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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-12-01, Page 4Best policy is to make claims To our knowledge, the Town of Exeter doesn't receive any special rates for insurance, but it is becoming in- creasingly evident that it should. The reason is simple: members of council have some strange aversion to attempt- ing to collect claims. Obviously, any insurance company selling a policy to clients who refuse to submit claims—even when they ap- pear justified—should consider setting up some special rate structure. Earlier this year when a local in- surance representative was present at council he advised members to increase protection on several policies, it was noted that some apparently legitimate claims had not been paid in the past for the simple reason council and town employees had failed to initiate action to have the insurance company meet the claims. Some of these claims had been in connection with damage to washroom facilities at the town hall. At that meeting — after spending hundreds of dollars on the annual in- surance premiums — some members re- marked they would have to take spe- cial note of future incidents and make claims when they arose. Apparently, members of council have already forgotten their own sage advice and at their last meeting they voted to tell an insurance adjuster to terminate his work on a $200 claim brought against them. There were some unusual circum- stances surrounding this particular claim as it had been presented by a lo- cal firm who had lost merchandise due to a flooded basement. They apparently felt the flooding was the town's re- sponsibility and that the latter should pay the $200 in damages. However, when council received the bill it was paid only on the pre- mise that it had been for merchandise received by the town from this particu- lar firm and it wasn't until later ap- parently that council learned the real reason for the bill. Some investigation then took place, but at their last meeting, cout.c.il voted to forget the entire incident, deciding to take no further steps to recover the $200 from either the firm or the in- surance company. Obviously this makes little sense. If councillors are of the opinion that the firm deserves the $200 bill paid in view of the damaged merchandise (and it is possible they do) then the bill should be handed over to the insurance company for payment. ' If the latter decides the town was not responsible for the damaged mer- chandise, then council has no alterna- tive but to ask for the return of the $200 paid in error. Officials talked to themselves Fight for education More or less behind the scenes, a mammoth battle is shaping up in the field of education. The ever-growing use of industrial equipment in the teaching field means that an issue of great interest to parents, teachers and taxpayers is shortly going to be fought out over what may well be a bitter battlefield. Realizing that all three of the per- sons mentioned above may well be one of the same, the issue insofar as the average citizen is concerned becomes one of conflicting interests. As a parent, he wants the best pos- sible education for his offspring; if he also happens to be a teacher, he wants to be reasonably sure his job is safe; but as a taxpayer, faced with the full realization that educational costs threat- en to soar above all reason, he may secretly hope that the emergence of automation in the teaching field will help to pare the bills. The industrial giants, both here and in the 'U.S.A. will no doubt push hard to win acceptance for the new concept in instructing the young mind, Being practical about such matters, it must be admitted that the educational powers - that - be, both at departmental levels in government, and at board lev- els within the municipalities, must jug- gle between the evident advantages of using such machines and the obvious fact that we cannot afford this kind of an outlay without a sizeable reduc- tion in teaching costs of the human variety. Teachers maintain that machines are simply an adjunct to their regular duties; practically useless without the human touch. Obviously, to push their product with any hope of sales, manu- facturers are going to dispute this theory. On the side of staff members is the very evident benefit of the per- sonal relationship between student and teacher but, on the other side is the argument that the very best brains in the teaching profession may be equally applied to every student, regardless of his location. The educational lobby is a power- ful one, but, without doubt, the indus- trial lobby is every bit as strong, per- haps more so. It will boil down to a fight between sentimental attachment to the old teacher-student relationship versus the cold, hard dollars and cents argument which will be strongly pushed by the manufacturers. —St. Marys Journal-Argus aMmiNEEMENIMESear."Wanay.„::.::::.. m,AMOMM:d;W: 10te e'xefer ine$-A4uocafe Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ont. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office DeFiet, Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash Paid in Advance Circulation, March 31, 1966, 4,180 SUBSCRIPTION RATESt Canada $5.00 Per Year; USA $7.00 iSie! WOW A M •0.• cori 11-28 • •• L., 1.64 14.1.1 "Poor Ed wasn't even WITH me when I had the accident. He came along while I was arguing with the other driver." Getting in shape for marriage By Val Baltkalns t,e‘driee 4treit ,glib Well, nomination time has con- cluded in the area for another year. In fact it has concluded for another two years in some sections. That really shouldn't be news for too many people, but it may well be, judging from the num- bers present at most of the nominations—or perhaps we should say the lack of numbers present. On the eve of the 100th birth- day of this great democracy it is discouraging and dishearten- ing to report that in some mun- icipalities there was about two percent of the population in at- tendance. There's no excuse for such a poor record, although it may be correct to say that the poor record points up the excuse for the decline of democracy. Why did people stay away? We may never know the exact reasons but it no doubt can be explained to a great extent on the fact we are an affluent people and there are apparently a vast majority who see no end to this affluence. It serves little purpose to delve into the reasons in this column, because the majority of those who will read it prob- ably weren't at nominations and therefore know the reason better than we. Oddly enough, despite the lack of interest shown by ratepayers, there will be some elections in the area. This is certainly the only sign that serves to brighten a dismal and discouraging show- ing to date in regard to our important municipal affairs. That means, of course, that some ratepayers will be going to the polls on Monday to pick their officials. We trust the turn- out will in part clear the record of unconcern with which last week's meetings have labelled us. In most cases, the type of candidates who are offering themselves is unusual. With the lack of interest recorded in the area, one could possibly expect the candidates to be of less than high quality. But this is not so. There are some excellent candidates seek- ing support at the polls and all ratepayers should be advised to consider the list carefully and make certain the best are elected. Just because there are good men running for office, that is no assurance they will win the seats over candidates who may be of lesser quality. They still need votes and yours will count. Use it wisely, but use it! Readers may recall in last week's column we made mention of the fact the Swiss men were being wise in withholding the vote from their women, because some women who already have the vote don't use IL We predicted there would be less than an average of two at each of the area nomination meet- ings, As It turned out, that estimate was a bit high, as there wasn't even One lady at most of the sessions. Few of the candidates who will be seeking election next week had any particular plat- form. Most stuck by the old standard of promising to do their best if elected, so it appears a matter of attempting to pick out those candidates who are capable of the best. Exeter Councillor Ross Taylor picked out a platform that should be of use for many years to come. He told the ratepayers at the Exeter nomination he would like to stay on council to see the culmination of the present road building program. While he explained this as being for a period of only two years, there is every indication that Exeter's roads will need rebuilding for many more years. In fact, it presently looms as a project that could be indefat- igable. It was interesting to hear Reeve Derry Boyle asking those in Ex- eter to spread the word around that the employees of the Huron County Health department have already received two pay in- creases this year. The inference was that this should serve to prove that county council was being generous to- wards the employees. This is probably so in the minds of members of county council, but it is obviously not supported by the employees of the health 50 YEARS AGO Owing to the scarcity of po- tatoes there is a lively demand for turnips and a great number of citizens have stored a res- pectable supply in their cellars for the winter. A by-law providing for the payment of $300 for the site of the Public Library was passed by Exeter Council November 24. Save your old magazines, pa- pers, rags and rubbers and the Soldiers' Aid Society will collect them. Arrangements have been made to run an extra section of the evening train London to Wing- ham Saturday December 231eav- log London at 4.15 to relieve the regular trains. 25 YEARS AGO Miss Ann W. Morgan, a grad- uate of Exeter High School and a daughter of Mr. & Mrs. A. W. Morgan of Usborne Township, has been awarded the third Carter Scholarship for the County of Huron. Dr. J. W. Browning, Canada's Grand Old Man of the medical profession, celebrated his 98th birthday at his office in Exeter Friday. P/0 Fairburn in connection With the Centralia airport was in Exeter last week and in- timated that in about two weeks time some 20 RCAF. men would be stationed at Centralia, prin- cipally on guard duty at first. department. Their lawyer re- cently blasted away at county council in a press statement and to date it is the only public statement on the issue. The reason is that county council chose.to run behind closed doors to discuss the matter, apparently thinking that it was of no interest to ratepayers whether their health officials went on strike or not. After excluding the public and meeting in secret session, any statement issued by county council loses a great deal of importance as it smacks of "managed news" in that the only particulars issued are those county council would want us to hear. If they are sincere in wanting people to spread the word around, we suggest they start by making their sessions public. * * * * Our final note regarding area nomination meetings is one that is a bit sour in that we fail to understand why the Exeter Public School board didn't have a re- presentative on hand to report at the public meeting following the nominations. It's one of the few occasions on which the board ever does make a report to the ratepayers and it appears to be a practice that should be maintained. 15 YEARS AGO Huron riding gave Tom Pryde a majority of 1,428 last week to carry on at Queen's Park. It was the third time in as many tries he won the seat and he had the largest majority this time. • The gift of a black oak gavel and stand carved with traditional monuments of the original Exe- ter, England, is the latter's pre- sent to commemorate the ele- vation of Exeter, Ontario to the status of a town. Exeter officially honored the town's champion baseball team with a banquet and presentation of jackets at Club Monetta Wed- nesday night. 10 YEARS AGO Huronia Male Choir, this dis- trict's most outstanding musical organization during the past nine years, called a temporary halt to its activities Tuesday night. Nearly 20 inches of snow fell on this district during the past week as winter ushered itself in with determination. Robert Down, son of Mr. & Mrs. Clarence Down, has been awarded a $100 scholarship by Huron County Council. It is giv- en to the student who obtained the highest standing while at- tending the Agricultural School at Ricigetown during the 1955- 56 term. Thieves had to abandon the Safe of Tuckey Beverages Ltd on the town sidewalk early Tues- day morning when they found their "loot" too heavy to load Dangerous Letter to editor; The new regulations demand- ing that motorists come to a. full stop when school buses are discharging or boarding child- ren may have some justification. In its practical effect, however, the method is outright dangerous to the motoring public. All vehicles are supposed to stop on both sides of the road when the bus flashers come on. Unfortunately, in broad day- light, with sun striking the flashers, it is impossible to see the warning light at all. This writer has experienced some pretty close situations un- der the described circumstances already. Some day a crash may be inevitable. It should be seriously suggest- ed to the Department of Trans- port, that provisions be made immediately, to equip school bus- es with flashers that are un- mistakably visible similar to po- lice cruisers and ambulances. At the same time, school bus drivers should be instructed to indicate their intention to stop ahead of time to give the mo- torist a fair warning and some realistic opportunity to come to a stop. The present practice, unfort- unately, is to put the flasher on only as the bus is already brak- ing to a stop. In a normal traf- fic flow and in conditions when a school bus creates the neces- sity for passing, this is con- trary to better driving practice. V.B. No issue Dear Sir: I just finished reading your comments on the right of women to vote. To me, this should not even be considered as an issue as to whether women should be granted the right to vote or not. It is their God given right as well as it is for the men. Who decided that men should be given the right to vote? They have always had it and no one has had to make it an issue for them, surely not the women. I would say that most women use their privilege to vote as well as the men. Even if only a few women hold elected positions, this should not make any dif- ference as to whether they should be allowed to vote or not. It should be enough that they get out and vote for the best person for the job regardless of the sex. Perhaps there would be more women elected if the men weren't always trying to feed their egos and trying to keep the women down. As for the attendance at nom- What is the most difficult thing in the world to do? Climb a mountain? Swim Lake Ontario? Get through to a teenager? Face death with poise? Be a real Christian? Nope. All of these can be done if you have trained long enough and hard enough to pre- pare yourself for them; or if you have certain qualities of character. Hilary climbed Everest. Mari- lyn Bell swam the lake. They began by climbing small moun- tains, swimming little lakes. There are a few recorded cases of adults with great patience and insight getting through to teen- agers. But they probably prac- tised on little teenagers, the 13-year-olds, not yet battle- hardened. One can face death with poise, if one has learned to face with poise all the little deaths that make up life. One can even become a good 'Christian by starting on the little things like generosity and for- giveness and working up to the big hurdles, like humility and love. The most difficult thing in the world today? To make and maintain a good marriage. There's no place to train, for one thing. How do you get in shape? You can't start having little marriages in preparation for the big one. At least not around these parts you can't. Although some people try. I knout one bird who says he has been happily married three times. All his wives are alive, not to men- tion kicking. And it doesn't matter how many fine qualities you have, A verit- able saint, of either sex, can have a rotten marriage; and a Verit- able bum, of either sex, can have a good marriage. You might be better to read a good book about it, but after 20 years of advancing and retreat- ing in that blood-soaked no- man'S-land betWeen husband and wife, I think I have a right to be heard. There's nothing wrong with marriage itself. It's a Venerable institution. And some wag will interject here, of course, "So is kingstOn Penitentiary." But !nation meetings, I myself, am not usually informed well en- ough as to when or where they are held. As part of the Service, we are not considered a part of the community so your political ambitions do not usually concern us, as we move so often. I get very hostile at this same old cliche that women should never have been given the right to vote. What are the men afraid of? We are persons and should be treated as such. It has nothing to do with equality. We are all equal in the eyes of God. Surely we must all be equal in the eyes of men too. In closing, I would also like to ask why an advertisement in Exeter asking for the volunteer services of an Assistant Cub- master should have an age limit of 30 years. If a person—male or female— has the time and self-sacrifice to help children become better citizens surely age has no barrier. An age limit of 30 years Is absolute nonsense, I hope I've made sense but I feel the need to speak my mind and stand up for the female sex. Sincerely, (Mrs.) Eileen Patterson. 132 Empress Ave. C.F.B. Centralia Nov. 25, 1966. "The food here is terrible! We could just as well have eaten at home." let's not be cynical. No it's our modern concep- tion of marriage that's all wrong. We laugh at the Victorians. Pru- dish stuffed shirts. But they were on the right track. For them, marriage was a serious business, evolved to meet specific needs in their society. For them romantic love was usually tragic. There are no illusions about marriage in Hardy, Thackeray, Galsworthy. We are the ones with the il- lusions. And delusions. For us, marriage is like that cotton candy you buy on the midway. It's 'whipped together out of hot air and sugar. It's pink and fluffy and you can hardly wait to get your teeth into it. And the first mouthful is sweet, delicious. But pretty soon it's gone, and you're a little sick, and it's all over your face and in your hair, and you're left with a little roll of gooey paper. That's when mar- riage really begins. Well, Mr. Diefenbaker has a favorite saying: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." And that's what marriage is like. Those who just think they're tough get going and keep right ongoing. But we really tough ones dig in our heels and stay with it. And stay and stay and stay. According to all the propaganda from movies, television, and the Ladies Home Journal, marriage is one big, wonderful miasma of giving and taking, of sharing, of total togetherness. Oh, those things are there. You give and your wife takes. She's willing to share every- thing you have, from your bank account to your booze. Not nec- essarily equal shares, but shares. And togetherness? You'll get total togetherness until you look in the mirror some day, when you're 65, and realize with a shock that you look more like your wife than she does, But according to us old sweats, marriage is mostly a matter of staying power. Stay Otit of jail, stay on the job, stay away from other women, stay on the wagon, Stay healthy until your pension begins, and stay out of her way when the old lady gets steamed Up. Which I plan to do when Mine reads this eolUmn. Impossible to understand As time has proven, there are few things in this world that can be termed impossibilities, 'although certainly this does not prevent us from being mysti- fied and awed at some of the incred- ible things that do take pine. This includes man's mastery over many things—as well as his inability to master other things. Included in that latter group is man's own emotions. One example of this cropped up last week with the news that some peo- ple in Huron and Perth had become indignant over the fact they recently received blank cheques on which the French .wording appeared more promi- nent than the English words. The blank cheques were enclosed with a packet of TB Christmas seals, Some of the recipients were so aroused they not only returned the cheques unsigned, they also sent along some critical comments about the fact these French forms had been imposed upon them. We would naturally like to think that the numbers so affected would be small, but reports from the TB Asso- ciations indicate this is not the case. One secretary described the backlash as being "tremendous". It's practically an impossibility to imagine people having the ability to be- come so aroused over such a trivial matter to take their anger out on such a worthwhile organization as the TB Association. Obviously, there is no justification for such reaction in a country that is bilingual. It points up the reason why there is conflict throughout Canada. The absurdness of the situation al- most negates comment, but we would like to ask these people a few ques- tions: —Do they turn off all hockey games from Montreal because the an- nouncer gives the penalty and scoring information in French before it is giv- en in English? —Will they pass up attending the biggest single event in our centennial because it happens to be scheduled for a province in which the majority of people speak French. —Do they look at all the food stuffs they buy to make certain that English is more prominent on the pack- age than the French? —Do they refuse to carry dollar bills in their pockets because French is just as prominent as the English? Those few questions point up the fact that we are a bilingual country and we could also be a proud one if there weren't so many crackpots run- ning around with their petty discrimi- nations. Perhaps we should ask one final question: If any of those persons con- tacted tuberculosis would they decline treatment and assistance if it was of- fered by someone who spoke French? We doubt it!