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6
Till! SUMMERVILLE NEWS
DAVID T. ESPY, Editor and Publisher
Subscription Rate — $2.00 Pei* Year
Published Every Thursday by the News Publishing Co.
Entered at the Post Office at Summerville, Georgia, as Second Class Mail Matter.
The News Publishing Co. will not be responsible for errors in advertisement beyond cost
of ad.
EDITORIAL
Weekly Newspapers, Fastesl-Growing Publications In The U. S.,
Show Increasing Editorial And Economic Vitality, Time Says
Weekly newspapers today are the fast
est-growing publications in the U. S., Time
says in a special report in the current (Feb.
4) issue out this week.
“Metropolitan newsmen who daydream
of retiring to a country paper have long
viewed weeklies more as a rural retreat than
as an influential segment ‘of the press,’
Time Says. "But with the swift growth of
suburbs and small towns since World War
11. weeklies have largely shed their cracker
barrel ways, developed sophistication and a
new sense of mission.”
Editorial Vitality
Weekly Newspaper Representatives. Inc.
last week reported that 8.478 weeklies in the
U. S. in 1956 reached a paid circulation peak
of 18.529.199. up 6.5^ over 1955. Estimated
gain for the 1.700 dailies (total circ. more
than 56 million): about 2'< . Advertising in
weeklies increased 1.2', to a record sll2
million this includes a 30' < jump to ($25
million) in national ads since 1954 vs. an
estimated 10'< gain for dailies.
"The weeklies’ resurgence reflects ed
itorial as well as economic vitality,” Time
says. "In addition to relaying the back
fence chit-chat on which weeklies have
traditionally thrived, and the papers are the
only interpreters and watchdogs of local
governments in hundreds of U. S. commun
ities, whose problems, aims and achieve
ments go largely unrecorded in the met
ropolitan press.”
According to one editor, weeklies ‘‘are
giving back the home town” to surburban
ities who have lost contact with community
responsibilities. In many areas, fast-grow
ing suburbs have produced weekly and
Weather Rules
; Os all the subjects which interest the
7 average individual, the weather is the most
'• universal and one with which practically
- everyone is concerned.
It is surprising, however, how little most
2 people know about the subject. If you will
; take the time to study for just a few min-
Z utes, you will learn some simple rules which
Z will be very valuable in predicting the
* weather. If you test the knowledge of your
• friends, in this connection, you will find
; that few of them know many of these simple
X rules.
All you need to apply these rules is a
- barometer and a wind-vane, which will tell
• you the direction the wind is blowing. Here
- they are, and you might remember them for
use at a later date:
If you have a high and steady barometer,
* and the wind is coming from the Southwest
. or the Northwest, the weather will probably
be fair and there will be little temperature
change for the next day or so.
If your barometer is high and falling
rapidly, and the wind is from the South or
Southeast, you will probably have increas
ing wind and rain within from twelve to
twenty-four hours. This is true, usually.
Why The Air Crashes?
A rash of fatal air crashes has raised a
number of questions concerning safety and
■ passenger f ight regulations. The most spec
tacular of the recent crashes occured in
New York when a big DC6-A banged into
Riker’s Island in -he East River, unable to
get airborne.
The big New York-Miami-bound plane
carried 102 passengers as it attempted to
climb out of La Guardia Airport in a heavy
snowstorm. The aircraft was designed to
carry approximately 100 passengers. The
resulting crash claimed at least twenty lives
and injured scores of others. The pilot re
vealed that he could not gain altitude after
taking off fully loaded.
Pilots with considerable experience are
aware of the fact that a heavy snowstorm
can affect the characteristics of an airline
and the lift of the air foil, which is another
word for wing. Apparently, the stricken DC
-6 A encountered severe difficulty trying to
obtain a normal lift In the snowstorm.
It is a known fact that frost on a wing
can reduce lift to such an extent that an
aircraft cannot take off even with full pow
er. And. although the stricken airliner had
.de-icers in Its wings, a pile-up of ice or snow
on any part of the wing could have caused
semi-weekly chains that are as slick in ap
pearance and informative in content as
their city cousins.
“Even outside metropolitan areas,” says
Time, “most small-town weeklies . . . have
thrown out the smudgy type and bumpkin
prose that one characterized the weekly
press, now run staff-written stories and ed
itorials instead of the boiler-plate and can
ned sermons that once crammed country
papers. The old-time jack-of-all-trades
country editor has been largely supplanted
by trained staffs. Lured out of the cities by
the prospect of editorial and economic in
dependence. trained newsmen in increasing
numbers are bringing professional stand
ards to weekly newspapering.
Though once renowned f o r their timid
ity, many week I ’' r dr”-’- •
sading spirit tjnS Sweetheart ;
a fat-cat daily; .
many weeklie^Q^®^ Tonight an
more liberal ’’he Summerville First Baptist Me
dailies on the t<W Church will have its 6th I . J
“Since weeklies are closer than dailies
to readers and advertisers and more vulner
able to the pressure of advertisers, they are
often hit by economic boycotts. But few
editors cave in under such threats — or
worse. In Granite City, 111., after Editor
Cornelius E. Townsend had waged an editor
ial campaign against organized gambling in
the community, a hoodlum recently emptied
his revolver into Townsend’s Press-Record
office. Echoing many a fighting editor be
fore him, Townsend said: “Maybe they’ll
scare hell out of me someday and I’ll quit.
Bat I don’t think so.”
if the barometer is falling slowly, under the
same conditions.
If you have a high barometer, which
is falling rapidly, and the wind is between
the Southeast and the Northeast, the wind
will increase and rain will come within
twelve hours, in most cases.
If you have a low’ barometer, which is
rising slow’ly, and the wind is from the
South to the Southwest, you will soon have
clearing weather and it will be clear for
several days.
If you have a low barometer and it is
falling rapidly, with the wind from the
South to the East, you will experience severe
weather, very soon, after which it will clear
and be cooler in twenty-four hours.
If you have a low barometer, which is
rising rapidly, and the wind is from the
West, it means the weather will be clearing
and colder.
There are many other weather rules
which you can learn if you will make the
effort. We suggest the weather as a wonder
ful hobby for all those who are interested
in Nature, in predicting the weather or in
observing the wonders which occur in the
sky.
a very serious decrease in the wings’ lifting
capability. It could well be that this factor,
combined with the fact that the airliner
was very heavily loaded, simply reduced the
flying ability of the aircraft to zero.
The fault in such a case lies with weath
er gnd air|)ort officials, who cleared the
ship for flight. The ceiling was described
as only a few hundred feet high and visi
bility at its minimum when the airliner
took off — several hours late. The fact that
so many crashes occur in such weather j s
a sure indication that flight is sometimes
attempted when n delay would be more
prudent.
Until airport tower personnel and other
flight clearance officials are better trained,
or required to fly themselves, unnecessary
crashes will probably continue to occur. The
pilot and captain of an airliner ran hardly
refuse to fly when he Is cleared for take-off.
Such a refusal, even If it be sensible, would
probably cost the aircraft commander his
job and. therefore the final authority at an
airport is usually a tower or weather offi
cial who often lacks adequate qualification'
for controlling traffic and ta Jng t’""
sponsiblllty for the Ilves of untold numbers
of passengers.
THE SUMMERYT! LE NEWS
THE DARKEST NIGHT IN HISTORY
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Justice Reed Retires
Associate Justice Stanley Fore
; man Reed has announced his re
tirement from the Supreme
Court. The 72-year-old Democrat
said the strain of his job was too
great for him to continue.
Reed, who has been on the
high court for nineteen years, re
tires at his full pay, $35,000 a
year.
A few years ago. Justice Reed's
resignation from the Supreme
Court would have been of great
legal significance. However, in
this age when the full member
ship of the Court, often without
dissenting voice, seems embarked
on a trend to the left. Reed's re
tirement actually amounts to
little as far as the balance be
tween Conservatives and Lib
erals on the Court is concerned.
To his credit it should be said
that Justice Reed has been one
of the Court's most distinguished
members and one of its best
liked. When appointed by Presi
dent Franklin D . Roosevelt in
1938, he was an ardent New
Dealer, although he has become
what is termed a Conservative
| among the Court s present mem
bership.
Soviet Output Up
The Soviet Union recently an
nounced that industrial output
in 1956 was 11 per cent above
1955. The announcement stated
that an 11.4 per cent increase of
capital goods had been realized
and a 9 4 per cent growth in con
sumer goods achieved.
The Soviet increase is sig
nificant and. while there are no
standards by which an Ameri
can expert can judge the U S S R,
accomplishment, the steady in
crease in industrial output in the
Soviet Union is none-the-less im
pressive.
It is interesting to note that
automobile production in the
Soviet Union in 1956 was below
total production in 1955 as was
the case in the United States
Only 98.000 passenger cars were
produced last year, a total just
9 per cent below the 1955 figure
However, truck production went
up 9 per cent and the product ion
of busses rose 8 per cent.
The main significance of the
latest Soviet announcement for
1 the United States lies in the fact
that the Communist Govern
ment has successfully indus
trialized Russia and is continu
ing this process year by year. As
an industrial nation. Russia is
no longer a poor second to any
country in the world, with the
exception of the United Stales,
and. in some fields, the indus
trial increase in Russia is an
nually greater than the cor
responding increase in the
United States.
New Military Pay System
The Defense Advisory Commit
tee on Professional and Techni
cal comia nsulion has Mine u
enlisted men in the armed serv
ices be paid affording to their
contribution to the force they
serve in.
The committee was appointed
last May by Secretary of De
fense Charles E Wilson with
the Intention of examining the
military pay system and recom
mending improvements. The
committee Is headed by Ralph
J. Cordincr. president of the
General Electric Company
The proposed plan would re-o
lutionize the im • In < M
armed see < . u *ad the
nr"’: pimuUco of pay>.ig an
...uonic specialist with the
i grade of sergeant the same
monev paid an unskilled ser-
। grant. Under the present system.
all sergeants with the same
service and grade receive the
same pay.
Under the proposed system, re
wards for performance would be
possible, so that enlisted men
would have at least two incen
| tives they do not now have: To
gain certain skills, thereby in-
I creasing their pay, and to per
form in such away that they
might receive rewards.
The committee has made sen
sible recommendations, which
should be pushed by the Ad
ministration and adopted by
Congress. A change in the mili
tary pay system has been needed
for decades, and merit raises
and pay according to one's con
tribution are logical improve
provements in the antequated
system.
Wilson And The National
Guard
Secretary of Defense Charles
E. Wilson has again placed his
pedal extremity in his food-in
take valve. Wilson this time has
। slammed the National Guard for
being the home of draft-dodgers
during the Korean War.
There is a truth in Wilson’s
charge but itis inappropriate for
1 several reasons. For one thing,
the National Guard is now under
attack and is about to be taken
over by Federal authorities. This
should not be done because of
any weaknesses in our military
program during the Korean War
on unfortunate circumstances
concerning Guard membership at
that time.
The answer to this would be to
see that such a condition does
not arise again, and this should
be accomplished without sub
jecting the National Guard to
complete federalization and con
trol.
The Pentagon is seeking to
have all National Guard en
listees serve six months on ac
tive duty, unless they have had
previous basic military training.
Wilson’s remark about the Na
tional Guard does this proposal
no good His remark stirred the
ire of most guardsmen and the
President of the National Guard
Association. General Ellard A.
Walsh, called the Wilson state
ment "a lie."
We believe there is truth to the
Wilson charge that no doubt
some guardsmen joined the Na
tional Guard to evade the draft.
However, they also took the
chance of being mobilized, and
the National Guard sought to be
mobilized when the Korean
emergency first arose. Therefore,
it Is entirely possible that the
Korean emergency could have
worked in another way—that Na
tional Guard members would
have been the first called.
Wilson's mistake lies In his
method of presentation. Instead
of making it clear that the ma
jority of National Guardsmen are
patriotic and deserving citizens,
and noting that a few had been
able to use the Guard ns away
to dodge the draft, he levelled a
fairly blunt attack which re
flected on the National Guard as
a whole.
The Secretary Is a blunt
speaking man. who would be
more valuable if hr were a bit
'more diplomatic. Meanwhile, he
has damaged the case for requir
inn National Guardsmen to serve
, 'x months active duty, because
he h.. ■ MinK c cMMarily stirred up
a hornet's nest with his broad
attack
Ike To TU UH
Presld nt Dwight D. Elsrn
howcr NMM to be moving
i steadily to the left ns hr begins
his last term of office as Presi
dent. A close study of his major
presentations to Congress in the
month of January, and recent
statements, shows the President
is surprisingly close to the phi
losophies of Democratic presi
dents who succeeded him. and
who were considered New Deal
ers. or Fair Dealers, of very lib
eral administrations.
The latest Eisenhower request
is for changing the nation's im
migration laws, which were
overhauled only a few years ago
by two-thirds majorities in both
houses of Congress, in spite of a
veto by President Harry Tru
man.
Various minority groups and
racial blocs have been applying
strong pressure to break down
the limits imposed on immigra
tion into the United States by
the present laws. And. in spite
of laws, various reasons have
continually been found to cir
cumvent them and admit refu
gees. displaced persons and so
on. via special laws The Presi
dent's request for greater im
migration is somewhat similar to
his request for greater foreign
aid and former Democratic pro
posals which are now the main
basis of the modern wing of the
Republican Party, including Mr.
Eisenhower.
All of which brings to mind
the question whether the Con
servatives in this country, in
cluding a part of both major
parties, will not eventually be
forced to unite and form a party
which will oppose the steady
drift to the left—a drift which
is active and apparent in both
of the major parties today.
ARRESTS SELF
Albuquerque, N. M. — A man
staggered through the front door
of the police station early one
morning recently and up the
stairs to the desk where officer
Richard Morris was sitting. "I'm
drunk lock me up.” the man
demanded, He was drunk and
Morris obliged.
STORK UNHAMPERED
New Glassco, N. 8. — Receiv
ing a call from Lagan, 15 miles
H Station
Ch« Upper Rwnf
_ O ’HI uytn BOOM MAWVHU lINWSMt
I THE WQHD 5 MOST WIDELY USED DEVOTIONAL tUIDt
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Rend John 8:12-20
That was the true Light,
which llghtcth every man that
comcth into the world. (John
While 1 wan passing Singapore
one night, the water was calm.
There were several lighthouses
around. As I stood on our ship.
I was fascinated by the fact that
HP.mil, of Il>.- chiM lion mini
which they came, the beams of
light from each lighthouse made
a path of light to my feet.
It seemed as if the beams were
J for me only, until I realized they
, were for anyone who cared to
see them.
if it were possible for all per
sons in the world to stand in any
direction in sight of a lighthouse,
the beams would reach all per
sons.
'HERMAH TALMADGE
MEjl r null
V 1 Z ’ :gg|gggg
B Reports From
llltte'
WASHINGTON ■
774 S? »P£u '■ |
J J i
’ TOr " i • • ii... i vamo_
VETERANS ARE FINDING it
increasingly difficult, and in some
instances impossible to obtain
home loans under the Servicemen s
Readjustment Act. The reason is
that mortgage money has been
made scarce by inflation and the
Eisenhower Administration’s hard
money policies and what is avail
able is going into the more
profitable FHA loans which bear
five per cent interest.
Those fortu
nate enough to
obtain veterans’
loans report
builders are be
ing charged dis
counts ranging
from eight to
11 points. Since
the 1a w pro-
j f *
hibits passing discounts on to the
veteran, builders either must ab
sorb them or compensate for them
by cutting corners in construc
tion. The veteran loses either way
as builders who absorb the dis
counts are reluctant to undertake
such projects and those who com
pensate for them give the former
serviceman less than full value for
for his money.
♦ * ♦
IT HAS BEEN proposed that
Congress seek to remedy the situa
tion by raising the interest rate on
veteran’s loans from four and one
hr’f to five per cent to make them
competitive with FHA loans. How
ever, advocates of that course fail
to consider that it would add
$1,725 to the cost of a $20,000, 25-
year loan.
• (Not prepared or printed at goi'ernment expense)
Looking Ahead —
LESSONS OF HISTORY
Five generations of American
citizens have enjoyed individual
freedom as a matter of course.
The present population of Amer
ica with the exception of a com
paratively few immigrants was
born into freedom and would
find it difficult even to conceive
of living under any other cir
cumstances. And yet no nation
in all human history has ever
achieved lasting freedom. This
is an extremely significant fact
which Americans should under
stand.
Man’s desire for freedom was
first recognized when the devel
opment of civilization brought on
the need for government. Man
quickly found that government
by its very nature encroaches up
on individual freedom. It must
have power to operate, and that
power can only come from one
source, the people; they must
give up some power, some free
dom, to the government. When
the founding fathers built the
structure of the American way
of life they surrounded govern
ment with various kinds of re
strictions limiting its powers. The
Bill of Rights, which was at
tached to the. Constitution, was
written altogether to protect the
individual citizen against his own
government.
THE FOUNDERS KNEW
The men who worked on the
creation of the Constitution all
knew that freedom had never
existed for long anywhere, and
that no nation had ever become
out of town. Dr. H. A. Locke did
not let the worst snowstorm of
the season stop him. He arranged
a trip on a highway department
snowplow and arrived in time
to deliver a son to Mrs. Douglas
Oluney.
8o it is with God's love; it is
like a beam shining in every di
rection providing a two-way
communication channel between
God and us God extends His love
to every believer in the world and
to the nonbeliever also. Christ
has said: "All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out."
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, we
thank Thee for Thy faithfulness
Ito us Give us the willingness to
see Thy Light nnd incline our
hcartM to walk in it. In the name
of Jesus Christ, our Light, we
I pray Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Before God and among my
fellow man I will walk in the
light of Christ.
i Harry R Blount (New York I
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1957
Believing that there are reme
dies short of increased interest
rates, Senato. - Lyndon Johnson of
Texas, Senate Democratic Major
ity Leader, and 1. along with some
•10 of our colleagues, have intro
duced a bill which we feel will
help to break the bottleneck in the
veterans' home loan program.
* * *
THIS MEASURE WOULD do
three things:
1. make available 25 per
cent of the National Service
Life Insurance Fund for mak
ing direct home loans to vet
erans.
2. increase the maximum
loan entitlement to veterans
, from SIO,OOO to SII,OOO.
3. set a time limit of 20
days for action on loan appli
. cations even in cases where
assistance is sought to find
private financing.
* ♦ ♦
THE ADVANTAGES OF this
approach are that it presents a
' course which does not require ad
ditional appropriations or the crea
tion of any new agencies and does
not increase the cost to veterans.
Furthermore, it provides for
beneficial utilization of service
men’s life insurance funds without
jeopardizing future dividends from
’ them.
Considerable interest has been
, | evidenced in this proposal and I
I hope it will be enacted into law.
1
a world leader and survived.
Twenty world-leading nations
had floundered in their own mis
takes and eventually had fallen.
Washington. Hamilton, Webster
and the other framers of the
Constitution were determined
that the American system should
survive and become a world pat
tern for lasting freedom and hu
man progress. The structure they
developed has lasting qualities—
if each succeeding generation will
but understand its workings and
safeguard its principles.
Can we who have benefitted
from this wonderful legacy of
freedom take lesser^ from the
history of the nations which have
risen to world leadership and
subsequently fallen into oblivion?
Indeed we can.
THE ONETIME LEADERS
Among the most notable world
leaders whose histories we have
available in great detail are Old
Babylon, Ancient Egypt. Assyria,
Egypt under the Pharoahs. New
Babylon, Phoenicia, Persia,
Greece, in which Sparta and
Athens represented two kinds of
government, and Rome. Many of
the achievements of these na
tions contributed to the march
of human progress.
Babylon developed the basic
science of astronomy, the duo
decimal system of* numbers, and
an early form of the calendar;
Egypt challenged man’s imagina
tion up through the centuries
by building the pyramids; Assyr
ia built the first roads known to
mankind, constructed canals for
Irrigation, and grew the first cot
ton known to the world; Greece
became the fountain-head of
great Architecture and art, and
the cradle of man’s first experi
ment with democracy; Rome
contributed a great republic, es
tablished remarkable courts of
justice, and made notable
achievements in art and music
CAUSES OF DOWNFALL
The three major causes of the
downfall of these nations of the
pa t were political decay, eco
nomic decay, moral decay. The
decline and tall of each nation
was characterized by these three
common causes — and we should
note well that each cause was
something over which people had
vontrol. Many of these nations
established some degree of in
dividual freedom which lasted for
a while. In each case, govern
ment ultimately became too
powerful, and the citizens too
indifferent to what was going on
around them.
Rome's downfall was preceded
by the government's attempt to
bribe the people into inaction
against the political and moral
decay within government. The
government provided the popu
lace with "bread and circuses”
—meaning that it undertook to
feed the people and to provide
entertainment nt the coliseum
games. The decay went from bad
to worse—and the people didn't
seem to core Rome's downfall
ushered in the 1000-year-long
Dark Ages for mankind.
Yrs, human history presents
powerful lessons. Will enough
Americans recognize these les
sons and understand their sig
nificance? The future of free
dom will be determined by our
answer to this question.