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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-12-05, Page 9To $ave Precious Lives Safe Driving Week, 1963, began of- ficially at midnight Saturday and it will end Saturday midnight, December 7th. This is Canada's eighth annual attempt to prevent death, injury and accidents on the streets and roads of the nation be- tween these dates. More than that, Safe Driving Week is an attempt to place strong emphasis on the dangers of road traffic and on the ways to avoid those dangers. If the pur- pose of the week is to be accomplished the assistance of every individual, driv- ing or walking, is required.. Safe Driving Week is sponsored na- tionally by the Canadian Highway Safety Council, •As in the past the campaign en- joys active support from provincial and community safety organizations, the po- lice, clergy, judiciary, educational bodies, governments at all levels, including the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers. Safe Driving Week emphasizes the tar- gets of the Council's committees. These include obedience to laws, driver educa- tion, the use of seat belts, safety feetures in cars, vehicle maintenance, safe walking in traffic and the responsibilities of the, citizens of Canada as individuals in assur- ing safe driving and safe walking through- out the year. More automobiles were sold in Canada in 1963 than in any of the four previous years. Canada's motor vehicle population today exceeds 6,000,000 and the number of licensed drivers has increased to 7,- 000,000. It is therefore evident that the toil of death and injury is bound to in- crease unless Canadians can achieve a new and sharp sense of the threat which faces them. Safe driving is not something you can afford to leave to the other fellow, It is you—and yourself multiplied by 7 million —who must meet this challenge. And They Said It Couldn't Be Done ! Have you ever decided, on a bright winter morning, that you were about to lose your mind? We have. This hor- rible confrontation usually occurs just after you have shovelled for a hour and a half to clear out your driveway. As you stand gasping for breath in the frosty air, wilted over the handle of the shovel, you hear a familiar noise. The town snowplow is on its way. Down it swoops, clearing a beautiful, smooth path along the roadway—and filling your freshly - shovelled driveway right to the brim. It's enough to make strong men weep ... and elderly widows leave for Florida. Take heart. There is hope, after all. This winter tests will be made in Mon- treal on a newly -invented device which could end all this frustration. A "gate" designed by the National Research Coun- cil will be fitted to the city plows. The idea is that the gate can be dropped over the delivery end of the plow to stop mo- mentarily, the spew of snow. It is claim- ed that the gate operates so quickly that it can effectively protect driveways no more than 20 feet apart. Best chapter of the story is that this gadget is inexpensive. NRC says a muni- cipality can put a gate on a plow for as little as $200 to $250 and the Council will supply technical details on request. The gates are so simple that they are not being. manufacuretd on a commercial basis. The idea is that most municipali- ties could do the necessary work in their own repair shops. Need anything more be said? What's Wrong with Private Enterprise? jet In all the current discussions about proposed pension plans, provincial and federal, a great cry arises from one seg- ment of the populace that the government representatives who would like to see the plans handled by insurance companies are simply playing into the hands of the • wealthy businessmen. Isn't it about time to clarify public thinking? Upon what historical basis or proven facts do these pseudo -socialists base the claim that the state can handle pensions and insurance more efficiently than private companies? Some state ownership has been necessary in Canada, where vast territory and light population would have prohibited private develop- ments. But in almost every case public ownership has meant staggering financial losses. The CNR and TCA are cases in point. And why the sudden suspicions about the honesty and efficiency of insurance companies? Are you aware that an in- surance company's methods of doing busi- ness are regulated at every turn by gov- ernment itself? insurance companies dare not so much as alter a few words in one of their policies without the approval of the appropriate government department. That these companies are both honest and efficient is amply borne out by the mere fact of their existence. The Cana- dian public is hardly so gullible as to support crooked companies and purchase their services all these years. Canada's insurance companies have been excellent "citizens." The funds at their disposal have provided government itself with one of the surest and most readily available sources of money when it was needed. They are tremendous taxpayers, assisting every one of us to educate our children and defend our homes. These same companies have long since accumulated the experienced personnel and the necessary know-how to operate pension plans. They have all the facts and figures at their disposal. Why would anyone in his right mind want our gov- ernments to start at this late date as- sembling all the information needed to run a pension plan of its own? One of Canada's greatest weaknesses at the present time is its multiplicity of civil servants. Is there any sound reason to add another vast department? Dangerous Carelessness Canada could well have found itself in the midst of a serious international situation last week. Seven ships, loaded with Canadian wheat, arrived in Russia and it was found that some 2,500,000 bushels of grain were dangerously con- taminated by broken glass. So far, thank God, the Soviet has not accused Canada of trying to murder a million or so Rus- sians. According to the news reports which have been released so far, it appears that the glass got into the wheat because stevedores threw empty beer bottles into the grain before it went through the load- ing machinery. Most of the bottles, it seems, broke up into deadly slivers of glass, but some got through intact. Whatever the reason for the ghastly error, there certainly should be some hides on the fence. It is serious enough that millions of dollars' worth of food have been spoiled, but it is even worse that the spoilage might' have been inter- preted as an act of deadly sabotage. If Canadian stevedores are so com- pletely lacking in basic common sense as to throw their empties into a grain cargo, what was wrong with their foremen and their employers that they were permitted to come to work with beer or even with empty bottles? Some quick answers are urgently needed. • THE WINGHA.M 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; Men►ber Canadian Community Newspapers Representatives 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 V.S.A., $5.00 per year; Foreign rate, $5.46 per year Advertising Rates on application REMINISCING DECEMBER 1913 Mr, and Mts. John Linklater are moving to Teeswater where their son Harvey is conducting a furniture and undertaking es- tablishment, Wingham loses a good family and the Presbyter- ian Church active workers, The village of Teeswater 's gaining a good household, which we re- gret to loose. Ritchie & Cosens report the sale of J. Lloyd Awde's flour and feed business to Messrs. Howson and Brocklebank. On Wednesday night of last week at about 6.30, fire was discovered in the wooden wing of the Walker & Clegg factory. The wooden structure with a stock of finished goods and raw material amounting to about $15, 000 were destroyed. Rev. John Pollock goes to Toronto to conduct anniversary services. Mr. Harry Wakefield left on Monday to spend three months in the Old Land. He came to Wingham three years ago and is one of the Englishmen who has made good in this country, be- ing able to return with a good bank account. 0--0--0 DECEMBER 1926 W. H. Gurney has been elected by acclamation for the Utilities Commission, Word was received in Wing - ham on Tuesday, that Mr. A, J. Nicholls, formerly an ex - teemed resident of Wingham, died in Toronto on Monday eve- ning. Mr. H. C. McLean, busin- ess manager of the Western Foundry Ltd., has returned from a trip to the West. Mr. James Elliott, Mr. Fred Elliott and Mr. Frank Elliott of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., are visiting with their brother, Mr. William Elliott of the Belmore Bric kery. The hunters of Greenock for the past few days have been scouring the woods for what they believed was a black bear. The bear turned out to be a large sized Canadian Lynx, weighing 26 pounds. 0--0--0 DECEMBER 1938 Miss Tena Reid has been appointed choir leader and or- ganist for the Wingham United Church. At the annual meeting of the shareholders of the United Farmers' Co -Operative Co., Ltd., held at Toronto, Mr. R. J. Scott of Bclgrave was re- elected President. Mrs. 0. G. Anderson, of East Wawanosh, was re-elect- ed president of the United Farm Women of Ontario at the annual meeting held in Toron- to last week. Major Geo, W. Howson, Capt. R. S. Hetherington and Lieut. W. L. Kress attended a dinner of the officers of the 21st Artillery Brigade at Wal- kerton on Friday evening. Mrs. W. J. Henderson at- tended a tea and musicale giv- en by the Ontario Liberal Wo- men's Association in the King Edward Hotel, Toronto. 0--0--0 DECEMBER 1948 It has been announced that the Carter Scholarship for Hur- on County has been won by lst, James S. Hall of Wingham and equal for second were Leslie Mae Wall, Wingham and Jean Miller of Seaforth. These scholars had the highest ag- gregate marks on ten Upper School papers. Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Walker left last week by motor for Daytona Beach, Florida, where they will spend the winter months. The CEILIDH met at the Wingham General Hospital. on Monday evening, November 29, and in the social hour that followed the work period, the hostesses were Mit. Don Nas- mith, Mrs. S. Beattie and Miss Myrtle Deans, The Irishman had a muffler rolled around his neck although the day was not very cold. "You seem to take good care of yourself," a friend said. "To be sure I do," replied the Irishman. "What's all the world to a man when his wife's a widdy?" STRANGE AS the Middle East is to many Canadians, they are always curious about native dress and habits, In Yemen, the na- tives wear weapons hung on their belts on display for all to see. Examining the knife, or jamboli as it is known in the native tongue, are, left: Sergeant J. A. Walton, of Toronto, and Flight Sergeant R. J. Cook, right, of Sudbury. Both are members of the United Nations Yemen Observer Mission based in Sanaa in Yemen. —National Defence Photo. ingbam, Ablionct4inte Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Dec. 5, 1963 SECOND SECTION Nutoi!!!uuu!u!!uu!!iulluIINIumuun uNUmiu!!!u1Humuuuuumi!!!I!u!IIiSUGAR OIIIIIIiu Utlllllll lllllllll(IIflit(IIIfIUUIIPfIhulllUgfmr9':!rsn(P' n . . ••Y and SPICE sioll!iim!s By Bill Smiley Culture? It's wunnerful!. And it gets wunnerfuller all the time. This was my only possible reaction after an- other shot at enriching the lives of some of our stu- dents. Every year, when it's over, I sign an oath in blood, sweat and tears that I'll never do it again. And a year later, there I am, up to my thick head in the swamp of cultural enrich- ment. It all begins innocently enough. I learn that there is going to be a production, in a eity theatre, of one of the plays the kids are studying in school. The date is a month away. "Wouldn't it be grand," I coo to myself, "if the young- sters could see the real thing? It would be an ex- perience they'd never for- get. It would kindle a real interest in the drama. It would show them that Shakespeare (or Shaw) is exciting, sad, funny, ro- mantic, not just a whole lot of stuff like rising and fall- ing action, memory work, suspense, pathos and dra- matic irony." * * * "Right!" I say to myself, firmly. "We'll do it. These kids are going to have their chance," I contact the other teach- ers. They are enthusiastic. I contact the principal. He is not, but clears it with the school board. The teachers ask t h e grade elevens how many would like to see "My Fair Lady," the musical based on the play "Pygmalion," which they are studying. About half the hands go np. When it is announced that we'll be attending a mati- nee and will miss half a day's sehool, the rest of the hands go up. Then, with the speed and skill of a spavined water - buffalo, Mr. Smiley, the old impresario, lumbers into action. Phone the theatre. Yes, they can give us 142 tickets for that date. Call the bus company. Yes, they can shoe -horn us into four buses on that date. Fire off a confirmation letter to the theatre, accom- panied by the down pay- ment, a cheque issued on Mr. Smiley's personal over- drawn account. Everything is running like oil. And just about here, gravel begins to get into the gears. Six kids who didn't want to go have decided they'd like to. They are added to the list and a phone call produces tickets for them. For three weeks before the big day, teachers ac- cost Mr. Smiley in the halls and hand him amounts like $29.83. This is for "nine tickets for the show and three b u s fares except George Jones lost a dollar so I loaned it to him but I had only 83 cents and Mary Smith's mother won't let her go and she wants her money back but I haven't her name ticked off so I don't know if she gave it to me and what should I do?" In the ensuing three weeks, Mr. Smiley, who gets a very small allowance at home, spends misceIlan- eous bits of ticket and bus money on lunches, cigar- ettes and raffle tickets, and quails inwardly as he con- templates the coming show- down with his wife, who looks after their joint ac- count. * * * Two days before we're to go, the bus company in- forms that only three buses will be available. Mr. Srnil- ey raises hell and another bus. The day before we leave, eight of the kids haven't produced a nickel, three of them have changed their minds and won't go, and four are at home, sick. Mr. Smiley, the poor old Receive increase In Road Subsidies The Hon. Charles S. Mac - Naughton, Minister of High- ways, has written to more than 200 municipalities in the pro- vince to advise them that their rate of road subsidy has been in- creased. " This is the result of an in- tensive study that began im- mediately after I presented the .Estimates for the Department of Highways to the Legislature last March," commented Mr. MacNaughton with respect to the letter. When presenting the esti- mates, the minister referred to his desire to establish a pro- cedure for identifying those townships that could not main- tain a minimum level of road expenditure without imposing an undue tax burden on their taxpayers, and to increase their rate of subsidy sufficiently to bring their road levies down to a reasonable level. "I shall continue to keep abreast of the road problems of the less fortunate municipali- ties," added Mr. MacNaughton, "and where extra assistance is justified, it will be given. When a municipality's ability to pay for its roads increases through assessment growth, the extra aid will be reduced pro- portionately, so that each town- ship in the province will re- ceive fair and impartial treat- ment," divil, flies about like a dart in a windstorm, trying to make tickets, bus seats and bodies come out even. But, somehow, the caval- cade is sailing down the highway on Wednesday af- ternoon, the students sing- ing merrily, Mr. Smiley, ashen and muttering to himself, slumped in one of the buses. Only two kids have forgotten their tickets. Only one is bus sick. Only three have tried to sneak a smoke. Eight hours. 200 miles and one cultural experi- ence later, Mr. Smiley is delivering to her home, 14 miles out of town, the girl who forgot to tell her par- ents to meet the bus on re- turn. Ecstatic and bright- eyed, she babbles efferves- cently, "Thanks - very - much - Mr. -.Smiley - I - really - enpoyed - it -and -1 - had • a • wunnerful - time - do • we - hafta - have - our homework - done - tomor- row?"