Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY. S. C. WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS RED CHINA: GOP Leaders Rap Demo Depression And Plan Dill to Meet Situation; Drannan Plan Held Farm Vote ‘Sait’ (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed in these eolnmns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union’s news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) FARM VOTE: Bait Is Set There was more to the Brannan federal farm program than had met the eye. According to seasoned Washington observers, the plan would serve as a bait for the farm vote in the congressional races next year. For instance, if administration leaders could extend wartime price supports for another year, it would give voters a chance to pass on the controversial Brannan plan. Thus the plan could be dangled as a major issue when Democrats and Republicans began struggling for the important farm vote. AT a midwestern Democratic conference, both Brannan, secre tary of agriculture, and J. Howard McGrath, chairman of the national Democratic committee, made a plea for extension of the price sup port program as they began to plan for next year’s tug-of-war with the GOP. McGrath, making It plain that the Brannan plan has Mr. Truman’s endorsement, said continuation of the present relatively high-price support program was to be pre ferred to the Aiken long-range farm law passed by the 80th Republican congress. Unless congress acts, Mc Grath pointed out, the Aiken law will go into effect next year. The Brannan plan is designed to support farm income at a “pros perity”' level, but at the same time to provide consumers with lower prices for perishable foods—espe cially meat, dairy and poultry prod ucts—when there are surpluses. R would use government payments to assure desired farm cash re turns. i PRESENT laws direct the gov ernment to support prices of major products at not less than 90 per cent of parity. CONJURER: Name, Smile Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., who Inherited a name and a smile to conjure with and wasted little time in conjuring with them, has been duly sworn in as a member of the bouse of representatives. The 34-year-old congressman from ^ New York’s 20th district, filling the seat left vacant by the death of Sol Bloom, ran as a candidate of the Four Freedoms and Liberal parties, although he will operate as a work ing Democrat in the legislative arena. Bares Mission Ex-Communist Editor Lortis Budenz is shown as he told a senate committee that Ger- hardt Eisler, who fled the 13.8. as a stowaway, was ordered to Europe by Moscow to train “new espionage agents” for use in the United States. Budenz testified in connection with the committee’s probe of subver sive activities by aliens. DEPRESSING: 'Right Now* “I regret," the senator from Maine said, “that we are now in a state of depression. It is not a thing of-the future. It is right now.” After thus evoking the spirit of the 1930’s, Sen. Owen Brewster an nounced blandly that senate Re publicans shortly would sponsor a 50-million-dollar public-works and relief-planning program “to meet the growing Democratic depres sion." THE BILL to be projected'along these lines would not in itself pro vide funds for public works, but merely would finance the planning of a “shelf” of such works to be started when deemed advisable. Sen. Robert Taft (R., Ohio), who also is in on the deal, said that what he had in mind was a bill that would establish the framework for federal grants to states if their relief cases should reach a certain percentage of their total population. Said Taft: “What we Republicans want to avoid is the creation of another WPA like Harry Hopkins ran.” ROOSEVELT failed to get the regular Democratic nomination during the campaign so he ran on the Four Freedoms ticket. In so doing he scored a popular upset over the regular (Tammany) Demo crat, a Republican and an American Labor candidate. The third son of the late Presi dent took tiie oath from Acting Speaker John W. McCormack (D„ Mass.), while his mother beamed happily from the gallery. During his first day on the job Roosevelt: CHATTED briefly with President Truman; denied a rumor that he might run for mayor of New York; allowed that he hoped congress would repeal the Taft-Hartley labor law, enact Mr. Truman’s civil rights program and put through a na tional housing act It all looked like a reasonable be ginning for another Roosevelt politi cal career. HOUSING: Action Seen Indications were that despite op position from many quarters, the administration’s big new housing bill would get out of committee and go to the house floor for action. THE RULES committee, which twice last year killed similar legis lation, had refused to clear the cur rent bill. But Rep. A. J. Sabath (D., HI.) was predicting the com mittee would act to clear the meas ure. Sabath was on fairly safe ground, for under the new house “anti bottleneck” procedure adopted in January, the multibillion - dollar housing bill could be put to a house vote over the rules committee’s objections. THE housing program, one of President Truman’s major cam paign promises, was approved by the senate April 21 on a 57 to 13 vote. It then bogged down in the house. The bill calls for a vast program of slum clearance, low-rent hous ing and farm housing aids. Without trying to guess how much relief spending might be necessary under such a plan. Senator Brew ster opined that would "depend up on just how bad this Democratic depression gets.” Whether this “relief bill” pro posal is sincere or whether it is a cynical attempt to discredit the ad ministration in the face of the com ing 1950 elections, only time would tell. TRUMAN: Drops Curb Bill There was one thing about Presi dent Truman—he was beginning to develop the ability to recognize a hint when he saw it. There have been times when the President seemed to suffer from an ability to do that, but now it’s different. The President, obviously with an understanding ear to the ground, has decided he won’t press con gress to give him standby war powers. THAT’S not only wise of the President, it’s good strategy, par ticularly since it would have been impossible for the administration to convince the 81st congress that any such powers are needed. However, there was an official reason advanced for the change in objectives. One authority described the revision of plan as a “quiet demilitarization” of the national security resources board on White House orders. In other words, the emphasis would be away from keep ing the people agitated and alerted for possible future war. THE war powers bill would have provided a detailed mobilization act covering priority and seizure powers, controls over prices, man power; production and transporta tion. It would, if enacted, go into effect automatically on the declara tion of war emergency by congress. Mr. Truman was said to have decided it would be inappropriate to try to get such a law passed ig peacetime. Quiescent Communism, like the worm In the bud, was creeping swiftly through China as the presence of the Red conquerors began to make itself felt. At one village meeting in north ern China, a man, bewildered and dismayed by the use of the Russian hammer-and-sickle flag in Chinese Communist meetings and parades, ventured to rise and ask a ques tion: “WHY IS THIS DONE?” he said. “Russia is a foreign country and we are Chinese.” And the presiding political com missar snapped, “This subject is not on the agenda." About the only thing that did show up on the agenda throughout the country was the puzzled but ready acquiescence of the Chinese to Communist rule. As a result, the nation appeared to be well on its way to assuming a regular orbit as a willing satellite of Russia. FOR THE MOST PART there have been no signs of coercion or compulsion in the relationship. There is every evidence that the Chinese Communists are in fact eager to follow the dictates of Moscow. And that revelation should be enough to destroy any illusion that the Chinese Communists are Just simple agrarian reformers. They are whole-hearted, com- gletely dogmatic Communists, fol lowing the doctrines laid down by Karl Marx and adapted for 20th century application by his disciples, Lenin and Stalin—and by Mao Tze- tung, leader of China’s Commu nists. THERE IS as yet no conclusive evidence that the Kremlin is giving direct, active aid to the Chinese Communists. But the affinity and spirit of cooperation that exists be tween Moscow and Peiping, capital of Communist China, is tangible enough. The application of China’s in ternal situation to the rest of the world is disturbingly clear: Through the rule of Mao Tze-tung and his party, China inevitably is becoming a massive extension of the Soviet power-bloc. PRICE SUPPORT: Smoke, Smoke, Smoke Arrangements for new price sup port programs for tobacco were announced by the federal depart ment of agriculture. THE government will m&ke loans on flue-cured tobacco at 90 per cent of the parity price—as it was June 15. Loans on burley and other types of tobacco would be at the Septem ber 15 parity price, except fire- cured tobacco, which would be 75 per cent of the burley rate, and dark air-cured tobacco 68% per cent of the burley rate. (Parity is a price based on the relationship between prices of the things the farmers have to buy and prices of the products they sell. The government uses a basing period during which this relationship of prices gave the farmer what it con siders a “fair profit”). THE RATES a pound at which the support prices will be paid was to be announced in July for flue- cured tobacco and for other types in October. The full loans will be made only to tobacco growers who do not grow more tobacco than they are permitted under marketing quotas. These quotas have been set up for flue-cured, burley, fire-cured and dark, air-cured tobaccos. There are no quotas on other types. Didn't Like It Lewis L. Strauss (left) mem ber of the atomic energy com mission, confers with Chairman David E. Lilienthal after Strauss had told a congres sional committee he had not ap proved shipment of isotopes to “friendly” nations abroad. He was called to the chair over protests of Lilienthal who said, “It is unusual tc start with dis senting views.” SCHOOL AID BILL OPPOSED Eisenhower Warns of too Much Government Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaking not as a military leader but as a college president, again saw fit to warn the nation against letting the federal government get too strong. It was the second time the supreme commander of Allied for ces in World War H had issued that warning. Declaring that he is opposed to legislation which would make fed eral money available to help pub lic schools in all states, he said such a practice would stimulate a competition among states and localities for greater shares of gov ernment money. He conceded some areas have such meager tax resources that they need air, and that he would favor aid to such areas; but with out abuse or direct interference. BUDGET TRIM: Asked of Truman Congress apparently wasn’t fool ing about its demands for more economy in government. Nineteen senators, representing both major parties joined in sponsoring a reso lution directing President Truman to cut federal spending by amounts from two million to four million dollars. The reductions would be made in funds provided for the new fiscal year, which begins offi cially on July first of each year. CALIFORNIA BELLE PHONES FLORIDA BEAU . . . The quality of their respective oranges, climates and bathing beauties has long been a bone of contention between California and Florida. Now, however, ail seems to be sweetness and light, thanks to cupid who made a Florida governor fall In love with a Cali fornia socialite. The belle is Barbara Manning of Los Angeles, shown here, before the wedding, tele phoning to her fiance. Gov. Fuller Warren of Florida, whose photo she holds. “GRADUATION” OF AIR FORCE SMOKE EATERS . . . It’s a tough way to win a diploma, but this is what GI students at the fire fighting and rescue school at Shaw air force base, Sumter, S. C., had to do during their graduation exercises. The fuselage of a salvaged B-17 was saturated with gasoline, set afire and allowed to get going furiously. A dummy representing the pilot was in the cockpit. The prob lem for the “graduates” was to get him out. Skill, teamwork and the latest in fire-fighting equipment all played their part In the mock rescue. Two men are shown getting the “pilot” from the hot spot while other erew members smother the flames with chemical foam and fog. ENTER: A DUTCH BAKEL’S DOZEN ... In this day of diminishing families it is something of an oddity to note the arrival in the U.S. of a real, old-fashioned, prolific example of the time-honored social group. This is the Franciscus Van Bake! family, all 13 of whom were among 1,032 recent arrivals on the liner S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam. At left is the head of the family, Franciscus himself, with his wife Hendricka and baby Francesc.- The others are Godefrida, 19; Hendriken, 17; Maria, 16; Antonia, 15; Johannes, 13; Marinus, 11; Cornelius, 10; Martlen, 9; Theodorus, 7, and Hedrika, 4. The family is en route to Chat ham, Ontario, where they plan on operating a beet farm. COME HOME, ALL IS FORGIVEN ... Three of the banished black sheep of baseball, who were left out in the cold when the Mexican baseball league folded out from under them and Commissioner Happy Chandler’s ukase kept them from returning to big league ball in the United States, are pictured in the Canadian minor league uniforms in which they were found following the announcement that Chand ler had restored them to grace in U.S. baseball ckcles. They are, left to right, Max Lanier, pitcher, formerly with the Cardinals and Sal Maglie and Danny Gardella, formerly with the Giants. Not Enough Byrds ... pOR YEARS in the United States * senate Harry Byrd, Democratic senator from Virginia, has been a lone soloist in the interest of the American taxpayer. His theme song has been government waste and extravagance. He has syste matically opposed the ever- increasing appropriations for gov ernment support of the handout seeking people, and the ever- increasing army of bureaucrats. So persistent has been his efforts that he recently called forth this statement from President‘Truman: “There are too many Byrds in the senate.” That statement may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that the number of Byrds in the senate are increasing. Two others have definitely joined, and what was the Byrd solo is now, at least, a trio, with the possibility that it may soon become a chorus. Singing for economies in the government operations Is not now as unpopular in the august body as it has been over the past years. There is some, though as yet small, evidence that an awakening to the dan gers we are facing is at hand. Two of the President’s own party. Senator Douglas, of Illinois and Senator McClellan of Arkansas have joined the Byrd refrain. Other senators of both parties are twit tering a still-feeble “me too,” and it is possible the President’s de mand for more and greater spend ing may be drowned out by a Byrd chorus. For years, congress has been on a nm-away spending spree. The war emergency was the alibi through the fighting years, but the spending did net stop with the de feat of the enemy. Any wild pro posal to pay for more leftist schemes met with immediate re sponse. Such lavish handouts were presumed to be vote producers, and members of both parties “wanted in” on the purchase of votes with the taxpayer’s money. The end of that wild' and reckless spending highway we have been so blithly traveling Is drawing nearer. It ends in a morass of national bank- ruptev, with poverty for all; of a loss of our economic sys tem; of our cherished liberties; of our jobs and means of livli- hood; of our world leadership; of a deflation greater than any we have known in the past. It is what lies at the end of that highway of wild and reckless spend ing that is causing members of both houses of congress, and of both major political parties, to pause. With that is also the letters they are receiving from the folks back home. The home folks are viewing with alarm the spending congress has been authorizing, and they are threatening to vote against those who persist in continuing a spending program. Members of both senate and house are being told that their re-election will de pend on their support of govern ment economies rather than on government spending for more and greater handouts. Many members of both houses, and of both parties, who have had a ready “yes” vote for any and all extrava gant appropriation bills, who have personally sought millions and more of government money for their states or' districts, have quite recently stopped to look and listen before that usual “yes” vote. They seem, at long last to realize what must be at the end of the road they have been following. For such reasons there is now a bit of a hope that the “one too many Byrds” will develop into a real Byrd chorus before it is too late to save us from the catastro phe that lies at the end of the ex travagance and waste road we have been traveling. A continuance of the letters from the people back .home, the people who have the say as to whether or not the members of both houses of congress shall continue on the job after the next election, demanding a halt in the efforts to socialize America, will help materially in producing such a desired result. America owes much to that “one Byrd too many in the senate.” Neither senators nor congress men draw large salaries, but they do have sizeable expense accounts —and no questions asked. The farmer wants socialized transportation as a means of re ducing freight rates on farm pro ducts, but he is horrified at any suggestion of socialized farming. The doctor condemns socialized medicine, but endorses socialized law. So it goes through all seg ments of business, industry and the professions. What all are look ing for is something for less, but none want socialization for their particular line. We all seek a cheaper price for what we buy, but not for what we sell. Marshall Plan W HEN Washington dignitaries gathered at dinner to com memorate the Marshall plan prob ably only one man present really knew how the MarshaU plan got started—President Truman. And not even Truman knew or remem bered all the details. t The birth of the Marshall plan— believe it or not—was influenced by the illness of Senator Bilbo of Mississippi. Furthermore, this plan —now a great force in revitalizing Europe—was a complete accident as far as the White House was concerned. President Truman had been scheduled to make a speech at Cleveland, Miss., in the winter of 1947 and called in Dean Acheson, then under-secretary of state, to ask if he could get him out of a jam. He explained that to please some of his wife’s friends he had promised to speak in Cleveland, that the folks in Mississippi had made elaborate preparations. But, he said, be couldn’t go. Senator Bilbo was back in the state, 111, after the Senate’s re fusal to seat him, and it would be political suicide, Truman felt, if he set foot inside the state at that time. He had written his Mississippi friends, he said, asking If they would accept a cabinet member in stead, and they replied that they were greatly interested in foreign affairs and the only man they would take as a sub stitute was acting secretary of state Dean Acheson. Acheson of course promptly ac cepted the President’s personal plea, in fact told Truman he had been eager to make a major speech. But, he warned, it would be an explosive one. Wallace’s Mistake So, having in mind Henry Wal lace’s famous speech on Russia which was officially cleared with the White House—but which Tru man himself didn’t read, Acheson took great pains to have his speech carefully examined. His strategy was to have so many cabinet experts read it that It would not bo sent to Senators Tom Connally and Arthur Vandenberg whom he suspected might pour on the cold water. The perusers of the speech later held a meeting. Since there was nothing in the speech about bases, the army-navy had no objection. Dr. Nourse suggested a few changes of figures, which were ac cepted. Secretary of commerce Harriman, who had been talking to Acheson privately, was enthusi astic, while Truman was delighted that Acheson was getting him out of his Mississippi speaking jam. The British press, however, played up the story big. And as a result Scotty Reston of the New York Times called on Acheson to ask whether this was a new Ameri can foreign policy. “You had better ask the White House,” Acheson replied. Planted Question So, at the next White House press conference, Reston asked a care fully worded question as to whether the Cleveland, Miss., speech repre sented Acheson’s views or the ad ministration’s views. Truman, still full of gratitude, and recalling that the army, navy, et al had approved the speech, re plied that it represented adminis tration policy. A few days later, Acheson went to his chief. Secretary of State Marshall, and said in ef fect: “I have kicked a fairly Important ball up in the air for you, but it’s failing rapidly. How about catching it and scor ing a touchdown?” After the speech, Acheson picked up a suggestion by Senator Van denberg that a committee of prom inent Americans be appointed to push the idea. Truman didn’t like the suggestion, but Acheson argued him into it “Here is a man who more than anything else wants to get the Re publican nomination for President of the United States,” he told Tru man, in effect. “Of his other two rivals. Governor Dewey never says anything about anything, while Senator Taft never loses an op portunity to attack you on domestic issues and crab at you on foreign policy. Vandenberg has played tbs game very well on bipartisan pol icy, and you ought to agree to his idea in order to keep him sweet.” Hoover, Baruch Out The President did agree, and a meeting was held to appoint mem bers of a committee to serve under secretary of commerce Harriman. Vandenberg was present. Acheson said he didn’t care who was on the committee just so long as Herbert Hoover and Bernard Baruch were not Vandenberg, however, looking over the suggested names, said he had nothing against them, but that what the committee needed was an alder statesman as chairman.