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-.mres aehewe,

Page 4, The Herald, Tuesday, October 17, 1978

TERRACE/KITIMAT

daily herald

General Office - 635-6357
Clreulation - 635-6357

PUBLISHER - Laurle Mallett
GEN. MANAGER - Knox Coupland
EDITOR - Greg Middtaton
CIRCULATION - TERRACE - Andy Wightman 635-6357
KITIMAT - Pat Zelinskl

KITEMAT OF FICE - 632-2747
Published every weekday at 3212 Kalum Street,
Terrace, B.C. A member of Varifled Circulation.
Authorized as second class mail. Reglstrailon number
1201. Postage paid In cash, return postage guaranteed,

NOTE OF COPYRIGHT

The Herald retains tull, complete and sole copyright in
any advertisement produced and-or any editorial or
Photographic content published In the Heraid.-
Reproduction is not permitted without the written
permissian of the Publisher.

Published by
Sterling Publishers

692-2747

LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR

a

The B.C. Beer situation
this year should keep the
head shrinks in business a
long time - trying to pul
together some kind of
rational.

First -- this government -.
thru the liquor control board
atted as direct strike-
breakers with the im-
portation of HOT American
beer. Hut beverage lovers
buy it -- reluctantly - and no
one: Opposition MLA's -
B.C. Federation of labor, the
unions, no one says a thing.
They like their beer too.

Then the strike is over and
Rafe Mair (Minister in
charge of liquor control). ts
stuck with scab beer and his
depariment stands to lose 2
million dollars on beer that
he had ne business importing
in the first place!

Rafe Mair is a minister of
a government that promises
it will give us all sorts of
freedoms and warns us
constantly of the evilsof “the
heavy hand of socialism”.
At the same time this
government goes beyond
where socialist feet have
dared to walk, into the

realms of fasism - yea -
beyond that and beyond
communism.

They are telling us that we
shall drink X brand.

Will they tell us we must
use Hydro for heat - will
they tell us we must drink
tea? , th

They are trampling on the
most prized freedom — the
freedom of choice.

The most amazing thing is
the complete and utter
silence and lack of protest
from the press, the business
community and the people,

The press, noteably, the
lower mainland press, would

have incited riots in the |

streets if this situation arose
under a socialist govern-
ment, (or any government
not of their choice),

They sit, and by their
silence condone the
governments removal of a
basic freedom — freedom of
choice.

How could it happen in a
democratic country? But it
has and people sit and drink
that slushy, seaby beer and

Better safe
than sorry

Winter is coming and your
vehicle is probably well
aware of it, even if you
aren't, suggests the B.C,
Automobile Association,
particularly if it completed a
long summer holiday this
year,

Now is the time to see to
those squeaks and rattles
before winter brings out the
worst in your vehicle's
performance.

For safety’s sake, be sure
that either you or the BCAA
approved garage of your
choice performs the
following maintenance
checks:

Battery: In the winter
heavier demands are made
upon the ballery due to
extended night driving and
heavier operalion of elec-
trical accessories and the
euld increases the engine
cranking Joad. Thus it is not
surprising that faulty bat-
teries are the most frequent
cause of no starts in the
winter. Check that the cables
and terminals are clean, that
connections are tight and
that the battery fluid level is
correct,

Alternalor: Have the
alternator or generalor and
voltage reguiator checked to
ensure they are producing
the required amount of
charge,

Lights: Check park lights,
tail lights, headlights, and
signal lights for burnt out
bulbs and wire delericration.
Ave headlights aimed
properly?

Wipers: Windshield wipers
will be called upon for extra
duly, scraping off ice and
snow. Inspect the wiper
arms and blades and replace
them if necessary. At the
same lime make sure you fill
up the windshield washer
reservoir with an antifreeze
solution so you will be able to
keep your vision unub-
structed during eloppy
driving conditiuns.

Additive: install gas lank
additive to prevent con-
densation from freezing in
the fuel system.

Cooling System: Check the
heater and defroster for
proper operation. Check the
hose lines and connection for
leaks. Reverse flush the
radiator and block and in-
spect the thermostal for
proper operation Clean the
radiator core of bugs and
dirt and pressure test the
radiator tap Check the
torque on the cylinder head
and the pressure and cun-
dition of the heits. Make
certain the radiator has

sufficient antifreeze for cold
weather.

Oil: After a long summer
of driving, itis probably time
to change your uil and
possibly the filter as well.
Cold weather demands an oil
with the correct viscosity so
be certain to check your
owner's manual for the
grade yourequire for winter.

;Mutfier: diave the exhaust
pipe, muffler ani pipe
carefully checked and
replaced if necessary to
minimize the danger of
carbon monoxide poisoning.

Brakes: Adjust the brakes
and check for excessive
wear on the B and
lining. See that the brake
fluid is at the proper level.

Lubricants: Crankease,
transmission and rear end
lubricants should be checked
and replaced or sup-
plemented, if necessary, A
chassis grease job should be
considered depending on the
make of yehicle and the
preventive maintenance
schedule recommended by
the manufacturer.

Tune-up: The engine
should be tuned-up Including
a check of the ignition
system, engine timing,
voltage regulator output,
spark plugs, carburetor and
fuel pump. The positive
crankcase ventilation and
exhaust emission control
systems should be inspected
as «required hy the
manufacturer, and special
attention should be given to
the water pump, air cleaner
and breather cap filter.

Check the suspension and
steering.

Houses, Belts: Check ali.
hoses for cracks and wear
and all fans and power-drive
belts for wear and tension.

Tires; Now ia a good time,
before the first snow to check
tires for wear and to install
snow tires on your vehicle.
Have wheel balance and
alignment checked. Studs
are legal during the
following perioda: B.C. Oct.
1 to Apr. 30; Alberta,
anytime; Washington Nov. 1
to Apr. 1; Oregon Noy. 1 to
Apr. 30 and California Oct. 1
to May 1. .

Preventive maintenance,
though it seems expensive at
the lime, is far cheaper than
custly emergency repairs to
major engine components.

Remember, warns the
auto club, to ask the price
before you have any ser-
vicing done un your “ehicle
and kee = svagtly ak you

are gecling for your money,

“How can I have confidence in the dollar
HAVE a dollar?”

when I don’t even

| THOMAS ATRILL THINKS
Superstition is a state of mind

Few of us are superstitipus. We tend fo
think of ‘spunkwater’, omens and ‘signs’ as

things of the past. True, many of us, after -

Spilllng salt, toss some of it over our

shoulder; we avold a street which has just:

been crossed by a black cat, and most of us
will not wafk under a ladder.

It is all very well to be un-superstitious. It
is another matter to tempt fate or anger the
Gods, That Is why | like to carry a few lucky
horseshoes, a couple of jrabbit feet, a
scarab, and a Mr. Christopher (he was
defrocked, remember) medal, wherever |
drive. ,

Over the years these protective Items
have worked well. Whatever cannot be
remedied with a monkey-wrench or starting
fluid, ! leave to them. | have not had a bad
accident in 35 years of driving. Of course,
cynics will maintain that | would not have
cracked up anyway; the protective items

being Just so

much ballast.

| knew a man, years ago, who made his
battery radio work better by placing his:
hand on top of It. | heard about a person who
scattered bits of newspaper along New
York’s Fifth Avenue to ward off elephants,
and that worked too. Most of us are
acquainted with peaple who cure ilinesses

with copper

rings

or _ bangles.

The list is endless. What | really meant to
Say was that we should not be superstitious:
we can live our lives, free of all such non-
sense, if we choose. We can rely an good

"management and good judgement ta

preserve us, We can be free of and from
superstition. As a test, walk down a street,
by the dark of the moon, at midnight,
Friday the thirteenth, where a black cat has
crossed, carrying no protective devices and
saying nothing. You'll be safe.

Touch wood.

IN OIL INDUSTRY
Only one maverick left.

CALGARY (CP) — The
Jast oil refinery in
Canada’s oil capital today
consists of an ancient
brick building backed by
a cluster of small storage
tanks. .

Hub Oi] Ltd. is the last
of the Canadian pioneer
independents — still
producing _— for the
autombile matkel, sald
company president Harry
Kalmacoif, whose burly
presence appears to
constrained by a hilue-
vested suit.

The giants are gone.
Imperial Oil's refinery
now is giving way to
housing and highway con-
struction, while Gulf
converted its refinery to
an asphalt operation six
years ago.

Kalmacoff said there
are other recyclers, but
not for the automotive
markel,

Hub Oil recycles (re-
refines) waste oil, the
guck drained from crank-
cases at service slations

in southern Alberta, as
well as railway and in-
dustria] oil from as far
away as Kaiser's coal pit
in southeaslern British
Columbia and the potash
mines around Saskatoon.

Kalmacoff estimated
that at least 50 per cent of
theone million gallons the
refinery produces an-
Tually returns to car
crankeases via the yellow
and red quart cans on
retail shelves. The
remainder is used by
industry, railways and a
declining farm clientele,

The 12-man refinery’s
capacity is three million
gallons annually,

“The only reason we
don’t produce more is
because we can’t get the
oil,” Kalmacoff said.

Hub’s 2,200-gallon
trucks working within 160
Kilometres of Calgary and
6,000-gallon tankers
within 900 kilometres,
collect only 10 per cent of
the waste oll available.

Kalmacoff said he

believes the bulk of the
waste oil is dumpedon the
ground by backyard
mechanics.

“Oil can be recycled

forever and ever and the
more you recycle, the
belter it gets,”’ he said.

Bitterness twinges his
thoughts when the history

of the refinery is men- -

tioned. It is the last cil-
Stained relic of the dezen
small independents that
flourished in Canada
-before the Second World
War, cracking crude for
gasoline to be pumped
into cars and farm
equipment..

When Germany
marched into war, the ail
controller arbitrarily shut
down the refineries,
ordering them to produce
aviation fuel or else,
Kalmacoff said. They
were not equipped for
aviation production and
Padlocks appeared on
plant gates.

Hub Oil's facility, the

former Munro refinery,
had cracked Turner
Valley crude oil for the

Calgary market. It was

closed in 141 and did not
re-open until 1959 when
Kalmacoff bought it as a
supplementary to his
downtown car wash.

Until the Middle East
opted for higher crude
prices, Hub Oil was a
marginal operation at
best, and more often than
not, had to subsidized by
soap suds "profits,
Kalmacoff said.

Because of the higher
crude prices, Kalmacoff
said he sells his product in
bulk at 63, cenls a gallon
today, compared with 22
cents a gallon five years
ago, He said he feels
governments should be
doing to encourage
conservation of oil.

There should be in-
centives lo recycle waste
oil as in Europe, widening
lhe price gap between the
new and cheaper recycled
oils, he said,

VIC
STEPHENS

PLC. MLA

Reading the news reports of the premier’s
latest junket | see that he has finally realized he.
has some explaining to do as to why he has failed
fo reduce spending and taxation. That’s en-

_covraging, but he might be wiser to get his facts

straight before he makes, speeches.

He Is reported to have said that health,
education and income support take 85 per-cent of
the budget. Perhaps he is talking about some
imaginary domain of his, but here in British
Columbia the total estimates of the Departments
of Heaith, Education and Human Resources take
only 65 per cent of the budget, and much of that
money never gets past the bureaucracy.

The premler’s office recently asked for in-
formation on how the sales tax and the school
property tax will be removed by a Conservative
government without any reduction in necessary
services. | have sent the information and | hope
he studies It, because he could learn a lot that
would be of great value to the people of B.C., but
perhaps he should familiarize himself with his
own estimates first.

He talks about closing hospitals. Well nobody
but the premier has said a word about closing
hospitals, that’s just a dishonest scare tactic —a
typical Sociai Credit atternpt by this merchant of
fear fo frighten the voters. But if he doesn't know
that it Is possible to make substantial, cuts in
spending on education while at the sare time
improving the quality of teaching, he simply

. doesn’t understand what the real problems are.

As to income support, if he would ease his
crippling tax load the productive sector of the
economy would be able to provide enough jobs so
that far fewer British Columbians would need
income support,

The premler says taxes are too high in
California and he would have voted for
Proposition 13, but he is talking about municipal.
taxes, On the provincial level his government
takes and spends nearly three times as much
from each taxpayer as does the state govern-
ment of Callfornia.

_ The premier talks of making cuts at the ex-
pense of those who abuse the system. Talk is
cheap from a man who has doubled the cost of his
own office. If he ever does begin to cut spending
he should start with himself. For months he has
been tripping about the province at the tax-
payers’ expense acting as if he thinks he Is Marie
Antoinette dispensing favors to her subjects ~-
an airport grant here, a community centre grant
there, a museum grant somewhere else.

‘ Every cenf of that money was first taxed’ out of
the communities that he is now pretending to
give it to. It is money that his government never
should have had, and never would have had if he
were nof overtaxing the people of B.C.

THINK SMALL

BY JIM SMITH

‘Representatives

WASHINGTON (UP) —
U.S. administration of-
ficials are feeling the
flush of victory following
the successful conclusion
of an 16month fight to
qrest an energy bill from

gress.
* Analysts say the energy
bill which returned to
President Carter's desk
following a final House of
Sunday will likel swe
y Ww y prove
to be the outstanding
achievement of the 5th
Congress.

For Carter, the ap-
proval is viewed as a
major personal victory,
won afler arduous, tor-
tuous and dramatic
legislative manoeuvring.

The bill comes back to
Carter in different form,
however, from the am-
bitious plan he sent to
Congress in April, 1977, as
a solution to U.S,
dependence on gil im-
ports,

WITH ENERGY COUP
Carter officials thrilled

Whether Carters
original proposal wou
have achieved this goal is
at this point academic:
the new bill certainly will
not result in energy self-
sufficiency, analysts say.

It also will put a far
grealer burden un con-
sumers than Carter’s
original plan.

What the two bills have

in commun, however, is 8
basic philosophy that
American attitudes
toward energy supply and
patterns uf energy use
must change.
_ Just as Canadian
legislaters felt when
drawing up their energy
policy a few years ago,
U.S. leaders now see a
need for legislation
reflecting the realities of
a world where oi] and
natural gas are becoming
scarcer.

Where Carler and
Congress disagreed was
in the paths to be fo"owed

to bring about these
changes.

Carter's bill called for a.
complicated series of
energy taxes and rebates
designed to encourage
conservation while at the
same time the country
develops energy supply
capabilities.

nstead of following
Carter’s system,
Congress decided to rely
on instruments it knows
besl: regulation and tax
subsidies. .

None of Carter's four
separate energy tax:
proposals made it
through ithe legislative
mill unscathed.

The firsi, a five-cent-a-
gallon standby gasoline
tax that would increase to
50 cents in 10 years unless.
consumption —_ declined,
sank quickly in the House
of Representatives.

The other three, taxes.

on crude vil, on industrial .

use of nalural gas and oil,
and on inefficient
automobiles, wasted
away in the Senate.

Only a vestigal tax to be
imposed on cars with
Erossly-poor fuel ef-
ficiency made it through
both chambers.

Cungress also eroded
the president's plan for
increasing natural gas
prices. Instead of
agreeing (to raise lhe
federallycontroiled price
by about 30 cenls to $1.75
per thousand cubic feet,
Congress decided to
remove price controls
from newly-discovered
sources of natural gas by
1985.

The benefits of the
congressional version of

the energy bill will ling

be debated, especially by
natural gas users who will
see their homeheating
billa double before 1985.

‘What's going on here? Are
we in a recesslon - ov Is the
economy experiencing reason-
able growth?

Now that may seem like a
dumb question, alollike stand-
ing in ihe sunlight and asking
if It's raining. But the econa-
mists don't seem to know the
answer, So how can the rest of
us, lowly uninformed slobs
thal we are, hope to have any
insight?

Let's forget, for the ma-
ment, about whether the eco-
nomy Is in good shape or not.
More important Is the disturb-
ing,fact that none of the so-
called experts seems to know
the answer with any amount
of certainty.

Up and down, around and
around. Business can be boom
ing one minute and disastrous
the next. We haven't experi-
enced this kind of economic
instability in decades,

Antd the small business sec-
tor is getting clobbered,

Al the best of times, it isn't
easy (o be a small business pro-
prietor. Even brief recessions
can prove lo be fatal. Unitess
the firm has solld financial
backing, there is no cushion io
see i¢ (through the lean times.

When the small firm faiis,
the owner doesn't suifer alone.
Employees are thrown oui of
work, The government loses
tax revenues. Suppliers are cul

‘off From a source of income.

And on and on.

The damage can be minl-
mized, though. A business faik
ure is seldom a personal fall-
ure, With every unsuccessful
businéss venture, the entre-
preneur acquires knowledge
and skills, These skills are In-

valuable in future business ven+
tures ~ if the entrepreneur can
be convinced to move into an-

other business investment.

The trick, then, is to ensure
that the entrepreneur will have
adequate incentive to start an-
other business If the original
firm fails. And, since studies.
have shown that about 60% of -

A dumb question

the investment capital comes
from the entrepreneur person-
ally, another 30% originates
within the proprietor's family
and close friends and onty
abeut 10% comes from out-
side sources, (he most valuable
step would obviously be to bol-
ster the Incentive siructure that
invites entreprenenrs, thelr

families and friends to tay out

their own funds,

The Canadian Federation

of Independent Husiness re-
gards establishment of a more
attractive small business invest-
ment climate as one of Cana-
da's more pressing Issues, With
that in mind, the Federation
has recommended two major
federal (ax amendments: a
100% tax wele-off for busi-
Ness investment fosses in small
firms and exemption fram
capital gains taxes on shares
of Canadian-controlled firma
held for af least five years, The
first measure would reduce the
personal risk; the second would

increase potential profits.

Canada can't afford the

desiruction of small firms

‘caused by economle instabil-

ity. Same measures to create

stability are overdue,

“Think smat{" is an editorial
message trom tha Ganadian
Federation of Indepandent

Business