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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, January 26, 1988 Editorial Re-drawing - The Line Unlike their counterparts south of the border, the media in thi country have employed a kind of unwritten rule not to delve too deep into the private and personal lives of those elected to public office, unless of course a politician's personal actions impede his or her public judgements. This tradition, if you will, in the Canadian media, is a marked con- trast to the way the press in the United States takes dead aim at any indescretion, large or trivial, in the private lives of those seeking public office there. This may be changing, however, partly due to an interview aired on CTV recently in which Liberal leader John Turner was asked point- blank if he has ever had a potential drinking problem. Turner didn't duck the question, answering that while he enjoys a party, he has never let anything come in the way of his work either as a lawyer, businessman or federal politician. Fair enough. It was a good answer. oo ~ What is important, however, is not so much the answer, but that the question of a "drinking problem" was even asked of the Liberal leader on a national TV public affairs program. It is a sensitive and serious issue that could have long-range ramifications for both the media and those in public office in Canada. In the first place as Mr. Turner is concerned, some viewers, despite his answer, will be left with the impression in their own minds that simply because the question was asked, there is substance to it. Where there is smoke, there must be fire. This is an especially dangerous ground for politicians and the media. Can you imagine a reporter walking up to a politician or a political candidate and saying " there are rumours floating around that you're having an affair with your secretary. Any truth to those rumours?' The innocent politician will deny vehemently the allegation, but for many viewers or readers the seeds of suspicion will be sewn, despite the denials. Was the CTV program aired a week or so ago, just the thin edge of the wedge? Will the Canadian media, now that the ground has been broken, so to speak, pick up the thread and start sniffing seriously at the personal and private lives of politicians? Itis possible. If so, how far do they go in meeting the old axiom that the public has a right to know everything and anything about those seeking high office? Is the personal life of a politician, away from the arena of politics, of any importance to the public, so long as that per- sonnel life is not affecting his or her judgements in office? Does the public have a right to demand that the media hold a miscroscope to all seekers or holders of public office to examine in detail every wart, blemish or hair slightly out of place? With the airing of the CTV interview a week ago Sunday, these are questions that will be asked in newsrooms large and small across this country. And they are questions that thoughtful Canadians will have to ponder as well. And finally, they are questions that will enter the minds of all those who now hold elected office or are thinking or seeking office. We don't have the answers, if there are any answers. Where should the line be drawn between the public's right and need to know, and the private life of a politician? Rightly or wrongly, the line moved slightly when CTV aired its program. Comments | OW THAT THERE'S A WAY TO BEAT THE ODD$, IT 4HOULD BE EASY TO PICK THE. WINNERS AND LOSERS .-., hatterbox by Cathy Olliffe Port Perry STAR 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone 985-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB 1NO J. PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager {+ CNA © \ =) Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario J.B. McCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash payment of postage in cash. CATHY OLLIFFE News & Features Bruno AN COMMUNE ¥ ze A Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year. RT, Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50° Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 © COPYRIGHT ~-- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS "PORT PERRY STAR, DECEMBER 18, 1974: Headline ---- STILL SEARCHING FOR SUSPECT. Durham Regional Police are still sear- ching for the slayers of 22 year old Beverly Lynn Smith of Raglan. Death was caused by a single .22 calibre bullet which pierced the woman's skull. She had been shot in the back of the head." Thirteen years later, the Star could use the exact same headline, the identical story. Despite the passage of time and immense in- vestigative effort, the murder of Beverly Smith remains unsolved. Somewhere, perhaps in this area, lives the killer. After 13 years, he (or she) is no doubt feel- ing pretty comfortable about the chances of be- ing caught. It's not often that a criminal is brought to trial after such a space of time, the trail is cold, the events almost forgotten. Forgotten by everyone but Beverly Smith's family, the police and her killer. Someone in our midst is harbouring a deadly secret. Someone has been carrying a burden of guilt for 13 years. Perhaps, to relieve the cons- cience, this person has told someone. A friend. A family member. Maybe a complete stranger, in a moment of weakness or inebriation. Secrets are hard to keep at the best of times. But such a horrid secret must consume a person. Someone has been told who the killer of Beverly Smith is. The police are confident of this. Scores of detectives have worked on the Smith case over the years, solving riddles, sifting through evidence, gaining new insights inch by inch. None have solved the case so far. But it now rests in the laps of three dedicated officers who are working full-time on Durham Regional Police's most baffling murder. Their relentless approach is shedding new light on this old case, and I believe, in my heart of hearts, that they will eventually close the file on this case for good. When an arrest will take place is not known. It might happen next week, it might not take place for another year. But time is of little consequence when so much has already passed by. The detectives are patient. Careful. They'll wait until more than enough evidence is ac- cumulated before they pounce. And I have no doubt that an arrest will be made. I just wish that I could be with them to follow their progress. . I can't think of anything more fascinating, more consuming, than working on such an incredi- ble case. I'd love to be a fly on the wall as the : detectives-slog through the investigation. Like many people, I like nothing more than sinking my teeth into a good mystery. I thrill to Max Haines, Agatha Christie and Stephen King. But like most mystery affecionados, I pour through the plot in order to get to the ending. You can guess 'whodunnit' to your heart's content, but you clamour to find out what really happen- ed. Was it the butler? The rich widow? The devious second-cousin? The beautiful other woman? But unlike fiction, there isn't always an ending to real-life mysteries. Solving a whodunnit isn't ds easy as writing the final chapter. It takes an unbelievable amount of effort to come up with the villain in a real mystery, and sometimes it never happens. Perhaps that is why I'm so interested in the tragedy of Beverly Smith. A pretty young housewife dies at the hand of a heartless killer, a promising life is snuffed out, and for what? What motive could anyone possibly have to kill a person with no known enemies? She was well-liked, with an infant daughter and a husband. Who could have done such a callous thing? I realize even bigger atrocities happen every day in this world. People are victimized for no reason every minute of every hour. I still can't fathom the motives of the former military man who murdered every member of his family in cold blood. I can't understand why a mother would be charged with the death of her young son, as hap- pened a few days ago in Kincardine. I still feel like throwing up every time I think about the six million Jews murdered in death camps. And I'm horrified when I read of the violence in Haiti. We are surrounded by atrocities, but our. op- timistic blind-fold approach to life prevents us from believing such horrors can exist in our own backyards. Which is why the unsolved murder of Beverly Smith is such a slap in the face. Because we are exposed to so few of these world-wide repugnant acts in our sheltered part + of the globe, we react with shock when something happens in our community. And because we are accustomed to the hap- py endings in books and on television, we expect the same in real life. Maybe that's why I want to see this case clos- ed for good. There's something lingering and pain- ful about the unanswered questions. i me ar a oe a - a ~~ gem Je PA A i Si at el at