Times-Advocate, 1978-05-04, Page 4Times-Advocate, May 4, 1978Page 4
First things, first
While ‘'politics” appears to be a
major stumbling block in a decision
about the proposed Huron County
police communication system location,
there is a major question that Exeter
council members have failed to face,
and yet it is of a critical nature.
The question, of course, is what
system will be used to answer local fire
calls if the answering service presently
operated by Lorna Dale is terminated
once the police system comes into
effect.
Mrs, Dale presently answers calls
for both emergency departments, as
well as for the PUC, works depart
ment, local doctors, etc., and there has
been a suggestion she may end the ser
vice when the police communication
system is established because it would
be uneconomical for her to continue.
Other systems are available, but
council must ascertain whether they
are as efficient as the service Mrs.
Dale now provides. It would be unwise
to initiate a new police system that
may have some advantages if it results
in a great reduction in the efficiency
and safety factors now enjoyed by the
community for fire calls.
' That question appears basic to the
entire matter. Council should not make
any decision on a police communica
tion network until they can be assured
that other emergency calls in the com
munity can be properly handled and at
a comparable cost to that which is now
expended.
55 Yean Ago
Buying dreams BATT'N AROUND
“Just once. .
And so the dream goes as
Canadians gamble more for the one big
win. . . the one strike it rich oppor
tunity.
Despite unemployment and
economic problems or maybe because
of them, betting is reaching for all-
time records. It isn’t just at the tracks
either although records are being set
there. Last year Canadians wagered a
record $1,232 billion, up 9.6 percent
from 1976 according to statistics from
the federal agriculture department.
It’s interesting to note that the
average bet on thoroughbred races
dropped 2.3 percent to $61,954 while the
average bet on harness races increased
8.1 percent to $23,423.
Then there’s the fantastic sale of
Wintario tickets and Loto Canada
tickets and a number of other major
big money draws that promote the
“just once dream”.
In the face of news that doesn’t
ever seem to get any better, in the light
of increased hospitalization costs, in
creased education taxes and a host of
other inflation feeders, perhaps the
license to dream which is represented
by the ticket purchase or bet placed is *
notunusual.
As the “something for next to
nothing” hope becomes more firmly in
grained though, we see social dif
ficulties which won’t easily go away or
be dreamed into oblivion. '
Milton Champion
Lakefield not for the birds
Doubtful benefit
Raising the legal drinking age in
Ontario to 20 from 18 would do little to
solve the province’s alcohol problem
because this problem is largely an
adult one, says Dr. A.C. Forrest, editor
of the United Church Observer.
In the magazine’s May issue, the
editor writes that laws which forbid an
18-year-old from drinking but allow
him to vote, marry, drive, and defend
his country, seem hypocritical.
Drinking among the young is a
serious problem and it is growing, says
Dr. Forrest. “Of 4,018 deaths of young
men between 15 and 24 in 1974, 1,925
were a result of motor accidents. Of
those 540 were related to alcohol.”
However, says the editor, it is the
adults who make money from people
drinking and whose business it is to get
more people to drink.
“Until we who are older make a
sincere attempt to clean up this act, we
doubt that there will be value in pass
ing laws to keep young adults from do
ing what old adults have no intention of
doing without.”
The readers write
Unleashes protest
The Rectory Kennel,
Exeter, Ontario.
May 1, 1978.
To the Editor,
Times-Advocate
Exeter, Ontario.
Dear Mr. Editor:
I hope you will excuse my
boldness in daring to address
myself to such an exalted
person as the Editor of the
Times Advocate. You see, I
am a Scottish terrier, and it
is most unusual for a little
bow wow like me to write a
letter to a newspaper.
However, someone has said
that “a cat may look at a
queen”, so perhaps a dog
may approach a king of the
media.
The purpose of my letter is
to protest against the con
tents of an advertisement
which appeared in last
week’s issue of your won
derful weekly. It would
appear that the Bluewater
Kennel Club Purebred Dog
Show has been arranged to
take place on Sunday, May 7
at the hour of 11:00 a.m. in
the South Huron Recreation
Centre.
Now, I may claim to be a
pure bred dog, and to have a
most distinguished ancestry.
I would like to make clear
that pure bred ddgs possess
among other qualities very
high standards and ideals.
You may guess how very
times Established 1873
disturbed and upset I
became when I realised that
human people actually
arranged a dog show to take
place on a Sunday morning
with the judging beginning at
the same time as. divine
worship in the Christian
churches in our community.
We pure bred dogs feel we
are being led astray by those
who claim us as their best
friends.
In case you are surprised
at a Scottish terrier taking a
religious position, please
understand that we have
saints in the canine world.
Who has not heard of the
Saint Bernards, who have
dedicated themselves to
rescuing travellers lost in
the snowdrifts of the Alpine
passes.
Not only that, but all of us
wear the ‘dog collar’, which
is, as you know, a very
hallowed ecclesiastical
symbol. We also have our
police force, the German
Shepherd tribe. You, Mr.
Editor, with your vast and
wide expanse of knowledge,
are no doubt aware of the
foregoing facts I have stated,
but perhaps, may I dare to
suggest, that even you are
not aware of the fact that
Scottish terriers represent
the academic halls of the
tailwagging world.
Many dog owners are
interested in teaching.
Advocate Established 1 881
obedience to their pets, yet
they are ready to ignore and
disobey the great set of
Commandments given to the
prophet Moses by the one
who created all of us, dogs
and humans included. I
refer, of course to the fourth
commandment, “Reme
mber that thou keep holy the
Sabbath day. Six days shalt
thou labour, and do all that
thou hast to do; but the
Seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord thy God”.
A derogatory expression
often used by human beings
to describe the downfall of
another human being is to
say that “so and so has gone
to the dogs”. In our society
the saying is reversed, or
will be reversed on Sunday,
May 7 when we bark from
kennel to kennel, “poor old
Rin-tin-tin has gone to the
humans”.
Thank you, Mr. Editor, for
allowing me this opportunity
to unleash my protest. See
you in Church.
Respectfully and
tailwaggingly
yours very faithfully,
Angus McGregor Anderson
Editor note: This letter was
appropriately signed with a
paw print, but unfortunately
it could not be reproduced.
The letter was delivered by
the author.
It may be too late to pass along a
stern warning to fans of the Exeter
Hawks about their conduct in
Lakefield, but there are some stringent
bylaws in that community that should
be noted.
For instance, a clipping passed along
to us by a local resident notes that the
law in the Peterborough area com
munity prohibits activities such as
yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling,
singing and holding of parades or
gatherings.
The bylaws state that persons
violating the regulations can be fined
from $10 to $300.
There is little doubt that the
Lakefield municipal coffers could have
been substantially augmented when the
Hawks made their first trip to that
community a week ago. Certainly,
local fans were most vocal in their sup
port of the team and fortunately they
escaped the full thrust of the pmice.
Young Scott Bogart may think he’s
safe from the law with his trumpet, but
alas, that is not the case. The law
prohibits the playing of musical in
struments with the exception of
military bands on duty.
The time for the rules to be enforced
is from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. daily, so
we suggest fans keep a close eye on
their watches and curtail their noisy
behaviour after the bewitching hour.
There are some other strange edicts
on the books in Lakefield. It is an
offence to throw refuse such as
cigarette butu on town streets,
sidewalks or public properties. We’re
not certain if stone-skipping contests
along the river adjacent to the arena
are covered, but the Hawks would be
well advised to check into that situa
tion before they run afoul of local
authorities and their playing ranks are
depleted by jail terms.
It is also illegal for a person to sit on
a municipal park bench if a policeman
asks the person to move along.
However, the real crunch of the
strict laws in Lakefield is saved for the
birds in that community.
Birds can sing for less than half an
hour between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
and less than 15 minutes between 10:00
p.m. anti 8:00 a.m. The bylaw, by the
way, makes no distinction between
wild birds and pets.
How they train birds to conform to
the bylaw, or what type of punishment
is handed out to offenders is not in
dicated in the news report covering
council’s actions.
And one final word. If you’re heading
for Lakefield, make certain your car is
in good condition.
Clattering noises from vehicles will
only be tolerated if the vehicle is run
ning over rough roads. If you’re on a
smooth road, the vehicle must be
noiseless.
So there you have it! It is obvious
there is no sense in the Hawks allowing
the Chiefs to win the OHA cup, because
they really couldn’t whoop it up in a
celebration anyway.
(hopefully they can not yet be termed
hoodlums) before the situation,
progresses any further.
While the parents who allow their
youngsters to roam the streets should
be expected to take the situation in
hand, it is obvious they have failed to
do so and their responsibility should be
assumed by the police.
Many of the parents involved no
doubt will plead ignorance to the fact,
but having been apprised of the situa
tion, they should be asking some rather
pertinent questions regarding the
whereabouts and pursuits of their .
offspring.
A three-act comedy, “Not
Such a Fool as he Looks”,
put on in the Opera House
under the auspices of the
Trivitt Memorial Sunday
School, drew two packed
houses Wednesday and
Thursday. The cast included
Mr. H. Miller, Mr. Donald
Davis, Mr. George Hinds,
Mr. B. Cunningham, Mr.
James Morley, Miss Helen
Wethey, Miss F. Dinney,
Mrs. N.J. Dore and Miss
E.M. Howey.
At the recent examination
held by the London College
of Music, Miss Elsie Knight
was successful in passing
the tests required to be
enrolled as a graduate.
Mr. George Layton,
Brucefield, has been ap
pointed returning officer for
South Huron for the provin
cial election in June.
Mr. Thos. Cameron has
purchased from Mr. Chas.
Monteith five acres of land
which he has presented to
the Thames Road Young
People as an athletic field.
30 Years Ago
Farquhar Oliver, Liberal
leader in Ontario, and Frank
Fingland, K.C. the Liberal
candidate in Huron, ad
dressed a rally in the Exeter
Arena.
The 23rd annual meeting
of the London Conference
Branch of the United Church
was held in James Street
Church Wednesday.
A new grandstand is being
erected at the Exeter
Recreational Park.
Messrs. B.W. Williams
and J. Hodgert shipped two
carloads of cattle containing
56 head to the Toronto
market Monday and receiv
ed the highest price ever
received during their years
of shipping. For baby beef,
they got a little more than 19
cents per pound.
Exeter’s entry in the
Huron-Perth Intermediate
Baseball League, will be
guided by an executive of 18
businessmen.
20 Years Ago
Hon. William Nickle,
minister of planning and
development, will officially
open the Morrison Dam at a
ceremony at the site
Wednesday afternoon, June
4.
Sunday, June 8, the new
$60,000 nurses’ residence for
South Huron Hospital will be
opened for public inspection
in an afternoon program.
Bill and Don Brock, sons
of Mr. and Mrs. Russell
Brock, RR 2, Kippen,
graduated with BSA degrees
from OAC, Guelph.
A marker com
memorating the original site
of Grand Bend Brewster’s
Dam was dedicated in a
ceremony Saturday. The old
dam site is immediately
behind the Roman Catholic
Church on the Bluewater
Highway.
15 Years Ago
Another new* constable
joined the local OPP detach
ment Wednesday. He is
William Glassford, 24, of
Mt. Forest.
St. Mary’s Anglican
Church, Brinsley, which was
named after the wife of the
rector under which it was
built, celebrates 100 years
this weekend.
Agriculture Minister W.A.
Stewart will officially open
the new memorial com
munity centre at Dashwood
Monday.
George Lawson, who has
served a division court clerk
for nearly 18 years, has
resigned. He will be replac
ed by William Musser, depu
ty reeve of the town who will
serve both as clerk and
bailiff of the fifth division
court of the county at Ex
eter.
Pat Strapp, Hyde Park
and Barry Anderson, RCAF
Station Clinton, won the
“twisting” contest” spon
sored by Exeter Kinsmen at
their annual spring jam
boree.
* * ★
While we may chuckle at some of the
rather strange bylaws in Lakefield, at
least one makes some sense and that is
in regards to the fact youths are not
allowed to loiter around the streets late
at night.
Some of the stories circulating
around our community in recent weeks
pertaining to the antics of some young
people are most disturbing, particular
ly when it is reported that the “gang”
is made up of youngsters of senior
public school age.
The kids have been intimidating
drivers and we’ve also heard rumors to
the effect they’ve been intimidating
fellow students through mafia-type
demands for “protection money”.
It is obvious that an immediate
police crack-down is necessary to
break up this gang of young pranksters
7 • *
At no time in the year does that old
adage about absence making the heart
grow fonder take on more significance
than spring time in Ontario.
The warm sun, the colorful buds, the
greening grass and the chirping of
birds quickly obliviates any memories
of the harsh winter months.
The wind and snow is often a harsh
price to pay for the enjoyment of the
first warm days of spring, but most
people agree that this season would
have little meaning without those cold,
blustery days.
People in more moderate climates
don’t have the spring air to give them a
new look on life, and while many would
quickly offer to trade them places for
the winter months, it would be a reluc
tant exchange come spring.
Right now, no one would exchange
the advantages of our four seasons for
a steady diet of summer. However,
don’t suggest that trade six months
from now when f^he frost is once again
on the pumpkins. You’ll get trampled
in the stampede!
Think small
by Jim Smith
The Innocent Tax Evader
f limes-Advocate
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC
Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited
LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER
Editor — Bill Batten
Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh
Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett
Composition Manager — Harry DeVries
Business Manager —- Dick Jongkind
Phone 235-1331
(♦CNA
SUBSC
Amalgamated 1924
Published Each Thursday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Registration Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation
September 30,1975 5,409
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00
Canadians are in a bad mood these
days. Not bad in the sense of angry or
ugly. Bad in the sense of gloomy,
depressed. And not without reason.
After riding a post-war boom, with
industry thriving, new money coming
in, new opportunities opening up, and a
general sense that the man might be
right after all, that the 20th century did
belong to Canada, we have skidded to a
low that hasn’t been touched for
decades.
Trouble is, during that boom, we
grew accustomed to affluence and a
measure of ease, and we weren’t built
to cope with that. We were a rather
dour, independent, sturdy people, far
more used to battling for an existence
than lying around enjoying life.
We just couldn’t cope with the ideas:
that we would get a raise in pay every
year; that practically everybody could
own a house or car or both; that there
was a job for everybody; that we might
even be able to borrow money from the
bank in a pinch. &
All of these were alien to our Cana
dian experience, which had always
maintained that life was real and
earnest, that fun was almost sinful,
and that if things were going well, you
kept your fingers crossed and knocked
on wood.
Those of us who had grown up during
the Depression, of course, never
believed for a minute that the prosperi
ty would last. We went around like so
many Jeremiahs, warning the young of
the horrors to come when the bubble
burst, and boring them to death with
tales of our own impoverished youth.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunate
ly, the boom didn’t end with a bang but
a whimper.
We’ Cassandras of gloom were scoff
ed at. There were still plenty of jobs.
Everybody could go to college, on loans
and grants. Everybody really needed a
summer cottage or a ski chalet or two
cars or three snowmobiles. The banks
would lend money to anyone who didn’t
have two heads, and the loan com
panies looked after them. The Cana
dian dollar was buoyant, and we were a
little sickly glad when the Yanks had to
pay a dollar and five cents for a Cana
dian dollar’s worth.
If you were temporarily between
jobs, unemployment insurance was
easy to get and fairly generous.
If you were really strapped, you
could go on welfare and sit home
watching TV. If you got sick, hospital
insurance looked after all the bills. Gas
for the car and fuel for the furnace and
food for the belly were cheap and plen
tiful.
And then the rot set in, slowly. A
touch of mould here, a cockroach
crawling there. Strike after strike
after strike made us one of the world’s
most unstable industrial countries. As
a result, capital investment began to
dry up. Another effect was that many
of our manufactured products had pric
ed themselves out of the world — and
even Canadian — markets.
Branch plants began to close as their
owners pulled in their horns and
retreated to the comparative stability
and higher production of the U.S. Other
plants running three shifts cut to two,
then one. Foreign investors found more
fertile fields for their money.
Our armed forces became ineffec
tive for lack of funds, and lost much of
the pride they had once held in their
role in NATO.
It snowballed. Inflation became
more than a topic of conversation; it
became a bogeyman. Then, suddenly,
there wasn’t much gas and oil left and
their prices soared.
A new, ugly racism reared its head,
sparked by the fact that so many im
migrants did so well with so little,
because they were willing to work.
A separatist party was elected in
Quebec, and it was a whole new ball
game. The employment force swelled
steadily, while new jobs failed to keep
up. Huge mining and smelting com
panies which had been stockpiling their
products because other nations could
buy them cheaper elsewhere, closed
down and put thousands of well-he,eled
workers on the pogey.
Small farmers fell by the wayside
when only the big ones could survive.
And we kept paving over valuable
farmland with asphalt and concrete.
Retired people saw their life’s
savings gobbled up by inflation and the
falling dollar. Small businessmen cut
back on staff and service in order to
stay in business. Doctors, fed up to the
teeth with overwork and bureaucratic
interference, began heading for
greener, and warmer, pastures.
University students,’ toiling over
their books, grew ever more bitter as
they began to realize that the country
did not want or need them, that the
chance of a job on graduation was
paper-thin. Thousands of high school
students who should have been out
working, Went back to school and lazed
away another year, because they were
a drug on the market.
• And governments, national, provin
cial, and local, wrung their hands and
waited for the wind to change, the
miracle to take place, while they went
right on spending more and more tax
payers’ money.
it’s not much wonder that the
prevailing mood of the country is
morose and suspicious.
But surely a nation that toughed it
through two world wars and a world
depression is not going to roll over and
die. We ain’t licked yet. And spring will
be here. Probably by the first of June.
Some weeks ago, we raised
the case of a modest com
pany which found itself trap
ped in the Never-Neverland
of sales tax collections. A
provincial tax inspector
fined the firm for improper
collection methods, even
though the firm had collect
ed the proper amount of tax.
The firm followed written
instructions from this inspec
tor for several years, only to
find that a new inspector
had arrived on the scene.
This new inspector had his
own version of proper pro
cedure—which differed from
the first set of instructions—
and the firm was fined again.
In'both instances, though
the firm could likely have had
the fines reversed in court,
it was not feasible to con
test the decisions. Court
costs (when awarded to sue-,
cessful appellants) generally
do not cover the total legal
and accounting bills - and
the difference may well ex
ceed the fines involved.
Government officials—in
cluding at least one Premier
— from across the country
have now claimed that the
case could not have taken
place within their jurisdic
tions. However, the Canadian
Federation of Independent
Business has received similar
complaints from all corners
of Canada.
But the sincere denials by
politicians drives home a sig
nificant fact about modern
government: civil servants,
not politicians, interpret the
nation’s laws. The politicians
may believe that they have
devised fair laws because
they do not realize that the
bureaucrats who enforce
those laws are deviating from
the intent.
Bureaucrats tend to view
regulations as methods of
penalizing business rather
than as general indications
of desirable behaviour. The
case of the unfortunate busi
ness which got caught be
tween two pig-headed ad
ministrators who insisted on
treating the firm like a tax
evader rather than an inno
cent victim of poorly phrased
tax laws illustrates this point
perfectly.
A relative handful of poli
ticians frame the laws for
this country. An army of
bureaucrats implement those
laws. The politicians have
effectively lost all control
over the bureaucracy.
When the political leaders
start personally processing
each and every tax case, they
can authoritatively refute
any charges of bureaucratic
abuse. In the meantime,
there are some positive ac
tions they can take to ensure
that the reality of our tax
system is as rosy as the poli
tical fairy-tale version.
Above all, every province
desperately requires a com
pletely independent tax ap
peal board. As matters cur
rently stand, the revenue
departments review these
cases internally - hardly an
independent, unbiased as
sessment. These boards
should have the power to re
verse bureaucratic tax deci
sions plus award up to $5000
in costs to firms which make
successful appeals. This
would prevent blackmail by
jealous tax assessors.
Simultaneously, the pro
vincial revenue departments
should be required to change
their policy towards small
business. As a rule, the asses
sors assigned to investigate
small businesses are junior,
less experienced employees.
They are over-zealous and
learn their trade at the ex
pense of the small business
man. Big firms, which can
well afford to appeal unfair
decisions, are treated with
more respect.
Our tax administrators do
take advantage of the na
tion’s smaller businesses. No
amount of wishful political
thinking can change the
truth.
Think small" is an editorial
massage from the Canadian
Federation of Independent
Business.o—-——------—