Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE NEWBERRY SUN FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1218 College Street * NEWBERRY, S. C. PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY By ARMFIELD BROTHERS 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 I wrote a letter to eight or ten Senators and Repre sentatives in Congress which I wish to quote, together with the reply of Representative James P. Richards: My letter to the twelve gentlemen: “Dear Senator: ‘The State’ of today carries an Associated Press story from Washington. It is the usual roseate stuff about the Southeastern Power Administration. All the guff of the story leads to the request for money to build transmission lines. I know as a fact that it can transmit any part, or all its power, through private lines. It isn’t interested in saving money, of course, and Congress has too meekly been snared by suave administration lobbyists to take frequent plunges into Socialism. Our friends may be accepting the idea that the voters want all this, but if leaders in Congress haven’t the wis dom and courage to steer a proper course the voters might just as well have clerks in Washington instead of men whose vision and fundamental training make them our lead ers, the successors of the great figures of the past and the connecting links with a great future, developing our Nation’s time-honored conceptions. Mr. Truman’s seizure of the steel plants shows where we are headed and I greatly deplore the inertia of Congress, its utter failure to re-assert the powers of Congress and the limitations on the prerogative of the President. Now we have a pre cedent that may be invoked again. I lived ten years under the sort of government Mr. Tru man wants. I know something about it from the inside, but I never expected to find so blatant an assertion of Executive prerogative in this Country, nor so supine an at titude in our Congress. You and I know that Clark’s Hill power will be used by the H-Bomb plant in Aiken and will never be sent to Oak Ridge. That Oak Ridge claim is a lot of poppycock fed to Congressmen who don’t know geography. Let me ask you: If the Federal Government should have all the parallel lines it wants, may it not cut off South Carolina industries by sending the power to other States, leaving us in the lurch? Since we are embarking on grandiose concepts of the Presidents powers may not a Truman suddenly decide that Missouri should have the power? And divert it from us. Boiled down, is our Congress under the thumb of these lobbyists and bureaucratic Moguls, or may we expect some measure of sound statesmanship to guide our af fairs? Observe that we no longer talk about Reclama tion, Food Control and all that: today we are Boldly Power City Filling Station Strother C. Paysinger, Distributor A Tough Row to Hoe Barons with the people’s money. I expect to use this letter in my Spectator and over several radio stations. Because of my personal regard I shall be glad to use your reply. I hope the Senators and Representatives will give careful consideration to the trend of Executive arrogance which blossomed into such perversion as the seizure of the Steel plant. .With all good wishes and regards, I am, Sincerely yours, • J. K. Breedin.” Mr. Richard’s reply: “Dear Mr. Breedin: This is to acknowledge your indictment of Congress dated April 19, which I think is unjustified in many par ticulars. You end your letter by saying, T hope the Sena tors and Representatives will give careful consideration to the trend of Executive arrogance which blossomed into such perversion as the seizure of the Steel plants.’’ If you have been reading the papers and the Congressional Record recently, you have seen that Congress has daily been expressing its concern relative to the President’s un warranted action. It might be well also to consider again the fact that the Congress cannot stop the President from doing the kind of thing he has done except through im peachment. Practically every constitutional lawyer I have talked with does not consider that impeachment pro ceedings could be sustained in this instance. With regards and best wishes, I am Sincerely yours, J. P. Richards.” My reply to Mr. Richards: “My dear Mr. Richards: I appreciate your letter and your customary frankness. That Congress may be ‘daily expressing its concern’ does not change the fact of a deliberate and unwarranted in vasion of private rights by the President; nor does the expression of concern, without a remedy, mitigate the evil of a piece of tyranny which becomes now a precedent to rise before us like Banquo’s ghost. This grave condition that Mr. Truman agonizes over— is it not a little police action that he rushed in to settle with a little club and a cap pistol, so as not to infringe on the right of Congress to declare war? Because Mr. Tru man calls it a police action and Congress mildly acquiesced. Now he seizes the Steel plants and calls ft Welfare. Next he may seize all the printing and publishing plants and tell us the act is inherent in the presidency in order ‘to insure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our pos terity.’ It is not what Mr. Truman says that counts, but what he does. Mr. Truman asserts a prerogative and a discretion ut terly beyond the scope of his Constitutional powers; and the Congress talks about it, deplores it, proposes to lop off some part of the Executive funds, and all such childish, means, instead of confronting the issue with vigorous reso lution to maintain a Constitutional government, a govern ment of law, instead of a government by caprice, whim, prejudice or political aggrandizement. The Constitutional lawyers must have meant that im peachment would not be practicable, due to political ties, because some Members of Congress are fearful of chal lenging Mr. Truman since he is the so-called titular head of the Party. So far as the Constitution is concerned, it not only provides for impeachment in cases of ’treason, bribery, or other high crimes,’ but declares ‘misdemeanors.’ If the high-handed seizure of private property by use of the machinery of the Federal Government, in clear viola tion of Constitutional guarantees, is not at least a ‘mis demeanor’ what is it? You know as a lawyer that a mis demeanor is “An offense of less atrocious nature than a crime; applying to offense inferior to a felony and also to offense for which the law has not provided a particular remedy.’ But this is no mild act—to misuse the power of the Executive so as to confiscate private plants. I do not suggest that Mr. Truman was deliberately know-towing to the C.I.O.; that lowers the plane of the discussion. Let us confine ourselves to the Constitution which has been grievously set aside by an asserted Executive prerogative of ‘inherent power’ which sounds like the twaddle of the Divine Right of the Kings—a theory long exploded every where except in Washington. You are a forthright man and will appreciate a forth right expression which carries with it my very warm re gard for you and your outstanding qualities. To my home come nine^ dailies, ranging from. New York to North and South Carolina; and I keep in touch with Congress; but I read of no real purpose to re-assert either the powers of Congress or the reserved powers of the States respectively, or of the people, as declares the Tenth Amendment the Supreme Law of the Land. With regards, I am. Cordially yours, J. K. Breedin.” The States made the National (Government; each of the original thirteen States was an independent republic; it was completely Sovereign in dignity and power; each was recognized seperately as independent by Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence which was prepared in har mony with the remembered resolution of Richard Henry Lee incorporated that resolution, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Indepen dent States.” ~ These States—do you know that the word “State” means a Sovereign power? In International law Great Britain is a “State;” so is France; so is Russia. Our people of the Revolutionary era were trained lawyers and used legal terms in the technical and accepted meaning. These Sov ereign States created a general government for certain pul- poses: they did not create an empire or a Kingdom: they made a compact among themselves and the compact or con tract is the Constitution. The States did not clothe the Federal Government with “Police Power,” or any other power except those powers directly and explicitly confer red. And to protect themselves they adopted twelve amend ments which clarify their meaning. In this clarification ap pear both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments: Says the Ninth: “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the peopple.” And to make assurance doubly sure they added the Tenth: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Those sagacious and learned men did not mean to set up a King or anything with Kingly power. The King of England still has great power, inherent power, but he dare not use it; but we hear the President of the United States talk about “inherent powers” of the presidency. It is enough to make even Alexander Hamilton groan from his grave. And the Congress did not immediately impeach Mr. Truman. It was a great issue of Government and we stand in danger of having this endorsed by a political court. 1. You can legitimately employ narcotics if, in your profession yon use which: (a) periscope, (b) stethoscope, (e) telescope? 2. The Appian Way was which: (a) a dance, (b) method of timing racehorses, (c) a road? S. Egregious means which: (a) haphazard, (ID greedy, (c) flagrant? 4. Which is the Emerald Isle: (a) Ireland, (b) t uba, (e) Ice land, (d) Catalina? ft. Which of the following farrows: (a) mare, (b) c«*w, (c) sow? ANSWERS •AIDS (a) 9 *pn«[OJi (v)—t ~ •tntMSuu (a)—g puoa y (a)—* * '•doasoqtais <<1)—I A N EDITORIAL that will make the reader think appeared re cently in The Tribune, Prineville, Oregon. Here it is: “Back in a little town in eastern Oregon, there’s an old farmer, now retired, who’s establishing a great local reputation for being a very shrewd man. If you were to watch him as he goes around the town, talking to this person and the other, or at a public meeting, you could say, ‘There’s a smart man’. “But if you studied the man— his life and what he’s done—you’d discover yourself wondering if he actually is so smart. He’s always against. Anything new, he’s against it. Many of the things he has .op posed should have been opposed. As a town leader, he was opposed to lavish spending of town funds, he was opposed to all forms of federal controL “But his weakness was, and is, the fact that he never suggested anything positive to form a course of action. By opposing, and only op posing, he never led his townspeo ple into progressive activity . . . “It is common knowledge that If you oppose, without offering an other line of action, the opposition is meaningless . . . "Thinking and speaking tor dejinits beliefs takes courage. It also takes faith. We have been losing ground against confusion and bitterness because of the lack of faith and the lack of courage to believe in a definite program for the future.” • • • “The safest side for a man to take in an argument between two friends is the outside.’^—Dothan Eagle, Dothan, Ala. • • • An Old-Fashion Election From the Bulletin Free Press, a weekly newspaper published at Denver, CoL: “What we need in this country is an old-fashioned election cam paign, such as we had in the days of McKinley and Bryan in 1896— many . . . readers can recall the excitement of the torchlight pro cessions at night and the campaign oratory of William Jennings Bryan, who was an artist in making cam paign speeches. He made speeches to enormous crowds in all three of his campaigns for president—he could talk for three hours and when he stopped his voice was as good and clear as when he began. He was a good loser and never worried over his defeats. “It seems that much of the glamour and excitement has gone out of present day elections. While there are battles of words, name calling, and sundry epithets flying around, we don’t have the excite ment, the oratory, the heartfelt vo cal fireworks that used to accom pany political campaigns. People seem to be counting personal gains to be coming their way through legislation rather than feeling a personal interest in the candidates and, saddest of all—where are the old-time campaign songs that made political campaigns really worth while in those old-fashioned elec tions?” Truth is stronger than fiction, and more decent. HOW MUCH IS A BILLION? If a person had started in business in the year A.D. 1 with a billion dollars capital, and if he had managed his business so poorly that he lost $1000 each day, in 1952 he still would have enough capital left out of his original billion to continue in business, losing $1000 a day, for al most an additional 800 years, or until the year 2739. The U. S. National Debt on July 5, 1951, was $254,652,514,- 692.28. —Brevits “THE WAY TO WAIT” (From the poem by Isabel Mackay:) O whether by the lonesome road that lies across the sea O whether by the lonesome slopes, rock shadowed to the sea. Or by a sail that blows from far, my love returns to me! No fear is hidden in my heart that makes my face less fair No tear is hidden in my eye to dim the brightness there— I wear upon my cheek the rose a happy bride should wear. i - WHAT IS A BOY (By Alan Beck in Newberry Savings & Loan Associat house organ “Qome Owner”) Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity manhood we find a delightful creature called a boy. Boys come in assorted sizes, weights, and colors, but boys have the same creed: To enjoy every second of e minute of every hour of every day and to protest noise (their only weapon) when their last minute is ed and the adult males pack them off to bed. Boys are found everywhere ... on top of, undernea inside of, climbing on, swinging ‘ from, running aroui or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults i them, and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a oil its finger. Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair, the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket. When you are busy, a boy is an inconsiderate, bot some, intruding jangle of noise. When you want to make a good impression, his brain turns to jehy else he becomes a savage, sadistic, jungle creature be destroying the world and himself with it. A boy is a composite. He has the appetite of a h the digestion of a sword swallower, the energy of a pocket- size atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the lungs of a dictator, the imagination of a Paul Bunyan, the shyness of a violet, the audacity of a steel trap, the enthusiasm of a fire-cracker, and when he makes something he has five thumbs on each hand. He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, the boy across the street, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday School, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bed time. m Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. No body else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can cram into one pocket a rusty knife, a half- eaten apple, 3 feet of string, an empty Bull Durham sack, 2 gum drops, 6 cents, a sling shot, a chunk of unknown substance, and a genuine supersonic code ring with a secret compartment. A boy is a magical creature. You can lock him out of your work shop, but you can’t lock him out of your heart. You can get him out of your study, but you can’t get him out of your mind. Might as well give up ... he is your captor, your jailor, your boss, and your master ... a freckled-face, pint-size, cat-chasing, bundle of noise. But when you come home at night with only the shattered pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words—“Hi Dad!” “PUT ’ER THERE!” .The handshake is an evidence of friendship. Tradi tion has it that men first held out their hands, palms up, to show they carried no concealed weapons. Then some smart Aleck probably learned to hide a knife between his fingers, and so the handshake was in vented. There ought to be a course in handshacking. Colleges should set it up as a requirement for gradua tion, and give the youngsters a thorough drilling in the fundamentals. Thus we might rid ourselves of those two extermists —the guy who lets you shake his hand like a sack of sawdust, and the other one who likes to break a knuckle or two just to prove how strong a grip he has. Both such handshakes should never be allowed to mingle with human society. Just a cordial grip backed by a friendly smile—those seem to be the chief essentials in telling people you’re glad to see them.