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PAGE FOUR KINGSTREE PHILOSOPHER PRODUCER OF UNUSUAL INVENTIONS (By LAURA C. HEMINGWAY in The News and Courier) Homespun philosophy has become rare in this age of pseudo-sophistica tion. When it is discovered it is apt to be found going quietly about its business of living each day at a time without envying another or of being envied. Kingstree has a “home- spun” philosopher in the person of Bowen Elipha Clarkson. Any day in the week, except Sun day , of course, when you will find him sitting in the “Amen Corner” of the Methodist Church, you may drop in on Mr. Clarkson at his little shop on Mill street, opposite th? fire sta tion. You will find him with a smile upon his face and tinkering away at some gadget that may be a part of a sewing machine or of a rare old violin. In his mouth will be his in separable pipe. He will point out a chair for you but he will keep right on with his tinkering until a new light sweeps across his face and he exclaims “‘There! I’ve got it!” Mr. Clarkson’s friends call his shop “Noah’s Ark”. Things in here are not alive but there’s everything in the world here,” one of them ex plained. And a glance around con vinces you there is just about every thing in the world there from old magazines to clocks of ancient make. There is almost an entire armory composed of guns of various descrip tions and of ages. One of these is a Confederate musket with the date 1838 upon it. Another is a Swiss rifle andi not long ago a native of Swit zerland chanced to stroll past the little shop, stopped, saw the rifle, and immediately was seized with nos talgia for his “Fatherland” as he stood stroking the barrel. * * * INTERRUPTIONS ARE numerous during the course of a conversation with the proprietor of the little shop. “I thought maybe you could open this pipe stem so it would draw better,” says one customer. Then: “I want you to fix the case for an old violin; it’s coming apart,” and the “old violin” turns out to be one back in 1700 by a famed maker of violins in Paris, this fact having been discovered some years ago by the late David Silverman of Kings tree, who was famous throughout the nation as a violinist. That is hardly out of the way before a young negro man steps inside the shop and stands deferentially beside the door, IT" THE NEWBERRY BUN FRIDDAY, MARCH 14. 1941 hat in hand. ‘Cap’n, mah clock in mah cyar ain’t workin’. Ah wants you to fix itj up good.” It is the old story of a man build ing a better mouse trap than had yet been built and the world beating a path to his door, and it is not a fig urative story, this time, but literal. Mr. Clarkson built a rat trap some years ago that was patented and at tracted so much attention that the world all but beat a path to the door of his little shop. In fact, he has in vented any number of contraptions and has patented five and he grins as he declares: “I haven’t got a nickle from any one of them-” Then he goes on to lay the blame upon “Luck”, his orange sizer was declared by Florida citrus growers as the best they had seen but just about the time the patent was issued along came the freeze of ’94 when all cit rus fruit in Florida was frozen and, as Mr. Clarkson expressed it: “No body would so much as mention oranges!” Shortly after his lightning arres ter, which has been used hereabouts with success was patented, a travel ing man became interested and plac ed the model before his son, an elec trical engineer of renown. The son was enthusiastic over the possibili ties, then he became ill and died sud denly. HIS CONTRAPTION for removing and replacing light bulbs in high ceilings attracted attention, then, came the neon lights! There was the puzzle that he had hoped to place with advertizers as 'a novelty, but it was so ingenious that few could mas ter it! Then he decided to forget all about patents and invented for the pleas ure of inventing. Upon the front door of his shop is a lock he has made. He has sold a number of these at two dollas each and one purchas er at least, is grateful to him for this invention. It saved his store from being broken into after other locks upon the door had been opened, the thief made =o much racket trying to break the Clarkson lock that he awoke the people across the street, who turned on a light to see what was going on, causing the burglar to flee. Mr. Clarkson was born October 20, 1866 on the Santee to William John Clarkson, the son of Dr. W. W. Clark son, who ’for many years practiced medicine on John’s Island, and his wife, Mary Jane Gordon. “I have lived through the most in teresting, and the most, thrilling period of history,” he declares. Bom only one year after the Confederate HOSPITAL DONATIONS The Newberry county hospital ack nowledges with thanks receipt of the following donations in February: Mis. Ida Templeton—Two baby blankets. Miss Eugenia Epps — One pair sheets and one pair pillow cases. Bush River YWA — Valentine bas kets of mints for patients and work ing staff of hospital. Willowbrook club — 20 towels, 4 cakes toilet soap, 1 can peaches, 6 wash cloths. Zelia Ross YWA — For patients tiays, Uncle Sam hats of mints on February 22nd. Trinity Club — Half pound butter, 2 dozen eggs, 2 pounds sausage, 1 quart mincemeat, 1 quart sausage, 1 quart tomatoes, 1 quart relish, 3 quarts kraut, 2 quarts beans. Mrs. P. B. Ezell — Cake for nurses. Miss Louise Davis—cake for nurses Mrs. J. H. Craft—1 lb. butter, 2 lbs. sausage. Mrs. Jim Amick—1-2 pound butter, 2 lbs. bacon. Mr. Ralph Sease—2 pound® ham. Mr. Joe Werts—2 pounds candy. MARCH SHIPMENT OF HOGS The first shipment of hogs in 1941 by the Newberry County Livestock association will be made on Wednes day, March 12tlh at the Helena ship ping pens, according to B. O. Long, president. As usual farmers are requested to have their hogs there not later than 12:00 noon on that date so as to get the bids in early. Admiral Nimilz Commissions Navy Service School Built by Henry Ford Auto Manufacturer Makes One of His Rare Appearances Before Microphone Dearborn, Mich. — When its huge building program got under way, the Navy faced another huge problem, the training of men in the highly technical duties which crews are called upon to perform. The existing naval training sta tions were already full. Turning to industry, Navy officials found that the Henry Ford Trade School, situated in the heart of the Rouge plant, was perfectly suited to such training. Henry Ford not only offered the facilities of both school and plant to the Navy for this pur pose, but also said he would build barracks for 1200 students, mess hall for 2000, administration building, provision storage, recre ation room, athletic field, a steam generating plant. The offer was accepted, and on December 6, 1940, the first shovel of earth was turned on the bank of the Rouge River. Forty days later the first contingent took up quarters in the newly erected buildings. The inauguration cere monies were described by Com mander C. P. Cecil as “unique in the history of the United States Navy—for we are dedicating the first Navy Service School ever to be operated in connection with civilian industry.” With naval officers on the out door platform beside him, and 200 enlisted men drawn up in front of the school's administra tion building, Henry Ford said that: “During the present crisis our organization wants to do everything possible to help America and the President. The Navy being our first line of de fense, I feel that the training of these young men will vitally benefit our nation. And, when this crisis is over, we can then re claim these mechanically trained young men in our industries.” In turning the facilities of school and plant over to the Navy for training personnel, Edsel Ford explained that his father had established the Henry Ford Trade School 24 years ago “because he believed in using the facilities of the Ford Motor Com pany for something more than the building eft motor vehicles. He believed that these facilities could also be used for the build ing of youth.” Rear Admiral C. V/. Nimitz, who came from Washin' t^n to repre sent Secretary Knr , -epted the facilities of school r..tl plant. “I can think of no better place for this extension of the Navy train ing program.” he declared. “I wish, Mr. Ford, to express to you the appreciation of the Navy Depart ment for this fine demonstration of patriotism on your part.” The new Navy Service School will be under the administration of Rear Admiral John Downes, Commandant of the Ninth Naval District, which includes 13 states and has headquarters at Great Lakes, Illinois. After explaining that the men to be trained here come from both the Pacific and the Atlantic, as well as the Great Lakes, he added: “We know that Mr. Ford has here established the finest school in the world for training men in the mechanical trades. This will be the most important training center that the Navy has for schooling its newly enlisted men in the mechanical duties which they will be called upon to perform immediately upon join ing the fleet.” war came to a close, he learned early the lessons of restraint and of pri vation. When he became old enough to enter school a negro was school commissioner of Williamsburg coun ty and his father declined sending his son to a public school. Fortun ately be was bom into a home where there were Jive adults, all of whom where educated. Two mouths before he reached his third birthday he had written every line in two copy-books, and he was able to read the Bible, when only four years old. > • • • “PEOPLE USE TO READ”, he says, “and my happiest recollections ! are of the books—and I mean BOOKS—I read from early child hood on through life. Reading will educate a person, provided he reads the proper books.” He had read every book in the library of a neigh bor bn the Santee by the time he was eighteen years of age, in addition to that of his own home. One day he went to the neighbor’s house and found behind a door a stack of large books on the floor. These he had not discovered heretofore and he pounc ed upon them. They were Ramsey’s Universal History in thirteen volumes. He read them every one within a brief period of time. Mr. Clarkson is blessed with an unusual faculty for memorizing. He forgets little he has read. “It may sound egotistical”, he declares, "but I have felt many times after talking with these young fellows fresh from college with their diplomas that I would not trade my education for theirs.” “Yes,” he reminisces, “I have liv ed through a wonderful period of history. I remember distinctly the first telephone I ever saw. I was a boy of eleven or twelve. I had gone to Charleston with my father. Father asked a merchant for a cer tain bit of information that the mer chant could not supply, but he pick ed up the telephone. I was all eyes and ears.” He enumerated the -inventions of this last three-quarters of a century and their influence upon men. He thinks the present age is producing men of as fine caliber as of former periods but not in such great num bers, the majority being only medio cre. Time is at too great a premium today to insure results from the modem inventions in terms of char acter. “I’m proud of my forebears,” he states simply. “One of them was a signer of the Declaration of Inde pendence. But what sets me to wond ering is that, if they could look down the years, would they be proud of MR. CLARKSON is a thirty-sec ond degree Mason and a Shrmer. He is known in Masonic circles be yond local confines. “Masonry is something that is serious all the way through, you know,” he has a way of saying. “There is no foolishness about it. It is filled with beautiful languages.” On the wall of his shop hangs a framed letter written on White House stationery. It is from the sec retary of President Roosevelt, writ ten at the president’s request, thank ing him for a walking cane that he made for the president and sent as a symbol of the many factions found in the United States that he feels the president is drawing together through his leadership. The cane is unique in that it is made of two hundred twenty-five leather washers of graduated size, strung upon a spring steel rod. The leather is ham mered until it is hard as metal, then polished until it has the appearance of being encased in cellophane. The handle is carved from black walnut and the tip is of brass. President Roosevelt’s letter expressed appre ciation of Mr. Clarkson’s symbolism as well as of the cane. Mr. Clarkson presented a similar cane to Governor Blackwood ana an other to Bishop Kern. FINDS VILLAGE WITH NOT ONE PERSON ON /RELIEF NUMBER OF TAX PROVISIONS OPPOSED They Work Together to Get Jobs for Needy, Select Residents Carefully Luxemburg, Wis., Feb. 26.—This thrifty, self-reliant little village, nestled at the foot of Door peninsula in the midst of rich cherry-growing and cattle-grazing lands, has weath ered depression without a single re lief case or a cent of bonded indebt edness. When one of its citizens is troubl ed financially, the village rallies to help. That is one of the reasons why there hasn’t been a person on relief here in more than a quarter of a cen tury. . Charles L. Peters, village board president and owner of the Luxem burg general store, says “I’ts not that we are more prosperous, though the rich hairy herds and the thriving cherry orchards did soften the blow of the depression a bit, and it’s not that we are smarter than other folk. “It’s just that our people, of good Belgain, Bohemian, & German stock, have a tradition of self reliance and willingness to cooperate in helping the less fortunate to keep up. And so we help our own.” The village helped its own during the earliest and blackest depression days, furnishing work and guaran teeing payment in emergencies of physicians’ and hospital bills. One fall early in the depression the village board learned that 11 of Luxemburg’s 468 residents faced the prospect of a hard winter. So the village decided to start a business of its own and employ the men. It ac quired cutting, rights to 10 acres of timbered land and offered the 11 jobs cutting cordwood at $2 a day. All of them accepted. The 11 worked all winter. At the end of the season the village, in stead of having a relief bill to pay, emerged from its venture with a slight profit. The next winter only 7 men need ed assistance and the village e.gain acquired timber cutting rights, and again a slight profit was realized from the sale of the wood. The third winter the village was ready to continue its venture, but none of its residents needed assist ance. None has since. All the original 11 had secured jobs either in Luxemburg or in other vil lages—mostly through the coopera tion of their own neighbors. Peters said that when one of the villagers hears of a job opening he feels it his duty to impart the information to the relief committee. Proud of their tradations, the vil lagers do not welcome newcomers who fail to conform to their ideals of industry and thrift. Before a Lux emburger rents a building to a new comer or hires him as an employee, he first is apt to consult with the vil lage board. If investigation indi cates the stranger has an unreliable background or is liable to become a public charge, his chances of becom ing a resident of Luxemburg are poor “This may seem harsh,” said Pet ers, “yet we feel somewhat like a family adopting another child. We want only the best.” Proposed Levies on Chain Stores, Amusements, Fuel Oil. Cig- arets Fought LINT BETTER THAN CONCRETE FOR BOMB SHELTERS Washington, March 1.—Cotton in stead * 1 of reinforced concrete for air raid shelters was proposed today. E. C. Wallace, New'York en gineer who conceived the idea, told members of Confress /that a 7-foot thickness of cotton would resist the penetration of a 6,- 000-pound bomb falling from 30,000 feet, whereas a 2,000- pound bomb falling 15,000 feet would penetrate 6-feet of rein forced concrete. The cotton can be fire-proofed, it was said, so that incendiary bombs would have little effect. Wallace’s idea stirred enthusiastic interest among members of Congress from the cotton producing states. Representative Boykin (D-Ala) ex plained' it in a letter to members, and said he hoped to get a joint demon stration by the army and navy with the air corps dropping the bombs. Boykins said the use of cotton for all-purpose shelters would absorb large quantities of surplus cotton. Plans of the designers call for spans <of 200 feet or more with clear ceiling and insulated sheet steel sidewalls. The roof would be made of 7-foot thick bated cotton tied in place by heavy steel wire netting. “Woven wire mesh,” said Wallace, “has been approved as a means of camouflage and this design has ut ilized!, this method as additional pro tection to the shelter. The design calls for two specially woven wire mats having a tensile strength of 220,000 pounds to the square inch. These mats are to be separated ap proximately 6 feet apart and sup ported on an angle above the cotton roof. ‘The method of weaving the top mat and the angle at which it is placed should deflect any falling bombs, and if not exploded, should retard the fall and cause the bomb to hit the second screen on its side. The second mat should resist the fall of any bomb up to 1,000 pounds, and if it is a delayed action bomb, de flect this bomb away from the bomb shelter.” Mrs. J. C. Dow has returned to her home in Lancaster, after a brief visit with Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Carson. Columbia, Feb. 25.—The senate’s $2,200,000 revenue bill providing for new and increased) taxes drew sharp opposition today during a public hear ing by the senate finanoe committee. The measure would increase taxes on incomes, ammunition, cigarets, chain stores and amusements, impose a tax on higher-priced candies and boost the license for non-vending coin operated machines. A six-cents- a-gallon tax would be charged on fuel oil used in combustion engines. Fight Centers On Two Opposition, for the most part, centered on the amusement tax which the senate finance committee estimated would produce $275,000 new money and the chain store tax which legislators figured would 1 pro duce about $300,000. J. S. Sims, Orangeburg theater owner, said he had been in the busi ness for 16 years and that it was only since 1934 (when the state re pealed an amusement tax) that he had made any money. However, he said, that during the last three or four months since the national de fense tax had been applied the vol ume of admission had dropped. Others speaking against the amuse ment tax were George B. Hendrick son, Darlington theater owner, George Parr of Lancaster, Representative Boyd Brown of Fairfield county and R. E. Bryant, Rock Hill theater op erator. Speaks For Growers Melvin Purvis, former member of the federal bureau of investigation and now a Florence newspaper pub lisher, opposed the excise tax on cig arets of four-cents on each pack of 20. Purvis contended that the tax would affect the tobacco farmers and have a “direct affect on the prices paid for leaf.” A proposedl' six-cents-a-gallon tax on fuel oil drew opposition from both operators of stationary Diesel and railroads using Diesel powered equip ment. The committee "estimated the tax would produce about $240,000. Frank Watkins, Anderson indus trial lawyer, said that a public utili ty in Anderson county which used $10,963 worth of fuel oil last year would have to pay $14,975 in taxes on the oil if the tax had been in eifect last year. Granger Enters Objection D. R. Anderson, representing the South Carolina state Grange told the committee that more than one- third of all the farms in South Caro lina used Diesel-powered tractors. The tax, he said, would cost the farm ers of the state “three-fourths of a million dollars.” A group of boat operators from Charleston opposed the measure and contended coastwise vessels would go to ports outside South Carolina to re fuel. More than 15 opponents to the Modern Alice In Wonderland A present-day version of the Alice who stepped through the look ing glass into a magic world, Alice Erie Beasley of LaGrange, Tenn. 1941 Maid of Cotton, is preparing to embark from Miami on February 24 on a three month air tour of cotton fashion shows in 28 major cities from New York to Salt Lake City. Sponsored by the National Cotton Council, the Memphis Cotton Carnival Association, and the Cotton Exchanges of New York, Memphis and New Orleans, the Maid of Cotton is the official fashion ambassador of the raw cotton industry. She will be accompanied by Clark Porteous of Memphis, tonr manager; and by Miss Ruth Witmer. Lux styliat and chaperone. chain store tux which the committee estimated would yield $300,000 ap peared. T. H. Cribb of Spartanburg, gen eral manager of the South Carolina Peach Association, said the tax would directly affect the peach grow ers and the farmers of the state. About 55 per cent of the total ton nage produced by farmers was bought by chain stores, he said 1 . Mill Management Opposes George Howell, manager of the Rock Hill Printing and Finishing company, employing 2,200 persons, said 65 per cents of mills output was sold to chain stores. He said the chains “will blame us” if the tax were added. He foresaw a reduction in the orders to South Carolina mills as did Ray Sweetenburg, general superin tendent of the Ware Shoals Manufac turing company. Thomas P. Thompson of Norfolk, called the tax “discriminatory,” and called the tax “discrimnatory,” and added that the chains were interested in the farmers and helped them sell surpluses by creating buyer demand. Speaks for Consumer Earl R. Britton, legislative chair man of the state federation of labor, said, “I think somebody ought to speak for the consumer. “The chain stores have been most kind to us and I don’t think it’s right to legislate them out of business.” Others speaking before the com mittee were J. M. Denny for the As sociation-of the Blind; George E. Prince of the Clemson college exten sion marketing service; R. E. Ebert, general manager of 123 Dixie Home Stores in South Carolina; Clyde Gra ham speaking for the Women’s Fed eration of Club of Florence; R. F. Cannon, Timmonsville farmer; W. W. Steadman representing the Ridge Spring Peach Growers association; John Towles of Charleston and F. E. Lawrence of the Charleston Indus trial Bureau. The committee adjourned its hear ing without reaching revenue provis ions which would change the rate of personal income taxes and the pro posed tax on coin-operated machines. BUZHARDT AT QUANTICO Harry “Shorty” Buzhardt left Thursday aftemon on the four o'clock bus for Columbia, where he took a train for Quantico, Virginia. He suc cessfully passed examinations for en trance to the Marine Base there. Preston McAlhaney, who also applied for entrance, may be admitted to the June class. Davis 1515-17 MAIN ST. Motor Company NEWBERRY, S. C.