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VOICE CANADA THE EMPIRE THE WORLD AT LARGE of the PRESS CANADA Cure for Floods As liAn been pointed out many tlmos by expert engineers these floods can be prevented only by car- rying out extensive schemes ot re- forestration, together with the con- struotion ot works that wili hold baclt flood waters and fill swamps and low places with water. Schemes of refor- eslration, while these will be valuable In years to come, provide no Immedi- ate remedy. This can be done only by the construction of dams and retain InB basins at strategic points. The need extends over the entire pro- Tince, consequently there must be co- operation between provincial and municipal government If these works are to be carried out economically and effectively. There must be some well planned comprehensive scehme. The recent warning, with its wide- spread damage, destruction of bridg- es and other property, together with much human .suffering, should not pad unheeded. Without any doubt these floods will become more des- tructive from year to year. â€" Brant- ford Expositor. Best Friend A recent nation-wide pole conduct ed by the Institute of Public Opin- ion, marking the twentieth anniver- sary of the United States entrance Into the World War, indicates that Great Britin Is the most liked Euro peun nation among the American peo- ple by a wide margin. Or(»at Britain heads the poll with a fifty-five percent vote, with France second and Germany third. The vote In favour of Great Britain was five tinu>8 greater than accorded France and almost seven times greater than for (Jermany. The vote by percent- agfH was as follows: Britain 55. France U, Germany 8, Finland 4, Ireland 4, Italy i, Swltcer- land 3, Belgium 2, Norwiiy 2. Sweden 2, I>«nmark 1, Greece 1, Holland 1, tJ. H. S. R. (Russia) 1, all others 2. â€" Calgary Herald. No First Aid "BccauKB no one knew how to ap- ply H lourniquet," a boy in Sherwln towMHhip, 70 miles from Sudbury bled to doath from an accidental rifle woMii.l. That Incident poInU forcibly to in own moral. â€" Klrkland L^ke Nori:i>^rn News. 96 Yews on One Farm The oldest resident of Tilbury East Township recently celebrated her ninetysliih birthday at the farm whi re .she has spent practically all of her life. In a day when a restless urge im- pels families and indiriduals to movs at frequent Intervals, a life spent in the same spot may seem singularly lackiMK in what the majority consid- er most worth while. It may appear secluded, uneventful, dull. But there is .motlier side to the picture. The old lady of Tilbury has known no other life than that of the farm. She has b^'come part and parcel of her .•nvironment. Its Interests are hers. The neighbours are her friends. The church, the school, the rural ac- tivities, have for nearly a century claimed her thoughts and her time. She has made countless friends and hna played an Interesting part in the development of the community. â€" Kitcliener Record. Our Funny Clothes What will some citizen of the fut- ure draped perhaps In the long and free and flowing robes which the Greeks wore, and sitting In some chromium plated hades ot a room â€" what will he think ot us and our Clollio.s? The women Willi their funny bits of pancake perched precariously on their marcelled heads! The men with their stupid dull suits and their intri- cate j-ollars! Wo tremble to ihiiik what the ver- ilct of poslerlly will be upon some •f our niagazlne covers, with those lop-si. led, simpering girls, with their hips out ot joint and their headw lar- ger than their bodies. That, these peopJe of the futiirn will Imagine, was ci:r idea of benuty! No, the knife cuts both ways. The only thing to do is to live In Ihc pre- lien , Ket what |)lea8urn we can out of looking at our women, with their fun- ny hats, abjuri^ clever younger wrl- leiH and struggle through the tnak of collecllMg echoes of the past, with mental Idlnkcrs on. â€" Hamilton Spec- tator. The Return of the Beaver Of all count lies in the world Can- ada should be Inleresled In the pre- servation of the beaver, the Uttlo an- imal which was largely ruaponslhln tor the development ot the Caniidian north-west, whose pells wore at one time rommon ciirroncy In tho terri- tories ruled by the Hudson's Bay Company, but which has been deci- mated by greedy trappers attracted by the value or its fur. â€" Port Wil- liam Times Journal. Means Biuiness Anyone who doubts that Britain Is In dead earnest about rearming has only to look at the tax load the Bri- tishers are willing to carry these days. Before Neville Chamberlain, chan- cellor of the exchequer brought in his new budget, with its higher rates, the British taxpayer was shelling 22>/i per cent of his income to the govern- ment in a direct tax. Beyond that he was carrying a load of ''nuisance tax- es whose weight can be appraised by the size of those affecting motorists. British motorists have been paying taxes of 16 cents on each gallon of gasoline. They also pay a horsepower tax on their autos, so set up that a man who owns a 25-horsepower car must pay $125 a year for his license. When a nation that is paying taxes at such rates submits to still heavier taxes tor the sake ot re-armament, it must be admitted that such a nation is decidedly In earnest about Its pre- paredness program. â€" Kitchener Re- cord. The King's Birthday June 9th, instead ot his natal day, December 14. Is to be o|jserved in Canada as weU as In the United King- dom as the birthday of King George VI. We out here and many papers In the East had hoped with The Ottawa Journal the Government would set May 24 for oKiclai observance of the Sovereign's birthday. For, May 24th has the appropriatejpess of royal as- sociations, marking the advent of Summer, coining tor Canadians as the first outdoor holiday of the year and at a seasoB when our countryside Is fresh and lovely â€" Victoria Times. Quints Thriving Gained in Heii^ht and Weight During Past Month THE EMPIRE Handbook for Teachers Being Issued by the Board of Edu- cation is a six hundred page hand- book for teachers. Points of the Board's new system are that good music Is an essential of a child's education, that a girl should begin by learning household duties, sucb as Ironing, cleauiug silver and cooking. Under the new regime, both boys and girls are to learn gardening, embarrassing questions about the child's personal reactions to the sen- timanti of a poem are to be cut out, are labelled as hypocrisy and senti- mentality breeders. Left out ot future history lessons will be details of Henry Vlll's matri- monial quibble, li.tricate policies of modern times. Children are to hear more ot swashbuckling heroes like Drake and Raleigh. Relief to the non-mathematical is that dreaded, long and complex frac- tions are to disappear. â€" London Calvacade. Aâ€" 4 Englishwoman Goes To Court Rather Than Tell Her Age Buses Refusal on Contention That Plaintiff Would Have to Prove Her Liability Miss Leslie Hamer, of the May Fair llolol, London, W., was summoned at Oxford Police Court recently for ne- glecting to attend a summons under the seal of the Minister ot Agrlcul- liiie and Fisheries. She pleaded ''not KUlIty" and conducted her own de- fence. It was slated llial Miss Ilnnier had owund land in Sunv- which was sub- ject In a quit icnt. The lA^nl of tho Manor had r.pplled to the .Minister of Apriculluro to have IIk! quit rent ab- oli.slied and coin]. ciisal ion l)aid, tor wiiicli, as it was haseil on the expect- ancy of life, it vas essential that MLs.f llamor should Kive her ase. Slio luul ri'fuscd to d i so, and had also ro- tiiwed lo Htt(ii(! in inquiry ct 0.\Cord when .'ihc \v; iild h •, e been nsked to Kivo her iiKe. Miss Hamer, .'..linj., eviil. iici', said her contention was t'.v.l siie wis not llHlile foi' qi. it rent on the land and that if she gave her iirc sliu wcK.ki have to prove she was not liable, whereas, at present, the Lord ot tho Manor had to prove she was liable. Hlie said she did not ai.end tho In- (|Ulry al Oxford because '\n day be- fore she went to the Ministry of Health, and sav; nn pfflilil, and as n result of lh(! conversation she under- stood that .st â- ' would try and selllo tho niat:er wiCi llio 1. )r(l of the Man- or lilniiiclf. .Mis.t ll:inK'r said she still refused t;i t,|ve her age. Tho summons v is dlanilsaod. The case. It was stated, was tho first of Ha kind In Ungland. CALLANDHU, Ont., â€" Just a month from their third birthday the DIonne quintuplet.s stepped on I he scales and laughed up at Dr. Allan Roy Dafoo as he marked up their weights and measured their height. Three of the quints have gained in height during the past month and four of them put on weight. Yvonne had a slight, cold for a few days and dropped half a pound, but she could well afford It. Marie, smallest of the quints, pro- duced a tooth, a quarter inch of height and four ounces of weight. She and Emile lead the teeth parade with 17 each now. The others have 16. The gain brought Marie's height to 34 Inches, the same as Erailie's. Ce- cile gained half an Inch to reach S4% inches. Annette put on an eighth of an Inch to hit 34 5-8, and Yvonne re- mained at 34 Vi. Here are their welglits in pounds and ounces with the gain from March 28th: Yvonne, 30 lbs, 8 ozs. loss 8 ounces. Anette, 31 pounds, 8 ounces gain ot 12 ouncet; Cecile, 31 pounds, gain of 16 ounces; Emilie, 30 pounds, gain of 16 ounces: Marie, 27 pounds, gain of 4 ounces. News Parade By Peter Randal LABOR MARCHES There was a touch of summer in the air. Perky little suits and hats bobbed along Yonge Street as their owners attended to the usual Sat- urday morning shopping. The last strokes of twelve rolled heavily from the City Hall tower and men in new uniforms swarmed down University Avenue. Quiet little knotg of peo- ple linked into a procession, each recognizing his neighbor by the little red ribbon of organized labor. Work- men, factory hands, shopgirls all formed part of Toronto's annual May Day Parade. There were speeches in Queen's Park and the evening newspapers reported all quiet on the labor front. But was all quiet? Ther> are those who sense a subtle diffei - nee in this year's labor parade. Th y gay it was better organized, larger, while many of the banners ttirried the letters C. LO. Mr. Hepburn is one of those said to have sensed the difference. A conference was held with the leader of the Conservative opposition and the subject of discussion hinged on the possible formation of a coalition government to face this new force in the land. The Honourable F-^arl Rowe is said to have had hurried conferences with Mr. Bennett, who was about to sail for the Corona- tion, and other members of the Con- servative campaign division and the answer, if there was any, was no. It may well be that the powers had reason to think seriously. Fed- eral authorities estimate a C.LO. membership in Canada before the end of the present year. Organizers are even now at work in five indus- tries including the automobile indus- try, the rubber industry, the mining industry, the textile industry and the steel industry. Danger signals have begun to fly all over the industrial map of Eastern Canada. Settlement of the General .Motors strike at Osh- awa, though not a C.I.O. victory, was far from a definite defeat and the readiness with which the auxiliary divisions of the industry have signed agreements based on the terms of the Oshawa peac-e pact is ample evidence of the new found power of this or- ganization. Will labor be satisfied with the meeting of its industrial demands? The actions of government leaders and the opinions of many leading Canadians seem to foreshadow the entry of a new and stronger labor party into politics. AND THERE In England they are really kick- int; about the income tax and with a far bigger reason than the average Canadian. Under the new budget announced by Neville Chamberlain the prosperous Englishman must pay the governnjent one dollar out of ev- ery four he makes. There were kicks from without the Conservative fold but also from within. These were the most important as haviiig a po.ssible bearing on Mr. Chamber- lain's elevation to the Prime Min:s- tcrshi; on the retirement of Mr. Baldwin. But Mr. Chamberlain shrugs his lean shoulders and ex- plains that his "soak the rich" policy is only one means of attempting to raise the price of Britain's rearma- ment program. $7,500,000,000 is a lot of money hut in these prcLtirious times, John Bull thinks it none too much. FLOODS AT HOME But Western Ontario had more to worry about than mere economic un- rest in the past week. The forces of nature rebelled and the strongest government can do little against riv- ers which rise twenty-eight feet above their normal levels in the course of a single night. A train was wrecked, houses were dashes to pieces, dams and bridges were swept away. Five people lost their lives, ten thousand were driven from their homes and the repair bill is variously estimated at from $3,500,000 to $5,- 000,000. Chairman E. V. Buchanan of the London Public Utilities Com- mission says it will be a year before the damage to the city water system has been repaired. So high has been the loss that a plebiscite on a pro- posed addition to Victoria Hospital, long a cherished project, has been dropped. According to insurance companies, few people carried flood insurance. For years they have thought of Ontario as a haven of se- curity out of whicTi they might peep at the devastation of flood, famine and dust storms so characteristic of the United States of the Middle West. Now it is a different story. Many are suddenly realizing that these visitations are not acts of God but the results of civilized greed. If Canada has been spared until now, it is only because our capacity has not allowed us to keep up with our American contemporaries. Too many forests have been cut down. Too many swamps have been drained. Some system of wat^r st.orage must be devised to take the- place of these natural distributors. Already engin- eers are studying the possibilities of controlling the rivers of Western On- tario and it is to be hoped that the results will bear fruit in something more concrete than academic discus- sion. BLOCKADE RUNNER Things are happening so swiftly in Great Britain that it seems almost too much for one government to handle. Many think it is too much and that the present government leaves a good deal to be desired. For instance there is a very indefinite British foreign policy in regard to Spain. For weeks British freighters were forced to lay with rotting car- goes in French ports while thousands of civilians starved in beleagued Bil- bao. It wasn't the British navy that took the situation into its own hands, in an attempt to break the blockade of the insurgent Spanish fleet, but Captain David (Potato) Jones of the Seven Seas Spray. With typical bull- dog determination, Potato Jones de- fied the blockade, helped a little it must be admitted, by the presence of a great British battlecruiser which rolled, a.s if by accident, into the Spanish line of fire. Other food ships have followed the example of the Seven Seas Spray and the blockade is ended. General Franco is said to be plciity angry about it and back in London, Potato Jones is the hero of the hour. TAX HEADACHES: HERE There were a great many head- aches last week and it wasn't only tho stock market. Income tax returns had to be filed. To most of us, a few dollars would look like prosper- ity but one London, Ontario, man Ontario Revenues Soar $2,000,000 Over Estimate Jumps to $9,313,000 â€" Actual Surplus Makes More Certain R**, duction in Motor License Fees, Announces Premier Hepburn had so much of it that it cost him $4,- 000,000 in government tribute. An Irishman would say that it almost pays to be fpor. HUMANITY TAKES A HAND The storm signals are up at Bilbao and the pilots of several Eureopean ships of state are wondering just what will happen next. Last week, the insurgents massacred 800 civili- ans at the ancient Basque capital of Guernica. The operation was carried out, it is charged by Loyalists, by German planes and directed by Ger- man oflRcers. Great Britain and France have determined that such a death shall not come to the 300,000 civilians, mostly women and children, now in Bilbao. Ignoring the protests of General Franco, arrangements have been completed for their evacu- ation to places of safety on French and British soil. On the heels of this action comes word that Hitler and Mussolini intend to ignore de- mands that they withdraw their troops from Spain. POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE The war in Spain must take a back seat to the great Coronation pageant to take place in London next week. From far off India, fabulous princes are even now on their way to the centre of the Empire. But the com- mon people of India will not be there. They are protesting against the new constitution impo.=^ed upon them by British diplomacy or lack of it. From every Empire country, in ract from the whole world people continue the movement toward London. Great plans have been made for their re- ception. Hotels are booked to ca- pacity. Seats along the coronation route are selling as high as $200. The parks will be thrown upen the night before the big event for those who want to sleep on the ground. All in all, Great Britain expects to make approximately $30,000,000 out of the big show. But behind the scenes things are not moving as smoothly as they might. "25,000 bus- men have seized upon the opportun- ity to strike for a seven and a half hour day knowing that their demands must be met before the Coronation if traffic is not to become hopelessly jammed. The strike is now on and no settlement in sight. A KINGâ€" RETIRED In a sleepy little courtroom at Ips- wich, a job lot of divorces were made final this week. Workmen were ham- mering on Coronation decorations outside as the famous divorce case of Simpson was finally closed. It was distinguished from many others of its kind only by a different cypher. -^ young man in St. Wolfgang, .-Aus- tria ha.itily packed his bags and be- gan a dash ac/oss Europe. It was soon ended at the Chateau de Cande in France. They say Edward smiled for the first time in months. Wed- ding plans are in the air and the Em- pire awaiting the crowning of his brother can but wish him the happi- nes which he gave so much to ob- tain. News In Review { North Bay Plans Licenses For All Tourist Homes NORTH KAY. â€" Steps to licensu homes catering to summer tourists were taken by the North Bay City Council last week. Second readiuR was given to a by-law providing for zoning the city for this purpose, with fees ranging from $10 to $20. Alderman C. Tremblay was out- spoken In his objection. "The rates." he declared, "were unreasonable in tact, the by-law Is uncalled tor." TORONTO.â€" This week, Premier Hepburn forecast an actual surploa of $9,313,000 in Ontario Government revenues, instead of $7,343,000 aa estimated nn his March budget speech. He attributed the increase from succession duties and stated further that the Lands and forests Depart- ment would make "a little more cer- tain" the reduction of license teia for passenger motor vehicles. In his Budget speech the Premier hinted strongly that the reductio'n granted commercial vehicle usa^ might be extended to include owners of passenger cars if finances war- ranted such action. No other cuta in taxation are planned for the im- mediate future. The savings passed on to the taxpayers already totaj $9,600,000, it was revealed. Soaring revenues in various Gov ernment departments had been re- sponsible for the two-million dollar addition to the surplus, the Preralar declared, revealing also that his GoV- ernraent had been able to keep with- in his forecast of a reduction of $3?,- 000,000 in gross provincial debt. Rumors of an impending election were groundless, Mr. Hepburn stait- ed. He did not believe, he said, that there was any public demand" for an election. North GeU Planes SAULT STE MARfE. ONT., "- The Ontario Air Service wiir hav* twenty-four airplanes for forest lire- suppression and detection work this summer. Director George Pon^forit has announced. Two new planes frr» being manufactured at the- bandar here. One of the new planes ordered wUI be placed at Port Arthur amf tk* other at Sioux Lookout. Both ar« .of the semi-transport type, making theta available for both suppression and de- tection flying. They are eqtffpped with two-way-voice radio. Two aircraft were bnflt nt Cli» hangars here last year. The engiB» ^» t;ow in a third, while th» foartlt w(tt not be ready until June. Canada â€" Haiti Ptet OTTAWA. â€" A commercial agree- ment between Canada and Haiti giv- ing most-favoured nation treat- ment in tariff matter has been signed Hon. W. K. Euler. Minister ot Trsd» and Commerce announced this wee'k. The pact was signed on April SJrd on behalf of Canada by the British Min- iseter of Port-au-Prince. Haita. The agreement provides for the ex- tension of most-favoured-natloB Ireit- meiit in tariff matters by each eoan- try to the products of the other for a period of one year, but will remaftt in force thereafter until denounced on six months' notice before ftMnf given by either party. The new commercial agreement as- sures that Canadian goods imported into Haiti will be granted the bene- fit of the minimum tartlf of that country, in place of the maximaiB tariflf, which is double the minfmtnn tariff. The chief products exported from Haiti-Canada to Haiti are flour, salt-* ed ond smoked fish and rubber tires,, while imports consist chiefly of sisal, istle and tampico fibre. \ 2. C. Newspaper Classed Among 11 Best Weeklies- VKR.\0.\, B.C., â€" The Veruoa. News, published by W. S. Harris, in this twon 200 miles west of Vancou- " ver. has been included in the "all-star â-  U'' of American weekly newspapers, . chosen by Professor John Casey, the , head of the School of Journalism, tho University of Oklahoma. War Game Bomber.- 1 A squadron of huge army bombinj, planes make a picture of dcmlly b.;i.ity as they line up at Murdoc Dry Lake, Cal., before taui