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FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1944 SPECTATOR *W THE NEWBERRY SUN page nvt What does the average man enjoy mort in a newspaper or radio pro gram ? The war is absorbing, of course, but do the people read the full accounts in the papers, or do they read just the headlines? Is farming the most interesting topic? Politics is the gredt Ameircan game, I think, and more people en joy political discussion than the de velopment of any other topic. Politics is a great leveler, for men of all ranks and professions have it in their blood. This is our great political year, with all kinds of politics, from the municipal brand to the party type. We have to be sure to get the right 'men for town office, so the high priests of the party must put their heads together. Those not charter members of this priestly clan call the righteous planners a “ring”. A “ring”, as I understand it, is a group of planners on the other side. Our slide is usually the “patriot” group, while the other side is a “ring”. When office-holders work together, that is not cooperation; that is ring rule. When they fight among them selves that is a breaking up of the ring. This year we have party politics, and enough to gratify almost any one. Soon there will be County, Con gressional, Skate and National Poli ties—a lot of politics for every man. Our people are not inclined to take their polities in small doses; they like large portions and well-seasoned. They like the speech or the written article which tears the hide off the other side. No mild language will suit; no calm discussions of principles or great issues. Oh, No! They like to see the orator red in the face, perspiring, sarcastic, vitriolic. They want him to “put it on” the other fellow with devastating force. People don’t want political “bunts”; tney want the ball knocked ove rthe fence, with a resounding crash that will be music to the bleachers. Some days ago an editor expressed the opinion that the people are more interested in farm advice than poli tics. As a farmer, I appreciate the value of advice on farming, but as an ex-editor, I recall the keen de light most men have in a fight. Years ago while editing a county paper, I went on a long trip to study and observe the boll-weevil. I wrote accounts for my readers, telling about the campaign for diversified farm ing, hog-raising—and all that—but it didn’t seem to impress the people very much; but whenever I discussed politics and political figures, the men “sat up and took notice”. It is a bit disheartening to write on serious subjects, on the great and enduring realities—and find yourself ba'rking at the moon. But whenever you take a handful of mud (figura tively, of course) and plaster some one in the face, yi tention. Some of the people will be piously shocked, while others will be uproariously delighted. You can de pend upon it, they won’t be indif ferent. We may not all like to fight, but most people enjoy hearing all about it. Years ago we had an exciting poli tical campaign in this State. Men left the plows to attend the meetings, one reason being the speeches of a man who looked like a bantam rooster and acted like a game-cock. This year men will leave their fields and stores and offices to hear the candidates if any candidates will have enough oratorical fire-power to blast his opponent to bits and spread him all over the landscape. household. Both ideas are fictitious, because the government walked into a store and seized it ’without a war rant, or any other legal procedure, and then asked the courts to enjoin the owners from interfering with the Government! So the home and pri vate store asre not castles at all. However, let us enjoy the illusion of oar sacred rights. The other fiction —that a man is head of his house hold, a sort of petty patriarch, you know, lord of the manor, needs only to be stated to disprove itself, for men have long since been under the full sway of feminine rule. But the man and wife TOGETHER, surely must continstute the government of the castle, eh ? Nay, my brother, you know better. Mother and Dad are ar maments necessary only for provid ing shelter, clothing, automobiles and abundant spending money, while son and daughter rule the roost. In other words, we have borrowed a fiction from the British whose King REIGNS, while Parliament (House of Commons) RULES. There we have it, Dad and Mom REIGN, while son and daughter RULE. Dad’s im portant stunt is to pay the bills— and that lets him out; Mom’s mis sion is to abmonish son and daughter —and that let’s her out. Meanwhile son and daughter carry on, knowing that Dad and Mom are incapable of understanding the new order of things. Nice old fogies and that’s all. Each generation goes far afield with explorations and experiments— but there is nothing new under the sun. If people would profit by the experiences of others, socially, the world would make more progress. But, as The Book asks: “Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See way of falling flat after a time. I do not suppose that anyone would think our state convention, or our boratiom has come to be associated with the pernicious practices of $he Germans in the countries which they presidential contest, is a clear issue have despoiled and looted. | of good government against bad gov- | Our spiritual fiber does not seem eroiment. When you analyze the jto be very stout; we bend with every motives of men, you find that the breeze like the man who changes individual is, a stibngfe compound with every wind of doctrine. A great of motives. The^ high prmciple^ of ; CO unty, a great nation, a great civ- ilization, a splendid mode of living, today is lost in the friendship which becomes involved in a political con test, or it becomes Obscured by a job of some sort for the man him self, someone in his family, or some friend. It is too much to hope that men will ever be governed by prin ciples as long as FAVORS may' be obtained, or a t least may BE HOPED for. There is no federal judgeship to offer, but there are many other fed eral positions, thousands of them, within South Carolina. I have heard very few men argue who do not come eventually to the matter of the flesh pots. Those poor old misguided men of other genera tions, who would risk imprisonment or beheading for the sake of a prin ciple, are not honored among us to day; we are a very practical people NOW, and we measure values in terms of dollars and cents, whether that be jobs or contracts—or what not. It is a waste of time to talk about such stern characters as John Hamp den of England, who resisted the ( King for a few shillings. What must we think of the barefooted soldier at Valley Forge; or the ragged and hungry men of our Confederacy? They did not put a dollar mark be side everything; they rejoiced in quality; and quality in their think ing was essentially sound manhood; IT WAS CHARACTER. Our soft- are at stake. All this was based up. on certain virtues which are the foundation of American liberty . We have sunk so low that we deliberately barter the great principles of gov ernment for favors and jobs. Newberrians will read with inter est: Madison Pitts, Jr., of Denmark, is well on the road to recovery after having had measles and pneumonia. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Pitts and Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Duncan of this city. NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES Notice is hereby given that, in ac cordance with the rules of the Demo cratic Party of South Carolina adopt ed May 17, 1944, and as recommend ed by the Sub-Committee of the County Executive Committee ap pointed by the County Chairman un der resolution passed by the County Committee at its regular meeting May 1, 1944, entries for Candidates for the General Assembly and Coun ty offices in the approaching pri mary will close at 12 o’clock, noon, June 1, 1944. All candidates must file the required pledges and pay the assessments before that day and hour. The assessments are as fol lows: State Senator $125.00 Houe of Represenatives .... 100.00 Clerk of Court 100.00 Sheriff 100.00 County Treasurer 100.00 County Auditor 100.00 County Supervisor 100.00 Superintendent of Education 100.00 Game Warden 100.00 County Commissioners 25.00 Magistrates: Newberry 40.00 Whitmire 30.00 Prosperity 30.00 Pomaria 25.00 Chappells 25.00 Little Mountain 20.00 Coroner -... 30.00 Neal W. Workman, County Chairman. May 20, 1944. Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Pitts, Jr., and daughter®, Joyce, Gayle and Myma, of Denmark, spent Mother's Day with Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Pitts and Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Nichols. Will Closed Each this is new?” Then The Book givesl n ess 0 f today is mot only THAT the answer: “It hath been already of brought about by physical comforts, old time.” Referring to government: People ask the school authorities to be re sponsible for children on the way to school and on the way home. Why lay that obligation on teachers and school authorities ? What have they to do with children on the streets and roads? Nothing, of course; we go out of our way to invite—even de mand-outside government. And so it is. I shall be glad when I can write more about farming and other kinds of business. There is, however, a time for everything as the Scrip tures tell us, and this is the time to talk obout the government which rules over us—and, apparently, un der us. We have too much government. This applies not only to the Federal Government, but down to school dis tricts. Some of this superflous gov erning has been put on us, and some we have put on ourselves. To illus trate: We think of a man's home as his In The News and Courier of Sun day, was a letter, a regular weekly business article, by Roger Babson in which he has much to say about the political situation and the war. Mr. Babson made a remark, just as though it were a casual thing, hut it seems to me to be so bad in its im plications that it should not be al lowed to go unchallenged and unre buked. Without quoting him word for word I am giving very definitely his idea. He said that Mr. Churchill would not let the Germans “crack” before the persidential election and that whatever might happen after then the probability now is that the bouse will be Republican and the President a Democrat, thus carrying ou will attract at- j ou t the team play between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill. Time after time someone has ask ed me if it were true that the war would be prolonged for political rea sons. I have always expressed my confidence that Mr. Roosevelt and. Mr. Churchill would not be guilty of such a crime as to make the issue of the war a matter of such patty politics. It is well known that I do not ad mire Mr. Roosevelt and do not think he should be re-elected; but I cannot believe any man capable of such in famy as to play with the lives of millions of men bearing arms. Thera is the view of Mr. Babson, how ever, and I have not seen it repudiat ed 1 by anyone or the inside. It is enough that many men argue for Mr. Roosevelt on the gorund that he is the indispensable figure for the prosecution of the war; but'the state ment of Mr .Babson, a responsible commentator and business statist!- ( cian, comes from too high and im-' portent a source to be ignored. but it is characterized equally by mental indolence and spiritual leth argy. It is a far cry from the redoubta ble spirits of the founding fathers to the aipathy, acquiesence and collabor- ‘ ation of today. Two words have come into vogue in this war, words which now connote something essentially mean and de- scipicable. I refer to the words “ap pease” and “collaborate”. We think of the policy of appeasing a wrong doer, hoping that he might stay his hand and reform his purpose. It has not worked; appeasement is a com promise which does not seem to please anybody, nor does it seem to accomplish anything lasting. Colla- Wednesday & Friday Until Further Notice. Nichols Studio One does not like to say this, but politics is for the most part a matter of jobs and favors, the trimmings, in cidentals, and all the meringue on the political party. Most of the peo ple that do the shouting WILL GET ONLY THE MERINGUE, which, in the case of all kinds of pies, has a Buy Your COAL now. . . We are fortunate in having a good supply of domestic Coal on hand now. We advise you to place your order with us today for next winter’s supply. Southern Cotton On C.. Number 59 , s a "local”. ♦ ♦ C ROWDS don’t gather at the station to see No. 59 pull in. She’s no sleek streamliner. She sports no fancy trimmings. And she has no jealously-guarded reputation for speed. For . . . No. 59 is “just a local” on the Southern Railway System. But, when their soldier son came home on fur lough . . . Mr. and Mrs. Jones met No. 59. When new gears were needed to keep farmer Stevens’ tractor working on the food front . . . they arrived in the express car on No. 59. When bad weather came . . . the mail and ex press and the passengers continued to come in, and go out, on No. 59. Yes, No. 59’s a “local”. . . one of the many Southern local passenger and freight trains that proudly serve the wartime South . . . that haul your farm products to market. . . that serve your local industries . . . that stop in your home town to take you where you want to go. Today, No. 59 — and all the other trains of the Southern Railway—are proudly serving the South and helping to speed Victory. Tomorrow, when Victory comes, they’ll still be serving the South . . . proudly supplying the economical, dependable, efficient transportation service upon which the modem, forward-looking Southland is being built. President SOUTHERN RAILWAY SYSTEM