Prince George Citizen An Independent Semi-Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the. Interest of Cer.J-.'oJ and Northern British Columbia THE WEATHER Sunny with cloudy periods Tuesday. Little change in temperature. Light winds. Low tonight and high tomorrow, 25 and 45. Vol. 40; No. 28 Prince George, B.C., MONDAY, April 8, 1957 (Two Sections, 12 Pages) $4.00 per ysar Sc per cqpy GANG Group Demands New Police Court Magistrate A delegation of Prince George businessmen and school officials met in an emergency session with Mayor John Morrison Saturday to demand the resignation of Police Magistrate P. J. Moran on the grounds that sentences handed down in the lower court are perpetuating juvenile delinquency .here. The mayor promised the delegation "immediate action to clear the city of violence and the existing reign of terror over school children." Advised by a Citizen reporter this morning of the demand for his resignation, Magistrate Moran had little to say aside from pointing out that the Crown is at liberty to appeal his .sentences if it docs not agree with them. The mayor -spent nearly two hours with the delegation as instance after instance of hood-lumism against city youngsters poured forth from members of the group. TEACHERS ^THREATENED � School officials recounted how teachers have been threatened with violence, and school social functions curtailed because of the lack of protection from the hoodlum clement. Youngsters have been beaten and terrified into silence by bullies in their late 'teens aner early 20's. Ringleaders of the gangs have been repeatedly arrested and convicted on charges ranging'from theft to assault, members of the delegation stated. The mayor was given instances In which it was alleged that lower courts have failed to hand out reasonable sentences. VOVKTKKN CONVICTIONS If was slated that one 10-ycai�-old ringleader of the gangs has been convicted on 14 charges over a period of 18 months and has yet to receive a sentence more severe than a $20 fine. Another, age 20, has been convicted 11 times in 1(5 appearances before the courts on charges ranging from breaking and entering and theft to assaidt, and has never received a sentence more substantial than $25 and costs. A third, age 19, has had 10 convic1 tions, including one for criminal negligence, and has been fined $200. The mayor was also told how a (Sec GANG TERROR,, Page 7) B.C. Woman in Coma For 11 Months VICTORIA (CP) � April marks the 11th and sixth month respectively of coma-like sleep for two Victorians who suffered brain injuries in 1956 accidents. Dr. Anne M. Steel, 37, has been unconscious and in unimproved condition since May 6 when she received a skull fracture while horseback riding on Mt. Anarch rist near Oliver. Sawmill worker Jagat Bains Singh, 52, was unconscious for the first month after a traffic accident here ,and for the last five months has been in a state of partial consciousness and paralysis. Man Acquitted In Safe-Cracking Case Gerrard Blanchette was acquitted Thursday in County Court of a charge of breaking and entering in connection with an abortive safe-cracking attempt here last fall. The charge involved breaking and entering the Cariboo Meat Packing Co. Ltd. plant on the night of November -1 and the theft of a safe. Judge C. W. Morrow, in dismissing the case, maintained there was insufficient evidence to connect the accused with the crime. Photographic evidence submitted by constable R. A. Brett included photos of tire tracks outside the plant. Tire tracks in the pictures, (Sec MAGISTRATE, Page 3) B.C. Gas Cheaper In Oregon Than Pr. George Says Mayor Consumers in. a city the state of Oregon will be able gas at a cheaper price than This situation, described as "ridiculous" by Mayor John Morrison, provides one of the reasons the City of Prince George has entered the fight on the side of the Prince George Gas Co. In a radio broadcast scheduled for tomorrow night over station CKPG His Worship will maintain that the city "is not fighting a battle for the Prince George Gas Co., but in this particular situation, it so happens that their interests are identical with our own." The mayor deplores the discrepancy in the price of gas which Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. plans, to charge this city and the price it will charge at the border of Canada to the Pacific Northwest Gas Co. and to the B.C. Electric at Vancouver. Prince George which is only. 235 miles from the gas field and four and a half miles from the main trunk line has been asked to pay So demand rate and 30 cents commodity rate per m.c.f. This averages out to a price of 82 cents per m.c.f. on the Prince George load factor of 31 per cent. "This compares to a price of 22 and a quarter cents charged by Westcoast at the border of Canada to Pacific Northwest," he grimly points out. "It may be noted," he added, "that the price to be charged to the B.C. Electric, approximately 650 miles away, is only 35 cents per m.c.f. on its anticipated load factor of 70 per cent." His Worship outlines the history of the granting of a franchise by the city to the Prince George Gas Co. and described the certificate of public convenience which orders the local company to size of Prince George in the to buy Peace River natural consumers in this city. UP IN CITY Students Bullied As Gangs Roam Streets A reign of terror over city school children by a gahg of vicious hoodlums flared into the open again at the week-end with the laying of charges and a demand for the resignation of the city's police magistrate. In city police court, at City Hall and in private offices and homes, the startling story that tells of sadistic beatings, whispered threats and victimizations has unfolded. It's a story that citizens of Prince George will find hard to believe. Its parallel is to be found in the pages of the recently best-selling book "The Blackboard Jungle." Driven to desperation by the seriousness of the situation, High School Principal Lome Downey was led to acknowledge: "I'm beat. I can't fight it any longer." He has appealed to the school board for permission to take court action. In a statement to The Citizen, Mr. Downey tells of how organized school functions as well as students' private social activities have been "crashed" by the gang whose members have either quit school voluntarily or have been "persuaded" to leave. Carry Knives And Chains The "duck-cut" and the black leather jacket are their trade mark. The spring knife and a length of chain give them courage. Hand in hand with these, goes drinking. The situation hus reached intolerable proportions," said Mr. Downey. "Our private social events have been constantly plagued by party-crashers of the inebriate and pugilistic type. "Our staff has had the unpleasant task of being forced into the role of policeman and bouncer." Mr. Downey, a pleasant, good-looking man who has proved his popularity among the .student body has himself been threatcnor., reviled and cursed by at least one member of the gang. "He told me he would get me and later he told another teacher he 'hated me and would get me' ". At a function In the high school gymnasium on March 29, two of the gang were refused admittance because "they had been drinking excessively." "When they were told to leave, they objected. When they were finally pushed out, they cursed me and everyone present. They told me to "como on out..... and let's sec if you're as tough on, the outside as you are on the inside" Downey related. 'Tear Your Heart Out" provide a price that, in the initial years will guarantee that Prince George consumers will contribute to the overall costs "of that part of the Inland system, which but for the creation of which, they might never have been in a position to receive gas at all." "This is exactly what we are fighting against," said the mayor. "As consumers we cannot see (Sec GAS CHEAPER, Page 3) Thief Loots Hotel Beer Parlor Of $150 . A sneak thief who waited for closing time, made off with about $150 from the beverage room of the Astoria Hotel late last week. The money was removed from the cash register after supper closing time at about 7 .p.m. on Thursday when the bar was unattended. George Bolton, manager of the hotel, told The Citizen that the money was probably taken while he was downstairs attending the furnace. The room had been emptied of all customers before 7 o'clock and Mr. Bolton assumes the thief waited in the washroom for the opportunity to rifle the till. "It's an old dodge," said Mr. Bolton. He said the thief had apparently been hurried in rifling the register because only bills of higher denomination had been taken. Smaller bills and silver were left behind. BOTH STREETS pictured here are Moffat Street, but the striking similarity between the two is not just because they were named after members of the same family. The Moffat Street at top is in Quesnel, while the lower is here in Prince George. Both were photographed at the height of flooding conditions .a week ago that caused untold inconvenience and damage to the two communities. Moffat Street, Quesnel was named after Harry Moffat, the father of pioneer businessman Alex B. Moffat of this city, while Moffat Street, Prince George was of course, named after son Alex. Harry Moffat was one of the Cariboo's earliest pioneers and arrived in Quesnel in the gold rush days. The street was named only recently with the opening of a new subdivision not far from where Mr. Moffat farmed and Alex was born. Moffat Street here was named about five years ago and it was just a coincidence that Alex Moffat happens to live on the street which bears-his name. People Not Happy With Arena Name Mayor John Morrison's decision to ask city council to reconsider "coliseum" as a name for the proposed new arena has made a lot of Prince George people happy. Red Cross Arranges Flight For Day Old Baby Local branch of the Red Cross Society arranged to fly a day old premature baby to Vancouver last week. An emergency flight was arranged to take the baby daughter of Mr. and Mrs. V. Gagnon of Hixon to the coast for treatment. And if and when the name is changed, most people will be happier still, judging by a spot poll conducted by The Citizen. ANCIENT ROME Practically everyone contacted, whether they were in favor of the name or not, said coliseum reminded them of ancient Rome. Roughly So per cent of the people who voiced opinion on the monicker were dead against coliseum as a name for the $155,000 arena. A small percentage said they "couldn't care less" and of those that did think the name was satisfactory, most said they hadn't given too much thought to it. Nearly all of those against the name Coliseum said a title more adaptable to this community, such as "Spruce Gardens'' would be much more satisfactory. "HORRIBLE" "1 think it's horrible," was the way Little League baseball president and ardent city sports booster John Dinsmore summed up the name. "Coliseum in my opinion,. re-(See PEOPLE NOT, Page 3) St. Laurent Names June 10 As Election Target Date OTTAWA (CP) � Prime Minister St. Laurent has virtually ended the guessing game by stating he hopes the coming federal general election will be Monday, June 10. However he told the Commons Later another member, said to be the ringleader, left the building with the threat to one teacher that he would "tear his heart out someday." "A few minutes later" the statement went on, "another came down from the bleachers and began to taunt me. "He stamped his feet, down as close to mine as possible without actually hitting me and said: 'Does that bother you teacher. Don't you like that teacher.' "1 suggested he get out unless he wanted trouble and he replied: 'Don't look at me I'm not wearing your clothes.' "He refused to leave and defied us'to make him. He finally left with a verbal threat to another teacher boasting that they would tear his heart out some day." Because of situations like this, the school was forced to discontinue all activities. A Friday night dance in the gymnasium, planned by students, was cancelled. "It's something that has been building up all this year," said Downey. The school principal described school events that arc crashed and where "undesirables" proceed to "smoke, drink, and by their rowdy behavior make tho place .unpleasant for others and impossible for the staff. Drinking And Violence Saturday that the June 10 date will not be possible unless Parliament prorogues by the end of this week. Mr. St. Laurent's hope that the election will be June 10 was expressed in reply to questions by Howard Green, PC-Vancouver Quadra. "I hope," the Prime Minister said, "that it will be possible to arrange for prorogation of the current session at the end of next week and to have dissolution of Parliament follow immediately, so that the usual period required between the notice of dissolution and voting can be arranged in a manner that will comply with the statutory requirements." It is understood here that the current bession of the 122nd parliament will be prorogued early Friday. Dissolution would follow about an hour later. P'cderal election officials hope this will come early enough in the day to permit election machinery to get rolling Friday, rather than waste a weekend by waiting until Monday, April 15. Election day must take place within 59 days of dissolution. "Each time we have to eject a few inebriates, break up fights* and pick up the bottles strewn about the premises. On February 28 two doors were torn off." ' Mr. Downey said that he was no longer willing to ask his staff to police, events and subject themselves to abuse from offenders. "We're right behind you," the school board chairman Robert Range assured Mr. Downey when he appealed for permission to go ahead and prosecute the ringleaders of the sang. On one occasion the police were called to remove a car load of hoodlums from the school proper- ty. On another, a youth was beaten up outside the gymnasium with a length of chain while a high school basketball game was in progress. Students who have been thread enod by the gang have remained silent because of the fear of reprisal. Those who could testify in police court arc afraid to do so for fear of what might happen to them if they talk. 'We Can't Fight Alone' "The decision of the school," says Mr. Downey is this; We cannot fight this thing alone. Unless we get some kind of surety that these events will not be repeated, all activities are cancelled forthwith. "We place the problem before the court and the community." Citizen newsmen working on the story learned that one local youth was forced to flee the city and his parent's home after a member of the gang slashed him in the face with a knife. He moved to a foster-home in Alberta and still refuses to.identify the tough who wounded him. Last week a 13-ycar-old boy was bullied and intimidated-on a down town strcet^by a gang of,undesirables who alighted from a battered white car. Only a short time previously the wives of two city businessmen -were forced to get out of their car and flee *4nto a nearby house when toughs in another car blocked them from driving any further. Recently a gun was pulled by one youth when another interfered with him early one morning in a Chinese cafe.