Police Need More Than Chicken Feed

* Abraham Lincoln used to enjoy a good story, and liked to tell one whenever he could, to get a point across.

When one of his aides recommended, as an economy measure, the elimination of the sailor’s daily ration of rum, Lincoln said he was reminded of a story.

Seems there was a chicken farmer who was concerned about the high price of corn. He wasn’t making enough profit, or so he thought, because the chickens were eating too much expensive corn. One day he got what he thought was a brilliant idea. Instead of feeding his chickens three buckets of corn, he fed them two buckets of corn and one bucket of gravel.

This worked so well that the following month he changed to one bucket of corn and two buckets of gravel. His profits increased considerably.

Finally he cut out the corn all together, and fed his chickens straight gravel.

He was greatly pleased with himself, that he had saved so much money on corn, only to find later that he had killed all his chickens in the process.

The city of Anaheim is in the same situation: a false economy. While the cost of living and the stress of the times have increased the crime rate, prices and the need for straight police manpower, the “farmers” on the City Council have offered nothing but cutbacks and gravel, while expecting the same amount of police production as was given on three buckets of corn.

CHUCK MILLIKEN

Anaheim