PAGE 4, THE HERALD, Thursday, May 11, 1978 EDITORIAL “I see you've really fallen for the line the waitresses are handing you,” the caller said. “But, did you ever think of giving equal time to the restaurant owners?” “What makes you think that waitresses are all innocent young things? Would you believe waitresses can rip off a restaurant owner just as well as anyone else? ‘‘ ‘tA lot of waitresses have kids at home. You know what that means? Babysitting problems. ‘T gotta leave now because my babysitter has to go.’ And, ‘I can’t come in to work today because my sitter hasn’t shown up.’ That's just the start. Then there's the ‘sudden’ pregnancies. You can’t fire a waitress who's pregnant. Did you ever hear of the civil rights outfit? It doesn’t matter if a waitress is sick every day after she finds out she’s pregnant, either. You've gotta allow for that. Thé trips to the doctor; the sudden cramps and stuff right in the middle of a. banquet, or a rush hour. And that’s not all. There's the ‘sleep ins’ - all the old excuses when they show up late - or don’t show at all. “There's the ‘special shifters’ who can’t work this shift or that shift, because ‘My husband won’t let me work nights - or mornings - or af- ternoons.’ ‘My husband works nights and wants me home at such and such a time.’ Some are more honest, like, ‘My boy friend just got in town - I can’t come in this week’-would you believe. But somehow they always manage to make it in when it’s payday. Surprising how the cramps disappear, the babysitter shows up, One Employer Sees Some of Them Differently - the husband doesn't mind, etc. etc. - on paydays. “You think only customers flirt? Believe me, that’s quite a line. You never notice how certain guys come in and get the rush job, the special service, like a bee around a honeycomb? You think a lotta waitresses don’t have romance on their minds when it comes to picking a job waiting on table? Ha! “Another thing. Arithmetic: Making out a bill or check, Mistakes! Or are they mistakes? How can you know. “It’s easy to blame customers for swiping stuff out of a restaurant... you wouldn’t belive waitresses got big hands and big pocketbooks and shopping bags too! Not to mention big ap- petites- some of them can outeat a logger any day of the week. “Playing up tothe boss? That ‘poor little me’ routine some of the girls have worked out would put any actress on T.V. to shame, There oughta be an Academy Award Oscar just for them! “Yeh, And about the boyfriends. The jealous guys that hang around when there’s a special banquet or dinner on, and the girls gotta work an extra half-hour. The one’s that suggest the manager is ‘makin’ it? with every one of the female staff... “T'll bet nearly every manager can tell you a whole bock of stories about the times he’s driven SHOP PRP ace TS Report From Tie Legislature hy Tony MacGregor VICTORIA - Graham Lea, the NDP MLA from Prince Rupert and a former CBC broadcaster, says the media are inflaming social problems and promoting mediocrity and British Colum- — bians have to do something about it. . He wants a media council established as the first step in giving British Columbians a chance to influence what’s beamed at them by the media. “We're not even identifying the problems, let alone finding solutions,” he said. The 42-year-old bearded, former minister of highways says British Columbians are being fed pap by the media -pap which is harmful and people don’t want. He said the media is doing a superficial job in covering ‘the B.C. political scene because reporters don’t have the éducation or the time to do investigative reporting. “The public would be alarmed if they really knew what is happening,” he said. “You can have reporters commenting on the budget, for instance, who have no experience in finance and no background knowledge whatsoever.” He said he has no criticism of newspapers and radio stations which simply don’t have the money to pay for investigative reporters, but won't spend it on getting and keeping trained journalists. ' “Some reporters in influential positions have little experience in either life or the media,” he said. Politicians of all political stripes share a growing concern, he said, that the system just isn’t working. He said the media is developing in British Columbians a messiah complex, turning election campaigns into popularity contests and giving the advantage to the glibly articulate and the good looking ‘‘in the classical Hollywood sense.. “People are being encouraged to vote for their betters instead of their equals and the media encourages the myth by concentrating on per- sonalities rather than policies,” he said. He said that rather than discouraging trivia, the media takes advantage of people’s in- clination to gossip by giving entertainment in- stead of information. “Too often the media take the easy way out,” he said. ‘It costs money to do investigative reporting. It’s cheaper to turn out pap and fer the most part that’s what’s turned out.” He said people are becoming increasingly concerned about institutions and systems which direct their lives. “They’re losing faith in the political system, the media system the market system and the industrial system. It’s a deplorable situation and we have to start looking at the problems.” We're becoming a strange society, he said,” hiding our elderly and handicapped, hiding from sickness and death , Repaired “And too. oten people think that what is hap- pening onT.V. is real and that there’s something wrong with their own lives because they’re not living the way people on T.V. do, “T can’t stress enough,” he said, “that what’s going on in the media isn’t real. People are Trea aad He said one of the biggest dangers to freedom which can lead to dictatorship is the con- centration of ownership of the media. He regrets the passing of independents like Ma Murray, former editor of the Bridge River Lillooet News, but says that since the tendency for concentration isn’t likely to be reversed, a new element should be introduced into the system to balance the growing power of the media owners. That new element, he says, should be a media council. He doesn’t believe that objectivity is possible, but he believes it is something journalists should strive for in hard news coverage. ; Columnists, he said, should give more 0: themselves so people will know where they're coming from. “People are far less likely to be misled -if theyknow the views and attitudes of the guy who's writing. He believes that it should be mandatory for radio stations to broadcast editorials so that the. public will know where the stations stand. “TV. is the most misused medium,”’ he said. “It was an enormous opportunity to educate and uplift society in every way, but just the opposite has happened.” A media council, he says, would give people of all walks of life to address themselves to problems which the media are either inflaming or are an integral part of. a 1 town- and off they go. We train 'em, and when they finally get the experience another place gets them - free, ; “Did you never hear that the girls can come in crabby as a bear with a sore foot and drive more customers away in one afternoon than an out- break of food poisoning? “Did you not know one of those ‘sweet young , things’ who comes around looking for a job like butter wouldn’t melt on her (deleted)...then, after she’s been working for a few weeks starts showing up for work a real mess and you gotta’ even tell her to comb her hair and wash her face? “Then there's uniforms, I could go on a whole night about uniforms! Too big, too small; I’m not gonna wear THAT; doesn’t like the colour; doesn’t like the style; too short skirts (my boyfriend won't like it) or too long. Do you know what uniforms cost these days? You just get one girl outfitted and she up and quits... “And tipping! What a lot of hassles that causes. That would be a whole story in itself, if you know what I mean. “The pile of problems that go with running a cafe or restaurant would fill a book. Would you believe one gal showed up with a dog? Said the dog would be lonesome at home, and figured she could keep it here. Another one wanted to wear her ‘comfortable shoes’ at work- they looked like retread Army boots... ‘There's the accident-prone waitress. You ever meet one?. Trips over her own feet; drops tables; forgets this- forgets that; comes to work the wrong shifts; gives the orders wrong-you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes. Yet they expect to be paid the same as the most experienced gal on the staff. “Some people figure all waitresses are dumb bunnies’, Have I got news for them.. Some of the worst are college grads with degrees, that can't get a job and figure that they can make it slinging hash- with an eye to the big tips. They can beat you on the cash register, on the change, on the checks- in a score of different ways. If you don't get wise to them in time you could lose your shirt. They know all about labour laws, civil rights legislation, building codes, sanitation and public health laws. One threatened to turn me In if she didn't get what she wanted because I didn’t have a certain type of sterilizer in the dish washer; another wrote in a complaint about re- using leftovers and claimed food wasn-t being properly refrigerated over the weekend, Could have run me out of business. “No, ’'m telling you. Maybe there are some waitresses who find it tough, but for every one like that I could show you a dozen of the other kind. “Sounds to me the one’s you were talking about in your paper were before the days of Women’s Lib. “Sometime you oughta do a write up on restaurant owners who go broke — a lotta times because of waitress and other staff problems.’’ things; mixes PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. ZCP) — After spending an unscheduled 144 months in Canada and more than $t million for repairs the troubled Panamanian-regis- tered freighter Adriatik finally departed for the People’s Republic of China carrying grain was reported sinking March 20 415 kilometres south of Kodiak, Alaska, where it battled 12- metre seas and winds up to 60 kilometres an hour while en route to China from Van- couver. Metallurgists in Van- couver determined that the ii-metrelong crack in the ship's hull that opened 1.5 centrimetres wide was caused by the atreas of high Beas, Captaln Bob Kitching of the National Harbors Board sald it was fortunate the one hold damaged was only partly filled with grain, allowing room for expansion. If any of the six other fully- filled holds had been dam- aged, the graln, which swells when wet, would have cracked the vessel open, te gald. _ Nick Gurvich, the ship's agent, said the captain made the right decision in turning the vessel around because high seas then struck its stern ingtead of broadside. After the freignter cracked, the efforts to pump water from the holds were soon halted when grain clogged the ship's three pumps. When theship arrived here and special equipment was ordered from Minneapolis Minn., Edmonton — an Winnipeg to remove bath wet and undamaged grain, allowing the ship more ro freeboard. Officials alsa “were able to determine the extent of damage. About 9,800 metric tons of wet grain was removed from a damaged hold, Sufficient repairs were done to allow the ship to sail to Victoria April 12 where a damaged steel panel was replaced at a cost of about $175,000, said Girvich, The ship returned to Prince Rupert April 26 to reload part of its cargo. The damaged grain was sold to a United States company which is expected to use it for livestock feed. aratocesese rece, up orders; serves the wrong Maybe we should. ecNetatesatate reat, RO ae i SS Se ee Say sas tatatatetatatate ee ee ‘et atatetele. arate! “You turn left at the next pot-hole, drive straight ahead for iwo broken shock absorbers, ts then right until you hit the pot- hole that breaks your rear axle, and you're there.” Letters to Editor: Job Seekers How many times have you tried to find a job here in B.C., or anywhere for that matter. I know, only speaking for myself I find it very discouraging not only because I can’t find a job, but almost all job request forms seem to have an en- ding such as, “2 years ex- perience required,” or “experience essentia asset," Some little phrase I get a kick. out of, is the one that reads,A“‘SERIOUS AP- PLICANTS NEED APPLY.” Now why the hell would anyone want to apply for a job if they weren't serious about the whole thing. Another thing I’m pretty peeved off about is when you go into an office for a one o'clock appointment, and you end up sitting there for two hours in the waiting room, for what, for just hearing some guy say to you, “Pm sorry my hands are tied,’ then graciously offers to make you an appointment with one of his co-workers, which means a minimal wait of another hour. So after waiting for a week for this so called ap- pointment you wait your hour, then you're Introduced to man I like to call the, “Sorry We Find You're Not Quite Qualified,’” man. So what the hell does he mean I'm not quite qualified? Maybe my eyes weren’t the right colour. T Just hope some day these people have to go out and try to find a job, and then you might realize how it feels when they come up against the, “Sorry We Find You're Not Quite Qualified,’, man.... Signed the jobless “Thank you” Dear Friends; It is almost unbelievable that twelve months have rolled around since the last door ta door, business to business campaign. During that period, literaly hun- dreds .of thousands of Canadians have received help that you have desired to provide the facilities of the Salvation Army, from emergency food vouchers, to indepth counselling, and job orientation during a six month stay at alcohol rehab centres and retreats. It will be obvious that the work of the Army through inflation and demand has been strained to ‘the very seams by the ac- cellerated complications of these days. ‘Your support has been a’ valued asset in the past, and will be a most _weleomed resource in the coming campaign. In the next two or three days, either Cpt. Bill Young or myself will be calling on you to provide you with an ap- propriate receipt for your most necessary contribution. Every good wish. Yours in His Service, Jack Strickland Protests comments Dear Sir: As a resident of British Columbia and secretary to our local Rod and Gun Club I question the authenticity of Bill Otways’ comments to the membership af the B.C. Wildlife Federation. I at- tended the Western Guides and Outfitters Convention in Burns Lake on April 5,6 and ° 7 increased. . . In reading editorials and letters to the editor, I am amazed that no one questions Mr. Otways allegations. First of all, he has the dates of the con- vention incorrect and J know he was at the convention only two days and left for Van- couver the afternoon of the 6th. (Mr. Kempfs' address was as luncheon speaker April 7th.) In his curious way Mr. Otway claims “at this time he became aware of the intention of the Guides to obtain absolute and ex- clusive rights to all recreational use of guiding territories”. He is certainly possessed with celestin. powers, as no one else at that convention conjured up any similar “‘insights'’. Bill Otway assures member clubs that we should straighten out any differences “in the back room”. I believe that is one of his most favoured phrases - and here we go again; just in time for the B.C, Wildlife General Office - 635-4357 Circulation « 635-6357 “TERRACE/KITIMAT daily herald Federation convention and elections May 10, 11, 12 and 13. Is this an annual event? To conjure up a controversy within the membership of the Federation just in time for the annual convention? Why hasn't anyone questioned Bill Otways allegations? I am not a guide, I hunt and [ feel that Bill Otway has a tremendous imagination and he is splitting up the Federation membership. As a famous statesman said, "...we must all hang together - or surely we will all hang separately!” I would challenge Bill Otway not to dream up falsehoods, and I suggest that hedig in his heels and do a good job for the wildlife of this province, We need a man with credibility, tact,- and honesty to be the executive director of the B.C, Wildlife Federation. — Very truly yours, (Mrs.) Gail M. Tompson sits he Published by Sterling Publishers B PUBLISHER...Don Cromack . MANAGING EDITOR...Ernest Senior TERS...Donna Vallieres (Terrace-Thornh REPORTERS...Scait Brawes (Kitimat-Kitamaat) "0 MH OFFICE.,,.Pat Zellnskl - 632-2747 ublished every weekday at 3212 Kalum St. Terrace. B.C. A member of Varifled Circulation. Authorized as . second class mall, Registration number 1201. Postage s pald In cash, return postage- guaranteed. 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