The Wingham Advance-Times, 1972-05-04, Page 12Page 4 ---The.. Wingham Advance -Times, Thursday, May 4, 1972,
RDVRRCE—TfmEs
Get it out in the open
With a federal election in the offing
many Canadians are in full agreement that
the time has come to make a drastic change
in the methods employed to raise funds for
political parties.
fiver since the party system was
originated it has been the custom for each
political group to ask financial support from
its friends and members. At one time the
rank and file of each party chipped in ac-
cording to his or her private money means.
As election campaign costs have increased
over the years, the money needed for pre-
election campaigns has reached breath -tak-
ing figures.
As a result of the increasing need for
funds some political parties have turned
with increasing frequency to big business as
the only source wealthy enough to be of real-
istic assistance.
When a business corporation invests
money in any project, profitable results are
expected—no Tess from political investments
than from investments in real estate or
equipment. It naturally follows that the
Apage of editorial
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political party which is elected to the seat of
power must, one way or another, reward its -
benefactors or write off those sources of
revenue for all time.
The New Democratic Party, excluded
from the assistance of business because of
its socialist overtones, has attempted, with
only limited success, to gain financial sup-
port from the labor groups across the land,
and would; if elected, to power, fall under ob-
ligation
to one particular segment of the
populace.
A good many solid and non-partisan
thinkers believe there is only one way to
achieve total honesty and fairness in the fi-
nancing, of political parties. They contend
that all election campaigns should be paid
for out of the public purse. The amounts
would have to be limited to whatever is
deemed to be a sensible figure, based, per-
haps, on the population iri each riding. Under
this proposal private or corporate donations
would be outlawed and a full accounting pre-
sented to the public which would disclose
election campaign expenditures.
Finalclosure imminent
Robert McKinley, Member of . Parlia-
ment for Huron, has written a letter of pro-
test to the Canadian. Transport ComMissiofi
'following application by Canadian National
Railways to remove station agents from
Wingham, Clinton, Seaforth and Brussels.
We certainly agree With his contention that
the railway is seeking to remove its services
from this area without any viable plan • to
provide an alternative means of moving pas-
sengers and materials.
Mr. McKinley's letter also states in no
uncertain terms his belief that CN has inten-
tionally permitted its quality of service to
decline i
c ne, so that usage of rail services would
diminish and thus justify the railway's ap-
plication for suspension. In fact, the writer
says that in two or three instances station
agents were actually instructed to hasten the
decline in service rendered.
These are_very pointed accusations, but
knowing 'Mr. McKinley, we are sure that
they are correct or' he would not have made
them.
If Canadian National was a private com-
pany, entirely , financed and operated on a
profit-making basis, it would be easier to
agree with the .curtailment of services. It is
•'self-evident that the Western .Ontario feeder
lines have been losing money—although
some application•of good business principles
and systematic up -grading of the quality of
The local hospita
Undeniably 4the major strength of the
hospital system as it exists in Ontario today
is the local community involvement through
the trustee systefn. It is because, and only
because of this local involvement ,that your
hospital contrives tov'pr'ovide for the 'needs
and respond '''the desires of the .pegple in
the large' community it serves. '
in the vast majority of cases across the
province it was the local people who saw the
. need for hospitals. It Was they who raised the
money, served on successive boards of
governors and provided the membership -for
the Hospital Auxiliaries over the -years. ``. -4.-
. Both staff and patients come from the
local community. Evidence of the success of
this formula can be seen by contrasting the
operation of community hospitals with that
of the psychiatric hospitals, which are run
directly from Queen's Park. Concern about
the management of the provincially -owned
hospitals: -is so great that the former minister
of health, Hon. A. B. R. Lawrence, recom-
mended that community boards shotild be
setup for the psychiatric institutions.
Through the' channels of the Ontario
',Hospital 'Services Commission the province
service over the past 50 years might have
minimized those losses' to a great degree.
The fact of the matter is that Canadian
National is owned by the people of Canada,
was largely built on land donated by the
people of Canada during the last century,
and originallyfinanced heavily by the people'
and business enterprises along its route.
Curtailment and removal of its trains and
depots is not merely a. matter of dollars and
cents—any more than are profits the main
consideration in the maintenance of such
government -operated projects as the Cana-
dian Broadcasting Corporation or the Na-
tional n F'
o a
o al iIm Board.
Canada has always had -and may still
have for many years to come—some public
services which are costly tothe taxpayers.
The very nature -of our land, with 22 million
people strung out across a narrow band from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, makes govern-
ment support essential. The Fathers of Con-
federation realized that fact and dearly
stated it as one of the prices we would have
to pay for national unity:
Few areas in the entire Dominion were
more generous in their, support of the pioneer
railway - companies, tt an Western Ontario.
It's more than a bit disenchanting that Cana-
dian National -wants Jo leave this prosperous
and important part -of Canada totally without
railway services. Mr. McKinley is justified
in his protest.
•
is yours
controls the purse strings of all hospitals,
and recently -announced legislation, by
which the Department of Health is assuming
the direct role and responsibilities of the
commission, has raised the unwelcome pros-
pect of tighter Administrative control of hos-
pitals from Queen's Park, a move which the
Ontario Hospital Association feels might re-
sult in a lessening of community participa-
tion in the affairs of all'hospitals.
Every time the long finger of remote
governor nt pokes into. local affairs the price �
is the same. As 'outstanding evidence of this
•fact is the decline in local interest since hos-
pital financing• was taken over by OHSC in
1960:' Many people Iry this community.still JE -
sieve that the trustees of the local' hospital
are only So many figureheads. The copse-
'quence has b(n ever -smaller attendances
at the annual meetings of the hospital asso-
iation. •
" The local hospital is still your hospital.
Most of you have used or will use its
facilities at one time or another and a great
many of us will spend our 'final hours- on
earth within its rooms. The. iospital is yours.
Support it.
Connally takes off the gloves
Mr. Connally and Mr. Nixon have ap-
parently, been slow students in the field of in-
ternational trade. At no time in the history of
mankind has it proven profitable for one naa-
tion to demand all the cream at the experise
of either friends or enemies. The experiment
has been tried many times and on each occa-
sion has resulted not only in a loss of friends,
but much more important, in the impoVer-
ishmenf of trading partners. In other words,
bleed the customers dry and you run out of
people to buy your products,
Intelligent Canadian appraisal of the
North American economy admits without
hesitation that financial insecurity in the
United States is undesirable. Not only would
the U.S. suffer, but the well-being of every
person on this continent would be threatened
-if another depression were to be.- born in the
States.`
U.S. Secretary' of the, Treasury, John B.
;Cpnnatly, however,.` doesn't appear to be
similarly concerned about the financial
security of Canada—or any other nation for
that 'matter. He publicly announced last'
week that the U.S. would use "muscle' to
make sure that the "balance of trade with
some 40 nations is favorable to the United
States.
Although President Nixon's recent visit
to Canada was veiled in all the accustomed
trappings of the old "hands -across -the-
" border" routine, it'must be assumed that his
.treasury chief's threats to Canada and the
rest of the world have the President's sanc-
tion
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES
Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited.
Barry Wenger, President
Robert 0. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer
Member Audit Bureau of Circulations
Member Canadian and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associations.
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"HOW COME Yoo ALWAYS 87t'p. zIGHT - /A/
7YE M11 DLE Or A JOKE' ' YVHEN A KID
WALES IN 2 "
The Making
of a
News Event
Next time somebody in the club
or other organization you belong
to asks if you'd handle the pub,,_, time, and I learned that a. man writing radio, commercials, and
licity for some event that' ` omi= c1 n work 18• hours a .today' and A I'irh;nfraidhe's hooked file's been
• ing up, take my advice and re- emerge, if not unscathed, at least batting out thirty-second com-
spond with a ringing "NO". alive. As I recall, the only ma- merc4als with not only elan but
That's the way they always put ' terial reward was a crock of gusto. 1 wouldn't be surprised if
it: "Handle. the publicity." -Crown ,Royal. Not because the he quit teaching 1nglish and
Casual. Nothing to it. You just candidate was a cheapskate, but went into advertising, a fate
"handle" it. because he was up to his ears in worse than death.
Well, I'm sitting here in my bills, after the election: ' There's one other unfortunate
underwear trying to write a As I said, I should have known side effect. My wife and daughter
column, because I've just finish- better, at my age, than to have a wedding coming up: The
ed a two-week stint of "h°andling" "handle the publicity" again. But former is flying in ever-decreas-
the publicity and I'm soaking wet when I was asked, -I responded ing circles of. panic and accuses
from the waist up. dike aril old war horse who has me of having deserted her during
Why? Because I'm iust . home been through . the reek and blood the crisis, because I've spent so
after galloping up and down the of battle, but can't resist it. r much time -you . guessed .it—
main street begging merchants It was such alittle,thing,.really. "handling the pubIicity."
toputposters. in their windows. " Just the publicity for ' an Open Fortunately Kim is blithely un-
I.,should have known better. I . House at our school, to mark the concerned about the whole thing.
got my baptism quite a few years completion of a new wing, built to • She constantly remarks, "Stop
ago when I took on the publicity the tune of three million. Nothing worrying, Mom. There's nothing
chores for an election campaign. ' to it. A no -profit event. Just` let to it",which has the effect of
And I've been involved in three the papers know... ,etc. turning the Old Battleaxe a deep
elections since, each time emergt Next thing 1 know, I'm writing shade of violet, while her head
ing in the same condition: wring- ads, churning out thousands of whirls with thoughts of invita-
i.ng wet and swearing , "never words of copy, trying to con radio tions and announcements to be
again". • and television stations into be- printed, the house to get ready,
But the first one was the worst lieving that the "news item" I am " the flOvers to be organized and
one.- I �
vy, s "ate .lot younger or I'd phoning in is not paid ,advertis-"' --t asual kid's wedding .-dress
probably not have come through ing, composing a letter for 1,300 not even.thought of, with ten days
it without cracking up. kids to take home to their par- to go. Not to mention, "When is
My candidate was young, had ents, writing letters of invitation the yard going to be cleaned up?
never run before,' and was up to various dignitaries, 'arranging and "I'll never get that chair
against a man who belonged to printing of posters, and finally back from .-the upholsterer's in
the large government majority. distributing these in person., time", and simply, "I.'ban't face
The latter should have been a However, I've' managed to tot- . it."
shoo-in. But we licked him, ter through once again. The only Like Kim, I believe the wed -
We formed a triumvirate: Ross thingthat bothers me is that I en- ding will take place, and it will
Whicher, , the candidate, Geordie listed one of my young assistants . scarcely rate in the histohr books'
Hough, campaign manager and in . the English department into with the crossing of the Red Sea.
myself/publicity manakerg R .
Ross beat the back roads and
wore out three pair of shoes:° '
Geordie beat every bush in the
county raising money. And I beat
my brains; to the bone writing
speeches and news releases, and
advertisements.
Hardly anyone pays any atten-
tion to the platforms of the
various parties, so you have to
set the man. And there are 'only
so many ways of saying, "Our
guy, is better than their guy."
You say your guy has more
children than their guy and that
the former is active in church
work. The opposition counters by
pointing out their guy's ex-
perience and claiming he is vital-
' ly interested in crippled children.
And so on,
You challenge your 'opponent,
th an ad, to a public, lebate. He
gets free publicity by refusing, on
the grounds that there is no evi-
dence your guy has anything
worth listening to in public. And
so on.
Then there are the advertise-
ments, We had ten weeklies and a
daily paper involved, plus two
radio stations. And we never had
enough money. So every ad had
to be small but packed with
power. Try this sometime. Try
getting across a vital message in
a thirty-second commercial.
Oh well, it was sort of fun at the
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TODAY CHILD
BY HELEN ALLEN
These, handsome brothers will both? have birthdays iwearly
summer. -What a splendid celebration it will be if they can spend .
their birthdays with a family of their own.
Kenneth (left) is 9 and Donald 1$ 11.1. They are Anglo-Saxon in
descent,.,Kenneth has light brown hair; Donald's is darker. Both
boys have fair skin and dark eyes. They are in good health.
Kenneth has what is called a functional heart murmur, but his
activities ate, not restricted in any way.
Though they have normal brotherly arguments (sometimes
physical as well' as verbal) these two are warmly attached' to
each other. They have never been separated and would be
deeply distressed if life took them in different directions. '
The attachment between these boys is even_more inm,portant
because they are living in a farm foster home where they have
no other young; friends. So Kenneth and 'Donald are constant
companions aswell as being brothers. t
The boys like everything about country life. They enjoy the
open spaces and all the places there are to wander. They are
friendly with the farm animals and like to help in looking after
them. They have several cats as pets.
Kenneth is especially interested in all the farm machinery.
Donald devotes his attention mainly to cars and tractors -- the
real. thing. Ile has no use .for the toy' variety.
Both boys have favorite television programs and for Donald
hockey games are the highlight. ponald also collects hockey
cards.
Kenneth is a quiet lad, generally contented who is inclined to
day dream.. When the boys are together, Kenneth lets 'his
brother do most of the talking, but when he feels like making his
own contribution he is a pleasant boy to talk with. Kenneth lacks
confidence in himself, so he needs parents who will give him
encouragement and reassurance.
Donald is an alert, talkative lad with a friendly smile. Ile is
rather- high strung and impulsive, but is learning the benefits of
looking before leaping.
Both boys are in (:rade 3. It is not anticipated they will be top
scholar& but they -are good-natured, co-operative boys. who can
be welcome, adaptable members of a family. They need, a home
where they belong. Both really enjoy a family atmosphere.
Their foster parents have a wide connection with much visiting
acid many reunions and the' boys enter whole-heartedly into
these •outing s.
Parents for these two should be relaxed, affectionate people
v‘'ho will provide stimulation without 'pressure. It would be best
if the boys were the.only children in the home, or not. more than
two. others.
To enquire about adopting,$enneth and Donald, please write
to Today's Child, Box $88, Station K, Toronto. For • general
adoption information, ask your Children's Aid -Society.
THEY LiKE FARM !JIFF,
Parents should quit- smoking
Since evidence of the harmful
effects of cigarette "smoking is
overwhelming, should it be legal
to manufacture and sell them?
Lots of • people think not. But
pause a moment. When.. liquor
was banned in the early 1920's
bootleggers grew rich on the in-
creased consumption.
The same thing would happen
today if cigarettes were prohibi-
ted. Illegal manufacturers would
simply go underground and •get
wealthy while the death rate
from smoking would rise like a
sales graph. •
Society cannot prohibit a per-
son from taking his own life-sui
cide was recently taken out of the
Criminal Code—and we have
seen what prohibition does. So, in
the -case of cigarettes, it seems'
that people will continue to follow
the path of disaster.
However, we can protect our
children from this evil. Better po-
licing of the law regarding the
sale of tobacco to minors is need-
ed. This might mean more prose-
cutipns of vendors, but more in-
home examples of abstinence is a
must.
Anyone with a lung problem as
result of being hooked on tobac-
co can fill younn on its merits as a
pacifier. ' t
Woman to marriage counsel-
lor: "That's my side of the story
and how let me tell you his."
PUPILS AT SS NO. S TURNBERRY, Gilmour's School, has
been submitted by Joe Smith but we do not know the year in
which the picture was taken. Back row, Edna Hogg, Harold
Ross, Delight Reid, Allan Reid, Jean Underwood, Miss
Margaret Procter (teacher), Leslie Adair, Marion Gilmour,
Norman Hastings, Edna Jenkins. Kneeling, Irlma Smith,
Orville Hastings, Marjorie Gilmour, Billy Hastings, Bill
Jenkins, Vernon Reid, Isabel Ross, Ross Hastings, Alma
Smith and Ross Smith holding slate.
5