Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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.-OUR THE NEWBERRY SUN FRIDAY DECEMBER 14. 1945 SPECTATOR (C-ntir.ued from proceeding page) primarily to control the liquidation of closed banks. The Secretary of State is the offi cer who issues charters. The only two commercial enterprises which the State regulates in detail are banks and liquor shops. By satisfying the Tut Commission of certain qualities, any one may open and operate a liquor shop. A small town may have six liquor shops, even eight, ten or twelve! For who is to determine how much liquor a community can drink? But an austere Board of Bank Con trol says—and says decisively, too— that new banks must die aborning. Even if a County once had twelve prosperous banks it must not have more than two or three now! See how it works: A. B. C. D. E. F. and G. own a bank. With a capital of $50,000 they may have deposits of two millions. If twenty or thirty able, responsible men come together and apply for a charter to do a bank ing business, the Board of Bank Con trol will turn thumbs down as coldly as ever did Caesar when a victim was thrown to the wild beasts. These gentlemen could have open ed and operated twenty liquor shops, but not a bank The theory must be that the danger from one bank is greater than the danger from twen ty liquor shops. And, as you know, every bank is inspected, regulated and almost controlled by the State Bank Examiner and the Federal G jvernment’s Deposit Insurance ex aminers. Every man is under the sway of his own experience and outlook. Who are the gentlemen of the Board of Bank Control? Bankers! Well, now, isn’t it natural for a banker to fear competition? Don’t all of us like to enjoy nice little monopolies ? Would n’t the merchants like to freeze out new-comers ? Even the physicians, in other years, weren’t enthusiastic over competition. A hospital doesn’t like competition nor does an automobile agency. But a bank! That is a sacred institution! In South Carolina you can pick out a town of three thousand and open forty stores, selling groceries, hard ware and dry goods; you can have six drug stores ten liquor shops— but one bank! Even if the whole population were to rise in protest and demand that men have a free opportunity to invest their money— nothing counts, for we have Russian ized South Carolina with a Bank Board of tyrannous power! In America we have always thought of equality of opportunity, equality before the law, the equal protection of the law! But our Leg islature set up a Board whose arbi trary attitude negates the basic con stitutional rights of citizens I’ve paid my respects to the sin cerity of the members of the Board. They are sincere earnest, honest— and intolerant. We recail that sin cere men persecuted their fellow men. The Book tells us of Saul of Tarsus. He stood by while the other sincere men stoned Stephen. There is more money in the State today than ever before in its history. Several towns have asked for the privilege of chartering a bank. I can tell of one; in a county seat where one bank flourishes today, four banks once flourished In 1889 the first bank was established. It prospered and waxed great. In 1902 a second bank was organized. Did the first bank want the second bank? Not on your life. One bank was enough; one bank could handle all the busi ness; one bank had given satisfac tion; one was enough. But, the sec ond bank prospered. In the mean time the first bank grew and expand ed and lost nothing. The second con tinued to prosper. In 1922, the President of the second bank, with that rare acumen which made the Sons of Israel the world’s bankers, even in the Middle Ages, decided to liquidate. It did so, paying to each stockholder $384 for a $100 share. Now the Board of Bank Control tells the citizens of that town that a sec ond bank would be a sort of calami ty there, a species of Trojan Horse that would get inside the sacred call ing only to pull down the walls and create a condition in immeasurably chaotic. And this is free America! J. S. PRUITT MRS. WILLIAM S. BEAN HIGHWAYS WILL COST MORE NOW Official Says Roads Of Immediate Future To Be Expensive Atlanta, Dec. 4—A national road building official predicted today “the highways of the future wil be defi nitely more expensive than have high ways of the past.” He was Charles M. Upham, Wash ington engineer-director of the American Road Builders’ associa tion, who addressed the annual meeting of the Southeastern Asso ciation of State Highway officials. The higher cost, he said, will be due not only to more elaborate de signs for maximum highv/ay safety but to increasing unit costs in high way construction. Upham decried a lack of trained engineers in state highway depart- njents to meet this program and as serted their pay should be increased. There are 100,000 miles of state roads needing rebuilding, 107,000 miles of city streets needing im provement and, he said, the second ary program includes 788,000 miles of roads without any hard surface and 613,000 miles are only partly graded. A totaF of 861,000' miles, he said, has no improvements whatso ever. ' J. S. Pruitt, 52, popular executive, bookkeeper, paymaster and band; leader for the Newberry cotton mill for the past 20 years died at his home near the city today after a short illness. Though in _ feeble health for some time, Mr. Pruitt was able to be at his accustomed place and carry on his work as usual un til about a month ago. His reputa tion as a band leader was well known throughout this section for his band has played at many places during the time he has been in charge, the most important being before a foreign dig nitary in Washington, D. C., a num ber of years ago. He was a member of the Masonic lodge, a iShrmer, a member of the Kiwanis club and was secretary and treasurer of its or ganization, a member of West End Baptist church, taking an active part in all of the church work, being a member of the board of deacons, church clerk, teacher of ! he Baracca class and its choir director. He was always interested in the community and the upbuilding of the city, being always ready to assist with his band in every function throughout the sec tion. He was the son of the late_ S. P. and Louise Burton Pruitt, of An derson county, where he was born and reared. Survivors include his wife, the former Miss Caroline Koon Pruitt; a daughter, Mrs. C. M. McHugh; three sons, Sgt. J. S. Jr.. Cpl. Ken neth B. and Pfc. Chrrles Pruitt; three sisters, Mrs. Mattie Evans, Mrs. R. J. Slaton and Mrs. C. R. Roberts, and one grandchild. Funeral services were held Mon day afternoon at 3:30 at McSwain funeral home, conducted by Rev. W. H. Long and Rev. B. F. Rodgers. Interment followed in Rosemont Active pallbearers were: Wright Cannon, Billie Matthews, Claude Wertz, Frank Jones, B. O. Creek- more Broadus Davis, J. D. McMeek- in and Jimmie Caldwell. Honorary pallbearers were Z. F. Wright, Lonnie D. Dickert, J. Y. Jones; J. L. Counts, A. D. Martin, Roy Anderson, Johnnie Wood, Dr. Richard Lominick, Dr. E. H. Moore, Harry W. Dominick, George Carter, J. E. Cox, Berley Bouknight and members of the Newberry concert band. Mrs .William Smith Bean, 87, died early Saturday morning at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Bothwell Gra ham on Calhoun street. She has teen in declining health for some time but her death was not expect ed. Mrs. Bean was born and reared in Augusta Ga. The daughter of the late Porter and Catherine Moragne Fleming. After her marriage she resided in Florence and Mt. Z.ion near Bishopville. Then in 1892 she moved to Clinton where her hus band the late Rev. William Smith Bean DD. was editor of the South ern Presbyterian and later conect- ed with Presbyterian college. For the past several years she made her home in Newberry. She was an active church and civic worker and was the oldest liv ing member of the First Presbyter ian church of Clinton. Funeral services were held Sun day afternoon at 4 o’clock from the First Presbyterian church in Clin ton with Dr. D. J. Woods and Dr. Reed Turner conducting the serv ice. Interment followed in the church cemetery. She is survived by three daugh ters, Mrs. Bothwell Graham, Mrs. D. W. A. Neville and Mrs. L. McD. Kennedy; 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. T. B. KILLS THIRTEEN WEEKLY IN SOUTH CAROLINA A LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE WARSHIPS TO BE TARGETS OF ATOMIC BOMBS The Christmas tree seems to have originated in Germany, and can be traced hack with certainty to the year 1604. There is a pretty legend in con nection faith it which makes St. Win- frid the inventor of the idea. “In the midst of a crowd of con verts he hewed down a giant oak which had formerly been the object of their Druidic worship. As it fell backward like a tower, groaning as it split asunder in four pieces, there stood just behind it, unharmed by the ruin, a young fir tree, pointing a green spire toward the stars. “Winfrid let the axe drop, and turned to speak to the people ‘This little tree, a young child of the for est, shall he your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace, for your houses are''built of the fjr. It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven! Let this be call ed the tree of the Christ-child; gather about'it, not in the wild- wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts, and rites of kindness. CIVIC GROUPS ASKED TO HELP Due to the number of veterans now being released and the scarcity of empolyment opportunities the lo cal U. S. Employment Service Office has requested the help of leaders of different organizations or industries in forming a local Veterans’ Adviso ry Committee. Managers of cotton textiles and merchandising, leaders in education and labor organizations, heads of various civic clubs and of professions have been invited to serve on this committee. Expanded Program Of Control Out lined By Dr. Frank Geiger Columbia, Dec. 5—“Tuberculosis killed an average of 13 persons a week throughout 1944 in South Caro lina,” Dr. Frank L. Geiger, state di rector of tuberculosis control said to day. Geiger was speaking before more than 500 delegates attending a meet ing of state board of health and the South Carolina Public Health as sociation which convened at the University of South Carolina here today. Geiger’s talk followed explanations of the state retirement system by J. C. Lewis, of the retirement board, and business management of the health board by J. O. Meetze, di rector of the division of finance. Geiger spoke on “the expanded program of tuberculosis control and explained the procedure now being inaugurated to properly register those with the disease. He said that the board of health had purchased two mobile units in order to find tubercular victims and planned t° make mass surveys. “It is hoped that diagnostic clinics can be established at Florence, Columbia, Sumter, Greenville, Spar tanburg, Greenwood, Orangeburg, Beaufort, Charleston, Moncks Cor- ner and Anderson.” he said. The Christmas tree was introduced into the Court of St. James about 1840, by Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg, and the custom spread rapidly among the aristocratic fami lies of London, and was almost im mediately - adopted by all classes throughout England. ANNIVERSARY OF THE X-RAY Washington, Dec. 10—The vulner ability of fleets to atomic bomb at tack will be given a joint test by the Army and Navy. The two services, currently at log gerheads over the unification ques tion, announced tonight that plans are under way for the test. The announcement itself was a terse, two-setenced statement which failed to disclose what vessels would be used as targets. Not sifice the historic occasion when Brig. Gen. Billy Mitehel of the old Army Air corps clamored for and finally won a test of air plane bombing of battleships in the early 20’s has a projected experi ment contained more far-reaching potentialities. The announcement said that planning is already under way for the operation which will involve large problems of logistics including the assembly of many naval vessels, extensive instrumentation for meas uring results, and assembly of neces sary personnel.” This was taken to refer to the use of ships and instruments placed at the periphery of the anticipated folast area as well as inside to re cord such things as pressures, heat, radioactivity and other aspects of atomic blast on the surface os well as beneath and above the sea. Because of the expected wide lateral range of atomic blast at sea, together with other still unknown aspens of nuclear explosion, it was presumed a number of ships would be needed to patrol the outskirts of any test area. Although results of atomic explo sives used against land structures and man were obtained in some measure during the two attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no chance has been afforded to study the ef fect on ships. Scientists want to know among other things, the ef fect of an a-bomb on a ship’s struc ture, her machinery, her delicate instruments and her crew. FUTURE VACATIONS Two army lieutenants have bought a Philippine island on which to spend future vacations. A British Mosquito bomber has jumped the Atlantic in five hours and 10 min utes at 455 miles an hour. There you have a glimpse of to morrow—a camp halfway around the world and transportation to vis it it for a weekend.—New York World-Telegram. The fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the X-ray, which has been the means of saving countless lives through the early detection of tuberculosis, occurred this year. The X-ray was discovered Nov, 8, 1895 by Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, professor of mathematics and phy sics at the university of Wurzburg, Bavaria. Roentgen for several years had been experimenting with cathode rays when he discovered the powerful “invisible” ray which now bears his name but is commonly, known as the X-ray—so called by Roentgen him self because of its unknown charac ter. The principal weapon in the de tection of tuberculosis in its early and most easily curable stages, the X-ray is also used in the diagnosis and treatment of certain other di seases, in determining bone injuries and in the inspection of manufactured goods The sale of Christmas Seals fi ance a health program in which the X-ray plays an important part. WANTED—Christmas gift for ser viceman in hospital. Small radio, any type or model. Call Mary L. Allen, 248--after 5:30, 5804. S' IIEIIIPRTERS FOR THE FAMOUS K ‘ GENUINE - REGISTERED -|j eepsake timin',i mtiaitr at mMC »ts ‘ ii «■»- «vvv<&» .4 M «.%«,. .... ESSEX Sef 104.75 Engagement Ring 75.00 LOTUS Set Engagement Ring $69.95 50.00 LADY DIANA 225.00 Also $350 and 500 Pricet include federal tax. COLFAX Set Enfloge ment Ring 60.00 50.00 DOVER Set 2"7.50 Engagement Ring 200.CO • wit t»de»al tax BONITA Set 134.75 Engagement Ring 100.00 X, ' GRENADA Set 310.00 £n 9aS!emenf Ring 300.00 Keepsake ANTIQUE^ r Engagement' Ring >50.0© Also $200 ond 550. Wadding Ring 10.00 Prices include federal .fa*. W.L TURNER Rich Pine Kindling For Sale Farmers Ice & Fuel Co. phone 155 Keeptakt MELODY *50.00 Peirce InrlwJc Werol U* Through six decades the choice of America’s loveliest brides Keepsake is the diamond fins of foaranceod hi(b qualitr. and lasting traiaa. There's no finer tribute to the love you shore thon the brilliant and everlasting beauty of a genuine registered Keepsake Diamond Ring. The Keepsake Certificate of Guaran tee and Registration is assurance of high standards of color, tut and clarity.