Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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V \ THE NEWBERRY SUN FRIDAY-, JANUARY 4, IMS 1218 College Street NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA O. F. ARMFIELD Editor and Publisher Published Every Friday In The Year r^*p r ed as second-class matter rwemher R, 1937, at tht postoffice ’-■.■■•'Serry, South Carolina, under ^ of Congress of March 3, 1879. Spectator Two matters presented by Presi- den: Truman are non-political and deserving of earnest study. I refer to compulsory military training, to which I have expressed opposition, and the consolidation of the armed services in one Department; all un der one Cabinet member. The ques tion of conscription is, by all means, of the greatest importance; the mat- re, of unification in one Department of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force is provoking vehement protests in many quarters, with sounding furies. I should like to agree sometimes with President Truman and have read and pondered his argument. 1 listened attentively to the best of the Commentators on the radio. I’m re- fering to National Commentators, no my versatile friends of this State. I can agree heartily that on the field, in the whole theater of ac tion, there should be one supreme commander, with full authority over all the services engaged there, or in that area subject to call. The Su preme Commander should be able to call at once every plane, warship, marine and soldier. To my mind that is essential; but I don’t quite follow the President’s reasoning about the One Department. Theo retically it may have something to commend it, but look at the whole case. If you read just headlines you may dismiss the whole matter as a trifle. But it isn’t a trifle. I’m al most ready to concede that it might not be worse than what we now have, but we are told to endorse this uni fication for very positive benefits. Let’s see; In all the years—so far as I re call—the Marine Corps has been un der the Secretary of the Navy. Marines are sea-soldiers, of special preparation for special duty. Al though actually a part of the Navy— and usually serving on warships— the marines are jealous of their branch and are virtually a separate service. The Navy is now quite dis tinct from the army, being a floating machine shop of very marked and in tricate specialization and with its traditions. Obviously the Air Ser vice is different in every way. It seems clear to me that the Navy is best able to train a Navy; as is the Air Service able to build up aviation. If one man—a Cabinet man—had all that he never would fully grasp all the services. I doubt whether the Secretary of War understands all the details of that vast and far-flung organization. If the One Depart ment has to be split up with a special assistant Secretary for each service, what is the gain? I am not interested in saving use less jobs for any service—and they are full of spendthrift, useless offi cers and offices; but I can’t see just wherein all the notable benefits lie. The President’s argument seemed to me to be inconclusive, at least. The Government needs to take the bull by the horns, sometimes. _ Many thousands of officers are twiddling their thumbs and devoting most o: their thinking to leaves, extended leaves, more’pay, more allowances and just about everything which costs the taxpayers money and ren ders no service worthy of the name. The State of South Carolina nee' to regard itself as a great mercter * What is the problem: The merchar., looks ahead; he has a vision of re cession, or he observes that his tami- ly budget needs to be increased.^ Four daughters ar,e now in their 'teens and a son or two (I’ll have to watch my step here) call for more. Sons must go to parties and throw a lit tle of dad’s stuff around; so must the lassies. Why just the stockings! Oh, well, I needn’t rub it in overmuch. How will dad handle the problem? Will he mark up his prices? Or will he offer greater values and try to make more by greater volume, even at lower .prices ? The point is that dad will curry favor with the public and win their support. Do you “get” the idea? Let us reduce and remove some taxes and make South Carolina stand out like Old Stonewall Jackson at Bull Run. 4 w% The military and naval forces of the United States seem to have been engaged in child’s play at Pearl Har bor. The testimony of General Mar shall, who commands great respect, tells us that this order and that or der, this, alert and that alert—all re sulted in a catastrophe. Clea: your minds of all the v/ords being poured out in Washington and let’s get down to brass tacks, instead of to brass- hats. There are certain elementary consideraions which must not be overlooked. Even if Mr Roosevelt did tell the army and the navy to let the Japanese commit the first act, ^ he was dealing with a matter of policy. By no means was that to be con strued as an order to fail to use the precautions which are desirable on a ship and at a naval base even in time of peace. , Today I observe planes flying about Charleston and the Navy yard. I assume that every ship is alert for hostile or prying persons. We must assume that the fortified approaches to the harbor are guarded by vigilant sentinels. We must not assume that Mr. Roosevelt told Admiral Kimmel to anchor his ships close together. Some things an intelligent Command er must decide for himself. Of course I refer to Vigilance, always supposed to be the first concern oF Commanders, whether of the army or the Navy. Certainly no one need censure Mr. Roosevelt for the lack of ordinary precaution and vigilance; he was to blame for having the fleet in a .port, but he didn't actu ally choose the anchorages, of course. And it is foolish to assume that a President, or General or Admiral five thousand miles away could tell how or when to have the planes out on ordinary military look-outs. Mr. Roosevelt did fancy himself a sort qf superior Strategist, diplomat and financier, but he assuredly did not think it necessary to tell the Treasurer of he United States to guard the bullion and coins; he probably did not walk around the White House to lock the doors and windows every night. Why, then, did the Commanders on the field and with the ships sit down in impotence, waiting for instructions to take the commonplace measures which any first sergeant would recognize as an obligation of his position. ^General Short and Admiral Kim mel should not tell us that they had ordered this “alert” or some other alert. The facts suggest that there was a lack of the most ordinary PFC Carmine Schimia, 20, White Plains. N. Y., 7i/ 2 months in Ger many, feels lucky because Victory Bonds have helped him recover from injury to his right eye and arm by shell fragments. New cartilage was inserted under his eye at Hol- loran Hospital, N. Y. readiness to meet the enemy. If their course was right then a cruiser at anchor in Charleston harbor may be bombed and boarded by enemies unless Mr. Truman telegraphs frpm Washington directing the Command er what to do. If the purpose of the inquiry is to .prove that R^r. Roosevelt was a man of great conceit and cock-sureness we may concede that without argu ment or further proof; but if the inquiry is to absolve the Com manders on the spot it must be said that we expect policemen, soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen to be constantly alert against surprise. Lt. Fred H. Rhodes, 26, Strouds burg, Pa., paratrooper, suffered broken eardrums, leg and shoulder when shell hit his tank, killing two companions. Still at Holloran Hos pital, he hopos Victory Bonds will be bought to help wounded making their comeback all over the nation. Pvt. Joseph T. Wallace, 21, Balti more, Md., had both legs fractured, knee cap lost and nerve system shattered when an “88 landed in my lap in Italy.’’ Another at Holloran Hospital who needs good care that investment in Victory Bonds will help provide. When wondering whether or not to invest in more Victory Bonds, think of PFC Albert H. Rohrmann, 25, Brooklyn, N. Y„ a parachute infantryman, who must be under medical care for a long while. Wounded first in New Guinea and then when caught in ambush advancing on Manila, he is in a body cast at Holloran Hospital, N. Y., for a bone injury and shock to his nervous system. Bond purchases will help many more like him in hospitals all over the nation, help them to re-establish themselves in both the social and eco nomic American way of life. u. s. Tmtur* Dt*trumM<u_ Is the State government in Debt? So much has been said about a sur plus that there is a general belief that the State has money ahe.ad, scads of money, big savings Well, we have a surplus if we overlook our debts. Isn’t that clear? Let’s work it out: Take John Doe. He bought a house “on credit” and a nice little mortgage for |5000 rests on it; he bought a car and owes $1000 on it; various other debts around town swell the total by several hundred dollars, debts to brother and sister, small touches on “good old dad”, you know, and all and singular, includ ing minor ddbts to Aunt Mary and Uncle (Bob. The man has a salary or general income of $3000 a year and has paid his funded debt, his mortgage notes, as they became due. Would you say that he is out of debt and enjoying a surplus because he received a bonus of $500 at the end of the year? South Carolina owes millions of dollars—fifty ?—on its highways, in cluding the county bonds assumed by the Department by direction of the General Assembly. The gasoline tax yields a good revenue, but the tex is a lien on your home, your farm, your kitchen range and your car. It is a debt, of course, regardless of the provision which has been made for the exclusive use of the revenue from the gasoline tax. I agree with those who oppose the use of gasoline tax revenue for pur poses other than the building of roads and the payment of road bonds, but that does not mean that I think the Highway Department is properly financed. To my mind the gasoline tax should be just enough to pro. mote a sane program of road build ing and financing, not one dollar more. If a surplus results, the tax should be reduced. So the idea of taxing gasoline consumers for all sorts of projects unrelated to the road program is indefensible, as I conceive it. Now as to financing the road pro gram: We have reached a point at which there should be a definite plan to retire bonds. Perhaps the reve nue shoull be divided into two parts, half for maintenance and construc tion, half for debt payment, charging administration costs equally against the two, or, deducting it first, of course, before dividing. The State Highway Department has been censured for financing its operations through the sale of bonds. A very learned editorial writer once roasted the late Ben Sawyer because of sale of bonds for construction money. I agreed with the Editor. Later I read the original Highway Act, with its long preamble and saw that it was the law, not the Highway Department that was at fault. The law should be changed; not a dollar of new bonds should be issued and the practice of paying off one set of bonds from the sale of another bond issue should be stopped. You can’t pay debts by giving a new note. That is what the Department does, in a large measure; it issues new bonds to pay off maturing obligations. This State needs some competent person to edit or revise our Statutes, as well as our constitution. Officials charged with the administration are frequently censured for doing what the law requires. The law may be foolish; it sometimes is; but an offi cial is supposed to enforce the law, as he finds it, not as he thinks it ought to be. Recently I discovered that the Statute governing the Industrial Commission (Workmen’s Compensa tion Act) prohibits the officials from giving out information as to awards except to parties in interest. Well, aren’t we .parties in interest, all of us? Isn’t it part of a democracy that official acts are public records? The decisions of the Courts are public records; liens, deeds, titles, mort gages, contracts, when on record, are open to the public; the acts of the General Assembly are public and published—except numerous items charged as contingent expenses; but the grants, allowances, attorneys’ fees as allowed by the Industrial Commissin are not open to the public. The Statute itself puts the seal of secrecy on the awards and fees. How do you defend it? I don’t defend it; I think it undemocratic and improper. If you need or wish information you must write to the employer or his insurers. It is worth doing, but why conceal from the public the of ficial acts of public servants? Only top quality products get the job of lubricating the motors and machinery on our fighting Navy’3 -hips. So we’re proud to tell you that Sinclair lubricants are used on many Navy ships to assure smooth operation and save wear. To give your car the same, sure orotection, get Sinclair lubricants from your Sinclair Dealer. To pro tect your engine, for example, he offers Sinclair Opaline Motor Oil. This famous oil stands up longer and lubricates better because it is both de-waxed and de-jellied. Use Sinclair Opaline to keep your car rolling. sm weak w/mPnrnftVNYTk * ■ - — * S. C. Paysinger, Agent As our General Assembly will soon meet it is timely to renew the sug gestions which the Farmers and Tax payers League made years ago. It may have special appropriations be cause of the likelihood that the Farmers and Taxpayers League will soon resume its activities. The general impression that “the League was merely a sledge-hammer fighting organizaton is not correct. Nor did the League confine its activ ities to a fight on taxes, golden- spenders and tax eaters; it sounded the only constructive note in this State and brought about the forma tion of the “Commission of Nine,” which suggested to the General As sembly measures that might make South Carolina a more attractive field for industrial expansion and in dividual investment. Time after time a thousand citizens come from al' parts of the State and carried their recommendations to the Senate, the House, and to the Governor. In this connection it should be said that the League was always received with courtesy and attention. One may like to think of the Lea gue battling in the Counties to un seat high-spenders of both Senate and House, with very notable re sults. No one denies that it was “the League” which unseated one hundred members in one Primary; nor does any one challenge the extraordinary success of “the League” in the re- election or election of some other members. It had its faults and it- failures, hut it was the most power ful force in South Carolina in my time, not even excepting the success ful Prohibition drive of 1915. South Carolina probably will wel 7 como the League again. Many of its old war-horses are gone; many oth ers are mellowing with age, but their wisdom lives and a new genera tion of men and women is ready to carry the torch. Who can forget the 8000 members from Spartanburg? Or the driving power of the Lexington League. Who will forget the Greenville Lef.gue or Orangeburg, Darlington, Newberry ? How many names come to mind: Mortimer Haselden, J. Ross Hanahan and Bryce La Bruce of Charleston, Dr. E. Harry Barnwell—and a host of others ? All will recall the physi cians: Dr. Robert Wilson, Dr. Win chester Smith, Dr. Carl B. Epps, Dr. S. J. Summers, Dr. B, G. Pitts, Dr. D. M. Crosson—and others. Can’t you hear B. W. Crouch thun dering with all his persuasive artil lery? And the courtly Mclver Wil liamson of Darlington. How much we owed to John J. McMahan, Col. W. W. Bruce, Richard I. Lane—who kept us informed—no one can know; nor the ingenious Pierre Mazyck. Stalwart Old Roman Yancey Wil liams of Lancaster. Colonel Isaac Hunt, Dr. S. J. Derrick, the Arm- field brothers—all of Newberry— what a loyal body of men. And I do not forget D. W. Gaston of Spartan burg, Governor John G. Richards, William P. Legg, L. B. McCord, L. M. Rice, James B. Gibson, C. L. Wheeler, and Alfred Scarborough, and Bisco Davis of Marion. Kemper Cooke, the backwoods Statesman, was one of the noble bond, as was Captain J. B. Guess of Denmark. It is foolish to try to remember all those fine spirits, hut I must add Wesley Crum, Dr. Wade Stackhouse, S. G. Mayfield, J. H. Manning, P. L. Conyers A. B. Langley, Niels Christensen, Dr. Ryan, W. J. Thomas, J. - Skottowe Wannamaker, J. R. Fairey, J. Wade Drake, C. E. Leaphart. And I could mention a hundred more leaders, in cluding the ever-cooperative editors throughout the State. What a group of invincible Spirit. And now! “The League” urged that the Gen eral Assembly clear the way for in- vetsment so that South Carolina might have new developments for the creation of work and the opening of markets for local farm and dairy products. The League urged several mea sures which are still very much need ed. Among them was Central Pur chasing, or Central Price Fixing. We have millions of dollars to spend on fuel, food laboratory materials, fur niture, etc. Obviously the State (and counties) could save by joint pur chasing. There was an objection, which was rather flimsy, but which I tried to meet in several proposed bills. The League recommended that all units of the State should submit a list of all requirements to a Cen- ral body—Budget Commission, prob ably—and that the Central body (without any new employees or addi tional expense) should invite bids on the articles specified, respecting all preferences as to brands, etc. The institutions would then make their purchases at—or below-—those prices. It was the League which first recommended installment payments of back taxes, in order to save farms and homes from foreclosure. It was the League which, year after year, insisted on reducing (and removing) State property taxes. It was the League that put forth the idea of holding the appropriation of 1934 to five millions. A mighty force was the Farmers and Taxpayers League; it is pro bably ready to call the State together again. I wish you a happy New Year. May 1946 find the solution of the many questions which vex the world. In finite goodness and wisdom are at our call, whenever we turn from the conceits of our way. _ “Our little systems' have their day; They have thei rday and cease to be; They are but broken lights of Thee; and Thou, O Lord, art more than they.’’ The world will not be lost or saved by atomic bombs or adroit diploma tic formulas. How vain were the Statesmen who so pridefully outlaw ed war as an instrument of policy. What a travesty! And then Presi dent Hoover was just about to banish poverty—just befoi-e the Depres sion! What followed in each case re minds us of the old Book: “Thou fool; this night shalt thy soul be required of thee.” And so, with all the wisdom of eternity to draw on, we still rely on feeble, blundering men! t,sE 6 6 6 COLD PREPARATIONS Liquid, Tablets, Salve, Nose Drops CAUTION—Use only as directed FOR INCUBATORS AND BROODERS That’s because Sinclair SuperFlame Kero sene burns clear and clean. There’s no odor or gases to kill the hatch because waste elements that cause them are taken out by expert refining. SuperFlame will save you money, too, because it gives maximum usable heat per gallon. You won’t need as much. Try it. Oil IS AMMUNITION - USE IT WISELY Let me deliver to your farm STROTHER (^PAYSINGER, Agent IN SOUTH CAROLINA More people drink Atlantic Ale and Beer than any other. Atlantic Company— t ,Teu:*riet in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chatttmoota, Norfolk. Orlatvlo Poultry Shipments EACH THURSDAY 10 To 11 A. M. Back of Court House All Hens . . . 24c All Roosters . . . 16c Ducks and Geese . .15c All Turkeys . . . 28c Cured Country Hams 40c Bring Poultry EVERY THURSDAY Greenville Poultry Co.