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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1970-02-19, Page 4OUR POINT OF VIEW Question is answered "What can I do?" That is often the question expressed by many people after hearing a speaker detail the plight of the starving and underprivileged in nations around the world, However, even armed with the information, many people fail to take any action, primarily because the enthusiasm for the cause generated by the speaker quickly wanes. That should not be the reaction from those who heard Dr. Robert McClure during his recent visit to Exeter. The United Church of Canada Moderator adds a sense of urgency when he enlists support for the people with whom he has worked in the underprivileged nations in the past 40 years. He points out that the decision of whether or not we rich Canadians will help the needy is still ours, but he accompanies that 'with a suggestion that a negative response to the need could have some rather dire consequences. The starving people of the world are becoming enlightened. They now know there is a better way of life being followed by some of their brothers, and they want to share in it. One of Dr.McClure's most poignant comments was the fact that many men would rather die with a machine gun bullet in their chest that sit idle and watch their wives and children starve to death. That type of attitude should be easily understood by those who in the past took up arms to defend their nations and save their families from a fate, which in fact, was probably not as undesirable or dreadful as starvation. The conclusion Dr. McClure suggests is that the choice of whether we will help is not open to us. We must help, and in this day and age, there are many ways open to us. Many churches and agencies in this country are prepared to channel our contributions — large or small — to those who need it. Last week this newspaper carried on appeal from UNICEF for donations to help Nigeria's children. It also reported that eyeglasses were being collected by the local Lions to send to needy folk in India. The list is lengthy — the need is great. Donations of any size can be put to good use for your brothers. Let's stop petty bickering The president of the Royal Canadian Legion, Dominion Command, had a worthwhile message for Canadians at the first of the year. Entitled "Let's stop this petty bickering", it deals with the question of certain French-English misunderstanding in Canada. This is what the Legion's chief officer Robert Kohaly of Estevan, Sask., has to say: — ". . . It is understandable that some of us, living in an area where little French is spoken, are apt to be annoyed when we receive federal documents and forms in French as well as English. Some raise a great hue and cry when they hear, upon occasion, a voice answer in English after French on a federal telephone. Others see something insidious about the French inscription placed over the English inscription on a poppy wreath at our national memorial, Let's resolve to stop this petty bickering. It is doing great harm and, as long as it continues, it poses a serious threat to the continuation of Canada as a nation. As an individual and as your president I feel that we should do everything we can to conserve and protect national unity. This means putting aside personal prejudices which are adding fuel to the flames of controversy and providing ammunition for those divisive forces determined to effect the break-away of one province to form a separate state, The Legion includes in its membership several thousand French-speaking Canadians who fought voluntarily for Canada in two World Wars. Many died and others suffered disabilities fighting alongside their English-speaking comrades. In action they were not concerned with protocol and who went first. They worked together as a team. They respected each other for what they were, rather than for the country in which they or their ancestors happened to be born. The year 1970 could be a crucial one over this question of bilingualism. The future of Canada as a nation is at stake with the onus of responsibility on English-speaking Canadians to accept the fact that French-speaking Canadians are entitled to equal status. I feel that the Legion must provide leadership on problems which affect our national progress and unity. Therefore I hope all Legion members will make a New Year's resolution to adopt a more tolerant attitude towards the needs of French-speaking Canadians and take the broader view of a national policy upon which the unity of Canada depends." g'emeadeit Ilse 60';t? Many community projects in the area were boosted when energetic volunteers rolled up. their sleeves to help out — and to keep construction costs down. The erection of the Exeter Curling Club in the fall of 1960 was no exception and these volunteers are shown taking down forms. The'club opened later the same year. Some of the workmen pictured above are: Glen Mickle, Art Cann, Carf Cann, Art Clarke, Bill MacLean and Les Parker. Train trip very revealing CNes c A community nevespapcts now can earl elp Your contribution will send urgently needed food and medicines now ... and will help provide medical centres and schools for vitalrein- (' N4 bilitation in Nigeria. Send Your donation to UNICEF, *4r737 Church Street, Toronto, or to <7.11", c 6 your nearest Chartered Bank. P.. HELP UNICEF HELP NIGERIA'S CHILDREN Canadino CNICEF Cothrnitteo Not so! Dear Sir: A news story in the January 15 edition of the Times-Advocate quotes Peter • Myers, director of organization for the Ontario Region of the National Farmers' Union as saying: "It is rather strange that the Federal Government has to cut the dairy subsidy by ten million dollars because they are short of funds but can turn around and write off a debt of seventy-five million dollars owed the government by the F6'rd Motor Co. whose profits in 1968 were reported to be fifty million dollars." The facts are included in an attached press release issued June 12, 1969 quoting Karl E. Scott, president, Ford of Canada, who denied that the company "owed any customs duties with respect to the automotive trade agreement, and has fulfilled each and every undertaking to the Canadian Government." o 1 THE READER$ WRITE Saddle Club miffed over loss of park Crescendo of catastrophe be reclaimed and put into cultivation. Mr. Keith Coates from Ridgetown and Lynn Martin of Dresden spent the weekend with the former's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Whitney Coates. Mr. and Mrs. Truman MacPherson spent several days at the home of the latter's mother, Mrs. E. Broderick. Miss Maxine Reeder is spending a few days in Toronto taking a refresher course in accounting. Dr. and Mrs. F. W. Read had as visitors for the weekend the latter's parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. Jennings of Milton. 10 YEARS AGO New SHDHS queen, Marlene McBride, can claim to be one of the most representative monarchs the school has ever had. She was crowned Friday night at the annual "At Home". Mayor R. E. Pooley, campaign chairman of Huron Unit, Cancer Society and Ray C. Mills, Exeter, attended a weekend campaign conference of the Ontario division in Toronto. A huge white elm in Hay Township, estimated to contain 5,500 board feet of lumber, may be the largest tree in Huron County. It's on property owned by John Becker one mile north of Dashwood. Misses Eleanor Hodgins, Centralia and Patricia Marshall, Kirkton, former SFIDHS students received their caps at a ceremony Friday night in the nurses' residence of Victoria Hospital, School of Nursing. It took three tow trucks and- a bulldozer to remove 30 tons of milk from a ditch beside No, 4 Highway, a mile south of Tionsall, Tuesday afternoon. Isn't it odd how troubles come in batches? You can sail along for as many as two whole weeks with everything going as smooth as cream. Then the roof falls in. Ours almost literally did last week, when the ice piled up nearly two feet deep behind the eavestroughs, and I couldn't find anyone to chop it off. Your run of calamities, however, usually begins with a few minor things, like a toothache, or the flu, then builds steadily to a crescendo of catastrophe. That's the way it's been with me in my latest bout with the fates. Knobs coming off doors. A broken tooth. Coming down and finding the front door wide open with the temperature 10 below and the furnace straining to keep up. Wipers on the car broken down, which is a fairly easy route to suicide the way it s been snowing around here this winter. Then my car, on which I recently spent $63 to remove the problem of its not starting in the morning, started not starting again. My gimpy curling knee got gimpy and I've been limping around ever since like a sailor with a wooden leg. But these things you are used to, and cope with, one by one. Got my tooth fixed. Got a chap to hack the ice off roof. Got the door-knobs working, the wipers working, and the knee wrapped in an elastic bandage that cuts off the circulation so badly my face is purple. It's the things over which you have no control that hit you right between the eyes. Like Sunday noon, when we got a call from my daughter announcing cheerily, though with a touch of trepidation, that she was calling from the hospital. With infectious hepatitis. You can't say that the kids nowadays don't live dangerously, at any rate, Kim left for the city at New Year, Advocate Established 1881 having quit university to live in a commune. I don't have to go into the commune bit again. It's the method some young people use in today's society to escape from the latter. A commune is an idealistic utopia in which everyone shares the work and the food. Just one big happy family, with no nagging parents and nobody stopping one from doing one's thing. The commune has vague links with the early Christians and the modern Israelis, which is a nice touch of irony. There have been hundreds of attempts to form such communes in the past. The only thing wrong is that they don't work, unless they are rigidly authoritarian, like the communities of Mennonites. Kim spent a (presumably) happy week in the commune, then caught hepatitis from one of the other inmates and lay sick, semi-conscious, without eating, Amalgamated 1924 '''X',00/1#00100001011040011111411"11 Last week's news that this column had been judged second best in the Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association contest must have come as quite a shock for our readers. We must admit having made one glaring oversight in the news story of the award. It should have been mentioned that the Kapuskasing Northern Times won third place. Had this information been included, we would not have been so embarrassed by the question: "Were there only two entries?". cf. With friends such as that, who needs enemies? * * Accompanied by the better half, we attended the annual OWNA convention in Toronto this past weekend, renewing acquaintances with editors and publishers from across the province. While the information gleaned from the business sessions and our informal chats would be of little interest to most readers, we did come up with some topics worth mentioning in this column. After depositing the kids with the in-laws for the weekend, we boarded a train from Woodstock. While our nerves have not degenerated to the level of some people we know, driving in the mad city rush in Toronto is one test to which we prefer not to be subjected. The train ride was most enjoyable because of the relaxation it provides, but it is rather depressing from the standpoint that one is subjected to a "back door" view of the terrain. It is not a picturesque scene by any stretch of the imagination, and the worst culprits appear to be the railroads themselves. Piles of rubbish, decaying and abandoned shacks and other eye-sores flash past your window in most of the towns and cities along the track, creating a sharp contrast to the pictures painted by nature in the rural areas. We could only wonder if this was one of the reasons for the declining passenger travel being experienced by the railways. If it is, they have no one to blame but themselves. The situation also gave rise to the thought that many people are only concerned with their for about two weeks. She had too much pride, feeling she had let us down, to call. We didn't have any phone number and were waiting for a letter. We finally wrote. She staggered out to the emergency ward of a general hospital, where they gave her a shot of penicillin and threw her back into the snowbanks. On a Thursday night, one of the members, who had lately been getting a bit weird (going on a big religious kick), dressed himself in his best, went to his room, and set the house on fire. The others barely got out, into a winter night, with the clothes they were in, and nothing else. He was burned to death. The house was destroyed. Somehow, Kim got intd hospital. All she'd saved was her Christmas present, a radio. A friend loaned her some clothes. She's feeling better. But, and there are some big BUTS, we don't yet know what damage has been 'done. Her liver is affected. Its normal thing is 35 to 50, whatever it does. A doctor told her that the worst case they'd ever had in the hospital was 3,500. And then told her that hers was 6,000. Give us a prayer if you have a moment will you? "fronts" and give little thought to the appearance of their backyards. Many of the backyards we saw from our vantage point could stand considerable improvement. One of the most enjoyable chats we had during the convention was with two public relations officials from Imperial Oil. One of the chaps had to excuse himself early from the night's festivities because he had to arise at 5:00 a.m. the following morning to take his son to play hockey. We learned during the conversation that his 11-year-old had a hockey game scheduled for 6:00 a.m. While the schedule was switched from one week to another our Toronto friend indicated that the 6:00 a.m. starting time seemed to crop up quite frequently during 'the hockey season. Some of our readers will quickly see the advantage they enjoy over their city cousins in this regard, but in fact that's not the entire story. The father has to divy up $40 for the season entry fee for his son. This entitled him to one 40-minutegame per week (straight time) and one practice session every two weeks. We were told of one father who had two sons wanting to play hockey this season in a Toronto minor league. He had to dig into his pockets for some $200 to pay for the equipment and registration fee for his offspring. Drawing a conclusion as to the benefits enjoyed by area youngsters in comparison to the 50 YEARS AGO Mr. Harper Rivers has rented a butcher shop in London and takes possession on March 1. Mr. F. G. Seldon was in London last week taking some advanced Masonic work. Mr. W. G. Medd has purchased a third interest in the Clinton Creamery and will have charge of the sales department and will handle the products of Winchelsea, Exeter and Clinton creameries. Mr. Silas Reid who has been with Heaman's Hardware for the past years, left laSt week for London to take a position in Cowan's Hardware Store. Reeve Beavers and Councillor Penhale travelled to Toronto where they will interview the Deputy Minister of Highways regarding the Exeter street pavement. 25 YEARS AGO .Pte. Russell Tieman and Pte. Ervin Rader of Camp Borden spent the weekend at their homes in Dashwood. Many Exeterites inspected the new chapel at No. 9 SFTS, Centralia on Sunday. There were 198 blood donors at the clinic in Exeter on Wednesday coming by cutter, sleigh and on foot as the storm of the night before had made the roads almost impassable. Mr. Preston Dearing was elected president of the Ontario Sheep Breeders' Association at the annual convention in the Royal York Hotel, Toronto. 15 YEARS AGO Drainage of Lake Smith into the AuxSable River was completed this week, Dr. L. C. Haigmeier of near Grand Bend, said Wednesday. The area, approximately 1,500 acres will Dear Editor: The Exeter Saddle Club has sponsored the Registered Quarter Horse Show annually for the last four years. The last three years the show was held the same date at the Community Centre. This year RAP gave the National Campers & Hikers Association the go ahead to have a Camp-In at the Community park the same weekend as the Quarter Horse Show was to be held there. RAP says there is no way we can hold the Quarter Horse Show at the park as there isn't room. And RAP would not inquire if the date for the camp-in could be changed. We cannot change the date of the Quarter Horse Show without losing the date for another year. So as an alternative we can hold the show at the old Rodeo grounds, which have not been kept up and have poor facilities. We are proud of our Registered Quarter Horse Show. It is the largest show in Ontario, and there is only two class A shows in Canada, at Lethbridge, Alberta and Exeter, Ontario. The community park is supported by various organizations in Exeter and surrounding townships and the park is supposed to be there for Exeter and the community. But RAP feels the Camp-In will benefit them, more than the Quarter Horse Show. Also as was pointed out in last week's paper the trade will be a boom for the merchants for the weekend. This is true but who supports the merchants the rest of the year? We are proud of the Rodeo grounds in Exeter and they would not have been there, if it was not for the hard work and determination of the Rodeo Comm., Exeter Saddle Club and other donated help. We have the best grounds in Ontario to hold the Quarter Horse Show and we can't use them. I fell an injustice is being done. Sincerely yours, Wilmer Preszcator Vice-President Exeter Saddle Club. 'Wild' over plan Dear Editor: This is in regard to Ontario's announcement of Hullett Twp. project to take over 5,600 acres for a Wild Life Area. To start with it was stated it is marshland. It is not this. It is some of the best grass land in Ontario. Also it grows crops. It is our livelihood. However the main concern is this. Last August the Hullett Council agreed for them to go ahead and see ratepayers about it under certain provisions set out. These provisions were neither accepted or rejected. There has been no communication at all except one ratepayer involved went to Mr. MacNaughton with questions and was told quote "Keep your powder dry." This certainly helps when it means our future and the future of our children. Since August a meeting has been requested with Mr. MacNaughton, many times, but he has never found it convenient. Result — the announcement in the paper and we people involved read it, the same time as the man on the street. Would you, the reader, like to pick up tomorrow's paper and read that your business was being taken over for a project without you even once having been consulted? Then when you try for a meeting to nave questions answered the old run around. I just feel people should realize that the ones who own land involved are not all in favour of it and less in favour of the way it is taken from under you without any say in the matter at all. This letter is being sent to Clinton, Exeter, .Seaforth and London newspapers. We shall see then if all these papers believe in each side having the right to tell their story. It is to be hoped that Mr. MacNaughton, when he reads this letter, will be able to find it convenient to grant us ;an interview so we the ratepayers involved may at least have a few answers to our questions to be able to start to plan a different future than the one we've worked for all these years. If this letter can do this at least we'll know it was the `power of the press' that accomplished it. Sincerely, Earle Weichel Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited "does not owe nor has it owed any customs duties with respect to the automotive trade agreement, and has fulfilled each and every undertaking to the Canadian government", Karl E. Scott, president, said today. Scott was replying to claims originating in reports of the auditor general which were aired in public accounts committee hearings in Ottawa that Ford of Canada was in arrears in Auty - payments because it had not met autopact requirements. "Not only have we met our total commitments for increased Canadian production, but we also have generated total Canadian value added $200 million in excess of our requirements," Scott said. "As an integral part of the autopact which was signed in 1965, there was an agreed deviation in the manner in which Ford would meet its requirements for in-vehicle content. This was clearly laid out in correspondence between the company and the government which was made public. "In 1964, under the Drury Plan, Ford undertook a major realignment of its engine facilities which substantially increased total production but which limited the level of value added to passenger car production in Canada. " Under the autopact, therefore, in lieu of generating Canadian value added in the assembly plants, Ford agreed to more stringent conditions with respect to outside vendors. The company accepted additional responsibilities for increased purchases from independent Canadian suppliers. "The effect of our programs as concurred in by the government has been that we exceeded our commitments by $200 million". Toronto situation appears unnecessary. * * * Some comments from one of the featured speakers on the convention agenda will be of some interest to our readers. The gentleman in question was an official from the post office department, and we would have been forced to remain in Toronto for another week or two had he answered all the questions from our cohorts as to reasons for the poor delivery on newspapers — as well as other types of mail. However, after a few examples had been tossed his way relating how-it takes up to three or four days for a newspaper to travel as little as 20 miles, he reached the conclusion that the situation warranted some investigation and improvement. He promised to give the matter some urgent attention and report back to OWNA within three months. His comments regarding the re-structuring of the post office under Mr. Kierans was greeted with words of encouragement from most in attendance at the convention. He indicated that minority governments have thwarted attempts to get the post office into a business-like basis in the past, but that is now changing. Top executives from other industries are being lured into the ranks of the post office and we were assured that the management abilities of these men would soon be evident through better mail delivery. ooptAll • Times Established 1873 trareferZimesabtsocafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Editor — BID Batten — Advertising Manager Phone 23S-1331 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid In Advance Circulation, September 30, 196, 4,520 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $6.00 Per Year; USA $8.00 Signed John W. Medd RR 1, Clinton.