Zurich Citizens News, 1969-06-05, Page 4PAGE FOUR
ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS
THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1969
Should Toe the Line
•VII Mr MA
During the debate on the Official Languages Bill
a great deal of respect from all sides of the House was
expressed for the position taken by Robert Stanfield.
Knowing that not all the members of his party, including
IVIr. Diefenbaker, were in agreement with the bill, and
he himself having some reservations about it, he had
the courage to admit that the legislation was essential
for the unity of Canada, and therefore he intended to
support the bill. This he did, as did most of the mem-
bers of his party. Mr. Stanfield's behavior during the
debate on this bill was statesmanship of the highest
order.
Unfortunately this altruistic approach did not rub
off on the rebellious members of his party who broke
ranks to vote against the bill. All but one of the mem-
bers were from the Prairies, a fact which illustrates that
regionalism is still very much alive in this country.
We join the applause for the position taken by
Mr. Stanfield. At the same time questions have arisen
which are deserving of better answers than the ones
which have been given by Mr. Diefenbaker or any of
the other 17 rebels. Knowing that Mr. Stanfield as
leader had made a special plea for party unity, why did
Mr. Diefenbaker choose to go against this expressed
wish? It doesn't take too much of a memory to recall
that Mr. Diefenbaker was a stickler for loyalty from his
party. He expected his MPs to support him and was
highly indignant at the thought that there might be
any opposition to his leadership. Why then did he choose
to undercut Mr. Stanfield's position when he didn't ex-
pect people to do it to him ? Certainly he doesn't have
any axes to grind with the new Conservative leader.
Mr. Stanfield has been patience personified in the face
of Mr. Diefenbaker's headline -grabbing antics. Perhaps
Mr. Stanfield has been too patient.
Why did the rebellious members insist on a roll
call vote? It was obvious that the bill was going to pass
by a large majority and there was nothing to be gained
by calling such dramatic attention to their opposition.
The arguments of these MPs against the bill have been
flimsy at best, and they had nothing really concrete to
put in its place. In effect, what they have done is re-
veal that they have parochial minds at a time when
national thinking is called for.
Perhaps it is time Mr. Stanfield stopped being such
a gentleman and read the riot act to his rebels, including
Mr. Diefenbaker. He has reportedly threatened to ex-
pell members from the party if they do not toe the line,
and if this is the case, we hope he does just that. A
divided Opposition is not good for the Conservatives and
it is certainly not good for Canada.—(Stratford Beacon
Herald) .
Man in the Middle
There is no doubt about who asks the questions in
today's complex world, which governments keep making
more complex. It's the citizen. Who should answer the
questions, who should be the source of information, is
not so clear.
Postmaster General Eric Kierans is reported to
'have an idea for an elaborate network of hot-line phones.
Every post office would have one and they would be
directly connected with central data agencies in Ottawa
that could supply instant answers to the public's ques-
tions. What excellent instruments they could be for
thought control if a government were of a mind to con-
trol the thinking of the people who called up to chat.
In Parliament recently there was a discussion of
the paucity of news available to Canadian embassies.
One Opposition member complained about the daily Ca-
nadian Press news bulletin that reaches them because it
contains no "clash of opinion" and is pretty much limited
to hockey scores, trivia and answers by the Prime Min-
ister to questions by Opposition Leader Robert Stanfield.
It is just this clash of opinion that makes democ-
racy work, difficult as it is.
Anyone with experience in answering the public's
questions knows that interpretation enters into all but
the most simple answers. Should the information role
be played by government? Many people believe that it
should not and go so far as to say that often the infor-
mation source ends up being an intermediary between
government and the individual.—(The Printed Word) .
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It's got me baffled
It takes a mickle to make a
muckle, whatever that means.
And it takes a lot of mickles
and muckles to make up that
peculiar agglomeration of
mammals known as modern so-
ciety, including a quantity of
crackpots and a welter of weir-
dos. Present company accept-
ed.
Four different glimpses of
modern society, the human
race, in the last few days have
baffled me completely. How
did we get as far as we've
come? And how come we hav-
en't got farther?
First of these was a big proj-
ect at the big shoe factory I
work in. Teachers and students
have been slaving for months,
making canoes and planning
trips. They wound up with
about 30 canoes, maps, com-
passes and no brains.
With just a little less fanfare
than the Spanish Armada, they
set off on a sunny Friday after-
noon, holiday weekend, to
conquer the wilderness and
make Etienne Brulc look like a
Sunday tripper.
It rained all day Saturday,
Sunday and Monday in the
great national park they chose
for their insanity. The temper-
ature was a little above freez-
ing. They came back exhaust-
ed, soaked to the skin, and
frozen to the marrow.
About 50 people were about
as miserable as they ever have
been, or ever will be, in their
lives. And already they're plan-
ning the next trip. Already, it's
a great adventure, in retro-
spect.
I know the feeling. .I was a
prisoner of war, and there was
little joy in the jaunt. But
looking back, I wouldn't have
'missed it for anything. Pretty
stupid, eh?
The same weekend, since the
rain ruled out anything intelli-
gent, I took two little nieces
out to the beach to see the
"motorcycle gang." We saw
them. In all their glory. Black
jackets, beards, long hair and
frightening. The kids weren't. I
was. Frightened, that is.
When we arrived, these
young adults, and I emphasize
that they're not teen-agers,
were grooving on fireworks.
Fortunately, they were so
beered-up, and it was so damp,
that the whole thing was a fiz-
zle. They were trying to light
Roman candles and such on
the floor of a restaurant.
Adults, playing with firecrack-
ers.
What makes these people
wander about the country in
wolf packs? They get their
kicks from noise, speed and
violence. But they're people,
and certainly some of them
have brains, feelings, decency.
Yet they're capable of actions
that recall Hitler's Brown -
shirts, and I don't think there's
any need to go into detail. I
was glad the two police cars
were there.
The next night, there was a
big fire, about four blocks
from our house, when a lum-
ber yard went up in a dazzling
display. And who was there
hot -rodding it from all over
town to get a ring -side seat.
Good, honest, responsible tax-
payers. Including yours truly.
I was so pleased (I've always
loved a good fire, especially at
night) that I left my wife
standing in her dressing -gown
and pyjamas, about a block
from the blaze, while I pressed
closer for a cheek -by -jowl view
with the other sensible citi-
zens.
"Ain't she a dandy?" And
"That's a real ripper," we
grinned into each others' or-
ange faces, a little disappoint-
ed because there was no wind,
and the firemen were prevent-
ing it from spreading. My wife
walked three blocks home, in
her night attire. I'd forgotten
her completely. What kind of
monsters are we?
And then I went back to
school after the weekend, and
here are these Grade 12 stu-
dents, in panel discussions,
sane, serious and sensible,
grappling intelligently with
the problems they're going to
have to face shortly.
They're not doing it to im-
press me. Some of their opi-
nions would curl their moth-
ers' hair. But they don't like
society much the way it is, and
they want to do something
about it.
They get angry with each
other, disagree, grow red in
the face, and shout at each
other like — well, like a group
of adults.
Crazy world, but it's the one
I want to stay in for a while, at
least. Today's world, in addi-
tion to the cold binoculars of
the historians, needs some mi-
nor chroniclers, like your hum-
ble servant, to tell it as it was,
0
Mrs. Mozart Gelinas and
Ctrs. Jerome Sweeney attended
the 19th annual convention of
the Catholic Women's League,
held last Tuesday and Wednes-
day in Chatham.
June 1 - 7 is Red Cross Water
Safety Week. If you can't
swim, don't use inflated swimm-
ing aids. They may let you
down!
Goshen UCW
Mrs. William Clarke was
hostess for the May meeting of
the Goshen United Church Wo-
men with Mrs. Bob Peck in
charge of the program which
began with singing hymn 249,
Mrs. Alien Armstrong gave a
scripture reading.
A skit on stewardship was per-
formed by Mrs. Elgin McKinley,
Mrs. Bob Peck, Mrs. Richard
Robinson and Mrs. Jack Eckel.
The meeting was turned over
to Mrs. Anson McKinley for
the business. Mrs. Clare Mc-
Bride read the minutes of the
last meeting and the roll call
was answered by 20 members,
and two visitors. Reports were
given by Mrs. Hcward Armstrong
and Mrs. Allen Armstrong. An
invitation for visitors day on
June 3 at 2 p.m. was accepted.
A letter from Dorothy Graff of
Childrens Aid Society was read
concerning underpriveleged
children going to camp. Mrs.
Bob Peck tnade a motion that
the group send $10 to help send
a child to camp.
Cards were received from Mr.
and Mrs. Melvin Elliot and
fancily, Mrs. Frank McClinchey
and Roy McBride, and Larry
McI<inley. Ivirs. Brian Lempiere
thanked the ladies for flowers
and Mrs. John Robinson thanked
them for chocolates on behalf
of John.
The clothing for the bale is to
be at the church the beginning
of the week, around the 10th of
June. 0
Crop Report
The 'majority of the corn crop
in Huron County has been plant-
ed as of the end of May. Farm-
ers are now preparing the ground
for soybeean and white bean
plantings.
Spring ,rains, in most cases,
look good although some farmers
report yellowing due to too
much moisture earlier on.
Ilay and pasture crops are
coming on well, and should
provide lots of feed now and
when rhe haying season comes.
Business and Professional Directory
OPTOMETRISTS
J. E. Longstaff
OPTOMETRIST
SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE
527-1240
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat-
urday a.m., Thursday evening
CLINTON OFFICE
10 Issac Street 482.7010
Monday and Wednesday
Call either office for
appointment.
Norman Martin
OPTOMETRIST
Office Hours:
9 -12 A,M, — 1:30 - 6 P.M,
Closed all day Wednesday
Phone 235-2433 Exeter
ACCOUNTANTS
Roy N. Bentley
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
GODERICH
P.O. Box 478 Dial 524-9521
HURON and ERIE
DEBENTURES
CANADA TRUST
CERTIFICATES
J. W. HARMER
Authorized Representative
8% For 5 Years
7112% for 3 and 4 Years
71/4% for 1 and 2 Years
Minimum $100
DIAL 236-4346 -- ZURICH
FUNERAL DIRECTORS
WESTLAKE
Funeral Home
AMBULANCE and PORTABLE
OXYGEN SERVICE
DIAL 236-4364 — ZURICH
AUCTIONEERS
ALVIN WALPE
PROVINCIAL
LICENSED AUCTIONEER
For your sale, large or small,
courteous and efficient service
at all times.
"Service That Satisfies"
DIAL 237-3300 -- DASHWOOD
INSURANCE
For Safety .
• •
EVERY FARMER NEEDS
Liability Insurance
For Information About All
Insurance — Call
BERT KLOPP
DIAL 236-4988 -- ZURICH
Representing
CO-OPERATORS INSURANCE
ASSOCIATION
Robert F • Westlake
Insurance
"Specializing in
General Insurance"
Phone 236-4391 — Zorish