Milford chronicle., 1962-11-02
OIL-FARM STORY

"A prime example of how a commercial
relationship can work out not only to the
benefit of the participating parties but to
an entire nation is found in two of u I
fundamental enterprises-ol and agricul-
ture.
The farmer is the oil industry's b es t
customer by wide margin. He spends $3.5
million a year to fuel, lubricate and main
tain some Al million tractors, million
trucks and a lengthy list of other machines
which have healthy appetites for fuel and
servicing.
And this is really a two way street Oil
powered farming has made an enormous
contribution to each farmers productivity.
Less than hundred years ago farm work
er could produce only enough food a n d
fiber for five persons-and that, incidental
ly, is about what a Russian farmer is able
to produce now. Today each American farm
worker produces sufficient food and FLYER
for 26 people, and it takes him far less
time and effort than was demanded of his
predecessors.
This is not the end of the oil-farm story.
Power farming, for example, is at the root
of the progress we have made in conServ-
ing our productive land through contour
ing, terracing, and in all the other ways
And oil-based fertilizers, weed killers n
insecticides play leading roles in h e
achievements of modern American agricul-
ture.
Where do the rest of us come into the
picture? A simple factual statement answers
that: Most people on this crowded planet
spend one-half of their incomes on food.
But here in the United States we spend
only fifth of our incomes to keep body
and soul together.
WHAT is ECONOMICAL" POWER?
The head of one of our governments ma
Jor power systems recently visited Russia
and toured power installations and facilities
there. On his return he said the Russians
are determined to overtake this country in
power production and have set 1875 as the
target date.
nations power capacity is among the
most important of the yardsticks we use to
measure industrial production, agricultural
efficiency, employment, the quality of work
ing conditions, living standards, the con-
venience and comfort of the home, and so
on down the list. Moreover, electric power is
major weapon in the worldwide economic
struggle between the communist and nom
munist and non-communst world, and we
cannot afford to lag behind.
There is little chance of our tagging if
we make the most of our abilities and op-
portunities. Private enterprise is far ahead
VI IluSSld III CuIItuC power 1t
is, according to most Informed reports, in
stalling new capacity at greater rate And
our nuclear power program is considered the
most extensive and promising on earth.
The question is what is the most "eco-
nomicaP way to develop power. The so
cialized power advocates always claim that
government provides the answer. But the
cheapness of government power is a snare
and delusion. 1t is the result of tax free
dom, tax subsidy, an assortment of special
privileges and other enormously costly tax
payer-paid benefits. And any politically
dominated enterprise is commonly infexible
and wasteful. Judged on the same terms,
private power-which pays 25 cents in taxes
out of each dollar received and stands on its
own financial feet in every respects more
economical than socialized power.
The moral is simple enough: The surest
way to keep ahead of the Soviet is to give
the green light to the heavily taxed, invest
Drowned electric utilities.