PRINCE
VOL. 16, NO. 11
PRINCE GEORGE, B. C. THURSDAY, MARiCH 15, 1934
Five Oenta
RAILWAY OUTLET FOR PEACE
RIVER GAINS COMMONS FAVOR
Railways Heads Now Agreed on
Advantages of Location on
the Peace River
Peace River outlet, consisting of of railway up the Peace River Finlay Forks, and bending south at fl point to follow the watershed of the Parsnip and its tributaries to Summit !Lake, and on to Prince George to connect with the P. G. E., is apparently nearer of attainment than many persons believe. The debate :n the 'house of commons on Wedne>day, February 28th. on the resolution moved �,toy D. M. Kennedy, the member for Peace River makes this rather clear. .The resolution read: "That in the opinion of Miis house, the Peace River -country should be connected by a railway outlet to the Pac'lic and the manner in which it jBg received in the hou^e of commons Hde it clear there has been a marked ffing in public opinion in favor of p construction, with the leaders of two major parties recognizing obligations in the ma'ter of pro-.g the direct line, and that when line. Is built it will come through Peace Pass and thus open the jpttifcximum area of country, jf'iln row of the trend of the debate �'iiipon the resolution offered by Mr. ^Kennedy it would seem as if the action of Premier Pattullo, in securing a '-reference of British Columbia's claim against the federal government in connection with the P .G. E.. has been Hmely and will probably bear fruit. The claim that the federal government virtually blocked the completion of the P. G. E. to Prince George with the merging of the G. T. P. and Canadian Northern lines into the Canadian National system is not new. It has been advanced before, but the members of
MANION IS NOW FAVORABLE
parliament certainly appear to, be in a more receptive mood with -respect to the B. C. claim than ever before.
It :s worthy of note that the resolution offered by Mr. Kenedy was adopted by the commons without division, �after it had been amended by Hon. R. J. Manion, minister of railways, by tacking three words to the end of,,it, "when circumstances permit." In'offering this amendment the minister explained it was not proposed with any view to blocking the resolution, but rather to call attention to the neces-.si.t:cs of the present financial situation. The shift in parliamentary opinion on the issue was clearly indicated in tihe adoption of Mr. Kennedy's resolution without division, whereas a similar resolution was defeated in the last session on a division of 39 to 133. John A. Fraser's Position
The deba',0 indicated a complete shr'ft from. what is known .as the Obed route, which would tap the Peace River district from the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains to that which would follow the Peace River to Finlay Forks and /continue south up the watershed' cf the Parsnip to Summit Lake and Prcnce George. One of the no able contributions to the debate was that, of John A. Fraser, the member for Cariboo. He .said he recognized the government might find it difficult to justify an expenditure of from 320,000.000 to 525,000.000 to increase the shipment of wheat when the country had upon its hands from 140.000.000 to 150,000,000 bushels of unsold wheat, but he contended this was taking a very limited view of the sit-unt'on. There were other considera-
John A Fraser Makes Strong Plea for Early Construction.^ of the Railway
tions in the Peace River than the wheat crop, particularly live stock production. At present he said British Columbia imported 50 per cent of the beef its people consumed. With, respect to hogs the Peace River would not bo altogether dependent upon the British market as British Columbia ra/sed but 10 per cent of the hogs she consumed. With respect to butter the B. C. consumption is 20,000,000 lbs. and but only 5,000,000 lbs. are produced in the province. In the B. C. division of the Peace River district he predicted a. tremendous expansion of the live stock industry once adequate railway facilities are furni^ed.
He said he had always believed the Peace River country should be opened with a railway along the Peace River, and he feared the engineers who had advanced the Obed route had made a grave mistake. In the valley of the Peace are large quantities of timber awaiting transportation, as well as available water power for manufacturing purposes. The mining possibilities of the Peace River area aLso offered magnificent- opportunities for the investment of capital and the employment of labor. The revival which had been brought about in the district of Cariboo within the pa.st two year3. wlvch in 1933 had furnished the P.G.E. railway with its first operating surplus since the road was built, would, in his opinion, be duplicated in the Peace River when necessary transportation facilities are furnished.
As an instance of the probable mineral wealth of the Peace River district
Race in Naval Armaments takes Japanese Lives
Deficit of Five Million is Shown
r
in B.C. Budget
Latest Japanese Destroyer Made Chief Hope of Finance Minister
Top-Heavy Turns Turtle in Rough Weather
CREW OF 106 LOST
Hart Lies in Refunding of the Provincial Debt
REVENUES STILL FALL
Effort to Circumvent the Terms ; Dominion Government Declines
to Guarantee Proposed Con-sion Loan of Province
Mr.
Fraser instanced Mount Selwyn. (Continued on Page Four.i
CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES RELIEF?
The city council was waited upon ;on Monday evening by a delegation of the unemployed throughout the city ^fljnd district and served with a copy �;!of a document the original of which it is said to have carried the signatures 960 persons directly interested in ployment relief payments. There no signatures attached to the �written sheets which were left the members of the city council, It was .s'ated hereon that 960 adult
Free medical attention and supplies ! the unemployed Lo Uie government for every unemployed man. woman
and child.
ispos
the part of members
No eviction, foreclosures, or seizure i of '.he council to strain the municipal-of the workers' home, goods or chat- ity's ability to pay in the extending of itels because of inability to pay rent, further relief, and for a time the issue taxes or mortgages. i was debated whether this should, be
Immediate cessation of the overbearing and in-suiting attitude adopted by the present relief officers toward recipients of relief.
No unnecessary interference by the, ing with the matter was considered dice force iri wage or relief disputes more in line with the provincial gov-
of London Naval Treaty Results in Tragedy
Tokio, Mar. 13�Thirteen men from the capsized Japanese destroyer have been saved, and the bodies of fifteen of the victims have been recovered. Two men were picked up by a vessel searching1 for survivors. They had been thrown clear of the destroyer when she turned over and succeeded in finding wreckage to which they clung until rescued. Three men who were trapped fcr seme hours effected their escape from the vessel under the water, and were picked up by rescue ships when they came to the surface. From tappings which came from the destroyer it. was estimated there were at least fifteen other men alive when the rescue ships reached the wreck, seven at one end and eight at the other. Rescuers worked feverishly to cut a hole in the hull of the destroyer and effect their rescue with the result that eight more lives were saved. Tokio. Mar. 12�The Japanese government's determination to increase its naval strength by circumventing the res'rictions" of the London naval treaty met with disaster yesterday in the capsizing of a small torpedo destroyer, which took 106 lives. The destroyer was launched but two weeks ago and was engaging in her trials when she I was caught in some rough water and ! capsized, turning bottom up. The j The tragedy is said to have been due I to the excessive armament carried by j the vessel, it being estimated to have been twice what the vessel should j have carried. In the rough water the I
over, carrying her crew of 106 persons
Victoria. March .12�Hon. John Hart, , minister of finance, submitted h/s i budget, today. It is' not the budget j tho minister hoped to present but it , is the best that cculd be expected un-I der the circumstances. It discloses I there will be no new taxes dur'ng the
� ensuing year, and with respect to the
� one per cent tax upon incomes there ! will be a measure of relief. The ex-1 eruption for married taxpayers is j raised from $500 to $1000, and with
respect to unmarried wage-earners. ' who were given no exemption former-; ly. there i.s to be an exemption of , $600. In presenting the budget Hon. , Mr. Han. said he still expec s to effect ! an annual saving in the. fixed charges j cf the province through a reduction in fVr. rate cf interest upon the bonded j debt.
The minister contemplates the re-| funding of the entire bonded debt of the province which stands at approximately $124,420,000. with the probable except'on of $17,196,936 cf the inscribed stock of the province, the greater part of which is carrying interest at
3 per cen\ and S7.275.000 at Wi of these issues mature in 1941.
All The
fo their deaths, was well under
It is said the vessel the dimensions of
was debated whether this should
done by increa
for children
increase in all food allowances cf 10
per cent. This latter method of de-al-
craft covered by the- terms of the
PJsMf. 33SKS53S
qpg
armament, to gain a naval advantage not contemplated by the treaty. The vessel has been recovered and is being
had subscribed their names to . between workers and the authorities. : eminent."s policy and was decided upon. ccnveo _[_____rL trfe original which was forwarded to | Representation of the unemployed on The increase in the food allowances
the provincial government
The document, described as the demand of the unemployed uprni the local and provincial authorities for a uniform scale of relief, and other provisions for the unemployed pending �the enactment of a national employment insurance bill asked for:
The immediate inauguration of
all relief administration bodies! with was made effective as from March WOMEN FIND JOKER IN
full recognition of the duly elected 15th. and those who have already re-
workers' representatives by authorities.
local | ceived their allowance-.? for the month will receive an adjustment of the in-
No objection or unjust restrictions crease for the last half of the month i ';o be placed in the way of unemployed when the April allowances are 'ssued. j persons applying for marriage licences. There are two classes of relief being
LEGISLATION GIVING THEM THE FRANCHISE
Wednesday's Meeting
Members of the city council had
a. program of local and provin- j been giving some attention to the local is acting solely as the agent of the .. cial public works at a trades' union relief nroblrm in view of the receipt; provincial government, and that to
iriate of wages, particularly with rc-�'spect to streets, sidewalks and recrea-
Rio de Janeiro, Mar. 12�The women of Brazil made a great fight for the
administered by the city, that to single , franchiSP and eventually succeeded in person-,, in respect to whom the .city netting it that is thev thought they
of a telegram from E. W. Griffith, married persons and their p admiirs'rator of relief at Victoria, in in which the cost is split three ways
had. But when they came to examine tihe statute which gave them the privilege of voting, they found that
in addition to the taking of the oath
a family of two. and one extra day per month for each additional depend-Knt, with an 8-houv day at the rate fof 50 cents per hour. �f An immediate increase of 25 per spent for all s'ngle men under the resent, relief allowance based on 401 ents per day', thereby bringing the lief allowances 1c 50 cents per clay: that all single unattached perscrjs ver 16 years come under this category. The right of all single unemployed in the district to receive this .mount regardless cf their period of lomicile; and all relief to single un-mplcycd to be issued in cash instead f the present, humiliating and denuding -scrip system. The: abolition of all tcsk work: no worker to be compelled to enter a relief camp against his will.
All workers injured on relief jobs to come under the provisions of the {Workmen's. Compensation Act.
That the charges against C. Peterson O. Olson. R. Lindal and D. Dickinson when arose out of the attack of the i local police force on the peaceful as-sembly of unemployed in the government building on November 16th be [immediately dropped, and that no fother charges be laid against them. That 40 cents per day be p^id to
lows:
"Effective on first March, subject to discretion of municipality, the maximum allowances to which we will contribute for food is increased by 10', for all classes, including transients eligible for . cam]), wiie'her fit or unfit. Forty per cent allowance remains as heretofore, based on old scale of food allowance."
It was decided on Monday evening to call a special meeting of the council for Wednesday evening, and the representatives of the unemployed were advised the decision would be announced after this meeting. On Wed-nesdav evening, while the willingness
ing 96 adults and 126 children, and reiieve ' them from military service.
for the month of February they con- | ________o_________
i-tituted a charge of $901.25. the wp-|ARARr ARRFSTFD TN nrate payments ranging from $30.00 ! AKrtD;) akkloidu �in per month downwards, depending upon j BAGDAD FOR MURDER 'he number of children in the family. \ For the current, month it is expected OF GLOBE TROTTERS
that the municipal relief will be j --------
something in excess of that for Feb- i Bagdad. Mar. 12�Two Arabs have
rest of the bonded debt is carrying from 4 to 6'; interest and "it is in connection with it that the �substantial saving in interest charges is hoped for. The plan of the min'ster is to bring about a refunding of the uebt so that the interest charges may be loduced to 3 or 3' j' � . the new debenttucs to run fcr a period cf thirty years. After they have run fcr five years ii 'is proposed to set up sinking funds sufficient to ret:re them on maturity. The minister's es'.imate is a possible caving of S6.000.000 annually for the first five years, and of S3000.000 annually for the rest cf the life <--f the deViituies. The refunding scheme is net to be attemp ed in one large transaction, but from t'me to lime a; favorable opportunity presents. The minister informed the house that the federal government had been reque.'Ud to guarantee the proposed conversion lean but had declined.
The budget .shows a reduction of more than $1,000,000 in es'imrted expenditures, but the minister has been obi'ged to lower his estimate of revenue by the same amount. A deficit of $2,066,846 is budgeted en current account, but in addition to this ..here is an estimated deficit cf S3.000.000 on relief account. There \s a reduction of approximately S2.?onooo shtwri in the estimate of capital expenditures, but this is explained by tho f3,c' no provision :s made for sinking fund Installments.
There are to be no increased grants to the municipalities during the en-iritiiriated that embarrassed re-loanfi. Grants to public hospitals are to bo
I/increased by $225,000. the grant to.
1 the B. C. university by $50,000. and Mie grant in aid of school teachers' salaries by $200,000.
In his estimates of revenue Mr. Hart
j counts little on a large upturn in
I business this year. Generally his revenue expectations are the �ame
ruary. bir, during the summer months j been placed under arrest charged with year. The only large now item is $250.-there should be a drop, depending I the murder of Ray Fisher, a graduate boo which he expects to get from the upon the employment which may be cf the Uivversity of Cincinat'i. and fuel oil tax. since it has been.validated available. j Tufc'.f May. a German reporter of j by the courts.
In dealing with the relief problem Duseldorf. The men were killed on the j From income and personal property the aldermen were faced with dlmin- | Tigris river at a point about 100 miles ' tax he expects S4.500.000. as against
from two | 5outh of this point while on a journey j,an estimate of $4,850,000 for the pre-
ishing municipal quarters. the i
revenues bility of
owner? to meet the tax lew, and the
prcpery ! to India by way of Iraq. Fisher was ! sent fiscal year. Land taxes are ex-
the members of the council to go i cutting of the government grants to
the limit in tlio matter of unemployment relief was voiced, it. was also apparent that in the-op'nion of most of
the members the re iclied, having re;
limit had been rard to the ability
of the municipality to pay. The representations made
bv the
unemployed wore first considered clause by clause, but ist was evident the members of the council were not rerlously impressed with the demands made, which would involve the setting up in the city of a s:y.s em of relief which would vield tuanv living under
each man and his wife, with $6.00 per LI a larger income than they CQuld month for each dependent between tho . enrn in most of the industries of the �ages of 16 and 21 years, and $4.00 per district at the present time. Such a
the municipality, which with added charges for social .services has made, municipal budgeting a very difficiut matter.
killed ou!right and his companion d cd in a neighboring village. Before he died May said the Arabs approached them and asked for matches and them fired upon them.
HERBERT MORRISON DECLINES HEAD OF COUNTY COUNCIL
ROOSEVELT TO REVISE SUBSIDIES BEING PAID TO U. S. SHIPPING
London. Mar. 13�Herbert Morrison, who was selected as the chairman of the London County Council by the I members of the victorious Labor j party, has declined the honor. It is said the chairmanship will now uo to Baron Snell.
�system it. was contended would stifle initiative on the part cf many'en re- ' "
He*, and cause them to slacken their | PITTSBURG COUNCIL effort to secure employment. Tho request that a public works pro-
ORDER DESTRUCTION
monih fcr each clrvld under 16 years, thereby eliminating the discrepancy which now exists as between the government and municipal relief scales.
All relief to married men to be is-.................... ,.....,
sued 'n cash; and tho abolition of all gram should be inaugurated to supply j OF 85 PARROTS
task work in return for relief allow- empolyment was commended, but this I --------
ances. i involved financing, which so far as the j Pifctsburg, Mar. 12�The health auth-
Part-Iime workers wages to be sup- j city is concerned Is beyond its ability � critics have ordered the destruction of plemented if necessary so that they i at "the present time. The rate of wage i eighty-five parrots which were held shall nrf receive le.~s than the pro- demanded fcr such work�50 cents per, to be responsible for a severe outbreak
hour�was considered'"tinreasonahJU? in i of what is known as parrot disease.
Washington. Mar. 12�It is announced that President Roosevelt will shortly undertake a revision of the subsidies being paid to United States shipping in view of the complaint that the subsidies present a hindrance to world trade. Complaints' with respect to the subsidies have been voiced by the government of Great Britain, as well as bv Australia and New Zealand.
posed relief scale.
The rierht of all married persons now In the district to receive rel'ef allow-'ances regardless of the period of their domicile.
view of the fact that, the provincial Health authortics say eleven p-ersons
government contemplated the enactr
have died of the malady and there are
ment of a minimum wage of 40 cents, thirty-six cases s^dll receiving treat-When all of the representations of I ment.
DEMANDS OF VETERANS IN ESTHONIA RESULT IN MARTIAL LAW
Louden. M/u\ 12�Martial law
pected to drop from $1500000 �o $1.-400.000. Poll taxes are c.WS from $35 000 to $17 500. and I'ho mri-mutuei tax from $140,000 to $110,000.
While Mr. Hart expec's \o l^~e $500,000 by the exmepticn of lower incomes from the 1 i^er cent tax, he counts on a drop in income taxation of only $350,000. Evidently he anticipates that taxes on higher incomes will rise with the return of better conditions.
Improvements in the lumber industry is expected to y'eld $1.300 000 instead of $1,200,000 from timber royalties
Increased matrimony is expected during this year, and revenue from marriage licences accordingly is raised from $15,000 to $20,000.
The game department vote stands at $193,942 as against $200,515 last year. This branch which has been under heavy fire for years, thus is going to survive all attacks against it and proceed with practically no change.
In the department of lands provision i.s made for a new program of aerial surveying, in "which five permanent officials will be employed. The sum cf $300,000 is inserted for forest pro-
beon proclaimed in Esthonia suit of the decision of the authorities to suppress wliat are described as the Unreasonable demands of the wax veterans associations.
ial law has i tection. for which the former govsrii-a as the re- i ment made no provisions and financed
proyis
the cost involved by special wan-ant. A to'al of $50,000 is provided for lumber trade extensions as against $20,000 last year.