Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I I £drfo4taJb» 2-B—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., July SO, 1970 POSTAL REFORM Richard Lukstat, the personable young public affairs director for two departments within the U.S. Post Of fice in Washington, foresees a better day ahead for both postal employees and patrons. Addressing the Clinton R o t ar y Club recently, he said that a concerted effort is being made toward reorgani zation and modernization. Both should bring better standards and opportuni ties for postal employees and better postal service for citizens A major effort is being made to bring modem business practices to the U.S. Post Of fice. A Senate-House Conference Com mittee now has postal reform legisla tion under consideration. Most of the reform legislation is good and will help to accomplish the goals explained by Mr. Lukstat. However, there is one item under consideration which would be a step backward — compulsory un ion membership of postal employees. In a question and answer session at the Rotary meeting, Mr. Lukstat said he would be hesitant to predict the outcome of that aspect of reform leg islation. Mr. Lukstat did not express his opinion about the compulsory union ism phase of the reform bill. 'Hie opinions offered here are ours. THE U.S. HOUSE of Representa lives’ postal reform bill preserves the present federal policy of protecting the right of postal employees to join or not to join a union without losing their jobs. But the Senate version makes it legal to fire postal workers for failure to pay union dues. Sen. Norris Cotton of New Hampshire com mented that under the Senate bill, “control of our postal service is bound to pass from the hands of Congress into the hands of the AFL-CIO.” We are not concerned that Con gress would lose control of the postal service. As Mr. Lukstat pointed out. Congress has many other problems on its hands and has never been able to give the U S. Post Office the attention it needed to operate efficiently. Be cause it has been so involved in poli tics, the U.S. Post Office has had no continuity of leadership; inefficient hiring procedures; inadequate eqiup- ment, etc. However, passing control from Congress to the AFL-CIO is jumping from the frying pan into the fire. IF COMPULSORY unionism is part of the postal reform package, then it will offset many of the values of the organizational and technological chang es proposed. Only a handful of union bosses and the politicians they control would benefit from compulsory union ism for government employment. If you believe that no citizen should be compelled to pay money to a private organization in order to work for his own government, contact your Con gressman, your senators, members of the Conference Committee and the President of the U.S. Ask them to op pose any postal reform bill which au thorizes compulsory unionism. HOW ABOUT HERE? Edree C. Wellmaker of Clinton pointed out in a Letter to the Editor last week that there are no camping facilities available for handicapped persons in South Carolina. He attended "Camp Easter-1n-The- ^jqep”, a camp for the handicapped in Southern Pines, N. C., and found that words like “Can’t do’’ are non-exist ent insofar as what the camper is able to do within the framework of his particular handicap. The camp, spon sored by the N. C Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children and Adults, is especially adpated for the handicap ped. Campers are encouraged to par ticipate in every activity — ranging from archery, basketball (with an ad justable goal), shuffleboard to swim ming. If a Clinton civic club is seeking a project, this sounds like one worthy of investigation. Admittedly, it would be a large undertaking but it could mean much to handicapped citizens of South Carolina and also could be quite an addition to Clinton. We have some natural advantages as a potential site for such a camp. There is a national forest on one side of us and a major lake only minutes away on the other side. Whitten Vil lage’s outstanding medical staff has had a wide range of experience with handicapped persons. Whether the staff could be available to assist in some way with such a camp is some thing which would have to be investi gated. There are |>ossibilities here. Think about it. UNHAPPY CHILDHOOD Editor Bill Thompson of the Paris (Texas) News ran across an item that he thought worth passing on to his readers. Bill doesn’t know who wrote it, and neither do we, but we agree that it describes “growing up” pretty much the way it was with those who shared their school days with us. * * * • “1 didn’t have a verry happy child hood— But nobobdy worried very much about it. I was too busy, I guess—cut ting lawns, shoveling snow, running errands, delivering groceries for 10 cents a load, selling newspapers, doing house-chores, going to school. I passed my grades, too. If I hadn’t, I’d have had the hide strapped off me. No one concerned himself about my amusements. What fun we had, we made. But if we did any damage —like breaking a window in a ball game—we paid for it by working it out. I don’t suppose people understand me; but if I had said so, my mother would have asked: “Why should they ?” And no one ever gave a thought to my “problems.” They were mine, weren’t they? Mine to solve. Why should I expect anyone else to bother? We never heard phrases like “standard of living,” “subsistence lev el,” or “minimum requirements ” Our standard of living was whatever my If mj tether was laid elf. we.steppe d spending on anything but I* fcisoftbst^ My dad me lookfakg for ty Poor House, but tha^ would have been an admission that we couldn’t take care of ourselves. 1 guess we didn’t have much. But we had something that was infinitely more important, infinitely more re warding — we had self-respect, be cause whatever we had, we earned. It seems to me that is why Ameri ca is the strong nation it is today— and it will stay strong only so long as there are enough Americans more in terested in earning than getting.” It’s an ugly replacement for pine needles. Ashes and embers belong in your fireplace, not on the floor of the forest. Use fire like dynamite. too ynfd hi wtth uo. If there ftfathw m would have tho only place left—the Coun- "My Buddy" ,/ ^ SENATOR STROM THURMOND REPORTS TO THE PEOPLE ■ THE WORKING MAN ( A\ /^MILITARY NEA President Wants Unions For Teachers BY THURMAN SENSING EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT SOUTHERN STATES INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL Education is supposed to re sult in prudence, enlightenment and fairness, but you would never know it judging from the recent statement of George D. Fischer, president of the National Education Association. In an extraordinary and shocking statement, Mr. Fischer told the 108thNEA con vention in San Francisco that he hopes to win enactment of a federal law requiring school districts to negotiate with the teachers. Strikes would be legalized. Then, Mr. Fischer said, the teachers’ organization will control who enters and leaves the profession and, *we can also control the train ing institutions.* Such remarks make one won der what really happened to be lief in education during the NEA’s growth. The philosophy voiced by Mr. Fischer is the philosophy of the Teamsters Union and similar groups, a philosophy of contempt for the rights of public and of teachers who don’t want to join a union. Iconically, it is this philo sophy that’s making increasing numbers of Americans dis enchanted with public schooL Fischer claimed there is “ a conspiracy* against education, but the NEA seems to be the only conspirator in sight. It is conspiring to turn the schools into a captive of what is in ef fect a teachers’ union. He con demned private schools and private businesses that offer to teach reading in public schools on contracts and that promise to raise public achievements to specific levels. The fact is that numerous parents across the nation are seeking alternatives to the public schools because many of these Schools aren’tperforraing adequately. The parents are turning to private schools, church-connected schools, and schools run by business. The parents are voting with their dollars in favor of alternatives to the kind of public education offered in many communities these days. In the view of many parents, public education shouldn't con stitute an educational monopoly. If competition is good in busi ness and in the professions, it should be good in the educational field. Indeed private colleges always have helped raise stand ards in the nation’s public in stitutions of higher learning. The same situation should develop at the elementary and high school level Private and Church-sup ported schools are doing the pioneering in education these They are demonstrating, i the cane of private schools established in Mississippi in the last two years, that construction costs can be reduced far below Mr. Fischer of the NEA com plains that the Nixon ad ministration has cut federal funds on the grounds “education is inflationary.* Actually, the administration hasn’t gone far enough. The educationists, as represented by the NEA, hold that public spending on educa tion produces quality education. But the evidence doesn’t support this contention. Lavishing public money on expensive classrooms and audio-visual aids doesn’t do any good if the course content is not soundly conceived and if methods of teaching reading are ineffective. In private and church-supported • schools, there is greater opportunity to institute educational reforms that stress standards of achievement. For the ed ucationists, public schooling is basically a social experience and mastering of subject matter is not regarded as being of central importance. Many parents believe so strongly in private and church- connected schools that they are paying twice for the education of their children--paying in tuition and in taxes for the public system in their com munity. Public education in the United States clearly is in need of a drastic overhaul, for it is losing the confidence ofthe public. The last straw for public education would be its infiltration by the union spirits as reflected in Mr. Fischer's remarks to the NEA convention. If the NEA believes it can turn the public schools into a closed shop, it isn’t ac curately gauging the mood of parents of school children. The last thing parentsandtaxpayers want is teacher strikes. Teachers who go on strike a- gainst education of the nation’s young people have no place in the classroom*. Equal Employment TV Conference Set Nationally by N AM The National Association of Manufacturers, t hrough closed- circuit television, will sta^e a “Video Teleconference on Equal Employment” in 14 major cities on Thursday, Julv 30, NAM President YV. P. Gullander announced. The 14 cities to he included in the closed-circuit telecast are: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit. Greensboro, Houston, Los Angeles. New York. Philadelphia, Pitts burgh, Portland, St. Louis and San Francisco. Government Officials Speak Key government officials, telecasting directly from Washington, will provide busi nessmen with the latest infor mation on new and existing federal rules and regulations covering equal employment re sponsibilities. Several thousand industrial executives, assem bled in the 14 cities, will have the opportunity to ask ques tions on compliance procedures with answers coming direct ly from the government policy makers in Washington resj>on- sible for the new regulations. James D. Hodgson, the newly appointed Secretary of Labor, will make a statement on the pressing issue of equal employment opportunity. Other federal officials on the program will include Arthur A. Fletcher, Assistant Secre tary of Labor; John L. Wilks, Director, Office of Federal Con tract Compliance; William H. Brown, III, Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Com mission; and Jerris Leonard, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice. NAM President Gullander will open the telecast and introduce Sec retary Hodgson. First-Hand Information “This comprehensive one- day meeting will enable busi nessmen to learn, first-hand, the latest information on one of the most crucial issues fac ing industry tdday,” Mr. Gul lander said. “Also, it will permit them to review their problems at the local level, and with other executives to feed back key questions directly to Washington.” The ordinary working man is the backbone of this country. There is a widespread tendency these days to glamorize some in tellectuals, and to cater to the demands of irresponsible pres sure groups screaming for at tention. We see some students, who have been given wonderful advantages at the expense of others, set the tone of dissent on many college campuses. We see a tremendous concern for the so-called “disadvantaged,” and for population groups in which the worthy and the un worthy seem to be mixed in equal proportions. In the end, it is the ordinary working man who has to pay for these excesses. A high-level study group has just reported to President Nixon on the plight of those who have to work for a living. Forty per cent of the American families—including 70 million family members—have incomes between $5,000 and $10,- 000. These are the people whose work is often tough and demands manual skill. These are the peo ple who turn the wheels of agri culture and industry, and who perform the services that are essential to our daily living NO SUBSIDIES For the first time, the Federal government has lealized that the- workingman has been taken for granted, while the pressure groups got most of the benefits. It must he pointed out too that the honest workingman comes from both races, and that, with in their own communities, they face- similar problems These are the people who get no subsidies and no welfare; but lhe> see fheir taxes going to support man\ who gel only slighfly less from the govern ment without working. Wages have increased 2b per rent since 19ft.'), hut purchasing ;>ower has remained the same, du* to the tremendous rtood of non-produc tive government spending. Econ omists within the Administration have told the (’resident that this situation is like a man walking on a treadmill, pursuing an il lusion of a higher living stand ard. Moicovei, the nit leased pie>- Miies of family responsibilities add to the burden. Family budg et costs for a two-child family are three times the need of a single individual. The cost of maintaining a child in school rises as he gets older; and foi many family budgets, college is out of the question. NEW CHANCES The workingman needs the chance to upgrade his opportu nities. For many, the only chance of advancement means moving from semi-skilled to skilled jobs. They must have the chance to take special training, and their children must be able to take advanced vocational training necessary for the highly (level oped skills of the modern age We must also begin to realize that there is nothing undigni tied about working with ones hands. Many well-paying jobs are going begging, because some young men hesitate to enter the manual crafts, where they can earn as much or more than in office jobs. One study presented to the (’resident pointed out that teachers frequently do not know enough about manual crafts, and fail to present these occupations in a favorable light. In the pres ent time and circumstance, such jobs may be the avenue of op portunity for those who are escaping from low income brack ets. Yet a great majority of high school drop outs come not from the disadvantaged in the ghetto, hut from the children of the ordinary workingman. It is time to case the presstnc' on this group which come both from the inflation squeeze and from high taxes. The Ailmmi- tration ha. allowed the 10 pci cent tax surcharge to expne. and is considering proposals foi largei exemptions for do| end ents and for education. It ha- tiled to cut excessive welfare and housing subsidies, which do not go to the ordinary woiker hut Congress ha> not aided m sponsibly. The workingman has been ignored in the spending oign - of past Administrations, hut fortunately, his problems are now getting attention. i</ fi r • ini r * il 'ir at jtni ramt nt Parson Jones Says Church Is Too Easy On People COMEDY CORNER \ i ,r f y .V %ll’ mm IR Sa^p 'I 7 ? nfot'K lik* our combination rvbbor sbowor cop and slip* on nosa wnbroilo to koap your mustocha dry!" Dear Mr. Publisher The way I see it the church is too easy on people today. They’ re growing up into human sponges that are soft as the dickens and absorb anything that comes along. And I always heard that a religion which demands nothing is worth nothing. I hear a lot about being saved, but what’s getting saved worth if you don’t get saved for something? I could save ice cream all my life, til it was running out my bedroom window, but if it never fed nobody what good would it be? So, I gotta new plan. First off, every new convert oughta have to sign his life away - give- ing it to the Lord and his church. It oughta be legal and in writing. He oughta have to walk to church, no matter what the weather. Then he should stand in line and wait to get in. They do it at the movies and It works very well Next, he oughta be charged to get in, based on his ability to pay. Every Sunday he missed he would have to mah> up double during the week. The churches should remove all the pews from the church and mab> everybody stand during the hole 3 hour service. A11 heat and air- conditioning should be removed from the building. This here new convert should be required to work so many hours a week for the church and turn in a weekly report on the same. Now Mr. Publisher, I know all this sounds pretty hard, but it wouldn’t hurt the church none. What really hurts the Lord’s Church is cream-puff religion that demands nothing, does northing, and produces nothing. I think my new plan would in crease church attendance, more than the dumb things we’re try ing now. Instead of adding more crosses, we keep packing our churches with rocking chairs. Rocking chairs always did put folks to sleep. We got too many •P’s* In our churches: play, piddle, prodcrastinate, and pamper. I got a plan, but I don’t know of a single church that would be willing to try il We’ve been run ning scared for years, and fear is a hard thing to get rid of. I expect I better sign off for now and let everybody simmer down a little. Let me know what you think of my plan! Parson Jones Wish I’d Said That “Our major cities have be come so congested with cars and trucks that there are only tw'o kinds of parking left— illegal and “no parking.” — Dick Higgin — The Cosmos (Minn.) News. f. r«*i ChoBikU I find my delight i commandments. — (P 119:47) Divine order in mind and affairs means fr from negative thinkir means that our mind peaceful and poised, i affirm this order, we alk fullness of all life, all lig! all good to come to us. ] accept the idea that C working in and through \ that His good is being lished in our lives. iv */r “This is still the land of opportunity. Where else could you afford to have so many things you can’t pay for?”