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) Editorial Comment Leadership Deadline Near The moment of truth is rapidly approaching for those seven Liberal Liberal leadership hopefuls who have been beating the bushes for delegate delegate support these past several months. So far, unless we are terribly mistaken, mistaken, the average voter may have been keeping an eye on what the various contestants have been saying, saying, but is not getting too excited about it. Maybe, once the convention convention gets in full stride with all the hoopla things may warm up, but we Canadians tend to take these great historical events in stride while carrying on with our normal routine. Dull bunch, aren't we? At this point in time, most political political observers are going to be terribly terribly surprised if John Turner doesn't win it all, possibly on the first ballot. He's been the front runner runner from the start, has stumbled a few times, come on again and looks to be the winner, hands down. Only Jean Chretien can upset him, so the experts believe. Well, one never can be that certain certain about political events. There have been upsets before and no doubt will be again. But, we think most Canadians will accept Turner without too much objection. Business Business people will probably welcome him with open arms as one of their own after many years of frustration in dealing with the philosophical Trudeau who they were certain: never understood their problems. Turner should also be able to reunite the west with the east. The alienation of that part of the country country and the strong feeling that exist may be dissipated over the next few years if Turner and his cabinet devote some time to mending those fences. Mind you, he will have to face an election first before that can happen. And with the polls looking more favorable to the Liberals, Liberals, we would think one could come quite quickly after the convention, convention, possibly as early as August. August. - We would hope that whoever gets the job will do his utmost to lead this country back on the road to further recovery to provide our young people with the career opportunities opportunities they so sorely need. That should have the highest priority. priority. A Question of Conscience A few days ago a national referendum referendum was held in Switzerland. The question? Whether or not the great banking houses located in that country should continue to be permitted permitted total secrecy about the sources of their deposits. The Swiss people said yes, they should be allowed allowed to carry on business as usual. The very words "numbered Swiss bank , account" are synonymous with trickery, says the Wingham Advance-Times. Advance-Times. Ill-gained money from nearly every country in the world is banked in Switzerland where no amount of prying will disclose disclose the name of a depositer. The "secret" bank account originated originated in the humane Swiss attitude that in this way some of the Jews who were being hounded out of prewar prewar Germany might take their money with them. The plan began to backfire when the same secrecy was afforded Nazis fleeing their homeland as the war drew to a close. Now the situation takes on a completely completely immoral aspect, as the dictators dictators of starving African and other Third World countries amass billions billions of dollars while their people subsist on next to nothing. Emperor Haile Selassie is reported reported to have shipped 500 kilograms kilograms of gold a year to Switzerland and by the time he lost his throne was estimated to have something like $460 million in numbered Swiss bank accounts. During the great famine of 1973 more than 100,000 of his subjects died. President President Mobutu of Zaire is believed to have about $4 billion in Swiss banks. Average income for the people of his country is $210 a year. -- Such cases are legion under the present Swiss system of banking secrecy. The Swiss people are a bit conscience-striken -- but apparently apparently not enough to call a halt. And Switzerland is the motherland of the Red Cross. Tobacco's Image Besmirched This editorial was spawned by a feeling of guilt after we received a news release from some agrologists, deploring the financial problems being encountered by tobacco growers. Apparently, the tobacco growers are taking a beating because so many people have quit smoking cigarettes. They also are suffering from imported tobacco competition, but the editor's guilt feeling stems from the fact that he hasn't smoked a cigarette in over a week, no doubt adding to the tobacco growers' woes. Cigarettes really need a sharp public relations person to counter the bad press they have been receiving in recent years. We can well recall the golden years in this area when many poor farms in the Kendal area were brought into tobacco production and it became a thriving industry. Some are still in production, but the end results aren't nearly as lucrative as they were a few years ago. We're not sure just when the popularity of cigarette smoking began to wane and become almost sinful. But, it's not too difficult to recall the war years when cigarettes by the millions were shipped overseas to our boys in battle. It was a big day when those Canadian cigarettes arrived and we could set aside those NAAFI issues that were tasteless. Cigarettes helped relieve tension, boredom and even fright. Some people tend to forget all the nice things that cigarettes have done for the world. But, their popularity has been going down hill in recent years. Any non-smoking doctor will tell you that you are cutting years off your life by smoking the vile weeds. The non-smokers at our house have been known to gasp and choke when we have lit up. We've apologized many times for the burns that somehow have appeared in chair seats, car seats, clothes, etc. and certain people have delighted in reading aloud news reports of fires caused by careless smoking. It just doesn't seem fair for cigarettes to be subjected to such a hate campaign when they have been such a comfort to so many over the years. It's peculiar, but writing about cigarettes awakens a desire to try one out of sympathy with tobacco growers. But, we must be firm in our commitment to purity and cast out such thoughts. We've often thought there's nothing worse than a converted alcoholic or cigarette smoker who keeps challenging other addicts to follow his example. We're going to try hard not to become one of them. In fact, we're having a difficult time believing that our friendly cigarettes are really responsible for any ailments we're encountering. Once the current emergency is over, we'll have to take another look at the entire picture because the tobacco growers need some help. And we've been friends too long to desert them in their hour of need. (Eanabtan Statesman 623-3303 Durhem County'i Orest Family Journal Established 130 years ago In 1654. Also Incorporating The Bowmanvllle News The Newcastle Independent TheOrono News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanvllle, Ontario L1C 3K9 < I b I/L» JOHN M. JAMES Editor -- Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition of advertisements produced by the employees of The Canadian Statesman, The Newcastle Independent and The James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and must not be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. $15,00a year -- 6 months $6.00 strictly In advance foreign ~ $45.00 a year Although ovory procmitlon will bo tnkon to avoid error, Tiro Canadian Slalosman nccopls ndvortlsing In Ils columns on iho understanding that it will not bo liublu lor any otror In the ndvorllsomonl published horuundor unloss n prool ol such ndvorllsomont Is roquuslod In wilting by Iho advortlsor and rolumod to The Canadian Slalosman business otlicu duly slgnod by Iho ndvoMlaor and with such urror or corrodions plainly nolud In willing thoroon, and In that enso II any orror so nolud is not corroclud by Thu Canadian Staler,man Ils liability shall not oxcood such a portion of tho enliro cost of such ndvorlistmonl as Iho spaco occupied by tho nolud orror boars lo tho whole space occupied by such advertisement The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, June 6,1984 3 Stage A rrives at Newcas tie Just a Little Off Schedule Drawn by a team of percheron horses, the Ottawa-Toronto Ottawa-Toronto mail coach arrived at the Newcastle Village Post Office only half an hour behind schedule. Driver and passengers are all from Smith Falls, where they operate the mail run an nually to promote Smith Falls' Settlers Days. The 12-day trek to Toronto is the longest route attempted attempted by the volunteers. It commemorates Ontario's bicentennial year. r A SUGAR and SPICE A Time of Promise In the mind's eye of the poet, the .. painter, the composer, Spring is hot " stuff. It is Oh to be in England now that April's there (Browning). It is a bunch of gals in long nighties scattering petals as they dance in the gladsome glade (Boticelli). It is lambs gambolling to the notes of the shepherd's pipes (Beethoven). Now, that may be all very true in Europe, where those birds operated, and where Spring is indeed a bewitching seductress that makes the senses reel. But I am not, to my regret a poet, the only painting to which I can point with pride is my storm windows, I can barely make a tune discernible on the kazoo, and most important of all, I am a Canadian. So I'm afraid I'll have to go along with Samuel Butler, who had a more prosaic view of Spring. Of course, Sam, though he was an Englishman, had visited Canada, as witness those immortal lines "Oh God! Oh Montreal!" He stated flatly that Spring is "an over-praised season .. . more remarkable, as a general 'mile, for biting east winds than genial breezes." Spring, for the average resident of Ontario, is like heaven, something to be looked forward to with a certain hearty optimism, mingled with a slight doubt about its eventual appearance. Only about once in ten years does Spring actually materialize in this country. Then the natives go completely haywire. Forgetting the other nine cold, dreary springs, they whip off their long underwear, go for long walks in the woods, and fall deeply in love, though not necessarily in that order. Of course, they catch severe headcolds, get blisters and lost, and marry people they normally wouldn't be seen dead in a ditch with. It's also a time of promise. Every Spring I promise myself I'll put in a garden this year, and a few weeks later promise myself again I'll get at the garden right after opening day of the trout season, and later still that I'll get the screens on. This goes on right through until fall, and even then I'm promising to get the storm windows on. My mother told me I was a promising boy one time, and it went to my head. I've been promising ever since. There's no denying, though, that spring is a time of resurgence of life. There's nothing so heartwarming as the sight of the annual spring crop of babies, out on display in the pram parade on the first sunny day. Their slim young mothers, who were girls just last fall, have a new beauty and dignity as they sail along three abreast, pushing honest taxpayers into the gutter. For our senior citizens, spring is the most wonderful gift of all. They have been dicing with death all winter, and as the sun warms their old bones, they know they have won another toss, and a welcome respite, before they have to pick up said bones and shake, rattle and roll them again. For the kids, there are drains to make. Boats to float, puddles to wadé through, and lovely mud that squishes underfoot. Threats orders and imprecations from their harassed mothers, trying to cope with the annual flood of muddy footprints and wet shirt-tails, have no more effect than rain on a duck. For the farmer, spring means another nine months of breaking his back for peanuts. For the sailor, it means leaving the wild scramble of family life for the comparative calm of life on the deep. For the housewife, it is a time to attack the house like the Assyrian coming down on the fold. For young lovers, it is a time to act even sillier than usual. Whatever it means to us, and even if it doesn't arrive until the 30th of June, to be immediately transplanted by a hot summer, it's the only thing that makes it worthwhile to battle our way through the winter. The year spring fails to arrive at all, I want somebody to take me out quietly behind the barn and shoot me. r v. Queen's Park Report By Sam Cureatz M.P.P. Improving Security for Convenience Store Employees In my last column, I was prompted by recent events in Mississauga to discuss the problem of violence associated with convenience store robberies. As representative of the riding of Durham East, a riding which has its share of convenience stores, I have devoted serious thought to the matter. It is my view that preventive security is the most effective route to take to avoid the recurrence of similar tragedies in other communities. Accordingly, on Thursday, May 10th, I tabled in the House a private member's resolution which proposes enabling legislation for municipalities to provide appropriate security measures for convenience store employees. The resolution deals witli the amendment of the Municipal Act to require retail businesses that are open to the public betwen 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. to install security devices, The proposal was put forward in the form of a resolution for two reasons, First, I wanted to allow all members of the House to have a chance to voice their concerns and ideas, and second, to afford Municipal Affairs and Housing an, opportunity to evaluate its possible success. In Mississauga, the immediate response to events there was to take voluntary action to curb milk store hours. The municipalities in our own region of Durham, such as Newcastle, Ajax, Pickering and Whitby, have no specific by-law relating to convenience store closing. A number of other municipalities have debated the issue of banning late-night stores: Metro Toronto and Etobicoke have decided that there arc better ways to deter crime in small retail businesses then focus on hours of operation. I was very encouraged by the response to the issue of employee security in convenience stores. The matter was deliberated carefully by members on both sides of the house, An overwhelming majority of those who spoke indicated support for the resolution. Many of those who participated in the debate pointed to the highly sophisticated and affordable technology available to retail operators, such as time-lock cash dispensers, video surveillance equipment and direct electronic links to police stations, as effective deterrents. There was agreement, as well, that security devices go farther in employee protection than simply having more than one clerk on duty in late evening hours. All members acknowledged that there are practical and economic problems associated with such a staffing requirement. I was very pleased with the adoption of the resolution as it indicates the willingness on the part of ttie members to treat the issue of, convenience store employee security with the seriousness it deserves. I would like to thank my colleagues on the government side for their support of the resolution, and particularly Mr. Terry Jones and Mr. Doug Kennedy from Mississauga who worked with me in its preparation. Thanks to Cyril Taylor for the invitation to attend the Beth Zion Synagogue's annual celebration of Israel's Independence Day on May Cth. I was pleased to be able to attend and to meet Rabbi Rubin Poupko. Kathy and I are happy to announce the birth of our third son, Collin, on May 16th. Mother and child arc fine - Dad is a little worse for wear ! Editor's Letter Dear Editor: A campaign lo make Ontario Nuclear Free! What is the purpose of another rally at Darlington? Those no nukes, can't they sec all the jobs Darlington is providing and the millions that have been spent already? I can no longer sit still and buy this scenario. It's not too late. Darlington is not needed. I would like to refer back to the editorial a couple of weeks ago concerning the closing of Douglas Point, the country's first nuclear power plant. It is closing because repairs would cost more than it is worth - currently supplies 1 per cent of Ontario Hydro's electricity. But, how does one go about dismantling this power plant? It's been estimated that it will take 50 years for the shut down to happen, if it can be done, The wastes from a plant the size of Pickering amount to a ton of spent fuel daily. This highly radioactive waste must be kept isolated from everything for centuries. Rather than create more wastes we must find solutions to our problem. Rather than spending its time and money on searching for foreign markets for the Cnndu reactor to stay alive, would Ontario Hydro not be wiser to realize that the dismantling process would provide a future growth industry? As Norm Rubin of Energy Probe said, "We know how many nuclear reactors we will have to decommission eventually. If Canada were to move into an advantageous position in this field, the expertise could be exported worldwide," Darlington was estimated at costing 3.4 billion and now that lias risen to over $11 billion. You know vvho will be paying for this and for what purpose when it is not even needed. We must consider all the alternatives and act now! We are the keepers of this planet, Sincerely Cindy Craig- Murdoch P.S. Plan to celebrate Environment Week, Saturday, June 9, 1 p.m., Lakeview Park, Oshawa, Uncle Cord's Farm In the spring Uncle (lord gets new ducklings from his ducks in his [>ond. He has pigs. Uncle Cord has a sow. Shu has piglets, My uncle has a special dog. I like to go to my uncle's. Cara Gardner Gr, 1 Hampton Public