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FIRE INQUIRY VYOL. LXIIâ€"No. 31 ‘The Fire Marshal‘s public inâ€" quiry into the White Aircraft fire of October 5th, 1946, continued inâ€" to its second day, with Deputy Fire Marshal J. R. Ritchie presiding, on "Wednesday last. First called to the stand as the wmmu-uw-‘ ed was Mr. Hugh T. Stewart, local representative of the Bell Teleâ€" ybcnc-ny.‘l'hhu‘dlu- quiry had been attempting to asâ€" certain whether a record of all jong distance calls originating in the Grimsby office might still be on record. Said Mr. Stewart, "Sorâ€" ry, they have been destroyed." On the stand for an hour and a half was the next witness, Wilâ€" ALL HOME PRINT ent of White Canadian â€"Aircraft Ltd., at the time of the fire. On October the 7th, two days after the fire Mr. Preece was handed his unemployment slip, and his conâ€" nection ceased as of that day. .. __ Here is Mr. Preece‘s version of the fire. ‘flywfloufl!muv- ,...;m.vm.gomauwn quarter to four, my wife got up to “.Mnkdnm.luuued the fire, and aroused me. She thought it was the Aircraft plant, T sb ud resr en t NP : VT Ees 1 oo css . but I thought that it was further away. We both got dressed and walked down Elizabeth Street, and when we came to the bridge (C.N. White Aircraft plant." W.C.A. did you see?" Preece: "Lynn and Bates." Rose: "Did you have a conv6!: sation with any of the employees?" 10 PAGES SAE . O ~ _ e ennxvcfi ...;p.wm-fl"""‘ nmplnt.nnnm“" jcine cabinets, tables and chaira, -umlu-mdfl"""‘m‘w' Preece also stated that during the monthldkwmww F C ND 0n Lslavank nORCRE CR CC UE0 02 iss W.MWW"W‘. '.“waurmwmdl” a week. cfmhluonby‘r.:.m. ewnnd!orunnlmmmm' «[DGBEIITE +â€" Pn sB knowledge in the plant M.."ndm“. company was running mouth ?" ® Preece: "That‘s right." Tt was at this point that Preece % LN NE se Som ll‘.'i.‘k his mind, CON®EM® ‘nM!l'"u‘--“: .q“‘.chn-uhdmu to L L C * 1 wan in anywhere to le." en U Ei L ME e Bc Haines, K.C., solicitor for the Credâ€" it Men‘s Association, trustees for White Canadian Aircraft since its going into bankruptey brought forth a further knowledge, that it was discussed frequently by the employees, that the Company WhX umms_.luwlu.m Preece said he always got his pay on time. Mr. Preece stated, that Mr. F. E. Neylon spoke to him on one occasion saying, "come on, Bill, get the products out, or we aren‘t going to make the payroll." Mrs. William Preece was next cuhdtomm.ndvmm evidence already given about her “umnu:um-oufm the Village Inn on the morning of Mrs. Preece told of meeting Batâ€" es the nightwatchman and how he stated to her. "I heard a bang, and discovered the fire right after that. T tried to get operator but couldn‘t get answer on telephone." Mra. Preece stated that the watâ€" whrman Wwas "upset", and "was afraid they‘ll think it fault." The final witness of the morning nession was Milford D. Hackett, who was sales and purchasing manager of the White Canadian Aircraft, although his connection with the company had ceased the fact that the og-my was having a hard time Â¥o get materâ€" ials due to their credit rating. In fact there was a strong possibility uun:ntny have closed derorn U fire had not occurred. Hackett stated: "Mr Neylon Aid state at one time that the company 4as hard up and some machinery Mr. Hackett‘s evidence was of such nature that it brought forth sometime before the fire Preece: ~Arounu mi® "° "" °C Further questioning hinged oD Ek EDCE : "Did you have a talk with "About what time* : .M alx o‘ck , and what I tell you is n..m‘dn‘lo‘.@m r the Fire Marshal‘s D. W. Rose then askâ€" "It The Grimsby Independent®"= me*?" o‘clock." consent y was sold to meet operating costs." Counselior Haines upon questionâ€" Ing Hackett uncarthed the fact that the company was trying to return to peacetime operation, afâ€" ter turning out war material. This conversion is tedious, and the macâ€" hines belonging to War Assets were hard to get rid of, with much red tape involved. There were $50,000 worth of orâ€" ders, the problem was to turn these orders into cash. The shortâ€" age of materials and a slim finanâ€" clal standing made things Cifficult. T. J. Agar concluded with one question of witness: Agar: "Was it shortage of matâ€" erials or financial condition ?" Hackett: "It was largely due to the fact that our finances were exâ€" hausted." WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SsESS!0ON ‘ ‘The wheels of justice grind exâ€" ceedingly slow on occasion, and this became increasingly evident as the inquiry dragged through its second day in the court room of the town hall. As technical points were wheedled from witness after witness, it gave sufficient time to realize that even in this drab room with the torn blinds, the patched plaster, and the oft trod floor, that be it in this atmosphere or in as in the highest court in Canada, the truth must prevail. This Wedâ€" ‘Mywmmm- ,lt.budby multiple contradictory remarks made by the witness, a witness who for three long question filled hours, tried to make himself clear on circumstances leading upto the inferno that spelled finish to the White Canadian Aircraft Ltd. (Grimsby division) building and plant. Briefly summarizing the proâ€" ceedings thus far, we find that the Commissioner has heard from a night station agent who apparently phoned in a fire alarm at "pretty close to four.a.m.".._From Lioyd Jlrvhvhoflut-wthmrromw the fire at "about ten to four." From Mrs. Hattie Waites, night operator on the Bell Telephone board, who got a call from the CNR. at "4.05." From Fire Chief Alf LePage who stated that he got hball.l“unmlnumwm' From Chief of Police W. W. = er who told Counsel for the Fire Marshal‘s Department that the fire bell was rung at 4.10, and then on Wednesday afternoon the nightâ€" watchman is confronted with a statement signed by him wherein he states that it could have been ‘.munm o‘clock â€" when the blaze was first noticed by him. However in court on Wednesday he figured that the time could have been anywhere from 3.10 to $.35 when he first discovered the Rev. Wyatt Bates, of 34 Ontario St.. Grimsby, was the night watchâ€" man at the White Aircraft plant. Rev. Bates in an ordained minister, now retired after service with the Free Methodist denomination. He holds fourth engineer‘s papers. He has since the fire been married, and struck by an automobile. His version of what happened on the night of October 4th and the early morning of the 5th, differ in some ways, to statements given by him to Inspector Lucas of the Fire Marshal‘s Department in . the weeks following the blaze. He was what Counsellor Rose termed "a very vague witness.‘ Mr. Bates came on duty at seven o‘clock the night of October 4th. were working overtime that night when Bates arrived. They were "wrapping tables." He swept the floors, including the floor of the paint shop, leaving the door to this shop open according to inâ€" structions from Mr. Boyd. While aweeping up he checked several of the doors and windows of the plant, not however making a reâ€" mrmw.muuurm he made at 2.30 am. At around ten o‘clock he saw Metcalfe leave the plant, and ap» proximately an hour later saw Larry Neylon preparing to leave Larry Neylon preparing to leave nnplutlr.lquu-ohun w.mmmu&nm. and Lynn who resides at the west end of the plant property left facâ€" tory "between 11.30 and twelve o clock." In a previous statement (the se« cond statement taken by Laucas) he told of putting his car in the factory at nine o‘clock. On Wednesâ€" m»a.mmnmuumm t he did not put car in until Metcalfe, Neylon and Lynn had Teft the plant. At this point Counsellor Rose became quite indignant at Bates‘ * ./. 0w "gke, € MORE THAN A NEWSPAPERâ€"A COMMUNITY SERVICE __________ (Continued on Page T) the Blind in Hamilton and shows sightless people enjoyIng A game of Bowls. With an automatic electric attachment blind people are now able to enjoy this famous summer game and many of them throughout Canada have become very efficient Next weekâ€"week of February 10thâ€"a canvas of Grimsby and North Grimsby will be made for funds to assist in the establishment of a Home for the Blind in St. Catharines. The campaign conducted last Autumn in the other portions of Linceln and Welland counties was very succesaful and it is expected that a goodly sum ‘will be realizâ€" ¢d in the two local municipalities. The reason that the canvas was not held in Grimsby and North Grimsby at the same time as in the rest of the county was because to have held it at that time it would have conflicted with the canvas being made for funds for West Lincoin Memorial hospital. We print herewith full information regarding the establishment of this Home: OBJECTIVE: $70,000.00. . PURPOSE: To build a Niagara Peninsula Community Centre and Home for the Blind. LOCATION: St. Catharines. SPONSORED BY: St. Catharinesâ€"Lincoln Advisory Board, Niaâ€" gara Falls and District Advisory Board, Welland and District Adâ€" visory Board, Haldimand County Advisory Board, of the C.N.LB. PEACH MOTH CONTROL DISCUSSED BY GROWERS â€"‘This building will be of modern design, with light, airy rooms, and radiant heat to eliminate the obstacle of radiators. It will serve all Pear Psylla Not Now As Great A Menace As It Was The control of two common inâ€" sect pests, the pear psyillia and Oriental peach moth, was discusâ€" sed at Vineland recently at the Ningara Fruit Growers‘ Associaâ€" tion, by W. A. Ross, of the Dominâ€" jon Entomological Department. Alâ€" though considerable injury had been caused by the psyilla last year, Mr. Ross stated that it was not becoming an increasing menâ€" ace, being much more of a proâ€" blem 25 years ago, when many growers threatened to tear out enâ€" tire orchards. Last year had been an unusual year, he said, the psyilla being favoured by weather conditions in March and by a shortage of nicoâ€" tine sulphate. Since 1917, Mr. Ross stated, intermittent studies of the life history, habits and controls had been carried on by the Dominâ€" jon Entomological Laboratory and many insecticides had been under experimentation, with a number of control measures developed. Best of all in efficiency and cost, he stated, was the dormant appli« cation of three per cent. lubricatâ€" Ing oll, although weather condi tions in certain seasons necessitat ed a followâ€"up summer spray conâ€" taining nicotine sulphate. Warning the growers that nicotine ailphate ‘ would again be in short supply this season, Mr. Ross urged them to hold in reserve all that was availâ€" mble for the summer apray If neeâ€" essary, adding that chief rellance should be placed upon the early dormant spray. This spray, he sald, must be applied before egg laying begins in March or early April or Grimsby ‘Township, suffered . a fracture of the left leg when she was in a collision with a car on No, 4 Highway, just west of Grimaâ€"« by.m'l'lm-llymu.hn.lo- Mee reported that the car was driven by Clarence McNinch, of Grimaby. The injured girl was reâ€" moved to the General Mospital, SUFFERS LEG FRACTURE Peggy Fulton, 16, of North 5 Years ”Aj. â€"â€" New Inâ€" (Continued on page 8) SHIPMENT OF NEW CHILDRENS BOOKS ARRIVES AT LIBRARY |STATES ASSIGNMENT | WAS NOT voLuntary DISTRICT FALL FAIRS â€" SET DATES FOR 1947 Beamsville A nd Smithville The Only Two Shows Still Operating In lincoin â€" District * meeting 4+ Welland 9 the afternc Duff wno“ min C eou:uh“ towrlBP® ! the afternin Mr. Lewis Blake :.md:::rm speaker, He reâ€" inisceâ€" Over hbis experiences in " :“Jon with â€" comparisons | of mlp and towns in Niagara _P“'uul.. which in the early days known as the District of Linâ€" "*C Most of the names such as °°"'c. Grimsby, Gainsboro, Caistâ€" Ub ninfleet, Crowland, Stamford 9+ am and Thorold were named Pelh townships or towns in Engâ€" frelip, Lincolnshirc, Colonel Grav» ""‘mcgn. first â€" Neutenantâ€"goverâ€" *8 Swas responsible for naming nO"s towns and townships. tb8#®one time he said that there A six Fall Fairs in Welland, but **"*(Continued on page 3) E. Neylon, of Burlington, seeâ€" F.yâ€"treasurer of the White Can» retm Aireraft Co, limited, of adiasby, which company went into Grisruptcy on January 17, and barse plant at Grimsby was desâ€" whod by fire in the early hours troyed by 5, 1946, has given the of Octob@tatement to The Indeâ€" following #gard to the bankrupt. pendent in r Cy Beamsville Dates Changed. ‘"The compAMmment, Creq. a voluntary as®@Mily agreed Itors who had orlgire Inquiry to walt untll th¢ it was not was over found that it + ,,, proceeding "M”W"'alod fused to walt longer, and .,, & 'reuonm two cnd},. aré Rallway and lfll"\my Co., of MHamiMOB, Aon. Foster and SHons, 144., h,.. Agricultural directors of No. 6 had their annual ‘ll the Triangle, north of ; On Wednesday noon. In dld not make blind people in the Niagara Peninsula (over 200). There will be 29 single rooms for residents, as well as lounge and recreation rooms with facilities for club meetings and parties. In wellâ€"equipped hobby rooms, crafts such as knitting, sewing, weaving, leather work and basketry will be taught by trained blind teachers. There will be a small Industrial Department to train blind workers for general industry. A Blindcraft Salesroom will display and sell the products made by blind workers both at the centre and at their There Are Books For All Ages From Three Years Up, And For All ~Grades â€" Cover Every Possible Angle Of A Child‘s Interests, homes. HOTCS, Braille books and cards will be provided, as well as talking books, music records, and radios. There will be a bowling green on the lawn outside. 3 . EMEBERE ATTTTCY The C.N.LB. District offices will be in the building to administer all Institute services: Social Servce, Home Teaching and Employment and Placement, Railway Concessions, Etc. National Office of the C.N.LB. has bought the land and is giving $50,000.00 of the required Tmil'iu“;o;.flln}'do.ioooo will be shared proportionately by the four districts within the Peninsula. ‘This building will be of immeasurable value in furthering work for the-alugnall;mvm' existing services in the Niagara Peninsula February marks the beginning of Children‘s Book Year at the Grimaby Public Library. Within the last few days several . shipâ€" ments have come in from the pubâ€" lishing houses, and are now going through the various clerical proâ€" cesses which prepare them for the shelves in the children‘s section. Already many of the new books are in the hands of the Library‘s younger patrons. A visit to the sanctum of L4bâ€" rarian Burton Bentley discovered him elbowâ€"deep in booksâ€"more children‘s books, we were told, than had ever been brought into the library since it began,. There were books for all ages from three up and for all gradesâ€"books for aupplementary reading and books for pleasure. In short, books apecâ€" lally chosen to cover every possible angle of a child‘s interests. One goodly pile bore the tradeâ€" mark of Cadmus, a name that mtands for the best in children‘s books, On the flyleaf of each is this quotation from Carlyle. Lintâ€" en : May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenic« lans, or whoever it was that invented books. Cadmus, in case you are curious, is considered by many to have (Continued on page 3) (8t, Catharines Btandard) Fred C. Haynes, Preaident of the United Empire Loyalists for the Niagara Peninaula bemoans . the fact that annual meeling . nights are accompanied by blizzards, flerce atorms and general inclemâ€" ency which militate agninat good attendance, Lant night was no ex. BeptIOn to tThe RAmnral mm "ay " ever, think what UEL‘s had to go | penetrated the w hewed the timber f Ina, How little the with! WE CAN‘T TAKE it h atorms and genera) Inclcm-‘ which militate agninat good dance, Lant night was no exâ€" un to the general run. Howâ€" think what the original I.‘s had to go through as they trated the wilderness _ and d the timber for the log cabâ€" How little they had to work & be upon the the Phoenicâ€" Government Raised Approxâ€" imately 20,000 Birds Last Year â€" Llocal Association Raised 6,550 â€"Have 1400 On Hand. One of the largest attendances lt the history of the Niagara Disâ€" trict Pheasant Breedera® Associaâ€" tion was in evidence last Thursâ€" day night at the annual meeting held in the Hotel Leonard, 8t. Catharines. The association gave an encourâ€" aging report of last year‘s activitâ€" tes. ‘The mn was found to be in excellent ffhancial condition and a large number of birds were killed during the past year. ‘The association is helping to restock Pelee Island. Representatives from Ningara Falls, Welland and other points throughout the district were present. ‘The annual election of officera was held and the following were installed in office: President, W. E. Jones: viceâ€"preaident, L. Dunn; treasurer, Norman Rymer; secretâ€" ary, Mrsa. Robert McCaidon, Picâ€" tures were shown by Dan Verâ€" roche and supplied through the courtesy of Dr. J, A. Meek, of Welâ€" land. NEW CHERRY DISEASE DISCOVERED IN B.¢. A new disense of aweet cherry is reported from the Kootenay Lake area of British Columbia, states Scientific Agriculture, which is published by the Agricultural Inâ€" stitute of Canada. ‘The auggeated name, "Little Cherry" indicates the mont striking symptom of the discase. The fruits on the affected treea are about half the alte of: those on healthy treea grown undâ€" er the same conditions and they do not have normal aweetnons, It is a tranamissible disease and spreads very rapidly within an opâ€" chard but the manner in which this is accomplished is not yet known, Up to the present time, no insect Pparriae a# inâ€" al HOLD ANNUAL MEETING 1 0,200 @°° mmOWwin Up to the present time, no insect carrier of the disease has been found. The fruits from the affected treea are not usually sultable fop the fremhfrult tuaa.‘ .. (Continued on page 3) | 110 d L aodiicns Actdatret At the outbreak of war he im« mediately enlisted and went overâ€" seas with the Royal Canadian Enâ€" gineers in the First Division and for a long time was CQMS. and latterly was CS.M. he was in Brest, France, in 1940 when the Canadians were forced to retire across the channel. He was in the invasion of Sicily and all through the Italian campaign, later going to France where he served and up into Belgium. He was wounded at Ortonia. All told his war service totalled five and a hbaif years Upon returning home he looked the housing situaâ€" tion over and instead of bemoanâ€" ing the fact he immediately purâ€" chased a large cottage in Grimaby Beach and with the help of his two sons Martin and James thoroughly winterized it and joined the allâ€" winter colony that is gradually getting larger at the Beach. "'lf you do not know Eric, then just drop in at 42 Mnh\wu( and get acquainted. A Mr. Banks since he first came to the Beach has always been interâ€" ested in sport and in the welfare and development of this whole disâ€" trict. At present he is starting his first term as President of West Lincoln Branch 127, Canadian Le« gion $3.00 In U.S.A., 5¢ Per CopY Assessment Committee Emâ€" powered To Go Abead With Their Plansâ€"Grimsby leâ€" gion Asks For $5,000 Grant. Completing their sessions last Tuesday afternoon, the Lincoln County Council empowered the Assessment Committee under the chairmanship _ of _ Deputyâ€"Reeve Ivan Buchanan of Grantham Townâ€" ship to continue with the commitâ€" tea‘a threeâ€"yearâ€"long effort to give the county municipalities a more equitable asses@ment. Reeve Robert M. Johnston of Pt. Dathousie, 1946 warden, paid triâ€" bute to the work which the comâ€" mittee had done during his term in office and for the previous two years to bring in an equalized asâ€" seasment. "We must go ahead, he said, and the practises of twenty years ago are not in vogue today nor is our assessment at par toâ€" day." _ Deputyâ€"Reeve Buchanan pointed out during the debate that he and his committee realized the proposed scheme was not perfect by any means "but we have made progreas in rectifying matters." ‘The Assessment Committee was authorized, when councit approved the report, to have a sufficient quantity of appraisal cards printed and distributed to the assessors of the municipalitioa in the county. Reeve William Heaslip of Gainsâ€" boro drew the attention of council to the fact that when completed by the assessora the cards will re> main in their respective munlcipal~ Itiea where they may be inspected by the Assessment Committee. The committee was also given permiaâ€" slon to make any minor changes which might be desired for aimpliâ€" fleation or clarificaton in the ap» praisal sheets. (Continued on page 3) Week ending at 8 , February 3rd, 1947, Highest temperature Lowest temperature Mean temperature Pl'fl'lplll(lon Month of January»â€" Highest temperature Lowest temperature Precipitation GRIMSBY WEATHER :!_. tWM ., um‘“- * 0.4 2.20 inchea 180 81.A inches