Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-11-17, Page 4• 1' Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 17;1982 imes -. Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 dvocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex ' & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by j.W. Eedy Publications limited LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY'DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Man Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada S20.00 Per year: U.S.A. $55.00 ' C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and `ABC' A political ploy Some people may have cheered when Prime Minister Trudeau announced plans to establish a royal commission of inquiry into the national economy. After all, things are not that bright in that par- ticular area, and some intensive research would perhaps be beneficial. However, much of the cheering has now stopped. First of all, there is considerable dismay over the fact the commission has been established for a three- year period. Obviously, there isn't going to be any im- mediate benefit from the commission study, and while the medium and long-range plans for the nation are of some concern, there is more concern that unless some action is taken now, there may not be much left to salvage when the commission reports after the three-year study. Of equal concern is the naming of former finance • minister Donald Macdonald tohead the commission. During his tenure in that position, the nation's accoun- ting practices were seriously called into question in the annual reports of the auditor -general. The examples of mis-management were numerous. As a former finance minister, Macdonald must also be considered a contributor to the policies which have led the nation to its current position and further, as a potential party leadership candidate, there is con- cern that his findings and recommendations may be made with some political connotations to further his quest to succeed Trudeau. The credibility of the commission is already under- mined and smacks of a political ploy by the Prime Minister to get his party out of the heat. What is needed, of course, is a commission that could be considered non-partisan to get the economy and the future of this nation out of the heat. Poor source of revenue Whatt in the world will be taxed next? That's a question asked by many people and now the members of the Canadian Cancer Society have join- ed the list. For- almost a year now, the Society members have been staging an appeal with the federal government over the loss of their exemption from federal sales tax on materials either produced in Canada or imported from another country for public education purposes. The tax man to date has turned a deaf ear to the petition and as a result the Society will end up paying up to $100,000 in taxon educational materials which are produced for distribution without charge to the public for the purpose of prevention or early detection of cancer. Surely a government which gets millions of tax dollars from the tobacco business could show a little more compassion - and commonsense - towards an organization on the opposite side of the picture. But then, that would be working at cross-purposes, wouldn't it? Heads on straight The Liberal party recently held a national conven- tion - a meeting at which all members of the party were permitted to express their opinions about the things the Liberal government should be doing or not doing. The real shocker resolution to come before the meeting was one from the Young Liberals, who demanded immediate reform of the patronage system and rooting out of the "power brokers," the non -elected officers of the party who are the real power behind the prime minister's throne. Selected as examples were Senator Keith Davey,. generally believed to be the master -mind behind Trudeau's public image, and Jim Coutts, former Trudeau private secretary. The Young Liberals have pin -pointed the unease which affects many Canadians today, who believe that our country is not, in fact, being governed by its elected representatives, but instead by a few selected and favored bureaucrats. These powerful officials are not subject to removal by the country's voters but they hold power at the will of the prime minister and a few close associates. Although the Young Liberals' resolution did not say so, it is not difficult to compare the targets of their objections to the power enclave with which President Nixon surrounded . himself before the Watergate disaster. Such supporters and assistants are dedicated, not to the best interests of the nation, but rather to the maintenance of their particular patron in a position of absolute power. As long as the king is on the throne, the mandarins are secure. These Young Liberals have their heads on straight! Wingham Advance Times A long wait for election taily Some people may not have noticed that CFPL-TV decided to change its name to TV -London, but the municipal election night coverage by the station indicated quite clearly that it considers itself a medium for city dwellers primarily. Several local citizens recounted as how they had sat watching TV -London for some time expecting coverage of the area municipal elections, but it never came. Advertisements suggested that the sta- tion was going to provide "live coverage of Western Ontario election results". Those advertisements obviously over- stated the extent to which the station was prepared to give audiences in Western Ontario an indication of how they and their fellow citizens had voted, with the exception of a few mayoralty contests in some other cities. ' Instend of finding out what happened out here in the boondocks, TV viewers were confronted only with the frequent showing of the London election races. That became very boring for most, especially in some cases such as the mayoralty race there, where the outcome was clearly indicated once the first ballot box was opened and counted. The daily newspaper arm of the same communication business didn't do much better. Readers looking for the results in Tuesday's edition of the London Free Press were a day too early. ` I'm not going tocomplain too strenuous ly, of course, because their indifference BATT'N AROUND with the editor to areas outside the confines of London does help sell weekly newspapers. It's just difficult to understand how come the big city boys only think we're worth their troubles when there's a bit of dirty underwear hanging out. • • • • • While the disarmament question was not included on any ballots in this im- mediate area, it did get answered in several municipalities and, as expected, was given a "yes" by the majority. However, the "yes" was not quite as re- sounding as some may have expected, primarily because there were some solid arguments presented in the final days of the campaign. 1 The main thrust of the arguments was that it would be folly to negotiate with the Russians from a position of weakness and more than one person, suggested that in fact the Russians were behind the cam- paign for disarmament. If the disarmament proponents think the Russians are going to be swayed by public ()Pinion to end the arms race, they have only to ask someone in Poland or Afghanistan what those probabilities real- ly are. In case they've missed the news of the past few decades, the Soviets have not in- dicated any desire to stay within their own boundaries and live in peaceful co- existence with the rest of the world. Commenting on the disarmament vote, Col. Tom Lawson of the Royal Canadian Regiment said, "I am as strong as anyone in my desire to see an end to the turmoil and killing on this planet, but 1 am equal- ly strong in my belief that we cannot make any progress in this altruistic endeavour from a position of weakness and indecision". Now that they have some sort of man- date, it will be interesting to see what the disarmament backers do with it, and for that matter, what the Russians do with it. The light at the end of the tunnel Voices from the past I have come up with some items that bring back memories and voices from the past. A few months ago, a young colleague of mine was heading off to Zim- babwe (formerly Rhodesia) with his wife and children to teach school there. They didn't know a soul in that part of Africa. I hada thought, which oc- curs every so often. "Mark", I told him, "I have an old war -time friend who lived in Rhodesia. I'll dig up his address, and maybe he can at least give you some tips on life there." So I went to my old prisoner -of -war log book, and there it was. Unfor- tunately, Don McGibbon lived in Bulawayo, not Salisbury, to which Mark was posted. However, I gave him the address and anote to my old friend. There was every, likelihood that he was dead, or had moved, or had got out of the country, as so many white Rhode- sians did when a black takeover • seemed inevitable. And the other day, while I was having lunch; a member of our staff was reading a letter from Mark's wife. It turned out that they'd been sent to Bulawayo, not Salisbury. She described conditions, pretty grim - curfews, house searches for in- , surgents, and so on - and the letter said: "And we're going for a picnic on Sunday with Bill Smiley's old air force friend." You could have knocked me down with a Spitfire. I hadn't heard from Mac since 1945, when we were both incarcerated in prison camp. We'd been on the same Typhoon wing in Normandy, where I knew him slightly. He'd been shot down shortly after I was, and, joined by a wounded Australian, Frank Land, we wound up Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley as a trio doing a train journey all over Ger- many: first to a camp oc- cupied by British and New Zealand veterans of Cyprus, then to an inter- rogation centre , at Frankfurt, then off on a long haul across the war- torn country to a prison camp, where we wound up in the same room in barracks. As if that weren't enough to start the juices of memory flowing, my wife, while cleaning out drawers and boxes, came across a cache of ancient letters and pictures that I'd forgotten existed. There I am, Leading Aircraftsman Smiley, at 21, black hair, white teeth (the opposite of the pre- sent), wedge cap tilted to one side, dashing moustache, cocky as only a young fellow can be when he knows he's going to be a fighter pilot. And there I am again, on a prison camp iden- tification card, complete with numbers and finger- print, soon after I'd been shot down, looking bewildered and anything but cocky. And another photo, at another camp, front and side view, look- ing 10 years older, stubble of beard, mean. And final- ly, a photo taken soon alter release, sporting the magnificent handlebar moustache I'd grown in - camp. There's a picture of Freddy Wakeham, Cana- dian, Eric Necklen, New Zealander, and self, in front of our tent in Nor- mandy. I am the only sur- vivor. And another one, both leaning against a Spitfire's fuselage, of two of our gang, a motley crowd, when we trained in Shropshire to take off and land Spits without killing ourselves. Jacques Van der Perren, Belgian, and Singh Thandi, Indian Air Force. Van escaped when the Germans invaded Belgium, made his way through occupied France, got over the mountains in- to Spainand wasthrown in jail for six months. He was eventually released, got to England, joined the R.A.F., and was shot down and killed on a mission not far from his home town in Belgium. Singh Thandi went back to India. I heard he was killed flying Hurricanes in Burma. We were closer than most brothers. The only one of that crowd left is Jack Ryan of Toronto. The others were from half the countries in Europe, and from all over the then British Empire. Here's a letter, written to my mother, from Casa - jus Pascal, postmarked M. Stammlager XI, Deut- sbland, It's in French. Part of it: "Ici mon ami Bill, votre fils qui actuelle- ment dans mon stalag..." and so on. He told her I was en parfaite santee (in perfect health) and tried to reassure her. How good of him. I don't even remember him; although I knew a number of French POW's. He ends by say ing, in French: "I hope that he" himself will be able to write you soon." Why couldn't I write then? Who was Casa jus? Must dig into the memory cells. And on they go. A letter from my squadron leader describing my last mis- sion, and holding out hope. A letter from a chap in Florida to my parents. He listened every night, on his short wave radio, to lists of Allied prisoners an- nounced by the Germans, and had caught my name and home address. And a happy, happy. telegram, marked Sans Origine, and Important, from 64 Squadron: "Hap- py to inform you that your son F/O Smiley W B T is safe and well as prisoner of war. Letter follows." A letter of commisera- tion from my college president, when the first "missing" report went out. Finally, a letter from a chaplain in England: "So happy to be able to welcome and chat with your son, on his safe ar- rival in England." Dated May 25, 1945. ' People in those days really cared. And I've on- ly skimmed the surface. Reverse the situation We were travelling in the Deep South, the part of the U.S. where the local people speak with a beautiful slow drawl and the pace of life seems to be just a little slower. Come to think about it, everybody in that part of Georgia seemed to be moving at just a little faster than a dead stop. In one restaurant there was an abundance of waitresses but all of them just moseyed along at the speed they were used to. Once' we got used to it though, it really wasn't that bad. I think that we tend to be a little too hur- ried in our life style. It was in that same restaurant though that an unusual situation happen- ed. As we were entering the building there was a " very tall state trooper , standing there giving a very close took at was going on. Then it dawned on me. It was the whole issue of segrega- tion. Not so many years Perspectives By Syd Fletcher everyone who entered. Just ahead of us was a young Negro man. He looked nervously 'at the trooper and mouthed "Is it alright if I go in?" The policeman eyed him cold- ly up and down, then grunted an unwilling assent. For the life of me I couldn't understand what before that Negro man would not have been allowed into that restaurant other than as a waiter. He went in though and sat down at one of the counter stools and ordered, still very nervous in his manner. Now don't forget - this is a big restaurant and he was the only Negro in there. Reverse the situa- tion and think how uncom- fortable you might be in a place totally filled with people of another colour. In a few minutes a young Negro family came into' the restaurant. Although it was fairly ob- vious that the first man didn't know them he made eye contact with them and smiled. His,back straightened up ad it was really amazing the change in his air of confidence. Now, l doubt that such a scene would take place as quickly in the 'States' now (ten years later) but it is surely a marker of the way racial prejudice and discrimination can affect a group of people.