Fiddling While
Rome Burns
listen, discuss thé matter and
decide for or against? A few,
yes, but darn few. Yet the beer
halls were doing their usual busi­
RON A MORRIS WORKMAN
ness, card clubs were battling
ROCKING W RANCH
over prizes, study clubs were
1 went into & store the other gleaning the gems of literature,
day to buy something? and re­ etc., and the movie theater had
ceived the usual answer of the its usual quota of patrons to see
present time, “We have none and Micky Mouse.
I do not say
what’s more we don’t know when this partcular lecturer presented
we shall have any.” The gentle­ the only possible solution of our
man who gave me the all-too- problems; my wail is only against
common reply added with a smile, the deadly indifference of the
“Why don’t you write about these average person to all efforts to­
things in your column?”
I ward evolving a suitable working
laughed and replied that such system. Their attitude seems to
language as I felt like using con­ be, “To heck with our Rome. Let
cerning the matter would not be her burn. It’s lots more fun to
allowed in print, and besides, wtiat just keep on fiddling, so why
good would it do.
should I bother about it? Let
Everyon^ knows the conditions “George do it.” But it has been
now; they know that something my experience that if we don't
will have to be done, but most of pay attention to what “George” is
them “pass the buck" and go doing, if we don’t back him in
gaily on their way. One wonders the constructive labor and in his
if our people ever really think. efforts to bring forth desirable
You hear growls and howls on results, and crack down on him
every side, but seldom a con­ when he goes too far wiong, then
structive idea, nor does there “George” is going to pass the
seem to be any attempt toward buck on to something or some­
findng a solution of our difficul­ body else. We are going to run
ties by the majority, and those out of “Georges” one of these
few, who do think and plan for days and the whole dam stinking
the future, seldom find many who mess is going to land just where
are sufficently interested to listen. it should land, and that js on our
Some time ago there was a lec­ own heads.
ture given in our town concern­
My word, how we do play
ing the present conditions and of­ around with trifles these days
fering a possible solution. We when our whole world is rushing
know that our present system of toward some terrific change. It
economics is a tottering rat-ridden rests with us, the people, the mil­
shell, and it is clear to any think­ lions upon millions of us common
ing person that we must find people, as to what this change
some new and workable system to will be. We howl because we
replace it, but did any of our can’t get this or that, because
citizens take the trouble to go and there isn’t enough sugar, and
Success to You
That is our wish for Mr. and Mrs. Walter
Ready and their new store.
Vernonia Insurance Exchange
Phone 231
prices are too high on Everything
we can get, but! do we stop to
really think about the conditions
which have brought about these
shortages and these high prces?
Men go on strike for higher
wages, but you cannot blame
them because they have to have
more money in order to meet the
higher prices.
Then, in turn,
prices go up. It is a vicious cir­
cle and we run around it like rats,
just as we have always done.
How many of us “rats” try to
think out a path that will lead
us away from this unending cir­
cle?
Sometimes I wonder why
the good Lord ever1 bothered to
endow human beings with brains,
for we certainly never seem to
use them.
Civilizations greater than ours
of the present day have fallen,
the sands cover the stones of their
giant buildings and only legends
remain to tell us of their glory.
You may think this cannot hap­
pen to us, but it can. A country
oblivious of its own internal de­
cay makes an easy prey; a peo­
ple who pay no heed to the cause
of conditions, who are content to
play and to think of trifles while
the turmoil of changing worlds
swirls about them, can never be
of any constructive use in avert­
ing the chaos which may come. I
once watched a bunch of sheep
pour over a precipice. The lead­
ers saw their danger too late and
tried to hold back but the silly
empty-headed fools behind them
could not seem to understand,
they would not change nor seek
a new path, and so poured them­
selves on the rocks below, carry­
ing their leaders with them. Only
a few were left to start another
flock. If you have ever read his­
tory, you will see that civiliza­
tions act in that sarnie senseless
way.
Will we never learn to
thing, to realy thinkv Will we
never learn that always there is
change and that it lies with us,
With each individual one of us as
a part of the whole, to see that
the path we take is toward bet­
ter conditions of living, toward
a better type of government, a
wiser economic system, rather
than toward the precipice of de­
struction ?
All right. I have had my say
again. Some of you will yawn
and say, “O heck, that woman
makes me tired” and pick up the
funny paper to reread the ad­
ventures of “Little Annlie," or
Congratulations-
turn on the radio to find out
if poor little Lotta Weepmore has
escaped the clutches of the pant­
ing villian, but, please God, there
will be some who read this who
will understand whereof I speak
and who may even dare to think
and to act. To those I say.
“Carry on, brother, You will be
called a crank, a radical, or a
fool, but when we get shoved over
the precipice with the rest of the
world, it may be some consolation
to you to know that at least we
tried to turn them into a, safer
path, although that thought will,
I fear, be of small comfort, since
we also shall be numbered among
the dead.”
THE EAGLE, VERNONIA, ORE.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 12, 1946 5
The love song of some grass­
hoppers are at so high a pitch
that human ears cannot catch
them. Frequencies of 40.000 vi-
brations per second have been re­
corded, while the hearing ability
of the human ear stops at about
20,000 vibrations per second.
MAKE THE PAL SHOP
YOUR HEADQUARTERS
Because the island of Helgoland
off the mouth of the Elbe river
has served the Germans as an
important naval and air base
through two ware, the British
have decided to destroy it as far
as possible with dynamite.
OUR SPECIAL-
Pineapple
Had By All
Thursday—Friday—Saturday—Sunday
Pints, Quarts, Gallons, 5-GaIlon Tins
SOFT ICE CREAM SPECIAL-
This can happen to you.
Bring the gang over any ol’
Orange
time for an hour or so of fel­
Saturday Only
lowship and dip your lip in
some of DesSy’s brew, i
Closed Every Tuesday
Dessy’s
Tavern
The Pal Shop
Vernonia, Oregon
Phone 411
Miller’s
Vernonia
DEPARTMENT STORE
Better Shopping in Vernonia
FOR VERNONIA’S NEWEST
We are adding many nationally-known brands of merchan­
dise to our store, all of which is making buying more con­
BUSINESS AND TO ITS OWN-
t
venient in our rapidly growing business district.
ERS, MR. AND MRS. WALTER
READY, WELCOME TO VER-
HIRSCH-WEIS (White Stag)
Fine Wool arid Sports Garments
VAN HUSEN
NONIA. .
World’s Smallest Shirts and Pajamas
RAND SHOES—STAR BRAND AND POLL PARROT SHOES
SOCIETY CLUB HATS
Garage Hours
7 A.M. to
IO P.M.
*
For Men
JANTZEN SWEATERS
For Men and Women
WRIGHTS AND HANES UNDERWEAR
SPUR BELTS AND LEATHER GOODS
KABO CORSETS AND BRASSIERS
One of America’s Finest Lines
WOOL-OF-THE-WEST BLANKETS
by Portland Woolen Mills
A. H. HEISEY GLASSWARE
CANNON TOWELS
We Will Soon Have Cannon Hose for Women
^CHEVROLET; 1
UNITED STATES RUBBER BOOTS, PACKS, GALOSHES
AND KEDS
MANY OTHER WELL KNOWN BRANDS ARE BEING
ADDED AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
VERNONIA AUTO CO.
Vernonia Oregon
PHONE 342
MILLER?
/
VERNONIA
{¿y
4