down, break-
ing off close to• the roof. The fall-
ing bricks punched! a hole in the
wall of the Commercial Hotel and
broke two windows.
Calder and Scarlett, Winthrop,
have purchased the cheese and but-
ter factory and are having the.
plant •thoroughly overhauled and
repaired.
The farmer around Blyth have
adapted a contrivance for levelling
the track for each sleigh runner
to a width of 14 ,inches. It is made
by attaching a piece of plank to
the front runner on each side, so
that it acts like a mouldboard of a
plow. This makes a hard track
and does away with pitch holes
and prevents the horses from
crowding,
Mr. Noble Adams, Hullett, lost
two valuable cattle by lightning- on
Sunday morning during theunex-
pected storm. The lightning ta+av
ellen down the ventilator which
runs from the roof to the stable
under the -' barn. One of the Cattle'
immediately under this was killed
and the other was ''killed by- t'se
, hook. It Vas a niniele Mit the
ibarne '%vete net dest3 lied. • '
44iam�a>Iar,
4 t ?jtifi I ire'
the same conference table. They
problem for discussion was• the un-
employmaent • in the agricultural:
machinery plants; described as
"one of the earliest consequences
of the reduced purchasing power of
the farmers."
Only the other day. one o$ the -
farm editors spotlighted the fact
that the expenditure of Canadian
farmers on agricultural imple-
ments, machinery, repairs and
spare parts, within the 1,500 work-
ing days of the five years, 194'8-
195.2, reached $1,513,000,000 --or just.
a million dollars every morning! L
noted .particularly this statement:
"In 1952 the average Canadian
farmer spent $488 on new fart
equipment, plus $66 on repairs— -
an average expenditure of $554 on,
the nation's '621,000 farms front
Boast to coast. Obviously, it costs,
money to farm these days,"
What is not quite so obvious.
however, but is equally true, is
that the folks around the above -
rural -urban conference taible are -
each others' customers. It seems
to this reader, therefore, that the
farmer has a direct, interest in
keeping his urban cousin employedi
at decent wages; but; also, I has-
ten to add,- that deliberately ruin
ing the farmer's take -home -pay, i.e.,
his buying power, is antisocial and.'
dangerous business.
X. Y. Z.
He Likes His Job, Now;
Has No Thought of Quitting;
(Ottawa Correspondence of the
Winnipeg Free Press)
The recent spate of rumors con-
cerning Mr. St,' Laurent's, probable
successor is not only unreliable;
it is irrelevant. For, in fact, Mr.
St. Laurent. it can.; be :said with
assurance, has no intention of re-
tiring in the visible future.
Unless there is a change in his
health, .now excellent, the Prime
Minister is now expected by his
Governspent to fight . another na-
tional election some four years'
hence.
The change in his personal atti-
tude towards the onerous burdens
of office isnot only well known to
his colleagues but is obvious in his
public manner.
About two years ago he was eag-
er
aoer for retirement, He thad come
to Ottawa. in tfie first place to do
a brief tour of war duty, he had
agreed reluctantly, to accept the
Liberal Party leadership, he had
won the 1949 election, and he felt
that his duty to the nation had
been discharged.
It was a formidable task to per-
suade him to lead the party in the
election of 1953.
What finally , decided shim to
abandon the thought of retirement
was the current notion that the
Liberal Party, as gauged by var-
ious provincial elections and Fed-
eral 'by-elections, was in trouble
and might even be defeated' at the
next poll. Mr. St. Laurent .refused
to retreat before an apparent storm
which turned out to be a storm in
a ,teacup,
He therefore dismissed t h e
thought of an easy life in his Que-
bec City home and •, fought last
year's election. It revealed 'him as
the most effective campaigner and
vote -getter in the modern history
of Canada.
It also revealed to Mr. St. Laur-
ent that he enjoyed ,polities, that
the easy life was no longer attrac-
tive to him. Within the• -last six
Months or so, therefore, all
thought of early retirement Was'
quietly forgotten.
Today Mr. St. Laurent is estab-
lished in a stronger position of
power within this party and the
nation than Mr. King ever was. He
has reached a place previously oc-
cupied in Canadian history only by
Macdonald, Laurier and King. '
In character and method he dif-'
fers radically from all these fam-
ous predecessors but in his con-
trol of party and' government he
hats achieved their stature of un-
questioned influence. He has sur-
mounted the final peak of politics
and created a personal legend.
John W. Defoe once said, ins a
famous•..phra.se, that a successful
prime minister in Canada was like
an ordinary tee which is fed on,
royal jelly and becomes a queen.
Wihat.ever • his original intentions
may be, he finally turns into a kind
of benign autocrat.
How far that theory fits Mr. St.
Laurent it is -impossible to say brat
his unchallengeable posture in cur-
rent politics is obvious, as proven
by the single fact that the Liberal
party is appalled by any chance of
his retirement before the next elec-
tion.
While no public announcement:
hats been made—beyond Mr. St.
Laiirent's occasional ambiguous
pleasantries in Parliament — the• •
party has been greatly relieved in
the last few weeks to learn that
he looks forward' to an indefinite -
period of leadership. Speculation oa
the successorship may continue in
the press. and in opposition parties.
It no longer seriously concerns the -
Government.
In these circumstances the final,
successorship, ,perhaps a goods
many years hence, becomes quite•
incalculable in any case. For in.
the intervening period some of the
promising younger men around the -
Prime Minister will disappear from,
politics and new prospects will em-
erge in the fluid' chemistry of par-
liamentary life.
At this distance it is impossible -
for anyone, even the Prime Mini--
ster himself, to distinguish the fig-
ure which some day will at at the,
head of the Treasury benches or
in the leadership of a Liberal Op-•
position.
Three men, Mr. Abbott, Mr. Pear-
son and 1VIr. Harrel, were tacitly
accepted as the only probable suc-
cessors to Mr, St. Laurent while
his intentions were in doubt. The
two former had proved their met-
tle in the secret debates of cab-
inet, in the administration Of great
departments of state, in interna-
tional
conferences .and in the -
rough -and -tumble of the Commons.
Mr. Harris was regarded as the
dark horse and conning young man,
as he well may be in the nd.
Mr. Abbott, however, has e.peat•
edly and candidly annouse hit
desire to leave politics altogether
at a convenient moment and his de-
cision, once taken with a large
grain of salt, is no longer doubted.
Mr. Pearson shows no ambitiore
for party lea.d'ership and is happy
in his role as one of the world's
leading foreign statesmen.
Mr. Harris is advancing fast in
the Liberal hierarchy, often leadst
the Government in the House and
by evident design is being constant-
ly exposed to the test of responsi-
bility. In an early party conven-
tion he would''be a formidable, pos-
sibly the most formidable conten--
der but since there is to be no -
early choice, the next four years,
or so could make his position un-
assailable
nassailable or, on the contrary.
could remove him from the list of
possibilities, He will have plenty
of time to prove himself.
In that time other possibilities
are Iikely to appear. Now that Mr.
St. Laurent ie to be a fixture, al-
most an institution, for an indean- _
ite period, the inner club of pos-
sible successors has no restricted
membership list: The future' prime
minister or opposition leader
this point has no name.
Timetables
(By Charles Dimont
in The Listener)
George Bradshaw was born in
Lancashire in 1801, the sbn of a
humble couple who, previous to his
birth, had worked at West Wljr-
combe in the service of the Dash-
wood family. Their eon went to
school at Overton, in Lancashire,
but unfortunatelyhis father could
not afford to continue his educa-
tion after he was• fourteen.
Like so many eminent Victorians,
George Bradshaw was to Ibe a'self-
made man. He was atpprenticed to
a printer and engraver in Manches-
ter, but' before long be set up,for
himself in a similpr line of busi-
ness,. 'In the meantime he had be-
come a member of the Society of
Friends, the Quakers. It was these
religious beliefs which led him to
want people to know each other
better.
Ile began in the late 1'820's ei e-
cializing la • mapS Of Canals and
nerrigaible rivers; what'he called,51n
lar knavigation."
it °#baa `'therefore a natural M
Nil
•
for Bradshaw to turnhis 'attention
from canals to the infant railways.
It ifs difficult for us in these days.
alien we can travel faster than we
can hear each other speak, to re-
alize what isolated lives men and
women lived 120 years ago. Then,.
a journey from one county to an-
other was an adventure.
In the 11830'.s Bradshaw saw the
great possibilities 111 the new raiI-
ways' and who can blame him for
presuming that speedier travel
worth mean people getting to
know each other better"nd there-
fore the establishment of a more
peaceful human society? It was a
belief held Iby many of the Victor-
ians. The opening of the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway convinced
him that he had. a :part to play in
railway development. This decided
him to embark on the publication
of the timetables, -
The earliest railway companies
followerll suit with schedules .or,
(Mfmttinned oil ?NO 3)