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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1965-09-16, Page 2PAGE TWO ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. 1965 ecidoual OftOtefrtie — A Loaded Weapon There is ne doubt that in the first .in- stance there was widespread public sym- pathy for postal workers in their wage clsipute with the federal government. But public approval of the prolonged work stoppage was too much to expect. Mail service is essential to the public welfare; the interfering with that service by one thousand or ten thousand men is no more tolerable than if one post office employee decided to argue a grievance by blockad- ing the system. Considering the responsibilities and rigors of their job, the maximum pay of $4,380 a year for letter carriers is little enough, particularly for a family man in a high-cost urban area. Nor is it difficult to sympathize with their dessatisfaction with Ottawa's offer of a $300 annual increase. However, the men had remonstrated their plight and their determination in the initial stages of the walkout as the gov- ment conceded with the immediate ap- pointment of Judge J. C. Anderson to mediate the dispute. By extending the wildcat strikes into several days the work- ers hurt their cause, harmed the economy and inflicted extensive hardships on the public—and there was nothing extra to be gained. Canada is currently suffering more strikes and work stoppages than it has in a decade. All are a brake on economic progress. and many are but a wilful, point - testi show of power. The extra pay pro- cured through strikes or threats of strike beyond what could be obtained voluntarily is usually very small, and the pay lost through strikes is seldom made up. In some cases, of course, the workers directly involved may suffer little or no personal loss; they draw strike pay, and also ob- tain temporary work elsewhere. But the companies involved are hurt, as are the companies and the employees of the sup- pliers and customers of the struck plants. In some cases, as in the construction industry in Toronto, unions are using their power •to enforce excessive demands that cannot help but be inflationary. The To- ronto carpenters, who were drawing $3.38 an hour, struck for an increase of $1.15 an hour over four years; after five weeks on strike they rejected an offer of 87 cents, continuing the tie-up of construc- tion on schools, apartment houses, trans- portation projects, oommercial and indus- trial buildings. In the end, of course, these workers and everyone else will suffer from the price rise that must result from enforcement of such wage demands. The right to strike is the ultimate bar- gaining weapon. But it is a loaded weapon. It can inflict grevious injury, even self injury. And at this time in Canada it is not being handled with due care.—(Nanton News) Let's Stop All Sunday Work The employees of a large plant located tin the outskirts of Toronto went out on strike a week or so ago. Of course, they de desire an increase in wages. but some cther items on their list of demands ap- pear to be more important. One of these is that there be no Sunday work at all. Should the factory be rushed with erders, should they force machinery break- downs that would cause them to be unable to meet deadlines, or should any conditions develop that would require overtime work. such overtime should not be carried out cin Sundays. These employees insist that they be not required to work on Sundays regardless of the necessity or what extra pay they might receive — just absolutely no work on the Sabbath. Most people, as we do, realize that this demand that there be no Sunday work is not based upon religious reasons. These employees are not all Concerned about be- ing unable to attend church or Sunday school because of Sabbath overtime work. They are not so naive as to attempt to make the public believe such an excuse for their demand. They wan a clear five- day week at all times regardless of how this might affect the efficient operation of the plant in which they earn their living. If this group of more than a thousand employees believe that it is unfair to de- mand that they. on occasion, be required to work on Sunday, then. by the same point of view why should anyone be re- quired to work on Sunday? Just consider this question for a few moments. Unless a large number of peo- ple worked on Sundays there would not be any radio or televison programs. Unless thousands upon thousands of people work- ed on Sunday there would be no ball games, no hockey games or sports of any kind; there would not be any theatres open; there would not be any service sta- tions open to supply gas and oil for mo- torists. If other people demanded that there be no work on Sunday, hydro oper- ators would not be on duty and there would not be any electricity. If Water- works operators refused to work on Sun- day. there would be no water in the homes. We could go on and on in this manner. What in the name of common sense would the employees of the Toronto plant do on Sundays if every other worker de- manded that they not have to work on the Sabbath? They simply would not be able to do a single thing. We opine that these very same men would be the first to yell to high heaven if they could not watch TV on Sunday, or play golf, or drive their cars or do any of the many things they do now on Sunday. It is such self-centred, selfish, stupid, senseless and scurrilous demands as this that cause some labour unions• to lose public sympathy and sup- port. This demand for absolutely no Sun- day work places this group in the position that they do not deserve any toleration whatsoever. Although we doubt they would do so, about the only thing these men could do on Sunday, if there was no Sunday work at all, would be to attend church. After all the only people who would be working Sunday would be the preachers because they are always working to beat hell.— (Doug Young, in the Kincardine News) No Name's Okay .. . When Canadians step into a polling booth next federal election, there is a very handsome chance of five (or maybe six) national party candidates on the ballot. Politically what's in a party name, Nowadays, party names are used exclus- ively for identification of members at- tached thereto and, not as once was the ease, where parties had set policies brought on by a strict sense of tradition. National and provincial political alignments no long- er have a set "standard" of policies, but have a habit of doing exactly what an op- posing party would do if both were faced with similar problems when in power. Asking what use the party system really has for democracies, one would an- swer correctly in stating that if a nation has any more than three or four national parties contesting leadership, then govern- ments become ineffective, inefficient and short-lived. European democracies have this prob- lem today with the majority of those coun- tries having as many as 15 parties running for power. In such a country, any party receiving seven per cent of the popular vote would win. In Canada, with five parties vying for leadership, 20 per cent popularity would win. The more parties there are, the harder it becomes for a par- ty to form a government with a majority of members, unless by coalitions and secret pacts. A more efficient House would come from a national plebiscite for prime min- ister, excluding party allegiance, and an- other ballot for a constituency MP, also without party ties—both votes by the peo- ple and for the people. The nationally - elected leader could then select a cabinet from the most talented of 265 members, not just his own party. That would be one working government selected by the people, not five warlike parties. Wouldn't it be simpler for people who can't distinguish one party from another except by name, if candidates ran for elec- tion without party names attached to them —a vote for the man, not the party.—(The Didsbury "Alta," Pioneer) Zurich ee* News PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMI'7, Zt1RICH HERB TURKHEIM,, Publisher J. E. HUNT, Plant Superintendent Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa and for payment of postage in cash. Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Member: Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Member: Canadian Community Newspapers Representatives Subscription Rates: $3.00 per year in adVamce, in Canada; $4.00 in United Rtates anti and Foreign; single copies 7 cents. VIIIIIIIillflllllillhllllllllllll(111111111IIIIIIIIIIi11111IIIII11111I111(Illlll118111111111111111IIIIIIIII11111111111IN11111111111111111I111111111111111111111M11111111111IIIIIIIIItl11111111IIlgI111111 1111P"= SUGA and SPJCB ,11111IUII1111111011111 By Bill Smiley =mod DATELINE: Somewhere an toes, eating burned sausages and blueberry muffins, and burning with envy of our neigh- bors, every one of them in a luxurious trailer. A plaque had informed us that we were camping right on an historic canoe route, used by early explorers and fur trad- ers. It's still a popular route. This occurred to me about 4 a.m., as I lay there staring starkly at the roof of the tent, my wife whimpering in the next cot. About every four minutes a transport truck thundered past on the highway, 60 yards behind the tent. At one-hour intervals, a train hurtled clat- tering by, about 200 yards away. And every so often, a jet liner screamed past right overhead. And 1 lay there, sick with envy of those hard-bitten fur traders, on their canoe route. Not for them the stumbling over tent pegs. Not for them the charcoal that refuses to light. Not for them the never- ending, muddling search for the egg flipper or the toilet paper. And above all. not for them the endless recriminations. I can't quite imagine the follow- ing conversation taking place on the canoe route, on an Au- gust evening, say in 1742. the vast hinterland. I am sitting at a picnic table, looking over a beautiful, small, blue lake, ringed with golden sand and white birches, Twenty feet from shore, a devoted cou- ple swims quietly among the lily pads. They are wild ducks, Farther out, a loon raises its ar- rogant head on its snake neck, then dives. When I look up, slim, sway- ing spruce lean together to circle blue distance that makes the head swim. In their branch- es four and 20 blackbirds talk over last night's party. On the left, our Indiana neighbors whistle for their setter, who is trying to catch a duck. On the right, our Illinois neighbors shriek exultation over a string of 8 -inch perch. Behind me sits the tent, rath- er resembling a very sick camel. And inside the tent, wild-eyed, wan, and woe -begone after two straight sleepless nights under canvas, broods my wife. It's been a grand holiday trip so far, but something tells me we went at it backwards. After two days and nights cruising the inland seas, being wined and dined and waited on hand and foot, we were unceremon- iously bundled ashore at the lakehead. We couldn't face it like that, cold, so we holed up in a hotel for a night. Next day, we were up at the crack of noon, and off on our camping trip. That is, after lunch, and putting up our hair, and taking it down, and shopping for grub. We finally hit the road about 4:30 and belted off on our adventure. The scenery was superb: huge humps of rock, swathed In green dark serpents of rivers, gliding far below; dizzying glimpses of Lake Superior, blue and splendid' and almost fright- ening in its immensity. Say, this camping was great so far. Then came the dawn, at our first campsite. Or, to be literal, the dark. And us in the midst of it, trying to put up the tent. Inside out, as it turned out. The chacoal wouldn't burn. We couldn't find anything—the salt, the coffee, the breadknife, the hot mustard. Nothing. We were sitting forlornly, side by side, on a cot, swating mosqui- UNKSIMAgszynagatEMINIAMIT "Hey, Pierre, w'ere de hell did you put de kleenex?" "Dat's all right f or you, Jacques, but oa was de one 00 said we didn't need no French dressing, and'ere I 'ave de sal- ade ready, and no dressing" "By gar, Jacques, for two beaver 'ides I never go wit' you again on a petite camping trip. All de time you boeuf, boeuf, boeuf!" No, it couldnt happen. Oh, well, that's progress, Guess I'Il go in and give the old lady an- other tranquillizer, strike camp (it takes only three hours to "strike camp''), and get rolling for the next episode of unaduIt- erated horror. mautaaanamaaawasaamammminemma For the Best in TV Service, CALL c; DAMS RADIO AND TELEVISION Dial 2364094 or 4186 ZURICH aaa:cl IrlEATING 9 it ELECTRICAL WORK Qta FOR EXPERT REPAIRS OR NEW INSTALLATIONS Call Count on Us to o Things Right! Our skilled, experienced men take pride in their expert work- manship. 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