Vagabond Editorials

By Jack Dionne

It is joy in life to find, At every turning of the road, The strong arm of a comrade kind, To help me onward with my load. And since f have no gold to give, And love alone must make amends, My only prayer is, while I live, God make me worthy of my friends.

"t_"1 D. Sherman.

A swell little prayer. Someone has said that a friend is one who knows your weaknesses, but loves you anyway. Not bad. For of what fundamentals does friendship consist? Three: Loyalty, understanding, and helpfulness. And of the three, the latter is the most important.

Years ago I heard a lecturer discuss human beings, and he used as a measuring stick for weighing the worth of humans, what he called their "Q-Q-M,s.', ft was the euality, the Quantity, and the Mode that -u"r*ud their worth. When he considered the worth of a man he questioned the Quality of his good works, the Quantity of them and then the Mode or manner in which he performed his acts of living.

He said men were like cows. One cow gives a whole lot of milk of indifferent quality, but is a good-natured old cow. Her Quantity is fine, her Mode is all right, but her euality is below average. Another cow gives a very small amount of milk, but of very rich character. She also is a kindly dispositioned animal, willing and easy to milk. Her euality and Mode are O.K., but her Quantity is below par. Another

f,et Us Quote You Ourrr

DOUGLAS FIR-SITKA SPRUCE-HEMLOCK

Lumber - Lath - Millwork - Timbers - Ties

Piling - Mine Poles

Car and Railtoad Materials

PORT ORFORD CEDAR

_(Also known as Vhite Cedar or Lawson Cyprese)

Lumber - Ties - Crossing Planks - Decking

Tunnel Timbers - Venetian Blind Stock -

PONDEROSA AND SUGAR PINE cow in the same herd gives a large volume of excellent milk, but she is a mean devil, hard to milk, kicks over the milk pail, and is generally cantankerous. She has the Quality and the Quantity, but her Mode is lacking. But a fourth cow in this herd gives lots of good rich milk every day, and is gentle and well-mannered with it. There is the good cow. She has the Quality, the Quantity, and the Mode. fn other words, her "Q-Q-M" measurements are fine.

Agente SMITH WOOD-PRODUCTS, Inc.

BLOEDEL DONOVAN LUMBER MILI-S CHAS. K. SP.A,UI.DING I'GGING CO.

This man measured human beings the same way, judging them by the Quality, the Quantity and the Mode of their human service. And it wilt do a mighty good job of weighing them, too.

All over the country JrjrJ various cities are out trying to get their Community Chest collections for the year. It's a great big, much-needed job, and one that is mighty hard of accomplishment. It requires a fine plan, a stout organization of helpful, courageous, loyal men and women, and a well-maintained battle to separate folks from their shekels. As one who has worked for many years with Community Chest organizations, I am watching with more than usual interest to see how Chest drives will fare this year. I think it an unusually important year because we will have a chance to judge the effect of the competition of Social Security on Community Chests. It may not have occurred to the average person that there IS competition, but it SHOULD.

For the past decade ""J;.-ahe Community Chest has been the one charitable cause to which a great number of the people of small means, wage earners, etc., have con-

SPLIT REDWOOD

Tiee - Fence Poato - Shingles

Shakes - Stakes - Piling . Poles - Anchorc

RED CEDAR

Shingles - Transmission Poles - Stubs - Anchors

Fence Pocts. Op"n Tank Treated or untreated

CREOSOTE, PRESSURE TREATED

Lumber - Ties - Poles - Piling

?520 tributed. Now they have become what you might call charity-minded. They are all too mindlul of the cash they find deducted from their pay envelopes for Federal Social Security. They are likewise mindful of the fact that directly or indirectly they are paying a share of Old Age Pensions, and other things of that sort. I can't help wondering if, on top of their other charities to which they are compelled by law to contribute, they are going to give as readily to the Community Chest as they were wont to do. People get awfully tired of what the colored brother called the "Deducks" from their pay envelopes. And in the next few years, as the enforced deductions from pay envelopes to pay for the ever-growing "isms" increases, isn't it going to be increasingly difficult to collect voluntary charity contributions? The Community Chest is going to be just as necessary and important as ever. But won't the money be harder and harder to get in competition with charities that are compulsory? I fear so. For the Social Security cow doesn't give milk. They take it from her.

It was one William of Avon who said that, "The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the place beneath." But Shakespeare lived before the days of governmental Social Security. Today they not only say, "Be helpful," but they await the assent of the petitioned not at all. They just take it out of his pay. r am not throwing ,."; ; sl"i"r Security. It's a beautiful philosophy. It is too bad that some group of wise and experienced financiers, rather than a bunch of theoretical and inexperienced experimenters, should not have had the job of working out the plan and the mechanics for operating it. This enormous sum of money that is being assessed all the pay-rolls of the nation today, could be used today and tomorrow to perform enormous good in this country. But the present plan of building it up until it becomes a sum of money never before conceived of by the mind of man, and using the interest on same to finance Social Security needs, must have been thought of by Amos and Andy. There never were, there are not now, and there never on top of this earth will be any group of men capable of caring for, protecting, investing and administering a pot of Fifty Billions of Dollars. Think of Fifty Billions of Dollars in the hands of a bunch of politicians ! No wonder Tammany is struggling for a come-back ! ***

I have no quarrel with Old Age Pensions. I'm getting along in years myself. The poorhouse was always a disgrace to alleged civilization. I'm willing to help care for the needy old who have no one to care for them. But f have a horror of piling up huge reservoirs of money for politicians to play with. I would like to see all Social Security enterprises handled just like the Old Ag'e Pensions are being handled in the various states today. Get the money needed, and use it right now.

And, going back to an" "*:*a of charity, a miser died and applied at Heaven's gate for admittance. St. Peter asked him what good he had ever done on earth that would entitle him to admission. He searched his head and finally remembered that he had once given fifty cents when a great number of people had been left homeless and suffering as a result of a great flood. St. Peter said to the Recording Angel, "Does that check?" And the Recording Angel looked in the book and said, "It checks." St. Peter asked what other good deed he had done on earth. Finally he remembered that he had given twenty-five cents to a poor widow with many needy children, when the neighbors took up a collection. St. Peter said to the Recording Angel, "Does that check?" And he said it did. But try as he might the miser could think of no other good work that he had done on earth. St. Peter said to the Recording Angel, "I don't know what to do with this guy. He HAS done some good. What would you suggest?" And the Recording Angel said, "Well, Peter, I'll tell you what I'd do if I were you; I'd give him back his six bits and let him go to ffell."