Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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•nnrtnt And Consolidation The South Carolina General Assem- again this session will have to face Question of reapportionment of the ^Senate. The plait adopted last year ^ was accepted by a federal court panel ^ronly on an interim basis, and it is "known that some features of the 50- ~~B6iiator plan will have to be changed before the eourt will accept it on a per manent basis. As long as the General Assembly shown good faith in its deliberations on the question, the court will go alohg for a reasonable length of time. But if the Assembly drags its feet, the court has let it be konwn that it (the . court has let it be known that it (the apportionment. Let’s hope the Assembly will face the task promptly and honestly. It appears to us that, along with the question of reapportionment, now would be a good time to join with it consideration of consolidation of small counties. The state has a number of counties that are entirely too small to be con tinued as? political units. Whatever the reasons for their formation in years past, the need no longer exists in these days of rapid transportation. Where three or four small counties exist, each with a set of county officers who must be paid, plus other duplicat ing expenses that must be born^by tax payers, consolidation into one unit would result in more efficiency and less expense. The consolidated area could then have its own complement of one <or more senators. While we are on the subject, we [cannot resist the temptation to go back [.to our original comment of two or three ^years ago when the reapportionment •question was forced upon us by the U. p. Supreme Court. At that time we were the first and only one to suggest a unicameral (one- house) legislature. We see no need to continue to*have two houses of the leg islature elected on a population basis. Since then, we have heafdlaflaeveral instances where citizens of the state have come around to consideration of the unicameral legislative bodyC. , - Free dieting tip: In a year a human being eats sixteen times his weight in food, while a horse eats only eight 'times his. To lose weight,' eat like a horse.—The Daily Oklahoman. THE AMERICAN JTAY '■*--i' -V v<r '- '-y-ir"' /V i..... x m A long time ago, “the good old days” were called “these trying times.” -—The Columbia Record. That Two-Foot “Yardstick” Again l Once again the Tenqess^e Valley ^Authority is brandishing its “yard stick.” It reports that the electric bills of consumers in its service area are -*• • • about $252 million less in the lat est fiscal year than they would have been for the same amounts of electric ity at average rates throughout the fUnited States ...” Til ^e after time, utility -authorities, including a long-time head of the Tep- nesee Valley Authority, have pointed i>ut that comparing TVA electric rates ■With those of the rest of the electric in dustry are as impossible as mixing oil knd water, for the, simple reason that TVA rates do not take into considera tion TVA’s privileged status as a gov- 'ernmental business enterprise. If TVA were subjected to the same tax and in terest charges as any other commercial business enterprise, it would then be justified in comparing its rates with the rest of the industry. Until then, its fi nancial reports are meaningless statis tics except as they reveal to what ex tent the rest of the taxpayers of the .naion are subsidizing power consumers in the TVA area—an area in which the principle of socialism is firmly estab lished. lfab»cffl*» Point of View On: International <• Financial Problems Babson Park, Mass., February 9—Bab- son’s Business and Financial Forecast for 1967 warned readers that some of the great est dangers in 1967 might develop in the for eign economic field. With the first month of the year only now gone, it is possible to get a clearer glimpse of the likely trouble spots. Foremost among these are interna tional financial difficulties. Strangely en ough, the cause of these is to be found right here at home. LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS A nation, just like a person, may fall into financial hot water. The citizen who spends more than he earns may get by for a while by adding to his current income from sav ings. But when he has exhausted his assets, he must either borrow, or cut back on his way of living. And if he borrows while con tinuing his unbalanced budget, it will not be long before his credit becomes worthless. Then he has to toe the line, or go bankrupt. Since a nation is far more complex than an individual, it takes much longer before^ a country, living beyond its means, reaches the end of its financial rope. The U. S. still has a lot of that rope left. However, we do live in a community of Free World nations who subscribe to the capitalistic rules of earn ings statements and balance sheets. Hence, our failure to live within our means as a body politic for 16 of the past 17 years is rais ing more and more suspicion among other nations. WHY NOW?* W'ell, you say, if we have been getting away with such high living for such a long time, why should we run into big trouble in 196?? Why didn’t we last year ... or why not next year, perhaps? The answer lies in a bunching this year of unfavorable financial trends and attitudes in our relations with other nations of our Free World commuiity. First aid foremost is the Viet War, with half a million men in Southeast Asia, we are forced to spend a great deal more for foreign materials ... in Japan for instance. Addi tional defense outlays abroad for 1967 will run half a billion dollars above 1966. With air fares abroad sharply cut and the attrac tion of EXPO 67 in Montreal, U. S. tourists should add almost as much as the war to 1967 foreign spending. We may make some net gains from exports of goods; but with im ports also tilting higher, with foreign invest ments likely to rise, and with lower interest rates in the U. S. raising doubt as to other countries’ keeping their accounts here, our deficit in international payments for 1967 may hit $3 billion or more. This would fol low last year’s big bulge"" in our foreign- p^jjtfnents deficit of more than $1 billion. DRAWING THE LINE at is no wonder that our Free World neighbors are moving ever closer to draw ing a line around our international financial activities. This may be the year they will do it; .for The opportunity exists in two cases. /First, England must repay a billion dollars to the International Monetary Fund in Decem ber. Since the U. S. is in debt to the Fund, Great Britain cannot use dollars to meet her debt. She will have to use currencies of countries not in debt to the Fund. This will certainly embarrass the U. S. It will give France and her friends on.tne Continent a chance to “trade” with Washington; the Eur opeans will surely demand more say in run ning the IMF. Second, Britain “wants in” on the Com mon Market. France’s de Gaulle is making noises that sound like he does not want his neighbor admitted. But while the General talks about not letting England join, he is probably drawing up conditions for her ad mission. Among these may be a revision of the International Monetary Fund’s regula tions . . . aimed at cutting down on both England’s and the U.S.’ power to dictate the Fund’s policies. He figures; Why should the U.S. — a debtor to the IMF — have the biggest part in world money councils? BEST IN LONG RUN Of course any European moves to curb the U. S. spending spree abroad will be greet ed by howls of dismay in Washington. The cry of “ingrate” will be hurled at France, Italy, Holland, etc. But — in the long run — our country may be thanking the Europeans for having saved the dollar from eventual unilateral devaluation. No Way To Avoid II Stories Behind Words 1964 Agricultural Census lists 13,530 tenant families with no breakdown for ' sharecrop pers). r It may be possible, the spe cialist continued, to convert the sharecropper relationship into one in which the tenant or ‘cropper takes full man agement responsibility; that is,’ the cropper makes such decisions as when to plant, cutlivate,^ harvest, sell his products, and purchase his supplies and equiptingnt. “But where the land owner retains any measure of con trol of management, the case is one that is likely to be questioned.” Triggs said present law and regulations of the Department provide that a reasonable cost of meals, lodging and other facilities provided to share croppers may be computed as part of the wage so long as it does not exceed the actual cost. He quoted this section from the regulations; “The reasonable cost. . .is hereby determined to be not more than the actual cost to the employer of the board, lodging, or other facilities to his employees, Reasonable cost does not include a profit customarijy furnished by him to the employer. . .other fa- •5# - •***■;', ' ’ . Youth Wants to Know By RANDY GRIFFITH One of the most valuable things in all the world is a secret. There is great fascin ation in having something pri vate, all your own. When we were very -small children we began discover ing the secrets of the world. raveling the mysteries of life' and keeping special sec- individual. Secrecy is like a strongbox where we can hide our treas- cilities (includes) general mer chandise. . .fuel. . electricity, water and gas. . .(and) trans portation furnished employees between their homes and work.” “You (the farmer) do, to begin with. The valuation you set will be good until and un less the field investigator dis agrees with you,” Trigg said. “I expect many farmers will compute these reasonable costs too low, because of a tendency to overlook depre ciation, interest, taxes- and overhead costs. Farmers are entitled- to allow interest at 5‘i percent on depreciated in vestment in such facilities.” ures: A momento of a spe cial past event, a meaningful photograph, a personal poem or a package of letters from a loved one. feveryone needs such a secret place. Often parents will demand that their children keep no secrets from them. Such a demand should never be made. Pressure from parents encourage a youngster to hide more and more things from the adults. Even at times a teenager will end v up hating or scheming against parents if they push too hard to learn everything about their child. If, on the other hand, the child gives in and does just as the parents wish, sees only the friends parents approve and does only as they approve, the younger person loses and will fail to develop as he keeps his childhood characteristics. Every person needs a cer tain amount of secrecy in or der to be a real human be ing. Reaching an intelligent understanding with parents who demand to know too much will ease your con science as you keep your se crets too! «y William S. Penfieid Accolade An accolade—an honor bestowed upon some one—originally meant a hug or an embrace. • The word is derived from the latin “ad” (at or to) “collum” (neck). In early English, conferring knighthood in volved a three-part ceremony. The man was em braced, kissed] on the cheek and touched on the shoulder with a sword. This*ceremony was call ed an accolade. The meaning of^accolade was cxl ended to any honor bestowed on anyone. FARMS and FOLKS By L. C. HAMILTON Clemson University Extension Information Specialist CLINTON S. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1967 The almost complete elimi nation of the sharecropper sys tem will be one of the results of Ihe minimum wage regula tions that become effective-for farmers on Feb. 1. This was the opinion ex pressed by Matt Triggs, assis tant legislative director of the American Farm Bureau Fed eration, speaking to the S. C. Peach Council in Charles ton on Jan. 24. Triggs said other major ef fects of the new $1.00 per hour wage regulations would be to “increase the cost of the $30 billion of production goods and services farmers buy each year; (to increase) the cost of the $12 billion of'con sumer good and services far mers buy; (to increase) the cost of marketing, processing, and handling of farm prod ucts — costs shared by farm ers and consumers.” “An acceleration of mech anization, in some cases a combination of farms into lar ger units, and substantial re duction 1 in farm labor employ ment” are other probable ef fects, Triggs continued. The new law, to be enforced by the Department of Labor, calls for covered farmers to begin paying minimum wages of $1.00 an hour Feb. 1, $1.15 an hour Feb. I, 1968, and $1.30 an hour Feb. 1, 1969. You should first determine if you are a covered employer us ing the 500 man days forrpu- la arid other regulations pro vided by the Dept, of Labor. Triggs said the Act clearly intends that sharecroppers are to he considered as em ployees, that a sharecropper and any member of his family who work must be paid not less than the minimum wage. “I asked the Department (of Labor) if the determination as to whether a sharecropper was paid the minimum wage could be delayed until the end of the season when the value of his share and the number of hours worked were avail able. “The opinion was expres sed unofficially that the farm er was probably out of com pliance Until the settlement was made at the end of the year;- but that if at the end of the year the sharecropper and members of his family received not less than the min imum wage, they doubted that any question would be raised, at least at this time.” Triggs continued: “There are some people who have never liked the sharecropper relationship. They should be happy now, because the min imum wage bill means, the end of sharecropping where it exists, at least by covered farmers. What happens to the sharecropper is another ques tion.” (Editor’s note: The 1959 cen sus shows there were 24,827 tenant families in S. C. and more than 10,000 of these fa milies were listed as share- croppers. The number of ten ants has been declining. The qty* (Clinton (Eljrnntrlr July 4, 1889 — WILLIAM WILSON HARRIS — June 13, 1955 Established 1900 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY Subscription Rate (Payable in Advance) Out-of-County One Year, $4.00; Six Months, $2.50 Ond Year, $5.00 L Second Class Postage Paid at Clinton, S. C. POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579 to Clinton Chronicle, Clinton, S. C. 29325 The Chronicle seeks the cooperation of its subscribers and readers—the pubUsher wm«t all times appreciate wise suggestions and kindly advice. The Chronicle will pubUsh letters of general interest when .they are not of a defamatory nature. Anony mous communicaions will not be noticed. This paper is not responsible for the views or opinions of its correspondents. j No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for omission or error occurring in advertisements or news matter, but correction will be made in the next issue when •tteptloo is directed to it. In no event will liability be assumed when merchandise is mM ad Ineuioctly advertised price. MemOer: South Carolina Press Association, National Editorial Association National Advertising Representative: AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia OFFICE SUPPLIES OFFICE FURNITURE OFFICE MACHINES > • • * ' Serving The Clinton Area With Quality Service L & L Office Supply Thone 984-8781 Laurens, S. C. NOW! FABULOUS DODGE CHARGER PRICED SO LOW YOU CAN’T SAY NO! What’s a “White Hat” Special? A great chance to buy one of the most exciting Dodges going at a very down-to-earth price. Take Charger, America’s first full-sized fastback. 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