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K J T Pages from the Editors Note i k The senate was discussing a bill to observe Victoria Day on the first Monday prior to May 25 from on Hon Mr To most of us this chamber Victoria Day means something To my child ren and my grandchildren it has no meaning at all To them it is just a holiday I can quite understand that Elizabeth is going to celebrate her birth day in June the month in which the late King George VI celebrated his and we have become accustomed to that pro cedure I think the majority of Canadians would enjoy a holiday on a Monday rather than on a Wednesday or Thurs day I can understand that too In these days of rapid transportation people can easily travel or a 100 miles to their summer homes to en joy a good weekend especially when it is a long one the nation has always celebrated the Queens birthday on the of May Suppose the bin is passed and we celebrate say the of May we might have difficulty in explaining to our grandchildren and some of us have grandchildren why we are celebrating that day Hon Mr King As Victorias birthday Hon Mr But that was not her birthday They know it was on the 24th of May and they will correct us Hon I have just been wondering why we should have this holiday at all Hon A Most of our holidays have some signifi cance and it is rather interest ing to note the number of sta tutory holidays that we now celebrate I should like to enumerate them We have Good Friday No one will question that Hon Mr Why not have thai on Monday Hon Mr You looked New Years Day Hon Mr Crerar We have now the present Queens Birth day which is to be celebrated I believe on the of June Hon Mr Aseltine Why not have that on a Monday too Hon Mr Of course And why not have Christmas Day on a Monday and Domin ion Day There is just as sound an argument for always having each of these holidays on a Monday as there is for al ways having Victoria Day on a Monday But let me continue with the list of statutory holidays We have Victoria Day and shall have it as long as the present legislation remains in force Then we have the 1st of July which I expect Canadians will celebrate for a long time to come We have Labor Day Thanksgiving Day and most cities in Canada now have a civic holiday when all business is suspended- Hon Mr In Vancou ver the stares are closed all day Wednesday Hon And in Hon Mr And the banks are closed on Saturdays Hon Mr I was about to mention that Saturday is now a bank holiday and if cer tain efforts are successful it will soon be a civil service holi day This practice of regarding Saturday as a holiday is spread ing over the country if I make every day a holiday Hon Mr Crerar Are we not approaching the stage where we will have as many holidays as work days I think the time has come when we should look realistically at the question of holidays I think that in stead of passing a bill for the celebration of 24th of May on a Monday we should repeal the Victoria Day Act alto gether Hon I am one of those who is in favor of Monday holidays so that can go fishing over the long week end That is important to me Hon Mr Roebuck Still young Hon Mr Neverthe less I am willing to give up my fishing for one weekend rather than have the birthday of Queen Victoria changed Hon Arthur Roebuck It is a fine time of the year for a holi day AH over Canada the cro cuses are out in most parts certainly in Ontario the wild flowers are in the woods the grass is nice and green and Ave are all glad to get rid of the snow and the boys and girls want to go out and play in the open I remember that when I was young enough it was a day on which we shed our red woollen underwear Some of us would also take off our boots and shoes without any great objection on the part of our parents and if we were hardy enough we dived into the old swimming pool It is the time of year when you want a holiday Somebody said that it is now just another holi day That is true but also it is very welltimed and I am not one of those who believe we have too many holidays I think they are good things and that they help to develop the health and growth of our youth As for working surely we work long enough and the school children too because the ob ject of education is not to cram young people with a lot of hook learning but rather to develop them and if they are to grow and expand their powers holidays are essential from the F ties of MAY The annual dance of the New- market High School Cadets took place in the Assembly Hall on i day night of last week About pupils and expupils were present and a splendid time was reported In order to encourage sport among the school children the Newmarket Athletic Association made a donation of 100 for the purchase of bats balls lacrosse slicks etc to be distributed for the use of the kiddies going to school Mr Smith General of the Office Specialty Mfg Co also Mr Joe Chairman of the Safety First Committee and Mr of the First Aid attended the Annual Convention of the Industrial Accident Pre ventive Association hold at the King Edward Hotel Toronto I II The Warren Paving Company which has done all the paving in Town so far has received the contract for the paving of ford Street ami it is expected that they will commence work this week MAY North York Ag Society direc tors are now completing ar rangements their annual ex cursion It has been decided to go to some point in this year possibly The new roll to the Clerk shows a total increase in assessment of Newmarket of 6335 The total population is given at an increase of only There are horses lit dogs cattle hogs 20 sheep and steam boilers Only three or four appeals have been filed against the assess ment Mr Kiias sold his brick residence on Eagle St on Tuesday to Mr Case of Whitchurch Mr in tends to go to Manitoba next month The Ontario Hank will open at oclock on Saturday morn ings for the convenience of their patrons until further notice Mr Richard Kirtoii has been carrying his arm in a sling the past week owing to a sprain which he received while load ing some lumber at the farm on Thursday of last week THE OLD HOME TOWN iMM By STANLEY ant impress Serving Nwrnarkct Aurora and rural district ftf North York Era Ex prats 189 Published every Thursday at Main St Newmarket by Newmarket Era and Express limited Subscription 4 for two year tor one year in advance Single copies are each Member of Class A Weeklies of Canada Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association and Audit Bureau of Circulations Authorized as Second Class Mail Post Office Department Ottawa Office Cat Reports Catnips By Ginger JOHN A MEYER Managing Editor ION Womens JOHN E STRUTHERS News Editor GEORGE Sports PAGE FOUR LAWRENCE RACINE Job Printing and Production THURSDAY THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF MAY NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY- TWO LOW RENTAL HOUSING The proposal for lowrental housing which is being studied by Newmarket town council offers many advan tages It will provide much needed accommodation in Newmarket and will put to use land owned by the town along Eagle St There are two major disadvantages however which studied closely before the town commits itself The first is that the town will be expect ed to subsidize the taxes on the subdivision The second is that the taxes will be fixed by an authority outside the council Neither practice is desirable It is intended that the homes will be rented on a basis of income The provincial and federal govern- will provide the difference between the cost of the subdivision and the income from it The town will assess the subdivision in terms of the rent paid with the government again making up the difference up to 17 percent Beyond that the town will absorb the loss itself The rents will be set by an independent housing authority within limits imposed upon the authority by the provincial government Since taxes will be deter mined by rents the town will have little say in the taxes which it will receive The questions which these practices raise are to what extent should the rest of the town be required to subsidize housing to what extent should the town allow a separate authority to set the taxes We freely grant that these questions are for the present anyway somewhat academic since there is every assurance that the town will lose little income from the arrangement But once it is provided for the way is opened for practices which are undesirable in principle and could be expensive in practice The question is somewhat aggravated by the poten tial need for increased school facilities It is intended to rent these homes to Newmarket families only and so at first glance there would not seem to be any need for increased school facilities But there is every like lihood that much of the accommodation vacated by fam ilies moving into the new homes will in turn be rented or bought by outside families Ultimately the new homes will mean an increased population If these new homes could be freely taxed in time a new school would be paid for in an equitable manner but with taxes limited it means that a larger share of the cost must be paid for by the rest of the town Nor must it be forgotten that the increased population will require increased services such as police There is a definite need for lowrental housing Apparently it can only be provided by subsidies since a new home cannot be built to rent at low cost without subsidies The question remains however of lo what extent a municipality should bo asked to assume a share of such subsidies That should be the major con sideration in the councils study of the proposal ABSURD SITUATION The situation which now exists on the Newmarket public school is absurd The members of the board have had adequate lime lo fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the chairman Mr Herbert Atkins When the issue came to a vote however it was a tie One member was sick is would have been the decid ing vote The issue was held over to the next meeting Yet at that same meeting members expressed doubt that the missing member would resume his sent on the board that his ill- health might force his resigna tion too There is absolutely no need for the delay in the appointment If there is a difference of opinion on a successor to Mr Atkins the ballot provides an adequate answer Mrs Caroline Ion defeated candidate in the election is the obvious choice She polled only votes less than the present chairman Surely that entitles her to consideration by the whole board There is unfortunately no set precedent in New market for choice of a successor to a member of the board who resigns in midterm In the past appoint ments to the board have been made with no considera tion of defeated candidates Vet the practice generally followed elsewhere has been to it a the defeated candidate to the vacancy Is there any reason why it shouldnt be followed here The board would be performing a service to the ratepayers if it were to cease its bickering make the obvious appointment and at the same time set a sen sible precedent for boards of the future to follow BURNING OFF GRASS There were some evenings in the past month when the western sky was hazy with the smoke of a hundred burnings as land was cleared of the last seasons dead vegetation It is a little late to remark on the matter but here are a few statistics to store up against next spring when the fires are lighted again According to Audubons book Conservation and Nature Activities following an experiment in grass burning hay yield was reduced from percent to percent over the previous year water runoff increased from five to times and soil erosion speeded up four to times An average of pounds of nitrogen to the acre is contained in the top three or four inches of humus Burning not only chars the humus making it susceptible to blowing off but the heat from the fire turns the nitrogen to gas which is released from the soil and lost It adds up to a pretty expensive undertaking in loss of soil fertility not to mention the risk of loss of property even lives Two cars crashed headon along one Ontario highway when smoke from a grass fire obscured their drivers vision Several persons were injured And all this spring district fire companies have been called out to protect buildings against the threat of a swiftrunning grass fire There must be more practical ways of preparing a field for spring and summer POLITICS AS BEFORE The hoof and mouth outbreak in Saskatchewan may well prove one of the most serious blows ever struck at the Canadian economy Hopes for an early end to the threat of a spread in the disease seem doomed with reports of fresh outbreaks Against this background it is disquieting to read reports from Ottawa where a federal committee is sitting in judgment on the governments handling of the outbreak which suggest that the issue is being turned into the kind of committee room circus which is the stock in trade of Washington politicians The Globe and Mail carried a report last week on a committee sitting which carried the head line Saskatchewan Election Spins Political Battle Over FootMouth Disease According to the story members are attempting to place the blame for the spread of the disease on the Liberal government so that they can make the hitters fault a campaign issue in the forthcoming provincial election The Liberals are retaliating with efforts to place the blame on the CCF provincial government And because the Conservatives a no political stake in the election the report continues they can afford to sit back and watch with some amusement the jockeying of the Liberal and committeemen investigating the outbreak It is an outrageous insult to the electors that mem bers of a government should seek to turn a serious economic crises to party advantage Every resource of the governments should be directed at alleviating the farreaching effects of the outbreak instead we are treated to the jockeying of politicians for political advantage Is it possible that the politicians are unaware of what is happening to the farm economy in Canada as a result of the disease or what could happen if the out breaks spread eastwards SALVATION ARMY CAMPAIGN The Salvation Army is in the midst of its annual campaign for funds We wish the campaign every success Ever since its founding the Salvation Army has earned a reputation for its unselfish work among those in want whether the want was material or spiri tual The Salvation Army operates homes for unwed mothers for the aged and for orphans and unwanted children The Salvation Army has never been afraid to go into slums or danger Their hostels are built where needed Their officers work in the courts and jails During the war their canteens were as far forward as they could be The members of the Salvation Army are dedicated to the work of easing human suffering wherever it is found Help them in this work by con tributing to their campaign state is the servant not master of the people the on their rights their agent in International the state to the of the on individual An Intimidate Message from Park Avenue Not ed Graft Expert and Cousin of Contributing Columnist our own Slim Kingpins of the ma yoralty in good New Yawk has been named by Gum ming A Cross a well known convicted bookie and real smooth operator here as havin accepted political contrac tions Willie for- police commissioner Ev erett eleventh deputy commissioner and James Stepton former first deputy fire commissioner was so designated by Cross at the opening of the trial of seven plain clothes dicks ac cused of accepting bribes Gumming A Cross was be lieved to be gambling for a re duction of his 13year jug sent ence Talkin freelike in a six hour session in Burrow Hall this here bookie presented a sharp contrast to his button- lipped refusal on Sept 1951 to testify in criminal court pro ceeding thus wrecking the carefully prepared case of Attorney Mites Details of his were enough to startle even the subtle sensibilities of the New Yawk public which has received jar after jar during the past months as trials and grand jury presentments disclosed municipal corruption Even our subtle sensibili ties is been startled complain ed an average thinking citizen of New Yawk billiard palace man ager here is received jars after jars of this stuff Cross named dicks as re ceiving protection money His operating tost ran about a month for each spot His horse rooms took between 1500 to a day some as high as 10000 To protect these large operations there were largescale police pay offs New Yoikers knows I their former mayor Was a pointed to the to Mexico by the president thus calling for an year mayoralty election with the contest Gubernatorial test Gubernatorial repeat Thats what says this here newspaper Im cop New know ODryer came reluctantly to testify They know the spected City Club asked president to investigate or miss his appointment they read a bookie says he paid to the police commission continued sums graft money OBrine says 20000000 tigation made his position tenable has maintained silence in Me City on other matters but c as honest a man have ever known now Your intimidate correspc phoned former Mayor Dryer in Mexico City yesterf lo ask some pertinent How does the air Mexico City compare to the in Brooklyn ODryer Oh yes said the am dor Oh what I asked Oh drier Incidentally I menti James as those designated by Cum A Cross He also is u able at the moment being tenable in Green Corners son serving a 25 year sen for extortion and He was by the way a protege of sensational rise of the Irish plasterers mayor of this big city No there is little all in the mind of your in date correspondent about here graft citation It certainly is graft is there is no doubt But whats a a gubernatorial contest -4- by Dairy Farmer The Top Six Inches We are wondering these days what the future holds for mar keting of agricultural products in this province There is some marketing legislation a pro cedure for applying for it and voting for it The trouble seems to be that once the mach inery is put into motion and the vote asked for the produc ers never seem to get the nec essary majority Take the case of milk on the Toronto market It was de feated by a very small per centage Actually it got the biggest part of the votes sent in but it was short of the re quired percentage of the total The poultry scheme had a much rougher fate It didnt even come close to the re quired majority From what we hear it had to have about yes votes and it only got about The polling booths were open for three days and the people who were looking after them had a very easy time of it We understood that the hog marketing scheme in the op inion of the authorities had such unanimous support that it was to be granted without a vote Yet after the big push last spring nothing much was heard of it Where is the trouble Why is it that a principle so often approved and whose merits are so often extolled at meetings is defeated when it is put to vote and its supporters must stand up am be counted Many reason could be ad vanced The pessimists and those who distrust the ability of the farming community will point to indifference as the main cause Well maybe it is indifference but indifference is just a symptom and not the cause The fact is that indif ference is the result of distrust and distrust is the result of lack of education and That at least remedied We might as face the fact that our are not as strong as th tendance at meetings wouJ Our weakness is if number that does not at The second factor this situation is the compulsion that seeing he rent in a marketing c Now thai is a very hard to swallow To agree told where and when to- is something we learned yet to love an hups never shall Deep in our own hearts after work had been done milk vote and all the had been settled there J feeling of relief that we have to face this new It wasnt the question to be right i Those of us who pushed in it ail right dont know that we really it We would like to pi- a third factor and one the strongest obstacle to scheme We dont where the agricultural would come run such a scheme Win the agricultural lawyer where are the There arent- There are few men mostly unpaid and But they are to take on a provincial job There are aspirants not too enough for whom effort is a spring to things to come What we sadly lad without whose efforts action can be the leadership the in and well qualified of business commerce law 1 i BETWEEN THE HAMMER AND THE ANN I- V