Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TELEVISION NEWS' Vice President Spiro Agnew’s criticism of television networks’ news coverage is well-justified and we are pleased he had the courage to bring it out into the open. Television news coverage is too closely allied with show ousiness theories. Operating within restrict ed time limits, television shows the moment of confrontation, the mo ment of impact. To present a fair picture, one must also deal with the events which preciuitate the action. Television also olten lends itself more to newsmaking than news re porting. Television added luel to the riots which made a shambles of the Democratic Party Convention and, we believe, seriously hurt the Democratic Party in its presidentiial ticket. Investigations of television cover age of that convention have shown that TV presented a distorted view of the happenings outside the conven tion. In one instance, film clips of a demonstrator attacking a policeman were not used. What was shown was a sequence in which the policeman was chasing the demonstrator, with no mention of the provocation. Televisiion news coverage also is too concerned with the bizarre. As the vice president said, . . it was also the networks that elevated Stokely Carmichael and (ieorge I.in coin Rockwell from obscurity to na tional prominence.” Those who yell loudest capture the television eye, regardless of the mer its of what they are saying and re gardless ol the background of the shouter. We certainly would not want gov ernment censorship or control over television news coverage but we hope the teieviskm industry will take a good look at itself and strive for more objectivity and fairness in its news coverage WANTED: YOUR OPINION Entries in the ‘‘Clinton, Today and Tomorrow” contest are coming in but they’re coming slowly. It takes a good bit of thought and consideration to write down what you think are the city’s greatest needs to day and what type of town you want it to be in the future. In considering needs, you have to weigh such things as police efficiency and public schools; roads and sewer lines; annexation and railroads; a ‘‘ring road” bypass and public utili ties. It’s almost like comparing ap ples and oranges. However, don’t let it scare you off. All we want to know are your thoughts. Which aa*e the needs closest to your daily life? And do you want Clinton to main tain its present atmosphere—a Iml- ance of diversified industry in a col- : : lege town, or do you want it to be f; more industrial or perhaps more cul- ’■ tural? What sort of future do you visualize for Clinton? Your letters don’t have to U* pro found, all-encompassing epistles. You can use them as a gripe outlet if you want to. Is there something about the town that bugs you? Let us know. There are going to lie complaints about any town and we have heard them about Clinton. Now is a chance to put them jdown and make them available to people who may lie able to do something about your com plaints and your hopes. The Clinton Planning Commis sion is sponsoring the contest and we’d like to hear from you. The deadline for letters is Nov. HO. Any resident of the Clinton trading area is eligible, except members of the Planning Commission. Address your letter to ‘‘Clinton, Today and Tomorrow”, The Chronicle. P. O. Box 180, Clinton, S. C. The prize for the best letter is $100. Even if you aren’t interested in the money, surely you’re interested in your town. ! THE NEWCOMERS CLUB Listening to Mrs. Jerry Coxwell fHMumerate the activities and accom- l plishments of the Clinton Newcomers’ Club, it’s hard to realize the club is only 10 months old. Mrs. Coxwell, charter president of i^the club, was instrumental in organ- i; faSng the local Newcomers’ Club. Ad- £ dressing the Clinton Rotary Club last rf^week, she said she wanted Clinton to $ have a Newcomers’ Club because it 5 had meant so much to her when she $ lived in Perry, Ga. Mrs. Coxwell pointed out that she : : and her husband had moved several times prior to coming to Clinton. She said, ‘‘A man who moves usually is >wn with people in his work who ive common interests but his wife ^more limited in her contacts.” In Perry she joined the Newcom ers’ Club and, “I met more people there than I had met in all of the other towns combined.” In addition to serving a purpose as a social outlet, the Newcomers’ Club has become involved in many worthwhile projects, even in its or ganizational year. The club currently is working on its Christmas Bazaar which will be held Dec. 6, starting at 10 a.m., at the Episcopal Parish House. We suggest that people who have lived in Clinton for some time should get to know the newcomers better. They are active, they get things done and they are interested in Clinton. The club is a fine addition to our com munity. "We invent the wheel-and somebody pops up and invents 'hijacking'..." 7 ) r ^ v '. • • "4 OnAJik • • • U.S. Latin Firms Planning Long Stay BY BABSON’S REPORTS, INC. Wellesley Hills, Mass. The nationalization fever which swept Chili and Peru earlier this year -- dealing a severe blow to Anaconda Company and Interna tional Petroleum -- appears to have abated, temporarily at least. Far from being intimidated by the periodic flareups of anti- American sentiment that have oc curred south of the border, most American firms -- mindful of the heavy investments they have made in plant and equipment and of still good overall profitabi lity -- are digging in for what they hope will be .a long stay. UNRIVALED RESOURCES- GRINDING POVERTY In order to comprehend the nature of the problems that A- merican businesses face in La tin America , it’s necessary to bring into sharp focus the vast ness of the area and the con trasts that prevail even within the individual nations. Latin A- merica includes Mexico and all of Central and South America, - a huge area more than two and a half times the size of the U.S. It is administered by 21 sover eign nations having a total po pulation of 250 million. Among the richest areas of the world in the variety and ex tent of its natural resources, Latin America can boast cities like Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro which rank with the great metropolises of the world in com mercial importance and archi tectural grandeur. Yet it also has unbelievably large concen trations of urban and rural po verty where disease, despera- tin, and degradation are ram pant. LARGER COMPANIES MORE VULNERALBE It is against this background, which includes an average per- capita gross national product less than one-eighth of that of the U.S. and minimal living stan dards for countless millions, that we must judge the new national ferment that has risen in that region whose population is in creasing at an alarming rate. Any new wave of nationaliza tion fever will have its greatest impact on U.S. companies with well developed, highly profitable operations whose takeover could quickly -- and substantially -- benefit the local economy and en hance the prestige of the govern ment. CAN'T COUNT ON UNCLE SAM Repeated infusions of U.S. pri vate investment |nd government aid in Latin America have scar cely narrowed the huge gap be tween their standard of living and ours. And a big bone of con tention is the consistently large trade deficit vis-a-vis the U.S. Hence Uncle Sam’s influence is spotty at best and practically non-existent in some nations. This means that when the going gets rough for U.S. firms in the region because of local social and economic reform programs they just have to ‘take it on the chin’. They know they can expect lit tle help from Uncle Sam by way of protection of their interests. Washington just can’t buck a trend toward goals which we here in America attained long ago. And it’s almost powerless to take steps to prevent confiscation of U.S. properties by foreign go vernments. PROFITABLE DESPITE RISKS SENATOR STROM THURMOND REPORTS TO THE PEOPLE DRAFT REFORM The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted unanimous ly to approve legislation sup porting the President’s efforts for reform of the Selective Serv ice System. Under this bill, which passed the House re cently, the present prohibition against the use of a lottery sys tem would be repealed. PRESIDENTS PROGRAM The repeal of the lottery pro hibition by the Senate would leave the President free to in stitute his program of draft reform immediately. The Presi dent’s announced program in cludes six points: 1. Changing from an oldest- firat to a youngest-first order of call. 2. Reducing the prime draft- vulnerability period from seven years to one year at age 19. 3. Continuing undergraduate deferments, with the resultant shift of a deferred student’s prime vulnerability to hia first post-deferment year. 4. Establishing a lottery sys tem for selecting draftees from the prime age group. 5. Allowing graduate students to complete the entire academic year they are engaged in when called—not just the immediate semester. 6. Reviewing gnidelines, standards, and procedures by the National Security Council and the Director of Selective Service. The President's proposals in dicate that it is his desire to minimize the disruptive impact of the military draft on indi vidual lives as much as possible, consistent with the national se curity, with particular attention directed toward educational and occupational deferments. HOW IT WORKS These proposals would elimi nate the lone period of uncer- P®*kki wmen hmbm iv cuiucuit to plan educational and job training programs. If the Presi dent chooses to institute a lot tery system, it would fall upon those in the 1-A classification system during the twelve months between their nineteenth and twentieth birthdays. The num ber of those drafted would still be determined by the estimates of needed manpower made by the various services and not filled by voluntary enlistments. In any consideration of the Selective Service System, one must remember that calls for military manpower, in a wide variety of circumstances, rang ing from peacetime to full mobi lization, must be met. This is particularly true in time of war, such as at present. At the same time, the system should include provisions which will render it fair and equitable to the young people concerned. One should also single out the members of the local and appeal boards for special praise. De spite the fact that they serve at a difficult task, a task which has a profound effect upon their knowledge, competence, integ rity and patriotism. They serve on a voluntary basis, without pay, and compensated only by the knowledge that they are serving their country. Since 1948, nearly four and a half million men have been drafted into the United States Armed Forces. The vast ma jority of them have served atriotically and well. Despite lie wide publicity given to mili tary dissenters, the Justice De partment reports that there are only about 2,000 known Selec tive Service fugitivea. Of about 1,800 hava fled the trg, 950 at them to Canada. This infinitesimal a fine record, reform will hei. inequities that may fraction ■ ■. The prospect help to alleviate i |of inm With Latins so clearly on the march -- politically, economi cally, and psychologically — in a snowballing series of efforts to obtain more control over their destiny, pressures on American firms there are bound to in crease. Chilean nationalization of Anaconda properties and Peru vian confiscation of International Petroleum holdings are harsh pe nalties that probably won’t he in voked again over the near term. But it would be foolish to under estimate, much less ignore, the risks U.S. companies do run in their Latin American operations. Costs will rise rapidly and harassments will increase, for every nation in the region is caught up in one stage or another of revolution as the old feudal order is attacked with mounting vigor. However, most American firms will be able to ride with the punches and to chalk up good profits though the latter will be on a scale down from earlier highs. At this point, we wouldn’t sell any U.S. company short just because it has interests in the lands south of the border. * • * 1ht Old lirnm. “To hour fruit, moot grape vines, trees, and sptachso need pruning.” CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., Nov. 20, 1969 Moratorium Our Dien Bien Phu? BY THURMAN SENSING Executive Vice President Southern States Industrial Council If the Communists and hard core leftists have their way, the November 14-15 Vietnam Mora torium will be America’s Dien Blen Phu. The battle of Dien Bien Phu, fought in May, 1954, marked the end of the French military ef fort in Indo-China. The revolu tionaries surrounded and cap tured a considerable French force in the field. As a result, the French government lost its will to win. The French people were demoralized. Ironically, the United States seems in no danger of suffering a real Dien Bien Phu on the battlefield in Vietnam. In the last year, U. S, and South Vietna mese forces have enjoyed marked success, despite political limita tions imposed by Washington. More than a quarter of a mill ion Viet Cong and North Viet namese regular troops have been killed by the anti-communists de fenders of South Vietnam. Never theless, the U. S. is in real danger of experiencing a Dien Bien Phu at home. For a half century, the com munists have specialized in wars from within -- campaigns of pro paganda and agitation directed at capitalist states. Never in the history of the communist parties has there been so successful an “agit-prop’ campaign as has been waged in the United States in the last couple of years and, especially now, in the so-called Vietnam Moratorium protests. The organizers of protests have duped many thousands of people into participating in what is fundamentally a communist political operation designed to crack the will of the American government and people. Part of the tragedy is that the American people as a whole seem to have no real concep tion of the extent of the com munist planning and organization in the Yietnafn M6ratorium ef fort. The facts have been clearly set forth, of course. Sen. Paul J. Fannin (R-Ariz.) recently re counted in a Senate speech the organizational planning of the communists and other revolu tionary elements. Last Fourth of July, while good Americans were celebrating In dependence Day, communists and other leftists held a planning meeting at Case-Western Re serve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Among those present were Arnold Johnson, public relations director of the Communist Party, USA, and David Dellinger, now on trial in U. S. District Court in Chicago on a charge of crossing state lines to incite a riot The schedule of protests, Including the November Vietnam Mora torium, was developed at that meeting and at similar gatherings held in Philadelphia and Wash ington later in the summer. The New Mobilization Committee was set up to run all the protests. Unfortunately, the facts of sub version have not been adequately told. The networks and liberal news magazines have been too busy trying to publicize and dig nify the “dissenters" to give the people the unvarnished facts about the revolutionary planners. The communists and their al lies have had a lot of helping hands in their propaganda ef fort Less than one-fourth of one percent of the American people took part in the October Vietnam Moratorium, but they received tremendous publicity. In Vietnam, combat units were busy fighting the communists Oct. 14-15. Individual fighting men were performing deeds of dedi cation and heroism. But as one Navy officer recently complain ed in print, the Saigon-based press corps was busy describ ing a handful of servicemen who wore black armbands as a pro test that day. The press corps was too busy to report what the fighting men were doing in the stretches of river and canal a- round Saigon. The Communists’ mastery of propaganda is the story of the Vietnam war. Five years ago, the communists made hay with the story of the Buddhist sui cides. The minds of the Ameri can people were diverted from the real story --the story of communist atrocities against anti-communist Vietnamese. This month, the leftists are fighting on what they have come to regard as the principal war front -- the American home front. They skillfully employ the theme of “peace,” whereas the only peace the communists want is the peace of the grave for the United States. •» »> V ■v '« •< (V * A «• It is sad but true that the communists find many home grown leftists who are ready and willing to play Hanoi’s game in the streets of Washington, San Francisco and other cities. That’s the way to regard the Vietnam Moratorium march ers -- as Hanoi’s and Moscow’s fifth column in the United States. The anti-American elements will be out in full force this month, trying to humiliate the President and the nation and at tempting to force the United States to its knees. It is time for good Americans to point to the homegrown leftists and “tell it as it is.* That is, some must dare and call it treason. Junior High Drive DEAR EDITOR: We, at Clinton Junior High School, would like to express our appreciation for the space you allowed us in the “Chronicle’ advertising our magazine sale. A lot of people would not have known why we were selling magazines or even that we were selling If it had not been published in the “Chronicle.’ The students would also like to thank the people of Clinton and the surrounding areas for cooper ating in the magazine sale. The people responded generously when our students went by. Therefore, we reached and went over our goal of seven thousand dollars. With the funds that we earned, a court suitable for bas ketball, tennis and volleyball is in the process of being cons tructed. Wish I’d Said That a ^ Don’t worry about how the baB bounces unless you are the one who dropped it—Hareld S. May, The Florence (AU.) Herald. Be as anxious to help others as you are to accept favors. —Bageaa Gay, The Calvert (Tex.) Newe-Messenger. Once again, thanks for support ing our project Sincerely yours, Lana Stephens, President, Stu dent Council Claude Crocker, Vice President, Student Council * * * WORTH ABOUT LOCAL UNDERSTAND- ING—“The government in Washington is awakening to the fact that it is the people at home who have to rebuild the cities, restore order to the streets, seek reconciliation be tween the races and oversea the education of our children,” Rep. Wm. A. Steiger said. "After thirty years of power and responsibility flowing to ward the federal government, we can see today that the tide is beginning to run the other way. Back to the state and county and town and city and village and bade to the private citisen organizations... If our cities are in fact to be rebuilt, our water purified, our chil dren educated, the single greatest engine of progress is voluntary action... private citizens coming together to get a job done ”