THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY; HERTFORD, N. CL, FKIDAY. MAY 14,1948.
med S rricai DebaU .
nr NapnShal Arm ., ,
Hie battl between the armed er-
fcupied by each in the scheme of na
fmal defense, has produced' a situa
hn in Conneas which threatens, ac-
Srdinir to Secretary of .Defense
tmes V. Vtttmu, w "unoaiance" our
litary establishment. " v
IWifK universal militarv trainine
fore them,' many Members of Con-
-esS have : declared tnemseives in
tor "of a seventy-group Air Force,
fclch. the Secretary charges, "is
:rice to avoid U. M. T. and other
ipects of sound, long-range pro-
in TAault of the stronsr sentiment
rVmnreHu for a larger Air Force,
hi T)ftfn Secretary has agreed to
U! ATnamiion from fifty-live to sixty
bmbat groups, but he maintains that
he real issue" is tne oaiancea pian-
cwrr : nf niiT military nmnam.
rs-r - ..v
f. Forrestai tajce issue wiw
linoo xvhn hnlieve - that th nation
liduld have a- large Air Force, with
lihor departments for the Army and
favy, asserting that the other bran-
ties are just as necessary for the
ational safety and maintaining that
lie Air Force, in the event of war,
eould not conduct sustained opera
tons without the support of both
Navy and Army.
The writer of this article naa not
teen an advocate of unification or
he rated services. The. present
quabble illustrates one of the dan
'th W now have an effort 'under
lay in which the various services are
ktrenuousiy competing to dominate
the nreoaredness program of this
iountry.
1 1$ the advocates of air power win,
a tuition's defense will depend large-
y upon aircraft This may be the
sorrect, solution of our problem, but
the chance exists that it might not
be.'! Consequently, we think the Unit
Mi States should maintain a strong
Navy, a strong Army, along with a
tatmnr Air Force and thus be in a
fcosition to 'meet any military threat
nt th future. .
The United States, which happens
to -be the richest nation in tne world,
Iran afford adeauate defense. It can
bear the burden of increased strengtn
in all three branches to do prepareu
for whatever eventualities of war
We opposed unification of the arm-
M T. 11.. Vlf
00. services ubcbubb ui mo "
the three services, if left alone to de
velon Atrateiry and tactics, would Kive
i the nation a three-fold defense. Quite
possibly, one or the other orancnes
might be totally in error as to what
kind" of war' will occur.
Certainly,' the French Army made
this mistake and lost France. It is
not probable that. three armed ser
vices, each planning its own type of
warfare, would each make a similar
error, If our defense is dominated
by one type of thinking, however, Jt
is quite possible for the fatal mis
take to lead, to the defeat of this
country.
Lobbyists Multiply
And fieem to Grow Fat
; One of the.v developments of the
nnlitioal Hf of tlin United' States.
both in' connection with the teuerai
Government and the various state
governments, is the sharp increase in
lobbying as an occupation.
The background of a lobbyist is the
belief that a genial, glad-hander, with
an unlimited expense account, can
"malt a friends and influence neonle."
meaning those who have taken office
to legislate . for the srood of the
people. The-additional - background,
is the, admitted success of lobbyists,
as class, in ; persuading elected of
ficials to vote this or that way on
particular measures.
Lobbying, as a political institution
in the United SUteS would wither on
the vine if the elected representatives
nf fka omnia were an aet In their po
litical principles that they would fol
low, them whenever legislation is up
for consideration.
' Because many solons do. not have a
cleat idea of the fundamental prin
ciples upon which the Government of
the United, States rests, it la com
paratively easy for lobbyist to per
suade them that "votes can be lad"
by following the helpful s'iggestions
of the paid : representatives of par
ticular interests, I. 4'-." '
Some improvements in the'aituation
has been made by the ' passage of
legislation to compel lobbyists to reg
ister. Certainly, if men advise states-'
men on public matters, it is Just as
. well for the legislators to understand
that they are performing service
for compensation. It is quite dif
ferent however when lobbyists pro
fw to renreeent the interests of the
publk at large when, as A matter of
f ict they are the .paid amnts of
I articular group. - ,
V do not 4now that ihe problem
f te lobbyist can be solved by leg
ia.Ion.1 We are quite nre it can
be solved if the people who elect leg
islators make it their business to see
thaf those 1 elected are infc&irant,
-our-areous and ready to follow their
'nv' tlons. v . ( ',
I Cci Prices - v .
s Increase ' ''"
J, i:., tie United Steel
i cf J - "-lea and the United
, , ... r x.j
. l iv J
wage increase; and providing that
itw navtv could reoDen the ques
tion: of wares at the eno oi. tne nrai
year., ? s, " 4 J
The steel workers, through their
president Philip Murray, asked for
such negotiations, pie company oe
rifnod tn make the waire increase, de
claring that it would make necessary
a general : advance rin our steei
nrieea." Thus, the neitotiations come
to an end but the union answers that
it will abide by the two-year, no
Htrilco contract. : .
Tn nuhlie atatements. issued after
the end of the negotiations, the lead
n nf hoth aides arave tneir views
V. Fairleas. nresident- of
the ateel comnanv. announced some
nriAA decreases, amounting to about
425,000,000 a year, saying mat "cost
and nrfoea" are too high and that in
diutrv and labor should cooperate to
avoid further increases in costs which
would further lower purchasing pow-
.In addition. Mr. Fairless asserts
that increase in the prices of steel
products, announced since the agree
ment tnade in 1947 with the workers,
had not kept up with costs and that
the profits of the company ior tne
first quarter of 1948 will be lower
than the same Deriod in 1947. More
over, he cited figures to show ;that the
pay of steel workers advanced 91.7
per oent between 1940 and 1948 and
that this advance was in excess oi tne
increase in the cost of living during
the period.
Philin Mnrrav. in his statement,
points out that the company enjoyed
profits of $153,000,000 last year alter
paying Federal income taxes and that
the t decrease in urices, announced by
the company, does not even equal the
increases made in Jfeoruary,
alone. Mr. Murray stresses the fact
that in 1947 steel industry profits in
creased between $450,000,000 and
$500,000,000.
The union leader also says that
price increases made by the company
since the agreement was signed with
the workers had raised prices of fin
ished steel by an average of $11.32
per ton. This is equal, he says, to
an increased revenue of approxi
mately 1230,000,000., The decreases
nronosed by the corporation amount
to less than $1.24 per ton.
Mr. Murray also asserts that the
man hours worked by the corpora
tion's emnloves in 1947 increased by
18 per cent over 1948, but that "steel
output increased by nearly 34 per
cent" . 'j " - ,
We call attention to the positions
taken by these industrial, .leaders be
cause steel plays a dominant role in
American industry. It is important
for the people to understand the ar
iramenfai : advanced '-because. !in the
long run, public opinion is tile final
arbiter of economic disputes. W V
ine ; steei company, in reducing
orices and reiectinar a? wasre increase,
moves on the assumption that similar
action by other industries will lower
V. nvJfl.. .ivijI A Ani a Mni-nr TVl! a
wn uv uiu w vum w uffiigi "'"'itne cost oi iivmg aoes
it aay i in effect, will result in an in- downward in response to
reoeived by workers will have greater
buying power.- Obviously, if the
course of events in the next year
demonstrates that American business
leaders effectively implement such a
Dolicv.' with the economic results cited,
there will be some basis of fact to
support the argument advanced by
Mr. Fairless. ,'...
If. on the other hand, the industrial
, 1
tycoons of the nation fail to cooper
ate to Atop inflation, there will be
little justification for the argument
advanced by the steel , company
executive. If, at the end of the year.
the cost of living does not move
what the
industrialists ' undertake to do, tie
stage will undoubtedly be set for a
strike in the steel industry. More
over, if the profits' of the corpora
tion increase because reduced prices
are not . far-reaching enough, there
will be ample justification lor tne
steel , workers, at the end of their con
tract, to , demand substantial wage
increases or go on a strike.
FAMILY REUNION
An Unmhlett family reunion was
held at the home of Seth . Umphlett
on Sunday,. May 9, honoring their
mother, Mrs. Mattie Umphlett on
Mother's Day. A delicious picnic
dinner was served in the yard of the .
home. Those attending were Mr. and
Mrs. Freeman Umphlett and children,
james, uiaoys and amy, iriitner um
phlett, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Russell, Mr.
and Mrs. Seth Umphlett and children,
William, Seth, Marjorie and Dickie,
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lane and son,
Julian, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Stokely and
family, Kay Frances, Jimmy and Ruth
Anne, Mrs. Mattie Umphlett, Mrs.
Trim Sawyer and Master Gene Banks.
Man's real life is happy, chiefly
because he is ever expectintr that it
soon will be so.
E. A. Poe.
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BEST CASH PRICES PAID FOR
ASH BEECH -CYPRESS - ELM - GUM - OAK - PINE - SYCAMORE
The Halsey Hardwood Go., Inc.
EDENTON, N. C.
Manufacturers of
II ARDWO 0 DS-C YP RESS-P1NE LUMBER
C. T. GRIFFIN, General Manager
Phone 480
P. O. Box 109
"The Most Important
Activity Of The State
Government Is The School System"
Charles M. Johnson
Vote For
CHMLE
M
JdHNSOH
Whose Qualifications In State Government
Make Him The Best Fitted Man To Be The Next
GOVERNOR
of
NORiH C&ROLIEJi
State pay galariei Ul w fcSWl uh "
.t a.f. -a. IK Vnoaf icabsDetent and
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salaries'1
& U fa .tffi lew Wfi
tatanJties, parficutortf. roro w.i-qsi
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film TetcKirst "Wi mui HgHeil ffi
leacWg pnp3 low! ... A reduction in the
pap9 lod call te accompKiliea orAf thVougK
Ifitf kmpWinefil of awre leacKeri. TUs wiH
'todm Wftmbnef WeB spent".
'4. ScKobl ttealdi : "We sneaK Kiti In NortS
CaroliriS IcEool Kealtfi program tKa! yml in
tmre 16 inrt & everf ei"0!reS
Ssadvaitlr cKajijJxSBr
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