Incest abortion topics for sex ed in Australia CANBERRA (Reuter) — An official report calling for the le- galization of certain cases of incest, abortion on demand and the in- clusion of homosexuality in sex education has become a controversial election: issue Australia, Shortly after the recommendations by a commission of inquiry were released today, a government minister enounced the Labor opposition for setting the commission when t was in power in 1974. Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam coun- tered with a charge that Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser had deliberately leaked the report less than two weeks before the general election, ‘‘for obvious reasons.” Among the mission’s rec- ommendations are: —That incest should no longer be an offence in certain circumstances, for example between a mother and her son more than 17 years of age; —That sex education in com- schools shouldinelude the- question of homosexuality, and that schools, churches and the media should join a campaign to change public attitudes toward omosexuals; —Abortion on demand with certain qualifications ; —Lowering the age of consent for sexual in- tercourse to, 15, and 17 in cases involving the per- son's schoolteacher; That brothel-keeping should no longer be an oifence; —No one should be convicted of statutory rape on males or females aged between 13 and 15 if the other person is less than five years older; —Marriageable age for males and females should be 16. The ‘minister for ad- ministrative services. Senator Reg Withers, told reporters: “This was all done by Mr. Whitlam and the previous Labor government.” ; Whitlam said on a radio program that the report would have been released last week “but Mr. Fraser has deliberately suppressed it for eight days and has now chosen to leak it in the second to the last week of the campaign for obvious reasons.” Latest opinion polls put the Labor party between one and four per cent ahead of the ruling Liberal-National Country party coalition for the . 10 election. ; One of the commission members was the lican Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr. Felix Arnott, The other members were Judge Elizabeth Evatt and journalist and broad- easter Anne Deveson. Another record Price of bread to rise By DOUG LONG OTTAWA, (CP) — The price of bread may soon go up because of a federal government promise to increase returns to grain farmers by the end of the year, federal officials said Tuesday. « The officials gave the warning a day after the government said it hopes fo announce by the end of December how much the guaranteed minimum price will be increased or producers who sell their wheat for domestic consumption. ., Millers now pay far- mers $3.25 a bushel if world grain prices fall below that level. The minimum $3.25 has been paid for more than a year ecause of tumbling nternationai wheal prices. The domestic in- crease, the first in five years, would retroactive to the be- ginning of the new crop year Aug. 1. Otte Lang, minister responsible for the Canadian wheat board, has been negotiating with treasury board officials on the amount of the increase for several months, officials say. Sources confirmed Tuesday. that the government is trying to ecide how much-if any—of the increase should be passed on to consumers. LOOK FOR FUNDS Treasury board of- ficials, already hard- pressed by government spending restraints, are looking for additional funds to subsidize millers and bakers, the sources say. Otherwise, - increased production casts for ead will have to be Family lite wins out By MARLENE ORTON OTTAWA (CP) — Despite increased divorce rates and lower birth rates, family life remains a strong social institution and is not disintegrating as some would believe, says a report released recently by Statistics Canada. The report, based on 1971 census figures, says family life has undergone major changes in the 10 years since the last count ause of social trends. But it was in a state of Borga niz disorganization. Nine out of 10 families continued to involve both a husband and a wife. Marriage was _ siill popular and increasing. . e rate increased in 1971 to 8.9 new marriages per 1,000 persons from seven per 1,000 in 1961, There was also a tendency to marry for the first time at a “yourger age, Average age at first marriage decreased to 24.9 years for grooms and 22.6 years for brides in 1971 from 25.8 years and 22.9 years respectively in 1961. While marriage rates remained high among women aged 20-24, the B declined to 55.7 in 1971 from 59.2 in 1961. MAJOR CHANGES Two major changes in families were a drop in birth rates and an in- crease in divorce rates. Births dropped markedly to 16.8 per 1,000 persons in 1971 from 26.1 per 1,000 in 1961. The divorce rate climbed to 137.6 per 100,000 persons in 1971 from 36 per 100,000 recorded 10 years earlier. The figures show that the high divorce rate is not a rejection of marriage per se but a rejection of marriage to a particular person since ‘many remarry within several yearc of a divorce, the report says. “Declining fertility reflects not so much a rejection of parenthood roles as a preference for intensive involvement with fewer children ... even the most drastic symptom of family change, the increasing divorce rate, reflects not a disillusionment with marriage in general, but a disillusionment with marriage to a particular . spouse.’ . LITTLE IMPACT The report said the Ww movement of the 1960s has had little impact on the anticipated revolution in sex roles, the structure of marriage and family life, ° “Couples continue to abserve the mating gradient, and to. sort themselves out so that the husband is older and more educated than his wife and, if she is em- ployed, earns a higher in- come. One significant change from 1961 to 1971 was the increase in the number of wives in the labor force.” The percentage of wives working increased in 1971 to 39.6 per cent from _222 in 1961, However, in 1971 the husband contributed 65 per cent of the income, unchanged from 10 years earlier. Arsonist sought VANCOUVER (CP) -—- An arsonist was being sought by city police after a policeman’s home was set afire Tuesday and his furniture slashed and scarred Monday. af- ternoon. Jasbir Singh Gill, a constable in the nearby municipality of Delta, was away from the house when the fire was discovered by neighbors shortly after noon. Police said the kitchen was destroyed and the to be broken VANCOUVER (CP) — Two Vancouver men leave from Los Angles today in an attempt to break the world record time for flying around the world on commerical flights—and it will cost them only $90 each. Dave Shore, 31, and Roger Matheson, 33, who . work as passenger ticket agents for CP Air, hope to fly from Los Angles to Frankfurt, Singapore, Sydney and back to Los Angeles in 62 hours 35 minutes, which would break the previous record set in 1973 by three hours 23 minutes, The two get con- eessionary fares, but Shore said Tuesday that could be their greatest hazard. “Because our tickets are concessionary, we could easily get bumped from any flight to make way for fee-paying pas- sengers,” he said. “The other thing that can hold us up is a mechanical problem, or a late flight.’ To break the record they have to cover at least 36,787 kilometres, 92,850 miles, which is the length of the Tropic of Cancer, and counts as a circumnavigation of the world. living room had fire, smoke and water dam- age. Upholstered fur- niture was slashed and some other tool or im- plement was used to scar wood furniture in the house, oN A torch had apparently been used to burn a large hole in the master bedroom mattress, said police. The only one home in the house at the time was Robert Kinnon, who lives © with his wife and‘family , in a basement suite in the * home. Gill said he suspected the attack on him and his family is a case of mistaken identity and not connected with any of the cases he has handled as a policeman. Two weeks ago Gill had his telephone number changed because of threatening phone calls which he had dismissed as prank calls. “This guy who called himself Dave said he wanted to remind me that 1 owed him $2,500 from three years ago,” Gill said, “I don't owe anybody any money and I teld him so.” Gill now takes the calls seriously and thinks it has an obvious con- nection to what happened to his home, which he has owned for 1% years. ‘ through their absorbed at the retail level. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the coun- try's most influential farm lobby, has been ressing Lang for an crease to at least $4 a bushel, at least a 75-cent t. The federation says ‘rapidly rising costs have outstripped returns to producers, However, the govern- ment sources said the increase is likely to be lower than demanded, while agreeing that an increase of less than 75 cents a bushel would nat cover increased production costs. The government is anxious to give farmers a raise because of declining farm income during the last two years. CREATE STRATEGY But, Ottawa is also in the process of creating a national food strategy aimed at keeping the price of such staples as read at reasonable levels. The government is therefore reluctant to announce increases to farmers at the expense of consumers, sources say. Rising food prices have been a main contributor to the spiralling con- sumer price index. Recent forecasts have indicated a continuin trend in increased f eosts for consumers. Lang soffice had hoped to make the wheat price announcement weeks ago. However, treasury. board has been: juggling figures in an effort to reach a compromise, the sources said. New sources of X-rays WASHINGTON (AP) — A new U.S. astronomy satellite has discovered 15 new sources’ of powerful X-rays as far away as “halfway to the edge of the universe,’ scientists said Tuesday. The satellite also is giving science its best look yet at a “whole world of bursting, ex- ploding phenomena” in dden areas that cannot be seen from earth. The observations were made as researchers reported on the first 100 days of the High Energy Astronomy Observa- tory—HEAO-1, launched Aug. 12 by the- National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The satellite is studying some of the most in- triguing mysteries of the universe—pulsars, sars, exploding galaxies and black holes. Its in- struments primarily are recording high energy X- rays emitte other stellar radiation sources. “HEAO is giving us a very remarkable look at our universe,”’ said Dr. Herbert Friedman of the Naval Research Laboratory, who is principal investigator on the satellite's large X-ray survey experiment. ATMOSPHERE BLOCKS Because X-rays - are blocked . by the at-. mosphere from reaching earth, they can be studie only by instruments positioned above the atmosphere. “HEAO has identified 15 new sources in the small section of the sky it has studied so far— that’s about one twentieth of the. total sky,” Friedman stated. ‘“‘We're now seeing sources halfway to the edge of the universe t X-ray emissions.” How far is that? “About eight billion light years,” he said. One light year is the distance light travels in one year in a vacuum, or 5,878 trillion miles. Friedman said HEAO should locate’ ‘an ad- ditional 800 to 1,000 sources when it com- pletes mapping the entire sky during the next year. qua-- y these and - Doctor, BY Donna Forsberg Special Correspondent Action was the order of the evening as the opeing night audience was treated to a superb night of high comedy set to music. The cast of “Doctor, Doct maintained a _ lively faultless pace throughout the entire play; voices rose unwaveringly, feet bounced in. perfect unison, lines were delivered audibly. Costuming was authentic, transforming high school students imto lith century citizenry. Make up was escellently applied, highlighting th: transition. Stage design remained simple, stressing the action line of the play rather than detracting from __ it. Lighting emphasized the mood of the production. The Caledonia band, under the direction of Jim Ryan, along.-with Muriel and Leslie Neale on piano, provided brisk musical accompaniment. Fred Potvin's _por- trayal of Snagarelle took off in scene two as he responded to applause. With a little-boy charm he demonstrated all the aggravating yet enduring masculine faults that keep women enthralled. His satirical asides and THE HERALD, Thursday, December 1, 1977, PAGE ? delivery of lines and song gained strength with his owing involvement in e role of the Doctor. Kathy Patershuk portrayed Snagarelle’s etter half with the acumen of an ex- perienced: 'trouper; “one moment the raging fish- wife, next, the conniving vixen. Garnett Doell as the psuedo villain, Gerolde, was the proper picture of wealthy gentry. His fine bone structure and recise elocution make im a natural in this role. Jaqueline, his wife, was capably enactedby Cathy Hart. The star crossed lovers, Leander and Lucinda, whose Pp: strikes sympathy in the hardest hearts, were perfectly presented by Roy Supernault and Holly Champoux. A_ rollicki butlesque style ¢omied galley ine Vienntau, Ziobro and Karen Palagian. The Chorus townspeople com- limented this fine coup in the field of drama. This critics's advice to theatre lovers: spend a worthwhile $3.00 (adults) or $1.50 (kids and senior citizens) and go see “Doctor, Doctor”. You'll not regret it. Children’s books for Christmas cP Family Editor Childrens’ books for Christmas include an impressive list this season, with many written by Canadian authors of repute such as Peter Desbarats, Ted Allan and Sheila Burn- ford. - Desbarats, whose best- selling biography on Rene Levesque was published in 1976, has produced his second children’s book, The Night the City Sang. It is a collection of yuletide tales done in lilting rhymes and illustrated delightfully by Frank Newfeld. In one story we are in- traduced to Lucretia, a irlish little devil born to a holy terror, who leaves her home in Hell and learns the joy of Christmas from a lonely old man in a poor part of town. - a The Night the City Sang, Pe-ter Desbarats; 435.98; 48 pages, illustrated: McClelland ahd Stewart. Mice have always been favorite creatures for imaginative writers to weave stories around fur o.ingsters. Ted Allan as’ gone one better. He has developed a squowse, which we discover is a cros.s between a squirrel and a house. Willie's father was a squirrel, his mother a mouse. He is very talented and hums Alouette and dances a jig. But Iete, the theatrical agent, says Willie’s tal- ents just aren’t box-office calibre so the squowse is forced to settle down to a simple way of life. From performer to banker, Willie’s tricks soon have him in quite a pickle and his love of cheese turns his quiet existence into a Tiproaring adventure. Willie the Squowse, Ted Al-lan; illustrated by Quentin Blake; $5.95; 57 pages; McClelland and Stewart. A true adventure of presentday Eskimo life is told to Dorothy Harley Eber of Montreal by the late Peter Pitseolak. He was known on Baffin Island as the southwest Baffin Eskimos’ own historian. In the region where the story takes place, the Eskimo people know of many tragedies and miraculous escapes from the days when they hunted from skin boats. Peter Pitseolak’s Escape from Death is a story of men against the elements and the luck of divine assistance that brings them home, The drawings are by Pit- seolak and describe visually the unfolding ad- venture he had with his son, Peter Pitseolak's Escape from Death, Peter Plitseolak, edited by Dorothy Harley Eber; $5.95; 2 pages, illustrated ; and Stewart. Dropping dollar raises prices By JUDY CREIGHTON A member of the federal agriculture department gives deval- vation of the Canadian dollar as one reason for rising prices on beef and imported produce. Cross-Canada Survey by The Canadian Press of the November food basket shows beef as well as tomato prices are on the increase. Alan Boswell of the economic branch of Agriculture Canada said in a telephone interview from Ottawa that beef prices usually are lower at this time of year in comparison with summer months when consumer demand is highest. “But beef prices have moved up since August for what we call fed catile,’” he said. ‘It has risen sharply because of the drop in the Canadian dollar.’ Boswell said that ‘“‘this drop has raised the ceiling price for fed cattle in relationship to the price of fed cattle in the SS. because of trade between the countries.” “Por example, if you're going to bring a_1,000- pound steer into Canada whose price is $400 a head and the dollar drops to 90 cents, you must pay 10 cents more on each dollar,”’ he said. SUPPLY CHANGES Morris Huif of the Ontario Food Council said in an Interview that tomato prices have risen because Canada has changed supply sources. ‘in October there still were domestic supplies on the market, but now with the imported variely from Mexico, the con- sumer must pay more for less quality,”’ he said. Hutf said imported tomatoes are of inferior quality in comparison with domestic varieties because they are not ripe when picked and are shipped long distances. “It's not physically possible to have high quality under these circumstances,”' he said. The survey of the monthly food basket is conducted in the same supermarkets in each of 12 cities on the last Tuesday of each month. The 17-ilem survey includes one pound each of sirloin-tip roast, all- beef wieners, centrecut pork loin roast, top-grade chicken, ground chuck steak, frozen cod fillets, top-grade butter, tomatoes, frozen green peas, drip coffee and apples. Also included are one dozen medium-sized eggs, one quart or one litre of whole milk, a 24- ounce loaf of sliced white bread, 10 pounds of first- grade potatoes, two kilograms of white granulated sugar and a ~ 28-ounce can of halyed pears, ' McClelland: