The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, April 28, 1950, Image 4
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THE NEWBERRY SUN
1218 Collegre Street
NEWBERRY, S. C.
0. F. Arm field
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.
I
COMMENTS ON MEN AND THINGS
BY SPECTATOR
South Carolina’s Constitution
may need amending, or we may
need a new Constitution; cer
tainly we need something. But
is it a Constituion that we need
above all else; or do we need a
NEW attitude, or, perhaps, an
amended attitude?
Did you ever think of the
real purpose of a Constitution?
It is, above all, a statement of
certain rights of the individual
which a Legislature may not
take from him or violate, and
which the courts must assure
him, guarantee to him. One
such guarantee is: “ . . . nor
shall any person be subject for
the same offence to be twice
put in jeopardy of life or limb
Constitution of the United
States, Fifth Amendment. This
is one of the bulwarks of indi
vidual right and is set forth
not only in the Fifth Amend
ment of the Federal Constitu
tion, but in Section 17 of Ar
ticle One of the Constitution
of the State, the language be
ing almost the same, the State
Constitution guaranteeing
against second peopardy of “life
or liberty/' whereas the Feder
al Constitution speaks of “life
or limb."
Strangely enough, the courts
find that one cannot follow the
language absolutely. For exam
ple, if a man named X wobbles
along a street in a car he may
strike another person. The
Town may arrest him, try him
on a charge of bad driving and
sentence him to jail for ten
days. That is one jeopardy. But
suppose the *man who was
struck develops something ser
ious and goes to the hospital;
may X now be tried by the
State on a charge of Assault
and Battery, which is an of
fense against the State? Sup
pose he be committed to the
Penitentiary for a year? That
is a second peopardy. Now the
man who was struck comes
home and dies, all the doctors
agreeing that his death was the
direct result of the blow. Might
this man be indicted now for
murder or manslaughter? All
resulted from the same act.
Would that be placing the man
in jeopardy three times?
A very interesting case seems
to be brewing in this State. A
man tried and acquitted in one
County is wanted in an adjoin
ing County for the same of
fense, the same act, the very
act for which he was acquit
ted. I don’t know the facts,
the details of the alleged crime
for which the man was tried,
and am not interested in the
details. What interests me is
this: What about that man’s
Constitutional rights, the guar
antee against being placed in
jeopardy of life or liberty a
second time?
Some one has made the state
ment that the man, acquitted in
one County, should be brought
to trial in the neighboring
County and allowed to plead
his Constitutional rights! Well,
isn’t that going too far? How
would a poor man fare in a
case like that? Must he retain
able and expensive Counsel to
plead his Constitutional rights,
when the records of the Court
and the common knowledge of
£ all men is that he has already
been tried and acquitted in an
other county on the same facts?
What appears alarming to me
’mis that the State of South Caro
lina—the State—wants to pros
ecute him twice. As you know,
the persons tried in our court
houses, in every county, are
tried by the State, not by the
Counties; and the alleged of
fenses are crimes “against the
peace an ddignity of the State;
as the indictment must say.
We have a bit of confusion
here that has its roots deep in
our idea of the rights of a citi
zen. A man is arrested by offi
cers in a county, or on a war
rant by a Magistrate of the
county. A grand jury of that
county brings in a true bill;
and the trial is before a petit
jury of that county. But the
jsecutor is the State’s law-
and is paid by the State,
because the law is the law of
the State and the trial is for
a breach of State law, although
the jury is a body from his
County. And the Judge is a
State Judge.
In the case referred to, there
is this unusual experience: two
counties claim that the man
violated the law within their
limits. But, even so, the indict
ment charged him with violat
ing the “Statutes in such case
made and provided and against
the peace and dignity of the
State/' Can this man violate
twice by one act “the statutes
in such ca^e made and provid
ed and the peace and dignity
of the State?”
Whether the State made a
mistake in trying him in one
County rather than another, it
is for an offense against the
State that he was placed in jeo
pardy by the State* and he
was acquitted by the State.
How can we even consider an
arrest?
Doesn’t the Constitution mean
anything?
The question of a new atti
tude resolved itself into this:
do we mean to be restrained,
as well as guided by, a Consti
tution? If not, this Constitu
tion will serve as well as any,
for this Constitution has enough
good in it to serve a helpful
purpose and not enough con
fusion to bewilder us more than
the attitude of those who kick
it aside whenever it would
stand in their way.
We are able to write a Con
stitution but we are not in the
calm, reflective mood of men
whose minds are on the eternal
principles of justice; just now
we are all for some fad or fancy
of government, or against too
many ideas. The ideas are as
out of place, many of them,
as are some inhibitions of the
present Constitution. Some day,
one can’t imagine when, we
may be prepared in mind, spirit
and resources to write a great
charter for the State. But first
let us restore sanity in our Na
tional Administation, in our
Congress, in our Federal Courts
specially the Federal Supreme
Court; and let us finish with
the South Carolina Senatorial
campaign. Perhaps then we
may have our minds unencum
bered with a lot of pride pre
judice, and foolishness that to
day obscure the facts and make
us see through a “glass darkly,”
as the Apostle Paul says.
MRS. MAMIE C. TAFT
Mrs. Mamie Coppock Taft, 81
died early Saturday afternoon
at Newberry County Memorial
hospital shortly after admit
tance.
The widow of J. W. Taft, she
had made her home in Pros
perity with her daughter, Mrs.
Carroll S. Mills, for the past
eight j'ears. She had made her
home in the Reedy River sec
tion of Greenville county for
ten years.
Funeral services were con
ducted at 3:30 Monday after
noon from the graveside in
Reedy River Baptist church
cemetery by Rev. H. E. Whit
ten, assisted by the pastor of
Reedy River church, Rev. Seth
Hester.
Sh£ is survived by one daugh
ter, Mrs. Carroll S. Mills of
Prosperity; one sister, Mrs. J.
A. Mozelle of Jackson, Miss.;
two granddaughters, Mrs. June
Campbell of Joanna and Mrs.
Joy Camp of Greenville, and
one great-granddaughter, Miss
June Campbell of Joanna.
Electric power production and
sales always interest me be
cause they are a sort of busi
ness barometer. I read every
week the rise or fall of electric
power generation and sales in
all sections of the United States.
I note with special satisfaction
that we of the Southeast are
usually above the National av
erage. Recently Mr. S. C. Mc-
Meekin, President of the South
eastern Electric Exchange, in a
convention in Virginia, deliver
ed an address which I quote
from the Associated Press re
port, as published in The News
54 Courier:
“Utility executives from 10
Southeastern states today heard
S. C. McMeekin, Presided of
the Southeastern Electric Ex
change, ' tell about the rapid
growth of the electric industry
in the South since V-J Day.
Mr. McMeekin, president of the
South Carolina Electric and Gas
company opened the 17 th an
nual business conference of the
group with a review of the past
year’s progress of the privately
owned companies who serve
more than 4,000,000 cusomers
in the rapidly growing South.
‘The members of the exchange
are determined to keep pace
with the expanding South and
we— plan to spend $300,000,000
in 1950 alone,” declared Mc
Meekin. The utility leader
went on to say that the num
ber of farms served by the pri
vately owned companies had
more than doubled since V-J
Day and that approximately
100,000 new farm customers
would be added to the lines
this year. Citing the fact that
the companies employ more
than 42,000 persons, with an an
nual payroll in excess of $140,-
000,000, the utilities are by no
means resting on their oars, but
are determined to continue to
bring th e benefits of electrical
living to more and more people
in the South. Mr. McMeekin
emphasized that ‘this industry
has never been too little or too
late with any power demand
even though the companies not
only had to curtail their ex
pansion program during the
war but also had to meet an
unprecedented demand for powd
er after hostilities ceased.”
Mr. S. C. McMeekin is, as
you know, President of the
South Carolina Electric and Gas
Company, a big company which
now covers more than half of
the State. It is a matter of
pride when our fruitful workers
are recognized as a very able
Electrical Engineer and execu
tive of broad experience in
large areas of the United
States. He is a Clemson grad
uate and a son of Fairfield
county.
MRS. JOE J. BOAZMAN
Mrs. Janie Reel Boazman, 57,
wife of Joe J. Boazman and a
prominent and beloved resident
of Chappells, died at her home
Saturday morning after a long
illness.
The daughter of the late W.
T. and Elizabeth Ann Harling
Reel of Edgefield, she took _an
active interest in the social,
civic and religious life of her
community, being a devoted
and faithful member of the Sa
luda Babtist Church. She has
a host of friends who will be
saddened at her passing.
Survivors include her hus
band, Joe J. Boazman; five
children, Mrs. G. W. Dominick
of Chappells, Mrs. J. S. Boozer
of Clinton, Mrs. R. B. Able of
Saluda, Earl Boazman and
Ralph Boazman, both of Chap
pells; three grandchildren, two
brothers, W. A. Reel, Sr., and
J. W. Reel, Sr., of Edgefield,
and two sisters, Mrs. A. M.
Deitz of Weaverville N. C., and
Miss Pearl Reel of Edgefield.
Funeral services were con
ducted at 3:30 Sunday after
noon from the graveside in Sa
luda Baptist church cemetery,
Chappells, by Rev. G. R. Petti
grew and Rev. Roy Durst.
More and more of our lead
ers are native sons. James H.
Hammond, now of Columbia
and Beech Island, finds that
his native county line has been
shifted so often that he just
claims to be a native of all
Southwest Carolina. Mr. Jeff
eries, though long connected
with Colleton, is a Cherokee
man; Senator Brown of Barn
well is a native of Aiken coun
ty. *
In the textile field, Mr. J. B.
Harris, Vice President of the
Self Mills, is President of the
South Carolina Cotton Manu
facturers’ Association; and Mr.
E. S. McKissick, of Greenville,
is President of the American
Cotton Manufacturers’ Associa
tion.
There are many able men in
the Legislature; for some rea
son they don’t seem to use all
their ability in public service.
They are recognized at home
as capable men, many of them
leaders in every constructive
effort, but one wouldn’t think
so, if he happened to look over
the official record, would he?
Senator Harry F. Byrd of
Virginia, addressing the South
eastern Electric Exchange, said
that President Truman is a So
cialist, citing much to sustain
the charge. But one point per
mits me to protest. Senator
Byrd says that the President
“is proposing to increase Gov
ernment spending by more than
eight billions over 1948, more
than half of this having nothing
to do with wars or rumors of
wars.
What I ask is this; Who will
authorize this spending? The
Congress of the United States?
The Congress should disregard
all the Truman phantasies and
stick to the necessary business
of governing. Instead of that,
the Congress plays along with
the Truman vote - seeking
schemes, reducin this-and-that
by a few millions now and
then. What is needed is a vig
orous repudiation of Mr. Tru
man and his foolishness by men
of resolute spirit 'who will have
something of the old time fire
and idealism in their souls.
Politicians may be gravely
concerned about staying in the
Party; but most of us are not
seeing the “gravy - train;” we
are alarmed by the feebly sur
render we are making of a
great inheritance of liberty and
orivate initiative. After us the
deluge: Yes let’s play politics,
even if we mortgage the chil
dren’s future. That’s what we
are doing.
The South Carolina White
men have no party of their own.
The South Carolina Demo
cratic Party trembles before a
Federal Court. To me the is
sue has always been clear: we
must decide whether to stand
four-square for what we con
ceive to be our rights, accept
ing like men, whatever conse
quences may ensue; or we must
surrender by trimming, and
side-stepping, ducking and dodg
ing. The English could never
coerce the Irish, could they?
What made this a republic?
Because the men bowed and
knelt to King George the third?
Is that what we were taught
in school?
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