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Pages from the itors Notebook Upmarket and by Dairy Farmer The Top Six Inches The reeve of Newmarket made an issue last week out of return a cheque to the town clerk which was given him in for his services on the court of revision Reeve said he had Interpreted from the assessment act of Ontario section 61 that it was illegal for any member of council to receive pay for sitting on the court of revision He said he would not accept one penny of the taxpayers money without being entitled to it Then the acting town solicit or Mr William Erringlon advis ed that section of the mun icipal act indicated that a lo cal board could pay money to its members We disagree with Mr use of this sect ion First of all a court of re vision has no money to pay the members Secondly the council could not be the local board paying the money because a council is defined separately from a local board Mr Errington also mentioned that he was not sure whether or not a resolution or a bylaw had been passed authorizing pay ment to the members of the board We can assure him that none has been passed It was on Mr ad vice that Reeve took the cheque for the second time Technically speaking the mem bers of council received money for court of revision service ill egally We arc speaking tech nically mainly because Mr Wri- introduced the issue on a technicality As a matter of principle act ions by the town should be tak en within the law no matter how unimportant they may seem In addition precautions should be taken to follow the law for the protection of town employees and the council mem bers themselves We do not disagree with the mayors statement that the court of revision members earn their money But this view does nut warrant skirting the law Here are some sections of the municipal act showing that pay of monies to council mem- From the Files of bers on the court of revision for 1936 was illegal Section No member of a council shall vote on any bylaw appointing him to any office in the gift of the council or fixing or providing his remuneration for any service to the corporat ion but this shall not apply to allowances for attendance at meetings of council or its com mittees This law was broken when a routine appointment by law was passed Serving Newmarket and the rural districts of North York The Newmarket Era 1852 The Exprus Herald Section 23S Except where otherwise expressly provided by the Act a member of council shall not receive any money from the treasurer for any work or service performed or to be performed Section A member of the council of a county village or township note no mention of a town or city may be appoint ed commissioner superintendent or overseer of any highway or of any work undertaken wholly or in part at the expense of the corporation and may be paid the like remuneration for his ser- as if he were not a member of council Section The coun cil of a municipality may pass bylaws for paying an annual allowance to the members of the council at the following rates an annual allowance not ex ceeding to each chairman of a standing committee and to the chairman of the court of re vision and of the local board of health No bylaw passed Section quoted by Wm as town solicitor on Jan 21 Section A local board as defined in The De partment of Municipal Affairs Act except school and library boards may provide for the pay ment of such annual allowance for the members thereof as may be provided by the Department Does not apply 25 and SO Years Ago years ago January years ago February Mr T Watson was in Tor onto for two days last week at tending the Optometrist Conven tion at the Royal York thus keeping posted on all that is new and uptodate His membership in this Association dates back to Over 125 guests attended the Hospital Aid Bridge which took place in the High school audi torium last Friday night and at which about sixty dollars were cleared Miss Sigrid Hawkes spent a few days in town this week The staff and students of New market high school arc enter taining their friends at a dance this Friday night Inspector Gillies who has been inspecting Newmarket schools this week called for a chat at the Era office on Tuesday 25 Miss Marshall Saunders auth or of Beautiful Joe and many other well known books will give an illustrated address in the Aurora United church Tuesday February 2nd at 8 oclock Many pictures will be shown of her furred and feathered friends His friends are congratulating DeputyReeve Little on his ap pointment as Chairman of Coun ty Council Property Committee Special anniversary prices for Jan and at McHalc Goldsmith fresh pork ham trimmed loins 16c pork should ers side pork our choice beef shoulder or chuck roasts 12c brisket and flank No spare ribs 2 lbs for govern ment inspected lard 20 lb pails 3 lb pails 33c homemade sausage lb smoked hams half or whole canned goods Heinz pork beans small for 15c medium for our spec ial coffee 32c lb golden bantam corn 3 tins 28c and no peas 3 tins for Rev Perkins of Sauft Ste Marie of all Nations church was the guest last week end of Rev G and Mrs Andrews Miss Viola Johnson who has been spending the past two months with her aunt Mrs on Long Island NY has returned home Rev John and Mrs Davy of Toronto were recent visitors at The Band Supper On Thurs day evening of last week Mr F Schmidt Manager of the Of fice Specialty Co who is also Hon President of the Town Band entertained the band boys and preeminently the vocal soloist The Oyster Supper at Simpsons Restaurant The supper was served in elegant style over 30 were present and a most delightful time was en joyed Speeches songs and mus ic whilcd away the time so rap idly that it was after midnight before the gathering separated Mr S W Scott made the speech of the evening if being filled with puns on the band boys and Mr Thompson was preeminently the vocal soloist The evening was productive of a splendid social and harmonious feeling among the boys and they are determined to stick to gether which will result we arc confident in Newmarket having a Band that the citizens will be proud of but one that cant be beat by any Town Band in Can ada Mr T got back from the North West last week It is too cold out there to suit him Mrs G Ross entertained numerous guests Wednesday ev ening 50 Mrs Moore of Mcaford was a guest at Strathallan over Sun day Mrs C Widdifield gave a progressive euchre party last Friday afternoon Mr and Mrs Ed Richardson entertained a number of young people last Friday evening Mr Wm spent over Sunday in the city with his son Mrs Murray and daughter of Toronto are spending the week at Belfoy Mrs Gibson of Crosswell Mich visited with Mrs Seth Traviss last week Mrs of Toronto was visiting her mother Mrs J G Muir last week Mr A O of Bron te spent over Sunday with his grandparents Mr and Mrs Jackson Mrs Manning entertain ed on Wednesday evening In honor of her guest Miss Maud Wallace of Lindsay and little are attending the Council in Miss Hall Miss Webb and Mr King all of Toronto were at the Methodist Parsonage over Sunday J every aft St Newmarket by the Newmarket Bra and Express Limited Subscription for yean for one year la advance Single copies are lie each Member of A Weeklies of Canada Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulations Authorised as Second Class Mall Post Office Department Ottawa Caroline Ion John E Struthers Managing Editor Womens Editor George Haskett Sports Editor Lawrence Racine Job Printing and Production THE EDITORIAL PAGE THURSDAY THE THIRTYFIRST DAY OF JANUARY HUNDRED AND FIFTYSEVEN DEMONSTRATE RESPONSIBILITY A good demonstration of responsible government was made by the Newmarket town council Monday night when it faced the proposal for a plebiscite on whether or not Newmarket should have a liquor store and brewers retail Most of members of council considered the actual issue There was no moral issue before council members were merely asked to decide- whether the people of Newmarket should vote on a question Members had no choice but to vote yes or no but they did more than that each explained how he arrived at his decis ion knowing that there are extreme opinions among citizens on the general subject of the sale of liquor and beer We believe that the majority of the members based their decision on the question of calling for a vote on the basis of what each believed the public to want Members are to be commended for making honest appraisals and for the manner in which they faced a difficult problem Strong opposition was represented by delegations at the council meeting Monday Petitions were produced which bore many names The citizens and outoftown residents from the district hold respected opinions on the subject of liquor and beer sales In our opinion the evi dence and the views which they expressed at the council meeting constituted an argument against liquor and beer stores but not an argument against a vote of the people on the question They implied that a moral issue was before council but we maintain that there was no moral issue We sin cerely hope that no attempts will be made in the future to brand members of council who voted for the resolut ion as wets or for that matter to claim that all those who voted against the resolution are dries If such attempts are made by any groups during the campaign which likely will develop this newspaper will be the first to defend these members of council who did not dodge their responsibilities to the people Groups outside the corporate limits presented well meaning and sincere opinions before town council At least two of the groups which oppose liquor stores ed out that they support the local hospital auxiliary work the Womens Institute public rest rooms on Botsford St and other worthy causes Their opinions should be accept ed by the people of Newmarket Although their members are not citizens of the town they play an important part in community life and after all the community includes the surrounding district the community cannot be con fined by political boundaries It should not be interpreted that they would with draw such support if the results of the liquor vote did not suit them It must be assumed that they merely mean that they are interested in the town and have strong ties to it After all these people need the hospital and some local services as much as do the people living within the corporate limits Their close associations with the town qualify them as having a moral right to express their opinions oh local matters WHAT IS THE ISSUE One of the groups which expressed important opin ions at Newmarkets council meeting Monday night was the temperance union We are in favor of temperance in all things What we would like to know is whether the temperance groups mean they are in favor of temperance or of It has been a question in our mind for a long time and we feel that it is in the minds of many other people Now is a good time for the temperance groups to clarify their stand Too church attitudes are important in questions a- liquor which are sure to be discussed in the coming weeks One type of church thinking which exists puts those members who take a drink in a group sometimes considered as second class Christians a type of think ing which we fail to believe to be Christian We won der how far these issues reach beyond the concern of the individual to affect the public What is the public issue Is it a moral issue Is it a democratic issue Whatever the issue is it is a matter for the public to decide whether Newmarket will or will not have liquor and beer stores not this newspaper It is a clear case where the public does not need the help of an editorial policy on one side or the other In fact the editorial policy on this one issue is to sit squarely on the fence and to make no bones about it But the columns of this news paper are open to all factions which may wish to express opinions publicly STILL NEED PEOPLE It is claimed that Canadas greatest need is a larger population An authority on the subject was quoted this month as saying that during the past two years our labor force has increased by while the number of per sons without jobs and seeking work is less than it was this time a year ago The unemployment situation is noticeably higher in this district being different from that of the nation We often hear of disillusioned new Canadians who wish they were back home In fact We have talked to one or two We suspect that they may have been disillusioned long before they reached Canad ian shores This idea is given support by expressions of opinion by British authorities on the subject of emi gration A former Labor secretary for overseas trade recently suggested that in the rush of emigrants we might find some who arc not going to be much benefit to the countries to which they are going and are not go ing to be much good as ambassadors for the United King dom People who go because of a sense of grievance at home are not the best immigrants Another official said he hopes the Canadian government will encourage British immigrants to spread out to the thinly populated sections instead of concentrating on Montreal and Tor onto There are many opportunities for immigrants in Canada provided the immigrants are not only equipped to work in Canada but also are emotionally equipped to work and live in this country This Is the season for annual meetings and small communi ties and large will receive the few faithful who corno to dis cuss the Ills and the good points of the year past There will be elections some Just forms of them and really hot ones and then the directors will meet and lay out plans for the year to come Granted associations overlap waste energy and and thus waste money but at the same time they arc an In tegral part of our farm life and we may even suggest that the difference between farming In this country and any other in the Western world is very existence of this group of de voted people who do jobs that otherwise wouldnt be done The purebred livestock indus try is the very backbone of the livestock industry in general and thus of farming in general It not only provides the few with jobs a few more with cream for their coffee but Is re sponsible for most Improve ment in our efficiency of live stock Type of schools judging schools the improvement in service all receive their support and their original Ideas from these groups and they even do some of the jobs that arc considered the responsibil ity of the government Certainly in some cases there is an apparent conflict at first sight between the actions or de sires of the government and the natural inclinations of people who arc after all in this busi ness for profit The govern ment agencies act as sort of supreme arbiters and judges of play But without the help of these associations no govern ment policy would take effect You see once the policy or idea is evolved the government will provide the machinery to imp- plcment it But it is the breed associations that do the job of selling it and unless they do it Building Permits Continued from Page policy Isnt worth the paper it Is printed on Let show you an example both in the positive and negative federal Department of Agriculture responsible for testing cow Its rules and regulations are devised to make policy work and keep It honest and gathers the Infor mation Into a useful form But it Is the breed associations sell ing job that spreads it and It Is the breed groups whose field work makes It popular and widespread Is the breed groups who put the value on it and make breeders see that their Is a yardstick that on the basis pound and ounces it could be used to determine the value of an animal and thus work a gradual Improvement in the efficiency and profit of cattle The opposite example Is a new policy which when it will be accepted by the breed groups will be successful but as yet it isnt because it Isnt sold This is progeny testing of the beef cattle The On tario government has the pol icy the testing station and the rules But as yet bulls are still sold on the basis of eye appeal Why Because the govern ment is either unwilling or un able to sell it The general public will as yet not accept it generally and it wont be ac cepted until it is discussed at these annual meetings Then it will become gradually accepted over the year as the general rule and maybe or years from now it is going to be a matter of course The men who run these groups who gather once a year from coast to coast enjoy good fellowship and have the time of their lives But they are in dispensable and without them livestock breeding would be a primitive thing Mrs John Thompson spent a few days at Zephyr atending her the building permits until the at the home of Mr situation is corrected We dont and Mrs Harrison want another drainage problem on our hands said the reeve Wr meetings If these people want to build different churches in houses they should keep their the community last week were well attended Friday evening Rev Serrick of the Christian church Keswick spoke in the church promises Charges Action Illegal What the reeve suggests is OUR SIDE Farm spokesmen arc once more calling attention to the plight of agriculture and are suggesting parity incomes for farmers as a fair solution This problem raises a vital issue of democracy social justice What is justice between occupat ions How is it to be achieved Let us admit that farmers work harder and longer hours than do most other workers also that much of their work re quires more skill and has to be performed under less pleasant conditions than docs that of the average factory worker Finally the work of the farmer the pro duction of food is socially the most necessary work imaginable One the grounds of justice farm incomes ought to be above aver age And yet they are not in fact they are far below aver age It is true that many farmers have been doing very well in creasing their land holdings sending their sons to college go ing to Florida for a winters vac ation or otherwise giving evi dence of prosperity City men knowing these facts arc inclined to regard the farmers complaint as a sort of occupational disease We may not all realize that farming is now a business that requires heavy capital Invest ment Gone are the days when a man could start farming soon as he could accumulate the price of a yoke and oxen and a OF THE STORY PARITY INCOMES WITH JUSTICE by HARVEY Saturday evening visitors at the GUdstone The ana Mrs starry reeve has made himself greater were Mr Mrg CoJe than council Imagine the reeve GuVr Zion and Mrs on his own personal basis deny- Elgin cole an edict of council Mr Mayor suggest that even you The basement of the not countenance this hall is taking on a new look completion of the cupboards The road under question he painting of e ceiling continued has no bearing on wa a great question The developers have done the work on the road and must complete it to develop Mr and Mrs j the whole area but the suggestion and Doris had tea Sunday even- regarding the road improve- with Mr and Mrs Ver- was made after their ap- doold Keswick plication for building permits If we take any action to keep them Mrs Lome Is having these permits Sobel at Belhaven school this week and Mitchell can take action as Mrs Davis is confined to against us Mr said bed Are we committed legally to issue these building permits with Mr and Mrs Lloyd Kay and or without the work being Donna had tea Sunday evening done asked the mayor Coun- with Mr and Mrs Garnet Meyer John Choppin said he and boys would like to have solicitor give his opinion in open council and Councillor Bert Kent said ANSNORVELDT plow plus 10 to make an entry on a homestead To find out what the farmer is getting for his labor to com pare his income with that of a factory worker we must deduct from his gross income not only his operating costs but also in terest and depreciation on sever al thousand dollars of invested capital When that is done aver age farm income turns out to be very low and in Individual cas es it is often a minus quantity What is the remedy for this situation Attempts to increase efficiency or to get a bigger share of the consumers dollar may be of benefit but farmers realize that such meth ods will not solve their prob lem Hence the widespread de mand for parity prices that is for prices for farm products maintained at same ratio to farm costs as that which pre vailed in some period in the past It is suggested that these prices be secured either by government guarantee or by monopolistic marketing organizations control led by the producers What is wrong with that pro- firm Simply this it is based on a class conception of society which denies the most funda mental principle of democracy That principle that society consists of people not classes Class legislation is out of place a democracy The farmers want justice not charity They do not want direct gifts from the taxpayers But it ought to be clear that increasing their incomes by enabling them to charge prices above those that would prevail in a free market is merely another way of taking money away from the rest of us and giving it to farm ers In fact it is not as fair a way of meeting the problem as would be direct gifts from the Trea sury It increases the income of the farmer who has a good crop but docs not help the farmer whose crop has been dried out It also puts too much of the bur den of helping the farmers on the shoulders of the poorer con sumers who have to spend a big- fraction of their incomes on farm products the solicitor should be present at Mr5 returned home lno meeting visiting Mr and Mrs S Har- ratio without regiment- council the so- Brampton for a few weeks is not new It is the pro- adv him it would that has been followed w the per- J VanMazyk and J Sikma have throughout our history and original motion of Mr left for northern Quebec for a ely needs to be encouraged rath- and Mr was couple of months than read It authorized the issuing ment of people off the farms six buiIding permits provided A Sneep had the misfortune Our farmers are not serfs the construction and placement to break her shoulder when There is no law that compels of the houses met with the fell them to remain on the land Nor of the engineer is it necessary for old or middle- aged farmers to sell out and go Blocked Ditch to Mr and Mrs Hyma and chil dren Brampton visited relatives here on Sunday soon be reached Artificially high prices neces sarily mean surpluses ultimate ly involving restriction of pro duction and interfering with the farmers right to use his land he sees fit It is no answer to that objection to say that crop restriction programs are not ad- think Oris job is easy you can opted until they are approved by a referendum votu of the pro- ducers The point Is that the minority who oppose the arc compelled to join Thus the parityprices scheme violates an other principle of democracy the liberty of the citizen The simple and obvious rem that would produce a fair j town If a larger had visited the site Mr MfS A V Springdale tor charged that whoever was weeken responsible for the new road be- There is no other method to pul should have provided Mf Mrs Mi arc be compared with free choice of continuation of the exist- v Mr P VanDyken in Kala- as an answer to argu- drain along the south side of Mich about inadequate income Drive long hours bad working those ions or anything else that makes rs push into the a man think he is underpaid If Mr fl Davis Drive ditch asked Mr the man who looks after the Knnpton Comets Win SeeSw Upset Sutton The state ia the servant not the master of tha people th state i their guarantee against infringement on their rights their agent in international and national issues it is not the function of the spite to assume the direct milking says to him OK if you support Mr Wrightman tussle between Keswick think this job is easy you can if only to show these sub- have it the other fellow had dividers they can have a time It finally ended better take up the offer or stop own way around town he add- Keswick winners his whining If the farm boys Hero of the from a think that carpentry is an easy Comet viewpoint was Keith way to make a living let dark Clarks goal with of them become carpenters Engineer Cockburn told to play that cracked a They wll thereby benefit them- council that the block plan as a tie broke up the dramatic selves and Jtelp those who re- originally submitted by the de- contest For Clark hi main on the farm Parity had been altered No third goat He was the Cotrw es can be achieved without class copy has been filed scoring ace iegiaiationv with building inspector so no Nobby Ash Bruce and building could be issued Mike he explained two goal apiece The original plan called for Cometnien upset six houses on the north side of Thompson Lowell Waller Grace St The new Von has seven lots said supplied The question referred to were U from the solicitor i i a j-