Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY. S. C. WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS A-Bomb Output Hits Record Peak; House Approves Vet Pension Hike; Anderson Proposes New Farm Plan (EDITOR’S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eolnmns, they are those ol Western Newspaper Union’s news analysts and not neeessarily of this newspaper./ New Justice ATOM BOMB: ■Record Output Maybe the atomic bomb isn’t the ■world’s most tearful weapon. May- be the bomb's effectiveness for de- •struction has been over-empha- eized. Maybe it doesn’t mean any thing at all—but if potential en- «mies of the U.S. could squeeze any comfort from those “maybe’s,” they were welcome to it. For the United States had an nounced that its atom bomb pro duction had reached an all-time high in the first six months of this year, and production is now on an assembly-line basis. IN making that announcement, the atomic energy commission also announced that enormous tonnages of low grade uranium ores, have been located in this country and could be used to produce A-bombs in an emergency if foreign supplies of high-grade ore were cut off. All these disclosures were con tained in the commission's sixth semi-annual report to congress. Pointedly enough, the report made no mention of recent to-level secret conferences relative to shar ing information with Britain and Canada. It did have a lot to say, however, about the problems behind those conferences—United States’ de pendence on high-grade uranium ores from Canada and the Belgian Congo. THE REPORT revealed that re serves of semi-processed ores are being built up steadily “to assure continuity of production.” Re search is being pressed on new ex traction methods to cut the cost of processing the low-grade ores which abound in this country. And “actions have been taken to im prove and make more certain the supply of ore from abroad.” This latter statement, which was not explained, presumably re ferred to later negotiations with Britain and Canada for a long term agreement on exchange of atomic information and division of uranium ore. FARM PLAN: Something New Farm plans, or substitutes there for, were still kicking around the halls of congress, despite recent legislative action retaining the cur rent program of farm price sub sidies. Latest p'.vposal in the field came from Senator Anderson <D., N.M.) but it was another formula which didn’t appeal to everyone’s taste. Senator Anderson is the same gentleman who was onetime U.S. secretary of agriculture. BRIEFLY, his plan caUed for flexible government supports for some crops, rigid control plans for others, and authority to try out the Brannan plan for subsidy on some perishables. Anderson heads a seven-man subcommittee casting about for an acceptable farm bill. Unless the senate and house managed to get together on some program, the delayed-action Ait- ken law passed by the Republican 80th congress would take effect January 1. It would permit, al though not compel, the secretary of agricuJture to maintain supports for majoi crops on a flexible scale ranging from 60 to 90 per cent of parity. The senators “try-out” proposal for the Brannan plan would be limited to “nonstorage perishables” including oranges, grapefruit, ap ples and vegetables. ARMED UNITY: Up to Truman Final action on the bill strength ening unification of the armed services was up to President Tru man—but there was no doubt that he would affix his signature to the measure in speedy fashion. BY a lopsided vote of 356 to 7, the house gave final congressional approval to the measure in a bid for greater efficiency and economy in military operations. The bill, which was sent to the President for his signature, sprung directly from the recommendations of the commission headed by for mer President Herbert Hoover. THE citizens’ committee for the Hoover report, headed by Dr. Robert L. Johnson, president of Temple university, immediately hailed adoption of the bill as “pav ing the way for savings of at least a billion dollars a year, and maybe more.” U. S. Attorney General Tom Clark, smiling so broadly here, hesitated bat a short while be fore accepting President Tru man’s offer of appointment to the United States supreme coart bench. Sen. 3. Howard McGrath (D., R.I.) was to suc ceed Clark as attorney general. PENSIONS: More for Vets Veterans of World Wars I and II and the Spanish-American war stood to benefit to the tune of an additional 112 million dollars a year if a bill passed by the nation al house of representatives is ap proved by the senate. WITHOUT a single dissenting vote, the house passed a measure raising veterans’ pensions and dis ability payments by that figure annually. There was another possible hurdle for the measure, however, even if it should pass the senate, for house action on the bill'was taken despite objections from the White House. Whether this means that President Truman would have the political fortitude to veto such a bill if it ever came to him is an interesting conjecture. The logical supposition is that he would not, particularly if he entertains any ideas of seeking a second term in 1952. To indicate the potential weight of the veterans’ vote as interpreted by house members, despite the fact that there was no opposition, a roll call was ordered and 354 members got “on the record” as approving the measure. THE VETERANS’ administra tion estimated that the first year cost of the proposal would exceed 112.5 million dollars. It made no estimate of costs in subsequent years. Principal provisions of the bill: Increase from $138 to $150 rate of pay for total disability; increase monthly payments to widows and dependents of wartime casualties; full compensation for World War I veterans with disabilities pre sumed to be service-connected in stead of the present 75 per cent; additional pay for dependents of veterans with service-connected 50 per cent disabilities. . At present such payments are made only if the disability is 6$ per cent. GIVE-AWAYS: No Sinecure The business of winning radio give-away prizes is not all beer- and-skittles. A Hollywood insur ance man is authority for the con clusion. He spent his vacation as a con testant on such shows and wound up with $150 in one week—much more than he could have made working. He attended 20 radio shows, averaging four a day, say ing that he couldn’t stand any more than that. That’s all he could stand, he said. “It’s much more work than working,” he explained. The questions are easy, but the nervous strain is terrific. It’s too hard on me to do it more than one week each year. He made his killing, however, on one program. He was asked to tell a girl how her hus band would feel about her having a baby. He replied that “things are very convenient for fathers these days.” For that he received prizes worth $150. How to get picked as a con testant? Just sit on the aisle and wisecrack as the announcer goes by. ROUGH GOING Adversity Plagues Viking Saga Revival The “invading” Vikings had not counted on England’s weather. So, what was to have been a thrilling, colorful arrival of a sleek oaken ship on the Thames, turned into a ride in a greon bus, with the Vik ings’ horned helmets lying in their laps and their sharp spears neatly stacked in the racks overhead. It .was all rather anti-cllmatic. The band of modern Danish Vik ings rowed and sailed their open boat through more than 600 miles of North Sea to reach England. Along the banks of the Thames thousands of Britishers had gath ered to see them arrive. But bad weather intervened and the Vik ings decided to have their ship towed up-river to a pier. EDUCATION: Bicker & Strife The proposal for federal aid to education was getting nowhere fast. Its proponents, realizing all the while upon what thin ice they skated, had believed the plan had been handled with sufficient tact and skill to win some hope of its final approval. But at this stage of the game, that appeared to be nothing more than wishful thinking. THE explosive issue, made doub ly volatile by the injection of the religious issue by a bill offered by Representative Barden (D., N.C.) and by the public row between Francis Cardinal Spellman and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, threat ened to kill the proposal entirely. The Barden bill would exclude Catholic and other non-public schools from all federal aid. Be cause Mrs. Roosevelt, in some of her syndicated columns, had argued for separation of church and state, Cardinal Spellman ac cused her of being anti-Catholic. She denied the allegation and pointed to her record as proof. WITHOUT any attempt to argue the relative merits of each view point, capitol observers were gen erally agreed that these develop ments had done nothing to help the plan for the federal govern ment to assist in school programs by. giving financial aid. The proposal without the added controversies was stormy enough In itself, inasmuch as there had been much hue and cry to the ef fect that federal aid to schools would mean ultimately federal effort to control the choice of what would be taught in the schools. It appeared that this obstacle to the proposal might have been hurdled, but when the religious issue was injected the fate of the plan was seriously jeopardized. ADMIRAL BYRD: Far Horizons The lure of the frozen, silent spaces was calling again and Adm. Richard Evelyn Byrd, veteran polar explorer, was harkening. ACCORDING to reports out of New York, some 3,500 men and eight ships are earmarked for an Antarctic expedition, to be headed by Byrd, which will have as its objective the mapping of a vast area of unknown territory in the Antarctic about as big as Europe. If present plans were finally ap proved, the first ships would sail in October. The expedition would establish a base in New Zealand and remain in the arctic about four months of the south polar “sum mer,” before returning to the United States about April, 1950. IT WAS UNDERSTOOD the ven ture depended upon approval of Secretary of Defense Louis John son, but planning has been under way for some time. This, certainly, would indicate a high optimism that Johnson's approval is assured. It was said naval planes would probably participate in extensive aerial mapping, air-sea rescue work, and scouting for ice leads. The goal of the expedition, appar ently, is to be a great, oblong stretch of unexplored territory across the South Pole from Little America, site of the Byrd base camp in the admiral’s expedition HOLDS NATION’S SOCK ... Michael E. Slindlee, acting treasurer of the United States, looks on as Georgia Neese Clark, new treasurer, signs her name to receipt for $27,424,541,375.78 in the U.S. treagpry’s vaults. The cash, currency and securities formerly were charged to the account of Slindlee. The receipt was confirmed by six auditors who certified the figures to two-thirds of a cent. CLICKS WITH CAMERAMEN . . . Miss North Carolina 1949, Nancy Yelverton, Rocky Mount, still looks friendly and gay as 34th photog rapher takes her picture, four hours after she started posing on the sands at Atlantic beach, Morehead City, N. C. The cameramen worked in pairs, shooting 15 minutes each. Nancy passed up rest periods because she had swimming and volley-ball dates. She’s 18, 5’ 5”, 110 pounds, and has brown eyes, 34 bust, 24 waist and 34)4 hips. of 1929. A LARGE AREA, part of which is claimed by Australia and Nor way, lying south of Africa and stretching across the snowy wastes of the Antarctic toward Australia and South America, is virtually uncharted, and it is expected that aerial mapping will reveal many of Us secrets. The expedition, if finally ap proved, would be the admiral’s fifth to the south polar regions. Urged Arms Outlay Secretary of State Dean Ach- eson, who put in the major licks favoring appropriation of approximately 1.5 billion dol lars for arms to implement the North Atlantic pact, declared the aid program would prevent any aggressor from achieving a “quick and easy victory" in a future war. WHITE HOUSE: Tradition Wins Score a victory for history and tradition: the White House, official abode of the United States presi dents, will not be razed. Instead, the historic structure will be given a 5.20 million-dollar face-lifting job. A GROUP of six men settled the issue once and for all between advocates of renovation and those who wantd to tear down the present building and erect a new one. SOME SHCOTIN’ IRON, PARDNER . . . President Truman examines and admires the pistol carried by Mike Foliiard, son of a Washington correspondent, who greeted him upon his return by plane from Chi cago. The President landed at National airport after a two-and-a-half hour flight from the Windy City where he addressed officials of the Shrine convention. HEARD, BUT NOT SEEN . . . “Children should be seen, not heard” does not hold good for Kathryn Beanmont, 11, British youngster who will play the movie voice of “Alice in Wonderland,” a Disney all cartoon version of the Lewis Carroll classic. When she isn’t deliver ing lines In the filming of the story, she is making another kind of delivery on the tennis court. Kathryn is a daughter of Kenneth Beau mont, British singer and radio performer. IMPERIAL POTENTATE . . . Harold Lloyd, movie comedian assumes office as leader of the nobles of the Mystic Shrine after being installed in Chicago meeting of Shriners. TO WED VALEE . . . Eleanor Kathleen Norris, 21, red-haired University of California co-ed, will wed Rudy Valee in Septem ber. She said she turned him down the first three times be asked for dates. PLAN MARRIAGE . . . H. R. H., the Earl of Harewood, 26, son of sister of King George of England, and Vienna-born Marian Stein, 22, concert pianist, plan to marry in Church of England chapel this faU. COLD SHOULDER . . . Margo Dunn. Cudahy, Wis., gives cold shoulder to tame sparrow which has made the Dunns’ home bis borne since it was a fledgling. Sometimes it leaves but always returns, and it enjoys winging its way around the house, not a bit afraid of Margo and other hu mans in the bouse. (G) RATIFICATION . . . Gratified at the ratification of the Atlantic pact is President Truman as he holds the document bearing his signature. It effects US participa tion in the treaty and obliges US aid to Europe. Justice Murphy 1 HAVE PAID TRIBUTE many times to Frank Murphy when he was living, but it seems difficult to write about him now that ht is dead. One reason is that it is hard to realize that he is gone. A lot of people will miss Frank Mur phy. His family will miss him. His liberal friends on the supreme court will miss him. But most of all, the little people of the world will miss him. Shortly after Frank was ap pointed to the supreme tourt, he took me into his study in the Wash ington hotel, and pointed to a stack of law books. “That’s 'where I spend my evenings,” he said. “The news papers say that I’m no lawyer. They make fun of my legal abil ity. But they’re going to be dis appointed. And you’re going to be proud of my opinions,” he continued. There was something of the boy in Frank Murphy—to the very end. He loved praise, hated criticism, and was always a little worried as to what kind of supreme court jus tice he would be. He shouldn’t have been, for I am sure that some of Frank’s dissents will stand up—as he so ardently hoped—alongside the ringing defenses of freedom written by Holmes. More important, Frank Murphy' will always be known as one of our great cham pions of the common man. Murphy became attorney genera] in January, 1939, and immediately launched the biggest political clean up this country has ever seen. U.S. Judge Martin T. Manton, of the second circuit court in New York, had been getting away with graft for years. Many people knew this, but other attorneys general had let it pass. In Louisiana, this column had ex posed shocking graft by the old Huey Long gang. Frank Murphy took the columns, with supporting affidavits, called a grand jury, flew to New Orleans himself, and in rec ord time convicted Gov. Richard Leche, the Democratic national committeeman, the head of WPA, the president of the state univer sity, and several others. In Missouri, the newspapers had talked about the graft of the Fendergast machine, but Washington paid no attention. But, under Frank Murphy, a tough district attorney—Maur ice Milligan of Kansas City- got justice department support, and Tom Fendergast ended up behind the bars. Murphy also moved into Atlantic City against G.O.P. Boss Nucky Johnson, and started to move against Boss Hague in Jersey City and Mayor Kelly in Chicago. The latter two were democrats. Kicked Upstairs It was widely rumored when Frank Murphy retired as attorney general to join the supreme court that he was “kicked upstairs” in order to protect the Democratic bosses. I have a personal reason for believing this was true. However, it should also be noted that with the death of Justice Pierce Butler, a Catholic, in November, 1939, Roosevelt wanted a Catholic to take his place. Likewise, it was true that FDR’s fair-haired boy, Robert H. Jackson, was being groomed for the presidency, and the White House wanted the justice department spotlight to play on him. I am convinced, however, that the first factor—calling Murphy off the heels of the big-city bosses— was the most important. And here is my reason for thinking so. By this time—early in 1940—most of the Louisiana scandals had been cleaned up, and a grand jury was considering the indictment of Mayor Robert Maestri of New Orleans on a hot oil eharge. Suddenly, Chief Prosecutor O. John Rogge was called out of the jury room to answer the telephone from Wash ington. Returning to the jury room, he suspended the grand jury pro ceedings. Learning of this mysterious move, I went to Frank Murphy and asked for an explanation. Murphy told the truth. Mayor Maestri was not to be indicted, he said. He had re ceived orders from the White KouJe. That was 1940—a presidential year. In order to get the nomina tion, FDR needed the support of the big-city bosses, and in Louisiana the only man who could deliver the delegation was Mayor Maestri. Ironically, when Frank Murphy went up to the supreme court to be sworn in, he asked Felix Frank furter to accompany him. Murphy had recommended Frankfurter’s court appointment to the White House, and they were close friends. But in a short time, however, they were bitter enemies. Frank furter’s scathing sarcasm hurt Murphy, and they scarcely spoke. Murphy was also bitter against brain-truster Tom Corcoran, once his closest friend, but who he felt had conspired to block his prose cution of city bosses. Ain’t It So “A hill on an Illinois farm i*. moving east at a rate of 50 feet a year.”—Press report. H is said to be highly unusual for * f hill to become obsessed with wanderlust. Our idea of an optimist is a Fellow who has insomnia and is glad that it isn’t rheumatism or toothache that is keeping him awake. 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