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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1980-06-11, Page 4Page 4 Times-Advocate, June 11,1980 Time Este 414110. 873. Advocate Established 88y eseesesseeseelesessiteeek Amalgamated 1924 SERVING CAN, BEST FARMLAND C.W,N,A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Publistted. by J. W. Eedy Publications. Limited, LORNE EEO', PUBLISHER Editor Bill Batten Assistant Editor Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry BeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Published Each Wednesday Morning Phone 235-1331 at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Me Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $14.00 Per Year; USA $35.00 ntsmosiosoussow VkM.4.„kmgm3=31:: BLUE RIBBON AvvARD 1980 Better late than never "With doctors double billing, I can't afford to be in poor health these days." Perspectives my wife coaxes them to her without any degree of suc- cess. They seem to sense exactly how much I enjoy having 'them parade along the sofa, gently tickling my ear with their tails as they walk by and they never fail to rub against my leg at the door, or gently scratch delicate lines across the uppers of my new patent leather shoes as I leave. Ah, how sad I was when our last dear feline departed for the land of the happy mouse-catchers. I mourned bitterly as I threw out my last tray of aromatic litter. Later in the week fresh sobs of grief broke from me as I repaired the screen door which had so many claw tears in it that only an elephant -sized mosquito could not have got through. One final tear came as I paid the last installment on our freshly-covered chesterfield, Life is hard, when even the best of friends must part. Prolonging the argument It's a decision that is unfortunately 10 years too late, but Huron County council must be lauded for their indica- tion that there will be no further ad- ditions at Huronview, but rather future demands for this type of accommoda- tion will result in a new facility at either the south or north portion of the county. At the time of one of the last major additions, this newspaper initiated a spirited campaign to have the addition shelved in favor of a new home at either end of the county. The Wingham Advance-Times quickly joined in the ef- fort and through a coupon in the two papers, hundreds of readers supported the move to decentralize county home facilities. Despite those efforts which carried A fire near Petrolia recently resulted in the death of five, people. Cause of the blaze was listed as an over-heated electric train transformer. Perhaps that is only partially cor- rect. That may have been the cause of the blaze, but perhaps it would be fair to say that one of the main reasons for the cause of the deaths was the lack of a smoke or fire detector. One of those simple devices, as has been proven time and again, would Two or three weeks ago just about everyone was up in arms over the staggering interest rates. The price of borrowed money had gone to unheard of levels - in some cases as high as 20 percent. By the end of last week the Bank of Canada's prime rate was back down to 13 per cent and would have fallen still further without government intervention - an intervention which the government refused to make when the rate was climbing. One can hardly blame young farmers and home owners for panick- ing in the face of loan and mortgage in- terest rates which would have left them without land and homes. However, cooler heads were able to foresee the probability of a sudden decline in the in- terest rates, What happened, of course, was that the price of borrowed money went so high that, suddenly, there were no borrowers. A lender's money is just like any other saleable commodity, When the price gets too high there are no takers. When your grocer finds the bananas rotting on his fruit stand he has to lower the price. Money sitting in a bank vault has to be kept moving or the bank is out of business. The finan- By SYD FLETCHER Cats and I have always had a relationship unequalled by few. They seem to know exactly how much I care for them as soon as I meet them. Invariably they make a bee line for me when we come to a friend's house, heading without hesitation for my lap while the same arguments as used to make last week's decision, county council of that day chose to ignore the reasoned pleas of taxpayers when councillors liv- ing in the central portion over-ruled their cohorts at the two extremities. Unfortunately, that decision put the county several years behind the more practical and humane concept of keep- ing such homes more conveniently located to the former residences of their clientele and in having such facilities maintained at a more friendly size. Hopefully, the decision of last week will meet with approval when the ac- tual time comes to consider extending services, but obviously ratepayers at the south and north have more support than last time around. have given the five victims earlier war- ning of the fire and possibly resulted in their escape. It seems like such a waste of human life when it could be averted with such a minimal expense. "r Have you made that small invest- ment yet? Strange, isn't it, that so many peo- ple who wouldn't think of doing without fire insurance to rebuild after a fire don't realize that fire insurance policies can't rebuild human lives? cial institutions which are in the business of lending money aren't operating out of the kindness of their hearts ; they don't lend money because they want to do you a favor. They lend money for one reason only; because that's the one way in which they can make a profit. The federal government isn't any too happy about the decline in interest rates. Their intervention last Thursday was made in the fear that if borrowed money becomes too cheap there will be little or no curb on the pressures of in- flation. In other words, silly Canadians will borrow more and more, spend more and more and pay ever higher prices for those goodies they think they need. It's a bit like walking a slippery poll over a fast river: interest rates decline, borrowings go up, purchases increase and more people are employed to manufacture and sell the consumer goods. Interest rates climb; borrowings decline; business slows down and jobs become harder to find. Aren't you glad you're not the prime minister? Wingham Advance-Times It was with more than the usual in- terest that the writer showed up at last week's session of Exeter council, hav- ing been provided with a copy of the agenda which indicated that Jay Campbell was going to air comments on "elementary economics for newspaper editors andotheruninformed persons". As president of the Bluewater Regional Newspaper Network, the thought occurred that a rush bulletin should be sent to my cohorts in the 11- newspaper group. but that was side- stepped on the realization that weekly newspaper people are too busy in their own communities on Monday evenings to consider attending such a seminar. Zurich news editor Tom Creech did avail himself of the opportunity, but we were the only uninformed people pre- sent. I don't know if that is an indica- tion of the total group of uninformed people in the community, or whether there are some others who may con- sider themselves in the same class. At any rate. they missed the oppor- tunity to be enlightened. The main thrust of Councillor Campbell's comments was to point out that the editor shared the misconcep- tion of many people by stating in a re- cent editorial that talking in terms of percentage is always a questionable practice when it comes to a discussion on tax rates. It must be admitted that the main point of the editorial was to rankle council members enough to exhort them to explain the sizeable increase in the mill rate to the ratepayers after ap- proving the budget with no open debate on the reasons for certain expenditures such as a $100,000 reserve fund. That was only partially successful and while past budget debates would in- dicate the improbability of every member of the present council being totally in agreement with every aspect of the 1980 budget, any opposition to it remains behind closed doors, along with the reasoning used in reaching the final figures. * * * However, I am still not convinced, even after Campbell's course in elementary economics, that the only consideration of a budget increase is in ar and Dispe Ised by Smiley In theory, women are the sentimen- tal sex, men the hard, unfeeling sex. In reality, this is pure horse... wait for it,.. feathers. Underneath all the cooing and croon- ing and weeping, hidden behind the ah's and oh's and other symbols of maudlini- ty, women are about as sentimental as turtles. This is said in no disparaging sense. I detest sentimentality, though I have nothing against sentiment. Thus, I despise myself for being sentimental about things: old shoes, old hats, old hip waders, old houses, old cars, and even old ladies. There is nothing of this in my wife. Oh, she can get sentimental about the way I used to baby her, or the joy the children were before they grew up, or her school days in the one-room coun- try school-house. In other words, figments of the imagination. But when it comes down to things I love and cherish, she's as sentimental as a meat-grinder. Just the other day, she threw out my golf shoes. I'd had them only twenty- one years. They were a size too big when I bought them, and my feet skidd- ed around a bit inside them: the spikes were worn down to pimples, many mis- sing. But they Were old friends. I felt low for two days. She didn't turn a hair. terms of percentage as opposed to the actual dollars or mill rate jump. It would seem that the matter probably rests somewhere between our respective positions, in that all factors must be taken into consideration, although before proceeding on the writer must admit that the complex- ities of economics, even some elemen- tary aspects of it, are confusing to him at the best of times. But it does seem that the use of percentages in many facets of our economic way of life contribute in no small way to some of the inequities that exist and result in many troubled spots. To illustrate this let us consider the case of two taxpayers who started out 10 years ago with respective rates of $80 and $100, figures which are obvious- ly simplified to keep the mathematical computations within the scope of the editor's abilities. 4 The difference in actual dollars is $20 and, the one pays four-fifths of the higher of the two figures. It is doubtful that the difference of $20 would result in any great consternation on the part of the taxpayer with the bigger figure. However, as taxes increase over the years and reach figures that are 10 times as high, the new rates being paid are $800 and $1,000 respectively. The ratios remain the same, but now there is a $200 difference and one that may become more of a troubled spot for the taxpayer with the higher figure. The same situation, although perhaps even more inequitable, arises' with salary increases that are based on percentages. Unfortunately, there are many people who share the editor's misconception about percentages, often choosing to look more at the dollar differences that arise.. The same thing happens with wage earners as with taxpayers. Ten years ago when one employee may have been hired at $80 per week and another $100, the same percentages are evident as in the illustration of the tax payments. Now when the salaries have gone to $800 and $1,000 the dollar difference of $200,' appears much more exaggerated than the original difference of $20, although to be sure, the percentages and ratios remain intact and according to our economic advisor, should be con- sidered quite proper. mow.. This week, she made me buy a pair of dress shoes, black, I had a perfectly good pair of black shoes. As usual, I had worn them only to weddings and funerals for the first four years, then to work for the last three. They were good shoes. Cost me $22. But they weren't good enough, in her opinion, for some dam' fancy party we were going to. It didn't matter to her that they were comfortable (it takes about three years to break in a pair of shoes), still quite black when sufficient polish was applied, and only a few scuffs here and there, about the size of a thumbnail each. Out they went. Have you any idea what a pair of de- cent shoes cost these'days? By George, they must be using humans for skin. Blacks for black shoes, brown people for brown shoes, and Scandinavians for white shoes. No animal hide, alive or dead, is worth what they're asking for a bit of leather. My old lady recently bought a collec- tion of strings of leather that wouldn't make a medium-sized jock-strap., It was called a pair of shoes. It cost $85. They were made in Italy. I'm. going to write the Pope. But I mustn't degress. Latest victim of my wife's complete lack of sen- timentality about old and cherished things was our car. The Big Car, as my However, our main argument is that the base factor from which the same taxpayers and wage earners operate does not, unfqrtunately, work on the same percentage differences and in- dicates why the rich continue to get richer, and the poor get poorer. It is also one of the reasons why a 24- mill tax increase, whatever the percen- tage, is a hardship for many ratepayers. All ratepayers, if they are to enjoy the benefits of being informed by an un- informed editor, pay the same sub- scription rate for their newspaper. It is assumed they also pay the same hourly rate to have their watch fixed, although one may well be able to afford a more expensive watch in the first place. But the cost of the original watch has nothing to do witjt. the' hourly rate of repairs so it must be assumed that one can' more easily, afford to have his watch fixed than the other in the same way that one can better afford the price of the newspaper subscription than the other. The watch repair cost or the newspaper subscription represents a larger percentage drain on the dis- posable income to the person making $800 than the one who gets $1,000 in the same manner as such other base costs as energy, food, life insurance, hockey registration, home repairs, etc., etc. Because many of those factors eat up the lion's share of disposable income, it would appear more equitable in many instances if the original $20 difference in wages stayed that way through com- parable dollar increases rather than percentage increases over the 10-year period in the illustrations rather than jumping to $200. It is the base factors from which various taxpayers operate that council members must be extremely aware when they approve tax increases. So many costs are fixed, regardless of whether a person is making $800 or $1,- 000 that the portion of income for property tax payments cannot stand massive increases whether they be 24 mills or 12.47 percent for the person making the lesser of the two amounts. Unlike income tax, property tax bears little comparison on a person's ability to pay increases. grandboys called it when they climbed, cramped, out of the poky little Datsun their mother drove, and in which she carried a pail of water to fill the leaking radiator every thirty-five miles. Those little fellows loved it. They didn't even notice the rust. It was a veritable playhouse, the Yellowbird, another pet name. They were at their happiest when we were steaming down the highway, crawling around my feet, pushing buttons, twisting dials. It was sheer bliss for them when they got everything going at once. A cold winter day. The air-conditioning turned to full cold with the fan on. Windshield wipers flying at top speed, and one kid pushing the window-wash button, the other punching buttons of the radio, turned to full volume, or trying to put on, simultaneously, the headlights and the emergency brake. Do you think any of those good times, those tranquil moments meant anything to my old lady. Not on your life. This week I bid a fond farewell to the Yellowbird. wiped away a surrep- titious tear, and climbed into a new car she'd made me buy. No fun there for 'the kids. No air- conditioning to switch on suddenly, LMainstrearn Canada Negotiating a new deal tiate specific issues is anyone's guess. The Parti Quebecois gov- ernment has little choice but to ,mothball sovereignty- association, although the next provincial election could, have as much influence on future change as the referendum, The clear choice in favor of federalism is a very positise result for national unity, but equally important is the ap- parent willingness among all Canadians to compromise and accommodate. change, This positive attitude, which has affected public opinion and the views of the media generally, may hold the ke): to the success of upcom- ing federal-provincial dis- cussions. Still, one thing appears cer- tain in this post-referendum era: the status quo is no longer acceptable to many regions and provinces. A new deal affecting all Canadians and the way they are governed is about to be worked out. While tempers among those negotiating that deal may become frayed, the politicians should keep one thing in mind: from sea to sea, Canadians have expressed a desire to remain as one country. The referendum simply served to reiterate that crucial point. received a grant to support research into the field of world relations. R.L. Beavers was installed as president of the Exeter Lions Club, Thursday night by International Councillor A.J. Sweitzer. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Cerson left Monday for a trip to the west. They plan to see the Calgary Stampede and visit in Regina and Portage La Prairie. It was announced this week by John Berry, Goderich, that a total of $13,366.17 has been con- tributed by Huron County to the blitz for World Refugee Year held in May, Exeter citizens contributed $1,460.00; Crediton $776.85 and Hensall $300.00. Musical selections by the Exeter Citizens Band under the leadership of Brother Theodore Walper featured the annual memorial and decoration day service of the Exeter Lodge IOOF, at Exeter Cemetery on Sunday. 15 Years Ago David Noakes, former SH- DHS graduate and son of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Noakes, Hensall received his Bachelor of Science degree in Honors Biology. He was presented with a gold medal and is currently working for his Masters of Science degree. What is believed a first in Huron County occurred last week when results from a lie- detector test were used in a court session. About 100 members of the "Exeter and Area Hydro family" surprised K.J. Lampman, area Ontario Hydro manager, with a retirement banquet, Thursday night. Tax rates of 65 mills residential and 72.5 com- mercial were approved at a special session of Grand Bend council, Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Richard McFalls and family left Friday to spend three weeks with friends in Nova Scotia. making Grandad's hair stand on end. It's a two-door, so no more playing with the locks and leaning against the door and watching Gran go out of her mind. Caged in, like little animals. Have you bought a new car lately? Neither have we, but it's fairly new, Our last one cost $2,000.00 and was only five years old. It lasted over three years and was still valiantly breasting the waves 'of traffic on the highway. When I asked for prices on a new one, I turned red, then white, and had to be helped to a seat. Had the sales office not been so magnificent, rather like the lobby of a bank f I think I should have, perhaps, vomited. There are more ways than one in which a car agency resembles a bank. Their interest rates are similar, though, to be fair, slightly lower than the eighteen-odd per cent our banks, those holiest of holies in our economy, gouge. Their salesmen are somewhat like those well-groomed young men at the bank, not exactly accountants, not managers, who guide you smoothly through a maze of figures and papers to the stony reality that there is no easy way out, no way to really save money, no way to beat infla- tion. There was one pleasant difference this time. The car salesman was a former student, Ernest Moreau, a craggy young man with a sense of humor, a sweetness of spirit, and a sense of the ridiculousness of things that was a char- ming change from the dull, humorless, unknowledgable young men I've met in the bank, lately. Yep, we've bought a car, new Shoes, the works. And my wife showed no more sentiment over the old ones than she would have over last week's laundry. I wonder if she could discard an old, well-used man with the same equanimity. I fear so. The real cause Rates are falling There's no sentimentality Roger Worth The Quebec referendum debate is over. While Que- becers were preparing to reject sovereignty-association in a clear and convincing manner, a lot of Canadians were hold- ing their collective breath, waiting to hear whether the country was about to fall apart. It didn't happen. But, that does not mean constitutional problems and difficult federal- provincial differences are resolved. Quite the contrary. Troubling echoes of these issues are evident in the grow- ing alienation among Western Canadians and mounting claims from other provinces like Newfoundland. Roger Worth is Director, Public Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Most opinion leaders agree that the ball is now in the fed- eral government's court. With- in a short time, Ottawa will have to make good its referen- dum campaign promise that a "No" vole would be con- sidered a "vole for constitu- tional change." Provincial premiers claim they support "constitutional reform," a buzz word indeed. But what will happen when our leaders sit down to nego- t. ,,,we'wt'i W.111-,41411 55 Years Ago A blaze of doubtless in- cendiary broke out in the large frame storage building in connection with the flax mill owned by Mr. Owen Geiger and Son of Hensall, at the north end of the village on Sunday night and before anything could be done towards extinguishing the blaze the entire building was enveloped in flames and beyond control. The fire was still burning late Monday evening. Damage was estimated at $50,000. Mr. C. B. Snell, Exeter leading realestate man has consummated a deal whereby he becomes the possessor of one of the oldest and at one time what was considered one of the finest residential properties in Exeter, viz: the double house on Main St. built by the late James Pickard, owned by the estate of the late Thomas Gregory. This residence was built about fifty years ago and at that time was the finest dwelling this side of London. It was the centre of the community life and hummed with activity. 30 Years Ago Harvey Sparling and pupils of Winchelsea School went by chartered bus by way of Port Huron on an educational tour to Detroit. Reeve A.J. Sweitzer brought up a big question at the council meeting Monday night - should the village of Exeter become a town? Mr. and Mrs. Willis Powell celebrated their 45th wed- ding anniversary in St. Joseph's Hospital where Mrs. Powell is a patient. Mr. J.M. Southcott is travelling on an extended goodwill tour of Ontario with a number of American editors. 20 Years Ago Dr. Carey B. Joynt, of Hensall, now head of the Department of International Relations of Lehigh University, Penn., has