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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1947 THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE 3 aw Today 's Short Story SOMETHING OF VALUE By Anna E. Wilson HE porch was broad and sunny, d Elsie placed the big chair where Dad could see the people and look across into Mr. es grocery store, where she worked part time. . "You see, Dad," she said cheer- fully, "you'll be happy here in the sunlight, and you can watch what oes on over there in the store-- t'll be no time at all until you for- t about the shop--Goodness ows, a man who's worked until he's sixty-five years old has earned a rest. It's downright foolish to be fretting about being laid off, when there are so many men with young families needing the job." 4 Dad sank back in the chair and sighed wistfully. "1 know, Elsie, and the company was real nice. 'Mr. Twi er presented me with a watch, and said they were real sorry about my eyes, and hated to let me go. Watch making is such fine work and," Dad finished care- fully, "there was no other place open in the shop where they could work me in. , Dad," said Elsie comfortably, "but your eyes are good enough to read the news- paper and see all that goes on around you. It's not as if you were going to be totally blind." "Yes," Dad tried to settle him- self uneasily, "but sitting here isn't going to help pay for this house, and 1 did hope to see you settled in a home of your own be- fore I died." Elsje clucked cheerfully. "Don't ou worry about me, Dad. We still ave a couple of years to pay that five hundred dollars, and some- thing is sure to turn up." She 'bustled across the street, and Dad sat, in the sun watching old Mrs. Colby buying three ounces of bone for her dog, and Tizzie Miles, who weighed at least two hundred pounds, buying pastries, but he wasn't really thinking of what went on down there, he was think- ing of Elsie. It was hard on a woman when she was -ingle and getting on. Everybody said he'd raised a fine family, and the two boys had settled on farms and were doing comfortably. Elsie had made out alright so far, the part time work had kent them in gro- ceries while Dad's earning had made the payments on the house. He had noped to stay at Twilin- ger's until it was all paid for but that was finished now. Dad tried to interest himself in the news- paper. There was a sketch of the pro- sed Merhorial to civic progress hey were going to erect in front of the town hall, but Dad could not get interested in the statues, he wasn't used to being idle. He was glad when Mrs. Frisby stopped to talk. She was gossipy and friendly and liked a chat. "Glad to see you taking a rest at last, Dad. Goodness knows, it was time. I see you've been looking at the sketch for the new Memorial. Isn't it wonderful that a great artist like Mr. Bonelli's been engaged for the job. They say he'sbeen asking for medals to copy on the figure: of the war veterans and I'm hurry- ing right down with this one of Willie's. Mr. Bonelli buys ld coins, too. He says that every man acquires something of value if he lives long enough. Mrs. Frisby laughed heartily and trotted off. clutching Willie's medal in a firm hand. Dad stared at the sketch of the Memorial, thinking of what Mrs Frisby had said. Somethin of value. Dad went over all his meagre possessions and they weren't much. Just his clothes, neat and clean, the watch Mr Twilinger had given him and that old coin. Dad hadn't thought of that coin for years. He wasn't even sure it was a coin. He took out his watch now and unhooked the chain. There i* was dangling from the , and it didn't look much like anything. Well, it was a long time since the Boer war when Dad was a fine young man doing his soldier luty, and a wounded man ha. given him the coin when he car- ried him back of the lines. It ha? had a head on it then, and writing in a tongue that Dad couldn't un- derstand, but now even the writ: ng was worn away. ad was confused by the noise and' bustle when he entered Mr. Bonelli's studio, but Mr. Bonelli smiled at Dad and took him into « little office in the rear. "It's about a coin," said he humbly, and took out his lucky piece. The artist handled the ccin in ust the same way that Dad andled fine watches. His kind brown eyes studied Dad keenly. "Where did you get it, and why do you want to sell it, Dad." It was easy to ta"- to Mr. Bonelli, and Dad explained about his home ands Elsie, The artist sighed---- "It might have been valuable once, but it's too defaced now for restoration-- I'm sorry," he looked as if he --Illustrated -by Dave Chambers Dad, sitting on the porch chair --tried to interest mself in the . paper. really was." I wish I could tell you that it's worth something rut I'm afraic it's not." Dad thanked him, but as he got up to go, Mr. Bonelli spoke. "I have a friend coming tomor- row and if you drop in you can talk it over with him." He smiled at Dad as if he were *hinking of something but, wasn't sure of it and Dad went out. All afternoon Dad polished the coin and when he went down to the studio in the morning the metal in the coin shore. Mr. Bonelli was talking to an- other man, when he saw Dad he beckoned him in. Dad took out the coin and the stranger glanced gt 3. but he was really looking at Dad in his neat worn clothes, was worth looking at. He had lived a good life and all this good living showed in his wrinkled face and clean blue eyes. Mr. Bonelli's own eyes twinkled. , "We find you have something ot valde, Dad, after all", he said sof. "How much do you think I can get for the coin?" Dad asked anxi- ously. ; "The coin was worthless," said the artist, "We want to use you as a model for one of the figures on our Memorial. We want to employ you in the studio to keep track of the valuables loaned to us. Mr. Twilinger says we couldn't get a better man. The pay is good, well over five hun- dred dollars for the year's work," he said gently. "You see, Dad. the thing you have of value is yourself. You've been a good citizen and it shines right in your face." "A good citizen," Dad wanted to go home and tell Elsie, but first he went into the park and sat down for his eyes were misted with tears. Demand Big Factor In Earnings of Miners By CLYDE BLACKBURN Canadian Press Staff Writer Washington -- (CP) -- Fate of the close to 400,000 soft coal miners in the United States is rapidly mov- ing to a climax, apart from the cur- rent supreme court consideration of the $10,000 and $3,500,000 fines im- posed respectively on United Mine Workers' president John L. Lewis and the union itself as a result of the November strike. The truce proclaimed by Lewis in December expires at midnight March 31 and little or no progress has been made in drafting new con- tracts or turning back to the owners the mines seized by the government during the strike of last spring. Present high levels of earnings and opportunity to work will de- pend in a large measure on the volume of business activity among the consuming interests, and in the opportunity of transferring to other occupations, says a bulletin of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The failure of continued high de- mand for soft coal might bring about the long layoffs and low re- turns to which the industry dropped in the depression years, The number of miners employed during the 1939-1946 period has ranged from 450,000 to around 325, 000, not counting strike periods. The B.L.S. bulletin surveys the period from before the First World War up to the fall of 1946. It shows that in 1923 the average hourly earnings at the "face" were about 85 cents, more than twice the rate in 1914. Average hourly earnings in October 1946 were $1.48 as com- pared with apout 88 cents in 1939. Depression Years But the miners faced difficult times between the wars. ' Hourly earnings dropped to 30 cents in 1933 and during a long period the op- portunity to work was well below 200 days a year. Conditions im- proved steadily from 1933 although work days remained under 200 a year for the most part until the Second World War brought heavy demands for bituminous coal. The war also brought a return to the six-day week until the new contract of last May when it went back to five days with opportunity to work a sixth day, portal-to- portal pay and other benefits. Average weekly hours of work and average weekly earnings, reported by the BLS. for the year ended October 31, 1946 (latest figures available) were shown as follows: 1945 Nov. Dec. 1946 HWW. 449 45.7 Jan. 433 455 459 26.4 273 434 36.0 424 414 429 1941 Peak Employment The greatest number of miners at work in any period since 1939 was in October, 1941, when the wage earn- ers in this industry raeched 450,000. During the 12-month period for which figures are given above the highest employment was in March, when the bureau showed 348,888 ac- tually working, The lowest figure was in April (75,300) and in May (248,000) when a work stoppage brought seizure of the mines by the government and an 18% cents an hour increase, MANY VISITORS Toronto, -- Jan, 21 -- (CP) --De- legates to conventions here in the last 20 years have spent more than $100,000,000 and -6,000,000,000 visit- ing days in Toronto, C. Q. Ellis, president of the Toronto Conven- tion and Tourist Association, Inc., said here, He gave the estimate at the Association's 21st annual meeting. HEAT CAUSES BLASTS Trowbridge, England -- (CP)-- When military huts here were dam- aged by fire, local residents heard what they thought were "ammuni- tion explosions" caused by tiles and dry timber splitting in the heat. Starting Tomato Plant. at Right Time Important As many growers of tomatoes produce their own plants and many at planting time have either poor, undeveloped or overgrown plants, it is advisable to start the growing at the right time. The potential yield ing ability of tomato plants is greatly influenced by the conditions under which they are started. Im- properly grown seedlings will =ot return bumper crops regardless of the care given them after trans- planting, says C. E. St. Marie, Do- minion Experimental Station, L'As- somption, Que. In most cases poor quality trans- plants can be traced back to either too early or too late seedlings. While there may, be a difference of a week or ten days from early to late dis- tricts, growers should bear in mind that the less time they will take to grow their plants, the cheaper will be the cost and generally speaking better plants will be obtained. Many growers are unwisely trying to grow sufficient plants to cover five acres in the same number of frames as they used when growing only to to three acres. The conse- quence is that instead of having strong stalky well rooted plants, they have poorly developed plants to set in the field. Furthermore, such crowding in the frames often causes heavy losses because control of dis- eases is made more difficult. A good rule to follow is the less space a plant is to have, the later the seed should be sown. For example, if plants are spaced 4 x 4 inches, they can be started 9 to 12 weeks prior to setting out in the field; if only 2 inches spacing is available, a maximum of 8 weeks should: be al- lowed for their development. Ex- periments have repeatedly shown that woody plants or those held too long before being set out in the field do not yield as much early or total fruit as those that ate only moderately hardened. Another point on which many growers fall down is the poor type of soil used in which the seedlings are picked off. Such soil should be rich in organic matter and rather low in clay so that it will be friable and fairly retentive of moisture, In order to make sure the soil used has a fair supply of nutrients, a certain quantity of well rotted manure should be incorporated, as well as a certain amount of commercial fertilizer, The addition to the com- post of 4 to 5 pounds of a complete fertilizer either 2-12-6 or 5-10-5 per cubic yard, should assure the seed- lings good growth and development. Growers are invited to consult their nearest Experimental Station on any problems related to the growing of their tomato seedlings. General Grant's Orderly Now 103 Winnipeg --(CP)-- A century of living is a long time "but I feel that my life has been full,.both of sorrow and happiness," says George St, Pierre Brooks. Young ex-servicemen at the South Winnipeg veterans' home call him Old George'--and George would be the last to deny that the name fits, For on New Year's Day, 1947, he celebrated - his 103rd birthday. With memories of three wars, 'a world tour and famous person- ages h eis very seldom lonely, He spends his time renewing ac- quaintances with visiting notables --such as Paul Robeson and Joe Louis--answering mail from all parts of Canada and the United States and reading "although my eyes are inclined to tire quickly." He is interested in persons, places, politics and the progress of his race George was born a slave in Kentucky and his mother was .80ld when he was four years old. He entered the civil war in 1861 as a personal servant, was cap- tured, set free and finished the war fighting with the northern army as private orderly to Gen. Ulysses S Grant, later president of the United States, He then joined the famous Fiske Jubilee Singers and travel- led around the world singing negro spirituals, The group sang before William Gladstone, prime minister of England, and Queen Victoria. Later he travelled with min- strel shows and a circus and also took part in the Spanish-Amer- ican war. : He is living in a veterans' home because of a wound inflicted to his leg during the First World War in which he served with Ca- nadian Forces at the age of 73. His chief delights, he says, are cooking and being somewhere where there are children, MUST KEEP COSTS DOWN Toronto, Jan. 21 -- (CP) -- If Canada is to compete in the foreign market she must maintain a low cost of production economy, J. S. | Duncan, President of Massey-Har- ris Company sald here last night in an address before the Board of Trade Club. TRIM INCREASE NECESSARY Toronto, Jan. 21 -- (CP) -- Wil- liam Craig, President of local branch of the Journeymen Barbers' Inter- national Union (AFL) told a meet- ing of his Union last night that to earn a minimum of $40 a week it was necessary that a 65 cent charge. for haircuts be introduced. OIRGLIERS 2. GREAT FAMILY LINIMENT He - Seek Cure for Common Cold Mrs. Lesly Adamson, 20, of Salisbury, Eng. receives nasal drops con- taining cold virus. She and her husband, David, 24, a university student, volunteered to risk induced colds in exchange for two weeks of "easy living" in an attractive prefabricated hut at Harvard hospital. experts, seeking a cure for the common cold, appealed for additional Bunian guinea pigs. Twenty-four volunteers are brought in every two Ss. Medical Feed Situation Still Serious The feed situation is serious and may continue so for several months unless protein supplies can be im- proved to supplement our present short stocks and grain can be mov- ed from the West in quantity, says Dr. F. N. Marcellus, head of the Poultry Department, Ontario Agri- cultural College. Poultrymen should take reasonable precautions to as- sure themselves of sufficient sup- plies to avoid the possibility of hav- ing a flock of chicks or older birds and no feed for them. It is not advisable to make sud- den changes in the brand or mix- ture used, Slight differences in ap- pearance, composition or palatabil- ity of a feed is likely to effect growth or production, especially if these are progressing rapidly. If a feed is not being eaten read- ily by the birds it is usually inad- visable to try and force consump- tion. It is a reasonably good indi- cation that the feed is not satis- factory for some reason and if the birds must be starved to force i's consumption the results are likely to prove unpleasant. The present feed supplies must be used with the greatest possible ef- ficiency. If the operator is home- mixing the rations, care should be] taken to see that it is properly bal- anced with essential proteins and vitamins as any lack of balance will lower the efficiency of the whole mixture. In the case of chick start- er, the amount used by the aver- age poultry raiser is so small it is a question if it will pay to home- mix this feed except where using home milk supply with ground grains and the necessary vitamin supplements. The vital point to remember is that all poultsy feeds are in short supply and for that reason should not be hoarded. The wise operator will make sure that supplies are provided in advance sufficient to avoid famine conditions to occur. If protein materials ¢« © e im- ported in sufficient quantities for maximum volume mixing and the price relationships equalized to per- mit of these importations from countries on a higher price struc- ture then the presant feed situation will be greatly improved. Dr. Marcellus concludes, Avoid over-crowding the chicks as such practice results in slow, poor growth increased mortality and waste of feed. For quick and fast results -- use Times-Gazette classified ads. By R. J. ANDERSON Canadian Press Staff Write: New York--(CP)--The veteran New Yorker has no compunction about attempting to beat a frail, elderly woman to a subway seat. He's not accustomed to having one and he yields with stony-faced equanimity when he loses. All he asks is a strap from which to hang. 'His complaint is the inability to gain a strap. The proverbial sardine has more room in its spacious sealed can than has a denizen of Manhattan's anderground durring the rush hours. That thought was in the mind of Middleton Rose one day as he saw his son aboard the morning school bus and he fought his way, as usual, into the subway for the daily battle to get to work. Rose did something about it. Rose noted that'his son's bus was comfortable and roomy. Why couldn't there be a bus for business men? The brokerage firm official who for years had endured the crush of the subway on his way to Wall Street got busy on the idea. Now a "business bus" takes Rose and his friends each weekday morning to the Wall Street district where they work. The hired bus sets out from Fifth Avenue and 36th Street at 8:40 a.m., makes seven pick-up stops for 45 passengers and proceeds to Broadway and the north end of Trinity Churchyard, thence to Bowling Green, dropping off a vice- president here and a cashier there. Each man pays $7.50 a month, avoiding the discomfort of the sub- way and saving taxi fares. Vice-Presidents Emancipated The National Labor Relations Board ruled the other day that even vice-presidents and presidents of companies are guaranteed collec tive bargaining rights. The news was taken with serenity by a half- dozen rank-and-file vice-presidents but one president--General Motors' Charles E. Wilson--was delighted with the idea. A number of vice-presidents felt that a union for downtrodden exe- cutives would fill a great need-- though there was universal doubt that the millennium would arrive within the lifetime of vice-presi- den' w extant. One of General Movors' 16 vice-presidents, who pre- ferred to remain unidentified, ex- pressed the cautious view: "One's first impression is that this is an emotional gesture design- ed to restore the morale of a sup- pressed minority, But it would be unfair to comment until the organ- ization work is done, the regula- tions established and we attend a few meetings . . ." Forthright was Wilson: "I'll want to be in the ranks of the presidents' union. It would suit me right down to the ground--es- Subway ShunnersAvoid Crush; Prefer Buses pecially if I get double time for overtime." Organizational matters fired the imagination of L. W. Horning, vice-president of the New York Central Railroad: "I can see it now. A bargaining table with everybody on one side and nobody on the other to bar- gain with. I could sit down at a typewriter and write myself a letter asking me for an increase in salary. And then I'd send one back to my- self denying the request." Philip Murray, president of the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, won't have any part of a Presidents and Vice-Presidents' Union, though. "That's one thing I'd stay out of," he told an inter- viewer. When A King Spoke No single event ever transfixed so many persons at a single moment in time. It was 10 p.m. in London, 5 pm, in New York City, 4 pm. in Winnipeg, 3:30 am. in y 8 am, in Sydney, Australia. A hush fell over much of the world as * listened to a voice from the ra- 0, At least 250,000,000 persons, still the world's greatest radio audience, heard a King speak Dec. 13, 1936. They heard Edward VIII who had just abdicated, in his unforgettable broadcast: * ... But you must be- lieve me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility duties as I would wish to do without the pep and support of the woman I oye. Recently, Edward, Duke of Wind- sor, delivered another radio ad=- dress, the first since his speech. It was a routine piece of c sup casting Company said they had no | ong many heard it. They admitted that it was doubt- ful that His Royal had attracted many listeners. In fact, the network couldnt say how yuany; if any, of its stations outside New York carried the appeal. According to the publisher of the big Jananese newspaper Yomiuri, "4 there had been freedom of the press in Japan, there wouldn't have been any war." 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Our repairs and uneven oven' temperatures; correct all defects. 0SHAWA-PHONE 1000 Even though your washing machine, vacuum cleaner, radio or some other electrical appliance in your home may have served you for several years, there is always the good possibility that there are many more months and perhaps years of service left in them... perhaps your electric stove only requires checking over, your washing machine rebushed or the motor equipped with new brushes. In such cases it would undoubtedly be wise to have a thorough check-up made and the worn part replaced. SERVICE DEPT. Will Repair 4< ALL MAKES o "ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES The Christian's Service Department is operated on the C.G.E. plan which guarantees good workmanship and complete satis- faction. Our C.G.E. Service Department is manned by experts who are capable of making repairs to all types of electrical ap- pliances, and it is our aim to give a quick and economical ser- vice . » » don't let your present electrical appliance deteriorate-- have the necessary repairs made now. \ CHRISTIANS THE HOME OF GENERAL ELECTRIC IN OSHAWA OSHAWA PHONE 1000 o No Tinkering! After your amateur ef- forts fail to fix your radio, bring it here where expert techni- 'cians can make it good to listen to! Cold Shoulder from Your Refrigerator ? Whatever isn't worke ing right, we can re- pair for you, or re lace wornout parts. Phone 1000. How Wonderful! Our repair men are al- ways getting compli- ments--for the speed