—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. April 20.1968
4
From Where We Stand ...
A Study In Relativity
Consumer reaction to inflation some
times presents a fine study in relativity.
Thus, most of us remain comparatn ely un
disturbed when we must pay inflated prices
or various poods or services that appeal to
iur vanity or add to our already high stand
ard of living. This apparently is because we
nave become accustomed to paying less
and less tor necessities in proportion to our
otal income. Food is a case in point.
Relatuely, we pay less for food than at
anytime in the past, and yet. the food in
dustry from the farm to the dinner table is
-uspect when it is forced to pass along m
lationary cost increases o\er which it has
10 control. Mr. Martin R. Gainsbrugh. chief
sconomist tor the National Industrial Con
erence Board, reveals basic facts about the
.ood industry that cannot be shrugged off.
He says. “Toda\. somewhat less than 16
per cent of the ttpicai family's total outlay
goes to the food store, compared to about 18
jer cent a decade ago." Mr Gainsbrugh
cites specific examples of what this means
.n terms of work required to purchase fixed
juantities ol t anous food items.
In 1956. tne aierage worker had to
-pend slightly o\ er 27 minutes at his job to
=arn enough to buy a pound of round steak.
In 1966. it was only 24 5 minutes. Measured
n a similar manner, the cost of a quart of
milk dropped from 7 to 5 5 minutes, a pound
of butter from 22 to 18 minutes, and a dozen
eggs from roughly 18 to 13 minutes. More-
over. as Mr. Gamsbrugh points out, these
figures tend to understate the case since the
nation's diet is also improving. With in
creased earnings, housewmes are reaching
up for better quality and for more desirable
:ood prooucts
In their own self-interest, consumers
should go slow in backing proposals that
.\ould cripple our free market system and
take awa\ the. right of free choice in the
marketplace In other nations, anywhere
from 25 to 60 per cent of family income
goes to buy food.
★ ★ ★ ★
What’s Uncle Doing With
His Pay Check?
April 15 is past again when we all
gave Uncle the money he needs to pay his
bills in the coming fiscal j ear.
Of course the money he got from us
by April 15 won't pav all of his bills• there
will be a little matter of up to $2O billion of
deficit to be added to the national debt,
which alreadv is greater than that of all
the other nations of the world combined
There are a number of things we might
hate wanted to ask Uncle when we filled
Farm News This Week
Vew Laws Of Child Labor
Regulations Are Reported Page 1
Pony Club Members Are
Learning Skill Of Riding Page 1
County FFA Boys
Star At Area Contest Page 1
April Meetings At
Farm Center Total 54 Page 1
4-H Council To Present
3-Act Play April 26 - 27 Page 1
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County's Own Farm Weekly
P 0 Box 266 - Lititz Pa 17543
Office 22 E Main St Lititz Pa 17543
Phone Lancaster 394-3047 oi Lititz 626 2191
Everett R Xewswanger Editor
Robert G Campbell, Adveitismg Dnector
Subscription pi ice S 2 per j ear in Lancastei
County $3 elsewheie
Established Xo\ ember 4 1955
Published e\ery Satuiday by Lancaster
Farming Lititz Pa
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz Pa
17543
Member of Xewspaper Farm Editors Assn
out that tax form along with the check. Such
as, "Is this money really necessary?"
Or \vp might have wanted to bring up
this subject:
You allow taxpaying parents only $6OO
a year to feed, clothe, house and educate a
youngster. Yet to feed, clothe, house and
educate a youngster in your Federal
Government Job,Corps you spend from $7,-
000 to $ll,OOO, depending on whether he
sticks around or becomes a dropout.
Either we’re allowing you too much.
Uncle, or you’re not allowing us enough.
And. to carry this a bit farther, under your
Cuban refugee program you reach the con
clusion that minimal upkeep for a child re
quires $1,200 a year, and if the child is at
tending school an extra $l,OOO a year. It
looks like you’re shortchanging the home
tolks.
In the confining and austere environs
of a Federal prison, you ha\e somehow dis
co\ ered that it costs to maintain one
person, with no frills, no luxuries, and no
borrowing Dad’s car $2,300 a year. How
do you tmd that Mom and Dad can do much
more than that for one-fourth that amount?
Also. Uncle, your VISTA program, Vol
unteers in Service to America, spent $3.1
million this past year to turn out only 202
trainees. That works out to maintaining and
training one youth for one year at a cost of
$15,000.
We might also want to point out to
Uncle that, with all of our present unpre
cedented prosperity, he is spending per year
S 2 9 billion more for relief than during the
depth of the Depression of the ’3o’s. Could
it be. Uncle, that you are a bit extravagant?
Actually, of course, the cost of feeding,
clothing, housing and educating large num
bers of people should be less, not more, per
person than it is for tw'o or three persons.
Maybe few people know it, but Uncle
gives the mother of an illegitimate child
$BOO a year for upkeep, under the Aid to De
pendent Children program, while permitt
ing parents of a legitimate child only a $6OO
tax deduction.
Uncle, which is the correct figure?
Rep. H. Allen Smith (R., Calif.)
Across The Fence Row
Rather than complain because we don’t
get all w e ivant, w e should be thankful that
we don’t get all we deserve.
Humans and chickens seem to do best
when they hat e to scratch for what they get.
Light travels at an amazing speed till
it strikes the human mind.
One sure way to start using wisdom
teeth is to bite off more than you can chew.
Lesson From Bible: Sampson got into
trouble by 1) talking too much and 2) sleep
ing.
It’s hard to get Anywhere, without start
ing from where you are.
One ol the tragedies of human life is in
ability to transfer experiences. Each must
gam own, and this takes time, money,
energy, and leaves scars.
More doors can be opened by “please”
than with keys.
Weather Forecast
The five-day forecast calls for tempera
tures to average near normal with day
time highs in the 60's and overnight lows in
the mid 40's south. Generally little day to
day change in temperature is expected. The
normal high-low is 66-43.
Rain may total one-half inch as scatter
ed showers Sunday or Monday and again
toward the end of the period.
aald, "but In my llfetlm* I havt
observed this one thing
where there ere no men* there
■re no cornfield*!"
More than facts
The story illustrates the dif
ference between wisdom and
knowledge. The young crow was
certainly knowledgeable. He had
facts and no one could dispute
his knowledge. Facts alone, how
ever, are not enough. One still
needs the wisdom to use the facts
to the best advantage. This in
volves more than knowledge. It
involves understanding, discern
ment, judgment, and experience,
kckirauns Scnphin: job 21.13, is, 23, 2 t, ft* Man in this twentieth century
vtrbis 13-is.' Is obvisouly gaining in knowl-
Drvoiionai *»Am: SfovoA* 112-21. edge. The increase in knowledge
There is a legend about a flock is rapid, so voluminous, that it
of crows who lived on the edge of seems impossible to keep up with
a cornfield owned by a farmer it «U. Some years ago, Dr.
with whom they did not get along Sidney Burwell, was addressing
very well. Of course, the crows the entering class at Harvard
regarded it as their cornfield and Medical School, andsaid: ffGentle
th'us were in constant conflict with m en, in the next four years here
the farmer and at school, we will teach you as
bis sons who much as we possibly can of the
understandably latest theories and interpretations
■ „ could not see it of disease and all of its varieties
jpi that way at all. and insideious forms. But medical
Again and again science is progressing so rapidly
: £j| the crows would that by the time you have finished
iH descend upon your four-year course, one-half
the cornfield, of what we tell you will have
• Again and again been, by that time, proven in-
IW Althouse the farmer and correct, and, unfortunately, wo
Kev. Altliouse song wou ]a cannot tell you which half it s
greet the interlopers with buck- going to be.”
shot ’ The wisttom gap
Some facts it is questionable whether we
At last, the crows decided that are likewise gaining in wisdom,
they had "had enough of this.” For example, what good is it
A council of war was called at to reach the moon if we still have
the edge of the woods. They not learned how to get along
would settle this matter once and with our next door neighbor here
for all. A bright young crow on this planet? We speak of
arose and, thrusting out his chest, various technological "gaps.*
he said: "As far as I can see. Perhaps we need to be more con
we do not have to put up with cerned about the gap that exists
this. I have gathered some facts between knowledge and wisdom,
and, on the basis of this informa- We possess the knowledge to
tion, I am confident that we can blow-up the planet today, but do
be victorious.” An expectant bush we have the wisdom to use our
settled over the flock. knowledge constructively and
“First of all,” he continued, prevent our own self-destruction?
"there are more crows than men!” The'Bible is admittedly an old
He paused to let this fact sink book, an ancient one in fact. Yet
in and all his peers seemed to who would deny the timeliness of
nod their heads in agreement, this observation from across tha
The fact was really obvious to centuries? "Happy is the man who
any one who could count. “Fact finds wisdom, and the man who
number two,” he went on, "we gets understanding, for the gain
can fly and men cannot. There- from it is better than gain from
fore, there is no reason why we silver and its profit better than
should not destroy these brash gold” (Proverbs 3:13, 14 RSV)
men and have the cornfield en- • (i* SK { « n .uHm.s cpyr.,hi.j i,y Hi* o«n«raa
tirely to ourselves. It is perfectly •> chmh.n Ejuc«h.n, Not..n.i Council •(
logical.” And it was. ChurchK •( Christ in tho U. S. A. Ktlnsod by
Once again heads began to Com ">unityrr«sS«rvic»)
nod in agreement, but an old
crow at the edge of the flock stood •
up and, clearing his throat as
men of wisdom are inclined to
THE GREATER GAIN
Lesion for April 21,1968
do, he interrupted the young
crow. "That is all very well,” he
Try A Classified Ad ft Pays!
To Plant Silage Corn Thicker . ,
The importance of corn silage
seems to be growing on most
livestock farms The pressure is
to get the maximum yield from
each acre of corn, therefore, it
is recommended that corn for
silage be planted 3 to 4 thou
sand plants thicker per acre
than for grain, good grain varie
ties should be used rather than
trying to get a special silage
corn that will give large propor
tions of stalk and less amounts
ot grain Quality corn silage in
cludes plenty of ears of corn
along with the entire stalk
To Ventilate Dairy Barns . . .
Dairymen wh o are grazing
their railing cows on lush spring
pasture should be sure that the
barn or holding quarters are
well ventilated A stuffy barn,
strong with grassy odors, will
make it difficult to maintain top
NOW IS
THE TIME...
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
quality milk. The milking nerd
should also be removed from
the pasture 4 to 5 hours before
milking time.
To Take Time To Be Sal*
Farm and home safety is a
subject that gets very brie at
tention until a serious accident
occurs in the commumtj With
the many farm actmtie- both
inside the buildings and out on
the land there is a tendency to
discard safety regulations and
make all efforts to get the job
done just as quickly as posable
With the age leplac
mg the livestock as the main
cause of farm accidents, we urge
all farmers and operators of
machinery to take time to be
safe and follow the manufactur
er’s safety instruction's; it might
save your life or the life of! a
member of the family. - !