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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1959-06-10, Page 3WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1959 Z(JRICH Citieens NEWS SUGAR and SPICE (By W. (Bill) Isn't it odd how important the farmer becomes, every three or four years? Most of the time; everyone is content to let him go right ahead and batter his brains out on the stony bosom of Mother Nature. ZURICH VARIETY STORE gesseesiemeseesesseeromeneestese B. T. Smiley) In normal times, a lot opeople, if they give the farmer a thought at all, think of him as a sort of ornery customer, always grouching about the weather, always wanting subsidies for his produce, always taking hard times, but, in reality, salting money away by the bagful, k :k But let somebody call an elect- ion, and suddenly the farmer com- es into his own. It is generally ag- reed that he is a noble son of the soil, the salt of the earth, the backbone of the country, and the hope of the future. * * * It is common knowledge at el- ection time that the farmer has had lean years, that his income has been meagre, that he has been shamefully neglected, Everybody vies in promising him: a fair share of the nation's income; a square deal; a better living; great- er recognition; and anything else that doesn't cost much. * * Let's get to the bottom of this. Is the farmer really one of Nat- ure's noblemen, as the politicians assert at election time? Or is he the dour spreader of gloom, the chronic malcontent, as pictured be- tween elections? • k :k Of course, he is neither. Far- mers are people, like everybody alse. And like all people, they are of all types. A millionaire in a penthouse can be just as much of a grouch as a farmer on a stony back concession. A. dumb farmer is just as likely to make a mess of things as a dumb businessman. An intelligent farmer is just as bright as an intelligent executive, and probably a lot more versatile. * * * People are all mixed up about farmers. There is a tendency, for instance, to think of the farmer as a man of few words. This is a hallucination. Today's farmer may THERE'S A FRI be strong, but he is far from sil- ent. Get a group of farmers go- ing and you can scarcely get them stopped talking. I've met far- mers who would talk you into a state of mild shock if you gave them an opening. * * :k Another illusion about the far- mer is that he is cautious. The fact is that the farmer is the only big-time gambler left in our econ- omic system. And he's the only gambler who keeps coming back to the table when he knows the dice are loaded. Think not? Show me a professional gambler who would take the odds the farmer accepts when he plants his wheat or sinks his roll in beef cattle. * * * Then there is the silly idea, so often heard, that the farmer is slow to change, resists new ideas. On the contrary, he is a natural- born target for anything new in the line of machinery, seed, feed, or fertilizer. He can't resist hav- ing a go at it. :,: Still another misconception a- bout the farmer: everybody says, and nobody says it louder than the farmer himself, that he has a hard life. Well, that's not true, It, might have been fifty years ago, but not today. What they really mean is that he works hard. And he does. * :u * But the city fellow works hard too, whether he's a pipefitter, a lawyer, a newspaperman or a girdle salesman. The difference is that all the city fellow gets out of all the work is a bald head, ul- cers, jowls and a baggy belly, while the farmer winds up with muscles, a hearty appetite, a ruddy com- plexion, and a paunch as sound and solid as a bass drum. * * g, Nope, the farmer may not be quite as terrific as the politicians tell him he is, every few years. But neither is he to be pitied, be- tween elections, as a down -trodden misanthrope. He's a pretty tough character, and a pretty shrewd one, and he has to be. * :b N' The farmer can take a serious !DAME ELEC'FltlC IN VERY PRICE RANGE TO MAKE YOU FEEL DIKE A QUEEN! NOT NE BUT TWO FABULOUS 40" MODELS with the PULL 'N CLEAN OVEN .0..."*".„"affilingela ANGE PAGE THREE WE SPECIALIZE IN SUNDAY DINNERS 4.00 to 7.30 p.m. DINING ROOM CLOSED EVERY TUESDAY EVENING z k: Dominion Hotel PHONE 70 ZURICH "You Are a Stranger But Once" Letter to the Fditor Sir: Re your editorial of last week, " Is It Fair". Now I ask you, which seems a more just and reasonable basis for regulating one's salary; the ability and qualifications of said person or his expenses? You will admit that a woman makes as good a teacher as a man, I am sure. You have already ag- reed that it takes her as long and costs her as much to qualify; that she works as many hours and quite as hard for every dollar. Your only argument is that his reverse with stoic courage. He can weather the bad years and spread himself a bit in the good ones. He has a great deal more security than the city worker. He is his own master. *: :* * And unlike the city worker, when he has slugged it out for for- ty years, he doesn't have to go and live with an owly daughter-in- law, or move into the old people's home. The farmer sells the farm, buys a little house in town, and starts kicking about the taxes. Who wouldn't be a happy, healthy farmer, if he had it all to do over again? living expenses are higher. Who is the judge of what living expens- es are? What might be a necessity for one is a luxury for another. My arguments in favor of equal pay for equal work are: 1. Many men are not married but would still benefit from such an arrangement. 2. Women, in turn, are often breadwinners, going back to teach- ing or continuing to do so, in ord- er to support their parents, or ch- ildren. This would put them at an unfair dis-advantage. 3. Teachers (men), in turn have wives working at other jobs, most of which give equal pay for equal work. 4. The income tax has already given him a raise in pay, as it were, for as he acquires a wife and children, he acquires considerable in exemptions. This a woman tea- cher does not get. Unfortunately she remains "unmarried" in the eyes of the income tax collector and pays her tax at the unmarried rate. Not only is she no longer a dependent but she puts her hus- band in the unmarried class as well. This change in status can be considered as an "expense" a man does not experience. At such a time as sufficient men are qualified to fill the tea- ching positions, making womens' services unnecessary, I agree that men should be given priority. —A TEACHER (Need I say a woman) of lea&in �_} ��er 011111s i6 D The Magnificent Custom Imperial Model R.0 1 a75C459 Here's the ultimate in cooking joy without slaving! Clean, cool, fast cooking with the greatest galaxy of range features you've ever seen. A choice of 5 decor blending colors—or Snowcrest White. And this wond- erful two -oven range for roasting, baking and broiling has the new Pull 'N Clean Oven that ends the number one cleaning chore. New Heat -Minder and Speed -Heat Unit, Radiant Wall Spatter -Free Broiler Grill, and Electric Automatic Meat Tender. Automatic Cook -Master, Kant -Slide Griddle and Multi -Duty Thermizer. Automatic Rotisserie, optional. Lift -up, stay -up, hing- ed surface units. 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