HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1951-10-25, Page 2Page 2 THIS TIMES-ADVOCATE, EXETER, ONTARIO, THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 25, 1951
®fje Exeter ®imejs=^iibocate
l'iines Established 1873 Amalgamated 1924 Advocate Established 1881
Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario
An Independent Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of the Town of Exeter and District
Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa
Member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association
Member of the Ontxxrio-Quebec Division of the CWNA
Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation
Paid-in-Advance Circulation as of March 31, 1951 — 2,396
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Canada, in advance, $2.50 a year United States, in advance, $3.00
Single Copies 6? Each
J. Melvin Southcott - Publishers - Robert Southcott
THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 25, 1951
Surprise
We got a surprise Saturday—but only
a half-pleasant one. We set out to investi
gate how our filthy political journals of
Toronto were doing now that that the On
tario election is getting into swing.
You’ll remember the terrific battle
that was waged during the last federal
election between the two afternoon papers,
the Telegram and the Star. They exploded
violently fdr a month or more in favor of
their particular party, Progressive Con
servative and Liberal respectively, at the
same time ignoring the parly’s campaign.
It was the most shameful exhibition we
have ever seen in newsprint and one which
left us disgusted to think our “leading”
public journals would reach such a low
ebb in carrying out their responsibility as
such.
On Saturday, the Toronto Star devot
ed over 1'00 inches—more than one-quarter
of all the printed matter in this newspaper
—-to the cause of Walter Thompson, the
Xdberal leader. The crusade for Mr,
Thompson, as represented in the Star, is
best described as fanatical. Tn the same
issue, there was not, to our knowledge, one
single news item concerning the Progres
sive Conservative campaign.
Naturally, we expected a similar treat
ment in the Telegram and this is where we
got our half-pleasant surprise. Outside of
the editorial page, the Telv used 22 inches
for a C.C.F. rally. 13 inches for a Liberal
meeting and only 17 inches for a Progres
sive Conservative story. We were so shak
en we almost put the old swivel chair out
of commission.
We have a feeling that perhaps that
•well-balanced position won’t remain during
the election but we’re awfully glad to see
it happen, if only for the once. Maybe the
editors of the Telegram are becoming sane
men and performing their duty to the pub
lic-—giving both sides of the story. If they
are. we congratulate them heartily and ap
preciate their courage in trying to be a
little bit fair to their readers.
We doubt if the other newspaper will
ever come neai- that attitude but at least
there are signs of one step in the right
direction.
* * * ■»
Election Talk
How are you standing the pace ? First,
•we have an ecstatic whirlwind tour by
Princess Elizabeth and her prince, now
we're getting election fever. Never a dull
moment!
Election time is always an exciting one
but an important one—and sometimes in
the excitement the importance is lost. The
process of electing a government by the
choice of the people is the greatest prin
ciple behind democracy. The privilege of
voting brings •with it the responsibility of
making the best choice. Election issues are
clouded by flag-waving and tub-thumping
—but they are still there and they’re still
the most important part of making a poli
tical decision. It’s hard to make an in
dependent review of party campaigns but
here, for what it’s worth, is our analysis.
Premier Leslie Frost is asking for his
first mandate from, the people. In doing so
he is standing pat on what has been accom
plished by his government and is making
few promises.
His campaign thus far stresses increased
financial aid through grants to municipal
ities for roads, hospitals, schools, policing,
fire protection, relief, recreation, etc.
It emphasizes hydro expansion—de
velopment of hydro plants throughout the
province, extension of hydro services to
rural Ontario.
Along social service lines, lie points to
the federal-provincial agreement for old-
age pensions without a means test for per
sons over 70 which will start in Ontario
on January 1, 1952: to pensions with a
means test for persons 65 to 70; to pen
sions to totally disabled persons from 18
to 65.
Free school books to children of prim
ary schools; abolishment of discrimination
in employment on grounds of race, colour
or creed; equal pay to women for equal
work; allowing women to sit on juries if
they desire; cancer research; the housing
program—"these things the mild-mannered
premier points to in appealing to the elec
tors.
He also stresses the financial position
of the province. He says that with an un
surpassed record of eight consecutive sur
pluses, the Government in 1950 and 1951
f j,,,. t. ■ i j ,,, ,......
Saturday Evening
Here, There
And Elsewhere
By Rev. James Anthony, M.A.
who are cutting
three-cent reduc-
claiming the rev-
was enabled to reduce taxes. He maintains
that the fiscal policy of the government has
! made it possible for them to launch the
i St. Lawrence Seaway project in co-opera
tion with the Federal government.
Liberal leader Walter Thompson, who
resigned his position as member of parlia
ment to take over Ontario Grits, promises
i among other things a hospital insurance
plan for the people of Ontario. Hr pro-
! poses to finance it by levying an annual
I insurance premium on the public, subsid-
; ized by increased stumpage dues from lum-
i her and pulp companies
• down crown timber.
I He also promises a
I tion on the gasoline tax,
■ enue is not necessary.
i Hr is criticizing the government be-
1 cause, he claims, not all revenue from gaso-
! line taxes and vehicle licences is going
■ back into roads and, he says, municipal-
I ities should be receiving greatex; grants
j from the province.
j The balding leadei’ also stresses a
j scheme where he would change the present
I system of collecting the gasoline tax on
I fuel burned on farms. Instead of having
i the farmer pay the tax, then receive a re
fund at the end of six months’, as is pres
ently done. Mr. Thompson promises to
issue a card which would allow the farm
ers to buy their gasoline tax-free.
Criticizing the government for paying
for. expansive investigating commissions, he
said the Progressive Conservatives just left
the recommendations made in these reports
“on the shelf”.
The hospital insurance scheme prom
ises to be one of the biggest debating
points in the, election. Premiei’ Frbst op
poses the Thompson plan because he says
there is not enough hospital accommoda
tion to promise everyone in the province
free hospital care. He also declares the
scheme would cost close to $100,000,000
j and would mean the province would have
*to levy a sales tax.
, This, in brief, is the clectioxx propa
ganda now being placed before the Ontario
| people.
■ whaFoti^
! Sealed Frontier
(Winnipeg Free Press)
Soviet Russia today is a vast prison
under the grim surveillance of the political
police. The MVD, known earlier as the
' Cheka, the OGPU and the NKVD, is a
I super-ministry watching over all other niin-
i istrivi and stamping out by death, torture
and terrox* every hint of dissent from the
! Communist dictatorship.
' The MVD is above the law. By repeat-
i cd decrees (eg. that of July 10, 1931. pub-
I lished in Pravda of July 11, 1931), the
I police have been given authority to sexxl-
| ence citizens to many years of forced labor
without any trial whatever.
The Soviet Union is also the only
country in the 'world that has prescribed
' the death penalty, even in peace-time, for
i any attempt to escape or to remain beyond
I its borders (see Izvestia, December 22,
1929, etc.), or has added to this a sentence
of at least five years in Siberian horror for
the innocent family of the would-be fugi
tive (Izvestia, June 9. 1931).
A detailed account tells how the en
tire, Soviet frontier is manned with armed
MVD troopers and ferocious wolf-hounds.
Let me quote: “The Soviet frontiers are
j guarded by several 'waves’ of troops. The
first sentinels are quarted 700-1.000 metres
from the frontier line. From here they man
their frontier outposts, which are protected
by barbed wire . . . Some distance in the
rear lurk the dogs on guard duty . . .
“In the real’ of the dog outpost line,
there is another line manned by troopers,
also with the assistance of dogs . , . The
‘death zone’ ends one kilometre from the
frontier and the second zone, starts there
... a belt of plowed and raked soil. The
soil is raked and turned every few days
lest it settle (and fail to betray the foot
prints of an escaping citizen.”
The would-be fugitive from the Soviet-
Utopia •will normally be shot by the out
posts’ tommyguns or have his throat torn
out by the wolf hounds. If he is captured
alive, he is tortured before execution in
order to extract information.
When countless Soviet citizens are
willing to risk these horrors of the Iron
Curtain in order to get away from the
U.S.S.R.* one can surmise the black depths
of the Communist tyranny that they are
trying to escape.
As the------—
"TIMES” Go By
0 B
50 YEARS AGO
Mr. Tlios. Smale, the veteran
well-digger, of Elimville who has
never failed to locate water in
all his attempts at well-digging,
has just completed a gusher on
Mr. Sam Rowe’s farm, concession
3 Usborne.
The show windows of Mr. E.
J. Spacknxan’s dry-goods store
are attracting considerable at
tention. In each is a small stuffed
bear together with a nicely ar
ranged line of furs. The scene is
rather striking bringing back
scenes of the good old pioneer
days when it was quite common
thing to see a bear.
Ear-rings are one of the com
ing fashions and ere many
months will be quite in vogue.
Miss Myra Pickard, formerly
of Exeter, has been chosen as
soprano soloist of St. Andrew’s
Church choir, London.
Miss Polly Bowden left 'Mon
day to visit her brother in
Ridgetown.
25 YEARS AGO
The Exeter Plowing Match was
held on Friday on the farm of
William Welsh.
The Women’s Institute featur
ed a story-telling . contest in
Senior’s Hall on Tuesday. Mrs.
B. W. F. Beavers, Mrs. J. H.
Jones and Miss H. Howey acted
as judges and the prizes were
awarded as follows: Room, 1,
Gail Browning, Doris McLean;
room 2, Doris Harvey, Donald
Goodspeed; room 3, Vivian El
liott, Jessie Jennings; rooms 4,
Edith Cann, Hazel Lockwood;
room 5, Adeline Stone, Helen
Lockwood.
Dalton, young son of Mr. and
Mrs. Gordon Heywood, of Us
borne, received a nasty scalp
wound and arm injuries which
required several stitches when
he was caught in a gasoline en
gine, Friday of last week.
15 YEARS AGO
A car for western relief will
be loaded at Exeter on Monday
and Tuesday next. All of the
surrounding community are co
operating in this efort.
The seventy-fifth anniversary
of Caven Presbyterian Church
will be fittingly marked next
Sunday.
Clerk Jos. Seniox* and Mr. W.
C. Pearce have been in London
each Thursday and Friday of the
last three weeks taking a short
lecture course at Western Univer
sity on municipal government,
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kerr, of
Crediton, entertained their staff
to a duck dinner Tuesday even
ing.
Mr. P. Passmore of Thames
Road was among the successful
c o m p et i t o r s at the Brussels
ploughing match.
IO YEARS AGO
At a social evening of the Exe
ter Boy Scouts and. Cubs held
Monday evening seven cubs were
received by Scout Master A.
Andrus into the Boy Scouts.
They were: Peter Ellis, Don
Southcott, Don Davies, Ted Han
nigan, Bill Floyd, Maurice
O’Dwyer and Kenneth Cudmore.
Mr, and Mrs. Chas, Schroeder
of Stephen were honored by a
gathering of about fifty friends
and neighbours on the eve of
their departure to make their
new home in Exeter.
Mr, O. A. Martin -who for the
past three years has been sta
tion master at the Exeter Depot
has accepted a similar position at
Harriston. Mrs. Martin will ac
company him to Harriston the
first of next month.
The Exeter Women’s Institute
report that 43 2 lbs. of jam have
been made this year for distribu
tion by the Red Cross.
... Neighboring News ...
Lowest Debt
According to the Ontario gov
ernment’s annual report of muni
cipal statistics, St. Marys was
the lowest per capita debt of
any separated town. The figure
for the Stone Town is $44.36
per capita.
Of the 36 cities and separated
towns of Ontario, Ft. William is
the highest with a per capita
debt of $252.98. The separated I
town of Ingersoll rates second |
with $185.60 per capita and]
Gananoque is next to Ingersoll with $125.9o per person. |
Of the cities, London has the
lowest per capita debt with $30.-1
03. I
There are seven separated towns — Brookville, Gananoque, j
Prescott, St. Marys, Smith's;
Falls, Trenton and Ingersoll.
(St. Marys Journal-Argus)
Young People Win
Prizes At Big Match
Neil and John McGavin, sons
of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon McGavin
of McKillop, won plowing prizes
totalling in value around $300
at the International Plowing
Match at Woodstock last week.
Ruth Keys and her brother Mer
ton, daughter and son of Mr.
and Mrs. Wilbur Keys of Tucker
smith, were also prize winners.
John McGavin won a silver tea |
service and cash award for the
Timken special; the Cockshutt
special cash prize; second prize
in Massey Harris special for boys
under 18, and in tlxe Inter Coun
ty competition, he and Ross Jef
fery of Exeter placed eighth.
Neil McGavin placed sixth in
the International special and
also won a couple of cash
awards.
Ruth Keys placed second in
the Cockshutt special; second in
the Timken special and third for
under 18. Merton Keys won a
cash award.
The Safety Club of Seaforth
District High School put on a
demonstration on Friday after
noon at the plowing match un
der the leadership of Mr. Rudd
of the staff.
(Seaforth News)
.Just Passing
John Powell Jr. brought into
The Huron Expositor office on
Tuesday four goose eggs which
had been laid recently in his
straw stack. Mr. Powell states
that the last time this happened
so late in the season, rural traf
fic had to go through the fields
because of so much snow.
(Huron Expositor)
Police Village
The Bright’s Grove Commun
ity Association held a meeting at
the school last Tuesday night in
order to incorporate the Lake
Huron beach area as a police (
village.
A petition will be circulated
for signing, to owners and ten
ants in the area, as soon as final
draft has been approved.
(Forest Free Press)
'zHow Beautifully
She Behaves”
This is a remark accredited to
that mastex* of correct procedure,
Duke of Wellington as he observ-
the conduct of the young queexx
of England, Victoria. The same
remark comes spontaneously to
the lips of all who have had the
pleasure of observing the con
duct of Princess Elizabeth on
her Canadian tour. Rarely has
any visitor to oui* Canadiaix
shores excited the enthusiasm
that Princess Elizabeth has call
ed forth, and her conduct has
set some good people to think
ing.
That grace of manner and that
charm of attitude that is part of
her very nature is not of a sud
den impulse but is the outcome
of a genuinely good heart, a well
trained mind and of deportment
that she started to breathe be
fore she was out of her cradle.
The Princess is of the real
blood royal. That is evident ixx
hex’ every gesture and glance.
From the very start of her life
she was taught to do the right
thing in the right way and nev
er to conduct herself in any
thing but a manner that evokes
the spontaneous judgement “how
beautifully she behaves”. She
possesses that wonderful quality
of charm, a quality that, is part
ly inborn but which coiixes to its
best by her desire to serve the
people who love her.
With a wise and understand
ing heart. Canadians have ac
cepted hex1 because of what she
is and because of the training
and education that have been her
lot without measure.
Th ose British Elections
Are the voters of Britain to
turn Mr. Attlee out of office and
to put Mr. Churchill in his
place? At the distance of one
seeing from the time of writing
it is difficult to say how things
will go. It is asking a good deal
of the average voter to require
him to vote against the govern
ment that has been feeding him
clothing him and sheltering him
and that has it in mind to do
more for him in those countless
other particulars.
“Why turn out a government”
these voters say, that takes
away from us the necessity for
thinking and working hard and
long? Why not have a govern
ment that will arrange things so
that we can work when we feel
like doing it, or when we are
weary of sleeping and holidaying
and amusing ourselves?” That
has been the appeal of the Attlee
administration. Of course there
has beexi the threat of wax’ with
Egypt ovex* the Sudan situation.
The people are reminded that
the Sudan supplies a great deal
of the cotton that keeps the cot
ton mills running. The devotees
of Mr. Attlee renly that “the
Sudan is a long distance away.
“Why worry about what we
don’t see? Anyway the securing
of cotton is the government’s
job. All it has to do is to secure
some magician and all the cotton
needed will be pulled out of
some spectator’s hat and the
mills be kept rollixig while all
Britain goes aliolidaying. Fur
ther, Mr. Attlee is out on the
hustings shaking hands and what
wonders follow handshaking! Mr.
Churchill points to the steady
disintegration of the Empire un-
dei’ the Attlee administration.
He reminds his hearers that not
since the roar of Dutch, guns w’as
last heard in London was British
prestige as low as it is at this
hour.
He promises that he and his
party will do theix' sturdy utmost
to restore and to add to that
prestige. He tells his hearers that
the Attlee government promised
a full dinner pail but it has
given thenx scrimping rations in
its place. By the time this paper
reaches its readers the British
elections will be over and we’ll
see what we’ll see. The voters
will have done their thinking
and their voting. We may rest
assured that when the British
voters think, they will, ixx the
main think right.
From Britain and her elec
tions we shall do well to turn
to Ontario and hex* problems.
Our senses have been whirling
over the visit of the Princess and
the Duke. It will be dif
ficult to get steadied down,
but steady down we must or find
ourselves hopelessly in the xxxire
of muddled politics.
That Cheer
Listeners to the broadcast of
the visit of the Princess and the
Duke were gratified to note the
effort of the people in Hamilton
to keep the exercises to a dis
tinctly religious tone. The child
ren were gathered under the
most commodious and comfort
able circumstances. Indeed the
children were the chief enter
tainers.
Officialdom was present but it
was not obtrusive. Their enter
tainment consisted of three songs
one, The National Anthem, the
second “O Canada” and the
third, the metrical version of the
twenty-third Psalnx. The render
ing of those fine songs left noth
ing to be desired.
The Royal visitors showed
soundness of heart and the best
of good sense in doing all that
in thenx lay to have the children
see them. The present genera
tion is hurrying off the scene
while the children are coming
on. The Princess one day is to
be their queen. The sight of the
royal lady is one that those
children never will forget.
What impressed the listeners
apart .from the fine singing, was
the genuine cheer with which the
children greeted the announce
ment that Monday was to be a
school holiday. The children did
not yell. They cheered. There is
no doubt but that cheer means
the coming of new expression in
oui* Canadian lite. Six’ Walter
Scott ixx one of lxis poems desc
ribes a battle “that at once there
rose so wild a yell”. Visitors to
Britain tell of the British cheer.
The cheer is heard where Bri
tain’s sons perform some out
standing deed or where some out
standing achievement .demands
aclaim.. Would it not be‘well for
public school teachers to teach
the children how to cheer?
Cheering is akin to singing and
is axx expression of the mind and
heart that is made all the better
with training.
Price War
“Is there going to be a price
war?” we asked a mechanic. “A
price war?” he exclaimed. What
else do you expect? Man, the
prices have beexi scalping folks
so long many or us can barely
scrimp along. Five dollars for a
little school boy’s shoes. All the
rest of his outfit is in the same
class. IIo-w is a maxx to get along
when he has three youngsters
to feed and clothe and give a
place in the sun, generally. I
don’t blame the local men but
there is something seriously off
centre.
—Please Turn to Page 3
A small Boy. with a penny
clutched tightly in his hand, en
tered a toy shop. After a few
minutes the proprietor, driven to
distraction after showing him
most of his stock said:
“Look here, my boy, what do
you want to buy fox’ a penny, the
world with a fence around it?°
Boy—-“Let’s see it”