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Sir: Some day the life and times Of an editor will be fruly recorded. But the reasoning in the background for the composi- The Management and Staff of the ~Bank of Montreal wish ail of our customers and friends and a Bank of, Montreal ' ~ 2 King Street West Bowmanville Best Wishes to) our many friends and Pa trfrns f rom iaith folks here at, r VNanstone Flour and Feed Milli - CLOSED THURS. AND FRIDAY DECEMBER 25-26 alSO THURS. AND FR1. JANUARY 1-2 ~'OPEN SAT. DEC. 27th AND JAN. 3rd. 9:O00a m.to 12nmon Finds Charter for Ancien t Order of Workmen tion of an ediforial may flot be fully understood or appre- ciated. As a former editor, and a continuing. journalist, in my attendance upon municipal and educafional affairs or Northumberland, I enjoy the challenge of the meeting, especially when controversy 15 rampant. The job is mine to portray to readers the "unrehearsed play"., What occurs at a public Sathering is instant, true-life rama. At times the reporter fails to record what is said when the player (the speaker) mumbles,' or when t he lunes are garbled; but the reporter tries to get the sense of what has happened. The e dit or reads the story. The editor may write an editorial. He can't change the script. If it is one-sided comment at the meeting,,that is how it appears in print. If the ïubsequent editorial seems to be off-centre, the fault could lie with the "play". The m~aestro. the man with the gavel (the chairman), Carols ringing through the night. î Hea rts f 1IIed With glad ness, at the sight that brings the messag e of -His Light. f ro~m the Management and Staff of Breslin,'s Ladies Wear 7 King St'. W. 623-5854 Bowmanville Approve Sta'ndards f or Home Renewal Scheme may not guarantee a good show. Players at a meeting some- times give a shoddy perfor- mance. Siftings 0f The Board Sittings of, the Board of Education are regula; outlets for news. This is t he "Founit of Education"' for the Country, the largest people-îndustry. As such it is probably beset with the mostproblems, fromi the question of budgeting to the conundrum of t'hie latest dropouts in the present, 21, 585 school population. Value of an editor and a reporter in the variety of human problems bas neyer been f ully appraised. This value is vital in the complexi- ties of education. Perhaps the cardinal concern of a news- paper is the public "right to know" whaf is transpiring; but w,ýhen people are lethargic, editorial shock-treatment is necessary to gain attention on Dublic matters. Position of the Newspaper The newspaper's position is clearly described in this directive; "The successful newspaper will neyer be quiet, will almost neyer leave its public in peace, will always b e dealing with 'problems', will operate offen with explosive material, in search of its hiuman reality and its social f unction. t of ten p resents controversial figures, it presses confronta- tions, raises doubts, forces evalutation. IT UPSETS FIXED IDEAS AND ROOTED HABITS. "L t appears somnetimes de- structive and negative., "Lt shocks forcibly, if not deliberately. If leaves none of us in an easy situation." The Facts Learned It bas taken over a decade for the public'to be aroused about the costs of education. Suddenly a "Citizens' Action Committee" is formed, rising rather belatedly in shock, as recorded in the recent annals of Northumberland and New- castle Board of Education. Neyer have there been so many articles and ediforials in the history of local news- papers, with expressed con- cern by delegations and indi- viduals over the question of salaries. On November 13 over 80 citizens protested the high salaries p aid f0 administra- tion in t he Northumberland and Newcastle Board of Edu- cation jurisdiction. Frankly, if was an anti-Board meeting, duly recorded. The news sf ory caughf the interesf of an edifor. The result was an editorial en- titled, "A Shoddy Perform- ance. " Portions of thle ediforial drew the ire of Mrs. H. Reisler (Port Hope), Board Trust ee. Underlined for the attention of mYembers was: Worse sfill, the miserablecoad on the Board who voted fo shuf the public ouf of discussions f ried to hide their chicanery under policy and rules." From Displeasure To Pleasure The sLme "play" confinued at the November 27 meeting; the players, Board members, officials, delegates represent- in, fhe Citizens' Action Comn- mîttee, wifh spokesmen, Reverend Terence Tarlef on (St. Peter's Anglican Church. This old document, dated 1882, was found in the a ttic of a house on Silver Street by Mrs. Walter Frank several years ago. The residence at that time belonged to Mrs.,Frank's mother and father-in-law. The document. is the charter of the Bowmanville Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and several names of the officers are stili familiar ones in this area. They include -- Samuel F. Hall, Past Master Workman; John, S. Bond, Master Workman; Moses A. James, Foreman; Charles Keith, Overseer; Thomas A. Johns, Recorder; Thomas Yel lowlees, Financier;, John McMurtry, Treasurer; David Morris, Guide; Henry Tait, Inside Watchman; and Lewis Cornish, Outside Watchman. Cobourg) and David C. Miller. News accounts which appeared reflected the fone and trend of the meeting. If would seem thaf no longer was the "controversy over salaries" a. one-sided issue. Reaction was quite evident in a lead editorial, "Those Execufive Salaries", 1The editorial pleased mnem- bers of the Board. Trust eeJ.C. McKagued(Castieton) publicly mntioned the editorial af the Deèember four meeting of the Board. "The editorial indi- cafes," hie said, "thaf The - (newspaper) bas a conscience. Perhaps if was bothered a bit, andh as seen the, lighf." Assessmenf' A portion of the editorial reads: "Caughf in the middle are the people in the upper echelons who are gefting a lot of bad publicity and public anger directed their way. If must be remembered that these samne top people did furn, back the increase unfil they could get a -rulîng on how if fitfed in f0 the guidlines. " And there was thi">tatement: "If there is any culprif, if is the Ontario Government, which set up these giant Boards. If you are going to have thou- sands of employees, you are going f0 have supervisors wifb responsibilities commensur- ate wif b those of large companies." The denouement of the "play" (November 27 meet- ing) unfolded, Acf Two (the second meet- ing on the subject) revealed if was no longer a one-sided sfory. In the core of the controversy was the defer- minate factor, feacher-cost and the unprecedenfed sal- aries for principals, the most senior receiving $34,000. If is said that a man can be no better nor worse than hie is at a given moment. So if is af a public meeting. The report reflects what has bappenedt; it cannof confrol the trend a meeting may fake. In The Long Trek Down fbrough the years, in the life and times of an editor and a reporter, we have bonored the script. We are conditioned to accept what transpires at a meeting. We may crin ge at statements. We may dislike the whole "play".î But the right to know what bas bappened is the sovereign prerogative of the public. We 'of the press- are the instruments, the servants, the' purveyors of that need, thé rigbt f0 know. We are spurred on from meeting f0 meeting f0 listen infenfly to the "play' and reproduce if. The Truth Remains You, the. audience, fhe readers of newspapers, can applaud fthe ,"play", or disa- grec witb the performers. This is your democratic privilege. But wbatever you may5d, reader or player, you cannot obliferafe one line of the script. Trutb is a wary adversary. There are good neetings, and there are sboddy meet- ngs.A cosmic sense of balance is necessary f0 be aware of the différence. Foster M. Russeli Box 636 Cobourg, Ontario Elect New Off icers for Oshawci Real1 The Oshawa and District Real Estafe Board (O.D.E.B) beld their annual election k> ( ~ cheeked caroier.j Sbringsthanks, 'and wishes fior a Merry Christmas 's 'from us to you! .. Pat-Ca,àol- Nancy Angela 1- Anne - Mary 'of SBobette ýSaOln of Beautyý 57 King W. 623-7691 We sf111 have a few Sa ppointments avaîlable Sfor Christmas and New Yeair's. M Estate Bd. meeting recently f0 select the executive for 1976. Nexf year's Board of directors shapes Up this way ; President Designate George Twaites, 1sf Vice-President Designate Mike-Belmonfe F.R.I., 2nd Vice-President Designate Ralph Anderson. The drct-, ors f or 1976 are Dennis Chura, Raymond L. McKenna, Ted Mendyk, Bette Morrison, Wil- liam J. Norris and Gerald VanSchepen. .fhe new officers will be installed and will take office at the first general membership meeting in early Janiary. There is a busy year ahead for the O.D.R.E.B. execufive, and firsf on the list is the Ontario Real Estate Association An- nual conference in February. The O.D.R.E.B. is the host board for this Provincial conference, where 1200> del- egates and spouses are ex- pecfedf0 attend. Non smokers outnumber smokers in Canada. Fifty-fhree per cent of the population 15 years of age and over does not smoke and 60 per cent of the population over 15 does not smoke cigarettes regularly says the Durham Region TB and Respîratory Disease Association who use your Christmas Seal dollars for programs to fighf smoking and air pollution. Approximatel y 3 million people die yearly of tuber- culosis and approxîmafely 15 million are infecfed every year, mostly in the dçveloping countries. The Christm~as Seal organization, your TB and RD Association, pledges a per- cenfage of ifs funds f0 fight fuis, world problem. Coun. Lyall considers program a "great boom" Newcastle as it will put the possible $90,000 into the cof- for fers of local hardware, and thfe lumber yard operators. Standards were apfproved last week by Newcast e Town, Council for the Ontario Home Renewal Program which could provide fthe municipality wif h some $90,000 for boans and grants to home owners. Lt was a requirement that the fown approve a set of standards government for the money to administer the program. The standards approved by council wîll now be forwarded f0, the Ministry of Housing for their concurrence. 'Structural, heating, plumb- ing and electrical systems to be repaired in homes under the program are covered in the adopted standards. Coun. Ken Lyaîl, aitbough uncerfain when the ministry will grant approval of the town's standards, does believe suc aproval is basically a forma htv. The program will provide home owners within the fown funds which may be loaned f0 fhem to help upgrade their premises, the -primep urpose of the pro gram, according to a provincial document, being the rehabilitaf ion of substand- ard dwellines. Fncy Fruit Baskets are' Our Specialty! ORDER THEM NOW Jt tiq d~gh~u0 o a~~d ~IlgetaQeg Q~ a nd COME [N TODAY' BUCKI N G HAM o MARKET Taunton, Road Ealst at the Townline Phone 576-7702 Open Daîly 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.o ýhe Canadian Stafesman. Bowmanville. December 24, 197 Letter to YheEdior Do You Need Money ? $2,OOO - $50OOO - ist, 2nd or 3rd Mortgages - Cut Your PaymentIs in Haif - Consolida te Ail Your Loans -Pay Off an Existing Mortgage -Combine 2 Mortga-ges into One -Purchase or Improve Property Any Worthwhile Purpose Farms-Commercial - Residential Mie Coughlin Tel. 705-743-2501 Great Northern Financial Corp. -SAME DAY APPROVALS - BYAM PLUMBING & HEATING and AIR CONDITIONING TYRONE, ONTARtio Phone 263-2650