Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 9, 1979, Winnipeg, Manitoba Rich pickings rats Are rising from London sewers As City hires private haulers to replace striking collectors see Page 35 so much to go for tourism minister Norma Price wants a bigger share of a million Federal advertising program aimed at encouraging canadians to visit other centres by air see Page 13 lonely after living alone for a while a person can discover that he is not empty inside psychologist says see Page 3 sunny Low -30, High -22 Winnipeg free press final Friday february 9, 1979 i5cknts with coloured comics vol. 84 no. Ill woman weeps after learning her daughter died of mystery disease. Baby killer disease in Canada . Naples Italy up rever a senior physician at a children s clinic where at least 60 babies have died during the past year from a so called mystery disease says similar outbreaks have occurred in a number of countries including Canada and Britain. But As living conditions there Are much better than in Naples their death rate was nothing com pared to said prof. Mario Berni Canan head doctor at the Santocono clinic. He said the respiratory ailment against which experts have not yet found a vaccine affects babies in the first stage of infancy. Two weeks ago italian virologist Guilio Tarro isolated sync thial virus previously discovered by a scientist in Atlanta a. But Berni Canan said he believes this might be just one of Many related viruses and that much of the blame for the High mortality rate lies with Naples substandard living conditions Mal nutrition and Lack of hygienic Edu cation. Winnipeg paediatrician or. Wil Liam Alburton said today that syn Wythial virus has been seen in Winnipeg but is not usually fatal. Albritton said he can t be sure what disease is responsible for the deaths in Italy but agrees that if respiratory sync thial virus is to blame it is an illness not uncommon in Canada. A Lack of hygienic conditions coupled with malnutrition could certainly complicate this or any other virus he said. In Toronto or. David Carver professor of paediatrics at the hos Pital for sick children said wednesday that sync thial virus is not uncommon and causes a Condi Tion known As bronchial itis. It is an Airway disease and the child has problems in breathing but Only on rare occasions is it he said. In Naples people refer to the Dis ease Asil male Oscuro the evil it killed 46 babies last year and has claimed 14 victims so far this year. However doctors remain con Vinced that poverty not simply the virus is the baby killer. Bemi Canan estimated that 15. 000 of the infants under 12 months living in the Naples prov Ince will be affected. A walk through the slums lends Quick support to his poverty theory. About of the 1.3 million inhabitants live in the Bassi windowless Street level rooms where people sleep and work next to stoves and toilets. As Many As nine people covering three generations crowd into one Small dwelling. Only one third have Wash basins and Only one in four a Shower. The dwellings Are Damp and dark Ideal Breeding grounds for epidemics especially in the Rainy Winter months. Tolerate food costs Chretien pleads in Tokyo to per kilogram Ottawa up finance minister Ean Chretien appealed to canadians thursday to put up with the High Cost f imported food for a while to build a stronger Economy for the future. Appearing before 12 maps at the commons finance committee care Ien said the government knows con umers suffering at the grocery Tore because of the devalued Dollar. He acknowledged that recent Price increases for Orange juice tomatoes and Many other imported foods can e blamed in Large part on the reduced buying Power of the Dollar in foreign markets. To a smaller extent it also costs More to buy Canadian produced oods because of the devalued Dol Lar he said because Many foods such As beef Are priced in Chicago for the entire North american Market in . Dollars. This Means canadians have to spend More to compensate for their 83-to-84-cent Dollar. I am disappointed the value of the Dollar will make products from abroad More expensive but canadians have to accept that fact in order to make sure devaluation gives us Back the ability to compete on world markets which is something that is fundamental to our Long term eco nomic a devalued Dollar helps Export sales by making Canadian products cheaper in All markets with stronger currencies than its own. Chretien said the government has never denied the drawbacks of a devalued currency but believes these disadvantages Are outweighed by the benefits of Selling Canadian goods at bargain prices in the United states and overseas. Several industries such As shoe manufacturing textiles clothing and lumber and paper products now Are at near capacity operation for the first time in years because of in creased sales abroad he said. Sinclair Stevens progressive conservative finance critic accused the minister of being callous and insensitive to the concerns of Consumers. Do you really think it is fair to expect Canadian Consumers to live with the costs of a cheap Dollar you have put them in the Imossi in Ottawa per kilogram ble position of accepting their wages in Canadian dollars and paying for much of their food in american Dol Stevens said later that he estimates about half this week s 18-cent-a-Pound increase in the Price of supermarket beef can be attributed to the devalued Dollar. The other 50 per cent is explained by reduced cattle herds and other factors he said. Chretien said the lower Dollar value is in part responsible for recent in creases in the Price of. Beef but it is not the main Factor. He quoted from a newspaper report showing beef Sells for per kilo Gram in Tokyo compared with an Ottawa Selling Price of both prices were in . Winnipeg has lowest crime rate Ottawa up Winnipeg has the lowest rate of violent crime among major cities in Canada in 1977, according to figures released thurs Day by statistics Canada. Edmonton had the highest rate violent crimes per population closely followed by Vancouver. Winnipeg at 400 had the lowest rate while Toronto and Mon Treal also were below the Canad an average. The violent crime rate in Toronto was 604.8 and in Montreal it was 603.2the Small Alberta town of Lac la Biche was the most violent Community in Canada in 1977, according to the figures. Lac la Biche Northeast of Edmon ton had a violent crime rate of crimes per population. That was More than six times the Canadian average of 605 violent crimes per seventy crimes of violence were reported by ramp in 1977 in the Community of residents. The Good news from the figures was that crime after a surge in the Early 1870s, is dropping off the total criminal code of fences reported in 1977 had increased by Only one per cent Over 1977 and the crime rate per population was Down slightly. During the last three years Indi cations of a levelling off in the in crease in crime rates became a statistics Canada said. It reported a total of Mur Ders attempted murders Man Slaughters rapes other sexual of fences wounding assaults and robberies the crimes that Are Vio Lent in 1977. Photo by go Rev Cairns but this category was Down nearly do cd Rev Cairns one per cent from the previous year s a Winnipeg firefighter pours water into a gaping Hole in the roof of a Montrose Street House destroyed by fire figures. Early today. An unidentified woman died in the Blaze and two men were slightly injured. See Story Page 4. Scoreboard hockey Challenge cup turn nhl4 soul no Union turn nil a hmm twits sport Mai inside Gas rationing seen if Iran strife cuts supplies 7 for Horoscope .24 business.13-76 jumbu.40 comics.33 31 crossword. J4 television. Is u weather Sun risk s. Moon looking Fob a building lot this want and is under lets Csc and sub own Stony Monon Bufkins tet if Cruft. Low if is among the hundreds of bargains classified Star Foo on mob by Paul Whitelaw Ottawa canadians could face Gas and fuel Oil rationing if the trouble in Iran causes further Short Ages in world supplies says Energy minister Alastair Gillespie. I do not think at present it is More than a Gillespie told the commons thursday. How Ever just in Case we have a Contin gency the Energy minister said a wors ening shortage could obligate can Ada to Cut Back Oil imports As part of an International agreement to share available supplies. Gillespie said he did not see at present any indication the agree ment s provisions would be Trig the contingency rationing plan was drawn up by the Federal government during the 1973-74 Arab Oil embargo. At the same time Canada signed an agreement setting up the International Energy Agency and the Supply sharing arrangement. Gillespie was asked by conserva Tive my Allan Lawrence of Ontario whether Ottawa could be required under the Iea pact to increase exports of Canadian Domestic Oil to make up shortages in the United states or any other Western nation. Gillespie replied that this was not the but he said Canada is stepping up a program of Oil swaps with the . Increasing exports of Domestic crude to the american mid West in Exchange for delivery of . Oil to refineries in Eastern Canada. Gillespie noted that about one Mil lion barrels of Oil have already been approved by the National Energy Board to help the . Cope with shortages caused by the near total shutdown of Iran s Oil Fields. Gillespie said there might Well be shortages at Eastern Canada refineries that would be alleviated by the efforts of Ottawa and Washington to co operate in meeting Energy needs. However he conceded that Oil swaps Are a temporary canadians now consume about one million barrels of Oil a Day about barrels imported into Eastern Canada. Energy minister Alastair Giuesppa dotting off government contingency plans which might end in scenes like this at Gas pumps ;