PAGE TWO
NEWS
JULY 5, 1952
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How To Stop Inflation
Inflation is only a three-syllable word, but its meaning puzzles
more people than some of our six and seven-syllable terms. Without
using the language of economists, the Caterpillar Company’s magazine,
“News and Views”, explains it this way: “When there is almost a
maximum number of people employed-—as there is today—practically
everyone has money to spend. Most families have more dollars to
spend than ever before. The difficulty is that our farms and factories
are not sending enough food and other products into consumer
channels so that everyone who has money to spend can buy as much
and whatever he wants. The result: we bid among ourselves for
what there is—and this huge national auction sends prices up.”
Price controls cannot stop such increases, because controls attack
the effect of inflation rather than its causes. For instance, during
World War II many manufacturers found that higher production and
distribution costs made it impossible for them to sell certain items at
established ceiling prices. So, with no price increase, the manufacturers
simply had to stop making the lower-priced items and turned to higher-
priced substitutes.
A war, or preparation for war, brings on inflation because ex
penditures run into the billions and these expenses are met by addi
tional taxes and by borrowing from individuals, life insurance
companies, savings institutions and commercial banks.
Inflation can be checked, but only if all of us are willing to
make sacrifices. We must give our fighting men and our allies every
thing they need, but at the same time keep our economy strong by:
1. Insisting on a real “Pay-As-We-Go” tax pi-ogram. We must
be willing to pay taxes, but to the greatest extent possible we must
meet government expenses, including detense, by using cash from
current taxes.
2. Cutting out all unnecessary government spending. The Govern
ment makes practically no direct contribution to increasing the pool of
goods and services for distribution among its citizens. So, the burden of
Government should be as light as possible. All money collected from
taxpayers by the Government from 1776 until the death of President
Franklin Roosevelt in April of 1944—256 billion dollars—was less
than the amount collected since that date—277 billion dollars. Even
the ordinary person who has dealt with figures on a small household
scale can see that there must be tremendous waste in our present
rate of spending. We should insist that instead of finding new means of
increasing taxes, our Congressmen should find ways of cutting the
budget drastically.
3. Producing more. Using the available manufacturing facilities
and manpower, we must turn out more goods than ever before, for it is
only through a step-up in production that we can supply both defense
and civilian needs.
4. Saving more. Besides providing for the future security, our
savings now have two extra duties. First, the more we save, the less
we spend and bid up prices. Second, our savings in life insurance and
savings institutions provide investment money which is used to in
crease our production facilities.
5. Accepting credit curbs. Spending money which we have is
dangerous enough. Spending money which we do not have contributes
even more to the pressure of inflation.
6. Buying only what we really need. Along with saving our money
and avoiding credit purchases, the additional personal sacrifice of re
stricting our buying to actual needs will help make our civilian pro
duction capacity come closer to taking care of the demand.
These things are not easy to do, but we must make such sacrificies
in order that this prediction of the Communistic Lenin will not come
true: “The United States of America will fall because of overspending
and bankruptcy.” Stalin is counting on this, but we cannot let it
happen.
FIRESTONE NEWS
Volume 1, No. 5 — July 5, 1952
Published at Gastonia, North Carolina
By Firestone Textiles
A Division of
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
Department of Industrial Relations
R. H. HOOD, Editor
Department Reporters
Carding—Leila Rape, Lurlene King, Jessie Westmoreland.
Spinning—Lois Bolding, Helen Bolick, Janet Hartgrove, Evie
Thomas, Grace Christopher, Bertha Ellis, Mary
Turner, Ray Cloninger, Mae Hyleman, Fannie Bruce.
Spooling—Nell Bolick, Rosalie Burger, Ruth Easier.
Twisting—Carolyn Anderson, Nevie Dalton, Mable Hanna,
Hazel Clark, Lassie Crawford, Corrie Johnson, Dean
Haun, Ellease Austin, Ruth Waldrop.
Weaving—Mary Johnson, Lucille Davis, Inez Rhyne, Irene
Burroughs, Betty Martin.
Cloth Room—Margie Waldrop.
Cable Respooling—Theodore Thomas.
Quality Control—Dealva Jacobs, Irene Burroughs, Catherine
Isham.
Winding—Dorcas Atkinson, Ann Stephenson, Mayzelle Lewis.
Shop—Cramer Little.
Warehouse—Anne King.
Main Office—Mozelle Brockman.
Superintendent’s Office—Sue Van Dyke.
Personnel Office—Christine Clark.
THE Emergency Fire Wagon is equipped with various types of
extinguishers, battery lights, axes, rope, etc. Also available for in
stant use are the protective devices being displayed here by mem
bers of the Fire Brigade. These devices, left to right, are a smoke
mask, an asbestos suit, and a gas mask.
FIRESTONE’S fire brigade is prepared to fight plant fires on
a 24 - hour basis. Instant readiness^to combat fires is their .watch
word. Each shift has its fire fighters who can form a brigade in a
matter of seconds.
Liberia’s Highest Honor
—Continued from Page One—
ican Foundation for Tropical Med
icine, given in memory of the late
Harvey S. Firestone, as a research
center in the fight against tropical
diseases.
The citation to Mr. Firestone,
Jr., praised his “deep and abiding
interest in the welfare of Liberia”
and the “meritorious and distin
guished services . . . rendered the
Republic of Liberia.”
Gaston Technical Institute
—Continued from Page One—
third terms, the student will branch
out into the specialized field he
desires.
The Textile Technology course
emphasizes physics, mathematics,
electricity, including motor protec
tion and control systems, air con
ditioning, heating, drafting, and
many other subjects of value to
the plant superintendent and the
plant engineer.
*
THE Institute is located on West
Airline Avenue in Gastonia and will
be open during the summer so that
interested students may visit the
school and workshops and have a
better understanding of the pro
gram of a technical institute.
Young men desiring further infor
mation about the school may write
to Mr. James I. Mason, director of
the Gaston Technical Institute or
call 5-0500. A catalog will be mail
ed to you upon request. The cost
of the school is $74.00 per term or
$222.00 per school year plus books
and supplies. The approximate
total cost will be $300.00. No dor-
Johnson-Guffey Vows
Spoken At West' End
Methodist' Church
Miss Laura Mae Johnston be
came the bride of Clinton Guffey,
Saturday afternoon June 21, at
West End Methodist Church.
Miss Helen Spencer, organist and
Clyde Moss, soloist, presented a
program of music.
The bride’s only attendant was
Mrs. William Harvey, her sister.
Sam Guffey was his brother’s
best man. Serving as ushers were
Carl Guffey, Don Johnston, Robert
Baugh, and Glenn Ratchford.
Mrs. Guffey is a graduate of
Gastonia High School and Mercy
Hospital School of Nursing, Char
lotte, N. C. She is now employed
as anesthetist at the Gaston Me
morial Hospital.
Mr. Guffey attended the local
schools and is employed as a dof-
fer in the spinning department at
Firestone Textiles.
After a trip through the south
ern states, the couple will be at
home at 817 West Franklin Avenue.
“You look worried.”
“Man, I’m booked solid on wor
rying. If something bad happens to
me today, I won’t get time to worry
about it for two weeks.”
mitory facilities are available but
students desiring rooming accom
modations will be assigned to pri
vate homes. Applications are now
being received daily for the fall
term.
Fire Brigade Drills
—Continued from Page One—
under realistic conditions as far as
possible. One of the most import
ant purposes for drills is to fa
miliarize the men with the sprink
ler system in the plant and ware
houses, making sure they know
where the cut-off valves are lo
cated for each section of sprinkler
heads. Once the fire is out it is
necessary to cut off the supply of
water to the sprinkler heads in
order to avoid needless water dam
age, which can be as bad or worse
than the fire itself.
Another purpose of the fii'^
drills is to acquaint the fire fight
ers with the use of the emergency
fire equipment wagon. This wagon
contains gas masks, smoke masks,
asbestos clothing, rope, axes, gar
den hose, fire hose nozzles, and
several types of fire extinguishers.
Members of the firs ^ shift bri
gade are:
W. G. Henson, chief, Cranier
Little, assistant chief; E. G. Bui-
man, captain; Troy Jones, Swayne
Forrester, Joe Buiroughs, Horace
Robinson, Ed Foy, Lowery Davis,
J. E. Fletcher, G. V. Tindall, Clar
ence Case, Leon Kistler, James
Smith, Bill York, Joe Champion,.
Horace Hughes, and Howard
Moore.
Members of the second shift bri
gade are:
Cramer Little, assistant chief!
A. 0. Ammons, captain; W. H-
Dilling, Oliver Taylor, Gwynn Har
din, Elton Still, Zed Bradley, Carl
Rape, Vernon Lovingood, M. E-
Robinson, Trenton Ginn, Carl Guf'
fey, Ralph Myers, Ray Thomas,
Henry Price, and James BalleW.
Members of the third shift bi’i'
gade are:
Frank Gurley, captain; Coy
Bradshaw, Grover Hollifield, R. F-
Piercy, Tracy .Whitener, John
Bradley, James Dobbins, Roy War^’
Marshall Parham, James W. Smith'
Bill Stewart, Leon Dawkins, Spe®^
Hollaway, Warren Huffstetlef>
Milton Nichols, Otis Thompson^
John Stevens, B. J. Bumgardnef>
Raymond Mack, Abraham Stewar^»
Jr., and Roy Cloninger.
VIVIAN PARHAM, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Pa^'
ham, both Firestone employees*
has set an attendance record
at the Chapel Grove Graded
School. There she had perfect
attendance for her seven years
of grammar school. In addition
she had the second highest schol'
astic average of her class.
father reports that she was so
determined to maintain her at'
tendance record that once this
year he had to literally carry h^r
to her classroom because of ^
sprained knee that temporarily
prevented her from walking.