Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 07, 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights Winnipeg free press printed and published the Winnipeg free press company limited 300 Carlton Street. Winnipeg Manitoba. Authorized As second class matter by the Post office department Ottawa Victor St ton Grant Dexter publisher. Editor. We. Lord Bruce Hutchison general manager. Associate editor. Winnipeg saturday May 7, 1949 the Prairie voter when the Prairies filled up with settlement Early in this Century they became at once a major Force in Canadian poli tics. The people living Between the lakes and the Rockies formed the clearest Community of interest in the nation be cause All of them directly or indirectly lived on the pro Duce of the land and its Sale mainly in foreign countries. Their joint concern in the business of the nation soon reflected itself in their joint representation in the Canadian Parlia ment. There a stable group of Prairie members most of them in the Liberal party became a kind of fulcrum in the balance of National policy. Though that policy in a nation so huge and diverse As Canada was always and must be always a Compromise be tween conflicting interests the solid Prairie representation in parliament was Able to win the Best possible bargain for the Prest. By the Basic Law of a democratic state which Calhoun called the doctrine of the concurrent majority in the United states the powerful minority of the Prairies in parliament could exercise a kind of final veto on National pol icy which threatened to damage the. Prairies fundamental interests. J once dissatisfied with National policy the Prairies United in the progressive party to exert a could not be denied. Having won its Point or secured the Best Compromise possible the progressive party merged again with the Liberal party in which the Prairies spoke with a commanding Power. There was considerable support on the Prairies for the conservative party in 1930 on a policy of using tariffs to blast open foreign markets but this was an evanescent mood. The great and tragic change came with the Rise of the In Saskatchewan and the social credit party in Alberta when the Prairies began seriously to dilute their Power in National affairs. Their representation in parliament was splintered be tween four parties their influence was fractured and no longer could they speak in a single or even a majority voice. In the place of the old Unity the Prairies erected a political Tower of Babel. That is the Structure which in terms of practical poli tics occupies the Prairies today. Whatever party May form the National government whatever the nation s policies May be the Prairies in their division Are bound to be weak in the National counsels. They will find their old strength Only in a new Unity. This obvious fact is for the Prairies the dominant fact of the National election now under Way. Its Validity will not be denied by any of the four parties now dividing the Prairie representation in parliament. All parties will agree that the Prairies should be United. They quarrel Only Over the terms of Union. For the Prairie voter the Only practical question is How and where Unity can achieved. Two considerations Are Here involved. The first of course is the National policy of the four contending parties. The policy Best suited to the needs of the Prairies is the policy for which the Prairies will wish to vote. Without going into these matters in detail Here it can be seen of the parties advocate a policy opposed to the Prairies interests. The policy of protectionism the policy of restricting the entry of cheap goods into Canada and suppressing foreign Trade for the advantage of protected industries in Central can Ada still basically commands the support of the conserva Tive party which not by Accident is centred in and almost confined Central Canada. While the conservative party cannot be said to have any Clear after the shifts and confusions of the last year especially protectionism destructive of the Prairies interests is inherent in that party and would instantly express itself in office. The social credit party the extreme right Wing of conservatism is the most protectionist party Ever known in can Ada. The ., As a necessary part of its socialist ideology has never ceased to preach Protection of late years and though it started As a party of agrarian protest is now controlled by the Urban labor unions of Central Canada. The Liberal party the Only truly National party is necessarily a Compromise Between its various elements and cannot be anything else so Long As it is National. But the lib eral party most effectively during the last eighteen months not Only has advocated the expanding world Trade which the Prairies need for their survival but has expanded it fur ther than any party in Canadian history. If it has not yet gone far enough assuredly it has gone further than any other party would go and it alone proposes to go further if it is re elected. For the Prairies in the supreme Prairie Issue of Trade the Liberal party offers not Only the Best prospects but the Only real prospects of Progress. Secondly the Prairies must consider As a matter of prac tical politics where they can Hope to Wield the most influence. Obviously their influence will be at a maximum if their representatives in parliament form part of the parliamentary majority if they work within the existing govern ment. Their influence will be at a minimum if it is in opposition especially if the opposition itself is divided Between several parties. In realistic terms therefore the Prairie voter must ask himself which party has the Best Chance or any Chance at All of forming the next government. Such an analysis instantly eliminates both the social credit party and the They do not aspire to office or even to the control of the opposition. The conservative party Vith Little strength in the Marl changed since the Early Days of the War. Only four of. The present ministers were in the Cabinet when or. St. Laurent entered it in 1941. The Cabinet is not Only Young in age but new in membership. Or. Sinclair who May be a Little prejudiced says the present government is the youngest Ablest and most vigorous in our history and the term weary old men can Best be applied to the tory opposition because they Are weary of sitting so Long in opposition they Are weary of trying to keep up with their frequent changes of name platform and Leader and above All they Are weary to death of listening to their new Leader blare on like a Garish Juke Box which has Only two records Dominion provincial relations and Hong times in Quebec or the Prairies Bould Only Hope for office now by it political Miracle of which there be no sign. The actual Hopes of its leaders Are Only for a sufficient gain in strength to destroy the present government s majority and create a stalemate most dangerous in the present state of the nation and the world. For the Prairies the three opposition parties thus offer neither satisfactory policies nor the Chance of decisive Power an the next parliament the Liberal party both by its policy and its alone affords the Prairies an Opportunity to resume their old and powerful position in the political Structure of the nation. That Opportunity was rejected in the last two National elections when the Prairies were divided and weakened and of their own will destroyed their former Force. Is division and weakness to continue in the decisive Days ahead of Canada this above All in the question which the Prairie voter must decide at the polls next tired men the favorite cry of the conservative any policy of its that the present Cana Dian government is old and tired. If is remarkable indeed How much trouble this old and tired government can make for its Young vigorous and enlightened opponents. However if or. Drew will pause Long enough to look at a few simple figures he will begin to see Why the government has not collapsed like the Walls of Jer Icho before his trumpet blasts. As was pointed out recently by or. James Sinclair of North Van Couver Hansard Page 2555 the average age of the Cabinet Mem Bers As of March 31, 1949, was 56 years which is exceedingly Young by the standards of the past. By referring to the parliamentary guide with judicious estimates for the Ages of the old tories who Are too Coy to disclose their or. Sinclair calculated that the aver age age of the conservative Mem Bers of the recent parliament was 57.6 years. The opposition in fact is older than the government another interesting fact is that the personnel of the government has been almost completely 3, the great adventurer chapter i the great Fakir Auu one 66 of Notke Otter sink a 15-year agreement Tea policy the Manitoba members have waited upon the government at Ottawa urging that the Tea head quarters be not transferred from Winnipeg to Montreal. Or. St. Laurent has promised that the full Cabinet will give consideration to their request. Meantime the Days Are passing. The proposed move is to take place this fall. If so the employees of the Tea who will be affected must try soon to find Homes in Montreal. Most of these employees Are just As ardently opposed to be no sent away from Winnipeg As this province is opposed to the whole concept of transferring Tea. The sooner a decision is reached the better. No Case Worth mentioning has been made out for the move by or. Mcgregor the Tea president. A very Strong Case against the Transfer has been presented by the Manitoba government the City of Winnipeg the Winnipeg chamber of Commerce the Trade unions of this province and numerous other municipalities Chambers of com Merce and organizations. On its merits this is a question which can and should be decided speedily in favor of retaining the Headquarters Here at Winnipeg along with the rest of the Tea. That is the decision which All but a handful of people desire. By itself the Wall Street journal a bit wide eyed notes the appearance of the latest Triumph of household vacuum cleaner that runs by itself. It goes up and Down picking up All the lint Cigar Ash dog hair or whatever other extraneous trifles biologic or geologic there May be lying about but automatically avoids furnishings objects d Art husbands babies and what not in a most uncanny manner. When it finishes its work the knowing Little Critter scoots Back to its stall in the Hall closet. The journal does not say what does the trick whether it is radar a development of the electric Eye or what apparently preferring to leave things on a wonders will never cease basis. But it might at least have explained what Hap pens to the dust bag. Birthdays Harry s. Truman president of the United states born Lamar mo., May 8, 1884. Aus tin Dent Winnipeg born Middlesbrough Yorkshire England May 8, 1s71. John France Hughes Winnipeg born new Brompton England May 8, 1885. Australia . Meat contract Melbourne the matters the prime minister or. Chifley has found time to discuss in the course of his Rush visit to London apart from the essential business of the prime ministers conference was the plan for increasing Australia s meat sup plies to the United kingdom. Or. Chiefly has returned to Australia after signing a 15-year meat contract with Britain and has or dered a Start to be made on the detailed plans. This is very much a Long term process from which it is Likely to take at least four years to pro Duce the first tangible results. Discussions Between the United King Dom and australian governments have been proceeding Ever since the Mission from the . Minis try of food led by sir Henry turn or visited Canberra Early in 194s and or. Chifley carried them a stage further when he was in Lon Don later in that year. The main obstacle to an under standing has been the australian government s insistence upon a guaranteed Market for a term longer than that to which the uni Ted kingdom government has been Long As 15 years. This the United kingdom govern ment has at last conceded. There is no Hope of any appreciable in crease in australian beef production unless considerable capital expenditure running into Many Mil Lions of estimate is or incurred on developmental works in the cattle country of the North. Big Road and rail programme a big Road and railway building is envisaged As Well As the improvement of Stock routes and the establishment of in land killing centres and it is believed that if the Job be tackled purposefully the beef production of North Australia can be increased by As much As tons a year Over the present output of tons. A few years ago Australia s an Nual production of beef Mutton by r. L. Curthoys Lamb and pork was about tons of which about 250.000 tons were exported but this has diminished in recent years. Severe droughts have made in roads upon flocks and herds production has been hampered by Lack of manpower and materials and the High Price of Wool has Cut into Mutton and Lamb production. It suits graziers to hold their sheep not Only for their fleeces but also because owing to drought they have been much under stocked or to Transfer from the production of dual purpose sheep to Merino. Production of More beef but to produce More beef there is much to be done. A Royal com Mission which examined the meat Industry in Queensland in 1945 declared that its annual production of fat cattle could be More than doubled by using land then Idle by improving facilities for water ing cattle by providing Many More paddocks and More dips by closer supervision of herds and by so re organizing the Industry that the Best fattening land would be bet Ter employed. This is just the kind of catalogue of measures that is contemplated for the Northern territory under or. Chifley s plans apart from the provision of swifter transport. One specific proposal is the build ing of a 400-mile Road from the Kimberley ranges potentially one of Australia s most prolific beef raising areas to Wyndham on the North coast of Western Australia where the West australian government established some years ago meat freezing works to pro vide an outlet for cattle from both the Kimberley which Are inside the West australian Border and the Western Side of the Northern territory too often the cattle slaughtered at these works Are in poor Condi Tion not because of the inferiority of the country from which they come it is Good country but chiefly owing to inferior Droving methods Over bad Stock routes. The Cost of the proposed Road is estimated at it would enable cattle to reach the Wynd Ham works within a few Days without loss of condition. This is example of the kind of major undertaking the Commonwealth government has in mind for Northern Australia. Immigrant labor will be used Exten sively to expedite completion of the projected works. Apart from her desire to sustain the United kingdom s meat sup plies Australia needs to increase her meat production for Domestic purposes. If immigrants continue to be received at the present rate there May within a decade or so be no exportable beef surplus unless new sources of Supply Are opened. One estimate is that an increase of Only people will consume More fat cattle a year. To open up new cattle country or. C. L. A. Abbott a former administrator of the Northern territory recently estimated that the building of 400 Miles of rail Way would open country on which sufficient cattle could be raised to multiply three or four times its present total of about and to produce sheep too. Over acres of pastoral land in the territory Are said to be capable of much larger production insistence on improvements is vain however unless lessees can be assured of adequate supplies of fencing material Earth moving equipment for dam making wind Mills pumping engines and bore casing for bore sinking and of the Many other things they must have for the development of their hold Ings. Most of them Are eager to improve their properties particularly by providing better water sup ply but shortages of labor and material have placed them at a grievous disadvantage. Now that or. Chifley has come to terms with London therefore his worries really begin. Canada s economic Advance speaking to the Institute of chartered accountants of Ontario recently or. Graham Tow ers governor of the Bank of can Ada had this to say the major economic events in this country during the last decade and our future prospects Between the years 1939 and 1944 the volume of i underline the word creased about forty per cent Al though the increase in the employed civilian labour Force was Only about fifteen per cent. Of organization continuity of production and last but not least heavy investment in new Plant and machinery All contributed to this remarkable result during such a Short period of time. Effective Barrier from the Golden books from Pauline by Robert Browning i look with Hope to age at last which quenching much May let me concentrate the Sparks it spares. Today s scripture Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesars and unto god the things which be it is this ability to increase our productive capacity which taken in conjunction with other Meas ures has proved such an effective Barrier to the More extreme Type of inflation with which so Many other countries have been plagued. We were fable to Supply cur Over seas partners in the War with 000 millions Worth of goods and services and after the War in the years 1946-48, to extend credit and Relief to other countries to the tune of millions. Over and above these activities we have since 1945 been engaged upon the greatest peace time pro gramme of capital development which has Ever taken place in can Ada. However All this has not taken place at the Cost of lowering the Standard of living of our people. On the contrary the increase in our total volume of production has larger amount of goods and services for Domestic consumption with the result that our aver age Standard of living has shown an appreciable increase not Only decade but also As coir pared with the last period of peace time Prosperity and High employment in the years 1928-1929. These Are some of the Good Fea Tures of Canadian economic his tory in recent times. I think we do Well to remind ourselves of such a remarkable record of performance so that we do not be come discouraged by the problems which undoubtedly lie ahead. One cannot forget that our Export Trade normally accounts for about 20-25 per cent of our total production nor that the War has greatly changed for the worse the situation of some of our major and traditional customers abroad. So far As the record shows this has not interfered with our having a High level of Prosperity in can Ada. To a Large extent this has been because the countries concerned have received Large credits Inore recently Erp Aid which has enabled them to main Tain their Dollar imports at a High level. But they have been urged to make plans which will greatly reduce if not eliminate their Dol Lar deficits by 1952. If such a balance in their Dollar Trade is chiefly attained by an in crease in their exports to Dollar countries Well and Good. But if they rely in Large measure on reducing their imports from Dollar areas bilateral Trade deals among themselves the Outlook for Canadian Export Trade would not be favourable. Already there have been instances of developments along these lines having an and verse effect on certain Canadian exports. The future it is not for me to deed it would be impossible for anyone to what the outcome of this situation will be. A forecaster in 1945 might Well have Felt entitled to take a gloomy View of Canadian prospects in the years immediately following the War having in mind the vast destruction and dislocation which had taken place Over a Large part of the world. Events would have falsified any such prophecies. It might be equally wrong to Day to forecast a period of Effort less and untroubled Prosperity. With so much of the world in trouble North America can hardly expect to avoid some toil and sweat and perhaps a few Saskatchewan s political Arena Policy problems by w. R. C. Despite what has seemed an ebbing of party for tunes in Saskatchewan this past year a . National leaders be Lieve that province is still in their bag. Thus David Lewis National Secretary at Ottawa said his party would keep Saskatchewan curiously however Saskatchewan Spokesmen have not been As positive in their claims. Perhaps for or. Lewis distance lends enchantment whereas for Saskatchewan Leaders the memory of last year s provincial vote sets a realistic Standard. Or it May be Saskatchewan party men realize their efforts at the recent session of the Legisla Ture to adjust their policies to the current trend of Rural thinking were not completely convincing and certainly not influential federally. After last year s vote it was widely believed the . Govern ment would veer away from its socialization policies and move to wards being a Reform party addicted to planning. Thus it could mend its fences for the Federal election an action obviously Neces sary because if the Does not do better in the coming popular vote it did last year then its Outlook in Saskatchewan is not Bright. The Got its Provin Cial majority in the cities but Only three Federal seats can be considered predominantly Urban. It might have been expected therefore that at the legislative session proceeding the Federal vote there would be a Retreat from socialization and an Effort to con Ciliate the farm vote. In the Light of the present election Campaign it is Worth while attempting to assess those trends in the recent session. Measure of Retreat however these minor withdraw als from socialization were off set by the Premier s re affirmation of adherence to the out and out socialist Regina manifesto of 1932. Moves to conciliate tie farm vote were equally indecisive. There a Small appropriation to Start a kind of irrigation and soil conservation programme to work with , enough to enable the To get a Finger in the poli tical credits pie. Slight modification the measure of Retreat from socialization was not pronounced. There was modification of the compulsory system whereby Public bodies receiving government Grants had government insurance imposed on them. This was changed to a non profit and loss sharing basis. But at the same time Auto insurance was extended to bring in More Revenue without proportionate increase in benefits. A second Point of Retreat was changing the fish Board from a compulsory marketing system to a voluntary one and there was an admission some of the secondary state industries now closed might be abandoned As unsuited for state operation. There was a slight modification of the moratorium act to off set the reverse suffered in the courts in respect to a clause of the farm Security act. And there was the Margarine measure limiting the amount of colouring which no doubt was intended to please the Dairy Industry. Finally there was the Rural electrification act setting up Busi Ness rules for the Power commis Sion an act which apparently promised action on bringing electricity to farms. But the provisions indicated the whole Cost is to be borne by farm users a policy con firmed by the minister who said the system had to be self sustaining. The indecisiveness of both the moves away from socialization and to placate the farm vote suggests serious confusion in the govern ment mind occasioned no doubt by the conflict of party political needs As Between Saskatchewan and Industrial Canada where the Is bidding for labor votes and As Between the labor and farm vote in Saskatchewan. On the whole therefore the re cent session contributed Little to wards effecting a Rural re covery and the mental confusion evident in the government is Likely to be equally pronounced in the Campaign. In addition ordinarily the Rural vote in Saskatchewan is much less for the Federally than it is provincially As illustrated sharply by the drop from 53 per cent in 1944 to 44 per cent in 1945. Trying to count up the seats that will be won or lost by the various parties As some observers have at tempted is something like count ing chickens before the eggs Are even Laid. The most that can be said is that the trend away from the. C.. Observable this past year and on the record in the 194s election apparently is continuing and that the Has done no thing adequate or in Saskatchewan itself to halt or reverse that trend. By e. K. Brown thave been re Reading the old wives tale and have Felt a Shock that no doubt every Reader of it feels. It comes when Arnold Bennett erupts into his Story at the death of Samuel Povey to declare i have often laughed at Samuel Povey. But i liked and respected him. He was a very Hon est Man. I have always been glad to think that at the end of his life destiny took hold of him and displayed to the observant the vein of greatness which runs through every soul without except Arnold Bennett tries so hard to live up to the lesson the French novelists had taught him to write objectively to let one s characters carry the Ball and never to re mind the Reader that after All he is merely Reading a Story. But Here his emotions were too much for him he Steps in to Complete his effect in the old fashioned Way of the English novelists he so despised. How startling it is after Reading modern novels to go Back to some one like Thackeray who is As much a part of the entertainment he provides As any of his creatures. In vanity fair he gives warning As we bring our characters Forward i will ask leave As a Man and a brother not Only to introduce them but occasion ally to step Down from the plat form and talk about them they Are Good and kindly to love them and shake them by the hand if they Are silly to laugh at them confidentially in the Reader s sleeve if they Are wicked and heartless to abuse them in the strongest terms politeness admits splendidly alive How splendidly alive Are Thack Eray s appearances i suppose we ought to conclude from them that Becky Sharp and old sir Pitt Crawley and All the rest of the cast Are just a cast that we ought not to take them for living people out so immense is Thackeray s Power of imparting life that Becky and old sir Pitt Are among the most trouble ugly real of invented beings. The author May treat them As puppets May even Call them puppets As he does he cannot take the life out of them. There was a time when even French novelists stepped Forward and nudged the Reader s Elbow. At the beginning of Pere go riot Balzac pictures the holding the Book in a White hand and sinking Back in a soft and saying to himself per haps this Book is going to enter Tain Tolstoi also makes his personal appearances to comment and philosophize. Flat on the floor nowadays a Book is very Likely to begin with he or hem Ingway opens for whom the Bell tolls with he Lay Flat on the Brown Pine needled floor of the Graham Greene opens a very striking Book still almost unknown on this Side of the Atlantic England made me with she might have been waiting for her the older novelists believed that the Reader should not be Flung into the company of people he knew nothing about and left to get his bearings for himself. They were like accomplished hosts who performed the proper introductions and then if relations did not go smoothly they hovered about to whisper the helpful explanation in the Reader s ear. Of course there was risk in the old fashioned Way of writing. No one likes helpful whispers when they Are Deaden what might have been a very satisfactory relation with the created character. Thackeray exasperated when he keeps on assuring us that Becky Sharp is a bad woman and we must on no account be taken in by her. We quickly make up our minds about her As lady car Oline Lamb did about Byron whom she pronounced bad mad and dangerous to poor lady Caroline went on to know him to her destruction but we believe we Are Wiser than she was and Are probably right. La passing i men Tion that in Glenarvon she wrote one of the worst novels in the language. Still if the author can be too obtrusive perhaps his appearance now and then enriches hit effect ;