Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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■SFx-.pA* / V K >>y/. a . i^^SjI*X***-** ' - ?W I THOSE WHO DO NOT believe in the virtues of others betray viciousness in the depts of their own hearts. THERE IS NOT A more pleasing ex ercise of the mind than gratitude. VOLUME 24; NUMBER 36. By The Way ^' By Oorfa A. Bandar* THE OLD YEAR In a few days the old year will be gone. So rapidly did it pass that it seems only a few weeks ago that we finally became accus tomed to writing the date 1960 instead of 1959. Now we must learn all over again. There were times for us dur ing 1960 when it seemeo that things were about as bad as they could possibly get. But it has turn ed out to be a good year, after all, £ind much of that goodness was caused by the kindnesses of our families and friends during the times of our tribulations. We face the year 1961 with the hope that peace and happiness will prevail; that there will be no war or rumor of war; that strife in the nation and in the w'orld will cease; and that the leaders •of our government will come to their senses and return this coun try to a system which made it great—the system of individual enterprise. NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, DEC. 29, 1960 ♦ $2.00 PER YEAK L V' Happine$$ 'or 1 TO ALL OUR READERS W6/ iTTJ'f Babson Sees Little Dies Suddenly 'i' COUNTING ON US Our yankee friends may revile us because we prefer to cling to customs of the past, but they are counting on us to save the coun try. I could not help being impres sed with this fact as I read Ro- £er Babson’s Annual Forecast which appears on this page of The - Sun. Mr. Babson (and I) find a little consolation in the fact that John F. Kennedy won the presidency only by the skin of his teeth and for that reason, we believe that possibly he will not try to ride roughshod over the Congress in an attempt to put into effect all of his welfare- state programs. If this does hap pen, Mr. Babson says, the presi dent won’t get much suport from the Republicans and Southern Democrats. Without the Southern Democrats, there would be little hope for keeping the country from being a complete welfare state because Republican streng th just isn’t enough to control the liberals and their program of gov ernment paternalism. So while the Yankees may re vile, persecute and hate us for our stand on civil rights, they s.ill look to the South to save their souls from becoming the property of an all-powerful government. Last Rites For ‘Bill’ Smith Held Saturday .lames William (“Bill”) Smith, 71, ^ Newberry businessman, died Friday morning at his home on College Street after a short ill ness. Mr. Smith was born in the Bush River section of Newberry County, son of the late James William and Eulalia Adams Smith. He had been in the auto mobile business since 1913 and waft owner of the Smith Motoi Company. Mr. Smith was a life long member of Bush River Baptist Church, a member of the Lions Club, a past president F of the Indian Club, a past di rector of the South Carolina Auto mobile Association, a member of the Dodge Dealers Association of South Carolina, the National Automobile Association and a past director of the board of con- | trol of Margaret Hunter Park and Pool. He is survived by his wife, Irs. Joe Caldwell Smith; three listers, Mrs. W. J. Swittenberg Bnd Mrs. J. E. Senn, both of Newberry, and Mrs. W. M. Bu ford of Kinards, and a number of nieces and nephews. Funeral services were conduct ed at 3:30 Saturday afternoon from the Whitaker Funeral fS Home by the Rev. Arden J. Stewart and Dr. Paul L. Grier. Interment was in the -Bush River Baptist Church cemetery. The employees of Smith Motor Company served as active pall bearers. Politics, Building Programs Highlight Year’s Activities By MRS. A. H. COUNTS The citizens of Newberry Coun ty have good reason to be proud of records achieved during 1960 in a number of fields. In the religious field, ten churches engaged in moderniza tion construction work, some build ing new churches and parson ages; and one church accepting pledges of almost $150,000 for a new building, making a total of approximately $400,000 spent or to be spent on church buildings. In the field of education, citi zens of the county, tired of haz ardous ' elementary schools and tired of waiting for funds from the State Finance Commission, voted a big bond issue of $848,000 for new construction and renova tion. Grounds are already being cleared for construction of new buildings at Boundary and Speers Street locations. Newberry College opened its 104th session with the largest en rollment in its history, and mark ed the occasion with a new presi dent, Dr. A. G. D. Wiles. The 11th president of the new institution replaces Dr. C. A. Kaufmann who resigned because of health. Dr. Wiles was formerly head of the English Department at The Cita del. Farming yielded a good income for county farmers, estimated by County Agent A1 Busby at be tween six and seven million dol lars—particularly in dairying and egg production. The year marked the first Agri-Business trip to some of the leading farms in the county. About 150 farmers and businessmen made the trip in buses furnished by the National Guard. At the State Jersey meeting in Newberry, Henry L. Parr, a young dairyman of near the city, captur ed 22 of the 30 awards offered. He was named outstanding young farmer in the county and in the state, and attended the national convention in California. Another honor was captured by the family of Carl Setzler, who exhibited in Chicago the largest turkey ever shown. The county advanced another step in industrialization when Ben Robinson of Reigel Textile Cor poration, Ware Shoals, was select ed as executive director of the Newberry County Development Board. Since April, when Mr. Rob inson came to Newberry, he has organized parties and two trips have already been made to the East and North in search of in-1 dustrial prospects. Judge Eugene S. Blease received a reproduction of the Ordinance of S. C. Secession from the Union j in appreciation of his sendees to the Confederate Centennial Com mission. The presentation w r as made by Rep. John A. May at a joint meeting of Calvin Crozier and Dravton Rutherford Chapters, UDC. In national politics, Newberrians almost—but not quite— Heserted the way of their forefathers and theif Democratic presidential nomi nee carried Newberry County by only a small majority. On the lo cal scene, most county officials had no opposition. Aubrey Harley, Senator, decided not to offer for reelection. His place will be tak en by Jesse Frank Hawkins, who defeated Earl Bergen for the posi tion. Hawkins is a current mem ber of the House, Bergen had pre viously served in the House. Two newcomers will complete the county legislative delegation: Steve C. Griffith, Jr. and D. P. Folk. T. William Hunter, who had served several terms in the House, was defeated. Harold B. Hendrix nosed out S. W. Shealy in the Supervisor’s race. Miscellaneous happening of interest during the year: A new employment office was erected at the corner of College and Boundary streets, and a new post office was built in Little Mountain. The Newberry High School band, under the direction of Miss Lorraine Paris, received a big ova tion as it marched in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. The Newberry County delega tion, seeing a savings of $10,000 or more annually, abolished the county home, placing the few in mates in private or rest homes. The county received a big boost by having Interstate Highway 26 run about 30 miles through the county. The work has practically been completed and cars by the thousands use it daily. Walter T. Lake, Newberry at torney, was appointed a member of the South Carolina Industrial Commission. A group of 42 women, members of Pomaria, Bethlehem and St. Matthew's Lutheran Churches, af ter baking cakes for over 50 years and sending them at Easter to the Orphan Home in Salem, Va., chartered a bus and made a visit to the home. Ralph B. Baker broke a record in this section for attending every Rotary Club Ladies Night in Newberry during the past 40 years. His wdfe also attained the same record. Drayton Rutherford Chapter, U. D.C., Mrs. R. D. Wright, presi dent, paid tribute to the 494 Con federate soldiers from the county who died during the War Between the States on Confederate Memor ial Day. Among the prominent public servants v'ho passed away during the year w T ere former Congress man Fred H. Dominick, Judge By ron Vivian Chapman and Dr. J. Claude Sease, county health offi cer. Of importance was the expan sion of Old School Manufacturing Company, increasing employees from 48 in 1948 to 150 during 1960, and increasing production from 300 dozen garments a week to 1500 dozen a w T eek. The in crease was made possible by a loan, the first, from the South Carolina Business Development Corporation. A tragic wmeck took the life of Robert Morton of North Carolina, when the asphalt-laden truck he was driving was in collision with a Southern Railway freight train in the town of Pomaria. Frank Smith’s Father Dies John William Smith, 82, retir ed Camden automobile dealer, died in Columbia Tuesday morning. He was bom in Camden, where he had spent most of his life, and was a member of Lyttleton Street Methodist Church of Camden. Surviving are two sons, John L. Smith of Lancaster and William Frank Smith of Newberry; and two grandchildren. Funeral services were conduct ed Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. from Dunbar Funeral Home by the Rev. J. O. Kempson. Interment was in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Summer Wise, son of Mrs. Eu genia Wise and the late Pat Wise of Newberry, died suddenly Tues day night at 11:30 at his home in Cinckihati, Ohio. In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife of Cincinnati; one , pother, William R. Wise of Greenivood; one sister, Mrs. Rob ert (Pauline) Livingston of New berry; and a number of nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles in Newberry and Saluda. Funeral arrangements were in complete at press time Wednes day. Newberrians Are Saddened By Eskridge Death Col. Ladson G. Eskridge, Jr., 49, a native,of New'berry, died Saturday morning in a hospital at Lowry AFB in Colorado where he was deputy commander after a brief illness. He was the son of Mrs. Maude Langford Eskiddge of Newberry and the late Ladson G. Eskridge. Col. Eskridge finished Newber ry city schools and graduated from The Citadel in 1932. He re ceived his Air Force training at Kelly and Randolph Flying School, San Antonio, Tex., and was a; veteran of World War II. In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife, Mrs. Agnes P. Eskridge, and one daughter, Miss Nancy Eskridge, both of Lowry AFB, Colorado; one sister, Mrs. W. F. Partridge of Newberr- y; one niece and one nephew. Funeral services and burial were conducted at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. Mrs. Emma Mills Died Tuesday Mrs. Emma Reeves Mills, 67, widow of Samuel A. Mills, died late Tuesday afternoon in a New berry hospital after a short ill ness. Born in Newberry County, she was the daughter of the late T. S. and Laura Wicker Reeves. Prior to her retirement she was em ployed by the Mollohon Plant of the Kendall Co. She was a mem ber of Summer Memorial Luther an Church, and was a member of the United Lutheran Church Wo men. Surviving are five sons, Re ward, Elon, Leland, Ha~ry and Rondol Mills; a daughter, Mrs. Robert O’Dell of Newbarry; a brother, Ma^fdm W. Reeves of Newberry; 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be con ducted at 3:30 p.m. today (Thurs day) at Whitaker Funeral Home by Rev. Kenneth Hewitt. Burial will be in Rosemont Cemetery. Study Club Has December Meet The Literary Study Club held its December meeting at the home of Mrs. Elbert Dickert. Mrs. Ro bert Schumpert, program leader, presented a program on the Christmas theme. She told how the customs and traditions of the season originated. Christmas car ols were played and their origins discussed. Mrs. Schumpert used as source books, “One Thousand and One Christmas Facts and Fantasies,” ”L e t’s Celebrate Christmas,” “Stories of Christ mas Carols.’ Miss Margaret Paysinger, Re ciprocity chairman, reported that the date of the annual Reciprocity meeting would be Wednesday, January 18, v/hen Mrs. Emily B. Coxe of Darlington, author of “Mother of the Maid,” will be the guest speaker. Mrs. Dickert served a delicious and colorful Christmas buffet to those present. IS RECOVERING AFTER ATTACK Emerson E. Westwood is a pa tient at the Newberry County Me morial Hospital where he was carried Tuesday of last week af ter suffering a heart attack. His condition is said to be satisfac tory. FIREWORKS ON DISPLAY Thera will be a fireworks dis play at the Newberry County Fairgrounds Saturday at 7 p.m., compliments of New'berry-Saluda County Fair. There •will be no ad mission charge, and the public is invited. Recent Movings Mr. and Mrs. George C. Trefs- gar and son moved before Christ mas into the G. K. Dominick home, which they^ purchased, on John stone St. Mr. and Mrs. James L. Miller are now making their home at 2613 Alex Ave. Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Richardson are now making their home at 2810 Milne Ave. Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Arrowuod have moved to 915 Tarrant St. to live. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Milford are residing at 1109 Glenn St. Mr. and Mrs. Jerald M. Baker Jr., are making their home at 1905 Miller Ave. Mr. and Mrs. Alvivn Kibler have moved to 2139 Glenn St. to make their home. Mr. and Mrs. G. K. Dominick have moved into the Britt home on Nance St., which they recent ly purchased and remodeled. Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Ba ker spent Christmas with their daughter, Mrs. Sydney Carter and family in Charleston. Their grandson, Syd, returned for a vi sit with them for the remainder of the week. Roger W. Babson This year I have divided my forecast into eight-* sections as indicated by the following eight headings. Instead of covering general business as a separate to pic, I am sure that a reading of the following wdll give a clear idea of my thoughts on general business. Naturally, my first sub ject will be the political outlook. Politics and the New President I do not expect any big changes under President Kennedy. If he had won by a landslide, I would be quite worried, but with a narrow plurality in the electoral college and only a small fraction of 1% over Nixon in the total popular vote, I think that our new presi dent will be very much on his good behavior. Certainly he will not have much influence with ei ther the Republicans or the Con servative Democrats of the South. He may make radical rdifeommen- dations in his inaugural-* address to “save face,” but most bf these will not become legislation. He will recommend certain new welfare legislation, which will in clude medical care for the aged, an increase in Social Security, a new minimum wage, increased public housing, help for the dis tressed areas, and more &id for education. Commodity Prices, Including Gold Higher prices of commodities at the retail level are more or less certain, but wholesale prices will probably decline in 'most in stances. Prices will not Hse be cause of inflation during 1961. The first of the price advances will be absorbed by the manufac turer. Owing to the increased competition in all lines, wise manufacturers and retailers will keep their selling prices down. This means that their profits wil] be less if they are unable to re duce their own costs. All of this means that general business may show less increase in acti vity and profits in 1961 than in the previous year. Now in relation to gold: Three- fifths of the Free World’s gold comes from African mines; one- fifth from Canada; and the bal ance from the U. S. and. else where. There are many rumors that the U. S. will “revaluate”, creating a higher price for gold. This wall not happen during 1961; and I think that the price of many gold stocks will decline during 1961. The very discussion in Con gress of possible devaluation w'ould cause ud to lose more gold. Everything will probably be done to avoid such a discussion and I believe President Kennedy will publicly state that he is opposed to it. Temporarily, dollar devaluation might be a shot in the arm for American business, but it will not cure the cancer or whatever else is causing the pain. Not only would foreign banks withdraw gold before such legislation was passed; but if such legislation should pass in the U. S., it would be followed by similar legislation in England, France, Switzerland, Germany, and other important countries. I advise investors now to forget this question of gold devaluation and not speculate in gold stocks at this time. Leading gold stocks are now selling 25% or more above their price of a year ago. Another thing that in vestors should remember when buying Canadian , gold stocks is :hat a number of Canadian gold .nining companies are now re- eeiving a subsidy from the Cana-j dian government to keep them from being shut down by higher labor costs. This subsidy would come off as the price of gold rises. Stocks and Bonds It is unpopular for me to take a bearish position in my Annual Forecast. Most ofEthe newspap ers and my readers like optimis tic forecasts. In all the years I have been making these forecasts last December was the first time that I refused to take a definite position. At that time the Dow- Jones Industrial Average Was 670 and tod^y it is fluctuating around 600. - Corporation earning reports now coming out are not too good. In many \ases th&vgross is kept up or. perhaps increased, but the net is oft, {Many eppipanies will show a depone for i960 compared with .1959,^ Prosperity has con tinued soAty&g that ' jnost manu facturers, retailers, and consum ers are assuming it will last at least another year* I cannot hon estly agree with this. Therefore, I feel that 1961 will see lowei prices for the Dow-Jones Indus trial Averages. I hope that many readers with small businesses are showing a profit. Those who are not should begin to reduce their loans and “trim their sails.” In many cases good bonds now yield more than good stocks. This is unfavorable to the stock mar ket and favorable to the bond market. Therefore, I believe that bonds will continue around their present levels in 1961. Many read ers will be wise in shifting now from certaiit stocks to bonds. There will be reductions in stock dividends; hence it would be much better to hold Jbonds with fixed- interest payments rather than risk a reduction in the dividend payment of stocks. I especially call readers’ attention to “tax- exempt general obligation muni cipal bonds.” These are the fixed- interest municipals of cities with a direct lien on all the taxable property in the city. I would ad vise against holding bonds of such large cities as might be vul nerable to bombing in case of World War III. My favorite municipals are those of the capital cities in the interior of the country; in fact any growing interior city should be a high-grade investment. These bonds must pay their interest ir respective of business conditions. The capital cities are especially helped by having the payroll of the state governments. Living Costs and Inflation Living costs may rise some what during 1961 due to the in crease in population and the de sire for more comforts and con venience. A person like myself, who has had children and grand children, knows how each suc ceeding generation considers as necessities what the parents con sidered luxuries. This, together with the higher cost of labor, is the primary reason for today’s record-high (127.3) cost of liv ing. As there is only so much land available, rents will increase slowly. There, however, need not be a higher cost for food. The farmers are constantly raising greater crops which are being processed in more economical ways. The only reason for the cost of food to increase is the dependence of so many house wives on package “mixes”. Ul timately 'all vegetables will be wholly or partly cooked and pur-! chased in containers. Wages will hold up although there wall be more unemployment in 1961. This means that take- home pay will be less for most families. Inflation is not to be feared during 1961. With his small pop-1 ular vote plurality, Mr. Kennedy will be very slow to do anything to hurt the purchasing power of the dollar. Barring World War III, I believe that the dollar will be just as sound a year from now as it is today. Our U. S. dol lar is looked upon by the world as a standard. Farm Income and Prices Good crops and moderate prices indicate a fair year in 1961 for farmers. I ,therefore, look for a reasonably heavy volume pf the things farmers buy during 1961, incHiding equipment for getting on with less help. The farmers cannot expect any boom, but pro fits, bn average, should be at sat isfactory levels. My forecast, in detail, is: Larger volume of marketing should more than offset any re duction in farm prices. Therefore", 1961 cash receipts for farmers should be slightly higher than 1960’s $11,300,000,000 net. I furthermore learn that the in telligent farmer is reducing his indebtedness, which is always an optimistic sign. As I dictate this forecast, I am told that growing conditions are favorable in most sections, with sufficient moisture in the ground and other seasonal optimistic factors. The prices which farmers will receive in 1961 for crops will, of course, depend upon weather; but, each.year, ag ricultural science ie helping the farmers to avoid early frost los ses and to secure needed moist ure. Employment, Wages, and Taxes Strike activity may well be at postwar minimum during 1961, with any dislocations limited to independent separate companies. First important industrywide ne gotiations will come in the anto in dustry, but not until September 1961. Railroad workers cannot strike until November 1, 1961 at the earliest. Most steel contracts hold until June 30, 1962. The average employment in 1960 was about 67,000,000 work ers. I forecast that 1961 will av erage a million fewer wagework ers. Countrywide, unemployment reached as high as 4Mt mUHim. in 1960, and for 1961 may hit 644 million. The basic difficulty is that while industry is cutting back, the labor force is becoming larger. This means that it will (Continued on Page 3) BIRTHDAY Jan. 1: John Harrison Rag land, Mrs. G. W. Kinard, Larry Young, Grace Reddick Joye, Ra chel ’Verts, George B. Brocks. J^n. 2: Mary Fulmer W< 11s, Ben Pressley Stewart-Jr., Mrs. Mamie Smith, David Stone, Mol ly Lindsay, Robert Wicker. Jan. 3: Carter Abrams, E. Kirby Lominack, Dick Neel, Wanette Walton, Sam P. Bo land, Charlie S. Cromer, Mrs. Mary Ringer. Jan. 4: Howard Clark, Mrs. John Pappas, Murray Hawkins, Claude Sheppard, Elaine Brown, Paul Shealy, Mrs. Wilbur J~ Ringer, Debra Smith,. Steven Fuller. ‘‘ Jan. 5: Miss Juanita Hitt, Johnson Hagood Clary, Christ ine Livingston, William K. La- throp, Dianne Livingston, Jim mie Bowers, Horace Lee Booz er, Jr., Jerome Havird, Mrs. Pauline L. Sheely, J. J. Ennis, D. L. Ruff. Jan. 6: Henry Edward Cous ins, R. T. Feagle, Mrs. Arthur Ballentine, Mrs. Grady Ringer, M. O. Fulmer, Brauders Shea ly, Dessie K. Kesler, Evelyn D. Davis, Sally Berry. Jan. 7: J. D. French, John Rex North III, Mrs. J. R. North, Jerry Richardson, Vir ginia Jones, Ervin D. Richard son, Mrs. James D. Crooks, W. L. Shealy, Mrs. David Luther Ruff, Robert 'J. Forbis. /ia •-•*>13 UK- "■-'ms " * -smi