PAGE FOUR The British, Whig and Semi-Weekly > Published Dal) HW WHIG PUBLISHI TED. THE BRITS 1 President . Managing Director and Sec.- Telephones: Business Office . J. GE lot Leman A. Guid" -Treas. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (Daily Edition) One year, delivered in city One year, if wa One year, by mall to rural offices One year, to United States 3 (Semi-Weekly Edition) One year, » nail, cash hi One year, 1 paid in advance }5¢ One year, to Un ted States _ ... x and three months pro ha hed is one of the best job printing offices In Canada. EY e circulation of THE BRITISH wine is authenticated by the - Audit Bureau of Circulations Pee a SI A DECREASE OF INSANITY. The war is leading to some unex- pected experiences. A medical ex- pert has made a study>of physical conditions, and reports an extraordin- ary discovery, namely, that insanity in Britain is on the decrease. Sol- diers from the front are found to be suffering from shock. There are some, in Kingston, whose nerves are gone, and nothing can repair the dam- age save a very long rest. The strain of war and the anxiety which attends it would, one supposes, produce seri- ous mental collapses. But the re- verse appears to be the case, and when. enquiry was made into the facts the discovery followed that many are either lifted out of their melancholy or cured of it by having no time for introspection, no time to think about themselves. Blessed thought! Would that it could be transmitted to those who never have any occasion to worry over the war, and yet manifest symptoms of insan- ity. Brooding over fancied failures in life are apparently responsible for many of the reported mental defi- ciencies. i The Bruce Commission estimates that the cost of the Shorncliffe Mill- tary Hospital group of V.A.D.'s, irre- spective of the cost of the Shorncliffe Military Hospital, is $132,942.40, for the staff alone. The Bruce Commis- sion regards this as "an entire waste." And the slogan of the gov- ernment to the people of Canada is "Barn all you can and save all you can," for the country may need it. ACCUSED OF ROBBERY. The deputation of municipal men who waited upon the provincial gov- ernment and saw the premier, the attorney-general, the treasurer, and for a moment the minister of edu- cation, indulged in what may be termed a heart to heart talk, The men who have had their ears to the ground, to quote the familiar phrase' of the attorney-general, beamed up- on the municipal visitors and appear- ed to be good listeners. The plea they heard was that the province was robbing the municipalities, as one man put it, of revenue that properly belonged to them. The fines which the province demanded were for in- fractions of the civic laws. Why should they be appropriated by the province? The members of the government argued that they had not been tres- passing upon the municipalities, that they had been simply following in the footsteps of their predecessors, and they evidently thought they were clever when they said the laws of the province were quite the same as when Sir Oliver Mowat was premier. At once an Ottawa delegate came back 'with the remark that the laws might be the same, but thete were orders- in-council which were new, and they were relieving the municipalities of 'moneys which formerly belonged to them, and should remain with them for civic uses, * The appeal respecting fines is not likely to be favorably regarded by the government. The province must have more moaey. and will not re- » point there is an apparent The government admits '| canse so little is know about it. - APPEALS NOT TO REASON. . The political parties in the United | States are making many appeals 10] the electors, but it cannot be said that they are all appeals to reason. | The pgpublicians have issued full-| page advertisements, and they printed in many newspapers. these advertisements they have 5 "| dresséd certain questions to Mr. Wil- | son. His attention is called the | statement which he made in a re- cent speech, and to the effect that hundreds of thousands of unemploy- ed bread winners were put to work in the earlier part of his term. It is intimated that these hundreds of thousands of persons lost their employment. during the earlier part] of Mr. Wilson's government through faulty tariff legislation; that the im- ports into the country exceeded the exports by many millions of dollars; that the loss in earning power has also been many millions of dollars; that the war produced a demand for munitions which gave work to the multitudes afresh; that when the war is over thousands of munition plants will be put out of business; that then, if the Wilson tariff is not repealed, the hundreds of thousands of workers will be retired to the bread line or to the depths of pov- erty. The democrats azef to have an appeal which is more takitg.- It is that the Wilson government Tak given the country a great deal of progressive legislation-=--insurance against panic, a lower tariff and income tax, feder- al trade laws administered by com- missions, rural credits, provision against child labor, aid to shipping, the eght-hour day, and a peace policy which "is to be preferred to the mailed fist in dealing with other nationalities. The labor party seems to be ¥allying behind the democrats, and it looks as If this means Mr. Wil- son's success. ? The candidates are being asked hard quetioys by hecklers wherever they go. One man is being judged by his record. The other man is being judged by his promise. The man of promise should be the strqng- er man, but he has been singularly non-committal on some questions, and this is a time when plain and candid speech is to be appreriawd. The German government and the United States government have made a contract for the carrying of mails by submarines between America and Germany. Another very noticeable act of deference to the German gov- ernment. Wilson is doing well. SOME NEED THE REST. > There is some doubt with regard to the reported reorganization of the Canadian forces overseas, and be- The contemplated changes may be yery radical. They may touch every branch of the military service. Of the de- fects of the medical department something has been known through the trenchant criticism of the Bruce commission. "What is going on in the other departments can only be sur- mised. It is evident, however, that the Canadian army #s being thorough- ly. reconstructed, and upon plans | ~~ which must uake for its greater 'effi- clency. Complaint has been made that the units sent from Canada have not fit- ted into the system abroad. Appar- ently there is under contemplation, or under way, the changes which experi- ence has suggested. Every man will be put in the place which he fits or whgre he will do the best service. Every officer should find something to do, in the new arrangement, and every promofion will, or should, be based upon individual merits. It has been a severe reflection upon the military system heretofore that there were many officers in England with- out occupation. There was a seeming over-manning of the forces in some respects, and a seeming under-man- ning of them in other respects, and appointments and advancements which were not always approved. Let up hope that the new military coun- cil will have but one aim or plan in (view at this juncture of the war, and that is to organize the departments so that Canada will be served to the very best advantage. The proposal to remove from the military establishments of England many who are now employed there, thousands of them, is a good one. Every enlisted soldier was meant for active service, The head of the Re- cord Office, for instance, has declared that he dispensed long since with many men who had been given work in his department, and he could dis- pense with others. The suggestion is appreciated that those who have been fe EDITORIAL NOTES. Flour in' 'Winnipeg has dropped 10¢ a bag. This news has not yet] seemingly reached Kingston, and the cost of bread remains the same. f } The United States has not yet | heard from Germany the particulars! of the Marina disaster. The captain of 'the torpedoed ship could give an unbiased story if the Germans who took him off his vessel would only let him, and his story would be an il- luminating one. Britain is said to be preparing for an election next year. ' Canada can follow her example without inviting | any shouts of disturbance and dis- loyalty. It would be a great pity if the Hon. Bob Rogers could not work off the soldier ballots that are piled up in England somewhere. e Now that Sir Sam Hughes has been relieved of nearly every duty in con-. nection with his department, save the ornamental ones, he iS going to Que- bec to show the government what he can do in the way of recruiting. Goed. He will make his Nationalist col- leagues in the government ashamed of themselves, v Of 'all the times in the year, or of the war, the present is not appropri- ate: for higher rents. But the land- lords think it is. [The current idea is that the people like to pay big prices for everything they want, in- cluding a comfortable place where they can sit down, or lie down, and rest occasionally. The W hig has peard a rumor, which may not be correct, that a cer- tain city does not want recruiting because it makes the living higher. "The early bird catches the worm," it is said. The-caterers for the mili- tary are certainly very early upon the market/and very alert. Not many bar- gains escape them. rer "Cheer up," says the editor of the Ford Times. The Ford income is a million: dollars a month, Any man with a revenue like that could afford to be chirpy. It is when a fellow on $2.00 a day sets out to buy potatoes at $2 a bag, butter at 50c a 1b., eggs at 47c a dozen, bread at 9 cents a loaf, and milk at 9 cents a quart, that he realizes that the world for ifm is not so full of sunshine. | PUBLIC OPINION | A Real Daddy. (Ottawn Free Press) The wife of Quebec's mayor has just given birth to her 28th <i. In more ways than one the ma) is a city father. Time For the Gluttons. (Hamilton Spectator) Now that Ontario bibulists have been forced to 'take their medicine," reform guns might well be trained on gluttons--the vast host who shorten their lives by overeating. Easy Communication, (Montreal Star) The marvel of, these days is the military mail seryice which enables the soldiers of the Empire. to send | home 5,000,000 letters each week and to receive 7,500,000 letters and | 700,000 pareels weekly. And all this ! mail matter Crosgex oceans or SUR, and channels and international boun-; daries with 8 very small percentage, of errors in delivery. -- N Von Hindenburg's Talk, (Montreal Star) Von Hindenburg says nat in an- other year France will be dead. It all depends, of course, on what he means by "dead." The great major. ity of Germans were taught to believe that France was dead, .belore the war started, and yet at the Marne and Verdun she was alive enough to suit any junker in Germany. IINGS TON EVENTS] 25 YEARS ACO The Princess Louise, marchioness of Lorne, has in a very kindly letter, accepted the post of patroness to the Kingston Macdonald memorial. The ladies of the Orphan's home re- | ceived @ big supply of gifts for the | children to-day. Several clotheslines in various parts of the city were robbed last night. A young girl is suspected, CANADA'S ARMY MEDICAL SERVICE - Toronto Globe, That pany officers have been given commissions who have been failures as medical men at home is a dis- quieting declaration in Dr. Bruce's report on the Canadian medical ser- vice in Britain. Some, he declares are over age, some are drug fiends, and some are addicted to alcoholism. These are declared to be not only of little or no use as C. A. M. C, officers, but a detriment to the efficiency of the corps. Dr. Bruce also found that discontent, naturally impairing effi- ciency, exists on the subject of pro- motion, that in many cases there was no relation between the length of service and ability of the officer, on the one hand and his rank on the other. Doctors had been promotéd who, on arriving overseas, compared unfavorably with their juniors. Medical officers of the 1st and 2nd Divisions had served at the front for 'over a year without receiving ar recognition. That this condemn tion comes from the Government's pressive. and favoritism have combined to pro- duce their natural results--a most deplorable condition, The Govern- tion of itself and one of many discouraging influences, courage and determination. cured appointments and promotions when they are? merit, and that capacity be the tests, are recom- suggestiveness. The same is true of the recommendation promotions in Canada. But discon- | tinnance of bad methods and prac- tices is not enough. The mess must [ be cleaned up. Useless and worse | than useless officers must be remov- ed and their places filled with com-}| | petent and capable men. The Do- | minion cannot afford to tolerate the | conditions disclosed. Random Reels "Of Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax, of Cabbages and Kings." 7 The Tail Light. ; The Tail Light is something which is attached to an automobile so that the village constable may not run out of work. ted it did not have any kind of a light except the light of hope. But after a while some bright, tireless legislator decided that every auto- mobile should have a light in the rear, so that the high-spirited plow horse might not run into it and have his features permanently spoiled. As a result of this wise action we have yet to read of the first instance in which a six-sixty touring car has beén run down by a fleet grade Per- cheron and had its spinal column caved in. The Tall Light is intended to be used after dark, but the only good use which has ever been found for it is to drain the storage battery to its last, flickering dregs. 1t is connected with the battery by a long wire with loose teeth, which od || always let go their hold just before | the car enters some village with a lynx-eyed constable who knows that} for ob- the town treasury is gasping breath when the constable gerves the cold, vacant stare of ap When the automobile was inven- defunct Tail Light, he leads the tour-|p ist up to the nearest justice of the |! peace and collects enough currency | to heat the town hall for six months. || As if this were not enough, the tour-;| ist is obliged to have the Tail Light] torn down from the place of begin-|| well-meaning |; ning by a crude but mechanic who was taught move off a walk. The Tail Light law may be all right, but it should be amended so as to include the top buggy; the lumber wagon and the pedestrian who crosses the street with both eyes shut. If every top buggy were required to carry a sparkling il Light, fewer people would be d turbed while spooning in a friendly and amicable manner by having a rear wheel torn off by the light- hearted speed demon. not te appointee makes it all the more im-|| Governmental incompetence, fear,|! ment's duty has not been discharged || when it .has secured the condemna-|| its work. The| wretched state of affairs disclosed is] and it must be handled at once with Can they! Government call these qualities to its| ald, or are the influences which se-fi for incompetents and moral weak-|! lings sufficiently. strong to keep them || That promotion should be by length of service,|| professional ability, and organizing}! mendations which condemn by their|| against rapid} FALL IN The Ang 1 Membership Campaign Kingston ) Y. M. C. A. Is On -- Nov. 7th to Nov. 14th "Come On In, The Water's Fine" TEETER ORR [TH 5 'BOYS AND MEN WE WANT YOU. SOLDIERS AND STUDENTS WE WANT YOU. Scores of the members of the Kingston Y.M.C.A. have enlisted in Overseas Service of King and Country. Will you help fill the gaps in our membership roll? Some deserving boy would enjoy a mem- bership if you will pay for it. Enquire, Boys' Secretary. ANNUAL FEES: £3.00 Students (college tem) £4.00 All Social Privileges. Free «or Free Boys, 10:15 years Boys, 15-18 years als Mén (fall privilege) x ® . sess eanien $3.00 ° \Soldiers: Soldiers: Bathing Privileges Soldiers: Full Privilege Ticket (a-good travelling card) Men (limited) £2.00 JOIN NOW. er TETRA EE ? ; I, THE "Y" POOL -- 'Better than the "OI" Swit Hole." : AP Public Address! will be given in the GRIFFIN THEATRE, Sunday, 3 P.M., Nov. Sth Pastor A. M. Graham, I.B.S.A., Brooklyn, N.Y. A J on the subject of 'CHRIST'S KINGDOM "When and How Set Up." All Welcome. No Collection TTL CTE LE TY EE 180 acres of good plow land about 8 miles from Kingston, 4 5 miles from ' Acres, city, § W. H. GODWIN & 80K Phone 424 389 Brock BA res i Ro : = Ice cream may be unhealthful, but | the wise young man doesn't waste | any time in trying to prove it te his (female friends, : Everybody knows our fa-| mous Java and Mocha, 40c Ib.