10
—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. April 13, 1974
To Control
Or Not Control
To control or not to control is likely
to remain a question for quite some
time when it comes to managing the
gyrations of the economy of the
United States. So far, neither the
Administration or Congress seems
willing to commit themselves totally
to either course.
On the one hand, we could have
wage and price controls rigidly ap
plied across the board. But if such a
massive system were ever instituted
along the lines of the Office of Price
Administration of World War II fame,
there would have to be strict
rationing of practically every con
sumer item from gasoline and tires to
pork chops and bowling balls. How
else would demand be kept from
overwhelming available supply?
There would also have to be rigid
control of raw material prices and the
supplies used by every business and
industry.
The army of controllers and
economic supervisors required to
implement such a massive un
dertaking is almost beyond com
prehension In a supposedly
peacetime economy, who would
willingly submit to the kind of
regimentation that thoroughgoing
wage and price control combined
with rationing would necessitate -
certainly not labor, business and
industry or the consumer. What
politician expecting ever to be elected
again would institute such a system 7
The other extreme alternative is, of
course, to return totally to the free
market with prices determined by
available supply set off against
consumer demand Prices left to seek
their own level would meet consumer
resistance if they rose too high
Lessening demand would then
stabilize or lower prices
The problem seems to be that,
whereas the middle-of-the-road
approach works in many areas, it
does not work very well when it
comes to wage and price controls
The nation has been following a
middle-of-the-road course in this
regard for the last two-and-a-half
years. There have been on-and-off
controls, partial control of wages and
prices, temporary freezes and no
rationing, at least so far. The Nixon
Administration in August, 1971
responded to public pressure against
price increases by imposing a price
freeze and establishing selective
wage and price controls without
rationing At the time of this uproar,
consumer prices were rising at a rate
of about 4 percent a year.
In the early months of 1974 after
Phases I, 11, 111 and IV and a series of
freezes and controls, prices were
rising at an annual rate of almost 9
percent - hardly a success story And
now the Administration has asked
Congress to allow most economic
controls to expire at the end of April
with the exception of petroleum and
health care
The logic of retaining control over
these two is murky Just how any real
restriction of oil prices would help
increase supply and alleviate the oil
shortage is a mystery In the case of
medicine, the rising cost of medical
care is likely to gain added impetus if
Congress provides additional funds
for new health benefits Price control
here, combined with new federally
financed health care benefits, will not
increase the supply of doctors,
hospitals or the availability of health
services.
Consider the impact of controls on
the food industry. The on-again-off
agam price controls and freezes have
not helped consumers in the nation’s
supermarkets. The president of the
Grocery Manufacturers of America,
representing an industry that
produces most of the products sold
through grocery stores throughout
the U. S., has urged a return to the
free market and labeled price con
trols for the food industry as worse
than a failure.
Although food-processing com
panies have been under strict control
ever since the Phase I price freeze of
August 15, 1971, food prices have
risen to record levels right along with
the general progress of mflation.-
Specifically, this industry spokesman
states that price controls have hurt
consumers in three ways In the first
place, they have created an ever
increasing number of shortages.
Under the price freeze of last sum
mer, meat producers, for example,
simply withheld their product from
the market until they could sell it for
enough to cover their cost of
production In the second place, by
squeezing small food processors out
of business, economic controls have
lessened competition in the
marketplace Finally, the threat of
arbitrary and capricious controls that
could jeopardize a company’s
solvency encouraged many to raise
prices by the maximum allowable
amount before they really had to.
There seems little question that
one of these days some long-range,
coherent economic thinking will have
to be done by the executive,
legislative and administrative
agencies of government if there is to
be anything but chaos in the
marketplace Continuing massive
federal budget deficits add fuel to the
fires of inflation, and the expectation
that price increases will persist helps
perpetuate the inflation that people
fear
Wage settlements are higher, price
increases are accepted and govern
ment spending goes on at an ex
cessive rate to keep the ball rolling
The people of the United States, as
well as government and business,
have certain definite choices to make.
The nation can move in the direction
of a free economy with controlled
government spending and relatively
stable prices or toward excessive
government spending, inflation and a
controlled economy. This may be an
oversimplification - but the basic
choice is there and only the American
people can ultimately make it.
XXX
The American Red Cross urges
fishermen to learn water survival
skills, look before casting, listen to
weather forecasts.. carry a first aid
kit and know how to use it l
XXX
"I hope the day will soon come
when we will learn that there is no oil
in Washington, D-C, and that if the
petroleum supplies we need are
going to be produced, they will be
produced by free enterprise, not by
government decree ” - U. S Senator
William E. Brock.
XXX
‘‘Beauty without grace is the hook
without the bait." - Ralph Waldo
Emerson.
A FAITH FOR
ALL SEASONS
Lesion for April 14,1974
Background Scripture:
Genesis 12:1-3;
Deuteronomy 26:5-9; Joshua
24:1-28; Acts 11:19-26, 13
through 14.
Devotional Reading: Luke
24:1-7
In a sermon once, with
tongue in cheek, I proposed
that we celebrate the
resurrection of Jesus at
Christmas and the birth of
Jesus at Easter.
There was, however, some
“method in my madness.” I
was objecting to our ten
dency to relegate both of
these great events to mere
holidays. For the most part,
once a year we drag out the
manger and celebrate the
Incarnation. The celebration
lasts but a few days, if that.
It is not mentioned again for
another twelve months
although the Incarnation of
God in Jesus Christ is one of
the salient facts of the
Christian religion.
After the party's over
The same is true of Easter,
except that this celebration
lasts an even shorter, period
of time. One brief morning
and the Easter faith is
tucked away for another
year as if its season had
come and gone. Actually,
however, the Easter faith is
never out of season. The
resurrection faith is a faith
for all seasons.
In early Christianity the
church began to observe the
first day of the week as its
day of worship. Since Christ
was resurrected on Sunday,
each Sunday of every week
would serve as a celebration
of his victory over death and
the grave. Every Sunday, in
effect, would be an Easter,
for the resurrection faith
was at the very heart of the
good news of Jesus Christ. It
is only when the party is over
and the celebration is ended
that we can begin to ap
preciate the importance of
the resurrection faith.
A promise and a purpose
Preaching in the
synagogue at Pisidian An
tioch (present-day Turkey),
Paul helped his listeners to
understand that the
resurrection of Jesus Christ
was not an isolated act of
God. It was, in fact, he said,
a part of the whole continuity
of God’s promise and pur
pose that began with
Abraham. In a few brief
sentences he recounted the
whole sweep of Hebrew
history, showing how God
again and again made and
fulfilled his promises. The
people of Israel had been a
people who lived by God’s
promises.
The death of Jesus, a
seeming tragic event, was
actually part of God’s
purpose and tied to his
promises given to the
patriarchs and the people of
Israel. The whole history of
Israel was an object lesson in
God overcoming man at his
worst. Then, at Easter, God
scored the decisive victory ’
that wrote “Amen” to his
promises.
The resurrection faith is
more than one man’s
dramatic victory over death,
far more than a seasonal
t t t* ** • *
I now is
I THE TIME.
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 3W-6851
TO PLOW DOWN
COVER CROPS
Weather conditions during
the past two weeks has been
favorable for the rapid
growth of winter grains and
most cover crops. Crops like
winter rye grow very fast
this time of the year and in
some cases will be getting
too tall for the best cover
crop value. The real value of
most cover crops is the
fibrous root system and not
the amount of top growth.
Wet weather has prevented
the plowing of these crops to
date. The danger is that the
crop may get too tall and the
ground get too dry and hard
and makes it difficult to get
the cover crop mixed with
the soil and rapid decom
position. With rank growth it
might be best to give the
area a thorough discing
before plowing. Too much
growth plowed down late in
the spring may prevent good
water movement from the
subsoil late in the season.
TO DO MINIMUM
TILLAGE
Many farmers in this part
of the country work down
their soil too fine for the
average farm crops. We are
aware of the desire to have
the soil fine and smooth;
however,- in our clay-type
soils this might mean pud
dling of the water and the
formation of heavy crusts.
The planting of com in
rough-appearing fields
(minimum tillage) is giving
good results and reduces the
amount of expense in getting
the ground ready. No-till
planting is the extreme of
minimum tillage and is
gaining in popularity.
However, careful planning
and timing is also needed to
do the no-till planting at the
proper time of soil condition.
Farm
Calendar
Tuesday, April 16
7:45 p.m. - Ephrata Adult
Farmer monthly
meeting, Ephrata Senior
High School “Futures
Market and Hedging-
Management Too”
Wednesday, April 17
9:30 a.m. - Cattleman’s
Fiesta Field Day with
tour of Rio Vista beef and
dairy program, spon
sored by American
Breeder’s Service.
7:00 p.m. PVATA Regional
meeting, Shillington
Motor Inn.
Thursday, April 18
7:30 p.m. - meeting for those
interested in starting a 4-
H Goat Club in Lancaster
County, Farm and Home
Center.
celebration. It is a promise
of eternal life both before
and after death. It is the hope
by which we live. It is the
perspective by which we
view the world and its
events. It is a faith that has
relevance for our everyday
existence as well as our
ultimate aspirations.
It is a faith for all seasons.
I
s
• •
TO MAKE PLANS FOR
HAY-CROP SILAGE
The 1974 hay crop is
growing and the method of
harvesting could determine
the true feeding value of
these forage crops. Weather
continues to be a vital factor
in good hay-making and
when the crop is cut in the
proper stage of maturity
(early) weather conditions
are often very unfavorable.
This promotes the idea of
making most or all of the
first cutting of alfalfa or
clover into low-moisture
silage or haylage. There is
little doubt that more feed
nutrients will be harvested if
made into silage than trying
to make it into hay with poor
weather conditions. Most
herds of dairy or beef cattle
can utilize the hay-crop
silage since the supply of
corn silage could be getting
low.
TO CONTINUE FEEDING
DRY MATTER
Within the next few weeks
many herds and flocks will
go to pasture; the lush grass
is nourished by all animals
and the reduction of bam
chores is welcomed by
producers. However, careful
management is needed in
order to prevent digestive
trouble and bloating; this is
especially true with pastures
containing legumes such as
clover or alfalfa. The feeding
of dry matter such as hay,
silage, or straw each mor
ning before going to pasture'
is strongly recommended.
Also, many producers have
continued to provide free
choice hay while on pasture
for the first several weeks;
this material slows down the
passing of the lush forage
through the digestive tract of
the animal thus permitting
more time for the digestive
juices to extract feed
nutrients.
Friday, April 19
7:00 p.m. - PEMA meeting,
Colonial Motor Lodge,
Denver, Dave Hefler,
speaker.
Saturday, April 20
8:00 p.m. - Pomona Grange
No. 71 meeting, Fulton
Grange Hall, Oakryn.
8:30 p.m. - Square dance
with caller Jack Hartzel
from Bloomsburg, Expo
fairgrounds, South of
Lebanon on Rockety Rd.,
sponsored by Expo band.
Sunday, April 21
2:00 p.m. - Limousin Beef
Cattle oraganiztion
meeting, farm of
Keystone Limousin,
Newville.
Editor's Quote Book
We are not to expect to be
translated from despotism to
liberty in a featherbed
—Thomas Jefferson