HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-02-20, Page 4Financial difficulties
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SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A,, 0.W,N.A. and ABC
Publisher Robert Southcott
Editor — Bill Batten — Advertising Manager
Assistant Editor * Ross Haugh
Plant Manager — Les Webb
Composition Manager — David Worby
Phone 2351331
Published Eath Thursday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Registration Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation
Mardi 31, 1974, 6,309
SUBSCRIPTION RATES; Canada $9.00 Per Year; USA $11.00
Our response to now
By ELMORE BOOMER
Counsellor for
Information South Huron
For appointment
phone: 235-2715 or 228-6291
Financial difficulties
Backing the police
The acquittal on Tuesday of Goderich
Police Constable John Hills, who was
charged with unlawful and dangerous use
of his service revolver, and dangerous driv-
ing, will undoubtedly be met with cheers
and a sigh of relief in many parts of the
County.
It shows, in this particular case, that
the police are hired to keep the peace and
protect the town, not to let a mob of
drunken punks take over the town, as
appeared to be the case in Goderich.
The incidents of the pre-Halloween
caper show just how Little respect a
policeman receives anymore. Provincial
Judge W. A.Ehgoetz, in handing down his
decision said: "What are the police to do?
Run? Leave the Square in the hands of the
mob?
"Should they (the police) avoid a
potentially dangerous situation in order to
avoid a confrontation?" Judge Ehgoetz
asked.
Part of the issue boils down to the fact
that anymore many in the community and
in Goderich in this particular case, won't
stand behind the police when they should,
and criticize them when they shouldn't.
"This community will have to ask itself
what amount of abuse it expects its officers
to tolerate in the execution of their duty,"
Judge Ehgoetz said.
The judge said the Goderich citizens
were in the position of "throwing
Christians to the lions to appease the mob"
by not backing their police officers.
Clinton News-Record
It's your money
We have a sneaking hunch that the
federal government is aiding and abetting
our economic troubles by pandering to the
will-not-works.
Whatever anyone says, it is an un-
deniable fact that thousands and thousands
of people, particularly young people, are
living at our expense. They have no desire
to work and they are perfectly content to
live off welfare. Alternately they work for
the minimum amount of time in order to
qualify for unemployment insurance
benefits. Naturally we exclude all the
genuine welfare cases.
Under the present set-up we can do lit-
tle about it. It's like giving an intoxicated
person bldck coffee, All it means is you
have a wide-awake drunk on your hands.
Give these people enough to live on and
they will scrounge the rest.
Robert Andras has the right idea. He
will shortly introduce legislation in the
House of Commons whereby unemployed
Canadians will be forced to take training
courses in order to qualify for unemploy-
ment insurance benefits. Emphasis will be
on transforming the unemployment in-
surance scheme from an income support
measure into a plan to provide for better
work opportunities in the future,
Many of these welfare recipients are
highly intelligent people. They have
adopted their way of life by choice and, as
we said before, the government is aiding
and abetting them, by allowing them to live
this way. Give them the 'black coffee',
namely welfare, and they will continue to
thumb their noses at any suggestions that
they should demean themselves by work-
ing.
Welfare offices must be grossly un-
derstaffed. Otherwise how can so many get
away with it? Don't say these people have
no chance of getting jobs, The classified
sections of all newspapers contain
thousands of unfilled jobs. The answer is
that the majority of the people we are talk-
ing about don't want to work. They don't
want to do any kind of work. All they want
is the government, through the working
taxpayer, to bail them out.
It won't do and unless we are to get a
continuing idle class of society the govern-
ment will have to go even furtherthan the
suggestions made by the federal minister
of manpower and immigration.
slot VIJIL4'IN6r.,p0,00KLIN. /y.„){190E.
Make somebocy a somebody
" WOHDfl if TRI'D ALLOW 05 TO CLAIM 51NCKUD1r A5 AMPENPENT'?"
Crimping convention capers
but this time it was surprisingly
different. "0 yes," said the girl,
"I know the town. One of my
friends moved there last year and
she says it's a frightfully un-
friendly place where old-time
residents resent new-comers."
Well, that wasn't exactly what I
wanted to hear, especially in
front of all the other people who
were there! But •I've been
thinking about it a great deal
since.
I'm sure we're not as friendly
or caring as we used to
be . . . and I'm sure it's the same
wherever you live. We're too
caught up and busy in our own
affairs to give more than a quick
nod or superficial smile to those
we meet. Seldom do we take the
time anymore to stop long enough
to really look at people, listen to
them and make them feel like
somebody we're interested in.
How different was Jesus ap-
proach.Everyone was important
to Him; the hated little tax
collector, the prostitute, the
woman at the well, the five
thousand who were tired, and
hungry , . . all whom He met.
He not only made them feel like
'Somebody,' He showed them
they 'were' important to
God . , so important that He
was willing to take on their sins
and die for them,
By using His great example,
surely we can show a little more
concern and love for everyone
around us, be they family,
friends, strangers, or customers.
Make someone feel like a
Somebody today.
I think we'll all agree that there
is nothing quite so downright
miserable and annoying as the
person who delights in saying "I
told you so." Certainly all
married men will agree with me.
Most of us know perfectly well
that we are poor little lambs who
have lost our way, that we have
feet of clay and bones for brains.
But we hate being reminded of it.
It seems to me that there is
nothing more redundant than to
wake up with a hangover, mouth
full of the bottom of a birdcage,
head full of porcupine quills, and
have a smirking, self-satisfied
voice grating "Well, I warned
you, but you wouldn't listen to
me."
Who needs it? Who needs a
post-mortem, when he is still
alive, though barely? I speak not
from experience, of course, but
from hearsay. Not admissible in
court.
After that preamble, I have to
admit that I told you so. I told the
whole nation so. But nobody
listened.
It must have been a couple of
years ago, when I warned, in no
uncertain terms, that the rest of
us were going to be picking up the
tabs for Napoleon Drapeau's
belief that he is really a rein-
carnation of the infamous em-
peror.
Or maybe it's Caesar he thinks
he is. Certainly he is giving us
members of the populace bread
and circuses, as Caesar did.
Mighty light on the bread and
heavy on the circuses.
I said it right here, in black and
white, that the mayor of Montreal
was going to take us for a fast
buggy-ride, when he got the
Times Established 1873
Olympic Games. For Canada?
Don't be silly. For Montreal.
The handwirting is now on the
wall, loud and clear. And as fast
as M. Drapeau rubs it off, or licks
it off with his eloquent labial
organ, it reappears.
It seems inevitable that you
and me, sistern and brethren, are
going to be picking up a big, fat
tab for the 1976 Montreal
Games. And games is the word, if
the Olympics consist of running
in ever-decreasing circles until
you disappear up your own you-
know-what.
Let's not blame it on the con-
struction strikes in Montreal.
Let's not blame it on inflation.
Let's blame the $300 million
dollar deficit (and who knows
how much more?), on the
delusions of grandeur of the
rolyiest-polyiest con man since
P.T. Barnum made that im-
mortal statement: "Never give a
sucker an even break."
Hank Bourassa of Quebec and
Pete Trudeau of Ottawa knew
they were dealing with a greased
eel when they tangled with
Drapeau, but all they did was
make polite noises, assuring the
suckers that it wasn't going to
cost more than maybe seven
cents each to put on this ex-
travagorama.
Some of us, those possessing
the gift, and a memory, knew
perfectly well that we were going
to be reamed like an old pipe, but
they wouldn't listen.
Oh well, what the hell. A
prophet is without honor in his
own country. You in your small
corner, and I in mine.
My severest critic of my point
of view is not my wife, as is most
Advocate Established 1881
often the case. She thinks the
Games are something the
teenagers play down at the
Olympia restaurant. The only
connection is that the proprietors
of the Olympia are Greek.
No, my chief opposition comes
from my assistant department
head, which only confirms my
long-held view that she is
biogoted, thick-headed, disloyal
to her chief, and a lousy shuffle-
board player.
Her argument goes like this:
"The Olympic Games are for all
of Canada. Why shoullln't all
Canadians help pay for them?"
Well, she's all wet, in which she
wouldn't weight 85 pounds,
soaking.
Nobody asked me if I wanted
the stupid Olympic Farce in
Canada, And even though I
wasn't asked, I said NO.
By me, the Olympic Games
consist of someone proving that
he or she can do something
completely useless better than
anyone else.
If Mayor Drapeau had shown
any desire to clean up Montreal,
which has the worst slums, the
worst sewage system, probably
the highest crime rate in Canada,
I'd buy a whole ten dollar lottery
ticket, instead of splitting one 10
ways. He's not interested. He
wants coliseums, palaces, and
probably wouldn't object to a few
graven images of himself scat-
tered about the city.
Did you notice that when the
Olympic Committee was on the
edge of the abyss, looking into it,
there wasn't exactly a scramble
among the world's nations to pick
taMEMENZSMIAMS
Amalgamated 1924
At the convention, most
publishers and editors bring
along prizes donated by in-
dustries in their communities and
there is some indication the rules
for the draw may be changed
next year to overcome the unfair
advantage given to families who
show up with six members.
There were times when it
became evident that the Batten
family would have to renta truck
to carry home all the loot, Steve
was the luckiest member, holding
the lucky ticket on a set of guns
and holsters, along with a sponge
bath mat made up in the form of a
huge $100 bill.
Brett claimed a pine what-not
box and Scott came home with a
handsome pen set, compliments
of Shaeffer Pen in Goderich.
To top it all off, the convention
draw master decided to hand out
$5 Olympic silver coins to some of
the kids at the wind-up party. He
started with the four-year-olds
and finished with the twelves,
which meant that each of the
Batten lads came home with one
of these handsome souvenirs of
the 1976 Montreal extravaganza.
up the tab?
The only tentative offer was
from the Arab swingers, who are
in similar circumstances to the
old lady who lived in a shoe. They
have so many barrels they don't
know what to do. Admitted,
barrels are better than children
these days, but there's a limit.
Say. Pardon me for a moment,
Just had a thought. Those Arabs
are buying up practically
anything these days. Wonder if
they'd be interested in some fine
moose pasture I own up north.
Used to be called mining stocks.
Probably not. However, maybe
they'd take a flyer on a pure-bred
hybrid cat. Half wolf, half pig.
And by golly, the price is right.
This gem, this jewel, this loving,
lovable creation is going for four
quarts of oil and a one-billionth
share in the Holy Old Eruption
Oil Company.
Now, how did I get away off
here in the oil fields? Let's see.
Trudeau,oily. Bourassa, oilier,
Drapeau, oiliest.
A simple matter of con-
jugation.
As you can see, it was a most
profitable trip.
We had planned to come home
on Saturday, but upon learning
there were still some draws to be
made, the boys voted
unanimously to stay over until
Sunday so they would have a
chance at the remaining loot.
They've already made
reservations for next year.
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While the boys were naturally
excited about the trip to Toronto,
they shared their father's joy in
being able to escape the smoggy,
dirty city to return to Exeter.
Once again, we departed with
the opinion that city life is not for
us,
This was particularly true after
reading an item in Saturday's
edition of the Toronto Star
detailing the, costs some city
workers face in their daily
commuting to work.
It was almost shocking to read
that some pepp,ler.pay ,up to $.150
p,erokeek in,c,oats assp,eiated with
Otting to and from work. The
average is around $35, including
parking.
However the most startling
fact was Theamount of time some
people spend in their daily
pilgrimage from the suburbs into
the provincial capital.
The article related how one
family requiring a new home,
moved from their Toronto ad-
dress all the way to Barrie, where
the head of the house boards a
Go-Train each day to get back to
his job in Hog Town,
He leaves Barrie at 5:45 a.m.
and gets back home at 7:30 p.m.
despite the fact he has one of
those nice 9:00 to 5:00 jobs.
In addition to detailing the costs
and time involved for most
commuters, the article in-
terviewed doctors to ascertain
the health hazards encountered
by various workers and the
methods by which they travelled,
The chap on the Go-Train from
50 Years Ago
Mr. & Mrs.Alex Hackney Sr.
celebrated their 65th wedding
anniversary on Monday.
Richard Davis, teller of the
Canadian Bank of Commerce has
been transferred to the branch at
Blenheim.
Mr. & Mrs. Wm. Ryckman of
Moose Jaw Sask., who have spent
the past few weeks with Mrs.
Albert Ryckman and Mrs. W. H.
Passmore are leaving for their
home.
Rev. F, E. Clysdale, C. E.
Tuckey, Wm. Welsh, W. F,
Abbott are attending the tem-
perance convention in Toronto.
Sylvester B.Taylor, Richmond,
Que. has purchased the jewellery
business of Mr. S. Fitton and has
already taken possession.
25 Years Ago
A new electric organ was
dedicated at Crediton United
Church Sunday morning in
honour of the men who served in
World War II.
,The schools of Stephen
Township have launched a new
era in visual education since the
beginning of the fall term, A
projector and film service has
been made available to them with
outlined study program.
Students and staff Of the new
Exeter District High School had
their first noon meal .in the
cafeteria when 180 persons were
served.
15 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
Barrie was in the middle risk
area, with his primary problem
being associated with the ills that
can be experienced from lengthy
periods of sitting.
Those in the highest risk
category were people who had to
drive many miles. In addition to
physical ills, they were also
endangered by breathing the
daily diet of carbon dioxide which
hangs over the roads.
Having read the article, yours
truly quickly came up with a
resolution to never again com-
plain about the fact that oc-
casionally he has to battle some
inclerhent weather in his five-
minute walk to the office.
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Next time you happen to be
checking out of a hotel, look
around your room carefully to
make certain you have all your
belongings.
..Oddly enough the hotel will not
return any lost items unless you
make a specific request in
writing.
That may sound strange,
because in many ,iristances they
probably know ptho was in the
room and who owns the items
turned into the lost and found.
However on a number of oc-
casions it has been found that
returning items has been em-
barrassing all around when a
hotel has returned something to a
guest, so now they generally shy
away from this small act of
courtesy.
That makes sense. One can
well imagine the embarrassment
that would arise if a piece of
ladies apparel was returned to a
hotel patron that happened to be
attending a convention without
his wife,
One Toronto hotel does find it
strange to find there are many
people who leave their false teeth
behind without realizing it,
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.
Elenor Hodgins, Centralia and
Patricia Marshall Kirkton -for-
mer SHDHS 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 Hnesall,
Tuesday.
10 Years Ago
The largest tree in this part of
Ontario,- a 125 foot high white
elm, crashed to the ground in a
Hay Township bush owned by
former reeve V. L. Becker
Friday, About 250 people, many
of them school children watched
the event. It's believed the tree
was about 350 years old.
Centralia village fire depart-
ment has been awarded a cer-
tificate of merit by the Muscular
Dystrophy Association of Canada
in recognition of distinguished
service in the fight against
muscular dystrophy.
Mrs. A. E. Ferguson who
makes her home with her
daughter Mrs. Jean Mair,
Thomas St., celebrated her 90th
birthday Monday.
About 400 bushels of beans
were destroyed Friday and an
elevator damaged during a fire at
the Mickle Seed and Grain Mill in
lIensall.
Whoever dreamed up that
advertising slogan for mufflers,
"At Speedy's You're A
Somebody," had keen insight into
the human soul. Everybody
wants to be or feel like a
`Somebody'; the sad thing is that
so many people feel like
`Nobodys.' I think everyone of us
is responsible for the fact that
hundreds of persons grope
through life feeling unimportant,
unnoticed and unloved.
There is a certain place of
business I frequent quite often
where I always get the feeling
I'm intruding. Sometimes I
wonder if I should just tip-toe out
and not disturb the people who
work there. They're either so
busy or carrying on such a lively
conversation withithemselves that
I end up almost apologizing for
putting them out.
Now, for a long time I believed
I was the only one who felt like
this, that I was too sensitive or
imagining these 'nobody im-
portant' feelings. However,
within the past short time, two
others have told me on their own
volition, that they too, were
getting the same vibrations from
that place.
I got another shock recently
when I was 1200 miles away from
my home town. As is bound to
happen, one always runs into at
least one person who is an aunt of
your next door neighbor, or who
has visited your town, or has
'some connection in one way or
another. Mostly they have
something complimentary to say
Unrestricted and encouraged
credit buying has put the squeeze
on many of us.
Of course the squeeze creeps up
on us and hurts before we realize
the problem.
Many things seem to be
necessities and so available. Why
be without them? It used to be
necessary to save until the price
of desired goods was ac-
cumulated. But now, we buy now
and pay later.
There are some problems as
well as conveniences to this. The
first problem is probably the
most serious. We become im-
pulse buyers. We can always pay
later.
This kind of buying is costly.
For credit is advanced at a fee - a
stiff fee at that. Often the interest
becomes compounded.
The pain comes just a little
later. When the bills and debt-
payments take up most of our pay
cheques, leaving little for every
day living, then the end has
come. Revolving accounts only
revolve for a short time in these
circumstances.
These facts of life are etched
very sharply for us at this time.
The present economic strictures
include higher costs of living with
wages barely keeping pace.
The true tragedy of the
situation is felt by those on fixed
incomes or by those who no
longer have jobs. There is a
desperation for many so trapped.
But of course traps are made to
spring and squeezes are with us
so that we can be stronger and
more adept at life,
It is a good time to reverse our
self-defeating ways of living and
to rectify our financial situations.
It is well to be master in our
financial houses rather than to be
mastered by the very things that
should serve us.
The situation requires an
assertion of one's self with little
regard for personal comfort.
Such a costly adventure is begun
only when the squeeze becomes
very direct.
Like alcoholics, .spendaholics
YREVOI 17E 0 PP
-rre4FFic. auc•
sAvs
only make the supreme effort
when they can't do any thing else.
Fortunately there are certain
things which we can do. Two
responses are within the reach of
many. We can cut back and keep
our present style of life to some
degree. Also we can change our
life style.
It is interesting to see just how
we can economize and still
maintain our interests. It can be
a game - a fun game at that.
We can patronize the movies
more occasionally. If we are in
the habit of going to restaurants
we can have more special meals
at home. The ways of
economizing are numerous and
although small are significant in
the long run.
For impulse buyers credit
cards can be destroyed or at least
left at home. When management
of our funds becomes a little
more possible we can even take
these instruments of woe and
exercise on-the-spot control,
Really what we are talking
about is management of our
funds; which management adds
strengths to other life programs.
The one requirement is the
choosing of a plan and a per-
sistence in carrying it out.
This executive quality is
lacking even in some so-called
executives in the matter of home
finances. Many company officers
of some repute have difficulties
with practical matters in family
life.
The message seems to be
simply, if we find ourselves in a
financial bind, we are not to feel
too sorry for ourselves, just
enough keenness of feeling to do
something about it.
The change-in-life-style
alternative is just a more drastic
application of the management
principles spoken of above. We
drive a smaller car. The house
payments may be too large. It
may be time for us to move. We
turn to low cost term insurance.
Every saving is an improvement.
One tremendous home truth is
before us. There is no magic
means of debt reduction. As the
problem is with us the need is
before us to face-up and grapple
with it.
This process of defining the
problem and dealing with it can
be made less difficult with the
help of counsellors. This is the
place for outside intervention.
Such aid can range from
counselling regarding the wise
use of resources, through help
with managing these resources,
to the extreme of aiding in a
declaration of bankruptcy.
More such help will be needed
as time continues, not only to
reduce personal indebtedness,
but also to implement personal
savings programs.
It Seems that the urge and the
opportunity to buy is perennially
With us. It can be changed into
an opportunity for personal
growth.
The annual convention of the
Ontario Weekly Newspaper
Association is generally a time
when the writer and his better
half get away from it all for a
weekend and return home nearly
exhausted from three days of
wining and dining at the Royal
York Hotel in Toronto.
This year was decidedly dif-
ferent!
Our baby sitter came down
with one of the many bugs in the
community and was unable to
fulfill her tasks of looking after
the Batten brood.
This prompted many plan
changes, and after lengthy
discussion it was decided that we
would take our four sons with us,
rather than bypass the event
entirely.
Readers who enjoy conventions
will immediately realize that
toting four boys around can
quickly put a crimp in one's style.
While our fellow newspaper
friends hit the "room hopping"
trail after the evening programs,
were completed, the Battens,
retired to their room for a full'
night's rest.
Actually, it wasn't all bad. We
arrived home Sunday fully rested
and ready to tackle the job at
hand, while most of our con-
temporaries returned to their
desks with bleary eyes and cob-
webbed minds.
Hopefully, this is the issue they
will choose for next year's better
newspaper competitions. We
should win by a landslide!
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"AWN 04 Y044 Sit/ 44.
PhD 4 SOW P4 /105 rz, Pi/ov