Sara Sinderson, age 13, of Harvard, Illinois, for her question:

What do they mean bar the black market?

Darkness is merely the absence of light, and since time began light has stood for intelligence. When we shed a little light on a subject we see it clearly enough to get a true picture of the facts. Hence, the word light has come to mean above board honesty and black, or darkness, to suggest shady dealings under the table, so to speak. Black deeds of robbery are hidden by the blackness of night. The political candidates of ancient Rome wore white robes to express their daylight honesty. Somewhere in all this verbal history, we can find a clue to the meaning of the term, "black market."

Obviously it is some kind of shady trading operation. Actually, it is the most shameful trading operation we can imagine. Honest traders try to be fair to their customers and honest governments try to help them. Some vital goods are scarce, and controls must be set to distribute them fairly. Black market operators steal medicines and other vital goods and sell them secretly at high prices. Jewels and other stolen items also are sold on the black market. The blackest of these operators steal food and drugs intended to help the poor and sell them to the highest bidder. A trader can get rich as a black market operator but not without turning himself into a shady character.