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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-07-04, Page 9Hard To Believe Ati v, Recations to any federal government budget always takes a few weeks to de- velop, and the budget brought down by Hon. Walter Gordon recently proves an exception only in the fact that business men generally feel it is so fantastic that there are bound to be changes. The re- traction of the clause demanding 30% taxation on sales of Canadian stocks to foreign purchasers has contributed to the feeling that changes will be made when the government realizes the folly of some of its new regulations. We have before us a letter from a Toronto business house which typifies the incredulity of many. It reads, in part: "There are many phases in the ap- plication of tax ... which may take some time to clarify. We cannot believe that the current explanations are the intent of the government." For the benefit of those who are not intimately acquainted with business practices we should explain that the budget legislation in its present inter- pretation calls for the application of the 11% sales tax on machinery and supplies which are used for the production of goods in Canada (with certain excep- tions). It is quite obvious that the sales tax must apply to practically all purchases if the government is to realize the rev- enues which are needed to keep pace with our horrendous national expenditures. However, it has been the practice for many years to make sure that the tax- payer is charged sales tax at only one level. The application of sales tax to production machinery and equipment means that the manufacturer must re- cover the tax by increasing the price of his product, and then the tax is paid again when the 11% is applied at the wholesale level. { The decision to apply the tax to build- ing materials is the one which seems to be causing the deepest concern. Building construction is one of our largest indus- tries. Canada is still in desperate need of more housing from coast to coast. The increased cost, because of taxation will immediately be reflected in fewer housing starts. All this may seem remote to us in Wingham—but you can be as- sured that the problem is right at our own front door. As soon as housing starts in Canada begin to decline, orders for doors at Berry and Lloyd -Truax begin to drop off. In a few months orders for new furni- ture at Fry & Blackhall start to decline. These three firms find they must cut back on their staffs and then the entire community suffers. Like most Canadians, we had hoped that the new government would come up with some truly constructive innovations to assist in the nasty financial situation which had arisen at the end of last year. So far the promise is bleak. The budget seems to have been drawn up on almost feudalistic principles—soak everybody. How refreshing it would be to find ourselves with a government possessed of the courage to do something realistic about the monstrous expenditures which stem from Ottawa. Sitting squarely on the back of the taxpayers is an army of civil servants—much larger, we are told, than the force required to handle all the national emergencies of the war years. Naturally no one outside government circles can say with certainty just how much money is wasted by the federal authorities, but there is a very strong suspicion among Canadians that we need to pay more attention to government spending and put less thought on how taxes can be raised another notch. Welcome To The Nineteenth This week -end veterans of the 19th Field Regiment RCA will come to Wing - ham for a reunion with their war -time buddies. It is expected that some 400, including wives, will be on hand. The people of Wingham are particu- larly happy to welcome these visitors, for there is scarcely a resident of this community who cannot recall the stirring and anxious days of the Second World War, when so many Wingham and district boys were serving overseas with the regi- ment. We can remember, too, the sad days when the telegrams began to arrive, telling of the ones who would not return. There is no mawkish sentiment among these men who served through so many tight spots together, but there is deep affection in their voices as they re- call the comrades of their youth. We hope that the reunion this week- end will be a truly memorable one for the men of the 19th—and may they come hack to Wingham many times in the future! Fortunate Weekend Thank God this week's paper does not carry the grim stories on its front page that it did a week ago. Though this was an exceptionally busy holiday week -end, there were no serious accidents in our own locality, nor were any of the folks from this district involved in acci- dents elsewhere. Surely we are facing a terrible prob- lem as far as traffic accidents are con- cerned. The chances of being injured on the highway have become so great that many families prefer to stay right at home on the holiday week -ends. At one time the dangerous roads were only those main arteries leading to the cities, but now even the familiar roads in our own neighbor- hood are becoming death traps. if this trend continues, and it is ap- parent that it will, it appears obvious that some means •of splitting the statutory holidays will have to be found, whereby the traffic can be reduced to some extent. The chief danger arises when hundreds of thousands of motorists all do their travel- ling at the same time. More Acceptable Plan Medical insurance under a govern- ment-sponsored plan has been launched in Alberta. The plan, unlike the Saskatche- wan scheme that caused so much contro- versy a year ago, is approved by doctors and insurance companies operating in the province. It is not compulsory. The cost of the insurance will be met by the insur- ed except that those who are too poor to pay premiums will be subsidized by the taxpayers. It was the compulsory feature of the Saskatchewan plan as well as the opposi- tion of the doctors that made it unwork- able. If the government had consulted with the doctors, as they were finally forced to do, the public dispute between the socialist politicians and the medical profession might never have occurred. As it is, the doctors who remained in Saskatchewan are still reported to be far from satisfied with the way the scheme is working. Many citizens of that province, too, are highly critical of the plan as it presently exists, claiming that it is full of loopholes and weaknesses — gaps which leave some in the greatest need without protection when they need it most. In Ontario Premier Robarts has ap- pointed a chairman of a committee to advise the government on its proposed medicare plan. This, it is believed, will be somewhat similar to that now in force in Alberta, and citizens of the province and interested groups will be given an op- portunity to present their views to the committee before any legislation is ap- proved for submission to the legislature. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation; Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Associ- ation; Member Canadian Community Newspapers Repre.:entatives Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and for payment of postage in cash Subscription Rate: One Year, $4.00; Six Months, $2.25, in advance U.S.A., $5.00 per year; Foreign rate, $5.00 per year Advertising Rates on application PLAN REUNION—The committee in charge of the forthcoming reunion of members of the 19th Field Regt., RCA, is pictured as it met at the home of Alex Corrigan, Bluevale, to finalize plans for next week -end. From the left, standing, Bill Hogg, Joe King, Robert Hetherington, George Tervit, Lloyd Elliott; seated, Ted Elliott, Alex Corrigan and Frank Hopper.—A-T photo. bbau ct,Zi mit Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, July 4, 1963 SECOND SECTION 111111111111111U11111111141r191IIIIIIIIMPt1 tiM10:1l!111111111 Yt 1r. J!I'!!ii11!1111PI111111 111iIIli111N1111@II!1111"!Pe!!IIT p!„!!!!!; : u ! !! !!IIIII!!!!:0 SUGAR and SPICE i11111111111111 i ltiiipBy Bill Sm i l ey u,i:,iliull:i!li� Were you, gentle reader, a youngster 20 years ago? Or 30? Or even more? If you were, you must occasionally look with bewilderment, envy, and sometimes horror, as I do, at the difference between summer holidays for kids, then and now. Just how it has happen- ed, I don't know. But in those two or three decades, kids have lost the ability to amuse themselves. Even the little ones come in whining, "Mom, what'll I do? There's nothing to do, Mom. Can I have a dime, Mom?” It`s cheap at half the price. Give them a dime. As for the big kids, their boredom is colossal, crush- ing. It makes you feel like ordering up the Moiseyev dancers, or at least putting in a desperate call for Paul Anka. Sometimes I think that perhaps those of us who grew up during the de- pression era had a far better childhood, all things considered, than the gilded youth of the current de- cade. * * How simple it was for our mothers, comparative- ly! In summer, we were out at the crack of dawn, or soon after, and they saw us only twice again during the day, for a brief and bestial gulping of food. In those days, only the rich played golf and tennis, only the rich had summer cottages and boats. And rich kids were scare e. Water skis had not been in- vented. The transistor radio was, blessedly, far in the future. There was no money for summer camps for the children, or motor trips to the east or west. There were no drive-in theatres. Ice cream cones were a nickel and seldom. Only fathers drove cars. What in the world, then, did we do with ourselves? You remember. At least, you old boys remember. I'm a little hazy about what the girls did. When they were 13 or under, they did everything we did. Well, practically. They were squaws when we played cowboys and Indians. They were beauti- f u 1 Spanish princesses when we played pirates. They were stool pigeons and gun molls and corpses when we played cops and robbers. They were extra outfielders and waterboys when we played ball. In short, they knew their place and enjoyed every minute of it. In the soft, throbbing dusk of a late summer evening, we played Run Sheep Run. It was quite an experience, I can tell you, to dash away through the warm night, hurl yourself into hiding behind a log, and find, already scrunch- ed up there, some hard puffing girl for whom you entertained a secret and overpowering passion. Nothing happened, but between the excitement of the chase, and the proxim- ity of this sweaty kid who was just as apt to kiss you as not, it was fairly ter- rifying. * * * Then, and during all our stripling years, we swan. Hour upon hour upon hour during the hot of the day, until our lips were blue and our hands began to wivel up. Then it was time to drag home for supper, and eat about eight pounds of new potatoes and fried bologna and fresh home- made bread and applesauce and all the other good things women have stopped making. When we were kids, my mother used to prepare a picnic almost every day, in summer. When Dad got home from work, we would all pile in the car and head for a nearby lake, stream, river ----any kind of water. There were lots of en- chanting places, none of REMINISCING JULY 1913 Mrs. J. M, Kennedy and daughter, Thelma, of Elm Creek, Man., are visiting the former's mother, N'rs. Treacy. The results of the Lower School Examinations were pub- lished last week and Wingham High School made a splendid showing. Of 28 recommended candidates, 26 were successful then, frowning, "NO TRES- PASSING," within five or six miles. When we arrived, we'd pile out and run in all directions, to wade, swim, explore, cut our feet and fall out of trees. Dad would build a fire and put the old tea -pail on to boil. Then he would sit on a log and gaze with placid disdain at nature, while my mother prepared the food, went for a walk, waded in the water with her skirts pulled up, and explained to my Dad what a hard day she'd had. My father didn't have to play ball with us, or show us how to cast, or talk to us about our problems, or have interesting chats with us about the flora and the fauna and the rocks, and the history of the place we were at. He just sat there and relaxed. Hell, he was our father. He didn't want to be our buddy, and we didn't want him to be. * * * As we boys grew older, we played baseball. Prac- tice morning and afternoon and evening, and a game twice a week. There was the delight of driving to another town, and feeling gallant as Horatio at the bridge, as you braved the catcalls of the local fans. There was the epitome of disaster: fanning on a third strike. with three on base, home team one down. last of the ninth. with your giri watching. And, r a rot y. there was the fierce ioy of hiiting a sharp single, and stealing second, with your girl watching There was the added poignancy of knowing that she didn't know she was your girl. We didn't have the mod- ern teen-agers' dream lying on a beach with a doll. a transistor radio. a hot -clog joint within a hun- dred yards, money in your' pocket. and a convertible parked nearby. Rut, by golly, we weren't bored. and three obtained Honour Standings. The successful stu- dents were: Cora Gilkinson (honours), Mabel Gilkinson (honours), Chrissy Miller (honours), Elmer Aitken, Margaret Aitken, Mar- ion Allen, Florence Barber, Gordon Buchanan, Norman Butcher, John Campbell, Laura Currie, Mary Currie, Kathleen Gibbons, Mabel lsard, Gordon Jefferson, Metha McPherson, Anna McRitchie, Grace Plunk- ett, Norman Radford, May Robertson, Nora Smith, Nor- man Stonehouse, Elmer Taylor, Jean Webb, Elmer Wilkinson, Annie Wilson. There were seven High School students at the Normal Schools during the session of 1912-13, and all were success- ful in their final examinations, They are as follows: Florence Aitchison, Norman Geddes, Lizzie Johns, Luella Shaw, Gertie Stewart, Mary Stewart, Beth Welsh. 0--0--0 JULY 1926 Mr, Clifford Robertson, son of Mr, and Mrs. Wm. Robert- son, Diagonal Road, has ac- cepted the principalship of Ot- tawa Public School. Mr. Ro- bertson has taught school in East Wawanosh for the past couple of years and is a most efficient teacher. A fine honorable old lady was Catharine Elkin, widow of the late John Mellen. She was a resident of Wingham for a good many years and although very lame had been about her work as caretaker of the Dorn - inion Bank until ill health would not permit her to. She was in her 79th year. Mrs. Thos. Humphrey of Toronto, Mr. Kenneth McKen- zie of Colorado Springs and Dr. D. M. McKenzie of Chicago, visited with their sister, Mrs. Wm. Fryfoglc, Shuter Street. 0--0--o JULY 10:38 Mrs. Campbell, who has been ii'.ing with her daughter, Mrs. George ilawthorne, Lower Wingham, will celebrate her ;2nd birthday on Tuesday. A former resident of Wing - ham passed away in Toronto, on Tuesday, in the person of Ellen Maud Porter, beloved wife of John F. Groves, in her tiOth year, Miss Margaret Maclean suc- cessfully passed the Grade IV Pianoforte lxaminations. Miss Dorothy Patterson successfully passed the Grade 11 Pianoforte Examination. Both are pupils of Nliss Cora ]'hair.