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4 The Waterioo Chronicle, Wednesday, July 26, 1967 .__Although the heading at the top of this column inâ€" dicates the views expressed are those of editor Lewis Gambling, there is a visiting fireman sitting in on the job this week while Lew takes a wellâ€"deserved vacation. 4y sports hall are_confident inz asked for #he venture. At a joint mecting of the comâ€" mittee, the boasds of governors ef the sportsâ€" section and the pioneers _ and â€" builders â€" section #felt sure that financial requests would be honored in time to bave a sports hall of fame in the near future. And he‘s got eye troubles, too, so perhaps he won‘t be able to read this. . We happen to live in the northern part of this counâ€" ty and have advocated for years that Old Order Menâ€" nonite buggies should be checked regularly for safety just as aytomobiles are checked. Although they are in the minority, we know of at least one buggy driver who caused a serious accident on Highway 86 west of Elmira. A driver of a fastâ€"moving car suddenly came to the conclusion that a buggy was in front of him. He swerved to the left and struck an onâ€" coming car. Two people were killed, five hospitalized. \__The bupgy clattered off down the road with the @river either unaware or too callous to stop and offer assistance. It is a tribute to the driving abilities of many in the north of Waterloo County that more serious accidents involving buggies do not occur. & ‘ _A good many teenâ€"agers can testify that if they tried to drive in the same manner, police would soon put a stop to it. We think something should be done about it. We have been the reporter on the scene too many times when a horse and buggy is a mangled wreck in the ditch; when blackâ€"clad bodies have been tossed through the air. We don‘t know what the statutes say about such safety measures. If nothing can be done, it‘s high time our legislators did some homework, not only for the safety of the people driving buggies but for others using the highways. All buggies should be checked for lights. Some have eone headlight, some have two, some have none at all. Some have one or two taillights, some have none. Some have the reflectorâ€"type tape at the rear. Why couldn‘t all buggies have a double set of headlights? If some can operate this way, why not all? No doubt some of you who drive in the northern part of the county have gone through the nerveâ€"shatâ€" tering experience of driving along a county or township road and suddenly, the lights of a buggy are switched on a few yeards ahead of you. This is the method used by many buggy drivers to conserve the charge in their batteries. They turn on the lights only when they hear a car coming. They should be told forcibly by law ofâ€" ficers to discontinue this practice. o The law maintains that buggies have as much right to the travel portion of the road as any other vehicle. Although licences for buggies are not required, it would beâ€"a sane idea to keep to the wide shoulders on wellâ€" travelled roads. Why couldn‘t provincial polite, township police and safety officers devise a safety check for buggies? If we might be so bold, here are a few suggestions. Another safety feature that could be checked on buggies are axles. Many of these vehicles have been in use for more than 50 years. Some have notâ€"brokenâ€"butâ€" badlyâ€"bent axles both front and back. Some are overâ€" loaded when three adults climb into the buggy seat â€" one parked precariously on the knees of the other two â€" and perhaps a couple of children in the rumble seat. Hall of Fame Seeks Support Members of the Waterloo counâ€" sports hall of fame committee e confident that all centres beâ€" 1 asked for money will support A division of Baulk Publishers Ltd. Published every Wednesday at Waterloo Square, ° Waterloo, Ont Lewis Gambling, Editor SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Canada: one year $3.00;, in United States and â€" foreign â€" countries: one â€" year . $4.00 Authorized as second class: mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage in cash. Member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association Waterloo Chronicle Established 1854 Lew‘s Views Committees have been organiâ€" zed within the boards of governâ€" ors to formulate bylaws and rules and regulations pertaining to the entry of nominees into the hall. Al committees were instructed to prepare suggested regulations and submit them to the next joint meeting in September. A building committee was apâ€" pointed consisting of C. D. Pequeâ€" gnat and W. M. Schmaltz who will â€"add three more members from the boards of governors. Editorial Comment WATERLOGO By FRED SHINN An epidemic of widespread proâ€" portions affected many Canadians in the year 1918, but it was in October of that year that the inâ€" fluenza epidemic was at it‘s worst. The fuel controller was informâ€" edthat the regulations stated: the retail sale of gasoline on a Sunday was prohibited, the only exception being in cases where doctors unexnectediy ran out of gasoline supplies on a Sunday, or during the epedemic. Notwithstanding â€" that â€" Ontario was "dry". old John Barleycorn was as popular as he ever was. Figures from the Windsor dispenâ€" sary indicated that approximately 1,000 more prescriptions were isâ€" sued in October than during any other month. Over 1,000,000 quarts For us in the twin citys, it was a rather fearful time. There were close to 3,500 citizens affected. The hospital was closed to visitâ€" ors. K was so crowded that only advanced cases were admitted, and they were put in isolation in a desperate attempt to stop the spread of this disease. One local man opened a wareâ€" house in Buffalo. The whiskey was shipped from here to Buffaâ€" lo and a lot of it found its way back to Ontario â€" how no one really knew. It was known that a large amount was shinped to Montreal, some of which found its way back here. At that time it was quite comâ€" mon for a hotel keeper to be fined forsolling licquor orover proof beer. he gladly paid the fine beâ€" cause he had no licquor license to pay. In that same year, the removal on Sunday mnloring was removed which created something of a problem. The problem was that service station operators assumed that it was also alright for them to sell gasoline on that day, but, they soon learned different. Because of the local option and being unable to obtain whiskey, the board of health was asked to have the distilleries opened for purchases, but no action was takâ€" en. In Waterloo alone, there were about 1,500 cases of influenza, and the medical men were kept busy day and night. Up to the noon of Saturday, October 19, the city clerk had issued some 103 burial permits just since the first of the month, of this number 90 of the deaths were attributed by doctors. as having been due to the epedemic. The ages of the victims seemâ€" ed to be mostly between 16 and 30, almost all succumed to pneuâ€" monia which resulted from influâ€" enza. Schools, churches and theatres were closed down. Many of the factories had so many of their employees off sick, that they found it almost impossible to keep in operation. The influenza struck me quite sudden, hbowever I still had a small amouynt of whiskey left, which I had purchased from the the licquor store before it had been closed down (almost two years old). It had only been used for medicinal purposes. Whiskey appeared to be one of the more sure preventatives, howâ€" ever local option had been in force since 1916, and kcequor was extremely difficult to get. All licâ€" quor stores had been closed down and it was in fact, ilegal to sell lhequor at the hotel bars. It could be purchased at the drug stores, but only if you had a prescription from a doctor. This was the first remedy I tried, and after a week I was back to work again. My father was an undertaker, and always carried a flask of whiskey with him, as a result he never conâ€" tacted influenza. Many were the deaths. Doctors were rushed off the feet, many working until exhaustion overtook them, and the same could be said of the nurses. licquor sold under physicians Over the Years orders since the Ontario Temperâ€" ance Act came into force. The report, if acted on, would push the RG‘s department furâ€" ther into the consumer field by making it the coâ€"ordinator of all federal activities in the consumer protection â€" field. It also would play an important role in educatâ€" ing the public to use its money wisely. This would touch on such topics as credit policies and inâ€" During October, November and December of 1918, influenza and pneumonia took a toll of 7,158 lives in the province of Ontario. October‘s death rate was the highest. The Council reported last week on how the interests of the conâ€" sumoer could best be served by the Registrarâ€"General‘s â€" departâ€" ment. The appointment cearlier this year of young, politicallyâ€"astute John Turnerâ€" of _ Montreal as Registrarâ€"General â€" was the first step in putting the department in closer. touch with the taxâ€" payers. Turner went to work with energy _ and verve and _ almost immediately, _ it â€" became _ elear that some major: changes weore underway . . . changes which would, in effect, transform the ageney into theâ€" department of consumer _ affairs _ for _ which there has been mounting presâ€" sure in recent years. Now, the final push in that direction appears to have been applied by the Economic Counâ€" cil of Canada, a quasigovernment agency which makes reports on subjects assigned to it by the Prime Minister. It was on Monday, November 11 that the terms of the armistice was signed by Germany which ended the First World War. After 1,567 days of horror, the greatest war in bistory, which cost the lives of 10,000,000 (the lowest estimate) persons, officially eqded at 6 am. s * How many persons . ber the large one cent piec For those who do, it was on March 19 that the large historic Canaâ€" dian cent. that had been in cirâ€" culation since confederation, was taken off the market. It was reâ€" placed by the small oneâ€"cent piece which was quite similar to the one in use in the United States. This is the department which for so long labored quictly in Oflawa‘s labyrinth of red tape, its very existence urknown to most citizens. Be it labor or management, farmers or fishermen, Englishâ€" speaking â€" or â€" Frenchâ€"speaking, every group belongs to Canada‘s common family of consumers. In this respect, while we are not all equal, we should have equal inâ€" terests. This is why Canadians will watch with interest the governâ€" ment‘s reaction to proposals to strengthen the consumer wing of the â€" {federal _ Registrarâ€"General‘s department. Because Canadians are always being neatly pigeonâ€"holed into various _ economic _ or _ ethnic groups, it is often forgotten that there is one group to which all of us belong, and in which we all have a common interest. Quite often you wil hear peoâ€" ple say a penny for a cent, this is wrong because a penny is realâ€" ly two cents. They ailso say a nickel for a five cent piece and a dime for a 10 cent piece â€" I could never understand why we by Ray Argyle THIS WEEK AND NEXT Something for us all But the government appears to be going ahead on the principle that there need be no conflict of interest between responsible busâ€" inessmen â€" and â€" intelligent â€" com sumers. There has been mild opâ€" position â€" from â€" certain â€" business interests to the very idea of a consumer â€" affairs role in the federal givernment. The extendâ€" ed debates were an indication of how touchy a subject this is. One of _ the most important recomnendations is that the Registrarâ€"General should actively inform the public about ilaws covâ€" cring consumer credit. Mr. Turner said in an inferâ€" view that he hopes the new report would "hasten and focus public debate on the consumer interest." The â€" trend _ tfoward _ making Turner‘s â€" department _ a _ fullâ€" fledged ministry of consumer afâ€" fairs would be encouraged by ransferring authority over trademarks and labels to his deâ€" partment. Inspection work of the agriculture and fisheries departâ€" ment â€" the grading of meats and fish â€" also would be transferred. As with all government reports, this one could either gathor dust, or be put into effect on a pieceâ€" meal basis. It is highly probable that most of the recommendations will be acted on, if only because Mr. Turner is determined to break important new ground in his present cabinet pos! This would be corrected by setting up an interdepartmental commiltee on consumer affairs, under the chairmanship of the deputy registrarâ€"general. In adâ€" dition, a new public body â€" the Canadian _ Consumer _ Advisory Council â€" would be created to act as sort of a watchdog on both government and business behaviour. terest rates, selective buying, reâ€" sistance to excessive prices, and of course how to handle outright fraud. always copy so much from the land down south of us. The Economic Council report, turned in by chairman John J. Deutsch, agrees that consumers are not at the present time adeâ€" quately protected. This is because present federal departments overâ€" lap in some fields and leave gaps in others. Did you ever hear of a Hfe insurance policy prolonging your life? Well I had one. Shortly after I started with the Prudential Life Insurance Co., I applied for a $5,000 policy, for some reason the company would not issue it, inâ€" stead they isued a $2,000 policy with a special rating. When I retired in 1950 and started to draw my pension, I made up my mind to live to a ripe old age and make the company pay me back many times more than the extra premiums â€" I paid â€" as you can see, J am well on my way wi*ti Toronto Telegram News Service FRED SHINN