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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-12-04, Page 4i'•+.)4 ., Tunes -Advocate, December 4, 1985 1,es %vs 1't,e1,1ishei 1871 4,1Jte 1,t.eblished 1881 \inal};.+ur.ited 1923 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 imes dvocate Published Each Wednesday -Morning at Exeter, Ontario, ATOM 150 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. LORM tlt)'l Publisher Phone 519-235-1331 00(4(10 c as�i IIM BECKS T 1 Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager CCNA ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK IONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $23.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Let's prove it ' ,iluig Canadians are responsible help .us pr(tve it!" This is the t1,( t,le• uF the Canada Safety Council's .11)r.lttal Safe Driving Week. 25 and under are involved r) taco'(' traffic crashes causing death, • in ju 'i' and property damage tban any other age group of Cana- di;tr;s_ What is the. problem? •i'11►• ('ouiic•il says, "Young drivers' c (1111:e()iis receive only short-term at terrtll►r1 The collective concerns of all giTi fps governments, educational system. society, parents, police and nth. r interest groups - are not co ..o rd i l l: t t e • 1. ( ) n ly a few see the problem kv,Irt-:1111ng a high priority.'. ti ou ng drivers are often inex- perienced. lack good judgment; often Itririk .In(f drive, are willing to take and exhibit feelings of aggres sion and alientation while driving. What can be done about the problem? The major emphasis must include parental supervision combined with mandatory safety education programs prior to reaching driver licensing age. A driver licensing system which in- cludes several aspects of safe -driving must be implemented and co- ordinated at the national level. Such a system must include a graduated driver's permit with heavy financial penalties for non-compliance, univer- sal alcohol and drug control policies and procedures, special insurance schemes with incentives for safe driv- ing, as well as school-baserd driving in- struction programs, such as Students Against Drunk Drivers. Yes, young Canadians can be responsible drivers. We must all work together to prove it. Reverse philosophy 1:t•Ie',tgured taxpayers have oftten erie•1 ! ;Ilpport for the move. to sell off I'r•►,. r e•lrrpt)rations which constitute a 474,4' t1ll;li (irain'on the provincial and tc,le t ,t1 budgets. • • 1'.Itt they have little to cheer in the ;erlti,l,ne'e'nient this week that the te(Ier:11 go,, eminent will sell Canadian tI ,1 tl;:i` That just happens to be one 4I !iic i • .w crown corporations which •-Itt►\ probit aril obviously should h;,\ 1 •r) one of the last -from which Reason I'I a(I( Minister •" , !Aims members ,..Ir:ties are out ,r4 ,•, ntsuul('rs when t,,, thr extension of irlt �., 1414 elgtt shoes In • 1„ lrrrneel a rather I ,• r he went so fat' as to ,!,t a ere out on a limb. , • ,••1 that the removal Il,c•an:: that shoes .1(441 1111're will he 1e II'11(•1dar'I1 of re11141Ve the ; .! Piled ;Is part r t s c'lilTcnt :.1•li Thal topic t1, .,,:Ilre•"+ver the 1.,, •,%r4'ks and quite is 4tIR t(led oitinion ..let4rr, to this nation .•-1•- i41!hi• giant'mill tow open tor 'host. 4)1 you , - 1:11Ie knowledge .41411 it• flnpli(a A 1 :ter. conies in . 1 :, h ,r111. 1s portraying ,1.111 14411 r're' henlg told hrrt.rlt nl tr'e'e t')4een 114 Canada. •• ,.•114 r we' are being • .,,n l e nothing , The rase. thy nt tree trade pro 4144 her(` 111 the't111r1 .I112,1t,nct1(S Free I .11,1 he a tenon to_ ..,a. ut (•ana(ilan •:., lel hrr►hletn for hat,. safe to sug- 1: 4.!,,ograPhut. I0('a /wool it ;Ind ethers µ'ill ';,e real TICS( kill 1101IS •1,1►art on the nation to !hal.I,•r;,Irl1 it is interesting .,.t,•r heileher'sarguments 1 the government should have divested itself. - Canadian Arsenals had a profit of $8.5 million in 1983-84, although that could be described as an accounting procedure in part because the govern- ment constitutes 90 percent of the firm's market. Intelligent investors rid themselves of the losers and keep the winners. - Why do governments insist on follow- ing.the reverse philosophy? • to fear free trade as it pertains to the import quotas on foreign shoes. Ile chooses to defend the situation on the basis of the benefits to the consumers. Opponents choose to decry the move on the basiii of the detrititcrntal effects it will have on Canadian manufacturers and their employees. Kelleher claims Canadians i` Batt'n Around • ...4sith The Editor have paid an extra $450 million to 5500 million for shoes because of the quotas during the last eight years. Ilis critics say that the jobs of some 16.000 people in the shoe manufacturing industry could he lost and. taxpayers will wind up spending $3.5 billion over the next eight years in social costs such as unemployment in- surance and welfare payments to ' those displaced. Obviously. Kelleher chooses to defuse the situation by noting the benefits to the consumers. After all. everyone in Canada -is a con- sumer and there are only a com- parative handful whose Livelihood is al stake as workers in shoe factories. Automobile consumers hope the Kovetnment will follow suit by lifting import quotas on foreign cars, while those employed in the industry clearly see such amove as a considerable risk to their jobs. The reality is that C'ana'dian in- dustry is not competitive with off- shore industry and in many areas 1 is not competitive with that of the U.S. The main disadvantage rests with pay scales. it is probably correct to suggest that workers in Canada's shoe industry receive as much per hour as their off- shore counterparts receive in one day. Obviously, the latter product is bound to be cheaper! • At issue in the long run, is the standard of living of Canadians as compared to their off -shore cousins. If the opposition figures are correct, the consumers may well save money on their shoe -purchases, but they'll actually be losing if they in turn have to pay 10 times as much as those savings into looking after those those jobs have been lost in this country. Over the long haul, they'll suc- ceed only in lowering their own standard of living, while boosting that of the' nations from whom they buy their shoes. The total price One pays for a pair of shoes made in Canada makes its way back into the na- tional economy. while only a por- tion of the foreign brand does likewise. Free trade would be no great problem for Canadians if they were, by nature. a patriotic group who brought their own discipline into the market place and prac- ticed the most practical form of protectionism... which is buying Canadian. But as long as the type of think- ing remains as evidenced by the• very fact Canadian shoe workers drive foreign cars and Canadian auto workers wear foreign shoes. then many Canadians have a great deal to worry about over free trade. We are not our best customers at times, and that will haunt us until such time as we wake up to that very basic requirement in maintaining our standard of living. 1 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. fedy Publications Limited A "Better put your seat belt on -Diane's going to park!" Not up to scratch You'll possibly be wondering where and what Bill Smiley has been up to lately. No critical col- umns on the political scene; no sharp little vignettes on our socie- ty; no attacks on anybody or anything. Well, I haven't felt up to scratch for a while. And where in the world did "up to scratch" come from? At least it's lasted a long time. That's more than can be said for some of the current mumbo - jumbo. I wonder how long it will take for politicians and ad- ministrators to stop using that portentous phrase, "At this point in time" whenever they open a paragraph and don't know what they=re going to say? All it means is, "right now," or "today," but it has a nice, mellifluous, phoney ring to it. Another one that is going to die a sure death, I sure hope, is "The oottom line." There is no such thing as a bot- tom line. Everyone has a bottom, -and, unless you've lost both legs at the hip there's something below that. Even if you haven't. there's something below that. Even if you haven't, there's something below your feet, and something below that, until we get right down to hell. And there's probably something below that - perhaps a natural gas well - and below that you'll find a couple of Albertans. pumping on some kind of bellows. And they have to be standing on something. So. Where's this famous bottom line? Those expressions will last as long as, "That'll be the frosty Fri- day," and "All righty." And good riddance. A proper idiom in English must stand the test of time before it is accepted. After all. yon can't have your cake and eat it. but half a loaf is better than none, unless you want to be up the creek without a paddle. However, i wander. as so often. What really bothers (me isnot that Mr. Davidson, or Williamson or whatever his name is, backed into the prime Ministership of On- tario without winning an election, or that Brian Mulroney is going, to crack that massive jaw if he doesn't stop grinning for the TV cameras. Those are -trivia. What I'd like to get down to is Sugar & Spice Dispensed by Smiley some of the more important social and sociological matters in the press that affect our daily lives. - After watching the Blue Jays get their tails clipped, and then the World Series, I was faced with a question that must have an answer: How can baseball players spit -SQ much? You've all seen them. They spit in the dugout. They spit when they come up to bat. They spit if they make it for first. The pitcher spits. The coach spits. The only one we can't see spitting is the catcher, and he's probably expec- torating through his faceguard bars. Where does it all come from'? You and I could probably spit twice in a minute. but they spit all the time. I know, they chew snuff. tobacco and gum, but that doesn't explain it. There's only so much fluid in the human body, though if you'd ever had dire rear, you wouldn't believe it. How would you like to be trying to steal second, and slip in a great gob of tobacco juice? Perhaps so- meone could illuminate me on matter. And while you're at it. ex- . • plain why they paw the ground continually, like nervous buffalo, getting dirt in their cleats and then knocking it out. It's still the best• spectator game in the world, even including cricket. Football is dull. with one gang of gangsters trying to disassemblit another gang. Hockey is fast. but incredibly dir- ty, with the hooks. spearing. and elbows in the nose. O.K. That settles baseball, ex- cept for my questions. het us now . knit our brows over another problem. It seems that women in the armed forces want to. go into combat. just as about ten pet'ccnt of the male armed forces ever do. The brass is agin it. 1 don't know _why. Anybody dumb enough to go in- to the military is obviously dumb enough to serve as cannon fodder. So we have one group of women wandering down one side•of the street with peace banners, and another group quick -marching down the other side will banners proclaiming. "WP wanna shoot somebody. i see no reason why the male members of the services should object, if the females want to fight. 1 can just see the rude and licentious male soldiery sitting around the stove, drinking lea, and sniggering. "Wonder how the gals are doing on that night patrol'? i can just see them b(i)ting a female out of the side hatch of an old Dakota full of paratroopers. saying. in their courtly way. "After you. ma'am... The only thing that worries me is giving the ladies promotion. Most of then already act like sergeant -majors in their own homes. Give them a commission, and life wouldn't he worth living for the ordinary. slovenly. lazy male so-called fighting man. Times are changing One of the latest 'beefs' that the labourunions have been complaining about is the introduction of robots to work on the assembly line. machines which will replace five or six men. will work 24 hours a day without needing overtime pay. and will never worry about an increase in their dental plans. Believe me. such concerns are not new. Rev. William Lee. irritated by the clicking of his wife's knitting needles invented the first knitting frame, now used by knitting companies throughout the world. The hand - knitters of Leicester, fearing for their livelihood, tried to stop the set-up of various factories. One of the Roman emperors hand- somely paid off an engineer who had developed a crane to lift stones up to the new temple being constructed. it By the 7 Way by Syd Fletcher would have replaced many men's jobs. The emperor wisely realized it was better to keep those men work- ing. That way they could buy their own food. The British Adrn,rall in 15231 scorned elee'tric.1ele•graphs saying that it would (11/111111W to have messages sent across the country by men stationed nn hills. signalling to one another by flat; seniaphore. However. it is interesting to note that. in 19In. ahnt►I !►:e percent of the work force in Canada worked on farms or farming related occupa- tions. Now the ratio Is completely reversed Only alHttfl .) percent of our population works directly in agriculture and the rest of the work force has changed its focus it seems logical !hal with the introduction of new technology that the only thing certain about the work force lir years from now is that it will he much dif- ferent than 11 is lerese•nth