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Wingham Advance-Times, 1981-07-01, Page 4�.r:.nal�uw1. Ti 4v , \ t1 .ti.4 tw;.'�.-+'7e'a R,R.E.! .1c1�f4 1e1x1kRleR'R??1�;1R1�'I .RR'RR'T�.^!! � ��']'.1 1'1c1}'1 tilit "tisk ,-:1.. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham. Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited Barry Wenger, President Henry Hess, Editor Robert O. Wenger, Sec.-Treas. Bill Champ, Advertising Manager Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Memoir — Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Weekly Newspaper Assoc. Subscription $16.00 per year Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 Six months $9.50 Return postage guaranteed Reasonably decision A long -overdue change in nomin- ating procedure was authorized at the recent annual meeting of the Wingham and District Hospital Association. In future, nominations from the floor of the annual meeting may be voted upon only by residents of the municipalities which the nominee would represent. Several members of the hospital board are appointees — doctors, aux- iliary representatives, county and town. The balance of the 18 -member board is nominated by the various township and village councils in the area served by the hospital. In roost cases those nominations are not opposed and election is usually by ac- clamation. However, in a few instances ,in the past 10 or 15 years second nominations have been made from the floor and -bitter recriminations have resulted because all members of the association were legally free to vote, whether or not those members were residents of the municipalities directly concerned. Under the new regulations a differ- ence of opinion about who should or should not represent a given area will be decided by the people directly af- fected. It is a definite change for the better and one which was long overdue. Happy birthday Canada Perhaps that time -worn greeting may seem a bit hypocritical this year, as Canadians still engage in some of the most bitter disputes in the 114 years of our national lifetime. Nevertheless, the very fact that we are at present so argumentative about our destiny illus- trates the fact that we are among the most fortunate peoples on earth. If this wasn't such a wonderful land, with such an amplitude of blessings, it would hardly be worth all the emotion we are presently expending upon it. Of course nothing is perfect within this dominion — nor is it likely it ever will be. In a country as widespread as ours, .peopled by families from hun- dreds of racial and cultural back- grounds, there will always be differ- ences of opinion. Frustrating as these differences may be, they are certainly less stultifying than complacency and self-satisfaction. Though we are celebrating more than a century of hesitant together- ness, we are still mere adolescents as nations go. We are still suffering the growing pains which cannot be avoided as we approach adult stature in the community of nations. Given time and considerably more common sense, we can still pass on to our children and grandchildren the promise of great- ness. First step in that process is to stop yapping about how much more the Canadians in some other part of the country have; to stop yelling about what we don't have and start saying thanks .for what is ours. Enduring courage As these words are written at the weekend the word is that Terry Fox is "near death. His doctors haveexhausted all means of prolonging a life which, though tragically short, has left its mark upon the entire nation. Terry's heroic one -legged run across half the face of Canada has demonstrated to all of us that the bright star of courage is not reserved for those who die in battle. Nor can his imminent death be considered as any sort of failure after a gallant struggle. It May well be the culmination othiSintende purpose — to draw atte ion and finan- cial support to the ne6d for intensified research programs aimed at controll- ing cancer. As the thoughts of so many of his countrymen turn to him in his final. days, so too we will think a bit more about the other unknown victims of this disease who are meeting the same fate with only friends and relatives to wit- ness their suffering. It would be a wise person indeed who diould provide a logical explanation for the purpose of human suffering. If it is a part of the grand design for human beings it is beyond our comprehension. But Terry Fox has made, it plain that his own/Suffering was turned into something wondrously beneficial to `other humans. If he is to die it will not be in vain. A nation at ransom If the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has actually called its mem- bers out on strike by Monday midnight, a very large section of business in this country will grind to a halt. Mail move- ment, vital to the entire economy of the nation, has become not a service, but a weapon. There is no point in entering the argument about whether or not an average salary of $17,000 a year is ade- quate for a postal worker. For many Canadians that sort of pay cheque would be a godsend, but for postal people it's not enough. They are asking for $1.70 an hour more — another $2,000 plus over a year. As far as most of us are concerned (and this the CUPW people well know) even a few days' delay in mail services at present can be nearly fatal. With interest on borrowed money running at over 20 per cent; prompt collection of billings is desperately important. Al- most all aspects of business and many factors in the lives of individuals will be painfully complicated by a postal stri ke. As usual, the victims will not be the employers with whom the postal work- ers are bargaining, but the helpless and innocent people who suffer the conse- quences. There is a deep and growing anger within this country that so many must suffer fir the demands of so few. International frustration News reports from Europe Indicate a growing irritation with what is term- ed a United States policy of high inter- est rates, which are affecting interna- tional monetary climates the world over. Finance ministers in many West- ern European countries feet that the U.S. policy of raising interest rates in an effort to curb inflation is primarily responsible for Increases in such rates in other countries., Certai nly Canadians can speak from painful experience about the consequences of high Interest rates. Whether or not any government can effectively control its economy is a moot question. We have been hearing the arguments, pro and con, ever since the years of the great depression. The Conservative government of R. B. Bennett was elected in Canada in the early thirties on the promise that he and his people would put an end to the economic woes of the nation. In actual fact the depression deepened and did not end until the false prosperity of wartime employment began i'n 1939. Neither inflation nor depression are created b°y governments. They are the product of mental attitudes. When there is lots of money floating around in the form of high wages and full employment, prices go up. People are carelessly ready to pay more for what they want. During a depression the op- posite is true. Spenders become wary, close their purses and decide to watt for "better times" before spending their money and business dries up with con- sequent loss of employment. Should the United States decide to forcibly cut all interest rates to six or eight per cent, no one really knows what the result would be. Economies .might be better — or they might be worse. Certainly it is evident that economics Is anything but an exact science. Not even the experts can agree. A e of editorial •%; S.$$%$\h•••:$ $*$$•$$$: `$$:.•`,y: