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
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SUGAR
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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.