Editorial & Business Offices: 10 South Fourth Street
O'NEILL, NEBR.
CARROLL W. STEWART, Editor and Publisher
Entered the postoffice at O’Neill, Holt county, Nebraska,
as second-class mail matter under the Act of Congress of March
B, 1879. This newspaper is a member of the Nebraska Press
Association, National Editorial Association and the Audit Bureau
of Circulations.
Established in 1880—Published Each Thursday
Terms of Subscription: In Nebraska, $2.50 per year; else
where in the United States, $3 per year; abroad, rates provided
on request. All subscriptions are strictly paid-in-advance.
Those Missing Persons
Holt countyans, like residents of most counties in the north
south belt running from the Canadian line south through the Da
kotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, are asking: Where are
the missing persons?
As this editorial is written, the district census supervisor de
clines to state specifically the extent of loss of population in the
county because, until early this week, all tabulatons had not been
completed. But in a general way he declared that Holt’s decrease
would represent a town of a thousand persons.
That there is a drop comes as no surprise. The trend for years
has been away from the ranches and farms.
Mechanisation of the farm and expansion of farm and ranch
operations are primarily responsible for the decrease. This trend
was established in the 1930s during the years of drouth and
depression.
Then came war preparedness and, like a vacuum, people were
drawn from the Midwest. Then during the war years the disloca
tion heightened.
With the cessation of hostilities there were those who hoped
that the young men trekking back from the wars would settle
down to agricultural life. But this did not develop on a noticeable
scale. Many of these young men went into other work, frequently
into work for which they had been trained in the service. Many
of them found jobs in other places. For many of them, we regret
to say, the farm or ranch had no more attraction. Probably a more
important reason was the inability, financially, for most of them
to establish themselves on a farm or ranch. They soon discovered
that farming and ranching had become big business; that these
operations in the post-war era,required considerable capital.
With the disappearance of ol* dobbin and with the highly
mechanized methods of farming many sets of farm buildings have
disappeared. Places where families once lived have no buildings
at all. Fewer persons nowadays can handle many more acres.
At the same time, more production per acre has been devel
oped through improved methods of cultivation, fertilization and
conservation of soil.
There are fewer persons to make use of the facilities of the
small towns, but the per capita income has increased substantially.
While the tractor age has been responsible for the depopula
tion of the farms, there has been no new industry developed to
absorb these people formerly engaged in farming, and that is a
reason why these people have sought employment elsewhere.
Alio attributed to the county's population decline is the
method of counting. The college students are counted where
they are attending college rather than their hometown. In 1940
they were counted at home—where they should be counted.
There are perhaps 200 Holt county college men and women on
somebody else's census roll.
Naturally, the people in O’Neill are happy to know that their
city has increased a handsome 500 persons or more—into the
3,000 bracket. It would have been better, however, if all towns in
the county had made a substantial gain.
The increase in the number of housing units in most towns
has proved a deceptive guide to determining the number of peo
ple in these communities. In most places the number of units has
increased but the size of the families has decreased.
O’Neill has seen scores of new homes constructed during the
past decade and fiequently in the removal of buildings from
farms and ranches O’Neill has gained units by simply moving the
house into town.
The Frontier firmly believes that the mechanization of the
farm and ranch is here to stay, and that Holt county, as well as
most other rural counties in Nebraska, must develop methods of
processing the products in the county and practice extensive soil
conservation in order to hold its population and prevent further
loss.
O’Neill’s gain of some 500 persons is handsome—about 20
percent—but it is offset by the county’s net loss from its 16,552
figure in 1940.
WWW
No Deaths I hus Far
Axel Borg, Second district representative on the Holt county I
board of supervisors, has called to our attention an interesting
fact pertaining to Holt county highway fatalities.
He pointed out that in 1949 Holt had 8 highway fatalities
representing a third of all the fatalities in the 18-county Norfolk
area of the Nebraska safety patrol. So far in 1950 Holt county has
a perfect record—no fatalities.
Mr. Borg believes it would be a wonderful thing if we could
keep the year 1950 free from auto fatalities. Needless to sav the
rest of us share the same feeling.
SPECIAL OFFER
By The
O’NEILL PHOTO CO.
O’Neill, Nebr.
| FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY THE O'NEILL PHOTO CO.
I wili furnish The O'hetli Frontier with baby pictures that will
; *>• used in connection with a feature story. This offer good
1 on*T with a photographic order amounting to $5.00 or more.
You select the sise you wish from our complete line of fold*
ers—easels, enlargements and frames.
BRING AD WITH YOU
Just a Matter of Color
^ACH! THE SHIRTK
, ARE DIFFERENT BUT \
THE HEARTS BENEATH ]
VJHEM ARE THE SA/AEy
TOO TOO!
Istmahii
EAST BERLIN’S
BLUE SHIRTS .*
Prairieland Talk —
Gone Are Days of Free Crackers,
Cheese and Tobacco at Grocery Store
By ROMAINE SAUNDERS
LINCOLN — Them were the
good old days.
Don’t sneer.
Within the happy memory of
those still living a period of
“good old days’ was recorded
on the scroll of time. You could
go into a grocery store, help
yourself to a slice of cheese by i
the simple
Romaine
Saunder*
process or:
grasping the j
butcher knife |
and cutting
from the huge
round cake ;
what y o u |
wanted, g, o
to the crack
er box and
walk out with
a handful of
crackers and
a slice of
cheese which
some; times ;
was strong enough to walk out
alone.
There was a cigar box in
which was free smoking tobac
co at which most of the time
there was some fellow poking
his cob pipe full with a practic
ed thumb. There were free
matches. And if you brought a
few groceries in that same store
the cleflk put in a sack of can
dy “for the children.” Board
and room at most any hotel
was $3.50 a week and a single
meal consisting of all you could
eat was 2-bits. Common labor
ing gents made $150 a day,
while $3 was the limit for the
best skilled artisans.
A doctor would treat you
all winter lor $25 and $5 was
the "retainer lee” a lawyer
charged and more than like
ly he didn't get any more
than that.
There was no income tax
and no withholding tax and no
bureau chief to make your al
lotment of what wou were to
plant. Hunting and fishing
licenses hadn’t been invented
and you could go to the Elk
horn most any summer eve
ning and land a 5-pound pick
edel or strip to the nude and
plunge into its limpid waters.
You could drive over the prairie
and bring in an antelope and a
week’s supply of prairie chic
kens.
There was no A or H bomb
but you learned to be careful
not to offend any par'd that
might throw a .44 slug at you.
There was an absence of “no
hunting” sigijs and not many
wire fences to shut you out.
Your buggy or saddle horse
had no license plate and you
needed no driver’s license, but
you had to know how to stay
on your bucking horse when he
took that notion.
The first sign ot what was
coming was the glint of the
white of his eyes and then his
back went into a hump.
• • •
Whatever can be done in the
way of building with $1,120,000
in the till is coming up for en
largements at the state univer
sity.
• • *
Next year auto license plates
will be different if state house
plans are not thwarted. Figures
designating the county will be
replaced with letters. Holt
county plates to bear the letter
HL. It is promised that the new
s yle w'ill save $7,000. That will
be a start. The auditor reports
a take out of the state treasury
of seven and three-quarter mil
lion dollars during the month
of March. If sufficient items on
which a saving of seven thou
sand each can be twisted from
the hopper a worthwile dent
I
can be made in the monthly
outgo at the state house
* * *
Wayne O. Reed, state super
intendent of public instruction,
who has been caustic in his
criticism of school laws and
regulations and vociferous for
a broadened tax base” appears |
to not have had enough of the
strenuous life at the state house
and files again for the nomina
tion. Down at South Sioux City
has arisen a contestant for Mr.
Reed’s third term in the per
son of Merle Haynes.
“Voice of The Frontier . . .
WJAG . . . 780 on your dial!
Neat, Cool, Comfortable
Men s T Shirts
59<
\
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large
Here's a good looking, serviceable T shirt at rock bottom
price, trim fitting and light weight for work or for play.
At this low price, why not buy several today?
EIIM makes teeth taok dull; ||A11,
glues acid to teeth, often lev
causing decay; breeds ECONOMY
*'bad breath" germs.
R .. Size
Rtmovt film
regularly with ■■ ^^k
PEPSODENT ▼
TOOTH PASTE .. ■ _
VS of a Pound
3 ■ | A ft] 17‘Yfl
@HN6IL QAK
TOMATO SOUP 1Ac
CAMPBELL'S. For the one hot dl«h. IO'/joi. con 1 U
SUPERB TUNA FISH Q7c
SOLID PACK. No. l/2 con . VI
SLICED POTATOES OCc
Grand for Potato Salad. 2 No. 2 cans. wmf3
PORK & BEANS Er -
SWIFT’S PREM £r 39c
SALAD DRESSING ^°..BOWL..39c
ROBB-ROSS GELATIN 4^ 19c
SUM-R-AID 'SSJSP. 4*^ 19c
■
CHIN EBB MAID
★ Chicken Chop Soey 37c
Jmt Heat. Bat. Ho. t Caa w
CHINEBB HAIR
★ Chow Mein Noodles ir~»
Ntretrhes Chop Saey Toe. I JW:
Ho. S Caa __ ■
BtIP EBB—SLICED OB HAI.TBS
★ ARISTOCRAT PEACHES OJU
The Very KtaeeL Ha tV, Caa _ W?
Colored Oleomargarine
ARMOUR’S.... 37c lb.
Blue Bonnet.... 44c lb.
STEAM eULLIB
★ SAMMIES JU
FRUIT COCKTAIL djl IQ
Gallon_ wIbIeJ
tip sirv
★ WAFFLE SYRUP A<U
A Cbok* BleatL A-Lb. TIB_
SOILAX sr 25*
CHARMIN
PAPER NAPKINS
125 s. 25c
FRUITS & VEGETABLES |,
GRAPEF’T 3 f«r 25c
ORANGES &
LEMONS, doc 49c
LETTUCE 2 f« 29c
CUCUMBERS, lb 10c .
Cantaloupe, 2-lbs.23c
TOMATOES, lb 21c
CARROTS. 2 bun 15c
CABBAGE. 3 lbs 16c
_
IVORY SOAP, 2 large 25*.3 med. 23* *
CAMAY SOAP, 2 bath 21*..., ... 3 reg. 21*
P & G NAPTHA SOAP.3 10-oz. bars 20*
IVORY SNOW.large package 25*
mmsxmmmmmm m - v
- - i»
IOWANA
PORK SHOULDER
PICNICS 2
COOKED
BONELESS
SKINLESS
3-Ib. 9-o*. Can w 1
2.59
FRESH PORK HOCKS
SO GOOD WITH KR\UT. Pound _ Mm B W ;
SLICED BACON AO
COUNCIL OAK SPECIAL. In Bulk. Pound . W I
SIRLOIN STEAKS 7Q
TENDER, SAVORY BEEP. Pound_t W |
SUMMER SAUSAGE
Those Tasty “Shorties” /I A a
Pound *»vC
SKINLESS FRANKS
Tender and Plump
Pound
