Evening star., 1948-01-01

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1Ortter kn0tDn to The Star to use
nom de plume. Please be brief.
to do something special this year? Remember
the fact that you have not been hungry, that
you are not cold, that you have place to live
and that you can live In privacy not 10, Is or
20 to room, that you can sit at table to
eat. that you can live with dignity that you
can look your neighbor In the eye, that your
home viii not be raided by lot Of GIs, that
your daughters and sons can lead q carefree
life, free from fear and free from want, that
they can 60 to school and to church, that there
affection and hope and trust in their lives.
Think Of all these things and then give out Of
your plenty, 50 that others may know that
there still Is place somewhere In the world
where people lead normal lives, where people
are kind where truth still has q value and
where integrity still means something The
only way to combat the forces of evil that
cover this part OF the world is by substituting
that which is good OF this am sure Please
do your part before It is too late. Demand
of our Congress that 1t do something now
while there still is the possibility OF saving that
which Is fine ard noble in all of these sorely
tried people. Let me remind all Of you again
that their fault Is that they have determined
to be Free They will not submit to Com
munist-controlled way Of life. For that stand
their lives will be forfeit should they try to
return to their countries Of origin. Surely we,
who love liberty SO much, must help.
A happy New Year are words that cannot
be used here. May I wish with you instead
that another year will see many Of these
problems solved and that the dangers that now
beset our world will have passed and that we
all then may have happy New Year?"
ROY G. JACOBSON.
Producers Getting the Short End
The writer, farmer, was amused by recent
newspaper article wherein pair of reporters
proceeded blithely to show just who gets most
OF the cut on q beefsteak between the stable
and the table. II my memory serves me cor
rectly, the cattle rancher was shown up as the
villain Of the piece, whereas the retail butcher
was held up as splendid example of citizen
ship-his 25-cents-a-pound profit being justi-
he'd because Of high overhead In running his
meat stand and in providing living for him.
self, his wife and their three daughters
This latter point is mentioned not because
the writer Is out Of sympathy with butchers
and their daughters but as prime example
OF the fact that the American people, knowing
retail meat prices are out of sight, are willing
to read any materiaA which can single out a
scapegoat. Since presumably there were more
butchers than ranchers in the Northern city,
where the results of this profound study were
given out 1t doubtless was safer to put the onus
OF responsibility on a group Of people located
at the farthest possible distance.
It was also observed that the packers were
let off very lightly. This was made all the
more amusing by the fact that tucked way IL,
an obscure corner Of the same paper on the
very same day the statement appeared that
Swift & Co., Chicago meat packers, had an
nounced that their 1947 gross earnings were
much more than last year.
1t should be stated that the reporters men
toned did not actually say that they alone had
made this study. They were assisted by an
outfit with a name which would have sent
Dickens into ecstacies and which was described
as New York specialist" in management re-
lations, research and advertising 1t doesn't
take very critical mind to discern that this
entity would be very interested in building up
good management relations" in their contacts
with packers and big retailers Those are the
ones from whom they get their accounts. Since
they get no such accounts from the ranchers,
presumably 1t was all right to declare an open
season on cattlemen.
It may be said for the record that historically
the farmer has received about one third of the
price finally paid by the consumer Since we
hear of no catastrophes among any of the
hordes Of intervening professors it is fair
assumption that the farmer stiH gets the same
percentage; otherwise at least some of the in
terveners would be out of business
The so-called study mentioned the rancher
the feeder, the buyer, the packer, the jobber
and the retailer. These were the "boys" who
were alleged to be sticking their hoofs into the
meat dish on the way to market. They didn't
mention tax gatherers, railroads, racketeering
labor unions and host of other excrescences
on the body economic who also take their toll
as meat moves into general circulation under
q complicated, costly and inefficient distribu-
tion system.
The situation with relation to meat and food
in general also can be applied to shelter. We
all know that housing prices are too high and
that for the doubtful privilege of dwelling in
a couple of smelly cubicles in an apartment
house or in one of an endless series of rabbit
hutches in the crowded suburban areas those
who are salary earners are virtually reduced
to poverty.
get little tired of the gobbledy cook and
ya-Ia-ta-ta OF priority allOcaIlOnS, inventory
controls, stabilization of the economy, orderly
and equitable distribution of goods regulation
of speculative trading and all the turgid shib-
boleths that find their ingenious or ingenious
way into legislation. Each man should use his
own initiative and thinking ability to escape
the mess we have got into. 1t won't be done
by passing another law to be administered by
Sufficient personnel" CROSS AND COLD.
New Year Appeal for the Hungry
To the Editor Of The Star
The people of Europe today are hungry,
cold and homeless.
Shall we leave them in the coming year TO
shift for themselves?
Shall we in America sit back after stufing
ourselves with good, solid food and say: TOO
bad about those people in Europe" and then