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r - t i - The Chronicle Strives To Be A Clean News- paper, Complete, Newsy and Reliable If You Don’t Read The Chronicle You Don’t Get the News Volume LIV Clinton, S.’C, Thursday, April 30, 1953 Number 18 BABSON DISCUSSES TAXES AND NEED FOR A 100% DOLLAR ’ By ROGER W. BABSON Babson Park, Mass., April 30.- -I can reasons S6> T&'j \ J give many economic why taxes should not be cut until the Federal Budget is balanced; but here is why taxes should be cut if possible. In 1940, an average married couple with no children and a net income of $5,000 on their Federal income tax return af(ter real estate taxes, charities, inter est, etc.) had over $4,800 left for themselves. .Today, after taxes, a ' similar couple with a $5,000 net income has only $4,150 left. This perhaps wouldn’t be so bad were it not for the fact that their $4,150 buys them only goods. Higher Taxes and Higher Prices New Deal tax policies, to be sure, e m i n g 1 y Reger W. Bebeea did much to im prove the dollar status of many workers.. But executives earning over $10,000 were really mowed down. Take the $20,000-a-year man as an example. In 1939-40 he had nearly $18,500 left after taxes. In 1953 he has left only about $14,- 500. You say you wouldn’t mind having even the $14,500! That may be true; but see how the $20,00-a- year man’s standard of living has been lowered. Today his $14,500 net buys him only about $7,500 worth of 1939-40 goods! This same principle applies to corporations. Business has been good for the last dozen years. It was made good by war. With war came the all-out effort to produce weapons. There were few civilian goods, so workers had little to buy. Dollars piled up. When a big t»uuply of dollars started chasing a little supply of goods, trouble be gan. Prices automatically went up. With increased prices came de mands for increased wages to meet the increased prices. And this re sulted in increased taxes. As wages and taxes rose higher, employers added wage and tax costs on to pro duction costs. This kind of spiral ing has gone on spiraling until Six-Inch Sermon REV. ROBERT H. HARPER Betsy McCall a n <l Ji m my Wfeeks Nationally famous juvenile' personalities featured monthly in McCall's magazine with 2-piece Educator Set... $2.75 each in a choice of S lovely patterns. HOLMES & EDWARDS Juvenile Silverplate GET YOURS TODAY! IDEAL FOR GIFTS . J.C. THOMAS JEWELER *Tt’» Time That Ceuta” prices today are nearly twice as high as they were in 1939-40. The Need For a 100c Dollar Were this sort of thing allowed to continue, our nation would end up in bankruptcy. One of the best examples of post-war inflation is little Greece. In 1940 about 150 darchmas were equal to one of our dollars; today the official rate is 15,000 to the dollar. How would you 1 like a life insurance policy or a pension plan in Greece today? It could happen here, too! That $3,000-a-year retirement policy you were building in 1940 and on which you were planning to retire in 1960, will buy littte more than $1,500 of rent and food and clothes today. Congress made its big. mistake after the war when there was a shortage of goods and pent-up buying power. -Bight then and there the Government should have pared its spending to the bone. Instead, w£ continued to spend, and in so doing built up further demand for civilian goods. Hence, things got badly out of con trol. The Budget Should Be Balanced Truman’s 1953-54 budget called for a $79-billion expenditure. That’s $10 billion more than the Govern ment w'ill take in, even at the pres ent high tax rate. To balance the budget, $10 billion will have to be lopped off somewhere. This could very well come by reducing Gov ernment payrolls, tightening up a loosely run Veterans’ Administra tion, and stopping the pointless moving of military personnel from one side of the globe to another, then right back again! Readers, however, must remem ber that any public economy pro- 1 gram means firing a lot of people and perhaps starting the unemploy ment cycle. Congressmen may re sist such, .economies. . They don’t like to see their constituents lose their jobs in either Government or industry. Therefore, my present guess is that high taxes will con tinue. If so, we can meet them only by producing more, working harder, and being more sympa thetic with our employers who are suffering from DOUBLE taxation. Deciding On House Building Is Like Choosing A Wife Building a house, like taking a wife, is a matter for considerable de liberation. The right house, like the ’ right marriage, f can mean years of con tentment . . . the wrong one is a sure source of worry- and headaches. Here, in very brief form, are 10 major points tq take into considera tion before you build: 1. TaJk ove ryour ability to “car ry” the house with a bank or other mortgage-lending institution. Such counsel will prevent your over-ex tending yourself disastrously. 2. Have an architect draw up your plans or buy them through a good plan service. If you can not visualize layouts easily, you may be better off to buy a new home already built, so that you’ll be sure of its final ap pearance. 3. Use quality materials. Products such as tile for bathrooms and kitch ens will repay their cost many times in savings on maintenance and re decorating. 4. Don’t plan more than you need. A guest room or an extra bedroom is nice—but what will it cost in rela tion to the use it will give? Seldom- used rooms are a luxury beyond the income of the average family today. 5. “Freeze” your plans before you start building. Every change in the plans means additional work for the contractor, and that cost has to be passed on to you. 6. Savf through such devices as leaving Expansion attip space unfin ished, roughing in pipes for (but/not finishing) a second bath, or buying lower-priced fixtures. You can finish space or replace equipment when your income increases. 7. Don’t decide that you want a particular type‘of architecture., It’s better to plan your space require ments first and let the extgrior ar chitecture of the house grow from them. 8. Remember that in a small house a few large areas are better than many small, cut-up ones. 9. Give particular care to the plan of the kitchen. Good layout of equip ment use of easily cleaned materials and plenty of storage can greatly lighten the homemaker’s work. 10. Always consider the re-sales possibilities of the home you. build. A freakish house, or one badly out of Keeping with others in the neighborhood, will be a white ele phant when and if you or your heirs want to sell it. BUILDING THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS Lesson for May 3; Acts 19:8-10; 20; 17-27. i Golden Text: I Corinthians 3:11. In Ephesus, where Paul labored for more than two years, he spoke at first in the synagogue. But, af ter three months, “hardened and disobedient” ones opposing him, he moved to the school of Tyrannus, where he spoke daily for two years. As Paul was later on his way to Jerusalem, between ships at Miletus, he sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus that he might have fellowship with them and strengthen their faith. From his conversation with them we learn mu?h concerning his man ner of life as a minister of the gos pel and of his utter consecration to the work. He had testified both to Jews and Greeks alike and called them to repentance toward God and to faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit testified unto him and supported him in every city to which he went. He had suf fered much for Christ. But he did not hold his life dear unto himself in his labors to accomplish his course and the ministry to which Christ had called him. Paul lingered with his friends as long as he could because he felt that they would see his face no more. Bound for Jerusalem, he did not know what would befall him along the way or in the city. Great was his consecration to a great task and we would do well to emulate his allegiance to his Lord. Hoover Sees 'Mess' Better Cleveland.— Herbert C. Hoover believes that “President Eisenhow er is moving with greet vigor and doing a remarkable job” in clean ing up what Hoover calls the “mess” in Washington. The 78-year-old former Presi dent added in a news conference: “And he is going after reorganiza tion and I am sure there will be reforms to eliminate waste. Hoover was in Cleveland over the week-end for the 75th anniver sary celebration erf Case Institute of Technolog Dr. Fred E. Holcombe OPTOMETRIST Offices at 200 South Broad St. Phone 658 Office Hoars 9:00 to 5:30 SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE I j "The Paper Everybody Reads” ! r ‘ ' Three Carloads Prices Reduced! 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