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THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY. S. C. Released hy Western Newspaper Union. WILL OUR MERCHANT MARINE BE JUNKED ONCE AGAIN? WITH THE WAR OVER there is now an agitation for the scuttling of the merchant marine commis sion, and turning our future on the seas over to the department of commerce. Those interested in the maintenance of a real place for this country in ocean shipping are not thrilled at that prospect. The merchant marine commis sion’s program calls for the sale, or junking of the some 2,000 Liberty ships built for early war service. Of the larger, faster, turbine-driven Victory ships they would utilize under private operation all that it is possible to find a place for. The government would lay up, and care for, some 500 ships as a merchant marine reserve. That reserve would be a protection against war needs until such time as the danger of a Third World war has passed. There has been opposition to the payment of what has been termed shipping subsidies. The marine commission calls such payments an “equalization of operating costs.” This is a de vice like our tariff on foreign made goods, which enables the American manufacturer to pay the American standard of wages and still compete with the low wages of Europe. It is the buy ers of shoes and things who maintain that wage standard. The United States government fixes a minimum wage standard for American seamen that is far above the wage paid for the same jobs on ships flying the flags of other na tions. For example: The common sailor on an American ship must be paid not less than $72 a month. On a Japanese ship a sailor, doing exactly the same job, is paid $11 a month. That difference in pay, and the difference in subsistence costs, is what the equalization payments cover. . The merchant marine commis sion is fearful we will again do as we did following World War I. The fleet we built, at tremendous cost, for use in that war was sold for junk after the war was over. Many of the ships were broken up and used in building Ford cars. In World War II we spent billions of dollars for ships, without which we could not have won the wars in Eu rope and Asia. The department of commerce could sell them for junk; it could transport American products to foreign markets in for eign ships, and come another war, as in the last two, we could again start at scratch, spend more bil lions, if given time by our enemies, in building another fleet of mer chant vessels. It would be cheaper to keep the merchant marine com mission, and those of greatest value of the ships we now have. Before taking any hasty action let us know more definitely the intentions of the Russian Bear. * * * WORKERS CAN NOW AFFORD STEAKS AND STRAWBERRIES SOME YEARS AGO I heard an employer say to members of a la bor committee who were asking for an increase in wages: “Because I eat sirloin steaks you think you should have the same quality of meat. You should be thankful that you can have stews.” I recalled that statement recently when in a food market, and noted what people were buying. A worker’s wife bought fresh strawberries, then sell ing at 50 cents a pint box, enough for a family of six; with them she had frozen peas and some other delicacies. A one time employer, now retired, and living on such fixed income as he derived from savings, purchased three pounds of second grade potatoes, a head of cabbage and a bunch of car rots. The day has arrived when it is the workers who eat the sirloins. • * * RUSSIA UNDER LENIN tried Marxian communism for a few months only. It did not work, and the turn was to state socialism. After Lenin’s death the turn was to state capitalism, with Stalin as the dictator such an ideology calls for. All three systems have much simUarity. In all, the state is supreme. The citizen is not the master but is subservi ent to the bureaucracy that rules him. A majority of the Ameri can people would not subscribe to the Russian form of government. They value their individual freedom. * * • WHEN THEY ARE MAD, mem bers of the congress think about America. When they are not, they think first about appeasing the voters of the minorities. AndHere V/ehiavey .... ^ By EDWARD EMERINE . WNU Features. H ERE we have Idaho—fabulous sunsets, lakes of gold and dreamy, purple mountains; a million stars in the dark blue sky and moonlight on the sagebrush; canyons and gorges, sand dunes and crystal lakes; stunted desert brush and towering pines; waterfalls higher than Niagara and gorges deeper than the Grand Canyon; snow 20 feet deep among the pines and spruce; farms and cities amidst nature’s unspoiled loveliness; natural caves full of ice in the hot desert. From the Canadian border on the north to the temper ate Cache valley on the south, and from the frozen Teton peaks on the east to the warm Pacific winds in Boise valley, Idaho offers a variety of climate, topog raphy and scenic wonder. It has miles of desert and formidable table lands, but it also has more lakes than man has ever counted. It has alpine peaks where the ice and snow never melt, and homes heated by water from natural hot springs. No more interesting, romantic and pleasant area may be found on earth than Idaho. Yet from an automobile or train window it may often appear to be a rolling waste, lonely and cruel. Unfortunately the main high ways and railroad tracks wander too far from rich and beautiful spots in Idaho, and those who would know the “Gem of the Mountains” must take the sideroads— and great will be their reward. Idaho is a young state, with young and energetic peo ple. They are not hampered by the heavy hand of tradi tion, nor restrained by the ghosts of their ancestors. Whether Basque sheepherders. Mormon descendants, farmers from Nebraska, or recruits from the West coast states, the people of Idaho are living proof of Western friendliness and hospitality. Western progres siveness, and Western determination to harness nature’s resources for the good of all. The early history of Idaho is bound up with that of the states of Oregon and Washington, but its tradition and lore has borrowed much from the Mormons of Utah, the cattlemen of Wyoming and the miners of Montana. It drew from all its surrounding states and became the great melting pot of the Northwest. Following the Lewis and Clark expedition, Idaho was the hunting and trapping paradise of early adven turers. Later thousands of persons crossed Idaho by way of the Oregon trail, following the Snake river through the desert. The ruts of thousands of wagons still remain, but the Oregon trail and one of Amer ica’s greatest migrations added little to Idaho’s develop ment. In 1859 gold was discovered in the Pierce City region and by the autumn of 1862 there were 30,000 persons near Lewiston. A greater discovery followed in the Boise basin, and within a year Idaho City had a population estimated at near 40,000. At the census of 1870, only 15,000 remained of the swarm of miners of the early ’60s; but 200 million dollars in gold had been taken out of Idaho — the greatest recofd in history for a similar pe riod of time. It was the Mormons who founded Idaho’s first permanent settlement in 1860. They believed they were in Utah when they called their village Franklin and made irrigation a fact in Idaho by building a canal three and a half miles long. They also established that year the first school for white children within the present boundaries of the state. Agriculture made little headway, however, for the feverish indus try of thousands exploring the earth for mineral treasures continued. Al though the Idaho territory was created in 1863, more lusty years were to follow. Rich gold strikes were made in the Salmon River and Florence areas, in Boise basin, in the Owyhee terrain, in the Coeur d’Alenes, and elsewhere. Boom towns were erected overnight, and the days were rich in murders and hangings, feuds and melodramatic DESERT? . . . Sagebrush cleared away and the magic of irrigation applied, the desert produces Idaho’s famous potatoes and other crops. deaths. The turbulence of Idaho City’s former life, and the violence of its ways, may be inferred from the statemen,: of old-timers that only 28 of the 200 persons buried in its cemetery in 1863 died from natural causes! But the development of Idaho was to follow the decline of gold fever. Cattlemen pushed their herds into the territory from Wyoming, and sheepmen soon followed. More Mormon farmers moved northward and irrigation was expanded. The Northern Pacific railroad laid its rails across the Panhandle in 1880- ’82, and the Union Pacific — Oregon Short Line —crossed the southern part of the state in 1882-’84. Its mines and forest were opened com mercially, and Idaho was no longer a wild frontier. When Idaho became a state in 1890 its valleys were soon home steaded by sturdy stock from the Middle West. For each mining SALMON RIVER . . . Highway along the canyon. The Salmon is known as “The River of No Re turn.” camp that became a ghost town, a new community appeared, built sol idly on the dev 'lopment of Idaho’s great natural resources. Idaho set tled down, at last, to build its king dom. The northern part of Idaho re claimed logged-off land, to become one of the most productive areas in the West. “Idaho white pine — and plenty of it” is the slogan of its lumbermen, and yellow pine grows broad and tall. Idaho’s mines yield countless minerals, with more be ing discovered each year. The Snake River valley and its drainage area has prospered under irrigation and reclamation, while lands beyond the irrigation ditches have been utilized for wheat and other grains. New irrigation proj ects are being opened, and Idaho’s agriculture and livestock industries are thriving. Idaho potatoes, famous all over the civilized world, are grown in desert soil enriched by centuries of sagebrush and other desert growth and touched by the magic of irri gation. Even cull potatoes are now utilized and made into industrial alcohol, or fed to livestock. Sugar beets thrive and alfalfa grows lux uriantly. Cattle and sheep are fat tened on rich pastures and in feed lots, and dairy herds are found everywhere. Only recently has Idaho come into prominence as a playground and recreation spot for people who are weary of make-believe life in cities. It offers year-around skiing, hunt ing, fishing, swimming, boating and other sports. Pheasants, ducks and geese are plentiful. There are ante lope, deer, elk and other big game in abundance to assure the sports man of his kill. From dog races at Ashton when the snow is deep, to summer boating on Payette lakes or fishing in Pend d’Orielle, no other state exceeds Idaho in sports of the great outdoors. New York capitalists and Holly wood movie stars have found in Sun Valley in the Sawtooth Mountains one of the world’s finest recreation spots. In winter, skiing is the out standing sport, with tobogganing and big game hunting following. In summer, the mountain streams near by offer varieties of trout, the gam- est fish of them all. Lakes and woods in the Stanley Basin afford boating, fishing, riding, hiking and camping. Idaho is a state of mountains, val leys and deserts, with variety enough for everyone. The mountain ranges include Cabinet, Coeur d’Alene, Beaverhead and Bitter Root in the north; Salmon River, Sawtooth and Lost Rivers in the center of the state, and the Bear, Blackfoot and Snake River moun tains in the southeast, with the Te- tons along the Wyoming line north ward. Shoshone Falls — 46 feet higher than Niagara—pours its flood over a horseshoe-shaped rim in Snake River canyon. Twin Falls is another majestic sight, and American and Salmon Falls are also attractive to visitors. Idaho offers the unusual — the alfnost unbelievable — in scenic wonders. The deepest canyon on the North American continent drops almost 8,000 feet below the rimrock of the Seven Devils ranges of mountains. The Big and Little Lost rivers tumble down from mountain peaks to disappear into the porous volcanic desert, breaking into sun light again as Thousand Springs in the Snake River gorge. Recent volcanic action is offered at Craters of the Moon, and Mount Borah, highest point in the state, carries coral limestone on its crest, lifted from the sea which was once three miles below. The state of Idaho remains a part of the Great Northwest, rich in re sources, sure of its future. The fron tier spirit till lives in countless ways within its borders, ready to mount to thunderous zest in the develop ment that seems sure to come. • • * LORD HALIFAX, FOLLOWING World War II, believes in the civ ilization - saving qualities of rural America, as did another great Englishman, Arthur Balfour, follow ing World War I. In an article in Collier’s, Lord Halifax said: "If any one has a doubt about the sound ness of the American people, let him shake the dust of the great cities off his feet and get out into the country and the small towns. There he will find the roots of Amer ica growing as steadily as ever in the past ” * (**! ^ SERVICE BUREAU EDITOR’S NOTE: Thij neivs paper, through special arrangement with the Washington Bureau of Western News paper Union at 1616 Eye Street, N, W., Washington, D. C., is able to bring read ers this weekly column on problems of the veteran and serviceman and his fam ily. Questions may be addressed to the above Bureau and they will be answered in a subsequent column. No replies can be made direct by mail, but only in the column which will appear in this new* paper regularly. Books Available for Vets More than a million text books ac quired from the War Assets admin istration will be distributed by the Library of Congress to accredited colleges and universities for use of veteran - students. Veterans’ admin istration has announced. Veterans’ administration has transferred to the library sufficient funds to cover the cost of handling and mailing the books which were formerly used by the army and navy college training programs. It is es timated that the surplus books will save the Veterans’ administration approximately $3,000,000 in its vet erans’ school program and is expect ed to relieve somewhat the serious text-book shortage. Each school will set up its own distribution system to assure that only veterans will obtain the books after requisitioning the books they need from lists supplied by the LU brary of Congress. Questions and Answers Q. Our son who was almost our sole support served 30 months in the armed services. He was in the service for 18 months before we re ceived an allotment. Is there any way we can get this allotment for the first 18 months he was in the service? We were as much depend ent then as we were when the al lotment was granted. — Reader, Staples, Mich. A. It would depend upon when your son made request for an allot ment. If he made no request and the money was not deducted from his pay, then there is no chance to get it. If he made the request, the money was deducted and for some reason you did not receive it, you can collect it. Suggest you write your son and ask when he made his request for the allotment. Q. My son has been in service since January, 1945. He has been overseas since August, 1945. I need him at home to help see after his father as he is not able to work. We are farmers. When will he be eligi ble for discharge? He was an 18- year-old draftee—L. Me., Scotts- boro, Ala. A. Your son apparently has only about 9 points as of September 2, 1945, so unless for some reason he is discharged sooner I would guess he will have at least another year to serve under present regulations. If you can prove dependency or hardship which has occurred since he entered service, it may be that he could be discharged for these reasons. However, he must ask for that discharge from his command- ing officer. Q. My son was discharged in .Oc tober after 30 months in service. He was a flight officer in the air corps and has his battle stars, oak leaf cluster, etc. Now he would like to get into the Reserves, po they ac cept flight officers? What will be the best way to go about getting in? —Mrs. M. F. O., Denver, Colo. A. At the moment, the answer is that flight officers are not accept able, but by the time you read this the army may have issued new reg ulations providing for acceptance of flight officers into the reserve. The matter is pending now with the authorities. Suggest you keep in touch with your local army head quarters. Q. My son recently enlisted for three years in the army. There are three of us in the family, the son, myself and mother. There are no brothers or sisters. We are very much alone and my son is the sole support. We are both afflicted with angina pectoris. Is there any one to whom we can appeal not to send my son across for overseas duty? My reason is that if either of us should expire, the remaining one would need my son home to care for her. It death takes one of us, could he get a discharge to come home and care for the other one?— Mrs. W. T. B., Brookhaven, Miss. A. In the first place, the son was not forced to enlist for three years, and he can provide family allot ment for you if he wishes. If he wishes to obtain a discharge using his family as a hardship case, he should take it up with his command ing officer. There is no one to whom you can appeal about the overseas exemption since he cannot be half in and half-out of the army. Q. I am a veteran whose total service was spent in the navy’s V-12 program. Am I entitled to more education under the G.I. Bill of Rights?—J.C.K., Redwood, Ark. A. The VA has ruled that a vet eran whose total period of service in the armed forces was spent in ASTP or in V-12, the navy college training program, studying medi cine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or theology is not entitled to any further education benefits under the G.I. Bill. The VA will rule upon the eligibility of other cases which come under V-12 headings. The Twerp Turns By WILLIAM J. MURDOCH McClure Newspaper Syndicate. WNU Features. L UCIUS STEEMS stretched his frail spindly frame on the porch swing and sighed heavily. He was tired of being picked on. His wife, his employer — oh, especially his employer! — his fellow workers, bus drivers — they all dished it out to him. Lucius knew why, too. He was a weak-kneed sissy—and looked and acted it. He didn’t even have enough gump tion to order his youngest, John ny, and that Rodney kid from down the street to take their argument elsewhere. They were around the side of the house, noisily squab bling, ably abetted by their yelp ing dogs. Lucius wanted a little peace and quiet before returning to the office for the afternoon. Mr. Ralston had called him down in front of the whole office again that morning simply because he had posted the right sums in the wrong ledger. Mr. Ralston had a peculiar way of bawling out people. He smiled and uttered wisecracks—but he wasn’t kidding. “Steems, you funny-looking little twerp,” Mr. Ralston said, bang ing the ledger down on Lucius’s desk. “I ought to make ycu eat this!” And after Mr. Ralston had wisecracked Lucius into red-faced humiliation, the big, bluff owner of Ralston’s Pickle Works stalked away and left his billing clerk to writhe under the smirks and winks of the other employees. Slowly Lucius rocked the swing, blinking his watery blue eyes. If he were only half a man—he sighed again, and dozed off. . . . “What a laugh!” The sharp words made Lucius’s eyes pop open. It was that Rodney kid. “That funny looking little shrimp couldn’t lick a flea!” “Say that again!” That was John ny, and the vigor with which the youngster snapped out the chal lenge made Lucius’s heart bump. Could—could it be that he had a champion after all? “You just say that again and I’ll show you who can lick who!” “I said he’s a funny-looking little shrimp and can’t lick a—ow!” The brawl was on, and Lucius peered over the swing in time to see Johnny pursuing the Rodney kid down the street, both bellowing at the top of their lungs. Lucius bounded to his feet. By George, this was just what he needed—a champion, some one to back him up! He’d had no idea little Johnny would take up so fiercely for him. That put the old starch in the backbone, all right. Lucius felt like a new man—a whole one. He paraded across the porch, jerked the screen door open and snatched his old felt hat from the hook. “Doris!” he cried in a sort of scratched roar. “Doris, I’ll be home at five-thirty and I want supper on the table.” He had read that in a book once, and it sounded swell. “Hear me? Five-thirty!” Mrs. Steems thrust her head around the living room doorway in amazement. “Are you talking to—” “To you,” Lucius said, suddenly so angry that he trembled. He had to justify Johnny’s faith. “I’m tired of being treated like a hired man. Five-thirty—and don’t forget it!” Lucius tingled with triumph. But what if he were still asleep in the swing? He pinched himself and it hurt—and he was glad. His confi dence swelled as he rode downtown, and by the time he reached the of fice he was nearly bursting with the new spirit he had found through Johnny. He went directly to Mr. Ralston’s office. “Mr. Ralston,” he said politely but positively, “You’ve got to stop insulting me before the whole office. I make mistakes—ev eryone here does. But I work hard, too, and not everyone here does that. If you don’t like my work, get rid of me. But,” and here Lucius shook his finger at ogle-eyed Mr. Ralston, “I won’t take any more insults from anyone.” He stood back, waiting for his em ployer to say something — and Lu cius really didn’t give two whoops what it was. But it was good. “Steems,” Mr. Ralston said final ly, “it’s about time you showed some spirit. I deserved that call ing down — and I’ll raise you 25 bucks a month just to show you there’s no hard feeling.” “Yes, sir.” Lucius went back to his desk. But, before he sat down, he elaborated on his little speech to his fellow - workers. And no one talked back or even smirked. It was a wonderful day, the hap piest for Lucius in a long, long time. And he knew he owed it all to his Johnny. So perhaps it is just as well he never learned of the con versation betwen his wife and Johnny after he came home that afternoon. Never demonstrative in his affection, he simply patted the bey on the head, noted that supper was on the table and went upstairs to wash. “Johnny,” Mrs. Steems whis pered anxiously, “Johnny, what> happened to your father all of a sudden? Do you know what’s got into him?” “Huh? Dad? Shucks, he seems the same to me,” Johnny said light ly. “He’s O. K., isn’t he? Say, Ma,” he added indignantly, “you know what the Rodney kid said to me today? He said my dog was a funny-looking little shrimp that couldn’t lick a flea. Boy, did I paste him!” Gay Combination to Crochet, Embroider T UST see what a happy combina- J tion of crochet and embroidery! Notice how the crochet forms bas kets or borders to set off flowers. Use the crocheted section singly or re peat it as shown. Pattern 7498 has trans fer of 6 motifs 6 by 9 to 5 by ISVa inches; crochet directions. Send your order to: Sewing Circle Needlecraft Dept. 564 W. Randolph St. Chicago 80, III Enclose 20 cents for Pattern. 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