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The WEST VAN. NEWS A Weekly Newspaper Circulating in the District o f West Vancouver--Ambleside, Holly burn, Weston, Dundarave $1.00 per year. Caulfetld, WHytecliff, CypreSS Park, Etc. Newsstands 5c per Copy Vol. II EIGHT PAGES HOLLYBURN P.O.. WEST VANCOUVER. B.C., FRIDAY, AUGUST 19th, 1927 No. 20 OUR FERRIES In considering any problem affecting West Vancouver, this municipality's relationship to the City of Vancouver, as a sub­ urb, should never be lost sight of. To the city we owe our ex­ istence as an organised community and only as the city grows and prospers can we hope to fill up our vacant spaces, and solve such problems as that of transportation. In dealing with Ferry matters, and especially in considering ways and means of increasing ferry traffic, we can never afford to overlook the fact that notwithstanding the beauty of our situation and the matchless charm of the residential surroundings our dis­ trict offers, the questions of time and expense in getting to and from his place of business are often deciding factors with the business or professional man in chcosing a place of resi­ dence; and that many desirable citizens are denied to West Vancouver because other suburban centres offer better faciliti­ es in these two important respects, more especially the matter of time. We all have friends--hosts of them--who were ready and anxious to make their homes here if the Lions' Gate Bridge had been allowed, and most of them would still be glad to come if ferry connection with the city were as frequent and as fast as it might be. We have no desire to criticise the West Vancouver ferries adversely. Our transportation system has grown from a rath­ er insignificant and uncertain beginning to proportions of which we have no reason to be ashamed. Those who remember the little "Sea Foam," and some of its early sisters, will realise that the boats now in use are very creditable improvements of a ferry system still practical­ ly in its infancy. Considering the age--or rather the youth-- of the community they serve, these boats leave little room for criticism. But we are growing, and growing rapidly, and we have arrived at that stage of our growth where more popula­ tion alone can enable us to solve some of our problems with the degree of ease which we could wish. This remark applies par­ ticularly to the ferries. Only by increasing the traffic can we obtain the improvements to the system which most of us desire. A member of the Board of Trade once criticised the seats in the ferry boats as being very uncomfortable, and argued that cushioned seats should be provided, and other touches of elegance and comfort added. No doubt there is room for im­ provement along these lines, and we commend the suggestion to the consideration of "the powers that be;" but the main thing, it would seem to us is the providing of faster boats and especially of boats with reserve power which will render them immune from the effects of adverse tides or unfavorable weather conditions. The three boats at present in use probably cannot be profit­ ably improved to comply with these requirements, and pos­ sibly in the interests of economy it will be necessary to con­ tinue to use them as they are until the demands of travel compel their replacement by larger, faster and more elegant successors. It has been proposed, however, to add to the fleet another boat similar to No. 6 and whilst the proposal has been rejected temporarily, it will undoubtedly come up again in the near future. When it does we think the question of providing a boat that can do the trip to or from the city in fifteen minutes under all conditions, should be very carefully gone into. Such a boat would cost considerably more than a duplicate of No. 6, but what we have to consider now above all things is the pro­ vision of transportation which will meet the competition of all street-car and other modes of travel which other suburban districts afford. Not only to draw new population do we need faster boats, but also in justice to the many residents we now have, to whom the appeal of the district is sufficiently powerful to overcome their dislike of the inconveniences encountered in travelling be­ tween their homes and their places of business in the city. We do not wish to give the impression that we are in any way lacking in appreciation of the improvements to the ferry service which were recently inaugurated. We are ready to give credit to the management of our transportation system for using good judgment in their business and giving us a service which is in all probability as good as we can at present afford. The future, however, demands improvements at every step and it is a future policy of progressive methods that we advocate. JOHN OLIVER PASSES ON. A Man Honored by All Parties. "Well, we didn't always do the best thing politically, but we did the best we knew how. That's all any of us can do." These were the last words spoken by the late John Oliver, and they were typical of the man. There is an inference of honesty about them. They are as well the words of a fearless fighter, and, when you combine the two together, you have the chief characteristics of the man who has guided the destinies of this province for 9 years. The late John Oliver, born of sturdy English stock, started life as a mule driver in a Derbyshire mine, and he finished as premier of B. C. That meant work, unceasing work, and an unflagging courage on his part, and to quote a colloquialism "he had the goods." Probably his courage was never shown more than during these last few months of his life. Knowing, as he did after his visit to Rochester, that he had been stricken with a mortal malady and had only at most a few months to live, he continued "to carry on" until forced by sheer weakness to relinquish the active command of his govern­ ment. Even then he still did what he could in the way of giving advice,and finally died, as he wished to die, "in harness." To quote again from his last words "We didn't always do the best thing politically, but we did the best we knew how." That is exactly what the people of every demo­ cracy require of those they put in office. To do the best thing politically is more often than not the worst thing nationally or provincially. That the late premier did his honest best, so far as he personally was concerned, has been common knowledge in British Columbia, for many years, and he will be remembered in the years to come by the honest effort which characterised his every action as a man and a servant of the people of this province. ElksTntertain Children at^Exhibition All West Vancouver Children Invited--Car Drivers Asked to Co-operate. "Be a kid for a day." This is a slogan adopted on previous occasions by the Elks. The work of this organisation for the happiness and welfare of the children is something that ap­ peals to all red-blooded people, whether they belong to the order or not. Tomorrow--Saturday--the Elks are again to the front to give joy and happiness to the youngsters. They ex­ tend a hearty invitation to all children up to the age of 15 to be their guests at the big Vancouver Exhibition tomorrow. All those accepting this invitation should be down at the Ambleside wharf in time to catch the 9, 9.30 or 10 o'clock boat to Vancouver. The council has very kindly consented to give free transportation to Vancouver and back to all these young guests, and the Elks' organisation has arranged transporta­ tion from the wharf to the exhibition grounds and return. The entertainment at the exhibition is, of course, entirely in the hands of the Elks. It is desired that all children have a tag bearing their name and address attached to their dress, in order that they may the easier be identified and organised. A special request for auto drivers to help in transporting the children to and from the exhibition grounds is made, and it is hoped that many West Vancouver cars will assist in this way. It is a worthy object and one that will make a direct appeal to all lovers of children. Auto drivers should telephone to L. S. Garthorne, West 426R or to F. Guinan, West 98R2. Such offers of cars should meet the ferry at the Vancouver landing at 9.30, 10, or 10.30. The time set for leaving the Powell Street entrance of the exhibition grounds is 5 p. m. "Be a kid for a day." Amendment to Act Will Not Be Asked The council has advised North Vancouver City that "there is nothing to be gained by follow­ ing up their suggestion to press for an amendment to the Muni­ cipal Act governing taxes on Crown lands, as municipalities already have the power to assess and tax such lands where they are leased or sold. ANNUAL FLOWER SHOW ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 10 The Eleventh Annual Exhibi­ tion organized by the West Van­ couver Agricultural and Horti­ cultural Association will he held in the New Ambleside Hall, cor­ ner Marine and 14th, on Satur­ day, September 10th. The direc­ tors announce that a few extra classes, in addition to those shown in the big catalogue will be open. Anyone wishing fur­ ther information should telephone during the absence of the Presi­ dent, W. McQuaker, and the Secretary, Mrs. Ford, to Mrs. R. Retiid, West 649R. Fire Fighting Equipment Offered to Council Hearing that the council is contemplating the purchase of fire-fighting apparatus, the Got- fredson Corporation Ltd., of Walkerville, Ontario, has of­ fered to give a demonstration in September of apparatus manu­ factured by them. This com­ pany has sold over 60 per cent, of all the motor fire engines pur­ chased in Canada this year, and the city of Toronto recently pur­ chased $65,000 worth of fire en­ gines from them after the most exhaustive tests, ever put on in Canada. The matter was refer­ red by the council to the Fire Committee. Cannot Give Permission For Beach Refreshments With reference to the appli­ cation made recently to the council for permission to sell re­ freshments on the beaches in West Vancouver, the municipal solicitor has advised the council that it has no power for grant­ ing such concessions. Local Executive of Legion Meet Prince of Wales The executive of the local branch of the Canadian Legion were invited over to Vancouver to meet His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales yesterday morn­ ing. H. G. Ware, the president, was unable to be present, but H. B. Gray, vice-president, John Lawson, convention delegate, and F. F. Lovegrove, secretary- treasurer, were over and shook hands with the Prince. THE EAR-WIG PEST In another part of this issue will be found a letter from Coun­ cillor Ray. in which he draws attention to the earwig pest. Councillor Ray is evidently a lover of flowers and gardens. There are many others in West Vancouver who enjoy these beauties of nature, and who re­ gret to see the inroads made by these insects. The earwig is a very troublesome and destructive enemy to any garden, and, if you wish to preserve the beauties of your garden, you should get busy at once and take the necessary to suppress the earwig. Entice them into holes in small pots in­ verted on flower stakes, and then shake them into scalding water. You will find this very effective. To Establish Fox Farm The application of Dr. Moody made to the council through Captain C. J. Archer, for permis­ sion to establish four to six fox pens on D.L. 1039 Block 55 was granted. The residents in the vicinity have waived their ob­ jections to the project. The council gave their permission subject to the pens being not less than 85 feet from Marine Drive and to the buildings be­ ing erected under the supervi­ sion and conforming in every way to the requirements of the sanitary inspector. Hollyburn Wharf Inspected An official was sent by the District Engineer on 11th in­ stant to inspect Hollyburn wharf as a result of the council's re­ cent letter drawing his atten­ tion to the necessity of repair­ ing the wharf. Gen. A. D. Mc­ Rae, who was also communicat­ ed with by the council in le- ference to the matter, advised them that he expected to in­ spect the wharf last Saturday, and that he had asked the Dis­ trict Engineer to do the same, when he would discuss the mat­ ter with him.