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Show &gXEX3!SXSX2SSXSXS OPINIONS OF H THE PRESS THE COALINGA (Calif.) RECORD REC-ORD (Republican) What Do' You Think? It is the privilege of every editorial edi-torial writer to occasionally "stick his neck out" on controversial contro-versial subjects. We've done it on many occasions in expressing our opinion on things of general publi? interest. We feel that we would be dishonest if we did not so state our opinion. It is our duty as an editor. With the foregoing statement one would naturally suspect that the "neck" is going out again and so it is. This time it has to do with the measure passed by the House of Representatives last month, wherein $50,000,000 is to be appropriated ap-propriated for free lunches m the public schools of the nation. On that measure we would have voted vot-ed "NO." During the depression era, when the government was buying buy-ing surplusses, the system of lunches for the school children was established as an outlet, for those commodities. It continued through the "Duration." Naturally Natural-ly a bureau and personnel was set up for that purpose back in Washington. Now the legislators in the Nation's Na-tion's capital have seen fit to continue con-tinue the bureau as a permanent fixture instead of turning back to the people of the districts the responsibility re-sponsibility of caring for their own' as a civic philanthropic duty. , Parent - Teacher groups and other organizations did a fine job of it before the federal bureaucrats bur-eaucrats stepped into the picture. Providing hot dishes for the children who brought their own lunch was an excellent project for those groups and they had a good time preparing entertainment entertain-ment and other means of raising funds. Everybody pitched in and helped, did it willingly and got value received for the few cents they paid for admission tickets. It was a good, healthy and beneficial benefi-cial pastime for everyone involved in-volved and every child was provided pro-vided with proper nourishment. Now the government, if the measure passes the Senate, is setting up an appropriation of $50,000,000 for the school lunch program." It is going to cost $15,-000,000 $15,-000,000 of that amount to administer ad-minister the bureau, leaving $35,- 000. 000 for the lunch program, the remainder going for the maintenance of that portion of the top-heavy federal payroll, which by last account, February 1, was 3,912,000, which is 3,000,-000 3,000,-000 more than were on the federal fed-eral payroll in 1933. Everyone here knows that the parents in Coalinga can well afford af-ford to pay the small cost of lunches served at the grammar and high school cafeterias. No doubt the same situation exists throughout most of the nation. If there are a scattered few who cannot meet the ten or fifteen cents daily, there are plenty of organizations with charitable backgrounds that would willingly willing-ly assume the expense. We believe it is high time that the people of this nation begin to sever the tentacles of the federal fed-eral bureaucratic octopus that are today reaching down into the lives of every individual and robbing rob-bing them of their independence. America was built by individuals individ-uals who were willing to and did help themselves and were willing to help their neighbors in their, own community. If the coming generations in America are going to be brought up to look to the government for handouts of every kind and description, des-cription, this will soon cease to be "the land of the free," but instead the "land of the dependents." depen-dents." We are' just old-fashioned enough to believe that every boy and girl should have in their hearts and minds the desire to make their own ways in the world. Instill in them the ambition ambi-tion to get ahead by determination determina-tion and hard work, and not let them know that if they don't want to prepare for a future of their own making the government govern-ment will feed them and care for them by penalizing the ambitious through taxation. . . |