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PAGE 4, WI DNESDA, SIEPiT MBEi3R I 1VIIi. 1985, WHiTBY FR EE PRI SS whitby MICHAELKNELL -.b M.H.M. Publishing Community Editor and Photography Inc. Phonle f668-f6l1liVALERIE cowEN F1r reB I Advertising Manager The Free Press uilding, Second Class Mail Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor P.1. 1Bo 20fi, whitbyn Rogistralion No 5351 The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. At the very least, Canada Post should provide letter carrier service Reflections on South Africa After two weeks in Sottth Africa, I am reminded that for a better perspective of your own country, there Is no substitute for a few days away from It. LI'd like to glve you a few of my impressions before the Jet lag wears off entirely, and perhaps before the comforts of home erode my willingness to say things that a lot of people won't like. In the fIrst place, there are not just two factions at work In South Africa. There are dozens. And white South Africans have no monopoly on racial prejudice. In the second place, apartheid, one of the most hideous pleces of legislation ever devised, is on Its death bed. In the third place, white South Africans, as a group, are no better or worse, given thelr environment, than an equivalent cross-section of white Canadians. And, in the fourth place, a relatively peaceful settlement Is more likely, as I see It, than a bloody revolution. My overwhelming Impression is that what white and black South Africans need most, at this point, is friends. They do not need any more lectures from people who haven't the faintest Idea what the problems are. They do not need sanctions, disin- vestment, or United Nations resolutions. In my con- sidered opinion, anything which further hurts the South African economy at this point, an economy which Is already In recession, will make the possibility of peaceful settlement less likely, and might even be a factor in triggering bloody revolution. As friends, we might just be able to help the South Africans. We have more In common than we suspect. The uneasy truce In this country between French and English parallels the tension between Afrikaners and EnglIsh in South Africa. The whites in Canadian society have wronged their native people In the same way, if not to the same degree, that the whItes of South Africa have wronged the blacks, and 1'n the samy way that both whites and blacks have wronged South Africa's Indigenous people, the Bushmen. We are a bilingual, multi-cultural society. South Africa is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi- racial society, and they have been more successful wlth multi-llngualism than we have ever dreamed of being with bIllrigualism. Change is Inevitable In South Africa, and the whites know it, whether they agree with or not. But the whites of South Africa are afraid that in righting the present wrongs, human nature being what it is, South African blacks will fal1 off the other side of the horse. If that happens, then the next Great Trek for white South Africans will be into the ocean. In my view, It is as Important for us to befriend and counsel black South Africans, to moderate their un- derstandable extremism, as it is for us to befriend and cool out the unloveable state president of South Africa, P.W. Botha. In any event, we should stop throwing stones, not just because we live in a glass house, but because South Africa's windows are already broken. The post office, It seems, is everyone's favorite whipping boy. Stories about its inefficiencies are legion. So are the tales of letters being delivered 5,10, 15, 20 and even 60 years late. Adding his own two-cents worth over the last few days has been East Ward Coun. Joe Drumm. Drumm Is upset because many of the new residents of his ward are still without letter carrier service. Some have waited as long as a year for this service - which many Canadians assume to be their right as citizens - with no sign in site that it will ever be implemented. Drumm is so angry about this lack of service from Canada Post Corporation that he has even written a letter to the chairman of the cor- poration's review committee. "As a member of the Whitby Town Council," he wrote, "I am appalled by the manner in which Canada Post treats new residents to our com- munity. The lack of mail delivery and the in- stallation of green 'boxes' in the newer parts of our community is assinine. "Mail delivery, long considered as a part of every day life, seems to be looked upon by Canada Post as just a nuisance," he added. Drumm also told the committee that Canada Post's first Priority should be mail delivery. I believe very strongly, that the very first priority of Canada Post should be mail delivery to all and I might add that this would go a long way towards lessening the ill-will felt by many of our citizens towards your corporation," he wrote. Well, this newspaper can do nothing but agree wholeheartedly. When the federal government re-structured the post office, making it a Crown corporation instead of a department headed by cabinet minister, it said that Canada Post would become a more ef- ficient, and self-supporting, organization. The people of Canada, the government main- tained, would be the primary beneficlaries of this modern, streamlined business operation. Well, frankly, it hasn't happened - not in Whitby anyway. Recently, the former present of Canada Post, Michael Warren, was quoted as saying that home letter carrier service should become a thing of the past. He even went so far as to give the Im- pression that this service should become extinct. At this point in the 20th century, the postal ser- vice has become even more important than It ever has been. People rely on the postal service - It is a vital link to the outside world. Senior citizens for example, need the post office to deliver their pen- sion cheques. Small business (even medium and large business), relies on the post office as an Im- portant medium of doing business. Too many people, too many organizations, rely on the post office for the Crowp corporation to be quoted publicly with statements like these. One other point that must be raised Is that the Canadian taxpayer Is still funding Canada Post Corporation. We are still subsidizing that operation. In return for that money, every taxpayer has the right to expect, even demand, that the corporation provide necessary and essential ser- vices. Furthermore, the corporation expects us to pay every time we use their service. People right here ln Whitby are paying for postal services. The very least every resident of the town has the right to expect is regular home delivery. That's not such a big thing to ask. If the management of Canada Post cannot keep up with the demand for service In Whitby, then perhaps the government should take a lesson from private industry and replace the management team with one that will do the job, or remove the monopoly and allow private enterprise to compete. Canada Post Is a large corporation. It has people.and resources on hand to provide the ser- vices it Is mandated by law to provide. People ln Whitby should not have to wait a year or more for simple, basic letter carrier service. We still feel the best solution is to mail all postal employees' cheques individually in plain envelopes...then watch the enthusiasm for quick service grow!