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I / Pmr* Twelve THE CLINTON CHRONICLE Thnndaj, March IS, 195S By SPECTATOR.. - COMMENTS 011 MEN AND THINGS A very handsome full figure pic ture of General Robert E Lee fills the front cover of the fine monthly magazine. The Joama Way, pub- lushed by the Joanna Cotton Mills of whcih Mr Walter Regnery is the head The back cover' carries a sketch of General Lee The Joanna Way is a welcome ar rival in my mail every month. I know of no company publication which surpasses it and but few that are as excellently presented. Glancing through the January is sue* I was impressed by a few words from Mr Regnery to the employees of the big mill I quote his remarks because they clearly and persua sively present the problem facing all textile establishments through out the nation ’ The new year, in business as in our personal hves, brings about an a counting: How did we do in 1957? How can we improve in 1958? A newspaper headline, over the! date, December 27, sununed up the situation in the textile industry: Cotton Cloth M a k e r s in Big Squeeze The article further stated: ‘The U. S. Department of Agricul ture reports that cotton mill mar gins—the spread between the prices of raw cotton and textile products— are the narrowest since June, 1946.’ The spread averaged 24.69 cents last month, compared with 26.36 the pre vious month and 30 37 in November, 1956 The value of cloth obtainable from a pound of cotton, based on wholesale prices for 17 selected con structions, declined last month for the 13th month in a row. The No vember average was 59.2 cents, the lowest monthly average for more than 11 months—since June, 1946. “At the same time, prices of the cotton used in these 17 constructions averaged 35.03 cents a pound deliv ered at Carolina mills, which repre sented an upward trend. And this upward trend is continuing.” refreshment PEPSI COLA BOTTLING CO. Greenville, S. C. AUTO LOANS Financing and Refinancing NEW and USED CARS Better Service Than Ever For Our i Many Customers and Friends in the CLINTON AREA Washington Motor Finance Co. of Laurens V Harper St.. Near Highway 7fi By-Pass Telephone 25262 I^aurens Home Office: Greemille. S. C> As with the industry as a whole, so it was with Joanna Cotton Mills Company When the costs of raw materials, supplies, and manufac turing were balanced against intake from sales, the result was most dis couraging—a very slight profit. Proud of its record of paying a wage dividend nineteen years out of twenty years since the profit- sharing plan was instituted in 1937, Joanna Cotton Mills Company, after a most difficult year, ‘raked and scraped" and was able to come up with a one per cent bonus, which has the unenviable distinction of being the lowest percentage ever approved. We heartily'■wish it could have been more! As w e face 1958, we should all put our heads togther and find ways of cutting costs, avoiding waste, im proving quality, increasing effic iency-all the things which will make our products sell in a high ly competitive market. We are warned by textile experts that 1958 will be 'a year of sharper textile competition; a year when added ef forts will be needed to maintain mill sales and profits; a year when the spotlight will be directed at every item of cost in order to effect eco nomics ’ Each of you can spotlight any waste in supplies, any lack in ef ficiency or quality in your particu lar area as no one else can. You alone are close enough to your job to spot some of the improvements that can be made. Through your departmental representatives on the Employee Advisory Committee you can get attention for your sugges tions; and start the ball rolling to bring about desirable changes. This year as never before you have a di rect path for your ideas to reach the persons who can puf them into ef fect We are counting on you, for only by the best efforts of all of us, working together, can we keep our products up in quality, yet eompeti tive in price. With our committee plan we now have sixty people studying and planning to make Joanna a more efficient operation, whereas this was eonfmed to only a few people in the past. The committees do not cut across supervisory lines, there by fostering free discussion. The meetings are frequent and well or ganized, all of which will add up to greater efficiency, fewer seconds, and a happier place to work through better understanding of each other’s problems in 1958. Every penny saved by more effic ient operations, by reduced waste of supplies, by elimination of gouts, oil spots, and other defects will mean that much more security for all of us, that much more to be shared as a wage dividend at the end of 1958 Walter Regnery.” * * * No nobler spirit ever lived than Robert E. Lee. He was a man of deep piety, a gracious person, a figure of dignity and poise, a genius in \lar, a leader in peace. General Lee is forever enshrined in the hearts of our people as a shining example of Christian Knighthood. Without selfish ambition, without bitterness, he lived in humble sub mission to his Master. * * • Concerning the loss of trained scientific personnel I quote an ar ticle from The Wall Street Journal: ' Despite the clamor for increased research activity to meet the Soviet scientific challenge, a number of j research institutions are cutting I bask on their work and laying off employees. "Interviews with a score of re search executives turn up this this common plaint: The government’s short-lived economy drive late in 1957,-combined with the dip in busi ness activity, choked off funds for a multitude of projects—some to tally non-military, but others con nected with the long-run defense picture “No funds have been released to us for basic research since last June,” mourns Dr Robert Thomas, coordinator of research for Cleve land's Intitule of Technology. “We re now at the point where frankly we must cut some people, and that's the last thing we want to do," says an official of Hoizons, Inc., a pm ate research company in Cleveland ‘ Our business is off 25% and our margin of profit is gone,” he explains “Not all research programs have been affected to the same extent, of course, and some, such as mis sile programs, have been affected hardly at all. Several resarch cen ters even say funds now are be ginning to flow in again. “A major factor in the slowdown, of course, was last year’s govern ment economy drive. Former De fense Secretary Wilson last August ordered a 10% cut in military re search and development spending, originally set at $1.7 billion for this fiscal .year But his successor, Neil McEjroy, cancelled Mr. Wilson’s or der. This year’s outlay now is ex pected to total $1.8 billion, and the figure probably will rise to nearly $2.1 billion in the year starting July 1. But it takes time, of course, to negotiate new research contacts and to step up flow of funds to research centers. Though the flow of funds to several centers is beginning to in crease again, many expect the drought of research funds to con tinue for several months “We see stepped-up spending ahead, but we expect the next four or five months to be the lean part of the year,” remarks a spokesman for General Electric Co.’s big pro pulsion laboratory at Evandale, Ohio, near Cincinnati At Battelle Memorial Institute, a big Columbus, Ohio, center which handled $24 million in research contracts in 1957, the permanent staff has been reduced by 115 from a total employment Of nearly*.2,500 in early fall. Most of the cut was accomplished through normal turn over, but 33 staff members were dropped as funds for projects ran out. Naturally, none of those were top scientists or experienced re search assistants, but they were rated as valuable research man power, nonetheless. “And when it comes time to hire permanent and summer help from college campuses, only a third as many will be needed this year,” says an Institute offeiial, adding sadly, "the work just isn’t there. Researchers say it’s difficult to pinpoint the loss of time—if any—in the scientific race with the Russians that results from the current lag in fimds. Observes an official of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Inc., Buffalo, ‘Missile work itself rode through last fall undamaged, but other projects, such as one on radar, which definitely are con nected to missiles in the long run, were delayed when our annual ap propriations were held up.’ Although these funds since have come in, this official observes, ‘You can’t always buy back time with money.’ Still less tangible, say these re search executives, is the loss in con tinuity when a research scientist is forced to switch from one project to another. One official notes, for example, the recefot cuts in lesser personnel have caused some of his top people to accept job offers from rival centers. Because these re searchers carry in their heads much of the background information on a given project, he explains, ‘our loss in research value is not always the new employer’s gain on a new project’.” * * • The South Carolina Senate paid an extraordinary tribute to two Senators, Messrs. Edgar Brown of Barnwell, and Richard M. Jefferies, of Colleton. Strangely, but true, neither of these gentlemen is a na- tvie of the county which has claim ed his service over more than thir ty years. Senator Brown is a native of Aiken County, while Senator Jefferies comes from what was once a part of Union County, now Chero kee County. Not only several excel lent tribute* were paid each Senator by his fellow Senators, but the great crowd from all over the state elo quently attested the genuine interest of the citizenry of the state. The two handsomely done portraits of the Senators hang in the Senate, speaking to coming generations of long and faithful service of two self-made men, for both men rose to distinction by hard work, in the most stimulating tradition of our nation. I hope to discuss both Sena tors later-1 claim the friendship of both and rejoice in the enthusiastic recognition of their high dedication to the public service. EVERYDAY COUNSELOR By Dr. Herbert Speayb Many people suffered frozen and bursted plumbing in the recent pe riod of freezing weather. Some did it from sheer neglect, and others from ignorance. Some suffered to the extent that they had no water in their houses for several days. Plumbers issued warnings and sug gestions though the press and over radio but still many failed to heed them. They offered three principal suggestions to prevent frozen pipes: (I) Turn the water off at the shut off in the ground. (2) Permit the faucets to run slowly. (3) Pour salt, alcohol, or some other anti freeze in traps and toilet bowls. Many people couldn’t turn their water off because they didn’t know where the shut-off was located. Oth ers found that the shut-off would not operate from disuse. Others suc ceeded in turning the water off, but the pipes still froze because the drain cock of the shut-off was stop ped up. Many of us have trouble in other areas of our lives .simply because we are not prepared for emergen cies. We know the emergency is go ing to come sometime. We budget our money up to the hilt for current expenses which often includes things we d^not need. Then when an emergency comes which cells for r extra funds, we don’t have the money. Every householder should know where the water can be shut off from his house. He should test the cut-off occasionally to see that it is in working order. We likewise should know where and how to turn off and control our personal ahd family expenditures. All of us also haye a mental shut off which shoud be kept in operating order. Here’s where we turn off negative thinking 4>efore it develops into jealousy, bitterness, resent ment, and hate. We can turn off these thoughts in our mind if we do it when the process commences. There is a moral parallel also to the running faucet, which keeps the water in motion and prevents free zing. Life, when kept in outgoing emotion, neither freezes nor stag nates. It is strange how this simple but fundamental principle of living is disregarded by so many. When fi- J. R. Crawford SURVEYING CLINTON, 8. C Phone 3493 Joanna nsocial difficulties loom up, and we have to cut expenses, the first place so many start is with the church and with the doctor. This is a se rious mistake, because through these come the care and nurture of our spiritual and physical hves. If you have to cut, don’t com mence with the Lord. If you do, you commence the whole reverse pro cess which moves back through your whole financial program. Life to be vital has to be oot-go- ing, in-flowing. It is a strange para dox, but true, that the more we give away, in the broad sense of the term, the more we have. ‘Learn a lesson from the care of your water pipes. Apply it to your si ritual life. It will save suffering and add to your joy and useful ness. 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Mountville Gin & Seed Cleaners Mountville, S. C. THIMET IS A PRODUCT OF AMERICAN CYANAMiD CGV : FARM AND HOME DIVISION • NEW YORK 20. N - PONTIAC SWEEPS NASCAR SAFETY HIGHWAY PASSING TESTS! DAYTON^ SEACH, FLA Pontiac again proves it is AMERICA’S NUMBER CD ROAD CAR in the year’s toughest test of safety, handling and performance: HOUSEWIFE VICKI WOOD AND HER '58 PONTIAC taught men driven a lesson in winning the 50 m.p.h. safe passing event. The elated Mrs. Wood reported,"... our new Pontiac handled and performed like a dream . . . so smooth and easy I couldn't believe it" Winner of the 30 m.pJi. passing event and high over-all winner of the safety tests with his standard 4-door Pontiac Catalina, magazine auto expert Jim Me Michael cracked," I could have told them before the tests started—this '58 Pontiac is in a doss by itself’. CVBMTB WBHB JOINTLY BPONBOft Chances are you’ll never be up against the precise and exacting demands that NASCAR puts on test cars and drivers. But you can put Pontiac through your own everyday driving paces and learn why test drivers call Pontiac America’s Number 1 Road Car. You’ll discover that the industry’s hottest team of engineers has created a car so advanced in basic design that it brings with it a totally new kind of driving. Give the nod to its Tempest 395 V-8 with power trimmed precisely to your wish. Comer it, park it, maneuver it to ■ V rurt OIL OOMPAMV AMD rut FLORIDA OTATB HIOHWAV PATROL the point of abuse and you marvel at your absolute command in every type of driving situation. Come in—drive and safety-test America’s Number 1 Road Car. You’ll discover it’s by far the biggest money’s worth on the market! ■SEE YOUR LOCAL AUTHORIZED PONTIAC DEALER* SMITH MOTOR COMPANY -229 E. Main St Laurens, S. C