Loading...
Times-Advocate, 1978-01-12, Page 4Page 4 Times* Ad vacate, January 12, 1978 -------------------. o ■» I n I O N J Trend continues The appointment of Liz Bell as Ex­ eter’s new clerk-treasurer furthers a trend that has been noticeable in the area for some time. In what was once a male dominated position, women have been making considerable inroads. Mrs. Bell joins the list of women who now hold the top positions in area municipalities, such, as Hensail, Zurich and Grand Bend. Exeter council’s choice should come as no surprise to anyone. Mrs. Bell has been a most capable assistant to Eric Carscadden and was a logical choice to fill the vacancy created by his retirement. It’s always encouraging when peo­ ple pfovide opportunities for those within their own ranks who display the required capabilities and council members are to be commended for that attitude. We wish her well in her new challenge. Time will tell Time alone will tell how accurate Mayor Bruce Shaw is in his prognostication that 1978 will be a year in which members of Exeter council face only routine matters. Certainly, there is little doubt that his prediction is made more on wishful thinking than past experience. In his three years to date, the Mayor has watched council face a multitude of contentious issues such as the town hall, race track, rec centre and shop­ ping centre. No doubt most people would agree that somewhere along the line there must be an end to those major problems that have arisen for council deliberation, although history would prove otherwise. However, most residents will con­ cur with his hope that the current year will run smoothly with little but routine matters. Just don’t wager too much, though! Think small. Oliver Twist A trying year The inaugural meetings of several area councils and the county school boards should provide some encourage­ ment for area taxpayers as the theme in many of those sessions was a call for financial restraint. It will be a trying year for most elected officials, particularly those bent on protecting their seats in this election year. On one hand they will face the pleas of ratepayers to curtail spending, while at the same time those taxpayers will continue to demand the ultimate in municipal services and education. Those responsible for decisions will be required to consider carefully those items which are necessities and those which may properly be called luxuries. It will be a difficult year and the only consolation may be in the fact that for all elected officials, it will only be an 11-month year as their terms of of­ fice terminate at the end of November. Why not make them work? Last week’s editorial on the sub­ ject of having some types of law­ breakers pay for their actions through community service work drew an in­ terested reaction from a local proba­ tion officer. The editorial referred to a case in Kamloops in which two vandals were fined, ordered to make restitution and, in addition, ordered to carry out 160 hours of community service work. We said we thought it a good idea; and we still do. For example, those who deface school buildings could be ordered to put in an appropriate number of hours landscaping or otherwise improving school property. Those who destroy park property could be put to work'cleaning up and im­ proving parks. In many cases the “sentence” could be related directly to repairing the results of their own mis­ deeds. Probation officer Peter Harvey said in fact some of this type of thing has|occurred!here;lbut only to a limited degree. The major missing ingredient would appear to be public support and co-operation. “People must realize we’re looking at a community problem,” he said, “not just a police problem or a proba­ tion problem. And it’s going to take community support to deal with it.” Taking off from what he said, we’ve looked into the matter a little more deeply and discussed it further with others. It seems)toius the first requirement would be a body or group of bodies, such as service clubs, to take on the idea as a project. What might be re­ quired of that club or group is the provision of a few hand tools and the services of one member, each Saturday on a rotating basis, to provide some minimum supervision. Likely little more would be required than to record the names of those who show up for work, and to check occasionally to en­ sure assigned tasks are being carried out. Any problems would simply be reported to the probation officer who would take the matter from there. The other major co-operation re­ quired would be from unions; par­ ticularly those in the public service sector. We can appreciate that unions would not want to lose control of union duties, nor risk threat to the security of union employees. But surely there are areas in which agreement could be reached if all concerned are willing to be a little flexible. For example, the Downtown Im­ provement Association could perhaps put probationers to work cleaning up streets and sidewalks, slashing weeds on untended lots, gathering garbage and litter from laneways. It could be argued that if such a program is to be instituted it could be a union job. But it could also be argued that such cleanup isn’t likely to be done any other way so nothing is being lost by civic employees. Rather than getting into such arguments, however, we might do better to concentrate on co-operation. Vandals cost us all money and in­ convenience. Having them undo their own damage will save us all money and will benefit us all aesthetically. If, at the same time, such a program adds to the deterrent factor to cut down on van­ dalism, it will save us all still more money in future. The benefits appear weighty enough to make co-operation worthy of consideration. It seems likely that given a show of public support the courts and the probation service would tend toward giving such a program a try. Especial­ ly where “work sentences” relate directly to the offences. But first there must be the support. If any community groups are in­ terested in discussing the idea further it seems clear the people at the local probation office wpuld be willing to make themselves available. (Salmon Arms Observer, B.C.) Times Established 1873 Sugar and $pice' pfapensed by SmOey Canada split Canada is split right down the middle these days. And I don’t mean the Quebec thing. It’s the Mounties. On the one hand, we have people screaming that the cops with the red coats are a bunch of scoundrels. On the other we have an equally vociferous group defending their every lawbreaking deed. I agree with both sides, for a change. I hate the thought of living in a country where my phone can be tapped , my mail opened, and my property broken into by a secret police. But I think people who believe that any police force, in any country, that can combat terrorists, kidnappers and highjackers without breaking the red tape of the law occasionally, are ex­ tremely naive. Every so-called civilized nation in the world has its secret police, as any spy story reader can tell you. The only difference lies in their eptitude, and the degree of deviousness and ruthlessness employed. They run all the way from the bumbling British M.1.5 through the slippery American C.I.A. and the sharp French Surete to the Rugged Russian K.G.B. and the brutal, simplistic sadists of some South American countries. . Among the secret police of the world, I imagine the RCMP are probably ranked about 48th, coming just after Iceland and New Zealand. They simply are notept, devious or ruthless enough to stand any higher. Despite all the thundering fulminations of the hot air artists in Parliament, the idea of the Mounties as a secret lurking terror in this country, threatening the’’civil liberties of all of us, is almost hilarious. They haven’t enough money, men or brains at the top to be anything more than an irritant. They are probably outnumbered by members of the Opposition looking for publicity, dissident former Mounties who have quit the Force because they had to get their hair cut, and smart journalists who seem to have no trouble turning up the redcoats’ latest caper whenever > they feel like it. It’s true they have been accused of all sorts of dreadful things, most of them illegal. They have tapped phones and planted bugs. As do industrial spies and the Mafia and probably a lot of other organizations we don’t know about. They have opened private mail. I’d like to know how they go about this, unless they stand by a post-box and snatch the mail from your hand as you’re about to drop it in. Otherwise, they could wait three'weeks to get their hands on a likely letter, the way our postal service works. They have committed arson, so they say. So have a lot of merchants, but the latter call' it having a fire sale. Burglary. They stole dynamite, got the charges. No pun intended. Not a bad idea really, when the dynamite belongs to some bad guys who are known, with good reason, to be about to blow up something they should not with it. They have withheld, deliberately, information from the politicians who are supposed to be keeping an eye on them. So what? If they told the politicians everything they were going to do, the latter would either try to grab some votes by stopping it, or try to grab some votes by taking credit for s the act, if it worked. This is some crazy country, when it comes to secret service work. Remember that poor Russian spy who tried to turn himself over, with a load of documents, to Mackenzie King, back in the cold war days? He was told to go peddle his wares elsewhere and the poor guy walked the streets in winter, looking for someone to defect to. Somebody finally took him off the streets, and he uncovered a huge Russian spy ring in Canada. Then we had the massive overkill when a two-bit outfit in Quebec, the FLQ, pulled a couple of kidnappings. What a shemozzle! Hundreds of or­ dinary citizens were arrested with nary a habeas or a corpus, the army was called in, and the kidnappers made monkeys of the mounties and the Montreal gendarmes. After strangling one of the victims and turning the other loose, the hoods were escorted by police to Montreal airport and flown, free, to Cuba. And thus Canada’s police force, with incredible ineptitude, an­ nounced to the whole world that the way to deal with terrorists is to buy them off. It’s been going on ever since. Sorry, but I can’t get all worked up about the RCMP, and its alleged trespasses. It’s great stuff for the Opposition, but it’s more like Gilbert and Sullivan than the Gestapo. That doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the potential gravity of the situation. Sometimes I hear a soft click just after I’ve picked up the phone. Maybe it’s the Mounties. But most likely it’s my wife, on the upstairs telephone, trying to catch me making a poker date when she’s going to be out to sewing class. (I usually let the other guy talk, put down the receiver carefully, race upstairs and catch her in the act.) And when I took my grandboys to see Santa Claus at the big department store, I warned them. “Don’t say a word to that guy in the red coat with the beard, even if he asks what you want for Christmas.” He probably has a dossier on me. When I was 171 wanted to go and fight in the civil war in Spain. Years later, 20 years before anyone else in this country, I urged editorially that Canada recognize Red China. I once inadvertently voted NDP. And you know what those add up to. “He’s a RED!” as they’d have said 30 years ago. Today the Mounties probably have me down as a “poten­ tial delinquent liberal with leftist tendencies,” in a file marked TOP SECRET. International conferences, for the most part, are meetings to decide where the next set of meetings will be held. Some international negotiations have broken down over the size and shape of the negotiating table. But tariff negotiations afe dif­ ferent. Tariff negotiations are serious affairs where the participants come together with great pomp and dignity and proceed to pick each other’s pockets. Something along those lines is going on in Europe at this very moment. The various members of GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) are deep in negotiation, attempting to reach a consensus on what constitute reasonable tariff levels. Once - and if — the members reach an agreement, countries which violate the agreement may find themselves subject to punitive retaliation by the others. The trouble lies, in reach­ ing that consensus. Driving a bargain is never easy, as anyone who has ever bought a used car knows. When there are many parties involved in the negotiations, the difficulty is compound­ ed. Right now, Canada is facing enormous difficulties. Canada faces an uphill battle all the way because our tariffs are generally higher than those of other Western nations. The GATT members are trying to force our tariffs down. Superficially, the GATT nations are right. We must be prepared to provide the same terms to imports as other countries extend to our exports. The catch is that tariffs are only part of the story. The U.S., for instance, has a federal program known as‘the Small Business Act which extends preferen­ tial treatment for more than one-third of its purchases to independently owned and operated American busi­ nesses. The federal govern­ ment helps these firms pre­ pare tenders on government contracts; smaller firms which can match the low- priced bids automatically win the contract. The U.S., like most European and Asian countries, offers many advantages to home-based business. The net effect, of course, is to exclude much foreign business - even with zero tariffs. Non-tariff barriers exclude more foreign goods than do the tariffs them­ selves. Canada lacks these non­ tariff barriers. So the infor­ mation flowing out of GATT — that tariff reduc­ tions will be imposed with­ out corresponding reduc­ tions in non-tariff barriers — is bad news for Canadians. Unless we erect our own non-tariff barriers such as our own version of the American Small Business Act. The U.S. could not retaliate against a Canadian law based on existing American law. 4 , There’s not a minute to waste in implementing our own Small Business Acts at the federal and provincial levels. If these non-tariff barriers are not in place by the end of the GATT talks, Canada stands to take a beating in international trade. There’s no future for Canada being the Oliver Twist in a world of inter­ national trade Fagins. "Think small" is an editorial message from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Q Unchurched views from the United Church of Canada 55 Years Ago The newly organized adult class of James St. Sunday School composed chiefly of young married people met at the home of their teacher, Rev. M. J. Wilson on Wed­ nesday evening for the purpose of organizing and spending a social evening. The class is to be known by the name of “Comrades”. The young Ladies’ Bible Class of the James St. Sunday School held their annual banquet and social evening in the basement of the church. The teachers and officials of the school were invited guests. Over 100 sat down to a very appetizing menu of oysters, cake and ice cream. This section has ex­ perienced several snow storms during the past week. The automobiles have been practically tied up. Advocate Established 1881 (Times - Advocate* 'bB Hw*’* MkMWsesVA ft North Limbton Store 1I7J SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited tORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Plant Manager — Bill Weekley Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind ___Phone 235-1331 (?cna SUBSC Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning T at Exeter, Ontario I Second Class Mail I Registration.Number 0386 I Paid in Advance Circulation I September 30,1975 5,409 I SUBSCRIPTION RATEIsi Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00l It staggers between a national dis­ grace and a national joke. If it weren’t so utterly preposterous, it could make strong men weep. Whatever prin­ table—or unprintable—names one calls the Canadian Postal Service it is a national scandal, which our govern­ ment resolutely refuses to do anything about and, indeed, which it exacer­ bates. This mish-mash of half-baked, juvenile negotiation procedures must end. In Toronto and Montreal, and one or two other centres, small groups of people who laughingly call themselves socialists, regularly disrupt service.No self-respecting champion of the work­ ing class would do what these hoodlums do—prevent working people from earning a just living. They have cost the Canadian economy incredible amounts of money in direct-mail, magazines, greeting cards, mail order and small businesses which results in the layoff of thousands of workers. In 1975 alone, business lost more than $350 million and some 3,420 employees were laid off. This says nothing about the human frustration, disruption and tragedy caused to many Canadians by these wildcat walkouts, to say nothing of the legal strikes. The Christmas season caper in Toronto this year over the hiring of part-time workers—in a time of record unemployment—is simply another in the endless list of irresponsible acts. Those of us who cherish and support the collective bargaining rights of Canadian labour can no longer justify the cruel and senseless acts of these dissident elements in the post office work force. We hasten to point out, that a mere handful are spoiling the reputa­ tion of thousands of dedicated postal workers. The union seems to encourage these illegal acts. The government and its rule-bound supervisory personnel seem incapable of doing anything but promoting confrontation. A crown corporation may not be the answer. The post office may have to be sold and a proper contract worked out with a private mailing firm which would guarantee full service in un­ profitable and outlying areas. It is the obligation of the Federal Government to put the people of Canada first and to call immediately for a radically new way of moving the mail. >+ + + Prince Philip, never noted for his reticence, got himself in trouble recently for suggesting that the level of government interference in the lives of the people of Britain was approaching the Orwellian era of 1984, Prince Philip was not railing at the almost daily recital of major and minor violations of civil rights, frightening as that may be. Rather, it would appear that he was attacking a cast of mind which* says bigness in government is an inevitable and necessary outgrowth of technological democracy. While we sympathize with the news expressed by Prince Philip, we must recognize that the more complex the society and the more intricate personal relations become, the more govern­ ment intervention there will be. The problem is to know how much in­ terference is too much, how little not enough. In attempting to throw some light on the question, the Reverend Clarke MacDonald, Deputy Secretary of the United Church’s Division of Mis­ sion in Canada, recently told a men’s club in Chatham, Ontario, that it was the responsibility of the Christian con­ science to determine “what is too much and/or too little.” Governments and the people that run and administer them, exist solely for the citizens of the nation they rule. But if those citizens demand more and more in the way of social benefits, government bureaucracies will in­ crease in direct proportion at best and more likely out of all proportion. When this happens, denial of human rights looms as a real danger and George Orwelli’s fictional prophecy of a Big Brother watching over our every move could become reality. As Dr. MacDonald pointed out in his Chatham address, determining what is too much or too little is a matter of conscience. Every citizen should make sure that the voice of conscience is heard ih parliament and legislative assemblies. 30 Years Ago Thomas Pryde was nominated on Wednesday as the Progressive Con­ servative candidate in the forthcoming by-election for the Huron riding. W. E. Middleton was elected chairman of the Exeter Public School Board. Mr. Lex McDonald, distributor of Supertest Gasoline Co. in this district, moved his family to Exeter from Glencoe. Exeter Rural HEPC work­ men were called to Kingsville where the recent sleet storm did so much damage. W. G. Cochrane was elected chairman of the newly formed male choir. 20 Years Ago • B. W. Tuckey and W. G. Cochrane of town and Ivan Kalbfleisch and George Deichert, Zurich, are at­ tending the national Liberal convention in Ottawa this week. Effective immediately, Huron Inspectorate No. 3 with its office in Exeter under the supervision of John Goman will be enlarged by the addition of the township of Hibbert. At a meeting of the Ladies Auxiliary to South Huron Hospital Tuesday afternoon, it was voted to undertake the furnishing of the main living room of the new nurses’ residence of the hospital. Stephen Reeve John Morrissey won the tightest election battle in Huron County’s history when he became warden Tuesday. 15 Years Ago Two escapees from the Ontario Hospital in Hamilton were picked up by town police here Monday. One was 22 and the other was a 14- year-old-boy. Exeter Kinsmens Club has pledged a $1,500 donation toward the swimming pool project. Provincial honors were awarded to three 4-H members at the Perth County Achievement Day held in Mitchell recently. They were Hazel Crago, Kirkton, and Joyce Kerslake and Margaret Wallace of the Staffa Club. Former councillor Stewart Webb took over the Reeve’s chair at the recent inaugural meeting of Grand Bend* council. A THOUGHT FOR THE NEW YEAR I shall pass through this life but once. If, therefore, there is any kindness I can show, Or any good I can do any fellow being, Let me do it now! Let rqe not deter or neglect it, For I shall not pass this way again.