Times-Advocate, 1983-12-07, Page 4Page 4
Tim.s-Advocat., D.cemb.r 7, 1983
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 E[DY
Publisher
JIM BECKE TT
Advertising Manager
BII I BAI LEN
Lditur
HARRY DEVRIES
Composition Manager
ROSS HAL'Gil
Assistant Editor
DICK JONGKIND
Business Manager
Publi,hed 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'
A dubious gift
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)
plan to give Canadians a special Christmas present
next week by offering to process letters and cards with
only 10 -cent stamps on them, instead of the required 32.
It's a gift that should be spurned, given the fact
that it is being provided out of the pockets of those who
are supposedly to benefit from the generosity.
CUPW does not set the postal rates, although their
incessant demands represent the greatest factor in the
current cost of sending communications via Canada
Post. Any losses incurred by processing mail at lower
levels will have to be borne by post office customers
in the future.
While it is difficult to look a gift -horse in the mouth,
this one has an odor that suggests it is more in keep-
ing with what comes out of the other end of the animal
and should be met with the disdain it'deserves.
Don't expect change
The Ontario auditor has filed his annual report
outlining areas in which taxpayers money has been
squandered or mismanaged. The government manag-
ed to not only continue some of the previous examples
of sloppy practices, but came up with some new ones:
Auditor Douglas Arthur pointed out several in-
stances where government contracts were awarded
without any tenders and in several of those, the costs
escalated far beyond the original estimates.
The horror stories are not new, but it is disconcer-
ting to note that spending at Queen's Park appears to
be getting out of control more each year. In fact, this
year's report expresses more concern than usual about
government spending when it should have been ex-
pected that the opposite would hold true.
In total, the mismanagement represents millions
of dollars and unfortunately, next year's annual report
bythe auditor will undoubtedly contain more of the
same.
It will only change when those responsible for the
problems are held accountable and dealt with as the
circumstances warrant. But accountability is a word
that at present is not known in the bureaucratic jungle.
Teacher is defended
Exeter schoolteacher Joanne Young took some
time off school recently to protest the manufacture of
guidance systems for cruise missiles at Litton In-
dustries in Rexdale altough she wasn't sure that job
would be waiting for her when she returned. Forbid-
den to use personal business days to participate in the
protest by her principal and the county school board
and condemned by her local newspaper, she never-
theless listened closely to her conscience and acted to
try and prevent the single greatest threat to the human
race today - nuclear war.
She was not protesting to save just her own skin.
If she and the rest of the peace movement are suc-
cessful, she will have helped to save us all - members
of the school board, the principal of South Huron Secon-
dary School, the newspaper staff, her students - the
human race. Ms. Young, who has the courage to act
regardless of the censure of the community, is speak-
ing on behalf of the continued survival of everyone.
"But, she broke the law!" is the common cry
against her. However, when you think back in history,
she's in good company. The British colonists in
America broke the law and threw tea into the harbor
at Boston because they thought King George,I,II's tax-
ation was too harsh. Women in England, Canada and
the United States, in the fight for the vote, chained
themselves to fences, went on hunger strikes and en-
dured force feeding. American blacks led by Martin
Luther King Junior broke the law when they sat in the
white sections in restaurants, and on buses in their
fight for equal rights.
Civil disobedience was the only way, short of
violence, that each group could make people listen to
them and act to make change. Their strong beliefs
about independence, the right to vote and equality forc-
ed them to break laws to right a larger wrong. The rest
�f humanity benefitted from their actions.
Though we may not have the same courage to
stand up for our convictions, we should not condemn
Joanne Young. If we cannot loin in the protest, we
should at least send our support with her. She and
others like her might mean the difference between life
and nuclear holocaust.
All you'll need is
What will they think of next?
The answer to that question is probably
beyond the comprehension of most people
as the computer and micro -chip advances
continue to dumbfound.
There was a time when you saw so-
meone looking at a small article on his
wrist and it was possible to assume he
was checking the time of day. Now he
could be doing a hundred and one things
from watching television to checking the
amount he has just earned on his daily in-
terest account at the local bank.
Some people have cars that talk to
them, replacing totally the need for back-
seat drivers. Pocketcalculationsremind
us of appointments that were made days
and weeks earlier or instantly flash the
current time in some distant land or con-
vert the price of a 10 -pound sack of
potatoes into an immediate cost -per -
serving for a family of four.
There appears to be no limitation to the
information and tasks which can be pro-
vided for us by the mere touch of a but-
ton. The great thing is, we're all going to
become instant experts on an endless ar-
ray of topics. People may have to grow an
extra arm on which to carry the increas-
ing number of instruments, but other than
that limitation, there appears no end to
the line.
One of the latest items the writer has
encountered is a translator. Udo and
Brigitte Wollkopf, visiting from Germany
last week, brought along an instrument
the size of a pocket calculator that had the
capability to translate 4,500 words from
English to German or vice versa.
The user simply spells the word in his
language, presses a button, and presto he
has the word he requires in the other
language. Some of the more advanced
models have a voice simulator that ver-
bally gives you the word required,
eliminating any confusion over
an
pronunciation.
So, what will they think of next? No one
knows, but you can rest assured that it
will be outdated by something a""en more
advanced the next day.
And unlike most things in our society,
BATT'N
AROUND
with the editor
Seaforth Expositor
extra arm
it will also probably be cheaper than the
outdated item you just purchased
While computerized translators are ob-
viously beneficial to those who enjoy
globe trotting, they still fall short of the
necessary facial expressions, verbal
tones and hand gestures which play such
a vital role in communication in most
languages.
Marilyn Zivkovic capably handled the
translation duties for members of coun-
cil and the local industry and tourism pro-
motion committee when they hosted the
recent German visitors at an informal
reception.
Marilyn learned the language while stu-
dying music in that country and her
translating ability resulted in some
friendly and animated discussions with
the visitors, whereas it would have been
a rather strained evening had she not
been available to help overcome the
language barrier.
I dont know how many languages are
represented by the variety of
backgrounds in the community, but the
thought arises that someone should
undertake the compilation of a central
registry so it would be available for such
events, as well as emergency situations.
Those of us who speak English have no
qualms about travelling to foreign lands
because we realize that even in emergen-
cy situations, there will probably be so-
meone who can be quickly rounded up to
communicate with us so that a problem
can be dealt with.
But what about the non-English speak-
ing person who happens to end up in such
a situation in our community? Chances
are it would take quite some time to
establish contact with someone who could
translate, despite the fact this area pro-
bably has a huge resource of people who
can communicate in a majority of the
ian ges that could be encountered.
ile such occasions admittedly arise
very infrequently, the old Boy Scout in-
stinct does suggest it would be beneficial
to be prepared by having a registry of
people upon whom others could call in
emergencies or unexpected visits.
It would probably also prove to be an
enlightening and interesting project. Any
takers?
. . . .
And finally, while it's hardly in the
realm of a discussion on computers and
other modern inventions, the writer has
to reluctantly admit that those who
periodically questioned whether I knew
what I was writing had some justification
for that question.
An eye specialist has now corrected the
problem and the magnifiers sitting on the
end of my nose have cleared the blur that
was heretofore coming out of my
typewriter. Now, if I could just clear the
blur in the cranium system that creates
the words....
Oh well, one small step at a time when
the frailities of age rear their ugly head.
"Don't you know it's against the law to go through a stop sign?"
Three times as fearsome
Glad I'm not a small-
town, down -town mer-
chant these days. I'd pro-
bably be developing an
ulcer and not sleeping too
.well at nights.
Bane of the small-town
merchant used to be the
big town or small city not
too far away, where there
was more variety for the
customer.
Despite the most
rigorous attempts of the
s/t d/t merchant to
educate, the people in
their arbitrary fashion,
went sashaying off to the
larger centre on a Satur-
day to spend their shekels.
They still do.
But another bogey,
three times as fearsome,
has come out of the woods
to give the s/t d/t mer-
chant nightmares and cold
sweats.
It began as the super-
market, usually built on
the edge of town, where
taxes were much less, and
there was lots of room for
parking.
The supermarket bit
heavily into the sales of
grocery stores, drug
stores and hardware
stores, to mention a few of
those afflicted, selling
everything from
toothpaste to lawn chairs.
Mind you, the super-
market didn't give the
personalized service, the
followup on repairs or
returns that the little mer-
chant did. But it was kind
of exciting; lots of people
to gawk at, a veritable
cornucopia of goods to
choose from, easy
parking.
Fighting what, in many
cases, was a rear -guard
battle, the family
business, the small mer-
chant, modernized his
store, joined with his
fellows in sprucing up the
donwtown area (helped by
government grants), and
finally realized that he had
to advertise, after years of
believing there was no
need, that everybody
knew where he was and
what he sold.
In many cases, and in
many small towns, it was
too late. Despite what
became desperate efforts
Sugar
and Spice
Dispensed By Smiley
to fight the trend, there
began a sort of rot
downtown: a big turnover
of small businesses that
lasted only a short time;
the closing up of old fami-
ly businesses as their
owners saw the light; the
"for sale" signs on
downtown property. It
was rather sad.
Then came the real
crusher: the development
of malls. Every small
town or village with any
self-respect suddenly ac-
quired a "mall".
At first these were
neighborhood affairs: just
an acre or so with half a
dozen shops. A drug store,
a drycleaning outfit, a
take-out food restaurant,
and two or three other ser-
vice shops.
Then the big boys mov-
ed in. Sniffing the wind,
they knew a golden -egg
goose when they smelled
one.
They bought, or leased,
huge chunks of land just
outside the town, where
taxes were minimal. Often
it was bush or tough,
useless land.
In came the bulldozers;
down went the trees. The
big paving machines
followed, and virgin ter-
ritory became a vast ex-
panse of ashpalt.
As the downtown mer-
chants shivered in their
boots, the wheelers and
dealers, the mall -builders,
lined up customers who
would rent or lease space
in the "grand, new mall."
Within an incredibly
short time, the jerry-built
edifices went up, the mall
blossomed into a combina-
tion of the old Saturday
night in a small town, and
a fall fair, and many a
downtowner experienced
the kiss of death.
What is the attraction of
a mall? Why do hundreds,
then thousands of shop-
pers pour into the malls,
like cattle being led to the
slaughterhouse?
Well, they have
something for every taste.
Video games for the kids.
A place to meet and ram-
ble and shoplift for the
teenagers. The heavy
scent of hot junk food in
the air. A certain excite-
ment at being part of a
moving mob. And of
course, a huge grocery
store, dozens of small
boutiques, and vast chain
department stores where
you can buy almost
anything, and which can
undercut the small mer-
chant on prices, because
of their volume buying.
Add to this easy park-
ing, where even the most
maladroit motorist can
find a space. Even though
the shopper must walk a
quarter of a mile from his
car through rain or snow.
And then there is the
allure to the pig in most of
us. Make out a careful list
of essentials. Talk to
yourself. Steel yourself
against all blandishments.
And, after all this, I'll bet
you spend far more at the
mall, flourish your credit
card more often, than if
you had shopped careful-
ly downtown. Human
nature. we can't resist all
those goodies.
The shopping mall is the
ultimate monument to a
materialistic society. And
Let's face it, the price is
very often right.
Aside from the shopp-
ing, the mall is a crowded;
noisy, exciting .place, on
the surface. For the home-
bound housewife, the glit-
ter and the gaudiness and
the canned music repre-
sent an escape from the
dull drudgeryof house and
kids.
There are gimmicks and
sales and specials, and a
place to sit down, rest the
aching dogs, and have a
coffee. There is variety
and color and there are
sounds and smells that
Lake the individual out of
his little rut.
And, after all, if all
those other people are
shopping at the mall, it
must have something go-
ing for it. Right?
And those clever devils
who set up the malls don't
miss much. They jam in a
drugstore, and a hair-
dressing salon, and a trust
company or a bank, so
there's really no need to
go downtown, is there?
Personally, 1 hate
malls. They are too crowd-
ed fpr me. I feel like an
animal, in a mall. I have
a sense that I am being
manipulated by some
sociopsychologist who
first conceived the idea.
i'll go on shopping
downtown. But hundreds
of thousands won't.
Shocker should help
A new device has been
discovered by a Swiss
company to solve the pro-
blem of snoring. Of
course, if you are the
snorer this article will pro-
bably not be of much con-
cern to you as your snor-
ing doesn't bother you in
the least.
It seems that the new
device works as follows. A
microphone by the bed is
tuned to the low -frequency
sound of snoring. When it
senses sound at the ap- wrist picks up the sound
Perspectives
By Syd Fletcher
propriate pitch is sends
out anultrasonicsignal...a
receiver on the snorer's
and gives off a slight
shock (up to 40 volts)
causing the sleeper to stop
snoring.
When i was on a camp-
ing trip with a group of
students I retired a bit
early. A few weeks later I
was presented with a
`chainsaw award' for, you
guessed it, the best imita-
tion of a chainsaw.
Maybe for the sake of
those trying to sleep in the
same neighbourhood as I
am in better invest in one
of these little 'shockers'
from Switzerland.
A