Radio Script #1170

Little Talks on Common Things
September 24, 1978

This broadcast begins the 31st consecutive year of Little Talks. An indication of the time that has elapsed since that first broadcast on November 14, 1948, is to quote an item from that first broadcast on that mid-November day, thirty years-ago. I said as this program went on the air: “A future king of England was born today, amid age old ceremony in Buckingham Palace. What sort of England will he rule? Is the old England dying, the old empire fading away? The little prince in Buckingham Palace, now only a few hours old, may symbolize for Old England what Tennyson wrote at the end of his IDYLS OF THE KING. King Arthur was dead; the Round Table of the glorious knights had fallen apart; the magic sword Excalibur had sunk into the sea.

“The shiny brilliance of Camelot had faded away. As old Sir Belvedere watched the sword drop beneath the waves as Tennyson put it, the sun rose, bringing a new year. Not a new day, a new year. For the little prince may someday the sun rise bringing a new era.”

That baby of 1948 is now a thirty year old man, the Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne of England. While many years may still elapse before he is crowned, part of the apprehension expressed in that broadcast has already come true. The once all-powerful British Empire is gone; Britain is no longer regarded even as one of the world’s most powerful nations. In wealth and influence she is far exceeded today, not only by the United States and Soviet Russia, but by China, Japan, and West Germany. In per capita wealth she lays well behind tiny Switzerland. The British Commonwealth of Nations does still exist, but it is a loosely knit association of independent countries, though each gives allegiance to the British Queen, neither she nor her Parliament has any control over them. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries of the Commonwealth independently elect their own governments and control their own affairs just as does the United States or any other democracy. More than twenty years ago, there were predictions that Prince Charles would never be king, that the British people would abolish the monarchy long before his mother’s life would end. Today that eventuality seems less likely. During the past two decades British affection for the monarchy and especially its allegiance to the House of Windsor have been strengthened rather than weakened. The chief reason for this has been the exemplary behavior of Queen Elizabeth and her consort the Duke of Edinburgh. When King Edward VIII abdicated forty years ago, it did look as if the monarchy might soon be abandoned. But the admirable reign of his brother, George VI, and of his niece Elizabeth brought the royal family back into public esteem.

Although Prince Charles may some day reign, he certainly will never rule. Like his mother, he may be little more than a symbol of the unity of the British people. But indeed most Britons insist they prefer a living monarch as a symbol rather than just a piece of bunting in form of a flag.

As we start this 31st year, we do not forget the program’s debt to its sponsor, the Keyes Fibre Company. Its phenomenal growth as a company with international relations, with its central office long ago moved from Maine, the company has generously sponsored this little, provincial program for thirty years.

That Keyes is more than a prosperous commercial company has long been apparent. A recent statement in public relations places it in the forefront of those industrial firms that maintain high ethical standards. In this time when accusations of bribes and pay-offs made to influence political decisions are common items of news, it is refreshing to note the statement made by President Cross of Keyes Fibre on May 18,1978. Taking the form of a letter to all plant managers of Keyes, the company president said: “This statement in no way indicates a suspicion or concern that any aspect of the Company’s affairs have been conducted with anything but the highest ethical standards. Rather it is a recognition that, as the company’s business becomes more complex nationally and internationally, it is appropriate to make a specific and overt affirmation of commitment to a style of business conduct that has long been inherently understood at Keyes.

“It is the policy of Keyes to conduct its business in accordance with applicable laws of the United States and all other jurisdictions in which Keyes or any of its subsidiaries operate, and in accordance with ethical standards of business conduct. All illegal or unethical acts are prohibited under this policy. Even where the law is permissive, it is Keyes’ policy to choose the course of highest integrity. No bribes, kickbacks, or other illegal payments are to be made or received, directly or indirectly, by or on behalf of Keyes or any of its subsidiaries.”

In this permissive era when the slogan seems to be, “Anything goes. It’s all right if you can get away with it”, this program is pleased to let all listeners know that in parts of the business world, as well as in many churches and homes, there are moral standards that still prevail. Exactly as when this program started thirty years ago, Keyes still sponsors it as a public service, not as advertising. Only at the beginning and at the end is there any reference to the sponsor. What the advertising manager of Keyes said on the occasion of the 500th broadcast in 1961 is still true today. At that time he said: “This program developed from quite a different point of view from the sale of products. We have never commercialized the program, but have considered it a vehicle of community relations. We have never attempted to promote on it the company’s line of products, but it has unquestionably built many friends for Keyes.” The new prospective owners of Keyes, The Arcata National Corporation, declare that the present Keyes management will be retained.

Many times this program has referred to the development of highways. From earliest colonial times roads have had the attention of settlers and subsequent inhabitants. On a broadcast, last year I told how the Yankee peddlers played a part in road improvements. Today I want to note another factor, occurring early in the 20th century, that also certainly played an important part. That was the adoption by the federal postal service of the rural free delivery. If the mail carrier to the farms was to make his appointed rounds, he needed decent roads.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture has long published an annual yearbook filled with all sorts of information that concerns the nation’s farms. That Yearbook for 1906 had this to say: “Rural free delivery had made very important the improvement of roads. The Office of Public Roads in the Dept. of Agriculture does not build the highways, but it will supply required inspection. The Office makes no contributions of money, materials or labor. In most cases when a road becomes impassable, it is because of defects that can be remedied by better methods. The inspecting engineer will advise concerning those defects. Instruction will be given to road builders to assure better built roads. When such a road is completed, the engineer will make a final report, detailing the road’s length and width, materials used and their various thicknesses. the time consumed, kinds of machinery used, and the kind of all under-drains and culverts, the cost of the road to the community and the cost per square yard of surface.

In 1906 most roads were rolled smooth by rollers, something like, but heavier than the snow rollers that pounded down the snow-covered roads in winter. The Yearbook says: “The horse-drawn rollers generally used are three to four tons in weight. Experiment is being made with 10 ton steam rollers.”

You will have noticed that, in its public statement, the Department made it clear that there was no federal money available for road building. What a change has come during the 72 years since 1906. Today the federally financed interstate highways, like our own I95 cross the nation from east to west and north to south. More and more, in respect to highways, as in numerous other areas, states and municipalities have turned to Uncle Sam for help.

Even as late as 1906 there were few hard-surfaced or tarred roads except for the cobblestone streets inside the cities. At that time Waterville had such a street of cobblestones extending from the junction of Main and Front streets to the Main Street railroad crossing, as well as on lower Main Street. It was, of course, the coming of the automobile that brought the demand for dustless, paved highways. As late as 1923, when I moved my family from Portland to Waterville, the only paved highway between those two cites, a hundred miles apart, was 16 miles of new concrete road between Portland and Gray.

Constant listeners to this program certainly suspect I would not begin a new and 31st year without some reference to my favorite subject of English words. Recently I ran across some humorous verses that show only too clearly how the meaning of many familiar words have recently changed.

“Remember when hippie meant big in the hips?
And a trip involved travel in cars, planes and ships.
When pot was a vessel for cooling things in,
And hooked was what Grandmother’s rugs would have been?
When fix was a verb that meant mend or repair,
And to be in meant merely existing somewhere?

“When neat meant well-organized, tidy and clean.
And grass was a ground cover, normally green?
When groovy meant furrowed with channels and hollows,
And birds were winged creatures like robins and swallows?
When fuzz was a substance real fluffy like lint,
And bread came from bakers, not out of the mint?
When roll was a bun and rock was a stone,
And hangup was something you did to the phone?
When lights and not people were turned on or off,
And the pill was something you took for a cough?

When a swinger was someone who swung in a swing,
And pad was a soft sort of cushiony thing?
When far out meant distance, a long way away,
And no one thought twice when you said you were gay.”

Year: 1978