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Show OU'leared by Western Newspaper Union.) WE THINK TOO LOCALLY, NOT ENOUGH NATIONALLY THERE IS in America too much local and not enough national political polit-ical thinking. We fail to realize that the foundation on which the Republic Repub-lic is builded is national in scope, that the national government can, and does, dominate our entire system. sys-tem. National legislation can take from the states, and through them, from the counties and municipalities, many of the rights and privileges we have felt belonged to us locally. In our two-party system, those of each party are interested in controlling con-trolling the state, county and municipal mu-nicipal patronage and the election machinery of these political subdivisions. sub-divisions. We pick candidates for representatives represen-tatives and senators on the basis of local service to the party, rather than on their ability as statesmen. We continue them in office so long as they produce national funds for local use, or support such minority legislation in which we have a self ish interest. The result of it all is a wild orgy of spending and government by and for minorities. If we do not learn to think nationally along political lines, we will some day awaken to the fact that Washington controls us locally. A MIGHTY FACTOR IN COMMUNITY SERVICE THERE IS no institution or business busi-ness enterprise that does so much for the community in which it operates op-erates as the newspaper. Directly and Indirectly, it promotes the interests in-terests of the community. It produces pro-duces acquaintanceship, friendship and good will between people of the town and the surrounding farm homes. It works week by week, year after year, for the interests of all. It keeps each individual informed in-formed of the joys and sorrows, the comings and goings, the activities of his neighbors. That is a service which promotes the welfare of the community as a whole. It makes of the community, the people of the town and surrounding farms, a homogenous whole. PARITY PRICES FOR THE FARMER IN 1941 THE GOVERNMENT Is to see that the farmer gets the 1904 to 1914 parity price for what he raises. That means, they tell me, that what he may raise this year is to pay proportionately for as much and as many things bought per year during the years from 1904 to 1914. Just how they figure It out, I do not know, and it is a safe bet that the average farmer will take the government's word as to the answer. an-swer. It is estimated that it will take close to half a billion of government gov-ernment dollars to make the difference differ-ence between what the public will pay for the 1941 crop and what the farmer is to receive. It certainly will take mathematical mathemat-ical experts to arrive at the right answer for each farmer, but I do not know how much these experts are to get for the job. Einsteins probably come high. BOTH PARTIES NOW SUBSCRIBE TO DEMOCRACY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS organized or-ganized and wrote a Constitution for a republic, not a democracy. The term "democracy" does not appear any place In the Constitution. Wash-ington Wash-ington and Hamilton believed in a republic, with a ruling class. Jefferson Jeffer-son insisted upon a democracy, with the power of government in the hands of all the people. Today both major political parties subscribe to a democracy. Despite all the com-plexities com-plexities of government, America can survive as a democracy If the people all the Toms. Dicks and Harrys, as well as the Oswalds, Per-civals Per-civals and Warrens, are given accurately ac-curately all the facts about the op-eration op-eration of government The American Ameri-can people can be trusted, but American leadership refuses to take the people into its confidence, and that lack of information will in time do for us just what it has done for Europe. PROSPERITY REGARDLESS OF how the war may end, or how long it may last, William A. Irwin, educational direc tor or the American Institute of Banking, says America is In for a long period of prosperity. He sees this country as the one great creditor credi-tor nation that will be in a position to rehabilitate the world. It sounds plausible and may it prove true for us and for the rest of the world. EXECUTIVE 'CRIMES' THERE ARE several thousand federal laws not enacted by congress, con-gress, the violation of any one of which can send you to jail or subject you to a fine. These are executive orders issued by more than 150 different dif-ferent departments, bureaus or commissions. Many American citizens citi-zens have served Jail terms or paid fines, or both, because of a violation of these executive order laws. Lawrence Law-rence Sullivan, in "The Dead Hand of Bureaucracy," tells us new ones are being issued one each day. |