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Times -Advocate, September 30, 1901
Ames
Times Established .1873
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgamated 1924
t
dvocate
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
& North lambton Since 1873
Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited
tORNE EERY
Publisher
JIM BECKETT
Ad‘k•rtising Manager
HILL BATTEN
Editor
HARRY DEVRIES
Composition Manager
ROSS HAUGH
Assistant Editor
DICK JONGKIND
Business Manager
I Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario
I I Second Class Mall Registration Number 0386.
Phone 235-1331
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Canada $17.00 Per Year: USA $35.00
C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC'
Can't lick the increase
Postmaster -General Andre Ouellet has announced
whopping increases in postal rates intended to put the
new Canada Post Corporation on a sound footing.
In an unusual display of public relations, Ouellet
has also invited Canadians to voice their acceptance or
displeasure with the proposed rates, although he
hasn't made any real promises as to what will happen
if there is wide -spread opposition to the new rates.
However, Canadians who do accept his invitation
to voice their opinions have already been given some
indication of how they will be received.
If Ouellet had kept his ear to the ground he would
have known that most Canadians opposed the recent
contract signed with the posties which gave these
semi -skilled workers earnings of upwards of $25,000
per year along with four weeks vacation after eight
years and 17 weeks maternity leave at 93 percent of
their regular salaries.
The salaries and benefits are totally out of line
with those of the private sector and constitute the
basic reason why the substantial increases are now
required in postal rates. Canadians realize they have
to pay the bill for the wages and benefits one way or
another, whether it be increased contributions to the
federal treasury through postal rates or taxation.
There may be a choice, but obviously there is no
escape.
The majority of Canadians would be prepared to
accept the new rates if they were guaranteed that the
excessive deficits in the postal department would dis-
appear, that service and mail handling would improve
and there would be no interruptions in delivery due to
strikes.
That would be worth the extra cost involved, but
could be classes as wishful thinking.
A point worth considering
One of the aims of fall fairs is to be educational, as
well as entertaining.
That being the case, former SHDHS agriculture
teacher Andy Dixon is correct in his criticism that the
Exeter fall fair missed the boat in some aspects,
Saturday.
Andy made his comments after walking through
the livestock displays in the new agricultural building.
None of the entry forms on the pens and cages of
sheep, chickens, ducks and pigs identified the breed
and he noted he had not kept pace with the many new
breeds and was at a loss to know what he was looking
at.
He suggested the entry forms should contain the
breed name and obviously it is a point well taken and
one that the fair board directors should move to cor-
rect.
They should also ensure that entry forms carry the
name of the exhibitor and not merely a number. One of
the focal points of a community fair is to see the work
of friends and neighbors, but numbers are
meaningless.
The new agricultural building and its proximity to
the rec centre prompted more people to view the
livestock displays this year, but unfortunately the
facility was far from full and the directors should
review their prize lists to see if more interest can be
generated to take better advantage of the building and
put more emphasis on the rural aspect of the fair.
Readers suffer some
Readers will note we have changed the
format of the editorial page, but for the
enlightment of a couple, it should be ex-
plained there has been no change made
in the type of ink or paper that is used to
produce the paper.
Mention is made of that fact after a
rather unusual telephone call to one of
the gals in the front office shortly after
last week's publication hit the street.
A lady noted that while reading the
paper. her lips started to get dry and her
eyes watered. She wondered if there was
something in the ink that may be
creating this strange malady, adding
that another reader had shared her ex-
perience.
There's possibly an explanation, the
most logical one being that the editor has
poured so much sweat and tears into the
weekly task that, through some strange
phenomenon it sets up a reaction
whereby certain readers are also moved
to tears when they read the finished
product.
No doubt medical research would
determine that it is similar to the labor
pains that some husbands experience
when their wives are giving birth or the
strange situation in which people suffer
discomfort in a big toe after the digit has
been actually amputated from their
body.
The writer's lips also go dry on oc-
casions when reading the newspaper,
realizing that he can expect a nasty
phone call from some irate reader whose
name has ended up being misspelled or
that an editorial comment will not sit
well with some particular person.
If it is any consolation to the lady who
has fears that her health being under-
mined through reading the newspaper,
she may take consolation in the fact that
most members of the staff also suffer
strange maladies, ranging from sore
legs (from standing on the cement floor
in the back shop) to frayed nerves (try-
ing to meet deadlines) and her reaction
strange malady
is nothing more than a sympathy syn-
drome.
However, she should perhapsbewarned
that new medical evidence will possibly
show newsprint and printer's ink could
q
.sq a
BATT'N
AROUND
with the editor
lead to cancer, particularly if the
newspaper is read while one is drinking
coffee or any of the other food stuffs that
also contribute to health problems.
That's just the way things are these
days and our only consolation comes in
knowing that watching TV also can en-
danger one's health through radiation.
There's just nothing safe these days!
•
Speaking of oddities in the printed
word. those whose eye -sight is strained
by reading newspapers or find their
arms aren't long enough, may be in-
terested in knowing that the smallest
book ever printed in moveable type was
an edition of Dante's "Divine Comedy"
published in 1879. The book is 21/2 inches
by 1'/2 inches and has 31 lines to the page.
It took five years to complete the job and
the eyesight of the compositor, who also
did the proofreading, was permanently
damaged. Even with a large magnifying
glass, it is difficult to read the print.
Those of us who graduated from the
ranks of printer's devil in the days when
type was set by hand, find if difficult to
comprehend how anyone could get his
fingers to perform such intricate work.
Conversely, the largest book on
record, which was owned by Charles II,
was an enormous volume measuring six
l
feet high and three feet wide and it
stands on casters so that it can be open-
ed. It is an atlas and the maps were
printed in 20 sections and then fitted
together.
It's obviously not the type of thing
someone takes home and curls up with in
a favorite easy chair in front of a roaring
fire.
One of the interesting aspects of prin-
ting is that the pioneers, with such crude
and simple components at hand, did turn
out some efforts that can not even be
duplicated today with all our com-
puterized equipment.
It could also be noted that the best
photograph from a contest that judged
entries taken over a wide time period, in-
cluding the works of some of today's
most noted camera bugs, was one taken
in the early 1920s with an old box
camera. •
The competitors with their thousands
of dollars invested in automatic
cameras, filters, lights and dark room
equipment had to slink away in shame.
And to finish up on a literary note, in-
dications are that the continuing battle
over banning books in schools, has at last
had one beneficial aspect. It has
prompted an increase in the use of public
libraries.
Seems that when some of the citizen
groups denounce books for their
language or sexual content, people rush
out to get their hands on it.
In one town, the librarian reported that
one of the books that had been opposed
by the righteous, became the most
wanted title in the building, after it had
been borrowed only once prior to the
protest.
While some authors have expressed
bitterness over their creations being
banned, they should actually welcome
the controversy because it appears to be
the road to it becoming a best seller.
"It was recalled ... by the mortgage company."
Enjoys an unusual visitor
We didn't have a very
exoticsummer, but we
did have one visitor who
was unusual, to say the
least. •
He was only with us for
about 48 hours, but he left
a lasting impression, es-'
pecially on one of my
wife's favorite white bed-
spreads, from which she
has been trying to extract
a stain of tar ever since.
It seems that he set
down on the bed -spread a'
large suitcase, which had
recently been resting on
an asphalt road on a hot
summer evening. Thus,
the tar spot. Anybody got
a recipe for getting tar
out of white spreads?
Dr. Garry, as he is call-
ed,, is a large man of 60.
He is totally deaf, but can
lip-read better than most
of us can hear. He arrived
with my son Hugh, who
knew him in South
America. He leans heavi-
ly on a cane, but lugs a
mysterious, huge case
full of mysterious things. •
According to him, his
mother was a Do ib In-
dian, and he was born in
Yellowknife, father un-
known.
Over the years, he has
had T.B., syphilis, spinal
meningitis and
alcoholism. Ile has spent
time in jail. He was in
North America to be
treated for some kind of
South American parasite
that has got into his
bloodstream.
Withall, he is a man of
great charm, and strong
convictions. He is a
pioneer for the Ba -ha -i
faith in Paraguay, and
will go back there to die.
He reckons he has two
years.
He has written for radio
and TV, but the booze was
a problem. Somewhere
along the line, he became
a Ba -ha -i, and decided to
devote the rest of his life
to spreading the faith.
He went to Paraguay to
replace my son Hugh, •
who had done a five-year
stint there and may go
back.
Sugar
and Spice
Dispensed By Smiley
his feet flying like
feathers.
Hugh, with his
customary fecklessness,
though "we" could put on
a show at the local park
with no problems. Guess
aYWA'
Dr. Garry is a con-
tradiction in terms. Hugh
assured us that he ate
only one meal a day. I
guess the others were just
snacks: juice and toast
and three eggs for
breakfast; whatever's
around for lunch; and a
dinner that would sink the
Titanic. Like five cobs of
corn, a pound of potato
salad, a whole cucumber,
some cold meat, and half
a pound of tomatoes.
But that's not the only
paradox. His specialty is
putting on "shows" for
children. He did a couple
while he was hete, and
they were excellent.
This big man, who can
scarcely walk with a
cane, psyches himself up,
throws away his cane,
and does an act that
would kaffle many a 20
year old.
In Indian costume, 'he
does about four dances,
prancing around like a 20
year old brave. He
switches to a Chinese out-
fit, and does a mime that
would turn green a 14
year old geisha girl.
Another switch, and he's
a clown, cavorting
around, delighting
children and adults alike,
who ran around lining up
equipment: mikes,
amplifiers, 100 feet of ex-
tension cord, and finding
a reasonable location for
the exhibition?
One of the amazing
things about Dr. Garry is
that, despite his total
deafness, he does all his
dances to music, tapes.
Son Hugh beats out the
time with one hand, and
Dr. Garry only oc-
casionally looks up to see
whether he's on time, and
get a reassuring nod from
Hugh.
When it's all over, the
good Dr. is like a sack of
potatoes, can barely
struggle back into his
street clothes, and
scarcely walk, even with
the cane. Hugh is ex-
hausted, of course, from
beating out the time.
However, they are able
to make it back to the
house and eat enough for
a threshing -gang. And
guess who takes all the
electrical gear back to
the stores in the morning,
while they're both having
a little lie in?
But the man was char-
ming. erudite, convinced
of his faith: "Every little
bit helps," and has a real
sense of humour. When
Hugh and his Mom
started their usual tiff, he
nudged my wife slyly and
said, "Shall we leave
home?"
And he's pretty
dauntless. He drove 15
miles with us and put on a
show for a group of Indian
kids. He's going to lick his
bug and go back to
pioneering in South
America.
He hasn't had a drink
for years. He's worked
with emotionally distrub-
ed children. Down south,
he lives on dried corn and
fruit. His total income is
about $100 'a month.
But he can throw away
that cane and dance deft-
ly on uneven ground, like
an Indian brave, a
Chinese girl, or a middle-
aged clown.
I was rather sceptical,
being a rather sceptical
sort, about some' of his
stories, but I could almost
swallow the lot when I
saw him perform that
near miracle.
Enough. We bundled
him on the bus, with
busses and hugs, along
with that great
mysterious case, which
holds his costumes,
magic tricks, Chinese
fan, and other gimmicks.
And it was a little sad to
see him leave, going back
to live among the natives
of Paraguay, sick, crippl-
ed, and stone-deaf. But it
was also a little hartening
to see a man who has
given up the entire
materiaiistic life of North
America sallying forth,
spirits high, to face
whatever he had to face.
Good luck, Dr. Garry.
You may be a bit of a
charlatan; but aren't we
all? You're a good man,
with your heart in the
right place, despite all
your earlier adversities.
Need to kindle greater respect
As I was walking down
one of the side streets in
our town, I noticed a very
simple sign in front of one
of the houses: "Please
keep off the grass". The
Lawn was immaculate, as
were the flower beds, the
trimmed bushes. Ob-
viously the owner cared
for her property and
wanted it to look nice.
A week later I just
happened to walk by the
same house and saw an
old lady working in the
garden, snipping off some
roses.
"You've really got a
lovely place," I remark-
ed.
"It was," she relied
bitterly, "till that
happened." She pointed
to a place on the lawn
next to her sign. Cut so
deeply into the lawn that
the grass was completely
gone, were 3 or 4 deep
ruts. It was obvious that
somebody had deliberate -
at,
nx
two young boys broke
into the building and did a
tremendous amount of
damage in a relatively
short time. There seemed
Perspectives
ly backed a car up onto
the lawn and spun the
wheels until the grass
was destroyed, simply
because the sign had ask-
ed them not to.
At one school that I was
By Syd Fletcher
to be no real motive.
Neither lad attended that
school.
I felt that the judgewho
handled the case used a
great deal of common
sense in his sentencing.
Instead of sending the
boys to a reformatory,
where they'd learn even
rougher tricks, he made
them come to the school
and do custodial work for
two months - pickhtg up
papers, cleaning floors,
and trimming weeds. By
the end of the time they
had a much greater
respect for the law and
for the amount of work
that goes into keeping a
school clean and tidy.
I would hope that if the
characters whd messed
up the old lady's lawn
were caught that they too
would be forced to make
restitution by hard labour
at an appropriate task. I
know that it would do
them some good.