We Should Teach 'Basic Economics

Hello, Folks! Christmas time came and went so fast for me I got very few greeting cards written. So to all my friends who read this, here is wishing you the best of all good things for 1955.

We had a lovely Christmas as usual. Spent Christmas Eve with the Petersen Clan. Then Christmas morning we opened the gifts from Vera's family. I came in from chores Christmas morning and the children were getting dressed, anxiously waiting to open the gifts. I noticed a Christmas tag tied to the baby. Inside it read, "To Mother and Daddy from Heavenly Father."

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The scoutmaster asked the four young scouts if they had done their good deed for the day. They all nodded in unison, grinning broadly. "What did you do?" he asked. "We helped an old lady across the street." "It took all four of you to help one old lady across the street?" "Yes, she did not want to go!"

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I think Albert Lea has the prettiest decorations of any town I know. Those large illuminated bells hanging over the middle of the street add the real touch to the rest of the decorations.

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Farmer — "Young man, what are you doing up in my apple grass!' "
Boy —. "I'm just obeying your sign that says, 'Keep off the grass-"

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It seems to me that the biggest failure of our educational system has been in not teaching our students the basic principles of economics. They are not, or need not, be complicated. There are a few basic facts that we all can and ought to learn. In fact, they must be learned if we are to have a stable economy and continuing prosperity.

Communism has capitalized on our failure to teach them. I think if we had learned these principles as part of our regular education we would be far less apt to be taken in by foreign philosophies. Too many people believe that it is possible to get something for nothing. This is a good basis for gambling, but it does not work out for the individual on the job, in the school, or anywhere else. You can't . spend more than you have and remain solvent. We just fool ourselves when we try otherwise.

You can't equalize ability by a control system, Competition is the dynamo for progress in our economic system. We should welcome it rather than stifle or try to get around it.

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Mother — "Jimmy, where did you get that bump on your nose?"
Jimmy — "1 bent down to smell a brose."
Mother — "Why, there isn't a 'B' in rose."
Jimmy — "There was in this one!"

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Farm Bureau insurance companies have shown a tremendous growth the past 30 years. The first one was organized in Illinois. Today Farm Bureau insurance companies have a total of $287,023,269 in assets.

On Monday, January 10, the officers of all Farm Bureau Units in the county met to work out their programs for the year. They will work out the educational, recreational, and social aspects of the Farm Bureau program.

A state training session will be held in St. Paul, January 17, 18, and 19 for County Farm Bureau presidents, secretaries or office secretaries and some of the county committee chairmen. An attendance of close to 500 is anticipated.

Headlining the "imported" instructional staff will be T. C. Petersen, midwest organization director, Kenneth lngwalson, director of leadership services, AFBF, and Herbert Alp commodities director for the AFBF.

And Life Dotted With Heartache

HELLO FOLKS — My neighbor says that a checkered career quite often leads to a striped suit. suit.

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THE FATHER was visiting his son in college. The son was working in the chemistry lab. Said Father to Son: "What are you doing with all those bottles and stuff?" Son: "Trying to discover a solvent that will dissolve everything". Father: "And what will you put it in when you discover it?"

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J. EDGAR Hoover, the great leader of the FBI nearly always says something worth while when he talks, and I admire him greatly.

He gave a talk once that has been widely repeated. He has given his premission for its use and it is so fitting that I think It can hardly be over emphasized.

What he said goes something like this.

"There is no place in America for part-time patriots. If your nation is to live, if we are to continue to enjoy the fruits of liberty, we can do no less than follow the example of the men who won that freedom for us. Freedom, while a heritage, must be re-won for each generation.

"With complete selflessness and with blazing intensity of spirit, our forefathers dedicated their lives first to securing and then to maintaining, freedom. They knew at first hand that life without freedom is intolerable. And so they dreamed of freedom, fought for freedom, breathed it and spoke it, prayerfully and without self-consciousness.

"Independence, freedom, liberty — are words that ring like exulting bells! Today we need such bells to be rung. This nation is faced with the gravest danger ever to confront it. The menace of Communism is no simple, forthright threat. It is a sinister and deadly conspiracy which can be conquered only by an alert, informed citizenry dedicated to the preservation of the principles on which America was founded.

"If our nation is to retain its liberty in the future, now, as never before, its citizens must understand that the inescapable price of freedom is eternal vigilance. And eternal vigilance with dedication to its
cause, brings unity and strength in I time of crisis."

Those words of Mr. Hoover should be the controlling influence in the lives of every one of us. I hope everyone of us will take such things to heart and use that eternal vigilance we must ever need.

Petersens Visit British Columbia

HELLO FOLKS!

It is vacation time again for the Petersen's. By the time this column is being read we will have about finished our leisure time for the summer. We are visiting in British Columbia about 1,900 miles froth home, in the Okanaga Valley.

This is a beautiful valley of fruit, fishing, boating, skiing, hunting, lumbering and cattle. It has a beautiful climate with the warm Japanese current warming up the breezes to give it a temperate climate of few severe extremes.

We took Highway 10 from Fargo to Glendive, Montana; cutting north and going through Glacier Park, Calgary and over the Trans - Canadian to Vernon. It is a beautiful drive. The Canadian Rockies are unsurpassed in beauty.

All along the way, the grass and crops are looking good; with bumper crops coming along. The children were especially impressed with Glacier Park, where they played in the snow. Some of them played their bare feet.

Canada is a young country for the most part in the first stages of a booming economy. Calgary gives the impression of being a city with a tremendous growth period. Everywhere you look buildings are going up, and expanding. The annual Calgary Roundup is the second week in July. This extravaganza is currently being held for five days, however understand that next year it will be extended to 10 days.

It is obvious that the Trans-Canadian highway was a tremendous engineering feat but even so some of it is obsolete almost before it is finished. It has really opened Canada to the tourist trade.

Before completion of the road Canada was almost divided between the West — of the Rocky area and the East; this except for the railroad. No doubt there will soon be much more road building. Tourists are flocking into the area taxing every available, facility. As roads are being built they will flock to move tourist areas. Eastern Canadians obviously want to see what the province to the west of them is like... judging from the license plates.

Canadian farmers have had it hard in the past. They are far behind United States farmers. This is due to the inavailability of credit. Now, however, they in have a Federal Land Bank and Production Credit system. This gives them a chance to expand into efficient units and get the necessary machinery to produce efficiently. They still do some of the work the hard way, however.

Canada having just made a tremendous wheat deal with Russia is urging the farmers to grow all the wheat they can. The government is going all out to encourage farmers to clear land and plant more.

Some farm leaders are complaining that the price doesn't encourage enough incentive for production, but I don't believe this complaint is justified. Farmers are in the drivers seat in many ways. There are no taxes on personal property. There is a 5 per cent sales tax on all commodities except food and medicine. Farmers wanting machinery do not have to pay the sales tax either.

I believe that the Canadian farmers in the plains area could nearly double their production in one year. This through use of nitrogen and other fertilizers and forgetting about fallowing, which I understand is no longer needed with modern farming methods.

High Taxes Can Kill off Business

Hello, Folks! A bit of philosophy that I like goes something like this: It is not the heights you reach that counts. It is the distance you have to travel and the obsacles you must overcome to reach your goal.

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A customer complained that the new barber was driving him crazy with his incessant chatter. The propietor observed mildly, "According to the Constituion of the U. S. he's got a right to talk.'' "That may be," admitted the customer, "but the U. S. has a constitution that can stand it. Mine can't."

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According to the Continental Can Co, Minnesota's real estate tax rate is the highest of any sate in which they have factories. It is $40.70 per $1,000 investment. This compares with $40.25 for California, $38.31 for Florida, $16.90 for Ohio, $23.39 for Texas, $14.50 for Indiana, $17.28 for Washington. The personal property tax rate also is high.

Minesota 26.7, Indiana 9.19, California 15.36, Florida 7.15, Ohio 12.37, Washington 9.1, Texas 10.25.

Thirty - one states have a sales tax which very likely accounts for their lowered property tax rate. The supporters of the sales tax say that the high property tax rate is driving business from the state leaving less people and property to carry the load. The sales tax seems to be working satisfactory in those states. At least I haven't heard of any moves to do away with it. If that is the reason why Minnesota is losing it's population we might well consider ways of adjusting the situation. People have to live where there is employment and employment is where the in-dustries are,

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One thing we can do which I think will do a tremendous amount of good — is work such as Jobs, Inc. is doing — investing in buildings that will be ready for industries to move into. If our community is to grow as it should we must have such expansion. These industrial buildings have been a good thing in the past and will surely continue to be an asset. Any of your farmers who have some money to invest, why hot invest it in Jobs, Inc.? You will be do-ing yourself and your community a service.

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The little one room country school is on its way out in Minnesota. This whether we like it or not. It is going the way of the work horse and hand milking. The school districts surrounding Oakland are considering joining with the Austin school district. I myself held out a long while. I was brought up with a great respect for the neighborhood school. There are a lot of fond memories to be cherished by it, However the change in educational methods and need for higher education make the changes necessary.

I am very fond of horses and if it had been financially profitable to continue using them I would still be using horses. I got a thrill out of taking a colt and taming and training him into a valuable and useful animal. The fact still remains that if we want powerful autos, good roads, television and all the modern conveniences we have to be efficient and with efficiency comes changes.

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The secret of living is to learn to stand on our own feet without walking on someone else's toes.

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Indications are that young farmers starting out are better off renting thean owning their farms. The reasoning is that a man with limited capital can invest it most effectively in livestock and equipment used directly in producing an income: thus concentrating his investment in assets that bring quick I returns.

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We have four former Secretaries of Agriculture. They are Henry Wallace, Clinton Anderson, Claude Wickard and Charles Brannon. These four men, all democrats, are evenly divided on the issue of price supports. Wallace and Anderson are for flexible and the latter two for rigid. The interesting part of the fact is how they reason their views. Wallace and Anderson explain the details of their plan and base it on proven facts. The other two do not give the full picture of the consequences of their program and they do not base their beliefs upon proven facts. For instance, they don't say how production would be cont rolled, who would say how many cows you could milk, how many hogs to raise, who could start farming and who could not. Let's listen to the ones who know what they are talking about.

Happy are all free peoples, too strong to be dispossessed; But blessed are those among nations who dare to be strong for the rest. Elizabeth Barret Browning. With America's greatest patriotic holiday with us (July 4), let us reminisce and consider what it really means to us and how we can best preserve the hard fought liberties for which many gave their lives

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.

How Big Are Corn Fields?

HELLO FOLKS — There are some big corn fields in Freeborn County. I'll wait a couple of weeks and announce the response from you readers as to the size of some of the corn fields. If you know of a corn field that is a big one send in the number of acres and I'll announce it in the column.

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JULY THIS year was the wettest month I have ever experienced at least as far as I can recall. Here at Edvera Farm we got 11.5 inches of rain during July. It started off with a whopping 4 1/2 inches the first. We had 1/2 inch the 4th, over 2 inches the 7th, a half inch on both the 11th and 14th, one-and-one-half the 19th, one-and-three-tenths the 20th, and then off showers the rest of the month.

This is considerably more than the Albert Lea record of over 7 inches for July.

I have been keeping record of the precipitation at Edvera Farm for several years and for the most part we get less than Albert Lea or Austin. This is quite a switch and evens up somewhat for the 2 or 3 inches less rainfall a year that we have been getting each year.

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CHILDREN CAN give more laughs than any clown on earth.

Our four-year-old, Brent, was supposed to give a talk in Sunday School. He wanted to give his own idea of a talk, but we had had some experience with that in the past, so Vera drilled him closely to be sure he had the talk memorized. I understand that he did very well.

That was considerably different than what happened a few years ago to Randy. Randy is an individualist just like Brent. He insisted on giving his own talk in Sunday School. He was taught one that he was supposed to give but when it came time to give it here is what he said.

"Jesus had a little lamb. He took it down to the river. There was a railroad track running alongside the river. The lamb ran onto the railroad track and the train came along and ran over it."

District Meeting To Be Held Here

I have some interesting figures concerning Farm Bureau. 29 per cent of all farmers belong to Farm Bureau; 3 out of 4 farmers who belong to any farm organization belong to Farm Bureau; The total gain in Farm Bureau membership the past 5 years is as great as the total membership of Farm Bureau's rival, The Farmer's Union. An interesting fact is that there is a higher percentage of farmers in Farm Bureau than there is laborers in Labor Unions; this despite the fact that many unions get their membership by compulsion.

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The little boy looked intently at his father, "Daddy, are you still growing?"
"No, Sonny, what makes you think so?"
"Because the top of your head is coming through your hair."

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"That boy has taken some money!" he stormed.
"How can you be so sure," protested his wife, "why, I might have taken it."
"No, you didn't," Fathers retorted, "there is some left."

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My apologies to Mrs. Ivan Johnson and Mrs. Carroll Olsen. I mentioned in another column that Mrs. Carroll Olson was elected secretary of the Oakland-Moscow Unit. I should have said Mrs. Carroll Olson was elected Woman's Committee Chairman and Mrs. Ivan Johnson secretary. I was at the meeting, but the Moscow men were serving that night and I was working in the kitchen getting lunch ready.

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The Shellrock Unit recently reorganized. Winston Hammersly was elected chairman; Helmer Erdahl vice chairman; Mrs. Martin Struck, Secretary; Mrs. Winston Hamersly, Women's Committee chairman. Mrs. Lawrence Gustafson and myself were speakers at their meeting.

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An important meeting for Farm Bureau members is coming up Wednesday, March 16. The District Spring Conference will be held in Albert Lea. This meeting is open to all Farm Bureau people. Officers especially are urged to attend. This meeting will be for Freeborn, Dodge, Mower, Steele, Waseca and Faribault counties. We expect a large attendance. These conferences are always interesting with pertinent questions of the day analyzed.

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The new School Milk program available to all schools in Minnesota now; both public and parochi... and private. Here is a chance for all citizens to take advantage of a program that will increase the consumption of milk and create better health for the children. If your school is not now taking advantage of it, better get the facts and help yourself to health. One fifth of Minnesota farmers income comes from dairying.

Farmers Claim Taxes "Unfair"

Hollo Folks! Some people are like blotters; they soak it all in and get it all backwards.

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Life today is not a fun-way street.

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Forgive and forget, and you'll never regret.

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This is the time of year when Farm Bureau goes to work on resolutions for the coming annual meetings. The other evening the resolutions committee composed of Eric Ausen, John Nordby, Mrs. Lawrence Gustafson, Doug Vandgrift and myself, met at the Bureau office and with Doug as chairman we went into the study of resolutions and problems to be studied at the various units in the next few months.

Senator Rudolph Hanson was our guest and gave us a number of ideas and suggestions we might present to the farmers of Freeborn County. One of the problems we went into was the discrimination of taxation between residential and farm property. From a summer report of the Minnesota Department of Taxation the following facts were revealed:

Farm property is assessed an average of 43 per cent higher than is residential property. 

The law states that all property shall be assessed at its real and true value. Generally this has not been done for various reasons and instead a percentage of the real and true value is used. 

There are seven types of property. The state average ratio of assessment is as follows:

TYPES                                     RATIO

Residential                               30.44 per cent

Multiple dwelling                     37.82 per cent

Commercial                             38.79 per cent

Industrial                                  35.06 per cent

Public Utility                             45.88 per cent

Lake Shore                              16.20 per cent

Farm                                        43.68 per cent

Total Acreage                          35.99 per cent

With farmers in a cost squeeze now, and taxes making up a large percentage of their expenses, it is important that each citizen bear a fair and proportionate share of the tax dollar. In Freeborn County the difference is about 35 per cent. In other words the farmer is paying over $3 to the rest of the tax payers – $2 as far as real estate is concerned.

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Another problem taken up at the meeting was the moving of sealed corn and grain. In Freeborn County the A. S. C. Committee has been rather slow in getting the stored corn moved out of the Government bins so that the farmers can get their bins ready for the new crop. With the drought we are having here it is more important than ever that the stored corn be moved early. Last year the Freeborn County Farm Bureau passed a resolution asking the county A. S. C. Committee to put forth greater effort in getting the bins cleared for further storage. 

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A person learns a lot by traveling. Other people do things differently and we get new and helpful ideas that we can put to use. 

One idea that South Dakota is using that I think is good, is using different colors on the road markers. For instance highway 16 is green, 14 is orange etc. Another idea I like is the using of the "Yield" variety of signs; where instead of having to come to a dead stop you must yield right of way to the other car.

The quality of our highways is gradually catching up to our high powered cars. It have been a slow job but many of these new roads are really nice. Here is a tip for anyone taking a trip toward the Pacific Northwest. Taking highway 12 from Wilmar or there about is a fast route. If you wish more scenery No. 16 is very good also but a bit slower and farther. 

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There is a lot of stir and talk around the state regarding the revisiting of the constitution of the state. Many ideas and proposals are advanced as to why this should be done. Most of the arguments for carrying out this program sounds quite logical. However, some of the main reasons for advocating a revision are not aired to any great extent.

The big question at issue is the reapportionment of legislative districts. This particular problem has come up in many states of recent years. In most cases a reapportionment under the old process would mean giving control of both houses of the legislator to the urban areas of the state. Reapportionment in Minnesota under the old process would do that very thing.

Michigan recently reached a fair basis of reapportionment by deciding to put the House membership on a population basis and the Senate membership more nearly on an area basis. Farm Bureau sponsored and worked for the proposal that was finally adopted in that state.

Minnesota has a trust fund which has been built up over the years largely from the income received from the occupational tax on iron ore. The fund at the present time amounts to 236 million dollars.

The state constitution provides that only the income from this fund can be used. The income from this trust is earmarked for school purposes. This income is small because of the low rate of interest secured on these funds.

Some people think that the trust fund is large enough and that it would be better to use that portion of occupational tax income for general state needs instead of adding any more to the trust fund. This is another question that might come up in the revision of the state constitution.

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A cannibal is one who loves his fellowmen — with gravy.

Roll Up Your Sleeves, Folks!

HELLO FOLKS! — Warning! — When the politicians tell you that you may have to make sacrifices, they mean that taxes are going up.

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THE RAINFALL for July totaled 2.6 inches around here. That makes a total of 16.6 inches for the year, so far.

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THE POULTRY business has been agonizingly slow in returning to normal profit levels. For three years eggs have been selling much below profitable prices. I personally thought that two years of such prices would be all the poultrymen could take, and that before long the supply would level off with the demand, bringing with it fair returns for the producers. Now the experts are predicting better prices for eggs in the days ahead.

Poultry raisers all over the nation have gone broke. In the eastern states, where the trouble started and was caused by integration, there are third and fourth mortgages on some of the enterprizes. Feed dealers and companies who extended credit have found themselves in trouble. I understand that loan companies and banks managed to keep from getting hurt too badly.

I predicted about a year ago that the worst of it was about over and Minnesota could soon be profitable area for expansion of egg production. That prediction has been slow in fulfillment.

I understand now that the astern markets went in for the locally produced eggs, thinging that they would be fresher and therefore more acceptable to the public. In this they were disappointed. The eastern eggs, while fresh, do not have the quality that the midwestern eggs do. Many of the seaboard mixes have feeds that do not produce hih quality eggs. The feeds there are higher in price, and therefore the cost of producing eggs is higher. Now they are again beginning to look to this area for their eggs.

We can produce the best eggs in the world, due to our abundance of corn and soybeans, which make up the best ingredients for quality eggs. If we insist upon quality control in the care of the eggs I believe we can get our markets back and keep them. Competition will always be keen, but that has to be expected and is a good thing if it is not over-done.

Another thing that seems to be in the wind is a trent to smaller or shall we say, family sized flocks. We are finding out that these large flocks cannot maintain as high production per hen as the more moderate sized flocks and that the extra savings made in labor does not offset the loss in feed efficiency.

It all adds up to the belief that perhaps at long last we have learned a big lesson in eggs and that the farmer may again soon be the one to produce the bulk of the eggs. I hope so anyways.

Farm Leaders Fight Farmers

HELLO FOLKS! — The way the corn referendum vote went it seems that the pseudo farm leaders who were fighting Benson discovered they were fighting the farmers instead.

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THE CORN referendum vote was not a complete victory for those who believe in the American way of life. There is still that 65 per cent ruling that is going to keep farmers producing corn at an extremely heavy rate, a rate that may make it a ceiling instead of a floor. However it is gratifying to know that there are so many farmers who realize that the Government is not a profitable market for farm produce and that it can not guarantee as much as can be had on a competitive market.

This move in corn is a big step in the right direction, and if our congressmen are smart they will give farmers a chance to vote on other commodities the same way. It is one sure way of getting the farmers to choose their own program instead of the congress getting their own necks wrenched by making a false move.

Farm productivity is moving up at the rate of 6 per cent per year, and there is no indication that it is going to slow up. That means that the consumer is going to get his food cheaper each year. This is good for us all. Food is today the best buy it has ever been but not the best buy it will be in the future. Therefore a change in farm programs is bound to have to take place and the sooner the farmers get the change the better off we will all be. The consumer has as much stake in this as the farmer as his total cost of living is tied to it. If we get a sound fiscal policy going nationally and all segments of the economy use good sense in their demands we can have an ever upward increase in our standard of living. However with our society becoming more and more integrated all the time if some one "goofs" and does too much "rocking" the whole system can crash.

There are so many angles to our economy that it is an almost impossible job to know how each fits in and what effects what. One of the big problems that is going to be an issue is the role to be played by Church and State.

I believe that right now the State is usurping some of the role of the Church should have for best results, and we also know that the Church can usurp some of the State's duties. History has shown that.

To me it is all very interesting, that is why I write this column. We each need to teach the other and learn all we can. None of us know all we should but the sooner, and the better, we do know the better a future we are going to have.

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I GOT so wound up on the going subject I almost forgot to tell a joke; so here goes;

He— "Honey, I loves you' bathing suit."

She— "Sho nuff?"

He— "It sho does."

Horses Show Good Sense

HELLO FOLKS — The true value of horse sense is clearly shown by the fact that the horse was afraid of the automobile during the period when pedestrians were laughing at it.

Old-timers are people who remember when women with holes in their shoes were broke instead of stylish.

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We got our car keys back! When the family was on vacation the car keys got lost at the roadside fountain near Adrian, Minn. Somebody, we don't know who, found them and send them into the Disabled American Veterans. They in turn sent them back to us, as our license number was on the key chain. — We probably won't forget to send them some money for their courtesy, next time they send our identification.

In the years that the DAV has been returning keys to the public they have returned almost 1 1/2 million keys to Americas motorists.

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So the steel strike is on and who stands to gain? Nobody. Absolutely no one. Whether the steel workers get the raise or not they still don't win. And it is for sure that the buying public has to pay more for what we buy. If we don't pay more the economy has still suffered because of loss of wages and foreign imports will continue to increase flooding our markets and that is bound to increase unemployment, and we can't have a sound economy with the people out of work.

It seems that the steel workers don't want a strike; for according to surveys taken more than 60 per cent of them are satisfied with the wages they are now getting. It seems they realize that most of the increase in wages will just add to the cost of living and what good is a wage increase if it is just more and cheaper money being handled.

There is no denying that much of the cost of a product is labor. In the line of some foods, such as milk, it is almost 100 per cent labor, and a lot of that is poorly paid. There are some high profit items in which labor is only a minor item but as a whole about 80 per cent of the cost of a product is labor. Even the profits, if they are plowed back into more production, are a form of labor. At least they create jobs.

Then there is the matter of taxes. They are mostly for labor in government services, and therefore necessary. So if labor costs go up so must taxes.

Suppose that the workers get a 15 cent hike, such as they have been used to getting the past years. If, as seems likely, that labor is 80 per cent of the cost of production then by the time everybody gets their raise, which again they must have to be fair to everyone. Then the most the steel workers can get out of the 15 cent raise will be about 2 cents. Suppose that it puts them in a higher tax bracket. That 2 cents will have melted to nothing and they may even be out dollars.

On top of that it gives the foreign goods a chance for greater competition. Any way you figure it even one day's lay-off because of a strike and the men will be behind in take-home pay.

Steel being basic, sets the pattern for all industries, so as steel goes so goes the nation, as far as wages, prices and probably the whole economy.

The only real criteria for wage increases is productivity and education is the father of that. We can have increased wages as fast as we increase productivity and then they stimulate the economy.

The sooner the steel mills get to rolling again the better for us all.


BONUS:

Edwin B. Peterson to Address Unit

LYLE, Minn. —Edwin B. Petersen, Oakland area farmer and candidate for the Legislature earlier this year spoke to the Lyle-Nevada Farm Bureau unit Wednesday.

In the business session, Delos Fran, county chairman of the quality egg program, reported on progress; Mrs. Lee Martin reported on women's committee activities; Henry Lenz, Lyle and Harold Fossey, Nevada, were named membership chairmen; and three members from each township will be named to the resolution committee.

A Pot - luck supper was served before the meeting.

Determined by Where You Look

HELLO FOLKS — Marriage is supposed to be a 50-50 proposition, but did you ever see a woman's idea of sharing a clothes closet?

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NEVER LET A difficulty stop you; it may be only sand on your track to prevent skidding.

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EVER SINCE I have been writing this column I have been urging a greater study of economics in our schools. It is slowly coming, but there are a number of pressure groups who, for selfish reasons have been against it.

Now, however, there is an organization called "The Joint Council on Economic Education". It is forming nationwide to provide classroom materials, workshops for high school teachers, seminars for college economics professors and encouragement of business participation in the economics educational process.

It is already operation in 38 regional and state councils, with more being formed regularily. There is one operating in Minnesota now.

In Russia every student understands the Russian economic system. Here in America, where we have so much to lose, not one students in 100 understands the American economic system. Is it any wonder why the Communistic system is spreading? It certainly isn't because it gives the most for the people. It is only because it is being pushed and most of the people who understand anything about economics are being taught the other system.

With the competition Russia is giving us we are finally waking up to the facts. Who says that competition is not good?

A SURVEY WAS taken a few years ago among school children between the ages of eight and 19, the following qualities that were desired in a father were listed in the order of their importance.
1. Spending time with his children.
2. Respecting his children's opinion.
3. Being an active church member.
4. Being a college graduate.
5. Never nagging his children about what they should do.
6. Making plenty of money.
7. Being well dressed.
8. Being prominent in social life.
9. Having a love of music and poetry.
10. Owning a good looking car.

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FRENCH FOREIGN Minister Robert Schuman is a confirmed bachelor. When asked why, he explained: "When I was young, I decided not to get married until I had found the ideal woman. Then I found her. Regretfully, however, she was looking for the ideal man."

Negroes Learning

HELLO FOLKS — "In Lincoln's time the question was whether the sovereignty of the States would destroy the sovereignty of the Union. Today it is the opposite, whether the concentration of federal power will destroy state and local responsibility and thus destroy the nation and the Constitution."
... Governor George Romney.

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ALABAMA, CIVIL RIGHTS, voting rights, etc, have been on most peoples' lips the past few weeks; so I might as well indulge in it, too.

Whether or not we agree that the Negro should be doing many of the things he is doing now— sit-ins, sit-downs, marches, boycots or what-have-you—there is one aspect that hasn't been brought out.

For a century the Negro has made very slow progress in orienting himself with the white man's environment and behavior. How much of this is his fault and how much of it is the fault of white domination is hard to say and not for me to determine. Having never lived in the South, nor among Negroes, makes me unqualified to judge.

Doing Better
Now the Negro is doing something about his condition. Whether or not it is the right thing is not the most important factor. What is important is that he is doing something, and it should all be for the good.

The Negro is not apt to be as indifferent in the future as he had been in the past. He is being challenged today as never before.

He is more likely to think, act, and do things now.

The admirable this is that he...

Once of the big things being taught is that it must be "civil" disobedience, not "violent" disobedience. This alone teaches an important factor — self-control. From all I can gather much of the Negro population in the past has had a high degree of that social element.

More Leadership
Many actions being taken are bound to generate some more leadership. The Civil Rights Law will leave the Negro without an excuse for no self-development. The leaders know this and are preparing their people for it. This means there will be many more educated people among them. All this action should provide a real catalyst for the youth.

While it might seem to us that the Federal Government has done a lot in the way of encouragement for the Negro, there is a lot more that should be done.

For instance, there is a high per cent of the race on direct welfare. If the right attitudes were promoted there would be a minimum of rioting and associated evils. Welfare recipients should be in jeopardy of losing their eligibility by taking part in violent disturbances of permitting member of their...

Giving Child His Rights (+2)

Hello Folks — A five-year old boy in a candy store was in tears.

"What's the matter, Sonny?" the proprietor asked.

"I had a quarter, but I lost it here somewhere."

Welling over with sympathy, the storekeeper handed the boy a popsicle. "Here" he consoled,  "you can have this one free."

The youngster brightened a bit, but tears still fell. "What about my change?"

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"Since I have my new automobile I don't have to walk to the bank with my deposits."

"Drive over now, eh?"

"No I just don't make any."

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I think that one of the greatest weaknesses we have in life is taking our friends and loved ones for granted; also any of our blessings. We forget to use tact, and talk out of turn; we get to expecting too much of those around us or else we neglect kind words and compliments.

We can easily get to treating our children as though we owned them, and we are likely to neglect their proper training until we discover that it is too late. Perhaps the greatest mistake we make is to be too lax with the children when they are very young and then try to dominate them when they are old enough to mind their own business.

Too often we raise our voices at the children instead of teaching them in advance the things they should know. I know it is my weakness, how about yours?

Let's try to be as kind and courteous to our loved ones as we should be. Let's plan in advance the teachings and trainings and the things we should do.

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Many a small boy is the kind of kid his Mother tells him not to play with.

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I used to think that insurance men were sort of a nuisance; necessary of course, but less vital than a lot of other people.

Since I have made a study of economics and have come to realize what it takes to make our capitalistic system work, and which gives us such a high standard of living, I have developed a real respect for the men that go around and encourage people to prepare for the future of themselves and their loved ones.

Take life insurance for instance; a man takes out a policy to cover the cost of the funeral and give himself and his wife a comfortable living when the active days are on the wane. That very act of taking out that policy does more than provide for himself and give the insurance man a meal ticket; it helps every citizen in the U.S.A. because it is money put into creating jobs and wealth.

The premiums paid are reinvested where they will draw interest and help provide capital so necessary to keep industry going and encourage the demand for an ever increasing standard of living.

I do have one gripe. Why don't you insurance men go further than just trying to sell a policy? Why don't you put on a big educational program to teach the public what insurance does for the nation as a whole; we need to know those facts and I know of no one who could do it better than You, and it certainly is to your own benefit as much as ours. I wish I had learned those facts years ago.

E. B. Peterson Speaks at Club

Edwin B. Peterson, president of the Freeborn County Farm Bureau, spoke at the March meeting of the Freeborn County Women's Republican Club Thursday afternoon in the Spanish Dining Room. A questions and answer period followed after which Joan Schneider played two organ solos.

Mrs. O. C. Hammond presided at the committee meeting. A nominating committee was selected with Mrs. Alfred Berglund as chairman. Other members include Mrs. Robert Green and Mrs. J. P. Miller. A letter was read from Congressman Al Quie.

A social hour follower the meeting.

31 in County In Who's Who In Minnesota

"WHO'S WHO IN MINNESOTA" has included in its 1958 centennial edition the biographical sketches of 31 Freeborn Count citizens. They include:

... Edwin Peterson, Oakland; ...

Qualifications for this recognition were based on standards of good citizenship and community service. Over 500 persons acted as selectors in determining which persons' biographical data should be included.

Art Displayed On Back Door

HELLO FOLKS! — Some people born with silver spoons in their mouths never stir for themselves.

It isn’t the pounds of steel in a piano that bother people, just the pounds of little people.

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WE HAVE an Art Board in our home. It wasn’t meant to be that; it just happened.

We have a door in the living room that leads to the back porch. We never use it so decided to seal it up. I put in a chunck of ply board and intended to use it as a back-drop for nick-nack shelves. I didn’t get at ordering the shelves for a while.

In the mean-time the girls were looking for a place to display their art. One day when I came in the house there was sign displayed at the top of the doorway saying ART BOARD. Below it were several colorings and drawings. It has remained that way ever since.

Now that it is there we have decided that it beats a nick-nack shelf. Standing at the bottom of it one of our book cases. Zina seems to be the chief artist here; most of the things on the board belong to her.

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OF ALL the many conveniences and services we have in this day and age, one of the very delightful and useful is the mail delivery system.

Sometimes we may not appreciate it completely.  That would be when we get an over abundance of bills, or bad news. For the most part, however, the mail brings news from far off friends, especially at Christmas time. It brings the daily news, much of it that we might have heard over the air waves, but still interesting to read over and confirm what we thought we have heard.

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WE CAN receive a world of information and education. We can learn about people in far off lands, whom we will probably never see. We can receive information of almost any sort; from the latest and most scientific to the ancient and almost forgotten history of the past.

We get our share of mail at Edvera Farm. We subscribe to two dailys, some weeklys, and a host of monthly and bi-monthly papers and magazines. Among them are a good proportion of Agricultural publications such as The Farmer, Successful Farming, Farm Journal, Nations Agriculture, Big Farming, National Hog Farmer, Farm Bureau News, and several others, along with a number of company sponsored magazines such as The Furrow and other publications.

A list of general magazines would include such popular names as Life, Readers Digest and Popular Science.

Then there are quite a few Childrens publications. The Childrens Friend, Boys Life, Exploring and Calling All Girls.

Magazines of sentimental value would include, Guide Posts and Sunshine.  Last, but certainly not least would be the periodicals of spiritual value. The Church News, The Improvement Era, the Instructor and Signs of The Times.

What a wealth of information is delivered to our doors or gates, regardless of wealth or position. The poorest person around can receive a broad education just by subscribing to a few periodicals.

Transcribed by Vera Smith