hey! thqt's my qct ')) reod the story of n'The builder who put his heqd in the sdnd"

The poor ostrich takes quite a kidding because he buries his head in the sand. As a matter of fact, he's not so dumb . . . he's looking for things that may be hidden under the surfoce.

We know a builder who took a hint from the long-legged bird and discovered hidden costs under the surfoce covering he had been using for roofs. This particular builder had drifted into the habit of using "cheap" covering material, but had failed to notice that, in order to uSe it, he was paying dearly for extra sheathing lumber to support the cheap roofing.

When he looked at his facts and figures, he found that the solid roof decking required for non-rigid ma- terials had been costing him more than he had "saved" by using inferior shingles. Here are the facts he uncovered by digging deep:

Genuine CERTIGRADE cedar shingles are so strong that they can be applied on spoced roof sheathing -you simply use about half as much sheathing lumber in building the roof deck. Naturally, it takes only about half as much labcir cost to apply the sheathing.

'Well, when he figured up these savings that just come naturally with CERTIGRADE cedar shingles, he found that the sq-called economy of cheap roof covering material is a false economy. Now he knows that he can give his home buyers the extra quality, extra long life ofgenu-

Eine cedar shingle roofs at little or no extra cost.

More and more builders are alert for quolity in these days of increasing competition. And they are finding that cedar shingles, applied on spaced roof sheathing, provide muchneeded sales quality at sensible cost.

No wonder so many builders are "going back" to those tried and true CERTIGRADE red cedar shingles!

If you would like to check the comparative costs of cedar shingles on spaced sheathing vs. competitive roofing on solid sheathing, in your community, write us for a free cost estimating form. Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, 5510 White'Building, Seattle 1, Washington or 425 Howe Street, Vancouver, B. C.

EAT HALF AS MUCH; LAUGH TWICE AS MUCH; AND YOU'LL LIVE LONGER.

Proverb

***

-Chinese

Wtren you note that these writings are what "we" think, you will understand that the editorial privilege is being used. Only three men have a right to refer to themselves as "we"; an editor, a king, and a man with a tapewonn. ***

Fred Allen said five years ago that the 16-inch screen had taken the place of the S-foot shelf of books. The only change since then is that it is now the 21-inch screen, and it has taken the place of mostly all learning, history, and wisdom.

*:i'*

Men have often been likened to sheep. The likeness remains unchanged in most directions. It has been said of late, and probably with much truth, that if television had been discovered first and radio then had come along as television is doing, people would be rushing around buying radio sets as they are now buying television, just to get rid of those awful pictures.

We hear continued thunder about the high cost of living keeping us groggy. And yet we know that it isn't the cost of living that does it, it's the high cost taxation. Remove high taxes and living costs are cheap. Figures to prove it can be read in abundance.

* !k

The average man is not as fully impressed with the high cost of taxation as he should be. The same government that started the high tax level provided the wageearner with an anaesthetic to dull the pain. When the government began requiring employers to withhold income taxes from the employee's pay envelope, it put the worker to sleep. To hand a man fifty dollars and then take fifteen of it away from him hurts a whole lot more than to just give him the thirty-five in the first place. And it causes a lot less griping. ***

The immortal thinker and philosopher, Plato, who lived in Athens f.rom 427 to 347 B. C. evidently gave some ttpught to the subject of income taxes, for we find him writing: "Where there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust man less on the same amount of income." So, you see, tax evaders must have been prevalent in those old days, also. Wonder if they had infuence peddlers and tax fixers and five percenters around

Athens, such as flourished so widely in Washington during the days of H.S.T.?

You don't suppose, do you, that George \tr/ashingtea [3d a formula of his own for keeping down government c:rpenses? They didn't need income t'-es, high or low, in his day. During his first term as Presidcnt of the Uniteal States, the entire annual expenditures of the Fc&rd Government only amounted to $2,500,(x)0, which figurcd about 60 cents per year per person. Oh Gcorgc! George! How we miss you !

Just read a newspaper headline: "Machines fast replacing men and mules in fields." Bet that btittgs shouts of protests from that numerous school of thinkers wto cannot understand that in every ciase, modern machincs and modern mettrods actually increase thc use of men, with increased wages in the long run. History provcs it bcyond contradiction; but the school of disscnters will continue to cry loud that tbe machines are driving tte men out of business. John Billings used to say that the trouble with most Een is that they know :o T-t thiogs that aren't so.

One of this school of "damn-ttc-Eachine" thinksn 3top ped one day where one of thesc big ditch digging machincs was excavating for a new sewer line. He said to the ercavating contractor: "How Eany men with shovcls docs that machine displace?" The contractor said: "About fifty." The snooper said: "\f,Ihy don't you j'rnk that rrachine and put fifty men with shovels to work?" Thc contractor said: "Well, let's follow that line of thinking a little further. Why not ten thousand mcn with teaspoons?' And when he looked around a minute l,ater, thc snooper wasgone'

* r *

fmpressive what sharp thrusts in what mild languagc a lady can make ! The other day we heard two ladics talking over the lunch table, and one of ttem spokc of tte wild abandon and fearful vulgarity with whicb thc whole nation, including the press, radio, dl the alleged humorists, and a vast number bf ottrers, have been discussing without gloves the recent changc of a man to a woman, through surgery. She said: "It was not many years ago that nice people would not discuss or listen to such ttings in public." And the other lady mildly replied: "If you ask me, nice people don't do it now. The affair just gavc the vulgarians a field day." ***

I repeated that remark to sevcral fricnds thc next dan and a grey-haired gentleman spoke up and said: "I have thought the same thing numerous times as I have witnessed the shocking degradation of American manners as demonstrated in the publicity given this case." He paused a few moments, and then added: "But, after all, what can you expect of a public that spends three or fout times as much for booze as it does for books and education?" Do you, Junior, know any answere to that one?

**{<

According to insurance figures, the death toll in trafEc accidents in the United States rose to 37,600 last year, an increase of 500 over the previous year; and that was the third successive year the death. toll has climbed. Also, more than 2,090,000 persons were injured in. traffic last year, an increase of. 127,0@ over 1951. Further interesting facts disclosed: three out of every four 1952 traffic accidents happened to passenger cars driving in clear weather on dry roads or streets; four out of five of the vehicles involved in fatal accidents were driving straight ahead; excessive speed was the main cause of traffic accidents, killing 13,430 and injurint*"?"I600,000 in 1952.

And the public is assured that every year the auto manufacturers are constantly increasing their engineering efrorts to the end that faster and more powerful cars will be produced, and sent forth to mangle human bodies. Of course, mechanical failures cause many accidents, but it is the weakness in human heads that is responsible for most of them. Bad driving causes most accidents, and drunk driving plays a dominant part in bad driving. An unwise mixture of gasoline and alcohol furnishes the ambulances and hospitals and mortuaries with much of their business. If it were possible to arrange that drunk drivers kill and maim only other drunk drivers, everything would be all right. Lfnfortunately, it is impossible to l'egislate such practical matters, and the wild drunks keep on killing the better folks in spite of all offorts to restrain them.

*r<{<

The world needs faster and more powerful motor cars for ordinary use, about as much as General Custer needed another Sioux Indian. And, to sidestep and moralize a bit, Wilson Mizner once remarked that "more people get run down by gossip, than by automobiles." That last is difficult to prevent, and impossible to legislate against; also impossible to secure on.

*statistics

fn a recent issue, we revived in this column the story that went the rounds during the Henry Wallace days in the Department of Agriculture when they decided to supply the farmers with mare mules that were in foal, so that the farmer could have both the work animd, and its increment. Which brought back again another story of that same strange era when the Government was destroying food animals, and food crops, and settling with the owners for cash. As this story went, they sent a young man into a farm district to inspect live stock and put a value on it. He didn't know one animal from another, so they gave him a little book of instructions that described the various classes of live stock, and told how to value each animal according to species, age, breed and condition.

The first day out in the country he discovered a farm with a herd of goats, but was unable to find anything about this creature in his information book. He irnmediately wired his boss in Washington, as follows: "Have found an animal with a forlorn face, a long bcard, a skinny body, and a bare rump. What is its name, and what value shall f set upon it?" In a few hours the reply came back: 'The animal you describe is a farmer and you don't put any value on it."

*+*

In this age of coffee hounds and coffee "brcaks" (meaning the mid-morning and mid-afternoon stops for cofree) we never forget that it was a lumberman who supplied us long years ago with the best coffee recipe on record. Hiram Smith was a California lumberman of the old school. He was a founder of the great Pacific Lumber Comlnny, and he was a great lover of coffee. He got his coffee recipc in the following fashion: * * *

Mat y years ago he visited a mine in Arizona which he was pLanning on buying. He atc noon dinner in the cook shack, and he was served coffee that was so amazingly good that he went to tte cook to get his recipe. Said cook was a hairy-chested man. Mr. Smith asked for his recipe for making coffee. The cook protested that he had no recipe. "You made ttis coffee, didn't you?" asked Mr. Smith. The cooked allowed as how he had. '"Then just tell me," insisted Smith, "how do you make it?" "Tbat's simple," said the cook. "f use a little watcr and a hell of a lot of coffee." And we've called that thc Hiram Smith recipe ever since we first heard him tell it. And you want to know something, Junior? That recipe will make good coffee every time. Add just two otter thin$ to tte recipe tfse a good brand of coffee, and senre it fresh and hot. That'll do it.

The Frenchman, Tallyrand, said that coffee should be black as the devil, sweet as love, pure as an angel, and hot as hell.

High Proise From New lleiico Civilion Defense Director

"Dear Mr. Dionne: Mr. Clyde Washburn, of the Star Lumber Co., in this city has just cdled my attention to your 'Vagabond Editorials' in the April f5th issue, and particularly the paragraph concerning 'the Communist threat here at home! Mr. Washburn calleC my attention to this paragraph because be knows that I am interested in doing something about what you have called 'The big battle is herc against tte entrenched forces of subversion, and that is where thc home folks can do the fighting.'

"I wish there were more Editors throughout the country who would take the position.expressed by you in your editorial."

(Signed)

Col. John W. Chapman State Director of Civilian Defense Sante Fe, New Mexico'

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