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February 2, 1950 THE OAKVILLE-TRAFALGAR JOURNAL The Oakville- Trafalgar Journal | Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Published Every Thursday Morning in Oakville, Ont., by Oakville-Trafalgar Publishers, Ltd. 7 Dunn Street North S. Casey Wood, Jr, Vincent H. Barrey Managing Editor Advertising Manager Bill Cotton, Hditorial Assistant Phone 1298 NUANYNYNY ANNAN, rafalgar Tales BY BESSIE CAIRNS Correction . . . Trust Mr, Stal- in didn't read last week's Jour- nal. Whereas a number of read- ers politely pointed out the er- Tor in the statement "in Russia, which is 75% illiterate," Uncle Joe might have followed up with a free trip to Siberia; the miss- ing line was "prior to the revolu- tion" the proof-reader evidently a stickler for English if not accur- acy must have juggled is and was. school teachers with regular an- nual creases, and it's not too much. PUFFS FROM THE OTTON GIN This like to take firm issue with the family budget theories of Mr. Sidney that eminent econ- omist who is occasionally retain- Correct me if I'm wrong but I firmly believe that: ( 1. A teacher should be able to afford an apartment of her own or one shared with and advance- a quaint For ment--there's week, we would recreation a congenial Home That might get the four of you a bit you run companion where when her day's work is done she can let down her hair, you get two bucks oven. Margolius, kick off her shoes and re- of recreation, just so long never yearn to movie. But the only way a two- spot could be steered toward advancement would be to have it Woo the boss for a $15 raise with a steady barrage of quarter stog- ies. Then You could get in on Sidney's $60 per week budget, which allows $3.50 for recreation and advancement. lax. Whatever may be said for or against teaching as a vocation I do not think there is any ques- tion of the fact that it takes a tremendous amount of nervous energy and no matter how nice a boarding-house a teacher may gar 'can't afford it, you and I as [Select there is always the strain tax-payers can't afford it . . .|of accommodating oneself to canit afford what? . To pay |others. Remember also a teacher teachers a decent salary! Yet |usually has lessons to prepare, re- whether we live in Bronte, Tra- [Ports to tabulate and papers to ed to advise the readers of Mac- see a fi lean's magazine concerning their household financing problems. At the same time, called upon to heartily endorse the bud- getting sentiments of Mr, Bruce West, an uninhibited whose daily column in the Globe It is natural to want to hold prices down. No one we feel wants to see any item in the family budget rise any higher. For this reason protests voiced by the large cities against the Bell Telephone Company's request- for an increased rate schedule at first glance appear most commendable. But, actually, on more careful examination such is not the case. Rather it is, prob- ably unwittingly, a clear cut example of locality sel- fishness. What Price Education? (Continued from last week) Bronte can't afford it, Trafal- realist and Mail ranks with the contin- ent's newspaper features. We are Mr. West, on the other hand, fully aware that the gentlemen [freely if wistfully admits he al- correct, all of which require con- Selfish because all the large centres who have recorded their protests with the Board of Transport Commissioners against the Bell's request for an in- crease, today are equipped with up-to-date, adequate dial systems while other communities are not. These dial installations have been made by. the telephone company out of profits derived from their country-wide operations, plus new capital invested by the people. The profits during past years were made possible by the revenue derived from the small- er centres, added to the profit from operations in the large cities. The overall profits of the company, in other words, made possible the convenience and ex- cellence of the service in cities like Toronto, Montreal and so on. J The cost of doing business has risen for the com- pany, as it has for every other company, and it claims that unless it is permitted to raise its rates accord- ingly, it will not have available funds for necessary improvement and expansion of services. It will be the first rate increase, incidentally, in 23 years. ; It's an amusing revelation of the business abil- ities of the city fathers of Toronto et al, that they seem to consider it possible for any business to pay increased wage rates, increased costs for raw mater- jals, and yet not have to charge more for services or products. Toronto's tax rate is rising, for instance, due to increased cost of municipal services. Toronto's sage § council members see nothing unusual in that--and 3 hey will beat their chests with pride if the rise is only a certain amount. instead of being more. If the * electors cried out against them in the same way the 'councillors did against the Bell Telephone Company's request. Toronto City Fathers would feel most incen- 'sed and would, in their usual inimitable style, have a L great deal to say about lack of understanding of the populace. Should the Board of Transport Commissioners listen to these protests; throwing to the winds con- sideration of the 55,000 Canadian investors who have drisked their savings to help build the present Bell system; giving no consideration to the thousands of smaller centres which if an increase is not allowed, twill be condemned to a long wait for badly needed improvements in facilities--should they not permit an increase, then the "Hog In The Manger" attitude las exemplified by big cities will have prevailed. There isn't any polite way of describing an in- W dividual who, with everything he needs, will not per- mit a reasonable increase in costs for the things he Jenjoys sp that others, who helped pay for what he thas, may have it also. It's selfishness of a high order. It is surprising that two groups affected have not leapt to their feet in protest. These are, the residents fof Canada's smaller towns, cities and villages--and the investors who depend on dividends from the Bell 'Telephone Company for their living. There are wid- ows across Canada who have lived on the income from Bell Telephone Shares that their husbands sav- ed to buy; who have raised families; who expected to have a secure old age from such money. To pro- hibit the Bell Telephone Company from charging sufficient rates for its service would mean that these people may not have their share of the company's benefits. It is saying that "First come First served, and devil take the hindmost" is the way of life that Canada should adopt. We feel that the Mayors, Reeves, Councillors [and other public officials of the important smaller entres missed the boat when they did not come out Strongly in favor of the Commissioners immediately considering the Bell's request, and urging that rates © raised if necessary so that the company could "arTy out needed expansion programs in their com- unite: The history of the Bell Telephone Company re- als a constant aim--that of the best possible ser- eryone at all times. Today the company it can not afford to render an expanded and bet- €r service in communities not already equipped with ithe latest equipment, unless it can receive an in- 'reased revenue from all who use its services. In Oakville most sensible residents realize that he company has been working under a terrific hand- cap because of the increase in population . . . and are "are that every possible effort has been put forth so at service could be as effective as it is. Yet our Service has not been good, with delays a constant pin-prick to both industrial and domestic users. If Pvery minute that we have spent waiting for an op- erator to answer our call and secure our number in he last few years was added together we'd have time or a nice long holiday. These delays have not been the company's or Pperators' fault. One pair of hands, and one switch- board position, can only do so much. Now the build- ng and switchboards have been expanded, and ser- ice is better. But it is still a long way from being as tisfactory as that enjoyed by Toronto telephone ers, for instance . . . and never will be until a dial iystem is installed. So in Oakville, we are faced with the certainty hat ve will have to put up with, and not criticise un- irly, a telephone service for some time to come sim- falgar or Aklavik we're all Can- adians and we can and do afford to spend more money on liquor than on education, more money on tobacco than on education, more money on the prosecution and incarceration of law-break- ers than on education. Let us forget the mill rate for a few minutes and consider Miss B. your child's teacher. If it so happens your child is taught by Mrs. A in all probability the 'reason she is teaching in this area is because it is close to home and her salary is a welcome addition to the family income. My concern is with Miss B. who must live entir- ely on her own income, centration and privacy. ing and washing. she isn't tied distance of it. It can't asked, "Miss B. Willie couldn't understand There is very little difference in | TYIN€ - - the cost of living between Oak. ville and Toronto yet the latter has no teacher shortage, in fact they have the pick of the prov ince, for the simplo reason they Pay a living wage, minimum $1800, maximum $3300 for public (Continued on Page 5) 2. A teaiher should be able to afford a cleaning woman, and to send her heavy laundry out; there is no object in having an apart- ment if 'evenings are spent clean- 2. A teacher should be able to afford a car so that, though she may wish to live near the school, to within walking be much fun to know that every time you step outside you're liable to be said he his arith- metic to-day or Mary came home A teacher should join the Art Gallery and be able to attend the openings, go to concerts or lec- ture in Toronto. There are many an up-to-date teacher can ill af- ford to miss, yes and she should creased. The individual increase will not be enjoyed by any of us. But certainly none of us enjoy the present slowness and difficulties we experience from time to time in our daily telephone use. So we should all be most willing to have an increase as it means that we will then have completely satisfactory service. The people in town who have been waiting for tele- phones for months would not argue over the cost of the service if they were offered it tomorrow . . . for even at increased rates telephone service would not cost, per day, anywhere near what the value received would represent. at is needed is for the centres that have what they want to realize that their natural desire to hold prices down is, in reality an unnatural attempt to deny to the remainder of the country those things which they enjoy and finally is an action to limit the future expansion of their own services. Qubec and Ontario City Councils, and all residents, should look at this matter in a way which will ensure the increased cost will be as small as possible, yet sufficient so that everyone may enjoy equal benefits and excellence of service. The selfish outlook in regards to Bell Telephone Company rates should be abandoned for the same reason that national selfishness should be forgotten, in order that mankind as a whole may share in equal- ity the products which make life more pleasant. After last week's paper we're feeling very envious of some of our friends who work for rubber companies. The bas- lc advantage cf rubber is that it can be stretched or com- pressed. But in the newspaper game type is made of lead and lead doesn't change its size under similar urging worth a rip. And last week when our front page was being put to bed the editorial department needed the compressing qualities of rub. ber for the type on a Lions club story, if it was to fit the space available for it. Unfortunately when the paragraph reporting the excell- ent entertainment provided at the club that night was remoy- ed so the story would fit, the names of Allen Oliphant and Jack Carter, two new members inducted into the Lions club, moved up so closely to the end of the account of the guest speaker --a member of Toronto A.A.--that cause for amuse- ment was provided for readers by the resulting suggestion that the club they had joined was Alcoholics Anonymous, That's how it happened fellows. Hope you found it amusing too, and no cause for embarrasment. It is reported that anglers are the chief objectors to the pollution by the Espanola Mill of the Spanish River. Legisla- tion can be passed, apparently, by the Provincial legislature which will nullify the decision of the Privy Council which for- bids the mill to pollute the river. But if passed the fishermen will not be able to take their usual good catch from the river, Fishing is a sport, maybe the fishermen should be good sports and agree to lel the Spansh River fish be hooked no longer, It enforced, the Privy Council decision would certainly hook a whole town--which would be too large a catch for even all the fishermen in the Province. At last the credit--or blame--can be apportioned for the winter we've been experiencing, Mayor Howard Winter of Brantford, and the voters who elected him, are the culprits, The mayor adopted as his campaign slogan, "Vote for Winter and have sumnier all the time" A lesson to all politicians to be careful in selecting their slogans, general public between 2 and 5 p, Two men who revealed their susceptibilities to regional fm- pressions' were the men who were sheep rustling near Guelph: I's an even money bet they were at the East-West football championship and got a western ------ py Conroe rii recently sentenced for in question won't be either unduly perturbed or feverishly elated as a result of our expressed feelings on the matter. We're quite con- vinced, however, that Sidney wanders well off the beam when he charts the course of our week- ly paycheck, and that Bruce, al- beit inadvertently, has adopted just the proper attitude towards budgets. Mr. Margolius, in a recent fea- ture article, maintains: that "you have got to get a new model bud- get to cope with the leaping cost of eating." Where you used to spend 25 percent of your income before the war in indulging your gastronomic whims, he asserts, you must now fork over 40 per- cent. We'll go along with him there--but just so far, Because when Mr. Margolius, by means of neatly detailed charts, endeav- ours to shake up your spending habits to counteract the topsy- turvy tummy tolls, it seems to us he makes a firm bid for an Oscar as the Wishful Thinker Of The Year. Take his rent estimates, for in- stance. Or better still, let Mr. |Margolius take them--our land- llord very definitely wouldn't! Sidney matter-of-factly allows a family of four with a $45 net income to pay $7.50 a week in rent. That's what the man said Mr. Margolius, it seems, must have overlooked the Toronto- Hamilton area in his researching. If he didn't, and knows where he can find a two-bedroom apart- ment for about $31.50 a month, we have no less than 104 acquain- tances who would gladly pay him half the difference between that figure and what they are actually paying at the moment. Tt would be a tidy deal for both parties. For fuel and light, he permits $2.25 weekly. Br-r-r! While one local coal dealer, while admitting that dispensing coal can be a black business, maintains he treats you white, we have an em- phatic conviction you'd be a frig- 1d blue if you burned the amount of coal said dealer could sell you for that amount. And the $2.25 he allows for medical would be used up in short order just buying aspirins, chest rubs, sulfa Pills and kindred sniffle squel- chers. care ways winds up spending twice as much as his budget allows. He hopefully reads articles, too, vainly seeking a solution. Maybe he read Sidney's soliloquy, for all we know. If he did, he hasn't benefitted by these higher brack- et words of wisdom. For he says: "We're almost certain these people who draw up these fancy food budgets eat on their in-laws. At any rate, they certainly don't have any ,of their in-laws eating on them." Only hope of beating the bud- get bugaboo, opines West, is in staying ahead of the game all of the time. "Once you lose your lead on a budget, you've had it," be maintains. "Take the matter of cigarets alone, We once tried to keep to $245 worth of fags a week--a pack a day at tho old 35 cent price. Tho first two days we stayed two clgarets ahead of the budget. But on the third day We got stuck with a couple of heavy rounds while passing cig- arets out to be polite and found ourselves 11 cigarets behind, Then cigarets went up a cent a pack - «we knew wd were lost, and gave up the whole thing, Which is just what we're going to do right here. But we'd still like to be around to watch Mr, Margolius doling out that $45 a week on strict We'd have a nico wreath ready, too, schedule, Disgustedly Youry, BILL COTTON iis HE [------------ A Complete Investment Service BONDS STOCKS on all Exchanges MACRAE AND COMPANY Investment Dealers 80 King St. W.--Toronto PHONE: EL 3374 compounded with only the Phone 94 When Your Doctor Prescribes ... + «+ Bring your prescription to us to be accurately and by only registered pharmacists, Oakville Drug Co, Limited Len Hope, Mgr. best quality ingredients , . * Colborne St. E.