Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1973-09-20, Page 4PAGE 4 ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1973 From hick to somebody! Because we are all consumers, none of us are too ecstatic about the present high cost of living. However the high price of meat and other food stuffs has had one good spin-off. It has made a lot of people take another look at the farmer. The man who used to be a nobody, or worse still the butt of jokes, has suddenly become a somebody. Like the 97 -pound weakling who picked himself up out of the sand, he is now a force to be reckoned with. For the first time in decades, the farmer has the opportunity to get an honest return for his work. As a result he has assumed status in the community. Words like hick, rube, plow -jockey and sod -buster are fast disappearing. All of a sudden we have city -slickers dedicating songs to the farmer. We have sociol- ogiscs telling us that the farmer, because he can readily see and appreciate the fruits of his labor, because he is involved in a job from beginning to end, has an enviable occupation. Now instead of laughing at their country cousins, we have city children who boast about the fact that they spent a week or so on a farm during the summer. And instead of heading for the beach, many city folk are looking for farm vacations. Yes, times have changed; and as meat and bread are rationed, or disappear from our grocery shelves, the farmer's place in our society will climb even higher. And why not? After all, the fishermen of Iceland are among that country's best paid workers. In Russia a truck -driver in the north receives a salary equal to the doctor in the city. For too long we have been judging people by the cut of their clothes or the color of their finger- nails. It's high time we learned that straw hats and overalls are as respectable as a business suit and brief case and the tractor as impressive a piece of machinery as the limousine. (From the Listowel Banner) Sad political moves! There is nothing sadder these days than the political games that are being played in connection with the high food prices. it would be nice to think that when a government makes a decision it truely believes in what it is doing. It would be nice to think that opposition parties really have the best inter- ests of the country at heart. Evidence is, however, that it's wishful thinking. The government's moves last week to hold down food costs were done after careful thinking. Opposition parties and consumer groups had made it impossible for the government not to make some gesture to make consumers happier. It either had to act or look as if it didn't give a damn about the urban con- sumer, a mighty powerful portion of the electorate. They took as minimal a step as they could in offering new subsidies on milk and wheat and controls on petroleum prices. They knew that if they tampered with the economy too much they would do more harm than good. They had the example of U.S. President Nixon's actions to prove that. So they had to move softly. At first it looked like the government might have made just the right moves, but now we see even these actions may hurt the situation rather than improve it. It didn't take farm groups long to see that the subsidies really amounted to a price freeze. The milk subsidy, for instance, was available only to marketing boards that promised to not increase the price of milk for the next year. Farmers quickly pointed out that no one had promised them that their costs wouldn't increase in the coming year. The result may be another drop in production which would mean more shortages and higher prices. Already there are rumours that many farmers plan to cutback this year because they can't meet the higher prices. Already there are rumours that many farmers plan to cutback this year because they can't meet the higher costs they face on the prices they are getting. It's a tough situation for a government to face. The opposit- ion parties, sensing blood, are out to get the consumer vote by attacking the goverment for doing too little. The govern- ment may just have done too much. The issue is so filled with emotion that few voters seem to see it very clearly. Both the consumer on one side and the producer and manufacturer on the other are upset with either action or lack of action. In such a situation, the government just can't win. (Blyth Standard) ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 d`t a Member: .1 Canadian Canadian Weekly. Newspapers Association 3� Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association ,y,"` Subscription Rates: $5.00 per year in advance in Canada; $6.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 15¢ Bill Smiley SOME GOOD, SOME BAD IN MERRIE OLD U.K. "Well, how did you find England after all those years?" This the favourite question for people asking about our jaunt. I have a stock of stock answers. "No trouble at all. We just went where the pilot took us." That sometimes shuts them up. Another retort, "'ust kept going until we heard a lot of Limeys chirping, " I save that one for the Britons out here who haven't lost their accent, Well, I found it greatly changed and much the same. Despite the levelling off econ- omically, the old class system is still there, and causes even more animosity than it used to. That is, the poor are better off, and the rick are taxed iniq- uitiously, so there's less of a gap financially. But you are still labeled by your accent, your occupation, and your back- ground. There is still woeful ineffic- iency in a multitude of things and amazing proficiency in others. The standard of living has risen a good deal, but so have costs. The papers are headlined with rising food costs and their real estate took an upward surge a few years ago. A house there costs about the same as a similar one here. Food is a little cheaper than ours. Drinks a little cheaper and a little weaker, Transport is a bit cheaper and twice as good as ours. That's because of the short distances, the heavy population, and the high cost, for the working man, of owning a car. Through trains rocket along at speeds up to a hundred m.p.h. mployment? Almost compl- ete, if you want a job, There are supposed to be half a mil- lion unemployed, but a busin- essman told me this represents only the unemployables, and those who don't want to work. Everywhere, newspapers, store windows, there are "Help Wanted" ads. Admittedly, a lot of the iobs are menial, but not all, by any means. The Brits don't want the more lowly occupations. And that's why the blacks have moved in, mostly from the West Indies. They are the bus conductors, subway workers, waiters and unskilled labourers. And whenever things tighten up a bit, there is resentment, and racial violence. But there is a great shortage, right now, of both skilled and unskilled workers. The Post Office is desperately understaf- fed. Postal workers are working overtime, and some of them, bleats a newspaper, are falling asleep at their jobs. That has a familiar ring, somehow. In London, the bus service is always below par, because it is short 4, 500 bus drivers, A chartered accountant told me that it's almost impossible to hire girls who can operate business machines, In desperat- ion, he cajoled a former emplo- yee, a good operator, into The chief effect of love is to drive a man half crazy; the chief effect of marriage is to finish the job. coming back tor a month. She was seven months pregnant. Slight catch. She lasted one hour. Couldn't get close enough to the machine to punch the keys. A publisher in London advert- ised extensively for a secretary. He offered about $85 a week, a month's vacation and a bottle of champagne upon engagement. Ile got zero answers. In frust- ration, he printed 1, 000 hand- bills and had his staff pass them out on the streets to likely - looking candidates. Result, four phone calls. Two of thein were not interested. The other two made appointments for interviews. Neither turned up. Another aspect of England that has changed, sadly, is the increase in violence. I met two young fellows in a pub. They were both employed and making about $100 a week. let they boasted of being Borstal boys (reform school). The elder, who seemed seething with rage at the world in gener- al, and ready to start a row with anybody, had also been in prison. They were working class, but hated everybody above them in the system. There have been racial riots involving whites, blacks and Indians. London bus stop signs warn that "Owing to hooliganism and attacks on our staff" such and suck buses will not run after a certain hour. This summer there was an outbreak of sheer viciousness and vandalism among some • groups of football fans. Drunken fights at the games. Ripping up railway cars and kicking in compartment doors and abusing passengers on the way home from the match. Morotcycle gangs terrorizing villages. It sickens to hear of this sort of thing in dear old England, for years one of the safest and most peaceful countries in the world, But it's there, 0 September care of lawns A lawn really takes a beating. It is walked on and played on constantly during the summer. To keep lawns in a healthy condition all season, frequent fertilizer feedings are import- ant, emphasizes Russ Gomme, a horticultural specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agric- ulture and Food. September is an ideal time to apply the plant food necessary for fall growth and to condition the lawn for the rigors of winter. Specially formulated turf fert - ilizers are convenient and eff- ective to use. Fertilizer should be spread when the lawn is dry, then wat- ered in. For large lawn areas, wait until just before a rainfall to apply the fertilizer. Apply about 15 pounds per 1000 square feet, using a fertilizer spreader so that you can be sure that application is even. Your lawn needs fertilizer to keep it healthy. An application now will feed the grass through- out the fall and get it into shape for the winter months. Business and Professional Directory OPTOMETRISTS J. E. Longstaff OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 527-1240 Tt esday, Tiiursday, Friday, Sat- urday a.m., Thursday evening CLINTON OFFICE PO Isaac Street 482-7010 Monday and Wednesday Call either office for appointment. Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST Tice Hours: 9.12 A,M, — 1:30.0 P.M. Closed all day S.sturday Phone 235.2433 Exeter INSURANCES Robert F. Westlake Insurance "Specializing In General Insurance" -Phone 236-4391 — Zurich NORM WHITING LICENSED AUCTIONEER APPRAISER • • :rr."ompt, Courteous, Efficient -ANY TYPE, AMY SIZE, ANYWHERE We give complete sale service. °iIwOFry BY EXPERIENCE Phone .Collect 235-1964 EXETER AUCTIONEERS PERCY WRIGHT LICENSED AUCTIONEER Kippen, Ont. Auction Sale Service that is most efficient and courteous. CALL THE WRIGHT AUCTIONEER Telephone Hensel) (519)262-5515• D & J RIDDELL AUCTION SERVICES * Licensed Auctioneers and Appraisers * Complete Auction Service * Sales large or small, any type, anywhere * Reasonable — Two for the price of one for. Let our experience be reward. Phone Collect 'Doug' 'Jack' 237-3576 237-3431 Hugh Tom FILSON and ROBSON AUCTIONEERS 20 years' .experience of complete sale service Provincially licensed. Conduct sales of any kind, any •place. To' insure success of your sale. orappraisal Phone Collect 666.0833 666-1%7 you Guaranteed Trust Certificates 1 year 8 1/2% 2,3 & 4 years8 3/4% 5 years 9 J. W. ZURICH PHONE 236.4444