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SAMUEL FARMER, Editor and Publisher PORT PERRY, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, a TIN JANUARY 28th, 1943 Wateh $1.60 per year in advance. your labdl; it tells whea your Subsesiption espires. 5 cents a single copy Sor /.* EDITORIAL Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we roaih, Ris first, best country ever is at home.< Goldsmith. a - " = "is a munition of war. THE FARMER SHOULD SET THE STANDARD OF VALUE Herbert Hoover said.a few.days ago that food That is an important statement by an eXceptionally well informed man. The statement 'is so important that it ought te be a fundamental consideration -in all our war effort. With all the facts before the au- thorities, 'it ought to be a solvable problem as to the manpower required and available in each of the several departments of the Canadian War Effort, including Agriculture. Up to the present time too little practical at- tention has been devoted to the production of food in our war economy. When munitions or mechanized war equipment were required, the order was marked--"must", and cost was not the important factor. Instead, a policy of "cost plus" has been permitted, frequently to the serious detriment and enormously increased ex- pense of war production. When men and wo- men were needed for military service, the "call- up" was introduced, and the rate of pay was fixed, - With agriculture the case has been very dif- ferent. Until quite recently, farmers and farm hands have been looked upon as an inexhaustible supply of labour. And it Was very desirable supply, because these men knew how to work; and they belonged to no union.: So from agri- culture. has been taken every available man. It is true that many workers who came from "the farm to the munition factory, did so of their own free will--the pay was much better, That is the crux of the whole farm labour .. problem. Why should a farmer, who works seventy hours a week, receive smaller pay than i the munition worker, who works fifty hours a week or less? The farmer, in addition, sup- plies his own equipment. The munition worker supplies no equipment. . Because food is the prime necessity of life, there is real reason why the farmer should set the standard of value. His costs of production have been tabulated of late 'years, and those costs have been based upon the producing power 4 of the average farmer. * Skilled agrarians know what it costs to pro- duce n bushel of wheat, a hundred weight of beef or "pork, an eight gallon can of milk, a pound of butter fat, or a dozen eggs. They know it with as great certainty as any other industry, except for the clement of chance. Why not, then; in these emergency days, gear the standards of value to the costs of farm pro- duction, instead of setting arbitrary values upon manufactured products, and letting. agriculture trail along as best it may at the tail end of the If steel workers or coal miners feel justified in demanding 55¢ an hour for their labour, why should not a farmer be able to earn between $35 and $40 a week for his 70 hours of labour, plus a reasonable interest on his $10,000 jnvest- ment? ) The answers are obvious, The farmer is not organized. His methods ave not standay- dized. ~~ World prices have dominated his mar- ket. He has _ become accustomed to bein satisfied (?) with such returns as the market affords him. f If 50¢ to $1.00 an hour is arbitrarily set as a price for mechanical labour, then food stulls could be paid for at a set price which would ensure a living wage and reasonable interest on his financial investment. - Think of the challenge that has been issued to the Canadian farmer: He is asked to produce-- > "125 million pounds of cheese; 21,064,000 one pound tins of evaporated milk; 675,000,000 pounds of bacon; 0,000 long tons of dried eggs, or about 61,000,000 dozen. - Only the most essential foods are sent to Bri- tain, and these are in the most concentrated form. Dehydration of fruit and vegetables is helping in this matter. 15,000 tons of wheat have been shipped to Greece cach month; and the Dominion has filled all deficiencies in the United Kingdom supply of wheat and flour. Such is the challenge to the Canadian farmer, "and he must face it with a 75% reduction of available farm machinery, a constant drain on man power, and an uncertain return for his la. bour and investment. ) As food is the prime essential of all our wir effort, something definite and practical should be done to stabilize returns to the farmers, even though arbitrary methods have to be used, To anyone acquainted with the working con- ditions of the average farmer to-day, it would seem an imposition to expect him to keep any accurate account of production costs. Jug therein lies his eventual salvation. He must be able to prove his case as to the need for better returns for his labour. That is what the manu- factiiver and the industrialist do. They show costs of production, fix' prices, and demand pro- tection on the basis of those costs. And gene- yally they have been getting what they demand. "And in their getting, the farmer has often heen the sufferer. 100d farming methods, industry and common sense book-keoping can be the way out for the farmer in his present troubles, if he will unite with his fellow sufferers, and stick together in their demands, l} economic procession? WA . Brief Summary by the War liditor of I'he Christian Science Monitor a The British Eighth Army has cap- tured Tripoli; the Russians have taken the important air and rail center of Salsk, and have pressed to within ten miles of Voroshilovgrad; Allied troops have ended organized Japanese resist- ance at Sanananda, New Guinea. In addition, it is now disclosed that the Japanese have less than 4000 men re- maining on Gaudalcanal. ~The fire-blackened capital of Trip- olitania fell to Gen. Montgomery's British forces. British vanguards con- "tinued in hard pursuit of Marshal Rom- mel"s Afrika Korps, estimated at ap- proximately 63,000 troops. But it was believed that some of the Axis forces already were in contact with Col. Gen. Arnim's German army behind Mareth Line, 65 miles inside Tunisia. In entering Tripoli, the British 8th Army has brought to a near close one of the most brilliant campaigns 'in his- tory. Three months ago the whole 3,000-mile stretch of Africa's northern coast, from Morocco to the Nile Delta, was in. enemy or potentially hostile hands. To-day the Axis segment is compressed to some 300 miles. However, if Marshal Rommel suc- ceeds in reaching the relative protection It was good to haye Lion Jim Kerr at the Lions Club meeting last kriday. He brought a fine story of aerial navi- gation. One was reminded of _that couplet by Goldsmith--"And still they gazed, and still their wonder "grew, 'I'hat one small head could carry all he knew." ok : Jim spoke for over an hour, and with the aid of the blackboard so marshalled his facts about true north, the north to which the compass point- ed, meridians, parallels' of latitude, straight 'line, rhumb line, wind vel- ocity and magnetic current, that one clear cut fact was revealed. 1t is not a simple thing to fly an airplane. To arrive at any destination it is nearly always necessary to go by indirection, -It takes a clear head, and careful at- tention to one's business to be able to arrive safely at the desired goal. There is much to learn about flying; and what impresses one most is the wealth of detail that must be kept con- _stantly in mind." Wind velocity and visibility are two factors that keep any pilot or air navigator on his toes. In a craft speeding at the rate of two miles or more a minute there is little time for meditation if you are re- nsible for the safety of the planc. WA number of visitors joined the Lio ub in meeting Flight Lieut. Jas, , who has made steady pro- gress' infhis new profession. And he Shas "dofie it by hard work, and a thorough application to his studies. This was was made quite clear by President Roy Cornish, whose intro- duction of the speaker briefly outlined Jim's career from his early days in Frontier College work, his standing ad a lafrosse and hockey player, his fine work at our High School, and his "present 'rapid advancement as an {nstructor in the Air Force..' . % COUNTY The following appointments were 'made to Ontario County High School Boards--Whitby, Dr. J. A. McGilliv- ray; Uxbridge, Mr. Leslie Beare; Port Perry, Mrs. J. E. Jackson. In order to enable the minor muni- "cipalitics of the County of Ontario to -strike the tax rate early in the year, an effort will be made by the Finance Committee of the County Council to present at the adjourned session open- ing February 2, a tentative budget for the year 1943, . In. order to do so, it was pointed out by the committee chairman, Reeve Dr: J. C. Devine of Beaverton, it would be; necessary for all committees to submit to him forthwith a statement of the amount of money which they pro- posed to spend." Dr. Devine told the Council that the treasurer, Miss E. A. McKay, had advised them that such a budget might be prepared at this time but he stressed the fact that estimated expenditures for the year must be de- cided upon at once, This proposal has come before the County Councils in previous years, but this is the first time that any action has been taken to implement it." It would be of great assistance for in- stance to the hii of Port Perry which has for number of years struck its tax rate in January or Feb- ruary, but has had to guess the amount of money which this village will be required to pay into the county. There are other municipalities in the same box. an Ontario County Couneit is opposed to the thirty-five mile limit imposed by the Wartime Prices and Trade Board on commercial trucks hauling livestock to market, on the ground that it is a hardship to farmers and truckers who haul for the farmers. A resolution was brought in by F. Clayton of Thorah, lodging a protest, which was passed unanimously, Speaking to the 'resolution, Reeve Clayton told the council "we are not . interested in beer or bfead trucks be-].. ... cause we could do nicely without them, COUNCIL but we are interested in the truckers who pick up from farmers, Oscar Downey, Reeve of Whitby Township, said that he was entirely in sympathy with the motion, but he thought that the resolution should go one step further and include trucks hauling fuel when there is such a ser- ious fuel shortage. GB -- -- -------- "HON. JOHN BRACKEN TO BROAD- CAST FEBRUARY 3rd FROM TORONTO The address to be delivered by the Hon. John Bracken at the Annual Ban- quet of the HolsteinFricsian Associa- tion of Canada in Toronto on Wednes- day, February 3rd, will be carried on the air by the CBC from 9.30 to 10.00 p.m. Wide interést has been shown in this, the first Ontario address of Mi. PBracken since he assumed the Pro- gressive-Conservative party leader- ship. The demand for tickets has been found necessary to testrict their sale to livestock men only and in order to avoid disappointment to Mr. Bracken's followers, arrangements were made to have his speech broadeast, ee JULES UPTON (EBC) Creator of Joe, the Canadian Boy. of the Mareth Line; the Allies will have to decide quickly how best to dispose of the joint Anglo-American forces on both sides of the Axis Tunisian spear- head. , Meanwhile, in Russia, Soviet troops moving along the Kuban and Manych Rivers not only have captured Salsk, but have pressed beyond it and disper- sed fresh German forces, which, for a time, threatened to slow their advance in southwestern sectors. Everywhere the speed of the remarkable Russian offensive appears to be accelerating. I he recapture of Salsk is important for a number of reasons. Soviet forces there can now strike northwestward up a branch railroad towards Rostov, and (or) move 70 miles southwestward to the Black Sea. Capture of Tikhoretsk would cut off all principal railway ser- vice. for the Germans in the Caucasus, and flank Axis holdings there. By taking Salsk, the Russianshave of Axis units trapped before Stalingrad. The Germans had operated a plane fer- rying supply service from Salsk. Wiping out of the Sanananda gar- rison from New Guinea marks the vir- 5 - I'o the Heme Folks Away from Home, Santa Claus made au specialty of skis at Christmas time, and for a while every youngster seemed to bo prastis- ing ski gymnastics. But one by one the smaller sets have been set aside for another day. Only the more per- severing go through the wecessary twists and turns of this style of loco- motion. In spite of all the snow neither skis nor snowshoes have be- come regulation footwear, We are al- ways hoping for a January tnaw. This morning there were signs that hopes would come true, If you want to know what we are doing in Port these days, it will only take two words to tell you--taking stock, Not only are there bolts of goods--being unrolled and measured, rough rolled and then re-rollgd into original neatness; but 'all kinds of things are being counted. Employers have their filling out Government forms or seeing that ration coupons are pasted on the proper blank forms. Nice sticky job that; but of course the boss doesn't 'do it himself--if he can avoid it. After all the counting is done we have found that things are not so bad, But staples are scarce enough that storekeepers don't have to worry about selling. It's buying more goods of the right kind that keeps them on their Loes. . OF course, stores are not the only institutions that are taking stock, The Agricultural Society held its annual meeting, and Fred Christie is at the helm again. He did a good job last year. The society is in good fin- ancial shape. This year Fred will have a new idea to put through --the Fall 'Fair is-to be held on Labor Day. The Churches have had their annual mectings. The review gives roason for encouragemant. Finances and work are both showing up well. Each of "the local churches and thy LODE. have received a bequest from i the estate of the late Rov, Jos. Denny. His generosity in this respect has been most remarkable. Mr. Denny will long be remembered as a friend of all church and kindred work. : Letter to Those on / Active Service EE = hands -full-{-- aw ey / = : The 1.O.D.E. could well be ealled the 'Soldiers' Friend." The members work long and faithfully to provide comforts for the soldiers, But of @ureae, you kwow all abouy that, It is quite the proper thing now for town ladies to carry market lmskets and market bags. And you can see youngsters, toa, carrying home the family treasures from the store, or dragging thew along the well snewed sidewalks on their sleighs. So yen see everybody is doing a part in sav- ing gas and tires. Store delivery has been reduced to a minimum--a case of necessity. The outdoor boys, truck and aute drivers, have a groat time bucking snowdrifts. Like as not after hours of struggle they end up stuck. Seme of the soldier boys have spent part of their leave--a few hours--in a snow drift. But they got home at last all right. ' Some of the "young fellows hero arc getting the hockey urge, and they almost had a game with General Motors lads. Dut circumstances over which they had no control prevented. However, they chase the puck around the rink a bit whenever they can gather up a scratch team. The wee kida will be having a chance, too, if Roy Cornish of the Lions Club has his way. Those same little fellows trudge wp the hill to Collacutt's corner, muffled so that you can see ouly their eyes and their noses. There the north-west wind has been giving them a final battle, But they arrive av school all right. ) Flight Lieut. Jas. Kerr was at the Lions Club last Friday night. He gave an excellent outline of the problems of aerial navigation.- One. thing we learned--you don't hop into a plane, start her up, take off, and fly straight to your dostination. There's a lod more to it than that. What is very evident is that it takes knowledge, and judgment, and quick thinking to fly an airplane, Well, good fortune, to the airmen, and all others who are using brawn and brain to defend our liberties and Tikhoretsk, along the main railway to, made still more critical the plight of| their own. That is better than ia being done by some labor leaders who ave taking advantage of war's tragedy te forward-their own interests. For- tunately that type is eomparatively small. Most of the workmen in all lines are doing a good job. The Presbyterians are doing a fine job in renovating their church, base- ment included. Last Wednesday evening the LO. D.E. held its Birthday Party. Upon that occasion the Regent, Mrs. I. R. Bentley, was presented with a Life MembersHip I7in, That busy lady has been at the bead of the Order for ten vears altogether, M £3 Yours truly, THE EDITOR. Donations to theAid to Russia Fund will be received "and forwarded by Mrs. Gordon McKee, Treasurer of the 1.0.D.E., or through the Churches, tual elimination of the Japanese army, officially estimated at 15,000 men which only last September marched across the towering Owen Stanley Mountains to within 30 miles of Port Moresby. A force of at least equal strength is be- lieved to have been originally in posses- sion of Gaudalcanal. If only 4000 are left, 11,000 must have perished. Allied Offensive on All Fronts [Full surrender will be the only basis of peace to be accepted by the Allies from the Axis powers. That is the unanimous decision of the Allies in a secret ten day conference just concluded at Casablanca. Both President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill flew to the rendezvous where both Russia and China were. represented. It was agreed by both military and civil leaders of Britain and the United States that the 1943 war plan be designed to maintain the initia- . tive in every theatre of the war. T pe pan rat Le A & ny 1,