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) { I I ZMirtlah, WANTED : A MANDATE How many people will determine the course of Clinton’s progress during the next two years? Eight hundred? One thousand? If the City General Election voter turnout next Tuesday, Aug. 11, goes as it has in recent years, about one thousand people might cast ballots to determine the municipal government for a town which has about 8,000 peo ple residing within the city limits. That’s not a very good showing but that’s the way it has been in recent years. The dye is pretty well cast as far as the majority on City Council is con cerned. Only one of the six council- men has opposition in Tuesday’s elec tion. However, there is a race between two good men for the post of mayor and that’s the primary reason we’d like to see a good voter turnout Tues day. We w^uld like to see the winner bolstered by the fact that he is truly the choice of a representative voter turnout. The mayor actually has little vot ing power on City Council. He votes only in the event of a tie vote among councilmen However, the mayor sets the tone of Clinton’s municipal gov ernment. He is expected to guide council in setting priorities and see ing that projects are completed. If we have a progressive, energetic may or, the town moves. If we have a mayor who is content to wait for things to happen, the town stands still. LEGION BASEBALL Clinton’s American Legion base ball team has captured the interest of the community this season and base ball was never livelier. We offer congratulations to Coach Sam Owens, Coach Fred Satterfield and the members of the Clinton team on winning the League Nine cham pionship and advincing to the Upper- state finals. The League Nine race itself was a cliff-hanger during the final two weeks but the locals came through in clutch situations. Adding to the team’s accomplish ments was its defeat of old nemesis Greenwood, the defending state cham pions, in the upperstate quarterfinals. For years, Clinton was in the same league with Greenwood. More often than not, the local team had to play in the shadow of the perennial cham pion, Greenwood. Coach Sam Owens says that to his knowledge Clinton has beaten Greenwood for the title only twice before in the last 15 years. This ‘‘ffiar, Clinton and Greenwood were placed in different leagues and each won its league championship to ad vance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Clinton lost the first game in the best-of-five se ries but came back to win three straight to advance to the Upperstate cham pionship round, eliminating Green wood. The team has played heads-up, ex citing baseball. The attendance at the games indicates the community’s pride, support for and interest in the team. We also salute the local American Legion post which sponsors the Clin ton team. American Legion baseball can be a fairly expensive project for a Legion post. In years in which the local team does not advance beyond its league, the sponsoring Legion post usually loses money. It’s usually only when the team gets into playoffs that the post can break even. If the local team advances as far as the Upperstate playoffs, the post stands a good chance of making some money. If any profit is made, it stays in the Legion Baseball Fund to help finance the pro gram in other years when the team may not be as successful. The members of t h e sponsoring Copeland - Davidson American Legion Post No. 56 are the unsung heroes be hind the Clinton Legion team and we owe them a debt of gratitude for the revived interest in baseball this sum mer. TALK TO THE DOMINOES In reply to skeptics of the so-called “domino theory,” President Nixon re- cenlty retorted: “They haven’t talked to the dominoes.” What the “domi noes” (the Southeast Asian Coun tries) are saying is illustrated in the recent call of President Cheng-Kang of the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) to the 47 affiliated units in the international organization, which includes representatives from all the South-east Asian countries. Dr. Ku Cheng-Kang said: "We pay our highest respect to the Americans who have fought for jus tice in Southeast Asia. We are deep ly concerned with the fate of those ser vicemen who are missing or have been imprisoned by the Communists. Our genuine sympathy goes to the thou sands of American prisoner relatives. The atrocious Communist imstreat- ments of U.S. prisoners of war ih Viet nam are enough to make a man’s hair stand on end Prisoners of war are entitled to a special status under inter national law because there is no justi fication for the injury or mistreat ment of members of the armed forces who have fallen into the hands of the enemy and no longer present any mili tary threat. This is a matter of basic humanity and protections are provid ed by the Geneva Convention. But North Vietnam, the Viet Cong and the Pathet Lao have refused to abide by the humanitarian principles of the convention. There have been cases of American POWs who have been deprived of sleep, beaten, put in solitary confinement for weeks, brain washed,, paraded before jeering crowds and had thsir fingernails removed, niece have been instances of murder. All these show dearly that the Of frnhrmnn at their of STRICTLY FRESH One of the best ways to take a great deal of advice you’re offered is with a grain of salt. a a a People with nothing to do are often the most devoted workers. member and observer If you can recall when kids collected cigar bands, you have a mil for such an • * • 1 Good neighbors always come in pairs. • • • Plans, Plans, Plans! I I'C gOO BILLION - L ^ DOLLAR 2-B—THE CHRONICLE; Clinton, S. C., August «, 1970 BUR M 11 ook eview End Of American Era Textile Breakthrough units of the World Anti-Communist League, to rise as one and denounce the Asian Communists’ atrocious vio lation of the Geneva Convention. Our anger must be turned into a strong force against Communism. We must bring forth our righteous moral cou rage and take swift steps to wipe out all the Communists regimes in Asia. This is the only way to assure man’s safety and secure a lasting freedom for the world.” The declaration by the distinguish ed leader of the World Anti-Commun ist League that the only way to secure lasting freedom for the world is to “wipe out” communism in the Asian countries may come as a shock to some Senators in Washington whose appar ent aim is to do everything in their poweV to see that no harm shall come to the Communist aggressors now oc cupying sections of Vietnam, Korea, Laos, Cambodia, etc. Maybe President Nixon was right; those who want to guarantee the Communists safe, per manent sanctuaries should talk to the dominoes. BY THURMAN SENSING Executive Vice President Southern States Industrial Council The Nixon administration’s decision to support a textile quota is a major breakthrough for a vital American industry and the many thousands of per sons it employs. Indeed all Americans, dependent upon healthy commerce and industry, have a stake in this legislation. The administration had bent over backwards to get the Japan ese to enter into meaningful ne gotiations on voluntary textile quotas. F inally it became ap parent that the Japanese had no intention of negotiating on this issue. The Japanese team even had the audacity to ask that the United States not seek voluntary quotas in the future. The Japanese are extremely aggressive on the trade front. They have achieved remarkable economic success since th end of World War II, and it is clear that they aim at becoming the richest country in the world. Americans can commend their enterprise, but that’s no reason to let the J apanese walk all over us or take unfair advantage, as they have been doing with respect to tex tiles. For a decade, U. S. official dom tried sweet reason with the Japanese, urgin them not to attempt to monopolize the American market for textiles. The Japanese prooved greedy, however. While they enjoyed unusual trade opportunities in the United States, and while their industry had been rebuilt in the late 1940’s and 1950’s with American assis tance, they forgot all that and sought to push the U. S. textile industry to the wall. American industry doesn’t usually seek strong import quotas, but the textile situation posed a very special threat. The seriousness of that threat has been outlined time and again by industry spokesmen. Early in June, for example, K. V.Chace, president of Berkshire Hath away Inc., a Massachusettstex- tile company, wrote to his con gressman describing the effect of the textile flood from the Far East • Mr. Chace pointed out that his company had operated textile mills in New Bedford, Mass., for 80 years. Last year, he said because of the high level of imports of gingham, we were forced to discontinue this part of our operation. This involved the permanent displacement of about 800 workers. He went on to report concerning other div- IsionsMf his company which pro duce fabrics: Out of the last 13 weeks, we have been forced to close for a total of four weeks. Later this month, we will shut down for an extended vacation period of three weeks. hi giving the background of these development, Mr. Chance noted that isjiorts of man made fiber textiles and apparel made from such textiles more than (tabled from 1967 to 1969and so far this year is 104 per cent above the corresponding period last year. What this Massachusetts manufacturer described is a crisis situation for the textile companies and their employers. The Far East imports, if not curbed, will destroy a large section of an industry that creates profits for the nation and gives employment to a consider able section of the working popu lation. The U. S. government simply cannot afford to allow Asian textile producers and their gov ernments to destroy an Ameri can industry and many thousands of jobs. Proection of this in dustry and these jobs is a re quirement that cuts across party lines and other normal political divisions. It is really strange that so hard a fight has had to be waged in recent years to get the fed eral government to support a quota system. Protection of a country’s manufactures is a basic purpose of government, and every nation in the world— with the exception of the U. S. government in the 1960’s battles for its industries. Cer tainly, Japanese officials have used all their resources to help expand and maintain their country’s textile business. It seems likely that opposition to quotas derives in large meas- sure from twisted liberal notions have gained currency in our Country. To defend one’s country or its legitimate inter ests is virtually a crime in the eyes of liberal elements. The giveaway is hailed asgood;pro- tection of an essential industry is condemned or at least de plored. To realistic citizens, such a notion is sick thinking. The United States, after all, was not organized to confer benefits on foreign lands but to safeguard the lives , property and well-being of the people who live in this land. Fortunately, the Nixon ad ministration measured up when the Japenese—at long last-- came out flatly against voluntary quotas. If Congress imposes textile quotas, other nations may get the message that Uncle Sam won’t play the sucker in the trade role any longer. Ny Neighbors By Lennart Pearson Head Librarian Presbyterian College THE END OF THE AMERICAN ERA. By Andrew Hacker. 239 pages. Atheneum. 1970. The idea that the United States has been em barked on its decline since the closing days of the Second World War is bound to be a controversial one. Andrew Hacker, who teaches Government at Cornell, thinks this is what is happening, and he sets forth his Spenglerian thesis in an astute piece of social commentary. As Hacker sees it, the mind and spirit of the American people is now of a freer and more demo cratic temper than it has ever been, and this is a large part of our problem. Thanks largely to tech nological advances, new occupations, higher in comes, and expanded opportunities have lured ordinary people away from their old neighbor hoods with promises of greater freedom, variety, and comfort. With vanishing social controls, two hundred million egos now possess a self-es teem and a self-importance previously reserved for a privileged few At the same time, “with the artifacts of prosperity so readily at hand, private activities become all the more enjoyable, weaken ing any tendency to undergo sacrifices for social ends.” And this is what will get us in the end. It is not necessary to subscribe to Hacker’s views about the rise and fall of nations to profit from his analysis of contemporary America. Nor will he be easily fitted into the g;oing ideolo gies, conservative or liberal; both will be made uncomfortable by what he has to say. Here are some samplings: Corporations exert tremendous power, is such power legitimate when it lacks a representa tive quality? . Government is held responsible even for the ills of society which arise out of private activities; why is there so little public uproar over irrespon sibility in the private sector, particularly since private profits are, in effect, hidden taxes paid by the public? Universities and colleges suffer from the same kind of bloatedness found elsewhere. Con temporary scholarship may be best viewed as en vironmental adaptations devised to provide honor able occupations for Americans of middling intel ligence. The ideological liberal is one who identifies with classes about to enter their ascendancy. This involvement, however, has very predictable limits, and thereby reveals its true nature as an exercise in middle-class self-indulgence, a mode of expression for comfortably situated citizens who wish to appear progressive without having to pay too high a price for their principles. While Hacker’s reflections on the prospects for America are not cheery, his view of our pres ent situation is sociologically incisive and lucidly presented. He has written a thoughtful book and it deserves a thoughtful reading. Parson lones Says SOME PEOPLE D0NT SPEAK ‘You question my hang-ups?’ Dear Mr. Publisher: We had an awful good Dea con’s meeting week before last. We discussed all the people we Do you care enough to use seat belts? August is Family Seat Belt Month A Message from South Carolina State Highway Department 1970. got in our church who won’t talk to one another. Six husbands and wives won’t even grunt to one another: eight brother and sist ers won’t get close to one another; sixteen younguns won’t talk to their parents and visa- versa and thirteen members ain’t on speaking terms with their preacher. It was pretty ob vious to all of us that this was a communication gap in our little flock. Brother George suggested we send a mimeographed letter to all of ’em asking ’em to let by gones be by-gones. Some of the deacons thought that was a little too expensive and one said it was too impersonal. Hezekiah sug gested that calling 'em on the telephone might be more effec tive. George allowed as how you could get cussed out too quick over the phone. Finally, they come up witn me bright idea that I preach on the subject I could poundf home, from the pulpit how God says we should forgive one another if we hppe to go to heaven. Well sir, that idea prevailed and I preached two Sundays ago on the subject of forgiveness. I told how the Lord said we couldn’t fealty worship God and still hold a grudge against one another. I pointed out that Jesus ’ isaid tc bold up on your’gifts to him until ypu got i;ight with whoever you was fighting with. Mr. Publisher, that was one of the most effective sermons I ever preached. Since that ser mon, 22 folk have stopped coming to church and 53 have stopped giving any money. So it looks like they took me serious. The deacons have took me serious too. They called an emergency sesson and asked me tp preach, another sermon, ex plaining that the folks were’t supposed to take my sermon literally. Like somebody once said, "You can’t win for losing." And like my mama always said, "Let the chips fail where they wilL" But when the chips are great big and they fall on your own head - that’s different. Parson Jones