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Times-Advocate, 1983-07-27, Page 4Pogo 4 Times -Advocate, July 27, 1983 • Ames - 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 IORNE EERY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILE BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKiND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $21.00 Per year; U.S.A. $56.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' Met the challenge Despite economic conditions that forced all but a fortunate few to tighten their belts, recent canvass totals detailed by two charitable groups indicate con- clusively that this area didn't allow the belt -tightening to choke those who depend on the generosity of others. The cancer canvass and the Flowers of Hope cam- paign both surpassed targets and as a result the benefactors of those campaigns will not suffer. Make Councillor Gaylan Josephson's commendation of local citizens who were instrumental in the arrest of a suspect in a recent breakin in Exeter, is itself commendable. While the assistance of the public in such matters. is invaluable, too seldom are there reminders of the need for each person to take responsibility fo,' notify- ing police when suspicious acts or persons are detected. Unfortunately, many prefer "not to get involved", often on the misconception that their involvement will result in court appearances or even retaliation from those who may be apprehended through their efforts. The recent incident in which the law -breaker was brought to justice proves that there should be no such t L• ".: Y, •CNA .* Both canvasses depend on the efforts of a vast number of volunteers and no doubt many of those worked a little harder this year in the realization that no stone could be left unturned in the effort to meet the goals. Those who contributed so generously in both time and finances should be proud of their efforts. it safer Take a Canadian politicians could take a lesson from Margaret Thatcher who scored that tidal wave victory in Britian. They could take a lesson in courage, a quali- ty unknown among most of those seeking office in this country. Who, during an election campaign, would proclaim that farmers were the salf of the earth and were more than entitled to their strongly rising incomes? The British urban rat pack shrieked because net farm income last year was up 45 percent and likely will go up another 20 percent this year. "Immoral," trumpeted the leftist Daily Mirror, "Disgraceful", in- toned the rightist Daily Express. Mrs. Thatcher's reaction? "What's wrong with 45 percent when you're as efficient as the farmers?" Then came the lecture: "If only Britain's industrialists and trade unionist were as efficient." The school lesson was over and the cowed children Went back to their slates or whatever the Brits do these days. She told the naked and unpopular truth. Imagine Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Premier William Davis making a similar statement. There would be wringing of hands, a Royal Commission would be set concerns in the majority of instances. The accused ap- peared in court, was sentenced to jail and at no time were the citizens who called police involved nor will their names become know', to the accused. Their in- volvement consisted only of a telephone call (anonymous, if you prefer) and ended when they hung up the phone. As the council member explained, without the ac- tion of the citizens, the accused probably would have left the community undetected and would have been free to continue his criminal exploits. Hopefully, he may be deterred from further pur- suits of that nature and others many be as well if they realize the police are being assisted by the watchful eyes of all responsible citizens in the community. lesson up, and marketing boards would be excoriated for rip- ping off consumers. And, more than likely, the borders would be opened to a flood of cheap foreign foods. Mrs. Thatcher deserved her, victory, largely 'because she was honest. Also, shhas real political ('(marts. Her electoral strategy was to secure the shires (rural areas) and then use them as a base to capture the fickle cities. The game plan worked like a charm, because she is smart. She knew that Britian's farmers account for only three percent of the population, slightly smaller than ours, but she also knew that their ingenuity, hard work and prodigeous productivity had enormous spin-offs. As farmers harvested their profits, the money was spent promptly at machinery dealers, feed stores, and stock yards. The resulting prosperity rolled across the countryside and washed into the cities. Need more be said? The farms, villages and small towns responded with gratitude, and Mrs. Thatcher was given one of the largest victories in British history.. There is a lesson to be learned here, but are our leaders smart enough to grasp it? Farm & Country Strange and mysterious ideas The federal government has come up with a new condition by which it grants funds to municipal governments for some projectk and if it wasn't so ludicrous, one could almost laugh about it. Among those not laughing are members of Kitchener city council, the latest vic- tims of the high-handed tactics of Pierre and his self -indulging henchmen in Ottawa. Kitchener, it appears, received a federal grant of $175,000 through the Gas Distribution Expansion Program. However, there were strings attached; the most enlightening being that to get that money, Kitchener had to stage an "approved media event" to advertise the federal government's contribution. Council initially rejected a suggestion of spending $1,000 to feed local dignitaries and reporters prior to the valve -turning event and opted instead to cough up $500 on the prescribed luncheon. One alderman correctly cited the situa- tion as "unfortunate" and charged the Liberal government is using the city's and taxpayers' money to "promote its own self-interest" and curry favor with the electorate. Spending $500 to get a grant of $175,000 may appear small in principal, but it is downright crass in principle. While the financial waste of govern- ments is cause for concern, the waste of natural resources in the huge amount of paper stemming from the bureaucratic offices should be of equal concern. Ironically, one of the most flagrant ex- amples of this waste to reach the editor's desk recently comes from the ministry of natural resources, which it should be assumed, would be more concerned with preservation. The ministry has entered the publishing field with a glossy magazine known as Landmarks. it is intended for those in- terested in Ontario's natural resources and their management. Unfortunately business manager Pamela Purves appears totally ignorant of the staffing of the provinces weekly newspapers. A couple of weeks ago, three letters arrived on the writer's desk ad- dressed in order to the editor, the outdoor BATT'N AROUND with the editor editor and the travel editor. Each envelope, of course, had a 32Q stamp and carried the message that each of the aforementioned editorial staff members would soon be receiving the third com- plementaryissue of Landmarks and. that each of those editors would not want to miss any issues of this exciting new magazine a nd should therefore complete ' the enclosed subscription card and return it to her by mail. This week, the third issue of Landmarks arrived as Pamela had promised; one each for the editor, the outdoor editor and the travel editor. Because the free subscription for those three does not run out until after the fourth issue, the whole exercise will be repeated one more time. The magazine is up to the usual govern- ment standards, meaning that no expense has been spared in its production. Pamela, it is assumed, is a city gal who thinks all newspapers enjoy the staffing of her favorite daily, and it is to her credit that she didn't fall into the trap of most of her civil servant contemporaries and send letters and magazines to the business editor, farm editor. women's editor, feature editor, sports editor, front page editor, back page editor, etc., etc. Of course, in government offices where there are 10 people to do one job, it would be difficult to understand that in weekly newspapers there would be one person do- ing 10 jobs. Keep chopping down those trees, Pamela, so you can send out your duplici- ty of letters and magazines extolling the merits of preserving our natural resources. * * * The masthead of Landmarks notes that Anastasia Erland is the editor and Catherine Shearer-Kudel is the assistant editor. By government standards, that's probably not a large staff, although it should be more than ample for turning out a 34 -page magazine every three months. However, checking through the most recent issue, it is noted that the bylines for the two ladies appear only once and over 90 percent of the written material has been provided by other authors. 1t would have to be assumed that the two ladies have a myriad of other duties and responsibilites within the ministry that consume the majority of their time when they are not working on Land- marks. it is, however, an assumption that is probably misplaced? • * • . . The preceding may appear to be little more than "sour grapes" but the writer remains unconvinced that the Ontario government should be involved in the publishing business, at least in areas where private enterprise is already cover- ing the field. Governments which compete with private enterprise have a distinct advan- tage because they do not have to be con- cerned about the "bottom line". Such publications, similar to the decree for staging media events, arc thinly veil- ed attempts to promote political self -interests. +9K You. can fight city hall One of the cynical, apathetic remarks of the 20th century is, "You can't fight City Hall". I think it's American in origin, as are so many of our colorful expressions, but it reflects a conception that has contributed to the skepticism that permeates many aspects of our life. In essence it betrays a weariness of the in- dividual spirit in a world that is growing ever more corrupt, violent and treacherous. It means basically that the individual hasn't a chance against the burgeoning bureaucracy, the petty patronage, the you- scratch -my back-and-I'Il-scratch- yours philosophy that has always been with us, and always will but should be resisted stoutly and sturdi- ly whenever it rears its ug- ly head. Jesus fought the City Hall of His time, and won, though He lost His life. Sir Thomas More fought the City Hall of his time, which included his king, the nobility and the clergy, and refused to nudge an inch to sive his life, because he was right, and City Hall was wrong. Joan of Arc fought her City Hall, in the form of her own king, traitors to her vision, and an oppos- ing army. She wound up being burned at the stake, and became a saint. Her opp('ne-,ts are mere foot- notes in history. Oliver Cromwell fought his City Hall, won his fight, and taught British royalty to mind its pees and queus, if you'll pardon the expression. William Lyon Macken- zie took on the City Hall of his day, and though his on- ly battle with it was a typical Canadian charade, he left it smarting. I could name a hundred others who cocked a snook at City Hall, and lost many a battle, but won many a war. The United States is a classic. example. Another is the Republic of Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley Miwv France. Mahatma Ghandi practically had the British Empire begging him to go change his diaper and leave it alone. Well, it's nice to be in the company of such, even if only for a little while, and only in the imagination. The Fourth St. Fusiliers, of which I am a proud, wounded veteran, has fought many a skir- mish, several sharp en- counters and a prolonL war of attrition against the local town council, and the will of the people triumph- ed to the extent of a dozen trees being uncut, a new sidewalk installed, and a desert of pot -holes turned into a paved street. You've heard of the 30 Years War, the 100 years War, the War of the Roses, the War of Independence, the Boer War, and the Great War, followed by that sickening euphemism, World War II. Not to mention Korea and Viet Nam. Well, a lot has been writ- ten about them, and millions died in them, but for sheer intensity of emo- tion, I think the Fourth St. In teres ting I wish it could have been a regular school day in- stead of the last day of the school year, with only the teachers in the school do- ing their final clean-up, and preparations for next Year. instead, the circus was being set up out there, right in the playground, with all the elephants be- ing tethered out by the swing set. If the kids had been in school, just think what a beautiful set of lessons could have keen taught to them, with all kinds of examples of wild life right in front of the classroom windows. As it was i noticed that there were not too many teachers who didn't find time out of their clay to step out and watch the 'big top' being stretched out on the ground, and take a peek into the cage where War outdoes them all. That's the reason for this bit of history. In three or four hundred years, the Fourth St. War may be almost forgotten, were it not for some humble scribe to get it down on paper. r 1has lasted between seven and nine years, and the veterans will even argue hotly about the duration. I do remember that the hundreds of children who were going to be slaughtered by traffic if the town council achieved its insidious ends are now replaced by grandchildren in many cases. I do remember that the first rush to the barricrides was about as organized as the French revolu- tionaires' attack on the Bastille. I do remember that one lady threatened to chain herself high in the bran- ches of a maple tree if the town engineer carried out his plan of massacring maples. There were other threats of a similar but unlikely nature, such as everyone lying down in front of the bulldozers, blowing up the town hall while council was in ses- sion, or kidnapping the town engineer and giving him a cement -barrel burial in the bay. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. After half the street was ruined, the works department ran x out of money. Over the years, they tip toed around the potentia explosion, filling in the odd pot -hole and letting the street turn into the semblance of a long - forgotten country lane. But this spring, falsely feeling that the ancient hatreds had cooled, with new people moving in, and old people dying off. they foolishly raised the desescrative idea again. Cut down the trees. Tear up the sidewalks, make it a one -block thruway to nowhere. Like an old, dormant volcano, the people rose in their might and descended on the works committee like a disturbed hornet's nest. The air was filled with vituperation, calumny and blasphemy. Council cool- ed off like a bull con- tronted by an angry elephant. Another meeting was called. Again The People rose in their wrath. They formed a committee. It consisted of a brilliant mathematician, a con- tractor, a doctor, a lawyer, and an in- domitable nurse. Not just a few angry people to be baffled by engineering jargon. I don't want to go into the brilliant counter- attack, the superb tactics, the incredible strategy of The People. It's too ex- citing. You wouldn't sleep tonight. But we won. The trees stay, the sidewalks will be rebuilt, the thruway will continue to be a residen- tial street, thousands of children will not be cut down by thundering trucks, and the road will be paved. You can fight City Hall. sort of life any hurry. Granted, they had the largest elephant helping them, a great big Perspectives By Syd Fletcher the 'killer python' was go- ing to be displayed. I guess 1 was most amazed by the careless ease in which the men got that huge tent set up. Even though there were hun- dreds of stakes, and ropes running over the ground like so much spaghetti, the men never seemed to be in fellow who seemed to know just exactly how hard to pull without strain- ing himself, or to be at all distracted from extending his trunk out to pull off a few choice blades of our already well -clipped grass. Elephants fascinate Me. They are so huge yet so placid in nature (most of the time). However 1 would not trust those little chains around their feet if they decided that they were going to take a long walk. 1 have the feeling that nothing would stop them then. 1 noticed that the circus people seemed to be like one big family, each with his or her own specific task, and when the big top was up, at least two or three hours before the deadline, they relaxed just as if they were in front of their own front door in- stead of parked in the school yard of some town they had probably never seen before. it must bean interesting sort of life.