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SIROIS REPORT: The Ontario Farmer III TIm Royal CommUtion ob Do- â- tinioB • Provincial Relaliom Studied How to Reliove the Municipalitie*, Hence Rural Areai, of Part of Their Tax Load. (NO. 4) Fnr and away that it may seem, what 18 going to luippen in Ot- tawa at the Conference of ihe Dominion and the Provinces on the Report of the Rowell-Sirois Commission *ffeota directly the Ontario farmer. Like very few •ther things that happen away from th« farm, what the dele- gations at Ottawa will or will not do means dollars and cents to rural Ontario. The debts of the municipalities are in some cases very heavy. That is true in the province. The Report calls for the asmimptioti ky the Dominion r,overnment of tjbe debt« and provincially guar- anteed debts of the provinces. With- the assomption uf the On- tario debt by the Federal authori- ty it puts the province in a po- â- ition to look into the question •f helping the municipalities which are in some ca.ses now too heavily burdened with debt. Help Small Communities J^fdl^ttion, social services and pbolic health all come under the main responiiibilities, from a fin- ancial point of view, of the mu- niciplities. The province has juris- •(Uction over the municipalities, and when the burden is removed from the shoulders of Ontario it wlllthejv-^ in a better position try to relieve the munieipli- ti«8 of part of their load. What it almost as important, the pro- Tince can devote more of ite time and effort to helping the small communities find their own way out of the maze of heavy debt and consequently heavy taxation. The province of Ontario shares lii« burden, in some cases in large part, in some cases in only small part, of the education, public wel- fare, and public health of all municipalities. Witli the imple- menting of the Rowell-Sirois Re- port the province will be able to take over a grreater share of the financial a-seistance of the muni- cipalities which in many cases kave been bearing too heavy a load for some of the smaller centre* to carrj'. Who Beat Par< Taxe>? The essence of the Report as \ «8 t8xa*ion is concerned is '-gifting of the burden of tax- i to those be6t able to pay. he Report is implemented, he taxation scheme or struc- B so arranged as to be more ibly applied, then certain that the municipality has to le will likely be undertaken e provinces. In that way the >r burden will fall with the authority that has the greater taxing ability and source and so can best handle the pressing needs. Right now the municipali- ties are too heavily burdened with payment of taxes for sei-x'ices that the province, in equity, •hould look after. Th real principle behind all taxation is to put the tax where it can beet be paid. If the Re- port is put into action thoi-e will W a saving for the niunicipaliiics aa tlwre will be for the province, So the implementing of the Rowell-.Sirois Report comes right home to every farmer of Ontario who pays any ?ovt of municipal taxes. Italian Equipment Abandon a AHer Attack by British Farmers' Handy Account Book Aids Greatly in This Busin- ess of FarmiHB â€" Record Should Be Kept of Each De- partment of Production In modern farraing, one of llie more Important »'SBenUa!<i Is Ihe heeping of accounts, and sonifthing more than a rough and ready estim- ate Is necessary. Faiuiing la now more than ever a bnstueBs proposi- tion and the farmer who does not Jriiow tho exaft stale in which he 'â- lands with mfprence to every H»in fonnectf-d witli his farm i«i uiidfr a kaadloaii. In order to assist the farmer in kep<>inK i record of each AHiartmfiit of his huHlncss. thft Dominion Departmnit of Airrlciil- lar* Issues a very simple and use- ful little account book- INVKSTIOATE VOUR I ARM This account hook cove's every tMCDtial detail, and. while no spec- ial knowledgn of accounlhif; Is nec- twary, « record , of transactions ean often be made In less than one hour a week. The hook m,iy be oh laln<rd fiom the King's Printer, Ot- tawa, at th» nominal price of 10 cents. The beglniiiiiK of thp> year vtt as good % time as any to start ^Vslng the account hook, and as It happens the winter time affords tho best opportunity to tbe farm- er for making a detailed inrrstl- â- atlon of hta biistneits, ps'<i, pr»- •vat, and future. Here j.s a scene on a battlefield at the Libyan frontier with Italian equipment strewn aftw an attack by British motorized units. A British soldier ia examining some of the wreckage. The two forces clashed in tliig section as the British drove the Italians into the interior of Libya. THE WAR-WEE Kâ€" Commentary on Current Events Churchill Talks To Italy; U. S. Moving Nearer War To the Italian people, last week tlounderlng In a sea of bewilder- ment, despair and defeatism, fol- lowing the Fiasco In Egypt and the debacle in Albania, Prime Minister Churchill of Great Britain address- ed an open Invitation to revolt against their Duce, the "man who has brought his country to the hor- rid verge of ruin." To this one man alone, Mr. Churchill told the Italians, do you owe. your pre- sent sorry pUtfhtâ€" Italy must eith- er stand up to the full battery of British power or call In the Ger- nutnc to occupy, protect and hold down the country. "Ripe For Revolt"? The New York Times, comment- ing on Mr. Churchill's bold speech, declared that the Prime Minister would hardly have taken so daring a line "unless convinced that con- ditions in Italy were ripe to over- throw the regime and withdraw from the war." The official Turkish radio at An- kara broadcast that an armistice between Britain and Italy was "en- tirely possible." The announcer said Italian reverses In Egypt would have "great repercussions in Italy." The newspaper Ukcbam eicid: "The damage done the Ital- inu fleet and the removal of the possibility of an attack on Blgypt have settled the Mediterranean problem In England's favor. Thta means half the war won for Eng- land." Prepare For Anything While aiming crushing blows at Italy on several fronts In a grand effort to Incapacitate the country, force Its withdrawal from th© war and detach It from the Axis, Bri- tain was busier than ever before with preparations to counter a Tast Canadian Trade with America's Increases Since War Started Unloading Canadian Produce at Demerara, British Guiana. Canadians are becoming interested in the Ijatin-American coun- tries as sources of raw materi.Tls needed in Canadian industry, as sources of food, and as markets for Canada's manufactured merchandise, t'nn- ada's trade with the Americas has increased since the war .started, al- though in ;)3!) it amounted to abouit 6 per cent, or $70,000,000 of Canada's total world trade. The Dominion is the fourth trading nation in the world. Since the outbreak of war, Canada's trade commissioncr.s at Bueno? Aires; Port of Spain, Trinidad; Kingston, Jamaica; Havana, Cuba; Maxico City, Mexico; Panama City, Panama; and Lima, Peru, have Inundated (^inadian business oppoa-tunitieg in their accredited coun- tries. Canadian bankers are pointing out to Canadian business men that tries. Canadian bankers are pointing ouj to Canadian business men that tlia Dominion can supply I.atin-Amcricn with numerous products which ware formerly imported from Kurope. Nazi onslaught within the next few days, weeks, months. Plans were made to stave off a possible invas- ion during Christmas week. But the most vital work engaged in by Britons had to do with the secur- ing of Immediate aid in the form of ships, planes and munitions fi-om the Americas, from th© United States In particular. Tangible Aid, Nowl The big problem In Washington, following the receipt of the British requests, was how to divert to Bri- tish use without delay, war facil- ities that were ah-eady In existence. The general opinion seemed to be that "Roosevelt would find a way." Competent Amc'ricau observers agreed that the balance was now tipped in favor of the United States entering the war at an early date, much earlier than predicted two weeks ago; and that some form of American-British union, military and economic, was to come In the near future. (Leading most directly to war between the U. S. and the Axis would be the use of American warships in British convoys). • • • Of "pe.ire on earth, good will toward men" there was very little In the worl' last week. Evergreens Need Winter Protection Join Main Stems Together to Resist Snow and Sleet Whether or not winter has really set In for kee^ps, It Is time to give a tliought to the welfare of ever- greens and shrubs during the per- iod between now and spring. Kvery year thousands of beautiful ever- green specimens are severely Injur- ed merely because they have been left to shift for themselves. Much of the damage Is done by sleet «toi:ms and heavy falls of wot snow that freezes on the branches, bend- ing them down until they break. The mere fact that an evorgreen may havo gone through many win- ters uninjured is no guarantee that It Is safe. PROTKCT SHRUBS TOO Evergreens of the type that has several main branchC'S are especial- ly subject to snow and ice Injury. It Is no great task to fasten the main ste>ni« tojether with small, stout rope in such a way that they cannot be spread apart in such manner as to cause splitting. The foliage -will usually hide such sup- port from view; If not. the rope can he made inconspicuous by soaking It in groen shingle stain, which serves also as a preserv- atlv«. The Book Shelf "LAND OF THE GOOD SHADOWS" (The Life Story of Anauta, an Etkimo Woman) By Heluiz C. Wa*hburne and Anauta This is an amazing story â€" and a true one â€" of an Eskimo woman who spent the first half of her life far up in 4he Arctic Cij'cle, and is spendinjk the last half in our industi^H civiliza- tion. Born on noifljpifkffin Island, during the Tame night that a hunter on a floating ice pan drowned in a blizzard, Anau- ta was given his name, that his depaited soul might have a body. She was brought up as a boy, and lived the nomadic life of hea- people â€" travelling long distanc- es by dog sledge, sleeping in snow houses, harponing seals, hurxtini-r caribou â€" a life of adventure and courage, of simplicity and kindli- ness. As a young woman .A.nauta liv- ed in Labrador and Baffin Island and on Hudson Bay. Then through tragedy and an extraordinary series of circumstances she and her children found themselves Ln Indianapolis. She met dishones- ty, sickness, poverty, the driving drudgery of a factory. But the simple traits characteristic of her people â€" humor, understanding, determination, and bravery â€" caiTied her through to triumph. The late Sir Wilfred T. Gren- fell has written a foreward for the book. The text is accompanied by photographs. ''Land of the Good Shadows" (The Life Story of Anauta, an Eskimo Woman) ... by Heluiz C. Washbume and Anauta . . . Toronto: McClelland A. Stewart, Publithers . . . $3.75. Birds Are Ideal Fliers Strive For Flighta of 22,000 Miles A Year Achieved â€" Canada's Native BIrda Furnish Examp- les of Endurance, Speed Canadian fliers have had good examples In the native birds tof years of endurance and speed In the, air It was demonstrated by John H. Storer, natural- ist of Waltham, Mass., who spoke recently In Montreal, under the joint auspices of the Province of Quebec society for the Protection of Birds and the Sigma Xi Society. Mr. Storer, who showed natural color films and spoke on "Birds in Wild Life," polnteQ out that the Arctic tern makes a maximum round-trip flight In a year of 22,000 miles. This tern travels from the Ar<'tlc to the Antarctic areas, and at the extreme northerly and southerly points manages to miss seeing sunset for eight months of the year. The speaker had a special inter- est in tH^^auada goose, which, h» suyo, performs very creditably in the air. This goose, which vbould, incidentally, take the place in people's conceptions of the so- c'^iMd wise old owl, travels at. 56 miles an hour for many hours at a stretch. Voters Slacking, Fail Democracy Hamilton Woman Controller Charges Voters In Canada This Year Are Failino â€" Light Votes Recorded to Sup- port Soldiera Miss Nora Henderson, member of the Hamilton, Ont, Board of Control, said In a recent address at Toronto that Canadian soldiers are fighting to save democracy on the war front at a time when de- raocracy la at Its lowest ebb on the home front. The survival of democracy, ahe said, could not de{)end on force of •' arms unless citizens accepted their responsibilities and realized that democracy was "a great co-opera- tive enterprise." APATHY AMONG ELECTORS Miss Henderson cited recent mu- nicipal elections in Hamilton and Montreal as showing the apathy that existed among voters. In Ham- ilton only 32 per cent of the elec- tors cast ballots and In Montreal there had been one of the lighte.8t votes In years. "It seems incredible that at a time when we in Hamilton aie sending our sons to lay down their lives If necessary to save the> df- mocratlc system, one of the low-^st votes ill the history of our city -^vaa recorded." for biby'sW ^^- OTTLE Bee Hive Syrup BEE HIVt '.Ol [It â- â-  O For Infant Feeding! (^ LIFE'S UKE THAT By Fred Neher 1 rg>g<=-.^ yi/^^-j (CoT>yt,4hl. 1»M. \\ ri«d N<b«r) "General, we with to report thr ihow it lousy ! ! 1" REG'LAR FELLERS â€" What a Life By GENE BYRNES OH, NO? WELL, HOW VUOULD MX) LIKE 'to SPEKD ALL >DOR LIFE 'N A VMDODtN BOX WITH A CRATE OF omONS ON ONE aoe AN' A MESS OF SPINACH ON THE OTHER SlOE OF YA ? ij-. â-  * < * \ ♦