Westdale Secondary School - Le Raconteur Yearbook (Hamilton, Ontario Canada)

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FREEDOM OF THE PRESS The first thought that came into my mind was: What does freedom of the press really mean? It could be said that there is a free press in any country where reporters and edit- ors may freely travel aboult in their investiga- tions and may freely report what they dis- cover, no matter how embarrassing such dis- closures may be to specific individuals or groups. This, of course, should not extend to special privileges such as the privilege of ig- noring or going against the law of the land. Such is the story of the man arrested for swinging his arm in a crowd and hitting an- other man on the nose. When he appeared in court, he asked indignantly: Why, judge, haven't I got the right to swing m.y arms in a free country? To which the judge replied: Your right to swing your arm, sir, ends where the other man's nose begins. Ten dollars, please. The freedom of the Press is not a special right given to reporters and editors, but it is an extension of the general rights enjoyed by the people of the country. Therefore, a re- porter may go as far as any other citizen in investigating and commenting on what he finds but no further. Many years ago, before one could publish any article, a special license had to be obtain- ed. This license could be easily taken away and, as you can see, limited what was distrib- uted among the people. John Milton, one of Britain's great poets, was one of the first to successfully attack this system. Soon after, in 1695, this act was abolished. This meant now, that no prior permission was needed from the crown or government to publish an article. Curbs, however, continued in the law. One man was noted to have said: Whatsoever a man publishes, he publishes at his own peril. In Canada, there is a wide area of press freedom, and as long as the reporter steers clear of libel, sedition, and contempt of court, he is free to report on almost anything in the country. Comparing the cost of a newspaper today and yesterday proves interesting. There was a time when an editor with a handful of type and several hundred dollars could start his own newspaper if 'he wished. Now, a daily newspaper in Canada represents an investment of several million dollars. How, then, is the newspaper to be financed and still maintain its free press? There are three basic ideas. If the subscriber were to pay a part of the actual cost of the newspaper, you can see how unwieldy and fantastic the prices would be. Remember the old saying: He who pays the piper calls the tune. In other words, if a certain government or political party were to finance the newspaper, the news distributed to the people would be prejudiced. Third and perhaps the best ideas for financ- ing a newspaper comes from advertising revenue. This revenue, in turn, comes from large corporations and wealthy landowners. In this way, the freedom of the press is not hin- dered and the actual cost of the newspaper to the subscriber is small. Never before in our history has there been such a need for accurate information. The duty of the press to give us a truthful, intel- ligent and comprehensive account of the day's happenings has never been greater. Some people feel that, in our concern that the press be free , we have given too little thought to seeing that it uses its freedom wisely. In Canada, there are four basic freedoms, these being, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to vote for whom one pleases, and free- dom of the press. Without one, the others cannot stand. Margaret Young, 10:3:12. LAW AS A PROFESSION IN CANADA The practice of law is one of the world's oldest professions. Originally, laws were made and enforced by tribal chiefs and their advis- ers, but with the coming of civilization and a larger population, laws became complicated, and such things as the Magna Charta and Bills of Rights were needed. The first law courts in Canada were military, with the civil courts coming later. Qualifying as a lawyer in one province of Canada does not necessarily mean qualifying in another, although the laws are similar in all provinces except Quebec where, for example, they have notaries who handle problems not requiring lawsuits. To enter the law -profession in Ontario re- quires certain things, whicih are: 1. A degree in Arts f1'om an accredited uni- versity. 2. Mental alertness. 3. Willingness to work. 4. Good character. 5. Good health. 6. The candidate must have Canadian citizen- ship or he must be a British subject. The main training, after university, consists of a four-year course at law school. This course consists of two years of lectures, one year in the service of a solicitor, and a final year which is a combination of intensive lec- tures and a period of apprenticeship in the office of a practicing lawyer. The annual tuition fees range from 35450.00 to 35800.00 Salary in the early years when the lawyer is setting-up his practice ranges from 83,000.00 to 36,000.00 annually. This salary may vary from place to place, but the average Cand this

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Literary LINDA MINNES, Literary Editor. PUBLIC SPEAKING WINNERS I PHILOSOPH - I Have I ever told you what a wonderful per- son I am? Have you heard about all the money I've been earning lately? Let me give you my opinion. I know because I'm an expert at prac- tically everything - practicallyg well, just everything! These are the words of a conceited, boring person who is boastful to the point of becom- ing obnoxious. He has only one string to his conversational violin, namely himself, and on it he plays a number of monotonous variations, what he thinks, what he has done, how good he is. He's an Egotist. Unless you are a hermit, you will from day to day and year meet an endless variety of people. Now psychology claims that no two people are alike, and so it is. For example, have you ever met a person who looked exactly like you, but whose inner character was not a bit like your own? Already we have met the Egotistg now on to different personalities. Next we meet the Egoist. This man's at- titude 'to like is simple and direct. Every de- cision he makes is based on the answer to one question - whait's in it for me? If he hurts other fpeople, well, iit's just too bad. Hits philoso- phy is, this is a tough world, pal: dog eat dog, every mean for himself, and I for one am not going to be left behind. On the other hand, there is the person who has discovered the secret of true happiness - concerning himself with the welfare of others. Never mind his own interests, how is the other fellow getting along? He has the Let me help you attitude. He is an Alitruist. Now, fourthly, we meet the man with the Leave mf alone attitude. He spends most of his time asking himself such futile ques- tions as: 6'HQ '7 do I lookg what do other people think of me? He may seem unsocial, yet, his greatest desire is to be liked and accepted. He may be shy and quiet. He is often moody and unhappy and prefers solitude or, at the most, the company of one person to a crowd. He has an aptitude for creative work and is uncomfortable engaging in activities requiring co-operation with other people. Why, he may even be a genius or eventually turn into one. He's an Introvert. Now, opposite introvert is, yes, you've guess- ed it, the Extrovert. He's the type that would make a good salesman. He is sincere and vitally interested in other people's problem.s. He is the life of the party, because he never worries about the effect of his actions. He is usually happy and generally full of high spirits, and he loves to be with people. His thoughts, his interests, his whole personality are turned outward. Then there is the person who is between an introvert and an extrovert. His interests are turned both inward and outward. Indeed he is quite normal in the sense that his person- ality is like that of most of us. He is an Am- bivert. Lastly, we come to the man who believes firmly in self-denial and austerity. He be- lieves that complete abstinence from drinking alcohol and not indulging in any other earthly pleasure will ventually lead him to both intel- lecrtual and spiritual perfection, Which of course is a man's ultimate goal. What is your personality like? Into which category do you belong? Personality is not solid. It is something living and changing and may, if given a chance, become diseased as our bodies do. But as there is beast and devil in man, let's remember that there is some angel and a great deal of God in him. Let us all give this pant in our personalities a chance to shine, Donna Sparks, 9 :3 :5.

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may surprise youl established lawyer does not make more than 957,000.00 a year. There are three main types of lawyers. These are: civil, criminal and corporation. The civil lawyer deals with damage suits, contracts, leases, wills, and trusteeships. He may also handle breach of contract suits, and claim collections. The criminal lawyer deals with criminal of- fences against society, either defending or prosecuting the accused. Although he is prob- ably the best known, the criminal lawyer is not necessarily the best ipaid, because he may get only one good case a year, while the other types are assured of a somewhat steadier in- come. The corporation lawyer acts as the agent and legal adviser for companies in various business dealings. He is usually paid an an- nual income and is much surer of his take- home pay than the criminal lawyer. Two Hamilton lawyers became famous, but for entirely different reasons. The late C. W. Bell, one of the coun?try's best known criminal lawyers, was also a playwright. He wrote Parlor, Bedroom and Bath , a comedy that has been translated into 27 languages and has been played in every country of the free world. The late Sir John Gibson was author of the Child's Protective Act in 1891. This is still used as a pattern throughout the World. Because of their training and interests, it is not unusual to find members of 'the law profession playing an important role in com- munity activities. When we pause and reflect that 20 of the 33 Fathers of Confederation were lawyers, it is easy to understand that a tradition of serv- ice to the community is one of long standing. In Canada, the practice of law is an honour- able profession. John Burgess, 11G3. 0 , 4 If , K 0' X ogy? l'5HTHEq, ' ..L 2 i,P7rx.0M 422 :L4 6 Q or'ON 5 ,Z ' -.a . mil . JM, PERFUME The other day as I was browsing around the perfume department of one of our large stores, I noticed a very confused young lady. She just couldn't decide which perfume to buy. Since she seemed so very confused, I, being such an expert, decided to offer my services. Perhaps, if she knew a little about perfum.e, she would be better able to decide. In any case, its story is fascinating. Somewhat dazed, she agreed to listen. Well, I began, I suppose we should start at the beginning. Surprisingly enough, it was the men who started the whole thing. The earliest priests offered incense and other such odourous sacrifices to the gods. Later, as these priests became the village doctors, they used these perfumes as healing oils. However, this isn't as wonderful as it seems, for these per- fumes were sickly sweet and, since the priests prepared them themselves and therefore always had a ready supply, they used them a bit too lavishly. As its fame grew and grew, the women nat- urally became interested. Cleopatra was the first known woman to use perfume to beguile a man. Although, actually, if truth be known, Antony was probably just overcome from lack of air. The importance of perfume grew and grew until, in such countries as Persia, men and women both bathed in perfumes and scented oils instead of water. At this, my new friend looked at the price tag on the tiny bottle in her hand. Obviously only the very wealthy could afford this luxury. But then she put her puzzled look into words: Just why is perfume so expensive? Well, when you realize just what goes into every bottle, it is easily seen why the price is fairly high. Of course, the original scent of every per- fume comes from a flower or plant. Every flower which has an odour contains certain oils which produce this odour. That is, when you smell a rose, you smell, not the flower, but the oils in it. These oils must be extracted to form part of the perfume. Next are added parts of some animals. At this my audience, which now numbered about ten, grew aghast. Animals, in per- fumes! Why of course! Most of us already know that certain parts of certain whales are used in the better perfumes, but it is a relatively unknown fact that the muskrat or musk deer, the civet from Africa, and even our lowly beaver contribute of themselves to making us more attractive. Finally, gums and resins from certain plants and trees are added. These ingredients are gathered from all over the world.