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Fine Arts Festival Could Be Big Weekend Clinton’s Fine Arts Festival is an event around which a major local promotion can be built. Last weekend’s festival was well- received and involved both young and old in art. music and dance. The festival should remain dedicated pri marily to local talent However, with proper promotion, it could also be an event which would invite visitors from all over the state. Rock Hill has a promotion which has the unlikely name of “Come-See- Me-Weekend." The idea is simple. Folks in Rock Hill invite friends and relatives to come to their city on a specified weekend. That weekend, the city’s municipal Glencairn Gar dens are at their peak. The residents fix up their yards. There are con certs and shows for entertainment. The event has grown each year. This year, it attracted an estimated aO.OOO people to Rock Hill. Planned Poverty When Will Rogers, who was proud of his Indian blood, was asked by a haughty dowager, whether his ancestors came over bn the May flower, he replied: “Th«y met the boat.” Since Rogers uttered those words the plight of his people has been deteriorating steadily and rapidly. However, we don't recall that any of our most lachrymose pundits have shed any tears for them. Of course, there are only about 300,000 Indian votes in the natoinal elections, and that may explain the oversight. The Association on American In dian Affairs in New York City re ports the following statistical aver ages for our Indian population: Schooling, 5 years; life span, 42 years; family income, $1,500; un employment, 45 per cent. Tom Tiede, an NEA newsman, recently described the Navajo Reservation as the nation’s largest ghetto: 25,000 square miles of privation; 18 million acres of despair; 100,000 faces of poverty; a median income for a fam ily of five of $580 a year, “It is a sad fact that this coun try’s greatest landowners have be come the nation’s smallest minority, the poorest and least educated.” With those words, Wendell Chine welcomed delegates from all over the country to the National Congress of American Indians in Portland, Oregon, last October. A Mescalero Apache, Chine called for legislation to improve Indian education, em ployment, fishing rights, hunting housing and sanitation for the In dians. It seems not to have come to the attention of the Supreme Court that the Interior Department is spending millions each year to build segrega ted schools for the Indians, while tons of money are being spent in metropolitan areas to bus children to integrated schools. But the school ing program hasn’t been what you’d call a model of success. Only three of ten Navajo adults can read or w r rite English. Secretary of the Interior, Stewart L. Udall, testified recently that the American Indians comprise “the most poverty stricken group in this country.” He was asking for more money for his department. Unhappily, this whole sorrowful tale is an accounting of the steward ship of the planners in Washington over the span of almost a century, and as good a reason as we can think of for resisting Big Brotherism every waking moment of our lives. The Spring Arts Festival gives Clinton the basis for a similar pro motion. It's a beautiful time of the year in Clinton. Throw in outdoor concerts, art exhibits, photography and crafts displays, and barbershop quartets and you have the makings of a fine weekend you would like to share with someone from another town. The Clinton Music Club, with the cooperation of Presbyterian College, initiated the festival last year. We commend them for their effort and we would like to see it lead to even bigger and better things in the fu ture. _ The Farmer And Inflation This is the busiest time of year for the farmer. In some areas, one can see tractors in the fields around the clock. A reporter noted last week that on a 45-mile nighttime drive through central Illinois he spotted lights in 17 fields as tractors plowed their lonely way across the landscape. The elements put pressure on the farmer, but they are as nothing com pared with the pressure of in flation. For years now the farmer has found it impossible to get more for what he raises, and he has work ed harder to compensate for the low prices by being more efficient, by increasing production. But for most farmers it has been a losing battle. Everything that the farmer has to buy has gone up in price—farm help, equipment, repair parts and repairmen, doctors, lawyers, and processed foods. And prices for farm produce haven’t kept pace with up ward costs. No business in the coun try has been hurt as badly by in flation as the farm operator. In the past six years the prices farmers have to pay have gone up 14 per cent. The prices they get have gone up something like 5 percent, and commodities have not done that well. A manufacturer adds increased costs to his product and the buyer pays more. Labor unions have nego tiated contracts tied to the “cost of living” and pay scales escalate when the cost of living goes up. Not so the farmer. Taxes and in terest rates have inflated skyward in recent years along with the cost of living and the cost of farming. The toll that inflation has taken on the farms across the country is per haps best evidenced by the fact that farmers have gone nearly $20 billion deeper in debt in the past six years. It seems to us that the most important thing that any farmer can do today is to take half-an-hour be fore going to the fields to write his Congressman and his Senators to in sist that the federal government stop the spending spree, and stop print ing paper money, and recognize that inflation is destroying the agri cultural economy of the country. Only a few weeks ago the House passed a bill providing that the exe cutive branch may issue $5 billion in treasury notes and “sell” them to the Federal Reserve bank. This is nothing more than printing press money. It may be that some businesses, and workers can survive more in flation. But America’s farmers can’t, and they had better serve notice on Washington in no uncertain terms between now and November. What Are They Hiding? This is probably the only time in your whole lifetime that you’ll read an editorial comment in this space about men’s fashions. The reason is that this is the only time we’ve had anything really inform ative to say about men’s fashions. The rage this year, according to the slick magazines, is a jacket for the male which is known as the “Nehru” jacket. Axitualjy, it was introduced as the “Mao” jacket, but the creators quickly realized that the Red dictator wasn’t exact ly the most potpular guy in this country and all the advertising campaigns were cancelled, and the Mao jacket became the Nehru jac ket. But it’s the same jacket, and it’s described as something that came west out of the east. That’s not quite the whole story, and here is how we know. The late Rodney Gilbert used to delight in telling the story of a visit to Pek ing a few weeks before the deatb. of the venerated Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the famed founder of the Republic of China. Mr. Gilbert had gone there specifically to interview Dr. Sun, an old friend of a quarter-cen tury at least. And when he entered the hotel suite, he was taken aback to see Dr. Sun wearing what is now described as the Nehru jacket. “What in the world are you wearing, Dr. Sun?.” Rodney asked in some amazement. “You look like one of the bellhops in the lob by downstairs.” Dr. Sun immediately unlatched the fastener at t h e throat of the jacket and opened it. “But Rodney, observe. No shirt. It saves laun dry.” That comes to mind when one of those Nehru jacket-clad fashion plates appears on TV these‘days. We can’t help but wonder — didn’t he have a clean shirt to wear? "Those Guys Miss You, Lyndon, No Kiddin'..." 1G THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., May 2 l%x Greatest Need: Love, Attention s-/ \ A u v cmu* we**- The SS Joker MSOII’S return from it. BASIC INEQUITIES BABSON PARK, MASS. Since it became operative more than 30 years ago, the social security system has grown like all get out. Most of us take it pretty much for granted. We are encouraged and elated whenever Congress sees fit to increase benefits, and we grumble only I Right now, the average young half-heartedly when Congress worker could buy -- from a votes a boost in the social private insurer -- a combination security tax. life - insurance - and - retire ment policy that would provide him a much better return than he will get from his social se curity. Hence, compulsory social security as we have it today is unfair. We and our employers combined should have the choice NOT INSURANCE Perhaps we would be more deeply concerned for its future (and ours!) if we knew that social security is not really retire ment insurance. Right now social of security is obligated to pay out some $400 billion. However, its reserve is scarcely more than 5^c of that amount! What, then, has happened to your social security tax pay ments? The answer is quite simple: These payments are channeled into the U. S. Treasury, along with other tax money, and used as Uncle Sam sees fit. Hence your future social security benefits are not being financed by your tax payments of today. That money is being paid out to older Americans already drawing benefits. DIMINISHING RETURN Both minimum and maximum benefits under social security have been increased a number of times. Of course, more people are receiving more dollars from the system than ever before. But the return relative to social se curity taxes paid is still dis appointing. making payments for social security either to Uncle Sam or to an insurance company. Another inequity in the present system which cries to heaven for correction is the inhumane, anti social ruling which forces a post- 65 worker to forego his full bene fits until he reaches 72 if he earns more than $1680 per year in wages. Yet, retirees who have income from sources other than employment are not similary penalized. The real joker in social security is the lack of a suffi cient reserve to assure payment of benefits over the longer term When the system was established, it was confidently expected that a steadily increasing population would provide an ever greater number of taxpayers. It was also expected that constantly ex panding productivity would pro vide these workers with more dollars to pay into social se curity. Though their benefits may have been small compared with those available today, workers whore- tired during the early years of the program have actually collected many times their contribution. But as the program has embraced more people, tax payments to support it have outpaced the But earlier plans for ever more taxpayers and perpetual pro ductivity advances seem to be going awry. In recent years, the nation’s birth rate has plunged . . . a new low last year. Ever mounting cost-push inflation has been curbing America’s vauntei productivity gains. Projectini these adverse trends -- am there’s no reason not to -- we shall run smack into a situation shortly after the year 2000 that may ring the death knell for social security. For, by that time, the war babies of the 1940’s will be the retirees. Their numbers will be legion. But the taxpayers who will have to support them will be small in mass, relative to a then huge army of pensioners. Will the youthful taxpayers rebel at carrying the heavy burden for those over 65? Woodruff Road Projects Set Award of a $235,715 contract for 42 miles of highway resur facing in Greenville, Spartanburg and Laurens counties has been announced by the State Highway Department. This contract was awarded to Sloan Construction Company, Inc. of Greenville on the basis of a low bid, according to Chief Highway Commissioner Silas N. Pearman. Three bids were en tered ranging as high as$259,535. Included in this project are 12.7 miles of S. C. Route 418 from Woodruff to Fountain Inn; 12.9 miles of S. C. Route 101 from Interstate Route 85 to U. S. 221 in Woodruff; Six miles on S. C. 146 from U.S. 221 in Woodruff southeasterly to Interstate Route 26; five miles of streets in Woodruff; 2.80 miles of streets in Spartanburg; one mile of streets inChesnee; and 1.46 miles on sections of streets on the cam pus of the S. C. School for the Deaf and Blind at Cedar Springs. BY DR. HERBERT SPAUGH Slowly we are commencing to learn the tremendous power of | deep spiritual love. Nowhere has its power been more evident than in the treating of the mentally and emotionally ill, not only in private institutions, but also in 'our great state hospitals. Some time ago I was visiting the chap lain of the Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, N. C. I asked him what was the greatest single need of all the patients. Quick as a flash he replied, “Love and atten tion.’ Then he told how many of the patients there for years often were without a visit or even a letter from relatives. The Saturday Evening Post of April 6, 1968, has a most in formative article, “Inside the Insane Asylum* by Harold !!. Martin. It is well written and gives evidence of careful re search. He interviewed John Moskovites, a male nurse of Boston State Hospital, described by the doctors there as the ideal : hospital employee - a man with a “healing touch that transcends all medicalandpsychiatric know ledge .’He was so successful there that the Army Medical Corps commissioned him a lieutenant and sent him out to Tokyo to practice his healing art in the military hospitals where Amer ican troops are being treated for psychiatric trauma suffered in Vietman. Moskovites took the author on a tour of the grounds past several large three story buildings with iron - barred windows. “They’ve been empty for months now,’ said Moskovites, nodding toward the two largest. “But just a few years ago it was bedlam - a wild confusion of people yelling and shouting and running around naked. “A whole lot of things brought about the change. Drugs, in the first place. But mainly, I think, A LOT OF TENDER LOVING CARE. That’s trite, I know. But I went over to Harvard and Rad- cliffe and Tufts and Northwestern and did some talking, and man aged to get a lot of good kids to come in here and help us as volunteers. When I was out at Menninger’s working with turberi children, Dr. Karl used to tell us, ‘Love cures people- both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.’ I think that’s what happened here.” The college - volunteer pr - gram was commenced in 1954. Today student volunteers work as attendants in more than 100 hos pitals and halfway houses around the country. Moskovites gave his eager young helpers full credit. In less than five years the pop ulation in the old chronic wards under his supervision dropp.ai from 2,000 to less than 200, as the volunteer prepared them t go out to foster homes, nursinc home, or even to their own homo “We did it just by giving even patient something to do that he could do. We led him along step iy step.* When will we learn. Read St. Paul’s 13th chapter of I Corin thians. Read it again. Then prac tice it. Wish I’d Said That ‘'Whatever the world may be coming to, it’s evidently not coming to its senses.” Olin Miller, The ( Cresson-GalIit- zen) Mainliner & (Portage. Penna i Dispatch. “One advantage of a large vocabulary: it lets you insult the other fellow and get out of range before he realizes it.” Wm. Chaffee, The Walnut (Iowa) Bureau. :U IO “It’s said we’re approach ing a moneyless society. Some of us are already there.” “Instant Debt” ...the other name for“Instant Credit” r' 'P \ THE HIGH ROAD, PLEASE! 'CMSTRucftyr' labor / \NEG0T/ATJOfjSj Rees SELF-SUFFICIENCY — In criticizing the President’s bud get message on federal spend ing, Rep. John P. Saylor (R.- Penna.) said, “The federal government should promote self-sufficiency, not destroy it. Rather than build attractive avenues of access to a subsi dized subsistence, the federal government should show the way to personal independence and its ultimate reward even though the course may appear difficult and challenging. In es sence, the federal government should present government welfare as a temporary expedi ency, not glorify it as a perma nent institution.” V The over-use of credit cards and the false feeling of affluence they create can make you a prisoner of your own finances. A savings account with us will help you meet your obligations and enjoy the future. Citizens Federal «. SAYINGS AND LOAN 4^ ASSOCIATION 3 203 South Broad Street CLINTON, SOUTH CAROLINA A Sound Savings Plan If you wve «• much in th# n«xt fiftMn y««ri at you did in th* p*»t fift**n y*#r$, will fh*r* b« adequate funds for old ag«? If not . . . I*t < s talk over a plan which will work witliout fail! REPRESENTATIVES SIDNEY HARTZOG—833-2333 FRANK LYDA—833-1784 REPRESENTATIVES FRED BRAGG—833-1663 JACOBS BLDG 833-0950 OLIN FURR—833-0066