Mr. MILLAR:

The province voted "dry" by a very large majority, and yet there are export liquor houses in operation that can not be controlled by the provincial government, and up to the present time the federal government has refused to take action for their suppression. Those houses serve as supply depots for the bootlegger, and also for those who are running liquor across the line into the United States, cars going backwards and forwards at all hours of the night. The work of the police who are kept there in an effort to control the situation leads sometimes to danger to life, because these liquor runners are armed and desperate men. What is the attitude of

the minister towards these export liquor houses?

Mr. MILLAR:

There are more than two. I think I am using the proper term, "export liquor houses."

Mr. MILLAR:

I have received several petitions from local people protesting against those export liquor houses. The Minister of Agriculture was, I believe, in the provincial house when this controversy took place. The provincial government has always taken the attitude that it has gone as far as it possibly could in barring those houses.

Mr. MILLAR:

I am told there are seventeen such houses.

Mr. MILLAR:

Perhaps it might be appropriate just now to go back to the first part of the session when we had a number of speeches in the debate on the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. Many congratulations were offered. I am going to congratulate the leader of this Government (Mr. Mackenzie King) on securing such a man as the present Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Motherwell). Perhaps

Supply-Agriculture

it is appropriate that I should do so because we lived within a few miles of each other over thirty years ago, and I have known him ever since. I think I may say that, amongst the men that were available at that time to fill this position, I know of no man who commands the respect and confidence of the people of Saskatchewan amongst all classes, not only Liberals, but Progressives and Conservatives, to the same degree as the present Minister of Agriculture.

I was going to ask a simple question. I was quite interested in the remarks about rust. I thought it was significant that the minister connected his remarks about filling the position of plant pathologist and the salary required to get the proper man, with the fact that there were only two or three on the continent who could successfully cope with the question of rust. From the minister's knowledge, what chance does he think there is of successfully coping with the rust question? The losses are enormous, and I was rather of the opinion that, so far, there was no one who could successfully cope with this great evil. I thought, perhaps, from the minister's remarks to-night he had some inkling that they were making some headway and had some chance of finding a remedy.