Milford chronicle., 1955-09-02
LESSON IN IMPORTANCE

LESSON IN IMPORTANCE
Too often it takes catastrophe to make
one appreciate the routine pattern of life.
Death and destruction, painful as they are,
at least provide for those who survive a
proper focus on the everyday events of liv-
ing.
The waters that swirled over the banks
of ordinarily placed New England rivers and
streams two weeks ago left the residents of
that section of the nation stunned. Roads
were washed away, bridges destroyed The
whirling waters tore homes from their foun-
dations and carried them downstream. Peo-
pie were stranded on rOOftOps and some were
swept to their deaths. Factories were flood
ed and machinery ruined. All this occurred
in an area where such catastrophes seldom
occur.
Water mains were destroyed, food stocks
ruined, communications halted, power lines
out. The damage is still being reckoned,
though the waters have receded Meanwhile
hundreds of people walk about still dazed,
trying to recover from a catastrophe which
no one expected, for which no one was pre-
pared.
The intense heat that was so annoying
before the catastrophe is now shrugged off.
People who once fretted because they were
unable to buy new car find that the money
they have won't buy milk because supplies
were destroyed in the flood The little things
they took for granted now seem precious. AS
they waited long, anxious hours until tee-
phone service was restored they realized how
frivolous was the previous days telephoned
chit chat with a friend.
Such people, ifAthey are accustomed to
using their minds for thinking, are not likely
to complain soon about petty annoyances.
They have learned to distinguish the impor-
tant from the trifling. 1t is unfortunate that
the cost of such lesson must be so great.
~~Zo%>&
WHERE ARE THE FARM WORKERS?
The Russian farm experts had quite a
time during their much-publcized tour of
lush Iowa. The latch-strings were out in the
traditional American way, and they found
friendliness and hospitality everywhere.
They also received some big surprises.
Apparently our methods of doing the
work of the farm are beyond the Russians
ken. Writing in Newsweek, Russian-speak-
ing journalist Leon Volkow said: ITO Rus
sian eyes, Iowa, IT, S: A., is fabulous land
of plenty in which nobody has to work.
"They tried to hide their amazement but
they never quite succeeded. At first, the
Russians kept asking each OTHER where the
farm workers were. They had hard time
believing that one man. could work 150-
acre farm all by himself with the aid of
machinery
Nov there's human work to be done on
even the most advanced American farm, and
pleRty u IL. Dut IdTfI eQul pIneHt mas greatly
reduced the amount of arduOus labor requir-
ed, even as it has vastly increased farm eff.
cheney and productivity. We all know the
story of mechanization of industry, and we
are all hearing about the newest step along
that road-automation But many of us don't
realize that mechanical revolution has been
taking place in agriculture as WE'LL
There are no push-button farms. Maybe
, there never will be. But the machine has
made it possible for both farm and factory
people to get far more return for their work
than their forefathers would have believed
possible. That's what the visiting Russians
learned in envious amazement.
WITHOUT FOUNDATION
Is bignesS in business bad in itself? The
answer to that is "No."
The argument that bigness threatens our
political liberties is without foundation.
There is no evidence to support the notion
that big firms in general are able to get
competitive advantage by observing lower
standards of business conduct than are OBJ
served by their smaller competitors. The
fact that a concern is larger than any of its
rivals means that most of its policies and
activities are conspicuous and must stand up
under the scrutiny of competitors, suppliers,
customers, and government officials.
There is plenty of factual proof of this
A good example is retailing, which includes
both small stores and big national chains
Once there was an honest fear that the big
operations could not help but destroy the
smaller ones Yet time has proven that there
is place for both and that both can prosper
and do needed job.
Americas biggest businesses, in addition,
buy all manner of supplies and services from
small businesses. They sell their products
through agencies and other outlets which
are mostly small. The two kinds of business
are interdependent Both make an essential
contribution to the vast and expanding Am
erican economy.