Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PAGE FOUR THE NEWBERRY SUN FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1949 \ 1218 College Street NEWBERRY, S. C. 0. F. Armfiki* Editor and Publisher PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Entered as second-class matter December 6, 1937, at the Postoffice at Newberry, South Carolina, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In S. C., $1.50 per year in advance outside S. C., $2.00 per year in advance. COMMENTS ON MEN AND THINGS BY SPECTATOR A ridiculous proposal is be fore the people of this State in the form of a bill in the Gen eral Assembly to increase tax es by eighteen million dollars for higher old-age pensions. The State and Federal Govern ments are embarked on schemes of spending that indi cate that the “gim-ine” phil osophy knows no limits except those imposed by stern people of practical mind. Little by little, but not slow ly, the Nation and the State sink into the pit of Socialism. The state does not owe a pen sion to me or to anyone else. That the sympathy and com passion of our people should be proved by a helping hand does not mean that able-bodied people should look forward to years of dependence on either the Nation or the State. I wonder if we Americans and we Carolinians have any principles of government or public conduct; or if we have selfishly and callously resolved to bleed the taxpaying public, establishing a privileged class of tax-eaters, at the expense of those who have worked,* and now work thriftily and pru dently. I felt a thrill when a young disabled veteran, hob bling off the bus, said: “I dont want anything but a chance to get back to my filling station. I don’t ask the Government to do anything for me but fix my leg so I can stand on it and do my work.” Once that was a common virtue; at least we expected nothing. Now, how ever, I’m beginning to think that gallant lad is even more in spiring in peace than in war. Certainly we need soldiers of the peace, as well as military forces embattled in all the blood and horror of war. To restore America; to revive the old American spirit; to quicken the constructive impulses of our men and women—that would be worth enlisting for in the great army of peace. To raise this eighteen mil lions the taxes would rest on cigarettes, candy, plaster, ce ment, paints, varnishes, lubri cating oils, household and of fice furniture, radios, rn'isical instruments, automibiles, bicy cles, kerosene, bottled gases, increased income taxes — from an increase of two per cent to ten per cent All this, now, when we should be studying how to reduce taxes so as to draw other investors our way. There are many men of sound thinking in our General Assembly; they are not even likely to rush into such meas ures, but if the people seem to want all these things even the sternest financier in pub lic life will feel that he must yield to the whim of the mo ment, or to the coercions of pressure groups. Sometimes it has to be point ed out that we who oppose socialistic leanings should speak out; how much more should we take all appropriate meas ures to resist headlong plunges into Socialism. We shouldn’t throw all the burden on those public men who think calmly on public proposals: If they hear and see only those who want something they may con clude that the voice they hear is the voice of the people. Even so, we are failing to maintain a rugged Americanism if we rear a generation which lived on the tax-payers. Our people sufer from a con fusion of thought, or mixed motives, in this matter of the Poll Tax. Think this out: should any man be entitled to vote who does not contribute one dollar, one lone dollar, a year to support the public schools? Is citizenship worth absolutely nothing? Are the pubic schools not worth one, one, single dollar a year? Should any man White or Colored, be unwilling to pay one dollar a year for the opera tion of schools? If he has not one dollar’s interest in the gov ernment of the County, should he vote? Isn’t all this argu ment against the Poll tax a lot of twaddle? Worse than that: it seems the veriest non sense. We need more money for schoo’s: that’s all we have been hearing for years. Every year we need more teachers, more transportation, more pay for the teachers. Belatedly, per haps, we are trying to pay the teachers as much as brick-lay-/ ers and carpenters, and we con clude that all this is not worth one dollar a year. As you know, the Poll tax is a school tax. It does not amount to much, but the cause needs every dollar—and then some more. Can a man be a good citizen if his citizenship costs nothing? Do you remember that David refused to accept as a gift the threshing floor and oxen for the sacrifice, stating the man ly principle! “1 will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which cost me no thing.” The Attorney General of the United States has started some thing new: he refers to “the inherent power of the Presi dent to deal with emergencies that affect the health, safety and welfare of the entire na tion.” President Truman has since adopted that advice from the Attorney General. As a matter of law it is not true. The President of the United States is not Sovereign. He cannot claim to have the royal prerogatives. It is true that in olden times—-but quite a long time ago—the British Sov ereign enjoyed absolute power, but that was reduced so many times that the King of Great Britain today merely lives in regal State, without real au thority of any kind. So firm ly tied to the Parliament is his Britannic majesty that King Edward had to abdicate in or der to marry the lady of his choice Although a student of gov ernment can delve into the moldy records and find that ancient Kings had pertain in herent powers he will find I that the President of the United States is not a King, nor has the Presidency any in herent powers. The members of Congress and the Courts should squelch that right now. We are letting the presiden cy become a privileged posi tion, far beyond all the Consti tutional concepts. I’ve often wondered who paid for the camps built for the President. What authority is there to use army or navy ap propriations for such purposes? Who authorized the navy to build or convert a yacht into a sumptuous private . pleasure boat? Who authorized the army to build luxurious planes for the President? Who authoriz ed any Goernment service to employ experts or great medi cal specialists merely to assign them to the President, for his personal care? When the President goes to Key West, who pays for all the transformation of the resi dence at the Naval base? When a President goes ’fish ing and decides to commandeer for his trip a couple of Cruis ers and a half dozen De stroyers the excuse is that they would be cruising somewhere anyhow, so that if they carry the President to catch a min now it is not a tremendously expensive minnow, but a rou tine naval operation which re sulted in a minnow—somewhat like the convulsions of the mountains which produced a mouse. The Constitution of the Unit ed States confers “executive powers” on the President. As there never had been such an office as our presidency the office has no traditions or in herent power. The Constitu tion enumerates the powers of the presidency; and it pre scribes that the President shall recommend to the consideration of the Congress “such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” The President is Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy—not of the people. That means that he controls the routine of the war services, but not absolutely by any means, for the Supreme law confers the real control on the Congress. Congress, only, may declare war, but we''have seen such a conduct of our foreign affairs as virtually forced us into war. Even in those cases it was the Congress which de clared war. But the Constitution provides this significant control over the President, which is often overlooked: The Congress shall have power “to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces”. And the Constitution did not stop even there. It says, further, that the Congress, not the President the Congress;, shall have power “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carring into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government yof the United States, or in' any department or officer thereof.” So completely are the powers of the presidency under the control of the Congress, except for certain ceremonial attribut ions, that the Ninth and Tenth restrictions on the powers of Congress, though they natural ly operate to restrain the zeal of the Courts and the ambition of Presidents. Both those amendments conclusively de stroy the idea of inherent powers, as now proclaimed by Mr. Truman, on the advice of his Attorney General. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitut ion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. Did you ever wish for all the money you could carry? I re call that a fond father of the long ago gave his daughter her weight in gold. Probably every modem father has given his daughter twice her weight in gold, though he paid it out in checks and Treasury notes, along and along, you know. The doting parent in the story hadn’t given very much until the day of the wedding, children and money alike, being under dad’s firm control in those ancient days. Today, however— but let’s pass that up. I mustn’t tell all that I know. We must have reserves for contingencies as the banks say. Down in Central and South America there are few banks in remote regions. The people have to hold fast to their money, so they want coins, not treasury notes. Besides, any revolutionary government can quickly print paper money. The Government of Peru had a lot of mon'ey in the United ,States. As the big hacendados (owners of haciendas) wanted only gold, the Government put the new silver and nickel into circulation by paying them to all those in Government service. Up in the Andes my Indian office boy brought baskets of coins and all of us Americans had trunks full of coins. Once on a trip I told my Secretary to carry the expense money, so he had the coins in a sack across a burro’s back. It pro bably wasn’t more than three or four hundred dollars in United States money, but it weighed about the same as two thou sand Silver dollars. One of the Americans re signed and was given a libramiento (Treasury warrant) for the back pay,-travel^ and all that—amounting to about fifteen hundred of our dollars. The Treasurer told him to come back that after noon and receive his pay in Here’s a Fellow With A Platform For All Classes And Kinds. W. G. HAZEL In The Pee Dee Advocate I was unable to get up to the inauguration, so cannot tell you about it first hand. I re ceived a special invitation from the president to be present, saying that he had a box seat reserved for me, but I just could not make it. Even though I had wanted to, it was im possible for me to be away at the time. Also, I didn’t quite understand Harry’s ur gent invitation, and didn’t know whether to take it as an honor to be invited to such a big to-do, or looking at it another way to feel insulted. It was certainly the biggest celebration in honor of the littlest man I ever heard of, and I wondered if Harry thought I was as small as 1 think he is and wanted me there for that reason, possibly thinking there might be a lot in common between us. Why he even snubbed STROM THURMOND just because he exercised the great American right to run for office, even though Harry himself did want the office, and probably thought at the time the only way to keep it was for everyone else to refuse to run, giving it to him by default. I have seen plenty of poor losers, but this tiding of being a poor winner is beyond me. Thq papers said that the presideht turned his back on the governor of South Carolina and refused to ^mile at him as he was doing to other governors and digni taries. The poor fool didn’t realize that while he was smil ing at others, millions of good sensible Americans were real ly laughing at him. I will have to hand Harry this, though; when it comes to getting the votes, he can even outpromise Roosevelt. Some years ago I said of the latter that he had shown other poli ticians how foolish they had been. Ordinarily when a fel low down here craves election to office he reaches down in his pocket and coughs up enough of his own money to buy the necessary votes. Roose velt, on the other hand, pur chased the votes with the tax payers’ own mopey, taking it away from the “haves” and giving it to those who “have not” anything except their votes. He was what I called a master politician. Then along comes Harry and promises even more than Franklin—higher prices for farm products but lower prices for the consumer when those products reach the market; higher wages for the working man, but cheaper automobiles, farm machinery and everything else that the high-waged worker produces; more spending for federal pro jects, without hiking the taxes of the average citizen. In other words, he promises a Utopia where everything one has to sell brings top ’ prices and what he must buy is at rock bottom—just as if in each transaction there doesn’t have to be both a buyer and a sell er, and that when goods sell high they must necessarily be bought at the same level. He promised every class just what that class wanted, the farmer the housewife, the laborer, the negro, the foreign born popu lation and everybody else. This Truman victory has put me, and probably others, to thinking. Why can’t all of us have public offices when all it takes is plenty of promises, everything to everybody. Of course, the fellow who has the greatest imagination to think up the most things to promise is the fellow who will get the office. It really amounts to a premium on lying, and as I have always been pretty pro ficient in that art, I don’t see why I can’t have any office I might desire. In fact I have been considering for some time entering politics, and now I know just how to do it. I might want to run for the Legislature or Senate, and there is no reason whatever why I can’t be elected a la Truman. I have already done some work on my platform, but I’ll admit it is not yet fully perfected. I have the right idea, but have not developed it enough so far. Here is the gist of it to date: All taxes of every kind and description will be taken off. No automobile licenses, no gas tax, no assessment on personal or real property, either state, county, township or school dis trict; no tax on cigarettes or tobacco, no floor tax, poll tax, income tax, inheritance tax—or even carpet tacks. A 20-hour week for everyone, with time and a half not for overtime, but to start on Monday morn ing; sick leave of 30 days each six months; annual vacation of four weeks with double pay; free doctors’ bills and hospital ization, all to be paid for by tl)e boss; two hours for noon, and an hour recess twice daily, coin. My friend chartered a truck to carry his kegs of coins, but the Treasurer gave him a check. If my friend had not brought a truck they would have given him three or four kegs of money. So I no longer yearn for all the money I can carry. Flowers and Gifts for All Occasions CARTER’S Day Phone 719 — Night 6212 Tooth Picks Latest news is that toothpicks will now be avail able in peppermint flavor. If you let us finance your next car, you’ll have pleasant memories along with that delightful pep permint flavor. 1 . PURCELLS Your Protection Our Business Phone 197 Save Regularly Here you save money In convenierA amounts. You also save worry...for savings at work here have insured! safety plus attractive earnings. 3* INSURED SAFETY Newberry Federal Savings and Loan Association JOHN D. H. KINARD John David Henry Kinard, 88, died early Sunday morning at his residence in the Bach man Chapel section of New berry. County. His wife, Flo rence Irene Quattlebaum Kin ard, preceded him to the grave several years ago. fMr. Kinard was born and reared in Newberry County and was a member of the Bach man Chapel Lutheran Church. He is survived by one son Herman of Prosperity, eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Funeral services were held at the Bachman Chapel Lu theran Church at 11 a.m. with the Rev. J. L. Ballentine con ducting the service, assisted by Dr. J. B. Harman. Interment followed in the church ceme tery. all to be considered as a part of the twenty hours work. Food, clothing, medicine, cig arettes and liquor all to be furnished by the government and assessed against each per son’s respective boss. I will promise a wide ex tension of social security and employee benefits, such as: Re tirement at age 30 on twice the pay formerly earned; time and a half for unemployment, with special attention to those hav ing the nerve to quit good jobs without cause; interest-free loans from the government to any and everyone needing mon ey for any causer without re gard to earning power or abili ty to pay, and no endorsers or security required; free ferti lizer and implements for the farmer, and tools without cost to the laboring man; free ice cream cones, soda pops, dolls and toys to the children. That’s not near all of it—I just haven’t had time to think yet. Probably when I get go ing right, my platform will be good enough to land me in the president’s office, and I won’t want to fool with a little job like Legislature or Senate. I’ll have some more promises thought up for the voter by election time. Do you think I should have any trouble be ing elected? Well, I certain ly shouldn’t. Maybe you are a practical sort of fellow and wonder where we are going to get the money. That’s a small part of it and can be figured out after I am elected. But you have heard of the power of the press. Most of the money we see these days is just paper with ink on it anyway, so why not put the presses really to work and everybody have plenty? What’s the use of anybody working any time, anyhow? Tax Notice After the close of business on February 28, a 3 per-cent Penalty will be added to all unpaid 1948 State % and County taxes J. RAY DAWKINS COUNTY TREASURER Hofiday Notice I The Undersigned Banks will be closed i Tuesday, February 22, 1949 George Washington’s Birthday v South Carolina National Bank Newberry, S- C. Newberry County Bank Newberry, S. C. Joanna, S. C. ffi-