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2-B—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., April 16, 1970 35c Every Three-Fourth Mile: A Truck-Load Of Trash The above Highway Department 1 crew is busy these days cleaning highway shoulders. In talking with [Grover Tumblin, who is in charge 1 of the crew, he stated that a truck load of beer cans, bottles, and [other trash was picked up about !every three-quarters of a mile. The most unusual item picked up was a set of false teeth, be longing to a lady - we don’t know' how they found that out: The crew members are left to right J. C. Powers, Steve Pul ley, Clyde Bennett, and Frank Williams. This crew is costing the tax payers approximately $600 a week, picking up trash thrown out by careless people. Law enforcement is badly needed in this area, as it seems that plain common sense doesn’t work. SOMETHING TO BUILD ON The weekends of April 25 or May 3 ;jypuld be a good time to invite some rfriends or relatives to Clinton. The coming of spring has dressed up the town handsomely with flowers and greenery. With the natural beauty as a backdrop, the Fourth Annual Spring Arts Festival opens Monday, April 20 and continues through May 3. The festival is sponsored by the Presbyterian College Department of Fine Arts, the Clinton Music Club and the Laurens County Fine Arts Coun cil. Held on the PC campus, the fes tival has enjoyed growing interest and has expanded its program each year. This year’s program -will feature HBV»nta of interest tor all—both chil dren and adults. It ranges from mall art exhibits to finger painting and :£rtan professional art exhibits and sales and demonstrations to drama and the South Carolina premiere of Kinetic Art films. For those who have other inter ests, the Presbyterian College tennis team will have a match with Davidson at PC on April 25. Early the next week, the PC golf team hosts Wof ford, Newberry and Catawba at Lake side Country Club (April 28) and the PC track team meets Gardner-Webb at PC on the same day. Clinton High School will play host to the 3-A East ern Conference Tennis Championship Tournament on April 27-28. The point is this: there will be a wide range of activities going on here within the next couple of weeks and it will be a good time to show off our town to visitors. It is fortunate that some of the ac tivities have coincided as they have this year. With a little effort, there could be even more. In future years, we would like to see more coordination of events around the Fine Arts Festi val. The Festival itself is well-organ ized and it gives Clinton the nucleus of an excellent civic promotion. DON T EAT STATE FLOWER Bad news, troops. South Carolina’s state flower is poisonous. So, please, ^dpn’t eat the yellow jessamine. : ^',~ We realize that yellow jessamine jfip’t a regular menu item, even for the awet dedicated South Carolinians. ' : ,■ However, the little folks are liable io^eat anything. “■il/ ^ Dr. Hilla Sheriff, assistant state health officer, says “A child playing &iit in the fresh spring air might de- iei^e to chew on a flower or plant or taste the seeds and that could produce trouble. People should learn to iden tify the poisonous plants in their neighborhood. If they suspect that a child has eaten a poisonous plant or flower, contact a doctor or the hospital immediately. Try to tell the doctor what the child ate, if you know. And if you’re not sure what the plant or flower is, take along a sample to the doctor so he can identify it and start the proper antidote treatments imme diately.” Other common poisonous plants, besides jessamine, include narcissus, iris, oleander, elephant ear, rhododen dron, milk weed, mountain laurel, jim- son weed, Jerusalem cherry and mock orange. THE WAY TO TYRANNY of i Speaking before a group of college students recently, Alexandra Tolstoy, thci daughter of Leo Tolstoy, reminded audience of an amazing similarity een the pronounced aims of a portrayed in “The Possessed” | Dostoevski, and the apparent aims ellow-tr&velers and Marxist-Lenin- in the United States today. The comparison is all the more appropriate sin e Lenin was born just one year be- for 1 the great Russian novel was writ ten in 1871. The 100th anniversary of the birth of Lenin will be celebrated by the communists all over the world on Apiil 22 this year. The character mentioned by Count- Tolstoy was Verhovensky, describ- Doetoevski as a self-styled “rev- t Verhovensky says: in only one thing lacking in ! Yearning for aristocratic e there is is desire for de- hood. We will bring them all to one denominator . . . absolute equality . . . no individualism.” “Listen,” said Verhovensky, “1 have counted them all: the teachers, blaspheming God with the children, are already ours! Tbe lawyers, who defend an educated murderer, are ours! ... Teenagers, who kill a farm er for the sake of the sensations, are ours! Judges, acquitting criminals, are ours! Prosecutors trembling at court for fear they are not liberal enough, are ours! . . . corruption is now needed; corruption unheard of before, and vile, when men turn into wicked, cowardly, self-loving and mean wretches—that's what we need!” Dostoevski could write as he did, not because he had a magic crystal ball, but because he was a student of his tory. History has already written in blood the rise of tyranny in civilized societies—and it is time for some peo ple today, whether rebellious youth or so-called ‘ < liberaT’ adults, to decide what it is they want and whose side they anon. a*? ' £• -- ‘ ’ • 4* .»*. > - «- *■ Public Welfare Isn't A Right' BY THURMAN SENSING Executive Vice President Southern States Industrial Council Welfare careerists -- the drones who live at the expense of taxpaying citizens -- had rea son for rejoicing in March when a majority of the U. S. Supreme Court decided that welfare re cipients may not be cut off the re lief rolls without a hearing. The five to three decision means that the court holds wel fare to be an absolute right of those who say they are in need. Under the terms of the decision, welfare recipients don’t have to prove their eligibility. “The Washington Evening Star,” in analyzing the court decision, said: “Under this philosophy, public assistance is an absolute right of the destitute. It is, in effect, the property of the im prover ished --property that can not be denied without due process of law.” Once again, therefore, the Su preme Court has exceeded its proper limits. Nothing in the his tory of welfare legislation in this country suggests that Congress or the taxpayers consider welfare an absolute right or the property of the impoverished. Justice Black, joined by Justice Stewart and Chief Justice Burger, came much nearer to the mark when he wrote that welfare is a “gratuity” from the affluent to the destitute. In plain langu age, welfare is a handout. And Americans, as a whole, cer tainly don’t believe that a hand out is an absolute right. The American people aren’t hard-hearted. Time and again they have demonstrated their sin cere concern for people who are poor and who need assistance. Cities, counties, states, the fed eral government -- plus count less private agencies, groups and organizations -- provide aid to genuinely needy people. But pub lic and private charity isn’t a right. Moreover, what about the unemployed people who aren’t wiliuig to work, who desire to feed from the public trough? That’s where the welfare problem a- rises. As every community knows, there is an element of people who seek a life of dependence and who have no intention of working if the taxpayers will provide them with food, housing and their other wants. The current popular song about the “Welfare Cadillac" deals with a reality -- the indi vidual who lives at the expense of other people. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a marvelous present for the welfare chiselers who are tragi cally numerous in our society. In the past, alert agencies could cut these types off the welfare rolls once they were detected. Now the public agencies will have to go to court to get rid of para sites. This will be an enormous ly costly and time-consuming process. The likelihood is that many cities and states will have to give up, as a practical matter, attempts to clean the leeches off the welfare rolls. With federally- financed OEO lawyers to help them, welfare chiselers will be virtually immune unless the Su preme Court’s ruling is negated by positive congressional action. Action along this line is impera tive, of course. The Congress has a responsibility to taxpaying, productive citizens to establish by statutory law that a public handout is not a right. Even more than that is involv ed, however. The Supreme Court’s decision in effect de crees that the United States is a welfare state -- acountry in which a lazy individual is entitled to public support even though he declines to take work that is of fered to him. The notion of a welfare state has been a long time germinat ing. Now it has been carried to the ultimate extreme, to the doc trine that welfare is an absolute right. The court’s ruling in all likelihood will be followed up by a decision saying that every wel fare recipient is entitled to legal counsel at taxpayer expense in order to defend a welfare claim. It is no wonder that Chief Justice Burger termed the wel fare “right" ruling an “unwise and precipitous constitutional holding.” The decision is a vio lation of the property rights of the working American who is re quired to contribute abortion of his earnings to those who have no inclination to work. This is involuntary servitude for taxpay ers -- a condition of life that the U.S. Constitution specifically forbids. In their determination toextend the handout society, the majori ty of the Supreme Court is pre pared to deny some of the pro perty rights of men and women who get up every work day and go to their jobs. The welfare “right’' decision this is one of the most unjust rulings to be handed down by the Supreme Court in many years. Dollar, Hamburg All About These days, with prices sky rocketing, the dollar just does not seem to go far enouph, as any budget-minded housewife will tell you. But even thouph it has lost some of the old zinp, the dollar still remains the world’s most popular cur rency. As a matter of history, the dollar has enjoyed an excel lent reputation on the inter national monetary market ev er since the first coins bepan 'to be minted in lnU», follow inp a rich silver mine strike in St. Joachimsthal in Bohe mia, which is about 80 miles west of Prapue. The coins pained quick acceptance in Europe because of their prov en reliability, that is, it was an honest coinape, containinp the required amount of silver. These were first called "Jo- achimsthalers,” which actual ly means “Joachim’s valley (or dale).” This was later shortened to “thalers,” which in the Enplish translates to dollar*. Coins of similar value in some other countries also became known as dollars. The dollar became the stan dard coin of the United States in 1792. To win hands down is a hiphly descriptive phrase that poes all the way back to the Wotds early days of horse racinp in this country. Once one of our most popular sports, specta tors turned out in larpe num- bers at local race tracks to talk horses, perhaps lay a lit tle waper, and to cheer their favorite home. In close races, the timinp of the final bid near the finish line and the jockey’s skill with whip and rein often determined the winner. At times, however, one horse would run so far ahead of the field that its rider did not even have to lift his hands to assure victory at the finish. This occurance soon found its way into the hrappinp that poes a 1 o n p with horse racinp. It was soon beinp said that this horse or that horse was so superior to the competition that its rider would win the race hands down. The Hamburg, a distinctive soft felt hat with a narrow brim, takes its name from the place of its oripin, Homburp, Prussia. The little town, which several mineral sprinps helped to make popular, at tracted important persons from all over Europe in the last century. These visitors, returninp home, helped make the hat popular worldwide. —National Pratt STRICTLY FRESH No matter how way out a teener may be, you’ll sel dom find that he’ll ever object to a square meal t » • April is the month when many lose a week's sleep stewing over the hour of sleep they’ll lose when Daylight Saving Time goes into effect Husbands who never argue with their wives must get awfully tired of always saying “yes.” * * t An open mouth is quite often the exit for a closed mind * • • Ask any personnel man ager—there are many more people looking for employ ment than there are folks looking for work WORTH ABOUT To those who doubt the validity of our democracy, the value of our free eiiter|'ri>e system, and the vipor of our society, let us show our faith by deeds Let us answer their protestation by our participa tion. Let us reply to their dis sent by our involvement. Let the doubters be shown by the doers. . . . Let each of us as workers make our job our voca tion. Let each of us as business men make our financial ven ture a human investment. Let eac h of us as parents make our house a home. Let each of us as citizens make our commun ity a neighborhood. —James C. Humes, Presidential Assistant Washington, D. C. My Neighbors “How can they keep that up all day?” Wish I’d Said That & ^ Happiness is finding your glasses soon enough to still remember what you wanted them for.—Wm. R. Davis, The Three Forks (Mont.) Herald. You’re not too old to learn— unless you are a teenager.— Harold S. May, The Florence (Ala.) Herald. II m: WKKKYT SO BIO WE’D MAKE IT GOVERNMENT COST-CUTTING NEEDED Here in our own home tow n we have a great deal at stake in how 7 Congress treats President Nixon’s request to cut a billion dollars from federafspending. Inflation, which last year resulted in a rise in the national consumer price index of more than five per cent, is responsible for increasing the costs of local government as well as most of our personal expenditures. If Washington has enough courage and wisdom to stop the price spiral, local officials will be in a better position to control costs. The President has proposed the Federal Economy Act of 1970 which asks Congress to cut a billion dollars from federal spending. The cuts proposed seem overdue. Included are elimination of unneces sary additional funds to school districts in federally impacted areas; using Medicaid funds for treat ment instead of residential care; selling the gov ernment-owned Alaska Railroad to either the state or private industry; and requiring private health insurers to reimburse the Veteians Administration for treatment of nonservice-connected medical problems. Parson Jones Says Book Takes Poke At Christianity Dear Mr. Publisher: I notice where there’s a new book coming on the market which takes a poke atChristianity. Like my wife says, “nuts will write and nuts will read”. I never thought I’d live to see so many books trying to tear Christianity apart. Maybe it^ a good sign cause I’ve always heard that people only pick on the ‘big boys". I reckon that’s better than being ignored. This new book is written by John Allegro and is called, “The Magic Mushroom and The I find my delight in thy commandments. — (Psalms 119:47). All of us really want the establishment of harmony and order. We take a fundamental step in this direction when we review the cornerstone of our faith—the commandments and adopt them for present day liv ing. As we affirm divine order in our mind, body and affairs, we allow the fullness of all life, all light, and all good will come to us. Cross”. According to this ex pert, Jesus was a member of a hippie - like group called the Essenes, who lived together. They got their inspiration, ac cording to Allegro, from taking a drug like LSD. And to really make it interesting, this fella says they got the dope from some kind of toadstool. I reckon what he’s trying to say is that the sermon on the mount and the Lord£ prayer are the results of a “trip Jesus took on toadstool dope. It looks like this fella may have run across the toadstool before he wrote his book. Only thing is I don t think his book will last as long as the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord’s pray er. I’m afraid Jesus had some thing this fella ain’t found yet. Like I say, Mr. Publisher, some folks like to pick oo the big boys cause they know the only way they’re gonna get any at tention is by attaching theirselves to somebody important I gotta be going now. You can read this book if you don’t have nothing else to do. I would sug gest that you eat a toadstool before you do, cause that’s the only way you can swallow it Bet ter still, why don’t you read the New Testament Its had a lotta rock throwed at it, but it’s still around. It sticks better than a postage stamp. So long, Parson Jones