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Ellie ifiarrtr Examiner Published by Canadian Newspapers Company Limited 16 Bayfield Street Barrie Ontario Robb PublisherGeneral Manager Walls Editor Emeritus Henshaw Managing Editor The Barrie Examiner Monday January 1977 Do present Tories rate adding to long record After having been in power since the late George Drew led the party to victory in dethroning the Liberals away back in 1943 the Ontario Con servatives appear to be getting ready to try for their ninth re endorsement later this year Party stalwarts seem confident that they should do better than in the September 1975 election and come back strong with majority government The present standing of the legislature shows the Con servatives holding 52 seats New Democrats 38 and Liberals 35 There are some who may feel that minority government is more responsive to public opinion Others have deplored the recordhigh taxation which has been steadily in creasing the deficit budget finan cing and the soaring public debt which can only add to future tax burdens It is far cry from Tory policies of few years ago Of course it must be taken into account that economic attitudes have changed in recent years There have been beneficial social changes some for the better and also other expansmn of govern ment departments and agenc1es definitely open to critiCism from the taxpaying public Some feel that too little stress has been given to responsibilities and the need for all to do their individual part to help strengthen the democratic process for the general good There has been conSiderable criticism of the centralization tren ds of recent years with its growmg bureaucracy Which have tended to weaken local powers Simcoe Coun ty council has been frequently com mended for opposmg the en couraged trend toward regional government which has resulted in higher taxes and more cen tralization elsewhere The new tax strategy for municipalities in 1978 has stirred more understandable apprehenSion about what this Will do to future property taxes One of 15 proposals called for THE WORLD TODAX new insight into history By JOHN IIARBRON Foreign Affairs Analyst Thomson News Service history pet major rewriting of our Let me Cite few example beginning With the exposure of payment of municipal taxes on government property The city of Toronto with the legislature buildings large office buildings On tario House and other government property might gain something from this but it is likely most municipal taxpayers elsewhere will have to pay more Taxing of public utilities could only mean even more hikes in already accelerating electric and power rates as well as water and sewer services The question of what is to be gained by taxmg YM CA and other charity properties has caused controversy There are new farm and other proposed changes which also could be of farreaching consequences Some voters would like to see how these actually work out before casting prov1nc1al ballots to render their Judgment on such reforms The prime question which voters must decide is whether alternative parties offer improvements The Liberals under Stuart Smith appear to some observers to be av01d1ng gomg into too much detail about their poliCies Perhaps an election campaign Will be the incentive needed to rectify this Situation Taxpayers who wonder about an NDP government cant help but be concerned over the effect of some of its poliCies on future taxation Those who feel that the Smithled Liberals lack commitment to solid economic platform and are ap prehenswe that NDP poliCies would further boost recordhigh taxation are quite likely to support the gover nment in power once again par ticularly if it is reorganized to present fresh outlook before the next election campaign The provm Cial Tories have been noted for that in the past which helps to explain nearly 34 years in control The need for good direction and effic1ent handling of the economy in this era of doubtful outlook is ob Vious Voters Will have more than their usual responsmility in con Sidering the key issues which should be dec1ded in the coming vote vision regardless of ltra then their original initiative was not as important as we have come to understand At years end it is the tram tion to look back over the year past at ones own record or that of nation in general 11 New Years Eve comes at the end of decade as in 1969 we in the press print the inevi table item that was the dec ade that was With its achieve ments crises and fotbles During Centennial Year 1967 as this year With the American bicentenniaL the media was filled With historic reminiscent and nostalgic articles anec dotes and reports on the na tions past My comment at years end reaches beyond such short term reassessments of events encompassed by the passage of year or decade to the amount of material in new books in the last few years which Will com ffllir Earth Examiner 16 Bayfield Street Barrie Ontario Telephone 7266537 RegistratiOn Number 0484 Second Class Mail Return postage guaranteed Daily Sundays and Statutory Holidays excepted Subscription rates daily by carrier 85 cents weekly $4420 yearly Single copies 15 cents By Mail Barrie $4420 yearly Simcoe County $3400 yearly Motor Throw Off $3900 yearly Balance of Canada $3600 year yllational Advertising Offices 65 Queen St West Toronto 8641710 640 Cathcart St Montreal Member of the Canadian Press and Audit Bureau of Cir culations The Canadian Press is ex clusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches in this paper credited to it or The ASSOCIflled Press or lteuter and also the local news published therein The Barrie Examiner claims Copyright in all original adver tising and editorial material created by its employees and reproduced in this newspaper Co yright Registration Numger zooms register WWWflflIWm the wartime Ultra machine conceived before the outbreak of the Second World War and which broke almost every se cret German code during that event The author retired British officer and specialist who has kept his Silence for 15 years tells us that all maJor dectsmns on the Allied Side to invade Nor th Africa Italy and finally Europe itself to roll back the Na21 power were made on the basts of material secured through Ultra GENERALS RidASSESSED It so this means much of the established historical Judgmen ts about the Second World War based on the analys1s of the de c1sionmaking abilities of our military leaders Will have to be done again If they were all or nearly all relying on supersecret deVices like Ultra except Field Mar shal Montgomery who prac tised his usual 2020 military QUEENS PARK Hard to have happy heart By DON OHEARN Queens Park Bureau Thomson News Service TOHONIO It seems it might be good idea to go south in 1977for the year Looking ahead to the next 12 months its pretty hard to have anything like happy heart If there is even an horizon ahead it isnt Vistble through the smog lhe smog of course is eco nomic The economy remains depressed And there isnt any real reassurance of correction But With the economy dc pressed so is everything else In government there is very little that can be done Without money except perhaps restraining things like sex and firearms And the money isnt there now And from the prospects It Or take our owti recent na tional hISiOly and the doinitiaiit role of the late prlnie minister William Lyon Mackenztc King who everyone knew was Splfl tualist but did not know that he practised it and other mystic powers so extensively Nor would we have antici paled that this eslhctic prim and demanding little man was womaniIer in his early life probably had aspirations that way long after if was assumed he was the complcat bachelor Heal all about it 111 Sta ceys compelling book on Kings secret life What shocker for llftlrlllvll1WOtIl Liberals to read from the pen of one of our leading historians that King pursued prostitutes as young and vigorous male These kinds of books which today make up sizable quanv lily of our new histories of our recent past demand that the fi nal historical records of our times be rewritten accordingly wont be there for the rest of the year IIIH POSIIIVIC The Ontario government has shown in words that it grasps the problem or at least Provm eial Treasurer Darcy McKeough has but it hasnt shown much in the way of ac tionlocochithlt Under the leadership of the treasurer there has been quite stringent restraint program Within government itself But there has been not much eVidence of what is much more needed stimulation program And until there is such ev1 dcnce we cant look forward With much hope to either good times or goixf government NEW SlAItI About the most depressing aspect as one looks forward to 1977 IS that you really cant see anopening FROM PARLIAMENT HILL Prime ministers conferences to prove federalism works By SlEWARI zitLU Ottawa Bureau Thomson News Service When Prime Minister lrudeau decided to eliminate those scriims Witt reporters and replace them Willi struc tured news conferences it was explained that the change was made largely for the benefit of Journalists who now would have greater opportunity for it depth quest toning It might work out this way Its still too early to know But there is no doubt that the change Will benefit the prime minister who enJoys national television coverage every time he holds new conference in Ottawa Furthermore it gives him an advantage over other political leaders who do not have regular news conferences and would not receive the same attention even if they did organize such events It is not insignificant that Mr lrudcau fecided on his new relationship With the media af ter the Nov 13 election of separatist government in Que bec llis news conferences With their simultaneous translation pertmt him to talk directly Willi tanadians in both languages on regular basis And Mr lrudeau plans to do great deal of talking Witfi nadians during the next year as he tries to keep the country to gethcr National unify can only be achieved if the people in all parts of anzitfa want it he said recently It cannot be achieved by governments alone IIANS1PltN And his advtsors say that the prime minister Will be taking advantage of every opportunity to use the directsell approach to offset tfic sales campaign of ltene Levesques larli Que Iiicots As he said recently Sud dcnly there is government in place Wliicfi has all the tools of government and there IS 71 odd members of the legislative assembly of Quebec who are pant as it Were to preach scpa ratisin every day of the year and try to prove that federalism doesnt work The prime minister has made it clear on several occasions that his main assignment is to prove that federalism does work And there is no doubt that television is his greatest ally YOUR BUSINESS When he held his first of these new press conferences Mr lrudeau appeared relaxed and chatty movmg comfortably from English to French for 50 minutes as he made his sales pitcfi In democratic soctety wfiat holds it fthe country to gether is the Will of the Citizens to live together in way that is prosperous harmonious and free and advances everyones own personal fulfilments This is not only task for Pierre Trudeau or the Liberal party or the federal govern ment and hope Canadians Will realize that They should not turn to us or to Joe Clark and say save the country Ca nadians Will save the country lOOIHOVERAGE The prime ministers remarks suddenly appeared on the front pages of Virtually every newspaper in anada He was featured in all theViston newscasts and his votce was heard on radio stations from coast to coast Its perhaps understandable that Mr lrudeaus ottiCials would suggest that the news conferences are being held for the benefit of Journalists And decidedly mixed year for Canadas economy By VINCENT EGAN Business and Consumer Affairs Analyst Thomson News Service While others are forecasting what 1977 Will be like for ana dians lets take one final look back at 1376 before its forgot ten on memorys crowded shelves For the economy using the word in its broadest sense if was dec1dedly mixed year Heal Gross National Product which is the Single most Wider accepted indicator of economic health rose by an estimated 48 per cent That means that the true value of all goods and serViccs produced discounted for in Ill BLEIHOUCIII For with iod nothing shall be impossible Luke 137 Iuck this away in your heart and when you are inclined to say no way reach back for these good words and apply them to the problem Expect miracle flations effects expanded by less than the five per cent rate thats considered to be bare minimum necessary to keep unemployment from rising Unemployment therefore did rise reaching peak of 76 per cent of the labor force at one point in the tall rand Job vacancies decreased by about 15 per cent More Canadians had Jobs than ever before but creation of new Jobs lagged behind growth in the number of Jobseekcrs People who do have Jobs however generally had more purchasing power Average weekly earnings in Canada now exceed $230 vs $217 year ago Lets assume 1976 average of $228 vs about $203 in 1975 then discount both figures for in flation Itesult Heal earnings improved by about 44 per cent in19f16 vs three per cent in 1975 SLOWER RISE Thats another way of saying the consumer prices rose con Siderably less than wages in 1976 Latest monthly figures show an annualized inflation rate of 56 per cent and in flation for the full year 1976 probably averaged about 75 per cent vs 10 per cent 1111975 major factor in the slow down of the inflation rate was the levellingoff of food prices Cynics said this had nothing to do With the governments re straint program The antiin flation board on the other hand takes credit for the im provement in the inflation rate Corporate profits increased in 1976 by about 34 per cent Taking inflation into con s1deration thats decrease of couple of percentage points in real terms The antiinflation restraints require large com panies to roll back their profit marginsprofits as per centage of salesto 15 per cent below either the 1974 figure or the 197074 average The distribution sector wholesaling and retailingflwere hardest hit As consequence 1976 saw no significant increase in corpo rate capital spending on new plant and equipment the basic source of new Jobs The costs and risks of increasmg com panys capacity have becomi greater than ever POLICY CHANGES slowdown in inflation doesnt mean that prices have come down They rose uncom fortably fast throughout 1976 as every consumer knows succession of policy moves in the clostng weeks of 1976 consmering the inefficiency of those old corridor scrums when reporters chased Mr Trudeau like defensive linemen alter loose football it isnt difficult to convmcc people that the new arrangement benefits reporters But considering the prime ministers obJective of talking With Canadians at every oppor tunity and considering the fact that he hated those horrid scrums we would be naive to believe his motives are entirely altrUistic so far as the media is concerned The only real losers are the leaders of other parties As long as Mr Trudeau was speaking to the nation through those little 205econd film clips from corn dor scrums Conservative Leader Joe Clark and New Democratic Party Leader 1in Broadbent could expect reason ably equal treatment Reports were glad to get their 20sccond comments on the same subJect But there is no way either of these leaders can command the attention of weekly 50minute news conferences And some how have feeling that the prime ministers advtsors thought of that showed that the federal govern ment is easmg its antiin flationary restraints in the monetary area and that return to higher inflation is probably imminent Price increases on products from new cars modest to chocolate bars 25 per cent were either announced or in the works at yearend The Canadian dollar in late 1976 lost about five per cent of its value on foreignexchange markets then regained nearly half the loss The cheaper dollar and the slowdown in Canadian inflation were factors in making our ex ports more saleable abroad So too was the US economic re covery Toward the yearend our merchandise exports to other countries exceeded our imports by the best margin recorded since 1974 For investors 1976 was an err ratic year On average stock prices advanced early in the year later slumped and ended the year midway between their highs and lows lfonds were marginally stronger than 111 1975 Willi most of the strength appearing late in the year as in tercsl riites began edging down ward By LEONARD NOBLE Another year has expired As think back the year wasnt even 011 the ground when Pierre lrudeau told Fraser Kelly that he didnt think the free market system was working and we would pro bably have to have more str ingent controls even after the antiinflation program was over The prime minister got lot of ink out of that statement and probably lost good number of his potential Bay Street votes We werent even out of January before fullscale argument erupted as to whether Montreal would be able to complete its com mitments for the Olympic Games and whether the Pro vmce of Quebec would have to come to the finanCial aSSistance of Montreal As events turned out the Olympic Games did take place on time were roaring suc cess and complete Vindica lion of Mayor Jean Drapeau and his efforts Almost Simultaneously January was still upon us when Doctor Henry Morgentaller was acquitted by Jury of his peers from the charge of havtng car ried out an illegal abortion The year 1976 was if luminated by that case smce neither the government nor the JudiCiary could override the sentiments of the people The CANADAS STORY Wives quarrel led to duel By BOB BOWMAN Even as late as 1860 public insult in Canada could have serious consequences especially challenge to take part in duel In 1849 John Macdonald challenged William Blake to duel as the result of quarrel on the floor of the legislature Fortunately frien ds of both men managed to prevent it lroni taking place There was spectacular duel in York Toronto on Jan3 1800 John Wfiile the attorney general of Upper Canada was killed by John Small who was clerk of the executive council Small was tried for itiurder later but the verdict was not guilty The chief Justice of Up per Canada said Jurors liiivc tiol been known to convict when all WIIS fair llic duct was caused by it quarrel between the Wives of the antagonists Mrs White claimed flint she had been snubbed by Mrs Smull in it most pointed tiiiinner Accord ing to the record Mr White then coliiiiiinucnted to another person some circumstances to CAVEAT EMPTOR My crystal ball has gone dim case Will stand as an example of why the Jury system should never be done away with in criminal case But then from the sublime to the ridiculous Who can ever forget Margaret Trudeau as she sang her little song to the Wife of the president of Venezuela Fortunately for her as well as us she hasnt given repeat performance And in 1976 Ontario began its policy of closing up hospitals as means of cutting back on its expenditures lhank heaven that illdevised scheme soon died and went into political purgatory At the same time Attomey General Hoy McMurtrys star began to rise as he set the governments course in myriad of ways such as charg ing hockey players with criminal offences for commit ting acts of rough play and blowmg the whistle on purveyors of pornographic material who displayed it too blatantly There were lots of important stories during the year but suppose the big story was the Parti Quebecois victory in Quebec which may spell the beginning of the end for Canada Unfortunately my crystal ball is dim and we will just have to wait and see what the year brings forth the preJudice of Mrs Smalls reputation The story got around and Mrs Small urged her husband to do her jus tice So the challenge was issued and Small and White met in Government Park behind the Assembly buildings on what now is Front Street at the foot of Berkeley in Toronto Whites bullet missed Small but Smalls shot liit White in hip and he died from the wound The tragedy caused some consternation because both men were regarded as pillars of the church However duclling continued for another 51 years The last fntiil duct was in lttlzl when John Wilson killed liobert Lyon Wilson later became it Judge in the Otititrio Supreme ourt Ollllilt 1Nll1lt3N1S 1802 About 1101 Highlanders from Scotland settled at Syd neyNS um Joseph Ilowc drew up 12 resolutions calling for re sptnisible government littlll Liberals held venlioii in loronlo ii con