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Hi Dave
I appreciate the info, and the , perhaps, justifiable concern . . . but =
two things come to mind . . .
I doubt all piano tuners are members of the PTG, and=20
I doubt the PTG has the power to insist that all it's members charge =
thus or so for certain activities, ie tuning, shop rate etc.
I think there would be a huge variety of picing even if the ptg DID =
insist on uniform pricing.
This group seems far to independant to be dictated to.
>From a Canadian perspective, and I don't profess to speak for Canadians =
in general, just little ol' me, your country , and government has far =
bigger issues to tend to looking after the welfare of its citizens both =
at home and abroad, than to worry about a bunch of reprobate piano =
tuners !!
In spite of the current distress about your president, your electoral =
system, michael moore's films etc, I remember, and agree with most of =
Gordon Sinclair's statement of a few decades ago . . .
I have included it for you . .
Jim Kinnear
www.pianoguy.com=20
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The Americans
Gordon Sinclair
Radio Station CFBR 1010
2 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"LET'S BE PERSONAL"
Broadcast June 5, 1973
CFRB, Toronto, Ontario
Topic: "The Americans"=20
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The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French =
and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known =
in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this =
Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most =
generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the earth.=20
As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read =
newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtse. Who =
rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did.=20
They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the =
Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Misssissippi is =
under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, =
Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the =
debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and =
forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying =
even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.=20
When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the =
Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and =
swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.=20
When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United =
States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most =
recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been =
flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped.=20
The Marshall Plan .. the Truman Policy .. all pumped billions upon =
billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now, newspapers in those =
countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans.=20
I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the =
erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes.=20
Come on... let's hear it! Does any other country in the world have =
a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the =
Douglas 107? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international =
lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth =
even consider putting a man or women on the moon?=20
You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk =
about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about =
American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several =
times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the =
Americans put theirs right in the store window for everyone to look at. =
Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our =
streets, most of them ... unless they are breaking Canadian laws .. are =
getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.=20
When the Americans get out of this bind ... as they will... who =
could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let =
someone else buy the Israel bonds, Let someone else build or repair =
foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in =
earthquakes.=20
When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down =
through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the =
Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned =
them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times =
when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble.=20
Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the =
Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during =
the San Francisco earthquake.=20
Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is =
damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this =
thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb =
their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles.=20
I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, =
self-righteous Canadians. And finally, the American Red Cross was told =
at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was =
broke.=20
This year's disasters .. with the year less than half-over=85 has =
taken it all and nobody...but nobody... has helped.=20
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ORIGINAL SCRIPT=20
COURTESY STANDARD BROADCASTING CORPORATION LTD.
(c) 1973 BY GORDON SINCLAIR=20
PUBLISHED BY STAR QUALITY MUSIC (SOCAN)
A DIVISION OF UNIDISC MUSIC INC.
578 HYMUS BOULEVARD
POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC,
CANADA, H9R 4T2=20
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The True Story of how
"The Americans" came to be and the
magnificent events that followed its
original broadcast
~~~o~~~
On June 5, 1973, Gordon Sinclair sat up in bed in Toronto =
and turned on his TV set. The United States had just pulled out of the =
Vietnamese War which had ended in a stalemate - a war fought daily on =
TV, over the radio and in the press. The aftermath of that war resulted =
in a world-wide sell-off of American investments, prices tumbled, the =
United States economy was in trouble. The war had also divided the =
American people, and at home and abroad it seemed everyone was =
lambasting the United States.=20
He turned on his radio, twisted the dial and turned it off. =
He picked up the morning paper. In print, he saw in headlines what he =
had found on TV and radio - the Americans were taking a verbal beating =
from nations around the world. Disgusted with what he saw and heard, he =
was outraged!=20
At 10:30, on his arrival at CFRB to prepare his two pre-noon =
broadcasts, he strode into his office and "dashed-off" two pages in 20 =
minutes for LET'S BE PERSONAL at 11:45 am, and then turned to writing =
his 11:50 newscast that was to follow. At 12:01 pm, the script for LET'S =
BE PERSONAL was dropped on the desk of his secretary who scanned the =
pages for a suitable heading and then wrote "Americans"" across the top =
and filed it away. The phones were already ringing.
Gordon Sinclair could not have written a book that could =
have had a greater impact in the world than his two-page script for THE =
AMERICANS. A book should have been written on the events that followed. =
But, no one at CFRB, including Sinclair himself, could have envisioned =
the reaction of the people of the United States - from presidents - =
state governors - Congress - the Senate - all media including TV, radio, =
newspapers, magazines - and from the "ordinary" American on the street. =
Nor, could have the Canadian government - stunned by the response to =
what has come to be regarded as one of Canada's greatest public =
relations feats in the history of our relations with the United States =
of America.
But, how did Sinclair's tribute to Americans reach them? It =
had been swept across the United States at the speed of a prairie fire =
by American radio stations - first, a station in Buffalo called and =
asked to be fed a tape copy of the broadcast with permission to use - =
both freely given. Nearby American stations obtained copies from Buffalo =
or called direct. By the time it reached the Washington, DC area, a =
station had superimposed Sinc's broadcast over an instrumental version =
of BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, and was repeating it at fixed times =
several times-a-day.
Congressmen and Senators heard it. It was read several times =
into the Congressional Record. Assuming that it was on a phono (33 1/3 =
rpm), Americans started a search for a copy. CFRB was contacted. To =
satisfy the demand, CFRB started to make arrangements with AVCO, an =
American record company, to manufacture and distribute it as a "single". =
As they were finalizing a contract that would see all =
royalties which would normally be due Gordon Sinclair be paid (at his =
request) to the American Red Cross. Word was received that an =
unauthorized record, using Sinclair's script but read by another =
broadcaster, was already flooding the US market. (Subsequently, on =
learning that this broadcaster had agreed to turn over his royalties to =
the Red Cross, no legal action was taken).=20
Sinclair's recording of his own work (to which Avco had =
added a stirring rendition of THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC) did =
finally reach record stores, and sold hundreds of thousands of copies, =
but the potential numbers were depressed by the sale of the infringing =
record. Other record producers and performers (including Tex Ritter) =
obtained legal permission to make their own versions. In Ritter's case, =
because of the first-person style of the script, Tex preceded his =
performance with a proper credit to Sinclair as the author. The American =
Red Cross received millions of dollars in royalties, and Gordon Sinclair =
was present at a special ceremony acknowledging his donation.
Advertisers using print media contacted CFRB for permission =
to publish the text in a non-commercial manner; industrial plants asked =
for the right to print the script in leaflet form to handout to their =
employees.=20
Gordon Sinclair received invitations to attend and be =
honoured at many functions in the United States which, by number and due =
to family health problems at the time, he had to decline. However, CFRB =
newscaster Charles Doering, was flown to Washington to give a public =
reading of THE AMERICANS to the 28th National Convention of the United =
States Air Force Association, held September 18, 1974 at the Sheraton =
Park Hotel. His presentation was performed with the on-stage backing of =
the U.S. Air Force Concert Band, joined by the 100-voice Singing =
Sergeants in a special arrangement of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
8 years after the first broadcast of THE AMERICANS, U.S. =
President Ronald Reagan made his first official visit to Canada. At the =
welcoming ceremonies on Parliament Hill, the new President praised "the =
Canadian journalist who wrote that (tribute)" to the United States when =
it needed a friend. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had Sinclair flown to =
Ottawa to be his guest at the reception that evening.=20
Sinc had a long and pleasant conversation with Mr. Reagan. =
The President told him that he had a copy of the record of THE AMERICANS =
at his California ranch home when he was governor of the state, and =
played it from time to time when things looked gloomy.
On the evening of May 15th, 1984, following a regular day's =
broadcasting, Gordon Sinclair suffered a heart attack. He died on May =
17th. As the word of his illness spread throughout the United States, =
calls inquiring about his condition had been received from as far away =
as Texas. The editorial in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of May 28th was =
typical of the reaction of the United States news media - A GOOD FRIEND =
PASSES ON.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan: "I know I speak for all =
Americans in saying the radio editorial Gordon wrote in 1973 praising =
the accomplishments of the United States was a wonderful inspiration. It =
was not only critics abroad who forgot this nation's many great =
achievements, but even critics here at home. Gordon Sinclair reminded us =
to take pride in our nation's fundamental values."
Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: "Gordon Sinclair's =
death ends one of the longest and most remarkable careers in Canadian =
Journalism. His wit, irreverence, bluntness and off-beat views have been =
part of the media landscape for so long that many Canadians had come to =
believe he would always be there."=20
Following a private family service, two thousand people from =
all walks of life filled Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto's =
City Hall for a public service of remembrance organized by Mayor Art =
Eggleton. Dignitaries joining him on the platform were Ontario =
Lieutenant-Governor, John Black Aird; the Premier of Ontario, William =
Davis; and Metro Chairman Paul Godfrey. Tens of thousands more joined =
them through CFRB's live broadcast of the service which began =
symbolically at 11:45 - the regular time of Sinc's daily broadcast of =
LET'S BE PERSONAL.=20
As Ontario Premier William Davis said of him "The name =
GORDON SINCLAIR could become the classic definition of a full life."=20
(recalled by J. Lyman Potts who was "there")
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