The Canadian Champion, Friday, September 24. 2004-7 Five Young 4oboes gvert *OUR READERS IWRITE jail sentence for vagrancy 'Time Capsules' are gems of information extracted from past issues of The Champion and other publications in order to provide a window into Miltons past. Explanatory comment is sometimes pro- vided to place the situation in context. January 1904 Last month five hoboes - Frank R. B., James M., James C., John D. and Owen C. - were sent to jail from Oakville as vagrants to serve from 60 to 90 days each, with hard labor. All are young able-bodied men, well able to work. B. and M. are Americans and the other three English. During the cold snap they were allowed to toast their shins before the stove in the cor- ridor (at the jail in the present town hall), but last week they were ordered to go to work, some to break stone and some to cut wood. Their working hours were very short, but they are high-grade tramps, look upon all work as degrading and instigated by B., they determined to go on strike. On Sunday they tumed up their noses at the jail menu, on the ground that the soup was buent and unfit for food. They did again on Monday and refused to work, B. standing on his rights as an American citizen and demanding that his case should be laid before the nearest U.S. consul. On Tuesday they were brought before Dr. Robertson, J.P., charged with a breach of jail discipline and were commit- ted for trial. Yesterday they were arraigned before Judge Gorham. B. repeated his demand for a U.S. consul, but was told that no such official had anything to do with his case and that he was to elect whether he would be tried before the judge, or wait for a jury. In the latter event he would have to remain in jail until April Ilth. He chose the more speedy process and pleaded guilty. So did the other four. The judge told themn that the maximum penalty for their offence was five years in penitentiary, that he would probably send them where they would have to work, no matter how they were fed anti that he would sentence them next Monday. They were marched back to their cells looking very crestfallen. (They were later sentenced by Judge Gorham to one year each at Central Prison as an example to others to teach them that as long as they lived under the British flag they must obey British laws.) Milton's electric lights were shut off last night and the night before. The plant is being repaired. Milton a. Mto 0 ~ Population problems in Milton and GTA shouldn't be blamed on new immigrants Capsules ocis Dear Editor: true that some new immigrants art emplaymeat At same poit Use hl i A M Il . b -A .; i Monday was the coldest day in Ontario for a number of years, 15° below zero was reported as Toronto observatory. In Milton 20° below was recorded, but perhaps the thermometers were not quite accurate. Thomas W., a fam hand, came to Milton one day last week and left for the house of his employer, but as he was drunk he did not reach it. He slept in Wm. Dixon's bam and had both his hands badly frozen. (His right hand was saved but attempts to save the forefmger and thumb on the left hand were futile and the left hand was amputat- ed at the wrist.) The first championship game of the hockey season will be played at the rink (Mill St.) tomorrow evening between the Guelph juniors and the Milton juniors. The first hockey match of the season was played in the Milton rink on New Year's night between the Old Halton Boys of Toronto and the home team. Hockey appears to be on the upward move in town. Two teams have been placed in W.O.H.A. junior and intermediate series. Ice cutters have been busy on the mill pond during the last week and the ice is unusually thick. James E. Tout, C.P.R. engineer, was crushed between his engine and the round- house at London on Tuesday aftemoon. Both his hips were injured. He was engi- neer of the first train that crossed the dia- mond at the junction here and has been on the line ever since. At the annual regimental meeting of the Lome Rifles, held in Milton, the officers unanimously voted to discard the Glengarry headdress and resolved to use the service cap instead. This material is assembled on behalf of the Milton Historical Society by Jim Dills, who can be reached by e-mail at jdills@idirect.com. Tisi lettr is in response tot motion tabled by Town Councillor John Challinor regarding immigra- tion. Mr. Challinor is concemed about the rapid population growth in Milton and the GTA, as are many others. However, he assumes that this growth is mainly a result of the 125,000 new immigrants who arrive in the GTA each year. The implication is that new immigrants to Canada are con- tributing to the immediate growth being experienced in Milton. However, we at the North Halton Cultural Awareness Council sus- pect that the people who are com- ing to Milton to buy new homes, like those of previous generations, have been established in Canada for some time before making the move to this community. There, how much of the popula- tion boom and the extra costs of services resulting from it are affect- ed by new immigrants? Yes it's Comn g to ton, ut very ew. It's certainly true that an increas- ing population puts greater demands on a community's infra- structure. However, people won't move to a community where hous- ing is prohibitively expensive because of limited supply. Milton is a popular destination right now because it has a generous supply of new housing. Blaming new immigrants for the construc- tion of new housing makes no sense whatsoever. The new residents who arrive in Milton come here because there's access to a large job market - the GTA- and because there's afford- able housing. Developers build new housing here because there's a large job market that'll attract homebuyers. The GTA continues to attract new residents because it's the country's largest job market. People move to this area in order to secure stable and/or lucrative Provnce, reg ons an muncpa- ties will have to limit growth. When that happens, demand for housing will exceed supply, the price of housing will go up and employers will have a harder time attracting qualified candidates to move to this area. Then employers will begin considering locating their businesses to a more afford- able market. When that happens, other urban centres will begin to experience stronger growth, and growth in the GTA will level off. Canada's declining birth rate and aging population mean that new immigrants are essential to help ensure the availability of a skilled labour force down the road. Immigration isn't the issue that needs to be tackled here - land use planning is. Judy Scannail, North Halton Cultural Awareness Council More education needed to curb dog biting Dear Editor: The Champion's September 14 editorial made some good suggestions regarding dog bite prevention. However, there's one additional strategy I'd like to mention - one that's most often recommended by experts and was featured prominently following the 1998 mauling death of Courtney Trempe. This strategy is education - education for children in schools, dog owners and parents. According to Health Canada statistics, more than 400,000 Canadians are bitten by dogs each year. More than hal of sthem are children, with the vast majority by family pets at home. According to 2001 statistics from the Centre for Disease Control in the United States, only about 17 per cent of dogs bites are reported and there are more chil- dren up to 14 years of age seen in emergency rooms for dog bites than for burns, drownings, pedestrians accidents, motorcycle accidents, poisonings of suffo- cations. Our own data from Doggone Safe from an informal survey of Milton area children found that of 177 chi- dren between the ages of five and 13, more than half had been bitten and in more than 90 per cent of the cases the dog that bit them was their own, a friend's or neighbour's. We have founded the non-profit organization Doggone Safe in town to address these education issues. Doggone Sale provides school programs as well as education programs for parents, expectant par- ents and those who encounter dogs on the job Doggone Sale programs are being delivered in vari- ous communities across Canada and the US. Unfortunately, we didn't qualify for a grant from the Milton Community Fund, which we were hoping would allow the 'Be A Tree' program ta be brought to al! grade 3 students in Milton. We'd like Miltonians to be aware that Doggone Sale programs are available in the community and thas any- one interested in fmding out more or sponsoring pro- grams can visit our Web site at www.doggonesafe.com or call (905) 854-3232. The Web site has a wealth of information about how to read a dog's body language, as well as teach chil- dren how to be safe with dogs, prepare your dog for a new baby and solve common puppy problems in a way that doesn't promote aggression. Joan Orr, president, Doggone Safe Campbeliville ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM PMl re åltA 351 Qls.q ,actes 519381330ao0 ou Né*si à go sà &g*u On #WI à te k àh 8WYU à