The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, May 28, 1959, Image 2
PAGE TWO
THE NEWBERRY SUN
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NEWBERRY. S. C.
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Strom
urmond
i\VL
1U! '
PIE
THE STRAUSS NOMIN^ATFON
After hearing and readintr the
By SPECTATOR
I was honored by an invitaiton to the dedication of the
Silas C. McMeekin electric power plant. I am not. an electrical
engineer, but even I could appreciate in some measure the
magniticient plant. prior to his election as President.
I heard the voting Governor of South Carolina deliver 1 feel that Admiral Strauss has
the principal addiess and then I heaid triend B. i\I. h^dwaids nrjade against him. It seems
speak briefly in happy vein.
I (juote the Governor: “Gov. Hollings, speaking at cere
monies for the powermaker at Saluda l)am on Lake Murray,;
to me that whatever differe
exist are concerned primarily',
matters of judgment, or .everp
in basjf phi
time to the overseas shipment of
radioactive isotopes^V,'hi«;h. fie felt
testimony for and agaiioit con- might possibly he use(E in" some
firmation of Admiral Lewis^Strauss
to he Secretary of Commerce, my
conscience dictates that I should
support his nomination in Com
mittee and on the Senate floor.
This great public servant has ably
served in the administrations of
President Wilson, Roosevelt, Tru
man, and Eisenhower and as per
sonal secretary to Herbert Hoover
said progress is being made to bring new industry into the'the nominee has erred—
State, ‘hut I can . , . assure you we have no room for com
placency . . .’ He said the 15.000 new jobs are needed to keep
pace with growth requirements of the state. Population is in
creasing, tenant farm families are being displaced, and young
citizens of the state want to find jobs in South Carolina, he
said.
‘The fight for new industry is no longer principally be
tween the South . . . against the industrial East . . . The
struggle now is among Southern States—states with essen
tially the same climate and the same aggressive labor supply
as we have here in South Carolina. And these states are keen
ly aware of the factors that attract industry’, he said.
The Governor said that the new McMeekin plant is one
of the most modern and efficient steam generating plants in
the world. It was built as part of a three-year construction
program costing $75,000,000.
‘The need for*this plant’, Hollings said, reflects a grow-1
not convinced that he has, al
though T realize that no human is
perfecf—it has been on the side
of security for our nation, for
which, in my opinion, he should be
chinmended, rather than condemn
ed.
Much oX the controversy over
the Admiral’s nomination has cen
tered around his original one-wolf
stand on the Atomic Energy Com
mission in favor of developing the
H-bomb ahead of Russia, his vote
with a majority of the Gray Boar^l
and the AEC to cancel Security
clearance to Dr. Robert Oppdn-
heimer, and his opposition at one
manner against our country since
adequate supervision was not pro
vided for in the proposal.
STATES RIGHTS, EDUCATION
AND HOUSING
Last week I reported to you that
various House committees w r ould
probably take favorable action on
three pending bills, one of which
I wholeheartedly favor and two of
which I strongly oppose. Since
that time the House Judiciary
Committee, by a vote of 17-15,
has agreed to report favorably H.
R. 3, ^he States Rights' bill. Con
gressman Robert Ashmore of
South Carolina’s .fourth district
played an . important role in the
winning vote. This vital legislation
If finally approved, will assist im
measurably in preserving the
rights of the States against fed
eral usurpation, particularly by
the U. S : Supreme Court.
The House Education Commit
tee favorably reported a $4.4 bil-
lion-dollar general federal aid to
education bill. This legislation is
(1) unconstitutional because educa
tion is reserved to the States un
der the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution; (2) unnecessary be
cause the States can and are doing
the job;, and (3) unwise because
it would lead to federal control
and ultimately could lead to fed-
Coming toward me under full steam was my old com
rade of the years. Bill Workman, the indefatigable seeker for
news—and a great gentleman.
I have paid my respects to Mr. S. C. McMeekin, the char-
i eral dictatorship. In addition. Con*
| gressman Powell iD-XY> ha- vow-
1 ed to offer his amendment to ure-
j vent Federal funds from going to
! segregated sc hoods. He tias i.een
y suaces-sfu! before on tkF.
( Tiie housing hill has now clear
ed the HoU'O Rttles.Committetv hut
I am hopeful that a -uostiutte bill
, which will involve, .mucn le^s mon-.
. ey can he pasted if a hill is to be
acted on.
TEXTILES AND GATT
i Early last week a news dis-
! patch from Geneva, Switzerland,
reported that the State Depart
ment had instructed its delegates
to the 14th session of the General
■ Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) to assure success of the
meeting by reducing textile duties
on textile fabrics and fibers and
some other products by ten per
cent. When this was called to our
attention, Senators Pastore, Cot
ton, and I, members of the Senate
Special Textile Watchdog Sub
committee .demanded that the
State Department withdraw the^s
instructions if such had beeh. i
sued. Officials of the Departm
denied that such, instruct jo n$fj
been' ^Lyen hr even considfcfed* alW
they promised a full invea^atioaffil
into the report. •- * i’
$50 MILLIONrFOR
HEALTH
A gpod example of the fisca
irresponsibility, which has account
ed for much of the 285 bitfcbnujil-
lar national debt, none of which
will be repaid this fiscal year bel
cause of deficit spending^ is the
International, Medical ahd Tfealth
Research Bilk which passed bke
Senate this week. Under the terms
of this bill, an initial expenditure
of $50 million in 1060 was approv
ed to create a new agency to du
plicate .efforts we are now making
in the international health ideld
through the United Nations.
The broad vision we Senators
were supposed to see in this bill
was a great research organiza-
tioTi in which all of the world’s
best minds are working together
to remove disease from the face
of the eajth. This is a noh]^ visipn
— so noble, in fact, that the bill
| passed the Senate by n 63 to' VT
majority were
MEMORIAL DAY
* V ... by Qr. S. Benson
PRESIDENI-H*ATI ON A L
EDUhATI^NfROGRAM
Searcy, Arkansas
PRICES AND OUR WELFARE
ernment at the same time restrict
ing tobacco acreage, the Rhodesian
farmers are growing greater and
greater amounts, and taking away
our markets.
Other Products Too
World-Wide cotton markets also
baun lost to American pro
ducers because of high price sup
ports^ .Americaii^wheat Ja in the
.A group of tobacco growers re
cently 'Went to Washington and, same sftuation, although the Ame-
appeared before the House Agri
culture Committee. Most members
of the Committee have constant
advocates of high rigid govern- -
meat? price supports for various
agriculture products. But the to
bacco growers requested a lower
ing of price supports on their pro
duct. Why? Because the high
price supports are causiffg Ameri
can tobacco growers to lose their
foreign markets. In other words,
American tobacco is being priced
out of the market. Other American
farm products with prices kept
artificially high through govefn-
uipport programs .likewise
markets.
, , ,, . .i | min if yen tie nian that he is. He richly deserves all the tri-' . t(1 T] . . ,i nu , nt
my population and the growing - utility demands pi a dynanj- , , • J A ot( . The majontj acic blinded, ‘ 1
. „„ . ...„ 4 . . . * g _ • 4 ,J I Lutes which were said aJld written. to the Uniterd States’*Suryeon Ueh- a,v lws,n «' markets.
1C economy. I he alwllty to mwl ihe net of such, pi .yt# rt-| T .,J ,• ,u . , r , .. . , „ cmlV thA he not Kay Vick.-r. an-A
fleets tin; wisdom and business acumen of a thriviliir private ; ' • ’• rdwatds spoke oi the splendid organization j s(i( , ll(nv mol . c than ^71.. minion nnlist. repaits on a
ctiten.ri.se. The vision and fortitude necessary to undertake j' vhlch Cill ' ne - S out the P TO K ram of aIr . Afr. Bd- "
, 4 „ i-, ,4 . , ^ + nf onr nonidn' wards was entirely riyht. tor Mr. McMeekin-has the most' 1 hev also i )a,(i no tu ‘ ei1 t( ) the na
such a task reilects liasic stienyth ol our people . j V , T1 ^ - v . ^ | tion’s budget director’s four oh
Hollings said that South Carolina, while seeking new in-! ]o > ;l1 : > mi enthusiastic helpers I know.^t ilAvo.tth>iiem ? rklng| jf , ct1olls t0 th „ Wll:
that a yreat oryanization draws its inspiration-^rwp a great
leader. 4 ... 1 * * f J ? ■
meriGih jour-
convevRation
! set' how
! could he ft])G)*t for this program. ] he had with a Rhodesian (Africa)
government official. “In a free
dustry from without, ‘must be constantly alert to the po
tential for yrowTh and development of industry already exis
ting in our state’.
He said: ‘Since 1945, we have seen more than $600
million invested in expansion of existing industry. That has
meant nearly 64,500 more jobs for our people. This is com
parable to the more than $800 million invested in new r indus
try for the same period, which provided 85.000 new' jobs.
‘The South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., is a South Caro
lina industry.' It is run by South Carolina brains and man
power. It serves South Carolina homes and industries. It is
South Carolina’s largest private investor-owned company’.’’
The brief remarks of Mr. McMeekin are an expression of
a man of deep consecration and humility:
“Mr. McMeekin complimented all w T ho had a part in the
planning and construction of the McMeekin plant and the
directors and employees of the company.
‘We dedicate it to the people we serve’ he said, ‘and to
the further advancement of South Carolina. It is evidence of
i *
the confidence we have in the future of this sfate. f We hppe
that it will serve as a monument to the free enterprise sy
stem we know today’. j .
‘There come, in the lives of all of us, moments when our
feelings and emotions chimot be adequately expressed. This
is one of those moments for me’, he said.
‘We have great confidence in the future of our state. All
of us in SCEG hope that we may fulfill, our obligations that
we will continue to warrant the confidence and the respect
of the people we serve’.”
I met many friends and felt the inspiration of renewed
friendships Of course T Can’t think of everyone at the mo
ment, but Mr. S’ C.'McMeekin, always urbane and debonair,
was gracious in his greeting.
Another Mr. McMeekin was there - “F. R.”, who is the
genius who manages all the mechanical operations. The
Treasurer, Mr. C. M. Oyer, and the Controler, Mr. Judson
Ready, were there, as were other leaders, some directors and
numerous managers, notably the group from Charleston—
and all about.
Mr. John M. Rivers, my great radio friend of Charleston,
was there with another comrade of mine, James B. Mahoney.
Mr. C. E. Daniel of Greenville; Mr. J. M. Blalock of Co
lumbia; both fraternity brethren of mine. I saw M
i .. . ■ t Y. i
I understand and warmly appreciate Mr. McMeekin’s
courtly manners, for I was reared in Charleston w r hen cour
tesy was the essence of polite sqciety; and in Virginia it was
even more pronounced; but among the elite of South Ameri
ca knightly chivalry w*as the rule arilohg gentlehien; so 1
find in Mr. McMeekin the gracious manners of the spacious
life of other days.
As to the electric plant: . : : ; ‘ . 5
“Actual construction began early in 1956 and proceeded
with a minimum of interruption. The first' uijit went ‘on the
line’ officially on July 1,1958 ; the second unit followed early
in January. 1959, completing the first phase of construction
at McMeekin Station.
The installation of the first two units at McMeekin Sta
tion represents an initial investment Of approximately $35
million and is further evidence of South Carolina Electric &
Gas Company’s firm confidence in the future of the State and
the area it serves.
At the height of construction, there w’ere 802 men em
ployed on this project working in three-hour shifts.
Excavation required the removal of 218,000 cubic yards
of earth and rock at the site of the station; anotVer'202,000
cubic yards were moved for the ash disposal basiq.
More than 23.000 cubic yards of concrete'vveffte ppyred;
over 1,000 tons of reinforcing steel and 2,700 tons of struct
ural steel were used.
Bituminous coal can be unloaded with the station's lo
comotive and coal car rockers at the rate of 800 tons (14 coal
cars) per hour. The coal is either stored in the. yard or con*-
veyed by belts into the plant. The conveyer shown handles
three cars of coal per hour for tw r o steam generators.
The South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a mem
ber of the Carolina Virginia Nuclear Power Associates, in
corporated. a four-company group presently engaged in the
construction of a proto-type nuclear power plant, at Parr,
S. C. Other members of the group are Carolina Power & Light
Company, Duke Pow r er Company, and Virginia Electric &
Power Company.
After months of negotiations, a contract with the Atom-
Energy Commission w r as signed in January, 1959, w r hich cov
ers the design, fabrication, development, construction, and
McEaehern. the big banker, but he didn’t see me. Perhaps! test operation of a heavy-water moderated pressure tube-
type reactor which will be fueled with slightly enriched ura
nium.
The steam produced will be used in the South Carolina
Electric and Gas Company’s conventional steam generating
station which adjoins the site of the atomic plant.
Capital costs of the project ^ih be borne by CVNPA and
have been estimated at $22,000,000; other costs and expenses
are expected to raise the associate’s share to around $28
my credit rating isn’t good. “B. M.” and Arthur Simons will
have to back me there.
As I was brow sing around I met Dr. Sumwalt, President
of the University of South Carolina, looking remarkably spry.
As I cl ini bed thesteps h> the third floor I saw another
old friend, former Governor Jeffries, looking youthful and
natty.
• I went to the big plant with the handsome “Buddy” (C.
C.) Lawson and came back with former Senator James H. j million.
Hammond, who says that he agrees and disagrees with me j The AEC’s cost will be about $15,075,000 which will in-
mdt'e than with anybody else in the world. He is probably cludo the cost of research and development programs and
right when agrees with me; but he is stubborn. ! tlie value of the use charges for fuel and heavy water which
Phillip Porcher, who never wearies in well-doing, was , will be waived for the first five years of the plant’s opera-
his inimitable self, helping me over some rough spots. • timi. . . •
Jim Hammond and I. just like husband and wife, fight June 30. 1962. It will serve in many experimental capacities
all the time but love each other notwithstanding. June 30. 1962. It wil serve in many experimental capacities
Returning : to' Columbia Mr. Hammond drove through i and probably as a‘tpodel for large scale commercial nuclear
some outlandish streets where he probably played marbles power stations slated for (fm futpre by the participating
as a little urchin. ! companies.’
1. It would further odd to (he
diffusion within the Government
of responsibility for dealing with
||territitional problems.
2. It Would increase the com
plexity of United States efforts in
the - field of international health.
3. It is not desirable to establish
a statutory institute to conduct
international health research. Once
enacted, a statute is difficult to
cancel out, requiring additional
action by Congress).
4. It calls for much more money
than needed.
I was impressed with the sound
ness df the position of the Sur
geon General and Budget Director.
I am also aware that the United
States is conducting an excellent
medical and health research pro
gram of its own. I have supported :
these domestic programs. How
ever, I could not support this ad- .
ditional international adventure.!
The time has come that we must;
realize that even our wealth isj
limited, and we cannot carry all
the World’s health problems as well
as its military and economic bur
dens.
WARNING ON INSURANCE
BILL
The Life Insurance Company
Income Tax Act of 1959 is now be
fore a conference committee of the
House and Senate. I am urging
the conferees, to consider carefully
the language in this complicated
bill so thgt insurance company in
pome from tax-exempt bonds of
States and Municipalities will
clearly he tax-exempt; otherwise,
States and Municipalities may
have difficulties in selling their
bonds. If this should occur, the
States and Municipalities would be
forced to turn to the Federal gov
ernment for assistance and the
control that would follow.
TEXTILE RECOMMENDATION
FOLLOWED
Pi ■esident Eisenhower has au
thorized Secretary of Commerce
Strauss to put into effect the ini
tial recommendation made by Se
nators Pastore, Cotton and me in
our Report on the Problems of the
Domestie Textile Industry. This re-1
commendatiou calls for an inter-,
agency committee to bo establish
ed within the Department of Com-i
merce to deal exclusively with
textile affair^. Our Senate Sub
committee on Textiles will work'
closely wbh this snon-f o-tie-esta-
blished inter-agency group to be
made up of high ranking officials
of the Departments of Agriculture
< ommerce. Defense. Labor, State, i
Treasury and others.
Sincerelv,
STROM THURMOND
The military ceremony tattoo,
which marks the beating of re
treat shortly after tapis, comes
from the Dutch Doe - den tap toe,
meaning "Put the tap to." It orig
inated years, ago when drummers
patrolled a town at night, warn
ing the troops to return to their
billet< from Tie local tap rooms
market,” the Rhodesian official
said, “we might have* had trouble
competing against your highly
mechanized farmers and many to
bacco plantations would never have
been started.” But with the high
price supports pushing up prices
of American tobacco and the gov-
rican taxpayers generally, and not
the wheat farmers, hay© so far
been left “holding the bdg.”
Wheat and cottbn farmers are
producing not for the market but
for the government -r- to the tune
of billions of tax dollars each year.
It’s costing a million dollars a day
in taxes just to store the surplus
of agricultural products which the
American and foreign consumers
do not need or won’t buy at gov
ernment fixed prices
The agricultural situation is on
ly one of- the seveual danger ,spote
in the American economy. Some
of our industrial products .which
have competed ; successfully in the
world market for a century now
are being priced out of the market.
The situation is serious *— to the
industries and their millions of
stockholders, to the millions of
workers whose jobs are jeopardi-
zedr and in the long run, to all
American citizens.
American Plants Hit Hard
At any farm supply store in
America you are likely today to
find bundles of barbed wire from
THURSDAY, MAY 28. 1959
(iennan f;uti'rie> tar outselling
American-made. wire, "Ven chough
the German products must be ship-
pod across thy Atlantic and car
ried by train from East Goast
ports. The American jobber and
retailer get German barbed wire
at a price considerably under the
ro.-t of tin* same quality wire pro-
ducevL in American^ factories. and
can sell it for less. American bai-
1 wire is being priced out of
ihe wuxld.. JUiukcU — ev£u oyfCSf
its domestic market. More ibjm
50*7 of all barbed wire now
Apierica is imported. \ - -
The, major cause >t this is that
wages in American steel mills and
fabricating plants have heen-ptrs+r-
ed up each year — without suffi
cient regard to productivity and
competition. And the German
workers, with excellent machine
tools, have improved their per-
worker productivity far beyond
the margin of wage raises they
have been getting from time to
time. This puts their companies
and their nation in an excellent
competitive position. Japan, too, is
producing several products that
are taking markets away from
American industry.
Of Concern to Everybody
A midwestern company manu
facturing nails pays its workers
$2.90 an hour and sells its pro
ducts at' $ 9.80 per 100 pounds.
Similar nails from a German plant
with wage cost of 90 cents an hour
can be purchased in America for
about 15% loss. America now im
ports ' about 50 times more nails
than it exports. The U. S. NEWS
AND WORLD REPORT notes that
a long list of other American items
are being priced .out of the market
by wage increases oiit of* line with
productivity and the reality of
competition. These include bicy
cles, sewing machines, steel flat-
ware, typewriters, fishing tackle,
clocks, watches, clothespins, wool
en gloves and fabrics, cotton cloth,
cameras, plywood, automobiles,
tires, radios, turbine generators,
and many other items.
Not only the welfare of Ameri
can industry — the ownership-
worker team — but of the whole
American population is endanger
ed. Our American plants making
barbed wire naturally are having
to cut production, closing down,
jobs. Plants making all these other
products likewise are hard hit.
Our nation's great production of
wealth through manufacturing is
jeopardized, and that’s of concern
to everybody. This situation should
be understood - and recognized by
labor union leaders. Wage raise
demands must now be measured
against the' competitive situation
in the world market.
• 7 • •
It is the wish of all of us at Newberry Federal, that
g’ood health, happiness and success follow you in your
profession, wherever you might locate.
• r
If you remain in Newberry, we want you to come
to see us when you wish to invest or borrow money.
Wherever you might locate, consult your Federal
Savings and Loan Association in that vicinity, and they
too will offer a service similar to ours.
INSURED
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A S AV I NG S INSTITUTION FOU N D E O ‘ 1.9 3f5
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