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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-10-03, Page 9Costs Are Bound To Rise Ever since the beginning of the war there has been indirect pressure on busk ''iiessmen both large and small, to make every effort to maintain their price struc- tures. The inference k that a merchant or a manufacturer is a little bit unpatriotic if he contributes to the spiraling cost of commodities in Canada. The theory is just fine, or would be if it were adhered to all along the line of supply. Unfortunately price structures are not controlled by retailers and smaller manufacturers. The retail charges for most goods and services are pre -determin- ed well back in the channels of supply. it appears that we are in for another round of price increases, In our own case, alone, we are bound to pass on to our customers an impending increase in the cost of paper -- if we want to stay in business. The same situation applies to many other small business men. What we fail to realize is the growing degree to which government is contribu- ting to inflation at all levels. Take one example -- the enforcement of the new pension plan. Costs of the pensions are smoothly explained by politicians. By the time they get through with the story it sounds just wonderful for the average workman. The problems of his old age have been solved. There will no longer be any great need to live frugally and to put something away out of every pay cheque to look after his needs in his declining years. He can buy a new car and quit worrying about tomorrow. That's what he thinks! Perhaps those distant tomorrows will be less frought with anxiety, but the av- erage workman should give some thought to the tomorrows which will emerge in the interval before he begins to cash in on this bonanza. In that interval he will assuredly have to pay the shot. It sounds wonderful to say that the government will provide a pension plan -- but the government, which is already head -over - heels in debt, can only provide its pension payments out of our pockets. Another aspect is that employers will contribute a sizeable proportion of the payments into the pension fund. Isn't that just great. Stick it right into the old em- ployer. He has bags of money. What utter nonsense! The vast majority of employers in this community and in all the other smaller towns in Canada don't make a great deal more than their senior em- ployees. If you doubt that statement we can show you the national statistics to prove it. The employers are already pay- ing a full 50 percent of the employees' unemployment insurance premiums—and cannot have any unemployment insurance coverage for themselves in most cases. Obviously the employer is going to be forced to put vp with this new .encroach- ment upon his time and his resources. if he, like ourselves, intends to stay in business he will have to pass on the pension fund contributions in the form of higher prices for his products or his services. So who is going to pay in the long run? Yo., are of course, You will have to dip into your wages for ever last cent of your pension coverage. We should stop fooling ourselves about these grandiose plans for our own welfare and ease of living. There are no Christmas presents from government. Time after time we have been persuaded by political spokesmen that we want some new concession, when in reality we have simply became the victims of anoth- er lap in the race to see which party can give away the most of our money. The inherent evil of these schemes is that once they are started it becomes political suicide for any one party to stop them. Their only alternative is to try to out -give the last Santa Claus, Let us take one example. Every per- son over the age of 70 receives a pension. The pension is not adequate for the peo- ple who are in real need—and it is not needed by the rest of the over -70 group. How much better to spend our resources for welfare in a way that will achieve the most good for those who need the most help. One Canadian who appears to be re- sisting the impulse for a'mad dash down the speedway of government handouts is Premier Robarts. His stand on medicare, for instance, is that the people of On- tario are capable of using their own judgment and that the insurance firms are capable of handling the coverage. In other words he is not in favor of pro- jecting his government into one more facet of private lives. His opponents, however, in their ef- fort to capture public support would have us convinced that we simply cannot sur- vive for even a few months unless gov- ernment takes over one more segment of our thinking and our spending. Thank goodness Mr. Roberts is back on the job —and may he have the tenacity to main- tain his stand. Two Worthy Candidates Now that the fuss and commotion of the provincial election is over ( though not finally resolved in this riding) we would like to express our respect for the two candidates who opposed one another in Huron -Bruce. Both Murray Gaunt, the Liberal incumbent, and George McCutch- eon, the Progressive Conservative nomi- nee, conducted campaigns which were clearly free of the charges and counter- charges which were so noticeable at high- er levels. it is regrettable that there was no clear-cut decision in this riding, for as matters now stand there is likely to be some considerable delay before a winner is announced. However, no matter which one of these men emerges as representa- tive for the riding, we know that our in- terests will be served conscientiously. Since the balloting resulted in a dif- ference of only one vote between the two candidates it is apparent that the electors have a great deal of confidence in the two men who were named. Congratula- tions are. in order for both men. Back In Business It is a pleasure, indeed, to see the lights on once more at the Lyceum Theatre. The first show to be presented, "The Longest Day," is one which should attract a truly interested patronage. The Lyceum Theatre experienced, in the past ten years, all the difficulties which have been common to moving picture houses in other nearby communi- ties in the face of television. This com- munity was fortunate that the previous owner, Alton Adams, carried on as long as he did and once again in the fact that W. T. Cruickshank has taken over the business and intends to continue its op- eration. Only a few weeks ago we commented on the fact that Wingham is short of recreational activities for younger people. We are all keenly aware of the need for providing enough activity at home to keep our young people here in the evenings. There are very few things that individuals can do to rectify the situation, but the purchase of the theatre and its re -opening fill a big gap. We cannot expect the new owner of the theatre to carry on too long unless he is supported by the public. No business- man, no matter how generous, is likely to run a losing venture indefinitely. Mr. Cruickshank has indicated that he intends to show the best of films at the Lyceum —so it behooves us to support the ven- ture if we want it to continue. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary-Treasuret Member Audit Bureau of Circulation; Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Associ- ation; Member Canadian Community Newspapers Representatives Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Nail and for payment of postage in cash Subscription Rate; One 'hear, $4.00; Six Months, $2.25, in' advance t7.S.A., ;5.O6 per year; P reign rate, $5.00 per year Advertising Rates on application REMINISCING OCTOBER 1913 Mr. Percy Jenkins left town on Wednesday to accept a posi- tion in Strathroy. The family will follow later, Mr. Jenkins was a valued member of St. Paul's Church choir and the A. Y. P, A„ and a teacher in the Sunday School. Mr. V. it, VanNorman has been appointed inspector of the armoury in course of erection here. The Wingham Fall Fair was held on Thursday and Friday of last week, The weather man was fairly kind and there was a large attendance. What might have proved a fatal accident occurred here on Saturday morning last, when Mr. Wesley Mills, son of Con- tractor Mills of Kincardine, was alrrlost buried by the caving in of a bank of gravel alongside a cement wall at the Armoury building in course of erection, Mr. Wm. Fryfogle has been appointed as inspector of the work on the post office. He is a practical man and should render service worthy of his hire. 0--0--0 OCTOBER 1926 Mr. Clarence White has moved to town and is occupy- ing Mrs. Johnston's house on Alfred Street. Mr. White is fitting up a portion of the for- mer chair factory which has been leased from the Farmer's Fertilizer Co. , and will in the course of a couple of weeks commence the manufacture of little wagons, sleighs, kiddie cars, etc, Mr, W. H. Gurney will be connected with the new firm. Mr. F. W. Willis is now nicely located in town and his factory, The Federal Rubber Co., is busily engaged in the manufacture of many lines of rubber goods. A number of the classmates of Mr. Roy McLeod from the United Church Sunday School met at the home of his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Alex Reid, and presented him with a handsome club bat; prior to his leaving for Chicago. 0--0--0 OCTOBER 1938 Mr. Lloyd Baynham, who has been operator at the C.N. R. station here for four years, has been appointed operator at Guelph station. Mrs. E, R. Harrison and Mrs. M. Johnson are attending the Grand Chapter, O.E.S. , which is being held this week in the Royal York Hotel, Tor- onto, Kenneth Crawford, while high jumping at the High School grounds last week, broke his wrist. Mrs. A. J. Walker is leav- ing on Friday on a cruise from New York to Venezuela, South America. Several calls will be made at the West Indies en route. Miss Agnes Walker, Toronto, and Mr. and Mrs, Garnet Baker, of Galt, will be in the party taking this trip. 0--0--0 OCTOBER 1948 On Friday morning the pup- ils and teachers of Wingham Public School assembled in the main hall to do honour to and bid farewell to Mr. Hammond, who has been caretaker for the past fourteen years. Eight pair of doubles from the Wingham Ladies Bowling Club bowled at the ladies tour- nament in Clinton last Wednes- day. Mrs. A. M. Crawford and Mrs. J. A. Wilson won second prize with Mrs. A. R. DuVal and Mrs. C. B. Armi- tage third. Mr. James Workman of Tor- onto, and one of the teaching staff of Wingham High School when it was opened in 1906, paid a visit to the town last week, calling on several of his former pupils. "There!" exclaimed the wife in disgust, "I knew that friend of yours wasn't to be trusted. "I've just counted the towels and one is missing." "Was it a good one?" en- quired the husband. "It was the best one we had. It. was the one with Grand Pal- ace Hotel on it," EASTER IN SEPTEMBER?—George Ter - vit. who resides in the Mowbray apart- ments on Minnie Street, proudly displays an Easter lily which is blooming beside the building. The plant was purchased last Easter with five blooms. Later it was cut back and planted outside and during September started to bloom again, this time with six flowers coming out.—A-T Photo. bain btattooZiont Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 3, 1963 e 11111111111111111111111Hifl1111111111111IIiIIiIMIIIIii111111111111IIMIMI111!1111111111111111111111111111111111111!II 71III111111 PIIA!Ci;.":I!"P!e'"!wi!C!pGl! 111111!1111111:11fl1!n; EE G 1111111111111111111111 SUGAR and SPICE new By Bill S ill i l e y halo. il` 3! Bought a new car this week. Never had one be- fore. And about 10 years from tonight, it's probable that I'll never have had one since. Both the dealer I bought it from and I were dis- appointed, I think. I ex- pected him to give me a chance to "dicker," some- thing you're always sup- posed to do when you buy a car. And he expected me to try to beat him down on his price, something you're always supposed to expect when you sell a car. Nothing happened. He offered me more than I had expected for my old car, and I was so flabber- gasted, I just said, "O.K.", leaving him flabbergasted. The entire transaction took 19 minutes. It could have been in nine minutes. The remaining 10 was spent in standing around waiting for the other fellow to do some dickering. My wife let me down rather badly. She was there, and I expected her to do most of the talking — you know, raising hell about the color, price, up- holstery, mileage. I thought she'd go over the car with a magnifying glass, as she used to do when we'd buy one of those $495 specials. I fully anticipated that she'd find a bubble in the paint, or a smudge on the floormat, and raise rain. She didn't say a word, She didn't even want a dif- ferent color. * * * Maybe we're both get- ting old. Even I, who have never cared any more about a ear than I have about a lawn mower, used to have a bit of the old horse -trading spirit. 'I used to kick the tires. I used to look under the hood, though 1 hadn't a clue as to what should be there. I used to slam the doors a couple of times, and look in the trunk. This time, I just leaned 'on the counter, across from the dealer, both of us em- barrassed, waiting for some action. In common decency, I drove the thing for three miles, when he insisted ... I didn't feel a thing. No ecstasy. All I wanted to do was get home for dinner. We clinched the deal, with him thinking that a lot of the fun had gone out of selling cars, and me thinking that it was going to be a pretty awkward session with the bank man- ager. Do you know something? Those banks have got old and lazy in the last 10 years, too. * * * I'll never forget the first time I applied for a loan. I felt exactly as I used to feel in the air force, when I'd gone over the fence for an unauthorized week -end leave. Up in front of the CO Monday morning. Not a leg to stand on, and about to get it in the neck. The bank manager used to scowl as you sidled in the door. "Siddown," he'd snarl, scribbling furiously on documents obviously designed to send you up the river for six years. You blurted your care- fully planned story: that you absolutely hadda have $200 to put a new roof on the house, because your smallest child had almost drowned during the latest rainstorm. "Got a n y security?" shaking his head gravely. Of course you didn't have. People who need small loans never have security. You told him your grand- mother had mentioned that she planned to leave you 5300 if you never married, or stopped drinking. or some such. The interview ended with you on your knees, thanking the bank man- ager, and promising to cherish him forever, be- cause he had loaned you $200 out of what seemed his own pocket and some wild caprice of generosity in his nature. Nowadays, you walk into the manager's office, and he treats you just as though you were a human being. "What can we do for you?" And "Oh, I think we can manage that." And "Just sign here. If there's anything else you need --a new stove or re- frigerator — you know where to come." Anyway, we got delivery of the car Sunday. Every- body ran out and circled it. The kids were over- whelmed. "Hmp. Kinda small. No radio? These six - cylinder jobs don't have much pickup, do they? Oh, well, at least we` have the first '64 in town." Piper and Playboy were no more impressed. She tried her claws on our new whitewall tires. And you can imagine what Playboy did to them. In the old days men loved their horses because they were alive and couldn't talk back to them. Today a man buys the equivalent; his kids mock his miserliness; his wife drives it; and there's a note at the bank that sneers: "Three years at $96 a month." I should live so long. BOX 390 September 30, 1963. Editor, Advance -Times Dear Sir: On behalf of the young peo- ple who attended the Teen Town dance at the Royal T on Friday night I would again like to thank you for your support. Everyone enjoyed the music supplied by the Comet -Teens and would like to thank Const. Murray Fridenburg for being chaperone. Entertainment of this cali- bre is appreciated by the young people and we trust that we shall be given the opportunity to have more dances in the future. Yours sincerely, Noreen Nicol.