The Barnwell people-sentinel. (Barnwell, S.C.) 1925-current, June 17, 1937, Image 4
THURSDAY, JUNE 17TH, 1M7.
The “Decline” of the Small Town.
Every once in so often, the profes-
aionnl viewers-with-aiarm predict the
eventual extinction of the smalltown,
doe to the rapid expansion of the
cities, splendid highways, etc. Some
how, we haven't taken a great deal of
stock in the dire prediction of these
perpetual pessimists, and it is our
belief that the next decade will see a
turn of the tide, with the flow from
the large centers of population back
to the small towns and rural districts.
We believe that manufacturers are
going to And it more profitable to
build and maintain their factories in
the smaller cities and medium-sized
towns, rather than in congested areas,
as heretofore.
However, that we still have the
breed of gloomy Guesses (or should
we say gloomy “cusses"?) in our
midst is evidenced by the following
from the “Obeenrstkms" column on
the editorial page of the Nunda (N.Y.)
News, published by Wslter B Sand-
amwrm *
WuwL vv EM/ M j w
“He Hves in a nearby city where he
ia at the head of a suable store. I
THE FARMER AND INDUSTRY.
f always knew that somebody
would upset the applecart. Along
comes a New York professor and says
that ten times ten are not one hun
dred “absolutely,” but only “approxi
mately.” Ever since this Depression
gripped us I have felt the ground
slipping from under me. One thing
after another has “gone by the
board,” but I’ve always relied on the
! unchanging character of mathematics
in a time of change. I’ve seen big
I business men slip and little business
men, too; I’ve seen political prophets
discredited and economic philosophers
! repudiated; I’ve seen our rugged
I Americans calling for more and more
I Government bacon and our statesmen
, judged according to their ability to
I “bring home the bacon.” My whole
world has tottered. I was taught
law, but I’m sorry I learned it, at
(he young man said after “reading
t law” a month; because one man’s
' guess is as good aa another man's, so
' all my years were wasted. And there
used to be a Cdnatitution! Mirabile
1 dtctu! So there was! But we haven’t
any time for that in this busy age of
go-getters; but I*ve always pinned my
faith on the constancy, the invulner
ability of aritluaeUc la spite of all
the changes of time, custom, seoaoo
or weather, or vogsriee of politicians
of states men. Now
ami? For year* l*ve said this,
la apprertaOoo of o sensible otfVieJ:
“H« knows that two and two msko
a week-end. Few of
than know but littls about the busi-
naos that is transacted in villages, that
there is less distress of all kinds in
villages than in cities, that village
folk are as s rule more thrifty than
city folk. Having been born and lived
in a village all of my life and having
had opportunity to study city life at
some extent 1 am always amused at
the concern that is expressed about
what is to become of rural Amercia,
the farms, villages and towns.
“Rural America will continue to
grow and prosper as long as civiliza
tion endures. A greater proportion of
people own their own homes in rural
America and there is far less poverty
in rural America. The size of a
place really means nothing. Rather,
what is more important is the charac
ter of the people, tfteir will to work
and their determination to move for
ward. In the next 100 years, rural
rtU probably make greater
than the larger etttra. ae
to eecokltsh
to pom a
a big hold »ta# to ro force
e eponal Us m all Aohrr-
rs of amthrmolics-
I think K was last weok that 1 sug
gested that stock holders of utility
core pome* might do well to pitch
their tents on Morris Island and eat
shirk steaks. After looking a bit fur
ther into this I have come to the con
clusion that I’d better ask m v George
town and Beaufort friends to get
some more island, for Morris Island
( is too small for the crowd. Look at
( this now: The secretary of the treas
ury remaked that after checking up
| the returns of all corporations for the
year 1934 he found that 324,793 cor
porations had no net income and their
deficits aggregated $4,181,927,000.
Now let us not impose too much on
our knowledge of figures; so we
state that again for emphasis and
clarity: three hundred twenty-four
thousand, seven hundred and three
corporations had no net income, but,
on th.> other hand, were in the hole
(as we say) to the tune of four bil
lion lbillion, mark you)
eighty on* million, snd twenty
It
’loav# a net gain of
leas than one tenth of on# per cent,
on a gross incoma of $100,8$ 1,000,000
Say, do you enjoy these figures 9 I
trust you do. I’m having the time of
my life playing with millions and bil
lions. In fact, after looking into
item of gross income—one hundred
billion dollars—I feel like snubbing
any man who would talk to me of
small sums like millions. I’ve tuned
my mathematical key to BILLIONS.
Now put your finger on that! I’ve
psychologized the legislature and dis
covered the root of the evil. Those
boys are just mesmerized by the
figures. They get tuned to millions
and just can’t come down to our level.
So if a man proposes $250,000, the
others will run it up to a million so
that they feel “at home” in dealing
with the matter.
Comparatively poor though we are,
what would be our condition if we
were exclusively agricultural? We
have not many industries on a large
scale. We shall soon have two great
paper plants at work, but they are not
contributing factors yet except for
the coat of building. Our two out
standing industries are cotton mills
and power enterprise*. I do not be
lieve that the sober good sense of our
legislators makes them hostile to
these investments of capital which
contribute so much to the life of our
people. The cotton mills and the
power companies pay millions of do!-
lars in taxes to the State, the conn-
tie*, the schools and to the towns;
hut they pay many more millions in
• •ges and these wages bay mil hone of
dollars of farm prwdncc and support
I of snr
I d* ant beisrs* that aay ene
a anflL
Us is that mum natramsd hi
thiak thel UmMns* to aB
produced it there have been drawn a
Urge number who have served with
distinction in many lines.
The American country newspaper is
today doing its job at it haa done it in
the past. Around it communities are
maintained aa cultural and business
centers. It is preserving the Ameri
can country community, and that is
the part of America that is most truly
American.
The country newspaper, and the
men who made it, and are now making
it, have a definite place in American
history.
Veteran* May RenevF
Insurance Policies
S. C. Groeschel Gives Information of
Interest to Veterans of Barn
well County.
The People-Sentinel is in receipt of
the following letter from S. C. Groes
chel, manager of the Veterans Ad
ministration in Columbia, which
should prove of interest and value to
Barnwell County World War veter-
“I have this date received a tele
gram from General Frank T. Hines,
Administrator of Veterans Affairs,
Veterans Administration, Washing
ton, D. C., having reference to a
recent bit passed by Congress provid-
ing for the renewal of h-yenr Level
Premium Term Insarance policies
which hare been ia force for two S-
yoor psnods This toll becaate law
on Jane I, Itt7, and provide* that
all turh policy heUars not having
their optional
rignt to r noage snrh policy
. a _ _ mm _ m ■ to *
mmmtM mm wmmmm sosanai o»yuor paoson
far which oh promaaaaa are paid oa*
foe the led Vyvof period with
IT TAKES
TO STAND FIRM IN
FOR 96 YEARS CLAVSSEN’S
BREAD HAS BEEN A SOURCE
OF FOOD ENERGY!
Scrum of siren . . cartful, exact. SURE
performance of nerve-wracking tasks . ..
res IT TAKES ENERGY TO STAND
FIRM IN EMERGENCIES.
Today—Cut vs* ex's Brzab h
"Air-CondlHonad." because U
Is removed from ovens, cooled
quickly In ectenttflc cootUe
rooms whore ' ah is dry.
purs, washed . . . ‘Hen wrap
ped quickly art ... temper-
Always beak of
Grocer's. Order Ul
GlaaSSeaS
M-conimonED'
We Are Offering
very attractive prices in all our
BEAUTY WORK
Tested methods only are used in
our shop. Nothing is left to
chance. We use only the best.
For Appointment PKone 43
PATRIOT*.
(By Wright A. Patterson. Editor,
The Publishers’ Auxiliary.)
On Monday, May 31, I watched a
Memorial Day parade as it passed a-
long Michigan avenue in Chicago. To
me it depicted epochs and periods in
American life since 1861. The many
thousands of people along the route
applauded the men who fought Ameri
ca’s wars for the past three quarters of
a century.
As I watched the passing of that
parade I thought of another group to
whom the nation owe® more than the
people realize—the editors of Ameri
ca’s country newspapers, past and
present.
The country newspaper is one of
the pre-eminent Americ m institu-i
tions. Its service dates back to be
fore the days of the Revolution. It
was a material aid in cementing to
gether the colon)** in their struggle
for ind -pcndencc. It was an outpost
at Buaker Hill, et Valley Forge and
at York town. It ha* beam enlisted In
ovary atfwgffto *f
toa* «s
k tod tin
that expired
ontsd nmy be mfermsd tamedtulrly
nf their right under thi* recent Act
H Will be appreciated if yen will give
thw subject immediate publicity in
year paper, qootng this letter if space
will permit.”
THE RITZ
THEATRE
BARNWELL, 8. C.
MONDAY-TUESDAY, JUNE 21-22
JOAN CRAWFORD,
ROBERT TAYLOR and
WILLIAM POWELLin
The Last of Mrr. Cheney
Also SELECTED SHORTS
We Have Moved
WE HAVE MOVED INTO NEW
QUARTERS IN THE BUILDING
FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY GEO.
PEEPLES, OPPOSITE THE BAP
TIST CHURCH, WHERE WE ARE
BETTER PREPARED THAN EVER
TO SERVE OUR MANY FRIENDS
AND CUSTOMERS. WE INVITE
YOU TO VISIT US IN OUR NEW
HOME AND, IN THE MEANTIME—
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23
ROBERT YOUNG-ANN SOTHERN
—IN—
Dangerous Number
TO! RftDAY nUDtY. Jl'Nt »« »
jttxrrrm HAtnohAUi
md hlUU* mill to
“Maytime"
“LET TED DO IT”
Plexico’s Dry Cleaners
Barnwell, - • S. C.
• -*> > **.«% A A A A A % *>
f ^ "T - T T-T-T.T.T.TT T »