Vagabond Editorials

By Jack Dionne

Here indeed, is "one for the book". H. P. Dixon, the Los Angeles millwork man, showed me the other day the copy of a call that was sent out back in 1924 for a meeting of committees representing the millworb industry of Los Angelcs. The big shot is that the meeting was.held "for the purpose of discussing the depltirable conditions surrounding our industry". Laugh that off, looking at the millwork business today. It just goes to show that all values are simply comparative. There they were, in 1924, with the demand huge and the price high and every man of them making big profits and paying big irrcome taxes, discussing the "dqrlorable conditions", of the industry. "And now" said Mr. Dixon, "we are all praying that someday before we all starve to death, those 'deplorable conditions' will return to the industrl".

The Order of Hoo Hoo will miss Parson Simpkin. Miss him more than it realizes, perhaps. He occupied a position unique in the Order-in any order, as a matter of fact. No one wilt, or can, replace hirn- Such abundance of ability is seldom found, and almost never gecrrred for the snall retainer paid the Parson The fact t$at he was a healthbroken minister of the gospel was what made it possible to secure his great services at modest cost. Few men could equal his wondrous eloquence. He gave of his genius freely to Hoo Hoo, and wrote the imprint of his character deep upon its history. Hoo Hoo never needed him more than it does to'day-but he is gone. rf*t

The Parson possessed a great sense of humor, and loved a good joke on himeelf as well as any living man. The writer always loved to nag the Parson when they appeared on programs together. And the Parson always enjoyed it like a true spoft, and gave as good as was sent. He loved to repeat the famous remark that that sharp-tongued wit, Gus Russell, of San Francisco, once made while introducing him for a speech in the San Joaquin Valley. He said somethinglikethist

"I am about to have the pleasure of introducing to you that truly great man, Parson Peter A. Simpkin. The Parson served most of his life as a minister of the Gospel. He devoted a generation to the work of a single congregation in Salt Lake City, and, when he finally gave up trhat pastorate it was said of him that he had the largest collection of pants buttons and the smallest collection of pants, of any man in Salt Lake."

Almost as many suckers are getting caught in this mania for building miniature gol,f courses in our cities, as were caught in the 1929 marlet crash. Thcy started in building simple little putting courseE tbat cost from five hundred to a thousand dollars each. They were new, the folls floched in to putt, and ttose courscs frequently cleared one to three hundred dollars a day. Big rcturns, of coursc. The news brought in golf course builders by the tens of ttousands, ever;rwhere

Competition in building ner, tric\r, diGFsull, and attractive courses came rapidly. Evcryone wanted thcc huge profits they heard about. So thcy begao building courses that cost from ten to a hundred thousand dolLars, with re' freshment stands, all sorts of covenieooes, etc., and stlll expected to make several hundrcd llcr cent a montt as the little cleap courses had donc. And already the craze is passing. The small courses atrc pa$c. Only the new de luxe ones are patronized, ahd they are falling ofi fast. When tte fever dies away " lOj sum will havc been lost.

They have served their part, and done a lot of people a lot of good at a time whea thcy Dceded busincss. In Southern California, for e-amph, ttcsc golf coursca haw kept the cement dealers busy witb their deliveric, have consumed lots of lumber, lots of sand, gravel, ornamental rock, felt, color.ed lnrasols, Gtc., and put lds of money in circulation. But only tlre pionccn got a profit. The late builders of thousands of erparsive courscs will have plenty to charge to experience. . . .

The carton packing of woodea building metcrials Lccps growing. A nationally Lnown shingle staining outfit announces attractive dust-proof cartons coveriag their staincd shingles. Already we had built-ins, frames, trim, sash, and lots of lumber, packed in cartons. taa

An advertising philosopher writing in a business magazine figures that inducing busincas people to advertise in times like these, is splendid business ethics. You get them to advertise, ttre ad gets pcoplc to bun thcir buying improves the business of otbers, ard they in their turn pass along the optimistic effort. It starts an endless chain, that soon causes the employment of men and women now out of jobs, and the starting of tAc chain of nonnal business which we are all hoping andrwaiting for.

Inducing people to put tbeir idle mooc5/ to work is also great business for ttese times. It is scared mmey that makes tight business. Take some of the fcar out of investors, and you have turned the kcy in tbe door to tb

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