PAGE Ad, THE HERALD, Wedn: SSAA EES 2.5, GN, ofaPate: watetat at eF 2,8, 0,2 ,0,9 0a! atetafele'e es eae ees poe > & return postage quaranieed EDITOR PAT O’DONAGHY ‘ . erATaT eae Minister Reports on Trade Mission to Japan Makita, President of Nippon Kokan K.K., also within the last month, has created ihe atmosphere and the confi- dence for a new era of cooperation and mutually benelicial trade expan- sion between our two nations. We received a positive response in all our discussion detailing the new policies FF of the British Columbia government. We emphasized our reatizalion that This report was released by Economic Development Minister, Don ‘alurning from his trade mission to Japan November 16. _The British Columbia Economic Mis- sionto Japan had several purposes which | want to oulline lo you: 1. To introduce the new government of British Columbia and policies to representatives of both ihe ePatalataleTetererecenitoeteleteTeceteleMore orale A056 /8/N8iaLecececeiceneceieses ol oce Laat ater arate recA tatcectlatata a Mecaratemapritanatetatnatatatatatatatet te y- January 5, 1977 aPeeeeTeri: sa's'p'p'ate’ota"é'e a'a'a! tescrorataretaeararatstneee the herald | 635-6357 — An Award Winning Weekly Published by Sterling Publishers Ltd. Published every Wednesday at 3212 Kalum St., Terrace, B.C, A member of Varified Cir- culation. Authorized as second class mail. Registration number 1201. Postage paid in cash, PUBLISHER GORDON W. HAMILTON NOTE OF COPYRIGHT The Herald retains full, complete and sole copyright In any advertisement produced and-or editorial or photographic content published in the Herald. Reproduction ts not permitted without the written permission of the Publisher. aaa ae Philips on explain its rane. 056-4059 BPM hatte ataly tale CRS RM AN te i “on A A ne Oa SSE See 8, vetene: t. ADVERTISING MANAGER RALPH KERMAN The Four-Way Test -* Of the things we think, say or do. is it the TRUTH? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be , BENEFICIAL to all concerned? , the policies of both government and the private seclar must be designed to insure that our products reach offshore markets at world campetilive prices. Wilh respect to general trade relations, we emphasized to the Japanese that expanded trade on the Pacific Rim is fundamental to British Columbia's economic development strategy. They, in turn, questioned us on our ability to insure a secure and stable supply of export goads at world com- petitive prices. They expressed frank concerns about the climate of labour and management relations and the taxation and foreign investment policies of our governments. However, . they made it abundantly clear that as these concerns diminish, a major in- crease in trade Is fundamental to their goals and objeclives.. Wewere most successful in identilying the full range of mutual epportunities. You shouldbe aware that since the ‘oil Japanese Government and private sector. ‘ 2. Toassess firs! hand, the broad picture of trade relations between Canada, British Columbia and Japan to deter- mine what must be done to achievea = 2. greater share of the Japanese market for our products and resources which are surplus to our needs and, there- fore, available for export. 3. Following from this, to conduct a frank and sincere exchange of views to identify all areas of mutual cooperation and opportunity. 4. To reach a decision on the future course of the BC/NKK Steel Study at the conclusion of Phase Two of the Study. 5. To enter into serious negotiations with respect to the purchase of additional quantities of British Columbia metal- lurgical coal by the Japanese. In pursuing each of these Mission 3. objectives, we were deeply impressed with the very warm reception and spirit of real cooperation shown to us by the Japanese. During our nine days there, we met with both government and industry officials and discussed the following to- pics: general trade relations, transporta- lion, northern development, port facilities, labour management relations, steel, coal, agricullure, forest products, non-ferrous metals, housing, tourism, federal provin- cial relations and foreign investment policies. Let me then report to you specilically an each of the Mission Objectives which | have outlined. 1. We stated the position that British Columbia is seeking to significantly expand trade with Japan. | ask you to attach special significance to the fact that this was the first offshore Mission 4. by the new Social Credit government. We aiso emphasized thal British Col- have undertaken a complete reevalua- tion of their economic objectives par- ticularly to obtain a secure and stable supply of products and raw materials which are so vital lo their high- technolagy economy. We reached firm agreement onthe need for greater exchanges of technology and the need for better channels of communi- calion in all areas of mutual interest. In this regard | want to emphasize that Prime Minister Trudeau's visit to Japan has very detinitely enhanced the climate for specific agreements involving beth government and the private sector. With respect to the steel study and specifically Phase Il which has been concluded, both parties have reached ‘shock’ in 1973, both the Japanese — Government and the private sector | Hon. Don Phillips resumption of the joint study if and when conditions favourable fora com- petiive B.C. steel mill appear in the future. . Wilh respect to expanded purchases by Japanese stee! mills of British Columbia metallurgical coal, a specific announcement cannot be made until) have had the opportunity to consult with my colleagues and until alter the Premier, myself and the Ministers of ETC, Mines and Forests have had an opportunity to meet in Ottawa wilh the Prime Minister and senior officials of the federal government. | can say, however, that provided British Columbia is able to'sell its coal at world competitive prices, provided that we can show by performance that we are a secure and stable source of supply, provided that agreement can be reached wilh Ottawa on transporta-* tion and regional economic expansion — malters and’ provided that thé current —* lag in the economic recovery process is overcome, that | am confident that British Columbia will expand its coal exports well beyond the present in- tended purchases of 5 million tans in the North East and 2.5 million tons in the South East. There is no. reason to believe that this increase will be less than 15 million tons per annum in the next few years. in summary, | am fully convinced that we are ready to reach firm commitments which will mean significant increases in trade with Japan particularly in the areas of coal, forest products, agriculture and tourism. | believe that the fortunate com- bination of the three visits which | have discussed can result in major trade ex- umbia is fully aware of responsibility as a Pacific Rim pro- vince in furlhering expa between other Canadian provinces and Japan. In this regard, to comment that the visit of the Prime Minister to Japan withi month, and the Japanese economic Mission to Canada led by Mr. Hisao ‘The Editor: Hereby my reply to Floyd Frank's article, December. 15, 1976 issue of Herald — in ‘criticism of Jack Mould’s figures re number of ties ‘made per man day, plus a igreat harange aboul ‘mathematical formula ‘relative to axe culs required -and miscellaneous “un- -provable theories’’, which filled this old tie maker with ‘consternation, indignation ‘and wonder. Why, one old timer, without tie making ‘experience but with some writing ability, would attack ‘another old timer with 20 years of tie making ex- ‘perience to draw from, who ‘knew and associated with those old tie makers and ‘whose figures are, if: -unything, conservative and ‘whe was only attempting to ‘preserve a smal! part of an era which is as remote to the -younger Beneration as pre jhistory is to all of us and ‘whose writing experience is ‘confined to that one book.’ Was your criticism a form ‘of professional jealousy ‘Floyd? Was it a case of an ‘old arm chair instant expert ‘attempting to appear im- ‘porlant, at someone else’s expense, by use of garbled its special nded trade suspended. | would like n the fast a mutual understanding that, ,at this point in time, further execution of the detailed study should be temporarily However, it is also mutually agreed that both parties will continue jointly with close monitcring of steel supply/ demand relationships in the world economy hereafter and will reassess pansicn with Japan for decades to come. My only concern is that the people of British Columbia recognize this opportun- ity andtake it upon themselves toalleviale the concerns expressed by the Japanese that they must have a secure and stable supply al world competitive prices. The opportunity is there. Now all we must dois roll up our sleeves and go to work. eo & The spirit of anew year _ ByBILLSMILEY COULD you write a pungent, telling é&say on The Human Spirit in the mew year? No? Well, that’s what my senior students tell me, too. But I know they are wrong, and 1 think you are wrong alsd. 17H bet you could write a dandy, especially if you have lived a lot. I gave my students instruc- tions for an essay, and most of them went into a state of mild shock. They shouldn't have. They are dealing with the human spirit, their own and others, every minute of their young lives. 1 “However, students, like most of us, prefer things to be spelled out, But how can you. spell out the human spirit? You can’t touch it, taste it, smell it, weigh or measure it- Youcan’t peer through some- one’s navel and shout ‘Tally- ho! There it is! Your spirit!’’ From the beginnings of thought, our great writers and thinkers have explored the human creature in an effort to pin down this elusive thing. Some philosophers have believed they had put their finger on the slippery little devil only to find that it has squirted away, Clerics are more apt to call it the soul, Psychologists pin nasty names like id and ego and libido on various aspects of it. : BillSmiley =| Writers give examples of it. Artists try to depict its highest aspirations. The human spirit exists in ali of us. It, along with the power to reason, is what raises us above the level of the _ beasts. Its presence is allied to all that is good and great in human kind: loyalty, integ- rity, compassion, honor, courage, dignity. * Its absence represents all that is bad in the human race: gteed, cruelty, prejudice, in- difference, treachery. Given the right fertilizer, the human spirit reaches out to other human spirits, and mankind moves another inch toward the stars. Without proper nourish- meni, the human = spirit shrivels or warps, turns in on itself, rots, and spreads like a cancer. - In certain periods, the undernourished spirit pro- duces the great psychopaths like Attila the Hun, Napoleon, Hitler, and we are led into darkness, . But after each of these sombre intervals, the resur- gent human spirit roars back, fanning the embers into a blaze of glory, and once more man is on the march. This is all very inspiring, I'm sure, but it’s pretty ab- stract, and I prefer the con- crete. Let's see if we can find some examples of the humart spirit in action. A Royal Commission needed The recent signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Ontario government and the Reed Paper. one of the strongest threats to Company has sparke minority government in the province since e last election. Almost no one — the Opposition, the Native peoples, the foresters, the environmentalists — is happy with the way the decision was made to allow the last major timber reserve in Ontario to fall before the pulp and paper in- dustry’s axes. While the government has assured the Cree and Ojibwa that adequate inquiries. will be conducted before the. final agreement is signed, the Native people feel that'rarely, if ever, are agreements-in-principle on resource development. projects reversed simply because so much money is at stake. Several thousand rely on the 19,000 square miles of virgin bush for their hunting, fishing and trapping livelihood. The Native people — the Grand Council of Treaty Ix — want a Berger-style royal commission with the greatest independence possible, with the widest terms of reference and under an eminent chairman. The government wants something less sweeping. Environmentalists and most professional foresters point to the mercury pollution of the English and Wabigoon Riv ers by Reed’s other plant at Dryden, Ontario, and the poor reforestation record of most of the province’s paper companies. The United Church ef Canada, through its Department of Church in Society, recently supported the Indians in their plea for an inquiry. Other fair-minded Canadians should do the same thing. If the a viable, environmen roposal by Reed and Queen's Park is ly and socially acceptable project, ely- then it can suffer little from a fully independent and wi based examination. If it is as destructive to the people and the land, as the Native peoples charge, then better it never start. The government could take a lead in finding new and creative ways of dealing with resource development taking _ all considerations publicly into its decision-making process. _ letters to the editor Stump farm and broadaxes irrelevant mathematics bearing little relationship to “actual” tie making; which statement J allow myself in view of 17 winters of tie making, plus considerable tie camp experience, TIE MAKERS Leaving myself in a secondary position I draw from our tie camp ex- perience when varying numbers of tie makers were employed and book keeping records provided sound average figures of ties made per man day and I found Jack Mould's ‘average of 20 to 25 lies per man day to be very close, though such averages varied somewhat in accordance with size and quality of crew, though not by much — and remember averages are from first to last day worked, incJuding a break-in period, getting teols in shape, etc. HOURS WORKED Breakfast 7 a.m. and supper 5:45 p.m. at most camps. Actual hours varied in accordance with stamina and walking distance, often: up toa mile and sometimes more — an average day af seven to eight hours would be close, six day weeks. Single tie makers stayed in camp and often worked Sunday A.M. making road and piling leftover ties — took it easy Sunday P.M.,, filing saw, improving axes and washing clothes. The married stiffs left for home mid-Saturday P.M., often having three to five miles to walk. AXE CUTS MADE — POUNDS OR TONS LIF- TED AND SUCH That had some place in a book such as Jack Mould’s in order to give '‘some”’ idea of energy expended — how else could one get that across? As to actual ac- curacy of figures used, ] am not about to quibble and can assure anyone interested, that with one exception, tie makers. did not count axe cuts made, tons lifted and such. Had we done so 1am sure the job would have become distasteful, perhaps even impossible, The one exception mentioned has now crossed the big divide, was nol a very good tie maker and disliked the job but enjoyed math and spent a fair amount of time calculating expenditure of energy and such irrelevent matters. ‘‘If” brother Mould used those figures they are prebably as accurate as any, as axe cuts made would vary to a marked degree, in accordance with strength aud experience of the in- dividual and any attempt at criticism of figures used is nothing more than nit- picking at best but more likely an illustration of inexperience. Can we not allow Jack Mould’s figures to stand unchallenged? There are no 100 percent accurate ones as there were no effictency experts in those days — besides, the low count man probably expended as much energy as the high count ones. Once you had acquired sufficient skiJl there was little need to concentrate on what you were doing, like many other occupation and I can assure you that more pleasant thoughts went through your head, having nothing to do with the tie making and no doubt made the job more bearable. AVERAGES — AVERAGE MEN AND MISCELLANEOUS : The “average” lie maker and the outstanding ones bore about as “much resemblance to one another as Cassius Clay does to average boxers. The out- standing makers knew how to sharpen tools, fix broad axes so they ran in a straight line and their use was a pleasure to behold, not only in speed of hewing but tie smoothness as well. These men made no false moves and every move counted. One such expert worked for us for a number of years and would be paid off for 4,000 ties or more, made during the average 44% month season and by the way, he was of only average © size and weight and neither drank, smoked nor ate snoose. 1 worked alongside another gent who “averaged"’ 40 ties per day, week after week and usually quit work about 4 p.m. [ watched him pile ties and he usually took hold of the bottom end with tie resting against his:shoulder, then spun them like a wheel towards the road, then Brabbed a pickaroon and bunched them in place — total time expended, 20 to 30 minutes and yet, he weighed no more than 170 pounds, We had another one, a hulk of a man, who would make 50 ties per day for about three days, then go home and tend to his home brew and not show up for several days. His “average” was in the low 20's, however, the capability was there, There were a fair number of outstanding tie makers throughout the tie belt but above sampling should be sufficient, for sake of brevity. TIE PILING MISCELLANEOUS I must assume Floyd Frank had hemlock ties in mind when stressing piling work — if correct, I agree, as weight difference bet-. ween Pine and Hemlock ties must be felt to be believed. Generally, tie strips were not wide and trees were felled towards and across the road when possible thus cutting down on the piling chore. Those at some distance from the road were often packed on your shoulder and you didn’t saunter as ties were weighty in the 1920's before the era of peeling and squaring. Limbing can be ignored on those beautiful mature Pine. Any small dry ones could usually be knocked off with your eight foot measuring stick and no sweat there. AND When a two-year-old child, normally good and obedient, sticks aut his lip and flatly - refuses to do something reasonable, and defies threats of spankings, he is not just being stubborn. He is exhibit- ing, to the world, his sense of self, of independence. That is “the human spirit. When an 90 year old man, or woman, prefers to pig it alone in poverty and dis- comfort, rather. than be shuttled off to a cosy senior citizen's home; he or she is doing the same. When aman or woman has enough guts tosay “‘No!” ata time whenall about are saying “Yes!** that’s the human spirit at work. But let's get down to an example we can all under- stand. When a man gets up after his old lady has knocked “him down five times, and ad- vances on her, arms out- stretched, and says: ‘Dar- ling, let me explain just ance more," that is the human spirit at its best. Don't get this human spirit thing all mixed up with senti- mentality: the cooing of a baby, which might be just a gas pain, the radiant smile of. a bride, which might be just vanity. Or gloating. No, let’s keep it on a high plain. *s “This essay is to be an ex- amination of the human spirit (soul, selfpas it acts and reacts under stress, in inter-play with other human spirits, in conflict with society. “The essay should reveal something of what thestudent - has learned this year from exposure to the ideas of first-class writers concerning the, human spirit. “Ideas expressed should not be merely emotional clap- trap or. mystic foofawraw. Nor should they be a mere recording of examples of the human spirit in action, taken from the books read. They should rather represent the student’s own human spirit reacting 10 the stimulus of what has been read and pon- dered. ‘tany reasonable —- and even some unreasonable — approaches to the topic will be encouraged. : ‘Students may choose one of the following exhortations from their glorious leader: “Good Luck” or ‘Eat Your Heart Out.” Here are the instructions | gave my students. See how they grab you. Aren't you glad you don't take English from me? ©The Argyle Syndicate Ltd, Ne. OTTAWA and Small Business If free competitive enter- prise is to survive in Canada, the disappearance of smaller firms must be more than made up for by the growth of successful ones and the formation of new ventures. ‘Both processes. need risk capital. There are iwo kinds of capital: debt and equity. Debt capital is a loan secured by fixed assets — a building or machinery. Equity capital is the owner's permanent in- vestiment in a business. When a handyman starts up, using savings to buy tools, that constitutes his equity. If he borrows to finance his truck, that is debt capital. Another man decides to Financing new ventures By KENNETH McDONALD Now he needs additional equity to pay rent on the premises, to buy stock, to. pay wages and operating costs until the business gene- rates a flow of cash. When: taxes were low and people:: could accumulate savings, - he would have looked to local investors for this kind of seed money. Their return might have been a share of ownership in the venture. Their risk capital supple- mented the proprietor's own personal investment. _ Butlocal capital has either been taxed away or diverted into government pension or tetirement schemes. The re- tailer now has to go to his bank. But banks are in the start a retail business. He uses his savings to draw upa business plan -- surveying the market, looking for pre- mises, - talking to suppliers, estimating costs and profit. He is making an initial equity investment! Much more could and should be said but this has grown long enough and I wish to digress briefly. It is now difficult to find . tie makers of that era with whom you can discuss it but a few remain and some may be less conservative than Jack Mould and I, as regards the big count boys. Most of those tie makers I knew are no more. They were a breed all their own and I feel privileged to have known them; may they rest business of lending money against the collateral of fixed assets, accounts receivable, or personal assets. They are lending depositors’ funds and , cannol therefore take unse- cured risks. eee To overcome the diffi- - culty of financing new ven- tures, risk capital must be made more readily available. Ottawa must take the lead with tax incentives to indivi- duals, businessmen and finan- cial institutions. To increase availability of long-term loans, the Canadian Federa- tion of Independent Business has recommended an aggres: sive program of federally- guaranteed loans adminis: tered by the chartered banks, Raising debt and equity capital, in small amounts, is a worldwide problem for small business, But unless we tackle it imaginatively in Canada we will never in peace. Signed: strengthen our rural and re- S.T. Strimbold gional communities. ( ) _ UPYOURBLOCK (and. back again. That's as far as you need to walk to be a bit fitter than you are now). ; a.) a Walk a block.Today. .