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esfrom the Editors Notebook Attention Signs of Spring department Master Teddy Foster a young man of inquir ing disposition from up Second St way was into the office on Thursday What he asked does it mean if I a frog No one seemed to have the answer We murmured vague ly made gestures in the direc tion of the encyclopedia Pos sibly it was simply that the frog was darn fool to come out of his mud in this kind of weather we suggested hopeful ly Why do you ask Well says Teddy I found one And he dropped a live damp and squirming frog on the desk There were startled shrieks from the ladies Teddy calmly picked up his friend and re turned him to his jacket pocket and was on his way At the door he turned with the added information that he found the frog in the creek Thank you Teddy for your visit The number of cases of seems to be creating something of a social problem as well as causing considerable inconveni ence and suffeirng to its vic tims A simple cold no longer rates in the better circles The flu victims have taken on a certain amount of caste and make a closed circle as they discuss their symptoms with alarming frankness But if the flu victims are snobbish to more casual conval escents within their ranks there is dissention It seems there arc several degrees of having the flu and those who suffer only lightly arc them selves scarcely spoken to by those who suffer greatly We have and we suspect numerous others of doing the same described our simple head cold as flu with com plications so that we may hold our place with the best of them CAROLINE ION Elmer Starr has left with us a bundle of old documents of varying degrees of historical importance but all of them in teresting for their relation to the early growth of the area Among them is the original deed to the Starr farm Mr Starr would like to have them displayed so that those interested in such matters and there are a good many might have an opportunity to examine them He also would like them In a place of safekeeping Un fortunately as we have long pointed out there is no place where this can be done in New market or district The papers could be sent to the archives at Queens Park PAGE FOUR in Toronto or to the county historical society but to do so places them beyond the easy access of district people And it would be a shame to send them out of the district No doubt there are several old families in the area who also have similar documents and would place them before the public if they had some assurance that they would be kept safely It is a most unfortunate cir cumstance that Newmarket situated as it is in the centre of one of the most historically interesting parts of the pro vince has nothing in the way of a library or museum where these relics of the past could be preserved Things are looking up in the editing business We had three requests in one mail for our opinion on matters ranging from doubleshift schooling in crowded school areas to our choice of the ion best movies for The first request was easily answered We quoted the experience of Oak Ridges school The other request was just as easily answered We havent even seen ten shows in The third request for a de- I Serving Newmarket Aurora and the rural districts of North York v The Newmarket Era The Express Herald Published every Thursday at Main St Newmarket by me Newmarket Era and Express Limited Subscription for two years 250 or one year in advance Single copies ore each Member of Class A Weeklies of Canada Canadian Weekly Newspapers m m Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulations Authorized Second Class Mail Post Office Deportment Ottawa JOHN A MEYER Managing Editor JOHN News Editor Office Cat Reports Catnips By Ginger Womens Editor GEORGE Sports Editor LAWRENCE RACINE Job Printing and DONALD FARROW Advertising THE EDITORIAL PACE THURSDAY THE TWENTYSECOND DAY OF FEBRUARY NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTYONE IS EXEMPTION THE ANSWER of filed Thing was From the Files of A 25 and 50 Years Ago FEBRUARY There was an exceptionally good market last Saturday morning for this time of year There was no change in the price of butter and cents being the ruling figures Eggs sold from to cents and quite a of potatoes sold at 3 a bag J D Rowland and Verne Noble attended the hardware convention held at the King Edward hotel Toronto on Tuesday The Grand Ice Festival held at the Mount Albert skating rink on Monday was a great success Proceeds were 120 lien refereod a girls game which resulted in a tie The crowning of the queen Miss Doris Stokes and the king Frank Ross by Rev if A Hutchinson was the main feature of the evening Mr Fleming Young has pur chased a home on Raglan St from Mr Ingram Kitch ener and will lake possession shortly Messrs Ken Holmes and Shaw attended the con vention of the agricultural soc ieties at the King Edward To ronto The rightofway for the drainage canal at Bradford is being cleared by men divid ed into 35 gangs A branch of the was organized at Oak Ridges at the home of Mrs Durham Mrs Steeper Mount Albert district president organized the branch assisted by Mrs Mrs A Starr Newmarket and Mrs Charles Aurora Ten members were enrolled Those elected were Mrs Durham vice pres Mrs Mrs Mrs Mitchell assist Mrs Maxwell OLD HOME TOWN FEBRUARY There was a big crowd in town last Saturday and a good market Eighteen cents was the ruling price for fresh eggs and from IS to 20 cents for butter Dressed turkeys sold from nine to ten cents a lb dressed chick ens from to cents a pair Pork went as high as 850 beef five and a half and six and a half cents per lb by the quar ter mutton six and a half to ten cents per lb Apples from 1 to 175 per and 20 cents per basket potatoes 30 cents a bag Mr John Moore Mount Al bert has a valuable coin the size of the English shilling On one side is the Queens head surrounded by the inscription Her Majesty Queen Victoria and oh the reverse side the royal crown and sword and sceptre crossed around which are the words Crowned June The acetylene gas company has completed the installation of its large plant at Aurora and the gas was turned on for the first time from the large generator last Friday The plant is of the latest design and has a capacity of about lights There was a regular circus in the yard of the Jackson ho tel last Saturday morning dur ing the sale of the Indian pon ies brought down from the Northwest They sold all the way from 7 to 45 each Mr Jackson is in Ham ilton this week attending Grand Lodge as representa tive from Newmarket Mr J McFarland is representing Queens ville lodge A splendid meeting of those interested in a sugar beet fac tory for Newmarket was held recently Two hundred farm ers were in attendance Coun cillor occupied the chair The council of the township of Whitchurch has asked for an amendment to the Assessment Act which would permit exemption of rural properties from school and police taxation where those costs are inflated by urban developments The township took this action after hearing a delegation of farmers who pointed out that where there were part rural part urban municipal ities the rural properties paid taxes out of proportion To the best of our knowledge this is the first def inite step taken to relieve along standing injustice Whitchurch council is to be congratulated for acting But while admitting the need for relief of rural property owners living near urban developments we question if the Whitchurch proposal is the right solution Rural property owners whether near urban de velopments or not have school and police costs They can scarcely expect complete exemption from these costs as a means of equalizing property taxation In fairness to both parties some sort of a percentage would have to be worked out Once established it could apply not only to police and school taxes but to road and health costs which are also increased by urban developments But could such a formula be established particularly when the percentage of urban and rural properties is constantly changing We would suggest instead that the whole basis of property taxation be reexamined For example rural property bordering an urban development is fre quently increased in value because it offers an oppor tunity for subdivision into small housing lots which would sell for a higher total value than if it were an isolated property But if it is true that the property has increased potential value is it fair to tax the owner on it Particularly when he is still farming the land as he did ten years ago We would suggest that instead of granting arbi trary exemptions the whole basis of assessment be revised so that there would be no conflict between property and population which after all is what- the issue boils down to The example of School Section Number Three stated in these columns last week dem onstrates this The south end of the section is heavily urbanized the north end is rural The tax per capita in the south end is higher than in the north When more school accommodation was required it became obvious that the rural properties simply couldnt stand increased taxation even while the population of the urban area required the school accommodation The school section is likely to get out of its diffi culty by forming a union section with Newmarket But had this not been practical the only alternative would have been a reassessment which would have equalized taxes between north and south and there is no provision for such a form of equalization under our present system By STANLEY i Hi MISSUS HO MACHINE is HANS SI It I is- ZrS oSL TREND TOWARDS CENTRAL GOVERNMENT Discussion of the road budget for a and con sideration of the financing of the new public school were held up in Aurora town council on Monday night land ing decisions on these issues from the provincial depart ments of highways and education respectively This is a somewhat minor inconvenience it is true but it does illustrate how dependent local municipalities have be come upon provincial action This is a serious matter The autonomy of local governments is the cornerstone of our system of self government Anything which detracts from the exer cise of local authority weakens that system The en croachment of provincial authority is the more insidious because it comes under the guise of financial assistance to municipalities which are hard put to maintain their administrations in this age of inflated costs and increas ed demand for municipal services Municipal governments have only one major source of taxation from property Tax rates in Newmarket Aurora and most of the district municipalities are higher than they have ever been and are likely to go higher But even though municipal income has greatly increased in recent years local government would be unable to provide adequate services without the help of provincial grants The province pays grants in nearly every depart ment of local government If the money could be paid according to need there would bo no complaint but the province insists upon these grants being spent within the terms the province considers best for all The re sult has been the imposition upon local governments of provincial policies Alternatively the situation could be stated from this point of view thai because of their dependence upon provincial grants local governments are required to submit to provincial authority In most instances these policies arc good There have been exceptions when a blanket policy established by Queens Park is just not applicable to local conditions but for all of this incongruity it has had to be adopted anyway It is not however the provincial policies which are at issue here but the development of a system which in the final reckoning will eventually destroy local government A centralized government and that is what we are getting by this system of grantsinaid has a habit of perpetuating itself The system has been established Every year sees an extension of it aided we are sorry to say by local governments which in their quest for fin ancial help submit themselves further to provincial dictation There is only one way out of the problem and that is to revise the distribution of tax income to give mun- palities a larger share Then they would no longer be dependent upon any other level of government for financial assistance and could conduct their affairs as they see fit We have no idea how this is to be done certainly it is impossible as long as municipalities look to property taxes for their income Perhaps a per capita share of income tax or a per capita share of the hid den taxes out of which the provincial government derives the funds it pays to the municipalities might be the answer There is no doubt however that such a reform must come about if our system of municipal government is to be retained WE WERE JUST ASKING The question is asked from an honest bewilder ment and some concern It is asked without pre judice a simple request for information We would like to know if it is possible for a gang of kids to get together and enjoy a pickup game of hockey any longer Newmarket has one of the most thoroughly organ ized hockey setups for a town its size in Ontario There is organized hockey for every age group This constant hockey is maintained by several hardworking public- spirited men who have wholeheartedly devoted their time and money to managing coaching and financing hockey But we honestly wonder if it has gone too far We know limes have changed But it seems to us that hockey in Ontario has become so dependent upon or ganization that we wonder if the kids who play it can be really enjoying themselves Hand in hand with what appears to to be overorganization is the pot of gold held out by professional hookey We are told that professional hockey prospects are being signed up at ever younger ages What used to be a pleasant pastime seems to have become an for adult career Is it a good thing for the kid to have to Iv so organized for majority of should we would think a spurt to indulge in for its own sake Is it any longer The old timers tell us they used to have a lot of fun ami a hit of sport with a pickup team on a pond We can that sort of fun too We wonder though if the kids of Unlay have it Or maybe it just wasnt so much fun after all We would ap preciate some advice on ho question EDITORIAL NOTES We arc a proud people with our technology our huge commercial enterprises our assaults upon time and space Yes we are pretty proud Nothing can stop us nothing that is except a couple W three bugs And then all this gigantic effort and accomplishment is slowed to a limping halt Theres nothing like a touch of the flu to set you thinking Your favorite correspondent has been working secretly on a new formula to do away with personal income Slim Blig- has been helping with some of the mathematical pro blems involved When we fin ish we hope to have done away with need for money complete ly I had been looking over the forms to be filled out for in come tax returns There is nothing which stirs up more rebellion in an individual than filling out an income tax form I have a burning rage when one of those- forces of modern society is brought to bear upon a personal desire for individu alism independence of the soul and freedom from organization When an income tax form has the audacity to ask whether my name on the last income tax form I fitted out coincides with this one or when it reminds me in small print that it is a seri ous offence to make a false in come tax return I eat it I have eaten several income tax forms while trying to fill out the proper answers Why should a cat have to fiU out income tax returns you may ask Well that is exact ly where you have it Its just one of those things that the bureaucrats are always up to meddling into private affairs and trying to squeeze the life blood out of you and a cat is no exception I read that the government will likely have to raise be tween 500 million and million of new revenue in and that the tax policy is going to be tough and that its going to be as tough as the government thinks the public will bear plus something extra Thats the governments wor ry not mine and right now I am considering me not the go vernment The government is a whole lot bigger than I am so it wont get hurt These insidious income tax t A civil defence program for York county is finally to shape up District municipal councils have been asked to appoint local coordinators who will rep resent the municipalities in the countywide scheme Tho county committee is holding a meeting on Thurs day night in the county council chambers when a report on the civil defence practices will be given Gradually the organization is sifting down to the level of the people after a long delay in provincial and federal com- forms are probably the whole cause of the invention of manic persecution com plexes ulcers acid indigestion 3 Tories Grits and Social Credits as well as the epidemic i Unpaid taxes and overdue instalments hunt interest at percent per annum it says Its not satisfied with wringing you dry it has to have its mis erable percent too Just try and get percent out of it if you sent in too much money by mistake and sec what hap pens Late filing penalty is per cent of tax unpaid at 30th April But is it in a hurry to send back what it owes you and does it pay a fine penalty if it takes several months to send your money back M But when Slim I got finished inventing our secret formula to do away with S income we wont be with these forms anymore We can use them to light the stove f with Uncle out onj the farm could probably them to advantage Next year I shall send all my tax forms to him Today Slim Bliggons was over in his piano box mansion with a rule and a set of logarithm tables computing and perspiring over some of the mathematical problems our new secret formula You know said Slim think that a simpler way of rid of income would be for me just to go back to a bum again Much less effort Before I turned into the pro fession I got along pretty well without no income But Slim said I then you wouldnt have the satisfaction of working out a scheme to the government with your cunning So Slimv3 went back to work If our scheme is successful we may ever patent it and it to the communists by Dairy Farmer The Top Six I ache s Fools rush in where angels fear to tread they say and we are going to open up about gar Frankly we vw could understand created and we cannot think of anything has gives farmers publicly a a time we needed publicity The Federation of Agricattre showed judgment and we don e the attitude of its petulant The appeal the privy oil came as a an climax with could foresee We hope al though viction that none varied fe that costly Arid appeal Margarine is an spread with fat sad will nne ether its for certain purposes We tried eat it out the of and have up It doesnt taste and it properly it isnt Were willing be that many people even those who advocate it had the same experience granted a great deal of margarine was but was it all replacing butter Let us face the facts squarely lUittor was scarce and butter was expensive when margarine was introduced Any product which is produced inefficiently is expensive butter is one of them IV Archibald told us that the average Canadian cow produces lbs of milk per year If the fluid of is weft i jar isa the ir si is asr it iva expect tii to do Frocecc cream fesJiS federation ah a facts she pressure is oar put M some of the leader as that will create enough to help the We think has It bad publicity now we have to raise the to spend on publicity order to increase the sale other dairy products We might as well face fact that margarine is here stay and we might as well the fact that it will be cheaper than butler for the farmer is to butter more efficiently from better cows with less la or and less feed and UP FOR PARDON IFIUTVOOOUT iui Wv TO i- is servant not the mast on of the people the state is their guarantee against infringement on their right their agent international and national issues it not the function of the state to assume the direction of activities which rest on individual choice siJ v ss Q