Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 29, 1963, Winnipeg, Manitoba Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights Winnipeg free press printed and published Dally except sunday by Winnipeg free press company limited. 300 Street Winnipeg Manitoba authorized As second class matter by the Pust office department. Ottawa and Tor Payne it of postage in Cash. John Sifton president Shane Mackay executive editor r. S. Malone publisher and vice president associate Maurice Western. Peter Mali Istock Winnipeg monday july 29, 1963 before taxes Rise by this time the Canadian people have surely realized that their taxes Are going up. The hopeful myth popular 4n the last three Federal elections that somehow taxes going Down has been finally exploded by the alarm ing figures of the National budget. But if the government needs More Revenue Asun doubt edly it does it is bound to fulfil two obligations before it increases tax rates. First it must make sure that it is raising them in the places where they will do the least harm to the Economy. Second it must demonstrate beyond question that is has done everything possible to Down non essential expenditures. The first obligation received full consideration in or. Gordon s present budget. A sales tax on building materials and machinery was judged wisely or unwisely the least objectionable of All alternatives though the government Felt compelled on second thoughts to postpone the full of this new Levy for some eighteen months. It cannot be said however that the government has fully considered its second obligation. There is no proof so far that it is seriously attempting to economize. While or. Gordon has paid the usual lip service to retrenchment his expenditures have increased greatly Over last year s budget and nex year he says the government will face a deficit of about a billion dollars unless he can Lay hands of More Revenue. Deficits of such size he warns Are unthinkable and sooner or later would Shipwreck the nation on the under these circumstances the government s first Fluty by its own analysis is to reconsider All its spending plans from top to Bottom. Or. Gordon promises to recon Sider them and May not spend All the Money which he is asking parliament to appropriate but this Promise hardly More than a passing aside in the budget speech lacks conviction. What for example has become of the Glassco com Mission s recommendations when Are its plans of econ omy to be implemented or if the government deems them unsound in some respects Why and where Are they to be rejected All the Glassco recommendations however even if they Are implemented would hardly begin to solve the Cri tical budgetary problem since they do not touch Basic Fin Ancial policy but Only the machinery of spending. Before the problem can be solved Basic policy will have to be reconsidered far beyond the pretty narrow limits of the Glassco commission. We know now that huge waste exists in most or All government departments. So the commission finds and cites indisputable evidence to support its conclusion thus confirming the suspicion of every Man on the Street. Even if waste is vigorously attacked As it has not been attacked for at least two decades the resulting eco Nomy Wie not be nearly enough to end the Haemorrhage of deficit in the Diefenbaker years. Assuming that the present government is sincere in its Promise to balance the budget As soon As possible it must ask itself whether the nation can afford to maintain some of its Public services on the present scale which expands automatically in Cost every year. None of these questions has been adequately examined in the present budget As or. Gordon tacitly admits by pleading that he lacked time to overhaul the expenditures planned by his predecessor. Nevertheless without any significant Economy the government has raised taxes in one area and May Well raise them in others before the year is out. The Canadian people in general realize that they must now pay for a six year spasm of frenzied conservative finance. Undoubtedly they will accept higher taxes in preference to worse financial disorder and its inevitable con sequence in the form of ruinous inflation. But they should not be asked to accept them and the government has no moral right to Levy them until their necessity is demonstrated. Necessity cannot be demonstrated until every item of expenditure in the budget has been re examined and justified. A patriotic people will pay their Bills to the state at the expense of reducing their private spending but Only if they can be sure that the state is operating within their collective Means and that they Are getting value for their Money. They have no Assurance yet on either of these Points. Any taxation without representation our ancestors agreed was tyranny. In Canada today High taxation with out Economy though approved by an elected parliament would still be a crime against the people. Costly errors a Story about a local improvement in the City of Ottawa would not in the Ordin Ary Way deserve at Tention elsewhere in the coun try. But Ottawa is not a City like other cities As the National capital it is largely subsidized by the Federal govern ment. Some six years ago a decision was taken to build a 60 mile an hour four mile through Way from West to East across the City. The estimated Cost was the general arrangement be ing that the National capital commission would meet the costs of land acquisition while the City and province shared the construction Bills. But it is now revealed that the planners under estimated by some million. In the matter of property acquisition they were out a whopping 60 per cent. This is the sort of mistake although not the Only sort of which deficits Are made. Unfortunately the experience with the Queen Sway is by no Means unprecedented. Once the unhappy news is broken there is nothing the tax payer can do about it except to meet the higher Bills. He is however entitled to ask questions when rumours spread that other worthy projects now in the planning stage will Cost a Good Deal More than he has been Given to understand. One such project is the Montreal world s fair which has commended itself to the government and no doubt to the general pub Lic As an admirable Enterprise for our Centennial year. The Cost figure mentioned so far is million which is to be shared by the three lev Els of government but Accord ing to la Presse a responsible Montreal newspaper this estimate is completely unrealistic. The site is a Small matter. What about Access lines or Road networks or the Canadian Pavilion which must be at least As impressive As those of the United states France and according to that paper when the pump has been Well primed we will be aware that hundreds of millions of dollars must be spent. La Presse is confident that Western canadians will be nationally minded enough to Bear their share of these costs with equanimity. But the finer instincts of tax payers will probably be More in evidence if they Are treated candidly by their governments. Parlia ment should assure itself now that this will not be a Queens Way on a far greater scale that there is firm agreement As to the several financial responsibilities of the participating governments and that the estimates Are reasonably accurate. If this is not done there will be a rude Awakening and the mood of the tax payers May be altogether out of Harmony with the sentiments generally considered appropriate for our Centennial year. Summer in Prince Edward Island a highly successful conference give and take at Ottawa Ottawa the Premier went in Friday roaring Ike Lions and came out Satur Day cooing like doves. No one can recall a Federal provincial conference which ended with such general satisfaction and Goodwill. In the circumstances this is a remarkable outcome. For it was a crash conference not envisioned in the original lib eral program. Co operative according to the earlier charts was to have been introduced at the much More ambitious meeting planned for november. More Over there was a suggestion of brinkmanship about the proceedings with the Fate of legislation already before parliament appearing to hang upon late night deliberations of harried ministers and officials. Appearances were perhaps deceptive. There is a pattern in Federal provincial conferences. Opening statements by the premiers Seldom strike a note of accommodation be cause they Are intended to establish bargaining positions. Moreover in this Case some of the More challenging briefs had to do with provincial objections to the Canada pen Sions plan. But in fact it was always intended that the talks on that subject should be exploratory and there was no urgency about decisions. Or. Lesage attributed the Success of the conference to the presence of a Diplomat in the chair. In at least one other respect the meeting did re semble a diplomatic Confer ence it produced a formula which each participant was Able to interpret to his own satisfaction. Or. Lesage came to Ottawa vowing that Quebec would contract out of the Munici pal Loans scheme. The formula meets his wishes. But no fed eral spokesman has accepted this description of Quebec s role. In the Brilliant euphemism of one official a Way has been found to deepen provincial there have been three changes in the Federal scheme the first of which prepared the Way for the other two. Or. Pearson in explaining at the outset that his government was not in any Way rigid or doctrinaire As to agreed that the million fund would be divided among by Maurice Western the provinces in ratio to populations. From an economic stand Point this May not be the most desirable arrangement because unemployment Levels vary greatly from Region to Region. But it was a necessary political Concession. As the Federal negotiators undoubtedly expected All the premiers came to Ottawa pre pared to argue that the legis lation should be broadened to cover a greater variety of municipal projects. The Pearson government was by no Means unwilling to give ground Here because its main concern is to stimulate employment by new construction whatever its nature which would not other Wise be undertaken. Moreover there Are important differences am orig the provinces Newfoundland for example has no municipalities in the usual sense and it can be argued persuasively that a province is in the Best position to de cide what sorts of projects Are Best suited to its particular situation. The latter principle was the More acceptable because of the need of satisfying Quebec s de Mand for autonomy. Or. Be Sage by contracting out or in according to the Point of View accepts responsibility for granting and administering the Loans in his own province. The Federal Board will certify hat Quebec expenditures have seen properly made according o the purposes of the Legisla Tion. But this is not a Fetter upon Quebec because the Pur poses Are acceptable to or. Lesage. Obviously there would be no net gain for employ ment in Quebec or anywhere else if the new funds were diverted for construction which would have been undertaken n any Case. While the proposed Amend ments to the legislation have not been made Public or. Pearson explained that the program would now embrace any kind of municipal work considered As a municipal pro sect within the province. The arrangement worked out in Ottawa May suggest a pos sible pattern for future agree ments on other programs. But the prime minister was most careful to avoid any such claim noting that the Confer ence was dealing in this Case with a Federal scheme of Emer gency character. There is How Ever to be a review of the whole question of joint Federal provincial programs of tax sharing and other matters at the fall conference. It is to be expected that or. Lesage who objects to such ventures in principle will then reaffirm Quebec s right to contract supporting it As he did on Friday by reference to the 1962 Liberal program. There s half the trouble in the world too Many people enjoy watching other people it is conceded that the pen Sion legislation is on a differ ent footing than the Loans Bill. It is extremely Complex and permanent in character. De spite some critical briefs the premiers were concerned Pri Marily with securing further information on this subject which is to be further explored in technical discussions at the official level. Nearly All the premiers commented on the spirit of give and take which marked the conference. There were differences of approach to problems but there were no blocs and there was no Axis working against Ottawa. One of the More surprising briefs was that of Saskatchewan which in the past has been extremely critical of the theories of the provincial rights school. Or. Lloyd May not have altered his Basic position but his speech bristled with references to provincial Peroga provincial jurisdiction and the Virtues of provincial this Choice language undoubtedly reflected the pre Mier s View that the provinces ought to have been consulted about legislation affecting municipalities at an earlier Date. But the government has also been reproached for the oppo site sin for seeking agree ment in principle before legis lation on which judgments might be based was available to the provinces. The one charge cancels out the other. In any event or. Lloyd in company with other premiers was presumably Well pleased by the agreement for More regular Federal provincial meetings with provision for continuing consultation through some form of secretariat. Long a popular theme with provincial governments this Accord May prove in the Long run the most significant achievement of the conference. The Pearson government has every reason for satisfaction with the results of the meet ing. Agreement with or. Be Sage on a major Issue coming within Days of the appointment of a commission on bilingual ism and has improved its standing in Quebec. Moreover it is prob ably in a position now to secure Swift passage of the Loans legislation. How can there be prolonged opposition to a measure commanding the approval of 10 provincial pre Miers and requiring enactment at the earliest possible Date if the municipalities Are to be Able to plan effectively their employment programs for the coming Winter future of Nauru ans nation in an Island by r. L. Curthoys Melbourne one of the most complicated series of problems Ever to confront an australian govern ment is the resettlement of the people of Nauru this is an Island Miles North East of Australia which is Rich in phosphate. Australia administers Nauru under mandate from the United nations on behalf of herself new zealand Anc great Britain. The Nauru ans have to find new Homes be cause their Island will be uninhabitable when its phosphate is worked out 30 years hence. Resettlement must be Gin As soon As possible and proceed continuously until then. Two years ago the austra Lian government offered the Nauru ans settlement in Australia and australian citizen ship. They declined on the ground that this would Des Troy their National identity. They proposed instead the creation of a Sovereign Nau Ruan nation related to austra Lia by treaty of Friendship without detailing How or where this would be achieved. Australia countered with the offer of Curtis Island five Miles off the coast of Queens land opposite Gladstone which is 320 Miles North of Brisbane. Of this the Nauru ans were to have exclusive occupancy with australian citizenship extended Powers of self government and the right of those who wished to do so to live on the australian Mainland. Curtis Island 20 Miles Long and Eig fit to 12 Miles wide is 20 times the size of Nauru with similar climate and environment. The Nauru ans find t acceptable. Its 180 Square Miles include excellent Graz ing land some of it already under occupation. The soil is Fertile and amply watered. It can grow sorghum peanuts Citrus and tropical fruits and Many other crops. At Low tide the Channel separating the Island from the Mainland is Only 400 Yards wide and cattle can be driven o and from it. There is Excel ent tuna fishing 140 Miles off to shores As japanese fish Ermen can testify. But How can people become an Independent nation within australian territory s Curtis Island to be excised rom the jurisdiction of Queensland and Given to the Var fans by the Federal government to Call their own if so will United nations be riven a continuing right of supervision is the Island to 3e visited periodically by investigating missions from the Juste ship Council probably including some members not of Friendly to Australia is he separate identity of the Nauru ans to be preserved is not integration inevitable for so Small a Community living so close to Australia wherever go the Nau runs Wilt race a completely new life in some aspects Likely to be unpalatable. They Are among the Best placed of All Pacific islanders As a in Mission which visited the is land in 1959 reported. They enjoy As they should big sub sidles from their phosphate deposits. They do not have to engage in the kind of work to which other islanders Are Lar gely confined. This is done mostly by chinese and people from elsewhere in the Pacific. The big task ahead is to train the Nauru ans to become self supporting. If this is not done they May become a gnawing focus of disaffection and even International Fric Tion. Their numbers have in creased from a Little Over when the japanese occupation ended after the War to today. They could be doubled were they left on Nauru until they could remain no longer. Every thing Points to the Wisdom of getting on with resettlement with a sense or urgency. The Nauru ans vehemently assert their right to ultimate National Independence and the trusteeship Council seems Dis posed to support them. But also involved in this proposal Are the governments of Bri Tain new zealand and Queensland the first two he cause they share the mandate and the third because it must assent to the surrender of Curtis Island. Thus far neither Federal nor Queensland government has agreed to waive australian sovereignty. The establishment of the Nauru ans on the Island is estimated to Cost from million to million. Austra Lia win have to find most of this Money. She must do so gladly for people whose Home land has been literally dug from under them to provide fertilizer f o r australian farms. Today s scripture Jesus Saith unto him Tho Mas because thou Hast seen me thou Hast believed blessed Are they that have not seen and yet have believed. John 20 29. Birthdays Harry g. Mcaree Minne Dosa Man. Born Minnedosa july 29, 1883. . Conservatism on the March ten years after Taft Washington on wednesday it will be ten years since the death of Sena Tor Robert a. Taft although he never became president he has an enduring place in the history of the Republican party and in the memory of the american people. Perhaps the detached judg ment of later scholars will question his inclusion among the five greatest senators and will regard the memorial to my on Capitol Hill As a pre mature tribute. But the con temporaries of a statesman familiar with his problems and aware of the inevitable limitations of the age have a right to their own verdict. Of senator Taft it can be said with Justice that his in sights were More important than his antipathies and his defects were far outweighed by his Virtues. He was never the Invulnerable Republican because his career was never impregnable to criticism but he assuredly was the indispensable Republican. In retrospect it is rather easy to find the sources of his Power. During Long years when Roosevelt and Truman Drew Power to the White House forcing Congress to abide by decisions which it could not control senator Taft often succeeded in giving intellectual dignity and moral purpose to the Republican cause. His assertion of congressional Power As an essential element of the american sys tem May one Day rank As his major contribution atoning for his mistakes on foreign by Max Freedman policy and his tolerance senator Mccarthy. After the Hiss affair had shaken the self Reliance of Many liberals and after the stalemate of the korean War had soured the temper of Public debate Sena Tor Taft s influence steadily in creased. For in the new setting his forebodings seemed an Echo of Public anxiety and a prophecy of National trouble. On Many Domestic issues the re publicans under his leadership were outvoted More often than they were out argued. What is the vital difference Between senator Taft s Type of conservative Republic ism and the conservatism made popu Lar today by senator Gold water there May be no agree ment on his Point but it seems to me that senator Taft quite often responded to the Chal Lenge of a specific proposal whereas senator Goldwater is More interested in maintaining the consistency of his political doctrines. Few surprises exist in the voting record of senator Gold water but in senator Taft s career there were interesting Liberal departures from the conservative pattern. No criticism of senator Goldwater is intended by this comparison. A political figure is entitled to respect when he Speaks his convictions without an Eye on the Gallup poll and without Servile fear of popu Lar prejudice. Senator Gold water certainly passes that test. In fact he stood alone in the Senate and spread his conservative opinions Long be fore there was an organized conservative movement in the country. Despite governor Rockefeller s charges it is quite wrong to mix up the John Bircher and the Radical right with this movement. These mischievous minorities Are the enemies of conservatism As they Are of republicanism. We merely play their game when we treat them As a serious influence in National politics As governor Rockefeller has done. They cannot be very import ant in san Francisco next summer unless All the self respecting and responsible re publicans stay away from the nominating convention. Nor does it make very much sense to ask senator Goldwater to repudiate these groups. He can repudiate them until he is Blue in the face and they will still vote for him because they Dis like All the other candidates so much More than they do him. Their votes however do not turn him into their Cap Tive candidate. The really interesting ques Tion is not Why senator Gold water appeals to these silly people but Why the conserva Tive Case is so popular now. A conservative revulsion can be expected if the democrats Lave enjoyed Many years in office or if there has been massive corruption or if the Economy has been utterly mis managed or if a blundering foreign policy has led to de feats and retreats. The present conservative protest is not fed from these roots. In essence it has two guiding principles. It cannot believe that All the american Effort and sacrifice can have produced no better result in world affairs than a precario Ous balance which wavers in certainly Between deceptive periods of truce. At Home it sees the american people at the mercy of big governments big budgets big deficits big Trade unions and now big demonstrations. At one and the same time it underestimates the complexities of our probe lems both Domestic eign and overestimates the Power of american action to change the course of events. This fatal facility for giving simple answers to Complex questions combined with an exploitation of a Public feel ing of fatigue and weariness after years of sacrifice enable the conservatives to be so Fer tile of criticisms so Barren 61 constructive proposals. But with All their mistakes and Peri cities these conserva Tive have touched a deep chord in. The Public mind. That explains Why they have been Able to convert an exercise in nostalgia into a reasoned and impressive Force in Ameri can life. Conservatism today marches to a different measure and under different incentives than it knew in the Days of senator Taft but it is definitely on the March and that would have pleased him ;