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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1957-03-07, Page 3Going to Market Chinese Fashion Is Mrs, Wang, of Peking, or Hankow, or Chengtu, interested in buying vegetables out of sea- son? Rare herbs? Wild fruits? Tender fowl? All she has to do is to go down to the free market and in- dulge in some good old-fashion- ed capitalistic bargaining with the vendor. But if she wants a staple meat like pork, chances are she will have to queue up in front of a state=run butcher shop, and perhaps go home empty-handed. And if she needs cotton cloth or mosquito netting,' she will have to take her ration coupons with her - even if she is buy- ing as little as 5 inches of mat- erial. Six months ago, after a three- year whirl with rigid state con- trol over both production and sales of consumer goods, Com- munist China's economic officials .decided to reintroduce a free market in certain specified goods. The change -over began, grad- ually, in the second half of last year. It was encouraged by such top-ranking officials as Deputy Premier Chen Yun, who told the Eighth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party last September that "measures taken by the economic departments of the state in the past few years, par- ticularly the past two years, to restrict capitalist industry and commerce have now become un- necessary." . Mr. Chen said that when capitalist industries started pro- ducing almost exclusively for the state, they become less in- terested in the quality of their products. In turn, state - run wholesale companies were so large that they lost touch with local requirements. Cert a i n places were overstocked and other places understocked. Likewise farmers, after being herded in cooperatives, lost in- terest in "subsidiary rural pro- ducts" because these no longer enabled them to earn the extra Income they needed. Prices offer- ed for agricultural produce were too low. In fact, Mr. Chen said, "There is in our present price policy something unfavorable to production." But the Communists were caught in a dilemma, for they had to hold both the price line and the supply route so far as major commodities were con- cerned. The government had to have an assured supply of grain et fixed prices, , for instance. Among Manufactured "goods, cot- ton yam and cotton piece -goods were in short supply and had to be rationed. As a compromise, therefore, the concept of a limited free mar- ket was evolved. The market was to be free because prices would be arrived at by the buy- ers and sellers themselves, 'ex- cept in cases of bulk purchasers such as state shops and supply and mar k et i n g cooperatives, whieh were to buy goods through; exchange houses. Today, half a year after these changes began to be introduced, Communist officials claim that "the planned change -over to the free marketing of nonstaple goods has been successful nation- ally." The amount and variety of consumer goods on the market have increased, and prices have remained stable, a New China News Agency dispatch Jan. 30 claimed. About one-third of all China's agricultural commodities. are now said to be bought and sold on the free market. The free market, it was claim- ed, reduced intermediaries be- tween the grower and the user. In Shanghai, up to four proces- ses were cut out of the handling of vegetables and dried fruits. The transit time between the sel- ler and the buyer was reduced from seven days to one, day - which meant, in the case of ag- ricultural produce, less spoilage. The new dispensation has also brought unwelcome trends. Some peasants are trying to leave the cooperatives and to become in- dividual entrepreneurs • again. There has been speculation on the free market and "some de- velopment of capitalist forms." But the Communists claim these are only temporary phen- omena, and "measures are be- ing taken by the state to cope with them." Meanwhile, Mrs. Wang picks her way between the tight -pack- ed stalls of an expanding, mar- ket area, savoring the smoke - of roasting peanuts, .poking at bas- kets of querulous ducks, in de- termined quest of that elusive but ever -beckoning bargain. Cosby SwaAiows Careless parents put more than one toddlerr, a day in hos- pital with poisoning during the past summer at the Transvaal Memorial Home 'for Children at Johannesburg, South Africa. Because parents left harmful chemicals lying within reach, youngsters admitted to this hospital swallowed these things during the year: Caustic soda, benzine, as- pirins, disinfectant, ear -drops, cigarettes, fly -spray, mothballs, freckle cream, carbon tetra- chloride (dry-cleaning fluid). Of the 404 cases treated, eigh- ty-five of the youngester under three years became ill after drinking household coal -oil, and sixty-four got sick headaches from taking overdoses of as- pirin. The. coal -oil. -figure was so high, say hospital doctors, be- cause so many people keep the colourless liquid in lemonade bottles, - and casually leave the bottles where a child can get at them. "So you suffer from .i4diges- tion," said a helpful friend: "Well, what can be better than drinking a pint of warm water after every, meal" "Indigestigrir''was the reply. A PACK AT A PUFF -Here's the answer to any chain smoker who wants to smoke up a pack of 20 cigarets at once, as dem- onstrated by French comedian Robert Clary. He found the gadget during a visit to an $250,000 antique pipe exhibit. CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Fly high 6. Remote 8. Apparel 12.---- Wheeler Wilcox 18. Rather than 14. Spindle 15. Published again 17. Poisonous tree 18, Becotne acquainted 20. Longstanding 21. Chooses 24, Puppets 27, Inquire 28. Porgy 29. Charles Lamb 30. Harvest goddess. 81. Tear apart 82. High railways 33. Not in 34. Corns grass 35. Open 37. Fairy pueea► 3R. Infuriated 43. Not yours 45. Inferetlttai7 46. At any time 48. Engiibadeer school 41, Snail ;,loin growth 60. Sheep 51, Course of eating DOWN 1, Slave :.8.OUyb rim 4. Genus of allseed 5. Foul smelling 6, Bxtent 7. Reparation 8. Thin fabric 9. Awaited 10. Wing 11. Legal action 18. Misfortunes 19. Sort 22. Sharp taste 23. Lateral boundary 24. Profound 25. Sp. Jug 26. One who gives ear 27. Bright 30. exterior 31. Allowed as discount 33. 'Tierra del Fueguan 1r.,11at: 34. Gitl's name 38. Put forth 37. Fight 39. Turn up ground 40. So. Amer. .,m�ttonitey M. -Bacchanalian 42. Hollow 43. Cat's cry 44 Yellow bugle 1 2- 3 4 5 6 • t;; 8 El 10 11 12 :; f i3 ;,y• 14 1111 16 17 II II 19 II 531z.! t .; II4' ill28 2e '.....,27 ®*�Slw WI :. 30 MINI\:p, 31 MINI �MIMI ` 33 MINI 34 ., iiiiiii®.® � ici i re:; '� `�' i ii:I . 'b 42 Ss 'a ®®i> . 111.1111 MIMIN Answer elsewhere 0t1 title page, SWEET AND SOUR - One's a peach, the other's a lemon and both are tops of their kind. The peach is Carolyn Stroupe, aquamaid. She's holding a huge Ponderosa lemon. In this colunui I have already reprinted one or two articles written for the Christian Science Monitor - under the general •heading "A Dispatch from the Farm" - by John Gould. Now, entitled "Our Cows Were Not Neglected", comes another from the same source. I cannot guar- antee that any of you dairy farmers will get anything of vast scientific value from it - bnt I can say that is is good for a few real laughs. Read it and see what I mean. a 4 One of our professors recently made harangue on a farm radio program and said good milk is 37 per cent grain, 21 per cent machinery, and 9 per cent hard labor, Malcolm Mac?ormiek,° vtteran radio farm:editq'r, there`;` upon thanked him, and he . no doubt returned to Ili§ experi- mental station to discover fur- ther mathematical relationships. In view of many memories and wide experience, as well as close association with the old- time ;production of what we mis- takenly called milk, I can see that• times have - changed. We used to get 100 per cent milk, composed of 98 per cent hard labor and 2 per cent cut-up po- tatoes, and grain was something you gave bossy so she'd stand still while you milked her. This was pretty much so. We had to keep two cows, so one would be milking while the other was dry, and when they were both milking production was more than ample. We never sold any milk, since everybody around about also had two cows, at least, so an important adjunct ' of every two -cow family was the big molasses puncheon into which excess milk was dumped. for -the pigs. Pigs went with cows, and you might as well keep two as one. Our milk had .nothing added, and was used in its native con- dition. A gallon pitcher would be filled, we had several such, night and morning for family use, and "stirring the milk" was a pre -meal ritual along with seating Grandmaw, grace, and taking the napkins out of the rings. I can remember that at. times Mother would get seated, and then would jump up with an, "Oh, I forgot to stir the milkl" She would bring the long -handled fork used for fry- ing doughnuts a n d turning bacon, and whisk it around in the milk jug until the risen cream was again throughout the whole and we could pour our glasses full. If one of us pour- ed a glass without first stirring the pitcher, we'd get a rich, heavy, almost -curd result which was a mite too thick for drinking. Since such milk has been de- clared unconstitutional, perhaps I should explain that the cream content then was considerably more than the law now allows. The milk we didn't use upstairs was put in pans on the cool cel- lar floor, and after about two days the cream would be skim- med off for butter. The skimmed milk thus accumulated was used, in our unenlightened fashion, for feeding pigs, cottage cheese, and occasionally painting a hen- house. When modern chemists discovered casein paint it cer- tainly astonished a lot of old- timers who had been using it /or generations and didn't know " it: I can't recall that we ever referred to - this skimmed milk at "nonfat," but that's what it no doubt was. But I wanted to speak about the grain. If modern milk is 37 per cent grain, I can see why we didn't get it in the olden days. During the summer, when a cow could get all the green grass she wanted, and by breach- ing could pick up a few carrot tops, pea vines, and petunias, we didn't feed any grain.' In the winter, when the mows, gave down field - cured sweetness, packed away with about .005 per cent machinery, we used to give them a little. When a cow dried off, being about to freshen, we did give her a couple of hand- fuls of bran night and morning. This was supposed .: to "make bones,�' ` but probably research has since exploded this. I think we chose bran because it was cheapest, and we usually had a bin of it for the pigs anyway. The other cow, still giving milk, would get two boy's hand- fuls of "dairy ration." This real- ly cost money, sometimes as much as a dollar and a quarter a bag, and I think it was just run-of-the-mill sweepings with low-grade molasses added so the cows would eat it. An adult gave one handful, and the grain had to be scattered well among the orts of the manger so it would take bossy quite a time to find it and clean. it up. This is when you milked her. Our grain program must have gone to one tenth of 1 per cent, conversion factors and all. But our cows were not ne- glected. We were able to offer numerous pamperings not pos- sible in the assembly -line milk factory of today. We would take out a candy bucket (wooden) of hot water from the stove, and mix it with the cold .pump water so bossy would have a warm drink. Winter water a scant notch above freezing would make a cows teeth ache so she'd stick her snout in the air and turn her lips back, so we warm- ed her water .and made her like us. Then, we'd cut up potatoes. Only those who have done it know what it's like to go into the vegetable cellar in winter, with a lantern, and sit on a box while you cut up two pails of potatoes. You have to cut them up, as whole potatoes will choke a cow. The banking boards and the snow shut out all lighteand sound, and the weather -tight cellar had its own flavor and climate. More than once the oxygen burned low and my lan- tern went out, leaving me to grope my way up again with a pail in each hand. Sometimes we cut up turnips, but you could only give a cow so many tur- nips or the milk would taste. Mother ran tests on this, and she could taste turnips when nobody else could. But cows like tur- nips, and they were always glad to see some coming. Of course, they didn't produce any milk which would pass our stringent modern requirements, but we didn't complain about that. We didn't know any better. WOMAN RULED WELL Outstanding amongstthe early rulers of Scotland, was Mar- garet, who served as regent for her son when King Malcolm died in battle in 1093. She en- couraged foreign trade, abolish- ed many injustices and did all she could to help the poor and weak. Some say that she intro- duced the clan plaids into Scot- land. SEA ANIMALS LARGEST It is interesting to learn that of all the different forms of ani- mal life the largest creatures dwell in the sea. Bulkiest of all is the blue whale, which reaches 100 feet in length ande weighs more than 100 tons. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking UNDAYSCIIOOILE5 By Rev R. Barulay Warren B.A., B.O. Unlimited Forgiveness Matthew 18; 21.35 Memory Selection: Lord, how oft shall lny brother sin against me, and I' forgive blot? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, 3 say not unto you, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18: 21-22. When Jesus said we should forgive the offender 'u n t i l seventy times seven' he took the question out of the legal setting and put it in the love setting. He was saying, "There should be forgiveness without limit tee - ward those who truly repent." Then Jesus told a story illustrat- ing how utterly ridiculous it is for man to refuse forgiveness to his fellow. God has forgiven us when we were hopelessly hs debt. Why then shouldn't we for- give our repentant brother who owes us only a trifle? In fact Jesus made it very clear that God 'will not forgive us unles2 we from our heart forgive our fellowmen. Recently I listened again to my friend Jacob DeShazer, one of the Doolittle fliers who dropped the first bombs on Tokyo. Jake spent 40 months in a prison camp, most of the time in soli- tary confinement. As he saw his companions die from malnutri- tion his anger and hatred against the Japanese mounted more and more. Then one day the guard gave him a Bible. As he read 1t he saw his own sin and he saw that Jesus Christ had died t6 save him. There in the prism he was born anew. He becam6 ,a Christian. Hate gave way til love. As he prayed he determin- ed that when the war was oyes he would prepare himself to come back to Japan to tell the people of God's love. He ham been doing this work. Mitsuo Fuchida who led the attack of Pearl Harbor is one of the thou- sands who has been influenced to surrender to Christ through this miracle in Jake's life. Mitsuo is now telling the message of love in the U.S.A. When we experience God's for- giveness for our sins it is the natural thing for us to forgive those who have sinned against u5. PHILANTHROPIST AT 10 - Chalk up a second triumph for Logan Dawson, 10, of Rix Mills. Five years ago he fought through infantile paralysis without lasting defects. Now he's going to repay the polio foundation for its aid with a generous act. One of Logan's dreams is to have an entry in the county fair as a 4-H Club project. After he started raising an Aberdeen - Angus calf, he discovered he was too young to enter this year. But he had an inspiration. Now, he'll sell the calf at maturity and donate the proceeds to the polio fund. Appropriately, the calf's name is "Poly." REALLY SHOCKING ._ The shocks suffered by a container during shipment are duplicated on this "hazard machine" of the forest Products Laboratories of Canada. Containers are tumbled haphazardly within this 14 -foot diameter revolving drum to simulate the rough use they will receive while being shipped. In this photo, a wooden crate of cans has broken apart in the hazard machine and a technician records the details of how it broke up. The large crate in the sling will be tested next. Such research by the Forest Products Laboratories helps provide Cana- dian industry with strong and serviceable containers to move merchandise. The laboratories are part of the Forestry Branch, Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources.