Thief Busy In Shadows

Hello Folks — I think that withholding taxes from the payroll is another of our growing evils, as far as government is concerned. It is almost another form of hidden taxation; that is, the money is never seen by the payee, he or she does not realize that it is being paid as it is not handled through the family budget.

Government is a service to the people and therefore should be treated the same as any other service we buy. Meaning that we should know and be willing to pay out the amount necessary to promote the necessary services for the efficient operation of government. We would never had gotten into the financial jam we are now in if we had had direct taxation from the start.

When we know that we have to pay for what we get and know what we are paying for we are pretty apt to keep the costs in line and keep better tab on the ones who handle it.

We lived under the 'soak the rich' plan for many years and got the idea that we have a 'sugar daddy' who was footing the bill and would continue to do so. Now we are beginning to realize that taxes and deficits really hurt and that 'Santa Claus' was the long-bearded fellow who reached into one of our pockets and took out $10 while we saw only the $5 he gave us back.

When the wage earner has his taxes taken out of his earnings before he gets his check he gets the idea that taxes aren't so bad and that the politicians who spend it are not doing wrong in making it bigger and bigger all the time. The pinch he feels is in the size of actual check he gets, and probably blames it in the belief that he isn't getting enough wages. So he either gets sore at the employer or gets another job to up his take home pay; when al the time the fault is the politician who robbed him behind his back.

Peterson Files for State Representative

Edwin Peterson, 42, Oakland area farmer, filed for the state representative, the post now held by Rep. Edmond Conn, Alden.

Peterson, who operates a 120 acre farm northwest of Oakland in Moscow Township, is a native of White River, S. D., and has farmed in Freeborn County since 1937.

He is a past resident of the Freeborn County Farm Bureau, served two years on the Oakland School Board and was the chairman of the Oakland School reorganization committee.

The Petersons have 10 children.

Smooth Going Makes It Rough

HELLO FOLKS: — The diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trails.

The reason a dollar won't do as much for people as it used to is because people won't do as much for a dollar as they used to.

—o—

THE ACTIONS of children are very strange, sometimes. One wonders what makes them do the things they do. Is it neglect at some time? Or is it our fault? Or is it just a natural reaction that all of us go through at some time or other.

Take Dana, for instance. He never showed too much interest in dolls or such things when he was in his infancy. He was always an outdoor boy. He was so full of interest in the livestock and machinery that he could endure a lot of cold and seemingly not even get cold, if the weather was above Zero.

This year he asked for a teddy bear for Christmas. Insisted that that was what he wanted. Having never shown much interest in such things before we doubted that he would be satisfied once he got it. But 'Andy' came to live with us (Or should I say, live with him). Anyway, Dana takes him to bed every night and 'Andy' is really an attachment to him.

It even went so far that the other day Dana insisted that 'Andy' would be one year old the next day and in accordance with the custom at our house he must have a cake and party. He pressured Mother into making a cake with one candle on it and come supper time the lights were turned out and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to 'Andy'. The one who enjoyed it the most was Dana. Of course all enjoyed the cake.

—o—

THERE IS A new trend in child rearing. It is slow in coming, but gradually it will take root. True, juvenile delinquency (as they call it) is still gaining and probably will for a few years yet, but the new trend is not to let the children do as they please. Instead they are to be taught, that Dad is not just a pal to his sons but the head of the house and that Sonny is to respect him.

There is to be a friendlyness between them, of course, but also a firmness. A firmness that has not been there for many years generally. "No more of this buddy, buddy stuff", the most recent psychological book says.

I, for one, think the child rearing books of the past few years were way off base. They bent over backwards in wanting the child to think for himself, whether he was capable of it or not.

"Children should not be frustrated, or have big disappointments," they said. "It might create an inferiority complex".

Well we reaped the consequences of such attitudes, and the results are not good. Just read the papers every day and we can see the results.

I don't go along with the extremes that the latest views on child rearing go to. I think that the scriptures have the right attitudes "The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom".
"Well, the fear of Father is also the beginning of wisdom in the son or daughter".

At the same time God is the personification of love; and so must father be the personification of love toward his children. That is the balance wheel of parental relationship that will bring up the future leaders of this nation in a way that will teach authority without warping the personality.

Kids Enjoyable, Writer Explains

HELLO FOLKS — Well! Well! Doug and Tracy Vandegrift finally got a son after five daughters. Congratulations to them. Wonder if they took the advise Vera and I gave them a while back? Fact is, we gave them several ideas that were supposed to encourage having a male child. I have an idea that Doug's chest is a couple inches larger these days.

I've heard it said, however, "Just get the girls, the boys will follow."

—o—

THE YOUNGSTERS had their Halloween fun. They each had their costumes and went out for Unicef. Brent has a leopard suit, Mark a devil, Adell a dancing girl, Zina a bat, Randy was Fred Flintstone, and Ann was an Indian maid. Brent decided to stay home when his mother put his leopard pajamas over his clothes.

—o—

AS I HAVE said before, there is no greater joy to me than having children around. I think the age of two to five is when I get the biggest charge out of them. They say so many cute things and get things twisted around easily in a way that produces a good belly laugh.

Brent is in that stage, he is three. He has this leopard suit that he calls a tiger suit. It has a hoot to it that covers all but his face. He insisted on wearing it to bed. The first night it got twisted around and he woke up and started crying. All his mother could see was the back of his head and I guess it seemed funny to her.

The other morning he was telling about his dream.

"There was a tiger and two lions fighting, — I was the tiger."

"Who won?" asked his mother.

"Not one — THREE!

"I mean, who won the fight?" explained mother.

"I did."

Yesterday we wanted to go outside. "Get your shoes and I will help you put them on," said mother.

He went out on the porch and was back in a few seconds.

"Here they are. Notwput them on." There he had two squash and was playing a joke on his mother.

—o—

EVEN IF the under-five age is the cutest, the ones over five are not to be outdone. The girls in kindergarten and first have to have their loves everyday. When school started the rush for the bus eliminated that moment, I thought. But when they got home from school Adell came running to me, "Daddy, you forgot something today."

I couldn't remember but she never forgets. So now it is usually in the evening that they show their affection.

Somehow, nothing seems to be too wrong when children think you are tops.