Show I 9 Gallery I tip C Ic r I InI t 1 nI g j Y tie I IY r i Ll Of a Winters Winter's Night the Boys at the Grocery Store Down to the Center Will Be Sitting Not Around the Old Stove but Around the Electric Pad r THE MISSISSIPPI IN C MODERN DRESS By NINA WILCOX PUTNAM ODY down In Wishing Washing Washington S SO lE ton seems to have haye Rot got ot hold of the Idea that one of the thc things er e everybody e body Is entitled to the same as air ail and water an and that much ert advertised se place In lu the sun Bun Is electric light Its It's no secret that the government government government govern govern- ment hiving having practically nothing else to attend to has decided to build a few electric light plants harness up ul a n flock of rIvers IncludIng IncludIng Including ing some say siy the Mississippi and so generally attempt to make the sun eun feel cheap and dated Quite an ii Illuminating Thought As far as ns city lighting goes noes I must say I dont don't e give n much uch of a darn to whom I 1 dont don't pa pay my mr electric electric electric elec elec- light bills When I 1 have ha the dough and the collector catches me I pay last months month's bill Its It's over two years since I paid the current bill for the current If you jou ou absorb IU my meaning So So far the privately owned company has done nothing about shutting off nn anything thing except my apologies And so aside from froma a mild Impersonal curiosity about what will be done for Cor the tile stockholders ers of the ol old outfit Im I'm not taking sides one way or another All I 1 wonder about this public hat haI ha ownership of my electrIc curling Iron Is what the tile government government govern govern- ment will do If the day comes when I cant can't en e pa pay last months month's hill bill Will they actually cut off the juice or will they appropriate enough public funds to take care of such unpaid bills Dunt esk esIc Manana por la manana mamma as lis the Spanish say meaning menning ish In other otner words who am nm I to asic what appropriations appropriations ap ap- are appropriate and which are not Ill I'll start criticizing along that line as soon as I can set my mind off of earning enough money again to take e care of tomorrows tomorrow's tomorrows tomorrow's tomorrows tomorrow's tomor tomor- rows row's hamburger Along In 1912 l 42 mn maj maybe be Meanwhile let the government worry Dont Don't worry they will But being public spirited so long longas longs as s no campaign contributions are demanded of me I take an nn Interest In these things even If I 1 I have no I capital Public affairs are about the only thing you jou ou can cnn draw Interest Interest Inter Inter- est st on free Sometimes you Oll draw draw- more than Interest you jou ou draw a fight But before beCore you strike remember re re- remember member I am a woman and I am amnot n nut not t your wife's mother But to get back to the other BrI Bright ht electric project we were talking about I mean harnessing the Mississippi or whatever er they Intend intend In in- tend doing Going to electrify the Miss oh Miss oh heck you jou ou finish spelling It Im I'm all I But you jou ou know what I mean Its It's the electrifying of the valley Talley it runs through If they arc are really going to harness those rushIng rushIng rush rush- Ing lag waters well all I 1 can cnn sa say Is Is boy lwy that's one mule of a river to harness rhe ve been tryIng to do doIt doit It by sandbagging for a number of jears years without result No matter how loud you jou yelled whoa at nt her she Jest naturally wouldn't behave or stan stand still And If Ie the government government govern govern- ment Is now really going to Moses that ornery body of water part her with a rod and make her go to work In In other words If the Mississippi Intends In one Muscle Shoals all 1 I can say Is hurray and hurrah whichever is the correct spelling The rhe first benefit will be the abolition tion of son wrIters son writers who have hive been telling that river to roll along for quite Ion long lone enough h. h I dont don't suppose we can expect any uny s such uch good old luck luckas as fiS finding that the government o will discover a II way or of forcing these thee yag s to go down n to some sonic camp and nUll get their feet wet wel In Mis MIs- waters sos so's the they'll ll catch cold and die But nut perhaps when mOIl modern ern engineering has taken some of the backwoods woods romance out of I the valley the writers song will give another river a Publicity Break and we will be turning the radio off bec because It Is playing My ly Collar the Colorado and ond You for the st sixth millionth time Not that we really give ghe a Boulder Dam The only tune tunc about the Mississippi Mississippi sippi valley alley which will be sung from now on will be on Old English Folk Folic Dance and the singers will be performing just where you yO suppose when I 1 remind you jou ou that the words words- begin Here we go Lobb Lobby Lobby LObb Lobby Here Hero w we go Lobby Lobb Lobby Light The second benefit the valley alley alle would reap from the government quitting ha haywire and ond swI switching ching to electric wire Is that the farmer could heave a big sigh of farm re re- re- re lief Maybe May we will discover that it t takes an nn electric Iron to Iron out the farmers' farmers troubles In Inthis this region anyhow an ho Can you jou ou feel that there Is anything revolting re In the Idea Ouch Stop that youre you're hurting me I However er that may be this new project will certainly get th the light light- ning roil salesmen at their wits end that Is if they haven't come cometo to the end of their wits long before beCore this I 1 mean It they ever had any While the farmers wanted to keep leep electricity out of their houses lIghtning lightning lightning light lIght- ning rods were hot And now that they want It In their houses louses lIghtning lightning lightning light lIght- ning rods are as IS cold as last years year's asparagus and about as useful But nut what fun the bo boys s 's who sell coffee coffee cof cof- fee pots with hitching ropes to em milking machines with cold water Vatel mixed attachments dating machines for hens hens to punch and so forth are going to ha have I Of a winters winter's night the boys at atthe atthe atthe the grocery store down t to the center center cen cen- ter will be sitting not around the theold theold theold old stove but around the electric pad We hope the salesmen put across a few electric washing machines machines ma nm- chines with the wives before the thebo bo boys s 's get their so socks ks on that steam generator Better take e along a n few permanent permanent permanent perma perma- nent wave machines In the sample cases bo boys s you jou might run Into an nn ostrich-feather ostrich farm I suppose when the TV TVA A and the theother theother theother other big rural errors or eras or areas or whatever er one should call the la layout out are arc completed a n lot of oi the old charm of the backwoods will be gone Every housewife will have an electric stove stoye Instead of a backache from hauling up coal for tor forthe forthe the old t type pe cooker The old oaken bucket will have kicked Itself and an electric pump will have taken the vacant Job With no trouble about hauling water every night may be Saturday In the he sweet bye and b bye e Considerably sweeter If It you jou ask asIc me which you'd probably better not on account of or Its It's a rather delicate subject But when the horse borse has turned to horse power the old farm wont won't be bethe bethe bethe the same I suppose Its It's okay to put the In picturesque but when the hay goes hey hey all I Ican Ican Ican can say Is It'll take an electrically woven straw hat to show which way the wind Is blowIn blowing Cheap power is a swell Idea But the cheap use of power Is a mighty dangerous thing Ill I'll hold my breath while you figure that one out After all nil I guess we can only hope for the best no matter watt happens real question about the wh whole le project down there Is will the tile farmers farmers farm farm- ers have haye an any farms left by hy the time the Job Is finished And will their clubbing he Sweet I Land and of Lib Lib- crt or Old Man Inn p G Nina W JU Putnam Service leo |