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."

—o—

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!"

—o—

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.

—o—

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-"

—o—

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.

—o—

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!"

—o—

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.

Words Worth The Saying

HELLO FOLKS — Came across a few clever sayings that are well worth repeating. They have lot of sense to them.. Here they are:

Life is a journey, not a camp.
Snap judgment, like a bear trap, may catch the one who baits it.
It is no use trying to shine your lamp if you. do not take time to fill it.
A used mind is one item that has more value than a new.
Some of us do not need a bushel to hide our light; a thimble should suffice.

—o—

THE FREEBORN County fair has come to another successful conclusion. There are a few observations I would like to make, as one seeing it from the outside.

First, the weather co-operated 100 per cent. It was not too, hot nor too cold. There was no rain yet it was not so dry that it detracted from the joy of the fair.

I don't recalls year that there have been more total exhibits. Certainly the 4-H exhibits were at a record. And the quality of them were never better. While speaking of 4-H; Eldon Senske and his gang are certainly to be complimented for their grand work. They can't possibly be on an eight-hour schedule; more like a set of three, eight-hour schedules during fair time.

The quality of livestock has greatley improved through the years, and fairs have certainly done their share in helping improve them. Freeborn County has an abundance of beautiful riding horses. The hogs have improved hog of today is a far cry from the old fat lardy type of 20 years ago. And the cows of today will double the production of th show winner of twenty years ago.

Thehmidway was the biggest I have seen. While we were parked at the top of the Ferris Wheel I tried to get a count the many rides available. I believe there were at least 20 of them.

Congratulations to the, fair board and all who had to do with the success of the fair.
—o—

WITH A family as big as ours there are bound tobe exciting moments at the fair. We stopped at a stand to get some hamburgers; Mark (aged four) got tired and decided to go to the car. We thought he had gotten lost and started hunting for him. After a 20 minute search we found him asleep in the car. The same thing happened to Zina, only when we looked in the car she had decided to go look for us.

Jared and Ann had their first time at exhibits. They were very excited and learned a lot. Ann was really thrilled when she got a blue ribbon on her pig. Dana never got enough of the fair. I think he could have lived there and not gotten tired of it. He still has two years to go to be able to exhibit.

Peterson Tells Bedtime Stories

HELLO FOLKS — Minds are like parachutes, they function only when open. Some folks demand the benefits of the doubt you when there isn't any.

—o—

EX-PESIDENT John Quincy Adams was asked as he was nearing his death, "how are you." He had this to say. "Thank you, sir! John Quincy Adams, himself, is quite well. thank you. But the house in, which he lives at present is becoming quite dilapidated, It is tottering upon it's foundations. Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it. It's roof is pretty well worn out. Its walls are much shattered, and it trembles with every wind. The old tenement is becoming almost uninhabitable, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out of it soon; but he, himself, is quite well, sir, quite well."

—o—

Grandmother was visiting at the little girl's home. One Sunday morning she gave her a dime to give in Sunday School. When Janet returned home, her grandmother asked her if she put the dime in the collection.

"No I didn't Grandma," the little girl replied. "But, my dear, why didn't you?" Grandma asked.

"Because I found a wonderful bargain, Grandma. You see, it was this way: I met a poor old man pushing one of those ice cream carts, and I stopped and asked him if he ever went to church, and he said he did, every Sunday. Then I said, 'Mister, if I give you this dime for two ice cream cones, will you give it to the church?' and he said, 'Sure, kiddo!' So I gave him the dime and he gave me two cones, Now, how's that for a bargain?" the little girl said.

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.

Family Fun at Petersens

HELLO FOLKS! — I suppose it is only natural that with five lively daughters in the home I should have to take a bit of abuse. Take last week for instance. It all started when I came to the table with my hair standing erect. The kids made fun of it and Zina to cap it off, put a ribbon on it.

As many of you know I have precious hair left, and none to spare. I left the ribbon in the hair after dinner and laid down on the couch to read and have a little nap. When I get sleepy I can go to sleep standing up and I become oblivious to anything going on around.

When I awakened I heard some snickers and knew that something "fishy" had been going on. It took a while for me to get the facts, and it was Merilee who informed, Merilee is my everlasting pal, and besides that she is not good at keeping secrets. She informed me that while I was asleep they had put a ribbon on my chest and a bottle in my arms and taken a picture of me.

I haven't found the film or this story might have ended differently, but I suppose I will get the razzing of my life when the picture gets here.

Living with a houseful of lovely women isn't really too bad. After all is isn't every man who gets to boss around a houseful of them, or be bossed himself. The thing that put the edge on it all is that they have a mischievious mother who encourages all this.

—o—

Our youngest son Brent got the bright idea one day of publishing a newspaper. He was helping me farm and while on the tractor he got it pretty well set in his mind what he was going to write. He calls it the "Hog Town News". Our big hog pasture we call Hog Town. The embellishments are all his and next week this column will be a reprint of what he wrote; or at least a part of it.

—o—

In case you hadn't noticed: the month of May was a wet one. We got 6.3 inches of rain. We had gotten 3.4 in April.

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.

—o—

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.

—o—

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."

Direction Is All Important

HELLO FOLKS — A French man asked a German guest how they told the difference between an optimist and a pessimist in Germany.

"Very simple," the German explained. "The optimist is learning English, the pessimist is learning Russian."

THE NEW father learned all about relative humidity by holding his infant daughter on his lap.

—o—

AT TIMES my son has got me fearing
He might, perhaps, be hard of hearing
When out at play, although I call
and when I say, "Go wash your hands,"
Or "Put your toys away," he stands
Around as if he hadn't heard
A single solitary word.

It's only when I tell his mother
Some whispered little thing or other
I'd just as soon he would't learn,
I find his hearing's no concern

—o—

I HAVE HEARD a number of great speakers in my life. I love to listen to people who have something to say.

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to Sterling W. Sill. He is manger of New York Life Insurance and one of the nation's greatest personnel motivators. I listened to him for a total of about three hours and wearied not one bit. The mind of Mr. Sill is so full of ideas to motivate people into doing things that he doesn't bore you.

Among the many things he said was that in 1830 it was recommended to Congress that the patent office be closed because nearly everything that could be invented had been.

Since then 2 million patents have been issues. Without these patents we would not have any of the conveniences which we have today, among them being the telephone, phonograph, radio, television, autos, tractors, electricity and most of the fine clothes we wear. We would still be about 80 per cent farmers, wearing home spun clothes, home tanned shoes and walking most every place we go.

He mentioned that the brain is the size of our two fists, is composed of 70 per cent water, has 2 billion cells and can store more there than all the libraries in the world, and that only a fraction of it is used during the lifetime of a man. He also stated that we literally create our own mind by how we develop it.

He went on that the mind is something like a climbing vine. It tends to pull itself upward by the things it attaches itself to. When we build bars in our homes instead of altars our minds tend to follow the action.

There are 168 hours in the week. He said that 40 of them we use to make a living, the other 128 we use as we please. We need about 56 of those to get our rest and the other 72 we could use to improve ourselves.

He state that the most valuable thing in life is life itself. The one business in life is to succeed, he said, and no man need fail. The fundamental law of the universe is that we all get paid for what we do. We do not always reap as we sow but we often reap what others have sown, and the rewards are not always seen immediately. For instance George Washington is still receiving rewards for the good he did, as are the other good and great men.

This is of course, just a fraction of what he said but gives you an example of what he has to offer.

Fond Memories Of Cold Snow

Hello Folks! Just a year ago we visited Virginia City, Montana. I hadn't heard of the place before, so I wasn't too excited about going there, but this was our vacation and it was hot in the Gallatin Valley where we were staying with my in-laws. We left early one morning. As we looked westward we could see snow capping the mountains over which we were to pass. With the temperature over 90 degrees in the valley it would seem good to throw a few snowballs.

Virginia City is not on a main highway. We left No. 10 and took state highway 34. It is a new road and very good except for a few miles that is rough and gravely. As we climbed the mountain range the temperature became very comfortable; finally we even rolled up the windows. We got very close to the snow but didn't get to throw any snow balls.

Virginia City lies right in the heart of the Rockies. A gulch goes right through the town along side the street (there is only one street). The sights we were to see that day I will remember for a long time. Virginia City has a fabulous history. Silver was discovered there is such quantities that is became a boom town and, at one time it was one of the largest towns in Montana and its capitol. As happens in any boom town prices were exorbitant. Most of the equipment and clothing had to be shipped be stage over poor roads from Salt Lake City, 300 miles away.

Most of the mining was placer or surface mining. Huge equipment was moved in to do the work. The results of the big machinery is still evident as whole hillsides were moved to get at the silver.

A brewery was built and was the next largest industry. A theater was established and New York players were engaged to perform. Of course when the silver gave out everybody got panicky and the town was deserted overnight. Values dropped to nothing and nearly everything left as tho the proprietors had just stepped out for lunch. Hauling costs were too high to warant moving anything out. I'll tell you more about Virginia City next week.

—o—

"Why won't you marry me?" he demanded. "There isn't anyone else is there?"

"Oh Edgar," she sighed, "there must be."

—o—

Sometimes we hear the argument that our surpluses are not so high and that we should prepare for famines just as the pharoah of Egypt did under the direction of Joseph. I think it is a good idea to follow good examples whenever and wherever possible, but we should also analize the conditions and determine whether they apply to us or not. For one thing today we have swift means of transportation, we have knowledge of the use of soils, how to preserve moisture and fertilize them for maximum production. In other words our conditions today do not apply to requirements of ancient days. We know from past experiences about what the needs are for the days ahead, barring any unforseeable conditions. Production by irrigation can be speedily stepped up to meet urgent needs. It doesn't take much surplus to deaden the market and until we have good reason to build up wasteful supplies, I think we ought to keep them within proper bounds.

—o—

You can't kill time without injuring eternity.

—o—

Heaven must be in us before we can be in heaven.

—o—

It seems that congress insists on limiting the flexible program so much that it won't flex off rock bottom. If it won't flex that means we could get lower prices than ever.

A Chilling Experience

HELLO FOLKS — You can't prove it by me, but there is a story going around about the couple who bought a pickup truck with a camping box in it. They started on a cross country trip.

While out on the highway in the western states the husband got tired of driving. It was a very hot day and while his wife was to be doing the driving he decided to cool off in the camper. He stripped to his shorts and was just about to make himself comfortable. At that moment his started up with a jerk, he fell against the door and it came open. He rolled onto the highway as his wife sped away.

His first inclination was to hide in the brush along the highway. But he was quick to realize that such a move would get him nowhere so he tried to flag down cars. The first one sped past him in disbelief. The second stopped in the next town and reported to the police, who went out to see. They doubted the man's story but radioed the patrol ahead where the wife was supposed to be. When they stopped the pickup and asked the woman where her husband was she told them he was in the camper. They suggested that she take a look. In horror she discovered what had happened.

As I say, don't ask me to prove it. But I hope nothing like that ever happens to me.

—o—

A STUDY by the University of Minnesota reveals the great difference in income of Minnesota farmers. The difference come not so much by area, nor by t[yp]es of farming but by the ingenuity of the farmers themselves.

For instance in the southwest area the top twenty per cent of the farmers keeping records earned an average of nearly $13,000. The lowest 20 per cent lost an average of $1,000.

There are, of course, many factors that influence such a difference. The weather can make a tremendous difference, as can several other factors. However, further study revealed that management of farmers makes a tremendous difference. Some farmers have the knack of making the best of their opportunities while others have a difficult time of it.

Farmers now have the privilege of getting professional assistance in the analysis of their farming operations. This assistance is in the form of the farm analysis service available through the regular Department of Education. Minnesota has taken the lead in this service to farmers and other states are copying or watching Minnesota in that respect.

The results are bearing fruit. The gain in income of farmers subscribing to the service has been substantially above the average of other farmers not in the program.

Some of the farmers have more than doubles their income by having an accurate analysis of their business. It isn't impossible for a farmer to do this himself, but the chance of him doing it is very remote. By joining the service he gets professional service and advice that is hard for him to obtain alone. The cost is very nominal and the analysis is as accurate as the records he keeps.

This service permits him to see what operations are paying off, what his cost of production is, so that he knows where the break even point is, and to compare his own program with that of the rest of the farmers. The individual reports are kept in confidence and only the general information is made public.

The program is divided into six areas in Minnesota. The Winona, Austin, Mankato and Duluth areas are in operation. The program is having the most success in the Austin area, which includes Freeborn county. Anyone interested should contact the local vocational agriculture department and the instructors will no doubt be happy to assist.

Story Reminds of Cattle Drive

HELLO FOLKS — The worst thing about laziness is that there is no cure for it and it doesn't kill.

The trouble with most meetings is that they start at 8 o'clock sharp and close at 10 o'clock dull.

—o—

WHILE MY mind is still fresh with thinking about the 65 mile cattle drive of Don Hight; might I relate the experience of one of my last cattle drives?

This was in the summer of '34. In the month of June my brother Clarence and I were supposed to deliver a heard of cows with their calves to the Hatchet ranch on the Big White River between the towns of Presho and Winner.

The cows had come from that ranch nearly two years earlier; most of them as heifers. They had been brought to the 'Rosebud' with a heard of three of four hundred, to be wintered there because of a feed shortage at the Hatchet. Now the feed was short at home and they were to return.

We got them sorted out and started in good shape. We had about 45 miles to go. There were some new born calves in the heard and one that had been 'dropped' in February. This particular one had gotten it's feet frozen and lost it's hoofs. Consequently it had a hard time to keep up with the rest of the herd.

We had intended to take three days for the trip but the older cows, when we got well along on the trail, realized that they were heading back to familiar grounds. Therefore they were no problem to drive. We covered 25 miles the first day.

The only problems were the new born calves and the one without hoofs. The new born calves were taken care of pretty well by their mothers but the oldest calf just couldn't keep up with the rest.

I felt sorry for him and put him in the saddle for a while. He didn't like that and fought so much I finally had to let him down.

We decided that we couldn't keep fighting him so we let him follow behind. He would lie down awhile and then move awhile. Usually when we rested he would catch up and get a good feed.

The second day we decided that if he couldn't keep up we would have Andy Halvorsgard come and get him in the truck when we got to the ranch. It was a short day's drive and we got to the ranch about 4 or 4:30. Before we could get things squared around and go after the calf we could see him coming down the road. That calf surely had the grit. Towards the last he would go just a few feet and lie down, then get up and go again, but he made it.

We spent the weekend on the Big White, then Clarence when home and I stayed a week or so and worked there. The ride home was just a nice day's ride. Clarence had Tony and got home in fine shape. But the day I went home was the hottest day of the year and I had a green horse that nearly gave out on me. I rested on the way and finished the last of the ride after the sun cooled off a bit.