Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1938-09-08

leased lands which have been seized
by the government. Oh well, there
are plenty of opportunities in our
country for financial activity of our
citizens. Why shucks, Texas alone is
large enough to give every person in
the United States 10 feet of ground to
stand on.
1t becomes more apparent each
passing day to we of the common
class of people, why the United States
is likely to become involved when
ever a war breaks out. Why gosh,
if revolution were to break out to-
morrow in the South Sea Islands, our
government would most likely have
to send a gunboat down there to get
one of our enterprising citizens down
out of a cocoanut tree.
I see where California is talking
about paying pension of $50 week
to every person so years old or over.
Sheridan Downey, running for Will
liam Gibbs McAdoo's seat in the
United States Senate, on that pension
platform, easily defeated the veteran
Senator for nomination thus show
ing that lot of people still believe
that money is the seat of all happi-
ness.
I hope California can make the
thing a success for we have lot of
people here in Minnesota who could
use $50 a week.
Golly, I had just been thinking of
writing a letter to the Great Northern
Railway Co. about the excessive
whistling the trains do when they pass
through Askov, but 'twont do now.
I received letter this week, or rath-
er copy for an editorial, stating (their
version of course) that "about the
most enjoyable sound you can pick
out of the air nowadays is the BOOM
ing whistle of one of those big Great
Northern locomotives, as it rolls
through here pulling a long string
of freight cars" Now, how can you
expect the engine crews to be quiet
when their bosses get so much fun
out of the whistle.
Some of these times if I get the old
homestead fixed up in sufficient splen-
dor to adequately entertain one of
those empire builders who get such
a kick out of the booming whistle"
1 might ask one of them to spend the
night with us at Askov.
Of course, as the politician would
say, half of the truth is sometimes
worse than a lie. The expression
from the railroad went on to say that
the whistle was enjoyable because
it denoted industry and industry
means employment.
The editorial went on in typical
American humor to say, 'even as we
write this, just past midnight (that
must have been the night editor), one
has just pulled through the village.
Within the corporate limits, its
whistle blew no less than six signals.
They were meant for a warning"
Somehow I didn't hear them that
way for they reminded me of a
youngster who had slept all afternoon
and when his parents wanted to sleep
at night, by gum, he shrieked to the
top of his voice.
Still quoting from the Great North
ern editorial: "For every loaded
train means that wealth is rolling
through, that tillers of the soil have
been recompensed for labor" Huh,
according to present prices of grain,
labor is about all they have been re-
compensed for their other expenses
they have to bear themselves. That
statement reminds me of the crooked
North Dakota attorney who defended
two North Dakota boys who had been
apprehended for stealing load of
wheat. The attorney plead their case
and the jury set them free. A friend,
knowing that the boys were penni-
less, asked the attorney how he Jared
financially in the case and he an
swered that he got the wheat. In
this case the world gets the wheat,
the grain gambler is left free and
the farmer is "recompensed" by being
told to decrease his acreage next year.
We have some politicians in this
country-and not all in the Repub-
lican party either-who remind me
of the story which originated when
Sam Houston was governor of Texas.
Houston was accused of prosecuting
a crooked official against whom he
had brought charges. Houston an
swered his accusers: "No, I'm not