HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1964-10-01, Page 9r
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An Age of Investment
Perhaps you were as startled as we
were to read in The Advance. -Times last
week that the Wingham District High
School is only 75 short of capacity en-
rolment. When plans for the vocational
wing were made about two years ago
it was expected that some of the extra
rooms might be unoccupied for a few
years until the school population in-
creased.
If the opening of the school semester
a year from now sees the same increase
in enrolment as there was this year, the
school will he over capacity from the
first day—and new plans will have to be
drawn for further expansion.
New school rooms cost money . . .
not the amounts we have been accustom-
ed to thinking about in the course of
ordinary municipal expend'tures, but
gobs more than that. A million dollars
is often a starting figure where second-
ary schools are concerned.
If schools were our only public con-
cern the matter would not be too serious,
but they are not. Of equal importance
are the hospital facilities. Parks and
other public improvements must be paid
for as well.
Though these tremendous expendi-
tures may make us shudder, we all know
they must be met. We have talked for
years about the sparse population in our
country—about how badly we were in
need of more citizens, more industries
and more business. Like it or not, that's
what we are in process of getting right
now. The simple fact is that a larger
population brings not only benefits, but
the need for accelerated expenditures as
well,
Much of what we spend on public
facilities is for the use or training of the
younger generation. We are attempting
to provide them with a form of educa-
tion which will enable them to face
problems about which we can form only
a vague outline. The new roads and
parks and hospitals will also be theirs
to use. For this reason there is no need
to begrudge any of the treasure we are
providing. It is chiefly for the welfare
of our own children—the people who will
hold our destiny in their hands a few
years hence,
Trade Fair Would Be Missed
It seems that the Kinsmen Club is
seriously considering the need to dis-
pense with the annual trade fair. Though
we can sympathize with their reasons,
it is to be hoped that the fair can be
• continued.
As we have repeated each year since
the fair started, we have always believed
that it was an excellent promotion for
the community generally. It provided
an attraction which brought a lot of
visitors into town from nearby com-
munities, and it gave an opportunity for
these visitors to see something of the
calibre of businesses which we have in
4.
Wingham.
The problem in connection with the
fair does not arise from any lack of zeal
on the part of the Kinsmen. They have
always poured a tremendous amount of
energy and enthusiasm into preparations
for the event. A trade fair takes a great
deal of organizing and hard work and
there has been no stint of effort.
The Kinsmen say lack of enthusiasm
and co-operation on the part of local
businesses are the chief reasons for the
drop in exhibits. There is no way of
forcing businesses to co-operate, but we
do believe that they are missing an ex-
cellent opportunity if they fail to do so.
Spellings are Outdated
Glancing over the letters to the editor
in one of our daily newspapers recently
we were amused to read an epistle from
some person who must be the old original
die-hard. His temper had been aroused
by spellings of English words in the
papers, one example of which was the
word "color," spelled without the tra-
ditional "u" in the final syllable. He
termed the shorter form a rank Amer-
icanization and deplored our weakness in
bowing to any custom which originated
south of the border.
This quaint old custom of throwing
in all the extra letters you can find,
whether they add anything to sense or
sound is perpetuated, too, in our schools.
To us it seems silly in the extreme.
Why should we not spell color, odor,
valor and all the rest in a simple form?
We are expecting our children to cram
ever more scientific facts into their heads
and we aren't allowing them any more
years in public school to absorb all the
extra learning. Why not simplify Eng-
lish spelling as much as we possibly can?
Spellings in our language have long been
a nightmare to persons of every other
tongue. There is little in the way of a
basic system that can be applied. As a
result we have a generation of scholars
leaving our schools, a high percentage
of whom are horrible spellers.
The Americans have made dozens of
perfectly sensible simplifications in spell-
ing. They see no purpose whatever in
carrying the letter "u" in words where
it is not sounded in speech. Similarly
they no longer demand that the word
"practice" be spelled with a "c" when
it is a noun and with an "s" when a
verb. In hundreds of other instances
American spellings have altered the or-
iginal English to a more practical and
sensible usage.
These people who always respond
with righteous anger to any change in
traditional forms make us laugh. We
wonder how so many of them can even
make sense out of the writings of Chau-
cer? He wrote in English—the English
of his day in its purest form.
Or how about John Wyclif, one of
the fathers of the Reformation. It was
just 600 years ago that he wrote these
words: "The bigynnynge of the gospel
of Jhesu Christ, the sone of God. As it
is writun in Ysaie, the phophete, Lo! 1
send myn angel bifore thi face, that schal
make thi weye redy before thee. The
voyce of oon cryinge in desert. Make
ye redy the weye of the Lord, make ye
His pathic rihtful. Jhon was in desert
baptisynge, and prechinge the baptym of
penaunce, into remiscioun of synnes. And
aIle men of Jesusalem wenten out to him,
an al the cuntree of Judee; and weren
baptisid of him in the flood of Jordan,
knowlechinge her synnes."
Those words were not written by a
semi -literate. They were penned by a
man who was universally acknowledged
to be a leader in philosophy and letters.
Somewhere along the line there must
have been Englishmen who recognized
the need for uniformity and simplifica-
tion in their language. Certainly the
Americans are not responsible for the al-
terations which have been made since
Wyclif's day.
Resistance to change is commendable
in some fields. The field of theology is
a case in point, where changes not based
on the very soundest of knowledge must
be discouraged. But the century in which
we live is making the need for change
more apparent than it ever was before.
Even the Church of Rome is in the
throes of change because new modes of
living demand new concepts of faith.
English is a beautiful language. Be-
ing the product of many tongues it has
the flexibility of each—but it is confusing
in the extreme.
If it can be simplified without loss
of meaning or modernized within the
framework of its beauty, then there is
no sensible reason why the changes
should not be made.
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES
Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited
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Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 1, 1864
SECOND SECTION
THIS WEEK & NEXT
Tories Try For Fifth
By RAY ARGYLE
To win Britain's Oct. 15
general election, Conservative
prime minister Sir Alec Doug-
las -Home will have to convince
voters that the nation's ruling
Establishment is neither scan-
dal -ridden nor decadent,
Sir Alec moved into No. 10
Downing at the height of a
wave of criticism directed
against Britain's ruling circles
following the Profumo sex
scandal.
It appeared then to many
Briton's that t h e nation's
Britons that the nation's
loosely organized but powerful
clique known as The Establish-
ment, was becoming shot
through with dissolution, im-
morality and decadence.
It was the handling of the
scandal involving war secretary
John Profumo and his play -for -
pay girls, linked with possible
loss of state secrets to Russia,
that brought prime minister
Macmillan's forced resignation.
When Sir Alec, an austere
Scot who epitomizes Britain's
Establishment and all it stands
for, took office many Labor
Party tacticians wrote him off
as a sitting duck for the anti -
upper class hostility then
sweeping the island.
Sir Alec promptly delayed a
general election until the max-
imum five-year term was up,
and set about building Con-
servative party fences. He has
done a remarkable job.
Six months ago, the Conserv-
ative party was being written
off as a calf being led to
slaughter by the dynamic new
Labor party chief, Harold Wil
son.
Today, the ignomy of the
slammed door against Britain's
bid to go into the European
Common Market is forgotten.
The Profumo scandal is history.
Britons are caught up in the
greatest prosperity they have
ever known, and the election
contest has become a nip -and -
tuck affair.
Because of the Labor Party's
success in introducing sweeping
welfare state measures which
the Conservatives once resisted
but now strongly support, there
is now little real difference be-
tween the parties' policies. Both
are committed to a mixed so-
ciety.
The Labor Party has made
itself the Commonwealth cham-
pion, proclaiming that while
Britain should look outward to
Europe its destiny still lies
with the Commonwealth, This
is significant for Canada, and
for Canadian farmers especially,
The Labor Party, most of its
chief aims long since won, is
going easy on further national-
ization, promising to socialize
only the steel industry and
public water supplies.
Labor is even hedging on its
promise to abolish Britain's
nuclear deterrent, no doubt due
in part to the possibility—
however slim—of Barry Gold-
water winning the U.S. presi-
dency in November.
Despite Conservative accep-
tance of Labor's welfare state
policies, Prime Minister Doug-
las -Home is campaigning on an
anti -socialist platform. "Ours is
planning by consent, theirs is
planning by compulsion," he
is telling voters up and down
the island.
A victory in the Oct. 15 vot-
ing would give Britain's Con-
servatives an unprecedented
fifth successive term, a n d
could send the Labor Party in-
to political oblivion.
Waiting in the wings is en-
ergetic Liberal party leader Jo
Grimond who knows he can't
win but thinks he might be able
to emerge from the elections
with the balance of power.
It will take a turn -over of
about 80 seats to dislodge the
Conservatives.
The Gallup poll still gives the
Labor Party an` edge although
other polls have put the Con-
servatives a fraction ahead.
But the Conservatives have
a poor record in by-elections
and the Liberals have even
strengthened their standing by
nosing out Labor and Tory
candidates in close contests.
If the election is as close as
it looks now, Britain could find
itself looking on a Mother of
Parliaments as divided as Can-
ada's House of Commons.
REMINISCING
September 1914
Miss Margaret Holmes has
opened dressmaking rooms in
the Holmes block, next to Mrs.
Linklater's grocery store.
Mr. Robert Vent, of Blyth,
has a gang of men at present
engaged removing the old
bridge over the power plant
race in Lower Wingham. We
understand Mr. Vent has the
contract of building a new ce-
ment bridge at that point.
Mr. H. B. Elliott this week
sold his house and two lots on
Frances street and two lots on
Catherine street to Mr. T, R.
Bennett, of Grey. Mr. Ben-
nett has taken over the local
agency for the Massey -Harris
Co. and will move his family
to town in a few weeks.
SEPTEMBER 1928
Dr. and Mrs. Parker are
taking a week's motor trip to
Ottawa and other points east.
Mr. Oliver Stokes, Mr. and
Mrs. Rueben Stokes and daugh-
ters, Myrtle and Elma, spent
Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Wes-
ley Haines, Holyrood.
Mr. Alvin Smith is sporting
a new Ford Coupe.
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond El-
liott and daughter, Lois, spent
Sunday at the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Will McKinney.
September 1939
A meeting of the Huron Dis-
trict Boy Scout Association was
held on Clinton last week. At-
tending from Wingham were
Dist. Commissioner J. R. Spit-
tal and Scouters Benson Hamil-
ton, Carl Deans, Roy Dark and
Donald Adams.
Mr. Charles Carter has pur-
chased the home of the late
Daniel Geddes, situated on
Minnie Street. Mr. Larry
Benninger has purchased the
Kehoe property on Patrick St.
Mr. Jas. E. McGill, B. A. ,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Jas. A.
McGill, of East Wawanosh, has
been awarded the Fellowship in
Analytical Chemistry at Queens
University, Kingston.
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SUGAR
and
SPICE
i;;; :ul101ll By Bili Smiley
Phooey to you Mrs. F. J. Glau-
bitz, president of the Ontario
Federation of Home and School
Associations.
Mrs. Glaubitz was widely
quoted recently as "expressing
concern that some persons are
attracted to the teaching pro-
fession because of high salaries
rather than a genuine interest
in teaching."
The lady is reported to have
said that persons in the past
have been drawn to teaching be-
cause of a sincere interest in
human beings, but the higher
salaries of recent years have
brought an increasing number
who consider it "just another
job."
Dear Mrs. GIaubitz, you're
all wet! Where are all these
people who are flocking into
teaching for the big salaries?
Every spring, principals do ev-
erything but turn over stones
to see what they can find under
them, in the search for teachers.
Where are these big salaries,
Mrs. Glaubitz? Now, I'm not go-
ing to get personal, and ask how
much Mr. Glaubitz is making
these days. But if there is a Mr.
Glaubitz, I'll bet he's making a
whale of a lot more than this
teacher.
Teachers' salaries are reason-
able after years of shabby gen-
tility, But they're a long way
from being opulent. They make
less money than engineers, den-
tists or bone -benders. They're
not even within sight of doctors
and lawyers. They're about one
jump ahead of the preachers, a-
bout on a par with the skilled
craftsmen,
Anybody who has a wild idea
about getting into the high -
salaried profession of teaching
should immediately take a tran-
quillizer, followed by a short
September 1949
Miss Meta McLaughlin has
entered the Ontario Sick Chil-
dren's Hospital, Toronto, as
nurse -in -training.
Fire of undetermined origin
completely gutted the interior
of a general store owned by
Gordon Taylor, Auburn. Dis-
covered about 7 a.m. Sunday
when smoke was noticed com-
ing through the floor boards.
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and their
13 -year-old daughter, Marion,
were forced to flee in night att
tire from the upstairs. A coc-
ker spaniel " Blondie" lost its
life by suffocation.
course in hotel management,
hair -dressing, or something in
which he can make real money.
The story continued: "Mrs.
Glaubitz emphasized that the as-
sociation does not oppose high
salaries for teachers because
'the whole future of the country
rests in their hands'."
Well, bully for Mrs. Glaubitz
and the association. But isn't
that taking a very dim view of
the church, the government, and
the parents of all those who will
make up the future?
It's a bit much to saddle the
teachers with, isn't it? Frankly,
if the whole future of the coun-
try rests in my hands, I'm going
to put my hands in my pockets
and stroll quietly away.
Mrs. G., in the same story,
suggested that greater care be
taken in choosing candidates for
teaching training, using such
means as aptitude tests to weed
out unsuitable persons. Now, I
realize that teachers have not
the pristine purity of medical or
law societies, where there is
never a bad apple in the barrel,
but I'm afraid aptitude tests are
not the answer.
Here's the type of test Mrs.
Glaubitz might approve, with
the answers that would be given
by one of the best teachers I
know, a mature experienced
man whose students worship
him, whose colleagues respect
him, and whose results are ex-
cellent.
Q, Do you have a sincere in-
terest in human beings? A.
Well, not really. I like dogs,
though.
Q. Do you smoke? A. Sure.
Q. Do you indulge in alcohol?
A. Just beer, except on the
weekends.
Q. Do you enjoy helping
people? A. Hell, no. I only do
it because I have to.
Q. Are you interested in a
higher salary? A. Are you kid-
ding?
Q. What cultural interests do
you have, aside from your pro-
fession? A. Watching football
on TV.
Q. What sort of home life do
you have. A. Well, the kids
drive me crazy and I fight a
lot with my wife. About aver-
age, I guess,
And so it would go, the apti-
tude test. This chap should be
hurled out of the profession, by
rights. He's not dedicated or
anything. He's just a cracking
good teacher.
'1'R CBC WILL GIVE PRECEDENCE TO WORLT
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