Improved Relations with the United States: The New Minister to Washington Front 01
Montreal, July 4.
The close of another session has come at Ottawa, and the country Jeff to spend its' political energies on provincial affairs, or to watch the beginnings of the battle for presidential power in. the United States. The speech from the throne With which Parliament was prorogued Usted the many and various achievements of the Government, but it is hard to acknowledge that they really bulk very large, Through the speech there ran an. undercurrent of satisfaction that general conditions have improved, and. the obvious attempt was made to list the legislative Achievements as causes for the bette ment. One can. hardly feel that Government influences have con~ tributed largely to the improvement rather are there Indications that the serious effects of the great deflation have run their course, natural economic swing 1s again up ward, The Government made a considerable point of the increase in. trade that has resulted from the improved relations with the United States. Cerly there is general satisfaction reling this increase, from whatever too, hasbeen experiencing a business betterment which would naturally. reflect its! in-more buoyant trade, Canada' foreign trade figures are much more healthy than they have been for several and there Is no reason for fearing any immediate setbacks.
the way in which unemployment has been dealt with by the Govern ment was also lauded in the speech. There has been the setting up of a National Employment Commission, the carrying on of a substantial public works. programme, and. the making of arrangements with the railways by which a Jarge volume of deferred maintenance work would be done by single" unemployed Further sums have just been earmarked for expenditure in conjunction with the provinces on road work and national park work; it has been specified that 4 certain percentage of those em= ployed must come directly from the relief rolls in the sections of the country affected. All of this is good, ut in the Last analysis it is of a temporary nature, and is no sub: stitute for the broadening of regula" employment. The one method that has go far been proposed to this end, linely, the shortening of hours of Jabour,' has been turned down as a dangerous social experiment.
Some of the other problems—railways, the Bank of "Canada, radio brondeasting, and international policy—were also touched on in the speech ju @ most reassuring way. But the actual fact is that most of them were sloshed "over in the House depa partly because of the tremendous Amount of time that was wasted in 'This matter of bitter, but rather pointless, discussion in' the House day on which the House sat, Mr. Bennett, leader the Opposition, took occasion to correct a ministerial statement that he had used 52 per cent, of the time of the House, He estimated the figure much nearer 25 per cent. For one member in a group of two hundred and forty-five to use one-quarter of the time in debate, even though he be the leader of a' party and have "a duty to perform", is a ttle too one-sided. And when it realised that a good deal of this time Was spent in arguing and re-arguing questions that are either dead or far off the main track of affairs, one can Sec that there is much room for thought. Far too much time was taken up in a vain attempt to defend certain positions that had been taken, certain decisions that had been made during the Conservative regime, While Important new business is still eft without careful consideration. lions of crookedness in. the handling of Government funds. "ie will prom: fie<a" thorough clean-up" into de Partments, and will ask for aces majority that. will sweep away. ibe Femnants of the old party in power that has held sway for'se many years Godbout will stk fora chance {o improve on the record of his pre= Alecestors and. will ry to escape responsibility for their actions, "The pages of Cansdian history were rolled "back the other night, the Attcth anniversary "of the bridging of Canada by 8 transcontinental rile Way was celebrated, "Thousands, of Montrealers gathered In. the' cons course of Windsor Station to hear Eengrewintory speeches, and to see the start of the anniversary train for Vancouver: 'The "station was gaily decorated with. bunting, and "one ployees of the Canadian Pacife Rai tay. joined with citizens of the Ensiern Canadian" metropolis in' fendvoft fo the Jubilee train.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.