Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

I WELL-DESERVED HONOR If the citizens of Clinton are of generally adequate health and if his fellow doctors will look after the ba bies that plan to arrive that night, Dr. George Blalock is to be honored as Clinton’s “Citizen of the Year” on June 9. It is a well-deserved honor that The Clinton Lions Club is bestowing on Dr. Blalock. It is an individual honor for Dr. Blalock and his many contri butions to the welfare of the commun ity. In a way, too, it is a saluate to his profession and its dedicated service, which he epitomizes. He is represen tative of a group of hard working, dedicated men. As is the case with other general practitioners in a small town, Dr. Bla lock has paid the price of sleepless nighlts and even weeks as he ministers to the health needs of his community. There have been years—and we lit erally mean years—‘when he was “on call” for Clintonians 24 hours a day, week in and week out. As a result of all those years of little or interrupted! rest, he has almost eliminated sleep 1 iflrom his life. What he calls a night’s rest is little more than a “cat nap” for most of us. Despite the hectic pace of his life,, he can be counted on to perform in other areas of service which contrib ute to the welfare of the commun ity. Whether it’s looking after his duties as chairman of the board of trustees of Bailey Memorial Hospital or putting up a sign for a special pro gram at his church or selling com mercials for the “Rotary Radio Ro deo”, he can be counted on to carry out his responbilities. Some of Clinton’s black citizens call Dr. Blalock “The Jesus doctor.” No sacrilege was or is intended. It was their way of saying he served them in their times of need To that, the entire camm unity can add a heartfelt “Amen.” IN A FEW WORDS Louder, Please! 2-B—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. S„ May 28, 1970 SENATOR STROM THURMOND REPORTS TO THE PEOPLE \. v :'X- vX- •. /•Xv. v -. .'w. CAMPUS PERSPECTIVE A serious situation exists to day because of mob violence on some campuses and the hysteria whipped up by the news media. However, this is not a spon taneous “youth rebellion,” but an organized demonstration largely incited and exploited by adults who brintr together a mix ture of motives. These adults in clude both professors and men in the news media. They include frustrated liberals and Commu nists as well as cynical poli ticians. AIMS Unfortunately their diverse aims combine well. The liberals are seekinp to have their ideol ogy imposed upon a reluctant nation. The Communists are seeking a military victory for the North Vietnamese, and the destruction of U. S. power. The politicians are seeking to tie the hands of the President and dis credit him with the electorate. College and university officials have a duty to maintain order through discipline of students. In case of violence, student of fenders should be expelled. If school officials find they cannot maintain order, they should call on city and county authorities for assistance. If the situation students have no particular mandate to represent the young generation; less than half the young neople in that age i^roup go to college. Of our 1800 institutions of higher learning, less than 250 have participated in the so- called strike. The strike votes often have been won by narrow margins and light turn-outs. In deed, many students have been unjustly deprived of the educa tion they have worked and naid for as a result of high-handed pressure tactics on campus. It is especially significant that, in many cases, the faculty mem bers are more eager for the strike than the students. With all allowances being made for the number of those in rebellion, the student contribu tion to the war debate must he calmly evaluated. In fact, a stu dent is one who is supposed to he still in the process of learn ing the basic fundamentals of life. A student’s right to be heard is no more and no less than the right of any other citizen. Tike any other citizen, the student must submit his opinion for evaluation on the basis of his over-all social re sponsibilities. It has been said that one of the marks of a statesman in the ability to state lofty thoughts in simple terms. By that criteria, Clemson Univer sity President Dr. Robert C. Edwards measured up in his address at Presby terian College’s recent 90th commence ment exercises. Dr. Edwards said these are the five characteristics of the American dream: 1—Men are capable of governing themselves; 2—men should be free to worshop God as they please; 3—every person should receive the economic benefits of his own labor and skill; 4—every person should acquire as much education and learning as his abilities will permit; and 6—all men must be equal before the law and the law must apply equally to all men. That’s what it’s all about. GRAVE ROBBERS' The expression “grave robbers” conjures up an image of a low form of humanity. But there are other grave robbers” who would be horrified to find themselves classified with such people. We are referring to people who steal flowers from graves. We use the word “steal” advisedly because that’s what it is—they’re taking some thing which belongs to others. A Clinton woman called The Chronicle last week to report that someone took some potted plants from graves at Rosemont Cemetery between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 17. They also broke the stems of other potted plants. This isn’t the first such incident reported. The people who did this probably did so thoughtlessly. They didn’t stop to think that those plants were placed there by people who wished to honor the memory of some loved ones. They probably didn’t realize the unhappi ness they caused the people who put those flowers there. What would these “grave robbers” do with the stolen plants? Do they honor the memory of their loved ones with stolen flowers? If they take them home to plant, can they really enjoy the bloom of stolen plants? Tax Exempt? News item from Washington: “The coalition (to lobby against a military spending bill) includes many groups which previously have lobbied for lower military spending, such as the Center for Community Action, Friends Committee on National Legis lation, Americans for Democratic Ac tion and Sane . . . also . . . volunteers from . . . the Urban Coalition Action Council, National Council of Churches, International Brotherhood of Team sters and National Welfare Rights Or ganization.” Nothing Seems to Help Parson Jones Says Folks Just Wont Shut-Up . Dear Mr. Publisher: My wife is always telling me that I ought to get a little more cultured. Not being quite sure what that meant I looked it up in the dictionary. One definition said, “tilled, as soil”. Notbeing dead and buried yet, 1 figured that didn’t apply to me. The other definition said, “trained in good taste”. I reckon that’s what my wife meant. Per sonally, I always thought I had good taste, cause my mama taught me to eat anything. My wife said “cultured” meant be ing able to enjoy the finer things of life - like good music. To make a long story short, the madam took me to a high- class musical show the other night - to fill the empty spot in my life. Well sir, odd as it may sound coming from one who says “ain’t” instead of “isn’t”, I almost enjoyed the thing. I think I would gone whole hog if there hadn’t been so much talking during the music. Mr. Publisher, there was so much mumbling and blabbing going on while them pore folks played that I thought folks were speaking in tongues. It’s a shame to pay to hear some thing and then have to listen to blabber-mouths instead. Come to think of it, it’s getting harder and harder to hear something without interruption. I have been pondering over this problem and have come to a conclusion. Modern folks have been “trained” on televis ion, where people listen, watch, and talk at the same time. Lotsa times when I go visit ing folks, we just talk over, around, and under the TV pro gram. They make no effort to turn it off. As I see it, people have got so use to listening and blabbing at the same time at home, that they do it every where they go. Now-a-days when a speaker speaks, the au diences just talks right along with him. Course, neither one knows what the others saying. Now sir, you know where the communication problem came from - the TV set I’ve finally decided to wait for the ground before I get cultured. In the meantime, I remain your ig norant friend. Parson Jones i, still uncontrollable, the of ficials should request assistance from the Governor, who is Com- mander-in-Chief of the National Guard. The use of force should be graduated to meet the situa tion, but as much force as is necessary to maintain order should be utilized. Nevertheless, it is arirned that many of the youths caught up in this movement are passionate ly sincere and they must 1h* heard. The very worst thinp one can do, of course, is to take advice from someone seized with passion. The real problem in such a situation is a psychologi cal one—that is, calm steps must be taken to brim’ - the disaffected person to his senses. Attempts to appease one who is in such a state usually result in more ir rational demands The real de mand hy the organized move ment is not for communication, but capitulation. 1»ERSI‘E( TIVK It is important, therefore, to put the so-called student rebel lion in perspective. Although a preat deal of emotion has been aroused throuphout the land,the damape to our nation is beinp done chiefly hy a few Uollepe CONSCIENCE Some say that because the students must fipht the war their opinion is especially rele vant. As a matter of fact, stu dents. hy and larpe, have not had to fipht the war. They have enjoyed privileges and defer ments while others sacrificed. Some students are lauded in certain einles as conscientious objectors. Some indeed may have problems of conscience, hut no one can sort out motives when conscience and self-inter est frequently appear to coin cide. The President of the United States is charped with the ex tremely complex problem of hrinpimr to a close a war which he did not start. He has a moral responsibility to hrinp the li\inp home alive, and to respect the sacrifices of those who have died for freedom. He cannot act to hrinp an honorable end to the war if the nation succumbs to the hysteria intended to prevent him from actinp. The sooner we show unity behind the President, the quicker the war will end. Mental Illness: Whose Problem? r>f nr ftrmf'ii (if « Is the problem of mental ill ness one that applies only to the other fellow? Is it a national problem only and not a local problem? Is it a vague abstrac tion, rather than a hard-fisted reality? All three of these questions must be answered in the nega tive. No individual, no family is immune. A good street ad dress is no protection, nor is a sizable bank account. The mental illnesses are no respec ters of religion or ethnic back ground. Here are some figures: --More than 20 million A- mericans are suffering from known mental illness in -About 60 thousand persons the U.S. are drug addicts MOVK VNW 1HE IMT— DON’T HAVE A WrlP! —An estimated 23,000 per sons commit suicide annually —An estimated four million children are in need of some kind ofpsychiatric help because of emotional difficulties. These figures, grim as they are, do not tell the whole story. Rather they provide the back drop for a number of signifi- cent trends in the continuing war on mental illness, some of them quite promising. Thanks largely to research undertaken during the past 20 years, often with Mental Health Association support, dramatic gains have been made along many lines, such as the new tranquilizing drugs, significant new treat ments have been found for some mental illnesses, aftercare and rehabilitation services design ed. These gains are reflected in figures showing an annual re duction in state hospital popu lations. At the end of 1955, there were 558,922 resident patients in state and county public men tal hospitals. During that same year, there were 178,000 admis sions to and 126,000 not releas ed from these hospitals. As of June 30,1988, the numb er of resident patients was400,- 681, a decrease of six percent over the previous year. This is about the same percentage of decrease as that for the prior year. This means there were 158,000 fewer patients as resi dents in 1968 as there were in 1955. SouthCarolina isnow in its eighth consecutive year of de crease in residential patients. The number of releases has continued to climb and is almost triple that of 1955. In 1968 there were 351,461 releases. Since 1963 the number of releases per 1,000 average daily resi dent patients—849.9 in 1968— has almost doubled. The numb er of admissions has continued to increase, reaching 365,455 last year, for a 1968 rate of 186 patients per 100,000 civilian population. A stepped-up program of re search, education and service conducted by your Mental Health Association will score new vic tories on this front. You can help in supporting this important work this month by joining your Laurens County Mental Health Association, 602 S. Broad. Minding Your Business 1 | Protecting 1 Your Credit I think it is unfortunate that there is so much eagerness to place obstacles in the indus try’s path at a time when its capital needs are so great, and when the country’s petroleum requirements are on such a steady rise. I am, indeed, puz zled by the timing and by the sense of haste during some of the hearings on the complex and varied tax proposals now being considered by this com mittee. Budgetary savings and tax simplifications are more desirable than ever before— but only if they do not backfire on the economy. Tax savings BY JOHN J. SUTHERLAND Nearly everyv»ne borrows money once in a while. He may do this out of need or choice. No matter why the money was borrowed, the lender expect to be repaid promptly and without unnecessary expense. If («eex pects to have a good credit rating he must maintain the con fidence of his present credi tors. A good credit rating starts with the application. Any lend er must ask personal questions and expects truthful answers. Most of these questions are for the protection of the applicant as well as the lender. Questions as to other debts or commit ments are designed to tell the lender if the applicant can af ford the burden of additional debt. Most lenders have guide line rules which teU them that this applicant is overextended, that is, already too heavily in debt. If anyone has been turned down by a reputable lender, he should hesitate before going to another lender whose policies may be more lenient. The easier money may well prove to be too much of a financial burden for him. This does not mean that you must not shop for a loan. On the contrary, some lenders have better terms and rates than others and you can only find the best deal by shopping. I do mean that a person already heavily in debt will only make it worse by borrowing more. Unexpected emergencies can cause even a careful person to face financial hardships. If this happen? it is most often only temporary in nature and only additional time is needed. A poor credit risk faced with this problem will let his payments that might risk the future en ergy .applies of the nation beUnJ. He nay even dodge could do juat that. Any tax Us . by nfosln* maH, ayrfan ahould me* the teat, of be.ng simple, .table and in the woestpos. tune with long-term economic gft)le attltude needs. —William I. Spencer, Exec. V. P. First National City Bank Any lender knows that almost anyone can have a temporary setback. If be had trust in you nnce, he will again. The right way to protect one's credit dur ing a temporary crisis is the way most people would. They would go immediately to the lender, before the payment is due if possible, and explain the exact nature of the setback. 1 have never known a lender to re fuse to work something out when approached like this, although it may have happened. He may, for a small additional interest charge allow one to skip a pay ment or two. He may agree to refinance the loan, making each payment smaller, or he may agree to consolidate all debts making the new payments smaller than the total of the old payments. Any of these things could help. Dun and Bradstreet, a nat ionally prominent credit reporting service, describes credit as “Man’s confidence in man." This could well be the key to good credit. Trust, hon esty, promptness, thoughtful ness all are recognized as vir tues in the financial world as well as elsewhere. About the worst thing a lend er could do is to ignore the pleas of an honest debtor, in temporary need of assistance. One word of caution--when a dealer sells an automobile or appliances he sometimes is re quired to endorse the loan. If this has happened, the lender cannot extend or change the terms without the dealer’s per mission. It is my opinion that getting the dealer’s permission is well worth the effort and he is usually just as cooperative as the lender. Today there are 2.4 mUlion fewer farm workers, producing 14% more farm products on 23% fewer acres of cropland than in 1960, according to New Holland, the farm equipment division of Sperry Rand.