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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1973-04-26, Page 4Canadians have a strange mentality. We demand the ruthless extermination of any living species that in the least threatens our persons or possessions but do nothing to have our highways rid- ded or the maniacs who daily kill and maim our families and wreck our property. We quickly call out the law and organize a posse to kill or capture a har- mless bobcat that strays into a back alley, but we seldom ,cast a second glance at a speeding motorist roaring through a school zone, We endorse the imprisonment of anyone who brandishes a firearm, but pay small attention to the wild and frequently intoxicated friends who hurl ' 4,000 pound missiles of destruction down our crowded highways. We support the hanging of those who privately kill an enemy no matter how just their cause, but we fail to raise our voices to demand adequate deterrent for the cold blooded murderers who cruise our highw%/s and callously kill and maim unsuspecting, innocent victims, Criminal conduct on Our highways is becoming accepted as an unpleasant but unavoidable phase of Canadian life. We demand the building of safer roads and the manufacture of safer cars, but we indignantly scream "police state" at the suggestion of ghost cars or con- cealed patrolmen in a feeble effort to in- ter to some small degree, the outlaws of the highways. We protest the infringement of per- sonal rights if police try to obtain scien- tific tests on a drunk's alcoholic con- dition, but we scarcely give a thought to his victim lying in the morgue or hospital. It seems unlikely that this sorry picture will change soon because there is no in- dication that Canadians intend to demand protection on their highways. (Editorial in St. Marys Journal-Argus) "Ah, the sounds of spring — geese coughing overhead on their way north." 4-4uporoN NEws-FiEcoRgi, 11HURSDAy, ApRik. 26, 1973 Editorial comment Murder on the road Untie that foreign aid Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and United. In a vigorous coast-to-coast program called Ten Days for World Development, they recently declared the world's poor, including • the poor in Canada, "are outraged by the gap bet- ween themselves and the rich". One-quarter of the world's population, including affluent Canadians, control and consume three-quarters of the world's resources. Our trade and aid policies, the leaders say, should help end these terrible injustices. Without justice, our aid programs will increase the outrage of the poor, and therefore boomerang. Canadians who pelieve their country .shou)d market system which clobbersitheppqrvi, more equal„; worldwide sharing, ands iontletleve etiple'dlitle4lopment, not simply in- dustrial development, should write their Member of Parliament and say so. (The United Church) That TV question Today's little effort will con- cern the effect of excessive television viewing on family life and if it's not one of your problems I congratulate you. I'm on the subject because a woman reader has written me a humorous account of the nightly debates, and arguments in her nest that are caused by the differing viewing tastes of all parties. "From the moment we sit down after dinner there is disagreement on which programs to watch," she ex- plains, "and sometimes we argue right through until the late movie." How, she won- dered,' 'Was" "thi's' 'ddrifee'fic Problem solved in our hous473 r My reply to the lady, which I now realize was unforgivably flippant, was to suggest that anybody who watches that much television is in imminent danger of turning into a vegetable and that the problem might resolve itself by so deadening any values of selec- tivity or discernment that the family eventually will look at almost anything, including their navels, with complete passiveness and detachment, This could solve their problem and ruin their lives unless, of course, they'd prefer being turnip-people. It was just a week after this unhelpful reply that I chanced on a much more sensible and scientific approach which, while it does not solve the situation, at least demonstrates what we're up against out here in the wastes of Televisionland, The warning is contained in an article by Dr. Joost A.M. Meerloos, the noted psychiatrist and social psychologist, who has decided that "the "the technical box of "'Pandora Ants ,unleashed, forces (that Ithan1;•canuxiononger'''con= trol," 1 ' '" Dr. Meerloos sees television as a wedge that's being driven between parents and their children and you don't need to be a psychiatriat with a funny name to see that. According to this authority, automatic, lifeless tools have come to substitute for the parental function of taking care and giving affection. Visualizing a home such as that Our aid to foreign countries, — $370- , million last year -- could be the biggest boomerang this country ever threw. We attach strings to much of our aid. The recent report of the Canadian Inter- national Development Agency (CIDA) showed the strings brought 70 cents of every aid dollar back into the pockets of Canadian business. Our aid aims are increasingly suspect. Each of the last three years has seen a drop in the' proportion distributed through United Nations agencies with po strings attached. Our government aid officials generally vote with the Americans at international conferences in ,favor of an international money and Our aid and trade policies are being vigorously questioned by leaders of five major churches: Anglican, Lutheran, THE CLINTON NEW ERA Amalgamated THE HURON NEWS-RECORD Established 1865 024 Establishid 1881 Clinton News-Record A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) every Thursday at of Huron County' Clinton, Ontario 00pulation 3,475 VIE HOME OF RADAR IN CANADA JAMES E. riT26E11A1-0—.Editor .1, HOWARD AITKeN — General Manager Published the heart second class mail registration number 0817 SU85CRIPTION RATES: (in advance) 'Canada, $8.O per year, US.A., $9.50 It's a long time since I read as much misdirected garbage as I have in the past weeks, con- cerning meat prices. Directed garbage is when you hit the target. Most of this hit the wrong target - the farmer, For some mysterious reason, a lot of people look on the far- mer as a flinty, money-grubbing character who takes a par- ticular sadistic pleasure in gouging the poor working-man, not to mention the downtrod- den executive, professional man, or school teacher. It's just the opposite. For years, generations in this coun- try, the farmer has been gouged by the rest of us, and here's one consumer who not only believes, but knows, that the average farmer has had a tinier share of our twentieth century affluence than any other segment of our community, in- cluding those on welfare, proportionately. There are a few exceptions. There are a few wealthy far- mers. Just as there are a few wealthy school teachers. In the case of the farmer, it is the man whose forefathers were lucky enough to clear a farm near a big city-to-be. His land has become valuable for building and he can tit on it and watch the value appreciate, But he's not a real farmer any more. The real farmer is the fellow who works hours-per-week that would have an industrial worker screaming for the union, owns one suit, hasn't had a holiday in years, owes money at the bank, and has a net income of about $4,000 a year. He's got to be a gambler, a fatalist, and 4 man in whom hope springs eternal. He gran, bles on the weather and the Market, must accept disaster with a Shrug, and must begin each new season with op- timism. More and more, in regions of marginal farming and small, mixed farming, we see that the farmer must have a job in town if he is to enjoy more than a frugal living. More and more we see that it is only the big farmer or the specialist who can meet the bills and make a decent living, More and more we see that farming has become an in- dustry in which the investment in land, machinery, supplies and labour is inordinate in comparison to the returns. If an average farmer charged himself wages for his own work, he'd show a net loss. He'd be better to• put his money into a hot-dog stand. Let's take an average beef farmer, He has no sock of gold under the bed. He must borrow money to buYstock, machinery, feed, fertilizer. He must pay in- terest on this money to our established banks, which are no less greedy than they were in the depression, They merely have a better "image because they have a big public relations programme. While his beef is becoming beef, this farmer has nothing coming in, except interest charges on his loan. When his beef is ready, does he set the price? He does not, He sells it at auction. Who drives up the price? The .beefhungry con- sumer, that's who. Marie Antoinette, of ill-fated fame, said of the peasants who protested that they had no bread, "Let them eat cake," I'd reverse that a bit and say of people who say they can't af- ford beef, "Let them eat barley," It's very nutritious, Perhaps I'm prejudiced. I grew up during the depression. If we had beef oboe a week, it was probably hamburg. As a kid, I was sometimes sent to the store for some "dog bones." These were beef bones with some meat on them, and they were free. The butcher knew darn well what they were for - a good pot of soup - but he winked at it. Many a time our "dinner" was pea soup and homemade bread, with some preserves - wild berries picked by ourselves - for dessert. Nobody suffered malnutrition in that family. Sometimes our "meat" was the ground-up skins of baked potatoes, mixed in with onions and fried potatoes. They gave it the appearance and roughage of meat, if not the flavour, Jolly good stuff. In prison camp, meat was merely something you thought about, like going to heaven. But a bowl of sweetened barley! Now, that was heaven, I'm afraid it rather irks me to listen to a working-man who will buy a case of beer and a bottle of liquor on Friday night for $11.00 whining in the super- market on Saturday afternoon about the exorbitant price of meat, And even more disgusting is the executive type. He's just finished regaling you with the details of his $1,000 holiday in the south, snorkeling, rum punch cocktail parties, the Works, when his wife starts howling like a hyena because their food bill is up three bucks a week, There are some holes in the chain of food prices. But don't blame the farmer. He's the last to benefit when prices go up, the first to suffer when they go down. Show me a rich farther and show you a rich weekly editor, or a rich school teacher. 10 YEARS AGO APRIL 25, 1963 The First Column states "If Tuesday's blizzard was an example of the 'wonderful things' the Liberal government has promised to bring this country of ours, it would be quite safe to say that a great number of Canadians made a big mistake on April 18...." In their second recorded vote in as many meetings, Clinton council voted 7-2 to keep their mill rate at the same residen- tial rate for the third successive year, while increasing the com- mercial rate by another two mills as they did last year. This brings the commercial rate up to 88, exactly 10 over the residential rate, Dissenting votes were cast by councillors Allan Elliott and George Wonch who blasted the budget as being "unimaginative." Over 300 persons toured the recently renovated offices of Kenneth S. Wood, Doctor of Chiropractic, in Clinton, Satur- day. Mrs. Vicki Branden, Hyde Park, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A, E. Fremlin, 160 Frederick Street, has been given another plaudit in her brilliant writing career. Mrs, Branden's pioneer tale, "The Pay was Teh Cents," was accepted for publication in "Rubaboo 2" a book for 10 to 12 year-olds, It is based on stories her father told of his boyhood in Clinton. 15 YEARS AGO APRIL 24, 1958 Dr, J. Alec Addison, medical practitioner here in Clinton, and before that in Zurich for four years, was named Liberal candidate in the May 12 by— election in Huron riding. The doctor Was elected with two other nominees on a first ballot. His opponents, Harry Strang, R. R. 1 Hensall and James Doig, R R 4, Seaforth, moved and seconded a motion making Dr. Addison the unanimous choice of the Huron Liberals. Others who were nominated but declined to stand were: Gordon McGavin, R R 2 Walton; John Arm- strong, Londesboro, and A. Y. McLean, Seaforth. Expert judge of square dance and the art of calling for them, Miss Angela Armitt, London, presented an interesting talk on "The Lighter Side" at the Ladies' Night held by the Clin- ton Lions Club on Tuesday evening. She was introduced by Ross Middleton, president of the Lions. Royce Macaulay proposed the toast to the ladies and Mrs. Ross Middleton responded. 25 YEARS AGO APRIL 22, 1948 New motor vehicles recently delivered by Lorne Brown Motors were a Fargo truck to Bartliff Bros., and a Plymouth sedan to each of Jack Plum- tree, local barber, and Roy Pep- per, R fZ 3. Seaforth.—There don't seem to be many cars coming through yet.... A very pleasant evening was spent in Summerhill Hall on Friday, April 16, when the tom, munity gathered to honor Mr, and Mrs. Russell Neal who have moved to Clinton, The evening was spent in social chat and progressive euchre. Prizes donated by local mer- chants in connection with the Lions Club Theatre Frolic in the' Plow Theatre Thursday evening will go on display in Bartliff's window Saturday. The first band concert of the season, to be held April 25, will feature a cornet duet by Leslie of my correspondent, he saw in it "little true exchange of affec- tion, little warmth, little kissing, little spirited conver- sation," a place in which "words serve merely as a medium for commands. "The children do not laugh at Dad's sallies—they laugh at Dick Van Dyke. They do not worship Mom---they worship Mary Tyler Moore. As I read that I was thinking of a neighbor of mine who, with his entire family, is really, com- pletely, hopelessly hooked on television. One night recently the set broke down or burned out from sheer exhaustion. He confessed Ito me that it was a harrowing experience. They were all em- barrassed and ill at ease with each other, having forgotten how to communicate. Finally, in panic, one of the children turned on the radio, cranked up the volume, and they all sat there looking at the radio. It was this father, as you may have guessed, who passed on to me Dr. Meerloos' report. Television, as Alfred Hitch- cock has recently put it, has Pearson and William Hearn. 40 YEARS AGO APRIL 27, 1933 Victor Falconer has rented the vacant lot west of Nediger's garage from the S.S. Cooper estate and is starting a com- mercial woodyard. • Imported rose bushes from Holland, 1.8c each, two for 35c at A, T. Cooper's store. Mrs. W. Craig and daughter, Patricia, Goderich, have been visiting the lady's sister, Mrs. J. E. Rands. John Hellyer returned last week to Peelee Island where he is teaching. He motored up and back, taking his car over on the ferry from Leamington. Miss Ruth Venner who was home for Easter vacation, has returned to her school at Bognor. 55 YEARS AGO APRIL 25, 1918 A millinery parlor has been opened in the Normandie Block. Miss Ila Bawden invites the ladies of the vicinity to come in and see the display, become like an automatic toaster. You press a button and the same thing always pops up. The trouble is, I think, that few of us have realized this, that we constantly hope that if we wait long enough the toast will come up angel-food cake and, in fact, once in a long while it does. But the rest is dreary, clobbering to the sen- ses, habit-forming, full of false and sickly attitudes to life and, worst of all, a completely painless narcotic. Its total ef- fect is a kind of negation 'of living for all ages, all men- talities, Ideally a family should do without it entirely and yet there are always things coming along (that Tennessee Williams special or the Cousteau series, for example) that are magnificent. About all you can do is to work out some sort of com- promise within a family and make it a..rule that some nights there is to be no TV at all so that you may meet each other again just like real, living people. Major J. W. Shaw, M.D., late medical officer of the 161st bat- talion, arrived home on Satur- day evening after spending 30 months in the army and a year and a half or more in England. Lavergne Churchill, only son of David Churchill, Goderich Township, has enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps. During the past summer Mr. Churchill has been teaching school out West. A special meeting of council was held on Monday evening with Mayor Thompson in the chair and Reeve Ford and Councillors Wiltse, Miller, Sheppard, Cooper and Langford present. The 16th day' of May will be set apart as Ar- bor Day for the planting of trees. The week of May 13 to 18 is to be called "Cleanup Week", The men employed on the streets will be paid 22 1/2 cents per hour dating from April 18 inclusive. 75 YEARS AGO APRIL 22, 1898 The fenceviewers for the cur. eat year are Wm. Shipley, A. continued on page 5 we get let iiiimiters Safety Dear Editor: Trust has been called the cornerstone of personality, It is during childhood that this most fundamental quality is developed, and either grows or dies as the child tests and evaluates his relationship to the world. During Child Safety Week, we are reminded that it is our responsibility to nurture and encourage that sense of trust and safety. On the occasion of Child Safety Week of May 1 to 7, 1973, I am pleased to send greetings and warm good wishes to the Canada Safety Council. May this important concern be felt throughout Canada. Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. Abortion Dear Editor: The Seaforth and District Knights of Columbus and the Alliance For Life would like to draw to the attention of your readers the statement made recently by Dr. Richard Potter, Ontario health minister, that abortions should not be covered under the Ontario .. Health Insurance Plan. (Toronto Star, March 17 /73). He stated further that it is in his personal view that abortion in many cases is being used as a method of birth control and these abortions cost the On- tario taxpayer approximately $6 million in 1972. Dr. Potter expressly stated that he was giving his personal opinion rather than govern- ment policy, but that he would like the Health Plan changed to be in line with his views, It would seem reasonable that only abortions performed because the mother's life was at stake should be covered by a medical insurance plan. The Knights of Columbus and the Alliance For Life believe this statement has been made to test public reaction. It is believed that Dr. Potter • will be put uilder gFeat preil-tnce by the pro-abortionists to reverse his stand, If he is to maintain his opposition to this abuse of the Ontario Health In- surance Plan, he will require tremendous public support. Accordingly, the Knights of Columbus and the Alliance For Life would appreciate it very much if you would support Dr. Potter's stand by carrying out the following: 1. Write to Premier Davis, requesting that his government support Dr. Potter in his position that abor- tion' should be removed from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan; 2. Write directly to Dr. Potter, offering your en- couragement and support for his position; 3. Write to your local MPP supporting Dr. Potter's views; 4. Write to your local newspaper(s) suppor- ting Dr. Potter's views . Sincerely yours, Wilfrid Mousseau, Recorder. op in ions In order that News—Record readers might express their opinions on any topic of public interest, Letters To The Editor are always welcome for publication, But the writers of such letters, as well as all readers, are reminded that the opinions expressed in letters published are not necessarily the opinions held lay The News—Record. Its the farmer who should beef