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DITORIAL PINION General election;two words on the lips of not just a few Canadians these days; a merg whisper of, the words enough to set the wheels spinning; politicians and party organizers hunched over plans' for campaign assaults into the hustings; back-room scheming, (and the occasional knife in the back) speeches, hand-shakes, ribbons, banners, placards, buttons, smiling faces, questions, answers, issues, high-school-auditoriums, town halls, cigar smoke, evil-tasting coffee, enume- rations, polls, ballots, scrutineers, charges, counter-charges, winners and losers; this has been a paid political announcement, General election. Here we go again. For several weeks now, rumours and speculations have been bandied about that the government will call a general election for June, and the country is waiting for confirmation. Probably not since the debates over the building of the Great Railway in Macdonald's era has this country felt such" intense political polarization as it is feeling at this moment. Inthe House of Commons, the opposition is jumping on every move the liberals make. Verbal sparring of -late has been acid-coated. Indications are that when (and if) an election is called, the ensuing campaign is going to be bitter, vicious and with no holds barred. A sampling of the political tone and mood was: heard 'last Thursday night -as--Ontario riding conservatives gathered to choose their candidate. In reference to Prime Minister Trudeau and his government, the word arrogant was used repeatedly. There were also references to 'dictatorial policies", a need to 'break the chains, usurper of power, prostitution of party principals, nameless schemers; deliberate downgrading of Parliament, deliberate crippling of the Canadian economy,' and so on, all in reference to Pierre Trudeau and his government. . These are pretty harsh words. Granted, standing --in_front of a partisan audience at a nomination meeting, a candidate can take the liberty to' flail 'away at his political opponents using just about any kind of language he so chooses, knowing full well that no one will challenge him. Nevertheless, nomination meeting or not, some of the accusations were harsh indeed. What of the upcoming campaign? Are the same accusations going to get harsher and harsher? Is the campaign going to degenerate into a messy mud-slinging affair, with attacks on personalities _ instead of the-issues? There are indications this could happen, though one certainly hopes it doesn't. - The country right now doesn't need an election fought in this manner. This country needs policies and answers. It needs viable, workable alterna- tives. It doesn't need criticism simply for the sake of criticism. Canada doesn't need any more petty bickering over inconsequential matters. With an election pending, politicians from all parties might stop to reconsider that in seeking election, they are really asking for the right to serve the best interests of a majority of the people. In -a- democratic three-party system, partisan politicking has its place, but not at the expense of the majority. J.B.M. NN NI NINTNININ PORT PERRY STAR Company Limited ane LD samy, Q CA 2 (oun): ES Dar Serving Port Perry, Redch, Scugog and Cartwright Townships P. HVIDSTEN, Publisher - Editor JOHN B. McCLELLAND, Associate Editor WM. T. HARRISON, J. PETER HVIDSTEN, Plant Manager Advertising Manager Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Member of the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association Published every Wednesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage in cash AD Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rates: In Canada $4.50 per year. Elsewhere $6.00 per year. Single Copy 10¢ ~~) all BILL MILEY UGAR AND *~ OLD FRIENDS os THE PUREST GOLD - Like most people who have one foot in the grave and the other foot butting out the cigarette that's putting them there, I become increasingly averse to change. Why can't my wife be the way she was when I married her: sweet, dumb, innocent and believing that my opinion was more important - than" hers? Why can't my daughter say, 'Yes, dad", instead of, 'Lood, Dad"? Why can't my son do something besides shake his head in agony when I expound on the virtues of hard work, meeting your payments, and all that crud? It seems that the only people with whom I am still on the same wave-length are old friends. Now, I'm not going to give you an analogy comparing old friends to old wine. Although I do think they should be kept in the same place: a cool, dry spot, to be brought out at the exact moment. I have brought out some of my old friends - at the wrong moment. One in particular, can wreak havoc with my domestic relations. We're having a lovely barbecue, for' example. His kids are drifting in and out. And then he says something like, '"'Smiler, remember the night we picked up those two . ."AndI leap smartly into the breach and holler, "Oh, yeah, those two unusual clam-shells at the beach", while his and my wife exchange looks and make mental notes and prepare future third-degrees. However, as they say when they don't know any other way of getting back on the track, some old friends preserve not only their sanity, but their sense.of humour. Recently had a letter from such. Dave McIntosh, a toiler in the bleached vineyards -of journalism. He says he has been writing politics in Ottawa for the Canadian Press for two centuries. This is known as understate- ment, or litotes, if you are taking English from me, and aren't you glad you aren't? We went to University together, "fought" (mostly our way into the Regent Palace in London) together, and he set me up with the - coldest woman I have ever met, when he couldn't keep a date and had me fill in. Dave was the only non-freak -in- North House, which sounds like something out of Dickens, and was. A "Residence." It sounds like a modern euphemism meaning some- place you are put away. Many of the inhabitants of the men's residence should have been put away then, and some have been since. Which proves nothing. "The "jocks" didn't like him, because he laughed at them. If you are not up on the latest slang, jocks were the, in-those days, crew-cut boys who knew that the way to get ahead was to be on the team, marry the right girl, and kick the right people in the face as you climbed the ladder. They, unfortunately, are still with us. The only difference is the ferocity of their sideburns, as compared with the shortness of their crew-cut. The aesthetes didn't like him, because he Jaughted at them. If you are not up-6n aesthetes, they are the people who chuckle over the latest vicious review of a play, who parrot anyone who has ever uttered a bon mot, who are seen at all the right places, b ut couldn't write a paragraph or a scene, or a poem. They are the flies who buzz around a carcass. It must be dead. If it shows signs of life, they shriek with alarm and retreat into generalities like, "Well, after all, he's only doing his own thing. If his "thing" is vomiting on the carpet, that's fine. Sorry, chaps. Didn't mean to get mean. 1 have a toothache. Mac and I became friendly because I was the only non-freak in Middle House. (continued on page 5) 50 WEARS AGO Thursday, March 16, 1922 Mr. Lowery has purchased Mrs. Brown's house on Lilla Street, one block, north of Queen Street, Mrs, Tindall has rented the store now occupied by Har- old R. Archer and will move her millery parlours in the near future. For $3,000 you could buy a 7 room frame house and bath, hard water pump in kitchen, furnace and electric lights. ; A by-law was passed lasy year in Port Perry agains tapping trees, and the council authorized the pub- lication of a warning to the citizens against a contin- uance of this practice. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 20th, 1947 Mr. and Mrs. John Argue of Blackstock have pur- chased a house in Bow- manville. At the Ontario County Seed Judging Competition held in Port Perry High School, the teams coached by .George Stone and Ross Gibson placed 2nd and 3rd. Mr. Clarence Kellett re- ports about a dozen tulips appearing on the west side of his house. 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 21, 1957 Members of the I.0.D.E. of : Port Perry were invited to ~----attend an impressive cere- mony at the Court House in Whitby, when some 75 people - were granted their citi- zenship papers. At the monthly meeting of the Honeydale W.I. Mrs. S. _Cawker and Mrs. Paul Diamond were appointed delegates to the Convention at Guelph. Miss Joan Venning and Miss Carol Young, Toronto Teachers College are teach- ing in Port Perry this week. Carol Midgley, Muriel Lamb and Ted Lamb of Manchester attended the Junior Farmer's Conference at Guelph. Durham County -High School teacher will receive a pay hike of $400.00 as a result of an.agreement met this week between their repre- sentatives and the board. New salary schedules will range from $3,800 to $6,600. for non-specialists and from $4,000 to $6,800 for special- ists. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 22, 1972 Bob Carnegie a student at Queens University, was pre- sented with the Boston Tournament All Star trophy plaque at Queen's Color Night Banquet. The Farm Credit Corpor- ation announces the ap- pointment of Mr. Lance Beath of Brooklin as the credit advisor for Durham and South portions of Ontario County. Port Perry Legion Branch 419 were hosts to the other Branches of Zone F-1, when they met here for the regular zone meeting. The St. Patrick's dance held at the Legion was a decided success. Th e profits from this dance were given to Tom McNeil and his family as a token of their appreciation to Tom for the fine work he had done for the Branch over the years.