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001B6C47 21, 19 cliances lb. pec ce. (ET Llpp'R $$ A Weekly Newspaper Ct'rculatittgin the District of West Vancouver-Ambleside, Hollyburn, Weston, Dundarave $ 1.00 per year. Caulfei1ds WhyteCliff, CypreSS Park EtC. Newsstands 5c per C y C Vol. 1 SIX PAGES HOLLYBURN P.O., WEST VANCOUVER, B.C., FRIDAY, JAN. 28th, 1927 ~ No. 49 t,'o., est 115 & V.S &ES sickness day, Gr sf 655Y , Prop. 'psi in) RS ,fh 118ff fh I)IO New Plan for P.G.E. A new plan in regard to the Pacific Great Eastern railway is before Hon. W. H. Sutherland, minister of public works, for his consideration as the result of the interest which a number of citi- zens of Vancouver are taking in the problem. Not long ago there arrived in Vancouver, L. B. Howland, a man whose opinion upon railway matters is highly respected by his oldtime railroad friends who knew him in the east. Mr. How- land is the man for whom the late Hon. George W. Ross, premi- er of Ontario, sent when that province was struggfing with the Temiskaming and Northern Rail- way, at that time a grave prob- lem to the government. Mr. Howland, at the urgent request of his oldtime friends, has been studying f,he P. G. E. situation and correspondence with the minister of public works at Victoria has led to the form- ulation of a plan which, it is understood, is now under con- 'fieration at Victoria. / A wind storm hit Seattle last night around 6 p.m. and many plate glass windows it is report- ed, have been demolished. Mrs. Gamage Resigns as School Trustee Mrs. E. S. Gamage has resign- ed from the Board of School Trustees. She was elected in January 1926 for a two year term, but finds herself unable to complete her term of office. This will necessitate the election of another Trustee. Nomina- tions will close on Monday next and if a poll is necessary it will be held on Saturday, February 5th. RATEPAYERS'SSOCIATION The executive committee of the Ratepayers'ssociation.met in the Ferry building on Mon- day night to draw up the agenda for the next general meeting of the association, which takes place in Ambleside Hall next Tuesday, 1st February, at 8 p. m. Reports will be received from the Ambleside Park Com- mittee and the improved postal service committee. In addition it is proposed to hold a discus- sion on the merits and demerits of the systems of municipal vot- ing, the P. R. system, the Ward system and election at large. OVER THE GARDEN WALL There is nothing which is taken as an indication of the tastes of a community so readily as the appearance of its lawns, its gardens and its boulevards. If these are properly arranged and neatly kept it is safe to assume that you are in a com- munity whose tastes are refined and amongst whom it is de- sirable to live. On the other hand, ill-kept lawns and boule- vards, or the lack of them altogether, indicates a people de- void of good taste and lacking in those qualities which make good neighbors. Moreover, our enviroment has a great deal to do with our dispositions. Untidy surroundings have a depressing efl'ect, whereas cheerful, well arranged surroundings produce cheer- fulness of disposition and contentment in people of any degree oi culture. West Vancouver still waddles in its swaddling clothes and can scarcely said to have reached a stage in its development to justify expectations of advanced horticultural improve- ments. Streets are only in the making, homesites merely being hewn out of the bush, and it would be unfair to criticise tne rather unkempt appearance of some of our residential areas. Quite a number of our residents are resolutely tackling tough jobs in clearing lots and erecting homes, in many in- stances on limited capital, and it would he too much to expect them to have all the allurements of a well established residence completed in a few days or weeks. We would, however, like to impress upon every citizen the importance of cultivating their lawns aml gardens as soon after the erection of the dwelling as possible; and we would even drop a hint to the speculative builder that it woukl facilitate the sale of his property, besides adding to the appearance of the neighborhood, to have the grounds properly laid out. Nature has been wonderfully kind to West Vancouver. Unfortunately it is necessary in establishing a city to despoil much of nature's handiwork; and a great deal of the loveliness that makes West Vancouver so irresistible must of necessity be defaced. We cannot possibly open up the Municipality to settlement without marring its beauty, but we can minimize the damage by adding such touches of improvement as man' puny efforts are capable of producing. 1Ve cannot reproduce the mighty fir or cedar in all their majesty and grandeur, but we can relieve the bareness which our building operations have necessitated by planting lawn, trees and shrubs. It is impos- sible for us to bring back the sweet enchantment of the forest glades, once settlement has done its devastating work, but we can, and at the earliest possible moment should, lay out our grounds and make our surroundings more congenial and at- tractive by planting lawn an&1 flower be&le. Spring is almost on us. Next month will find most of us busy in our gardens, getting ready to do our planting an&i we trust these few comments will be the means of inducing some who were inclined to attend to something else first, to consid- er, as one of the first duties of a house-oivner, the desirability of arranging their groun&is. Board of Trade Gets Action on Better Postal Facilities The action taken by the West Vancouver Board of Trade with regard to mail service is already bearing fruit, the Secretary having on Wednesday received from Mr. J. F. Murray, the district superintendent of Postal Service at Vancou- ver, a letter stating that the matter had been refer- red to him by the Depart- ment at Ottawa for inquiry and report. Mr. Murray asks for a map of the district showing the various centres and the density of population, and for other information. We understand the offici- als of the Board of Trade are going into the matter thoroughly with the muni- cipal authorities and that all available information which may facilitate the completion of the Superin- tendent's report is being furnished. LIons'ate Bndge Bill Up Before " the Legislature-- A letter was received by the Council from the local member~ of the Provincial Parliament en- closing copies of the bills which are being brought before the Legislature by the two contract- I ing firms in connection with the Lions'ate bridge. In the bill of the Lions'ate Bridge Coy.~ Ltd. a minimum clearance at high water of 165 feet for a dis- tance of 1200 feet is given. The First Narrows Bridge Co. Ltd. do not give any dimensions i&k their bill but state that the plansl and site of the bridge are to be approved by the Governor-Gen- eral-in-Council before construc- tion begins. Both companies quote the same maximum a- mount of tolls to be charged, which are as follows: pedestri- ans, 7&~& cents; autos, 25 cents; passengers 5 cents; motorcycles 7&/& cents; trucks, half-ton, 20 cents; one ton, 25 cents; two ton, 35 cents; three ton, 45 cents five ton, 75 cents; trailers, 25 stages or horses, $ 1.50; horse- drawn vehicles, 25 cents; horses with or without rider, 25 cents. The municipal solicitor sug- gested to the council by letter that in his opinion it would be well if the municipality were represented before the Private Bills Committee when these two bills were being discussed, and the council on Monday night passed a resolution authorising the Reeve to use his &liscression inthe matter. NET FURNACE FOR MUNICII'AL HALL In cold weather the heating of the municipal hall for some time now has left much to be de- sired, and it has been found that the furnace is worn out. The council on Monday night passed a resolution authorising the pur- 'chase of a new furnace at a cost not to exceed $ 150. BIG DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED 1927 to be Banner Year. Reeve Vinson's address as reported in our last issue has been the subject of much favorable comment. It has inspired the citizens with the belief that some real progress is to be made in municipal affairs. The whole community has confi- dence in Mr. Vinson and what is needed perhaps more than anything else at this time is community confidence. The practical problem of putting into effect the various developments outlined has yet to be solved, but it is generally felt that the 1927 council will be a progressive one. It is a council from which we can expect action, and one it is hoped that will work in harmony. Mr. Vinson proposes tackling, right away, the question of the Capilano Bridge. We are glad to know that there is a prospect of this much discussed project being put forward. The present structure is a disgrace to the municipality as well as an irritation to those obliged to use it. The water supply is going to be one of the big questions to be handled by the 1927 council, and, like the transportation question last year, no matter what is accomplished, it will not meet with unanimous approvaL This is one of the things where "the greatest good for the greatest number" must be the prime consideration. It is very evident, though, that some extensions must be made to the water systems. We are specially glad to notice the Reeve's remarks re- garding Town Planning. Having all along felt that there was a tendency to rush too headlong into this Town Planning propo- sition. To plan for the future is good business, especially is this so in laying out new lands; but the rights of those who purchased holdings previous to this wave of Town Planning enthusiasm should not be disregarded. The wealthy man, who can expend an unlimited sum upon his home, finds no hardship in this development but the man of limited means- and who, after alI,'is the backbone "of any settlement--is apt to be put to considerable hardship and inconvenience through the introduction of new laws, upon which he had not figured when purchasing his property. Transportation will this year, as it must also in succeeding years, be given special attention. It is satisfying to know that it is going to receive this. The means of ingress and egress should be facilitated in every possible way. A trans- portation system, when owned by a municipality, as is ours, should, we think, be operated as part of municipal affairs, and not as a private project in which the primary object is to make a direct profit. Frequent service and low rates of fares will be the means of attracting a greater number of permanent resi- dents to our district. These in turn will produce municipal revenue by becoming tax~ayers, and will also assist in building up our business houses. West Vancouver has, all along, suffered from its inacces- sibility more than by anything else. Make it easy and cheap to get here and we shall see a big increase in population. Mr. Vinson's programme promises attention to all these matters, and he has the reputation of staying with the job. Indeed, the reputation of all members of the council is such that we can reasonably expect concerted action on all these improve- ments. Unless we are sadly missing our guess, this is going to be a banner year for West Vancouver. The eyes of the whole of B. C. are focussed on this district. The advertising we have had through the proposed construction of Lions'ate Bridge assures West Vancouver of a big development whether tne bridge is built or not. Many will come as visitors. Let us put the district in such shape as to make it so attractive that those casual visitors will return as permanent residents. If the programme, as outlined bv Mr. Vinson, is folio&red, IVest Vancouver ivill look back on 1927 as the beginning of a new era WHAT IS NEWS? There is quite a deal of difference between news and adver- tising, but a newspaper has a hard time often in making some readers realize the difference. If a person has something to sell and wants the public to know about it, that's advertising. It is purely a business transaction &vith the one object of mak- ing money, an ice n earn supper notice is not news--it is adver- tising. Because the money goes for a worthy cause does not make it any the less an advertisement. IVhen there is no cnarge involved or money to be received from the event, the paper is willing to tell about it as a matter of neivs. A news- paper must have advertising to live. That is one of its ways of getting money to pay the expenses of operation, and if it ran all advertisements free there would be no cash returns. But at that the average newspaper gives away thousands of dollars'orth of space each year in helping to promote civic affairs and is glad of the opportunity to be of service to the community.