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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1981-05-21, Page 4I Page 4 WN Mmes Established 1873 irne!.Advocate - . ••• 1..0m 11.• r. Times -Advocate, May 21, 1981 Advocate Established 1 881 SERVING CANADA S BEST FARMLAND C W NA OW NA CLASS 'A' AND ABC MEMBER ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL PubI hed by 1 W Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Asslstont Editor --- Ross Haugh Advertising Manager -- Jim Beckett Composition Manager -- Harry DeVries Business Manager -- Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 +CNASUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada 517.00 Per Year; USA $35.00 Enlist everyone One of the problems with airing views, either in the written or spoken word, is the fact that one can not always choose the correct audience. Addressing the converted is often a vir- tual waste of time. That was noted by Mayor Bruce Shaw last week when he called for more stringent penalties from the courts to protect society from those who fail to abide by its rules. The majority of his audience was made up of police chiefs. certainly the converted on that particular topic. However. there were a couple of judges and one senior government representative on hand and hopefully they will carry the message to the ap- propriate sources to indicate that not only the mayor of Exeter is concerned, but probably his entire constituency. It must be recognized though that the courts are the last resort and that prevention is still the most economical method in the fight and the police chiefs are in the forefront in that regard. But prevention must also include the elimination of the growing social and economic ills which are at the root of the problem. and in that fight every citizen must be enlisted. Share the duty The attempted assassination of Pope John Paul 11 shows once again that no one is immune from the attacks of madmen. Some people may seek comfort in the situation by suggesting that the deed was perpetrated by a lone gun- man. but the fact is that in theory he was not alone. He was among that ever- growing group of terrorists who claim their victims from the high and the mighty as well as the lowly in every corner of the world. Faced with daily accounts of such wanton brutality throughout a troubled world. our minds almost become hardened and uncaring. being jolted into action only when the victims are such world leaders as a pope or head of state from some friendly country. Pope John Paul is one of the few people on this earth who has seen and understood the plight of mankind and has travelled the World with his spiritural message of tolerance and compassion. of peace on earth. That there are those who would want to silence such a voice should anger and frighten us all. regardless of political or religious persuasion. "I feel the duty to strongly con- demn every act of violence, no matter where it comes from," he was quoted in a recent appeal for peace in Ireland. Only when people throughout the world share in that duty can there be any hope for peace on earth. Poor judgement Regardless of what evidence he may have had. MPP Mike Breaugh was lacking in judgement whe- he made public announcements of suspected Klu Klux Klan activities in the Lucan area. While there has been no evidence tat time of writing to support his claims. the Ontario Legislature appears to he the wrong place to make suggestions of activities of that nature. In the first place. it creates a great deal of apprehension among the residents of the area named. often, leading to distrust of individuals without just cause but with damaging effects By SYD FL ETCHER The twentieth century has brought along many new and wonderful things ranging from the marvellous Salk polio vaccine, the elimination of small -pox, right down to the amazing space shuttle. One other thing though that this century has ushered in with it is a tremendous growth in marriage and family problems. With the divorce rate exceeding 30 percent it seems that people seem to he more and more V • The allegations should have been passed on privately so the proper authorities could have checked out the situation and perhaps even ap- prehended the people involved if in fact the rumors were correct. Breaugh's comments would tend to send them into hiding or to merely carry on their ac- tivities elsewhere and further prevent or prolong their detection. Breaugh may have gained some personal political mileage with his comments. but he did little to show peo- ple that MPPs can use common sense. It's the type of alarmisttacticthat the Klu Klux Klan would probably find to their liking. Perspectives unhappy. more and more unsure of themselves. In the long run, of course, it is the children who suffer. I overheard a loud voice in a restaurant recently declaring angrily the sen- tences from which most of the following poem was derived. I was just a bundle of nerves We fought all day and night Al every meal In bed and out And the kids They heard every word They lived every moment of it And the hate just grew and grew I sat 'em down The oldest two My daughters knew everything about the whole mess I told them it all I didn't give a care So he says to me What's this garbage This junk you've gone and told 'em And I says Well it was the truth Wasn't it And he says Yeah but it isn't fair Tears run down his cheeks Can you believe it? After all that, he sits there Sits and cries like a baby Maybe he was right Maybe it isn't fair But I just can't forget I just can't shut it out. 411 EPr AlT Developing appetite, social graces It's been a few years since the writer attended a threshing bee on the farm of his uncle at Winchelsea, but the memories were stirred by a picture assignment last week at one of the chapters of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorori- ty. ,Now you will probably be wondering what a sorority meeting would have in common with an old-fashioned threshing, given the fact the par- ticipants are about as similar as night and day. Threshing bees were attended by bib husky men whose muscles and appetites were quickly honed through the arduous task of heaving sheaves from the ground to the top of their horse drawn wagons. The gruff talk in the fields and mows was often garbled because each man had a huge wad of chewing tabacco in his cheek to keep his throat lubricated against the air fill- ed with small particles of dust as,the mammoth thresher chewed up , the wagon loads and spewed the grain and straw into their respective piles. About the only similarity between those at a threshing bee and a sorority meeting is that each may have members wearing scarves, although for entirely different reasons. However, there was one other similarity. That was in the way people filled up their plates. It took a group of women all morning to prepare the food for the hungry threshers and the boun- tiful display of goodies at the sorority pot luck indicated the same practice had been followed Similar to the threshing bee, there was hardly a morsel left when the diners put down their forks although it was not the meat and potatoes fare of a threshing. but rather dainty jellied salads and delectable casseroles that had disappeared onto the well -laden plates. Having shared a can of salmon with the family catprior to my photo assign- ment. I attempted to resist the kind in- vitation of the gracious hostess to join the ladies in their repast. It was only when I spotted her filling a plate for me that I quickly moved to the table to finish the chore, fearing she would fill the plate as full as the one the lady seated beside me had. (Where she put it all in such a petite frame, I'll never know!) Rinsing it down with a glass of wine (these gals go first class) I was near bulging at the seams when I was quick- ly gathered up in the mad rush to the 4 table again, this time it being covered with all sorts of calorie -laden dessert offerings. Having seldom been confronted with such an array. and not wanting to dis- play any lack of social graces, I follow- ed the example of the ladies in front by taking one sample from each of the plates, which necessitated the use of two hands just to hold the mounded platter. The lady on the other side of me then admitted that dessert time was her favorite. a fact that had already been suspected because she kept inching her chair ever closer to the table when she spotted the desserts being carried from the kitchen. Another glass of wine arrived mysteriously at my side and I glanced around the room in an attempt to figure out which of the ladies had drained the original glasss with which I had been presented, wondering also if the neighbors had caught on to the arrival of the ladies who were "brown bagging it." - Sugar and S Die sed by Smiley Dig sed by Smiley Just as I was getting ready to apply for membership. the discussion around the room indicated that not all sorority meetings follow such a format, as this was the wind-up of the year and was one of the infrequent occasions on which the members allow themselves to break away from the normal routine of serious. hard-working sessions in which they develop their cultural and social acumen. Beating six hands to the last butter tart on the tray. I took my leave, but not before advising the hostess I would be happy to cover the next meeting to save my associate in the next office further disrepair on his extruding . waistline. A plea was issued, however, that an advance notice of a couple of days be given so an appropriate fast could be conducted to enable me to keep pace with the members at the table. Only a hardened thresher could believe their appetites! While some may question the need for local ladies to be involved in ac- tivities to better their social graces, there is some evidence to support it. In fact, the need was brought home quite vivdly as I arrived at the next photo assignment. which was the meeting of one of the "junior" chapters of the same sorority. Here it was all business! No wine for the photographer. nor even a hint that he could enjoy some tea and cookies that were to be laid on for the conclu- sion of the year. Obviously. this group has a great deal yet to (earn before graduating to the ranks of those who know what sociabili- ty is all about. Their elder sisters put them to shame. A decision to fight back I spent the entire weekend talking to these people. feeding them, and driving them to a ferry. half an hour away, where they could embark and spread the faith on an Indian reservation. They can talk like gurus, sleep like a bomb, and eat like horses. My son arrived on a Thursday night, and had me so befuddled by astrology and the words of the prophet. that I slank off to bed about mid -night got up early so I wouldn't have to face him again. That afternoon. a friend, Margaret, arrived from the city. at 80 miles an hour, on her motor -bike. They left for the island. At 7.30 that night, Lise arrived. 22, bright as a whip, endearing. giving up a weekend with exams approaching, to take part in the teaching mission. Fed and slept her at our place, delivered her to the ferry next day. Saturday, son Hugh and Margaret arrived back and took off for the city. back to work. Sunday morning I went to pick up Lise at the ferry and saw her off on the bus, ready to resume her studies for a M.A. in Statistics, of all things. O.K. An old Jewish guy can stand that. But Monday. .1 got a letter. courtesy of the Collingwood weekly, that reinforced my decision to fight back. It was from William J. McCormick Esq., Chetwynd. Chetwynd Drive, Rosemont, Pennsylvania. It was the damnedest thing (pardon the expres- sion in a religious column) that I have ever seen. On the outside of the envelope was his address, and mine. thus: Honorable Bill Smiley. (Teacher & Columnist). Down in the righthand corner was a fat green label stating: Preferential: Do Not Delay, Label 110, 19-72. On the back of the envelope was this: Dear letter, go upon your way Over mountain, plain or sea. God bless all who speed your flight To where I wish you to be. And bless 'all those beneath the roof Where I would bid you rest; But bless even more the one to whom This letter is addressed. Inside were the following: a letter from the Speaker's Office, House of Commons, London. England, thanking Mr. McCormick for his copy of an ad- dress given at Haverford, Penn.; a letter from Buckingham Palace thanking him for the copy of the "Holy Name" and an accompanying letter (the Palace letter had a grammar error); a one -inch by six-inch card, in green blue and red, announcing 'God Bless You'; and a twelve -thousand word copy of the address by Wm. J. McCormick to the Holy Name Socie- ty of Rosemont, Penn. It was all a bit too much. Somewhere in his speech, Wm. J. had a number of aphorisms about brevity being the soul of wit. As you may have noticed, I don't preach much in this space. That is. I don't preach religion. In the fitst place, I am not learned enough In the scriptures, whatever scripture happen to turn you on. By the way, excuse the use of a capital "S" for scriptures. It merely means writings. It's not that I don't have a frelndly chat with God once in a while. I do, and I'm sure he enjoys it, though he never talks back. In that respect, he is about two hundred percent more amiable to talk to than my wife. In the second place (see above), I am not pure enough or good enough to preach to others, though, by George, there are quite a few of you sinners out there who need a little touch of hellfire to frighten you. And in the third place, it's none of my business. If you want to bang your head on the ground in the general direction of the East. do a Holy Roll on the floor, speak in tongues. lie on a bed of nails, or slurp wine and eat dry biscuits at Christmas and Easter, that's your problem. I am basically a Jew at heart. If you believe that you are going to join the Great Spirit or some other form of It, Her, Him after you conk out, and meet all your loved ones again, and float around on that big Sugar Candy mountain in the sky, and not ever work again, bless you, and good luck. (Who, in his right, or even celestial mind, would want to see all his/her loved ones again? There'd be some right hair -pulling if some of my old rl-friends and my wife got together for a Sunday brunch at one of those fly - ins in the sky; and I sure as heaven don't want to meet my children, nor my brothers and sisters, after I croak. Wouldn't mind seeing the grandboys for about seven minutes.) So. Generally I mind my own business about other people's beliefs. But this past week has made me strike Mainstream Canada Another tax By W. Roger Worth A lot of Canadians may not be pleased when Ottawa completes a review of the country's capital gains lax legislation. The reason: a new lax on capital gains earned on the sale of a principal residence may be included in the recom- mendations. At present, (hese gains are not taxed, and homeowners have been chalking up pheno- Roger Worth is Director, Public Affairs; Canadian Federation of Independent Business. menal profits (al least on paper) as real estate prices have rocketed, particularly in major urban areas. Ottawa, of course, would like to get some of that money to offset deficits of $14 billion or more per year. Many government tax ex- perts argue that exempting capital gains on principal resi- dences encourages speculation in housing and deprives other sectors of the economy of in- vestment capital. Further, they contend peo- ple who choose to rent fall behind those who own their own homes. They also suggest it is un- fair to tax stock market pro- fits and capital gains on smalkr firms (when they are sold) and al the same lime ex- empt housing. On the other hand, many Canadians believe home ownership is one of the few ways people can increase their wealth and keep pace with in- flation. Such a tax would also penalize people who want to, or have to, move into rental accommodation. In a recent survey, 81% of the members of the 59,000 member Canadian Federation of Independent Business sup- ported retention of the capital gains tax exemption for home- owners. This message from small business may provide some in- sight into the political prob- lems facing Ottawa if the government attempts such a tax change. Corporate takeovers reduce opportunities By Frank Kaplan Canadian business seems to have entered another "takeover era." A week doesn't pass without another startling announcement of an offer to purchase control of some major corporation. Obviously a major influence encouraging takeovers is the belief of the buyers that the shares of the target companies are bargains. Discussions and debates regarding the impact of take- overs and mergers of leading companies in important industries frequently overlook one important consider- ation. That is, the reduction or elimination of suitable vehicles where Canadians can invest their savings. The widespread ownership of Canadian industry isn't fully appreciated or understood. The shares of big com- panies are dwned both directly by the individual investors, and indirectly through savings that have been invested in such pools as pensions and investment funds. The only indicator available however, is the number of "registered" shareholders reported by a company. Even such a limited figure can be eye-opening to anyone who still believes "big" business is owned by "big" business. For example, Abitibi -Price, which itself represents an earlier merger of two major companies, was a recent take- over target. At the end of 1979, Abitibi -Price had reported more shareholders than it had employees in its giant and scattered forest products operations - 18,713 shareholders and 18,000 employees. Royal Trustco is one of the leading national financial institutions and has been the centre of some controversy in the successful defence of recent attempts to buy its shares. Before the takeover offers, Royal Trustco had re- ported 8,803 shareholders. It is most likely that many thousands of other people had interests in Royal Trustco because shares of such an important and sound institution would be a favourite avenue of investment for the man- agers of the investment funds and pension savings. MacMillan -Bloedel, the leader in the western Canadian forest industry, is another instance where shares are pass- ing out of the hands of individuals. Before the takeover bids, MacMillan -Bloedel had reported having more than 16,000 registered shareholders. Interestingly, this trans- action evidences the value target companies represent to the buyers. When MacMillan-Bloedel's shares were trading at 840.00, the first offer to purchase was made at 146.00, a second competing offer followed at 156.00, the first bidder improved its offer to 156.00 cash and finally the competing bid was raised to 162.00 • a full 122.00 premium over the pre -takeover price. Transactions like these, tell us two things • a great number of individual investors are facing the disappear- ance of desirable companies in which to invest and, secondly, share values for many companies still must be low when they are being bought at higher prices by sophisticated corporate bidders. the mors, To the Editor: One year ago the Ausable River Nomads camping club took over the job of holding the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic. We as a club worked hard and our efforts paid off with a grand turnout of donors. May 28 is once again the Blood Clinic in Exeter at the High School. The Red Cross has raised our quota to 225 this year. This means we are counting on help from the many donors in Exeter and surrounding area. s 4t4W. ;at The Red Cross figure on these quotas being filled at each clinic or their blood supplywilllessen for South- western Ontario. With the many operations, car ac- cidents etc, blood is needed daily. It takes but a few minutes to be a donor and possibly save a life. Blood cannot De manufactured, it has to be given by you the DONOR. Blood is the Gift of Life, take a few minutes on May 28 and give. Marie Brunzlow back. in desperation. First of all. I got caught in a welter on Ba'ha-i's. My wife, son and daughter are adhrents of this comparatively new faith. Its beliefs you can't fight with. They're the best of the older religions. Their purpose is to spread unity, the one- ness of man, in our world. To battle that would be like con- demning Motherhood. They have no wild or bizarre ceremonies. They have sim- ple meetings, variously called Feasts, Pasts, Dee nin They harm nobody, except old guys like me olio are dragooned into driving people to such events. Then he took off for another ten thousand words. Enough religion. I'm going to look up a rabbi tomorrow.