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Zurich Citizens News, 1964-01-30, Page 2PAGE TWO THURSDAY, JANUARY 3Q, 1964 Cdde4iai easenme JIM NW Tax Burden of Farms It is with a great deal of interest that we are watching for the results of a recent suggestion, by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, that farmers are being over- taxed on their property. For some time now we have contended that the farmers should not have to pay school tax on his entire property, but only on his buildings and the land on which they are situated. The urban resident only pays school tax on their dwelling and the bit of land surrounding it. Therefore it would seem unfair that the farmer should be subject to this extra burden. The argument put forward by the Fed- eration will most frequently be applied as an argument that ;schools should be sup- ported by taxes levied on all the people of the province, and supplied through the provincial treasury. There is merit in the Federation's ef- fort to protect farmers against unfair tax burdens, but we think the notion that the provincial government should supply all the money needed for schools is not neces- sarily fair. A good school in a rural area is a service to the people, primarily, but it is also a service to the property. The test comes whenever a farmr decides to sell his farm, and wants to get the best possible price for it, When a farmer retires and is looking for a buyer, the most likely sale will be to a young couple about to start farming on their own. The young couple will be in- terested, among other things, in the educa- tion of their children. If there is a poor school in the area, the farm itself will look less attractive, and will sell less readily. The proper argument is concerned with how to apportion the cost between taxes on property, levied by local govern- ment, and taxes on people, levied by the province. We are certainly in. agreement that the farmer is being levied an -unfair tax as far as schools are concerned, and there should be some sort of changes com- ing in the future. We will not attempt to try and solve the problem, but we •do feel that if the farmer were only taxed on his buildings, and the land the buildings are sitting on, there would be a much better system of equalization throughout the country. How- ever, the big problem would be for an assessor to define the difference between property with buildings on it, and property which is used for agricultural purposes only. We would welcome comment on this matter from our readers! It's Part of the Job "It may be irritating for people in pub- lic office to be subject to criticism," re- marks the "Trentonian" of Trenton, Ont., but the writer goes on to remind us that "they are servants of those who elected them, and not their masters. Thus, how- ever weary of what may seem like un- warranted criticism they may be, elected representatives must treat their constitu- ents with reasonable courtesy. "It is always easy for people in gov- ernment to become enamored of their own ideas to such an extent that they really believe that what they think is the best thing for the people is actually so. It may be. It also may not be. But whatever is the case, the people have a right to speak freely, and to be respected. "What is more, they have a right to be wrong, if that is what may sometimes result. Progress at the expense of riding roughshod over the taxpayer is not 'Teal progress. Governing needs a mixture ,of courtesy, wisdom, firmness, and yet rea- sonable readiness to yield. Time To Stop As an experiment, we should like to see every newspaper in Canada join in a one-year effort to stop the observance of all special weeks. This habit has gotten completely out of hand. No week passes without a dozen "releases" coming to the editorial desk, proclaiming that it is National Dishwashing Week, or National Radish Week, or National Paperhangers Week, or something else of the same dramatic impact. Everybody who wants some free pub- licity gets into the act, and we are deluged with photos of girls cutting grapefruit, to proclaim a citrus fruit week, or a grapefruit week, girls sitting on tractors to proclaim tractor week, and girls standing by drug counters to proclaim national drugstore week. Of course the fact that girls are in all such pictures is a mere side issue. It is about the only relieving feature in the whole boring issue. The fellow who started this special week business should be boiled in oil. But the fellows who perpetuate it are equally to blame. And fellow -editors, that's us! Which may not be grammatical, but it makes the point. If we would refuse to go along with this twaddle, 99 per cent of it would stop. And that would be the greatest boon to humanity since the dis- covery of the knob which turns of the tele- vision set,—(Trenton Trentonian) Air Your Peeve The task of calling attention to matters that might be rectified if given a bit of publicity is not the sole responsibility of the newspaper in a community. Improvements and changes for the good of the community as a whole should properly be shared by all citizens of the town and the district. A newspaper's first responsibility is to inform. Any newspaper worthy of the name is always ready and willing to serve its community in any good cause, but it has the right to expect that readers who wish to express their views on controversial matters avail themselves of the press by taking the trouble to write a letter. There are those who would like to see, and seemingly expect, a publisher to go to hat for them, to air what may be nothing more than a personal peeve or prejudice. Newspapers are not policemen. Bet- terment of the community is everybody's business, not the newspaper's alone. — (Lucknow Sentinel) 40 YEARS AGO OF �. �. YEARS GONE BY 15 YEARS AGO JANUARY, 1924 Mr, A. E. Irwin, the reeve of Bayfield, was the choice of the 1924 county council, to be the Warden of Huron for the year. Mr. E. Koehler, manager of the skating rink in Zurich, is confined to his bed with an ex- tremely sore throat. His posi- tion is being filled by Ed Miller. Three new members, Henry Eickmeier, W. S. Johnston and D. Staubus hive been added to the teaching staff of the Luth- eran Sunday School in Zurich. George Hanley was re-elected as reeve of Stanley Township by acclamatidn at the nomina- tion meeting held on Monday. Fred Bengough has been awarded the position of care- taking for •the school in Hensall. Donald MacKinnon, of Crom- arty, who has been learning the barber trade with the men in Hensall, his accepted •a position in Detroit and left for there. Mr. F. C. Kalfleisch is at pres- ent operating his flax mill at full capacity, and this supplying work for a large number of resi- dents of Zurich and area. Mr. Alex:, Voisin Is contem- plating the 'starting of a route in Zurich for milk, cream and other dairy products, daily. ZURICH Citizens NEWS HERB TURKHEIM — Editor and Publisher PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING at ZURICH, ONTARIO Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa and for the payment of postage in cash. Member: CANADIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION Member: ONTARIO WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION Subscription Rates: $3,00 per year in advance, in Canada; $4.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 7 cents and 25 YEARS AGO Heady stuff for a teen-ager, Then came the war. While the other polits played cards, or talked about the girl they met in the pub last night, I read. The real book fiend, lost be- yond recall, never reads any- thing remotely connected with real life, as it's being lived, He's a pure escapist, If he lives on the prairies, he reads about the sea, or moun- tain climbing. If he lives in a fishing village, he reads west- erns. If lie's 'a shy boy, he reads about bold men. If he's a de- tective he reads love stories. If he's a politican, he reads about detectives. If he's making his- tory, he reads romance. If he's in the middle of a love affair, he reads war novels. The alcoholic and the drug ad- dict will sink pretty low, when money runs out._ They will lie and cheat and steal to get the goods. The alcy will drink shav- ing lotion, rubby-dub, or put a tin of canned heat through a loaf of bread to get smash. The dope addict will resort to pros- titution or armed robbery to obtain a fix. This is kid stuff. A book fiend, when cut off from sources, will sing to unspeak- able degradation. It begins when he picks up discarded newspapers. Next thing you know he's avidly perusing pub- lic signs, match books, and empty toothpaste tubes. But that's only the beginning. One day in Algiers, just after the war, I met an old air force friend, a Sikh, from India. He was a book fiend, as I knew. One look at his red -rimmed va- JANUARY, 1949 It has been reported that two large black bears have been seen by a number of people crossing the Zurich road, at the big swamp east of the village. Parents would be well advised to drive their children to school until the monsters have been done away with. Jack Tudor was elected as president of the Hensall Cana- dian Legion, when that organ- ization held their annual meet- ing recently, The price of milk throughout this area has been increased to 16 cents a quart, effective at once. A prominent citizen of Zurich for many years, Mr. Joseph Gascho passed away at his home on Sunday morning, in his 89th year. A big wolf was shot on Sat- urday afternoon, in the big swamp on highway 84, by a lucky hunter from Detroit. About 25 hunters were taking part in the hunt. Dr. and Mrs. W. B. Coxon, ac- companied by Dr. and Mrs. E. Steiner, of . Exeter, have re- turned home following the an- nual convention of the Ontario Veterinary Association in Ham- ilton. JANUARY, 1939 Salaries for various H a y township officials were set at the first meeting of the council for the year. Clerk -treasurer will receive $360, and $350 for the telephone, along with $20 for roads; .the assessor will re- ceive $1 he road superinten- dent will be paid 30 cent per hour. • The community was saddened last week at the sudden passing of Mr. John McKinley, a promi- nent resident of Stanley Town- ship for many years. He was 75 years old• At the annual meeting of the Hensall public school board, Al- fred Clark was named chair- man, and A. L. Case was ap- pointed secretary -treasurer. The three new members of the police village trustees in Zurich, Ivan Yungblut, Theo- dore Haberer and Leroy O'Brien, were given their oaths of office on Monday. James Parkins, of Ailsa Craig, has taken a position as a motor mechanic in the Zurich Garage, owned by Herb Mousseau. -Word has been received from Goderich that the county is taking over the Goshen Line, from Zurich to Sarepta, as a county road. 10 YEARS AGO JANUARY, 1954 Mr. George Coleman, of Sea - forth, celebrated his 86th birth- day on Saturday evening, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Elgin Mc- Kinley, on the Goshen Line north. Reg Black and James Parkins have purchased what was known as Zurich Gents' Wear, from Mr. Louis Thiel, and will oper- ate the store in the future. The business is located in the Hay Fire Insurance building on the main intersection. Lorne C. Elder, son of John, Elder, Hensall, has been ap- pointed as chief engineer of the Wallace Barnes Co., in Hamil- ton. He is also works manager of the progressive firm. William Deccker, of Hay Township, was elected on Sat- urday as president of• the South Huron Agricultural Society. The annual meeting was held in the New Commercial Hotel, in Hen- sall. The Zurich Flyers hockey team on Friday night defeated the Hensall team by a score of 8-6. Due to mild weather, the game was played in the Sea - forth Arena. Mr. Ross Middleton, principal of the Dashwood Public School, underwent an operation on Sat- urday in the hospital at London. He is reported to be satisfactory. I110EINNNEIIINNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIII!IIIII IIIIUIII111111IIYIIIWMINIIImNllll!M1110101tiM11Ipu SUGAR and - SPICE By Bill Smiley This week I'm supposed to speak to our honor students and their parents,: at a banquet. Dull topic: "Good Reading Habits". Choice of speaker was a hil- arious piece of miscasting. I think I can state, not proudly, hut with little fear of contradic- tion, that my personal reading habits are the most atrocious in. Canada, maybe the world. Thirty-five years ago, my mother was saying anxiously, "Billy Smiley, you'll be blind before your 15 if don't stop reading in dark corners!" Well, I ain't blind yet, and I'm still reading in dark corn- ers. Not to mention bright corners, on trains, planes and ships, in bathrooms, .libraries and restaurants, before break- fast and aftter going to bed, County Receives Interest on Funds Goderich — The county re- ceived $3,875.37 interest on money invested last year until. required, clerk -treasurer John Berry said in answering a ques- tion by Reeve Don McKenzie, of Ashfield. He explained that funds on hand are invested in treasury bills or deposited at bank interest of 3% on a 30 - day basis. "There is $141,000 invested in the hospital reserve funds, and "Seaforth will be requiring some of their money," he said. The statement came in con- nection with the auditor's re- port, which showed a surplus of $95,915.23 on the year's oper- ations. From 1963 surplus ac- count $110,000 had been trans- ferred and from the 1962 ac- count $80,000. Total revenue was $2,277,668 and expenditure $2,181,684,45, compared with $1,746,000 and $1,172,113 in 1962. Registry office revenue was $15,089.36, "but we spent more than that, $15,780.37, on the of- fice," Mr. Berry said. 4 walking to work or watching television. By the time I was ten, I had barreled through the Rover Boys, the Tom Swift series, the Horatio Alger pap, and was gnawing on the massive histor- ical novels of G. A, Henty. By 15, I had gobbled Zane Grey and Max Brand, along with most of the detective stories available. At about 16, I was devouring books, historical, politica I, travel and biographical, with wild, swinging excursions into the fiction of Dickens and De- foe, Poe and Proust, at the rate of about one•and.a.half volumes a day. Then came the acquaintance with Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe and Evelyn Waugh, with heroes haunted, wild, andsophisticated, cant eyes announced it. He was leading an old lady by the hand. Asked him where he was go- ing, who she was. Turned out she was his aged mother. He was on his way to the slave market. "I know what you think," he slavered, "but I can't help it. I gotta gotta book." I heard later he got $19 for her. Or, to put it in realistic terms -38 pocket novels. r111111" Attention Farmers CONCRETE SILOS 1964 will be a big year in construction. Farmers inter• ested in building a Silo or any size from a 13 -foot up to 14 foot in diameter, should contact us immediately. The average farmer has 3 to 4 silos on his farm — how about you? Do you need another silo? CALL WES HUGILL, ZURICH PHONE 204 Business and Professional Directory ACCOUNTANTS ROY N. BENTLEY PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT GODERICH P.O. Box 478 Dial 524-9521 AUCTIONEERS ALVIN WALPER PROVINCIAL LICENSED AUCTIONEER For your sale, large or small courteous and efficient service at all times. "Service that Satisfies" PHONE 119 DASHWOOD LEGAL Bell & Laughton BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS & NOTARY PUBLIC ELMER D. BELL, Q.C. C. V. LAUGHTON, Q.C. Zurich Office Tuesday Afternoon EXETER 235-0440 HURON and ERIE D•`EBENTURES CANADA TRUST CERTIFICATES 51/4% for 4 and 5 years 43/4% for 2 and 3 years 4V2% for 1 year GENERAL INSURANCES Fire, Automobile, Premises Liability, Casualty, Sickness and Accident, etc. An Independent Agent representing Canadian Companies J. W. HABERER Authorized Representative PHONE 161 --y ZURICH OPTOMETRY J. E. LONGSTAFF OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH: Daily except Mor. Phon1 791 day 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m Wednesday: 9 a.m to 12 noon. CLINTON: Monday Only Phone HU 2-7010 Thursday evening by appointment Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST Office Hours: 9-12 A.M. — 1:30- 6 P.M. Closed all day Wednesday Phone 235-2433 Exeter FUNERAL DIRECTORS WESTLAKE Funeral Home AMBULANCE and PORTABLE OXYGEN SERVICE Phone 89J or 89W ZURICH For Safety EVERY FARMER NEEDS Liability Insurance For Information About All Insurance -- Call BERT KLOPP Phone 93 r 1 or 220 Zurich Representing CO.OPERATORS INSURANCE ASSOCIATION