THE WILLIAMS LAKE TRIBUNE Thursday, July 2, 1959 EDITORIAL PAGE EQUIPMENT’S THE ANSWER Reason behind the condition of the Chilcotin road, Subject of several letters to the editor recently, appears to be a simple matter of not enough equipment io adequately maintain the arteries of the Central Cariboo. The local Department of Highways district has some eight graders to cover 2,000 miles of road. Three of the machines operate out of 100 Mile House, three out of Williams\Lake and the remaining two in the Chilcotin. These latter machines, plus one gravelling crew, handle 800 miles of roads. Under past conditions, two machines in the Chil- cotin handled the job after a fashion, but they cannot cope with the present situation. For the first time there is continuous lumber haul- ing out of the Alexis Creek area. This heavy load traffic condition is further aggravated by the limits im- posed on the old Sheep Creek bridge. These limits force the use of single axle trucks, vehicles that are harder on the road surfaces they travel over. Under present conditions, there is little likelihood of the Chilcotin road improving. There is no possi- bility of halting the production of lumber, even if it were desirable, and there will be no new bridge for several years. The only alternative as far as residents to the west are concerned is to press for additional maintenance equipment. ASKING T0Q MUCH: The 83rd annual Stampede is now history, but like everyone else, we are still too stunned to adequately comment on its shortcomings or its brighter spots. We will drop in one quick comment though — a word of appreciation to those members of the Stampede Association who put so much effort into organizing and runinng the affair. Fact that this major attraction was put together by about 10 people should give any- one with a complaint pause for reflection. Where the Stampede falls short is in assistance. If more Williams Lake residents would volunteer their help, there would be more accomplished at less individual.effort. As a community we-are asking quite a lot of 10 persons, — Prince George Citizen An amendment to the Criminal Code proposed by Justice Minister Davie Fulton would prohibit reference in newspapers to a confession or admission of guilt by an accused person prior to the completion of his trial. This is a retrograde step in the administration of justice which would be a mistake for Parliament to adopt. Certain elements of the legal profession have been : advocating an amendment of this kind for some time. They wish to deny to the public an essential piece of information on which the police and prosecuting offi- cials may be acting, and which the public is entitled to have. In some cases, suppression of the fact that an accused person has confessed may work against the interests of such a person. Has the Minister of Justice considered fully the implications of the change he is proposing? . If he has, he will see that the amendment he has brought into the House of Commons will serve to in- crease rather than reduce the measure of secrecy that surrounds the administration of justice. Denial to the public of the facts concerning statements made to police by accused persons in no way serve the ends of justice in a system that is founded upon publicity, as a protec- tion for the public and, what is» aften more important, for accused persons. —_ The case offered by those who support such a denial has been heard many times at lawyers’ meetings. It is part of the argument for complete suppression of in- formation regarding preliminary trials and grand jury investigations. The argument is made mainly as a con- venience to lawyers and, perhaps, to police officers although the police are often first to ask for publica- tion of a confession. Mr. Fulton appears to be giving in to pressure from legal circles to shut out the light of publicity, whereas the public and the judicial system itself needs more, not less, publicity about what goes on in our courts and police stations. DALTON (OHIO) GAZETTE says — Everyone should occasionally attend a school Board meeting. Local control of the schools is as vita) as freedom of the press or any other freedom. Fancy school buildings do not make educated citizens. Badu- eation begins with qualified teachers, backed up by an able school board, elected by people of each com- munity. You owe it to yourself and your community to exercise your privilege of helping to elect the right people to run your local school’system. No one else can do it. Forerunner of the present cowboy was Bill Hale’s Chuckwagon, which breakfast that is an annual feature AS IT USED TO LOOK operated on the grounds in the 20’s. THE MACDUFF OTTAWA REPORT CBC DILEMMA OTTAWA — People in Ottawa who follow the goings and comings of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s most expensive play- thing, are beginning to get the uncomfortable feeling that they are going to a funeral. The CBC's funeral. The corporation, which has weathered a multitude of gusty political storms in its quarter- century of existence, to be losing its hold. This is not surpr since it has undergone a torrent of trouble and abuse in the last, blow with the wind, especially two years unmatched in inten- ty by anything in the past. It has lost its greatest bul- wark against criticism with the departure of chairman David- son Dunton to the smoother and less troubled field of edu- cation. He is now president of {Ottawa's Carleton Univer- sitf, and ee ver en happy (afd secure.® Dunton's successor, Al- phonse Ouimet, was counted out early in the game by a heart attack, which has left him unable to take a firm grip on the radio-television octopus at this critical stage in its affairs. His job has been filled in an acting capacity by big, blu Ernest Bushnell, who also holds the positions of vice- president, general manager and member of the CBC board of directors. { Mr. It has been Mr. Bushnell who has had to undergo the cross-fire and criticism of the House of Commons broadcasi- ing committee, an ordeal that has left him limp and ex- hausted after some particu- larly gruelling sessions. Mr. Bushnell has been beaten down by the committee on the only issue on which he tried to take a stand—again revealing detailed program costs and the share paid by commercial advertisers, SERIES OF BLOOPERS And, in quick succession while the parliamentary wolves gathered, the CBC has become enmeshed in an unparalleled succession of bloopers—the Grey Nuns television program on the French ‘network, the Joyce Davidson incident and the unfortunately - executed decision to abolish a program of political commentary out of Ottawa. Add to these woes Ontario Premier Leslie Frost's bitter tirade about CBC “ lettism,” the MeCarthy-type crusade in important sections of the nation’s press, and a hundred other more minor factors which make Mr. Bushnell’s position thoroughly unple: ant. Even the CBC’s best ends have been turning against it in its time of trial. A prominent Liberal who has often spoken up in its support put it this way: ‘The CBC is a fine national asset. But how can you defend it when it does such silly things and spends so money needlessly? corporation is in the till this year for a record $69,000,000, exclusive of the commercial revenue it ). There's no doubt thst the CBC has brought quality network radio and television service to remote communities that would have been left out completely if the much (The federal ugly necessity of making a other heavy and dificult de- profit had ruled. bate at this stage. But the CBC’s own figures Continuing ‘troubles on the show that it trails badly be- crowded Welland Canal point hind competititve American yp fact that Transport stations serving the major Minister George Hees’ empire centres of Toronto and Van- jg setting far too big for one couver. CBC Montreal still commands a majority tele- vision audience, but the intru- sion of American programs is growing. Dispassionate ob- servers in the capital put a lot of the CBC's current trouble down to the fact that it lacks strong, unswerving direction from the top. It seems to sponsibility ‘unble up. any time a cabinet shake-up is su: gested. It looks, however, as though he will have to carry on without help for some time to come. the wind coming out of the LETTERS 10 sCA PRESIDENT DISAGREES WITH COLUMNIST . Parliament Hill. SPENDING FREER There is still no sign of the financial cleanup the Diefen- baker government sought so avidly when it set up the nw CBC board ‘vf directors. vending -gfes{ on and faster and freer. The Editor, The Williams Lake Tribune. Dear Sir—I read with con- slierable goncern Mg Drigk- ell’ article in yourtssue ‘of May 27, “The strange predic- tions of beefgrowers.” It’s.almost as if the ci poration was caught up in a° or Mr, Drinkell to inter- mad rush to the wire, with a pret wir. Fry's (B.C. Beef violent sense of urgency about spending as much money possible before the guillotine falls. Cattle Growers’ secretary) re- marks regarding conditions for the future as an attempt by that organization to place its members at the mercy of the cattle buyers seems to indicate one of two things—either Mr. Drinkell is misinformed or completely uninformed about the actual marketing of cattle. as If the CBC does go—or even if it carries on in a minor role, picking up the leftovers from the table of the private broad- casters, many in Canada will mourn its decline and fall. His remarks about the new For the CBC has served grade, standard or brown minority groups well— invari- brand, would indicate that it ably tried to see that all got had opened a new market for their point of view expressed, our grass steers just at the their time before the came’ time when the ranches had A given up raising grass steers And there, perhaps, lies an- SA" for slaughter. The facts are other fault. It has catered to the minority audience often at the expense of losing listeners and viewers to stations provid- ing simpler, more popular f that packer buyers buy steers according. to carcass yield, dressing percentage and cur- rent public demand for that particular grade. The creation of the new grade was an at- It has done its patrons an- tempt to raise the half-fat other favor by avoiding the Steer or heifer to a grade wild excesses of commercial higher than the commercial cow but so far this new grade has not greatly influenced the price of such steers or heifers, though it remains to be seen what it may do in future years. advertising so often practised by its private radio competi- tors. To do this, it has passed along the tab to the taxpayer instead. Aid most people in Ottawa agree that this milking of the taxpayer has a limit, and that the CBC has been approaching perilously close to it in recent years. The well-finished steer will always be the -best meat and have a higher dressing per- centage than the in-between kind. The steer that has been There are very few, even finished on hard grass or on among the private broad- grain will yield better, have a casters, who would prefer to better color and keep longer kill the octopus altogether. when packaged. It will, be The government’s position more attractive when pack- seems to be that it should aged and command a better carry on, but learn to live price. Also, while Canadian surveys seem to indicate that very highly-finished beef is not the most popular among Can- adian consumers, the fact re- within its income. And of this the CBC seems to be incapable. tanen ne seks vain chat Mains that the grades of beet ture, which appear to be the best- ability. liked are still more highly- CAPITAL HILL CAPSULES finished than the average grass-fat steer, The opposition’s guess is that Parliament’s long and It looks as though this pre- weary session will come to an ference will remain and newly- created grades are not likely to influence it. This is what the B.C. Beef Cattle Growers’ end about July 15. The oppo- sition is often the best judge of this, because it does the bulk of the talking and can either Pamphlet two years ago speed up or slow down the pointed out, viz, that many government's legislative pro- Cariboo ranchers would be gram. The July 15 guess, welt advised to sell calves and however, assumes that Prime yearlings rather that half-fat Minister Diefenbaker will de- two-year steers. Mr. Drinkell criticized that pamphlet but the truth of the argument has been evident in the prices paid for calves and feeder yearlings relative to those paid during SSR cide to wait for another ses- sion to deal with his bill of human rights. None Yor tne three parties in the commons has the desire to tackle an- CARIBOO COMMENT By William Speare, MLA What's wrong with agricul- ture in the Cariboo? Igit that farming has taken a back seat to forestry and our 6ther .ex- panding businesses? Is it {hat farm credit restrictions im- poses too great’ a problem in getting an economical paying operation underway? Are farmers, as primary producers, caught in a price squeeze mak- ing all but large scale opera- tions impractical? Or do poli- cies and direction of present leaders in farm organizations do little to stimulate individual initiative? The nandful of starwarts who turned out for the annual convention of the Cariboo Far- mers’ and Women’s Institutes told recently would like to know. So would government members and department people who realize the import- ance of agriculture to our In- terior econoiny. Farm finance came in for discussion, as did the import- ance of improving many of farm practices to meet market demands, and to encourage young people in becoming the producers of the future. CAN'T BORROW CAPITAL Many Cariboo farms still re- quire development to a suffi- cient size to become self- sustaining economical uni Farm machinery and facilities for a paying production place the average family farm capi- tal investment at about $40,000.00. The average farm in Central B.C. requires: a minimum credit of about $9,000 for a start on machin- ery, stock, land-clearing and the like. Under existing credit THE EDITOR the last two seasons for com- mercial or standard grass fat two-year-old steers. Future conditions may change the picture but that does not alter the fact that the advice has been correct to date. Mr. Fry's remarks regarding {the foutlogs for fgedep fina stocker cattle pricés do hot urge anyone to panic and start selling of cattle. He simply gives an accurate report of the build-up of breeding stock over the past two years and a warn- ing as to what it may mean to future cattle prices. His sug- gestions as to what B.C, cattle- men can do to meet a drop in prices if and when it comes are only things that any sensible cattleman will do to put his house in order. How Mr. Drinkell or anyone else can interpret this to mean, and I quote from his article “ appa- rently the B.C. Beef Growers’ Association is determined that the buyers shall continue to exploit its members,” is be- yond my understanding. I sincerely wish that the B.C. Beef Cattle Growers’ As- sociation could find some way to enlist Mr. Drinkell’s sup- port as this would be to the benefit of that association, the Cariboo Cattlemen's i tion and the cattle ind a whole. HOUSTON D President, Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association NONA BARESON FUND REACHES $1,800 Dear Sir—Today we have forwarded to Mrs. John Bareson the sum of $1,800. This represents only a small part of the expenses incurred by Nona’s accident. It is our sincere hope that Nona’s recovery will be com- plete. Our sincere thanks go out to each dnd every individual, to the businessmen, to the con- tributing organizations (par- ticularly the ladies of the Royal Purple, the Trail Riders and the Elks Lodge) who helped make this benefit a suc- cess. A major factor in this suc- cess was the fact that all con- cerned were working together with one humanitarian objec- tive, Our financial statement shows receipts from the cabaret and auction avere $2,470 with expenses of $716.76. To the net receipts of $1,753.74 was added an anonymous contribution of, $46.26, bringing the figure to $1,800. Cc. D. STEVENSON, Committee chairman.~ the farmer finds restrictions, i it impossible to borrow this capital. He cannot qualify for loans until adequate land is cleared, and yet cannot clear necessary land without the loan. Our high interest rate problem again. The provincial government increased financial assistance for land-clearing’ at : the last session, but much more, must be done to improve pres- ent farm credit arrangements. Farm management was also touched upon. Farming is a way of life, but it is foremost a business, a livelihood. Here again we sée the need for ac- tive interest by farmers in their institute groups, and a probing study of their dwind- ling membership. The De- partment of Agriculture has a fine instruction program under- way to help farmers in their management problems. Funds are voted by the Legislature for this work. It is, however, a service department, naturally directing its efforts where most needed, where it meets with ready response from farmers and people benefiting, where it does the most godo in the pub- lic interest. INTEREST WELL TAKEN A case in point is the ditt eulty of obtaining a’ District Agriculturist to serve the South Cariboo, replacing a vacancy created some three years ago. Farmers’ Instit- tutes, Williams Lake Board of Trade and Cattlemen’s Asso- ciation, all have made appeals to the Minister of Agriculture. I was quite surprised to learn “of the Minister questioning the interest of the Board of Trade in this District Agriculturist position. These groups are all united in their concern for bet- terment of the Cariboo. Run! down farms, stock problems, and lack of qualified guidance in improving farming tech- niques all speak for the urg- ency of filling this position. The main reason given for no replacement is that full use was Rot made of the, former seer y mers whol should know do not agree with this. | Another reason is that qualified men are not avail- able. Yet department policy caused the loss of a District Agriculturist formerly station- ed at Quesnel, a well qualified man doing a good job. He can be heard each day on the CBC Farm Broadeast. Their gain— our loss. HAVEN'T SEEN ADVERT We are told this position is being advertised. I have yet to see copies of this adver- tisement. We are told by the Minister that service provided from Quesnel and Kamloops is adequate. I personally won- dey where the government ac- quired this understanding. Certainly not from its Cariboo Member, nor from the far- mers and ranchers of the area, or for that matter from the overworked departmental officials who would welcome a sharing of their heavy case load. This problem clearly establishes the need for a strong Farmers’ Institute. With the north country be- coming more populated, as it is doing steadily, this region can be expected to form the natu- ral - supply hinterland for northern markets. Agricul- ture in the Cariboo must not, be allowed to lag. It will be of major importance to our future. Our farming popula: tion needs all the held they can get from the government. Their effort to maintain a rightful ‘place in our economy is to be recognized and respected. THE WILLIAMS LAKE TRIBUNE Established 1931 Editor, Clive Stangoe corr) Published every Wednesday at Williams Lake, B.C., by the Cariboo. Press Limited. Subscription per year _ $3.00 Outside Canada $4.00 Advertising rates on application Authorized as Second Class Mail by the Post Office ONE YEAR AGO July 3, 1958 A Montana cowboy, Mike Isley, was the winner of the top all-round award in the “big Centennial = Stamfede when results had all been tab- ulted after three days of arena events. Mike only won one major event but he was up in the other prize brackets to accumulate enough points to top other contestants .. . Despite the shortage of entries in the morning power boat races, the third annual Aqu- atic Show was still outstanding entertainment value, bolstered as it was by the Godfry family, who were in top form. . . The opening day parade for the Centennial Stampede was one of the biggest on record. It might have been equalled in size in 1951, but, considering the rainy weathér there was an amazing turn-out of floats, . Jo Flieger opened the Centennial Stampede, . . Lov- ely Marilyn Kay was the first Queen of the Lake in con- junction with the annual Aqu- atic Show. Marilyn was spon- sored by the 100 Mile Lions Club... FIVE YEARS AGO July 1, 1954 Chier Andy Paull, president the North American Brotherhood of In- dians officially opened ‘the 28th annual Stampede. Chief Paull wore a colorful red Indian costume with a black and white feather headdress at the opening When he was made chief of the Mohawk Iroquois. - Brightest spot in the dis- tricts economic set-up these days is the lumbering industry, with milmen enjoying the effects of a price jump irom $5 to $6 a thousand. ... Hit of the morning doings on this opening day was an unpubli- cized and certainly unrghearsed ‘baby buggy” rate’? with five business firms represented by male ‘“‘mothers and babies” taking part. . . Walter Bailey, secretary and spark plug of the local Cariboo Association of Marksmen, won the pro- vincial revolver championship in a two-day meet at Blair Range over the weekend. . . and founder of TEN YEARS AGO June 30, 1949 greatest victory ever was established Monday night by Prime Min= ister Louis St. Laurent and the Liberal Party. Sweeping every province but Alberta, the Lib- eral government was returned with 192 seats out of a House \é . For some 37) Williams Lake school children and many more in other parts of School District 27, today is the day when books are put away for that beautiful part of the year known as “sum- mer vacation ” Work on War Memorial Centre build- ing here will’ begin as soon material and men can be obtained. A meeting felt that the cost would run consider- ably below the $50,000 bid re- ceived when the project was placed out to tender... Wil- liams Lake golfers journeyed to Quesnel Sunday and once again showed the way to_the rivertowners. Final score in the match-play tournament was 30% points for Williams Lake and.$% for Quespel. ° as TWENTY YEARS 1GO June 29, 1939 The Lands Department of the Provincial Government has started an extensive and mapping northern Br survey Program for ish Columbia With four parties of eight to 10 menin each being sent out - The Pacific Great Eastern 8 ight tari reduction on building ‘mater- ials, forest. products, grain and srain products, hay, vegetables and coal . . . According to re- Ports there is a likelihood of a Federal Aviation School being establis Williams Lake as soon as the landing strip is brought up to standard specifications . . . Joe Louis retained his heavyweight championship last nicht by a TKO over Tony Galento in the fourth round afier being knocked down in the third by Tony.