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<DIV><FONT size=2>Hi Dave</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I appreciate the info, and the , perhaps, =
justifiable concern
. . . but two things come to mind . . .</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I doubt all piano tuners are members of the PTG, and =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I think there would be a huge variety of picing even =
if the
ptg DID insist on uniform pricing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>This group seems far to independant to be dictated
to.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>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 !!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>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 . . .</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I have included it for you . .</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Jim Kinnear</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A =
href="http://www.pianoguy.com">www.pianoguy.com</A>
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT>
<HR>
<HR>
</DIV>
<H1 align=center>The Americans</H1>
<DIV align=center>
<CENTER>
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<TD align=left width="80%">
<P align=right><FONT face="Courier New">Gordon =
Sinclair<BR>Radio Station
CFBR 1010<BR>2 St. Clair Avenue West<BR>Toronto, Ontario,
Canada</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Courier New"><SMALL><U>"LET'S BE =
PERSONAL"</U><BR>Broadcast
June 5, 1973<BR>CFRB, Toronto, Ontario<BR>Topic: <U>"The =
Americans"
</U></SMALL></FONT></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=left width="80%">
<HR>
<P><BIG>The United States </BIG>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. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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. =
</P>
<P>I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over =
the
erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes. </P>
<P>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
<U>consider</U> putting a man or women on the moon? </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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
<U>else</U> buy the Israel bonds, Let someone else build or repair =
foreign
dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in =
earthquakes.
</P>
<P>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 <B>5,000</B> =
times when
the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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.
</P>
<P>This year's disasters .. with the year less than half-over… =
has taken
it all and nobody...but nobody... has helped. </P>
<HR>
</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=left width="80%"><SMALL><SMALL><SMALL><FONT =
face=Arial>ORIGINAL
SCRIPT <BR>COURTESY STANDARD BROADCASTING CORPORATION LTD.<BR>(c) =
1973 BY
GORDON SINCLAIR</FONT></SMALL></SMALL></SMALL>
<P><SMALL><SMALL><SMALL><FONT face=Arial>PUBLISHED BY STAR =
QUALITY MUSIC
(SOCAN)<BR>A DIVISION OF UNIDISC MUSIC INC.<BR>578 HYMUS
BOULEVARD<BR>POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC,<BR>CANADA, H9R 4T2
</FONT></SMALL></SMALL></SMALL></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=middle width="80%">
<HR>
<H3 align=center>The True Story of how<BR>"The Americans" came =
to be and
the<BR>magnificent events that followed its<BR>original =
broadcast</H3>
<P align=center>~~~o~~~</P>
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<TD align=left width="80%"><BIG>On June 5, 1973</BIG>, =
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.
<P>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! </P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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". </P>
<P>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). </P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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."</P>
<P>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." </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>As Ontario Premier William Davis said of him "The name =
GORDON
SINCLAIR could become the classic definition of a full =
life." </P>
<P align=right><SMALL>(recalled by J. Lyman Potts who was
"there")</SMALL></P>
<HR>
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