nnce An Independent Semi-Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interest of Central and Northern British Columbia 15; No. 56 Prince George, B.C., THURSDAY, July 16, 19-5$ $4.00 per year per copy means Seek Tariff Hike �rt George Millmen Uneasy As Iplieap Coast Fir Gluts U.S. Market fort George millmen are watching with increasing con-'---------:------------------------------- recent development in the United States lumber trade ' I 5l|Owa| has already slackened the demand for spruce and in- , LIDviClIf ir and may continue to depress the market for softwoods is area. � same time local operators ajj expressing alarm over an being made in Washing- the duty on Canadian shipped into the United e.sent the duty on Canadian Nl�&ce is 25 cents a 1000 board feet, while the duly on fir is |H is a powerful .lobby in Duel In Cariboo |flHB& p theHB&erican capital, representing? west oin lumber producers, who want these rales increased considerably, and there are reported to bo heavily supported by C^l& f h .Douglas fir lumbermen here In i Canada's once mighty Progres-! the Pacific Northwest who, pro- sive Conservative Party will en-duce nearly 30% of the nation's , ter its sec6nd consecutive gener-softwood lumber. I a| election without.a candidate in Price. declines since the end of . the nation's largest constituency,-April have carried better grade lne sprawling Cariboo, two by fours used in house fram-1 two by fours, used in house fram ing, down $4 to $5 at most mills to $60 to $61 a thousand feet. That's a good 16% -less than a year ago. Some sales have recently been made as low as $57.25. Reports one wholesaler: up most lumbermen, and "Call make price inquiries, and you'll find (See MILLMAN, Poge 3) from the western ).Bill?Of chief interest to shippers jn^'I&ince George district is the Wholesale dumping of west coast Douglas fir at Atlantic seaboard I ppiriis.. Dockyards at Boston are ( pjtli&d: Jiigh with 10,01)0.000 feet of Unsold western fir. and a similar situation exists in New York KarlJbr an.l at other Atlantic ��>' council meetirtg here this Ddrts'i' (week include among other things :Thjsi!tuinber represents, tho sur- Plans- to continue one-hour jjark-pl'vis-'from B.C. and Washington .�jtate; niills after the cutting of select;grades. The lower grades of c g small dimension fir from the Ing coast iiiHIs are being shipped to the" easticoast by way of the Panama-Canal and offered at prices which pose a threat to the market � for both''spruce and fir from Central B.C. �; Already cheap fir has reduced the. use of spruce by eastern building contractors, while the demand for interior fir has practically dried up. < 'lt!s,a. return to a buyer's mar-ket,'cio.ser-grading, and keener competition." said one prominent city sh^ppjir. "Order files are at ,tlie lovreSt point in years and at isome mills they have ceased to 'exist altogether. i*jtr, and green spruce are get- .....jter .to. _$f>\l bu.Uth.e.r.e,. is - �_|iilrly S0(ic] demand for �\planw-'6pn\ro which has V>een :icairefuHy. graded. Hut buyers are irt^pjj�ing/around and getting quo-� taufcilS^from a half dozen mills. lieiore placing an order." � : gears'are expressed that competition'among local mills may lead to jt priCe war which woukl prove disastrous to the smaller woods ;. b|j|r|itors who must sell their |-tyi$j>i^r as soon ;.s possible after is been cut. STUKKT JOUKXAK etcu\ article in the Wall j Journal, an accurate and influential New York financial points up the prob City Approves Three Traffic Amendments Amendments to city traffic regulations' accomufrshed at a p p ing restrictions on George Street from Second to First Avenues. Approval of the move was As was suspected; the C.G.F., j Liberal and Social Credit parties I named candidates here in Mon-I day when nominations for the j August 10 general election came j to a close; and there were no last | ; minute dark-horse entries to upset the calculations of political pundits. Candidates who filed papers Monday with Returning Officer Thomas S..Carmichael were Wil-,Iiam Irvine, C.C.F., from Wetas-kdwin, Alberta; '� Bert Raymond Leboe, Social Credit, Prince George; George Matheson Murray M.P., Liberal, Fort St. John. ]n the last federal election here only twoJtnames appeared on the ballot, those of Mr. Murray and Mr. Irvine. Prior to that Mr. Irvine was member of parliament for Cariboo. pp lenvfaced by Central B.C. millmen .irj;|efforts t<> retain their market Vinifthe'eastern United Slates. "We're practic-y away what we cut. kffi about the worst it's been si&B/the end of World War II." "JTiat's a typical complaint of Off TRAVELLERS iftlRN FROM AMERItAN TOUR a restored ghost town was one. highlight of an eventful six -week trip for Mr. and Mrs. Charles, Shields, of Shields Motors Ltd., v.who returned Friday from hll States. the Slates, Mr. Shields a course in. the General in Detroit. ^ George travellers were.'iftost attracted by Central City, a'.former ghost town situated 3$ riiiles from Denver, which was recently given prominence in the Readers' Digest. �fhe city, abandoned at the close of the gold rush, has been restored as a tourist attraction. Visitors to the place are conducted on tours of the old mine sites, Mrs.'. Shields states, and in the evenings are entertained by a New York Summer Theatre. J$he Shields managed to see both. "Carmen" and "South Pacific" on iheir American tour. ';..,vAmong other highlights of their trip .recalled by the visitors was a-Sgattie between the Yankees and Detroit Tigers. IwUtah, they visited country location for many of western motion pic- and had an opportunity to to some of the film tlirect- orado River Canyon was iost spectacular "scenery they through, recalls Mrs. Shields, ihe found the state of Indiana beautiful of those-'they d. ' e heat was tremendous over of the country they toured. given to council by Alderman It. W. Hilton, chairman of the traffic committee. Extension of parking restrictions northward on George Street was urged on the council by a city businessman whose firm is in the block affected. Also approved by council was a petition from a number of west-1 end residents to make Twelfth j Avenue a dead end street west > of where it now intersects Winnipeg Street with a short switchback which compensates for a i rapid change in levels. The residents pointed out in' the petition that visibility is re- j stricted at the intersection constituting a traffic hazard. j A barrier will be erected on Twelfth ���<*-� Avenue restricting j through traffic to pedestrians. B.C. Civil Servants Get Five-Day Week VICTORIA July 16 (CP)�Introduction of a five-day week for some '100,000 'British Columbia civil servants will be started early in August. Premier W. A. C. Bennett in making the announcement said, the five-day week for government I emplo3rees would be introduced ' progressively. i It would be brought in without any reduction in total hours work-j ed or increase in departmental j costs, the premier, said. "Commencing the first of August most governmental offices A third recommendation ap- in Victoria, Vancouver and certain if d Drowning Ends Life Of 17- Year- Old Third drowning/m as many days in this district during last week and this^rought 'the death on Monday of a 17-year-old former Vanderhoof boy whose parents are employed at Heart Lake- Scrvvrnills. (Top) Car abandoned by driver at top of Willow River hill, 20 miles east of Prince George: (bottom) A morass of mud and axle-snapping sink holes await the unwary motorist on the vital east-west "camel trail" east of Prince George. Arnold/Pederson drowned Monday, morning when he fell from a boom log at a sThall lake about SS'Yniles north of Prince George. On the day prior to Pedersen's death, eight-year-old Vernon Mc-Leod drowned Jn two feet of water near McLeod Lake and a few hours earlier an American Air Force man, Arthur Fuentes, lost his life at Erickson Lake, near the U.S.A.F\ base at Bakly Mountain... According to reports, - Arnold Pedersen had strolled to the lake from the nearby cabins where he lived with his parents in the company of a young friend. COULDN'T SWIM He- walked out on a boom log, lost his balance and. fell into the water. Unable to swim, the youngster tried to get back on the log from which he had fallen but couldn't make it. The adjacent sawmill was not in operation at the time and be- ls demanding a wage increase of fore the youngster's companion ^ cents-an-hour, -10 hour.week was able to summon help from the nearby camp, he had disappeared. TWO MEN DOVE . Two millmen dove for the lad in 10 feet of murkv water-for IWA Operators Ask For Conciliation Both factions of the 1953 Northern Interior woodworkers wage dispute met briefly here on Monday and after a short session decided to apply for appointment of a government conciliation officer. Said a union official today, "we were so far apart there wasn't much use in talking." Number one representative for the Northern Interior Lumbermen's Association was Terry Watt, Vancouver laTVor relations specialist. Joe Morris, district vice-president of the International Woodworkers of America represented the union. ' Operators here have adopted a hold-the-line policy for the second consecutive year and the I.W.A. 1000 Signatures On Petition close to 20 minutes before they were able to bring his body to the su rf ace. In spite of immediate and continued efforts at artificial respiration, they were unable to revive him. The boy's parents are well known, in Prince George and in Vanderhoof, where they made their home for some years. The Pedersen's had been employed at Heart Lake Sawmills for the past few months and had been joined by their son at the close of the school year. Arnold had been attending school at Vanderhoof. . I Burial will take place on Saturday at Vanderhoof. Angry Easterners Protest Condition Of Giscome 'Road' proved by city- council will see stop signs erected where all north-south streets intersect what used to be called Winchester Street and which is* now Fifth Avenue. an extension of interior points will go on the five-day week," he said. In most cases the proposed change will be effected by adding half an hour to office hours from Monday to Friday. City Delays Answer To Gas Rights Bid An attempt to sew up private natural gas distribution rights within the city of Prince George for. Inland Natural Gas Co. Ltd.,'an affiliate of Westcoast Transmission Company Ltd., was tabled as being "under discussion" by city council earlier this week. Council - disclosed that besides the city itself,' therejare at least three other groups interested in is expected that construction will be far enough advanced by the fall of 1954 to permit deliveries of natural, gas; distribution here not j gas to interior communities of Biih bi h h counting Inland Natural Gas. Two of these are Alberta firms and the third consists of a group of local businessmen. Inland's bid to get a franchise here came in the form of a prepared resolution which would authorize the company to make a gas survey in the city and would pledge the city to presenting a bylaw before the electorate which, if passed, would result in a franchise for Inland Natural Gas. Council declined to pas's the resolution and advised City Clerk D. T. Williams to inform the applicants that the matter is under discussion. PRESIDENT WRITES Accompanying the resolution was a letter from Inland's .president, Norman-R. Whittall. and a form letter which would have been used by the council to inform the company its proposed resolution had been accepted if it actually had been accepted. Mr. Whittall's letter reads' in part: � "Westcoast Transmission Company is the only applicant appearing before the Federal Power Commission of the United States proposing to lake gas from the Peace River area of British Columbia and Alberta to the Pacific Northwest area of Canada and the United States. "It is also the only company that has received the necessary permits from the Province of Alberta, the Canadian Board of Transport " Commissioners, and the Canadian Department of Trade and Commerce. ^ MAY START NEXT YEAR "Hearings are now proceeding before the Federal Power Commission of the United States and it is not unlikely that Westcoast will receive a favorable decision this Fall, in which case this would the Great Salt Flats and j permit 'Westcoast to commence ts in western Utah, tempera- construction of the transmission British Columbia that are on the route of the main line. This, of course, includes the city of Prince George. . ''Our company entered into an agreement with Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. allowing us exclusive right to purchase natural gas for distribution and resale in the communities along the route of the Westcoast line, excepting the communities from Hope to Vancouver, B.C. The exception to this agreement is that Westcoast reserves the right to deal directly with any city or village that wishes to have its own municipally owned and operated system. START INSTALLATION* "Under our ' commitment to Westcoast,. we are to have our distribution system installed in each of the communities along the line in.order to co*mmence the taking of delivery of gas as soon as gas is available from the Westcoast facilities. Therefor, we must start the installation of 1he distribution facilities in the Spring of 1951 in order for us to be able to take gas in the late Fall of 1054. "Before we can proceed any, further it is necessary for our no idea of the amount of business they are losing due to the deplorable state of the road," said a spokesman for indignant residents along the road. "Many families are ordering clothing and house hold supplies from mail-order houses rather than'risk a trip into Prince George." Complaints are also being, re ceived about the condition of the same road in the vicinity of Tabor Lake. . "A little gravel sand a few days work by a gratfer woukl make a tremendous diference," commented a Shelley man; "A change of government has made no difference as far as our roads are concerned." Residents of a dozen sawmill and farming communities east of Prince George are up in arms over the continued neglect of the road between this city and Sinclair Mills, and a , strongly worded protest has been forwarded to Hon.' F\. A.! �S"IH1 b;"1 Gqglardi, Minister of Public Works; Ray Williston, member-elect for Fort Georgs, and Premier W. A. C. Bennett. An accompanying .petition contains the,signatures of more.than 1000 residents at Ferndale, Shelley, Willow River. Giscome. New-lands, Aleza Lake, Upper Fraser, Hansard. Sinclair Mills, Dewey, and has the backing of lumber firms handicapped by the almost impassable state of the road since the spring break-up.' Sponsors of the petition hope to enlist the aid of Prince George Board of Trade in the move to. get some "action from the Provincial Government. . During the early spring breakup and the heavy rains last month the road in the vicinity of Willow River and Giscome was lined with trucks and cars mired hub-deep in mud. and many vehicle owners refused to attempt the trip to Prince George. - _llt�is estimated there are 300 cars and "trucks in the area. A short time before the provincial election, local and government trucks started to spread gravel between Giscome and Willow River and a short distance west of the latter community. However, all work was discontinued a few days after the votes were in, and this has not served to appease the ire of disgruntled users of the "highway." IS0LAT.KI) Dozens of milhvorkors who own cars have been isolated from Prince George on week-ends when a trip over the road was slow, uncomfortable, even dangerous. A mill foreman who has lived at Giscome since 1934 says the road this spring was in the worst, condition in the memory of the oldest oldtimer. Shovels and towing chains have become standard equipment on cars and trucks forced to travel Home Smashed When Went To Police A 19-year-old- city youth, Lyle Doolittle, has been charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit an "indictable offence as a result of about $200 damage done In the home of Borge Jensen, a Carney .Street resident. Jensen allegedly went to the Seventh Avenue police station to report a drunken man in his yard and upon hjs return found a win dow smashed in his house and his clothes, fu'rniture and oiher belongings damaged. fJdolittle was arrested at. the scene and has been released on and union shop clause. If granted, the increase would bring Interior woodsworkers within one cent-an-hour of their brethern on the Coast, now earning $1.49 an hour hasic wage. Basic wage in the Northern Interior today is $1.30. Negotiations will be at a standstill until appointment of a conciliation officer is announced in Victoria. Woodworkers ,To Hold Annual Meeting Sunday Annual meeting of the International Woodworkers of America Local 1-424 will be held on Sunday, July 19 in the C.C.F. Hall, Prince George. � Business of the meeting will include nomination of officers for 3953 and those attending will hear a report on the state of this year's negotiations. The meeting will commence at 2:30 p.m. and all I.W.A.-members in this district are invited to attend. Legion, Airways Take Softball Encounters Legion, made a move out of the basement of the Men's Softball League Tuesday evening at Duchess Park as they nosed out the league-leading Billiards 4-3 in one of the most exciting games of the season. Score Was 4-3. On the ladies' diamond fans were treated to another thrilling duel between the Central Airways, and Six .Mile Lake misses, with the airwomen coining out on the long end of a 7-4 count. PIONEER BAKER BURIED TODAY At Knew United Church this afternoon. Pastor Allan Kenney of Pentecostal Church officiated at the last rites for William Allen, pioneer Prince.George baker, who died Saturday at his home here. ' Assman's Funeral Chapel were in charge of arrangements. Pallbearers were William Bex-i>n. Ernie Bowman, Lome Lyle, Bert Jcfferies, Harry Kennedy and William McKihn.oh. Interment was in Prince George cemetery. Funeral Services Friday For Mrs. Ethel Hughes Funeral services will be held here Friday for long-time city resident Mrs. Ethel Anne Hughes, who passed away sud- Central Fort Group WantPay-As-You-Go Water Connection denly in Vancouver Sunday. I The service will be held from Knox United Church at 2 p.m. with Pastor Allen Kenney officiating, and burial will be in the family plot here. Mrs. Hughes was the widow of the late William Lewis Hughes. A well-known pioneer merchant, Mr, Hughes was partner Jin the store of Hughes and Drake, which later became the present city store of Hughes and Ratiedge. Mr. Hughes died on March 20,' 1048. Pall-bearers at the funeral wi^l .be A. B. Moffat, Gordon Wood. John Mallis, Percy Home-wood, Frank Green and b'ved Shearer. ; Members oV the Order of the Eastern Star will attend the service. Mrs. Hughes died'at her Van- Residents of Block 28 in Central Fort George may get a city water connection this year under the city's pay-as-you-go water bylaw. Application for water from 10 residents of the block was presented to city council on Monday night by R. Jones,, a spokesman for the,group. Mr. Jones told the council he and those he acted for- would he Avenue. She is survived by a I interested in knowing whether sister, .Mrs. Margaret A. Bock,J they could lay the required pipes Vancouver; two brothers, Arthur themselves in an attempt to beat" couver home, 1370 West Fifteenth Santa Cruz, Calif., W. Johnson, Toron- S. Johnson, and- Thomas to; a sister-ki-law, Mr. and MVs. Charlie Hughes, White Rock, B.C.. and a brother-in-law, Thomas Hughes, Vancouver. Charles Hughes is in Prince George to attend the funeral. over the "l trail." Recently engineers to make a detailed survey of your city which will he the basis for the design, cost and hoen done on location of the distribution facili-1 (fans' but one ties. Such a survey will involve time and money and before we ick strewn, hole-pitted took over some gravelling has the muddiest sec-driver reported it him 00 minutes to travel 30 miles of the road�and can make such a survey it will his trip ended at a Prince George bo necessary for us to first have your permission, and second a letter of intent from you that un- where under-gear repairs were found necessary. A �-'carload of baseball fans en-less the city proposes to install.its! 1.(nltt, to a game at Willow River own municipally owned | system, (was stalled twice in mud holes you would be prepared'to sub- aml finally abandoned the trip. ll l *mit to. your ratepayers a bylaw hi This spring a embodying the authority to grant bv a Giscom<3 faller lumber employed firm sus- tained a fractured neck when hit by a falling snag. A light delivery H soared to 120 degrees. I' system, in the Spring of 1954. It with the city council. a franchise to our company." An Inland Natural Gas Comp ..... any official will be here later this i truck took three Hours to reach month to discuss the proposed j Prince George hospi;-- -with the .survey and. franchise agreement, pain-wracked luish worker. ' "Prince George merchants have Off The Wires Today Canadian Press�Thursday, July 16 Big Forest Fire Near, Cranbrook Baffles Crews VANCOUVER�Ten bulldozers and 300 men Wednesday battled. leaping flames that have destroyed 800 acres of/ timber since Sunday in an. area near Cranbrook some 300 miles;east of here. B.C. Forest Service officials said the fire started in a green timber limit- on Teepee Creek and spread rapidly through timber and old slash. Much of the district alreody has been logged but it was believed some valuable jackpinc was destroyed. The blare still was being whipped by strong winds and defied all attempts by tired fire-fighters to bring it under control. CCF Win In Skeena Unchanged By Recount VANCOUVER�One judicial recount arising from the British Columbia election was held Wednesday while an application for a similar recount was thrown out by a county judge in the second riding. In the northern district of Skeena a recount by Judge W. O. Fulton did not change the result of the June 9 election in which CCF condidote Frank Howard was elected. Meonwhilc a Nanaimo judge threw out a Social Credit demand-,for a recount in Nanaimo and the Islands, a decision which is expected to start a legal' wrangle. the city's cost, biyt was toltL-tliat skilled help is required in^building the .line to muhieiptvl specifi-' cations. The Central Fort George spokesman said hc/had also boon urged to ask the' council why ;i two-year limit had been placed on re-bate^of mones paid by original applicants where u-atcrrmains had to pass vacant land. Mr. Jones was referring to that part of the pay-as-you-go bylaw which requires that the city shall return to the original builders of the line the cost per foot where the line passes vacant land which becomes developed within a two-year period.' After two years, further development along the al-roa'dy constructed line brings no such return. � .He was told by C&y Clerk D. T. Williams that it w;is necessary that sumo time limit he placed on the water-development scheme. Mr. Jones said that rie,and'somc of those for whom he was acting had already'paid money, into the Central Waterworks- Corporation for water connections. and .he was asked to prepare a list of those in his block who had taken this action. Meanwhile, city council will decide whether of not water can be extended to. Block 2* this year once residents have prepaid the full cost of the extension.