HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1984-02-01, Page 64a
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The Lucknow Sentinel, P.O. Box 400 Luelniow NOG 2110
Telephone: 52282
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'omas. Thomson: AdYIsh Manager
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Advertising is accepted on the condiutaa thatja the event e a typographleai error, the .
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nsbility.
A letter to the.+editor of .The Sentinel, wbich "could not be
printed because_ the author did not include hisffier name,
included an eorial from the ::;January issue of Country
Guide. ;a,•
Apparently *Cc Guide had cen the edttonal stand
that the bas. of Canada have adopted a.:pohcy •'regarding
farmers where, if a farmer is on shaky fina*ial ,ground,- the
banks won't° foreclosebutrather cut; creditr'andstand back
. until. the farmer hinnael f recognizes the ;inevitability of having
to cl �; �,� t '• � ;: •
T1ic dttortal feontinues tat there iso inp evidence whatever
that bats, a ae shu. the door 'to farmers who have
resoiaable chat ce u val, however it would not be
surprrsjpg tf :so'%le fi orderhne :cases who might have been
given ultra *credit•:a year ago, ;are now being refused. ••
Theeditorial reasons that it the banks have adopted more
cautious lenif*g +,policies; and if someftrmers who might
otherwise haveaurvived are forced out of business, the blame
belongs in •one .place, on the shoulders of Allan 'Wilford- and
the Farm Survivalists. The Survival Association's 'demon-
strations; says Cou'iitry Guide, gave the banks publicity of a
type they r doni't want and the proposed federal legislation'
permitting hardpressed farmers to' walk away from tbeir loan.
interest repayment obligations wasn't appreciated by the
banks either..
It is apparent'the Country' Guide has not done. their
research. h:.
Survivalist Tactics. Embarrassing
Firstly, The Sentinel took_ the editorial stand that Allan
Wilford's, tactics. were not always a support to farmers. and
that his hunger . strike in a Stratford jail was especially.
.embarrassing to ;many farmers and would only contribute' to
destruction of the relationship between .farmer and banker.
There is room to agree with the author of the letter to the
' editor who commented that Wilford is only making a bad
name .' `for us the honest farmers". However,' Wilford and the
Farm Survivalists are not the reason hanks in. this .country
have adopted a cautious lending. policy in regard to farmers.
• Two-faced Attitude
Banks have traditionally ' required more collateral ,from
farmers who are borrowing money than any other segment of
society. At present their approach to lending money to
farmers is at best two-faced:
They are telling the federal treasury they are quite willing
to lend money to farmers and indeed want to remain active in
agriculture. At the same time, local farm organzations who
are dealing with farmers, know that banks are not willing t6
take any risk when lending to farmers. Banks are not
interested in lending money to farmers because the equity
situation does notguarantee a safe retp.rn. And it is the banks,
which have depressed the equity of 'farmers • by foreclosing
and forcing sales of farmland, which depresses land values
further eroding farmers' equity.
Government policies, both provincial and federal, are
biased in favour of the banks and other major financial
institutions. Both banks and insurance companies had the
highest profits in their histories during 1983, while farmers
and many other groups experienced exceedingly tough times.
Major financial institutions are not required to tarry, their
fair share of the load in these tough times.
Poor Financial Advice
The financial problems facing farmers today are the result
of mismanagement and poor financial advice. And where did
.the farmers get their financial advice? From their bank
managers and loans officers. But the banks are not willing to
assume a fair share of the responsibility. Instead they have
adopted a "starve -out" policy towards farmers when they
,haven't autornatically foreclosed..
No farmer wants to walk away from his debts. But the
federal government of this country decided to fight inflation
on the backs of the people who could least afford it: the poor,
the unemployed, the farmers and the small business people.
Exhorbitant interest rates, decreed by- the Bank of Canada
and supported by the government of Canada, have brought
farmers to the brink of disaster. Why should any honest hard
working man be expected to repay a mountain of debt which
resulted from an arbitrary policy of the government and the
Bank of Canada?
Emotional Ruin
Aside from the financial ruin of people to whom farming is
a way of life as well as an occupation, the emotional and
mental hardship created by the pressure exhorted by the
banks has led to marriage breakdown, family stress,
emotional and mental illness and possibly suicide.
The human toll and the waste of human potential, not to
mention the loss of agricultural production caused by the
policies of the governments and banks of Canada, is
incalcuable.
It's time farmers and other buinesses were given some
equality with banks in case of bankruptcies and insolvencies.
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EDITOR'S
NOTEBOOK
By Sharon Dietz
A fair crowd of parents and fans
attended the junior flea hockey game
on Saturday evening to see the mites
play Canada's unofficial national
sport. A comedy caper rivalling the
antics of the keystone cops, these
games arouse as big a cheer from the
fans as any game which features
older, more experienced players.
A delight to watch, these young
lads provide an evening of entertain-
ment enjoyed by everyone who
comes out to their games.
Skating is still the most important
feature of the game and as the
pictures on this page illustrate, it
takes practice to find your skating
legs when you'get all the;equipment
on and, with stick in hand, try to
apply what you have learned in a
game.
The annual Toronto Farm Show is
on this week at the C.N.F. complex. I
will be attending . to gather informal
tion . for • our . annual farm edition
which . is to be published in late
Marchor early April. The computer
age is also affecting the business of
agriculture and the farm show
Outlook '84 program features semin-
ars entitled Honiestead Computers, /
Plugging the Farm into the Info Age
and 'Plan a Farm Software. The
results of my attendance •at these
seminars should . makeinteresting
reading in our Farm Edition.
• A special hello this week to, Rev.
George Garratt, who was out to
coffee at the Superscoop for the first
time since his recent stay in hospital.
And a."Keep your chin up, Bear" to
Colin Becker who, after having a cast
removed from his leg which was
broken in a car accident before
Christmas, is now sporting a cast on
his arm which was broken while
tobogganing.
• Ground Hog day is tomorrow and
hopefully he will not see his shadow
and we will be able to see a bit of
spring sunshine on the way.
REDTREES
by Bob Campbell
MET
Grant the blacksmith did not move
far from Redtrees. Just east of the .
old Sixth Line was the township of
Albion which was in many respects
similar to Caledon; :hills and. rolling
land of sandy loam on gravel. There
were some English settlers in Albion
but the majority were Irish and it was
predominantly a Roman Catholic
area.
Maureen Brady . found lodging
near the Fourth Line whereas Grant
chose a place nearer to the Sixth Line
for his business, which was a hastily
constructed shack just sufficient to
keep the weather from his forge. He
intended to build a better black-
smith's
lacksmith's shop in. the future; but his ..
main preoccupation was a stone
house being constructed close by, by
two travelling stone masons.
Twice each week, Grant met his
bride-to-be and they went to receive
instructions to prepare them for their
forthcoming marriage in the Roman''
Catholic faith. In all truth, it was
difficult for Grant to settle into his
new religion and had it not been for
his urgent desire to marry the Irish
woman, changing his faith might
have been the , last thing to enter his
head. So he looked forward to the
day when he fulfilled all the needsyof
the Church of Ronne, the house was
finished, and :he and his new bride --
could live inthe manner which they
intended.
He missed the Redtree's .people,
the sound of their voices and the
honour and pride which set them
apart from the regt. The basic
feelings he had for his Higland
culture and tradition could neverbe
extinguished • . like the fire which
burned on his. hearth.. There were
some compensations.
The complete change in locality".
brought him a . motley throng of
strange but interesting personalities
and, of course, the pioneers who
made the long treck up the old Sixth
Line would sometimes call in for
their horses to be shoed and repairs
made to their wagons.
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