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Are opinion polls useful?
Now that the results of the federal
election are known to all Canadians it
might be well to reflect on the methods by
which public opinion was influenced
during the campaign.
With television as a ready-made tool,
the various polls carried out by the
parties, by the broadcast networks and
the professional analysts must have play-
ed an important role In molding the
voters' minds as the days and weeks went
by. There is reason to doubt that the influ-
ence thus exerted was in the best interests
of the nation.
Obviously the political parties find
these frequent polls highly useful. The
general trend of voter preference z re-
gional assessments of support for one or
another of the parties; the degree and dir-
ection of public response to the leaders'
statements — all are highly important to
Mose who plan and direct campaign
strategy. Even though it Is useful and im-
portant for the planners to have accurate
knowledge of public opinion, it is quite
another matter to place this information'
on the air every few days.
In the first place, with the prolifera-
tion of opinion polis results have been
proven to differ substantially, depending
on who is conducting the polis and the
methods by which information is gained.
The basic formation of the pollsters'
questions often elicits answers which
favor one party over another. Then, too,
there is the follow -the -leader tendency to
which all of us are prone In greater or
lesser degree. We tend to prefer to run
with the winner. We like to feel we are on
the winning side — if for no better reason
that to prove to our fellows that we are
possessed of sound judgment, that we
know a winner when we see one.
Thus the polls can swing voter sup-
port substantially. When one party or one
leader is shown to be well out front In the
running, more and more of the "unde-
cideds" cast in their lot with the party in
the leading position.
In a criminal trial jurors are carefully
examined before they are impaneled, to
discover whether or not they have
pre -formed conclusions about the guilt or
innocence of the accused. The theory is
that those who will sit in judgment must
approach their decision with an open
mind, to be influenced only by the admis-
sion of all the evidence. Why should the
"jurors" of the nation not be accorded
equal freedom of decision in the most im-
portant single exercise of democratic
duty?
Careless about safety
Although the messages concerning
personal and public safety, are drilled into
us day after day and year after year,
there is a great deal of evldence to indi-
cate -that many of the big corporations
have not heard the message — or have de-
cided to ignore it.
Last week a vehicle operator in the
town of Essex drove _into a natural gas
meter at the rear of a main street build-
ing. The impact snapped off the gas pipe
and a horrendous explosion resulted., Be-
fore all was overmany buildings were de-
stroyed by both explosion and fire,
personal injuries were numerous and
property damage ran into the millions.
The driver faces "alcohol-related"
charges— bnt one cannot help Pondering
the respontibility of the -gas company.
Should the company ever have placed
such a potentially clangerOus installatiort,
'where it could be broken off, regardless of
the type of vehicle or driver who might
happen by? How many more of these po-
tential bombs lie in wait, not only in Es-
sex, but in every other community where
gas is distributed?
As the Canadian Pacific Railway.
faced hundreds of lawsuits consequent to
the rail disaster in Mississauga the com-
pany denied any responsibilitY whatever
for the derailment which caused the
evacuation of a quarter million people
from their homes and jobs for up to a
week. The denial was expected, of cdurse,
since admission of responsibility prior to
the court action would, automatically,
have cost CP millions of dollars. But if the
railway was not responsible, then who on
earth was? The shippers who entrusted
the cargoes to the carrier for a stipulated
fee? Or the. residents who lived along the
right-of-way?
The Ford Motor company is fighting a
lawsuit which resulted from the deaths of
three young women in a Pinto car which
was rammed from the rear. The small
car's gas tank burst into flames and
engulfed the three victims. 'Naturally
Ford is fighting; admission of guilt would'
bringon dozens more criminal suits.
However, who else was to blame? The car
dealer who sold the product' the manufac-
turer sold him? The driver of the Pinto for
slowing or stopping on the /road? Or' the
driver of the following vehicle who plowed'
Intothem?
• These big.corporations which supply
us with goods and services havelhe privi-
lege of making profits from 'their aCthil:•••
ties — in some caseshuge profits. That's •
the way it should be in a free enterprise
system, but with that profit privilege goes
a responsibility to merit public trust, in the
safety of the goods or services they pro-
vide.
No time for pacifists
Let your memory take you back about
20 years to the time when many people in
the western world, including loft of us
right here in this community, were start-
ing to think about fallout sheltets. There
was plenty of information available on
how to build a shelter, what to store in it
and how long to stay inside after the bomb
had fallen. We were told we would need a
supply of fresh water, flashlights, food,
blankets and a battery radio to tell us
what, if anything, was taking place in the
ashes outside. Seems pretty fantastic
now, doesn't it?
The only thing that has changed in
those two decades has nothing whatever
to do with the possibility of nuclear holo-
caust. We stopped worrying, chiefly be-
cause the Russians started to use softer
language and because self-protection was
an exercise in futility in any case.
During those same twenty years the
effectiveness of our armed forces has
been all but destroyed. Following the pac-
ifist years of the Diefenbaker regime we
fell into the super -pacifist years of the
Trudeau regime. Not only was expendi-
ture on armaments cut back to the point of
utter embarrassment before our tkiATO
but the proud regiments, naval and
air units were emasculated and belittled.
Only last week former Prime Mini-
ster Trudeau bewailed the expenditure of
a nation's resources on arms and defen
His words seem utterly incomprehensi le
to any thinking person who has read the
papers during the past tew Weeks. We
have been closer to the outbreak of total
war than at any time since the Cuban
crisis or the Suez nightmare. Indeed it will
be a wonderful day when we can beat our
swords into plowshares, but that day has
not yet come. Never, we hope, will our
wealth and our people be sacrificed in a
war of aggression, but it is mindless to
throw away all the weapons when the
Indians are poised to burn down the
homestead with the wife and children
inside.
It is, of course, a valid argument, that
at maximum effort Canada could not de-
fend her own borders against any deter-
mined aggression. Total self-defense is
not the point. In the event of a conflict
with The Soviets our country would lie dir-
ectly in the path of invading bombers or
missiles. The Americans would have no
choice but to send their forces into Canada
as the first move in strategic self-defense.
With adequate defense forces of our own
we would be recognized as keepers of our
own house, albeit forced to accept tem-
porary guests. Without a force of our own
we would be simply told what to do with
little or no choice of our own:
Heaven knows'most of us would pre-
fer to spend our wealth on something
more productive than multimillion dollar
airplanes and tanks, but we would be a
nation of idiots to assume that the happy
day has come when we can leave our col-
lective heads peacefully in the sand.
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BLUE
AWARQ
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES
Published at Vingham. Ontario. hs Vngcr Flros Limited
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News Items from Old Files
FEBRUARY 1933
So many continue to take the
measles that the Medical
Health Officer has closed both
the high *lino' and the public
school until further notice.
The Conservatory of Music
examinations in Intermediate
Counterpoint were held in
Clinton. Two local music
students, Miss Tena Reid and
'Clifton Ireland, tried these
examinations.,
Latest reports regarding the
Ontario government's redis-
tribution bill are that the
reduction will be 24 seats. The
present House has a mem-
bership of 112. Ridings to be -
affected in thitarea arekorth
Huron, South Huron, North
Bruce and South Bruce which
will be cut so these ridings will
be represented by' three
members instead of four.
At the annual meeting of the
Wingham Chamber of
Commerce, George Smith was
elected treasurer, replacing
C. P. Smith. E: S. Copeland is
president. of the organization.
Bellmore welcomes Mr. and
Mrs. Ray Mclntyre who have
taken over the mill lately
operated 13y Jos. Kuper;
sclnidt.
Friends gathered at the
Foresters' Hall, Bluevale, to
honor-, Mr. and Mrs. Roy '
McCreight. He has been CNR
section foreman here and is
about to leaviivft'Oarithill to
accepta Siroilarposition.
Dan , Mel Tim- Griffin
In August 199 Mr. Harry
Wardsman told the council he
was going to build a skating
rink at a cost of about $8,000,
on the vacant lot at the corner
of Diagonal Road and Victoria
St. He wanted fixed taxation
for a number of years. Since
there was another rink in
town, the council could not
favour one over the other. He
proceeded with constructiore,
and by November it looked
like that it would be ready for
winter. The wooden front of
the building containing office,
dressing rooms, lavatories,
and music room was finished.
Wooden arches covered with
corrugated iron were erected
over the ice surface. On the
night of Nov. 29 there was a
terrific storm with winds over
60 miles an hour. Half of the
roof from the Union Factory
was blown off and hit the cor-
ner of the rink. The roof over
the ice surface collapsed in a
mass of ruins. The steel from
the roof was scattered for
blocks, and a portion went,
through the' roof on Dr. Fox's
house. Wardsman did not re-
build. '
For the next five years there
were rumors from time to
time that the eyesore would be
cleaned up but nothing hap
-
petted. Finally John Hanna
and members of the Lions
Club called a public meeting
to consider building a new
arena. A company was formed
called the Wingham Arena Co.
and shares were sold at $10
each. Work commenced on
Nov. 11, 1924, with Sam Ben-
nett in charge. The arena was
built on the old foundation but
was made 20 feet longer to-
wards the livery stable. There.
was nearly one casualty, when
a cow got into the excavation
for the west wall and it took a
team of horses to pull her out.
This time a steel frame was
used above the concrete walls
instead of wood. The walls
were. steel and the roof
covered with _prepared
roofing. The original front was
used. On January 26, 1925 the
arena was opened to the pub-
lic.
It had cost $21,000 to build
the areria: Short winters with
. good ,skating on the river and
poor crowds at the hockey,
Matches did not make much
meney.,In April of 1927 there
was still $13,000 owing on the
mortgage. A large delegation
met with the council to ask for
an interest free loan. Dr. Red-
mond pointed out that the
youth of the town were more.
valuable than furniture,
stoves or fertilizer, yet, the
town had seen fit to help those
industries. The council agreed
to put the question to the
voters at the end of the year,
to see if they would agree to
loan $6,000 interestfree for a
second mortgage on the
arena. The people said no.
The arena carried on with
donations from citizens and
money from shows and pro-
motions, but by July 1934 the
mortgage now -47,000 was
about to be foreclosed. The
Chamber of Commerce re-
commended that the council
have a vote on a bylaw to issue
debentures for $7,000 to pur-
chase the arena rather than
have it sold and removed from .
town. It was suggested a
board of trustees 'could be
appointed to manage and
operate it, Much publicity was
given the vote and the danger
of losing the arena, but the by-,
law was turned down on
August 14, 285 to 252. The
mortgage sale was postponed
and Herb Campbell was ap-
pointed manager for the next
year.
In November 1935 Dr. Red-
mond again came to the coun-
cil. Now the mortgage was
$6,000 with $1,409 in other
debts. The council agreed t°
put it to a vote to borrow $7,000
to buy the arena This time a
long letter was Published'
signed by over seventy-five
professional and business
people pointing out the advan-
tages °1f having an arena, and
also the fact that the share'
holden; would not receive any
of the money and in fact they
would lose their investinent•
This time the bylaw carried by
majority of IA The fax -
payers of Wingham ogled
arena.
and Robert Davidson were
elected directors when the
55th annual meeting of the
West Wawanosh Mutual Fire
Insurance Company was held
at Dungannon. Mr. Davidson
is president of the company
and G. E. Treleaven
secretary.
FEBRUARY 1945
The Wingham Fish and
Game Club held a very en-
thusiastic meeting in the
council chambers. 'President
George H. Orvis was re-
elected and Miss Jean Austin
was elected secretary -
treasurer.
Kirk -Hutton, who recently
took over the position as
operator -at the CNR bete, has
purchased.the Burke houseon
Frances Street. .
George R. Scott, Prudential
Life igent, won a beautiful
trophy for .leading the
Stratford district of the
company in production. He
stood 60th in the Dominion; a
wonderful showing con-
sidering there are 4,000
ag ts.
4/very pleasant evening was
spnt when friends and neigh-
bors gathered at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Linus Ruth on
the first concession of Culross
and presented them with two
occasional chairs before their
departure to their new home
in Teeswater.
A business transaction of
local interest took place When
Jack Campbell took over Wes
Huston's barber business in
Lucknow. Mr. Huston has
been in the barbering business
for 14 years.
The speaker, screen, stage
and curtains were destroyed
in a matter of minutes when
fire believed to have been
caused by overheated pipes
broke out in the Cozy Theatre
in Brussels.
A former Wingham boy,
Charlie Deyell, was honored
*Kai1.
:a:Kt:Knee
at a dinner of ,the Owen Sound
staff of the' Imperial Oil
Company when he received a
trophy for his fine record as a
drier.
FEBRUARY 1956
Peter D. Patterson, who has
been Huron County engineer
since -December 1951, has
tenderd his resignation to
accept a similar position
elsewhere.
At the regular meeting of
the Wingham District High
School Board, a letter from
the Department of Education
asked the board's opinion on
the question of safe -driving
classes for • high- • sehool
students. After a good deal of
discussion, members of the
board decided to advise the
Board of Education that in
their opinion such courses
.would be impractical in small
rural schools such as
Wingham District High
School.
The purchase of 30 acres of
the MacLean property, north
• of the Foundry, was an-
nounced byofficials of C.
Lloyd and Son Ltd. The
property will be Used ,for
future expansion of the
company's storage facilities.
To serve the neW sitethe firm
has made arrangements with
CPR to build a railway spur
into the property.
At the 83rd annual meeting
off the Howick Mutual Fire
Insurance Company, Robert
Graham, who has given 28
years of faithful service as a
director, resigned, Harold
Robinson of Gorrie was
elected to replace kr.
Graham'.
At the regular meeting of
Morris Township Council, a
resolution was passed that a
request' be sent to Canadian
National Railways to keep the
Bluevale Station 'open.
Miss Yvonne Sperling of
Gorrie was crowned Queen of
TODAY'S CHILD
BY HELEN ALLEN
,gaii4711111111111
Doran is an appealing little four-year-old who is very
affectionate with people he knows. He takes medication
for a heart defect with which he was bom, and he is very
good about taking his medicine. He needs a check-up
every six months, and may outgrow the defect or may
have to continue with medication, but no surgery is
recommended.
You'd never know to see Doran running about that
anything is wrong with his heart and he is just as active
as any four-year-old. He's fond of animals, and loves to
play with toy cars. Doran's development is below
average but that doesn't appear until he starts to talk. His
main slow area is speech and he is being helped -with
speech therapy. He will probably need special education
classes.
A fairly quiet child, he enjoys playing with one or two
other children and drops back to watch when a big group
is supposed to be doing something together, He needs a
family where he will get lots of attention and encour-
agement, but where the parents will not worry greatly
over academic success. It will be gond -if a black family
can be found for him.
To inquire about adopting Doran please write to
Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Ser-
vice, Box , Station K, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2112. In
your letter tell something of your present family and your
way of life.
fe/ ///2/
CANOE by John
I . • '
Ahly 1, 1960, Arthur
...1104,10 pushed los carefully
ganon away from the
refltUe dock and began a
voiagnge eq ted he would
-not ave to complete.
chief of a small band
Witnsissauga Indiana in
Soother Ontario, was on hie/
way across the Atlantic tp
appeal to the queen. His
people had fallen into a life of
drunkenness and -desnair
folltnying the expropriation of
much of their ' land by the
federal government. In a final
agempt,to sae them Nogawa
conceived this desperate plan.
• Surely he would not be allowed
to face the Atlantic in a canoe.
Surely someone would stop
him.
SEEDS OF THE SUN by
Vicky ilkfortin
Clive Holden, weak and
charming and -unable to resist
the women he attracts so
easily, believes that his life
pivots on his own ambition. He
is wrong. His life will be
shaped at every turn by three
women: Caroline, Kate and
Judith.
the Carnival at Kurtzville
Arena at the annual carnival.
Morris Federation of
Agriculture will offer three
prizes for the three best -
broken teams of oxen in the
Morris Centennial parade:
FEBRUARY 1966
R. ,B. Cousins of Brussels
was re-elected president of the
association and chairman of
the directors of the Wingham
and District Hospital at • its
inaugural meeting 'Friday
evening. Dr. B.. N. Corrin is
chief of staff.
The new spillway. at the
Howson Dam was put to its
first test when -mild weather
brought -on -high, water in the
river. The 40 -foot structure
took care of the problenf-with
no effort. It is part of an,
, $80,000 flood control program
being carried . out by' the
Maitland Valley -Conservation
Authority. , •
Gerald Belanger, who at-
tended -the Electrohome color
TV course in Kitchener in.
February, received world that
he -passed the'examination. He
has received his certificate for
servicing color television sets.
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Edgar
and Debbie of Waterloo spent
the weekend with her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Newman.
Bruce has been transferred to
Guelph and they intend
moving there next week.
A 27million dollar, five-year
expansion program for
Ryerson Polytechnical In-
stitute has been announced at
•Queen's Park by Ontario
Premier John Roberts. Plans
include teaching towers, a
series of block units and un-
derground classrooms.
At the regular meeting of
the Wingham Public School
Board, Chairman William
Harris said that Guenther
Heim has offered to paint a
mural as a centennial project
for the new school building, at
no cost to the board.
FOUR DAYS by William
Crook
Here is a powerful novel of
the ultimate test of opposing
codes of personal honor and
military duty, vividly drawing
on the author's detailed know-
ledge of the Burma campaign
and jungle warfare.
What's new at
Huronview?
The fact that Huronview had
neither, lights or power on
Sunday morning did not in-
terfere with Rev. Wittick's
Sunday morning service.
Instead of the organ Mrs.
Henderson played the mouth
organ and her bells, and Mr.
Skinner played his violin.
Because of the non-function-
ing elevator, there were oily
two residents in whee.Vehairs
present.
Frank Bissett and Alice
Cornish were reinembered in
prayer as they,, are both in
hospital; Dora Buchanan was
wished a speedy recovery as
she was admitted to hospital
on Sunday afternoon.
Mrs. Luther held a service
in the auditorium oh, Sunday
evening.
An orchestra, consisting of -
seven musicians, combined
musicial talent along with
Marie Flynn to provide Old
Tyme Music on Monday af-
ternoon.
The Clinton Kinettes
brought out desert to the
ladies from` Ground Floor
North and -Ground Floor
Centre on Tuesday evening.
Both dining rooms were
decorated for the occasion and
each one had a lovely potted
plant, which was a gift to the
ladies from the Kinettes.
Gertrude Cornell and Alma
Davis thanked the Kinettes on
behalf of the ladies.
Edgar Cudmore held Bible
Study in the chapel on Wed-
nesday afternoon this week,
due to the Valentine's Day
program on the 14th.
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