Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1218 College Street NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA O. F. ARMFIELD Editor and Publisher Published Every Friday In The Year Entered as second-class matter December 6, 1937, at tht postoffice at Newberry, South Carolina, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. SPECTATOR My poet-friend, Brother Grady Hazel, of the Pee Dee Advocate bursts forth, like Joseph’s coat, in many colors to greet the month of March. The big edition in red, white and blue reminds me of an achievement of Brother John Bar ton, now of The Lancaster News, a long, long time ago, when we work ed together on a paper. He brought forth a paper of sixty four pages, in three colors. And he still gets out big papers. Friend Hazel, whose achievements have been in several counties, came first to my knowledge with his gen tle sonnets and lyric prose—over in “saludy”: now he is becoming a magnate over on the rich plains of fabulous Marlboro. All the newspaper brethren are working under great pressure and against heavy odds; I take off my hat to them for their gallant fight; they are the salt of the earth-^-with savor undiminished. timeliness, however and it should be weighed very' carefully. No one will deny that it would be agreeable and appropriate to have guest rooms, music rooms, nurseries, libaries—and what not—in every The Constitution of South Carolina contains this provision: “Nor shall any person be denied the equal pro tection of the laws.” The Federal Constitution also says that No State shall “deny to any person within its home, as well as a first class ranee jurisdiction the equal protection of in the kitchen—and a modern kitcn- | the laws.” These are musty old doc- en at that—fine, luxurious furniture, : uments. They are not so old in years, several cars. Well, even ii one should but their ancient spirit is a thou- have just enough to provide all that, \ sand years from the idea of law as would this be the time to do so? When we expand our public ser vices we expand the budget perman ently. Is this the time to commit the State to increased permanent ob ligations ? Is it the prudent course to adopt? Additional investment of public money jn State educational institu tions seems to indicate that we pass our problems of today to the next geneiation, for the schools are to train the men of the future. Well, what about today? Have we prob lems of today which should be solved, and solved now; or are we fulsomely passing the buck to the next gen eration, while we ourselves walk in clouds and fail to grapple with the job that is immediately ours? In broad terms, what does South Carolina need today in order to meet the competition of other States? Has any committee of the General Assembly canvassed the “situation*’? Have we laws which stand in pur way? Have we any legal or juridi cal practices which operate against our development ? Have we any feature of our tax policy which mili tates against us? We spent a lot of money for a report which has been ignored in the main. Instead of giving serious study to the report of the Prepared ness for—Peace Commission, a quib ble threw it on the junk pile. The grave question was not “What shall we have it today. I may make a somewhat humiliat ing admission: I don’t know what these two constitutional provisions mean. You may observe that the Constitution of the United States does not prohibit Congress, or the Nation, from denying to any per son the equal protection of the laws; it is a State, any State, which is de nied the prerogative of an ancient Sovereign to use his pleasure in deal ing with individuals. Congress re serves and retains that right to the nation, apparently. Once I thought this referred to equal protection of citizens in the courts. That is what the old-timers thought. Since the Federal Constitution and our State Constitution require that all persons hall have the equal pro tection of the law; or, at leat, shall not be denied it, how shall we justify a State law which obligates the State to contribute to the retirement of one class of citizens and not all citizens? Is this not a denial of the equal protection of the law? When Governor Ransome Williams i w ® do ” ? B ut ’ “Who sponsors this , , , . ,„ , , —the experts or the Commission”? declared himself in advocacy of State Liquor Stores, under the con trol an management of the State, Spectator cocked an ear towards Colleton, expecting a stentorian blast from his friend, the redoubta ble Bishop. Really, now, we can’t stand for this, Bishop—what? Shall we pollute the genial air of our poli tics by having men solemnly assure us that the State Liquor Store plan is the wisest solution of the liquor problem ? We recall, don’t we, the old days of the State Dispensary? Do we want ‘licker’ to be the theme on every stump, from Green Pond to Smoak’s? Shall Colleton here after chose Senators and Represen- bativesi—'aye coroners, too, because they stand four-square for “Dicker Stores”? “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.” Why should Srtiith Carolina re peal the poll tax ? Are we ready to repeal the constitutional require ment merely because some North ern politicians have waged a war against it? What is the require ment? That all male citizens shall pay $1.00 (one dollar) a year which shall be given to the schools. There are certain age exemptions, and wo men are exempt. It is a small tax and for a good purpose. What is the objection ? It is our requirement that a man shall show a receipt be fore being allowed to vote. What is wrong with that? If it be desira ble that a citizen should do some thing for his State why shouldn’t he prove himself a taxpayer before voting? Are we willing that a man without any stake shall vote? Is the right to vote in a democracy without any value at all? Should not a good citizen wish to have a part in sup porting his government? David stated the correct principle when he refused to offer a burnt of fering “of that which cost me noth ing. Clearly citizenship is worth something; and the right to vote is worth something. In the case of the Poll tax in South Carolina we do not pay one dollar in order to vote; we pay on edollar to the school fund and prove our interest in our state government by showing e certifi cate which attests our interest. I can reaily see why a man paying property tax or income tax might be exempted since he is carrying a part of the public burden . But he isn’t asking exemption; the whole hullaba loo is to exempt men who pay noth ing at ail but the one dollar. If it be desirable to encourage evasion of all obligation then let us make it easy to avoid all taxes. What started this campaign to al low men to vote without showing payment of the poll tax? It all grew out of the campaign of the Roosevelts to curry favor with the colored people. Is it the poll tax which operates against voters? No. Does it operate against the colored people? Certainly not; they certain ly have no difficulty in getting poll tax receipts—if they pay the tax. The poll tax is in no manner an ob stacle to any one who has a regis tration certificate. Why then, should we supinely bow to outsiders by re pealing the poll tax as a very simple oroof of one’s citizenship ? Rather than repeal the poll tax requirement I think a citizen should prove the payment of Road tax and Street tax. So far as repeal is being advocted as a sort of appeasement, I think we should paddle our own canoe in our own way until the famous habitat of Pluto freezes over and becomes the center of the ice cream business. We should not bo so subservient as to run to cover because the Malevolent Northern Democrats are throwing a sop to the Negroes. We need a statesmanlike program in South Carolina. There should be a platform, and really serious efforts should be made to keep abreast of the times. One might ask if this great drive to spend about eight mil lions on the colleges is not a con structive program worthy of the highest statesmanship. Certainly one does not relish being among the op ponents of academic expansion, or the creation of educational oppor tunity. There is such a matter as ■the experts or the Commission”? Well, what of it? Were the recom mendations worth anything? I’ve said before that the consolida tion of a few offices, while desirable, is not a major effort to build up South Carolina. It is a crumb when we need a loaf. It is improbable that we shall get even the crumb 1 What are the major planks in the legislative platform? To spend money. Nothing of remedial purpose is remotely in prospect. Pensions, institutional expansion; and along with that, divorces; and now the sale of liquor by the State! On the eve of a vast dislocation of industry, even, the dislocation of .all business; confronted by a vexing re adjustment of our affairs, which will try the spirits of management and workers, farmers a nd merchants, what does the General Assembly of South Carolina propose, as a mea sure of prudent preparation, for an economic problem of e~creme gravi ty? It proposes to spend the so- called surplus, while still in debt; and to commit the State in perpetui ty to greater debt. Of the measures proposed, one jeopardizes the soundness of the State’s financial position; and the other imperils the State’s political morality. Would not this Legislature serve the State better by passing a simple economical Appropriation bill—and djourning ? • Obviously no measure of real statesmanship will emerge; let us, at least, save our credit and our poli tical morality—well, let us avoid the formation if a State political ring, at least. The State would adopt the best course if it should go back to the custom of local democratic practice by letting each school district choose its own teachers, and fix their pay, within the limits of their respective budgets. That would save us from some headaches. I think we might as well resolve to operate our schools as we think best, Federal Govern ment or no Federal Government. The Supreme Court of the United States, as I recall, declared that the privi lege of attending public schools is one given by the State, not the Na tion. It would follow, then, that the management of schools is a matter not within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. The Court has several times called attention that there are prohibitions which operate on States, but not on individuals. We know, of course, that today the Fed eral Government tries to assume jurisdiction in all matters; but the States should not acquiesce; they should resist by every legal means in each and every case; and, finally, should invite other States to concur in appropriate measures of correc tion. We are not 'powerless before this Federal avalanche; the States can restore State Sovereignty and effect ually curb Federal encroachment by aopting the means provide by the Constitution itself, which, after all, is only an agreement among the States to maintain a central gov ernment. The Supreme Court, as recently as 1911, says: “Among the powers of the States not eur re hared, is the power to so regulate the relative rights and duties of all within its jurisdiction, as to guard the public morals, the public safety, and the public health, as well as to promote the public convenience and the com mon good.” Judges come and go; but we have some fundamental traditions which we must not submit to judicial whims of the moment. Wanted! Experienced Sewing Machine Operators To Help Start Up New Garment Plant Within The Next Two weeks. Workers Not Now Employed, Apply At United States Employment Service 1015 Caldwell Street Newberry, S. C. /HE NEWBERRY SUN FRIDAY, MARCH 23. 1945 MAY REFUND TAX ON FARMER’S GAS Columbia, March 13—The senate finance committee today gave a fav orable report, with amendments, to the bill to refund the state tax on gasoline used in farm equipment. The bill, introduced in the first week of the legislature, was amend ed to require payment of one cent per gallon tax on farm-use gasoline, to eliminate the coloring feature of the original bill, and to establish a $50,000 enforcement fund. The bill as ariginhlly presented in the senate, provided that gasoline to be used in farm equipment be colored black to distinguish it from fuel lor automobiles or similar ve hicles. The South Carolina Farm bureau had agreed to elimination of the coloring feature and to pay ment of the one-cent per gallon tax at a previous bearing before the committee The finance committeie set next Tuesday for a hearing on the bill to set up a system of personnel ad ministration for state employes, and accepted an invitation from James Y. Perry, Columbia attorney, to visit Heathwood hall, Columbia mansion, tomorrow. The hall has been offered for sale to the state for use as a governor’s mansion. The senate judiciary committee gave favorable reports to bills to make the Carolina wren the official state bird, rather than the mocking If a man pays a tax to the State on a profit which is subsequently reduced by the Federal Government, through re-negotiation, he, in fact, paid a tax on a profit he didn’t have,' didn't he? The Federal renegotia tion isn’t the same as payment of Federal taxes. Let’s do the right thing, regardless of the amount in volved. DRUNK GERMANS INVITE TROUBLE Somewhere On The Western Front, | March 16—A 19-year-old, blue-eyed “killer” crept through the jungle like forest, close to the banks of the Rhine. He nervously fingered the trigger of his sub-machine gun. Suddenly, right in front of him, silhouetted by the moonlight, were five Germans—all of them drunk. “They caught me by surprise,” he said. “I yelled ‘kamerad’ but they were too drunk to know what it was all about. “One staggered toward me and grabbed my gun. My finger just twitched at the right time because the gun started shooting and ripped that Jerry to shreds.” Sgt. Kenneth Gaines of (2106 Broadway) Macon, Ga., choked mo mentarily when he inhaled too much smoke from the big cigar he was puffing as he told his story today. When the shooting began the other Germans sobered up fast. They began to run. Gaines killed one more, wounded and took pris oner two others. One of the Nazis got away. “Plenty of adventure in this war business,” Gaines said. “Yes sir, plenty of excitement. You never know what you’ll find next.” Gaines is a oatrol leader for the 35th division behind the Western front. He has been recommended for the Bronze star and was spend ing a few days leave at a rest camp. “But I’ve got to be getting back up front in a couple of days,” he said. “There are lots more Jerries up there who need to be knocked off.” bird; and to provide that the rules and regulations of the forestry commission be approved ,by the at torney general. A FLIGHT /NSTRUC- fORNOW, BILL WAS TOP COLLEGE TOOT- BALL SCORE *“ MADE PTS. FOR VIRGINIA-* AND LATER flOP GROUND GAINER IN THE NATIONAL PRO LEAGUE-jk/ CAW BE TOPS IN PATRIOTISM too, if you auyMoRE WAR BONDS U. S. Treasury Department FAVOR VOTING ON DIVORCE 1 donment was unanimously passed QUESTION yesterday at a meeting of the 1 Greenville County Bar association. A resolution favoring the sub- | Existing legislation prohibits di- mitting to a vote of the people of vorces on any grounds in this state, the state the proposal that divorces The county lawyers expressed ap- be permitted in South Carolina on pr&vfil of the proposal to submit the grounds of adultery and aban- the question to a vote These odd-shaped storage tanks are part of the new plant operated by Sinclair Rubber Inc. for the Government. At^ODAY the oil industry is busy making * components for synthetic rubber to meet America’s wartime needs. The mod ern plant pictured above, operated by Sinclair Rubber Inc. for the Government \vithout charge, makes butadiene. From storage tanks pictured above butadiene flows to a compounding plant where, mixed with styrene, it becomes synthetic rubber—with a bounce. In addition to Sinclair’s wartime job of making components for synthetic rubber, BUY MORE WAR BONDS modern' Sinclair refineries turn out the explosive Toluene, 100-octane gasoline, and a long list of fuels and specialized lubricants vitally needed for war-front and home-front use. All told, 10 great Sinclair refineries are now geared for war. • SINCLAIR DEALERS by keep ing on the job, keep war workers’ cars, delivery trucks and other vitally needed vehicles on the road. Let a Sinclair Dealer care for your car, too. AND STAMPS S. C. Paysinger, Agent NEWBERRY, S. C.