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Zurich Citizens News, 1975-02-20, Page 4PAGE 4 ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1975 In defence of cops The acquittal on Tuesday of Goderich Police Constable John Hills, who was charged with unlawful and dangerous use of his service revolver, and dangerous driving, will undoubtedly be met with cheers and a sigh of relief in many parts of the County. It shows, in this particular case, that the police are hired to keep the peace and protect the town, not to let a mob of drunken punks take over the town, as appeared to be the case in Goderich. The incidents of the pre -Hallowe'en caper show just how little respect a policeman receives anymore. Provincial Judge W.A. Ehgoetz, in handing down his decision said: "what are the police to do? Run? Leave the Square lathe hands of the mob? "Should they (the police) avoid a potentially dangerous situat- ion in order to avoid a confrontation?" Judge Ehgoetz asked. Part of the issue boils down to the fact that anymore, many in the community and in Goderich in this particular case, won't stand behind the police when they should, and criticize them when they shouldn't. "This community will have to ask itself what amount of abuse it expects its officers to tolerate in the execution of their duty, " Judge Ehgoetz said. The judge said the Goderich citizens were in the position of "throwing Christians to the lions to appease the mob" by not backing their police officers. (Clinton News Record) Limited reassurance The visit of Hon. Frank Miller, Ontario's minister of health, to several Western Ontario communities last week provided, if nothing else, an opportunity to fire some important questions at "the boss man" in the health care field. The people in this part of the province most concerned about health ministry policies are members of,hospital boards and health unit personnel in addition, of course, to medical practit- ioners. The famed (or ill -famed) Mustard report, which was released last year, advocated some drastic changes is the gen- eral pattern of hospital usage and administration. The document created a new climate of concern and certainly a measure of determined opposition. Specific recommendations in the report advocated the form- ation of very large hospital regions, so large, in fact, that hosp- ital boards found the su.ested regions totally unacceptable. Another recommendation, if implemented, would dictate to doctors the areas in which they would be permitted to practise. County health units, too, would be required to merge into very large-scale operations. In answer to questions on the subject of health care regions, Mr. Miller was reassuring. He declared that no firm decisions have been made about the size or boundaries of such regions and reminded his questioners that the Mustard report was not final government policy. He also intimated that there are no plans on the drawing board for the closing of small hospitals. Rather, he advocates the elimination of duplicated services. The health minister has an ability to communicate, which his predecessors lacked. He was candid and reasonable, but his remarks about the future of health planning indicated that the status quo will not be altered hastily. The minister's approach to the questions which are troubling local health authorities was that a man who sincerely wants to seek avenues of co-operation, However, people who carry the responsibility for health services in our communities have lived through too many years of changing policy to be totally reassur- ed about the future. Hospital insurance was inaugurated 15 years ago and local hospital financing immediately became subject to the dictates of the Ontario Hospital Services' Commission, with its hosts of directors, inspectors and auditors. A complicated system of book-keeping was demanded and then revamped four or five times. A few years later the inclusion of physician's services in the insurance scheme required an entirely new system of financ- ial administration and eventually removal of hospital jurisdiction from the services' commission to direct control of the ministry of health. The people who devote their time and effort to the provision of good health care for small communities are naturally fearful that even a minister of health cannot speak with any accuracy of future policies. They have been changed too often in the past. (Wingham Advance Times) ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher Second LI?ss 1:1,1!.! Registration Number 1385 40.111 Member: e4A/Canadr Wekly Nwspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Veltri, Subscription Rates: $5.00 per year in advance in Canada; $G.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 150 International Scene (by Raymond Cannoli) PITY POOR PORTUGAL It is no secret that I have a soft spot in my heart for Port- ugal. Having lived and gone to school there, I got to know the people very well and the frust- rations they felt under the dict- atorship of Salazar. Now that the dictatorship has been over- thrown, things should be looking up for that small country but they are nor. The situation is rather grim. This time it is quite obvious that the communists are to blame for a great deal of the confusion and unrest which exists. Nobody expected that life after the overthrow of the dictatorship would be a bed of roses but it was hoped that some semblance of order could be • restored before chaos set in. The guiding light in the country has been the armed forces and they have permitted the formation of a three power coalition government. At the tirneof writing the Socialist and Popular Dernocartic parties are threatening to resign from this government because the Com- munists are up to their old tricks trying to gain control over all of the country's trade unions. Last week the Co- ordinating Committee of the Armed Forces Movement came down on the Side of the Comm- unists, at least on this issue and it is a good question just how much farther the situation will deteriorate before compl- ete anarchy sets in. It is understandable why the Communists are starting to push hard. With national elections corning up, if they ever do take place, private polls have shown that only about 1010 of the ele- ctorate actually supports the Reds. With such a lack of pop- ular support, history has shown that Communists usually try to take over vital organizations in a country such as trade un- ions, police and other functions covered by the Minister of the Interior. They also count on the fact that no other one party is strong enough to oppose them and so, if they can disrupt other political movements and keep them from getting organ- ized, it makes a take-over that much more simple. Of course, these Communists are playing a dangerous game for, as their activities become better known, the more people will tend to avoid supporting Communist candidates. Power has to be seized before the elections, not afterward and surely one of the goals must be to disrupt these elections, force their postponement so that furth- er clandestine activities can be carried out. What is going on in Portugal is definitely not being ignored REDI- MIX CONCRETE !ALSO FORM iILlnrwi McCann Const. Ltd. DASHWOOU Phone 232.33111 v' 237-3422 in Spain which is very much a right wing nation. Should the situation deteriorate to a great extend in Portugal, it is not entirely impossible that the Spanish armed forces would decide to put matters right. Look at your map of the Iberian peninsula and you will see that it would not take the Spanish army very long to reach Oporto or Lisbon the capital. There would be no problem as to sup- eriority of the air; the Portug- uese have outdated equipment and would be no match for the modern jets which the Spaniards have bought from the French and the Americans. It is quite obvious that, given the Comm- unist threat, a great many Port- uguese might welcome the intervention of the Spanish army It is, therefore, quite evident that the situation is extremely explosive and it might not take much to set it off. One can only wonder how active the KGB and the CIA are for surely both sides have their agents there„ There are, of course, other possibilities, one of which is that General Spinola, who still has a large following, will be brought back by the same arm- ed forces that deposed him, to give some credible leadership to the country. It is also poss- ible that the Socialists and the Popular Democrats will be able (continued on page 5) Banghart, Doig and Co. Chartered Accountants 268 Main St., Exeter ARTHUR W. READ Resident Partner. Bus. 235-0120, Res. 238-8075 Business and Professional Directory OPTOMETRISTS J. E. Langstaff OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 527.1240 Tuesday, Tnursday, Friday, Sat- urday a.m.. Thursday evening CLINTON OFFICE 10 Issac Street 482.7010 Monday and Wednesday Call either office for appointment. Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST Office Hours: 9.12 A,M, — 1:30 - 8 P.M. Closed all day Saturday inane 235-2433 Exeter INS(JRANCES Robert F. 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