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Show THE" AMERICAN WAY CANADIAN mffi&P. CAPERS fjg'H-'.'V'w'.V'- By Gears Pck--1 Aflrf Canada, too, has its fair share of "economic planners" who are doing their utmost to propel our northern neighbor into a socialistic social-istic economy. Bureaucracy seems to have fastened its paralyzing para-lyzing tenaclcs even more firmly there than here in the United States and believe me, that's firm indeed! American citizens, insofar as I know, arc still at liberty to spend their own money where they please, and to take it where-evcr where-evcr their hearts desire. Not so with Canadians. The Dominion Government, for instance, permits per-mits its citizens to take only a few paltry dollars with them when they visit the United States. And further, in order to take out even that pittance, they must have a permit, which I am informed involves considerable red tabe in the obtaining thereof. As I have ridden on trains leaving Canada for this country, my heart has bled at the indignities indigni-ties to which our good neighbors are subjected by the inspectors of C a n a d a s Foreign Exchange Ex-change Control Board. If these inspectors suspect that their victims vic-tims are carrying more money than the measly sum permitted, they proceed to search them. Oh! Yes, in case you may be wondering and worrying, there are women inspectors to perform this horrible ceremony on the female fe-male of the species! One wonders just how long Canadians will put up with this abridgement of their personal 1 liberties before they rise in United Unit-ed wrath to kick the stuffing out of the Foreign Exchange Control Con-trol Board. From the red faces I ve seen on those being dragged away for the search, I'll wager it won't be very long. Perhaps you'll get a chuckle, as I did, out of a story carried in the Toronto Printed Word on this painful subject. It's good to know that the Canadian government govern-ment still permits its citizens to indulge in a bit of humor. Here follows the tale as related in this Canadian publication: WORM TURNS vvnne on a vain pound for New York, Henry was talking to a friend when he was brusquely brus-quely interrupted by an inspector inspec-tor of the Foreign Exchange Control Board, who demanded how much money Henry was carrying. Henry told him the modest amount. . . "Have you your Form H?" asked the snooper. Henry produced it. "Is this all the money you have?" "Yes." "Let me see your wallet," the functionary ordered. rienry complied, still keeping keep-ing his temper under control, with some difficulty. The inspector in-spector counted the money, found nothing, wrong, and, apparently ap-parently disappointed, handed the wallet back. He was about to pass on to his next victim when Henry spoke, in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone in the car. "Hold on," he said. "You've had that wallet in your hands for quite awhile. Now you just wait until I count the money in it." Henry counted it with care and deliberation while the other passengers grinned. Then he said, "It's all right. You may go." The inspector spent very little time in questioning the remaining remain-ing passengers. (End of Printed Word story.) Before feeling too sorry about the sad plight of our Canadian f r i e n ds , while congratulating ourselves that we may take into Canada all the money we can tote (with no U. S. permit required re-quired and with the blessing of Canada), let's not forget we've had and are having some tough treatment at the hands of our own particular breed of bureaucrats. As a "for instance," de you remember re-member during the war that the slicing of bread was prohibited? No one has ever found out why. That really was bureaucracy working1 at its bureaucratic worst. Even the Canadian bureaucrats, bu-reaucrats, caper as much as they will, cannot top that! |