HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-12-04, Page 4"What are they advertising, Dad?"
Do we need seat belt laws?
Love will flourish
How merry can Christmas be in the
face of current inflation, unemployment,
strikes, sagging investments, rising crime
and similar woes?
That will depend largely on our
response to the joyful aspects of the Yule
season which are too often taken for
granted. Maybe we should look at its
traditional observances with fresh ap-
preciation.
Consider, for instance, all the heart-
warming personal encounters that go with
the season. Joyful family homecomings
and gatherings, parties, get-togethers with
old friends, fellow-workers and various
other groups give our spirits a needed lift.
So do Christmas cards.
True, in this year of strained budgets
gifts may be more modest. But they'll still
be offered "with love" and that gives one
an inner glow.
Everywhere, too, colorful lights and
decorations spread cheer and beauty. And
anyone can enjoy the various plays,
pageants, ballets and movies designed for
holiday moods. Even TV mixes in some
Christmas specials for relief from the sur-
feit of crime shows.
And ah, the glorious Christmas music!
How it can inspire us with great works per-
formed in church and concert halls. While
carols and popular Christmas songs take a
merciless beating from repetition on the
radio and shopping plaza sound systems, at
least they add to our festive feeling.
Above all, the ideal antidote to today's
tensions and anxieties is to open mind and
heart to the original Christmas message of
hope and joy,
The fun of batching it
Our response to now
By ELMORE BOOMER
Counsellor for
Information South Huron
For appointment
phone: 235-0560
Aboriginal rights
There has been a great deal of
criticism in recent years over misuse of
power by organized labour, Selfish
demands by some segments of the labour
movement have undoubtedly contributed to
the current inflationary spiral that grips
this country,
But in the midst of criticism we
sometimes forget the positive nature of
things, and that includes organized labour,
The recent announcement by Local 1620 of
the UAW that a settlement had been reach-
ed with the bankrupt Hall Lamp Company
of Centralia, which folded more than two
years ago, should serve as a reminder to
those who wonder why labour unions exist.
For over two years, the men and
women who worked for Hall Lamp receiv-
ed no compensation for monies that they
were legally entitled to when Hall Lamp
went bankrupt. Under the employment
Standards Act, the employees should have
received 13 weeks notice prior to the plant
shutting down. In the event that no notice is
given as in the case of Hall Lamp, the
employees were entitled to 13 weeks
severance pay.
They received no severance pay, no
vacation pay, and• some of them couldn't
even cash the cheque they had received for
the last week of work. The Department of
Labour was notified, but there was little
they could do, because it was a bankruptcy
and fell into the civil area of the law.
If there had been no union, and no
leader such as Bob Nickerson, head of
Local 1620, there would probably have
never been a settlement. It was through
Nickerson's perseverance,that Hall Lamp's
trustees finally settled the claim for $100,-
000.
Without the union, each employee
would have had to file a separate claim
with Hall Lamp's receivers and would have
had to hire a lawyer and/or an accountant
Unions help too ...
to work on his behalf to reach a possible
settlement. For the average unemployed
worker, legal costs would have been
prohibitive.
Representing their members in such a
situation is only one function of a labour un-
ion. The service is paid for through union
dues. Ironically, in the case of Hall Lamp,
even the salaried employees who did not
belong, will receive compensation as a
result of the union's action,
$100,000. divided up between some 400
employees does not seem like a great deal
of money, and, indeed, the workers were
entitled to five times that amount, or about
$1,250 apiece. Unfortunately, there were
other creditors to whom Hall Lamp owed
money. The liquidated assets and the order
of credit priorities set up by the trustees
for the company, precluded any chance of
total compensation for the employees, even
if the matter had gone through the courts,
which would have taken at least another
two years.
For these reasons, we find ourselves in
agreement with a suggestion by Nickerson
that legislation is necessary which
guarantees a minimum of compensation to
employees when a company goes bankrupt
with no warning. Present labour laws are
ineffectual if it takes two years for one un-
ion, and one man to reach a settlement of
one-fifth of the amount of monies owing to
employees of a company who had no prior
knowledge that they were going to lose
their means of livelihood.
As for Labor unions, we feel they still
have an important role to play in the
economic and social sphere of this country.
Let us not forget that it was the early ef-
forts and sacrifices of brave men and
women in the labor movement which
helped to create today's civilized work en-
vironment.
God in the driver's seat
One of my real pleasures in life
is "batching it." I've just been
through ten days of it, and have
another stretch coming up. I look
back on the one with nostalgia,
and forward to the other with
anticipation.
There are a lot of men who go
around with a long face when
their wife is going to be away for
a spell, and they'll have to look
after themselves. Some of them
would literally starve to death if
there were no restaurants.
Others actually "miss" their
wives constant babble.
And there are a lot of women
who are convinced that their poor
weaklings of husbands will be
hard done by if they leave them to
fend for themselves for a few
days. There are also a lot of
women who are convinced that
their husbands are going to miss
their presence dreadfully. Both
convictions are erroneous, in my
case.
Times Established 1873
I love my wife, but oh, you
happy, carefree days of batching
it. I feel the way I used to, about,
nine years old, when school is
letting out in June.
For one thing, there's no
teacher at me all the time, trying
to make me behave, clean up
after me, and learn something
new, all at once. This is hard
work, and I'm lazy.
Nope, when I put the old ba t-
tleaxe on the bus, or see the car
drive off, I try to look mournful,
and wave a fervent goodbye, then
I give a great sigh of relief, and
feel like a fellow who has just
walked out the jailhouse gates.
I'm not saying that marriage is
synonymous with prison, though
it is a life sentence. I'm just
saying that it's nice to get a
weekend pass once in a while, for
good behaviour.
First thing I do when the old
girl disappears over the horizon
is kick my shoes off, settle down
Advocate Established 1881
in a comfortable chair with a
beer and the evening papers. I
read it through with quiet en-
joyment, no interruptions.
Nobody relating how she
changed the beds, did two
washings, called the plumber.
Nobody wanting to talk about
decorating the spare room.
Nobody telling me I had to go
over the bills with her, No, just
me and the paper. I read front
page, editorials, columns, sports
and entertainment. Normally, I
never get past the front page.
Nobody saying, "Dinner's
nearly ready don't open another
beer which would you like like
canned peas or frozen spinach." I
have my dinner when I jolly well
feel like it. Maybe nine p.m., or
ten.
And when I do, it's a gourmet
spread. Unlike some of those
snivelling wretches who can't
boil a cup of water without
spoiling the flavour, I was
Amalgamated 1924
If you believe the concept that
Ontario's laws are put into effect
to benefit the majority of its
citizens then you would have no
other choice but to be in strong
disagreement with legislation
making it mandatory for
motorists to wear seat belts,
Although the death rate on the
highways is at staggering
heights, these tragic accidents
still only involve a very small
percentage of the hundreds of
thousands of drivers across the
province . . . and the accidents
would not have been prevented
by wearing straps around your
waist or across your chest. In
other words, the only thing seat
belts will do is reduce the
severity of the injury as the
result of an auto crash.
brought up in a large family, and
was a pretty good, rough cook
when I married. A far better cook
than the bride, I might add, sotto
voce.
And since then, I've filed off a
number of the rough edges, and
can turn out a good meal. Chops
and sausage, bacon and eggs are
child's play, along with steak. I
can turn out a creditable turkey,
ham, roast of beef. I can make
stuffing, bake a fish.
So, when I'm alone, I don't go
hungry. Oh, not that I roast a
beef, or turn out a golden brown
turkey. That's a bit much for one
average appetite.
But I don't settle for the baked
potato, fried pork chop and
canned corn routine, either.
That's for workaday cooks and
workaday appetites and
workaday marriages.
Nor am I one of those fancy-
dans who fool around covering
the essential blandness of their
cooking with a lot of spices and
sauces.
I'm more apt to turn out a nice
mixed grill: bacon, a small fresh
lamb chop, a sausage or two, a bit
of liver, and a gram or two of
kidney. If they're not on hand, I
get the latter two items out of a
-can of cat food. It has a distinct,
unique flavour,
When all is sizzling a la per-
fection, as we say, I carefully put
the meat on a paper towel, and
fry two large slices of golden-
brown bread in the drippings. I
top these with tomatoes and
melting cheese. By this time my
stomach can scarcely stand the
aromas mingling.
Then I put the whole works into
the cat's dish, open the
refrigerator, take out a frozen
chicken pie, heat it, and eat it,
garnished with a sprig of cab-
bage. The cat and I are both
happy.
By this time, it's 11.30 p.m., so I
watch a late movie or two, with
no one saying, "Isn't it, time for
bed?" I climb into bed at 3.30,
read for an hour, and sleep until 7
a.m.
Every time my wife comes
home and I've been batching it,
she is appalled by my ap-
pearance. "Your eyes look like
two burned holes in a blanket."
They do, but I've enjoyed every
burn.
Then the inevitable question:
"Did you miss me?" llah! Miss
her my foot. I didn't miss her any
more than I would my teeth, or
My right arm,
— Minority benefits —
The only result of this new law
will be to force complete
protection upon all drivers when
only the small minority will
actually benefit, It doesn't seem
fair that the police will have the
right to stop any vehicle on the
road just to see if the driver is
wearing his seat belt (or in other
words is interested in possibly
saving his own life.)
It's true many laws are made
with the intent of protecting
people from themselves. It's also
11-ue,if this "mother hen" attitude
of our leaders continued along
these lines we would eventually
be so overprotected we could not
conveniently lead a normal life.
Perhaps in another hundred
years we would be reading in the
Times-Advocate about govern-
ment intentions to pass a law
making it illegal for residents of
this province to walk in the rain
/because a couple of our citizens
caught cold and died as a result of
this "tragic experience."
Studies have shown the great
benefits to be derived from
wearing seat belts and the
government should be com-
mended on its recent educational
program to make us all aware of
the importance of wearing them.
In my opinion this is where the
government's job should finish. If
we are not safety conscious
enough to look after our own
protection, I do not believe
passing laws will make us any
easier on ourselves.
— Smaller claims —
One thing insurance companies
could do in convincing us to wear
the safety belts installed on all
newer cars is to award much
smaller claims to injured drivers
who were not wearing their seat
belts. If this policy were adopted
it might not be too long before we
would all be only too anxious to
"buckle up" before we head out
in the car. This would also be
much less time consuming and
costly than instructing police to
stop dozens of drivers in
numerous spot checks that would
have to be set up along our roads.
I'm sure if you talk to any police
officer you will find he is much
too busy already to waste his
time babysitting motorists,
I am not questioning the value
or the importance of seat belts,
only the right of our leaders
forcing us to wear them. There
must be a better way.
— Parade Saturday
An important day for all area
youngsters is not very far away.
The largest Santa Claus parade
in the district will be taking place
right here in Exeter on Saturday
and parents are reminded to
bring their children to the parade
so they will be able to take in all
the sights.
The theme of this year's event
is "Disneyland" and several
famous cartoon characters might
be seen merrily making their
way along the parade route. In
any case it will be an important
day for children and there should
be plenty of things happening to
interest the adults as well.
The Chamber of Commerce has
put a great deal of work into this
spectacleand all indications are it
will really be worth seeing.
— First snow dangerous —
The first snow storm always
turns me into an extremely
cautious driver. After almost a
year goes by without having to
drive on slippery roads I guess
we all get a little out of practice,
at least this seemed to be the case
Thursday morning on the St.
Mary's road through Kirkton to
Highway Four. Many drivers
experienced the frightening
problem of spinning off the road
and into the ditch, however I
don't believe anyone was injured.
This always seems to happen
during the initial snow storm of
the year but from that time on
drivers seem to go a little slower
and manage to avoid the ditches.
Tire dealers were one group to
benefit from the sudden showing
of winter. Most people wait until
the first snow storm to have their
winter tires installed and many
people did just that after Thur-
sday's example of how winter can
make driving your car much
more difficult.
50 Years Ago
S. J. Pym and sons of
Elimville spent one day last week
with D. D. Bell and sons,
Shakespeare, and purchased an
Oxford Ram for a handsome
price to head their flock.
Dr. & Mrs. J. W. Orme and
daughter, accompanied by Mr. C.
Beaver and Mrs. William Smith
motored to Detroit last week.
Mr. & Mrs. James Oke of
Centralia met with an accident
while starting out to church
Sunday, The horse was
frightened and ran into a gate
post.
25 Years Ago
Twelve persons are contesting
the three seats up for election in a
tense battle shaping in Stephen
township.
Roy Jewell, Farm editor for the
London Free Press, said that a
strong union for farmers, like
labour unions, is what is needed
to have the farmer's voice heard.
Boxing Day has been declared
an official civic holiday by the
Exeter town council at their
meeting on Monday night.
Despite the high cost of foods of
late, the South Huron District
High School cafeteria is still able
to prepare a hearty meal for 25
cents.
20 Years Ago
Exeter and Hensel' Kinsmen
toured the plant of General Coach
Works on Thursday night,
Construction has started on an
$80,000 addition that will double
the size of the plant,
I remember being on a bus
once when a thin, agitated lady
boarded and sat down across the
aisle from me. She had scarcely
got seated when she started up
quickly and made her way back
to the driver to tell him her
destination and ask if he would be
sure to let her off at the right
place. Of course, he assured her
he would.
However, ten minutes later she
was weaving her way back up the
aisle of the moving, swaying bus
to inquire if we were nearing her
place of disembarkment. He
informed her it was still a long
way off and that he would give
her plenty of notice.
Nevertheless, a few miles
further on, the poor, troubled soul
once more made her way back to
confront the driver with the
same questions.
This time he was not so patient
and let her know she was in-
terfering with his driving, He
insisted she return to her seat and
stay there until he called for her
to get off.
Well, she did go back to her
place but for the remainder of the
trip she sat nervously on the edge
of her seat, her eyes continually
probing down the road, her face
taut and worried until finally the
driver announced the name of the
town to which she was going.
Then she bounded out of her seat,
scurried hastily off the bus as if
the driver had nothing else on his
mind but to kidnap her and take
her to some far-off terrible
place
What a pity she couldn't trust
the man at the wheel for she
missed the opportunity of
relaxing and enjoying the
scenery or taking part in an in-
teresting conversation with a
The James Bay Agreement,
signed last month in Quebec City,
is the first agreement in Canada
which recognizes aboriginal
rights. Native peoples were not
tricked into signing nor were the
terms of the agreement forced
upon them.
Thus this treaty is very im-
portant. There are other areas of
Canada where native rights have
not been extinguished by treaty.
No doubt precedents for other
treaties have been set in this
Quebec document.
Sixty percent of Quebec is
involved in this agreement — that
is 410,000 square miles, Certain
areas — about 5,000 square miles
— will be under the control of the
native groups.
Another 60,000 square miles
will be reserved for the use of
Indians and Eskimos as far as
hunting and fishing are con-
cerned. They will have these
rights exclusively.
The rest of the land will be open
to the public with certain
limitations attached. Corn- •
Two Kirkton sisters, Marilyn
and Pat Marshall, topped the list
of the South-Huron 4-H winners at
the County Achievement night,
Friday.
10 Years Ago
Four of the necessary eight
municipalities have agreed to
share in the costs of the ex-
pansion of South Huron District
High School, Exeter, Stephen
township, Grand Bend and
Tuckersmith township have all
agreed to their respective costs.
A recount has been requested
on the plebiscite to regarding
beverage rooms for Stephen
township.
Some came from as far away
as British Columbia to honor
Edna Follick. There were only
two men who were unable to
attend the meeting because of
previous commitments. Mrs.
Hearts (Follick) looked about the
crammed room and said "Benson
Tuckey, you're the instigator of
this", No one argued the
statement.
5 Years Ago
Jim Dingwell, an Exeter Police
Constable for the past two years,
has been promoted to chief with
his new duties to start on January
1.
One of the largest crowds in
memory turned out for the an-
nual Exeter Santa Claus Parade,
Approval for the use of an old
church as the new new Whitings
Furniture store was given this
past week, It required a change
In the zoning by-laws,
fellow traveller as we sped along,
We all know similar persons
who are back seat drivers,
They're a pest to both the driver
and the other occupants of the
car, For some reason or other,
they cannot commit themselves
to the ability of the man at the
wheel and are constantly in-
terjecting, "Watch out for that
car! There's a stop light ahead!
Slow down for the corner!" They
worry about all the hazards,
running their blood pressure up
and their nerves down, (Not to
mention what they do to the
driver.)
Many Christians behave like
that as they travel the road of
life, They can accept God's
provisions but they do not have
the faith or confidence to put him
behind the driver's wheel and let
him steer.
Psalm 37;5, asks us to
"Commit thy way unto the Lord,
trust also in him; and he shall
bring it to pass." But like the lady
on the bus who had committed
her way to the bus driver, but
who couldn't believe he would
really get her where she wanted
to go, some of us will also go so
far as to commit ourselves to God
but fail to trust that He will carry
out the job he has promised to do.
We keep telling him what to do
and are so tense we fail to hear
the voice of God above the
screeching brakes we ourselves
throw on.
However, there are millions of
people who not only have com-
mitted their lives to Christ but
also bear witness to His ability to
save and keep them.
These are the ones who having
placed God in the driver's seat of
their lives know he will get them
to their proper destination.
mercial fishing will be the
privilege of the native peoples
alone, along with the use of cer-
tain animals.
The cost seems large —
$225,000,000 over 20 years — but is
a fraction of the $5 billion
demanded by the Indians for the
loss of hunting and fishing in the
James Bay areas.
Many levels of social living are
touched upon in the agreement.
Mining rights and limitations are
outlined; local and regional
government structures are en-
visaged; policing will be ac-
complished largely by the native
peoples; training for jobs which
accompany development will be
available to the first Canadians;
guaranteed incomes for those
wishing to follow their
traditional ways of living are also
provided for,
The whole matter is complex;
it took nearly two years to
negotiate and finalize. There are
many committees, commissions,
advisory groups, and officers to
see that the agreement is carried
out. The native peoples are
represented in all phases of the
treaty's implementation. Some of
the commissions are entirely
under their control.
It is beyond dispute that much
has been accomplished with this
agreement. It is to be hoped that
native peoples in the North will
have the same opportunities to
present their rights and receive
satisfactory remuneration.
+ + +
It is against the satisfaction
which we feel in such events as
are reported above that the views
of Indians and Eskimos take on
special meaning. It seems that
they are not entirely satisfied, It
may be that their attitudes will be
an ocasion for learning for us.
"The Inuit have surrendered
important rights to most of their
traditional lands, in return for
ownership of a small fraction of
it, hunting and trapping rights
that can be called nebulous at
best, and a cash settlement." The
Inuit feel they have been very
generous. They hope not too
generous.
James Arvaluk of the Inuit
Brotherhood speaks of the value
of cash settlements to his people,
"White southern Canadians are
the only ones who think that cash
can provide adequate com-
pensation for all that the Inuit are
giving up to the people of
Canada." They seem to have
given up more than we know. It is
to be hoped that we will show our
appreciation in the years ahead.
It is the sincere hope of this
writer that the native peoples will
know great satisfactions because
of this treaty and that they will
not be embittered by it as the
years pass.
toreferlAmesainiocafe
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A,, 0.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC
Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited
Editor Jim Beckett — Advertising Manager
Women's Editor, —Gwyn Whilsmith
Plant Manager — Les Webb
Compoiition Manager — Dave Worby
Business Manager Dick Jongkind
Phone 235-1331
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Published Each Thursday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Regisfraf ion Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation
March 31, 1975 5,49
Canada $9.00 Per Year; USA $11.00