PAGE FOUR WHIG 00, LIMITED, 5 G. MiMott .. ..... ... ,..President +s + Editor an Managing-Director, A. Gute ,. PUBLISHING Baitorial a Job Ofios aiid RATES Que year. if paid in advance Ota ore ro op os Owen 133 St. Pet ER Norgnrap, 2 5 nh Ave. New r York go ¥.R.Northrup, 1510 Ase'n Bidg., C Totters to the Waiter are published the name of the . nctual oR printing of seve e343 ev ses «338 "sab a | been done or not. sme Bo" Rad best job The circulation of of THE BRITISH WHIG is authenticated by the AMIE Buren oF Otvculnitiviel The hired man on the farm has had his vacation real early this year. -------------------- Higher wages is-the burden of the manufacturers, Higher prices for necessaries is the burden of workman. So there you are! Webi dbl iit amore. 'That dear: friend "who is always kpnotking a utaal driend to you is sure to make yoh'a vietim when he is talking to Somebody else. know them. The old rhyme about * "grasping a nettle" applies very aptly to the la- bor troubles in the west at present. Only firm: handling 'will elisre the situation, ---- ea The airmen who try to distinguish - themselves by acrobatic feats in the '.@ir may be gaining notoriety, 80 long as they. are not accomplish- ing any usefnl object by stunts, they should be discouraged, The Sinn. Feiners are a greedy Jot. Not only do they want irish Republic, but they also want Great Britain 'to.-finance it. That sounds lke a Vietorfous general dlc: tating terns. to. the defeated enemy, PUNISHED. In the issue of the Whig for May 6th, there appeared an editorial note upholding Magistrate Kings~ ford, of Toronto, for passing sent- ence on the Rev. Ben Spence for violajon of the censorship laws of Canada. N. A. AsseMine, an Odessa reader of the Whig, took gxception to this attitude on our part, so a further editorial was published, ex- plaining that the Whig did not in any way discuss the merits or Je- merits of the book, but simply took the stand that the Rev. Ben Spence was bound by the laws of Canada Just In the same way as any other citizen, and that if he chose to break the law he must be prepared to suffer. Another letter was then received from Mr. Asseltine, con- tinning the discussion, This letter, which appears in another column, was withheld from publication un: til the Whig could thoroughly study the facts of the case, and be in a better position to give the: fullest statement as to whether justice had We have now se cured the complete facts, and pub- Heh them herewith, so that there Ofcan be no misunderstanding as to where the Whig stands in this case 00 Mr. Asseltine can judge for himself whether or not his own views of the matter are correct. "The Parasite," the book which was the cause of the whole contro: versy, was simply a rehash of a book which had previously been banned and it bore a striking similarity to the banned book:X On its being re- ceived by the censor it was decided to ban it for distribution in Canada, 'which was exactly the same action as 'was taken in Great Britain. The Rev. Ben Spence was" prosecuted for having had i published, but the [first prosecution fell to the ground on some small technicalities. Soon after, the Chief Press Censor receiv- ed a 'communication from the Peter- boro' Branch of the G.W.V.A., through official channels, urging that Mr. Spence be prosecuted for his offence against the censorship laws, and asking that he report p- on the case. As duty bound, the censor reported to the proper authorities, recommending that the Rev. Ben Spence be prosecuted, and backing up his recommendation by a considerable . quantity of official correspondence, including copies of letters addressed to the Prime Mini gter, the late Sir Mackenzie Bowell other senators and members of Lhe House of Commons and the chiaf] press< censor, written by the Rev Ben Spence at the time when the iret of the Mee books, upon Which "The Parasite" was based, wa¥ plac- ed under the ban, announcing «thr he was defying the government ani the censorship authority, enclosing copies of the banned book, and an- nouncing his willingness tg take the consequences. Aftontion Was drawn In 'the cemsor's report to the fact that such nd indolent defiance of the censorsfilp on the part of Mr. Spence made it extremely difficult to enforce the censorship law In ----y According to latest reports, Rus-|cases where similar offenders quoi pla 1s; being redeemed by the Rus-|ed the immunity which Mr. Spence sans themselves, which is the only (had enjoyed in the case mentioned possible way. As 'we have repeat- The law in respect to the censor- edly stated, the Russians must Work |ship states that it is an offence to salvation. . out' thelr own: ------------------ Canada at present hae great need "write, print, publish, deliver, re- ceive or have in his possession or on premises in his occupation or un- of a wise leader, and Premier Borden der his control, any letter or other faces a crisis in the country's history. writing, or * newspape It fs to hedieped that lie will rise 10] periodical. book. s tract, book, circular, or other the occasion and manage the affairs printed publication, or any . photo- 40k the sition in -safe way. graph, plan, sketch, model or other a ee rt Ties Wes at Bd an a ar representation containing or con pry, "have resulted in. the newspad) (to suspend publication. cause of the actions of the strikers, sisting - of objectionable matter." (Sub-section 1 of section? of order ik \ 2 of the consolidated specting censorship.) orders re- It wag clears yet ie To Sondre to Wait hopes of ae Iy proven in court that Mr. Spence printed, published and had in his selon In premises in his occu 'or. under his control copies of the so-called * pence" edition of "The Parasite," and the court there. tore decided "that his | action = was illegal. & In regard to the particular case of "The Parasite," Mr. Spence was quite aware that this book bore a THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG, IG, SATURDAY, ! MAY 31, 1919. WHY REV. BEN SPENCE was! of thie Book Before aistribution. The company informed Mr. Spence of the censor's request and forbade him to distribute the books. Mr. Spence then sent the censor a copy. Yet Mr. Spence states that he had no intention of evading the censor- ship, and takes credit for having submitted a copy to the Chief Press Censor before circulation. It has been said that the Can- adian edition of the book, as print- ed hy the Methodist Book and Pub: lishing Company, is not identical with' the British edition. - It ro quires very close scrutiny indeed to reveal any difference. - The color- ed cover is the same, and the great- er bulk of the'letter-press is 'identi: cal, and in addition, some of the new matter introduced includes some of the worst features of the two hooks of Mr. Mee previously banned. These two Mee books received the patient and careful considera. tion of members of the government before they were banned. In in- vestigating the case, it was brought to the notice of the Whig that the chief censor took.the advice of the chief of the general staff, the chair- man of the Military Service Couns'l and the Food Controller respecting the character of "The" Parasite." The opinion . of <¢hose responsibia officers 'was 'that the circulation of the hook would interfere with the prosecution of the war by interfer- ing 'with the aiscipline and recruit- ing of the army and by encouraginz the enemy propaganda devised with a view of retarding the efforts to secure greater production anfl con+ servation of food: dn the letter written by Mr. Asseltine, he attempts to pay tribute to what Mr. Spence did to help win the 'war, and to belittle the work of the Press Censor. It has yet to be found just 'what Mr. Spence did for the cause, but so far as the press censor is concerned, he has receiv: ed the general commendation of the press of Canada as a whole and of some of the highest personalities In the government of Canada. He has been complimented by the censor- ship authorities of several of the Allied countries, 'including Great Britain and the United States, and his name has been drawn to the at- tention of the Secretary of State for War for 'Services rendered. He has always retained the full confidence of the government, in spite of the repeated attacks made wpon him by the Rev. Hen Spence. "As to the banning of the book in question, Mr. Spence and the To- ronto , 'ag 'Mr. Asséltine states I hfs Totter; 'may know more about public requirements than do the members of the government and. the public officials 'who were respon- sible for the pronouncement in: this matter." The law, however, pro- vides that after the issue of censor- whip mafrants by the secretary of state, the Met thal the publication is objectionable cannot be question- ed. The issue of 'censorship war: rants. is not in the hands of, the chief press censor, and that official is merely one element of an intrl- cate piece of official machinery cofi- corned in the actual direction of war operations. +, That "The Para- site" 'was objectionable and con tained dangerous matter was tha opinfon of all the high offiétals to whom the book wag referred, in- cluding, hegides the Chief Press Censér, the Canadian Fapd Board, the Secretary of State and the Censorship Committee of the Privy Council, as well' a the military staff officers. referred to above. Thesa rekponsible officals 'had in thelr possession "information as to enemy propaganda and other matters which could not possibly be In 'ronfo Globe. ~ Among other things, these officials knew that enemy pro- pagandists were interesting them selves in the circulation of "The Parasite," realizing that 'the book wag calcufated to: bring' Great Brie throughout America. Therefore it possession of Mr. Spehce or the To- Yario tain into disrepute and to. retard | fi the efforts being made on behalf of { it food production and conservation the character of this book as would Mr.. Asseltine be able to do In Kis wisdom at the present. As to the remark made 'by Mr. Asseltine regarding the supposed unmerited reflection on the intelll: gence of the Canadians, #t #ght be interesting to him to: know that there wag very little circulation. of the book outside of Great Britain and Canada. Ms circulation, had it been large, outside of. Britain, in any European Allied or neutral countries, 'would have done no harm, for they knew from actual experi- ences of the virility of the British people, and the efforts they could (put forth, and they were not look jed to to contribute to the food sup- plies. of the British people. As fo the United States, there was no official action taken. in that country to suppress the book; be- cause thene were no censorship laws in the United States during the war, and it is not known whether the United States Post Office Depart: ment exercised any censorship. The attention of the Canadian author} ties was first drawn to this book by the British censorship officials, who realized that this book was unsuilt- able for circulation in, Canada un* der the circumstances. One can readily understand why the book was for a time allowed circulation in the British Isles. The British people knew exactly how. to appraise the statements contained in the publication, as the book referred to conditions supposed to exist in their midst, 'and, as they knew that their existence depended largely upon food conservation and production they were not likely to give ear to the enemy propaganda slogan used in Canada: "Why should we submit to food rations and attempt to increase our production of food, for the purpose of supplying grain to be made info beverages for the heer and whiskey. soaked people of 'Great Britain?" dn this reply to Mr. Asseltine's letter, the Whig has been careful to put forward the reall facts of tha case, only after careful and judi cious enquiry and study. In this study, we have found nothing to make wus alter our standpoint that the Rev. Ben Spence was vightiy punished for his transgression of the censorship laws of Canada. What we have learnt, however, was that the book 'was really an objoc- tionable one and that the censor acted wisely and in the best inter: ests of Canada in suppressing it, and in. recommending the prosecu- tion of the man responsible for its production and distribiition; TR £8 3 PAR vA FORTY RL Saha Union of South Africa; 1010, May 31.--To-day South Africa will celebrate Union Day, for it 18 just: nine years ago since the self-govern- ing colonies of the Cape of Good] Hope, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony were united in! & legislative pact under the name of; the Union of South Africa. = The. day wis a memorable one in South Africa's history before this states' manlike act became law, for on May 1st; 1902, the territory which had: been formally annexed to the British, Empire on Sept. 1, 1800, was finally made an integral part of that Empire Pretoria. sitated this peace began 1899, as the éulmination- an he content among the Outlanders of Jo- hannesburg at what they alk unfair treatment at the hands President: Paul Kruger 'and the Boe The government of thé Union ik dif- ferent from that of Canada, as under- the Act the Governor-General, who is. appointed by the Ofown, nomi- and the Lower House than five years . A Mi in 'house of which he is not' a mem- 'Only a British subject of Eu- 1 regided i "with reversible: olla, $l. 0 Ze by the signing of the peace. terms at | The fighting that er ps Clothes for Chaps: Between | it 60 | _ One wants the latest fancies of Fashion; the other, dignified Styles ir in keeping with his position. : We have both. A young men; single and double Pr : ed; welt waists; novel pockets; new lapels. Dignified, reserved models for men of quieter taste; smart but not hivels & ous; every detail correctly styled. . OUR CELEBRATED $35 SUITS ARE REAL BEAUTIES. Waist Line Models; Form Fit Models; Conservative N New Browns, Greys,' Greens and B Tues. Sizes, 34 to'46. think we are quite safe in claiming these to be the best 55S Suits in Canada. The Alton Suit, $22.50. The Biltmore, i) 00. The Lanark $22. 30. See Bibby's 50c. Hosier lisle thread, double toes; heels and soles; blacks, Sry fans, / blues and whites. See Bibby's Panama at $4.75. 3e=Bibby a Pana Se rade. Rama ailors 'HAT SALE © * Bibbys Kingston's One Price Clothing Store See Bibby's Underwear Special at $1.50 per suit. See Bibby's Dainty White Shirts, P.K. soft cuffs, Special value $2.50, Hats. See Bibby's Outing Shirts, : each. BOYS' + : BOYS' SUITS. may sit and speak, but 'may not vote |" reas $10.00 i We libve Jit renaivict sie [lf mame ti 8.00 | use no other he r | | | |