Times-Advocate, 1978-11-02, Page 4 (2)Page 4 ,
Times -Advocate, November 2, 1978
Hallowe'en year round
Hallowe'en has come and gone
with its annual array of tricks, but area
• residents have good reason to believe -
that the spirit of the occasion is being
extended to considerable lengths by
some people.
Over the past few months, -van-
dalism has hit an alarming peak, being
culminated last week when a car crash-
ed into a hydro pole in Centralia after -
the driver swerved to avoid a picnic
- table -that -had -been set -out -in -the -street--`
A •passenger was injured in the
collision. indicat-ing just •how
dangerous such thoughtless 'acts ,can
be.
The amount of property damage in
some of the vandalism has been fairly
high. A car that broke down on an area
sideroad and had to be abandoned by
the driver was set upon by goons who,
smashed every piece of glass they
could see. Mailboxes have been con-
stantly victimed. some almost as soon
as the owners have replaced those
which were previously destroyed.
These wanton acts of destruction
are•not the work of children who may
not know better. They are obviously be- .
ing perpetrated by people old enough to
drive cars, although their mentality
has obviously not developed with their
years.
Protection against such crimes is
difficult because they are usually done
in the stealth of darkness- However.iL
is obvious that area residents should do
their utmost to assist the. police in
bringing the culprits to justice. _
- If vola see anyone acting strangely
in your, neighborhood. or see vehicles
driving aimlessly about. attempt to get
a description and contact police with
the information. .
Your help could save- you or your
neighbors a considerable expense in
terms of repairing pr replacing the
private and public property for which
vandals have no respect.
Too little, too late
Map/ Wright, a young lady has
been doing extensive research into the
social and intellectual skills of the
children in rich and poor families, has
come to a surprising conclusion. She
has stated that teen age girls should be
required to hold a license before they
have babies.
Her basic• reasoning may be sound
enough, based on the belief that very
young mothers are often unable to cope
with the difficulties presented by their
own immature , personalities and the
accompanying stress of child rearing. -
However, Miss Wright would"
appear to:be blissfully unaware of__;he
Desert'
"The burden of responsibility, urgent problems to overcome, decisions, pressures . ,
thank goodness Parliament's back in session so 1 can get away from all that!"
facts A'f life. Having babies is not the
same as taking the shotgun out for a
spot of duck hunting. The license
system would possibly prove difficult
of forcement.
But we should give Miss Wright the
benefit ,of second thoughts: A later
news /Story said that her idea was to
require young 'mothers to secure
I icenses to keep their children when
,hey could prove their competepce in
/the skills of parenthood. Either way
you look at it though. we don't think her.
plan will prove popular.
Wingham Advance Times
some support
Journalists and the medial -get a
good deal of criticism. muchbf which
,is deserved. but here is one journalist
who deserves credit and support: Bob -
Cramer" is starting a,campaign to stop.,
irritating commercials. He is enlisting
a network of television viewers to
monitor and evaluate commercials for
• decency and good taste. - •
Cramer; an _editorial writer- with
The Press ofAtlantic City, is trying to
persuade -people wfio object to certain
comthercials to boycott products which
use annoying commercials. We agree
with hint that most people are turned
•
By
• ,1 SYD FLETCHER
Many Canadians get up on
the bandwagon and rom-
- plain about the high- un-
employment rate and urge
the politicians to do
something about it.
Eugene Whelan. in a re-
cent headline. told us to
'stop whining' about our lot
in life. that we've never had
it so good in many ways.
that the jobs are. 'there if
we're not afraid of getting
our hands dirty
A friend of mine runs a
large apple orchard up in
Grey County. Every fall he
needs quite a few labourers
to get his crop harvested.
He's willing to pay a good
wage but is totally unable to
- get local help Instead he
has to actually pay the
return airplane fare for a
group of Jamaican men to
come in and pick his apples.
As well he has had to erect
spacious living quitters for
them.
off bvcornmercials for femininehygiene
products, hemorrhoid cures, indiges-
tion relievers and laxatives.
He is c'ounting the number who
complain about children being used to
sell you corn flakes, and the so-called
hidden camera commercials which are
an insult not only to our intelligence
level but also to that of those who are
supposed to be unaware of the hidden
cameras.
So. if we see a change for the better
in the commercials we can thank a
journalist and the media.
Perspectives
With our unemployment
rate at its highest you'd
think there would be lots of
people available. Not so He
just can't get them for love
or money. It .seems many
Canadians just aren't
'hungry' enough to seriously
look for that kind- of hard
work.
When I had just -graduated
from high school I lived in
the city of London. Needing
some extra cash. ' I went
down to the 'occasional
labour' office It. was in an
old building- away from the
main manpower office. it
was a grubby Sort of a room.
blue with cigarette smoke A
large number of men were
sitting around. some playing
cards.
I registered in. and then
sat- down. About two
minutes later my name was
called and the clerk handed
me .a card with. an address
for a jtnbon it.
"But what about these
guys'" I asked. "They were
all ahead of me"
"Mpf:" the clerk snorted.
"They don't want to work.
They've got a dozen excuses
- no transportation. too
many hours. You name it.
They've got it "
For all of that summer.
whenever I wanted a job all
i had to do was call in.
-Within half and hour I would
be on my way: plumber's
helper. furniture mover. or
sewer cleaner. Jobs that
were dirty. sweaty. and
downright miserable at
times. They put food on the
table though.
In New Zealand they have
a one chance system of un-
employment insurance. You
have one refusal and then
your benefits are cut off.
Their unemployment rate is
one per cent
i don't deny that work is
not always available. A
nephew of mine tried for
four long months to get a
job. anywhere. and for six
weeks he never did get his
rightful 'pogy'. He pounded
on every door available and
was doggone happy to finally
get a position.
At the same time i think
it's time we became aware
that nobody owes us a living
in this world, that if we are
going to be a successful
country. competitive on the
world market that we have
to be truly productive. will-
' • ing to pay our own way in-
stead of having everything
handed to us free. or with
the smallest possible effort.
cv.._. •
•. _ Times Established 1873 Advocate tstobIshed 1881
eirommorapromminorraw
dvocate
SERVING CANADA'S UST FARMLAND
:C.W N.A., 0 W N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC
Published b1r J. W Eedy Publications limited
LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER
Editor — Bill Batten
Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh
Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett
Composition Manager — Harry DeVnes
Business Manager — Dick tlongkind -
Phone 233.1331
,Amnlgomor.d-1024
BAIPN AROUND ....... with the editor
Only few know how to vote
In two weeks. Exeter voters will go
to the polls to choose some,of the peo-
ple who will run their municipal aTfairs
for the next two years.
There's little doubt that it will be an
important decision. but the sad fact is
there are oriT 35 people in this com-
munity who. are really qualified to
make a knowledgeable decisioh in that
regard.
Those were the few who took time
out to attend Wednesday night's public
meeting .when. the various candidates
outlined the reasons for their can-
didacy. their qualifications. and to a
certain extent. the direction which
they feel the town should be moving
now and in the future.
It was not a particularly' exciting ---
meeting in terms of debate or in the
new ideas being presented. but it was
one of the most exciting meetings this
writer has attended m view of the•high •
calibre of organizational and com-
munication abilit3 displayed by the
majority of council candidates.
With a couple -of exceptions. it was
evident that the candidates had come
prepared to seek votes by displaying
those abilities: but unfortunately those
who will cast ballots will• do so out of
almost total- ignorance of the
capabilities of the candidates.
That is sad indeed, because it will
probably result in' defeat for someone
who displayed qualifications that will
be unknown to those who cast ballots.
Published Eachlhirrtdey Morning
at Exeter, Ontario •
Second Clan Mail
Registration Number 0386
SWSCRWTiON RATES: Canada 511.00 Per Year; USA,$22.
;. arta lAriciP
That is not t say that we feel that a
person who hathe gift to speak well is
necessarily a better candidate than
another person who has not been given
or developed that ability.
What we do suggest is that a person
who has obviously taken the time to
formulate his thoughts and then com-
municated those thoughts (even if they
are read word for word from a
prepared speech) has at least
demonstrated a conscientious effort to
do the job at hand. •
And isn't that really what good coun-
cil members should do? They have to
consider the task and prepare
themselves to present their arguments
as they see them.
Midst of the candidates gave ample
evidence that they had done their
"homework" before coming to the
public meeting. and there is therefore
every reason to assume- they would
1 ckle their responsibilities op council
with the same preparation and con-
cern. - '
Several of the candidates are
relative newcomers to the community
Who will face -a difficult task gaining
support over the next two weeks.
The 35 - people who attended. the
public meeting are obviously among
the few who will be able to make a
knowledgeable choice. •
Exeter ratepayers are not alone in
displaying that strange disease known
as apathy.
Public meetings in Tuckersmith and
Stanley Township last week attracted
Sugar and Spice
Dispe1ised by Smiley
Some first class writing
If you have ever bought, or borrow- -
ed. a copy of Maclean's magazine, you•
have probably been subjected, in the
past month or so. to the same treat-
ment i have, a variation on the Chinese
water torture. Every second day i have
received a card. or a phony -looking
certificate, or a sincere letter, telling
me of the fabulous bargains in sub-
scriptions i can receive if I sign up
right now:
Heck, for only 519.95 ($52 50 at
newsstand). I can receive 70 issues of
Maclean's. PLUS a 10 per cent
guaranteed lifetime savings. PLUS a
full-color 78'79 calendar. It's,.a great
piece of hucksterism. And with a good
reason. If you don't get them sub-
scribers, you don't get ads. and ads is
what a magazine gets rich on, not
readers. _
And i can understand the slight note
of desperation in the. mail campaign.
The first few issues of "Canada's
Weekly Newsmagazine" were not ex-
actly swollen with advertising. There
were six to eight full-page ads, mostly
liquor and cigarettes. a few half and
quarter -pages. a couple or three self -
promotional pages. all this out of 57
pages total..Not enough money there to
pay for the coffee break* of• aboOt 40 -
odd editors. a gaggle of researchers,
correspondents. photographers and
editorial assistants. It is to tremor
with fear.
Not that it would bother me for more
than one minute and a half if Maclean's
went belly up. It's a fat, rich corpora-
. tion, with -many irons in the fire. most
-t f ifiem highly profitable. ' •
Through a judicious combination of
whining and poisonous nationalism,
Maclean's managed to convince the
Canadian governrnent of the necessity
to kick out of the country its only real
competition, Time magazine and
Readers' Digest.
Nor have I any reason to wish the
new weekly newsmagazine ill. I have
an old and honorable association with
the magazine and its- sister, buxom
with advertising, Chatelaine. The
latter has become. from tenuous,
wispy beginnings, about as good a
magazine as a women's magazine can
get.
My association with this pair began
at a tepder age. about 10. when I
received a contract tag) out and hustle
up subscribers to either or both of
these mags. I was a lousy salesman
then. and still am, and it was De rt(s-
sion years. but as I recall,- I sold two
subscriptions to Chatelaine and one to •
Maclean's, to friends of my mother. I
received 51.50 in commissions, and
that was the end of a potentially great
career in publishing.
Of course, in those days, a kid didn't
have a chance against the pros.
Maclean's, and other publishing
chains. would send into a small town a
highly -trained team of hustlers to sell -
subscriptions. They were personable
and fast -taking. much like the en-
cyclopedia salesmen of a couple of
decades later.
They'd hit the town.like a hurricane,.
.alput Tuesday. and 'depart Friday
afternoon, laughing like open drains.
with a lot of loot, leaving behind them a
host of housewives wondering vaguely
why they had signed up for eight years
of Maclean's 'and sixteen years of
Chatelaine, even though it hadn't cost
.them a cent, ha ha. -
However, I am willing to let old
business animosities lie. if Maclean's
leave me alone. I'll do the same for
them.
Let's take an objective look at their
newsmagazine, the non-pareil, accor-
ding to them. it's not bad, really.
There is a strong tendency to be
smartass, as In this opening sentence,
Think small
by Jim Smith.
What's a Dollar Worth?
Maybe 11 has something to
do with the Canadian psyche
- an inherent belief that some-
thing awful is bound to flatten
us.
Maybe les nothing more
than an unusually harsh fall
sending chills down our collec-
tive spine.
Or maybe it's simply im-
possible to look on,the world
with good cheer when the post
office is crumbling before our
eyes.
Whatever the reason, there's
no ignoring the shock which
has overwhelmed the Cana-
dian public as the dollar plum-
mets.to one low after another.
The state of the Canadian dol-
lar has become a.national Cal-
vary, our own version of the
Bay of Pigs, the skeleton in
our closet exposed for the
world to see and Jeer.
The only thing wrong with
the sackcloth -and -ashes rou-
tine is that it's so absurdly un-
- necessary. Canada may ave
seen better economic times
but worse crises have been
wealh d comfortably as
well, dollar may have de-
clined but it certainly isn't
down for the count.
According to the theory of
international trade, a nation's
currency slides when the coun-
try's economic structure sags.
This is generally'interpreted to
mean that decline in a curren-
cy Is Irrefutable evidence that
the nation is in trouble on a
global scale.
According to international
trade theory, (herefore, we're
in big trouble. Our dollar went
down faster than the Titanic.
The las( time a currency was
battered this badly, financiers
were:jumping from window
ledges.
But the theory of interna-
tional trade ignores one of the
most important elements that
only a handful of people. mostly pre-
sent members of council. new can-
didates. civic employees and the
spouses of the preceding list.
While the apathy displayed through
non-attendance at community
meetings is bad enough. -the-apathy
evident in many -other municipalities is
even worse.
Several were unable to fill their
slates at -the nomination deadline time,
while others did so when sitting
members of councils took the respon-
sibility of seeking out people to fill the
vacancies.
The lack of candidates prompted
most sitting •members of councils to
suggest it was an indication that their
"ratepayers were satisifed with the job
they were doing.
That is a reasonable ' ondusion. but
it is not reasonable that people can't
even take the -time to show by their
attendance that they at least ap-
preciate the efforts of the dedicated
people who spend so much time and ef-
fort on their behalf throgh the years.'
- It is not only' apathy but a sign of
laziness. poor manners nd-a total lack
of responsibility -
People usually get the type of
government they deserve. but thank
goodness that is not the case in this
area, because obviously the vast ma-
jority don't deserve anything. Much -
less the conscientious people who con-
tinue to serve despite the lack of
thanks they receive.
"The CBC is the oldest whore on the
block-" Somebody trying .to imitate
Time magazine's style.
But, on the whole, the mag isn't bad.
Considering the tribulations of putting
out a weekly magazine in an age in
which 'everything is -instant dead two
minutes after it's been seen on TV,
there is a fairly good analysis of
provincial and federal news, and ade-
quate coverage of international news.
,and a few good features. One of them is -
interesting enough. visually and ver-
bally, but bears the dreadful cliche
"People" as its heading.
There's a lot of .cutesy business of
printing over yellow and purple and
orange, which is juvenile and slightly
annoying.
But there -is some firstclass writing.
People like Barbara Amiel and
Mordecai Richter and Allan
Fgtheringham seldom put a foot
Wrong. The last of those Is an abrasive
columnist from Vancouver who recent-
ly suggested that the Toronto Argonauts
and the Federal Liberals were utterly
interchangeable, and that if the Argos
backfield were running ,the countryy,
nobody would notice' the differellce -a-
nice commentary on both. •
Perhaps the magazine is happiest, so
far, in its comments on the arts and
entertainment. This is where
Canadians shine; we are a nation' of
critics, whether we know anything
about the subjgct"pr not, -
it is rather weak on sports, but then
sports are awfully dead, except for
color stories, once the hurlyburly's
o'er.
On the whole, let's give the thing a
chance, for a month or two. But no way
am i going to sigh up for 70 issues.How
do 1 get my money back if I die or they
go broke in the next two weeks.
determine a currency's value -
the actions of international
currency speculators. The spe-
culators are gamblers but you
won't find them at the S2 win-
dow of your local race track;
the big-time speculators con-
trol billions of dollars (many
of them petrodollars today)
that they bicycle from one cur-
rency to another. if they de-
cide to sell their holdings of
dollars, the value of the dollar
falls, If they decide to buy dol-
lars, the value of the dollar
goes up. It's not much differ-
ent from the price of houses:
the more houses there are for
sale, the lower the price of each
tends to go.
These speculators have
been ganging up on Canada,
forcing the dollar to dramivatic
lows. In part, they etre acting
out of distrust of Canada's
economic management. More
and more, however, they are
following a pack mentality
which goes beyond any in--
depth
n=depth analysis of our economy.
Eventually - today, tomor-
row or next month - the spe-
culators will decide to buy the
Canadian dollar again. The
dollar will rise and our eco-
nomy will be recognized as
healthy once more. The im-
provement will be due only In
part to changes in our econo-
mic structure.
More to the point, the value
of the dollar is of relatively'
little real concsrn. When the
dollar falls, exporters are help-
ed, importers are hurt, the na-
tional -balance of trade im-
proves and more jobs and
small businesses are created.
There's no need for pessimism
- just understanding.
Think small" is an edltonat
message from the Canadian
Federation of Independent'
Business -
4ttowi s -meeattory
55 Years Ago
- Headed by the Exeter
Band about 60 veterans and
the young men in training
paraded to the -Trivitt
Memorial Church on Sunday
morning where they listened
tb a`very eloquent sermon
delivered by the rector.
Rev. A.A. Trumpet.
The Exeter Opera House
was filled for commence-
ment exercises of the Ex-
eter High School which were
a great success. Messrs.
Nesbitt Woods and Keith
Love and Misses Hoffman
and Medd rendered a
quartette and the presenta-
tion of graduation diplomas
was made by the principal,
Mr. E.J: Wethey. The
presentation of scholarships
was made by Mr. J.C. Stan-
bury -
The anniversary services
of James Street Methodist
Church were held on Sunday
and were a decided success.
Rev. W.E. Donnelly Had
charge of the services.
The Salvation Army has
leased the rooms over
Southcott Brothers' store.
The rooms have been nicely
decorated
30 Years Ago
The new turnip and
vegetable storage plant " is
nearing completion. it is
believed to be the largest
.plant of its hind in Canada.
Exeter's population is 2,-
364 an increase of 384 over
last year.
B.W. Tuckey has taken
over the franchise for Kist
beverages for this district.
Mr. W.E. Reid has opened
a new bean packaging plant
in the former hotel in
Dashwood.
• The threatened shut-off of
hydro came into effect Mon-
day at 6:30 and remained off
for half an hour. These in,
terruptions will continue as
long as Exeter exceeds its
- present quota for polder.
20 Years Ago
Receipts from' this year's
poppy campaign of the Ex-
eter Legion set a new record
in the history of the branch:
Fred Wells. "Mr. Poppy".
again led the canvtassers in
sales.
Mrs. L. Desjardine has
sold her home. "Eventide
Villa" to Lorne Roth of
Prospect Hill. Extensive
renovations are being made
to -have the first floor as a
nursing home.
Grade 12C boys have near-
ly completed a 32 -foot parti-
tion in the manual training
room at SHDHS which will
provide cleaner and quieter
quarters for drafting and
painting. The project serves
as a practical lesson in
building construction as well_
as saving the school board
money.
SHDHS students gathered
in the gymnasium Monday
to observe their annual
Remembrance Day service.
The high school honor roll
was read by Merlin
MacLlean and a wreath was
presentee d by.Gordon Strang.
15 Years Ago
Representatives from 17 •
Baptist churches were pre-
sent to assist Emmanuel
Baptist Church. Exeter with
the ordination of their
pastor. J. Wallace Stephen-
son. B. Th.. Tuesday.
The Women's Society of
World's Service of
Dashwood Evangelical UB
church celebrated its golden
anniversary last week with a
special service at which
ladies of Crediton and
Dashwood were guests. Jean
Kellerman. Japanese mis-
sionary, addressed the
group.
an who promoted the
build! of a 32 -unit apart-
ment building on an exten-
sion of Senior St, in Exeter.
last year. S.E Richard
Fowler, London, has beef
charged with bigamy.
At a dinner meetin'g
Mayor' Eldrid Simmons
presented, certificates and
gifts to former members of
the - recreation committee
and comniunity centre
'board.
Wear a poppy
for
Remembrance