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Qâ€"THE NEWS INTERPRETED A Commentary On the More Important Events of the Week. By ELIZABETH EEDY DUMMY LEADS: Things have come to a pretty pass when a ventrilo- quist’s dummy moves up to first place on the list of current radio fa- vorites. Jack Benny who has held the No. 1 position for the past three years may well ask, “What has he got that I haven't got?” Why, Jack, Charlie’s real ! AT THE FAIR: Canada has reserved 40,000 square feet of space for the 1039 World’s Fair, to be held in New York. That should give plenty of room and scope for a worthwhile build-up on Canadian life, its aims and achievements. The more modern the show, the better. Let us hope there will be a minimum of mocasin- ed, befeathered Indians shown trap- ping wild creatures, and a maximum of present-day features depicted, for example, radium-mining in the North- west Territories; tobacco farming in Southern Ontario; fishing in the Maritimes ; airplane transportation development everywhere ; summer tourist activities. For after all, it’s our own fault that people of the United States and other Countries continue to think of Canada as Our Lady of the Snows, a land given over to Eskimos, snow- shoes, bears, wolves and half-savage customs. FRENCH JIG-SAW PUZZLE: Every- body but France seemed to be wor- ried last week by the parliamentary crisis in the course of which a Cab- inet resigned and several high men of the land tried in vain to form a Rogers, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Toronto and Pro- vincial Analyst, declares that final and conclusive evidence of the degree of alcoholic intoxication or the ab- sence of it can be determined by a single blood test. Such a test may be made by distilling blood and then titrating the distillate with a di- chromate solution. But first of all, you’ll have to catch your driver. STRATEGIC LOSS: The important point about the capture of Teruel by the Spanish Government army is not that the “hunger tactics,” starvation methods of General Franco, insurg- ent commander, have been beaten out, but that the General has “lost face.” The psychological defeat he suffered is tremendous. The loss of prestige may be a large contributory factor to his ultimate downfall, if such it is to be. Deserters from Franco’s army re- port that already there is Uneasiness and widespread dissension in insurg- ent territory, that a rift in the ranks is imminent. Telethon© Bells Remain Shrill Canadians Not Likely to Adopt Musical Notes Suppose the Bell Telephone Com- pany did follow the example set by England and produce a silver-note telephone bell, selected by musicians after two years of tests with gongs and bell metals. Would Canadian telephone users be satisfied? W. J. Cairns, Toronto division manager, doesn’t think so. “Do you think,” he said, “you could be awakened in the morning by the soft, musical tinkle of a bell ? No; you’d probably be lulled into deeper sleep.” Must Be A Summons A telephone .bell, explained Mr. Cairns, must be a summons. It must be something that will make its ur- gent ring heard above and distinct from the soft strains of the radio. It must rise in clear tones above the noise of the carpet sweeper. It must be heard in the next room. It must, in short, be a telephone bell and not a xylophone solo. The Abbey Fare NIAGARA FALLS. â€" A half-smoked cigarette is held by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Department as responsible for the $350,000 blaze at the Loretto Girls’ Academy, Falls View, last week. Some upper-floor student, to avoid being caught smoking, is believed to have tossed her fag into the paper- chute leading to the basement. EDITORIAL COMMENT FROM HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE. Government. Reason other people were worried was that they feared the outcome in a wobbly Europe of a shake-up in France* Reason France was not too horribly concerned over the whole af- fair: the French government system is built that way on purpose so that the least change in public political opinion is reflected in the parliament- ary setup. At any particular moment the government knows pretty exactly just how the country feels. Which makes for greater eventual stability than our forms of government can ever hope to again. A NATIONAL THEATRE: Establish- ment of,a National Theatre in Canada was urged recently by Malcolm Mor- ley, English actor, playwright, pro- ducer and critic who arrived in this country to adjudicate the Dominion Drama Festival, finals of which will be held in Winnipeg. “It would be a very big thing for the Canadian The- atre and I believe it is coming,” he said. “Russia did it and their sys- tem can bo duplicated without inter- fering with or belonging to politics.” The Drama Festival each year is a big step toward the development of a national theatre in Canada, but there is a long road ahead yet. ’Tis a pity that the Canadian peo- ple do. not display as much interest in the. drama as they do in musical development in the Dominion. Last year in Toronto the Promenade Sym- phony drew more than 4,000 people to the Varsity Arena every Thursday night during, the summer season. Fancy the same number turning out each week to a series of drama pre- sentations ! THEIR IRISH UP: Mr. Eamon de Va- lera, Irish-Spanish head of the gov- ernment of Eire (formerly called the Irish Free State) goes to London last week and asks Mr* JS8*ilV'.SiiCWber- lain, head of the British government to step in and end partition in Ire- land, the division between the north and the south. Mr. Chamberlain is adamant in his position that the con- sent of Northern Ireland (Ulster to you) must first be obtained before any move is made toward reunion of -the two Irish states. Deadlock results, as there is no likelihood of Lord Craigavon’s Nor- thern Ireland Government consenting to link up with Eire. Meantime Lord Craigavetn dissolves the Northern Ire- land parliament, hurries on an elec- tion. It must have been getting too quiet and peaceful over there in the Em- erald Isle. Somebody had to start something. ALCOHOL TEST: The considerable prominence given in the press of On- tario to the war on drunken ( or drinking) drivers has led to an inves- tigation of methods of testing such drivers for alcoholism, L. Joslyn Bâ€"D CANADA What Else Is There ? Collections of speeches by Earl Baldwin, former British Prime Min- ister, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, have been banned In Germany as “undesir- able literature.” What DO the Nazis read anyway? â€" Stratford Beacon- Herald. Snow as Tourist Lure Tourist organizations in all parts of the country use the snow as a lure, write eloquently of our unparalleled facilities for outdoor sports, of our outdoor Switzerland® at home. We have sent around the world the game of hockey, and the ski almost has earned a place among our national emblems.â€"Ottawa Journal. Farmers’ Profits In all the discussion that is ensuing in regard to higher milk prices, it seems to be overlooked that the dairy farmer, as much as anyone else, is entitled to a reasonable profit upon his operation, and that, moreover, it is the urban manufacturer and mer- chant who benefit to a good extent from the existence of such a profit.â€" Brockville Recorder and Times. Forget It! Ill the past, stock prices have re- flected pretty accurately business con- ditions. Today they do not. In these changing days it is foolish to make any predictions as to the future, but the outlook, for Canada at least, is so bright that our own advice is to for- get the stock market.â€"London Free Press. Arrest tiro Car The impounding of a car for three months is not a calamity when com- pared with the results of the Improp- er operation of the vehicle. There can be no valid argument against im- pounding the car of the drunken owner-driver. Nor is there much room for sympathy for the owner who has carelessly allowed his car to get into improper hands if he is denied per- mission to use it himself for three months.â€"Toronto Telegram.. What the West Has Done Nobody would say, of course, that wheat-growing in the west of the lakes was the only reason tor present-day Toronto or Montreal. There wore oth- er causes for their rise, notably the flourishing mining industry, But that the western expansion was one cause, and a major one, cannot be denied, by any candid person. Mr. Duplessis, who says the East cannot be saddled with the burden of the West, may reflect if he chooses, that Montreal would not be half the city it is if no wheat had been grown on these plains since 1900. â€"Winnipeg Free Press. THE EMPIRE Copy the Judges Why are judges permitted to live and work till well over 80 while ordin- ary mortals are officially and very often altogether finished at 55? The reason seems to be almost entirely psychological. The judge in England Is generally appointed after 50, and can, like Tennyson’s brook, go on for- ever. He naturally feels boyish and buoyant, being on the threshold of a new career. He has still the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords to look forward to. On the serene heights of judicial dignity, with the compla- cent consciousness of wisdom and in- fallibility which he enjoys (at least in non-appealable cases) a judge well may feel fresh and immortal. So- ciety should take a leaf from the judge’s book. There Is a needless hur- rying oil with life in modern civiliza- tion.â€"Times of India. Women In the War The womenfolk in China are taking their full share of responsibility in the present Sino-Japanese conflict. Discarding lipsticks and eyebrow pen- cils, they have now taken active parts in the front lines, and have been en- gaged in militia duties in the rear. It is even said that some of them have actually seen service in some of the grimmest and bloodiest battles in Shanghai. Throughout the country, girls are petitioning the Government for enrolment into the women’s fight- ing forces, but so far only those with previous military training have been drafted. Rut those who have been re- jected are trying to make themselves useful in other ways, such as bring- ing comforts and entertainment to the troops and doing Red Cross work in base hospitals behind the fighting lines. The former Red Army, subse- quently renamed the 8th Route Army, possesses a contingent of veteran women troops. â€" Hong-Kong News. “Too Much For Implements” OTTAWA.â€" Canada’s $50,000,000-a- ye ar farm implement outlay will be given early consideration in the House of Commons, with the report of a Parliamentary committee forming the basis for a discussion left over from last year. r jl®ss X’ LISTEN ,, IMPERIAL TOBACCO'S INSPIRING PROGRAM EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT Or» a Natjbràî Coad: to Ccavi £ i Sixty-Ninth Annual Meeting Royal Bank of Canada Expansion of Foreign Markets for Canadian Wheat Pressing Na- tional Problem, Says Morris W. Wilson. â€" Urges Reciprocal Trade Agreements to Secure Outlets for Staple Commodities» â€" Drought Problem Reviewed. Bank’s Balance Sheet Reflects Satisfactory Year for Business States Sydney G. Dobson. â€" Looks for Reasonably Good Conditions In 1938. â€" Answers Alberta Critics. The expansion of foreign markets for Canadian wheat by reciprocal trade agreements and a truly na- tional approach to the drought prob- lem were urged by Morris W. Wil- son, President and Managing Direc- tor, at the Sixty-ninth Annual Meet- ing of The Royal Bank of Canada, Canada was a fortunate country stated Mr. Wilson. The high level of national well-being reached by the phenomenal recovery of 1936 was maintained Jn 1937 and the activity in most lines of business compared not unfavourably with the record year of 1929. A tragic exception to the general improvement was experienced in the Prairie Provinces, Obviously the need which exists is acute, the situation could not be handled by the Province, and the Federal Government is to be commended for having shouldered the greater part of the burden. The immediate problems created by the drought require emergency meas- ures; but a situation has also been brought to a head which, has been un- satisfactory for years and requires treatment on a national basis. Large areas, ordinarily unsuitable for the purpose, have been planted to grain. Under favourable weather con- ditions the crop from an area equal to that planted In recent years would furnish serious marketing problems. The efforts towards self-sufficiency in food supplies on the part of many countries, find particularly Germany, France and Italy, have also narrowed the international market for wheat and flour to a point where total over- seas sales of the four important non- European exporters have been reduced as follows: Exports of Wheat and Wheat Mom- (Crop years, Aug'. 1 to July 31) Millions of Bushels 1923- 1928- 1933- 1936- 1937- 24 29 34 37 *38 Canada , . 346 406 194 195 88 u.s 130 154 29 nil 104 Argentina 173 222 147 162 80 Australia 86 109 86 102 104 Total 4 Countries 735 891 456 459 376 * Broomhall's estimate of December 15, 1937. It is a sad commentary that a large crop in Canada, unless accompanied by crop failures in other countries, would bring little more total remun- eration to our farmers as a whole than they have secured in the years of drought. There was no single remedy to bring about improvement, said Mr, Wilson. Diversified agriculture, with- drawal of sub-marginal land from wheat, and more scientific methods would help. But these should bo com- bined with exceptional efforts on the part of the government to open the doors of foreign markets, so that when Canadian farmers again reap a good crop the wheat may be sold to ad- vantage. It is clear that the Prairie Provinces cannot solve this problem alone. This Is a task which calls for prolonged, consistent and whole- hearted co-operation. The best possible hope of securing outlets for our grain and other agricul- tural products is through negotiations with countries which are now grow- ing food crops at an exorbitant cost. I view with satisfaction the present tendency among democratic countries to break down barriers impeding the natural flow of business. With the general statement that Canada should admit freely articles not produced within the country there can be little basis for disagreement, But I would go further and say that reduced tariffs should be applied to articles which are made in Canada only on a restricted and uneconomic scale. The problem is not simple, but studies .undertaken by the Tariff Board to determine what concessions should be made to foreign countries in exchange for an important market for our staple commodities, should receive the support and encourage- ment of experts from the industries directly affected. MINING The continued growth of mining had contributed materially to -the general welfare of the country, said Mr. Wil- son. During the past year, he said, production of gold, copper, nickel and zinc, has been betweén two and two and one-half times the high level of production attained in 1929, It is es- timated that in 1937 the expenditures of the milling industry for wages and I "I"" lies have been between $225 end I $250 million. Of $300 million paid in dividends- by Canadian companies in' 1937, one-third was paid by the mines. FOREIGN AFFAIRS The- position abroad is: complex aw)' difficult but one gets few hints' of th tremendous desire for peace- which isr- latent to all’ parts of Europe. I know! of no- European: country where the-; mass of the people are sympathetic * with the aggressive expressions of some of their leaders-. In many coun- tries, desperate economic conditions: have created mass fear. Ruthless, cynical and Irresponsible leadership is gambling to keep itself in power. Just as there are constructive psycholog- ical factors beneath the surface, so there are favourable economic forces at work. Those of us who continue Iq- feel hopeful base our optimism upon the belief that idealism is not dead and that it cannot be long before econ- omic reconstruction gives even those who are most desperate a breathing spell. UNITED. STATES One of the most important ques- tions of tlie day is whether the Unit- ed States is merely experiencing an interruption in the long term trend of recovery! or whether the wheel has turned full circle and the country is again facing a major depression. In my opinion, fundamental conditions now and in the period immediately preceding the last depression are not comparable. One would be tempted to' say without hesitation that the pf ent, setback is merely a temporary cession, were it not for the unfortun- ate lack of co-operation that exists between Government and business. It surely cannot be long before a plan for practical co-operation be- tween government, industry and lab- our will be adopted. CONCLUSION: Where the recent prosperity in the United States has been dependent mainly upon large-scale government deficits, the Canadian recovery took its origin from foreign trade. Without doubt, prosperity based up- on world demand for Canadian pro-, ducts is more soundly established than! that based upon deficit spending. Six- ty per cent, of our exports go to coun- tries other than, the United States, apA even with a substantial decline. in r ports to that country, total Cariadk^ prosperiy should be only moderately affected. On the whole, I look forward to 1938. as a year In whichâ€"barring some up- set in international affairs not present-, ly anticipatedâ€"1 expect to see an im-j proyement from present levels in the] United States, and a further orderly! economic reconstruction in many for-, eign countries. If this proves to be an accurate forecast, we can, I believe, look forward to further substantial progress towards full recovery in Can- ada. GENERAL MANAGER’S ADDRESS In reviewing the general Balance Sheet, Mr. S. G. Dobson, General Man- ager, referred with satisfaction to an increase of $14,000,000 in total assets, a renewal of the upward trend in commercial loans and a growth of 190 million dollars in Royal Bank depos- its in less than five years. Conditions in Canada definitely im- proved during the year, said Mr. Dob- son, the one dark spot being the drought areas in Western Canada. Referring to the unfair criticism in Alberta, Mr. Dobson said in this cam- paign of misrepresentation, er~ have been made to stir up resent., against the banks. And yet, during the last five years not in one single instance has any farmer or home own- er in Alberta been deprived of his farm, or home by this bank through foreclosure. To demonstrate the wide diversity of services banks provide, Mr. Dobson took occasion to analyse certain of the bank’s figures. At the end of the year, the hank had on its books V’uns to farmers totalling $16,000,000, to . tail merchants $21,000,000, to profess sional men and other private individ- uals $51,000,000. As a further example of the extent to which we facilitate the affairs of what might be termed the “smaller client”, I may say we had loans outstanding to 61,000 bon rowers whose liability to the did not exceed $500 each. In conclusion, Mr. Dobson said A»-,, a profitable year for business wa, clearly reflected in the Bank’s ow:; balapMe sheet tor 1937.