Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C„ FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER f. 1940 General HUGH s. JOHNSON Jour: I'ruicd Features WNU JWn-lc* Washington, D. C. EXCESS PROFITS TAX The federal excess profits tax as It is likely to pass, is a monstrosity. It might well be entitled “A Bill to Prevent New Enterprise and De stroy Small Businesses.” I know a company that was or ganized in 1928 with a capital of about $3,000,000—just in time to get the full effect of the 1929 avalanche and what came after. It was to make a completely new product. The long, lean, hard years ate much of its capital away. Its stockholders have never had a cent out of it. But they stuck and it struggled miraculously and lived. Two years ago it began to click as a result of a long hopeless strug gle for sales and improvement of product. Under this tax bill it will be taxed up to 40 per cent on its excess earn ings for its fiscal year 1940 over the average of the preceding four years, during which its earnings were slight or minus, plus a normal tax of ap proximately 20 per cent. That will take easily 33% per cent of its earn ings. This company’s business will gain nothing by the armament program. On the contrary, it will be hurt. Such a large yearly cash outlay from its meager quick assets will seriously embarrass its operations and prevent any normal expansion of its business. Its only chance to recoup its year’s losses, perfect the original factory equipment on which it was planned, and provide reason able margins of safety was out of earnings. Now that chance will be impaired, if not destroyed. It gains nothing by its permissible alternative of choosing a basis of graduated tax on the ratio of earn ings to invested capital, because that capital has been so whittled away by its years of losses that this ratio is necessarily high. Stockholders whose investment has been sterile and declining for I most of 12 years and who had just ! begun to hope for some recovery, 1 will have to abandon their hope and may begin to fear for the company’s survival. This is just another case among thousands of similar ones that could be cited. Another class is that of recently organized service com- , panics with small capital and no record of earnings. This tax law will be a practical barrier to any progress or prospect of success for . them. A large and heavily capitalized , company that has had reasonably | good returns for the last four years - will be affected to no such murder- . ous degree. Indeed, in view of this terrific load in new or small com- | peting industry, such a company could well afford to low r er both price and profit to keep its earnings below any “excess” at all and thus destroy and monopolize the business of all its small competitors. The tendency in this legislation is so blatant and so marked that one is tempted to question whether it is not a deliberate attempt to Nazify all business by driving it into great units and there by regulation and other encroachment convert it to Hitler’s national socialism or Mus solini’s corporative state. No won der small business and the great middle class are almost 100 per cent against this administration. What this New Deal doesn’t seem 1 to understand is that strength for war depends upon a far stronger and more efficient industry than we have ever had. That can’t be ac complished if the first step is a dras- i tic taxation policy that practically destroys the profit motive. That motive is the gas that makes our industrial engine go. The only known economic substitute for the hope or reward—the American sys tem—is the fear of punishment—the | system of Mussolini, Stalin and , Hitler. There is no middle way. I We can’t go that way without indus trial paralysis. Very few, if any, business man- , agers want to profiteer in this emer gency. But very few are willing to ; default on their trusteeships and ruin the investment of their stock- ! holders by accepting inordinate ( risks and unbearable burdens. • • • DRAFT SUPPORT I have some sour letters saying that the reason I am so repetitious and emphatic is that I want to be “director of selective service,” as j I was deputy director before. I , don’t, and even if I did, Mr. Roose velt would rather lose an eye tooth than call me to that duty. On this bill, as on all other measures to speed national defense, I have sup ported him as constantly as any of his friends. Men in the war department charged with planning this effort have also had everything I could give them from my experience in the way of both support and advice, and both they and the President know that no matter who is finally charged with the execution of this law, they can rely on me for any unofficial help and support I can give, from running errands to the best this column can offer. This should be obvious because in a manner of speaking, it is my baby and I am intensely jealous of its success. Kathleen Norris Says: The Perfect Wife Really Exists! (Bell Syndicate—WNU Service.) PERFECT WIFE Almost all wives are very nice wom en in many ways, but Kathleen Norris is told about one wife that is “perfect” An appreciative husband writes Miss Norris, telling her about his wife, and how thoughtful, kind and generous she is. His letter offers a “measuring stick” for women everywhere to test them selves and see how high—or low—they rate. Why not make this little test yourself? In a worried time she was never at a loss for surprises, kindnesses, discoveries of the first spring flower, or a good book, or a new little dish for my tray. By KATHLEEN NORRIS H OW near are you to being a perfect woman? This is a fascinating question, and the answer to it may suggest to you a fascinat ing occupation. It may amuse you and keep you busy and happy for years trying to turn yourself into a perfect woman. A man’s letter suggested this idea. He writes me that he has the perfect wife. They have been married seventeen years; they aren’t rich or famous or young any more; they’re both close to forty. But his letter makes thrilling reading, and I pass it on. A Tough Beginning. “We had to wait seven years for our happiness," he writes. “They were long years, and sometimes dis couraging years. Dee was taking care of her mother, a helpless in valid, and teaching school as well. There seemed to be no reason why she might not be so held for many years. I was in medical school, with the hope that a hospital appointment might some day pay me $75 a month. “When Dee was 28 and I 30, however, I was offered a position in a small country town, with $100 a month and free rent guaranteed. At the same time an aunt of Dee’s was widowed, and came to live with her mother, and we persuaded the old folks to let us turn the upstairs floor of the home into a flat. The rent was $35 and we sent them an other $35 and they managed easily. “We went at once to our own home, and I took up my clinic duties at once. My wife kept a wonderful table and we could entertain sim ply on her food allowance of $25 a month. Presently I began to get an outside case or two; every dollar counted, of course, but we never had any sense of anxiety or scrimp ing. Two boys came along, and their mother took care of us all; always gentle, sympathetic, under standing. “I think gentleness is Dee’s out standing characteristic. She is al ways neat and fresh, always merry and adequate and wise, but her out standing characteristic is gentle ness. If something comes up that troubles her, she is silent, thought ful, gentle about it. She made our boys gentle. Always Sees the Bright Side. “Dee never will have a bill or a standing debt. We may have to go on short rations for a while, but she must pay bills first. Her moth er’s* final illness was a long one; we had doctors and nurses, but Dee managed to make us all feel that it was a privilege rather than a bur den to do all we could. “She makes picnics, parties, fes tivals of ordinary living. In a wor ried time—for I had a long, dull ill ness—she was never at a loss for surprises, kindnesses, discoveries of the first spring flower, or a good book, or a new little dish for my tray. Our little girl, coming when her brothers were 9 and 7, was born almost blind. Normal now, for her first two years her mother had to be eyes for her. Dee never showed me her bitter worry, never grew tired. “Her home is a place of rest and music and laughter and happy meals and happy talks. In winter we are the coziest family in town. In summer Dee’s beloved garden has our supper table in it, under an oak. For vacations we have a three-room lake cottage; for hob bies—but we have them all! “The vivid, eager, loving woman who has done all this for a man and three children is, I think, the finest human being I ever knew. You hear the other side; you write of divorces and problems, mean mothers-in-law, money troubles, faithless husbands, extravagant and discontented wives. But there are a lot of us on the other side of the picture; men and women who through the trials and changes of many married years have only come the more sincerely and truly to love and need each other.” That’s the letter. It did my heart good. The writer did not give me his address, but I hope his Dee will see this column and know that she is appreciated. How Would You Rate? How close to her measure would you come, if your husband wrote a letter describing you? What char acteristics would you select if you were choosing those of the perfect wife? What 10 would come first? Well, perhaps first of all a woman should be gentle. She should have a sense of humor. She should be capable, a«good manager of home, nursery and budget. She should be neat about herself and her belong ings. She should be prompt. Af fectionate. Economical. Patient. Imaginative. Cheerful. This is a big order. Most women never stop even to consider these qualities, much less to ask them selves if they happen to possess them. Many women resent the idea that they could change; they are as they are, with no need for change. “You know me,” they say com placently, “when anyone tries to put anything over on me, I never for get it!” Or, “Jim’s mother spoiled him for 25 years. Well, he doesn’t get any more of THAT! I’ve got a good hot temper of my own, and it’s about time Jim Baker found it out.” Other women tell you prettily that they are always late for things, and it does make poor Bob so mad! Or they’re very poor cooks; Mama said she never wanted her girls to slave in any man’s kitchen. Or they never can keep their books straightened out; don’t know the least thing about money. And in the last analysis, as I’ve mentioned in this column be fore, money trouble turns out to be of them all the gravest cause of marital unhappiness and unsuccess. Wives in Name Only. Some wives save all the day’s an noyances and worries until dinner time, and then regale the weary man of the family upon them. Oth ers quarrel and complain constantly with and of the children. Many are extravagant and vain, home and hus band serving them only as a back ground for constant trips to the beauty parlor and the frock shops. Then there is always the wife who puts somebody else ahead of the man she married; whose heart is really with her family, or whose whole devotion goes to her child. And the wife who has numerous love affairs. Nothing really wrong, of course, but such fun. /and so harm less, if only Bob wouldn’t be so ridic ulously jealous! All these wives are considered very nice women. Nobody expects perfection, and we all nave our faults, we say leniently. Which is perfectly true. And yet it is as refreshing as a summer breeze to hear sometimes of a wom an who by chance and circumstance and her own fine nature has reached so high a point of human develop ment that the man who has lived with her for 17 years still finds her perfect. By VIRGINIA VALE (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) R osalind russell, who considers Columbia her lucky lot, has been signed to play the feminine starring role in that studio’s new comedy, “This Thing Called Love,” a tale of a six months’ trial marriage which goes on the rocks before it is well launched. Miss Russell will be seen as a brisk and competent insurance executive (and let’s hope she won’t over-act, as she sometimes does) and Melvyn Douglas, playing opposite her, will be a mining engineer. A few years ago the beautiful Rosalind was borrowed by Columbia for the title role in “Craig’s Wife,” an unsympathetic part, as you’ll probably recall, but in it she proved SSS53 IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL S UNDAY 1 chool Lesson By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST, D. D. De ‘ * " ■“ Dean of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) Lesson for September 29 Lesson subjects and Scripture texts se lected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious education; used by permission. THE USE AND ABUSE OF WEALTH LESSON TEXT—Proverbs 11:24-31; Luke 16:1113. GOLDEN TEXT—Lay up for yourselves treasures In heaven.—Matthew 6:20. i. ■■ J ROSALIND RUSSELL bo conclusively that she could act that the picture gave her a place at the top. She scored another Colum bia triumph as “Hildy Johnson” in “His Girl Friday.” Two daughters of famous football coaches are up for roles in “Tillie the Toiler”; they are Marcia Shaughnessy and Annie Lee Stagg, and were suggested by no less a per sonage than Maude Adams, the famous actress, who coached them at Stevens college. * The 52.6 second kiss record set by Ann Sheridan and George Brent in j “Honeymoon for Three” brought re actions of all kinds from here, there and elsewhere. A Los Angeles laundry asked foi the handkerchief used by Brent to wipe off Miss Sheridan’s lipstick, of fering to launder it for nothing. An inventor in Indianapolis asked Brent to be the first to try his new lipstick remover. A clock manufacturer in quired what kind of watch was used to time the kiss. A New York pro moter telegraphed a $500 offer to the pair if they would officially open a “kissathon” by repeating the per formance. And then a woman’s club in To peka, Kan., passed a resolution rec ommending that endurance kissing be banned on the ground that it is ur.' .ygienic. And countless males be tween the ages of 17 and 60 wrote i in, volunteering to take over Brent’s next assignment of that kind for nothing. * When young Betty Brewer was working with him in “Rangers of Fortune” Fred MacMurray taught her to croon. Since then she has been rehearsing her sister and broth er and a little neighbor girl in a quartet which she calls “Betty Brew er and Her Playmates,” and it’s so | good that an advertising agency may j put them on the air this fall. As old as radio is the annoying production problem of performers kicking the microphone stand or striking it with their hands if they make gestures while on the air. If a grating sound comes from your receiving set, that’s probably the reason. Cecil B. DeMiile thought he’d solved the problem for his radio theater last year, by using a hang ing microphone—but without a base stand to guide them, actors bumped their heads into the mike. (Glut tons for punishment, these actors!) Undaunted, C. B. went to work again. And this year when the cast assembled for the theater’s first pro duction, “Manhattan Melodrama,” wuh Myrna Loy, William Powell, | ana, of course, Don Ameche, they i found that a circular guard rail had | been built under the mike. That suited them perfectly—they could ! rest their scripts on it. ODDS AND ENDS ' C. “Most Inspirational Extra of the Year" I is the title bestowed on Doris Davenport 1 by the Hollywood Studio Club, because : she rose from the extra ranks to the feminine lead in “The Westerner." C. Paramount will spend $250,000 on launching “North West Mounted Police" —all for advertising, publicity and an ex- I ploitation campaign. C. Susanna Foster, starlet of Paramount’s “There’s Magic in Music,” was all ready to leave for a vacation in Kearney, Neb., when her dog, Rex, was struck by an automobile. She unpacked her trunks and abandoned her plans, to stay at home until Rex recovered. Money—its making and using—is a matter which constantly concerns all of us as long as we live in this world. It is the medium of ex change whereby the labors of one man may be exchanged for the la bors of another, in the purchase of goods and services. It may be used to send a messenger to the ends of the earth with the good news of salvation or, on the other hand, it may be the ready instrument to de stroy both body and soul of those who abuse it. Man may have mon ey, and be a blessing, or money may have a man, and be a curse. I. The Right Spirit in the Use of Money (Prov. 11:24-26). What a man does with his money is only a reflection of what he is in his inmost life. The spirit which withholds unless there is a return to itself in pleasure or profit is a selfish and ungodly spirit. To at tempt to present one’s self before the world as a follower of Christ and to have that attitude toward what one possesses is to deny by one’s acts the testimony of one’s lips. Not all “scattering” (v. 24) is commendable. It is possible to be careless and wasteful, and that nei ther honors God nor helps our fellow J men. Then, too, a man may scat ter liberally, as the farmer does when he sows seed, knowing that he will have a rioher harvest for him self. That is only a different type of , selfishness. The man who knows “God, that giveth to all men liberally” (James 1:5), scatters not only his money, but his riches of mind and spirit in his life and service. He gives him self and what he has to God—and to man as he serves God—and rich is his reward. In sad contrast is the man who keeps his possessions, but finds that withal he has only barren leanness of soul and life. II. The Good and Bad Use of Money (w. 27-29). The man who looks for good finds it, and the one who looks for trouble finds that, too. That is true in the use of money as well as elsewhere in life. One way to end up in cer tain disappointment is to put your trust in money, for, while it opens many doors, it cannot open the door to heaven, and, while it can buy most things, it cannot buy health and happiness. To seek good, seek the Lord and His righteousness, and you will “flourish as a branch.” You may not have the riches of this earth, but you will prosper in those things which are of eternal val ue. You will be wise in the conduct of the affairs of your own house (v. 29) and life, because you are “wise of heart.” III. The Best Use of Money (w. 30, 31). One of America’s leading busi ness analysts and statisticians said some years ago that the best invest ment of funds was in the winning of souls to Jesus Christ. Had man ex pended the money which should have gone for that purpose, at the right time, we might have been spared the spending of billions of dollars for war in these latter days. “He that is wise winneth souls” (v. 30 R. V.). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). The glory that awaits the believer in this life and in the life to come, as well as the judgment which inev itably must fall on the sinner (v. 31), should urge us on in the winning of souls. But even more than that, the love of God, and “the love of Christ” which “constraineth us” (II Cor. 5:14), should cause us to put ourselves and our money into His hands, to be used in the winning of souls. Could there be any better use of money? IV. The Te-'t of the Use of Money (Luke 16:11-13). Ultimately each one of us must give an account to God of the man ner in which we have lived. These verses and others indicate that one of the matters for which we must answer is the manner in which we have used or abused the money or other possessions with which God has blessed us. We are stewards, and only as we demonstrate our faithfulness and wisdom in the use of the “unright eous mammon” (v. 11); that is, the money of this world, can God en trust us neither here or in the world to come with His true riches. Let us be very clear about this point today. It does make a vital difference to your spiritual life how you regard money. You cannot sep arate your life into compartments, with a spiritual Sunday religion and a do-as-you-please weekday, busi ness or social life. The dollar you spend on Monday is of as much con cern to God as the dollar you put in the offering on Sunday. AROUND HOUSE Apples may be used in almost any salad recipe to give added crispness and crunchiness. • • * Use potato water (a) when mak ing stack; (b) when making gravy, and (c) if you are a bread- maker, use it for mixing the bread dough. • • • Keep the comb clean by wash ing it regularly in warm soap wa ter to which has been added a little ammonia. The ammonia will aid in loosening the dirt. Rinse thoroughly and dry. * * • Keep cheese fresh by wrapping in muslin squeezed out of vinegar and water, and store in a paper bag in a cool place. • • • During the last stages of baking a cake a piece of greased paper on the top of it will allow the in side to cook through and keep the top from burning. • • • A good way to test whether a fern requires water is to give the pot a sharp tap. If it sounds hol low it needs water, but if a dull sound is given out the soil is wet enough. -fl.sk Me Jlnother % A General Quiz The Questions 1. What are the four fundamen tals of combustion? 2. Is “insignia” a singular or plural noun? 3. Who stole Helen — Ulysses, Paris, or Achilles—and thereby brought about the Trojan war? 4. Who said: “Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a col lege education”? 5. Can anyone who dies on duty in U. S. military or naval service or has been honorably discharged be buried at Arlington? The Answers 1. The four fundamentals of combustion are mixture, air, time and temperature. 2. Plural. The singular form is insigne. 3. Paris. 4. Mark Twain (Pudd’nhead Wil son’s calendar). 5. Yes. Items of Interest to the Housewife To improve the flavor of leg of lamb, rub it with a mixture of- salt, garlic, black pepper and mar joram before cooking. • • * When a wire basket is used for frying croquettes, dip the basket into the hot fat before placing in the croquettes. The croquettes will not stick to it when done, and will be easy to remove. 0€ii When YOU dust use O-Cedar on your dustdoth. Dust and NEVER raise a dust Here's the smart, easy, modem way to dust. Add one tablespoonnil of genuine O-Cedar Polish to one pint of warm water, dij» your dustcloth in thar, dry it and sue it. Now when you dust you pick UP the grit and lint and sandy dust. You don’t raise clouds; you don’t scatter the dust horn table to chairs back to tables again . . . your cloth picks UP the dust, and your furniture is spotless. Ask for POLISH MOPS, WAX, DUSTERS, CLEANERS AND FLY AND MOTH SPRAY Man a Knot of Roots A man is a bundle of relations, a knot of roots, whose flower and fruitage is the world.—Emerson. SUOSEPH ASPIRIN One Road Of all the paths of life but one— the path of duty—leads to happi ness.—Southey. Get this FREEB/BlEf For over 70 years grateful people all over the South have trusted Wintersmith’s Tonic for the relief of Malaria. To convince YOU, we are offering this complete, 761-page Holy Bible, FREE. Just mail the top from one large carton (or the tops from two small cartons) to Wintersmith Chemical Co., Inc., Louisville, Ky. WIDTCRSMITH 5 Tonit /.. ma&uuc i Success Secondary Man cannot be satisfied with mere success. He is concerned with the terms upon which suc cess comes to him. And very often the terms seem more important than the success.—Charles A. Ben. nett. NATIONAL OPEN GOLF CHAMPION SAYS. THE CIGARETTE OF COSTLIER TOBACCOS