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Published every Wednesday by Fairway Press, a division of Kitchener-Waterloo Record Ltd. 225 Fairway Rd, Kit- chener. Ontario. Address correspondence to Waterloo Square, Waterloo. Ont. Telephone 744-6364. Hanging is murder too But death, by whatever means and let us be clear there is no "humane" way of execution, is morally indefensible. Forgiveness. com- passion. rehabilitation are part of the moral fibre of our society at its best, and these in- stincts must not be blunted in the first waves of emotion. All society is afflicted with horror at such crimes. The perpetrators must be dealt with but to eradicate them is simply an act of social revenge. Our laws could be toughened up sufficiently to ensure that no convicted mur- derer would be released until it is certain he will not repeat the act. Police chiefs, law enforcement associations, municipal politicians and private citizens are demanding the return of the noose or some other form of execution for murder. Whether it be for the murder of policemen and prison guards, premeditated murder, murder by in- sane persons or simple crimes of passion, there seems to be a vocal and substantial sec- tion of society that believes capital punishment is the only suitable way of dealing with murder. It would be a naive politician who, today, can approach the issue of the abolition of capi- tal punishment without some trepidation. But, sooner or later it must be faced and our leaders must give us some guidance. The reams of statistics, the endless studies by competent authorities and the clear pronounce- ments by many church leaders that hanging is no deterrent for murderers and merely brutalizes society seems to have little effect on people who are engulfed in revulsion when they hear of a particularly senseless or brutal crime inflicted on some innocent child. Those who suggest that capital punishment is a deterrent must be prepared to return to pub- lic executions and put them in prime family hour TV viewing. That would not doubt be the fastest way to ensure this barbaric method of punishment is forever eliminated. The irrevocable act of hanging on the part of society precludes any chance to study and remedy the causes of these crimes. It strikes at the very sanctity of human life that our Judeao- Christian heritage so cherishes. Surely we can find more humane. effective and just ways of seeing that threats to our life and liberty are dealt with, than by hanging peo- ple. Page 4 - Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, October 22, 1975 In Canada: one year $8: in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 Viewpuint waterloo chronicle SUBSCRIPTION RATES ESTABLISHED 1854 Ilewnlewn perspective Congratulations to Miss Mary Johnston, who was pre- sented with the top professional award in the Women of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Oktoberfest Women's Committee and the K-W Council of Women. I can't think of a more deserving winner. Mary is prin- cipal of Winston Churchill School, Waterloo. which is one of the 95 elementary schools under the jurisdiction of the Waterloo County Board of Education. She is undoubtedly one of the outstanding educators in Waterloo County and hopefully is an inspration to other women who aspire to principalships in the county. Last weekend 1200 Myers were distributed to downtown residents They were advertisements for the city-sponsored open house on the secondary plan Families interested enough m our group to walk around their neighbourhood m their spare time on behalf of city planning were responsi- ble for dropping these flyers In your mailboxes. Education . We bresefltly have tive-women principals in our system as well as three vice-principals, To qualify as a prlncipal a teacher must have a bachelors degree. as well as a permanent teaching certificate. Staff may apply to take the principars course, and are usually interviewed by their area superintendent, following which they are judged for their suitability to take the course, The point must be made however that teachers must apply for entrance to these courses. We have many highly qualified women teachers in Waterloo County but surprise ingly few of them apply for principal training courses. Since the formation of the Downtown Remdents' Assoc:- ahon we have been responsible for a number of Myers an- noum‘lng meetings They have proved to he an effective means of commumratton -Fii/sGaytaiiiriike (rery much to see: many more of these capable women assuming management positions in your school system. _ A -- . Perhaps the recognition accorded Mary Johnston will in- spire outstanding women teachers - and there are many of them - to assume greater responsibility in the school system, We need them. l'sually a volunteer covers the same street each timc. but distributing flyers IS not a tiresome task by any means You begin to feel a friendly warmth after a few trips around the neighbourhood It's a chance to chat In a casual way with people and learn about the Issues that concern them And there can be no better way than by delivering flyers to appreciate the diversity of downtown Waterloo residents Although It Is true that most of the more active members of our group are middle-class single family home owners. Perhaps the recognition accorded Mary Johnston will in- spire outstanding women teachers - and there are many of them - to assume greater responsibility in the school system. We need them. I was invited by the Executive of Ontario School Trustees Council (which is an information and advisory body to Ontario school trustees) to prepare a speech for three re- gional salary conferences to be held in various parts of the province, OSTC agreed to pay expenses and I have now given the speeches in Toronto, London and Ottawa on "What Bill 100 Means to School Trustees", Bill 100 is formally called the "Negotiation of a Collective Agreement between School Boards and Teachers' I The invitation to speak to about 700 school trustees. most- ly board chairmen and chief salary negotiators as well as senior academic staff members. came as a result of my Allow He TO snow mu HON I'M some To Km THE WND cur tF INFLAHON! "s, attendance at the hearings of the Social Development Com- mittee in the Ontario legislature last summer. I was able to attend all sessions of that committee which sat from June 19 to July 15, and I spoke to the committees on sev- eral occasions. On one occasion I was questioned for over an hour on the position of your board to a number_of clau§§s_in the Bill. Bill 100 gives teacher's the legal right to strike. It also provides a balance of power between School Boards and Teachers Federations in collective bargaining. . The com'mittee was made up of some 23 MPPs from the three major political parties who debated the Bill before it was given final reading and apprqvel i_n the ItglslatuIe. _ In speaking to trustees around the province I have re- minded them quite bluntly that they have a responsibility to know what that balance of power is and to use it if and when it is necessary. Otherwise I have suggested, that they will not be fulfilling their responsibilities to those who elected them and who pay for our education system. This weekend I am off to a meeting of Chairmen of large urban Boards in the province. - - Spemhe recommendations regarding the MacNaughton report will be submitted by some members of our executive. but these will be under their Individual names Waterloo residents are fortunate to have a Council which devotes a fair amount of its time to hearing briefs from both delega- tlons representing group opinion and from concerned indi- viduals Bill 100 is a complicated piece of legislation. It is also one of the most important pieces of legislation in the history of Ontario education. All school trustees must study it thoroughly if they are to be responsible members of a school board. What with attending to board business at home and at- tending conferences on weekends I am. to use an old ex- pression of my father. "meeting myself coming and going". But I enjoy it. it's hard but interesting work. we believe such activities keep us well aware of viewpoints or needs arising from a much wider social group Thus when members of the executive are asked just who do they represent. they are able to reply with confidence that they speak for a large number of downtown residents, The reply to Council on the secondary plan submitted by the executive will be a general one, We have tried to re- state the predominant wishes which we feel you, the resi- dents. expressed at the five area meetings, It will be up to Counol to decide how much weight to give these wishes and to what extent the proposed plan incorporates them. In my speeches I also urged school boards to consider the formation of a strong central authority to provide expertise and guidance in salary negotiations. I feel this is absolutely essential if we are to hold our own against the W‘ry powerful teacher federations. Indeed, I have warned trustees that if they do not hang together then they will hang separately and the provinee will take over salary negotiations. I must commend the members of the Waterloo County Board of Education - 14 of our 20 trustees have attended these salary conferences. Most of them attended the London conference two weekends ago. This is a gruelling work- shop but well worth the effort. I believe this would be a mistake as negotiations would then be too centralized and would not reflect the conditions and needs of local areas. ITHINK [LIKED lrrerTER WED HE MAS 0955mm lTTO THE GRIND by Doreen G. Thomas by Rosemary Rowe