Doris E. Bechtley 1158.Melville St. VANCOUVER,   B.C.
Dec6-57
Prince George Citizen
An independent Semi-Weekly Newspaper Devoted fro the      Interact of'Cenfta! and Northern Britishi Columbia
THE WEATHER
Sunny with cloudy periods, not much change in temperature. Winds light, low tonight and high tomorrow 45 and 67.
Vol. 40;  No.60
Prince George,  B.C., MONDAY, Jufy 29,  1957            (Three Sections,  16 Pages)
7c per copy
If Annexation Government
Gas Hearing Slated
August 6
Proceedings leading up to the distribution of natural gas in Prince George took a hew twist today with an announcement by the British Columbia Public Utilities Commission that a public hearing will be staged here August G.
The announcement states that "At the request of the Government of British Columbia" the PUC will hold a hearing "for the purpo.se of inquiring into the ws-sibility, without prejudice to pen-dining court action, of making natural gas available to the B.C. Power Commission and to other consumers in the City of ilihee George and vicinity before the coming winter."
H is expected that the PUC will attempt to determine whether a distribution system could be installed before winter on the basis tf temporary ownership. Pronos ols l.ave bec-i m.-ide that a aystev be built and turned over at cost to whichever company'ultimately serves the  city.
Inland Natural Gas Co., and Prince George Gds Company are competing.for the local distribution business.
Prince   George   Gas   has  been
Provincial Offices To Close For Lunch
Provincial government offices in Prince George and throughout the rest of British Columbia will lie closed for an . hour and 10 minutes each day while civil servants eat their lunch.
Previously the offices remained open with skeleton staffs who ale after other employees had returned ' from  their lunch period.
The new non-staggered lunch hour system was announced by Premier Bennett a few days ago. He said it was a move towards increased efficiency.
The offices will close at noon and reopen at 1:10 p.m.
empowered by the PUC to dls tribute gas here but has been ordered to buy its supply from In land. Inland has proposed a wholesale rate which Prince George Gas claims is too high.
The.rale has been approved by the I'UC, which ruled that Prince George consumers should be required to subsidize less economic portions of the Inland distribution network in other parts of the province.
Prince Georee Gas company president H. B. King said at press time today that his company has received no notification of the hearing and that he had "no comment" at this true.
Heavy Sentences Handed Out In Breaking, Entering
Jail terms ranging from 2 to 5 years in length were handed out in County Court, here last week for  breaking  and  entering.
Luckiest of the three men to face Judge C. W. Morrow .was James Mac Porsnuck, found guilty of forcing entry into Tommy's Pool Hall. Posnuck was given a three-year suspended sentence and told to leave town at once. He did. . Robert Ray Glasgow, found guilty of breaking into a Royalito gas station in town, was given two years, in the penitentiary.
Heaviest sentence went to William Alex Ramsay, who was found guilty of forcing entrance to Caribou Meat Company's premiese. He was sentenced to five years in penitentiary. Ramsey made an abortive attempt some weeks ago to steal the meat company's safe.
A CITY DRAGLINE went to work this morning clearing tons of sand and gravel from against walls of The. Ranch Motel, Victoria Street and Seventh Avenue, after cave-ins from municipal property cascaded down steep bank during heavy rains in the last lew days^Proprietor H. P.
Read,  uskeef city -lust "wetste^to�i-ernoVe .kMe�de&ris 'from
small avalanches. Council referred the matter to its solicitors and then decided to meet the request. Damage to the buildings, if any, could not be determined before the material was removed.
Absentee Owners' Charges Branded 'Tommyrof Here
A City of Prince George finance officer today emphatically denied a statement by two former residents that an annexation program which will go before electors here Wednesday is intended to increase municipal borrowing powers
The statement was made in Duncan late last week by C. P. Deykin and Robert Bishop, owners of land in the area which the city proposes to absorb.
The two former residents charged that Prince George has expanded so fast and borrowed to such an extent that the city's credit, is impaired. By increasing municipal acreage, the land owners continued, borrowing power would be bolstered.
ALDERMAN PERCY WILLIAMS, chairman of the city's finance committee commented "this  is  tommyrot."
In the first place, he enumerated, the city has not exhausted its present borrowing powers by a comfortable margin and has no intention of doing so.
"In the second place, the city's borrowing powers would not be much enhanced, if any, merely as a result of annexation.
"Third, our credit is attested to by the fact that chartered banks ami Canadian insurance companies recently purchased substantial amounts of a half million Jolhir municipal bond issue.
"I AM SURE THAT if there-was the least suspicion that our credit was not sound we would not have been able to attract the interest of such stable institutions."
Alderman Williams went on to say that no other municipality in
British Columbia could boast of having disposed of a large debenture issue at par this year. Prince George's $455,000 arena debenture issue was oversubscribed at its face value earlier in  1957.
Deykin and Bishop claimed that they are disenfranchised by amendments to the municipal act which disqualify them from voting on the annexation program. Only resident owners are allowed to express their opinion of the plan in annexation petitions.
Anyone Missing A Pet Reptile!
It's an accepted fact that children have a tendency to bring home a stray dog, cat, or even a bird but it's an absolute shock when your child walks in saying "can 1 keep it" and you arc face to face with an eight-inch  turtle.
That is what has happened to the Stone household. Young Murray and Harold Stene found the untiaual pet by the slough on 20th Avenue on Wednesday.
The Citizen was advised that if anyone wishes to claim the turtle as belonging to them they may contact Vera Loth at 2017 Victoria Street  or  by  phoning 832-R-2.
At present the turtle appears contended with his bowl of water and rocks, and his daily meals.
TCA Plane Makes Forced Landing At Cranbrook
CRANBROOK (CD � A Trans-Canada Air Lines Viscount with 35 passengers and four crew members aboard made-an emergency landing here Sunday after damaged radio apparatus filled the cabin with smoke.
The plane, flight 18 Eastbound from Vancouver, was not damaged except for the radio equipment.
Some of the passengers on the downed plane suffered slight, nausea from the smoke and the cabin had began to depressurize.
Stewardess Betty Elison noticed smoke coming from the rear of the plane as it flew at 17,000 feel, about 20 minutes out of. Cranbrook. She notified the pilot, Capt. Kenny Forsyth, and first officer Oliver Wiles. "They told me to get the passengers ready for an emergency landing," she said. "There was no panic: Everybody behaved just wonderfully."
Socred Caucus Suporls Pro-Cons
Social Credit has re-iterated its decision to stand by the Progressive Conservative government, Cariboo MP Bert Lcboe l'eports following-a party caucus recently irv Galgary.
Mr. Leboe said Social Credit will offer its "fullest co-operation" so long as the new government acts in the interest of Canada.
The federal member stated that for himself one of his chief concerns will be directed toward for mation of a policy regarding a trans-Canada road system.
Mr. Leboe expressed the belief that ' the federal government should, shoulder more responsi bility for the construction of inter-provincial road systems.
At the party caucus held July 15, Victor Quelch, Alberta MP was chosen deputy party leader while George Hahn, New Westminster was named party whip. Chairman of the caucus was Alex Patterson, Fraser Valley.
Canadian Embassy Hit By Earthquake
* MEXICO CITY (AP) � Central Mexico's severest earthquake in years shattered scores of this Capital's modern buildings early Sunday and wrought damage as far away as the Pacific Coast. Forty persons were known dead.
Red Cross officials said about 20 persons are missing.
Mexico City, with a population of 4,000,000 was hit hardest, about 5 buildings collapsed ami others, including the one housing the Canadian embassy, were damaged. Thirty persons were known dead here and 450 injured.
Ten were crushed to death in the collapse of an apartment house. Thirty-four of the injured were reported in serious condition.
The earthquake jarred seismograph equipment at Dalhousie University in Halifax for four hours. One instrument failed to return to accurate scale.
Russel Heffler of the University's physics department said it was unusual for the Dalhousie seismograph to regisT � tremors for more than two hours.
Incentive Gone If City Can't Expand
Mayor John Morrison intimated today he may resign if the provincial government throws any more obstacles in the way of municipal annexation of some 4000 acres of industrial and residential land on the city's west and south sides.
In an exclusive interview with Citizen reporters he said "I don't see how a conscientious mayor could carry-on the administration of this city if we are forced to leave our boundaries as they are today."
Asked pointblank whether he would quit his post as Prince George's chief magistrate if the provincial government balks at approving the annexation program His Worship replied "I have said I do not see how a conscientious mayor could carry on in the face of such a reversal. I intend to be a conscientious mayor." Later in the interview he said, I
"the only incentive which a council member has in Prince George is to meet the challenges of an expanding community.
"If for one reason or another the city is placed in the position where expansion and development is impossible, the incentive is gone. 1 do not intend to preside over the affairs of a municipality which has reached the end of the road from the point of view of expansion."
MAYOR MOUK1SOX, who was
away last week when Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs J. E. Brown telephoned City Hall and advised the city to abandon plan*? to take its annexaiton pro-grairi to the local electorate on Wednesday, Said "I am still taken aback by the whole thing but 1 most heartily endorse the action of the council, taken in. my absence, in which we have determined to conduct the .balloting anyway."
He said the government's sudden change of heart on local annexation was undoubtedly based on the protest petitions of residents of the annex area, but that lack of confidence in the amended municipal act was "undoubtedly an underlying reason."
Annexation programs formerly had to be approved by owners of land whose property accounted for 50 percent of the assessed values in the area.
THIS    MADE   ANNEXATION
impossible in some cases and the government amended legislation to permit approval by 50 percent of the resident owners.
In the case of the Prince George annexation project, approving signatures of over 50 percent of the resident owners had been secured last year. A number of these people, however, had a change of heart after the program was launched again this year.
Signatures of some resident owners appear on petitions both for and against annexation.
of annexation by city ratepayers at the polls on Wednesday Mayor Morrison pointed out that the area which the city proposes to (Sec ANNEXATION,  Pago 8)
.22 Rifle Shooter Found Guilty, Fined
Fred I-Iarvcy, participant hi a shooting incident hero some" weeks ago, was found guilty in police court last week of assault with a deadly weapon. He was fined $300, or in default 3 months.
Harvey some time ago used a .22 rifle to "scare off" a group of "hoodlums" he accused of entering the Frank Devenney premises on Uplands Avenue, and of taking   beer  from  the   place.
Harvey claimed he used the gun only to chase off the Invaders, and that he at no time made an attempt to hit them.
One bullet from Harvey's rifle struck a city youth in the back after he and his companions had re-entered their car and were about to leave the scene. The wound  was-superficial.
(man Of Oman Loses Rebellion Momentum
SHARJAH (REUTERS) British authorities said Sunday the rebel movement led by The Iman of Oman has "completely lost momentum" but that RAF jet planes may resume the attack.
Britain is supporting the Sultan of Muscat and Oman in a rebellion that broke out two weeks ago when the Iman, spiritual ruler of Oman, seized the regional capital of Nizwa.
RAF Venom jet fighters, which last week made cannon and rocket strikes on Rebel strongholds, rein a statement urging approval maineel   at   their   bases   Sunday.
Dime Coffee Soon To Be Just Memory
VANCOUVER (CP) � British Columbia officials of the Canadian Restaurant Association are talking about raising the price of a cup of coffee to 15 cents from 10.
P. H- Edgecomb, Association secretary, said Saturday Lower Mainland members of the CRA will vote on the price raise if Association officials put it before them. He said members in the Toronto area have already voted unanimously in favor of an increase.
A survey of the Restaurant proprietors in Prince George showed most of them favoring the increase in price. As one local cafe owner pointed out: the price of a cup of coffee has not been raised in five years, yet labor costs, rents and the price of coffee, cream and sugar have increased greatly.
Hospital Voting Called Off: Ballots Scrapped
A, public opinion bylaw designed to pave the way for a $650,000 city grant to the Prince George Hospital Improvement District has been ordered scrapped by the provincial government.
The bylaw, covering the city's share of the cost of a new $3,-000,000 hospital here, was to have gone before the voters with an annexation bylaw on Wednesday.
As things stand today, only the annexation bylaw will be voted on Wednesday, and the provincial government has intimated that it may" not.approve the municipal expansion program-regardless of the outcome of the voting.
A city halt source said this-morning that hundreds of hours
of work and more than $1000 is to be wasted as a result of the provincial government's ever-changing rulings on the hospital measure.
Arran Thomson, city clerk," said the provincial government could rule that no public vote is necessary to authorize the hospital grant. Alternatively they could order a new plebiscite.
He said that the government ordered a public vote on the issue as long ago as last November.
The government has charged that the hospital bylaw was improperly^prepared.
It shoufd,have been an authorizing bylaw rather than a sampling of public opinion,^ Department of Municipal Affairs officials
have stated. The latter type of vote can only take place at the time of municipal elections in December each year.
Ballots for the hospital bylaw vote had already been printed and necessary public advertising carried out.
"I guess we can use the ballots for scratch pads," Mr. Thomson said.
Provincial approval of the transfer of funds could be granted without the necessity of a public vote on the issue because the city does not have to sell bonds to raise the money.
The funds represent part of the proceeds of the sale of the municipal power utility to the British Columbia Power Commission last year.                            ,