VICTOR
Prince George Citizen
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Central and Northern British Columbia
No. 13
Prince George, B.C., Thursday, March 28,  1946
leek Aid in Brief On assessment Riddle
(v4ayor Jack Nicholson Representing City At Royal Commission Hearings on Provincial-Municipal Relations
#2.00 a Year
Ere
passed the ammuni-v to Mayor Jack Nichol-at   Royal Commission April 5, at 10 ajn. ^restoration   of   grants and means of re-assessment being ;ved for Prince George. ensure   powder   being dry biggest charge, the City Coun-- seeking a ruling from the ln-Eor of municipalities for fearjts
of re-assessments may |a wet fuse, questionnaire   was nailed Tuesday  to nine:
I What means, if any, may the Corporation employ to raise assessments in certain large areas of the city without resort to a tax oh improvements. If re-assessment of lots is the
in
 fizzle
authorized Victoria   to
[prerogative
of    the    assessor,
what right has the corporation, I if any, to direct him in instituting a broad scheme  of  re-as-jsessment. I What powers has the corpora-
Building Trades Urge Federal Aid Toward Material
Some 22 jobless carpenters got the backing of City Council on Monday toward easing the acute shortage of materials in Prince George.
City Council endorsed a measure passed by Prince George local 1998, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, directed to the Hon. C. D. Howe, federal minister of reconstruction.
The union claims that owing to the increase of population to approximately double that of 1941 and that there are a considerable number of houses uncompleted owing to lack of materials, an acute need exists.
It is cited that building supply dealers have only received one car-
Uon to employ   an    expert on  load of coast flooring and other in-
taxation, and to implement his I recommendations, addition, the inspector of mu-ilities will be asked for other nendations in the matter of iion of assessments or toward for more equitable distribu- the tax burden within the
epared by Aid. Thomas S. Car-|iael, need for   an answer was on the following grounds:
nent on residential lots of I city has been relatively un-jiged since IncorpoTatfen al-gh the value of lots in certain ee COMMISSION Page Five)
Flash!
ION', R. L. MAITLAND DIES
VANCOUVER � Hon.   R,    L.
hitland, K.C., attorney-general B.C., died suddenly today in
ncouver General Hospital fol-in; an attack of influenza.
Mr. MaiUand, one  of   British
llumbia's ablest legislators a leading lawyer, had been indifferent   health   for   two
irs.
Invention Dates � or Farmers
tes of District "C" convention armers'   Institutes   were   an-
nccd  today   by   Steve   Zlngle,
ng-secretary.
convention   will   be held in
George   on   Tuesday   and
;sday. June 25-26, to comply
the tri-weekly   train service;
mil follow the convention to be in District "B"  a  day  or so
terior finishing materials in the past 12 months.
There were two carloads of w�\H-board shipped In.
Materials required for the finishing of houses and building of new ones for which there is a healthy demand, constitute finish flooring, inside trim, composition wallboard, lath, plumbing and electrical materials and some lines of builders' hardware, plywoods and glass.
Had the materials been available, th^^tprn-ovisr would have been three to four times as much in those lines.
Result of the situation, it is pointed out, is that during the past three months there has been a large list of unemployed carpenters in Prince George, with very little possibility held of the men obtaining employment. Returned veterans are included in the list.
There have been a number of war veterans, recently discharged, who are being compelled "to live in unsanitary shacks and houses or forced to double up with parents or in-laws in already crowded homes."
The union contends that if more materials could be made available at this time the "critical situation would be relieved to some extent."
Apart from action of the union and City Council toward agitating for more materials has been the reaction - of potential residents to Prince George.
In several instances reported to The Citizen of late would-be residents, some of whom had planned on establishing businesses here, have become so discouraged over the housing shortage and lack of facilities to conduct business, they have looked elsewhere for opportunities.
eh!
entleman 's Agreement  City on Sale Policy
- agreement borne of L ear ciavs of depression Properties   reverted
 years  through
 Coun
 in considering how to t
 Junior
*" a request   of   cne "er of Commerce.
business men Procedure followed In v Properties, particu-lots   adjoining, im-
 describing
 Our
|peopi&i
 lnterests �f  Catne when
"It's the first time," said Aid. Clark, "that I've seen an objection. It's been the understanding, rather than law, for many years running since properties lapsed during the depression."
He moved that the Junior Chamber be advised the procedure is based on an understanding carried out for a long time which has resulted in many cases in property returning to the original owners.
The Issue at point involves a policy whereby the owner of improved property adjoining a lot for which an application to purchase has been received by City Council is advised In time to buy the property in place of the applicant, should he so desire.
It encourages, according to Aid. Munro, during the discussion, creating "dead ground; for what's the use of trying to purchase a lot, if you know the adjoining property has prior claim?"
The motion of Aid. Clark was approved.
T
rainman
 Hurt  Engine Hits Mudslide
Civic Utilities Crutch For Local Taxpayers
Surpluses Continue to Mark City Finances, Despite Drop to 1943 Level
Luck rode with the engine crew of
eastbound   speed   freight   424   on           A tiny acorn nurtured by ratepayers over many lean years
Tuesday when it ran out of a tun-   L        ,       ,         , .              .  ,     '     ,     ,    ,                     '          '
nel near Rider right into a mud-: has developed into a mighty oak sheltering present taxpayers
slide, the engine and tender toppling! from the brunt of financial worries, the financial statement of over, one freight car being snapped ; tne city of Prince George for 1945 indicates in half like a   matchstick and an-      Whereas land    tax   levies on te other derailed.                                    mUls yielded $54,03344 apart frOm
Frank Armstrong, engineer; Harold W- Willis, fireman, and  Henry
J. A. BARBER, Canadian Pacific Air Line's district traffic manager, of Vancouver, today announced a trl-weekly air service in Quesnel, effective May 1. Lockheed "Lodestars" will drop In on Quesnel southbound on Mondays. Wednesdays and Fridays and northbound on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as part of the mainline schedule. Mr. Barber visited here last weekend with Hugh Johnston, assistant regional traffic manager, of Edmonton.
Regional Rally Of Red Cross
A regional conference of Canadian Red Cross Society branches in northern-interior B.C. will be held here on Wednesday, April 10, Mrs. W. R. McKenzle, provincial representative for the northern interior, announced today.
P. S. McKergow, president of the provincial executive, and Col. O. A. Scott, commissioner, will be the principal speakers.
Delegates attend tag- -will re present Terrace, Bulkley Valley, Burns Lake, Vanderhoof, Wells. Quesnel, Mc-Bride and the Prince George branch.
Leaders Bunched As Upsets Result In 5-Pin League
Upsets in Prince George Five-Pin League resulted when Elks were trimmed for two games by Malkin's Warehouse, barely salvaging ' the middle game by 10 pins, to lead "A" section a single point ahead of Bi-Rite, now level with Tommy's Place, with 47 points, effected by Bi-Rite taking two games from the latter.
Malkln's   Office   squeezed    three j games from Northern to take third | berth with 44 points, Bexon's took two games from Moore's to remain tied for fourth place with Malkin's Warehouse, with 35 points;  Northern, with 32; and Moore's, with 24, trailing the pack.
Gundy's edged closer to the Royal Bank by taking one game from Bowling Alley as Nash Engineering blasted the Royal Bank for three wins to reduce the leaders to a margin of three points.
The Bowling Alley crew continued their point-gathering streak and ended tied for third place with Fraser River Hardware, with 42 points, the latter team being trimmed three games by last-place Prince George Motors. Northern i Interior Lumbermen collected two from .Rush Transfer to hold fourth place wit!h~ 4o points, followed by Nash Engineering. 36; Rush Transfer. 35; and P.G. Motors, 25.
Top honors for the men's three-game total was freakishly shared three ways when Roy White. Tony Galinis arid Ed Funnell rolled 701, although the single high score went to Tom Harvey with 312.
Jessie Jorgensen rolled the highest single game among the women with 322 toward her three-game high of the week of 668.
Waldof, head-end brakle, suffered shock when tossed like peas in a pod within the engine cab. The latter sustained extensive sprains of lower back muscles. All work out ot Prince George.
When the engine slid to the lower side of the track and toppled on its side no steampipes were broken nor were the engine crew pinned within the cab. W. C. Shovar, conductor, McBride, crawled over balance of the train in the tunnel from the caboose.
The accident   occurred    18 miles j west of McBride, shortly after the eastbound   train   had   passed    the westbound wayfreight,    at Loos, 38 miles from McBride.
Vibration of the latter's passage is considered likely to have started the mudslide which swept down just outside the portal of the tunnel near its abuttments, affording no chance for the crew to Jump from the speed freight as the engine cleared the portal.
The slide swept under a culvert bridge dislodging it from Its foundations, balance of the mud slipping across the rails.
An auxiliary sent out from Jasper was Joined at the scene by crews from McBride to assist in laying a "shoe-fly" around the break in the rails.
Passengers on the eastbound passenger train out of Prince George were delayed from 6:50 p.m. until 4 a.m. before a clearance was given.
The switcher brought the badly shaken engine crew from Rider to Prince George where the ambulance conveyed Mr. Waldof to hospital, for X-ray examination to determine the extent of the back injuries.
$583.42 penalties and $183.68 interest on arrears, civic utilities yielded
Clear Path For New Lumber Yard
Toward establishing a lumber yard adjoining the creamery, applications of Robert Allen .for lots 20 to 22 for $598.80 and of Robert Charles Allen for lots 23 to 25 In block 20 fc
surpluses of $51,804.92 toward a total revenue of $158,202.24.
Provincial government grants aggregated $28,742.55, trades licences and professional taxes, $5,515; police court fines, $4,104.50; tuition fees, $2,666.50 to contribute to the balance completed by $7,112.12 in other  current revenue.
School     Board    requirements absorbed most of the  1945 tax levy and   accounted,   according to the auditors, "to some extent �for  the large   deficit   in respect  of  the   Corporation   Proper during- the past year." This "deficit" represents the $38,-433.48  difference,    met    by  utility surpluses, between    revenues    from tax sources and total expenditures of  $144,167.42    of    which  $71,002.96 constituted    School    Board    costs, leaving a surplus    for the year of $14,034.82.
Current surplus of the corporation at December 31, 1945, had dropped to the 1943 level after a peak in 1944, but was well ahead of 1942.
For 1945 current assets stood at (See UTILCTTES, Page Three)
Dogcatcher! Try Spry Mancatcher
Repats from the K-9 Corps are being advised by picket-fence telegraph of rank discrimination by dog's reputed best friend�man.
Financial statement of the City of Prince George shows in black and white that whereas city canines contributed the munificent sum of $345.75 In dog tax to the city coffers in 1945, mere man paid but $199.50 for poll tax.
"Gosh, can they run the faster!" barked one ignoramus, smarting under memories of it* 1945 flight until overtaken.
Canvassers Hit Stride in Red Cross Roll Call
Canvassers in the roll call campaign of the Canadian Red Crosn Society hit their stride the pn.se week by nearly doubling the initial week's collections to bring subscriptions to approximately $1432, A. M. Patterson reported today.
Stand-out achievement of the week went to Mrs. J. N. Keller who
J. E. Manning Transferred To Salmon Arm
[Preparatory to assuming his new post at Salmon Arm, J. E. Manning, district agriculturist, is leaving Saturday to attend the North Okana-gan Dairymen's Association convention In Armstrong to become acquainted with many of the farmers he will be working among.
He expects to return by Easter prior to succeeding G. Mulrhead who in turn is leaving for Grand Forks to take over from J. Travis who wa^ district agriculturist here prior to Mr. Manning's arrival. Mr. Travis has recently been appointed acting field crops commissioner in Victoria.
Mr. Manning came to Princr George five years ago after five years with the dairy branch at Chil-liwack and seven years  under the
District Farmer Dies In Hospital
Joseph Cardell, 79, who had farmed for 26 years at Newlands, died Saturday in Prince George Hospital where he was admitted the same day. He. had been ailing for some time.
Funeral services were conducted Wednesday by Rev. F. E. Runnails in Assman's Funeral Chapel.
Monday by City Council, subject to the applicants putting tn a water line.
A similar committment will be re~ quired of George Kolias, whose application for lots 22 to 24 in block 159 for $370.35 was approved.
Nick Mrdjal wag sold lot 1. block 43, adjoining his present premises for $832.90; Mrs. Elva Nelson was granted leave to purchase lots 12 and 13 in block 12,6 for $178.37; John Banzer got lot 16, block 165 for $310.25; Norman Procknow, lot 1, block 208 for $71.35; Mrs. Doris M. Mullen, lots 9 and 10, block 229, for $166.47; and Rogna and Alberta Aronson. lot 2, block 208 for $54.25.
Following representation    by  the Prince George   Agricultural & Ir dustrial Association, application will be made for reserve of lots 9 to 14. block 165 for fair purposes.
Advance Made In Land Clearing Aims
J. Beamish, assistant director Jor land clearing, returned Saturday to the coast from here after inspecting the district west to Smithers,- consulting with agriculturists and various organizations regarding land clearing problems.
One of the largest type caterpillar tractors with brush-cutting attachments and a buncher is to be located at a depot for District "C" farmers and advisory committees are in process of being set up to generally assist in supervising the work.
One of the first Jobs of the committee will be to pass Judgment on ^pplicutions made for land clearing, cost of which is to be spread over two years with one-third payable in advance.
turned in to Mr. Patterson $349.50   same auspices in the Bulkley Valley gathered north of Third Avenue between      George      and      Vancouver Streets.
Rivalling this figure were the combined totals of Miss Emily Callum and Mrs. T. A. Griffith working as a team on Third and Fourth Avenues from Vancouver to George Street. They turned in $379.36.
Balance of the week's collections comprised $25 from Mrs. A. Brund-rett, subscribed at the airport; $23 from Mrs. Cecil T. Clare, collected at Upper Fraser; $22, from Mrs. George Morgan, subscribed in the Millar Addition; $24, turned in from High School students by Ray Willis-ton, supervising principal, and $10. from Staff Sergt. A. G. Bishop, area engineers.
Plant Potentials Create Interest
Keen interest from outside points in Industrial potentials of Prince George is reported by Brig.-General R. A. Wyman, Industrial agent for the C.N.R.
Accompanied by C. A. Berner, superintendent of Smithers Division; St. John Munroe, district engineer, of Vancouver, and Joseph Conrad, bridge engineer, he paid a routine visit to Prince George on Monday, continuing west to Prince Rupert on Tuesday.
He reports that his newly-formed ,post has already resulted in a service in affording advice and information to all parts of British Columbia.
The name of his purc?*?^" )o as yet unannounced officially.
First indication of the changes were contained in news despatches from the coast but had not been confirmed until this week.
While his official departure is not scheduled before Easter, many district fanners have Indicated nt Institute meetings the sharp sense of loss they experienced at news of his forthcoming departure from the district.
Biz-Profs Learn Of Civic Procedure
Aid. Frank Clark spoke on the routine work of the City Council at a business meeting of the Prince George Business and Professional Women's Club on Thursday.
Aid. Clark went into detail on the procedure of electing the mayor, aldermen and school trustees, and emphasized that the School Board was a separate organization and was not governed by the City CouncU.
Shower of Dimes Aiding Handicapped
The annual "April Shower of Dimes,1' sponsored by the Solarium Junior League of Victoria is again taking place throughout B.C. commencing Monday in aid of the-Queen Alexandra Solarium for crippled children at Malahat Beach, Vancouver Island.
As $50,000 annually must be depended upon in voluntary subscriptions toward operating costs of the hospital, subscribers from all parts of the province are asked to forwaro contributions to the Solarium Junior League in Victoria.
Miss Peggy Wharton is convener of the "April Shower of Dimes" committee.
Stork Utilizes Rocket Flight
Rocket flight best describes an achievement by Mr. Stork in visiting two sisters at the same time Wednesday week.
He delivered a daughter to Mrs. J. H. Jefferies in Prince Rupert General Hospital about the same time as a son was born to Mrs. Jefferies' sister, Mrs. Ernest Hastings, in a Vancouver hospital.
Mrs. Jefferies Is the wife of the former Capt. Jefferies, who was employed by The Citizen before he enlisted and who is now proprietor of an electrical shop in Prince Rupert.   ,