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chronicle _ Some facts please incorrect in his information. Submitted by.ltoselfl:ry R?‘:i‘:m He states, for example, that a great many perâ€" « Downtown Residents‘ Associa sons in Canada are against the system and that _ Downtown streets were on the agenda again the old Imperial system should be continued. _ at Monday night‘s council meeting as the city _ Let us take a few moments to look at some @MEineer replied to Bruce Hutchinson‘s traffic facts. Canada has a population of about 25,384,000 PrOPOSals. James Willis also brought n a persons, the United States is about more than Tecommendation that William Street be ynden- 284 million. These two countries are the last maâ€" gout:h %e:;dgg":: o‘fv:smo“'nt tl:ni‘O:tlfl‘i‘,’ e:ll:. tor strongholds of the Inperial system. mount will mean the width will be 35 feet at the The population of Europe is more than 400 traffic lights We were pleased with his assurâ€" million. China alone is more than 800 mgll!on ance that if the lower part of William is widened while Japan accounts for another 108 million environmental f2â€"tors will be taken into conâ€" persons. ~ sideration. by Mike Roy In this week‘s issue of the Chronicle columnist Bill Smiley has again attacked the federal govâ€" ermment‘s plan to convert the Canadian system of measurement to the metric system. j Another fact Mr. Smiley chooses to ignore is that about 90 per cent of the world‘s countries are now using or presently converting to the metric system. I do not think Canadians are so foolish that they can afford to ignore cold hard fact and stick their heads in the sand and believe the changeâ€" over to the metric system is not needed. Mr. Smiley goes on to enlist the aid of readers in replying to his halfâ€"baked ideas with regards to the metric system. I feel he is both wrong and incorrect in his information. This amounts to about 1.3 billion persons and this does not include most of the world, just the major areas of population density. Canada and the United States are about 309 million in numâ€" ber: â€" Well Mr. Smiley the plain fact is that Canada, and the United States, are in a minority when compared to the rest of the world. If we are to survive economically then we do not have a choice, we must convert to the metric system or be left out in the cold. These are facts Mr. Smiley and these facts can not be ignored. You suggest that persons should oppose the adoption of the metric system. I feel you are wrong and are creating more problems. The changeover will be expensive and hard. I agree with Mr. Smiley on these points. I do not agree that it is a waste of money. In fact this transition should have taken place back in I respect Mr. Smiley‘s right to voice his opinâ€" ion, as I do with any other person. But in this inâ€" stance I think Mr. Smiley is both wrong and inâ€" correct. We have to sell our products to a world marâ€" ket and not just to our neighbours to the south. At one time Canada was a topâ€"ranking industrial nation. We no longer enjoy that position. Published every Wednesday by Fairway Press, a division of Kitchener:W_atgrloo Record Ltd. 225 Fairway Rd., Kitâ€" chener, Ontario. â€"Address corresponde Square, Waterloo, Ont. Telephone 744â€"6364 _ Mr. Smiley and some of his readers suggest that a minority in Canada is forcing the metric system on the silent majority. The population of Europe is more than 400 million. China alone is more than 800 million while Japan accounts for another 108 million persons. â€" Editor: Mike Roy SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Canada: one year $8; in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 ESTABLISHED 1854 to Waterloo Recently our association has been attacked by a local radio commentator who considers us to be wasting Council‘s time with such proâ€" jects as the Albert Street tree study and other manoeveurs. Input such as the tree study and Hutchinson‘s traffic alternatives is far from irresponsible. They illustrate the basic premise of our group, which is to avoid emotionalism, approaching issues from a positive and wellâ€"documented point of view. If controversy is generated by our activities, good, we are accomplishing our aim to keep people interested in politics at the municipal level. Yesterday revisited The city engineer‘s reply to Hutchinson‘s trafâ€" fic proposals was disappointing in that it did Downftown perspective _ A combination of the growth of stage lines and a number of new industries helped Waterâ€" loo‘s population to grow by about 1,100 people in the three years from 1852 to 1855. There were two saw mills, a flour mill, a foundry, a cabâ€" inet factory, a weaving mill, potter‘s shop, a brewery, harness shop and a distillery. There also were such things as a tree and graden nursery; Joachim Kalbfleish‘s newsâ€" paper and a weekly livestock market. With about 1,450 residents in 1855, Waterâ€" loo consisted mainly of what are now King (from Union to Central) along with Erb, Alâ€" bert, Mary and Regina streets all under deâ€" velopment. Park was already open. Industrial workers here in the 1850‘s were getting from $1.25 to $1.50 a day. This applied to the Bricker foundry and the Wendegast cabinet factory as well as the Kuntz brewery which were among the largest employers in the town. It was about par for factory workers of that time almost everywhere. Following the Cabinet Meeting, the Minister of Revenue, the Honourable Arthur Meen, is meeting representatives of local resident groups at the Adult Recreation Centre. As well as the Downtown Residents, there will be members of five other local groups;. Colonial Acres, Lakeâ€" shore Village, Lincoln Village, Maple Hill Acres and Richmond Square. It suggests provincial priorities should enâ€" courage preservation and upâ€"grading through financial great structure more than is the case at present. On June 11th, the provincial Cabinet meets in Kitchener, and Bob Rowell, our new president, has submitted a short brief on behalf of the Residents‘ Association. It outlines our groups aims, to encourage all levels of government to involve citizens‘ associations directly in planâ€" ning and decisionâ€"making processes: and enâ€" courage downtown residents to participate acâ€" tively in the local planning process. not give technical reasons for its conclusions. In an informal remark made during the discussion, Mr. Willis referred to it as being based on a ‘"‘gut‘"‘ reaction. A recommendation that a committee be set up to look into the technical reasons, proposed by Brian Turnbull, was rejected. Council is quite obviously in the mood to get decisions made and avoid the delay committees necessitate. Fair enough. To accomplish the widening project counâ€" cil agreed to have the works department tear down and then rebuild homes for Jacob Beckle and Conrad Rau. Daniel Burkholder also reâ€" ceived a new barn in the deal. It was a proâ€" gress town, or village, in 1857. The citizens were looking forward to a steady comfortable growth and they weren‘t to be disappointed. Families helped solve the budget problems with big vegetable patches, chickens, cows and pigs which were all located in the back yard. The trade and barter system was still in use in some local stores and vegetables could be traded for hard goods as could homemade candies and cookies. Some early town planning was evident in 1857 when the Waterloo council passed a byâ€" law calling for the widening of King Street to 76 feet. It was an unusual and far sighted step in that year in eastern Canada. Mr. Moyer is the author of This Unique Heritage and Waterioo County Diary. By Bill Moyer