The Wingham Advance-Times, 1967-05-25, Page 9LETTERS TO TR EDITOR
ingbain UtiancieNEi mto
Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, May 25, 1967 SECOND SECTION
News Items from Old Files
During the past week we have received
several letters and telephone calls, all of
which have reminded us of the subject of
public nuisances in general,
One lady in the Pleasant Valley area
called to tell us about boys who were out
with rifles shooting up the bird popula-
tion, She, along with several of her neigh-
bors, was angry, to say the very least, that
such senseless cruelty and destruction was
being permitted.
Another caller was roaring with rage
about dogs on the loose, A letter writer
(who failed to sign any name) was equally
burned up because the town council had
ordered all dogs to be tied up.
Regardless of what action is taken to
meet the demands of the public, someone
will always be crying foul. There was a
time when shooting birds was considered
a legitimate pastime, That, however, was
away back about 100 years ago, Anyone
stupid enough to go around killing off
birds can expect a lot of people to get
huffy. And when he does his shooting in
town, where there is every possibility of a
stray bullet hitting some innocent victim,
he has demonstrated his complete respon-
sibility so effectively that he should lose
The committee members who have
undertaken the task of managing the
canvass for a swimming pool fund are busy
at their job right now, and before long
residents of the community will be con-
tacted and asked for support.
There is no doubt that a new swimming
pool would be a fine asset for the com-
munity and with controlled water source
would provide the very best of facilities
for water safety and swimming instruction.
This time, however, we face a do-it-our-
selves proposition, rather than the type of
project which can be largely financed
through government grants. Although some
grants are available for a pool, the lion's
share of the money will have to be forth-
coming from the town and district.
This is not necessarily a discouraging
S
John Roxburgh, Liberal member of the
House of Commons for Norfolk, had a few
words to say last week about a very im-
portant segment of the Canadian economy.
"Autocratic bureauracy at all levels of
government is aiding in the death of small
business in Canada," he said. Mr. Rox-
burgh entered the throne speech debate
with an appeal to the federal government
to take some of the red tape load from
small businessmen, whose contribution to
the economy is important. He said that
though the throne speech was supposed to
contain "something for everyone" it left
out any consideration for the small busi-
nessman.
He said that the Small Business Loans
Act looked good on paper but so much red
tape was involved in getting loans that
bankers advise applicants to look elsewhere
for the money.
"Somehow we have to make it possible
for all practical forms of small business
to carry on so it can still be able to not
only play its part in the future economy
Dr, J, Bascom St. John, chairman of the
Education Policy and Development Council
of the Ontario Department of Education
states:
"Waste and destruction have been a
way of life for the people of this contai-
ent for the better part of 200 years, The
destruction of natural resources, including
the most valuable asset, beauty, tends to
If the income tax men are going to go
through tax returns using computers and
electronic gadgets to check out taxpayer
arithmetic, why hot let them do the work
in the first place? Why not just fill in
the essential facts and then let National
Revenue do the donkey work? These
are questions, The Financial Post com-
ments, that went through many Canadian
minds as they struggled with the com-
plexities of filing a return by April 30th.
ID The fact is the taxmen have also asked
his gun license for the rest of his natural
days,
The dog question, Of course, is always
with us. Those who like gardens and
flower beds better than pets will always
object most strenuously to the havoc cre-
ated by their neighbors' furry friends. The
dog lovers, or at least some of them, be-
lieve that a living animal should have the
complete freedom of the community. Each
of these types are entitled to their own
opinion, but the big difference lies in the
fact that the gardener's plants don't run
all over his neighbors' lawns leaving
noisome evidence of their passage, Ob-
viously, the person who wants to keep a
dog has an obligation to make sure that
his pet is not annoying anyone else.
It is true that neighbors can be trying
when they fail to appreciate exactly the
same hobbies and interests as ourselves,
but on the other hand, most of these same
neighbors have their good points too. The
majority of them will come to our rescue
without being asked when trouble strikes.
Their very nearness makes the friendly and
congenial society in which we thrive. They
may get in our hair at times, but life would
be rather barren without them. In the
meantime, it's a pretty sound plan to treat
them with the same consideration we
would like to have extended to ourselves.
situation. On the contrary, we welcome
a project which has to be self-supporting,
The generous government grants which
are so readily available for many of our
community betterment plans are always
welcome, and they do ease and speed the
development of such undertakings, but we
are all losing sight of the fact that whether
the money comes from government or dir-
ectly out of our own pockets—we even-
tually do the paying, Government grants
come from tax money, and tax money
comes from taxpayers—ourselves.
If the pool can be financed locally we
will have a good deal more pride in the
thing when it is completed. It is a highly
suitable centennial project and one which
will require the enthusiastic co-operation
of the entire district if it is to succeed,
of the nation, but most important of all,
in the opportunities it offers for advance-
ment to the people of Canada," said the
Member.
Conforming to paperwork demands and
meeting those for social benefits leaves
little time for the small businessman to
contribute to his own enterprise. Incor-
porated business is better equipped and
staffed to cope with these requirements.
With the continuing trend toward
amalgamation into larger business, farm-
ing and fishing operation's, some thought
should be given to easing restrictions on
the wife's part in a small business, he said,
"Let us not forget this group is the life-
blood of our economy. It is the remainder
of the few left who are ambitious enough
to work longer than the five day week.
"If their will to work is curtailed by
an overbearing bureaucracy, then the na-
tion could become stagnated by two
classes—those wishing shorter and shorter
work weeks and those sitting comfortably
at the top."
destroy the civilized quality of man. Con-
servation is the preservation and wise use
of our renewable resources,
"It is also a way of life, a philosophy
of existence, The conservationist would
preserve beauty; he would abhor waste in
all its forms, including the effects of in-
dustrial policies which are based on rapid
obsolescence,"
themselves the same questions. The in-
come tax structure is becoming increas-
ingly complex, and despite the best ef-
forts of Ottawa to keep tax forms simple,
more and more taxpayers are making mis-
takes, If the forms become much more
demanding, completing them may well be
considered beyond the reasonable capacity
of most of the population and so the
whole works will be shoved into the lap
of Big Brother,
To the editor,
The Wingham Advance-Times;
On'the occasion of my de-
parture from Wingham on Mon-
day, 29th May 1967, after a
whole month, I write to express
my deepest appreciation and
thanks for the kind reception
accorded me everywhere, as
guest to several homes, farms,
group meetings and organiza-
tions.
I specially mention how very
grateful I am to Mr. and Mrs.
Forgie of 258 Frances Street, for
taking me a stranger, into their
home for so long, and being so
kind to me.
The great Doc Cruickshank
with a lot of foresight has made
CKNX equally great. To him
and all members of the station,
I extend to them many thanks,
especially the farms department
for bearing me on my attach-
ment to them.
With many other individuals
too many to send personal let-
ters, I wish them to accept my
very deep appreciation by the
expression through the means
of this medium.
Thank you and God bless!
Ofosu Appiah,
Dear Sir:
Spring has arrived and again
the P.U.C. is faced with coin-
plaints of rusty water when the
'ire hydrants are flushed.
Wingharn is very fortunate to
hive a good supply of water.
However, it contains the follow-
ing: Alkalinity 235 parts per
million; silica 2 parts per mil-
lion, iron and aluminium (ox-
ides) 5 parts per million; iron
(Fe) in unfiltered sample 0.16
parts, calcium '76 parts, mag-
nesium 34 parts, potassium 2
parts, sodium 11 parts,sulphates
66 parts, chlorides 11 parts per
million.
It is the ferrous content that
causes the trouble. In the days
before the flood of 1947 when
the water was pumped by water
power, the water flowed from
the wells into the two reservoirs
the iron content settled to the
bottom before the water was
pumped into the mains. Now
the water is pumped direct from
the wells to the mains. The
rust settles in the mains and the
pipes in your home.
If this rust is disturbed by
flushing hydrants or even if the
pipes in your home are hit this
deposit loosens and rusty water
is the result. The only way
this can be corrected is by the
installation of a water treat-
ment plant. This would cost
about $100,000.00.
In 1966 the waterworks de-
partment of the P.U.C. had a
deficit of $6,922.33. This was
due to the cost of installing new
main through the river and up
MacKenzie hill, painting the
standpipe and overhauling the
Water Street pump, plus the
$18, 000.00 paid to the town
towards the sewage system.
Many water users may not
know that 2/3 of the money
they pay for water service goes
to pay for sewers. In other
words the P.U.C. now receives
$7.50 per year to supply water
to your home. Before the sewer
system was installed it was
$15.00 per year. If the P.U.C.
were not required to pay off the
cost of the sewer system the
water treatment plant could
easily be financed. In any case
the water rates will have to be
raised.
It was felt that announcing
the flushing on radio would
reach the most people quickly.
Mailing out notices re; Lawn
Watering Hours in the past has
had little results. Would mail-
ing out slips re: flushing, re-
ceive any more response?
Sincerely,
John W. Pattison,
Chairman, P.U.C.
Dear Sir:
The annual seal hunting sea-
son which takes place in inter-
national waters off the east
coast of Canada is now drawing
to an end. Thousands of adult
harp seals and hood seals have
been killed off the coast of Lab-
rador. In response to the ap-
peals by Humane Societies, S.
P.C. A. s, Conservation Socie-
ties, and countless individuals,
the Government of Canada has
now regulated the Methods Can-
adian sealers may use to kill
these seals. Whether or not
these regulations are effective
is a simple matter of enforce=
ment. In other words, to en
sure that Canadian sealers kill
seals humanely, enough experi-
enced, competent, Fishery 6f-
liars must be sent to the ice
and provided with the proper
equipment to enable then to do
their job, They, in turn, must
be properly supervised. Most
observers who witnessed seal
hunting in the Gulf of St. Law-
rence this year, agreed that
there was a very definite im-
provement over previous years.
However, it is important to
remember that the majority of
seals are killed by Norwegians
who do not have to comply with
Canadian regulations! Remem-
ber too that the vast majority of
all seals are killed in interna-
tional waters, over which Can-
ada has no control, other than
of Canadians.
The problem now is to per-
suade Norway to follow Canada's
example and adopt the same
regulations as Canada, and to
enforce them against Norwegian
sealers by sending ships, Fishery
Officers and helicopters, to the
waters off the coast of Canada
in future seal hunting seasons.
May I, therefore, appeal to
everyone who is interested in
the seal hunting problem to
write to the Norwegian Ambas-
sador to Canada, His Excellen-
cy Bredo Stabell, 140 Welling-
ton Street, Ottawa 4. It is im-
portant to stress in your letter
that we are concerned with the
way that Norwegian sealers are
killing seals in international
waters off the Canadian coast.
We have gained a great deal
of protection for seals that are
killed by Canadians. The seals
that are killed by Norwegians
have exactly the same capacity
to suffer,
T. I, Hughes,
General Manager,
Ontario Humane Soc.
SUGAR
AND
SPICE
When you write a column
like this, you get some reac-
tion. If you didn't it wouldn't
be worth writing, because it
wouldn't be worth reading.
A recent colurim has pro-
duced reaction. It dealt with
the load we heap on teen-age
kids generally, and contained a
list of what my 16-year-old,
specifically, had to do in the
next few weeks.
Two letters arrived smartly,
then a third. The first was
from K.D., of Owen Sound.
"Your column is not up to
your usual standard. Not quite
so frank. It might have been if
you had turned the X-ray on
yourself as well as on the crit-
ics of the young people of to-
day — whoever they may be."
Critics? K.D., meet L. E.
Taylor of Toronto. Admitting
that he has met a few decent
teen-agers while on summer
Bill
Smiley
vacations in a small town, he
adds: "But not so in this big
city . . . A great many of the
teen-agers here are the push-
ing, impolite, immoral bores to
be shunned and avoided wher-
ever possible."
K.D. says: "Any sane person
would know your daughter is
trying to do too much. Result
of having two over-ambitious
parents . , Each of you want-
ing to realize in each of your
children your own ambitions.
Selfish, I'd say."
Now wait a minute, there,
K.D. You can say what you
like about my wife. But by
gorry, you're all wrong about
me. All I want is for my daugh-
ter to stop driving her mother
nuts, pass her school year if
possible, get married (prefera-
bly by elopement I'll spring
for a 50-foot ladder in lieu of
a S1,000 wedding), have
about five kids, and get as
much fun out of them as we
have out of ours.
Back to Mr. Taylor. He
doesn't blame the parents, but
the kids. They have it too soft.
Says they have more advan-
tages than we had but lack
initiative and drive. And he
lists about 30 things he was
doing, while in high school,
Conic on, L.E., be sensible.
Sure, you did them, But how
many others of your age did.
There was darn little initiative
sainodn.drive during The Depres-
He goes on: "Sfattic had to
be studied, and written off in
swelteringly hot June days,
with ainconditioning no-
where," It still does, old boy,
in most places, and further-
Mote, it's about three Units
more difficult than the thatrie
you and I passed. Arid the toll-
versifies demand standards far
higher, for admission.
Back to K.D. "Bet your
MEMBERS OF THE St. Paul's Anglican
Church Women held a successful tea and
antique display last Wednesday. The centre
of attention of the ladies seen above is a
MAY 1918
A pretty church wedding was
solemnized at St. Paul's
Church on Wednesday afternoon
of this week when Mr. R. C.
Weir and Miss Margaret A.
Marshall were united in the ho-
ly bonds of matrimony. Rev.
H. W. Snell performed the
ceremony in the presence of a
few relatives. Both of the
young people are popular resi-
dents of Turnberry.
Mr. Wallace Frankum has
purchased the John I. Reid prop-
erty, opposite the Agricultural
Society grounds.
Mrs. William E. Scott and
family have moved to Wing-
ham from Belgrave and are oc-
cupying Mrs. Geo. T. Robert-
mother would have had more
sense." (She didn't have time.
Ed. note) "Whose fault is it
that your daughter and others
want to do so much in and out
of school? Yours and others
like you. What kind of train-
ing, advice, guidance have you
given her apart from 'strive,
strive, strive' and 'achieve,
achieve, achieve'?"
K.D., you are hereby invited
to give my daughter some of
that stuff. But don't blame me
if you emerge from the confer-
ence bloody arid bruised.
There's more of Me same
from K.D., and a lot of it good
sense, It ends: "Baloney to
your sex, LSD and drinks —
mere red herrings to drag in
and show how up-to-date you
really are! Not stuffy at all!
Ho! Ho!"
Well, ho-ho to you, KM.
You've been reading too many
articles about punk parents,
and not enough about punk
kids. If you think drink and
drugs and sex are red herrings,
in relation to teen-agers, you'd
better pull your head out of
that sand-pile,
There you are. One corre-
spondent says it's the parents'
fault. The other says it's the
kids'. They're both wrong. And
both right.
And then came the third let-
ter, balm to tortured nerves. It
was from an old friend, Edith
Rudell of London, Ont, She is
not exactly an amateur corn-
tilentator. Six boys and a girl, I
quote: "I will frame it (the
column) and amen! The fantas-
tic amount of time and energy
and nervous tension expended
by my group is not possible to
describe. Furious? Anyway. it
exhausts me just being an on-
looker. Se bless you, Bill, foe
putting the thoughts into
words."
And bless you, dear heart.
Arid bless K.D. and LI:
stereoscope held by Mrs. Fred Fuller with
Mrs. C. Wilkinson, Mrs, R. Ahara and Mrs.
H. King, all dressed in period costumes.
—Advance-Times Photo.
recent exhibit at Overseas House
in London, were the work of
Ianville Hammerton, local
photographer, according to word
received by Mr. Hammerton
from the Institute this week.
Photographers in the exhibit,
which were the work of overseas
members of the Institute, will
be on display in London as a
Coronation Exhibition. Mr.
Hammerton has not yet been
notified which photographs of
his have been accepted. He
submitted thirteen portraits of
local people which were as fol-
lows: W. A. Galbraith, Dr. Wm.
Connell, Chief J. W. Irwin,
Coralie Hammerton, Warwick
Hammerton, Lynda Green, the
son and daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Harold Elliott, Teeswater,
Ross Mann, Earl Heywood, C.C,
McKibbon, Roger Oke, John
Ruttle and H. V. Pym.
GRADE VI boys' solo win,
tiers were, top to bottom,
Stuart MOri tgOrnery, David
FOxtori and Jim Hastings. Tied
for third but missirig for the
picture was Rieke King,
How Public is Your Nuisance?
Concentrated Effort on Swimming Pool
Threat to Small Business '
Waste: A Way of Life?
A Check on The Computer
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE TIMES
Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited,
W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary-Treasurer
Member Audit Bureau of Circulation
Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association,
Authorized by the Post Office Department as Seeond Class Mail and
for payment of postage in cash,
Subscription Rate:
1Y ear, $5.00; d MOnths, $1.76 advance; U.S.A., $700 per yr.; Foreign tate, $1,00 per yr
Advertising Rates on application.
son's house on Victoria Street,
which they purchased through
Mr. Jas. G. Stewart, real es-
tate agent.
Mr. G. J. Towne, has pur-
chased the office and insurance
business of the late John Breth-
auer, Wroxeter. He has also
been appointed bailiff of the 9th
Division Court.
MAY 1932
The High School cadets, 75
in number, paraded before Ma-
jor J. 3. Jeffery, MC of Mili-
tary District No, 1, London,
last Wednesday afternoon. Dress-
ed in blue trousers and white
shirts and wearing the school
colors the cadets presented a
smart appearance. The cadet
officers are; Platoon Captain,
Ross Harrison; platoon sergeant,
Jack Brackenbury; signaller,
Bruce Fox; bugle band, Harold
Skelding; ambulance corporals,
John Keine; section 1, J. Mc-
Kibbon; section 2, K. Lott;sec-
tion 3, E. Gray; section 4, R.
Hutton.
MAY 1942
Rev. A. G. Hewitt, of Al-
lenford, has accepted a call to
the pastorate of Belmore, Mc-
Intosh and Mildmay United
Churches, and will' take over
his duties on July 1st, as suc-
cessor to Rev. W. D. Clark,
who goes to Cargill.
Miss Patricia Parker who has
been attending the Toronto Nor-
mal School graduated with
honors.
Miss Mary Baird graduated
from McMaster University,
Hamilton, last week with a
Bachelor of Arts degree. Mrs.
Matt, Bell and Miss K. Mc-
Gregor attended the convoca-
tion.
MAY 1953
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Clark and
family are leaving this Friday
for Gander, Newfoundland,
where Mr. Clark has accepted a
position with the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation, radio
station CBG at Gander.
A surprise party for Mrs,
George Beattie, who is moving
to Gorrie next week, was held
at the home of Mrs. W. A,
Armstrong on Thursday evening.
She was presented with a pair
of table lamps and a matching
flower dish.
One fifth of all the. Canad-
ian entries hung by the Institute
of British Photographers in the