10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 19, 1974 Good Way to Work The nation’s farmers, especially in gram-producing areas of the country, should find reassuring a study conducted for the Department of Agriculture. The study concludes that, "barring major unexpected problems,” this fiscal year’s projected railroad shipments of gram for export can be completed on schedule. As of mid-September, 1973, 23 percent of the estimated exports had been shipped, compared with 15 percent at the same point during the previous fiscal year. The Department of Agriculture’s favorable forecast for grain ship ments reflects the persistent long range efforts of the rail industry to expand plant and equipment to meet growing requirements of shippers. Statistics on this expansion are generally missed in the daily news, but they are impressive nonetheless. For example, major American railroads added 1,215 diesel electric locomotives to their fleet during the The lead article of the January, 1974, Reader’s Digest deals with a matter of bread-and-butter concern to every newspaper and magazine publisher in the nation and their readers. Last September, the U. S. Postal Service announced its in tention to more than double in three years second-class postal rates applying to both magazines and newspapers. Many people believe the increases will go higher -- perhaps to 300 percent or more. This could mean the end of the line for thousands of magazines and hometown newspapers whose role m educating and informing the American people is more crucial to the maintenance of liberty than ever before in the history of our nation. As an educational service, Congress has, since 1782, maintained special low rates for magazines and newspapers which permitted them to be mailed at less than cost and thus be available to the vast majority of our people. In 1973, this support totaled $l9O million, less than $1 per capita But now, under the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the Postal Service is required to charge rates that will, in Food Can’t Be Free Because food is a necessity some people have the tendency to consider the price of food in a different light than almost anything else They somehow feel that what they pay for groceries should be a matter not of economics but of simple humamtariamsm In short, food should be cheap and easy to obtain, simply because people must have it to live The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Mr. William J. Kuhfus's, observes that, “Adequate food supplies in this country long have been taken for granted because the U. S. agricultural plant has performed so efficiently that we have piled up surpluses and this has Scuttling the Free Press f • > ' i < I »> *1 r»» first nine months of 1973. New engines put into service totaled nearly 3 million horsepower - a substantial increase over the hor sepower of locomotives retired from service. Further, orders for new and rebuilt freight cars during the first nine months of 1973 continued to far outstrip the pace set during the comparable period in 1972. Orders through September totaled over 71,000, compared with 36,000 during the same period of 1972. The railroads are directing every available resource to the task of meeting the needs of U. S. agriculture in the months and years ahead, just as they are working to meet the requirements of shippers generally. It is the private enterprise way of doing business -- not to be found wanting when the chips are down. The railroads are a private enterprise industry, and they propose to remain so despite the difficulty of too much government regulation. its opinion, make nearly all classes of mail pay their own way by 1976. It is obvious that the Congress did not foresee in 1970 that this would mean that second-class rates would be tripled in a five-year period. The nation’s magazines and newspapers cannot absorb these increases. If they pass them on, the very people who most need continuing education will be deprived of it. To ease the immediate financial jolt, the Digest article recommends that legislation be passed phasing in the payment by magazines and newspapers of their full postal cost over a period of eight years instead of three. Bills to accomplish this have been introduced in both houses of Congress by Senator Gale McGee (Wyo.) and Representative James Hanley (N.Y.). For the longer run, Congress should review its basic decision to make the nation’s newspapers and periodicals pay full mailing costs. It is difficult to see how anyone can stand by a decision almost certain to kill off a major segment of the free press in America. Write your Congressmen - let them know what you think. meant cheap food for consumers .. " Now it must be recognized that farming, like any other business, must have an opportunity to earn a fair return on its investment. It takes about $610,000 to buy and equip an 800-acre corn-soybean farm in In diana. Crop-producing farms in other areas of the country show a similar pattern of large capital requirements. Add to this the fact that inflation has pushed up farm production costs to all-time highs, and it obviously becomes the sheerest sort of demogoguery for anyone to promote the idea that food can somehow be produced without regard to the laws of supply and demand and price - and profits - that govern the operation of any other enterprise »ntthf* f* f * > P\ IM i » If” f r t I NOW IS I THE TIME... Max Smith County Agr. Agent Telephone 394-6851 To Control Drafts Cold drafts may cause many health problems with young farm animals and with the milking herd of cows. In the case of young pigs, calves, or lambs a cold draft is one sure way of having a number of health problems. In the case of the milking cow, a cold draft will often bring on serious cases of mastitis. We urge all producers to check on the air movement from windows and doors; men with heavy clothing and heavy boots may not notice the draft; however, a little time spent in these areas lightly dressed and without heavy footwear might reveal more air movement than previously realized. Drafts must be eliminated for best results unless the barn or shed is open handling more mature animals. To Follow Drug Regulations Users of animal’s drugs are urged to read the label and observe the required withdrawal times listed. The proper use of these materials should give good results. If regulations are not followed, then complaints will no doubt bring more restric tions and the possible removal of the material from being used. Producers have the responsibility of using drugs and antibiotics properly. Mis-use will jeopardize the product, the farmer, and the future use of these materials. If in doubt, producers should check with their veterinarian. The Postal Service has just come through its busiest time of the year. There seems to be general agreement that nationwide many of the mail handling problems experienced last Christmas season had been sorted out by this year’s rush. Some localized foul-ups occurred, but the overall situation was pretty good. It is a little early to tell whether such things mean that the independent Postal Service created by Congress a couple of years ago is going to work. But, in between the two sessions of the 93rd Congress, I thought it might be a good time to discuss with you some details and some misconceptions about this agency. When I first went to Congress in 1967, one of the problem areas mentioned most often to me was the Post Office Department. Nearly everyone agreed that something had to be done about postal reform, and most solutions included taking the mail service out from under the wing of Congress. So, that’s the route we went. About two and a half years ago the independent Postal Service replaced the To Be Careful With Snowmobiles Operators of snowmobiles have enjoyed considerable activity in the past week; in some cases they have over run the community and trespassed on the property of others. I would urge that permission be given by the property owner before the snowmobile should be operated on the land of other people. Operators of these machines should respect the rights of others and obtain permission to drive on their land. Also, folks riding a' snowmobile should dress warm and dress suitable in case you have to walk back home or walk for help. Complete knowledge of the terrain and countryside is also necessary to avoid serious accidents. To Use Underground Circuits Underground electrical circuits to farm building, light posts, and other equipment eliminates the possibility of wires coming down during ice or wind storms. Also, the absence of overhead wires gives a better appearance and fewer clearance problems. The types of wires and cables used for underground in stallations will no doubt cost more per foot, but the im proved appearance and the minimum possible problems in the future could make this method more desirable. Cables for interior wiring should never be used. Contact the local power company official or elec trician for details on cables to use and proper installation. old, politically-oriented Post Office Department. In all honesty, the new agency did not stop the complaints. If anything the complaints grew louder. The basic change was that Congress no longer had direct power to do anything about tiie problems. Evidently there are many people who are not aware of the fact that Congress, as a whole, or individual Mem bers of Congress have very little influence in Postal Service matters. I say that because some folks still come to their Congressman expecting him to remedy what they see as mail delivery problems. If we want the Post Office free from congressional influence, we will have to accept as a consequence that an individual Congressman can no longer “political pull” to bring about changes m postal affairs. It is still an open question whether freeing the mail from political interference will result in better service. I happen to think we were right in ending postal politics, but the Postal Service still has to prove that it can do the job better than it was done before. A few more »«W