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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-03-03, Page 4A strong stand There are times when a govern- ment must make a strong stand for what it believes is right whether they step on a few toes or not. The recent changes announced by the government in regards to changes in the Bean Marketing Board and their wholly own subsidiary is an example of this. This was not a hasty decision and was brought about by what many people would term "defiance". The On- tario Bean Growers' Marketing Board forced, pushed and persuaded until the government reversed a decision and allowed a vote in regards to an in- crease in the licence fees charged on beans to be used for the building of new storage and handling facilities. This vote was defeated by the majority of growers and yet the board immediately announced it would ex- pand the company anyway using exist- ing cash and at their present site. To most people the results of the recent vote would show that the majority of growers do not wish the Bean Board to increase their facilities. By making the announcement as they did, they were in fact waving a red flag in front of a bull. The government, on the advise of experts, has long advocated that the Bean Board separate itself from On- tario Bean Growers Ltd. The results of the work of the board would seem to indicate this was good advice. It is fine to flaunt authority pro- viding those involved are fully prepar- ed for the consequences. In this case at least the consequence was the disolv- ing of the board as it was known. We would be the last to argue against marketing boards. These have served a very worthwhile purpose and will continue to do So in the forsee- able future. All boards must, however, operate under certain guide lines and rules and when these are broken the government must act. The recent action was a drastic one and yet we feel, fully necessary. There will be cries of bureaucracy and other such terms and yet it is good to see a government take a positive stand and show that it means business. For too long we have seen and complain- ed of governments who bend and sway to public opinion rather than what they feel is right. Zary cede/4 wearer By VC11 Baltkains How much are you worth? tain peak experience of faith. There are times when we are in the trough too. The life of faith will have its downs as well as its ups and at such times we may be tempted to holler with the cynics "God is dead". I believe, however, that it is one thing to realize our own ideas or conceptions of God are dead. It is one thing to say our ex- perience of God is dead. It is quite another thing to say that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ is dead. One of the reasons we have this debate is that rather than seeking to better understand the kind of God Jesus' life expresses we would rather speculate and philosophize and get involved in all sorts of academic and philoso- phical debates about God's Pres- ence or absence, existence or non - existence. I believe that Jesus' life, death, and resurrec- tion revealed God as He is. I believe that the God who ex- pressed His undying love and concern for all people in Jesus Christ is alive in our world. I firmly believe that the God who revealed Himself as a delivering redeeming caring God to the Israelites still carries, supports and strengthens. I believe that wherever people are caring for other people there God lives. Wherever there is faith or hope or love or joy or peace or patience or gentleness or goodness there Christ's Spirit lives. There God's Presence is known and experi- enced and followed. Another reason we have this debate is that we have a perverted sense of what is real. For many of our novelists only the ugly is real — the beautiful is an illusion. In birth only the blood and pain are real — the day's joy is foolishness. Death is only terror and ugliness — hardly any notion remains of the blessing of spiritual release. Many look at the wars of our time and see hatred and slaughter -- that is real. Whereas if we look and find examples of a really positive self-giving love -- well that is false thinking coloured by glasses with a rose tinge. Wars and poverty are real — peace and abundance are illusory. I believe that this sort of per- verted thinking has distorted our vision and experience. I believe further that there is a real danger that we will be stampeded by cynics. From time to time we must renew our faith with the simple statement. "I know that my Redeemer liveth". There has been a great deal of publicity lately about a group of people within the Church who are saying 'God is dead'. It should be clearly understood first of all that many gods are dead. The god who was the special preserve of the white race is dead. The god who sits on the clouds look- ing like grandpa Moses is dead. The god who could be used to prop up capitalism or democracy or socialism or segregation is dead. The day should be gone when we try to use God as a means of supporting our often warped points of view. Many of our thoughts, concepts and images of God need to be flung aside. God will not be used as a con- venience. If Christianity is valued only because of the arguments we can obtain from it to support our own point of view we a r e treating God as an idol. There are also times in our own experience which can be characterized as times of spirit- ual dryness when we do not ex- perience God's presence in any really meaningful way. There are times when our own lack of ex- perience of God implies that He is dead as far as our own ex- perience is concerned. These people are saying that only a relatively small percentage of people experience the reality of God's presence -- they are no doubt correct. At this point C. S. Lewis had something relevant to say. In speaking of God he said: "He often withdraws supports and in- centives. He often leaves us to stand on our own two feet. He wants us to learn to walk and therefore takes away His hand. If the will to walk by faith is there He is pleased even with our stumbles". In the Screwtape letters he has the senior devil advising the junior devil in these terms: "our cause is never more in danger than when a human no longer desiring but still intending to do God's will looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have van- ished and asks why he has been foresaken, and still obeys". The ability to see little trace of His Presence or the influence of His Spirit and still follow and still obey is the gift of faith. The writer of Isaiah 45:15 could say "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself " but still he fol- lowed. Jesus could say in the fullness of His humanity "my God my God why hast thou forsaken me" but He still followed. We need to know that our life is not wholly lived on the moun- Those who travel abroad by air may well react to the great hassle over airline liability to passengers with anger and apprehension. In the row that led the U.S. to renounce the War- saw Convention on international pas- senger liability, the paramount interest of the passenger got short shrift. Since the early 1934s when the original Warsaw Convention was negot- iated, the estates of passengers killed on international flights received an in- ternationally agreed-on compensation, initially $8,300, more recently $16,600. This was too little in most cases if it was intended to represent the "worth" of the victim. But it was paid auto- matically and the estate did not have to prove negligence on the part of the carrier. Now, without agreement on liabil- ity limits, those with claims face the prospect of having to sue in the coun- try where the crash occurred. Since 45 countries in, the world set maximum liability below $16,600, only the law- yers involved would benefit. The claim- ants will now have to establish blame and this can be an extremely expen- sive business in the vast majority of air accidents where the evidence is scattered far and wide. The idiocy of the whole row is that the U.S. last year won agreement within a matter of weeks from all War- saw Convention countries to raise lia- bility limits from $16,600 to $50,000. Prior to that, 30 years of negotiations had been necessary to get the limits up from a wildly inadequate $8,300 to the $16,600. One possible solution is a new lia- bility agreement more in line with to- day's costs, with a voluntary insurance bonus on top. The airlines could agree to pay automatically say $30,000. Be- yong that, for a small sur-charge of a dollar or two, the passenger could be assured of a second $30,000 in the event of death. Further than that it is surely the duty of any responsible per- son to see he is sufficiently insured to protect his dependents. Why the U.S. wanted to hike the coverage to $100,000—knowing full well that the other governments would balk for cost reasons — is still a mys- tery. It means the end of Warsaw Convention. If Washington continues to hold this position it will be guilty of cruel and quite unnecessary obstruc- tion—an unaccustomed role for a nor- mally generous nation. (The Financial Post) George is the CustodianSuper- intendent at our illiteracy factory. (It used to be called head janitor). I congratulated him the other day. His wife had "done well," as we say, in a music theory exam. He shook his head. He swore. Then, "It'd drive you up the wall. If I ever get married again, it won't be to a musician." There isn't much chance of the former, as he's a grandfather. But I was deeply in sympathy with his conclusion. It was obvious that George had had to help his wife prepare for her exam. It was on the history — Please turn to page 9 Unfinished business but we were successful and luck- ily there was a ladder handy to get us out. There are some wonderful peo- ple in the town of Exeter and it would be impossible to name all of those who assisted us or offer- ed their assistance. We had someone to look after June, get me to the hospital, make us black coffee, give us a place to stay and breakfast. It makes you a little humble when you have so many people to say thank you to and can't find the right words to say it. One of the cardinal rules of a newspaper man is that you never use the phrase, "for lack of a better word, or lack of a better phrase" because with all the words there are in the English language there are proper words to fit every situation and convey any meaning you wish. It is only lack of knowledge which hampers us when we attempt to describe a given situation. In this case the proper words are just a simple "thank you" to all the good peo- ple, and they were many. In every situation there has to be something a little humorous, even if it takes us a day or two to see this. When I cut my hands I asked June to grab me some cloth to stop the bleeding. The first things to come to her hand were of course "unmention- ables". I didn't notice this in the dark and excitement but after I got in the light I realized I was using a half a slip to bandage one arm and a pair of pants for the other. What with pyjamas and bare feet I must have presented In the course of my life I have covered hundreds of fires, taken my pictures and a quick look and gone home without thinking too much further as to the conse- quences or what it means to the family involved or how people respond in an emergency. It's a little bit different when it happens in your own home and you are forced to make decisions on the spur of the moment. I think the only sensible thing I did Sunday evening when our house caught fire was to walk into the spare room, pick up the phone and dial that good reliable operator and report the fire. My actions after this can only be described as panic and yet, a lot of people would have reacted in a similar manner. Afterwards people ask, and you ask yourself, why smash the window out with your hands, why didn't you use a shoe or a chair. There are probably two or three reasons. The main one being of course, self preservation. With no lights and a room full of smoke the first instinct is to get your wife and get out. If anything is in the way, remove it in the fast- est possible manner. In my case it was my fist and while I could have grabbed a pillow or a blanket to shield my hand I didn't think. It was one desperate effort to get fresh air into the room, and it worked. June and I will both be hoarse for a week or so, not only from the smoke we inhaled but also from shouting, attempting to rouse the neighbors. You could have heard us two blocks away, When a political coup in Nigeria or Tanzania raises calls for British aid to keep order, the outside world hears about it. But other news is scarce from the 30 sub-Saharan states where black majorities are runnning their own af- fairs. How are they getting on? In par- ticular, are they discovering how to arrange peaceful co-existence of blacks and whites? It is just as expected that the Africans are finding it hard to operate political democracy, a system that took centuries to mature. No one can be surprised, either, that the economic Dear Sirs: I would like to say how much I am enjoying the beauty and sen- sitivity of Mr. Balkalns' photo- graphy. I feel sure his appointment to The Times-Advocate canonly but enhance the quality of your news- paper. quite a sight when I arrived at the hospital. Other than this I can't seem to see too much humor in the situa- tion. I probably owe my life to the fact that June woke up and smelled smoke and when you sit down in the cold light of day and think of this you get just a little bit afraid. The reaction always comes later I guess and that's why I needed a couple of tran- quilizers for a day or two. I always thought I had very good nerves but I have discovered that I am as human as the next person and can sit down after a scare and shake just as much and pos- sibly a little bit more. If this newspaper seems to lack a little news or looks like it was put together in a hurry, it's because I lost all day Monday and it is impossible to pack three full days work into two. Just to complicate matters a little we are in the process of publishing the annual edition of Soil and Crop News. This is being written before either of the papers are completed so I hope I can be excused if a picture of a Hol- stein cow comes out on the front of the T-A and a picture of some figure skaters comes out on the front of Soil and Crop. Bob will probably be as worn out and shaky as I am by the time Thursday afternoon rolls around. With worries like this on top of the big load he is already carrying his hair line will prob- ably start to resemble Don's a little bit more than it does. No person is indispensable however, and the paper proceed- ed on fairly close to schedule on Monday, even without me. I have never seen a paper published with a blank page yet and I doubt very much whether this one will be the first one. fruits of autonomy don't match the politicians' promises. What may disappoint some is that black majorities are proving no more successful than white majorities in coping with the race question. In Ken- ya, where the climate suits Europeans, the number of white farmers has fallen from 3,200 to 900 since independence and the total white population from 67,000 to 40,000. People with skins of different colors have still to learn how to live together harmoniously. This is an is- sue Canada knows almost nothing about (The Financial Post) Yours sincerely, Mrs. Gordon Levey RCAF Centralia 50 YEARS AGO After being in the dairy busi- ness in town for 15 years Messrs L. Day & Son disposed of their fine dairy herd of Holstein cattle Tuesday in order that L. Day Jr. might join the 161st battalion. The boys in khaki made a route march to Farquhar Tues- day. The ladies provided them with a sumptuous repast in Far- quhar Hall. The Exeter detach- ment of the 161st Battalion is now over 50 strong. Harry Beaver of Crediton has been awarded the contracts to build houses for Ed. Lamport of Shipka and William Ryan and pat Reardon of Mt. Carmel this coming summer. .„• Modern unions seem not to have learned that it is equally a human right not to be forced to join a union. The right to join one must be balanced by the right not to join. Jobs must not be made to hinge on paying tribute to union bosses. Trenton(Ont) Trentonian Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 eieferZimes-Aknsocafe 15 YEARS AGO Twelve years ago a prime rib roast was 25 cents a pound. To- day prime rib roasts were fea- tured in local butcher shops at 89 cents a pound. A new record price for good grain in Huron County was set Saturday afternoon when $33 was paid for the champion bushel of oats that had been shown at the 1951 Seed Fair by Harry Strang, RR 1 Hensall. This week The Times-Advo- cate adds news of Lucan and district to its coverage of the area. Correspondents are Miss Lina Abbott and Mrs. Clarence Lewis, RR 2 Denfield. The roar that rocked UWO's Thames Hall Saturday night, was made by local fans when the SHDHS senior boys successfully defended their WOSSA "B" title in an exciting match with Kings- ville. SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND Member: C.W,N.A,, 0.W.N.A,, CLASS A and ABC Publishers: J, M. Southcott, R. M. Southcott Editor: Kenneth Kerr Advertising Manager: Val Baltkalns Phone 235-1331 There is too much stress 'particularly by parents' on jobs requiring a university education. We need good plumbers as well as good psychologists. - D. Walkington, Canadian Home and school. * * * Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ont. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Deptt, Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash 25 YEARS AGO Miss Dorothy Green received the highest marks in Ontario in the lOcal examinations in elocu- tion of the London Trinity col- lege of elocution. Jack Moise of Blenheim ac- companied the Blenheim HS team to EXeter Saturday afternoon to play against his old schoolmates On the Exeter HS team. The teams were fairly evenly Matched and the visitors emerged with a one- goal lead. Mr. and Mrs, W. J. Beer, who have disposed of their business in Exeter, last week moved their household effects to their home in Grand Bend, rot. the second selSOri in a row the Lueati ''irieh" have grabbed the silverware. They get both the Hoffman and the McMillan cups for winning the championship. Paid in Advance Circulation, September 30, 1965, 4,208 Dear Mr. Kerr: The most recent article re- garding commencement of kin- dergarten in Usborne township has been read by the writer and no doubt, many others. Many readers will remember that an article appeared in ap- proximately April, 1965, regard- ing this subject, when honest and valued opinions were given by various people who are in a position to tell us of their ex- periences. Kindergarten, they stated, is an important initial step in a child's education. Following this, many parents of young children in Usborne township felt that commence- ment of a kindergarten for their children was not impossible, and, therefore, proceeded to gather information with this in mind. Contact was made with as many parents as possible and on April 29, 1965, a letter of request for commencement of kindergarten was taken by the group to the Board. A list of definitely interested parents contacted was supplied with this letter at that time. It was most regrettable that no reply was received to this letter. Let's trust that the pre- sent Board can make a reply to the parents of the township es- pecially those who have most recently met with the Beard, As SUBSCRIPTION RATES:. Canada $4.00 Per Year; USA $5.00 A physical culture magazine advised its readers: "Here's a good test for your midsection muscles. Clasp your hands over your head and place your feet together on the floor. Now bend to the right at the waist as you sit down to the left of your feet. then, by sheer force of the muscles, haul yourself up, bend to the left and Sit down on the floor to the right of your feet, Stick With it and let us know the results," Not long afterward a letter to the editor arrived. It said simply: "Hernia." —Mg= 10 YEARS AGO Bonnie Doerr was the winner of the public speaking contest of Grade 7 pupils at the Home & School meeting. She chose for her subject "Wonders in the World of Science," George Shaw of Thames Road W. told the T-A he plans to press his court action against the town over the operation of the dump. Zurich citizens elected of- ficers Monday night to organize a "bang-up" celebration for the village's centennial this year. Yeggs, who pried open the safe of F. A. May & Son early Monday morning, made off With approximately $ ,500. was mentioned several times during "Brotherhood Week", let us respect the opinions of others whether we agree or disagree on the point of view. There seems to be a lack of communication one with another so many times. Also, during Brotherhood Week, we heard "believe home is a place of learning". It is true that learning does begin here in so many ways, but most of us are not equipped to give the edu- cational aids necessary to have our children commence school at the Grade One level as it is taught in the progressive edu- cational centres. It is also said that we are very close to one of the most outstanding educational systems in Ontario, the city of London. Therefore, it would seem that people should recognize that kindergarten makes up a vital part of the modern educational system, since this urban sys- tem subscribes to a kindergart- en program. Children, like we adults, have to make a very great personal adjustment to new jobs, and, in their case, it is to the job of learning and achieving an educa- tion. It would seem that it would make sense to help them make this adjustment gradually by giv- ing them the privilege of partici- pating in this new position, a few hours each day, as kindergarten training does, thus preparing them for a full day's work at the grade one level. There must be many ways of raising necessary funds to make all •this possible, Perhaps, we Might even have unending fun, and get together neighbour with neighbour to activate various projects in an effort to help get things "rolling". (Mrs.) Marjorie Mw May Dead gods The music madness