The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-08-22, Page 4�.•11.� YSY ii`i17i
Government gifts - a big joke
Huron County Council has unanimously
rejected the Mustard Report which would, if
implemented, throw all the health services
in the county under the control of a district
health council covering an area which would
extend from Chatham to Wingharri and
Stratford to Goderich — five counties in all
with a population of over half a million
people.
Ostensibly the contentious report has
been issued to county councils and hospital
boards so the provincial government can
assess reaction to its recommendations. The
only trouble is that there is widespread belief
that the opinions of local people will be
accepted as a mere formality and that once
again Queen's Park will simply do as it •
pleases in the long run. The suspicion is
supported by the fact that county people
were given only a few short weeks in which
to assess and discuss the implications of the
report.
Dr. kobert Walker of Hamilton, who.has
been named provincial co-ordinator for the
proposed scheme, was present to answer
questions of the Huron meeting. Asked about
the reasons for proceeding with the plan, one.
of his answers was that the province already
pays the lion's share of health costs. The
obvious intent of that remark was that if the
provincial authority pays the bills it has the
right to control every way in which the
money is spent. _
In Dr. Walker's response lies the entire
nugget of untruth as far as government
services are concerned. In the first place the
provincial ministry of health already
controls the purse strings as far as hospitals
and public health are concerned. There is no
way a local hospital board can spend money
without provincial sanction --• except those
funds which are legacies or gifts — and even
at that no .ailowanced is made for annual
depreciation on such capital expenditures
without 'provincial approval before pur-
chases are made.
an �r
In the second, place, dogethe dpctor
really assume that the people of this arta ere
stupid enough to believe thathe Money for
health services comesas a gift from the
coffers at green's. Park? As one of -the more
prosperous areas of Ontario, every cent that
is grudgingly handed out. from Toronto has
first been placed them brourseives. We
contribute our full share of taxation and we
certainly add millions more by way of our
id into the
premiums pa Hospitals of Ontario
Insurance Plan.
Chir hospitals, the equipment they
contain, our county health units, home care
nursing system, our ambulances — every
last item, every dollar of wages, every
gallon of fuel oil burned and every hydro bill
is paid for in full by the residents of this area.
Let's have done with sanctimonious phrases
about the generosity of a tiny group of
Toronto bureaucrats and politicians.
Obviously such a scheme is
h
i�hly
attractive tothe provincial officials. eil
over 50 per cent of the personnel on the
district health councils would be appointed
by and therefore completely controlled by
the health ministry in Toronto. Doctors
would be told where they could and could nbt
practise and patients would lose their free
choice of personal physician. That's exactly
the system of health care which is used in the
Soviet Union.
The people of Ontario are getting very
tired of the never-ending proposition that
"bigger is better". With every, change from
local control to the huge centralized
authority the choice and opinion of the
ordinary citizen is subjugated to the
supposed efficiency of mass decision. Most
of us cannot agree that the reward for a
society of hard-working and progressive
people should be mass interment in a
common grave of coded and serially=
numbered bodies which have lost all
semblance of individuality.. We are people — •
not digits.
happen here?
Looking backward, as we must, at the
long months of the Watergate crisis in the
° United States, Canadians who are in any way
thoughtful about the future of . their own
governmental institutions will inevitably
draw some comparisons. Could Watergate
and.' its scandalous aftermath of deceit and
cornu" tion, have a • counterpart in Canada?
. xa9k�C�rNdf, �h:d'RA�-0�a&��1'+A M�a= +,�a,
,)ew�`, t ••a�us ar'� r on)ish4:as to :assume
that Canard
Canadians, by targe, are anymore, z
honest than . are Americans. Without doubt; '
given the. same opportunity for personal
power and profit, Canada could produce an
equal number of high-level crooks. The
difference lies in our two systems of
government.
The crucial_ point on which the American
<system .foundered lies in the "separation of
powers" -- that rarified climate in which an
American ,'president operates and a basic,
provision .of the °constitution of that • country.
As we all Witnessed with something near to
unbelief, President Nixon, time after time,
defied the laws of the land and the specific
dictates `of ,its highest judiciary powers --
. simply,because he was the president and his
office ;permits him wide privileges not
accorded'. to any other citizen.
Not only were the prerogatives of the
presidential office used to protect the man
himself, but to throw roadblocks in the path
of the investigators who sought to bring his
personai aides to justice.
At the root of the problem lies the
constitutional fact that an American
president selects and pays his own staff — a
group of men whose duties approximate
'Speed is essential
Mr. Ford, the new president of the
United States, impressed Canadians and the
rest of the world's nations with the simplicity
and apparent honesty of his convictions as he
took office two weeks ago. Although his
remarks touched on several of the problems
which face his nation and the world at large,
the one to which he devoted the most
attention was inflation. In fact he set the tone
of his first months in office by demanding
that a federal committee, already named to
grapple with solutions to the inflation prob-
lem, should prepare its first report in days
rather than -months.
Canadians and Americans alike will
agree that inflation is certainly the most
pressing problem we face and that its
solution has international complications.
The United States wili.not solve the dilemma
unless parallel and equally effective
Measures of price and wage increase
limitations can be applied on this side of the
border.
Most of us recall the political speeches
those of our own federal cabinet. The
difference .is self-evident. Our cabinet
ministers are elected by the voters and are
responsible to them. Flagrant abuse of their'
wide powers means eventual defeat at the
polls. In the United States, however, the
personal assistants and cabinet officers are
worried only about pleasing the president —
and in the Watergate instance any and every
dsrt)r trick ,in the'.r . h,. �l/, -u Y hf
r re
�`�'i�ifi-ie'�ir
patron was elected to -office and maintained
in that position.
Yes, something of a similar nature could
develop in Canada. During the early years of
the first Trudeau administration, many of
the more informed and astute political
observers 'became deeply alarmed ' by the
growing body of bright young personal
assistants with which the victorious prime
ministerwas surrounding himself. It was
generally felt that some of these unelected
newcomers were wielding more power at the
top level of government than were the
cabinet -ministers themyes. -
Whether the stark dan tens, of minority
government( changed that pattern., or
whether Mr. Trudeau has gained a new and
more accurate perspective of the values, of
the Canadian elective system we do not
know. But Watergate and the shameful fate
of the most powerful man on earth should tell
us all in Canada that we must not fall into the
same trap. Government of the people, by the
people and for the people was allowed to
lapse in the United\Sfates. We must make
sure that it does, not do so here.
we listened to prior to our own federal
election in early July. There were all sorts of
promises that inflation would be the number
one target for government action. The voters
got loads of sympathy for the economic
predicament which was eroding incomes
and forcing a new round of costly strikes and
wage demands.
Since July 8, however, there has been a
strange silence. Although we elected a
strong majority government with a clear
mandate to tackle our most urgent needs at
once, it seems that all those noisy speakers
have gone away on lengthy holidays. If the
American committee on inflation is ,indeed
hard at work now it isrould seem apparent
that their 'Canadian counterparts should be
applying themselves with equal urgency to
the same task. Certainly the measures which
must soon be employed to meet the threat of
uncontrolled inflation would be more
effective if the experts on both sides of the.
border co-ordinated their objectives and
plans of action.
1HE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES
Published at Wingham, °mingle by Wanpar Bros. Limited
Barry Wenger, President Robert O. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer
Member Audit Bureau of Circulations
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HELEN ASN
SCOTTISH NATIONA1,1814< '
Scotland today has the sante
problems as every other .country
in the Western World. The high
cost of living (There's au.a
demand these days for a Fife
BEFORE death), rising inflation,
a determined refusal to go hat*
to "the good old days" of low
wages, unemployment, and lam*
outs — all make the task ofany,
government more difficult, Teti
the growing demand of Scots ladst,
and lassies is for a bit of ,Ll
DQLCE VITA. And for a higher
standard of living than their
° parents or grandparents eve'
dreamed of. "If the national cake
is too small to provide fairer
shares for everyone — partk u,
laxly, ME," they say, `'thee the
answer is to increase the size of
the cake." But HOW to do it? and
WHO'S to do it? •
In Scotland as elsewhere lies the
United Kingdom there is growing
disenchantment with the BIG
TWO political parties, Labour
and Conservative. Scotland was
once a Labour stronghold,. re
fleeting the political outlook- of
the vast working class in the
cities and the coalfields. But Dow,
Labour's lead has slipped. And
the party that has picked up most
from from the others is the
militant SCOTTISH NATIONAL
PARTY. They can point \ to the;
fact that last time they got 22 per
cent .of the votes from almost a
standing start (From around
30,000 voters. in 1959 to over
640,000 in 1974) while Labour and
Conservative netted a mere 36
per cent and 32 per cent
respectively.
"If each person who voted SNP
last time," says party chairman
WILLIAM WOLFE, "persuades
afriend to do the same at the next
election the majority of Scottish
voters will have supported the
establishment of a Scottish
parliament."
What they are asking for
,�ima >wcw9d
°
g as ggers°say :
their own affairs, a better`
financial deal to ensure increased
and lasting prosperity in a
word Scotland for the` Scots. In
some respects their Scottishness
is as Scottish as the Irishman's
Irishness.
For years now the British
Conservative Party has paid lip
service to some form of Scottish
devolution. But the Tories have
been inclined to hasten slowly. So .`
far the Labour Party has been
disinclined to give up their
.Scottish strongholds, believing
perhaps that England and Scot-
land must hang together — or be
hanged. But the Scots Nets aren't •
prepared . to wait. They want a
Scottish parliament • now. And
they base their arguments on the
expected bonanza that is likely to
come- from North Sea oil. They
want control of what :they call,
"Scotland's vast oilresource*"
out of the clutches 'of, 'I at..
meter and into Seettish hands!,
They, even' in ted of
granting Scottish citise ip�(
distinct from British) and evict-
ing settlers who refuse to take out
the necessary status, $ationailiat
leaders. . even say . that interna-
tional _ chanes operating .,
Scotland would have a Choice
either
sell ll enh sharis to give
Scottish citizens a majority
shareholdin, or leaise the! land
,g� ' lin_.
from Scottish .citizens,
It's right and proper, of course,
that Scotland should benefit
directly . from the vast • oil
resources that have been discov-
ered
iscovered along the Seottish coast. But
even with their oil reserves!, and
agriculture, and .whiskey., : and
tourism it's more than doubtful 11
a purely, Scottish Scotland could
afford to go ft alone.
One thing is certain. We
haven't heard the last of this
revival of the spirit of Scottish
nationalism. And judging by the
noise emanating from the Other
political ' parties they too are
beginning to bend before the wind
that shakes the barley.
What The Well*L)reesed
Scotsman Wears In And Under
His Kilt
You don't• have to be a Scots
Nat to have a prideln your native
land. And Scottish folk for
generations have taken a pride in
the customs and costumes of
their mace: Foremost among
these is the wearin' o' the kilt.
The kilt it is claimed is the
oldest form of, dress worn in
Europe. The IRISH. wore it at the
start of the Christian era. When
the Romans invaded Britain they
found the Celts in Scotland
sporting theancient garb. For
generations the GREEKS have
worn it as their national dress.
And ;today Americans-are—the
first
agree
the
that kilt is the
swankiest form of • costume ever
thought up. With seven to eight
yards of tartan in it, it's also
likely to ` be among the most
expensive.
Tradition says that during the
First World : War when the
Germans first encountered the.
fierce fightin' kilt wearin' Scots
they immediately dubbed them
"the Ladies from Hell." So in war
and peace, in battle or at
banquet, the kilt holds its
time-honored place as a conven-
tional and convenient garb.
One question, however,has
tickled the world's fancy for
generations. What does the
Scotsman wear under it? It's one
of the world's great mysteries
that remains `7unanswered. BUt
somebody who maybe knew
than most was QUEEN VIC-
TORIA. Victoria loved Scotland.
•
She It was: who but BallO
CAST= Royal a'her
'
Scot "doe house". and
fitted r.. . .
it with ossein:fiis#t�ic
One day,athe story goes, when
the,. Queen arrived at the castle.
she .was grew` by a guard of.
GORDON iBIGHLANDERS.
There was a staff wind ,'blowing,
And, one of the soldiers, standing
at :rigid attention was unable to
control the flapping of his: kilt and
/MO exposure.
'lint the queen,' proved equalual to
the occasion.: She' went up to the
embarraed • soldier, and
moved a pin from her own dress
and fastened it in the 'overlap of
the soldier's Wit.
That, it is said, -the origin of
the KILT PIN — � without which
today, no kilted Scotsman would
be considered properly dresse` 1.
400, 0 44 0,0110 0 ilto 'foe go 41 opal 4
To The
Editor.
DROUGHT,CRISIS CONTINUES
You might have• seen that little
cartoon in the paper where two
skeletal Africans are sitting
deploring their plight white
awaiting relief and one said to the
other "Perhaps we'd attract
more world attention if we were
to . start 'warring among our-
selves".
Unfortunately a drought
famine which outlives its news
value can be a "news-sanee" and
this is why we know that you have
to make a conscious effort to keep
this tragedy before your readers
so that concerned Canadians may
do their share by supporting
CARE.
Thank you for supporting the
AFRICAN DROUGHT FAMINE
FUND Campaign. .
Ms.. Eithne Amos
Public dations "Director
• .... -Cnad
63 SparCAREks Streea
Ottawa, Ontario
KIP 5A6
At seven. a bey is rather"� rem hut
to be a,
an familiar w the theatre will I*�e��se�
.
Tommy should he an
r
t.
11. is almost s double fTom �►� one of Canatbt.#�
most 'shining, `ts. Besides.kis looks, Tommy has anoth
quality that .might. hells � tn, a stage career. e love* to bele
e limelight. This is .not. showing off, aceordiag to the p
who knew hien 'toot. Wwbeeause ,he is an Insecure Youngster*
greatly.in need of attention and affection.
-Tommy is healthy, shim, wiry* active and a•bit.amal forte:
age. Ile has, dark eyes, light brown hair, and fair skin.
•,Schoolproved difficult at' first for To.m ause
I
m . y boor he was
v and sil tet
livelyea, y�l
i ,,rsictexi. Bo vont two and a llawyeerra
kinderartenr.. He noW loves
es �a
ndqid vehl�Grade 1.
en o s ntellectualctivise,Bind as now, lelriin 'ao playoho
es,
his
.T m ylkes listeningtostories but� beginning to read On
own. He
is Showing an interest in Musig. A•
Such an active lad ;is almost bound too: en joy outdoor activit es, .,
Tommy is.a camping enthusiast. and, likes skating,, skiing, riding
his bike and swimming, for which he hais-already started to.win
badges. • a
Tommy, should be the, youngest In the family with no other
children close to him in age,
To inquire about adopting Toms y,. please write 10 1007*
Child, S
of Comm,Ministry n.and Social e.�rvie
cy ..., 14K,.
S
Station K, TorontosU4P uitH2..For general adoptioninfortn.ation,
please contact your heal Children's Aid So• ciety,.
HE IS LIVELY AND INTERESTING
ew books in the library
Arnold, Eltlott, "BLOOD
BROTHER"
This book has found a perma-
nent place for itself in field of
American fiction as a classic ,of
the Southwest. It is the story of
how two remarkable men -- Tom
Jeffords, pio eer and goverment
scout, and Coehhise, war leader of
the Chiricahua :Apaches -
brought peace to vast' areas of the
Southwest when armies had
failed. It is also an unforgettable
novel of Jeffords and his Indian
bride —• a story of great and
tragic intensity.
Hood, Evelyn, "THE KING-
' MAKER'S DAUGHTER"
"For you, the crown" "the
fortuneteller told" Lady Anne
\Neville when . she was a child!
Anne, younger ` daughter \ of the
Earl of Warwick, had no interest
in being a queen. After a tragic
love -affair and a brief, loveless
marriage forced on her, by her
father's desire to be the power
behind the English throne, Anne
met and married Richard of
Gloucester, later to become
Richard ILL.' The book tells, the
story of Anne and the important
"What a sak at the supermarket—ever; tling urea
marked down tis yesterday's prices,"
part she played in the struggle for
power in late fifteenth century
England. It also presents a
controversial theory on the
mystery surrounding the fate of
the Princes in the Tower.
Farrington Jr., S. Kip, "RAIL-
ROADING AROUND THE
WORLD"
This is a book of s y
beautiful pictures collected by
the author while inspecting the
operations of thirty-four rail-
roads in twenty-two countries.
The text explains the pictures
and gives a vivid account of the
conditions met and solved by
railroadmen everywhere. The
many American devotees of the
steam locomotive, which is
rapidly disappearing, will have a
chance . to see some of these
engines in action in other
countries where they are still in
service. The book should also
appeal to people both here and
abroad who are interested in this
great industry, as well as to rail
fans, model enthusiasts and
railroadmen themselves.
Simpson, J., "THE BASIC BOOK
OF EMBROIDERY"
Thisook is a complete
introduction to the craft of
' —embroidery. The author, in full
illustrated instructions, shows
how to show the basic embroid-
ery stitches, and also explains the
techniques of transferring de-
signs and mountingfinished
work. With the clever use of
beads and color, anyone can
follow the step -by -stop instruc-
tions for making 24 beautiful
designs. There are examples of
patchwork, smocking,applique
and quilting among the .attractive
*signs which include fashion
item* and articles to make for the
home, for children and agikts.
Gibson, W.1 "HOYLE'S MOD-
ERN ENCYCLOPEDIA OP
CARD GAMES"
A definite guide to the correct
filaying of all known card games,
s encyclopedia is arranged
alt
l habeti allyl. Full descriptions
and explanations of rules and
techniques are given for each
game and its variations. There
are special sections for the
vedette' of Pinochle, Poker and
Solitaire,
140
die