Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, May 19, 1922, Page 9

Ll s, (Written Specially for The Bulletin) nd who is traveling in Europe he other day, a copy of ‘The Paris edition. From ipped the following text of Frau- erican, wisdom: he man with the ho¢ has his iittle but he doesn’t have to fork francs for £0 sous worth of veg- This seems to indicate that markets and market prices are much of a:much- ness, whethér in Amevica or inBurope. that profiteers are of abou: the compléxion of soul on both sides the big water. The parsgraph has suggested to me two thoughts about two quite distinet p of the price situation. is regarding that word “‘worth” in quotatien. The writer assumes that non-farmer pays “12 francs for $0 Tth of vegetables.” Now it goes saying that, if the non-farmer ve francs, it is becduse the es are worth twelve franes to They are, or he thinks they are herwise, he would keep his twelve cs and go Wwithout the vegetables. , then staft off with any assuinp- that they are really ‘‘worth’ 80 That may, indeed, be what the gets, but isn't it Quite as. possi- he gets less than ‘they are Isp't this assumption quite ral as the other, viz: that ths r pays more than they are Standing on this side of sidering it in the light which it from the direction of the et’s put the thing- the other nd and see how it reads. For the stamp istance The man with the hoe has his little ‘roubles, chier among them being that e can getsonly 80 sous for i3 francs worth of:végetables.” Yo are kindly Invited to observe this way of stating it s just as English, quite as truthlul, and y as logical as the other. as we have seen, the buying con- jumer thihks the vegetablés in question ‘worth” 12 franes to him, why aren't rey “worth” 12 francs to the produce ng farmer? As Alkall Tke says, “How come?”’ How comes it that the carrots and cabbages h are “worth™ 12 francs at noon on city counter were “worth” only 80 that same morning on the farmer's What constitufes worth, anyway? By what is it measured? To the consumecr, hese vegetables are worth 12 féames, or e wouldn't pay that sum ‘for them. - To he farmer, they are werth buf §0 sous, he ouldn’t take that sum for them. compelled to sell, any moro the other fellow is compelled to The farmer wouldn't take his 80 less he Bad rather have them, £s considered, than the carrots abbagess The consumer wouldn't I francs.a few hours later unicsa, considered, he had rather have popular. ifleas. If two peopie use the same wobl, but each one attaches a comewhat ‘@ifferent raeaning to it, mis- understandifif is matural, almest inevit- ible. Bitter guamels have raged for no better reason thin a different ia defi- ons. Men have been ‘martyred for no better réason than a dispuie over thbe meaning of words. Wars havo been tought because great governments dls- agreed as o the exact purport of treaty stipulationg, Take this word ‘‘worth.”. Webater ves two deffnitions, with no less than i dozen dhAd& of difference set forth. tie also gives five words as synonyms, viz: Desert, merit, - excallence; = price; rate. TYet it.4s used in our text with 1 meaning essentially different.from. that onveyed by any ome of these so-cailed sy’ yms. It is usad in a sense which x it equally descriptive of un 80 tous price &t 4 a. m., and of a 12 francs orice at 10 2. m. It comes tlode to this, that, when we talk of worth @s meaning a thing’s selling value, we £ad it largely dependent on sircumstanges and conditions. It isn't in- nerent snd fixed, but floating and var- lable. These carrots and .cabbages were manifestly worth“less to the city con- sumer at the farm whereon they grew, ‘hen they wege on his kitchen tabip.in town. In the,first case they. wera.re- ally worth nething to him, for thay were sut of his régsch. , It added to their ac- aal worth tg him, that some one shoa!d & them in and put them within, his reach. And that service, of course he vwed THE FARM { TOFARMERS | for milk, butter andcheese. 2\ for just as truly as he owed for the c: rots and cabbages theniselves: ; Therefore, as a simple matter of fact, it st quite true -that those vegetables were ‘worth” either 12 francs or: &G sus. They were really ‘“worth” somie intermediate price between the two. -The. consumer paid @ good deal . more.’ than this moral “worth” while the productmz farmer got a good deal less. . Both: svers mulcted of their;| fair: .dues. by the smooth-talking, .quick-fingered, ~middle- man who stood between them and. profit- eered off. both. s i If you.are not familiar with F‘rench£ ar- money, perhaps. I should have explainéd, before. ithis, that a franc is egual, under normal conditions of exchange, to about; twenty cents, and, that”it takes twenty sous to make a franc. So Il do it now. Better late than nev There was o second thought suggested to me by that comment. The man wit the hoe doesn’t have to pay for = uig dally vegetables anything liko what the city consumer has to pay for a like sup= ply. " Epén on the ratio assumed by this Paris quotation, they stand him in anly one-third as much. He can sell tliem] for 80 sous, to be sure. Or hs ¢an consume ithem at home and hug himself while reflecting that he's getting just as good a dinper at a net cost of 30 ‘sous a8 his city neighbor has fo. pay 12 ‘francs for. Right there, it seems to me, is one of the great advantages which = a:farm life offers. It is a wonder that tais advantage isn't more universally appre- clated and more generally avalled of. When my grandfathet’s grandfather broke over the hills to the eastward and took up & farm in this vailey,.he brought with him a_ certain amount of supplies, enough to last only till he shoald have established himself ‘and his big family on a selt-supporting basis. - And it wasn't a year before that farm of his was sup- plying that family with practically all its needs. Its field were growing all tbe potatoes and corn and wheat and oats and barley and buckwheat and hay and garden vegetables for which farm needs call. Its pastures fed the cattle, the horses, the sheep and the swino which were needed for meat, or for service, or Its woods furnisher timber and fuel and in the spring, an adequate supply of mapie sugar of syrup. And so on, and so_on. To which you' succinctly if somewhat Slangily retort; ‘O, yes, but them days is gone forever !” And I counter with a pointed, “Who told you so?% Some of the crudities and alse some of, the opportunities of those days, may in- deed, - be “gone “forever. “ But, with thé change in tools and machines from the crude to the capable have .come -¢ven greater opportunities, such as the: old veterans never dreamed of as possila. What man has done man can do. To say that much is merely, to parrot a irtie trulsm. It is nearer the truth to s that what man did 2 hundred and fifty years ago, man today can beat all hol- low—Iif he has only. as much enersy. and gumption as his forbears. = The farms which supported old-fashioned -families | [ of a dozen or_ twenty, five generations back, can certainly . stipport modern families of three: or four today. . Sup- equately. to do it.” 2 The farmer—even the New ' England farmer on his few and thinsoiled acres— can, if_he puts his mind and body both to the taslk, “declare and’ maigtain his own independence of trusts and market- fixers and profiteers. His ancestors did it because they had:to. They would have starved if they hadn’t...He can do it, if he thinks it worth while and will take the trouble. Certainly, so far as the ordinary farm and garden products are concerned, so far as cow and horse.and.plg and chick- | p en feed and cereal or vegetable supplies g0, he can raise on his own farm, a large part of ‘what -~ farm" conSumiption [N calls for. He can raise a much larger | B part than he does. If he were pushed to || the wall by a stern necessity, such as confronted his ancestors, he would do it, | jd as they did. If too hard pressed by.mar- ket injustice and profitcering “specula- tion, today, he can still do it. And why in the name of common-sense and self-defense he doesm’t. do “it' 1o an extent far beyond any present prac-' tice, is one of the mysteries of our in- comprehensive human nature. 1 He can, if he will' live-on an, 80 .ou basis, while the non-farmer is compeliéd to live on a 12 franc basis. He has the 00l end of the poker, every time. While he is thinking of his -maay troubles, he might enlarge his smile a little by thinking also of this advantage. THE FARMBR: It's.all a matter: of the will T6 be- cool, and! whenit's*hotiand‘sultry take DIAMOND GingerAle. fm:_v pepvufltyk:ud pleasure. Sk 4. Aléo dix:more ifine’ flavors, ; 3-Piece Overstuffed $138 Living Room Suite Beautiful 3-piece Overstuffed Living Room Suite, consisting of Settee, Rocker and Chair, upholstered in beautiful pat- ‘terned tapestry—a reglilar $295 value. MANY EXCEPTIONAL GIFT VALUES FOR THE JUNE BRIDE t p PEARLS»;THE MOST ACCEPTABLE GIFT OF JEWELRY FOR THE BRIDE We have a largs selection of genuine unbreakable Pearls—24-inch strings—fully guaranteed—packed in beautiful silk lined box—regular $15.00 value ...... 54-95 (OTHERS .RANGING IN PRICE TO $100.00) We have a complete selection of Table and hollow Silverware, in plate and sterling, in every conceiv- N able pattern—featuring the -“Hostess” pattern—the port them just as completely and as ad- - appropniate bridal outfit. ... ... "An always acceptable gift for the Bride, is an out- fit of lvory Pyralin, in either complete sets or in- ‘dividual pieces—all Pyralin Ivory—specially priced. Cut Glass—a gift that will gladden the heart of the Bride—we have a large selection of Cut Glass, in all wanted articles—from the world’s best manufacturers including the famous “Libby” make—all Cut Glass— specially priced. Wedding Rings, in all the wanted styles—from the plain ;iffany, 14 and 18-K gold band to the latest engraved wedding ring, in white gold, gold and platinum—and you will find a saving on them here. Why This Store Sells Owing to the fact that really fine watches can be _produced onlyin limited numbers, the Gruen Watch- makers Guild confines the sale of ‘its watches to a ~highly restricted list of jewslry stores—the best in ;. eqch community. We have besn one of the Gruen jewelers for this community for many years. We have just received a new shipment of Gruen Watches—pocket models for men and dress wristlets for women., We urge you to.come in and examine them now while our stock is complete. S ' MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS . That Aré Easy to Play ! : anie in our store today, and we will § show you our complete line of - UKELELES, BANJO-MANDOLINS, i MANDOLINS These instruments are popular both for _solo and ensemble playing. ‘?‘nh surprisingly little practice you can plax well—entertain yourself and others. THEY €O%? BUT LITTLE ! IN PATRONIZING OUR ESTABLISHMENT, IT MATTERS NOT THE ACTUAL AMOUNT ¢ FANfi‘)r‘NEY YOU glil\b—YOU ARE ALWAYS SURE OF MAKING A WISE PURCHASE. TO BUY FURNITURE THAT WILL REFLECT THE ECONON?Y OE GOOD CHOICE IS ONLY A MATTER OF YOUR GOOD TASTE — AND SEEING OUR FURNITURE DiSPLAYS. Complete Four-Piece BEDROOM SUITE $’ 53 4-piece Bedroom Suite, consisting of Bed, Dresser, Triple Mirror Dressing Table, Chifferette—a regular $300 value—Choice of these suites in Walnut, Ivory and French Gray. S = NINE-PIECE, DINING ROOM SUITE $ 7 5 This Adam Period suite consists of Buffet, large Exten- — sion Table, China Closet and 6 Chairs, upholstered . with genuine leather—a regular $350 value. NEW VICTROLA CONSOLE THe first time this new, genuine Victrola Console has been offered on such low terms. You can so easily own this beautiful new Victrola from Plaut-Cadden’s — $3.00 brings it. Small weekly amounts soon pay for it. And the price, $115, is the lowest price ever named for a real genuine Victrola of this type. You must seé this néw model to realize ifs part payment. SHEET MUSIC — ALL THE LATEST HITS; ALL THE A SR A i 2 B2 (COME AND LET US PLAY-THEM FOR YOU) FREE—FREE This Mahogany Chest of 26 pieces of Wallace Nickel Silverware free with every purchase of a complete Dining Room Suite. GREATEST VALUES EVER OFFERED IN Dining Room § CHAIRS |} In the course of the past 6 months, we have sold a greater number of Dining Room Suites, ranging in price from $400 to $1,000—without the usual set of chairs —we now find that we have on hand a surplus stock of odd sets of these Diners, ranging in value from $90 to $180. We must dispose of these sets — hence — * these low prices. 1 set of 6 Chairs (1 Arm and 5 Side Chairs), of ma- od. hogany, in the modern Willam -and Mary Seats of genuine brown. Cowhide — @i r;a?—pricad $100—WILL DISPOSE 1 set of 6 Crairs (5 Chairs and 1 Arm), in brown ma- hogany—William and Mary period—Tall backs; one of Gardner’s best chair makers—upholstered with genuine leather—~priced $100—WILL DISPOSE FOR 47. o 1 set of 6 Chairs (5 Side Chairs and 1 Arm) — Tall § cane backs, in mahogany—William and Mary_ period — ‘heavily _constructed — upholstered wi nuine leather—priced $110 — WILL DIS- POBE (BOR.C ... oo it e s .oo 1 set of 6 Chairs (5 Side and 1 Arm)—Quesn Amne — walnut — heavily constructed—uphsistered with genuine biue "leather—priced $100 — WILL DISPOSE FOR ...ccceneee..s 548-50 1 set Solid Black Walnut Diners (1 Arm and 6 Chairs)—upholstered with genuine leather—Willi and Mary period — priced $125 — WILL DISPOSE FOR .............. 559. 2 sets of Diners (1 Arm and 5 Side Chairs)—~made in Adam period—seats covered with ncnui".) made by one of Gardner's best chair gmfi ! makers; priced $100—Will Dispose for \ 1 set of Mahogany, in the Louis pericd—seats of fi . de uine brown leather — Grand Rapids make; priced $85—Will Dispose for SAVE CARFARE—Ride a W\;‘ R % [} 23