University of South Carolina Libraries
THE CLINTON CHRONICLE Cttaton, S. C., Thanday, 8M—1ft, 1H4 for In This Sky the years the federal government a sure-fire method to win ap- expenditures of taxpayers’ funds projects. It issues a glowing of the number of jobs that will Unfortunately, no one ever to bother to find out if the prom- tly fulfilled. construction of a memorial in Jef- Mo., to commemorate the Loukri- Purchase is a strong case in point. It i first proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1998. He assured the Con gress that it would provide work for at least 8,000 persona. It got a favorable re sponse, naturally, since the nation was de- pranrion-ridden. First estimates placed the cost at around $25 million—a fantastic sum in those days—and three years later a grant of |22J million was made to the Public Works Administration. However, a long series of legal compli cations arose over acquisition of the land. These and disputes over the selection of a design caused such long delays that actual oonetmction of the 680-foot high, stainless steel memorial was not started until 1961. It is eipgBted to be completed late this year and the final coot win hit 632 million. Now comes the peyoff—or the lack thereof. Instead of creating 5,000 jobs the project hot given work to only 100 men. It would be well If Congress kept this ceee history in mind in considering re quests for funds for anti-poverty projects. Testifying before a Congressional Com mittee, an official of the Social Security Administration was asked exactly where the fund stood. His answer was that if social security were stopped today with no more contributions and no additional obli gations, it was in the red 6800 billion. Many years ago I heard President Lowell at Harvard say: ‘A civilization is seldom murdered; it commits suicide.’”—Ernest G. Swigert, Chairman of the Board, Hyster Company, Portland, Oregon. HIGH PROMISE—LOW RETURN Canton, Pa., Independent - Sentinel: “There are more than 80,000 persons killed in automobile accidents in this country ev ery year, according to reliable estimates. The American public . . . have been and still are, strangely unconcerned over this death rate. They seem to take it for granted that motor vehicles and dead pe destrians go together, and even if, at times, the occupants of the automobiles get kill ed, the accident is usually tanned ’un avoidable’.” 'this 'monument' labored— — AND BROUGHT FORTH A MOUSE!" No New Money Needed Senate action on the fiscal ’66 foreign aid appropriation, delayed by conaidertkm of the Dirkeen rider to stall state action on the Supreme Court’s reapportionment order, (which could destroy the U. S. Sen ate, itself), will come in a matter of days or hours. Brig. Gen. Bonner Fellers, national chairman of the Citizens’ Foreign Aid Com mittee (to aid the taxpayer) says, in an earnest, last-minute appeal to Americana: ’Wire both jour ssnatore to cut foreign aid in half. Wire them that, since 67.1 billion AID funds are unliquidated, no new appropriation is ■eecaBary.** General Fellers deplores the “economic optimism” of the President who has said: “We can, and do, take great pride in our record-breaking prosperity on the home front, and the restored prestige and strength of our dollar abroad.” The Gen eral also quotes the dissent of Barron’s “Prosperity,” the financial weekly said on August 3, “is living on borrowed money and borrowed time.” “During and since Worid War H,” the General points out, “more than 690 billion inflationary money has been poured into our economy. The worth of the dollar has dropped 46 cents. The federal debt, more than 6309 billion, is about $100 billion more than the total debt of all free worid coun tries. Federal taxes have been cut but profligate spending continues. In the last 38 years the budget has been in the red 27 times . . . “Since foreign aid began in 1946 the U. S. has enjoyed a favorable balance of international payments only in 1967. Prin cipally through foreign aid, and spending by and for our overseas forces, 824.4 bfltton net in short-term dollar credits, redeemable in gold, are in foreign hands. Available to redeem these billions the Treasury has only 6600 million in free gold. The Treasury employs every known stratagem to arrest foreign gold purchases. But the tempta tion is great. The best bargain in the world (for foreigners, that is) is an ounce of gold for 35 paper dollars. A run on our gold would wreck the free world economy.” And just who, we might ask our Sena tors, do they expect will bail as out? Babmn Discusses Money and Inflation Babson Park, Mass.. Sept. replace ment of our one dallar silver cartiflcato, the last U. S. paper currency backed with a MU dollar’s worth of metal, brings this nation's money supply done to n positton of bUity. About aU that new seems to way is our dwindling supply of fractional However, If we are forced to adopt a non convertible currency. It will not be the first time. During the Civil War, for example, wo Issued a total of $450 million in irredeemable greenbacks. The results of this action are interesting, and perhaps not without significance for us today. PAPEB CUBBENCY OF 1M TEAKS AGO The first of the Civil War greenbacks rolled off the presses in March of IMA and by early summer a severe coin shortage had developed. This was of course in accord with the tenets of Greshams’ law, which states, in effect, that the most valuable pieces of money will be dil vou oat of circulation, once a disparity in value exists in a monetary system. On August SI, IMS, the government released its first issue ef fractional paper currency, in 5c, 10c, 25c and 50c denomi nations. These releases continued intermittently for fourteen years, with the final issue coming in 1070. Specie payments had been suspended In early 1802, and by January 1, MO, gold was command ing a 00% premium over the Inradeaenabie green backs. This process of depreciation continued until 1004, when the gold premium was a whop ping 200%. Even so, this 20c Civil War dollar still was three cents more valuable than our present dollar, Judged in terms of its 1912 coun terpart. It was seventeen yean before the na tion could resume specie payments. This was done on January 1, 17M, and, remarkably enough, in the final year of a great depression. This would be much more difficult, if not impos sible, today because of the enormous obligations of the federal government. SOUND MONEY SOLUTION ESSENTIAL This experience with coin shortages suggests that some of the proposed remedies for the present scarcity may prove ineffective. Con tinuation of the 1964 dating on future mintlngs could well make earlier issues more scarce and consequently more valuable, and Urns bring Gresham’s law into action on pre-1964 coins. In that event, the imposed maximum minting of 9.5 billion coins per year would simply drive the 30 to 50 billion coins now in circulation into the bands of coUectors. This would set us back, production-wise, from three to five years in our efforts to cope with the problem. In the past, some nations have resorted to stringent laws in attempting to prevent hoarding of coins. Historian Macaulay, discussing Eng land’s great mutilation and hoarding problems of the 1090’s, says, “At every session that was held at Old Bailey terrible examples were made. On one morning seven men were banged ... for dip ping. But all was vain. Nay, the severity of the punishment gave encouragement to the crime.” England’s coin problems were solved, as all such problems must be, by applying monetary principles in accord with Gresham’s law: By calling hi the old under-weight coins, by stepping up mint output of new full-weight coins, end by renouncing all plane for cheapening or inflating the coinagle. (These were drastic measures, about equivalent to our recoining the pre-1894 gold dol lar and renouncing inflation-producing unbal anced budgets!) “Within four days after the meeting of Parliament,” records Macaulay, “there was a perceptible improvement in trade. The discount bank notes had diminahed by one- third.” And ths missing coins? Almost immedi ately they “began to come forth from a thousand strong boxes and private 28 YEARS AND 632 MILLION LATER IT HAS PRODUCER ONLY IOO JOBS Stories Behind Words WiUUm & Ammonia is a colorless alkaline gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen. The gas, which has a pungent odor, is easily soL uble in water. In fact, the household liquid we call ammonia is a solution of water and ammonia. Ammonia is so called because it was first obtained from camel’s dung near the temple of Jupiter Ammon, an ancient Egyptian diety. Meet commercial ammonia is now obtained as a by product of coal gas. ting little help out of Wash ington.” Such comments as these are causing the Senator to take a long, hard look at what Gold- water has to offer. TO LEAD, NOT TO FOLLOW By supporting Goldwater, Thurmond would become the most important Southerner— along with Senator John Tow er of Texas—in die Republican Party. , In this leadership capacity, he could tell his fellow con servatives in the South, as Goldwater told Republican con servatives in 1900: "Wake up conservatives and let's take over the Republican Party in South Carolina and oaher Southern states.” Many Southern Democrats get slightly sick at the thought of joining the Republican Party or voting Republican. Lack of Re publican leadership has been a major factor for this feeling; yet, this very lack of leadership among Southern Republicans makes the GOP susceptible to a friendly take-over by rank-and- file Democrats who share the basic beliefs of Barry Goldwater and Strom Thurmond. Thurmond has every oppor tunity of becoming “Mr. Repub lican” in South Carolina as Olin Johnston has been “Mr. Demo crat” in the state for most of the past 32 years. THE JOHNSTON GAMBLE (Bin D. Johnston is gambling all in the opposite direction from nantnond. For him to have dons otherwise would have been Inconsistent with his long politi cal record of always supporting the Democratic ticket — no mat ter what In the case of Olin, however, he's largely howevsr, he's large ly been a follower and not a leader. And his undying sup port of the national party has been considerably more helpful to Mm personally than ta the people who put him in office. South Carolinians, by the very nature of their pride and individ ual spirit have largely insisted broad participation in the social istic type programs suported by their senior senator. Even so. Senator Johnston Is the Democratic power in the ■tote toda ywith full support of organised labor, Negro leaders, and poUtical “hangers-on.” Thurmond has nothing to gain from this group. A THURMOND TAKEOVER On the other hand, a fighting Strom Thurmond to reinforce a fighting Barry Goldwater could well end the Johnston reign in South Carolina via a Thurmond- led Republican Party takeover in 1906. President Johnson and Sena tor Johnston are doing their best to frighten South Carolinians against voting their convictions, warning that repercuaakms will take place if South Carolina is in the wrong corner when all votes are counted In November. We wonder if sash tactics, so successfully Johnson in winning the Congress, will prevail among conscientious American. 4» Satta tuft . (PUD'S bciwmsuiims ee aruMOTim. a. & - *1 to Tht Your ( Program TODAY-FRI.-S AT. SEPTEMBER 10-12 StfWMtltfsIir : 8:19, 8, 7, 9 P. M. COMING SOON— “THE KILLERS” “KISSRR FOR THE MON.-TUES., SEPT. 14-16 nm i im tilt AMR AH *****?! '*** u * n MHJKH M Shows: 8:19, 6*JA Mt STARTS WED„ SEPT. 16 ft* 3:19, 5:30, 8:99 South Carolinian In Washington By BRENT BKEEDIN THURMOND FACES U. S. Senator Strom Thur- is aheul to the most important political decis ion of Ms career—whether to bolt the Democratic Party openly in support of Republi can Barry Goldwater or to “tit this one out” as he has done in recent presidential cam paigns. To support the Goldwater cause, in which he believes, would be in keeping with the Thurmond tradition of 1940, 1904, and 1907 when he defied political advice to the contrary and respectively (1) bolted the Democrats to run as a Dixie- c r a t Presidential candidate against Harry Truman, (2) de fied the state Democratic po litical machine to upeet Edgar Brown as a write-in candidate for the U. S. Senate, and (t) refused to join other Southern senators in quietly letting Lyn don Johnson's first “civil rights” Mil become law. For the most part, Thurmond hfipad hi* political taking these stands; yet, one can rei well that such i to itoiatf Mtn from his Demo cratic colleagues, making Mm a less effective Senator than he might have been. ADVICE TO CONTRARY As was the case in 1945, 1904, and 1967, the Senator is being waned not to take an “all or nothing” plunge Mis fall. Such advisors say to Thurmond: 1. “You'll wind up a very small minority in a minority party. 2. “Lyndon will do every thing in his power to defeat you in 1906. 3. “It's not too late to be come one of ths gang. Give LBJ your lukewarm support at least, and he’ll look after you and South Carolina. 4. “Evan if you carry South Carolina for Goldwater, you’ll be doing the state a disservice, for LBJ’s vindictiveness win result in South Carolina get- Ahna, Mich., Record: “The noodemo- cratk nations of the worid can talk all they want to about collect!vim, agrarian re form and the like, there is no substitute for individual initiative and motivation. We need only to compare the farm production figures ... of the nation with tboee of Cuba, of Red China and of Russia, to prove this fact” TODAY'S Since we went off gold la 1994, there has been more opportunity far teflaMug Prices of esm- modities, real estate, stc. lationship to the vi currency was rsadBy convertible into the Today, however. Onagri os can change ths of gold, influendag the whole price level. ThJo is the danger we face. Perhaps it would be to ask both Mr. they stand on this CLINTON, 8. C., THURSDAY, Qttp (EUntim (ttpnmirir Jaty 4, ISM - WILLIAM WI1BON HARRIS - 13. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE CHRONICLE PUBL t COMPANY Subscription Bate (payable in Advance) Outref-County One Year 64.00, Six months 62.50 One Year MAO Second Class Postags Paid at Clinton. S. C. POSTMASTER: Sand Form 1579 to ™«4tn 8. C. aB times not be noticed. This the cooperation of its subscribers and wias suggestions and kindly advice- The art not of a defamatory nature. Is not rooponslble for the views or Member: South Carolina Presa Association. National Editorial Association First Day of School An they |* utf In grade sefraefc Ms titan t# tiff Ahw mmImp gM 1mm soon . . . the day they*! he ready ter tefege. YnaH bn riady» ten, if yna spBi thter ftfltege Aceiam P" PW " wflfwW wit* ttoa. fee IB. BANK OF CLINTON Big floor heating performance in a COMPACT CABINETI tmrnmmwmm ouSS* hJSTSh otpowp* Ifrem lonml—» Js*ps9ati«» •Eats SfSE 38l see the new CONSOLE SIEGLER that - H. D. PAYNE & COMPANY 8884788 L