. SICK AND wounded sailors 53 years ago on Canadian corvettes battling mid- Atlantic gales, 15-metre ‘waves and lurking U-boats may no longer seem a subject of absorbing interest to many . present-day readers. Which proves once again’ the truth — this time in reverse — of the saying that there are no dull subjects, ~" only dull writers. The heroic story of the: Second World War Adantic convoys as seen » through the eyes of the uniformed doctors, paramedics and nurses of the Royal Canadian Navy i is among _the graphic highlights in a new book by a North Shore naval veteran who knows whereof he writes,’ : Operation Sick’ Bay by retired Lt.-Cmir. Stan Richards, a West Van _Tesident since 1963-and a former RCN Assistant Medical Director General, traces the history of the ~ Sick Berth and Medical Assistant Branch of the RCN from its forma- | tion in 1910 until swallowed up by i the. unification of Canada’s armed services in 1965. __ | The book's 267 pages —- richly illustrated with some 80 photos, ‘sketches and diagrams — tell of the many different roles played by the “Tiffies”, as members of the Branch were nicknamed, in caring for ill and wounded naval personnel in war and peace. Adding considerably to the book’s interest are the varied types hi ici Noel Wright HITHER AND YON itime medical care from the 12th century onward, its development by’ Britain’s Royal Navy, the modest , beginnings of the RCN medical ser- . vice from 1910 through the First World War and its peacetime ups and downs until 1939 are described in narrative form, spiced with inter- esting and amusing anecdotes. But the author devotes many of the 112 pages covering the Second World War to an anthology of fasci- . nating eye-witness accounts by indi-' vidual ‘“Tiffies" themselves of the horror, heroism, tragedies, miracles . and sometimes humor encountered in wartime action at sea. This section alone makes the book difficult to put down. Final chapters deal with the post- HE CLOSER the new federal budget approaches the louder is the tiresome refrain of increased taxes from the fed- eral government, This even though Finance Minister Paul Martin previously made loud noises that he planned to wrestle Canada’s appalling $40- billion deficit to the mat without raising taxes. Spending cuts, vowed the minister; music to taxpayers’ ears. But, alas, that music turns out again to be more pop pap for the people, more sonorous fiction to fool the masses while the feds stick it to the public again and the country continues on its march towards inter- ‘national bankruptcy and some brutal finan- cial reckoning. Martin is reportedly planning to cut $5 in spending for every $1 increase in taxation. But there is no excuse for increasing taxes at all. Half measures aren’t the answer.: Canada needs some serious government spending cuts and some tough decisions made to head off the country’s financial collapse. Consider, for instance, that, according to a‘ recent edition of the Financial Post, taxes now account for a larger proportion of the average family’s budget than shelter, food and cloth- . ing combined; Revenue Canada will employ: the equivalent of 26,000 full-time workers this year; the tax bill for the average Canadian fantily has risen 1,167% since 1961. Sobering stuff for any honest Canadian cit-- izen trying to earn an honest living in this: country. But apparently not sobering enough for federal politicians. So, citizens, it’s time to make some noises. It’s time to get as upset with politicians about stealing’ taxpayers’: money as TV viewers recently got with Rogers Cablesystems about changing | a few. TV channels, Yes, that mad. Before it’s too late. evacnilincgs x they served war years and (somewhat sadly) the absorption of RCN medics after 1959 into the unified Canadian Forces Medical Service-~a joyless shotgun marriage for the former. Though the book may appeal pri- ‘marily to RCN veterans, archivists "and serving personnel, it is of poten- ; tial interest to a far wider readership. For in many ways it is much more than a story about naval doctors and medical orderlies. At the end you realize you've “also read the story of the four decades and two World Wars that saw Canada come of age, maturing from colonial status to an indepen- dent, widely respected world power. Even if your seagoing experience is limited 10 B.C. Ferries, it's a book that makes you feel good about , being a Canadian. Operation Sick Bay by Stanley T. Richards is available at The Book Company, Park Royal North Mall, or from Cantaur Publishing, 303-2455 Bellevue, West Van (922-2445). In handsome hardback, $32. TAILPIECE: Very appropriate guest artists Candice Churchill, Lovie Eli, Marcus Mosely, Sibel Thrasher and Jaye Krebs at next Sunday's Evening of Gospel Song in West Van United Church are all members of the Arts Club Theatre smash hit Ain't Misbehavin’, Tickets ($12, seniors $10, children $5) from 925-1617, 926-3696 or at the door. WRIGHT OR WRONG: How odd we all love progress, but hate change! Lawyers concerned _ with law not justice Dear Editor: | would like to add a further comment to the views expressed by Shane Tuckey of caveat in your Jan. 4 issue. I do not know where Canadians got the ridiculous idea that courts and lawyers are in any way. con- cerned with the administration of justice in this country. Judges laugh themselves sick at the very idea that anybody should © expect them to administer justice from the bench. And the fast thing that defending lawyers want for their clients is justice. They have nightmares, over the possibility that this might happen, and lay awake at night devising schemes to prevent such a melan- choly event. No. It has been stated by our legal fraternity time and time again that they are not concerned with jus- tice but only law, which is not nec- essarily the same thing. If justice does happen to be done it is only a: happy byproduct of the fegal sys- tem, and in no way its intent. Common sense is another term of which the legal system is entirely ignorant. It has no application in law and law students from the very ' . first are admonished that such a silly” idea has no place in the legal sys- tem. It has been truly said that when the law walks in the door common I do not know and I suspect that most Canadians also do not. know : how we allowed ourselves. to be -: placed in the situation where -the ; evil-doer has more rights than the law-abiding citizen. When a person ° is accused of an offence the whole : weight of the legal system mobi- lizes to his defence, while the victim and society in general are forgotten... Malefactors are often tried ‘not on the evidence of their innocence or guilt but on the technical grounds :: that have no bearing on whether he., committed the offence or not. Or on .. obscure rules as to’ whether evi-" dence should be heard or not. ©: » Many Canadians: are. ‘disillu- ‘sioned and disgusted over. the way - our court system operates today, and . long for the day when a modicum of - reason and. common:.,sense ..:is : returned to it. But I see no grounds * for r optimism that this will ever hap- - We Gibbins North Vancouver 7 LETTERS TO the editor must include your. name, full, address and telephone number. Letters can be faxed to 985- 2104, but still must be signed and fully addressed. . ‘ of presentation. The history of mar- sense flies out the window. | * ‘Trix? Agrios _ Promotions Manager - 985-2131 (137) Poter Kvarnstrom Display Manager ' 980-0511 (103) Linda Stewart ° Sates & Markeiing Director 980-0511 (319) Valerie Stephenson Classified Manager 986-6222 (202) MEMBER ; Chris Johnson Comptroller . Operations Manager Managing Editor 985-2431 (133) 985-2131 (141) 985-2131 (116) : North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an ” independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 1114 of the ~ Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to avery door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail - Sales Product Agreement No, 0087238. Mailing rates avaitabla on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and picturos, which should be accompanied bya stampod, solt-addressed envelope. Timothy Renshaw Publisher . 985-2131 (101 » 1969 Joa votes O° HORT: AND WEAT VANCOUVK y ~ Administration Display Advertising Rea! 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