Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-06-22, Page 4NE ADVARCE-TImE 1'381 for =s Ingham bbance©titneo PubIi hed at W Ingham. Ontario. h. N encu Barr. limited Barry Wenger. President Henry Hess. Editor Robert 0. Wenger. Sec Treas. Audrey Currie. Advertising Manager Member Audit Bureau of (trculauons Member — Canadian ("ommumty Newspaper Assoc Subscriptions S20.00 per year Second Class Mail Registration No 0821 Ontario ( ornmumt) Newspaper Assoc SiA months $11.50 Return postage gunrJnleed Censorship not our job A few weeks ago this newspaper carried a letter from a reader who objected strenuously to an advertise- ment which had appeared in one issue. The ad included the picture of a scanti- ly -clad woman and the writer protested that We should not have printed the ad- vertisement because it was sexist in its intent. In this issue you may read a letter which was the response of the Cana- dian Advertising Advisory Board to the reader's complaint. In effect that letter says the newspaper cannot be faulted for carrying the advertisement, al- though general disapproval of the sub- ject matter is expressed. Newspaper publishers cannot con- stitute themselves as censorship authorities. The event which the ad- vertisement announced was not illegal, and thus advertising the event was equally legal. Because it appeared on the pages of this newspaper did not signify that the publishers seek that type of advertising or condone that sort of entertainment. It simply means that space in our columns is available for paid advertising and the publisher's personal views have nothing whatso- ever to do with` the content of adver- tisements. When it comes to moral values, the range is unlimited. We have no inten- tion of attempting to decide which of these choices is right or wrong. Choosing the right man Now that the dazzling circusof the Progressive Conservative leadership convention is over and Brian Mulroney has won the race, Canadians of all political persuasions have an oppor- tunity to quietly contemplate the events of June 11 and evaluate, if possi- ble, the consequences of the final ballot. Since Mulroney is still an unknown factor, as far as political leadership is concerned, one can look with clearer vision to those who did not win. It is now quite apparent that the former prime minister, Joe Clark, a man of determination and courage, failed to convince the delegates that he could lead his party to victory in a federal election. John Crosbie, the only other candi- date who survived through three ballots, gave the best speech at the convention, had a well -organized cam- paign machine, but made some serious blunders in the weeks before the Ottawa gathering. Without doubt his inability to speak French cost him many votes, and some sensed in Crosbie a man who might conceivably become as arrogant in office as Pierre Trudeau. John Gamble came across as a throwback to the type of conservative attitude which does not even recognize the needs of our changing society. Michael Wilson, a man who had at one point appeared as a person of cool and considered intelligence, simply lacked any of the fire and enthusiasm needed to build a loyal following. Millionaire Peter Pocklington, the wonder boy from the West, proposed such drastic changes and simplifications in a future government and our tax system that he was not credible to many delegates. David Crombie, the ever -optimis- tic former mayor of Toronto, did not have the funding, not the organization behind him to pose a serious threat, but as usual won the good will of the con- vention with his undefeated air of opti- mism and idealism. Some people are truly gracious in defeat and some are not. John Crosbie in his bitter disappointment, lashed out at Joe Clark's wife, Maureen McTeer, in the hearing of a group of delegates, accusing her of preventing Clark votes from coming over to the Crosie camp. This after -view of the man confirms us in the belief that it is as well that he was not the eventual winner.. In contrast, Prime Minister Tru- deau's remarks in the House of Commons last week, as a defeated Joe Clark returned to his seat, were graciousness itself. Trudeau quietly acknowledged Clark's courage and tenacity. We wish you good link With all the fuss and furore of a national leadership convention, the attention of most Canadians has been diverted in recent weeks from the business of government itself. But things have been happening on Parlia- ment Hill. The long -debated Canagrex bill is about to be passed by the Liberal majority despite loud protests from a great many farmers in the land. Pas- sage of the bill will set up a govern- ment -controlled agency empowered to buy and sell Canadian farm products. Some farmers, including the leaders of the Canadian Federation of Agricul- ture, are all in favor of Canagrex, but a sizable group of independent -minded farmers are far from convinced. In theory the project sounds great. The new government agency is sup- posed to provide the personnel and the experience to successfully seek out ex- port markets for Canadian farmers and thus bring in a new era of prosperi- ty. Those who have serious reserva- tions about government control fear that they wilt be surrendering their freedom of decision to a bureaucratic giant which will eventually smother the producer's independence. They refer, with evident, factual support, to the re- cords of many other crown corpora- tions which have been anything but successful in the realms of big business. Those of us who are not farmers have very little basis for comment. Ag- riculture has become a complicated operation and only those actually engaged in the food industry can ap- preciate the pros and cons of govern- ment -control led versus free enterprise. However, we wonder just how "free" the farmers have been in opting for Canagrex? Eugene Whelan, the federal minister of agriculture, has virtually blasted many farmers and farm organizations into following the course he believes in so firmly. As a newspaper editor we cannot say whether or not the farmers and their organization have made a wise decision. All we can say is that we are very, very happy that we are not among those who are being forced to turn control of their businesses over to a government agency. Something is wrong. Canada's defense minister, Giles Lamontagne, says there is nothing wrong or unsafe about the CF -104, our country's interceptor aircraft in Europe_ Three of these planes have crashed, in one case causing the tragic deaths of five people on the ground, all within recent weeks. The minister says that in each case it was a matter of human error and he has refused to take the aircraft out of operational service until further in- vestigations have been completed, al- though at week's end it was announced that low-level flying will be halted. There's something strange about all this. The men who fly those aircraft must be among the very best pilots in our forces or any other air commands today. If human error is indeed the cause of the accidents, isn't if high time to re-train the pilots or improve the training course itself? What has been suggested by some experienced flyers who know the CF -104 is that the aircraft was never intended for low-level operations and that it has been pressed into a role which creates a foreseeable hazard. Sometimes official excuses verge on the pitiful_ It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undimished to those who come offer us, as was hand- ed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours. —John F. Kennedy a -;-I a 1 1Ii' jI • c,' n n i yn//ii�i.•��/iia/i/L:///i, _ A page of editorial opinion 01 of 4' ???1,:%/.•%//...%,/(4./.:;!..,..4.4. r''y•.• �r> Richard Clegg House, 13 Patrick St. By Ernest Eaton The Richard Clegg house at. 13 Patrick Street is: perhaps the most imposing dwelling along the main street of Wingham. A large, two-storey house of red brick, it has a unique round tower three stories high and a pair of gables decorated with embossed metal. sheathing. The door and windows are surrounded or headed in cut stone, many with keystoned tow arches. The bricks for the tower were cast in a curve, so that the exterior of the tower farms a smoother contour than could have been obtained with standard, straight bricks. The house wars built by William Button, a local furniture manufacturer, in 1902. He moved into it with his family on Jan. 22, 1903. However he sold it to Richard Clegg, also a furniture manufacturer, later in the same year. Button owned the adjoining business block at the corner of Josephine Street, which he sold to Frank Vanstone for less than $4,000. The Button Block burned Concern When a group of Bruce County farm women went to politicians and government officials with their concerns about the harmful effect financial stress is having on farm families, the answer they got was: prove it. More than a year later, the Concerned Farm Women have backed up their in 1905 and the site was sold to Walter Green, who in- tended to rebuild. However Clegg wanted to buy 10 feet of the property to extend his lot westward, and they were unable to reach an agreement on the transaction to partition the lot. The upshot was that Mr. Clegg bought the whole parcel and landscaped it to enhance the setting of his house. Some residents still recall the beautiful Lawn and gardens that extended down to Josephine Street. Mr. Clegg died in 1917 and the house continued to be occupied by his widow until her death in 1943. She was a knowledgable collector of antiques and works_ of art and the estate sale, held in the arena, took fours days to complete. It was reported to have been the largest such sale ever held in western Ontario. The basic style of the house was copi nn the house built by William Rintoul in 1914 for Thomas Field at 80 Patrick Street East, which is now occupied by Dr. J. C. Ping. June 22, 1983 Let T n Hall bell ring out once Dear Editor, The bell in the Wingham Town Hall has been silent for many years. The ropes were apparently taken down when the new fire alarm was .installed nearly a generation ago, so many people now living here have never heard the bell. The bell is reported to have a tone which is un- surpassed in western Ontario, and i think it would be worth replacing the ropes so that it could be sounded on important occasions, such as July 1 and January 1, for example. I am told one reason for silencing the bell was to prevent trouble caused by its being rung without authority. If the ropes were enclosed in plastic pipe leading from the tower to a suitable cupboard, this problem could be overcome, and the bell could still be rung by authorized persons who had access to the locked cupboard. With the increasing highway traffic in dangerous goods, it is not difficult to imagine a local disaster combined with a power blackout where a metti"anical means of alerting the people could be a lifesaver. A rapid ringing of the bell could warn people to turn on a ' transistor radio and listen to CKNX for instructions. A full, rolling ringing of the bell could be reserved for special occasions. It seems me the cost of restoring the bell for use need not be eat. Perhaps one of your reporters would be interested exploring local opinion to see whether the restoration of this historic bell would be welcome? Ernie Eaton Wingham Route or rout? Dear Editor, I am tired of hearing on the air that I live on a rural rout. From the dictionary: ROUT: total defeat and -flight, as of an army; disorder resulting from such a defeat; to root up, as with the snout. ROUTE (root): a way or road traveled; course; journey; march. All being well and the Lord willing, I hope to live on my rural route for ,smite time yet. Winnie Taylor RR 1, Wingham Board responds to advertising complaint Editor's note: The following is a copy of a reply received from the Advertising Advisory Board to a reader's complaint which appeared in this column May 11 about an advertisement which had been carried in The Advance -Times. Ms. Dixie Lee Arbuckle Shuter St., Wingham Dear Ms. Arbuckle, Media Watch has forwardedyour comments about a newspaper advertisement for the 5th Annual Custom Car and Hot Rod Show which appeared in The -:Wingham Advance -Times. As you noted yourself, the event did include a Miss Bikini Contest and the presence of Playboy Bunnies. For that reason, although we well understand your concern, the advertisement must be considered ac- ceptable. The event is being honestly advertised and as long as such promotions are popular with some parts of the population, they can be legally advertised. Since we are unable to locate an address for the sponsor of the show, we are passing your comments along to The Wingham Advance -Times, with the caution that an increasing number of people prefer not to see this type of promotion. Thank you for making your views known. Suzanne Keeler Director, Public Affairs Advertising Advisory Board Toronto c women document farm problems feelings about stress with cold, hard facts, the result of a survey conducted with help from the University of Guelph and other resources on 343 family farms. The survey shows 86 per cent of Bruce farm families feel the farming community is worse off than in 1976, leader Eloise Calhoun told the annual meeting of Women Today, held at Clinton recently. The three biggest problems are lack of control over product prices, input prices and interest rates. The Concerned Farm Women now are presenting survey results to groups in the area, getting ideas on how the information can be used to help farm families and what actions can be taken. Among the things the survey discovered Sixty-seven per cent of farms in Bruce County are owned jointly by husband 91 s o '� • `ey r J •;" c %1 MORE H056! WE'LL NEVER GET'ER OFF TPi E GRQUNT, "-NOVI 4 e'E 1405 15 r, a�: 0 VI and wife; Most of the women who completed the survey are aged from 25 10 54, married to a fanner and had lived on a farm for more than 10 years. Nearly all do child care, cooking and cleaning and washing up, feed hired hands and handle business calls, while more than 80 per cent paid farm biils and shared financial decision- making with their husbands. Cropping and stocking decisions were shared by 22 per cent of wives; Younger women an- swering the survey valued their contributions to the farm more than older ones. Six per cent said they con- tribute nothing to the farm's operation. In 51 per cent of the households, husband or wife or both also worked off the farm; Of the women working of 1 - farm, 73 per cent contributed wages toward the fanning operation, and 91 per cent to the household ; The percentage of farmers unable to pay interest charges rose more than four- fold to 31 per cent between 1976 and 1981. About 17 per cent, 50 people, felt they were likely to Pose all or part of the farm in the next year: Of the firoarrcia[Cy distressed farmers, &1 per cent had children under 16 operating equipment for which they were not adequately trained Survey respondents in general, however, felt their young children are properly trained to operate equip- ment; Lack of profit was given as the number one cause of stress on the farm. All stress symptoms but two (use of alcohol and lack of com- munication) had increased over the last five years. Mental fatigue and frustration showed the. highest increases; guilt the feast; On the positive side. women said they felt lots of family and conirnunity support. Emotional, support came most of- all from husbands, while professional help provided the least support and the lowest degree of satisfaction. Those who had been treated for stress-related illness re- ported it had included drugs (56 per cent , counselling (( 7 per cent) or both (25 per cent); While 85 par Cent of farm women said they participate in groups ( most . in church groups; few in political. organizations), they said they think urban women consider them to be Cess intelligent and of a Cower social class,. But farm women have good self images and consider themselves more intelligent, capable and fortunate than their urban counterparts: Despite stress. that is financially related, only 11 per cent of the women surveyed wanted to leave the farm. Most want to stay because they value country living, independence, rural values and the sense of pro- ducing something.