HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1964-02-13, Page 94
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How About The Other Third?
Addressing the annual convention of
the Ontario Weekly Newspapers Associ-
ation in Toronto on Friday evening Hon.
Earl Rowe, Lieutenant -Governor of On-
tario, made a strong plea for Canadian
unity. He emphasized the crying need
for cohesion between Canada's various
parts, separated by so many thousands of
miles and occupied by a comparatively
small number of people.
He made one particular point which is
either not realized or easily forgotten by
most of us. He pointed out that bi-
lingualism and bi-culturalism as we nor-
mally think of them, in the sense of shar-
ing our culture and language with Cana-
da's French-speaking people, is, indeed
a falacy. He said Canada needs a multi-
cultural attitude, one which takes into
full account the fact that one-third of our
population is of French extraction, an-
other third of Anglo-Saxon origin . .. and
still another third which is composed of
dozens of racial backgrounds and langu-
ages. We have Chinese and Japanese,
Scandinavians, Greeks, Italians, Poles,
Indians, Ukrainians and many, many
more.
His honour contended that if French
Canada is earnest in its demand for fair
treatment, it must recognize the validity
of the claims for equal treatment and
status by the other ethnic groups in our
national structure.
Considering his words and their ob-
vious truth, one is bound to think ahead
to the future years in this country. It will
never be enough to work out a program
of recognition for French Canada and try
to carry on as a two -language nation.
True, the rights and privileges of the
people in Quebec must be given full con-
sideration. The really important goal to
strive for, however, is the elimination of
all language and cultural barriers, not only
on the border between Ontario and Que-
bec, but across the prairies, in the far
north and the Maritimes . . . wherever
there are peoples of non-English extrac-
tion.
How can we ever hope to becom7 a
great nation if our land is to be eternally
fragmented by racial differences? What
we must strive for is the complete weld-
ing of all these groups into one country.
It is time for both French and English
to think in terms of Canada as the land
of their birth.
Time For Some Control
You may have observed that we are
seldom in favor of any sort of compulsion
from governmental authority unless it is
absolutely necessary. However, there are
times when the public good is so deeply
• involved that new regulations become a
necessity.
Driving into Toronto on Thursday
evening we became personally involved
in a situation which certainly calls for
solution — and the only answer would
appear to be compulsion. Our car was
one of perhaps two or three hundred
thousand bogged down on the traffic ap-
proaches to the city. A sticky, wet and
slippery snowfall was in progress. It de-
manded careful driving and reduced
speeds, but the roads were neither dan-
, gerous or impassable until we reached No.
7 Highway, about 25 miles from the
downtown area of the city. From there
in it was a nightmare. Three hours and
ten minutes later we reached our hotel.
The entire blame for the hopeless mess
can be laid at the doors of those thous-
. . ands of city drivers who refuse to equip
their cars prope-ly for winter driving.
Because Toronto does not have many
heavy snowfalls in a winter, few car own-
ers bother with snow tires or a little extra
weight in the back to hold the wheels to
the road. Cars were abandoned that night
< a by the hundreds, some of them left
standing right on the travelled portion of
the road.
Under normal circumstances we would
agree that it once was a man's own busi-
ness if ha wanted to take a chance on
M
spending a frustrating night out on a
stormy highway, but it is no longer his
own business. His failure to provide
properly for the type of weather which
can strike any time in this province can
become the business of a multitude of
other drivers as soon as his car has block-
ed a busy highway. It is bad enough to
create all this unnecessary nuisance for
other motorists, but he also causes a po-
tential hazard for the entire population
of the area in which misfortune catches
up with him. On Thursday evening dur-
ing a four-hour period it would have been
utterly impossible to get a fire truck, a
police car or an ambulance through the
routes plugged by stalled cars. A sick
person in any one of a dozen major sub-
urbs could have died for lack of a doctor's
attentions.
The city of Buffalo has already taken
action whereby drivers can be fined for
obstructing traffic for lack of proper
equipment. At least one Canadian city
is in process of following Buffalo's lead.
Perhaps it is time for the Ontario Depart-
ment of Transport to give serious thought
to this same problem.
While they are about it, the authori-
ties might do worse than pass some sort
of regulation to make it obligatory for
heavy trucks to carry mud -guards which
would protect passing cars from flying
slush and water. Some of these mon-
strous vehicles, with their unprotected
tires, are a real menace to other motor
traffic.
Battling The Bugs
It is understood that at least a part of
the research currently being undertaken
by Atomic Energy of Canada lies in the
field of biology, particularly as it applies
• to some of the tiny insects which still
plague mankind. No doubt the insects
which are basically responsible for the
loss of our native trees will come under
close scrutiny in the never-ending battle
to limit their depradations.
• The little bug which carries Dutch Elm
• disease deserves a special prominence as
one of our worst public enemies. Elms
are dying all over the countryside, and
their loss will leave an ugly scar on our
landscape for years to come. We realize
that many people don't share our particu-
• lar love of trees, but we believe that is be-
cause they have always taken this natural
heritage for granted. They have not em-
ployed enough imagination to picture our
• countryside without its green cover.
This observation applies equally in the
town. Every winter sees quite a number
• of fine old trees cut down and we still
wonder whether any consistent program
of selection is employed before they are
felled. At last week's town council meet-
ing the reeve stated that a number of
�1
trees were cut which had become danger-
ous. Home owners who wanted trees
removed were invited to have the work
done by town employees during the slack-
er winter months.
Unquestionably, if trees are danger-
ously rotted they must be removed, but
we have seen a good many trees removed
in this town that were perfectly sound.
The fact that a home owner decides to
have a tree removed should not be the
final point of decision. Trees, regardless
of where they grow, whether on public or
private property, are a boon to all who
live in the community. The decision to
remove them should be made only after
the opinion of a properly trained expert
has been received.
And don't tell us that a person who
has a tree on his own property has every
right to have it taken out. Many juris-
dictions already have by-laws which make
it illegal to remove trees wantonly. Once
again this is a matter of the public good
as opposed to the individual's demand.
It is true that many trees do have to
be cut. Have we any consistent program
for their replacement?
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-
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FO
ALL
This is the
I
11';nrier, c:i Jl,titland I.
1.4 1,11..1 fcr' 1897, 'til:
Of
Toronto
(Chan;
At WillgliaiT1,
Advance Print
t•. ,, . Sea:;
ug
GAME CALLED AT 5,30 P. M.
98.
These were the champions of the Maitland League in 1897 Can anyone identify them?
Wingham, Ontario,
btanctagi
Thursday, Feb. 13, 1964
SECOND SECTION
SUGAR AND SPICE
A History Lesson
By BILL SMILEY
Frightening it is to dis-
cover the ideas some kids
are picking up in school
these days.
I got some
insight into
the sheer
wildness of
it when I
was helping
young Kim
with her
history the
other day.
She is 12
years old, an average kid
by most standards, a very
bright one by those of her
parents. She's in Grade 8.
1 was reading from her
history notebook and ask-
ing her questions based on
the notes she had made.
First, I asked, what did
the early pioneers build
their homes out of? The
answer came smartly: the
earliest homes were little
more than shanties, but
soon the pioneers began
building with 1 u m be r,
stucco, brick and stone. I
asked her where they got
these materials. "In the
fields," was the answer.
Baffled, I looked in her
notes. There it was: "Soon
the settlers began to build
houses out of lumber,
brick, stucco and stone
from their fields." I had
quite an argument before
Bill Smiley
convincing her that lum-
ber, stucco and brick do
not grow in fields.
Next, I shot her a ques-
tion on the harvesting of
grain in the early days.
Her note book stated that
"the grain went through
. many painful processes." It
went on to say that the
grain was threshed and
winnowed, and then was
taken to be ground at "saw -
m i l l s and grist - mills,
preferably grist." Painful,
indeed, putting grain
through a sawmill.
A little later I came
across the startling in-
formation that during the
Rebellion of 1837 in Upper
Canada, William Lyon Mac-
kenzie's rebels had been
defeated by 30 men "at
Maple Leaf Gardens."
Frankly, I was appalled,
a n d slightly delighted.
What an interesting way to
learn history! Then, pur-
suing her notes, I was in-
formed that Lord Selkirk,
in trying to establish his
communities in what is
now Manitoba, got into a
squabble with the North-
western Fur Trading Com-
pany, and "carelessly cap-
tured Fort William." How
do you capture a place
carelessly?
After the initial shock
wore off, it occurred to me
that my daughter didn't
know limestone from field-
stone; that she really had
no idea where bricks and
stucco came from; that
she didn't even know what
a sawmill was; that she
didn't realize that, while
the NHL is adept at crush-
ing rebels, it was not in
existence in 1837; and that
she had just thrown that
adjective "carelessly" in
through sheer good spirits
and a complete ignorance
of who Lord Selkirk was,
and where Fort William is.
I'm not trying to blame
her teacher. Heaven for-
bid. The kids are to blame.
They copy stuff down from
the text -book, leave out a
word, or add one, and the
results are hilarious. They
are over -awed and over-
whelmed by facts, and are
much more interested in
"what?" than in "why?"
Socondly, I blame their
parents, people like me,
who are "too busy" to find
out what they are learn-
ing. and to correct such
garbled nonsense.
CHECK IT OUT
Check your son's home-
work, and you'll find him
writing this sort of thing,
especially if he learned to
spell phonetically, "He
krept koshusly threw the
nite, trang to peer into the
fog."
Have a look at your
da ugh t e is arithmetic.
You'll learn that she has
just sold twelve pounds of
butter for $19,844 and
thinks nothing of it.
In short, Dad, have a
look. It will shake you
rigid.
REMINISCING
FEBRUARY 1914
The Huron County Council
met in Goderich last week. The
first business was the election
of Warden. The Conservative
members, whose turn it was
this year, met in cancus and
decided that Mr. David Cante-
Ion, reeve of Clinton, should
sit in the warden's chair this
year. Messrs. R. Vanstone, C.
P. Smith and H. E. Isard were
appointed as members of the
Wingham Board of Education.
Reeve McKibhon, of Wingham,
has this year been placed on
two of the most important com-
mittees, Executive and House
of Refuge. Mr. H. E. Ricker,
Principal of Wingham High
School, was appointed as one
of the county examiners.
FEBRUARY 1928
Rumors that have been cur-
rent for some weeks received a
degree of confirmation on Mon-
day, that the Federal Rubber
Company, :nay leave town and
locate in Stratford. It has been
an open secret that Mr. F. W.
Willis, secretary and manager,
has been flirting with several.
outside points with the object
of moving ftotr, Wingham, .end
Monday's Stratford Beacon -
Herald gives the rumor confirm-
ation. The company, which
the Board of Trade and Indus-
trial committee of the council
has been negotiating, with, for
several weeks past, has re-
organized with Dr. A, J. Irwin,
Winghatn, as president; 11. E.
Isard, Winghatn, vice-pres„
and the following directors: F.
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