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Make it More than Lip Service No doubt you know by now that 1979 is the International Year of the Child. The idea of having such a year in which we focus our attention on the problems of children is good. We support it entirely. But we do hope very much that the year will be one in which solid, con- crete action is taken to help the young. It is easy to talk about child welfare in abstract terms but to do positive things for those who are im- poverished, undernourished or abused is another matter. Seminars, workshops and discussion groups are all useful but action following preliminary discussions is what is most impor- tant. What we are saying is that we hope the International Year of the Child pays more tnan lip service to the whole issue of child welfare. Also, we hope progress from the Year of the Child occurs in the areas where help is most needed. The fact of the matter is that most children in this nation (and adults too) are lucky. Children are supplied with ample food, shelter, clothing and schools. Compared to their counter- parts who might have worked in fac- tories and mines a century ago, their lot has improved greatly. If anything, there is a tendency for some children to be too Dampered and sheltered from the adult world in which they will eventually have to take their place. There is even a report in the U.S. about a person who is suing his parents for not raising him correctly. This seems to be an extreme example of the concept Ôf children's rights and we hope that developments like this will not be the things that the Year of the Child will be remembered for. Instead, we hope that genuine ef- forts are made to protect children from abuse and to see that they are adequately housed, clothed and educated. These are the basics. And if, in addition, steps can be taken to improve children's emotional and psychological well-being, so much the better. Finally, we should note that most of the efforts aimed at improving life for children should be concentrated in underdeveloped countries where children are not pampered or sheltered or given the basics they need to grow into successful adults. So, we hope that the international Year of the Child sparks concrete action on the welfare of the youngest citizens of the human community. And rather than becoming a fashionable cause for 12 months, that concern over the welfare of children continues long after 1979 is just a part of history. No Worry About Cost or Need The Northumberland and Newcastle board of education didn't get bogged down with petty things like cost, or need when they decided to send three officials to a five-day educational conference in Van- couver this year. Bob Moorcroft, a superintendent and two trustees, who haven't yet been named, will be sent winging across the country. No expense limitations were , put on the travellers but the board has agreed to review the receipts from the trip and decide if the travellers should be reimbursed. While the trustees weren't concer- ned about the cost. . . at least they displayed no outward concern . . . local travel agents have estimated a trip to Vancouver by air, accom- modation and incidental expenses would cost at least $650 a person or about $2,000 for the three of them. Admittedly, $2,000 isn't a great deal of money compared to the an- nual budget for any board of education. The principle is inpor- tant though. Whether the board is agreeing to spend $2 or $2,000 trustees should have an idea how much a specific project or trip will cost. They should also be debating whether the trip will serve any useful purpose or whether the money could be channeled into a more worthwhile venture. Surely, the people who elect trustees have the right to expect them, to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely. The trustees, frankly, are acting irresponsibly by not publicly questioning the need for the trip and the expense or offering some reasons why it is important to send representatives. -Oshawa Times Save Ontario 's Cheese Plants The resolution that appeared on the Editors' desk from the Great Pine Ridge Tourist Council, on January 4th is one that should con- cern everyone in Ontario. The resolution was directed to the situation that has been created in the Cheese manufacturing industry by the Government of Ontario's, misdirection of milk to the specialty cheese manufacturers to the detriment of the traditional Ontario Cheddar Industry. The concern expressed by the Tourist Council was the effect on the Warkworth Cheese Factory, a well known Tourist attraction in the small Town of Warkworth. However. the resolution did state "ana other Ontario Cheddar factories" The interference by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Milk Board in this traditional and necessary business of Ontario is driving many of the cheese factories to the wall, driving up the price of a food staple, and is detrimental to the interests of Ontario, and its people. The difficulty that the industry runs into is the lack of public sup- port, probably because cheese is not a sensational headline grabber, and therefore gets virtually no publicity, no sensation seeking group support. The ordinary housewife probably notes the creeping increase cost, but has become so used to inflation she fails to realize that a protest regar- ding the Milk Board policy from her could possibly make the bureaucrats change their policy and save the cheddar business. Durham Spectrum Is Darlington Doomed? Ontario Hydro is at the moment coming under severe criticism for over estimating the amount of elec- tric power this province will be needing in the near future. And from all the adverse publicity that is being heaped upon hydro people at the moment it would not be sur- prising if two projects vital to this area's economy were mothballed for several years. The Wesleyville oil-fired generating station has already been cut in half following a review last year. Darlington now appears to be the spot where the critics are aiming their guns. Much of the site preparation has been completed but the costly part of the project is still to come when they expect there will be between 3,000 and 4,000 em- ployees required for construction of the buildings and other parts of the station. There is only one logical con- clusion and that is to halt work on these two costly projects as soon as is feasible. Ice Formation at Newcastle Beach After about 10 days of solid bliz- zards and bad driving, low tem- peratures and a lower tem- perament, my social, intellectual and emotional life hovering round zero (Fahrenheit), I wondered what to write about this week. Came home from work, picked up the mail, and there was a fat package from something called AMC, Ottawa. I turned it over a couple of times, wondering whether the initials meant Ancient Military Curmudgeons, from some veterans' outfit, or All Men Cowards, from some rabid women's lib crowd. Not to worry. Democracy is still rearing its bruised and battered head here and there in this our native land. The package was from Anti-Metric Canada, its single and avowed purpose the stamping out of the metrication of our fair white country. It contained: an honorary mem- bership card; a bumper sticker which shouts, "Pound Out Metric"; a newsletter with a number of spelling and grammar errors; a personal letter from the president; a petition to send to my M.P.; a full page of anti-metric propaganda; and a quiz or survey loaded with questions along the line of, "When did you stop beating your wife? " Sample question. "Do you realize that under the metric system that (sic) the farmers will loose (sic) money and the dairy cartel win? An- swer yes/no. How can you answer a question like that? With a yes or no? Per- sonally, I think it's high time the farmers were pried loose from some of their money, and the whole thing is putting the cartel before the cow. Another sample: "Do you believe that people come before com- puters? " Well, yes and no. We were here before the computers, but when it comes to arguing with one over a boo-boo on your chargex, it's ob- vious that they come before us. And I have a secret hunch that they'll be here long after the human race has disappeared, chattering and giggling away among themselves about how they so finally and so easily, got rid of us. Just one more sample. "Do you want the Canadian public to pay $2.00 a gallon for gas?" Answer: depends on whether you think a gallon of gas is more important than a pound of beef. If the Ay-rabs can get $2 a gallon for it, and you don't have any, that's what you'll pay. If the beef farmer can get $3 a pound for sirloin, and you don't happen to have a steer tied up in the garage, that's what you'll pay. Elemental. These questions are being sent to M.P.'s, Migod, I hereby resign my honorary membership in the Anti- Metric Canada organization. I am much more sympathetic with their aims than their means. (But I wonder where they were when I was carrying on a lonely, single-handed, but valiant fight against metrication a year or so ago?) I detest metrication and all it stands for: conformity, unification, anonymity, and confusion for everyone over thirty years of age. Ask any shopping housewife what she thinks of it? She will probably, if she has thought about it, reply that it's a lovely opportunity for the food barons to rip everybody off, except those equipped with a pocket calculator and endless time on their hands. A gram here and a millilitre there add up to millions, over a year. And now let's hear from industry. According to it, changing to the metric system was going to make Canada much more competitive in the world market. We are about as competitive as Greenland, and our single biggest customer, the U.S., has not gone metric, though it is toying with the madness. When I want to know how cold it is, I tune in to an American TV weather report, get it in Fahrenheit, subtract another ten degrees for the differen- ce in latitude, and say to my wife, "Holy Moses, woman, no wonder the pipes froze. It was 12 below last night." And she knows I don't mean Centigrade. Math and science teachers to the contrary, the world got along very well when every nation had its own terms of currency, measurements and weights. In the days when the sun never set on the British Empire, the British pound had a solid ring to it. nnvwhere in the world Thev didn't give a diddle about changing it to annas, or yen, or marks. Same with the American dollar, for a century or-so. It was worth a dollar, not whatever the Swiss and Germans and Japanese decided it was worth. There was a quaintness and a dif- ference and an individuality about currencies and measures and weights, that is being lost in these days of international conformity. If a British horse stood 40 hands high and weighed 14 or 44 stone, in a British novel, that was good enough for me. He was either a big horse or a little horse. I didn't have to get out my calculator. If Bassanio wanted to borrow three 3,000 ducats from Shylock, I knew that was no $78.50 and was satisfied. I know I have no more chance of reversing the metric thing than I had of another of my lost causes: that pale pink maple leaf on a dirty grey background that is Canada's national flag. But I wish the AMC luck. And I'm going to use my bumper sticker, if only to annoy my neighbour, a math teacher, who has been flaunting a "Think Metric" sticker for several years. My sticker is bigger, white prin- ting on red, with a big hammer pounding down on the slogan, "POUND OUT METRIC." The organization also has a stub- born little war-cry I rather like. "We won't move our feet an inch." Dear Sir, You editorial. in the 24 Jan./79 issue (Shorter Meetings Needed) was both thoughtful and in- teresting. I don't think anyone could disagree with your premise that shorter council meetings could be as ef- fective as the current marathon sessions. Af- ter all, brevity is the soul of wit. Many of the council meetings are as witless as they are win- dy But I question your recommended con- clusions that a tightening of rules and establishment of time restraints could hurry things along. More likely couneil members would spend so much time discussing how much time each item on the agenda should be granted, the meetings would be even longer. Besides, there is the real' danger that ar- bitrary limits could cause over sim- plification of a technical presentation or hasty decisions to keep to schedule. It is difficult to balance efficiency and equity. It seems to me it comes down to a question of the ability of the person chairing the meeting. A strong leader will know when to encourage discussion and when to limit it; when to permit general comments and when to guide them into specific areas; and above all, when to sum up and when to call for a vote. A weak chairman, unable to distinguish the tren- chant from the trivial and often mistaking blathering for freedom of speech, will through fear of giving offence, allow the talking to drag on past the point of tolerance to some som- nolence. The solution is of course self-evident: elect only those with the competence to lead. Alas, Editor, your solution and mine are equally unrealizable. As long as talking is to politicians what barking is to dogs, we are doormed to suffer the long-winded meetings and can only hope that some business is done well in spite of it all. Sincerely, Arthur Williams, Newtonville, Ont. R. R. 5, Bowmanville, Ont. January 30th, 1979. Dear Sir:- I would like to congratulate you on your editorial of January the 10th, entitled "Foreclosing our options". I also appreciated the article by Duane Nieuwsma in this week's Statesman dealing with the nuclear question. It is heartening to know that this issue is still alive for anti nuclear people like us. When ail levels of government and the big corporations are for something like this, it is hard for individuals to get very far with protests. Mr. Nieuwsma tells it ail, and the proof of what he says is there for anyone who will take the trouble to read about it. I have scrapbooks full of nuclear clippings telling of the dangers of going nuclear, with a few telling of its benefits. There are many books on the subject, among them Fred Knelman's "The unforgiving Technology". What a pity that those in power are determined to go ahead with it, in spite of all the evidence piling up against it. Not only will people coming after us have to decide what to do with the waste fuel bunales of plutonium, they will have to decide how to pay off the billions of dollars in debts that are getting out of hand; With hydro power going up every year, who will be able to afford it? Is it fair that Ontario taxpayers should have to pay for electricity that is export- ed? We are looking for other options and working on them and hopefully many others will be too. There should still be an environmental as- sessment of the whole matter. Still concerned, I am Mrs. W. E. Craig Feb. 1, 1979, 62 Crossley Dr., Port Hope, Ontario LiA ST5 Dear Editor: We would be grateful if you could put our letter in your "Letters to the Editor" section of your paper. Our ladies group, Morning Break, of Port Hope are interested in hearing from other similar groups and arranging a convention. The purpose of our group is getting women together for crafts, to hear guest speakers, to see interesting films and to meet new friends. Anyone interested in start- ing a group of your own, give us a call and we will try to helD. If interested call: Jean Rudolphi 416-885-6885 or ,usan Schisler 416-885-8912. Yours truly, Mrs. Jean Rudolphi.