Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, April 6, 1967—PAGE 3 SENATOR STRO HURMOND Reports PEOPLE GOVERNMENT BY GUIDEIJNE Although we are taught to believe that the United States has a “government of the peo ple,” the real trend today is towards “government by guide line.” This trend means that the people today are ruled more and more in their daily lives by the unalterable deci sion of some bureaucrat or appointed official, instead of by legislation framed by their elected representatives. The term “guideline” has al ready become familiar to us because of its association with so-called civil rights directives. On occasion after occasion, cer tain federal authorities have foisted their own interpretation of the laws upon the people. Sometimes they seized upon the flimsiest of legal pretexts; sometimes their interpretations went directly counter to the plain language of the law. But the key factor in “gov ernment by guideline” is the blatant grab for power by the executive branch of the govern ment. Although the civil rights edicts have been played up in the headlines, the same power grab is going on in other areas under the Johnson Administra tion. Just last month, for example, a ruling of the Federal Trade Commission set down a prece dent which threatens to give the government power to regu late advertising practices of magazines and newspapers. It is an accepted practice in the trade to give volume discounts based upon the space pur chased. The Federal Trade Commission ruled that such a practice gives an unfair ad vantage to companies who ad vertise the most. ARBITRARY DECISION The effect of the FTC ruling is that the company is pre vented by arbitrary decision from reaping the competitive advantages won by success. Furthermore, the nation’s free press will discover that its rev enues as an advertising medi um, and therefore its indepen dent strength, will decline. Of course, the Federal Trade Commission has no power to control the volume of advertis ing at all. It has seized the power, on the strength of its mandate in anti-trust legisla tion. Nor is the Federal Trade Commission the only Federal agency seeking to control ad vertising. The Federal Commu nications Commission recently renewed the licenses of several Florida broadcasters, with the proviso that the stations report the number of advertisements carried and explain any unus ual concentration of commer cials. The Federal Communications Commission has no specific mandate to control the amount of advertising a station can carry. FCC officials justify the unusual demand on the grounds of public service. Yet it is plain that the public itself can de termine if it is well-served and express any displeasure simply by turning the dial. CATV REGULATION The Federal Communications Commission has also taken upon itself the Federal regu lation of community TV an tenna systems. Congress has to date refused to give the FCC regulatory power over commu nity wired systems. Yet last year, FCC officials issued regu lations by edict -and in effect told the community antenna TV industry to take it to court if they didn’t like it. Sometimes even projects which are worthy in themselves may be established by the same kind of unauthorized power grab. In 1966, President Johnson announced that he had directed the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish a National Center for the Prevention and Control of Alcoholism. Legislation to establish such a center was at that time pending in Congress; yet by executive fiat, the Cen ter was established without Congressional oversight or de bate. In the same way, the Public Health Service set up the more controversial National Clearing house for Smoking and Health, with a $2.5 million budget, simply by administrative order. The National Clearinghouse is nothing more than a propa ganda agency directed against the nation’s tobacco industry, set up outside the authority of the people’s representatives in Congress. Someone has said that the purpose of government is to do for (he people what they can’t do for themselves. Yet that purpose will be thwarted if the people do not have the chance to reject what is supposedly done on their behalf. Wherever we see the development of “government by guideline,” it is plain that someone besides the electorate is pulling the strings. “Let’s Find Out” In the category of natural and historical resources, South Carolina doesn’t have to take a back seat to any state. We have known this for a long time, and we also have known that these assets represent a tremendous economic potential. But what we haven’t known is the precise combination of assets most likely to attract the most tourists. Therefore, we have engaged the services of Economics Research Asso ciates, a professional consult ant firm which has been used by Disneyland, other success ful enterprises, and some of the more forward-looking states. For an expenditure of $18,000, we can begin to pro mote and develop South Caro lina on the basis of professional advice. Already, we expect some exciting reports in con nection with the Santee River; and the Keowee-Toxaway pro ject in the upstate area should provide another rich resource as it is developed in the days ahead. To accelerate our efforts to gain a larger share of the tourist dollar, more promotion is planned at the state level. We are happy to report that the General Assembly has en dorsed our recommendations to consolidate the activities of three separate state agencies operating in this field. The new Department of Parks, Rec reation, and Tourism should be organized and operating with in another month or so. Last year,- tourism enriched our state’s economy by $285 million. Although this was a new record for South Carolina, we are behind the national growth rate by two percentage points. The new department should provide the necessary machinery to put us ahead, not behind, in the future. Beautification of the Capital Area The Budget and Control Board has approved a compre hensive beautification study which encompasses the entire !apitol area. A professional andscape architect will make recommendations for improve ments, including the placement of every shrub at statue. Var ious piecemeal recommenda tions have been made in recent years to enhance the beauty of the State House grounds, but the study now under way represents a “total” approach. Richard Lee Mills and Wan da DeLoach Mundy of Newber ry were married at Newberry March 15. AIRMAN EDDIE MILLER TO GET TRAINING SAN ANTONIO, TEX.—Air man Eddie C. Miller Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Eddie C. Mil ler Sr of 2126 Adelaide St., has been selected for technical training at Sheppard AFB, Texas, as a U. S. Air Force aircraft maintenance specialist. The airman recently com pleted basic training at Lack- land AFB, Texas. His new school is part if the Air Train ing Command w’hich conducts hundreds of specialized courses to provide technically trained personnel for the nation’s aero space force. Airman Miller is a gradu ate of Newberry High school. FREE GIFTS Hundreds are receiving our free gifts daily by opening a savings account for $50 or more, and by adding to their present accounts the sum of $50 or more. There are three gifts to choose from. All gifts are serviceable items and well construct ed. GET YOURS TODAY ... the time is limited. ★ 1823 COLLEGE 8TBEET, NEWBERRY, •. C. DIRECTORS John F. Clarkson J. K. Willingham E. B. Purcell W. C. Huffman A. E. Morehead J. M. Rawls, Leesville, S. C. P. M. DeLoache, Saluda, S. C.