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NEAR HAYS 2 ALPS SA Legalized Gambling Ontario's Consumer and Commercial Relations minister Frank Drea made it clear last week that the government of this province has no intention of allowing betting on dog races or legalized casino- type gambling. Drea stated the government's position to a Legislature committee that is looking into the issue. It seems incredible that the government would maintain this inflexible attitude towards something which has the potential to be of benefit not only to the coffers of the provincial treasury, but also to the economy of Ontario in general. All the more so when one considers the ever increasing financial drain that education, health and social services are putting on other sources of taxation revenue. " One cannot help but wonder how much more the average citizen can shell out in taxes on property, income and retail sales, plus the countless "hidden" fees that governments collect. It is time that the provincial government took a more realistic approach to the issue. Gambling is not a terminal disease, it does not necessarily lead to moral bankruptcy or personal ruin. People have gambled in one form or another for centuries, and they still are today. Recently, police in Toronto smashed' a gambling operation that was doing business to the tune of $100,000 each week. And that is just the tip of the ice-berg as far as illegal betting is concerned in this province. Mr. Drea's stated reasons for the government not pursuing the issue further are also a little incredulous. } He said casino gambling would hurt charitable organizations who operate "casino" nights legally. Well, that is nonsense. If the government legalized gambling, it would be under strict control, and not mean a chain of casinos in every small town in the province. Ideally, legalized gambling would be centred in a few large metropolitan areas to get maximum benefit from the tourist and convention trade. To suggest that people in small town Ontario would give up their weekly bingos and crown and anchor at the fall fairs to run off to the dice tables is not being realistic. Mr. Drea said that if gambling were legalized, it would mean a proliferation of such activities as loan sharking and prostitution. Maybe, but both are already a fact of life in our society. Would it not seem logical that if gambling attracts loan sharks and prostitutes, lawn enforcement agencies would be better able to deal with them if gambling in a few centres were legal and out in the open? The same argument might be made for the 'mob' and rackateers. Surely, our "government and police forces have the resources to tightly control the ENA EAR TART RB AE ARATE editorial poge operation of legalized gambling. And besides, criminals are attracted to gambling today because of it being illegal and outside the law. It is interesting to note that while the province of Ontario wants nothing to do with casino-type gamb- ling operations, it already is heavily involved in other forms of legalized gambling: lotteries, horse racing and games of chance. The annual report put out by Mr. Drea's own department states that last year more than $1.25 billion was wagered in Ontario on these three activities alone. Are we on the brink of moral collapse, because of it? If the province can earn needed revenue from these forms of legalized gambling, why can't it go further, take the bull by the horns, and recognize the reality of the situation. Could it be that legalizing other forms of gambling would present a political problem for the Conservatives? This is after all, the same govern- ment that deems it necessary to maintain a Board of Censors that dictates what adults can see or not see in movie houses. We suspect the Conservative government feels it is much safer politically to slap more tax on booze and cigarettes, to cut back on spending for needed social services, than to expand the revenue genera- ting capacity of the province with something like legalized gambling under government control. (Turn to page 5) smile PERSONAL COLUMNS Some, people, much too refined to indulge in pornographic books or blue movies, get their voyeuristic kicks from reading the '"Personal" columns of the newspapers. Not me. I ain't refined. By the time I've skimmed the front page, been bored by the pompous editorials, I'm through with the paper. It is strictly for wrapping garbage in. Never do I read the classified ads, selling everything from houses and cars to bodies. I haven't time. And besides, they're all the same. Whether it's a car, a house or a body, ONY N SO NN MYA Nit \ NN at ---------------------- LMA HE SE AMA Wl \ i it's the greatest buy of the century. Many of gy them carry the same message: 'Must be AS seen." i ! Well, I strayed. Yes, I wandered. The 1 other day, looking through the ads for teachers in the hope that I could find my daughter's address in Moosonee (she hasn't written us in over three weeks and I have a piercing picture of her and the grandboys stumbling around the tundra looking for the place), I staggered, by some mischance, onto the "Personal" column. No wonder those warpies read it, the people who leave the room, nose in air, when someone mentions sex, or tells a funny, slighly off-colour joke. It's a kaleidoscope of sex, sin, silliness and sickness to warm the heart of any peeker through others' windows. x I read with at first amusement, then amazement, and then a bit of shock, though I am fairly unshockable. 'This appeared in "Canada's National Newspaper", which maintains a lofty moral tone on most of its other pages. It was like looking under the rug in a highly moral dowager's house, while she is out getting tea, and finding a lot of dirt under it. First under suspicion are the items under '"Massage". some of them are innocuous enough, but what about this one: "no appointment needed. 10a.m. to 10p.m. 7 days a week'. With a woman's name and phone number. Maybe she's just a hard worker, who doesn't get up too early, and doesn't like days off, but I doubt it. Then you come to the section headed: "Readers, Palmistry, Horoscopes." Again, some of them are legit, as legit as a fortune teller can be. But there are some intriguing ones: "Mrs. Selma will help you in all problems of life. No problem so small that she cannot solve (How about big ones?). One visit will convince you." Hanky-panky? Sure sounds like it. But that is kid stuff, only mildly titillating, compared with the sick, arrogant, lonely, blunt, no-holds barred medicine that comes under the heading: Companions Wanted. This is where the real meat of the "Personal Column" is and I imagine an inveterate reader skips the masseuses and the fortune tellers quickly, and gets down to peering into private lives. When I was in the weekly newspaper business, there was the occasional pathetic guy who would come in to the office and place an ad: "Successful young farmer, good farm, stock, house, seeks partner interested in matrimony. Write Box 220B." It was pathetic because we knew the guy. He was 53, ugly. His farm was sixty acres, mostly second-second-growth bush and pas- ture. His "stock" consisted of two pigs, four chickens, and three mangy cows. His "House" was a shack without plumbing, heated by a pot-bellied stove. He never received an answer, but would come in once a week for two months, asking for the mail from Box 220B. - eh But these city slickers are a lot more subtle and tough. [I'll give you a few examples that curdled me a bit. The egos are fantastic. 'Professional man, married, mid-thirties, seeks married woman for afternoon or evening meetings". How would you like to be his wife? "Gentleman, 48, business owner, lives in new apt. seeks charming, attractive lady to share his life with." No mention of marriage. "Middle-aged business man seeks young- er male companion." Well. "Sophisticated gentleman, creative type, seeks the pleasures of sensuous woman 30-45. If an exciting affair with an appreciative male is your style, send snapshot and phone number to ..... " He could by 80. But it's not all men. "Lady, 55, R.C., wishes to meet gent up to 60." If you're sixty-one, you're out, but you could be twenty-one. "One wild and crazy guy wishes to meet one wild and crazy gal who loves dancing . and camping and would like to share a- RT FE TST Xorg Le Ea \ Ne a AL OF £5 ¥ ork 3) / a RE Lata serious relationship." On a dance floor? In a tent? "lI am a lovely, loving, female, 33, divorced and a writer, who is also tolerant, perceptive, idealistic, offbeat, romantic, cerebral and a Cancer, looking for an honest, stable relationship. I am looking for a man....(and a list of adjectives like hers). Someone with a calm exterior, but brimm- ing with hidden fires and worlds to explore. Under 50 and over five feet seven inches." That's what gets me. After the great build-up, the blunt facts. If you were fifty-one and five-six, you'd miss out on this fantastic woman. "Intriguing. Blonde young lady seeks wealthy man for daytime affair."' That's the shortest and most honest of the bunch. She probably works nights. I'm afraid the only one that tempted me was: "Russian lady. Beautiful. (That's nice, nothing against beautiful Russian ladies.) Seeks gentleman over 40. (O.K. I qualify). Lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil.(Great climate there). For marriage purposes." Always the stone-dead clincher at the end. I'd have to ask my wife. a Bo os gi A SGT