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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1952-01-17, Page 2Page 2 the; times-advocate, exeter, Ontario, Thursday morning, January 17, 1952 Exeter 3ftme&gfrtoocate Hines Established 1873 Amalgamated 1921 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 Ontario-Quebec Division of the OWNA 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 60 Each J. Melvin Southcott - Publishers «• Robert Southcott UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY 17, 1952 Your Money’s Worth We don’t understand why more local people don’t take advantage of the good yet inexpensive entertainment being offered There’s nothing more exciting than a by our hoekey teams. good game between two spirited teams of the vicinity and that’s what those fans who’ve been taking advantage of the op­ portunity have seen. The Exeter Intermediates, although they've yet to win a game, have been able score a total of 33 goals in only four games. That’s an average of eight goals a game which means plenty of action for the spectators to ■watch. With a change of luck, they'll start hitting the. win column any time. Even the minor teams are "well worth a look. , If you prefer indoor sport, the Mar­ oons are putting up a good showing in a tough basketball league. Basketball, al­ though fairly new to this vicinity, is cer­ tainly an interesting sport to watch. Why miss the opportunity? It’s ill good, clean enjoyable fun and about the cheapest form of entertainment available. * * * * Are You In Favor? Gaining momentum each year is the drive for an artificial ice plant in the Ex­ eter Arena. Recent figure and estimations have come to light which may help tax­ payers decide whether the project is a sound one or not. The initial expense of an ice plant is estimated at $40,000. The figure includes cost of installation and repairs necessary to the arena. This expenditure would mean a levy of about two mills a year—a figure which would be lowered of course if a portion of the cost were borne by town organizations or through a campaign, A campaign for artificial ice, however, would not be advisable in our opinion until the hospital has been built and paid for. Probably the largest question about the project is whether the plant would sup­ port itself after it was installed. The sec­ retary of the Parks Board, Donald Tra- quair, has prepared some approximate fig­ ures which will shed an interesting light on the subject. Here is his breakdown, along with some explanations of the items. Let’s con­ I i- I The Exeter Public, School now pays the board $150 a year for pupils' skating hours. It is a very practical method of giving the youngsters recreation during the winter. It is quite feasible to expect that if ice were available for the six-month period not only Exeter but some rural schools would be interested in providing this type of recreation for the pupils. The $130 figure is thus obtained. A modest amount of $1,500 is calcu­ lated for revenue from hockey. This item includes not only gate receipts for sched­ uled games of the local team but revenue from practice sessions early in the year and late play-off games from such outlying hockey centres as RCAF Station Centralia, Hensail, Dashwood and Zurich. It is quite possible that this revenue might exceed $3,000 in an average year. Over the season, other artificial ice centres have been able to make in excess of $1,000 from their snack bars. It is only reasonable to expect the same revenue if it were operated locally. Finally, special events during the year are expected to bring in $1,200. This is based on a $200 profit a month from at­ tractions like carnivals, exhibition hockey gaipes, etc. These events would be spon­ sored by local organizations or promoted by the arena manager. This outline is given in the hope it will give residents an idea of the costs and applications of artificial ice. Are you in favor?* * * As the "TIMES” Go By ...................—........."■■■■ ..........■■........................... ........... sider expenses first. General Operation ............ $1,250 Wages ..................................... 2,000 Ice Plant Operation .......... 1,800 Estimated Expenditure $5,000 General operation includes hydro, fuel, general maintenance and routine expendi­ tures. This item is based on previous costs of the operation of the arena. A maximum amount is allowed for .wages of a manager and part-time assistant for six months. While this cost to the board may seem small, it must be remem­ bered that grants are available from the province which would considerably aug­ ment this sum. The figure for ice plant operation is based on a $10 per day cost over a six- rnonth period—from November to April, approximately 180 days. The $10 figure is arrived at by averaging costs of several other plants now in operation. Turning to revenue, Mr. Traquair esti­ mates as follows: i Skating ..................................$ 650 Curling Club .......................200 Skating Club .......................500 Figure Skating Instruction 500 Revenue from Schools ......450 Hoekey ........... ...................... 1,509 Snack Bar ..... • ■1,500 Special Events ..................1,200 Estimated Revenue $6,000 The revenue from skating is based on present income of $25 a week stretched over a six-month period. The Curling Club may be a question­ able item but it is one that certainly can be considered. The Recreational Council, of which Mr. Traquair is chairman, has discovered through a survey that there is a certain amount of interest in curling. Bonspiels and league competition would provide the $200 if the club were organ­ ized. The formation of a skating club, through ice .shows and exhibitions, should net the arena some $500 each. year. Simi­ larly interest in figure skating would bring in a modest $500 for the instruction of children, Financial Review A casual review of the financial state­ ment of the Exeter District High School brings out some interesting facts. For instance, this year’s tax levy of two mills on the five municipalities in­ volved—Exeter, Hay, Hensall, Stephen and Usborne—brought in $24,683. This figure is just about $300 more than the cost of transporting pupils to the school. Actually the local tax levy pays less than 16 per cent of the expenses of the school. By far the largest source of income for the board was that of grants from the province. These totalled $106,000 or al­ most 70 per cent of the income. It must be remembered, however, that 1951 was an exceptional year since grants were received on both 1950 and 1951 expenditures. This came about as the result of the province’s change of policy to pay grants during the current year rather than on the previous year's expenditures as they had done in the past. Four different grants were received from the province. The general legislative grant amounted to $103,800. The other three were made for agriculture, shop and home economic departments of the school. One grant of $500 was received from the county to further the study of agriculture. One source of revenue interested us particularly. That was the total amount re­ ceived for the auditorium rental. It was $155. Taking a rough estimate based on our knowledge of the fees charged by the board, waj~ would say that the school was used by adult organizations only about 25 nights of the year. Surely the public should have more use of this well-equipped audi­ torium. The reason it does not, we suspect, is because of the high rental fee established and the necessity of getting a recorded authorization from the board each time it is used. Both these reasons are unwarrant­ ed in our opinion. Any board which can consistently de­ clare a surplus each year and build it up to a $23,000 nest egg can certainly afford to lose a couple hundred dollars to help outside recreational and organization activ­ ity- Turning to the expenses side of the year’s operation, we find that the largest single item of cost was instruction. It was $45,299 or approximately one-third of the expenditure. The school’s debenture pay­ ment was $11,397. The two other major expenses were transportation $24,339 and plant operation, including caretakers’ sal­ aries, fuel, power and water, $10,817. It is a credit to the school board chair- manned by Dr. H. H. Cowen and to its secretary, E, D. Howey, that the year’s operation showed a surplus of almost $3,- ’’000 on the low two-mill rate and that it has accumulated a surplus of $23,180 over the few short years it has been in opera­ tion. This has not been accomplished by excessive taxation but rather by careful and economic administration, » 50 YEARS AGO Coming: The famous Jolly Pulls, who gave such an interest­ ing entertainment here some months ago, will again appear in the opera house. Mr. William Stanlake left on Monday to accept a situation as blacksmith with Mr. Jas, Smith of Hensall. Mr. Henry Cann left Monday for Hensall where he will take a position with Mr. William Hod­ gins as bartender. The new Masonic Hall is about completed and the breth­ ren will meet therein for the first time on Monday, January 1'9. Mr. George Pedlar of Port Huron and brother of Mr. John Pedlar, of Stephen, has been in town foi- some days with a view to establish an organ factory here. There has been some talk of a door factory being estab­ lished here 'by some man from Wingham. been transferred to the branch at Orillia. Mr. William Dunsford of the Lake Road has been add­ ed to the staff here. William D. Sanders took the oath of office as reeve. Council­ lors are Edwin Dignan and James Hern. Ex-Reeve Thomas Pryde was also present and ex­ tended congratulations to the members-elect. Mi\ Harry Greason, Kirkton, who recently accepted a position as mechanic at the Chevrolet Garage, has rented the residence of the late Mrs. Amy, James Street. A badminton club was organ­ ized in the basement of the lib­ rary Monday, January 11. 15 YEARS AGO Exeter’s new arena and gym­ nasium now awaits only a few minor touches before being rea­ dy for opening. Mr. Jack McGuin, who has been with the Bank of Montreal for the past ten months, has 1O YEARS AGO Workmen are rapidly pushing to completion near Centralia one of the largest air training schools of its type in the Domi­ nion. Mr. Norval Jones has accepted a position with Cook’s Groceries. Two gas stations at Forest were broken into over the week­ end and gasoline, cigarettes, soft drinks and cash were stolen. Miss Mary Johns, who has been employed in London, has accepted a position in Mr. F. W. Gladman’s law office. ... Neighboring News ... Charge Shooting Laird Schelbe, 25, of Goderich, was charged with criminal negli­ gence on Thursday last and will appear in Goderich court on January 17. The charge was laid five days after Schelbe accidentally shot Clinton district farmer Thomas Rathwell, 35, who is now re­ covering from a severe wound. Rathwell was drawing loads of wood off a brush lot on his farm two miles south of Varna when he was wounded Saturday. He was hit in the chest by a slug from a shotgun fired by Schelbe. Provincial Constable Helmer Snell, of Seaforth, said earlier, Schelbe was apparently hunting in. the area when the shooting happened. (Goderich Signal-Star) Requests 150 Houses Realizing the overwhelming need for new housing units in Clinton, in view of the tremend­ ous expansion of RCAF Station, Clinton Town Councl, at its meeting Monday evening, adopt­ ed the following resolution un­ animously: “Whereas there is an acute shortage of housing in the Town of Clinton, which is caused by the national growth and develop­ ment of the town, but more par­ ticularly the increasing demand for housing accomodation by married personnel of the Royal Canadian Ah’ Force Station, Clin­ ton. “It is respectfully suggested that assistance might be given through Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation; or in such other way as the Minister may deem advisable, and it is believ­ ed by the Council that an addi­ tional 150 housing units are ur­ gently needed.” (Clinton News Record) Multiple Trouble A father unusual course of sickness which required hospi­ talization in Seaforth during the holday season were four patients all relatives, Kenneth McKellar, who was seriously ill; Douglas McKellar, suffering from blood poisoning in his hand; Margaret Jean Russell, who underwent an appedix operation and Mrs, Wil­ bur Miller, a tonsil operation. (Mitchell Advocate) Youth Burned To Death Transformed into a living torch by gasoline spreading from a blow torch, Norman Mahaffy was burned from head to foot before the flames could be extinguished by his father and brother in their Deloraine Ave home, Tor­ onto on Saturday. He died a few hours later in Toronto General Hospital. ( Zurich Herald) Wolf Chase A few East Nissouri farmers engaged.in an exciting chase bn Wednesday afternoon when a good-sized wolf was spotted on the Doug Muir farm. The tracks were followed for some miles, but the trail was finally lost. A wolf was shot near Elginfield several weeks ago and the belief is now strengthened that there may be a few of them in this vicinity. (St. Marys Journal-Argus) For Your Information............. . It is not generally known that the area of land included in the town of Exeter, does not coin­ cide with the area of land in­ cluded in the Exeter Public School Section. Exeter Town is a mile and a half from north to south, and a mile and a quarter from east to west with No. 4 highway divid­ ing it into two equal portions— one east and one west. On March 2, 19 21, A Board of Arbitration, consisting of Judge Dickson, P.S. Inspector John El­ gin Tom, John Rowcliffe, Reeve of Usborne, W. R. Elliott, Reeve of Stephen, and R. N. Creech of the Exeter Board of Education, held a meeting, heard argu­ ments, and gave a decision that the Public School territory should remain as heretofore—that is, the whole of Exeter, 45 % acres of Stephen to the southwest, and 250 acres of Usborne to the northwest, but that Usborne por­ tion should pay only on 60% of their equalized assessment be­ cause the 250 acres were purely farm land. *—R, frGC. The two world wars increased the appetite for foreign news in Canada, Saturday Evening Here, There And Elsewhere By Rev, James Anthony, M,A, That Strike Of course reference is made to the strike that has tied up the transportation system of Tor­ onto. No reference is made to their rightness of the strike. There is no effort to show what lead up to the present unhappy condition we now face, We do re­ fer to the inconvenience the strike has forced upon Cana­ dians. * We had got into the way of thinking that transportation would go on inevitably much as the rising of the sun may he counted upon. But such is nqt the case. The transportation sys­ tem is made up of individuals who require food and raiment and shelter, all of which costs money. Those transporters found that they needed more money and concluded that striking is the only way of securing more money. We are yet to see if their con­ clusion is a sound one. Mean­ while the whole business life of Toronto is turned topsy turvy. What that means no one can estimate. There will be no end of adapt­ ing to meet requirements but a system that has been slowly and painfully evolving for scores of years is thrown quite out of re­ gular w o r k i n g order. Every household in the city is affected. Every place of business must in­ vent ways and means of getting goods to pesons to’ whom sales have been made. Business con­ nections that took years to esta­ blish cannot but be broken. Meanwhile the strikers miss the pay envelope. The striker’s home soon will miss the cash re­ quired by the_Jmtcher, the baker and the candlestick m a k e r. Every businessman, particularly every small businessman will note that water and light rates and rent bills and insurance costs will still keep mounting. The little savings account is bound to shrink. The worst of the’” situation is that no one seems to know the cure. All of us see that the high cost of living is the root cause of the trouble but* none of us see how high cost of living is to be remedied. Surprised Farmers In Ontario Ontario was surprised to learn that the United States farmers were shipping beef into Toronto. The practise lias been for On­ tario farmers to ship beef to the United States. Why this reversal? We have noted from time to time that American buyers have been keen to purchase Canadian ani­ mals and have cautioned our farmers not to destroy their own market. We are wondering if the United States market is becom­ ing over supplied. Can the Unit­ ed States produce beef cattle of a high quality more cheaply than can Canadian farmers? Has the United States a surplus of farm feed and farm labour? Canadian farmers are called upon to do some lively stepping? Lately we pointed out that this region is ideally situated for^ meat production. We have the' soil and the temperature for this important purpose. We have the experienced animal husban­ dry men. We cannot but wonder what is going on now that the United States, farmers are creep­ ing in on the market that lies under the very noses of the On­ tario beef producers. ■We cannot afford to lose any market for our farm produce. Australia and New Zealand may soon prove serious competitors in lamb and wool. Our govern­ ment, we are well aware, has several problems on its hands but we should see very clearly that a market once lost to an energetic competitor is very hard to recover. Cricket When the Second World'War was over, Mr, Churchill might well have retired to any form of recreation that he chose, in the consciousness that he had done a man’s work. Instead, he deter­ mined to give his fine tbilitieB to the service of humanty by doing all that in him lay to promote world peace. He saw with his usual clear­ headedness, that the war had not settled world problems. He dis­ cerned that the western powers were confronted by Communism and that the oppressive Russian steam roller was ready to crush out the last remains of freedom. He saw his country, proud and self respecting, because of her sacrifices on the sea and the bat­ tlefield but he saw her respar- ately poor, That poverty must be removed and good will among the western powers must be established. In order that good will should be­ come part of the daily life of the nations he resolved to visit the capitals of Europe and America. Reasonable people thought that every enlightened country would welcome this statesman with the warmest of handclasps. For the most part this wel­ come is being extended. Mr. Churchill is regarded as the world’s ambassador of peace. At the same time there are those who are hindering him in- his work by carping criticism. Some influential daily papers are tell­ ing him what he must do and what he must leave undone. In­ stead of providing him and his party with useful information, they are spinning theories. Mr. Churchill makes no pro­ fession of knowing all the an­ swers to world problems. What he does see and what he knows full well is that the national leaders must sit down together in an atmosphere of unbounded good will to take up the world problems one by one and in de­ tail to study them till a way is. found in which good will and justice prevail. There is such a way to carry on and it can and it must be found. Why should not every newspaper and every other force join heartily in the search for a way of doing international busi­ ness wherein men shall be builders rather than destroyers. Down To The Sea In Ships All the world waited and won­ dered as Captain Carlsten of the “Flying Enterprise” made a heroic effort to bring his good ship to a safe harbour from the North Atlantic storjns. Like the true seaman he was. the captain saw his crew and passengers to safety. This duty done, he deter­ mined to do all that human pow­ er and skilled seamanship could do to bring his ship with her million dollar cargo to a safe harbour. Sister ships stood by as the “Enterprise” s t r u g g 1 ,e d with waves running mountains high, —'Please turn to page 5 LAFF OF THE WEEK "I wish Freddie was here—he can whistle."