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Page 6—The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, Feb. 16, 1967 COMMENT on Men & Things By J. K. BREED1N Perhaps we need an attitude of defiance in view of the re cent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. The great Court decrees and ordains that the Legislature of the State of Georgia must seat a man whom the Legislature of Georgia previously refused to seat. Now, now, that’s something isn’t it? Has the United States Court authority to compel the Legislature of Georgia to seat someone when the Legislature has definitely refused to allow him to take a seat? The Court is bound by the Constitution and must not set it aside. The Federal Court is no absolute authority - it is bound by the Constitution. What says the Constitution? Each House shall be the judge of its members and can accept or reject an\ member as it may decide to accept or reject. We must assume that the Federal Supreme Court Justic es are awareof their obligation to respect and conform to the Constitution. If I were a Georgian I would insist on an assertion of its own jurisdic tion by the Legislature of the Sovereign State of Georgia. Didn’t Georgia reject a decision of the Supreme Court many years ago ? The Constitution is so clear and explicit in this that I can hardly believe that the Supreme Court expects Georgia to bow meekly and humbly before the Court which is acting in clear disregard and defiance of the Supreme law of the land. Years ago, when men were men and declared themselves in open defiance of the arrog ance of Kings, men in England and men in America defied Kings and all others who in vaded their rights. We still cherish the memory of John Hampden of England. The snow of last Thursday which delighted the hearts of youngsters placed a beautiful coat 6f white on the lawn and shrubbery of the Southern home shown above. A few hours after the picture was taken Friday morning, only the hardiest of snowmen remained to remind of the almost five inches of snow. (Sunphoto.) King Charles may have cut off many heads, but the arrogant King lost his head, so that’s that. We owe much to England because many of our leaders had been educated in England. True it is that we had some very extraordinary men, but the spirit of that day has been quenched; today we mumble and blow off in the street, but the resolute, indomitable spirit of 1776 is not flourish ing now. I have a faint feeling that the new arrangement of the State Senate will not thrive. There is a dignity which has been lost. Just think of Sumter and Clarendon with no senator exclusively for either senator or Clarendon and some large Counties now are entitled to so many Senators that we think confusion will . result r ather than efficient operation. We are in an era of more or less hasty and ill-considered legislation on a national scale; HOME / LOANS Economical Rates Rapid Service For Home Purchase For Home Construction For Home Improvement The STATE Building & Loan Association 1117 Boyce Street Newberry, S. C. Dial 276-5660 Ralph B. Baker Louis C. Floyd Pinckney N. Abrams Thomas H. Pope and an arrogant assumption of authority and jurisdiction by ambitious Federal authorit ies, of all branches. Probably the States should repudiate some presumptuous assumptions of power. R. Aubrey Harley “The Defense Department reported last week that the number of American combat deaths in Vietnam from Jan. 1, 1961 to July 23, 1966, total ed 4,400, surpassing the total of U. S. Battle deaths in the Revolutionary War. Since Jan. 1, 2,820 Americans have died in Vietnam. Below are the number of American battle deaths in the nation’s nine wars. The Defense Department describes ‘battle deaths’ as those directly attributed to enemy fire, excluding accident al deaths or deaths in prison camps, and says that satistics on wars before Worid War I are estimates only. Revolutionary War - 4,435; War of 1812 - 2,260; Mexican War - 1,733; Civil War - 214,938; Spanish-American War- 385; World War I - 53,402; World War II - 291,557; Korean War - 33,629; Vietnam War - 4,440.“ “The U. S. Senate, wedding cakes, a cross-country high way, a great-domed cathedral . what do these have in common? Like an amazing number of our systems and customs, they are rooted in ancient Roman civilization. In areas from government and law, architecture and building construction to language and fine arts - even wedding cust oms and dress design — the world is indebted to the Romans for their contributions. A major gift to the modern world was their advanced system of roads. Auto drivers in many lands zip along a complex system of through- ways with seldom a thought of the Appian Way, the Empire”s longest and most famous road, is still traveled today. Roman roads were engineering achievements beyond those of any earlier people. Their build ers tunneled hills and built bridges over streams. Roads were remarkably straight,with easy grades and at regular intervals there were posts marking the number of miles to Rome. Originally, the roads were built for solders marching off to conquer neighboring count ries and provinces. Later, they became the avenues for com merce and united all of Italy by easing trade. And, as the Empire prospered, so did its people; soon the roads were used for travel and sightseeing. With this prosperity, the ancient world saw its bright est flower - Rome, in full bloom, and planting seeds that would reincarnate in later civilization. The Romans’ military strategy was superb, their engineering skills, the small town life, the excesses of the rich, and the strengths and weakness of the leaders were well known. The Empire contributed much to the modern world be fore it fell. Architects are still inspired by Rome’s great aqueducts, buildings and the ingenious use of the arch. Her architects were the first to construct the dome, two or more arches crossing each other. Most famous example is the dome of Hadrian’s Pantheon that spans a chamber 143 feet across. From Roman drafting boards also came the basilica, a long, high structure with rows of columns separating the central part of the building from aisles on each side. It became the model for Europe’s great cathedrals, and is copied in many churches and government buildings to day. Roman aqueducts were built to bring water from distant mountain springs for use in cities. These mammoth arch way constructions stretched for hundreds of miles in an in tricate system for which the Emperor appointed a super intendent of waterworks. To conserve their supply of building marble, the Romans invented concrete which they used to build the famous Baths of Diocletian and the Colosse um (which still receives thous ands of visitors annually). Romans used brick and concrete in a way that, until recently, no one was able to imitate. Gov'ernment and laws are tinged with Roman influence. Plebeians, the common people, were - the first to elect repre sentatives to government. The working-class plebes struggled for political and social equality by using a potent weapon of the modern world’s labor force - the strike. Tribunes, who represented the plebeians, gained the right to sit outside the doors of the governing bodies' chamber and shout ‘veto!’ (Latin for ‘I forbid’) against measures they opposed - first use of the veto. And members of the U. S. Senate and Assembly had their counterparts in the Roman Senate and Assembly. Still more far-reaching was the influence of Roman law. As the Empire grew, foreign ers trading with Roman citizens refused to recognize the traditional Roman laws. Gradually the judges developed the ‘jusgentium’ (law of nations), the beginning of in ternational law. Later the Emperor Justinian brought together in one great code all the laws under which the Roman government operated. The Justinian Code became the foundation for many legal systems in the modern world.” //V "V >«■< ~ 'o>> s Os, *o “YOUR PRIVATE BANKERS” 1418 Main Street Phone 276-1422