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THE ADVANCE Wednesday, March 17, 1943 * A COUNTRY EDITOR SPECIALLY FOR THE WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS OF CANADA im BREENILAT, Editor if tie SUN WIT CURMCNT SASKATCHEWAN RATIONING "Price ceiling, squeeze, control." That all sounded brack!; h and puzz- ling to me. Moat likely it does to you. So I talked with Economist Kenneth W. Taylor, secretary of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, seated in his ordinary looking office, and me gazing directly out at the Peace Tow- er on Parliament Hill. (Since this article was first written, Mr. Taylor has been appointed Foods Admin- istrator as successor to Hon. J.G. Taggart). I had learned the day before about the necessity of a check on strong inflationary forces which are inevi- table in wartime; that from Aug.l, 1989, to April 1, 1941, our cost of liv- ing index had risen from 100 to 107.7 due to depreciation of the Canadian dollar, higher taxation, increase in hitherto low farm prices; that Can- ada had put a ceiling price on goods and services, on wage increases and introduced the cost of living bonus, and that, as a result, from Nov. 1, 1941, to Nov. 1, 1942, our index only rose 23 points, from 116.4 to 117.7, while in the same period in the Unit- ed States it had jumped 9.7 points. And in the last war with only a. Quarter of the present resources de- TOted to production of war materials the Canadian index hopped up 20.1 points. Out of a maze of information I give you merely these few meaty figures, because I, too, hate statist- Ice; they sometimes frighten the ordinary man. Price Control in Brief "What can I tell them in a nut- shell, Mr. Taylor?" I asked, and he replied, "In our first year we main- tained stability of prices with a min- imum of evasion and interference with normal functioning of industry civilian goods for the summer o: 1943. By urging of the board beforeham Mr. Taylor said, coupled with the sense of business men, quite a goo< supply of raw materials including wool and such commodities had been laid in, though we were caught short on rubber. Then we reached th< point where, while not actually acute we saw a shortage of limited supplies with buoyant pressure, increased pur- chasing power, etc., and presto: first thing we knew we had rationing starting with sugar, tea and coffee. Sugar Shortage Explained * Here's something will interest you. Out of a normal consumption annual- ly of 500,000 tons of sugar we import ed 400,000, growing the difference in Canada, half of it in Alberta. With shipping acute Canada agreed through British-Amzerican arrange- ment to forego enough sugar to save 100,000 tons of shiprping yearly; later things became worse and we agreed to lop off another 50,000 of shipping apace. That's .why, folks, you're getting less sugar. Of course we could grow more in Alberta, say; it's a profitable crop, but remem- ber freight rate costs and suppose you had to move it out to Winnipeg you would have to meet a normally lowea- price structure. Could be done, naturally, but only by use of heavy subsidies. Well, how about coffee? The dif- ference in consumption with us would be saving two shiploads only, but with the Americans, who consume more, it would amount to 40 shiploads saving, but then the board feels we cannot treat our consumers any bet- ter than the Americans. Then I hitched up my galluses, started asking about agricultural prices and problems, and Mr. Taylor opined there was plenty of difficulty in reconciling beef, butter, whole milk products, etc. Well, how about beef? They were faced, he said, with three alternatives because the Amer- ican market "ran away fast". They could either hold rigidly to the price ceiling, which meant that most of the around in back of the drug store or ' cattle would go to the U.SJV. wit out in the barn and hear a little ver y Kttle left for the Canadian more. house-wife; the price could be put up Mr. Taylor explained that as man- to the Amer 'can level, which means ufacturers' and other costs creep up the c*' 13 "? w u w break down; or i lowly, labor became restless and hold the P rice in Cai da <">d contro' other maladjustments slipped in, e *P rts - Th e price was put up a civilian production had to be stream- llttle ' too> at the same tirae - lined to save metals, time, etc. Then He admitted frankly there was a the emphasis shifted to problems of difference of opinion "within" for a supply as Singapore and the sub- while and it got a little out of hand, marine warfare, he warned, will be but, "remember this, the western seriously reflected in the supply of growers will probably get in 1943 the ** and trade but, remember the battle against inflation isn't won yet. The supply of civilian goods will become shorter, operating costs will rise as trained manpower for civilian industry becomes scarcer and turnover of goods lower. This is all of course, a direct indication of our country's war effort." Much simpler to understand, isn't it? So gather test average price since 1920." Food Demands Strain Resources Generally the demand for food is straining our resources, he pointed ut. There is a heavier demand over- seas; the U.S. is sending more to Rus- sia, 'ess to Britain; all our salmon >ack is going to the Mother Country resides milk products, canned meats and what not. And on top of it all agriculture has a labor problem. We came back to meat for a min- ute and he explained that our beef shortage in the east is relative not basic as compared to the west. The industrial eastern workingman is making more money, eating more meat; wants it. The shortage on pork supply is "deliberate" and the result is a greatly increased demand for 'beef; much pork is going ovei seas, but (and he interjected) "if the Department of Agriculture's pro- gress is realized, 8 million hogs will be the figure for 1943." Some bacon, some pork chops. I got back to economics in asking how the ceiling benefits the farmer. It does, he says, in a number of ways. For instance the ceiling on feeds and fertilizers is below American prices; on wire fencing, etc., where avail- able. "You know," he mused, "a short time ago I was out at the farm whsre my son was working, and 1 was shown an old stack of bills ana I noticed that that farmer paid $7C a ton for middlings back in 1918-19- 20. Today the same thing is $31 a ton. Maldistribution Avoided in Goods Price ceiling, the Board holds as preventing inequitable distribution coming from uncontrolable scarceness cannot operate under rigidity of the set-up he thinks groundless. A lot of the trouble is not price control but in businesses such as those which I handle automobiles, etc. That's easy to see through. - Total war, he holds, is not achio ed until all resources not necessary to satisfy the minimum of esseT^at ndeds is devoted to war production. He argues that we must accept this all in the proper spirit because strong inflationary forces tend to produce stronger deflationary trends when the country's economy Is re- converted to peacetime production. It would bring mass unemployment, much less demand for farm products and low price levels. And, "Tht serious prob!m of post-war will not all be eliminated by prevention of inflation, but it will certainly facil- ate the solutions ar.i! help stop any prolonged post-war depression." I hope you're not weary of pon- derous economics. There's something, brighter coming next week, I h<rpe. ; NOTICE TO FARMERS Due to bad road conditions (due to bare hghways and no wheeling on the back roads) we are offering the fol- lowing truck service gratis to our cream patrons: Our truck will make a trip daily to bring in your cream, eggs and poul- try. It will leave Markdale at 1.30 p.m., proceeding to Flesherton, and will leave Proton Corner at 3.30 p.m. returning to Flesherton. We will also have a truck leaving Priceville at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Fridays and, coming to Flesherton, will then leave Maxwell at 10.30 a.m., returning to Flesherton. FLESHERTON CREAMERY AND PRODUCE CO. +** URGENT! Great Britain asks or seventy-five million dozen Eggs from Canada in 1943. That is nearly one-third more Eggs than there were produced in Canada last year. This task can be accomplished best by every producer striving to get more Eggs per Hen. The average production per month in Can- ada last year was nine eggs from each hen. Two more eggs per bird per month will do the job. YOU'LL BE PLEASED WITH YOUR RETURNS Flesherten Creamery & ProdikeCe. !6 Angus Am, w -V POETLAW (Intended for Uut Week) Sincere sympathy is felt for the McNally family in their bereavement by the passing of Mrs. R. Ding-wall, the former Violet McNally. Rev. Ding-wall and Mrs. Dingwall have resided at Thornloe for the past few yean. Friends regret to hear of the death of Mise Fanny Hemphill, a former resident here, and who at one time was a regular attendant at Mt. Zion church. A presentation was held in honor of Gnr. Roy Fisher at Portlaw school. Roy was presented with a wrist watch by his friend* here. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson Wright vis- ited a day with the former's sister, Mrs. Fred Taylor. We are glad to see Mrs. Taylor around again. Mr. Roy White spent a day in To- ronto last week. Jim Nicholls, who has spent some months working in the bush in north- ern Ontario, has returned home. We are sorry to report Mrs. Jas. Pedlar and Mrs. C. D. Meldrum ill the past week. Mrs. Wm. Jamieson fell while out- side h?d b as b*en suffering with a very sore side. NEW HAT QUOTA The new hat quota in Britain al- lows women one new hat every three years and men ore every five years. Isn't this rather tough on the men? A woman can make a change by wearing her hat upside down, hind- side foremost, perched over left ear, right ear or eye; then can tear it apart and with the addition of a ribbon or some other gewgaw make out of it an entirely different hat; and if she gets tired of that she CM discard it and adopt the gypsy style of head-covering of which we see so much nowadays, and still look charming. And she can do all this and then buy a new hat while her man's disreputable headgear has still two years to run. Now, if it were only footwear wouldn't it be grand if a fellow could go five yean without having to break in a pair of new boots? Watching 1 the political scene at Toronto over the lar 1 : 10 days we have reached the conclusion that we shouldn't. MEN'S ORDERED CLOTHING You may NEED a new Suit or Top Coat shortly. If so, we strongly recommend placing your order NOW, while fine quality imported material is still to be had. SUITS or TOP COATS W. R. Johnston designs .... $27.50, $32.50, $36,50 Tip Top Taiiors designs ............................ $29.75 All made and tailored to your individual measure. Fit and satisfaction guaranteed. NEW WALL PAPERS Our selections for the season of 1943 are now on display. You'll find exceptionally good as- sortment of patterns. "PIONEER FEELS IN STOCK Chick Starter Poultry Concentrates Laying Mash Pig Starter Have you bouht a War Savings Stamp today? F. H. W. HICKLIIMG Genera*' Merchant FLESHERTON W* . -- - EUGENIA Our deepest sympathy is extended to the relatives of the late Mr. Thos. Gilliland, who passed away at the home of niece, Mrs. Chas. Newell, at Rock Mills on Friday evening, March 12th. Mr. Gilliland was a respected resident of this community, where he spent his entire lifetime. Last fall he was taken ill and took treat- ment in Markdale hospital for a few weeks. On leaving the hospital, he was taken to the Newell home, where he spent the past few months. Mr. Gilliland was a good neighbor and will be greatly missed. Cpl. John Jamieson, R.C.A.F., and Mrs. Jamieson of Ottawa spent the week end with the former's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jamieson, and brother, Wes, also with his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Roy McMillan. L.A.C. Argyk Martin was home on leave last week. He spent the first part of his leave in Dunnville hos- pital, where he was quite ill with an attack of grippe. He left on Friday enroute to Halifax, N.S. Some other boys from the Dunnville Flying School were also in the draft. We are sorry to report Mrs. Wm. Hnnley Sr., 8th line, quite ill. We wish her a complete recovery. We are pleased to report Mr. Chas. Park able to be out "again, after being confined to the house for the past two weeks. Misses Winneta and Carniel Martin were home from Toronto during the past week. Mr. and Mrs. Ted Campbell visited in Toronto a few days last wek. Ted remained, as he had to report for medical test for military duty, Mr. Thos. Tudor of Toronto spent ten days with his brother, Mr. Henry Tudor and family. Messrs. Fred Boyce and Burton Campbell are home from Hamilton for a few days. Congratulations to Sgt. Fred Gor- rell on his promotion to Lieutenant in the 26th Tank Battalion. Several people in this vicinity sre suffering from severe colds. Misses Mary and Isabel McKee and Mr. McCarthy of Toronto were week end visitors at the McKee home. 150,000 RAILWAY WORKERS TO CANADA AT WAR! Last year, we hauled 150 million ton* of materials, foods and munitions . . . double the pre-war traffic We carried Twenty Million NEW passengers . . . fighting men and war workers. We built tanks, guns, shells, ships. Twenty -two thousand of us were with the armed forces of our country. Now, we arc busier than ever pro- viding the mass transportation that only the railways can furnish. The country depends upon us to do this job. We must move the troops. We must handle freight. And, with your cooperation, it will be done. IF POfSU AVOID TKAVtl OVHt WHK-INDS AND HOLIDAYS CANADIAN PACIFIC CANADIAN NATIONAL pJoivEL - TO THE I ' RED CROSS CARRYING THE LOAD IN WAR AND PEACE -