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Crisis in the leather industry Unless the federal government acts In a responsible manner the jobs of thousands of Canadians many of them from Acton and district could be lost as the result of the current slump of Canadian leather sales The slump has already been felt in Acton at the plant where layoffs have occurred because the Canadian shoe Industry cannot compete with millions of pairs of cheap imported shoes Figures show that almost half of all shoes sold at retail in Canada in were Imported This has created a serious situation In the shoe industry and in Canadian tanneries who supply most of their leather The jobs of hundreds of Acton and district people could be on the line unless the Government does something to eliminate the competition from Importers subsidized by foreign governments The importers have an 20 years ago the Isaac tat Free Mm 12 HI A service will be held In Acton on Sunday May J to mark the coronation of Elizabeth DKoratkm and are akw being plumed by the At a fetter public eld last Thursday at be Wrigglcnrartb School to Georgetown of Acton placed brat of contestaAs a the five took three were Ella who came third and Raymond led for fourtt with Carolyn of Georgetown who years old spot on bar trip to Canada from Hungary Winning will compete agate the from the of the county On Friday the men of St Albans church a Dad and Ltd night Over 100 represent Referring to the Hatton County night at classes for the past 12 weeks In Milton J Haltona agrictdtural representative called the project one of the best Jobs of its kind In the years I have been here bringing rural and urban people together There were enrolled quite a few from Acton Sunday morning at United church a service of dedication was held In connection with the new addition to the and Wayne Ridley were winners of the Y gold stars for February Coaches Andy and Torn Niched were well Pleased with the members of the Acton whippet Club who competed In the Indoor Track Meet In Hamilton Bui SUlllng ran second in his beat Pete and Bob HtaUey ran well bat failed to place Wayne and Herb also did well Jane Force Denize Coles and Jean passed piano euros 50 years ago Tafcei ram Ike Free Press March I think Actons waterworks system supplies with the very finest quality of water it always Is clear and cold says a lady who came to make her home hero last year Where we lived before the water was not nearly as pel table and when the wind was In a certain direction It became discolored and of a muddy hue Acton Is fortunate In having as Its source of supply a spring with the water gushing from the rock This community was greatly shocked to learn of the death of Mrs NlnianF Lindsay Four doctors and a pneumonia specialist from Toronto were called In and the most skilful nursing given but she gradually grew worse She came to Acton as a bride from Aahgrove to the splendid farm In which she took great pride She made it attractive with profuse cultivation of flowers planting of hedges and shade trees and keeping the lawns and gardens always a place of striking beauty Dublin school reports Lizzie Kelly Merle Stewart Pat Kelly John Black Margaret Donald McDougall Howard Webster Wilfred Lawrence Webster Henry Kelly Fryer Walter Fryer C teacher Easter millinery is looming up Maple sugar making is on the tapis St Catharines school girls are surely stepping Into the equality race They are now playing marbles on the bare sidewalks just like the boys Let everybody be a booster for the town this Jubilee year of Incorporation Nelson had his motor car out Tuesday for the first time In weeks He did not venture far out In the country though Com garage received a load of new Ford cars on Saturday unfair advantage over Canadian shoo and leather producers as a result of the subsidies and a lower wage scale which makes mockery of free trade policies of ho Canadian Government and could odd to unemployment figures already too high When Importers are indulging in unfair trade practices It Is time for the Government to step in with restrictions to ensure Canadian jobs ore not lost It is Important also to this town and area where a large part of the economy depends on the payroll to sustain It A serious recession in the leather industry could create chaos here and reflect in many art as We already have the spectacle of a large plant In nearby Georgetown closing doors and leaving employees to find jobs Policies which originated in Washington were partly to blame for the plant shutdown It would be real folly If policies which originated In Ottawa were to blame for losing Canadians Jobs in the leather and shoe Industries We should be concerned not only for the welfare of employees Involved but also for he industry which is almost 100 per cent Canadianowned and operated and has always been able to compete In world markets when competition was fair The tanners and shoe have made representations to the Government and we have been told were offered money rather than assurances of aid in the form of restrictions Since the situation is an artificial creation of other countries the shoe and leather manufacturers want their Government to act on their behalf to erase the unfair advantages enjoyed by importers It is time some action is forth coming t Editorial Page Tho Acton ess Wednesday M Dont shoot the piano player SPRINGLIKE WEATHER moved into this district repository for old hockey sticks Jim Jennings shot these this week thoughts of winter and bringing out the photos at the M Z Bennett and Robert Little schools Tuesday real harbingers ropes marbles patched while the weatherman was predicting even warmer weather to follow Back Issues of The Free Press 75 years ago Taken from the the Free March 10 Our Chief Magistrate has Fallen Acton Is Overwhelmed with Sorrow because her First Citizen has Passed Away Lamentable Death of Storey Esq Reeve a municipality mourns the loss of its experienced and honored Chief Magistrate A devoted wife and family mourns the loss A community mourns the loss of Its most benef and useful citizen Anlmmensebuslnesslosesils founder and hundreds of employees their employer Storey is dead Sad sad indeed was this sorrowful intelligence as It was passed from one to the other of our citizens on Sunday morning The fatal Illness was caused by a cancerous growth in the bladder and the specialists had advised the family he was not likely to survive He was bom In England and his early ad vantages for education were good he commenced business in Acton in as Storey and Taylor Saddlers He turned his attention to the manufacture of gloves and mitts and the Storey Glove Company was established The products of 200 skilled operatives are on sale across the broad dominion In the year 1873 It was felt that Acton had arrived at that stage In her history where incorporation would advance her Interests and Mr Storey was the first reeve He has fallen with the reins of office in hand funeral was the most largely attended ever held In this part of the county It Is estimated that a thousand people were unable to gain admittance to the Methodist church The cortege formed up with town and county councillors school board Home Circle Woodmen of the World clergymen bears and pall bearers mourners employees of the glove works and tannery general public and carriages The public school and all business places were closed This obituary takes four full columns We had intended to refrain from any editorial comment about the Lions Club project of buying the Acton station and moving It onto parkland off Elizabeth Drive but now this newspaper has been accused of releasing private information attacking the Lions and the Lord only knows what else so this has put a different face on the discussions Obviously some people in town including some members of council thought news of the project should have been hushed up and decisions made at private meetings where the public would have no means of knowing what was taking place This newspaper would have been abrogating its responsibilities if it did not publish accounts of public business at meetings and we do not intend to apologize The Lions Club proposal was explained to the Parks Board at a recent meeting and the Free Press the My weekly is the best There nothing like my To keep me up to date There Old Joe Blow and 1 know Who daily share my fate 11 my Weekly family album With pictures news and leisure Our laughs and tears throughout the years Just add to lifelong pleasures The Folk we know who do their thing With dignity and pride They plow the sod give thanks to God In simplicity abide it s here we find humanity The finest of its kind Each page we scan for all we can There something we can find Sometimes as my hand trembles For fear 1 11 lose my sheet Those bigger guys will steal my prize takeTt off the street With my happy little Tabloid I think I heaven blest For all my views and community news My Weekly Is the best Victor Smith R R 2 THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE 853 Bus Editorial Office only newspaper present Incidentally published it in full explaining the Lions case with no idea It would raise a furor The next week we published reactions to the project from people in the area where the club wished to place the old station They made it clear the project did not appeal to them It was certainly never the intention to pillory the Lions Club or their ashasbeenuggestedatActon council The Lions have always had our complete support and sympathy m any worthwhile project they undertook in past They will continue to receive it in the future but it does not extend to holding back news which effects the public until someone higher up decides it is time we can print it Councillor Norm Elliott has asserted some remarks in the Free Press were a complete and utter assassination of the service club We feel he is being unfair We searched in vain for any malice in news stories of There has been a good deal of unfair pressure placed on federal sin the past months over the question of capital punish ment Across the country the mood seems to be that capital punishment should be rtinstatea and many MPs who might have voted against it on the grounds of conscience or principle are having their arms twisted pretty hard by their constituents This despite the fact that it was to be a free vote with party lines waived It manes it tough toenails for the M who is hanging onto his seat by his fingernails he or she rherelv a delegate to carry to Ottawa the wishes of what might well be a minority of the voters in his riding Or is he or she a representative of that nding with first the good of the country at and second the good of his riding If the MP is merely a delegate why pay someone year Why not Just send a paperboy or a pensioner to Ottawa with the wishes of the riding But if the MP Is to be a representative he should be given freedom to make his own decisions especially when it Is a matter of principle It is my fear that some MPs putting expediency before conscience the end before the means will be stampeded into voting against their private convictions either report and we challenge anyone to question their veracity Letters to the editor are the opinions of those who write Since we are now involved m this what do we think of the We feel the Lions project has much merit and would like to sec the station preserved at some point where it would be an asset to both the Lions and the community In the discussion it seems we have all lost sight of the main object of the project whether it is feasible or desirable to locate the station in that particular spot We feel it is up to Parks Board to make the decision without malice or favor keeping the good of the entire community in mind Meanwhile we will continue to print both sides of issues which arise in spite of those who would like to shut us up but please don shoot the piano player he s doing the best he can with the music provided I am firmly opposed to cap punish ment and I have no in saying so I don t think that t ser the slightest deterrent to the drunk the drug addict the person momentarily tisane or the paranoids who will murder for money And statistics don t impress me Sure the murder rate has gone up during the five- year moratorium But so have the rates of muggings r a pings at dungs and wifebeatings To be consistent the adherents of cap tal punishment should be pushing for a revival of corporal punishment as a deterrent If we re going to revive the brutish on of human 1 let s go all the way Let bring back the duckingstool for gossips We need the whole of the Great Lakes for ducking but never mind not revive burning tor witches Ah what a on that would make Kids who stole apples would be branded on the forehead with a T for Th ProstituteswouldbemarkedwithaP and f they were also they would read Poachers would get twelve lashes and be sent to tundra That means I d er see a lot of my old ends again People caught Illegal firearms would have their trigger fingers or preferably their whole hand lopped off That would mean a surplus of southpaws but one can t stand in the way of deterrents can one Detergents of course are a matter We can stand in the way of than and feel a righteous glow It makes me physically ill to hear otherwise decent people say they dont believe hanging but they a have no ob jection to ending a human life by an overdose of if the villain were an addict or a nice tranquillizer that would put him to sleep forever Murder is murder whether it is done by the individual or by the state and I want no part of it Six inches never make 16 Dear Sir Last week s Free Press was most Impressive and interesting Im sure you bad many favourable comments I like to make one correction regarding my article on woodTots When I brought It In to you my rough copy read A landowner should be aware by law he cannot cut trees under IB sixteen Inches In diameter NOT the six Inches printed the paper There is a fair bit of difference between the two and I think that both the Natural Resource people and also landowners interested in improving their would appreciate a mention of the correct figure Yours truly Wendy Thomson Editors note Our error