Page 2, Thursday, May 18, 1972, WHITBYFREEPRESS EditoriaEl ..The Sacrifice There i s something downright un- nerving about the way political people across the Dominion today are playing c h a u v inistic homage to that gigantic master, "progress". To further their all mighty politi- cal careers, or to tone down a restless public for the interim of a year or two, 'bigger i s better' will soon clear the sl1 ate while t hey stand humbly back stoical ly saying, "We must make way for progress!I" That they seem to overlook the a ge old balance of life, 'nothing for no th in g'; 'always a price tag, phy- s i c a I or mental', makes one wonder at their religious and scholastic up- bringings. As John Livingstone, Assistant Professor at York University, Pres- ident-Elect of the Federation of Ont- a ri o Naturalists and television per- sonalityrecently said, "An airport is themost elegant manifestation of pro- gress I can think of." And the airport-proposed for this a r e a i s also another prime example how a basically inconsistent issue can be so deftly swept under the pol- i t ical rug wi th the forgive-al1 label, "Stand back, this is progress!" 'But the new ai rport will mean jobs for this area', our politicians will counteract. Unfortunately the price of those jobs for the Oshawa-Whitby area will be I i t t I e more than the area being a convenient doormat for the fastidiously prepared city of Cedarwood with next door convenience services of Ameri- can hotels, motels and restaurants. lndeed, progresswhen taken so far out of perspective as is being done now by contemporary politicians,it reminds oneof the enslaved mother who sacri- f i ce s thirty years of her life scrub- bing floors for her playboy son... Mail ·phone Publish Editor Editoria Staff Display Adverti Circulat / THE WHITBY FREE PRESS 1 (Voice of the County Town) Hometown paper of Whitby, Brooklin, Myrtie and Ashburn. Published every Thursday in and for the people of Whitby. Offices - 301Byron St. S. Whitby - Box 206. Whitby 668-6111 er - W. Bill-Durkee - Judy Durkee Il sing ion - J.Quail - Ron Winstanley - Barry Schroeder In response to M. Baker's letter which appeared in last week's issue of the Free Press Sir, Let me congratu- 1 a t e you on your recent letter to the Whitby Free Press, airing your views and concerns about the proposed Picker- ing airport. The sum total of every voter's opinion is necessary i n. assuring that a c or r ect decision will be made. I f e a r that you are assuming too much when you say that those oppos- ing the airport have 'homes on large lots and make a steady in- come. I'"1, for one, have a very aver- age, possibly bel- ow ave rage, by some standards, home, andî1 oppose the airport. Job security is an el- usive thing at best, y et an airport is no guarantee that a job will be wait- ing for you or any- one else, if un- employment should strike. Factories which employ most of us, are built to p r o duce at maxi- mumcapacity, and no plant will r un at a half or quar- ter of its produc- tion wai ting for GM to close or slow down, so that a f f e c ted GM em- ployees will have a job. I agree that the economic base of our area should be expanded to less- en the effect GM has on it. How- ever, this is hap- pening at a natural pace. Booms, El- liott Lake for in- stance, come and go, but steady re- 1 i able industries: GM, Stelco& Du- Pont stay on and on, and what's more, they keep steady employment alive. Nothing is im- possibl e, but to think GM would or coul d cl ose down i s as illogical as as- suming that the CN or CP would do likewise. Politic- i ans promise al 1 that is possible to promise. Mr. Da v i s promised, in a fashion, that there would be no increases in taxes once he was elec- ted. Whatis the cost of beer now, a n d what are you p a y i ng for gaso- line ? Poliltical promises come and go with an elect- ion. N ew bus i ness can be encouraged to move more quicki y into the area, as i t has bëen in Port Hope an d Cobourg, by simply t ak ing the 5. 6 billion dollars earmarked for the airport and inves- ting it into making the Oshawa Whitby area more a t t r active finan- cially for relocat- ing manufacturers or new business starts. Ali of this wi thout an ai rport, w i t h o u t Toronto living conditions, without a des- t r o y e d country- s i d e and wi thout loss of community identity. I too enclose an article f rom the Toronto Star about noi se and p o I I u t ion at Los Angeles Ai rport. I am more inclined to t ak e note of it because it was buried on "the I e a s t-read page" and due to the fact thatyour article's author, Ian S. MacDonald, was justifying h i s ex- istence as Direc- tor of Fleet Plan- ning for Air Can- ada. Could he real I y 'take any other stand and sti Il expect to be employed by Air Canada? Respectful ly, Paul M. Wicher, Whitby POP, Co- Chairman. Noise. Suits Threaten L. A. Airport LOSANGELES (UPI) - 'City offic- ials yesterday discussed closing Los Angeles international airport to avoid billions of dollars of possible damages and nuisance claims. The shutdown of theairport, the w-or Id's second busiest, was recom- mended Tuesday by city attorney Roger Arnebergh after the California Sup- reme Court ruled last Friday that the Continued on page 7 - - 1 1-- ýýýý-,,, 7- Ir', l7l,-",<,l-,-,,,ý,ý7ý,ý,,ý,ý,,ý - ,'Readers write