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<MUW • .
THE VIEW
FROM YOUR KNEES
tenon (or January 20,1974
lcnpturo John 131 20.
Otvotianal MUini 1 John ]l|u
Many years ago I read a story
attributed to Edgar DeWitt Jones
A great scholar visiting Copen
hagen, Denmark, visited the ca
thedral to see the famous statue
of Christ by the renowned Danish
sculptor, Thorwaldson As have
many of us, the
scholar has seen a
number of photo
graphs of this fa
mous statue, iden
tified by the out
stretched hands of
Christ by the
Master’s side and
the slightly bowed
Rev. Althonse head, as well as
the scripture that
often serves as its caption "Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden
“You must kneel down...”
The scholar stood in the silence
of the cathedral and examined
the statute in detail A small boy
standing nearby noted that the
scholar seemed dissatisfied with
what he saw. Summoning his
courage, the boy approached the
scholar and said- “You must go
close to it, sir. You must kneel
down and look up into his face ”
The surprised academic did as
the child suggested and, kneeling
before the statue, he saw for the
first time the beauty and inspir
ation of the sculptured face of
Jesus
Remembering this story,'sever
al years ago when I was in Co.
pcnhagen I was anxious to see
the statue for myself Whether or
not the story was true, I found
that the boy’s advice was sound
it is only m kneeling, before the
statue that one can find the in
spiration that Thorwaldson in
tended
This story might very well
serve as a parable, for we cannot
truly see and appreciate Jesus
Christ until in humility and com
mitment we have knelt before
him We gam a different perspec
tive of the Christ from our
knees
An example
Nor is this less- true of our
fcllow men. When we “look
down" on someone, we cannot
help but get a distorted view
Yet, if we appioach this same
person with a Chnsthke humility
we get a different—and much
truer —perspective altogether
This is what Jesus was teaching
his disciples during his last hours
with them In a =ense, it was a
farewell dinner and Jesus had the
opportunity to make a “farewell
sermon " But instead of preach
mg, Jesus gave them an example
assuming the role of a humble
servant, he knelt and washed
then dusty feet
Actually, this was something
that they should have done for
each other In all probability
however, they had failed to do so
each feeling this task beneath
him What a shock, then, for the
Master to begin to perform the
task they were too proud to at
tempt As always, Jesus was
teaching them, not only with
words but also acts
“For I have given you an ex
ample, that you should do as I
have done to you” (13 15) So
Jesus challenges' us to humble
■ui selves and from our knees
catch a different view of both life
and our brother
vkased an autlmes cepyrifhtcd by Ih-
Oivisian ef Christian Educatian, National
Cauncil af the Churches af Christ in the USA
Released by Cammumiy Press Service )
experiences like the way
Christmas mail was handled
this year, and there will be
reason for hope that im
provements can be made.
What all of this means is
that on questions of em
ployment, practices, postage
rates, delivery practices and
similar items, the Congress
has determined it should
stay out of the mail business
as much as possible. This
does not mean that a
Congressman cannot ap
proach the Postal Service
with an idea he feels has
merit. He can and should
always be able to do that.
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If Pays!