Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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f PAGE TWO THE NEWBERRY SUN THURSDAY, DEC. 31, 1953 'HAPPY UNDING KID!' 1218 College Street NEWBERRY. S. C. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY O. F. Armfield, Jr., Owner 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: $2.00 per year in ad vance; six months, $1.25. COMMENTS ON MEN AND THINGS By SPECTATOR Are we to develop a population of puny people—frail men and skeleton women ? Is the grand old American dish of ham and eggs or “possum ad taters” to pass into the history books, while the giants of tomorrow sip their half pint of tomato juice, with one unsweetened, unlarded, un salted and unbuttered cracker, while gulping down one ham and eggs or “possum and taters” to pass into the cup of strong, unsweetened coffee, mildly touched with a teaspoonful of skimmed milk? Well, the real he-man of yesterday may pass off the scene, the man who could tramp miles on the hunt, or sit a whole day waiting for a fish which did not bite. Soon our robust tomato-juice stalwarts may have to ride to hunt and rest in the car waiting for a shot; or they may be carried to the field on litters, like the ancient Kings and their noblemen. “Millions of overweight Americans are plunging into a huge demolition job and at the same time, into a big con struction project. The demolition, of course, is aimed at all the surplus poundage they’re toting around. By one conservative esti mate, 35 million Americans are weightier than they should be, and the average excess is reckoned at 16 pounds. That would make a burdensome total of 560 million extra pounds of flesh. It’s building a major business in foods intended to keep your strength up, your palate pleased and your weight down. These foods may contain as little as one-twentieth the calories of comparable conventional products. The cuts are accomplished by removal, or cutting-down, of sugar, salt, fats and oils. The products include such unlikely items as chocolate bars, peanut butter, mayonnaise and maple syrhp. The rise of low-calorie food is, of course, but one result of more zealous weight-watching by Americans. Other well- known effects include the growing popularity of non-fatten ing soft drinks and the long-term declines in per-capita con sumption of potatoes and what flour. One big sales-booster has been a sharpened public aware ness of the dangers of overweight as a potential life-shorten- er. They credit publicity drives by the American Medical As sociation, among others. On top of this has come synthetic sweeteners into the canning of fruit for weight-watchers. Canned fruits are the best sellers in the whole dietetic line, food people agree. Diet fruits came packed in water, in place of th conventional sugar-containing syrup. They generally had a flat taste. Now they’ve been made more appetizing by use of the same chemical sweeteners that are being usd in non-fatten ing soft drinks. They contain not a single calorie. In some cases, the synthetics are mixed with saccharin; in others, they’re used alone.” What sort of talk is this—calories? And here it is the gladsome Christmas season, a time of feasting and rejoicing, for in all the ages man has expressed his rejoicing in a feast, and sometimes the flowing bowl, whatever that is. Truly this is not the season for skimping on the calories, is it? x In the olden times, the great feasts of our hearty an cestors, a whole beef, a hog, typified the lavish scale of the Christmas dining. Then we think of the fruit cake, nuts, raisins, candy, ambrosial delights. I happen to be a tee-totaller—one who fires his gustatory sensations and inflames his imagination with a bottle of cola for Christmas. Of course my robust friends smile at that in scorn. Still, I don’t see a hundred close, devoted and warm-hearted friends when only a few are there. In other words, my cola or coffee helps maintain my mathematical perspective. I think often of a fine friend I once had, a chivalrous gentleman and a great soul. He liked to tease me about being a “dry.” And he used to tell me the most engaging liquor stories, which I enjoy very much. I was with him in Charleston years ago, as Christmas ap proached. With his great smile he said “I’m going to prove to you and by you that you “drys” are hypocrites. Now tell ine frankly: what do you pour over a fruit-cake to make it just right?” I looked him in the eye and said “We use a bottle of cola.” He threw up his hands and shouted “What heathen!” I ought to say that I am not as innocent as you think. I was born in Charleston and spent some time in Virginia, being the son of a Virginian of the Valley. Even so, I need what little intelligence I have unclouded. Why should I decline to drink liquor and then have it in my food? Isn’t it a travesty, that so many celebrate the coming of the Lord, the Giver of Life, by blunting the glorious spirit He gave us? But do you pine for the long ago ? Here is the bright side: DELMONICO’S Restaurant 494 Pearl Street Bill of Fare or Coffee or Coffee Pork Chops Pork and Beans Sausages Puddings Liver and Bacon Roast Beef or Veal Roast Mutton Veal Cutlet Chicken Stew Fried Eggs Ham and Eggs Hamburger Steak Roast Chicken Cup Tea Bowl Tea Crullers Soup Fried or Stewed Liver Fried or Stewed Heart Hash Pies Half Pie Beef or Mutton Stew Corn Beef & Cabbage Pigs Head & Cabbage Fried Fish Beef Steak REGULAR DINNER 12 CENTS After we have been through a fairly prolonged period when the cost of living has been rising, it is often difficult to distinguish between the normal changes in our living hab its caused by the progressive expansion of our economy and the somewhat similar changes which are purely the result of inflationary forces. Several years ago, we reproduced the accompanying menu from Delmonico’s famous restaurant, which was in use shortly before the war between the states, as a means of pointing up the problem of inflation over the long term his tory of our country. We think, however, that the same menu may also serve the useful purpose of reminding us of America’s expansion progress over the years. t The perfectly normal reaction of many people to the menu is to feel that they would like to go back to the ‘good old days’ when they could buy a full course dinner for twelve cents or a chicken stew for five cents; but we wonder if they really would if they had to give up all of the economic gains that are represented figuratively by the difference between a tw r elve cent diqner and the. cost of a similar dinner at to day’s prices. In the first place, the low prices shown on this menu are a little deceiving in that most people had considerably less, money to spend back in the ‘good old days.’ What was it like to live in the 1860’s? Here are a few thoughts that are worth noting. \ Here are some of the things that economic progress has brought during the intervening years. Or to put it another way, here are some of the things you would not have had in the ‘good old days:’ Incandescent electric lights, automobiles and trucks, radios, television, telephones, air conditioning, electric fans, vacuum cleaners, X-ray, dish washers, motion pictures, paved interurban roads, airplanes, radar, “wonder” drugs, powered washing machines, electric refrigerators, clothes dryers, power irons, typewriters, antiseptics. What this all boils down to is a story of economic progress for the capitalistic free enterprise system. If you take a good look at some of the above items, it is not hard to see why those who have been willing to venture their capital in the economic development of this country over the years have been extremely well rewarded. Also, one does not have to be an incorrigible optimist to believe that looking back on 1953 from a vantage point of 100-odd years hence, there will be even more impressive milestones of conomic progress. We also have no doubt but what those who participate through an ownership interest in such future progress of the country will be as well reward ed as have been those in the past. If you wanted to travel short distances, you either walked or used a horse and buggy. For longer distances, you might have taken a steam train, but it would have been an old- fashioned wood burner that made many stops and was ex tremely inconvenient. In 1860, you could not have traveled by train from coast to coast for the last continental rail link was not completed until 1869. Mail was slow and uncertain although you could have sent a letter into certain areas for three cents an ounce. You would have had to remember, however, that the three cents would buy a fairly sizable amount, of food in 1860. As far as mail having to cross the continent was concerned, the fol lowing item from Compton’s Encyclopedia should give you an idea of what the problems were: ‘The famous pony express started in April 1860. For 19 months it carried mail between St. Joseph, Mo., and San Francisco by way of Sacramento. Daring, skillful riders rode swift, hardy little ponies at top speed, changing mounts at 190 stations along the 2,000-mile route. The trip took eight to ten days. Many riders were shot from their saddles by Indians; and pioneer tales tell of ponies galloping rider less, but the mail was intact, to the next station.’ So much for the life of 1860. samww yi/lTH JAN 1 and a rise in ^ V Social Security tax rates on payrolls only a matter of days away, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security released letters from persons over 65 asking that something be done about raising the ceiling on the amount of money a person can earn before benefits under the Old Age and Survivors Insurance System are stopped The present limit of $75 a month for work covered by So cial Security apparently is * not enough to get the j« o done, citizens believe Rep. Herman P Eberharter (D Pa.) turned loose a few barbs to indicate that he felt the Com mittee’s minority members weren’t being properly recognized. He termed it “very unusual proce dure” that testimony of Philip Vogt, administrator of the Douglas County. Neb., Welfare Administra tion, was released to the press be fore Vogt actually testified. In answer. Subcommittee Chair man Carl T Curtis (R Neb.) said the Vogt release had been pre pared in advance of the hearing after a conference between the Sub committee staff and Vogt Angler L. Goodwin (R Mass.) also a Sub- . committeeman member, defended the Committee by stating that the hearings were conducted “to bring out the facts as to the workability of the system.” The record will speak for itself, he said, and will prove "there is no intention of breaking up social security, but of trying to improve it ” All this manuevering interested Mr. Average Citizen, who will see more of his paycheck go into social security taxes in the days ahead. Of great interest also were the find ings reported by an insurance com pany after a study of what happens to the social security dollar. Accord ing to this report, 17 billion dollars, or roughly two-thirds of the 24 billion dollars collected in Federal payroll taxes during 16 years of the Social Security program, has been used to pay general expenses of the U. S. Government, from lead pencils to submarines. This is, of course, strictly accord ing to law. but, as the report states, “means that Uncle Sam’s multi-billion-dollar Social Security reserve fund for old age pensions and benefits consists of a bundle of his own “IOU’s”. Records show that Old Age and Survivor’s Insurance benefits paid from 1937 through 1952 amounted to about eight billion dollars—one third of the money actually col lected. As prescribed under Social Security regulations, the payroll tax money left over was invested in U. S. Government bonds, to build a reserve fund for the in creased claims of the future. The catch is, the report states, that the Treasury has taken the money turned over in payment for bonds and used it, along with other Government income, to pay cur rent Government bills and ex penses. Sooner or later the payroll tax money must be raised all over again by the U S. Treasury, if it redeems its outstanding bonds. DaieCarnegie ★ AUTHOR OF “HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING” ★ \X7’ILLIAM B. LYLE, JR., 4136 Washington Avenue, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was building a boat. The framework had been com pleted, and he was stretching the plywood around the curved surface of the prow when he discovered that a gap existed between the lower surface of the plywood and the framework. Plywood has its limitations for bending, and this was one of them.. It simply would not pull down to fit the boat framework. He had been working on the boat tn his spare time, which was usually rather late in the evening, and he was tired. He probably should have been in bed an hour before. He sat down and looked at the situation with thoughts of despair—and worried for half an hour. He visualized having to rebuild the whole front end of the boat and he did not want to spend this time back-tracking. He stopped and asked himself the question, “BID Lyle, how big a fool can you be? You know the problem; the plywood won't fit the boat. What are the facts in the case? If the plywood won’t fit the boat, you have to make the boat fit the plywood.” There was no other solution, so he went to work at the task of changing the framework. Immediately he felt better because he had conquered his worry by deciding on a course, of action and acting on the decision. This case made him think of .all the times that he had been in similar situations where there were other small things from day to day causing him to worry. Now when he has occasion for worry he simply stops a minute and ‘ thinks each little worry through. He gathers the facts, analyzes them and decides on a course, of action. Then he follows the course of action he believes to be best. That simple formula has saved him endless worry. CARNEGIE T 1 E<IP REDUCES SPILLAGE . • e You can reduce the amount of spillage by using the tried and tested method of a Up on your feed trough. There is little to construction, as shown in the illustration and inset and rewards will be less spillage and a cleaner feeding area. CROSS tft, £2 ideas from other editors From The Morristown World, McIntosh, South Dakota: You’re a student coming home from school or maybe you’re going to shop. Maybe you’re taking the family to visit relatives over the weekend. Somewhere along the road you pick up a hitchhiker. You won’t have to stop to pick him up. He’ll get on at some corner where you don’t stop or maybe on some long hill where you try to go around a truck so you won’t lose time. It won’t be time you lost. It’ll be your life. And the hitchhiker you pick up? Some pictures show him as a grin ning skeleton. Others show him as "a black angel or a man with a scythe. His name may be speed or booze. It may be sleep, careless ness or bad brakes. That hitchhiker is death. You’re pretty smart, you aver age South Dakotan. You’ve got an education and can figure the bat- /ting averages of your baseball players. But you can’t seem to get through your head that time saved going around a car going uphill at 50 miles an hour so you can go 65 a few hundred feet isn’t much. It only takes an hour more to go 200 miles at 50 miles an hour instead of 65 ... A lot of you are going to take chances during the coming days. You’re going to take chances because you think an accident can’t happen to you. We hope it won’t. • * • From the Surburban Press, Shar- onville, Ohio:*No matter what hap pens in the interchange of unpleas antries between writers on both sides of the border between Canada and the United States, there will be no permanent ill-feeling between the peoples of the two nations. In the first place, citizens of both lands have entirely too much in common to get permanently mad at one another. Each year Cana dians come south to the United States on visits of business and pleasure. Each year even greater numbers of our own citizens go north to Canada for the same rea sons, although probably the tourist lure is responsible for the greater number. No nation has a monopoly on blabbermouths, an undeniable truth long accepted throughout the liter ate world, and no nation is going to permit a cordial entente of many years standing to be disturbed. We like the people of Canada and they like us, with the usual excep tions on both sides. We see no more reason for becoming irritated with Canadian comment than we do with some of our own sounding off. CONGRESSIONAL mjJii' frti.ii.)1iT Q—How is the meeting date of Congress determined? A—The 20th Amendment of ihe Constitution required that Congress meet each year on Jan. 3, “unless they shall by law appoint a different day.” That’s what the first session of Congress did before the last adjournment—scheduling the second session for Jan. 6, since Jan. 3, 1954, fell on a Sunday. Special sessions may be called by the Presi- v dent at any time. Q—What provisions does the law make for succession to the Presidency in case both the President and Vice President die, resign, or are impeached or incapacitated? A—From 1886 until 1947, the cabinet officers were In the line of succes sion according to the seniority of the departments they head, led by the Secretary of State, provided they fulfilled Constitutional re quirements. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 inserted first the Speaker of the House and then the President Pro Tempore at the Senate ahead of the cabinet. If a cabinet officer should rise to the White House, he would serve only until a Speaker or President Pro Temppre became available, and the President Pro Tempore would step aside upon qualification of a Speaker. Although official ly “Acting President,” the Speaker or President Pro Tempore would complete the unexpired Presidential term. Q—Could a person other than an elected Representattre serve as Speak er of the House? A—Yes. The House, according to the Constitution, is empowered to choose its Speaker and other officers, without restrictions. In fact, the Speaker has always been a Member of the House. Q—If Washington were attacked, could the President convene Congress elsewhere for a special session? A—Yes. The Constitution provides that the President **may, on extra ordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them” in spe cial session. Place is not specified, and the rules have been in terpreted to grant the President the right to move Congress from Washington. (C*pyiisa> iSBS, Congressional Quarterly) DOCTOR JIMMY By Maud M. Welch AIR ARMY WINS TOWN . . . French Gen. Henri Navarre (left) gets report from Gen. Gilles, paratroop commander who fed thousands of airborne French and Viet Nam soldiers in capture of Dien Bien, French Indo-China. I T WAS four a.m. when Jane heard the phone. Snow on the ground, the wind howling and Jim my would have to go out on. a call He was dressed when she got back to the bedroom. “George Snetcher, indigestion, gas pains.” Jane found Jimmy’s old overcoat and rubbers, handed him his satchel. . She had breakfast ready when he got back. Jimmy took the hot cofifee with a big smile. “George is aU right now.” The phone rang. Jane answered. A call from Minnie Lacey. Her little girl had a high fever. Jimmy swaUowed the last of his coffee, got into coat and rubbers. It was nine o’clock when he got back. Three patients were waiting. Little Lissie Stokes had cut her wrist when she’d reached up to get some glasses from a high shelf, Jimmy had to give her a shot while he ^ probed the wound. “Be more careful, honey,” he said when he’d finished. “I will. Doctor Jimmy. Thank you,” Lissie said in her sweet girlish treble. There wouldn’t be any fee, Jane knew. Lissie’s father wasn’t work ing. Jimmy said, “I’m trying to find a place for him now.” Jimmy helped in the community wherever he could. Children brought their sick pets. He went out in the fields to doctor cows and horses. Good things he was a vet as well as a doctor. Sometimes there were accidents on the highway and Jimmy had to turn his cottage into an emergency hospitaL A year or two ago, an elderly man had lost control of his car not far from Jimmy’s of fice, had been seriously injured. Jimmy and Jane had nursed him for more than a month. He seemed to be alone in the world. ■ “He didn't pay you either.” Jane had once reminded Jimmy. She didn’t often do this. Jimmy always insisted that his- patients paid him when, they could. After supper, Jimmy leaned back with his pipe going. ”One of these days when my ship comes in. Pm going to quit and buy us a truck farm. We’D raise chickens.” Jane smiled. She’d heard that before. The phone rang. Mrs. Baa- com’s husband was having an at tack of asthma. Jimmy started tn a down-pour of rain. Jane hoped the old car would behave. She also remembered that she’d forgotten to give Jimmy his mail Two letters, a medical journal. Jimmy didn’t get to the Bas- coms. Mrs. Bascom phoned un easily. Jane was uneasy too. She phoned Sam Godwin at the filling station, and they started out to look for Jimmy in Sam’s truck. The car had slid off the road and Jimmy's arm was pinioned by the door. When they got him free at last, his arm hung limp, but Jimmy insisted on making the call, saying he would give the hypo dermic with his left hand. At last they were home again. Jane dressed Jimmy’s arm. It wasn’t hurt much. She brought his mail. After a minute Jimmy said, “Who’s Benjamin Tucker?” “He’s that old man we nursed so long when he had an accident on the highway.” Jimmy said slowly, “He died and left u6 forty thousand doUars.” Jane sat up startled, then said, “Now you can buy that truck farm.” ■“Who said anything about a truck farm?” Jimmy exclaimed. ‘Tm going to build a clinic wittk hospi tal rooms. People who can pay will; those who can’t won’t have to.” Jane smiled. She knew her Jim my. She knew too. The Lord was on side. That’s why his g< arm hadn’t been badly hurt. 'Ate, .