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2950 copies this issue tmtfmle qteibmtc second section vol 61 no 4 the tribuxe stouffvilleon may 12 1949 no firebug at musselmans lake residents there affirm with two big fires at mussel- mans lake last week within two days the daily press got excited about a fire bug and sent out the suggestion the cottages might have been fired by some individual however residents at the lake scout any such suggestion they point out that toronto people owners of the cottages were out the day preceding the night of the j fire in each case and that some thing must have been left uncon trolled that started the fires all six cottages lost during the two fires were on properties immediately east of cedar beach dance gardens five were burned during the first outbreak and one was lost one night later had a water supply been more readily available one cottage would have been saved at the first fire accord ing to a statement by chief del jennings of stouffville he favors trenches being dug to allow the water to run in from the lake to firm ground where the fire truck can readily run alongside one near davies pavilion was found inade quate to enable the fire engine to get near the water and the chief says ramps are not the answerfire engine equipment wants to stand sidewise to the water not endwise during the first fire the stouff ville brigade sent up a second engine carrying additional hose since the fire was around 1000 feet or more ifrom the lake and that took a long stretch of hose a second menace to fire at musselmans is the close proximity of one cottage to another the five cottages burned the first night t h i were so cloe they could almost be touched from one to the other with the two hands this is a thing i have contended against all along said clerk john crawford who took a ilively interest in drafting the township building bylaw many cottages of course were built be fore there were any regulations notes and comments nailing the fate of nails canada is going to get 13s000 kegs of nails from the united states and now the unions are sending the builders on strike so that hundreds of thousands of nails that might be used this summer will not be required hundreds of wouldbe home builders are afraid to start building because of great costs which the strikers will send even higher but there will be a saving of nails yet what good are nails if they are not used ontario ccf leader is lawyer in critical mood in a speech at sarnia the other day arthur williams ccf mp for ontario county said there are 8 lawyers in the house of commons if it sounds like liars i have a scottish accent but doesnt he know that the ccf leader in ontario is e b jolliffe ccf mpp who also is a lawyer blueberry plants there is talk of attempts to cultivate the canadian blueberry on the peat soil of scotland where other crops have failed and indeed 40 plants have crossed the atlantic to be used in such an experiment they have done so well that already the scots are talking about the creation of a new industry which will put to useful service thousands of acres of peaty soil upon which nothing else of value will grow the brockville recorder and times monday for holidays the demand that more of our national holidays be observed mondays has been sounded loud and long at last the federal government has indicated that it intends to do something about it mr gibson acting secretary of state said so shortly before parliament was dissolved the change will not be made of course until the new par liament meets in the fall victoria day is a case in point this year may 24 falls on a tuesday how much pleasanter for all if it were ob served on monday may 23 allowing everyone to have a long weekend it is not just a matter for the convenience of business and those who go to country camps and resorts as mr gibson said the benefit of rest and relaxation over a two or threeday holiday are shared by all and are certainly much greater than if the holiday is a oneday break only in the middle of the week christmas and new years day will continue to be observed on the days on which they fall that is as it should be good times continue statistical reports of the dominion bureau of statis tics prove a very effective answer to those who earlier in the year saw a business recession on the horizon in near ly every field in which reports are made new high levels of business and industry have been recorded for recent weeks here are some of the highlights which show that times continue to be good in canada department store sales for the week ending april 16 were fifteen per cent higher than for the same week last year all retail sales for february were five per cent high er than last year industrial employment on march 1 index stood at 1892 as compared with 1880 a year ago industrial payrolls were 103 per cent higher in march this year than in march of 1948 canadian labor income in february was up 559000000 over february 1948 weekly earnings of employees in industry averaged s4434 in march as compared with 4023 in the same period last year these statistics do not give much indication of a re cession they show that canadian business and industry are maintaining their activities at a high level and that there does not seem to be any diminution in the purchasing power and general prosperity of the people of this country new tvpe of farmers i recently 36 young men were graduated from the two year course at the agricultural college at guelph practic ally all 33 to be exact went back to the farm in most cases their own in fact according to reliable sources more agricultural college graduates on a per capita basis are going back to farms in canada than in any other country in the light of the worrisome problem of how to keep the boy on the farm these facts are most encouraging indeed they not only forecast a brighter future for canad ian agriculture but can help make canada one of the worlds most progressive food producing nations some oldtimers may regard this return of the college- bred boy to the farm with derision even some parents who paid for their sons education will rebel when the youngster suggests a revision of timetried farming prac tices you cant plow a field with a diploma is an expres sion too often heard in several sections of the country such an attitude is nonsensical there is much behind that diploma there are years of intense classroom study practical work on the best experimental farms on the con tinent scientific research in laboratories yes a diploma can plow can sow and most important can reap the public spirited scientificallytrained farmer may well become the leader in his community by helping solve the problems of his less informed neighbors if he fails to share his knowledge he may as well have not gone to school in ontario riding with a progressiveconservative candidate in the field and the liberals and ccf holding their nominating con ventions on may 11 it seems certain that there will be a threecornered fight in the federal election in ontario riding which takes in all pickering township to the very outskirts of stouffville and it includes oshawa there is however a possibility that there will be more than three candidates in the field since labourprogressives or communists to give them their more familiar title may also enter the campaign in this riding ontario riding until the byelection of 1948 has since confederation been fair fighting ground for the two major political parties there has been a periodical change from liberal to conservative and vice verse third party can didates met with no success until last year when the ccf captured the seat in the byelection caused by the death of the late w e n sinclair kc the ccf member arthur williams secured so large a plurality in the city of oshawa and the immediate suburbs that his opponents could not overtake his lead through their votes in the rural sections with a general election in progress across canada the campaign in ontario riding will be much more intense than was the case in the byelection last year the oshawa times- gazette prophesies there will be more clearly defined is sues than was the case then the impact of the dominion- wide campaign absent in the byelection will be felt in the campaign during the next eight weeks so just as ontario riding has always been good fight ing ground for all parties in the past it can be expected that no matter who the candidates are this will be a keenlycontested election with the result uncertain until the iast ballot is counted the royal family posing for an intimate family group picture in buck ingham palace london prince philip and princess elizabeth are anxious to cooperate with the photographer but prince charles has suddenly decided to focus his attention else where father appears not too sure of himself as he holds the little fellow aloft for the cam eraman while mother wears a very proud smile a philosopher is one who in stead of- crying over spilt milk consoles himself iwith the thought that is was fourfifths water any way the trouble with life is that it too much like the movies the average gardener has at ready discovered how easy it is to raise blisters the old home town