Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

f THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C., DECEMBER 5, 1941 Washington, D. C. LITTLE BUSINESS The President has on his desk a confidential report that would warm the heart of the defense-harried lit tle business man if he could read it. Submitted by Lowell Mellett, one of the “passion for anonymity" White House secretaries, following a care ful survey in 35 states, the memo randum by inference severely criti cizes OPM and war department han dling of defense contracts. Mellett found that little business generally is bitterly disgusted with the whole defense administration, is convinced that it is being run by big business and corporation law yers, and is up in arms politically about the matter. Mellett warns that the administration had better do something about the situation and do it fast or it will be just too bad in next year’s crucial congres sional elections. A long list of specific grievances are detailed in the report: Little firms are excluded from defense orders in favor of big competitors, even though there was no difference in their prices. Endless run-arounds from OPM and army brasshats be cause the little business men had no “in” with the big shots. Small manufacturers put out of business by the priority system which en ables big concerns with defense con tracts to hog supplies of raw ma terials. Mellett also implies that the Divi sion of Contract Distribution, estab lished several months ago to help little business, has so far accom plished very little in the way of re sults. Small business is still out in the cold when it comes to getting an equitable share of defense work. The gist of the report is an old story to the President. For months others have been telling him the same thing, although not so com prehensively and' effectively. The creation of SPAB and the Contract Distribution division was an effort to remedy the situation. But these agencies are manned with the same type of executives who have been running the defense program from the start—big business men. There isn’t one little business man among them. Lone Refuge. In fact, in all of Washington there Is only one place where a little busi ness man is functioning in behalf of small business. That is in the justice department, where trust-busting Assistant At torney General Thurman Arnold has set up a Small Business section and installed as its head a genuine little business man. He is Guy Holcomb, a strapping, two-fisted Atlanta filling station op erator, who has never had a pub lic job before, hates redtape, and loves nothing better than to tangle with a brasshat who is pushing around a little fellow. Operating from a cubby-hole of fice, with only a secretary as his assistant, and without fanfare and hoopla, Holcomb in the month he has been functioning already has chalked up an impressive record as a defender of little business men. He has got them contracts, supplies, and entry to official doors previously closed. If you are a little business man and are having defense troubles, Holcomb is the one man in Washing ton to tell them to. He may not be able to help you, but he’ll certainly try. There will be no complaint on that score. * • • HITLER CARVES TURKEY The reported new French hookup with Hitler comes at an especially bad time for the British—which un doubtedly is why the Nazis put the screws on Vichy so vigorously. Un der these circumstances the Nazi squeeze on Turkey can be expected to tighten almost momentarily. In fact, the more the Nazi drive in Russia bogs down with weather, the more likely is Hitler to take the easier, warmer, short cut through Turkey toward the oil fields of the Caucasus—and also toward the Brit ish oil fields in Mosul and the Eu phrates valley. For months the Nazis have been bringing small boats down to the Aegean via the Balkan railroads and the Danube, and are reported almost ready for landing party at tacks on coastal points in the Mid dle East. Preparing to meet this. General Wavell has been sending a con stant stream of reinforcements from India, most of them to Iran, Iraq and Palestine. The British say they are in fairly good shape—though still woefully weak in tanks. Faced with this crisis, the Turks as unusual, continue to be the enigma of Europe. Diplomatic betting is they will bow to Hitler. • • • MERRY-GO-ROUND Bill Bullitt, former ambassador to France, was asked by photogra phers to pose with strip-tease queen Ann Corio, as the two happened to board the same plane in Hartford, Conn. Bullitt declined. Comment ed La Corio, “He’d better never run for office—my fans will snub him at the polls!” A confidential commerce depart ment report estimates that by the fall of 1942, 6,000,000 workers will be employed in defense industries. The number is now 1,500,000. THE TWITCHELLS There is trouble in the home of the Elmer Twitchells. Ceiling trouble. • • • Elmer is establishing ceilings. Not that there haven’t been ceil ings in the Twitchell residence. The issue just now is a different kind of ceiling. The Washington kind. The prevailing type. • • • Elmer is trying to put a ceiling on Mrs. Twitchell’s hats, for in stance. (We heard that crack about them being funny enough as is.) He wants the ceiling established at two hats per season, a drop of about eight. And he thinks there should be a price ceiling too; somewhere around $3.50. • • • Elmer is for a fur coat ceiling, too, but the crisis hasn’t arisen this season, because Mrs. Twitchell got a new coat last winter. She got it wholesale at above twice what it would have cost elsewhere. • » • And he thinks there should be a ceiling on all the wife’s expendi tures. “I told her last night that there must be a ceiling on bridge losses,” said Elmer today. “Every time she goes to one of them Tues day Ladies Bridge parties shi .oses money on a pre-defense emergency level. Maybe the best way to solve this would be to put a ceiling on her bids.” • • • He wants a ceiling on the wife’s contributions to causes, also. “I am all for being charitable and fair,” he explained, “and my heart is no mustard seed when it comes to re acting to the worthy appeals of to day, and there has gotta be some limit. The old lady just subscribes to everything. Last week she put me down for $10 to the American Fund to Save Icelanders From American Army Slang. She ain’t got no judgment. I’ve imposed a ceiling. Everything she subscribes above $4 a week is void.” • • • “Me and the wife ain’t speaking just now,” confessed Mr. Twitchell. "Yeah, it’s more ceiling trouble. Pin money ceiling. I used to give her $10 a week, but this is a time of crisis. The future is uncertain. Nobody can tell what may happen next in this world war. So I told her the new ceiling on pin money would be $7.50.” “What did she say?” we asked. “What didn’t she say!” exclaimed Elmer. “Did you explain inflation to her?” “No.” “Why not?” “I don’t even understand it my self,” concluded Elmer. • • • R. Roelofs Jr. says he knows a man who is so rich he can afford to take the ladies for cocktails and din ner in the ladies’ dining room at a man’s club. • • • John Cudahy says that Hitler looked to him like a man with a malignant disease. He’s a victim of geographical indigestion, hardening of the head and retarded mustache. • • • “What Mr. Lewis fears is that he would lose face.”—News item. We can think of no face which could stand it better. * • • THE MENACE The cops should paddle Henry Snipes. He drives a-straddle Highway stripes. —Merrill Chilcote. • * * The Journal of the American Med ical Association reports that experi ments at Harvard prove that women suffer from cold and heat more than men because they do not dress as warmly. This makes the opinion unanimous and presumably official. C. P. Yaglou and Anne Messer who conducted the experiments had a group of men sit in an air-condi tioned room in men’s trousers and then change to women’s lingerie. Then they had women go through a similar test. Nothing can convince us that the whole thing wasn’t ar ranged by a couple of Yale men. • » » Washington, in its new tax pro posals, may subscribe to the notion that it is impossible to get blood from a stone. But it thinks the idea is good. • • • THE SEASONS Winter is an old dame In a white lace cap; Spring is a maid with folded hands And flowers in her lap. Summer is a golden queen Wearing a jeweled crown; And autumn is a gypsy In a russet gown. —Joan Maher. • • • Simile by R. Roelofs Jr.: As patient as a man waiting while his wife buys a SECOND HAT. Making ‘Leathernecks’ at Parris Island Above are three photos of marines-in-the-making at Parris Island, S. C. At left, recruits begin their three-week course on the rifle range. Center: After a day’s firing at the range these recruits scour rat the barrels of their rifles in a long trough of hot water. And at the right we have a view of the leatherneck w laundry, with recruits busily engaged at one of the wash racks. Brazil’s Contribution to Hemisphere Defense • An impressive view of the military airport In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (upper picture) showing some of the planes of the Brazilian air force, most of which are of U. S. manufacture. Below: Three of Brazil’s four submarines, at their base at Luakes island navy yard. Brazil keeps these submarines, all of which were built in Italy, in tip-top shape, ready for any eventuaUty. Fighting ‘Raid Bombs’ in Gotham Lucky Driver Assisted by regular firemen, air raid patrol workers are shown using rescue ladders in the “air raid” drill staged in Union Square, New York city. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, national director of civilian defense, watched the boys douse “incendiaries” and rescue victims. This auto, driven by Philip Falco, 34, of New York, smashed through the guard rails, sending car and driver to railroad yards below. Falco got off with a bruised kne« and a cut over the eye. U. S. Officers in Eskimo Regatta Back to the Wars An army lieutenant (upper left) and a navy lieutenant (center) are here shown as they participated in an Eskimo kayak race during a visit of a navy patrol vessel to Lake harbor, Baffin land. The officers members of the Greeuland patroL Released by the British naval at tache, photo shows British battle ship H.M.S. Malaya steaming out of New York harbor after undergoing repairs under lend-lease program. NORTH CAROLINA We arrived in Wilson, N. C., en route to a lecture at Greenville, N. C., and were met by Dr. Leon R. Meadows, president of East Caro lina Teachers college. The state highway patrol preceded us on the 30-odd mile drive to Greenville. They had evidently decided that I was an old lady with nerves and did not like to be driven at more than 30 miles an hour, so we drove at a snail’s pace. I was about to ask what was the matter, and then de cided that it was not up to me to ask questions and I had better take ad vantage of the opportunity to look at the countryside. I remembered well that this is the part of the country which had been hardest hit when the war closed its tobacco markets, because Df the sudden decision by Great Brit ain that it could not buy tobacco over here. Almost 50 per cent of the tobacco raised here, used for cigarettes, had been sold in Eng land. Before the Japanese-Chinese war, much of it was sold to China. The government helped the plant ers over this period. In one way it aas had a beneficial effect, for through their state agricultural col lege, they have received assistance in establishing a more varied agri- oulture. You now see fields of com, a little cotton and gardens. Mayor Bugg of Greenville, who drove over with us, told me he had attended a meeting recently on home canning, which had really been inspiring. I was glad to hear of this, for it seems that the nutrition program is working. I feel that if we can es tablish community planning for spe cific purposes during this period, we shall have a stronger instrument with which to meet any problems which face our communities in the future. • • • V.F.W. RADIO PROGRAM On the eleventh day of each month, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States have es tablished a radio program to which more than 425 radio stations are contributing time. They call their program “Speak Up for Democ racy.” I have had the privilege of looking over some of their material, and I want to congratulate them on the service which they are render ing to the cause of liberty. • • • GERMAN FREEDOM One night I attended a dinner in New York city for the Amer ican Friends of German Freedom. As usual. Dr. Frank Kingdon was a de lightful chairman. It was eucour- aging to find that people, who had recent contacts with Germany, felt that there were many people there waiting, longing and working for freedom from Nazi rule. Early the next morning, we mo tored up to Hyde Park and, in spite of the fact, that the trees there are bare and the color was gone, it was a very lovely drive and the country was still beautiful. After lunch, I went down to listen to some of the speeches and dis cussions at the conference at Vas- sar college on morale in the army camps and the colleges’ responsibil ity. The conference was held under the auspices of the Vassar Political association and the Internationa] Student service. • • • RED CROSS May I remind you that the Amer ican Red Cross is now having its annual roll call and that their objec tive is to double the membership. They are going to try “to see all the people," but if they don’t happen “to see” you, be sure that you see them, for the work that they are doing is needed all over the world. i • • • NEW YORK BY PLANE I left Washington on the four o’clock plane one day, flew to New York city to attend a meeting in the evening, after which I spent some hours going over all the mail which I had not succeeded in doing ear lier in the day. The trip up on the plane was par ticularly pleasant because Mr. Ed ward J. Flynn, the chairman of the Democratic National committee, was with me and talked on many subjects of mutual interest. When I did take to reading my papers, which I had been carrying around with me all day, it was an added interest to be able to comment on various matters and to ask ques tions of my well-informed neighbor. At 9:30 next morning, a Boy Scout, rather breathless because he had been delayed in arriving, a Sea Scout and a Cub Scout were at my door. A truck half piled up with papers stood outside. I took out a stack of old newspapers and we all faced the camera men together. I had to beg them to hurry be cause I found the papers heavy. When they were taken over by the Boy Scout, I realized that he must find them just as heavy. Finally, they were safely on the truck. After signing three autographs, every body departed happily. After that I did a variety of things, and since variety is the spice of life, it was a spicy day. “Bundles for Britain” has a most enchanting “All America” shop, where I am sure many people will find unique Christmas gifts. * No. Z9397 A WALKING duck, a hopping rabbit, clown ring toss toy and owl bookends—all come from your workshop to make some child happy. Each is traced to wood, cut out with jig, coping or keyhole saw and painted. Off cen ter wheels make the rabbit hop merrily—feet on a disc turning in side make the resplendent duck walk when pushed. The clown’s long nose is an excellent target for catching the ring on the end of the string. • • • No. Z93ST. 15 cents, brings cutting out lines and directions lor all (our items. Send your order to: AUN* MARTHA Bex 1M-W Kansas City, Ms. Enclose 15 cents lor each pattorn desired. Pattern No Name Address vmrs iaisest seller »t is* MAS M TaiLITS. tl* • IM TSUITS. Ma Liquid Sand Silver sand is believed to be the only dpr matter that behaves like a liquid. Any object that sinks in water, such as a bullet, will likewise sink in this peculiar sand. Beware Coughs from common colds That Hang On Creomulslon relieves promptly be cause it goes right to the seat of the trouble to help loosen and expel gam laden phlegm, and aid nature to soothe and heal raw, tender, in flamed bronchial mucous mem branes. Tell your druggist to sell you a bottle of Creomulslon with the un derstanding you must like the way it quickly allays the cough or you are to have your money back. CREOMULSION for Coughs, Chest Colds, Broachififl Judgments and Watches ’Tis with our judgments as with our watches; none go just alike, yet each believes tys own.—Pope. Have You Tried DR. TUTTS PIUS? Created in 1845 for the relief of constipation. BsythMu! Try them! TODAY Characterized by Actions Noble blood is an accident of fortune, noble actions characterize the great.—Goldoni. TO . COLDS c^uickiy liquid TABLETS SALVE nose caors COUCH oaors Misled by Reason Reason misleads us oftener than nature.—Vauvenargues. RAZOR BLADES • ASK TOUR DEALER FOR THE • OUTSTANDING BLADE VALUE @KENT ar&ra blades rare “TAKING THE COUNTRY BY STORM” KNOWN FROM COAST TO COAST • cumss company • st. Loots, am. • 'All the Traffic Would Bear" • There was a time in America when there were no set prices. Each merchant charged what he thought “the traffic would bear.” Advertising came to the rescue of the consumer. It led the way to the estab lished prices you pay when you buy anything today.