SOpTH FORT GEORGE, lB.C., OCTOBER 15, 1910 INVESTIGATE RATES [whole question op telegraph tolls ' will come .up for " adjustment*' : before the railway boart) A national investigaliori of the methods of the '••telegraph ^corporations dping business* in Canada will douJ^^s follow the ruling of Chairman JVIa-bee, of Xm board of railway commissioners for 'ibanada^'hich was.insession at Winnipeg, Septem--tier 2j5;.on the complaints made by the Winnipeg board of trade and ^Winnipeg- grain exchange, to t;he effect* that the companies in .their tolls were ''discriminating against the West in or|er to make up [for-the small percentage of profits reaped in Eastern Canada, . . | : Chairman Mabee, after hearing the evidence of several witnesses, postponed the, case, and stated that he would petition the minister oJf. justice aiT Ottawa to appoint counsel to represent the public in a.complete and thorough investigation into the workings of every telegraph 'company "dping business in the Dominion, to be held before the commission. This investigation will-involve the.C. P. R., C. N. R. and Great Northwestern Telegraph companies and smaller companies.. Generally speaking, 'the decision of the railway commission, means a'complete rlwiew of, the rates part of the country. The above decision will come with'a^_gfhmpur.of delight to; South^Fort Ge'drge an,d;the numerous suburbs that have their bankijbgiand business cenX p^rre here. We published >^complaint from Winnipeg in our issugjof-rO^roperd.--, voicing the general ^sehtinment^nofi only locally, but inter-provincial, rt the fat.es exacted by telegraph and telephone companies-having South Fort George and the Cari-Lx>p dfstrxt generally^as^ a base of operations, as j-jtAVOuld be unfair to assert that discrimination.jsKjindulged by any of three links that serve.this'ppiruN^the C. P. It:,-the Yukon line id the Alberta Telephone Go—yet we believe theNtent wa£ pitched too nigh, and the service, to a degree, rendered abortive, ^ijspecially is thKso in the cass^of ^he Alberta Telephone Company, ah institution thai is as yet uncomplete^ta the business centre" of\the districts. The MtterNiompany charge 75c for lO^vords to 'JBlackwater Crossing, 60 miles; where a cbnnectiprfTs made with the kori line. From Blacihyater to Quesnel, 50 n.iles," 10 words, the rate is 50c. From Blackwater to Ashcroft, a distance, approximately, 300 miles, the rate is 75c. DISTANCE] TARIFF C.P.R., Winnipeg/to Ashcroft 75c & 5c GovernmenWine, Ashcroft to _'- Blackwa^er. - - , .-:!- 75c & 5c Telephone!Co., Blackwater to Fort George - - - ¦ - - 75c & 5c "It is,not distance that accounts for/the seem* ingly high charge on~~the government and" iocal telephone lines, "says a letter-from the department oj>public works, Ottawa. "On the.-govern-; rnent line • the charge is in accordance with the scale settled upon for the Yukon line, in..view;of the cost of operation and- limited VQlume of traffic tp-be handled, and the charge on the local telephone company's line, -which has but recently been in operation, is likely governeU- by similar considerations.". ;;; ¦¦";. ... • -7 -The above is no good reason why the scale settled upprTfor the Yukon ten years ago should be . the same oneipbt^ining_ today. The Yukon line was constructed fqrthe purpose of; serving the Dawson goldfields.7 Dawkohites did riot object to -paying $1 a word fori a yvire .any more than they did 25c for a paper.*"¦ They made their mone& by digging it out of the ground, like farmers dig potatoes. NThey were wealthy, and a?good many I • iouricj delight in burmng_their .money pyjer the ]' government wire. 7; The government knew this and in consequent "good scale of prices" was not difficult to obtain. -That was ten years ago. Thmgs have changed since then. Dawson has ceased/fco be the greatest placer streak on earth, and the once lucrative telegraphic business has departed from that source. But, mark-you, there has arisen another field: arid . source,to take the* place of the ephemeral go I'd camp - ~ one that :can- ,, ¦i: not be washed away like,.-tail 11 ifes from a sluice^ boKjlt is an \agrieulturalf empi're tna£/has risen tiKperpetuate the dividends of tKe;.gpyottmie.nt: telegr^phNvire. i3ut; we want agricultural prices. . Not goi(iminmg-camp-l)i1ces. ^/'., $3 per Annum (BREWERY FOR CARIBOO COMPANY INCORPORATED TO BUILD AND EQUIP Aj MODERN PL^NT-^- WAIT- : ING FOR A rLlOENSE On May of tie present year a company was organized in Quesnel 'to build a brewer/ at1 that p^int. The company \vas duly ^incorporated as the irthern Interior Brewing, Co|j, Ltd., with an authorized capital of $30,000. Since May the promo-tep have been endeavoring to secure a license for th^ir brewery from the Department of Inland Revenue, at Ottawa, but without success, this matter comes within the sphere of actiyiity of the Hon. William Templeman, the defeated cabinet minister, who was enabled to retain his grasp on the portfolio by the resignation of a confrere in his favor, after'the results of thje last election. There is no plausible reason why this license should be-withlield. Truly, the board of directors are all men prominently- identified with the progressive cause of the^British Columbia Conservative party in thfe^strict.;.. "TKis nriky appeal toffee Honorable Bil^as an excellent reason against the fulfillment , of^Ithe company's request. . / Many years ago, during the great, gold, rush to Williams Creek,> there were several breweries in this northern country. • They were temporary affairs, designed to provide a passable substitute fof (malt liquors. In those bygone days the politicians did not weigh the pros and cons for the effecti of party interests against iriclustrial progressr The intention of theNNortfiern Interior Brewing Com- is. to erect\a permanent brewery^ well , .and in charge of a capable brewer,' to| supply^the northern trade with™ a commodity which is in ever-increasing demand. The Department 6f Inland Reveiiue.will gain an addition to their surplus by the granting of thejicence. Cariboo will gain the revival of a^dead industryy^labor-employing'and creating a demand for agricultural produce. .. ^^^x." \ :¦¦: . -.] y ¦ v ^ "Bruce" ot-the Saturday Sunset, a papei* devoted to,,the^interests ,qf "promoters," stated in Qu^snef that he intended to explode, bypuncture -wlth his pen;. the ad:vertising-inflated-townsite of West QtiiB&iifel; a prombtion. of the McNair Realty Co%'of Vancouver. The ¦ 'Sunset" now carries the advt)f the! McNair Realty Co:, advertising their "infantile lot-selling gameV but has venCured NO COMME'NT on that doubtful prdpositiori. *— BETTER SOUTH FORT GEORGE BO&RQ OF TRADE TAKES UP THE MATTER—A^VyEEKLY | - . WINDER SERVICE WANTEIK^ l ^Acting on a resolution passed by the,SputhNFprt jGeorge Board of Trade this week, a petition! to tn> Honorable Postmaster-General is being circulated, and hasalready been signed by every live nian in this I community, advocating a.weekly mail service-throughout the winter months. ¦ The "winter months," as regulating the postal service to South Fort George, extend over the season of closed navigation on the Fraser, from November 1 until May 1—exactly half the year. 1" For this .period the federal authorities have decreed that |3outh Fort George shall receive mail once in every two weeks—twelve mails in half a year.l Perhaps the postoffices at this point represent the mostrfemote from railroad facilities or water ^ transportation of any listep! in the postal guide. Apparently for this reason the'postal authorities wish to pass up the town until transportation facilities are improve(L_Th£..i.dfia?..from.a point of view of political economy,, does.credit to the Laurier government, but to the five hundred odd people affected by this service, the matter assumes a diif- , ferent aspect. 1 South. Fort George is the nucleus of a future, city, where the postoffice department will some day reap a rich harvest f^om^he city delivery system; c ^he mail service then wijl be pronounced excellent, as it is in other centres of industry, where the mail service pays, but in the hinterlands, the "young" cities, any old service will suffice until such time as "development, changes the nature of the territory. y ..- 1 In the thickly-populated cities, where the ^people's mail business is the big asset to the posfal department's revenues, the postmasters receive munificent.salaries. In the minor offices the postmasters hardly receive enough salary to keep/ them in tobacco. At South Fort George the postmaster receives a quarterly salary warrant of $23.25—$7.75 a^month—together with a rent allow-arice of^iCy cents, a manth for ther pos^office, a building which would rent to any othertenant than tlie government of this broad Dominion, at from $25 to $35 a month. Postoffice^ hours, are longer— than union working hours. Postmasters are hu- , man beings. In orderjthat we may enjoy the luxury of a postoffice heie, therefore, the owners of ; the postoffice bSilding philantrepically "rent" h&lf their fcuildirig for S^c a, month at a loss to them of about $300 a year. Some other philantropist pays/ the^postmaster a living salary, whilst the postal department keeps him in .tobacco. And now thespec-x: tacle is presented of a city-in-the-rough^ on its bended knees, • praying Postmaster-General Rudolph Lemieux to arrange to let them have thejc^ mait"twenty-four times in the half/year, beginning . November 1, next.;.; ¦",..¦' :..^y/'.'•:• ¦'¦y'.Ty:^'" - Whether South Fort George.will get the service from Postmast-er-GeneralyLieniieux oriiot remains be seen. Here are business houses, newspapers,.;; banks, and/the great Canadian people awaiting anxiously the decision o£ -^ie department in the matter. - xk ; ;^> ber'at jDttawa who,' representing a Conservative district in a Liberal government, usually gets the; stare," when he suggests improvements in matters in Yale-Cariboo. . ' Mr. Richardson, from the KaniJocps office of the Federal Government'? Department of Public Works,- arrived here on Tuesday last to make a connaissance of the Nechaco river between^j point and the Isle-de-Pierre rapids, about^S-niiles west of here, on the Nechaco river^for/the works departriierit.. There are several obsjEructions to navigatioa on this river, /which,/we understand, , can be" removed without seriotw difficulty in the \ printer^season. ^^ ''Bob" Edwards, editor of Uhe ''Eye^Operier," his notorious-paper-reputation-kmasher, thatis fa-mous in Canada, was acquitted on a charge of pube lishing obscene paragraplis, brought agairis by the Lord's Day Alliance, in Winpipe^on Sept tehiberv30;;' .. %?¦ ¦-¦:¦' 3^ I; ; Rev. d. M. Wright will^r-galrlze a Sunday school, ^ in the school'roonT-at 2 p.m. tomorrow. . Ser-. v ices will like wise-beheld in- tho same- roonii at 3. /¦