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pay. Like the old sailor swabbing the deck, who boasted that he had been “forty years a sailor and never broke a broom handle,” the Walkertonians are not pushing the shovels fast enough to suit the ex-councillor. Our thoughts turn to an old fellow for whom we once worked, and whose motto was: “Pay them good wages and then ”shoot em in the collar’.” who will. It is possible, too, that man‘s- relief work. behind in their grocery bills afl rent, and probably only intermittently gettinga good meal.havenotthestaminatheywouldbep00- mused of were they on full-time elnnhvmant. A former Walkerton alderman complains because the men doing street work in that town under relief. employment are not earning their Any way one looks at it, the man on the local board is in a hard position, and apparently the easiest way out is to let things stand as they are and blame all the faults of the Act on the central Commission in Toronto. he applies for a pension, has mis-stated his financial position, and despite his signature on the application, “is of the same effect as if made under oath,” is not entitled to pension. Having members of the local councils on the consultation committee, especially in the small- er municipalities, might work out much the same as having too many relatives working for you. You both expect too much, and the result spells trouble. There is nothing like a local board to get at the bottom of all information, but on the other hand there is nothing harder than taking a stand against a neighbor and telling the County Pensions Board that this same neighbor, when The trouble would be to get men to act on a body of this kind. With the local councils handling the work, it might be a matter of mu- nicipal politics; with an independent board it might be a matter of business. These boards would in all probability be required to work without salary, and no man is anxious to jeop- ardize his business for the sake of becoming a member of a board from which he receives no remuneration. We believe a better scheme would be for each municipality, urban and rural, to have a local board independent of all councils, with whom the county board could consult. This is not provided for in the Old Age Pensions Act, but we believe if this were placed before the Commiss’on in Toronto it would receive sup- port. No County Board knows better than the‘ Ontario Commission that the old age pensions scheme is being exploited, and we think they would welcome anything of this kind that would furnish them with authentic informa-3 tion. way. If the local municipal councils, however, allow themselves to be influenced by their chances of re-election, or their close acquaint- ance or friendliness with the applicants, this new department may not work so well. Bruce County Council in session last week carried a resolution that the local municipali- ties should be consulted by the County Pensions Boards when dealing with applications for pen- sions. The County Council, while admitting that the County Boards have complete authority un-‘ der the Act, felt that as the municipalities were directly interested they should be consulted, and in the future the Old Age Pensions Board of Bruce County will seek the views of the local Councils. If the local governing bodies will do their duty, we believe this is a good move, as they, more than anyone else, should know the finan- cial standing of applicants and can furnish in- formation which could be obtained in no other Wham" is afrdid of “hitting any question, civil orrdigimu to the teat of ff“ discussion, is more in low with his own opiaion than with the Truthâ€"WATSON. PAGE 4. SPEEDING UP THE WHITE WINGS THE DURHAM CHRONICLE WANT MUNICIPALITIES CON SULTED Thursday, February 4, 1932 ,own a car, whose demands are met before their stomachs. Nowhere is the cry for economy heard loud- er than in the administration of our govern- ments, Dominion, Provincial and Municipal. As a result it has become the fashion to reduce the we need; rather we should so train ourselves that we shall do without those things which are not really necessary to our comforts and which might better be classed as luxuries. In days like these we can well do without these, but how many of us purchase the necessities. of life ahead of the luxuries. The old joke about the children having to do without shoes because the car needs tires and gasoline, or the radio needs a set of new tubes, has more truth in itl than may be generally thought. If you don’t passed the home of one family the other night who have received town relief. They had little to eat, but owned a good radio. Any commun- ity nowadays has the family, or families, whose head has no employment and are what 1s known “up against it”, but the chances are they We simply must have economy, but at the same time we must never lose sight of the fact that the refusal to spend money is not always economy. Economy, in our mind, does not mean that we should do without those things From all points of the compasscomes the cry for economy, and it is about time that some retrenchment was made in our ’national and personal overhead. We believe that quite a Roger W- Babson, the noted ecc ’lot of the hardships now being felt by the citi- dicts better times. All right, ROE zens is caused, not so much because of hard D0 your stuff! Barkis is willing. times, but because all of us are living on a scale] which our earning power does not warrant. When one reads of the immense crowds which attend the,theatres, the various ice arenas for hockey matches, and the money spent solely in amusements, a little thought will show that An advertisement running t these things, rather than necessary expenditure, 'press at present 18 headed. “Nursc contribute more to the so-called depression thanl to Sleep Sound Stop G88 " This i any other one circumstance. As we have said on “8 Usually all we hear is: “5 before, the average modern man and woman, and 80 to sleep !" boy and girl, spends about as much on his own amusement as it cost their parents to raise the, whole family. Well, the first month of 1932 very well. But February is ahead Why worry? asks the Listowel 1 now we can sit down and worry vs people worry when there is really worry about. A Detroit proprietor of a moth establishment says that “a man wit A“ I- 'I--- L- A n n So far as we can see the towns have follow- ed the townships in their wage schedule, but we can see no comparison. While we do not say that the scale of a quarter an hour is sufficient for the townships, the farmer engaged in road work usually has his farm and a considerable part of his living. Either he or his son can take 'over the road work for a few days if they feel so dis- posed. In a town or village, where the worker. is dependent upon his daily labor for his sole support, and everything, even to a half-pint of milk, has to be paid for in cash, it is different. N iggardly pay is not productive of efficient labor, and the individual or community that resorts to starvation wages in times of stress need not expect anything but the same kind of efficiency. We don’t know what the Walkerton relief wage rate is, but suppose it to be about the sa‘me as most other places, and the Walkerton ex-councillor’s complaint reminds us of the time when a traveller rented a room in a hotel for a night’s sleep, paying therefor twenty-five cents. In the morning he complained because he had had been kept awake all night by rat fightss Looking up the room and observing the price,‘ the clerk asked: “Well, what‘ did you expect for twenty-five cents? A bull fight ?” One can’t pect too much for twenty-five cents. You can’t expect much from a man nowa- days for twenty-five cents an hour, on itinerant employment, that is. “economy” scheme, and will make a good talk- ing point for aspirants. for oflice throughout rural Ontario at the next election. Personally we ‘feel we would sooner see our street work done at a fairer wage, but as most of the labor- ing men themselves will vote for the man who boasts that he “kept the taxes down,” they. may have themselves to blame to a great extent. THE CRY FOR ECONOMY THE DURHAM CHRONICLE goods seems hardly sufficient reason for bom- barding the seacoast towns and endangering the lives of the foreign residents of Shanghai. If Japan does not listen to reason, and refuses to The Toronto Mail and Empire features a news dispatch from Peterboro in which a Bishop in that city showed extreme agitation during a fire at his residence because one of the fireman was scrambling like a monkey along the cornice near the flames. What was so re- markable about this? Isn’t it the duty of a bishop to save peOple from the flames? A new preacher in Toronto, on the way to his church for the first time, ran out of gas, and one of our exchanges says it would like to know what a minister would say under such cir- cumstances. We suppose it would be: “For what we are about to think, may the good Lord forgive us.” A Detroit proprietor of a aothes pressing establishment says that “a man with his pants off likes to talk.” But what of the man whose wife says: “Here, you! It’s 1 o’clock. Take those pants off, go to bed, and keep quiet!" An advertisement running through the press at present is headed: “Nurse Tells How Why worry? asks the Listowel Banner. And now we can sit down and worry why so many people worry when there is really nothing to worry about. Roger W. Babson, the noted economist, pre- dicts better times. All right, Roger, old dean Do your stuff! Barkis is willing. Well, the first month of 1932 has behaved very well. But February is ahead of us. An expensive man is often cheap in the long run, and a cheap man is generally dear. We believe it would pay us better to reimburse our councillors and others for the work they do. We also believe that in municipal affairs generally, there has been more money wasted in trying to curtail expenses ' on necessities than has ever been saved. We certainly believe in economy, but in these days it takes a pretty good man to know when something passes out of the necessity class and becomes a luxury. l The reduction in the pay of men who sitâ€"about the council boards may make a big hit with the ratepayers, but if it is going to result in coun- township, but the savings effected will not amount to anything to the individual ratepayer. expected. It is much better to spend money on public works and have men earn. their living than out off the employment and be forced to keep them anyway. Government or Municipal assistance must be paid for either by furnishing employment or by increased taxes. Figure it out for yourself. iii-to go, and “a half a loaf is better than none. ” we believe this should be true, also of our governing bodies, municipal and otherwise. They eXpect employers to set the example, and should themselves be willing to help. A little money saved here and there may not be the boon '1'ms is a new one is: “Stop gassing ThismoneywasrusedmtheUmted StatesunderthembertylmnAct.an Between April, 1917. when the United States entered the war, and July, 1918, which was nearly four months before Armistice and unwanted money from the people of the United States." Now what are the facts? Well the firstmdmamractisttnttheaeloans Clue of Manda Senator Reed of Pennsylvania repre- sented as a “government spokesman" lastweekdiammtngwnrdebts,mnde At the present time however, with every possible economy is being urged, and every effort made to cut down ex- penses. it seems as if the new cemet- Eery commission might wait for a year or two longer without doing any partic- commissions. With Mothers’ Allowance Commissions, Old Age Pension Boards. Cemetery Commissions, Suburban Road Commissions, weed inspectors, corn borer discoverers, valuwtors and other make, it will be easier than ever for the county councils to find jobs for all the CX'wamnS. 'I‘hev an: "anal!" parent yet. With two fall of OTHER PAPERS’ OPINIONS PLAY SAFE--lnsure .E and amounts, it is true, cherub, who appears with the head at an old man with a beard. female head, and one of the figures of the Virgin has, it is believed, the head of a young man. An almost incredible mdympplbdcrm moth.- mummwmmm The Variety Store R. L. Saunders mom 4 “NO, Large size bottle of Lemon Oil SEE OUR STAMPED SELLING AT HALF SAVINGS A Big List of For You mme, you mustn’t have the to Play with. den. You'll No Chance! mumm-