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EDITORIAL COMMENT Sad Day For Bowmanville Last Friday was a sad day for Bowmanville and the more than 100 employees of the Honeywell plant here. They were told their jobs would bè gone in eight weeks and the plant would be closed. Many had seen it coming over the past two years as markets dwindled and new products didn't take up the slack, but they still hoped that something would happen to improve the situation. Instead, things -be- came worse as sales continued to fall off for a wide variety of reason. And on Friday the axe fell. It must have been an agonizing period of time for company officials who back in 1968 and 69 had launched the plant here with great expectations. The first plant immed- iately proved inadequate and an- other 10,000 feet of space was added the following year, with additional expansion plans being cofisidered. Employment at the plant neared the 300 mark in 1970 with the market soaking up all the products that could be manufactured. Payrolls soared and the value of products produced rose to many millions. Then, something happened to change the picture and gradually the glowing future became gloomy until last week when the end came. One of the local men who had worked closely with Honeywell executives from the start, former Mayor Ivan Hobbs, expressed his deep disappointment to the States- man on Sunday night. He was high in his praise of the Honeywell officials who had been excellent community minded citizens in every respect. The loss of the plant is a real blow to this eommunity's industrial section as well as to those who were employed there. It will mean of loss of about $150,000 in taxes at a time when these funds are sorely needed to offset the growing imbalance between our residential and commercial-industrial assessment. Housing has been expanding rapidly in recent years without comparable expansion in the industrial and commercial field. For the employees who at the end of January will be out of work, every effort will be made to relocate them, but right now with layoffs in prospect at General Motors and probably in other supporfing plants, the prospects don't look too bright. The recession in United States is gradually being felt here and in the months ahead could hit much harder than it has to date. Unemployment insurance will help, of course, but cannot compare with the wages they have been receiving at Honeywell where a new contract had come into effect in September. Many of those employed at the plant left good jobs with other companies back in the early days. Now, they will have to start over again somewhere else. These certainly are confusing and disturbing times, with nobody quite knowing what's ahead, except more problems. About all that can be said is that so far, Canada is about the most fortunate country in the western, industrialized world. That won't be too much comfort for those who had pinned their future hopes and aspirations on their employ- ment with the Honeywell plant here. It certainly takes much of the joy out of the Christmas season for them and is bound to have a depressing affect on their friends and relatives1. . . and indeed, on the community as a whole. It is with deep sorrow that we bid the Honeywell people farewell. While they have been here, they certainly have made a worthwhile contribution to the community. We can only regret that their plans didn't work out and their products didn't find adequate markets to live up to their expectations. A Not-So-Happy Christmas The weeks of December which precede Christ mas are traditionally the "happiest time of the year" -- at least according to the song writers. This year, however, these same weeks are likely to be the unhappiest in a generation for many Canadians and Americans. Mass layoffs in the North American auto industry have already triggered countless thou- sands of cutbacks in other industries which are indirectly affected by the slowdown in the car business and a widespread sense of apprehension among other workers who fear that mass unemployment may have been triggered by the woes of the auto trade. It certainly is an unfortunate coincidence that there will be no pay cheques for several hundred fami- lies, just when they want some extra cash for gifts and holiday festivity. People who lived through the grim years of the thirties know the feeling all too well. What has happened in the auto industry was inevitable. With the cost of housing and food skyrocket- ing, lower and mid-level wage earners have been forced to make some firm decisions about the priorities in their spending - and the have rightly decided that food an shelter are more important than a new car every second year. However, such a major proportion of our economy has been ependent upon the sale of cars that repercus- sions from its temporary slowdown are felt in every corner of the continent. Central to the entire problem is the fact that car manufacturing plants are so specialized to their own type of production that they cannot be switched to the manufacture of the countless other items of con- sumer goods which are in desperate- ly short supply. Once we have weathered the initial months of unemployment we should see a healthier trend in the economy as more diversified indust- ries turn to filling the need for typewriters and wash basins and baby buggies - or any of the hundreds of items which, for many months, have been backordered. With a dropping interest rate we may see new life injected into the housing trades and the industries which supply building and home equipment needs. Much more importantly, a period of deep an.iety about personal incomes may also be followed by a more enlightened attitude on the part of working people. Keener appreciation of steady jobs and adequate pay cheques may replace the greed and carelessness which have characterized so many areas of employment during the past decade. Pride in sound workmanship and solid value for the consumer's dollar would certainly be an encouraging sign. Most of us have been living pretty high off the hog for a long time. The bitter truth that it cannot go on for ever will not be easy to swallow - but it may cure some of our most deadly ailments in the long run. - Wingham Advance-Times Corner for Poets THE NOSTALGIA OF CHRISTMAS There is a very special tint To Christmas in Durham. The snow is whiter, the glint Of the stars is like a psalm Drawn up to get you there. The sun shines brighter Even as the days grow shorter. I remember it very well - The church, the choir, dear old Noel. The old horse and the cutter, Carrot pudding, turni roast goose, Memories make my eart flutter, A few silent tears come loose. Yes, I remember Christmas - It's art of God's good plan, Tha you and I should pass A memory's Christmas in Durham. -Marion Taylor Ford o::; Y~ ~5U uurnam County's Great Family Journal Established 120 years ago in 1854 Also Incorporat ng The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mail registration number 1561 Phone 623 3303 E D o e I. Produced every Wednesday by Phone THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 623-3303 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario LIC 3K9 JOHN M. JAMES GEO, P. MORRIS PATRICKGOULD DONALD BISHOP Editor Publisher Business Mgr. Sales Manager Plant Mgr. Copyright and or property rights subsist in the image appearing or, fhs proof Permission to reproducein whole or n part and in any form whatsoever particularHy by photographic or offset process n a publication, must be obtained trorn the polisher and the printer. Ary uria.ilhorizeri reprocion iwl be subtect to 'recourse in iaw. $8.00 a year -6months $4.50 Foreign - $10.00 a year strictly n advance Afthough every precaution will be faken toavoid error The Canari a Stafesman accepts adrrrtisinq in ts columns on the understanding thaf it will not be liable for any error in rhe advertisement pubi shed hereunder unless a proo i of sch aivertiserrent is requested in wÎrjing ty the advertiser and returned o The Canadian Statesman busness office duly signed.by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly noted n vwriting thereonand in that case if any error so noted i not corrected by The Canadian Statesnan its la bdity shalnot exceed such a portion of the entire cost of such advertiserrent as the space occupied by the noted error bears to the whofe space orcupied by such advertisement "/,'OCPE YۏII? S7A9Y t0/Y BE c6OOQ-c,-'T,4AZE i/J<6« ~~ ~3KOt LETTER TO THE EDITOR Can't Brag Any Longer 5 Meadowview Blvd., Bowmanville, Ontario December 6, 1974 Dear Mr. Editor: In a recent issue of The Canadian Statesman we were informed of a change in routine for the town garbage collectors. No longer will our garbage be picked up at our back-door and the cans put safely off the street. As a long-time resident of Bow- manville this is something we had to brag about, and when compared to, other places it was something to brag about, too. As at any time of day, on any weekday one can go into Oshawa or another city and see piles of refuse at the curb-side waiting for pick-up or, the empty containers playing tag along the street. We had none of this and said so with pride. Another angle--some years ago we overheard a young man tell a friend that he and his family had lived on welfare until he'd been found a job with the Sanitation Dept. And having seen him around, we know that he is still employed. So we wonder; how many more welfare. receivers could be employed this way if î!the town crew werç expanded? And personally, we'd rather pay extra taxes, have the service continued and enable these men to support their families with dignity. And it is our money whichever way, isn't it? Collections on this street are made early Monday morning and most of the residents here are youngt peopie who automaticaliy deposit their garbage at the street before going to work. For them there is no problem. But throughout the town there are older people, many living alone and are not cluite up to mne *'uxung Dit . The cans are heavy, and plastic bags left outside come to grief with marauding dogs. We've tried it. When so much emphasis is being placed on Aid for Senior Citizens this seems like a step backward. Oh yes, we'll manage, but wil no longer be al-e to pe' e our town for daring to- be ifferent. Reta M. Berrill A Canadian Disgrace The recently released highway fatality report for 1973 by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would sugest that accidents in Ontario are beginning to level off. One might even conclude from the rep orted number of vehicles on the, roads and the estimated miles' travelled in this province last year that highwav fatalities are on the decline. But the Ontario Safety League says it finds little statis tical comfort in a declining mileage death rate when the toll of dead and injured human beings is high. Some 6,000 people lose their lives annually in Canada on our roads and highways. Almost one-third of this carnage takes place in Ontario. In recent months, government representatives have voiced various proposals that would assist in reducin what has become a nationa idisgrace: the highway death toll. Commenting on Health Minister Marc Lalonde's vow to try reducing fatal car accidents in Canada, the Hamilton SPECTATOR said in a November 4 editorial that it "sound- ed too familiar to be convincing." "Federal ministers spoke of road and automobile design and driver education more that five years ago and the slaughter continues unabat- "If Mr. Lalonde is made of the same stuff as the others who populate the cabinets in Ottawa and the provinces," the SPECTATOR contmnues "Canadians can expect some millions of tax dollars tossed into another inane slogan campaign, much high-sounding blather about automobile design, and the usual pompous drivel about not drinking and driving - all of it futile." In its November editorial, BUS AND TRUCK magazines agrees. In referring to the Canada Safety Council's Safe Driving Week (Dec. 1 -7) campaign, which is supported by the Ontario Safety League, all levels of government and many other organizations, editor Paul Ingram notes that such campaigns work only to a smalb degree. For this special week im 1973, "there were 76 traffic fatalities, which is little more than half that of an average week," Mr. Ingram points out. "Drive like you'd like everyone else to drive," is the theme for this year's SDW campaign. BUS AND TRUCK states that, unfortunately, such campaigns "donIt work for very long and b the time next year's SDW rol s around most drivers will have forgotten the message of this one." "Despite the efforts of others, and the exemplary record established in the U.S. during the past il months, some jurisdictions in this country refuse to recognize the phenomenon that has occurred south of the border, since the reduction of the speed limit to 55 mph. înstead', tfley preter to tnca excuses for its existence (a 24 percent reduction in accident fatalities), by crediting the reduction to fewer cars on the road and (apparently) fewer mïiles tra- velled by everyone." "But . . . if exhorting drivers to conserve fuel, coupled with a reduced speed limit, takes some cars off the road and reduces the mileage travelled by others, and, reduces fatalities by some 24 per cent - well what's wrong with thal.. And if publie opinion is one of the government's concerns, it looks as if a little courage is needed at the legislative level in this province." "Just think about it - a 24 percent reduction in fatalities and one of our jurisdictions doesn't want to try and follow the example. Surely it can't be because they don't want cars taken off the road, or because they don't want to conserve energy, or because they don't want to save lives. Then it must be because Ontario is running scared on this issue. The SPECTATOR, in its editorial, suggests that "the all-too-obvious danger incompetent drivers present to law-abiding motorists and pedes- trians isn't serious enough, in official eyes, to warrant effective protection." "Governments already have the power to cut the traffic slaughter but they don't use it. They could give police enough personnel to enforce traffic laws and they could perman- ently cancelthe licences of repeated offenders." "They could make traffie violation penaltiesjit the crime; the fool who drives recklessly in a heavy vehicle is just as dangerous as a maniac wi a machine gun, yet our, laws regard wild driving as rnildly naughty. Most traffic offences are rated as 'minor'. The Ontario Safety League would take the SPECTATOR a step further. Driving is a privilege - not a right! And the abiity fo obtain a driver's licence should reflect that. Section Two The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanviile, December 11, 1974 I In theDi and DitantP t 25 Years Ago Thursday, December 8, 1949 The hew teachers for Ont- ario Street School will be Mrs. M. Symons, Mrs. E. Clarke, Miss M. Purdon, Miss K. Ard, Miss G. McNaughtor, and Miss H. Weddell. Mr. T. S. Turner is Vice Principal, Mr. R. G. Harle, Music Supervis- or, and Principal A M. Thompson. McDonald's wish to an- nounce the opening of their grocery store, on Liberty Street North. In the Northumberland and Durham Counties during the years from 1945-48 inclusive, 421 children were admitted to the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, for treatment. This does not include those treated in the out-patient centre. The new manager of the Walker Stores, Bowmanville is Mr: Andrew N. Orr. Members of the Board of Education, instrumental in the completion of the new Ontario Street School were, Board Chairman Dr. J. C. Devitt, A. M. Hardy, D. A. McGregor, E. L. Oliver, Dr, H. Ferguson, S. R. James, C D. Hodgson, Mrs. W. A Clarke, and the late W. L Patterson. 49 Years Ago Thursday, Decenber 10,1925 Mr. Maitland Gould, will deliver the Valedictory Add- ress at the B H.S. convention on Friday, Dec. 18th. At the thirty-fifth anniver- sary of the Trinity United church, a mixed quartet, Miss Painton, Mrs. H. M Foster, Messrs. Tapson and Pollard sang, "At the Feet of the Master". Before Miss Ada Pascoe left to train for a nurse in Toronto, Zion Young People presented a club bag and umbrella to her in recognition of her work as assistant pianist, and in the choir, Ladies Aid Work, teach- er in Sunday Schoo!. of the Church. Darlington Township Coun- cil held its regular meeting for December with all members present, Reeve Baker presid- ing. Orders drawn on Treas- urer included Bank of Mon- treal, office rent to Sept. 12th, $20. Mr. Sam Cuttell, Editor and Publisher of Orono News, took a holiday last week and the News was not published. Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Werry, and Miss Audrey Werry, Oshawa, visited their cousins, Mr. and Mrs. George W James on Sunday. sugas and By Bîl Smiley 5 It's Election Time Again About this time of year, every year, all sorts of queer things come' creeping out of t he woodwork and the underbrush and proceed to create a storm in a saucer. I'm referring to municipal elections., If begins back in October, when the local paper starts writing trenchant editorials urging people to offer themselves for public office. This is somewhat like urging people to offer themselves as volunteer guinea pigs to see whether or not the guillotine is working. But any weekly editor worth his salt will be able to demand the paradox of "new blood" and "solid experience" on the town council or whatever. These editorials have almost no effect, whatever, except to fan the tny ember in the occasional guy or gal who-has a secret ambition to be called "Councillor" or "Alderper- son," or even "Your Worship," and to be on the "inside," helping "shape the future of our community.", Then the papers, in a creditable effort to drum up some interest, begin to interview the incumbent members of town council, public utilities commission, board of edu- cation, and dog catcher, to find out who is going to stand again for office. This probing also has meagre results, at first. Most of those asked reply that they haven't yet made up their minds, or that it's time for someone else to take on their exhausting work load, or that they have found the work very reward- ng, but ... Behind this smokescreen of gener- alities, the potential candidate, in many cases, really ieans, "I'l see how the wind blows"; or, "Yeah, l'Il stand again, if I'm assured a seat by acclamation"; or, "Wait tili I see how tough my opposition is." This is not so in all cases, to be fair. Some small-town politicians have a rare combination of honesty and pugnacity, love a fight, and come out swinging at the bell. These are often elected by acclamation, because they scare off potentially excellent candidates who don't want to become involved in a verbal donnybrook. But behind all the smoke of municipal elections, there is, in most cases, very little fire. Occasionally, there is a stand-up slugging match in which personalities, mud, and other such items are slung about with reckless abandon, while the public looks on with glee. As a rule, however, the people elected are chosen for public office not because they are honest, fearless crusaders for taxpayer, but because they are not quite as bad as the alternatives who are running for the job. Letter to the Editor 71 Third Street, Bowmanville, Ontario December 3rd 1974. Dear John: On bebalf of the 1974 Communîty of Bowmanville Santa Claus Parade Commit- tee, I wish to express our appreciation for the excellent cover age givéën through the 'Statesman" to promote thîs year's parade. Many people, including yourself, were ve with their assi, made the plann year's parade1 easier which w apparent in the ei Again, thank yi interest and co-op Yours tri (Mrs.) Donna N SSecretar Santa Claus] Committ Many a man, or woman, has been elected because nobody else wanted the dirty job. And many a strong and capable candidate has been defeated for these very qualities. He has trod on too many toes in an effort to get some action. More and more women are running for various municipal offices, which is a very good thing indeed. Women can be quite ruthless when it comes to getting things done, and are much less apt to sit around and bicker or gossip, when on a committee, than are men. Then there is a certain loathsome type who wants to be elected so that he or sne can go fo meetings. They usually have a rotten home i1fr. They love meetings. They adore points of order, addenda, and amendments to the motion. They make a brave show of voting against all motions except their own, which are usually so silly, they are almost never passed. Then there are the strong, silent types. They are often elected because their strength and silence are regarded as depth and wisdom, when they are really just stupidity. These people say, at meetings "Well, I'm not sure'as I understand all the ins-and-outs of this here thing, but 'll go along with the majority." Even some young people - 18 and 19 years old - are getting into the act. I'm not too happy about this. From what I've seen of this age group, including my own kids, I don't particularly want them to have anything to do with spending my money. And of course there are a few people, very few, who are interested in a supplement to their ipeome. It's surprising how much a town councillor drags down in these inflationary times. That's why I got into the business. Oh, yes, I was on town council for two years. Unopposed. Acclamation. With two mortgages and two kids, that $75 a year pay as councillor looked mighty good. Each year, I had a moment of terror when the committees were being struck. I was in a panic in case they put me on the Public Works Committee. I didn't know a pot-hole from a catch-basin, Af ter two years, I resigned owing to a conflict of interest. I was interested in being a good councillor. My wife was interested in having me home at least one evening a week. As in most of our conflicts, she won. In closing, I salute all the people I haven' t mentioned in this column: the dedicated, hard-worldng, self- sacrificing people who were elected to office and have to put up for the next year with the whining and grumbling of the rest of us. Hang in there. We need you. DID YOU KNOW THAT... y generous our car air conditioner sce souldbe operated at least ten in oandhs minutes every week, even in ing of this the winter. to keep the system very much lubricated and in good condi- e feel was tion Most factorn units can be used as heaters ou for your by simply moving the temper- peration, ature control to the desired uly,heat position U. Fairey if your car's steering wheel ry, turns more than two inches i n Parade either direction before movng ee. the front wheels, the wheel alignnent should be checked. CN'.4