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001B6C5F il 'i I &&&1 all 'ire T '-4 1I(it -: "Vj 'll A Weekly Newspaper Ctrculatiugift the District of West Vancouver-Ambleside, Holi@burn, Westott, Dusularavc Caulfetld, Whytechff, Cypress Park, Etc. Newsstands fic per Copy 'ol. I EIGHT PAGES HOLLYBURN P.O., WEST VANCOUVER. B.C., FRIDAY, FEB. 18th, 1927 No. 52 .side i&ac, efit, A, (ie eee )6 Number Your House We would again bring to the notice of the public the neces- sity of numbering houses. Few at present bear any numbers and it is the custom to describe any one of a dozen or more residences situated at or within two hundred yards of the inter- section of two streets as "at 15th and Gordon," or "24th and Haywood," or whatever the names of the two streets forming the intersection are named. Such hazy directions convey little to the resident unless he has an intimate knowledge of the locality in question, and the stranger or newcomer is usual- ly forced to disturb a number of residents before he finds the particular house for which he is searching. For this reason alone the saving of annoyance from this cause shoul&l make every householder have his house numbered, not to mention t7&e greater ease and therefore rapidity with which deliveries could be made to our doors by the merchants. Buy Your Postage Stamps in West Van. The necessity for improved postal facilities for West Van- couver has been brought very strongly to the notice of the postal authorities, and the representations made will, unques- tionably, have the effect of getting us some improved condition in this respect. It would seem that the time is not far distant when we shall have two incoming and two outgoing mails each day. Perhaps also collection boxes at points more convenient to the public than are the present post offices. It would also be an added convenience if postage stamps were sold at dif- . ferent stores. The sale o'f postage stamps is evidently the keynote to better postal facilities. It seems that the importance of a post office.'is measured by the stamp revenue and, before West Vancouver can obtain a house to house mail delivery, it will be necessary that the annual sale of postage stamps amount to $12,000 per year, instead of $4,00, as it is at present. Some possibly will think that a considerable period of time must elapse before the sale ot stamps in the district reaches this figure. Analysed, it means that every resident must buy $1.50 of postage stamps per annum, basing the population at 8,000, which was the figure given in the financial report of the municipality for 1926, or, reckoning the average number in a household at four persons $6 of stamps per family per year. There are, however, probably few families who do not write on an average, five letters per month, which gives an expendi- ture of $1.20 per year, to which it will be safe to add an ad- ditional $2.50 for Christmas cards and parcels or a total of $3.70. This does not include the cost of postage incurred by the merchants and dealers for the sending out of bills, which wfll materially add to the total number of stamps sold. When it is, however, considered that the population increased from 6,250 to 8,000 in 1926, and, with the bridge practically assur- ed, will grow much more rapidly in the future, it should not be long before the sale of stamps in the district reaches $12,000, providing every resident purchases all his stamps locally and not in Vancouver. The Children's Playground Work on the children's playground at Memorial Park is going apace. The clearing is almost finished and the assist- ance of a landscape artist for the laying out of the grounds has been arranged for. We can reasonably expect the fruition of this project in a very short time. It will be a welcome de- velopment for West Vancouver and will give pleasure not only to the children, for whom it is primarily intemled, but also to the older people who are youthful in mind. After all it gives most of us tremendous enjoyment to watch and help the children at play. A children's playground is very badly need- ed. This initial movement, when brought to completion, will create a desire for others of its kind in other parts of the municipality. Much credit is due to Councillor Ray and his committee for the hard and enthusiastic work they have put into the initiation and completion of this children's public playground. The physical well-being of the children is en- hanced by the outdoor exercise they receive in such places as these. The district is made more attractive by such facilities and they generally tend to the welfare of the community, and we bespeak the practical as well as moral support of the citi- zens of West Vancouver of the Committee who are so un- selfishly giving of their time an&I labor in the development of tne children's playground. A concert, is being held in the Hollyburn Theatre next Wed- nesday night. Some splendid artists are appearing, and it will unquestionably be a concert worth attending, as the proceeds are to be used entirely to assist in completing this children's playground, it is well worth your support, It is not in the province of a newspaper to "boost" any par- ticular concert, but in a case like this we feel justified in ask- ing that a packed house show this committee that'he general public desire the completion of the chil&iron's playground. e BOARD OF TRADE MEETS NEXT MONDAY NIGHT Special Report -- IVater Supply The West Vsncouver Board of Trade will hold their regular meeting next Monday at 8 p.m. in the New Ambleside Hall. The report of the special committee regarding Water Supply will be discussed. This committee has made a particularly close study of this question and the report they will present should be heard by every member. It is special- ly requested that all members be present at 8 o'lock. ELECTION FOR SCHOOL TRUSTEE Mr. W. H. Curtis of West Bay, was the successful candidate at the election held last Saturday for the vacancy on the Board of School Trustees for the balance of this year. A very light vote was cast, there being only 195 voters exercising their privilege. Of these Mr. Curtis received 113 and Mr. E. S. Gamage 82. JOHN LAIVSON GOES TO VICTORIA AS BOARD OF TRADE DELEGATE The West Vancouver Board of . Trade is bemg represented by John Lawson, its hon.-president, on a delegation of Boards of Trade representatives, who are appearing in Victoria today on the invitation of the Minister of Railways to discuss the problem of the P. G. E. Raihvay. Mr. Lawson left last night. MR. FRANK WALKER'O ADDRESS LIBERALS At the regular meeting of the West Vancouver Liberal Asso- ciation to be held in the New Ambleside Hall next Tuesday at 8 p.m., Mr. Frank IValker, an ex-member of the Alberta Legis- lature and chief whip, will be the special speaker. Mr. Walker is a large grain grower, having ex- tensive farm interests in the dis- trict adjacent to Edmonton, and his talk will possibly deal with the grain business as it is effect- ed by government policies. The meeting is open to prospective members of the association. THE NEW BUDGET Hon. J. A. Robb, minister of finance, yesterday presented his ~ i fourth budget speech. It was distinguished chiefly by itsbrev- ity and the entire absenceof any tariff changes, but at the same time the minister estimated that taxreductions would reach the sum of $27,000,000. The total revenue for the pres- ent fiscal year is estimated at $394,800,000 against an estimat- ed total expenditure of $360,000- 000, the increase for the year in revenue being $ 11,900,000 aml for expemliture $5,400,000. The estimated surplus of rev- enue over expenditure is set down as $34,200,000,from which $2,000,000 is deducted for re- ductioii in the value of sol&lier settlement loans, leaving $ :11,- 000,000 estimated rc&luction in the net &lebt. Lions'ate Bridge Almost Assured The report of the Board of Inquiry on the Lions'ate bridge, which bears the full approval of the SIi'nister of Public Works and the chief engineer of the department, has been made public. Those in favor of its construction have gained one im- portant point, for the commissioners consider that a bridge over the First Narrows, so far from being undesirable and un- necessary as some objectors have stated, is the reverse aml would be of advantage not only to the North Shore, but to the citizens of Vancouver and the municipalities surrounding it. The dimensions, however, proposed by the two contractmg firms do not appear to have been considered sufficiently large tn satisfy the board, who recommend a bridge with a minimum span of 1400 feet and having 190 feet in clearance above highwater mark. The additional cost of such an increase in dim- ensions is figured by Major W. G. Swan as $700,000, and the commissioners are of the opinion that this is not prohibitive, and would result in a bridge being built that would not inter- fere with navigation now or during the lifetime of such astructure. It will be remembered that one of the contracting firms atthe inquiry stated that they were prepared, if necessary, to increase the span to 1400 feet and that the question of increas- ed height within reasonable limits was not a serious problem, so that the findings of the board in these two regards are not likely to deter the contractors at all from undertaking the work; in fact both companies now say that they are prepared to give favorable consideration to the recommendations of the board. The commission further recommends: "That the north side of the south pier of the main span should, at its intersection with high water, lie as closely as possible on the line joining the high water marks nf Prospect and Brockton points. This provides the best location in order to secure maximum use of main span. "That the channel be widened as soon as finances will per- mit to a full width of 1400 feet at its narrowest point, and that the projections at the mouth of the Capilano River and Calam- ity-Point be removed approximately to the line ind(cated on the accompanying map. Such improvements to the channel will materially reduce the tidal currents, straighten the flow, and largely eliminate dangerous eddies. The removal of the projecting points already referred to will also minimize the necessity for ships changing course opposite Prospect Point. This dredging and the removal of the projections at the mouth of the Capilano River and Calamity Point have nothing to do, of course, with the work of bridge construction, and &vill have to be done by the Department of Public IVorks. We be- lieve that one of the contracting firms, in stating their willing- ness to increase the span of the bridge to 1400 feet, suggested that the channel be dredged to that width. One interesting fact, it appears. was brought out at the inquiry, namely that of twenty-two accidents occurring in the Narrows during the last four years, none occurred at the pro- posed bridge site, nor was this point considered by the navi- gators who gave evidence as being that which required most care on their part in coming in or out of these waters. The NEWS expressed the opinion in a former editorial that, providing the recognized rules of navigation were ob- served, there was no more difficulty in taking a toiv of logs through the First Narrows than steering a vessel through that entrance. This view appears to have been supported in his evidence by the harbormaster, who stated that the Harbor Board regulations (if enforced) would practically do awar with the menace to navigation caused by the log boom move- ment through the Lions'ate. The boosters for the bridge, and that means practically every IVest Vancouver resident, can feel nothing but satisfac- tion at the report. Its recommendations are entirely logical, demand nothing unreasonable either financially or from a structural standpoint of the contractors. and effectively dis- miss the objections of those who for personal financial reasons have agitated against it on the score of its not being. necessary. SEE WHAT ONE BRIDGE HAS EARNED IN SIX 51ONTHS The Dele&rare Bridge at I'hiladelphia The following excerpt from "the San Francisco Call," sent io Mr. F. X. Hodgson by his brother, who is credit manager for that publication, gives us some illuminating information about bl'idge i'etul'Iis: "These facts are of interest to us because they illustrate what a bridge across the Lions'ate will do for this section. The traffic &vill be greater than we anticipate. the problems in- volved will be smaller than we think, and it also ivill be a "great public improvement ivhich pays for itself." In his final reports, last month, to the General Assembly nf Pennsylvania, Governor Pinchot included facts about the great bridge across the Delaware River between Pennsy)vania and New Jersey. That bridge cost $37,000,000 to construct. It &vas opened to traffic on the first of July, 1926, and engineers estimated (Continued on Page 8)