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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-09-07, Page 4 (2)Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 7, 1978 C owI�ioN) The costs continue ._-.one of the constant criticisms dur- - ing the lengthy strike at Fleck Manufacturing was the cost of the bilge contingent of Ontario Provincial,;isolice men and women assigned to keep peace on the site. Taxpayers generally were chagrin- ed upon reading that it was costing them over $1.000,000 to have the police in the area in such numbers. That no doubt was one of the most welcome aspects of the end of the strike for the general public. However, if taxpayers heaved a huge sigh of relief, it may have been premature. They're still paying for police involvement in the strike and in- dications are they may be for some time to•come. An OPP inspector and one con- -stable have been assigned to help the Crown Attorney build a case against some of the People charged on' the picket line. The people were the of- ficers involved in the incident on May 24 when riot -equipped police moved in to clear-apathlOYl bus carrying non- strikers to work. One picketer was knocked down and several have laid complaints of - assault against policemen as a result of that incident and an extensive investigation is un- derway with Ontario taxpayers footing the bill. This, no doubt, will be followed by lengthy and costly court battles. The pickets complained constantly• about the cost of the police involve- ment, but they are now'apparently be- ing well served by the investigation on their behalf by "the pigs". There's some question whether they deserve that consideration from the people they maligned, criticized and verbally abused. The pickets have every right to ex- pect the police to assist in the in- vestigation of their charges. That's the job of the law enforcement -per- sonnel. But so too was it their job to keep peace on the picket line although that was a fact often disputed by the ti AW supporters. The numbers game The unseemly- squabble between Ottawa and the provinces over who should be in -the lottery business raises the question of whether government should be in it at all. From the . relatively 'modest original concept of raising Money for t e Ol m ics h y p lotteries i es have grown into a national extravaganza. All provinces. ---along -with-the-federal-government—a re- in the business. and Canadians this 'year will likely spend about $1 billion on lottery tickets. • - ' The money left over after paying -- the prizes --and-• administration costs goes to a variety of worthy purposes. But does government need to exploit -the gambling instinct to raise this* money? The meagre data on who- buys lottery tickets indicate that purchasers come from all . income groups and strata of society. But:4-rjany of (hose. who buy are low-income earners and for them a lottery purchase constitutes a regressive form of taxation, if only because the price of the ticket—they—are encouraged to buy is a higher propor- tion of their income. -The planned expansion of the lotteries into fancy "number games". wherein ticket buyers punch in their own numbers in the hope of striking it __rich.. means-Shat_the -governmenf-is-as- •hooked on lotteries as a. way to raise money as are many of the players. Before' governments get deeper and deeper into the lottery business surely some hard questions should be asked about the effect of this fantasy - world operation on the people — and so their governments: Furthermore. it seems a little incongruous to have our politicians exhorting everyone to work harder and not expect an ever -soaring standard of living, while at_ the same time theyare up to their necks in a business that promises the chance to become a millionaire overnight. Going to the...cats It ,was with a trembling heart last• week that we read that Ontario municipalities are considering a re- quest for a change in the BNA Act in order to — of all things — allow them to licence cats as well as dogs. Heaven. forbid. • It never fails: whenever there is mention of some canine fracas or other in council and the proceedings are duly reported in the paper. we tan rest assured the repercussions will be great indeed. We shudder t� think what would - happen in the case of cats running at -large. We are well aware that some dog types have long argued that they are being discriminated against as com- pared to other pet owners..cat owners in particular. Nonsense. There is a very good• reason why cats aren't licenced a reason rooted in tradition that should be considered very careful- ly before any -mention of change is even breathed. Medievaj Europe knew the value of -cats. As the great plague swept adross the continent and old and young alike fell victim to the Black Death, the t� ly cat -was The only defence against the engulfing disease. It might even be said that in those' times, the cat was king as far as the animal world is concerned. Why? Because the Cat killed the rats and mice. which carried -the dreaded plague. • -- • In olden days cats were also impor- t.' tent members of the ship's crew on long ocean voyages — again for the same reason. to kill the rats aboard the vessels. It all makes you think that without the amount of cats we have roaming arounclitowns and cities today. the ro- dent population might be a cause for concern rather: than a sometime nuisance. The best mousetrap in the world is still the four -legged variety with whiskers that meows. When dog - owners can prove their pets provide a similar service to mankind, then socie- ty can reassess the merits of licencing or not licencing. Foj' the time being, let's not mess with tradition. Instead of thinking about lice ring cats. municipalities would do b tter to consider increasing the penalti s for persons found un- loading sacks of kittens on roadsides, etc. Like many of our other problems. the cat- problem is caused' by humans failing to take responsibility for their pets. Instead of licencing pets; perhaps we should licence pet owners after Making sure they are qualified regar- ding the care and control of their animals. Listowel Banner Mmes Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Imes- A dvocate -SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eody Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager —Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jengkind -- — -Phone 23S -t331 PCNA Amalgamated 1074 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada 811.00 Per Year; USA 822. 4 Act -- „",IuUlAlllllll;ll .urW 4Vitor 111.111.11.11211._ Pte. -114V06.911111111 -- "Of course there are fish in here — I heard one cough." BATT' -N AROUND . e e , e . with theNeditor- Little service goes a long way e Having been a "tourist" recently, the writer -was interested in a travel in- dustry task force which last week ,reported that_ excessive government regulation is slowly strangling Canada's 510 -billion tourist industry. e task force also had some unkind won for many tourist.. operators. notiti g their lack of: suitabte_accom- = mode on and service, while at the same time demanding exorbitant rates. Our -experience, and those related by a couple of fellow -employees. would in- dicate that tourists are being turned off by -some operators. — • • _— During a visit ,to Niagara Falls - recently. one chap at the office phoned. a motel for a reservation and found out that the cost of a room fqr the night was $58. He naturally looked for ac- commodation elsewhere. • Our -holiday was spent at Wilderness Lodge. and while the name implies that one should not expect much in the way • of red -carpet treatment. the service that was provided left much -to be . desired. • - Upon our arrival, the hostess advised that i,iir cabin was "at the bottom of the hill". Armed with that direction. • i we drove off for the bottom of'the hili, only to .find that there were in fact three cottages at the bottom of the hill and nO indication which one was..to' be our home for the next fivedays. Had she taken :the time to walk the few steps. to the top of the hill to point out exactly which cabin was allotted it would have alleviated the nuisance of wandering about the camp site and finally dispatching one of our members to go back to the office to ascertain ex- actly which cabin was ours. Once unpacked. the fishermen were eager to try their luck. and a couple headed back to - the office tb make arrafgements for one of the many boats stationed on the beach. Their enthusiasm was dampened somewhat • on being advised that the rental rate was $8 per day. A motor would cost an additional $10 per day, plus gas. While ,that appeared a little steep, it was quickly dismissed as being -the price one must pay for services in the north, and the boys decided _to forego the motor and head out to find the fishing holes on the strength of their _ -rowing arms. - - _ - propriate.upon our arrival in view of - However, investigation showed -that'-the malady suffered by many of those oars were not available. This required Who preceded us. another trip up the steep hill to ask for those necessities.., Again their . enthusiasm was dampened when they were advised there were no oars and - they wouTdhave tb propel the large row f, .• ` • i•• /1 the water supply, and while it may only have been due to the change from our normal consumption, tion some warning to that effect would have appeared p= boat across the lake by using the canoe paddles. As they were about to push off from shore, father reminded them that they- -required life jackets. Again, another • trek up the hill, and again the dis- heartening reply that life jackets were not available. To top it off, there were two anchors for the dozen boats available. and we engaged in a "first come, first served" battle with our fellow tourists for the balance of the week, until, we --rah across a discarded minnow btecket that was rigged upfor our own use on the final two days. • . Readers will recall_ our nose - provoking experit3nice with the, humus toilet in our cabin from last week's report; but we failed to mention that all four of the Batten boys''came down with a bad case of 24-hour sickness dur- ing the- week, keeping mother busy holding heads and cleaning up messes and father heading- out to rinse off towels and blankets and hanging them _out to dry. In talking with other tourists, we found several, of them had also ex- perienced -•internal problems during their stay -and one staff member -in- dicated half the people who had visited during the summer had experienced similar problems. This naturally made us suspicious of Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley • Now looks like ancient ruins H you have the constitution of a bull moose. the alimentary ability of an i earthworm, the faculty of sleeping anytime, anywhere. like a cat. a cast- iron stomach. and a very friendly bank manager. by all means take a trip to Europe. If, on the other hand, you have fallen arches, constipation. hemmorhoids, a tricky stomach. insomnia. an aversion to heights or public toilets' or foreigners. and less than twice as much money as you think you'll need. by all means don't. You start off eagerly to Europe to look at ancient ruins, and come home looking like one. - - They tell me there are 50 million lit- tle old ladies tearing around Europe taking notes and pictures. missing none of the sights. eating the most incredi- ble food. and slugging down the vino when they wouldn't even take a sherry at Christmas, back home. I believe it. I've seen them. But there's one less now. I set off in a pretty good shape in my prime. 1 came home feeling like' a little old lady. If you have a loathing for winos. don't go. You'll probably come back one yourself. If you aren't gregarious, don't like eo 1 ffeeLsorrf! kind of: - phobia n mo s, don't go.'You'd be mis- - erable. If you tend to get sick on buses, air- planes, trains, and boat, better stay home. You'd feel sick all the time: • If you are going with a spouse or companion, you'll end your trip either _Such information Could have been provided when we were advised that wood was not available for the stove or fireplace and.we_would have to gather what we could from the nearb bush Despite the foregoing, our holiday wasn't ruined by any means at Wilderness -Lodge, and our cabin was cleaner and more spacious than many available in fishing camps. However, the little frustrations do add up to take the edge off what could have 'been a tremendous time with, a little more consideration by our hosts, as well as the availability of some of the necessities fora fancily to enjoy a week in the bush.- ' ; .• This week, the writer will have an opportuni