Milford chronicle., 1949-06-17
WHEAT IS CIVILIZATION


inc have all followed the failure of paintings
This country is one of the largest grain pro-
ducers, and the quality of each years crop
has very direct bearing on the prosperity of
agriculture and the national welfare as a
whole But grain in the fields has small value.
It must be moved to the elevators at the
major terminals and to the various centers
where it is pr0cessed and turned into usable
products. This year, moving the grain pre-
sents an additional problem. Until recently,
100000 carloads of last years crop was held
in storage under government loans. That
had to be moved before the beginning of the
new harvest, to make space. What agency of
transportation can perform, swiftly, eff
GENTLY and economically, the big task of
handling the wheat, barley, oats, corn and the
rest? The only answer is, the railroads. The
other carriers, valuable as they are in GER
tain fields, Just haven't the capacity. When
it comes to mass transportation-the kind of
transportation on which our industrial and
agricultural economies rest-the iron horse
is still supreme. The grain crop is on the
move-and it's moving on rails.
(g@G&
FIRE IN THE FORESTS
Summer and fall constitute two of the
most serious fire periods in this country
Forests and fields dry out, awaiting only the
touch of spark to burst into flame. Tour
lists throng the highways Thousands of
campers go into the woods. Commercial
camps and vacation spots of all kinds run at
capacity. Every year sees the destruction
of magnificent forests, accompanied by
tragic toll of wildlife. Some forest fires do
occur spontaneously, from lightning or other
natural causes. But far greater number
can be attributed to human careleSsneSS and
ignorance. The motorist who throws burn
ing cigarette butts and matches from his car,
and the camper who leaves fire without
douSing it with water and burying it with
earth until every spark is out and every en-
ber is cold, are two of the worst offenders.
The whole nation is the poorer because of
them. A plain duty confrOntS everyone who
goes into the outdoors for any reason It is
to protect heritage which, once destroyed,
may take centuries to replace. The various
public and private bodies which deal with
tlre are doing a fine job. They are making
available to all simple, easy rules for fire
safety. They maintain patrols and fire fight
ing organizations. But they can do little
without public cooperation. A forest fire
can spread with incredible swiftness, and be
completely beyond control in a matter of
minutes under certain conditions. Make the
most OF the wOods-and save them for the
future.
BUSINESS SLUMP is REALLY HERE
The slump in business has been made Off
cial. This happened when Dr. Edwin Nourse
top economic advisor to the President re-
ported that the Federal Reserve Boards in
dustrial production index had dropped to the
lowest point since July of 1947. DIR. Nourse
who has never been regarded as conserva.
tive IN his economic views, urged the Presi.
dent to hold down Federal spending. and tC
go easy on urging increases in taxation The
country, at this time, is in the middle of {
tug of war between buyers holding out fol
lower prices and sellers trying to avoid pric,
cuts Business is slowing in one line after
another, while this price war goes on. TIL,
forecast is made that, before the end of 1949
i the general price level will be 10. to Is Pc
cent below the postwar peak but still NOR
I than 80 per cent above the 1889 figure Whel
buyers are convinced that prices once agail
are firmly set, demand for goods is expecte,
to revive and business to move ahead. /
this view proves to be the correct one. it i
clear that the current slump is not the begin
ming OF depression. It is, instead, an ad
JuStment OF boom condition which wa
based on a tenuous foundation When tn
war ended, there had been four years o
increasing shortages and the war-enforce
cash savings of the people were at an a
time high. The inevitable result was a buy
ing spree that took in practically every kin
OF commodity, no matter how high the priC
or how poor the quality. Much of the none
has now been spent, the shortages have a
most all been made up, the national income
down from the peak and the spending spre
has come to an end. During the course {
the adjustment, the attitude of labor will I
lmportant-the cost of labor is a dominal
factor in determining the selling price of til
bulk Of commodities Some labor groups al