4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 3, 1963 From Where We Stand... Out Through The Bottom? The squeeze continues'. A report from the Economic Re search Service of the U S. Department of Agriculture published recently shows that the average income of the Nation’s farmers during the first half of 1963 was about as high as a year earlier. Aggregate net farm income realized from faming from January to June was down about three per cent, but the decline in numbers of farms over the past year was at about the same rate as the de T dine in aggregate income. On the next page the report says, Production expenses through June this year were above those of a year earlier, more than offsetting the gam in realized farm income. A few years ago, just after the war years when almost anyone could make money on the farm, there was a general tightening of the purse strings as the de mand for products was cut back and production costs began to eat up most of the profit on small unit production. For a few years we have heard less about the “cost-price squeeze”, but it is still with us. The only difference is the rapidity with which it is overtaking the farmer. Now we could all set up a howl that we are being pushed into a corner with no way out except through the bot tom, but who would listen; who would care. Consumers could care less that the farmer is forced to work on a slimmer and slimmer margin. Too many con sumers already think all farmers are Cadillac-driving millionaires and scream ing about costs of production would just focus more attention on the farmer. We can just sit idly by until the situation gets so bad that all the small farmers are forced to quit and demand again catches up with supply, but this would create a situation ripe for big money to take over so much of the agricultural production that prices and production could be manipulated at will. We could ask for government con trols to put a ceiling on production, but the Nation’s farmers have shown that they consider this a breach of their free dom to farm. What then, can farmers do? They can do very little as long as they are price takers instead of price setters They will be forced to produce more and more on a slimmer and slimm er margin in order to earn a living wage. Farmers must find a way to limit their own output to the volume the mar ket will absorb at a reasonable price. This can not be done by individual farmers, but if the cooperatives now or ganized, or new ones in the talking stage, really want to do a service to the farmer, they will help him regulate his marketings. To Recognize The Value, Of Alfalfa Pounds of feed nutrients per acre is the goal in most farm crops. In the area of for age and hay crops alfalfa ranks at the top of the list. In the last decade alfalfa has grown in popularity and continues to give large yields of quality hay, silage, or pasture; it may be used in all types of livestock pro duction and can contribute valuable proteins and minerals to various rations. Livestock producers are urged to make additional seed ings of alfalfa by mid-August or next spring. To Harvest At Peak of Maturity The most important factor in cutting MAX M. SMITH most forage crops for hay or silage is to get them at the proper stage of maturity Many To Us© Purebred Sires In any type of livestock breeding the sire has consider able influence on the progeny and upon the future of the herd. As we approach the fall breeding season for sheep and swine, local breeders are urged to select their sires carefully gests Bernice Tharp, Penn - forage crops reach early bud and be willing to pay the ad- State extension clothing spe- P. O Box 1524 Established November 4, stage or head out, they de- ditional dollars for the best cialist. If you don’t have en- ftnnstoe.Feuim. 1955 Published every Satur- crease in feed yalue as they that is available. A good sue ough wooden hangers, tape two offlces ‘ ' * iay by Lit- ma ture; corn increased in wil£increase the value of each wire hangers together. Bend to 2 2 E. Main St. ltZ ' value from the milk stage, ojf Ids offspring under good match the shoulder line of Lititz, Pa. Entered as 2nd class matter through the dough stage and feeding and management, and each garment Button the gar- phone - Lancaster *t Lititz Pa. under Act of Mar. t 0 full dent Period at which will not cost more money i« ment as you put a han- Express 4-3047 or - the 'end —he will increase We saw recently what a temporary shortage did to the price of sugar. Con sumers continued to buy sugar even though the price sky-rocketed. We would certainly hate to see the price of milk or meat or eggs go up in proportion as much as sugar did, but we do feel that the consumer should be ex pected to pay enough for his groceries to furnish the farmer a reasonable re- Clothes-Saving Tip —— To keep the shape of gar- , meats with sloped shoulder lines, hang on padded or wood- i en contour hangers and ease LOBCOSter Farming the shoulders into place, sug- fliancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly turn on his investment and labor. Perhaps we are dreaming of Utopia when we talk about farmers regulating themselves, but this appears to be the only alternative to getting out of the corner through the bottom. At least that’s how it looks from where we stand. ,★★ ★ ★ Live an Enlightened Life! Dr. Calvin E. Gross, New York City’s new superintendent of schools, calling for “intellectual development” in the-schools made this perceptive observation: “Every citizen of this country, whether he pounds nails, raises corn, designs rockets or writes poetry, should be taught to know and love his American heritage; to use the language well; to understand the physical universe, and to enjoy the arts. The dollars he gains in absence of enlightenment like this will be earned in drudgery and spent in ignorance.” Sleeping Sickness “Since the general civilization of mankind I believe there are more instances of the abridge ment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sud den usurpations.” So wrote James Madi son, one of the architects of the Ameri can Republic, long ago. History since has vindicated his view. There have been bloody revolutions, it is true. But far greater numbers of despotisms have been created while the people slept. ★ ★ ★ ★ Top Money Earners Male doc tors, dentists, and lawyers were the top earners in the U..S. during 1959, a recent Bureau of the Census report revealed, averaging in excess of $lO,OOO for the next year. Next in income came salaried managers in general manufacturing plants, at $9,156. Median income for all 44 million men in the “experienced civi lian labor force” was placed at $4,621. ★ ★ ★ ★ “Going Whole Hog” might make a dent m your food budget, but the ex pression does not have its origin in food, says the American Meat Institute. Long ago a ten-cent piece was called a hog So a sport who was willing to squander a dime was said to “go the whole hog”. Watch Those Poisons! To stem the rising tide of accidental poisonings of small children, the American Red Cross urges parents to take the utmost precautions to keep poisonous substances beyond their children’s reach. It is esti mated that there are 500,000 accidental poisonings a year among children five years old and younger, of which 500 prove fatal. That’ll Be the Day The morning after Charles Lindburgh flew the At lantic nonstop from New York to Paris, an associate of Charles Kettering rushed into the research expert’s laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, shouting: “He made it! Lindburgh landed safely in Paris!” . . . “He did it all by himself!” Kettering looked up from his work momentarily and remarked quietly: “When he flies it with a committee, let me know.” Jack Owen, Editor Robert G. Campbell, - ★ ★ ★ ★ Advertising Director Venture of Faith Lesson for August 4,1963 Bible Material: Genesis 12 through Devotional Reading: Homans 5:1-5. C URELY it would be a very ex- traordmary mortal who would be remembered with pride nearly four thousand years after his life time. Such.a man was Abraham, honored as a samt in three re ligions, Jewish, Mohammedan and Christian. There is a Mohammed an mosque over the cave where it is said Abraham was buried; and pious Jews used to write out pray ers and-drop them in, presumably over his tomb. But Abraham is much more than a historical curiosity and a post-mortem saint. The point is, Why is he so long and so respectfully remembered? He was a rich man for his times; he was a stout desert fighter; he was a great family man; he was on equal terms with kings. But he is not best remembered for these things. The word that should pop into any one’s mind if asked what Abraham was noted for, is Faith. The faith that says, “I believe” Faith has various meanings. We can select three of these and find that Abraham had all three. Now Abraham’s faith, of whatever sort, was centered in God. This man had some faith in his family, a little in people outside his fam ily, and no doubt some self-con fidence. But these are slight mat ters, and he is not remembered for his faith in man. He put his faith in God. How he came to know about God when his ances tors were worshippers of “other Gods” as Joshua said (Joshua 24:2), we do not know. What ex periences led him to the God for gotten or never known by his fathers before him, the Bible does not say. But he believed in God, and God counted it to his credit. He believed in God in three ways which are closely related. First he believed that what God said was true. God gave him a three part promise: first that he should' Now Is The Time . . . hay crops are permitted to drop in feed nutrients when left in the field too long, -while many corn crops are cut too soon for quality silage. Grasses and legumes are just opposite of corn in the cutting periods for top quality silage. As the aiave t'son and many deicencK ants; second that these descend* ants would "inherit” a place i»,| the sun, to grow to a nation; andll third (stranger than all) that in tome' way he, Abraham, wouldf he 'one who would bring a blessing to the whole world.- • The faith that says, “I will” The reader can think for himself why all these promises were hard' to believe. But Abraham believed) them because he believed that itj was God, and not some trick of, bis own imagination, who had put' the thought, the conviction, intqi his mind. How did God speak to Abraham? Did Abraham hearl God just as you hear voices on the; radio? Did God speak in the Su merian language? (Abraham liv- 1 ed where Sumerian was spoken,, and the Hebrew language had not then been born.) We don’t know about this. What is really impor tant is that what God wanted Abraham to believe, he believed. It was not only a matter of be lieving that God’s promises were true. He could have believed that with his eyes shut, dozing over his supper, without the least dan ger in the world. But God called him into uncertainty and danger.l GO! God said; and Abraham went. He had faith that said “You are right” in the face of improba bilities; he also had the faith that said “I will” when faced with hardship and risk. He had a sit still consenting faith but he also had a going faith. The faith that says, “I believe what you are” Abraham believed what God said, and he was willing to do as God commanded him, because he believed in God. Again we do not know how he came to this faith. Perhaps gradually, perhaps all of a sudden. At any rate we all know what it is to believe in a person. You know this person will not lie to you, you know this person will not try to use you for selfish ad vantage. You know that this kind of person is just not capable of doing a mean thing. If some one told you a scandalous story about him you would know at once it couldn’t be true. Now Abraham had that kind of faith. The number one thing with him was not, after all, believing in God’s promises and God’s commands. He believed in God, period. Believing that God exists is thought by some people to be the essence of religion, but it is not. I believe that pipe organs exist* but that does not put one in my house and it does not make me a musician. Religion begins to be religion when we no longer merely believe something about God, but personally believe in Him. (Based on ontlinei copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the D. S. A. Released by Community Press Service.) BY MAX SMITH
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers