PRINCE GEORGE CITIZE
VOL. 8, No. 50.
PRINCE  GECRGEr*B.O,  THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22.  1925.
FIVE CENTS.
Another Cut Will Be Made in the 1926 Assessment
Mayor
Alward    Give*    Figures    for
th
CO
same
Assumption the Second Reduction Is Possible.
Claim*     Administration     Will    Hare
Surplus for Over $13,000
for 1925.
Mayor Alward moved for another cut in the municipal assessment of e city at the meeting of the city uncil on Monday evening, the to apply for the year 1926. fhecut proposed this year is one of 10 per cent, which taken with the cut made last year will mean a re-• Auction of 10 per cent in the assessed value? as they stood in 1924.
I n bringing the matter to the attention of the council the mayor re-narked that the time was approach-when   the    assessment   for   the
¦  1926 would require to be made. year the council had felt wared  in making a reduction of 10 cent  in  the  assessment,  with  a
¦   aent reduction in the'amount ,11 stable taxes. ' On the collec-
made   the   cut   in   the   assess-
¦   • : ,1  meant a reduction of be-$4000 and $5000, but in -spite
.    the  council had carried   on had   made   a   fairly   good  show-He thought it possible for- the icil to make a further reduction lO  per cent for the  year   1926. 'urse, in hv- opinion,' was ad-in   order  that  the   c'.vic  as-ent be brought more into con- with   the   requirements    of
ing
POLICE RAID RESIDENCE OF P. A. WELCH FOR
ALLEGED LIQUOR SALES
On Tuesday night about 10 o'clock the police officers made a laid upon the residence of S. P. Welch on Fourth avenue, and as a result' Mr. Welch will be called upon to answer to a charge of illegally selling lic-uor. The police were making a r-i'und-up of placqs suspected of selling liquor, with K. Jaeck, of Longworth, working as a spotter. Jaeck entered the Welch home His story is that ho purchased two drinks of whisky and that while he was still holding the second drink in the glass the police raided the premises. The liquor in the glass is admittedly whisky, and the prosecution will-doubtless turn upon the manner in which it got into Jaeck's possession. Welch will appear before Police Magistrate Moran today or tomorrow.
A.R.M, Wright Resigns Office as Municipal Clerk
Alierman Guest Holds Out for Preference   for   Canadian   in   Next Selection.
King Shows Hand to the Electors in Durham County
Admits  Telling His Friends  to Make
Sur
 of -Election   of   TJhomas .&.   McBride.
Assures   His   Listeners   in    the    East That   McBride   Is   Sound  Liberal at Heart.
Changes Expected to be Made at City
Hall  to   Improve  Existing
Service.
The resignation of A. R. Mv-Wright as city clerk and general head of the municipality ¦was submitted to the city ^council at it:- meeting on Monday evening and accepted.    That the
Premier Mackenzie King made an announcement in Bowmanville on Saturday night which was not intended to reach the ears of the liberals in the Cariboo riding who have been protesting1 against his interference with the autonomy of the local Liberal associations.
The premier was campaigning in Durham riding, where J. G. Quinn and Alex. Wimbles, as kids, first absorbed the principles of Liberalism, and was speaking in the interest of Hon. Vincent Massey. the maker of agricultural machinery, whom he is supposed to have converted to the lo\f tariff idea.                        <
It is the- remarks of the premier upon the Progressives, and with respect to T. G. -McBride in particular, which have the greatest interest for the Liberals .of the "Fort George riding. In the Vancouver Province the premier is reported:
"He thanked Progressives of the riding for th^if recognition of 'the common purpose' that Progressives and  Liberals had  In  view.     He had
P. G. B. DISCONTINUES
THE SAIiE OP THROUGH
TICKETS FOR WINTER
The management of the P. G. E. railway has notified Henry Wilson, local agent, to discontinue the sale of thiough tickets from Prince George to Vancouver. The difficulty of operating the stage between Prince George and Quesnel during the winter months is given as the reason. It will still be possible for passengers to make use of the short line to Vancouver but it will be necessary for them to arrange for covering the gap between this city and Quesnel. The interrupted service will be inconvenient, but in the opinion of T. G. McBride it is as good as Prince George is deserving of, as he is on,record as opposed to spending  another   dollar   upon    the
completon  of the projected  line railway to this city.
of
Catholic Bazaar on Saturday Proved an Outstanding Success
Affair Terminated with Dance Which Was Continued Until the Midnight Hour.
Mrs.   Frank   Whitmore   Wa$   Winner
of   First   Prize   in   the   Bazaar
Drav/ir.g.
The bazaar held on Saturdav liri-
Prince George Club Raided by Police on Gambling Charge
Stipendiary  Magistrate   Milburn   Reserves Judgment After Evidence and Argument.
Defence  Is That   Club    Is   Properly
Constituted and That Members
May Gamble.
Police officers raided the premises of the Prince George club on Friday night and placed J. C. Pidgeon, the lessee of the premises, and half a dozen members of the club under arrest. The charge against the members is one of gambling, and that against Pidgeon of keeping a p ambling houfee. Police Magistrate Moran admitted all of the accused to bail a few minutes after the arrests had been made.
The cases were called in the police court on Monday when J. M. McLean acting for the accused, took objection to the trials proceeding before Police Magistrate Moran. He-said he was instructed that from remarks which had been made there was an inference that the police magistrate-might be biased.
Police Magistrate Moran disclaimed any bias and insisted thr>.t he be informed of the nature of the remark?
 J. M. McLean then produced one  of ^  "1<?.n  ^<>;had  been arrested
_            .                  ,   ,.        ,.        on the club promises.    His story had
der the auspices of the ladies altar] been   to  the   effect  that  the   magis-
nicipal act.     The further re- J recently appointed official had found
 this
 contemplated   action
proposed   would  not  accom- i ..is.   but   it  would   mean    an-
step in that direction.               «e   contemplated   action   along
or   Alward   said   he   had   col- j line,  was known  for   several    days.
a    few    figures    which    he   The   resignation t   warranted    the    assumption lie   further   reduction     might be  made  in the  1926  assess-
 e  made  in    h
ment! The city had started the vear with an indebtedness at the Bank of Montreal of $18,500. At present this had been reduced to S5000t showing a betterment of $13,500. On current loans the city owed the bank $2000. but the city had "to its credit on loan accounts amounts more than sufficient to cover this. The net result was the city had a surplus on the year's operations to date of $13,500, plus about $3000 which was spent .upon school account, which was chargeable to capital but which had been paid out of current revenue. Had these school expenditures been so charged and covered with a bond is?ue the surplus of receipts over expenditures in the current account would have been shown at $16,500 to date.
For the remainder of the year the mayor submitted an approximation of the estimated expenditures, and receipts. The expenditures he plac-at   $18,575    made   up   of   $2375
was    accepted    on
motion of Alderman Lambert, seconded by Alderman Guest, without comment, and steps to fill the office were taken.
Alderman   Guest   moved that   ad vertisements be inserted in   The Citi zen and Vancouver Province callin for applications for the position, wit a stated salary of. $185 per month and with the notation that a Canad ian will be preferred.    There was a question raised about the "Canadian preferred" condition,  but Alderman Guefet stuck to his guns and declinec to delete it from his motion, and i was finally adopted.    Ah effort wil be made to have the applications for the  position   in  hand   by  Thursday October 29th.
It is not improbable that a change will be made in the arrangement at the city hall, in that the opinion i growing that the work cannot be satisfactorily handled by one man and a stenographer. Expert opinion was against the change introduced by Mayor Alward in the reduction oi the* city hall staff, but there is stil'
not hesitated to support Progressives,                          ^ v      i
where they w£*e prepared to co-op- society of the Catholic church proved trate had said in the first instance erate with' I iberals in the hou*e He Ito be a vcr>" successful affair.. Tho that ho would not inconvenience him-ir.stanced    thr^e" rro^re^ive "Tnde- , bazaar   was   operating   between   the i self to arrange bail for some of the
.  _    , ,    ,    .      .        .             ' accuseti,   but    under    cross-exanuna-
hours of 2 o'clock m the afternoon j tion  by the  magistrate he  admitted and  10  o'clock in the evening,   and i what had   been  sain"   did  not   fairly
pendents.
ree A.   W.
rop-Tes 'uve Keill,   T.   G.
 Mc-
B   d        d L   WT-i        ir* -    •
lsh    Columbia.    . They    were    sound Liberals at heart.
'I have said to our friends in British Columbia,' he added, 'Make sure they are returned.'
was followed hV a dance which con- ! bear this construction.
vu     at     .pxo,UIU,     umuc      "*•     — -     t---        ine    City    11*111    Swill,    uut    ih«c    la    uuu
for police,   $10,000  for payroll,  in- | the possibility the mayor is not yet
eluding school teachers' salaries, ?2700 for interest, $2500 for power and light maintenance, and $1000 for incidentals. The receipts for the balance of the year he estimated at SI4.620. This was made up of Sol20 in the forwi of school receipts, $2000^ from the government liquor profits, $1000 from the pari-mutuel machines, $7000 in light and water fees. $500 hi police court fines, and $1000 under the head of taxes. The excess of expenditures over receipts for the balance of the year became $3955 or approximately $4000. Assuming the council had to borrow this money from the bank it would simply reduce the present surplus of $13,500: to $9500 and would increase the; indebtedness to the bank at the end of the year to $0000.
For the year 1926 there would be lessened obligations for the city to meet. Bonds to the extent of $25,-O'OO had been retired and this would relieve provision in the way of interest and sinking funds of approximately $3000. The reductions which had been made in the bank overdraft would mean a further reduction in interest charges of $630 as compared with those of 1925. There would also be a saving of $'r>00 in the expenditures under the head of insurance, due to the placing of it for a three-year period, and there was the saving of $3000 m school expenditures which the council would not be required to make in 1926. The total of these estimat-e(1 savincrs the mayor saiti, amounted to $7130, and their probability warranted the further reduction in the assessment as he had" proposed.
Taken on the basis of the 1925 Elections, of -approximately $46,-0.00, the cut would involve a reduction in receipts of less than $4600, since the reduction would not apply to assessment of the railway company's holdings which had a fixed assessment. "^Against this loss of !ess than $4600 there could-be set the estimated savins in expenditures (Continued on paga 5)
convinced he is asking for more.than is humanly possible.
The application of E. J. Hinton for a water service was disposed of by a decision of the council to give the desired connection if an arrangement can be made with G. L. Tapping to connect with his pipe.
An application from J. G. Baleno to redeem lot 10. in block 25, was favorably considered. The taxes against the lot amount to $240, and the owner tendered $100 and agreed to make quarterly payments on the balance with interest at 8 per cent.
R. G Sutton's application to purchase lot 2 in block 203, was favorably considered. The taxes against he lot amount to $123.86 and the applicant tendered $50 and will make quarterly payments on the balance with  interest.              _;'
.nnlication of John Assman, to'construct a septic tank in the alley adjoining his new building, was referred to the health committee with nower to act.
The application of A. Nash, ior repairs to the power station and the in^tn^ation of a ventilator iij the build-rig was referred to a «-*mmit-tee of the whole council with power to act                           .   .     .     ,  .
The city was in receipt of advice from the Canadian National railway
that  the
cast   of  constructing    the
the roar
spur to the city power station had been $54 lesr, than the estimate, and that a cheque for this amount would be returned by the company.
The application of Karl Anderson for the grading of the alleyway in  oar of his new warehouse build-ihc fronting on Fourth avenue, was referred to the board of works with power to act. The estimated cost of the work was set at $90
In the matter of rentals to bo charged for use of street allowances for gasoline pumps, and for. basemen"extensions under the streets it ™fs decided to fix the rental al $5 ner annum for each lot frontage.
The finance committee recommended payment of accounts to the amount of $504.77.      „...,._¦.
P. G. E. Railway Will be Big Issue in Coming Session
Engineers  Report Maintenance  anc
Replacements   Will   Require
Over $2,000,000.
Friends   of  Enterprise     will   Make
Fight for Completion of
of the  Hail way.
Victoria,   Oct.   21—The  strongest kind of pressure will be exerted   in the provincial legislature during the approaching  session   to  secure    the completion of the P.  G.  E. railway project, and the securing of an entrance for the railway into Vancouver and Prince George.    H. G. Perry, of Prince George, and M. Bryan, of North  Vancouver,  are  expected    to lead the fight for the completion of the railway.    The government roa( has .won  many    friends as    the re sources of the country served by i have become more fully appreciated The  house   will   be   faced   not  onl: with  a  demand  for   heavy  expendi tures to complete the railway to the points mentioned, but there will also be  large   demands   for   ma'.ntenanc and alterations to the existing route
Engineers rf tl"e department o railways and the Pacific Great Eastern railway have been making a survey of physical conditions along the line, and they repoit that in order to maintain the railway line between two and three million dollars will have to be spent during' the next three years on replacing bridges and trestles. It will also be necessary to alter the grade in some places. The greatest expenditure is necessary in Lillooet. There the railway crosses the Fraser river on a trestle approach and timber bridg The approach on the east side, and he whole location of the grade is poor and the structure is deteriorating. The proposal is to re-locate the line so as to carry it through the own of Lillooet, and cross the Fraser by a steel bridge "in the vicinity of the present traffic bridge, where a much shorter span would be required.
tinued until midnight.
P. E. Wilson, acting for the prose-,   I cution, while disclaiming any thought Tea was served throughout the af-  of biap on the part of the magistrate,
ternoon and evening, and the tea- i agreed that it would be inadvisable room, as well as the various booths to proceed if there existed any stts-displaying     tempting     home-cooked  Picion on the part of the accused.
.     ,         ,    ,  .        \_              .           Having cleared tip the rumors af-
viands and plain and fancy sewing,  fectinp himself the magistrate   said
received the usual liberal patronage. J he had no objection to endeavoring
CHARLES SLATER MISSING AT CROYDON AND HIS
DEATH IS FEARED
Charles Slater, the postmaster at 'roydon, has been missing since arly on Friday morning and his riends fear he may have met with n accident. Slater started out with is gun about 7:30 Friday morning nd has not been heard of since. Constable Silk, of the provincial po-ce. went to Croydon on Monday with hfe bloodhound. The dog pick- d flld th
d up a scent  h     i
 g p  followed the same
 p a
;o the river where it was lost. There was no sign of a boat having been moored on the river bank and the )elief exists that Slater has been rdwned. Constable Silk" returned to the city yesterday morning.
A feature of the bazaar which attracted a lot of attention was the drawing. Mrs. Frank Whitmore was the winner of the first prize of $25 in cash. The other winners were Mrs. R. C. Armstrong, bedsoread; Miss Ruth Hornsby, ton of coal; Mrs. S. S. Oliver, casserole; Mrs. Charles Johnson, scarf; and Mrs. J. Fahren-kopf. smoking set.
The music for the dance was supplied by the Greenfield orchestra and was greatly enjoyed.
When the dancing terminated P. J. Moran, acting on behalf of Rev. Pather Leray, tendered thanks to all those who had contributed to make the bazaar and dance the very great success which it had proven. The thanks, he said, naturally went to :he ladies of the altar society of the church who had the arrangements in land, ajid who had performed a great deal' of preparatory work. They had admittedly done a great work, but the success which the annual bazaar enjoyed would not have been possible had it not been for the splendid co-operation on the part of the non-Catholic residents of the city and district. As had happened upon previous occasions of the kind, they had flocked to the bazaar and had contributed much to the Isocial and financial success of tne affair. To them, as well as to the members of the altar society, on behalf of Rev. Father Lerayr fitting thanks were tendered.
to have the cases tried by Stipendiary Magistrate Milburn and the court adjourned.
The evidence was taken by Stipendiary Magistrate Milburn on Tuesday and the legal argument was heard on Wednesday, when judgment was reserved t.o-permit consideration of the evidence and the cases cited as governing.
The defence is that the Prince George club is a club within the meaning of   the  provincial   statute.
and  that all of the persons under arrest were members
placed of   the
WORK COMMENCED UPON BRIDGE ACROSS MOUTH
OF THE MUD RIVEK
The    public    works    department
commenced    work the     construction
across the mouth of Mud river, thb job being under the immediate supervision of Lewis Johnson. This bridge will give the farmers of the Mud river valley direct connection with the Canadian National railway at Chilako station, and will be of great service in the shipment and receipt of goods. There has been a very fair hay crop in the valley this year and Andy Miller is responsible for the statement there will be upwards of BOO tons for shipment. In the movement of this crop the short haul to Chilako will be of great service to the farmers.
The building of the bridge across the Mud river may be taken as a step in th« opening of a road between Chilako and Prince George, along the route of the railway. There la already a passable road from this ity to a point a mile or so beyond Miworth, and the building of four miles of new road would give the desired connection, making a loop of the present road to Mud river ana at the same time affording a fairly evel road to the farming settlement n the valley. The building of this piece of road will probably be undertaken by the public wcrks de-jartment next season.
club. That there was no rake-off for the house in the game of poker which was being played when the police raid took place, and that in so playing the members had committed no offence.
The decision in the case will be awaited with interest in that there has always been more or less gam- ¦ bling in Prince George since the town was started. The comparatively well-to-do have their gambling in their homes, or rent a room in a hotel when they want to take a little flier, and it depended largely 'upon who was giving the party whether the pot was touched for the refreshments. People who have no homes or hotel facilities for gambling have sought sought their recreation through the medium of clubs For the most part they have been fakes, designed chiefly to afford an opportunity for thpre who desired to gamble to do so and escape the penalty of the law. The gambling in some of these clubs could be no more objectionable than the gambling which takes place   in  the  homes or in   the
hotel rooms.     In  the  one victim was bidden to the
case    the shearinu:
yesterday    upon  and in the other he simply butted in.
of the bridge There is perhaps more ismug hypocrisy evidenced in the matter of gambling' than with any other misdemeanor. The great majority of people are gamblers, but few ofthem will admit it. This doubtless accounts for the leniency of the law respecting certain forms and times 'or gambling. It doubtless excuses the policy of the city council which, so long as it remained master of the municipal situation licenced, if it failed to regulate, the gambling in several of its social clubs.
Stipendiary Magistrate Milburn gave his decision in the case this morning. He found that the Prince George club was not a bona fide club and that J. C. Pidgeon was guilty as charged, and imposed a fine of $100 and costs.
As an appeal will be taken   from.
e^ decision of the magistrate, the easels against the, frequenters of the club have been enlarged until the appeal is disposed of.
Frank Bird was sentenced by Police Magistrate Moran to two months imprisonment upon a charge of obstructing a police, oiffcer, in the discharge of his dtlty; 7 Bird was also fined $50 for being intoxicated.