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.

Something Like Having No Hair

HELLOF FOLKS! — The manager of a small town telephone exchange told a middle-aged farmer? "With those two teenage daughters you have, we ought to double your telephone rate."

"On the contrary," the farmer replied, "you ought not charge me anything, since I never get to use the phone."

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A DRAFTEE was awakened by his platoon sergeant after the rookie's first night in the barracks.

"It's four-thirty!" bellowed the sergeant.


"Four-thirty!" gasp the rookie. "Man, you had better go to bed. We got a big day tomorrow!"

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THERE IS a lot of discussion these days about the so-called "right to work" law. It is in effect in 14 states and is up for voting in six others.

Labor officials in general are for it because it gives them a tailormaid way of collecting dues and leaves them free of the responsibility of maintaining membership by their own ingenuity.

Some have called it a "right to scab" law. By that they mean that some laborers will refuse to join just to get out of paying dues. This is true, we have in every element of our society people who do as little as possible to help out a good cause. This is only natural and is no more true in labor circles than anywhere else. For instance among famers in Freeborn county there are more than one-half of them that belong to neither of the two farm organizations.

Is this bad, however? I think not. It is the trademark of a free society. If the farmers do not feel that either farm organization is doing the job it should, they should most certainly have the right to do something about it. That is a God given right that should never be taken from them. It is the very thing that keeps the organizations on their toes and makes them either produce or die. It is the thing that keep them clean, for if the officials get corrupt the members soon find out about it and will refuse to support them. It is that very principle that makes our country great and prosperous. The people in public service have to stimulate themselves into action or get out.

The right to work then is as essential to the American way of life as the freedom of speech, press assemblies, worship, right to own property or any of the other great freedoms.

Because an organization does not have a majority of members in it does not mean that it cannot be heard or have it's influence felt to as great a degree. To the contrary; does it seem right that an organization that forces its members could necessarily sway public opinion? No. The very fact that the membership is based on forcing a worker to either pay up or starve has within itself the seeds of its own destruction. In the same way the all the tyrants of history have sown their destruction.

We need strong unions, not brittle ones, and the way for them to remain strong is for them to remain free and get their membership by virtue of their benefit to humanity.

I think that if we analyze the reason for the wholesale corruption in such organizations as the Teamsters Union it all goes back to the fact that rank and file members have to ante-up or lose their jobs, which means they starve.

Unions did not get their strength under compulsory membership. Figures prove that in the states with right to work laws the labor members have actually gotten higher increases in pay than in other states.

Because a man or woman refuses to pay into an organization it does not make them anymore of a scab than is the person who wants to have a soft touch by not having to work for his position. No organization ever gained respect by name calling and if you notice that when we point our fingers at someone else, there are three fingers on the hand points back at us. So let's be careful how we [use] our pointing

Force corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I think the wise labor leader will recognize what is causing the terrible corruption in their union and welcome laws guaranteeing the right to work. There are many other things that need to be done to help labor get on the right path again; they will have to be discussed at some future time.