—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. August 31, 1968
4
From Where We Stand ...
The Hand Of Fate
Months ago. it was obvious that Presi
dential election >ear 1968 would bo unlike
env previous election year— from the stand
point ol the behavior of candidates, issues
and even campaign techniques. The volatil
ity ol the limes made the prospect of a tra
ditional campaign year exceedingly dim.
Violence in the cities, inflation, a govern
mental financial crisis, and the war in Viet
nam have made the political game a deadly
serious business with the ultimate responsi
bility for a wise decision resting on the
shoulders of the voters. If ever the fate of a
nation may be said to turn on an election,
this is the year that it could do so.
The very grimness of campaign year
1968 was brought home to everyone by the
monumental tragedy of the Kennedy assas
sination. Ot itself, coming as it did in the
early weeks of the campaign, the assassina
tion brought everyone face-to-face with the
fragile nature of human aspirations indi
vidually and collectively. One aspect of the
election that appears to be receiving more
than the usual attention this year are the
polls There is a high degree of interest not
only in the odds they gu e to different candi
dates hut in how they operate and in how
much they may influence voting trends.
Already the polls this year hav e helped
snaoe candidate behavior According to re
ports, Mr. George Romney withdrew from
the race on the strength of the polls, and the
polls have been credited with the decision
of President Johnson not to run again
Newsweek magazine recently featured a
lengthy analysis of the new science of poll
taking Like everything else in this sophisti
cated day, the methods of the pollsters have
become intricate almost beyond descrip
tion, with the computer playing an impor
tant part in their findings. No matter what
people may think of polls, they have be
come an established part of the democratic
process in the U.S
' Many of the polltakers now include con
sultants and advisory assistants to candi
dates as part of their services. And, it ap
pears most candidates shape their cam
paigns, at least in some degree, in response
to polls Some criticize the polls, as News
v’ eek puts it, “ . for corroding the hard
edge of political leadeiship Politicians, it
is claimed, turn into pax rots under the poll
sters prodding " Other* point out that
t le polls do no more than make a candidate
acquainted with the views of his constitu
ents Knowledge of what the public thinks,
tnev say, is essential m a democratic sys
tem And, curiously enough, as Newsweek
points out. party leadership in both paities
at the present time leans toward support of
candidates running slightly behind in the
polls. The leaders contend the polls will
change once the candidates are chosen.
As Newsweek concludes, “That may be
so But undeniably the polls have come of
age They have proven their dependability
Farm News This Week
Frank Yost Tops
State Ha% Show Page 1
Holstein Championships
Elude Countv Breeders Page 1
Ohioans Make Clean Sweep
Of National Plow ing Titles Page 1
LANCASTER FARMING
La’uvste! Countv’s Own Faim Weekly
P 0 Box 266 Litilz Pa 17543
Office £2 E Main St LiUtz Pa 17543
Phono Lancvstei 394 Joi7 oi Litilz 62G 2191
Evciellß Ncwswangoi Ethloi
Rooert G Campbell \cl.jiii 'rgDne'loi
Sub*.! int’on pi ice 62 ; a jeai m Lancastoi
Coaina 5.3 c,ise\'Jieie
Estab i~Vcl ,'Ovemb 3 4 l n ~s
lx u'l bed oveo Sal iiaa' bv Lancastei
j a, m.ng Litilz Pa
'-e oi d Ciass Postage paid at Lilitz Fa
3 7543
Membei of Xcwspapei Faim Uditois Assn
as barometers ot the public mood. And if
their surroundings sometimes seem erratic,
this rcilects not their Haws bul their faith-
lo the inconstancies ut public opin
ion itself.’’
In-spite of the growing dependence on
polls and the mtciesl in the sconce ol poll
lakmg. the general instability in human af
fairs, as we ail know, makes prelecting the
outcome ot the election an extremely risky
business. There is no way the polltaker can
measure the pulse of the hand of fate.
No Easy Way
In a highly significant article on poli
tics and violence, the noted columnist and
economist, Mr. Milton Friedman, show's
how the tendency to turn to government for
solutions to social and individual problems,
rather than to what he calls the market
mechanisms, promotes violence in three
ways.
First, it aggravates discontent by en
forcing conformity Under a political solu
tion a bare maionty vote, determines a
course to be followed by 100 percent of the
people. On the other hand, with the market
mechanism, if 25 percent of the people want
to buy cars, for example, they can, each at
his own expense. The other 75 percent nei
ther get nor pay for them Under the mar
ket system, each person gets what he votes
for. In Mr Friedman’s words, “. , . every
extension and particularly every rapid
extension of the area over which explicit
agreement is sought through political chan
nels strains further the fragile threads that
hold a free society together.” Second m Mr.
Friedman’s analysis, the political solution
to problems directs discontent at persons
not circumstances. Thirdly, the political
solution concentrates great power in the
hands of identifiable individuals. This helps
to breed violence and attacks on individuals
including assassinations.
In short, every time we try to find an
easy answer to a problem by resorting to a
political solution, the result is repression
and resentment The voluntary way. as typ
ified by Mr Friedman's “market mechan
isms” is still the best answer to most prob
lems.
Across The Fence low
LIFE UNDER THE GREAT SOCIETY
—Pointing up the seriousness ol lawless
ness in the Nation’s Capital, The Washing
ton Post has purchased gas masks and gas
burn medication for reporters and photog
laphers working in not areas.
Columnist Walter Wmchell reports that
Pooi People’s Leader Rev Ralph Aberna
thy stayed in a $l6O-a-day penthouse at the
Fontainebleau Hotel while visiting the GOP
convention.
The old-time plumber was concerned
with the coffeebreaks, feather-bedding and
other slow-production factors; “When I was
an apprentice we used to lay the first two
lengths of pipe then the boss would turn
on the water and we’d have to stay ahead of
it!”
Disposable income is called “take home
pay” because after taxes and deductions
you can't arford to go anywhere else with it
Keep smiling It makes everyone won
der what you’ve been up to
Local Weather Forecast
(Uioin 'Tm V. s. ’Vpifijoi Urn can al the
ItuiLbag fcl. te Airpoit)
in e day im oc.r-t ior the period Sat
nrckn through nod Wednesday calls lor
temnoi akn es to a\cia >o near normal wun
daytime highs n too 7'J’s and o\er-night
lows m the rmd id s to rmd b'J’s Cool o\er
the wee!end •■dowh moderating thereafter
Normal high-low for the period is 82-60
Little or no ram is expected during the
period
THE IMPOSSIBLE
lesson for September 1,1968
Scripture* N«h«mloh 1 through 6*
Dtv*h«n«l fttodmf Psalms 122*
' It would be interesting some
time to go through the history
books and make a list of the
things that "can’t be done” but
were done! History has often
turned on the accomplishment of
what someone has called
"impossible.”
"Abraham,
you’re not going
to leave the
security of your
home for some
half-baked vi
sion of a. Prom
ised Land at the
other end of the
world? Impos
sible’”
"Lead the Isralites out of
Egypt and through the wilderness
to Canaan? Impossible!”
"Unite the twelve tribe of
Israel into one nation? Impos
sible 1 ”
"Carry the Christian Gospel
beyond Jerusalem, Judea,
Samaria, and into the rest of
the world? Impossible!”
"Print the Bible in the lan
guages of the common people
so that all may read it?
Impossible l ”
"Raise millions of dollars for
missions? Impossible! ’ i
An inspiring'heritage
Christianity, it seems, hasbeen
the story of "impossibles.” It
has thrived on tasks too diffi
cult for the capacities of mere
men. Perhaps when we thiow
up our hands in the face of "im
possible” tasks that confront
the church today, we ought to
recall Christianity’s great herit
age of "impossible” accomplish
ments.
Nor is this heritage limited
to the New Testament. The re
'turned exiles from Chaldea were
eorfronted wit.i such a situation.
Then psigntbors, the people of
Samaria under Sanballat, saw
how weak was the position of
Jerusalem, There had long been
Lancaster Farming Ads Pay
To Seed Cover Crops
Soil covered with some type of
vegetation dm mg the winter
months will usually be in bet
tei condition next spiing, theie
will be less watei and wind bio
s'on fiom the topsoil and the 01-
gamc maliei added fiom the
cover ei op being plowed down
\ull help maintain soil organic
mattei Anv of the wintei giains,
01 negiass, 01 field bromegiass
may still be seeded following the
mnovrl of a iow ciop Open
g'oond caning hie « mtci is sub
3ect io uimiv veathei losses
To Use Sulau & Saighums
Casefu’L
VI livestock pioduceis aie le
minded of the dangei of using
eilhei sud.m glass 01 any of the
soighum hjbiids in a hesh con
cKion aftei a killing fiost, 01 af
ter being stunted The soighum
hoitUity between the** two peo
pie* end now that the detaisee
of Jerusalem were so weak, they
Intended to take advantage of
the situation. Even when
Nehemlah, the former cup
bearer (a position of gtc.it
trust) to the King of Persia,
arrived in Jerusalem to rebuild
the walls, Sanballat was con
fident. The Jews would never be
able to rebuild the walls, of that
he was quite confident.
What a joke!
Why was he so confident? For
one thing, the Jewish community
was too weak ("these feeble Jews”,
Ezra 4:2). For another, the wall
was broken beyond repair ("Will
they restore things?”). Further
more, the job would requite more
work and time thantheJewscould
give ("Will they finish up in a
day?’). Besides, the materials
they needed, the huge stones, were
unobtainable in the quantity
needed ("Will they revive the
stones,..?”) Even if they did get
the wall rebuilt, it would be so
weak that prowling animals
would knock it over in their cur
iosity. What a joke!
The laughter, however, faded
into undisguised anger when the
reports of Nehemiah’s progress
began to come back. The work
had progressed much faster than
they had imagined possible and
the large, gaping holes in the wall
were being closed up. So San
ta all at went into action: they
would prevent the Jews from com
pleting he wall by constantly har
assing the work.
A mind to work
It was a good plan but it over
looked some factors. It failed
to take into account the strong
leadership of Nehemiah, who not
only was backed by the author
ity of the King of Persia, but
who also had a way of inspir
ing men to try the "impossible *
Then too, Sanballat had failed
to consider the ready response
of the people of Jerusalem: "So
we built the wall... For the people
had a mind to work.* (Nehe
miah 4:6 RSV) He had for
gotten also that they were a
praying people: "And we pray
ed to our God ...” (Nehemiah
4-9)
A leadership to challenge us,
a people who will respond and
accept the challenge, and re
course to the power of God with
whom everything is possible:
Combine these and it will be
amazing how the "impossible*
tasks fall before us!
(Based on outlines copyrighted by Hi* Division
of Christian Education National Council of
Churches of Christ in the USA Released 0/
Community Press Service 1
NQW IS
THE TIME...
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
In birds axe more dangeious than
Sudan grass This foiage ma> be
used as silage, when allowed to
feiment foi a month, but shoulc
not be used as fiesh mateaal
light aftei the fiost Hoise own
eis should not peimit then am
mats to consume Sudan glass a:
ani- time
To Manage Horizontal
Silos Caiehilly
The success oi using am type
of houzontal silo laigely de
I'-nds upon the management oi
tl e foiage into the silo and how
good a job of packing and seal
irg The foiage should be chop
psd fine, packed solid and seal
ed immediately in oidei to gel
a minimum of spoilage 'TiencL
s'los oi bunkei silos will stoie
silage economically and safely
if managed caiefully.