The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-08-30
The Auto Electric Company
Specializes In
The Starting, Lighting
Ignition Troubles
THE PIPING UP

An Oregon newspaper reader, writ
ing to his favorite editor, told re-
Gently the story of the well-to-do
negro, who, alarmed at the FREE
quency of requests for money from
church committees, went to his
pastor to protest. "Parson," he said,
didn't you tell me that salvation
was free?" The pastor, taking him
by the hand, led him to a spring.
Then he said, Brother, drink your
fill, it am free as salvation, but
brother, should / pipe this water up
to you, 1t sure would cost"
The trouble with the cost of liv-
ing, concluded the Oregon reader, Is
that there is too much piping up.
One can say That's so'' to his
comment Most of the things we buy
in this twentieth century are one
fourth necessary commodity and
three-fourths pleasant service, one
fourth water and three-fourths pip
ing, if you please. The crackers that
once came out of the "barl' at the
store, come now in Theoretically
sealed and thorOly protected pack
ages delivered from Ford at the
back door. The vegetables that once
were available in season only, are
now to be had the whole year round,
daintily canned, and we pay the price
for the canning, preserving and stor
ing, never fear. The same idea
holds true of everything else we buy
from chairs to safety pins, and mott
all of the services for which we pay
are given by manufacturers and mer-
chants either; a lot of them arel
given by government in inspections
and tests and the like, the charge inl
taxes being added to the cost.
1t is hard to separate the cost of
piping up from the necessary cost
of production, hard also to compare
the costs of today with the costs of
yesterday A lot of people who be-
wall the high prices today forget to
make this allowance for extra SER
vices and go far wrong on their
figuring.
And lot of the rest of us could,
if we would, reduce the cost of liv-
ing by demanding less of the luxur
ious services. We are like men who,
once content to pay for "someplacS
to sleep" of nights are now insisting |
upon an electrically-lighted heavily |
luxuriously furnished |
hotel room with hot water in the |
bath tub, but COM
planning because the cost of the new
place to sleep is not the same as the
old.
We rather like the comment Of the
newspaper reader whose story we
have retold. Here is the way he de-
yelops the theme:
The can opener has replaced the
,orkscrew I know farmers with the
backyard fence corners filled with
,yaporated milk cans. Down in the
pasture the calves are running with
heir mothers. In fact, there seem
o be on strings on all kinds of
alves these days" We have them
morning, noon and night to feast our
yes on. Farmers are too busy to
milk. There is other pressing work,
UGH as punctures and dirty spark
Jugs. Should you have occasion to
all on a farmer evenings, to save
ime first look under the FLYER.
When l was boy we would take
sack of wheat or corn to the mill
nd have the same ground without
operating, retaining all the nature
lements. Now Father PrOphylactic
talks in the land whispering thru
legaphone in our ear: Beware of .
licrobes. Buy your lard double :
istilled, your breakfast food seri-
zed and pre-digested." OF course, Z
am has-been, out of step and time I
18th the fapper and gaudy necktie, :
ut, thanks be, my eyes and memory
re still on the observation car.
Face about is the only remedy, in :
ly humble opinion. We should
pen our immigration gates to the
)reign farmer-the German, Swede
nd Norwegian-that have had in
ustry and economy instilled for
into their blood, while
e Americans have been distilling it
1T of our children. /.
Get economy and simplicity back
to the blood is one way out. Ham
er them back into the brain with
lucation is another. Why not try
9TH idaho Statesman.