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I Page Four \ THE CLINTON CHRONICLE V Thursday, January 12, 1956 ulhr (Ellntmt (Ehrntvtrlr Established 1900 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY Subscription Rate (Payable in Advance) —*1—'*— I.* One Year $^0, Six Months $2.00 Entered as Second Class Mail Matter at the Post Office at Clinton, S. C., under Act of Congress March 3, 1879 ' The Chronicle seeks the cooperation of its subscribers and readers—the publisher will at all times appreciate wise suggestions and kindly advice. The Chronicle will publish letters of general interest when they are not of a defamatory nature. Anonymous communications will not be noticed. This paper is not responsible for tlfe views or opinions of its correspondents. ■ Member: South Carolina Press Association, National Editorial Association r ■-.■ ' - . ■ f National Advertising Representative: AMERICAN PRESS,j ASSOCIATION New York, Chicago, Detroit. Philadelphia CLINTON, S. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1956 The Advertiser Is Sold News came but' of Laurens last week that The Laurens Advertiser was sold on Jan- \ uary 1 to W. J. Bro.wn and David A. Harman, who have operated the paper and printing plant under a lease-and-option-to-buy agree ment for the pastrfive years. The sale removes from -owmership of the paper one of the state’s best known publish ers and editors—Alison Le^ w’ho acquired The Advertiser in 1910 (in company with his brother, Arthur Lee, now of th^ Green wood Index-Journal). WhenHhe news of the sale was announced it struck us rather forcefully. It was like an nouncing that a landmark had been removed from a familiar scene. - , Come to think of it—that’s ^exactly what it was. For Mr. Lee is a Laurens landmark? Anyone or anything that has served a con£ munity since 1910 certainly qualifies as de serving that term—and we say it with all the admiration that we can corral. While Mr. Lee will continue to be jconnect- .ed with the paper forR limited tifqie in the new’s and editorial departments, the fact that he is noJonger the owmer creates a void thfct only time can fill and makes his friends stop and ponder a moment on his years of brilliant service to Laurens—city and coun ty. ’ Modest almost to a fault, Mr. Lee, never- . theless, has left his imprint on his■ home city and county. His writing over the years has had many facets — simplicity, clarity, forcefulness.^tecqracy, humor, independence, ijidignaney, tenacity, among others. Mr. Lee always had a deep interest in the affairs of his section and state. It w f as re flected in his paper. When questions of im port arose that needed to be resolved hp claHfied thorn, spoke for them, or against them. When approbation was dqe, he gaVie ijL His humor could break a situation and brin^ it to its proper level. His wdsdom and forth- » ‘ rightness led many a community activity. • An especially bright spot in his newspaper career was his.comment on politics and poli ticians. Never bitter, his editorials were pene trating,. enlightening, interesting. He could recognize a demagogue a mile aw-ay. He built up a considerable enterprise from a small beginning and puts it into new hands in good condition. ^ . . I All this is written in the past'tense, but Mr. Lee is still witThus. And his many friends - hppe he will be with them for many years to enjoy his days of reduced responsibility— by reducing his golf score. . Listen To Former Presidents ’ In his . memoirs, Harry Truman speaks of the incredibly heavy burden of work that is imposed upon the President. Now Herbert Hoover suggests that Congress create the office of an administrative vice-president, le gally empowered to administer many duties of a relatively routine nature that are pres ently borne by the President. We should certainly heed the w’ords of our only two living former Presidents. The job, as now constituted, is a potential killer. In addition, it is absolutely impossible for any man to discharge the unnecessarily multi tudinous responsibilities of the Presidency efficiently and fully. A Double Socket Suppose you wanted a double socket to plug into kn electric outlet. Obviously, you’d find one without the slightest trouble, and for very little money. It is a stock item not only in hardware and electric stores, but in many variety, grocery and other retail out lets. All stores are competing for your busi ness—whether the item be a small one, like the socket, or an appliance costing many hundreds of dollars. Things are different Indeed* where there is no competition—and the state is the sole judge of what shall be sold and w'hat the prick shall 'be. Marguerite Higgins, the distinguished foreign correspondent, tells of her search for a.double socket during a recent visit to Mos- cbw\ The hotel didn’t have one. Neither did * any of the stores she toured. She was finally offered one by ah individual—for $10. How ever, this socket didn’t work. Some five days later, a workable socket was procured—and Miss Higgins was able to operate a heater and have light at the same time. - This may seem a trivial matter. But that double socket is an excellent symbol of a difference between a free, competitive econ omy, such as we enjj)y—and a controlled, state-bossed economy under which the Rus- * sian and many other peoples live. Next time you enter an American retail store, with its abundance of stocks, its excellent displays and services, and its competitive prices, you might offer a little prayer of thanks not only for the material abundance our system pro vides—but for all th^ other freedoms that are inextricably related to economic freedom. Room Aplenty -^s is generally known, the farm popula tion has been declining while the size of the average farm has been increasing. The agri cultural economists seem virtually -unani mous in believing that this trend will con tinue, with fewer farmers a&l bigger farms. The reason for it, of course, is the tech nological revolution that has resulted from mechanization, electrification; and other gi * gantic forward steps that farming has takefi in a comparatively short period of time. Some people, however, fear tbar all this progress involves a serious danger—a dan ger that the family farm may be on the way out, and that the future of farming lies in huge, corporation-type enterprises. i , The weight of evidence is against that view. Modern farming techniques should and do strengthen the family farm. Mechanized equipment, starting with the tractor and go- ing all the way down the long list, is an ex ample. It makes it possible for the small op erator to handle a larger acreage and to pro duce more with less cost and physical effort. Not every farmer, obviously, can individ ually buy all the machines and attachments that are desired. But groups of farmers, act ing cooperatively, can do that—and the cost to each is moderate indeed in the light of the results. This country has room aplenty for big 1 farmers and small farmers—just as it has m for big and small businesses.. SENSING THE NEWS • By THURMAN SENSING Executive Vice President Southern States Industrial Council THE “SOIL BANK" PLAN One,of the gravest problems facing our Ameri can economy—and one that will be a very live subject in the 1956 elections—is that of farm com modity surpluses. Everybody thinks something should be done about it—but there is very little agreement as to what this something should be. Ordinarily a trouble would be remedied by get ting rid of the cause of the trouble. But that simple solution does not seem to'be acceptable in this case. The cause of farm surpluses is farni price support —government subsidy. Stopping farm price sup ports woulb very soon get rid of farm surpluses. But this solution has .no appeal to the two major groups most - interested—the farmers and the politicians, at least to the great majoritiy of these two groups:* The farmers do not want to get rid of price sup ports because they have been taken care of by tl)em so long they are afraid to get out on their own. It does not take long for continued subsidy to kill initiative and self-reliance. And they apparently 4 refuse to look at the situation of the cattle raisers who voted to have nothing more to do with price supports and are, getting along just as well without them as with them—and more than that are now their own bosses. The politicians want to keep price ^supports be cause by doing so they can appeal to the farmer vote. Even those politicians who may be consti tutionally opposed to government subsidy seem to” see no solution of the farm problem except by con tinuation of this subsidy in-one form or another. The major solution that is now being proposed by the administration is a -soil bank” plan. This plan would take as much as 25 million acres out of production over a 5 to 10 year period—from a, total of about 400 million acres under cultivation in the United States. Fanners who would sign contracts on a voluntary basis for 5 or 10 yftar terms would be given money for grass seed to cover the former crop land plus annual payments of from 5 to *7 per cent of the value of the land to cover their loss of income in not raising price supported crops. The administration has undoubtedly given this problem much thought and has decided that this is the best ‘ out”-^but there are sevleral aspects to it that would indicate it is hot much better, if any, than any of the other so-called solutions that ignore the cause of the trouble. In the first place, it ts not fair to the rattle rais ers. Beef cattle are in amJJle supply and the price is about 20 per cent below a year ago. If this new grazing land is devoted to raising cattle, this would depress the price just that much more. Of course, the government could prphibit grazing -cattle on this land, but that is just another re striction on the farmer’s freedom and it would be very difficult to enforce. a. And if cattle are not^grazed, it would be unfair to the fanners who make their living raising hdy, as it would enormously increase the supply of this crop. * _ And above everything else, it is entirely possible that due to improved farming methods this plan would not reduce production of price supported crops to any great extent. At least that has been the result thus far. In the last few yeats nearly 20 million acres have been taken out of wheat produc tion, yet the annual crop is just about as big as ever. Cotton acreage has been cut 9 million acres, but the total crop is just about the same. In-order to make it work to any appreciable ex tent. it' would probably be necessary to take at least 40 million acres out of production, and the cost of this would tx* a great deal more than is now contemplated. In fact, the present estimate of *400 million for the first year and $100 million per year thereafter may be entirely too k>w when the actual figwing is done. Delegation Hears Citizens' Requests Monday At Laurens ? The Laurens county delegation in the General Assembly held an open meeting at the court house in' Laurens Monday morning to hear requests from citizens who had anything to bring before the group before they left to attend the opening session of the legis lature on Tuesday. Senator Ralph T. Wilson presid ed over the informal session, which was attended also by the three members of the house of i^presen- tatives, King Dixon, Sr.* Charles fj. Milam and Robert..C,..Wasson. Numerous requests wfere made covering a wide range, and in cluded an appeal that the county supply ambulance service, in creased appropriations for the county library and the welfare de partment, local option legislation, a curfew on beer outlets, addi tional police protection, correcting a school drainage problem, a co ordinator for improving the sys tem of justice, and assistance in completing a Legion .hut. The delegation took no action on any of the requests and the meet ing ajourned wHert all who wish ed had their say. Dwight Patterson, chairman of the Laurens County Library; was spokesman for the library. The Laurens library, Mr. Pat terson saftd, is operate on an eco nomical basis. For the past few years, he said the library has been given an appropriation of $10,000 which is considerable un der that received by libraries irf neighboring counties’ He< said it would be necessary for the.dele gation to increase this budget by $5,000 if the library? is to continue to fill the county’s needs. This additional $5,000, Mr. Pat terson explained, would be used to make numerous minor repairs, to purchase additional reference books,- to buy additional shelving, and to provide small salary in creases for t(je members of the library’s staff of four. He also asked that the library board be ineneased from the present seven members to nine. Mrs. Mable Little of the Laur ens County Welfare department, asked for an increased appropria tion for her department. She said an additional $320 would be need ed to defray increased office ex penses, and that $600 more was needed for emergency assistance. Funds Are Overspenf She said, also that the Welfare department had, been forced to overspend its fund for the assist ance of needy children and that an additional $1,200 must be made available if the county is to con tinue to pay for the upkeep of abandoned children between now and June 30. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, Mrs. little es timated that the delegation must increase the money it makes avail able for the care of, these chil dren by $9,000. The Rev. Grange Cothran, pas tor of the Second Baptist church of Laurens, brought-up the am bulance questibn. He pointed out that Laurens has only one ambu lance and in the event of an emergency in which several per sons might" be injured, one such vehicle would be totally inade- gr —r- Request Backed Up Mr. Cothran was backed up in this appeal for an additional am bulance by Joe B. Medlock, may or of Laurens. He cited a recent accident hdre-irf which the ambt- lance had to make several trips to the hospital, while the injured lay helplessly on the ground'. This .then led to a discussion of the other phases of providing am bulance service. Several of those present were of the opinion that ambulance service should be main tained by the hospital. Others thought it was the county’s re sponsibility. Douglas Byrnes, Who operates Laurens’ only ambulance on a part-time basis, said that main taining ambulance service is not a profitable operation. In fact, he said, he has lost money ever since he has been in business and he has continued, to provide the am bulance only as a community ser vice. He said he would gladly sell out, lock soick and barrel, for $500, about one thipd of his orig inal investment, he estimated. The Rev. Frank Dubose, pastor of the First Methodist church of Laurens, led the plea for local option in South Carolina. He urged the delegation to do all in its power to see that the necessary legislation was enacted. W. E. Jacks then took the floor to get several matters off his chest. These included a request 4hat school trustees and game wardens be elected rather than appointed as they are under the present law. - Beer (^urfew Sought , Sheriff W. A. Lowery asked the delegation to pass the necessary legislation which would give him authority to close all beer outlets in the county at midnight each night. This midnight curfew, he said, would be a great help jn re ducing crime in th^j coQnty. A petition, beaflhg the signa tures <n pome 500 persons, was read in which It was requested that the delegation provide police protection for the WattsviMe area. The textile mill no long*r fur nishes *a special Oklficer, the peti tion pointed out, and as a result, the community is lacking in police protection. M. B. Henderson, of Gray Court, asked, jthe delegation’s assistance ■ P- ^ in eliminating a bad drainage sit uation at Gray Court-Owings high school. A letter was presented from the Laurens Council of Social agencies asking that a coordinat or be appointed for the purpose of improving the system 6f jus tice and to serve as a clearing house for many problems. The request was signed by Mrs. Sadie M. Workman, secretary. McQuilla Hudson, of Clinton, commander of the Negro Legion for $500 to assist the post in tom- pleting the post’s new hut. He post there, asked the delegation thanked the delegation for a sim ilar appropriation last year which • made the new hut possible. Retailing Course To'tfeOffered ere Jan. 23-25 The Clinton Chamber of Com merce and the distributive edu cation class of the Clinton high school will sponsor a course on ’’Profitable Retailing,” it has been announced by Chamber of ficials. The course will be run by the State Department of Educa tion and its teacher of distribu tive education, B. O. Compton. The classes will be held at the high school for three nights, will be no charge for these class- January 23, 24 and ( 25. There es. , , The program is. geared to sales people and managers and should prove very helpful to both groups. Salespeople will find it particularly helpful in .improving techniques and for gaining an in sight into general management problems. Management personal should likewise find the program helpful in reviewing current pol icies and problems as a “refresh er”. . , The program is to be present ed by a competent instructor who has had years experience in the retailing and. teaching fields. Group discu^ion, visual i aids,' lectures and demonstrations will be used to bring out the facts. Some of the topics to be covered store organization and operation, are economics of distribution, sales. promotion, merchandising, helping the customer buy, ac counting and control, human re lations and tourist selling. In a recent letter from Mr Compton, J, W. Curtis, manager of the Chamber of Commerce, states that the main topic for the three nights will be “helping the customer buy.” The public is .invited and espe cially those whose work requires them to me$t the public. The time has been set for 7:30 each evening. RAUTON PROMOTED Columibia, Jan. 6. — Pfc. Ram- some M. Rauton of 203 Woodrow St., Clinton, assigned to Com pany L, 343 Infjmtry, also of Clinton, ( has been promoted to specialist third class, it has been announced by officials of the South Carolina Military district. IF YOU DON'T READ THE CHRONICLE YOU DON'T GET THE NEWS 0U/1 Soiah<: o NOW! AT HAMILTON'S THESE FJUMNIS PATTERHS FM ft UMinD nME ONLY Prom rtow until February 29 we are able, through the cooperation of * Oneida ltd. Silversmiths, to offer you On opportunity to add to your servico of any of these famous Community patterns. Choose the pieces you need and place your order now. OFFER ENDS FfeB. 29 ri#e* tach Hoco Each $1.10/ Dinner Forks ^ . $2.20 2.20 Grille Forks 2.20 2.20 Salad Forks v . 2.20 uo Cocktail Forks .* . 2.20 2.20 Table Spoon i 2.20 Cold Meat Fork ....', 3.85 3.30 3.30 Gravy Ladle CONVENIENT TERMS ARRANGED *Trad«-marki of Oneida ltd. Blue Nile Diamonds Hilkrest Watches J I SPEND 15 MINUTES IN A CHRYSLER lean why it’s teday’s biggest buy el all fine arsl ir V) mechanical and trouble-free, it’s rifht it your fln*ertips on the safe left ride where only the reach it It doesn’t take long to find out why Chrysler is winning the reputation as the performance leader of 1956. Just a few minutes behind the wheel of a big Chrysler Windsor V-8 like this one will show you why. •. Suppose you are in the right-hand lane on an expressway - four lengths behind a big truck rolling along between 35 and 40 miles per hour. You want to pass. You toe the throttle and in eight teconds flat you’re four lengths ahead of that moving truck and back in your own lane! That’s 1956 Chrysler performance. That’s the kind of power only the “PowerStyle” ^ ft Chrysler can deliver... with its great airplane-, type V-8 engine. And that’s not all. There’s full-time Power Pilot Steering . . . Pushbutton PowerFlite, the ulti mate in automatic transmissions . . . and the big PowerSmooth Brakes that outlast others 2 to 1. ^ These are just some of the exciting new things that await you the first time you pilot a “Power- Style” Chrysler. If you’re driving one of the other cars in Chrysier’s price class, by all. means make a direct comparison now. Jut 15 minutes behind the wheel will show you why it’s the biggest buy you can drive today! ■i. PowerStyle"CHRYSLER 115 S. Broad St PLAXICO MOTORS, INC. CLINTON, S. C. Phone 48