AlO-Lancaster Farming Saturday, December 21,2002 OPINION Fes, Virginia . . . From the Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897: We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communica tion below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it's so. " Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or chil dren's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How drear> would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make toler able this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise in side, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is noth ing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Winter begins. Monday, December 23 EESEI Editor. In the early years of our coun try, our government was funded almost exclusively through tar iffs. Even when tariffs became a less important revenue source, they remained in place because they served another very impor tant purpose. Tariffs protected American workers from being undercut by very low wages in other nations. Tariffs enabled the existence of a strong middle class' and prosperity in manufacturing and agriculture. Virginia O'Hanion ❖ Farm Calendar ❖ Wednesday, December 25 Merry Christmas! Lancaster Farming office closed, Thursday, December 26 (Turn to Page A3l) ❖ Farm Forum ❖ Several decades ago, however, economic planners with no na tional loyalty and presumably much personal gain at stake began to deride tariffs as an im pediment to economic growth. The push was on to scour the earth for cheaper and cheaper products made with cheaper and cheaper labor with no regard for American workers. “Protectionism” has been de- (Turn to Page A 29) To Remember The Reason For The Season This time of the year it is especial ly important that we take time to count our blessings. This year has been a tough one, with many chal lenges for farmers. A prolonged drought combined with low prices for most agricultural commodities including milk, poultry products, pork, beef, and grain put most farm opeiations into a tight squeeze. Some may have suffered set backs in their health. In spite of this, we all can find something for which to be thankful. It is especially important for our chil dren see us model gratitude for the good things we have even in hard times. All of us can find some needy folks in our communities who have it tougher than us. Make it a family project to get involved in helping others. Recently I came across some facts that help put our situation in perspective. Twenty-five percent of the world lives on $1 or less per day and 47 percent of the world lives on $2 or less per day. If you have food in a refrigerator, clothes in your closet, a roof over your head, and a bed to sleep in, you are wealthier than 75 percent of the world’s population. KEEPING JESUS IN THE MANGER Background Scripture: Luke 2:1-20. Devotional Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7. If God was ready to reveal himself in the Christ child born in Bethle hem, it would appear that the world was not. In three decades this infant would grow into the man that we worship as Lord and Savior of the whole world. But baby Jesus was not given the red carpet treatment. In Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph found that “there was no place for them in the inn.” So, instead of a place of honor, Jesus was bom in a stable and laid in a feed trough for animals. We have so “prettified” the stable and the manger that we fail to realize what a lowly, unsuitable place it was for the birth of a baby in general and for God’s Son in particular. Today, we’d invite a host of the most notable citi zens. But there were no VIPs at the Bethlehem stable, no press, no keys to the city. Lancaster Farming An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper • Keystone Awards 1993,1995 • PennAg Industries 1992 • PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Busmess Council 2000 • Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the Northeast Farm Communicators While farms are great places to raise a family, they are also very de manding. If we are not careful, the workload can prevent us from devel oping the family life we desire. Fake time to evaluate your hie and make sure things are in a healthy balance. Make a special effort to slow down and make some Christmas memories with your family this year. To Properly Care For Your Horse Lancaster County livestock agent Chester Hughes reports neglect is the worse thing that happens to horses during the winter months. Most horses are turned out to pas ture. and we only see them in the dark at feeding time. In the summer months, it is easy to provide proper care for the horse, when we are rid ing every day and want to make cer tain the horse is fit and in good health. About the worst thing for a horse during the winter months is ice, most importantly, the ice that covers the watering trough or water bucket. Water for the horse during cold weather is too often overlooked. The water may freeze up, making it inac cessible to the horse. Mature horses need about 10 gal lons of water a day. To keep the horse healthy during freezing weath er, owners should make sure an ample supply of fresh water is always available. Excessively cold water will decrease the horse's consumption of water. Ideally, water should be main tained at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit. When the horse drinks less water, feed intake will decrease. A reduction in feed intake results in less energy being available to main tain body temperature and body weight during the cold months. Re duced feed and water intake could lead to colic and an impacted intes tinal tract in the horse. To help prevent water consump tion problems in the winter, water should be made as accessible to the horse as possible. Heated waterers are one way to assure your horse an ample supply of drinking water. If electric water heaters are used, the water tank should be checked every Instead of city officials or religious leaders, Jesus was visited by the most common of workers, shepherds from the fields outside Bethlehem. Only these rough men heard the angelic chorus that sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased” (2:14). Of course, when the shepherds left the stable, "they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child ..." (2:18). But who was likely to believe such simple men? ‘Jesus Christ!' Today, his name is well known far and wide. Churches, hospitals, and places of higher learning bear his name It is so commonly known today that among non-Christians as well as Christians it is probably most frequently uttered as a profane excla mation. So, for all this familiarity, the world has not yet made room for the Christ. Even within our churches we may wonder whether there is room for him. Someone once told me that the only thing they had against puppies is that “they grow up to be dogs.” The same thing might be said of kit tens and even babies, even the in fant Jesus. Now that Christ has come into our world, many people do their very best to keep him in the manger. A baby in the manger doesn’t seem very threatening. We can control in fants because they are not designed to be autonomous. But, if we cannot keep him out of the world, we can keep him in his place. March under his banner. Use his name, of course. Spread that name like peanut butter over everything, but don’t let Jesus out of the manger! day to insure that the heater is not shorting out and shocking the horse. An electric shock would prevent the horse from drinking. To Learn To Manage Your Small Woodland Parcel The forests of Pennsylvania are being converted to other uses and di vided into smaller and smaller par cels. The result is an increasing num ber of landowners on a smaller forest land base, thus making traditional forest management activities more difficult to practice. A number of factors are driving this land conversion and develop ment. These include rising property taxes, unexpected estate taxes, and the inability to manage the forest be cause of state or local regulations. Failing to consider the impacts of property taxes or estate taxes can dis rupt effective management, result in abandoning forest ownership, or cause fragmenting the property in such a way that the benefits of past and future forest management are lost. In recent years, many innovative approaches have emerged to help forest landowners deal with these is sues. You can learn how these tools can help you get the most out of your woodland by attending the Forest land Conservation Conference on Jan. 16 at the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology m Pleasant Gap. This conference will discuss the factors affecting forest land conversion or parcelization and describe some innovative approaches to help keep landowners managing their forests. For more information and to regis ter, contact David R. Jackson, exten sion educator, forest resources, at (814) 355-4897. Registration must be received by Jan. 9. Quote Of The Week; “And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraidfor behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is bom this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-12 RSV What will we do with the Prince of Peace this Christmas, as from one end of the nation to another we clam or for war? Keep him in the manger! How can we handle this Christ who comes “with great joy” not only to us but “to all the people?” That in cludes Christians, Jews, Moslems, Hindus, and Buddhists; Latinos, Blacks, and Orientals; Israelites and Palestinians: Democrats and Repub licans, Liberals and Conservatives, Haves and Have-Nots? Keep him in the manger! Self-Salvation The angels proclaim the birth “of a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (2:1). Several decades ago, when the Roman Catholic Church contemplat ed declaring Mary “Co-Redemplnx of the race," a cartoonist pictured Mary and Jesus with the latter ex claiming, “Please, Mother, I'd rather do it myself!" Well, wouldn’t we all? Wouldn’t we prefer to save ourselves and not have to bring Jesus into it? Sooner or later we come to realize that we can not do it ourselves. If we want salva tion, we cannot keep Jesus in the place to which we have consigned him. William Barclay writes, “That there was no room in the inn was symbolic of what was to happen to Jesus. The only place where there was room for Jesus was on a cross.” Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 —by— Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise William J. Burgess General Manager Andy Andrews, Editor Copyright 2002 by Lancaster Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers