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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1952)
EDITORIALS THE KING AND HIS HAREM An American hearse manufacturer is designing a fleet of twelve Cadillacs to haul the harem of King Ibn Saud, of Saudi Arabia. The harem fleet is equipped with one-way windows, especially designed so that the wives can see out but no one can see in. Twenty cars, which are costing over $12,000 each, are to comprise the entire fleet. Ech car can carry six wives of the King. Of course, the King is allowed to have only four wives at a time under the Wahabite Moslem code but is re sponsible for all of them, even after di vorcing them. At present, it is estimated he is supporting 120 wives. An American oil company, which has the rights to his country's rich oil fields, is making the King a present of the Cadillac fleet. While the American com pany is completely within its rights in do ing so and is probably doing nothing that a competitor foreign or domestic would do first, if it got the chance, there is something seamy in the story. Tt strikes the editor that the Kinc's luxury, amid the poverty of his people, is a symbol of decadence which always plays into Communist hands. Were the same money spent on projects to lift the average standard of living and improve the economy of Saudi Arabia, the benefits would be far greater. Instead, we have the example of a rich King, in a poor country, giving a private American company oil rights in exchange for financial rewards and personal gifts. While we favor American ownership, if the oil rights are to be enjoyed by any foreign country, this seems to be a typical example of a ruler selling out his people's interests in exchange for personal ag grandizement and luxury. THE DEATH OF A HERO Major George A. Davis, Jr., who is now presumed to be dead, passed from the scene of today's tragic events in heroic and typical fashion. The thirty-one-year-old fighter pilot from Lubbock, Texas, shot down two MIG-15s over Korea before a third got behind him and finally brought the war's greatest ace down. The Sabre jet ace had knocked down eleven MIGs and Communist bombers in the current war. In addition, he had done more than his duty in World War II, also having shot down seven Japanese planes. Major Davis was a hero in every sense of the word. He was a squadron leader who inspired his fellow pilots and whose reported loss cast a pall of gloom over the entire Air Force in Korea and Japan. Few citizens back home will realize what the initiative and courage displayed by Major Davis means. He inspired an entire Air Force, and an entire country whose great est asset is its citizens like Major Davis. - BUSINESSMEN OF THE FUTURE Two young men, Tommy and George Thompson, of Greenwich, Conn., have learned the lesson of what it takes to be a successful businessman in America. Though only 12 and 9 years old, the Thompson brothers run a service company which netted 5750 last year. Incidentally, the boys have an office in their bedroom. Their father, a penny-a-year man, is the treasurer, and their mother is the secretary with a salary of 20 cents a week. The President and Vice-President, Tommy and George, run all the errands themselves. They baby sit, walk dogs, mail letters, shine shoes, sell greeting cards and wreaths, wash cars, shovel snow, and run various other kinds of er rands. These two young, men are getting an education in getting ahead in the business world. Their success indicates they have already learned there is no substitute for hard work and that an American public THOUGHT FOR TODAY Time to mc this truth has taught (Tis a treasure leirth revealing), More offend by want of thought Than from want of feeling. Charles Swain The Plattsmouth Journal Official County and City Paper KSTAP.LISHKO IN 1881 Awarded Ak-Sar-Ben Plaque For 'Outstanding Community Service in 1950" Published semi-weekly. Mondays and Thursdays, at 109-413 Main Street. l'lHttsmoulh. Cass County. Nebr. RONALD R. FURSE Publisher HARRY J. CANE Editor FRANK H. SMITH News Reporter lassociQTion I Vntereu at the Post Office at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. ... ...... nri class mail matter in accordance with the "ct of Congress of March 3. 1879. .,r.f.nriTtyrTrM 'RATE $3 Rfl and adjoining counties. $4.00 per year elsewhere, in advance by mail outside the city of Platts mouth. By 'carrier in Plattsmouth, 20 cents lor two weeks. Furses Few of us get what we deserve for which most of us should be thankful. . A local boy writes that he is now class ified as an "old soldier" he's been in Korea since the peace talks started. Told that he had become the father of quadruplets, an Iowa father remarked, "This is surprising," instead of demand ing a recount. The best thing about spring is that it brings an end to winter. Which reminds us that the freshest thing you'll see this spring is Flipper Fanny, our dainty little contour twister, in her new spring suit. It is getting so that children will need an adding machine to do a simple sum in arithmetic. A woman is generally happy when you remember her birthday, provided its just the date and not the total. A local woman driver gave a couple of telephone line repairmen a piece of her tongue here the other day. They started climbing a pole just as she drove by and she let them know in no uncertain terms that her driving wasn't that bad. When moving into his present home a fellow tells us he thought he was moving into a rather poor district, but he's learned different. His neighbors never borrow less than five dollars. An expert is a man several hundred miles from home. NATIONAL EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION nrr vnar in Pass Fresh Flashes wants courteous service. There are young men in Plattsmouth who could be classed as young business men. And, while we are not advocating the repeal of child labor laws, a reason able amount of work while young people are in school will contribute substantially to their education and to their future ad justment to the realities of their environ ment. Down Memory Lane OA YEARS AGO J Arley R. Dowler. Weeping Water garage owner, has filed as a candidate for the republican nomination for county sheriff. He is the third candidate to file . . . The Nebraska Basket factory has moved to the Alfa Maise mill and has re sumed capacity production . . . Julius A. Pi'tz, former county commissioner, has filed for the democratic nomination for county commissioner in the first district . . . The first consignment of machinery for the new canning factory has arrived . . . F. H. McCarthy of Union was named chairman of the republican county central committee to succeed Charles E. Noyes ... A carload of feed for stock in the drouth stricken areas of Nebraska has been sent by residents of Murray. A. G. Long, O. A. Davis and George Nickles conducted the drive. I A YEARS AGO ly Victory Home and Garden meetings will be held in communities throughout the county to explain how families can provide most of their own food . . . Ken neth Armstrong, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Armstrong, has enlisted in the army . . . Condemnation of the local water plant and issuance of bonds for purchasing the plant will be voted on at the April elec tion . . . Mrs. Don Cramer was hostess at a shower honoring Mrs. William High field, Jr., formerly Miss Blanche Hughes . . . Mr. and Mrs. Hillard Grassman ob served their 25th wedding anniversary . . . Mr. and Mrs. Glen Vallery were in Omaha Sunday where they were 'guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Koop. The Washington Merry-Go-Round ICopyright 1949, By the Bell Syndicate. Inc.) DPvEW PEARSON SAYS: TEXAS IS STEAMED UP OVER OIL IT MAY NOT HAVE; TIDELANDS OIL WELLS OFF TEXAS COAST HAVEN'T PRODUCED; LONG BEACH HAS NO METERS ON ITS OIL WELLS TO MEASURE ROYAL TIES. Beaumont, Texas. In this, the largest oil-refining city in the world, tidelands oil is almost a fighting word. The average Texan is so sore about it that he talks as if Texas were about to secede from the Union. Native Texan Tom Clark, who as U.S. Attorney General brought the tidelands oil suit, and native Texan Mastin White, solicitor of the Interior Department, who helped, are excoriated almost as if they were top members of the Kremlin. To people of the other 47 states, tide lands oil may mean nothing more than the oil wells drilled under water off the coast of the United States. But to Texans, LAFF OF 151 A j "Quit smoking recently :n fact it has become a lines L as sym- bolic as the Alamo. i Most of this is due to Texas pride, which runs strong in the lone slar state; but part also to the fact that, three of the wealthiest oilmen of the south west H. L. Hunt. Clint Murch-; ison and Roy Cullen see the tideiands-oil issue as an effec-1 iive slick with which to beat I Washington over the head. j Vigorously anti-Truman, Hunt i and Murchison both siphoned money up to Senator McCarthy j to neip aeieat sen. Miiiara lya- ineis in Maryland, while Roy Cullen paid a million dollars for part interest in the Liberty radio network in order to put liberal commentator Bill Shirer off the air and substitute for him rabid anti-Acheson propa ganda. These three are among the leaders of the battle against elder statesman Tom Connally, which is why Texas attorney general Price Daniel, who knows little about foreign affairs, has suddenly become an expert on foreign affairs. Daniel has struck a gold mine of campaign contributions, and talks learn edly about Formosa just as if he really knew where' Formosa was and who lives there. The more the young attorney eeneral talks about foreign af fairs, the more he pleases his big-money backers and the more he convinces at least himself that he knows just as much as the present chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Com mittee, Senator Connally. NO PROFITABLE TIDELANDS WELLS Texas is such a wide-open, friendly and sensible state that it's hard to understand how it can get so worked up. However, Californians are just about the same. The paradoxical thing is that Texans are worked up over something that so far doesn't seem to exist. What few Texans seem to know is that not one dollar of Tidelands Oil roy alty has yet been received on the wells drilled off the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, the wells drilled so far have been duds. Only one Tidelands oil well, according to the records of the geological survey, has struck anything. This well is in block 245 and produced 49 barrels in a day, after which it was plugged as not being worth the running of a pipeline. Of about five other wells near Beaumont, drilled close to the shore line some time ago, one is bringing in a small return. In contrast, 15 or 20 wells have been drilled in water several miles off the Texas coast at a loss of more than a million dol lars each. Louisiana, on the other hand, has brought in some lush Tide lands wells. But Texas, where the term Tidelands Oil is almost a fighting word, hasn't been so fortunate. Maybe Texans are getting all steamed up over nothing. CALIFORNIA TIDELANDS In California, also, there's been so much oratory about Tidelands Oil that few people are aware of some certain high ly interesting facts. This is the failure of compa nies operating on behalf of the city of Long Beach to put meters , on their wells. Without meters, . it is obviously impossible to measure accurately the flow of oil, and accordingly fix the amount of royalty accruing to I the people of Long Beach or the i federal government. ! This is important for several reasons. In the first place, rev enue from Tidelands Oil off Long Beach was supposed to be held in trust for the people of Long Beach; or, under the sub sequent U. S. supreme court rul ing, for the federal government. Second, California claims that it can administer Tidelands Oil more efficiently than the fed eral government. However, fail ure to put meters on the wells would seem a powerful argument to the contrary. TIDELANDS OIL PILFERAGE Another interesting reflection on California efficiency is a re rpnt reoort bv M D. Huehes. THE WEEK it's been just 38 minutes .exactly!" chief harbor petroleum engineer of Long Beach, that Tidelands Oil was subject to pilfering. 'It is possible for almost any one to drive a tank truck into the field and load up," the alert Long Beach Independent report ed. The newspaper also quoted Harbor Engineer Hughes as stat- . ing: I "There is an unnecessarily large number of unsealed clean oil outlets at all test tanks, trap settings and tank farms that are inadequately controlled." When this and other Tide lands Oil irregularities came to the attention of the California j state legislature, its committee ; on oil issued a critical report, j warning that because of inef ficient administration, it might become necessary to take Tide lands Oil land away from the city of Long Beach. ' There is evidence of substan tial unauthorized use and' ad ministration of at least a large portion of the granted lands," the California state legislature said of the Long Beach Tide lands operation. Since Long Beach is by far the wealthiest Tidelands devel opment off the Pacific coast and since California has claimed it can operate Tidelands Oil more efficiently than the federal gov ernment, the above critical re port plays squarely into the hands of Secretary of the In terior Oscar Chapman. TEXAS MERRY-GO-ROUND Two Texans are now in charge of the nation's income taxes John Dunlap of Dallas, internal revenue commissioner; and Frank Lohn of Brady, in charge of the highly important intelli gence unit. Both are as honest as the Texas prairies are broad . . . Martin Dies, the ex-congressman who started the un American activities committee, will probably be back in Wash ington as congressman at large from Texas. Martin indicated he would run for the senate if someone put up $100,000 in cam paign contributions, but there were no takers, so he'll run for congress instead . . . Eisenhow er sentiment is strong in Texas. If nominated, he would probab ly put Texas in the GOP column for the first time since it voted for Hervert Hoover . . . Texas Democrats are quietly organiz ing a delegation to the Chicago convention pledged to Governor Shivers as a favorite son not with the idea of nominating Shivers, but in order to block Truman. Most Texans don't be lieve the Dixiecrat idea will work. Realty Transfers Earl W. Meisinger & Elsie Pearl to James; Holoubek & Emma J., WD 2-9-52, N2 L. 1 & 2 & all 3. B. 97, Platts.. $10,000.00. Varro E. Handley & Clara E., -o Varro E. Handley & Clara E., "rp 2-2-52, L. 7, B. 43, Platts., 1 nn I Charlotte Shinley & Ernest L., to Lucian Smith, WD 1-25-52, Tnt. SM.NWU & WVzNEVi 8-10- ! 14. $880X0. ! John C. Pete-son, Jr.. & Anna ' A., to John C. Peterson, Jr., & Anna A., WD 2-13-52. L. 7 & i W',2 L. 8, B. 45, Platts., $1.00. Lyman Richey Sand & Or. Corp., ta n. F. Nielsen & Amelia, WD L. 22. Sec. 35-13-13, $1.00. Herbert J. Schleuter & Mar garet to Francis . Uhe & Edith W WD 2-14-52 V- Tnt SP'A- NEJ4 7 & S'aNWU 8-12-12, $1.00. Herbert J. Schlueter & Mar garet to Glenn H. Love & Viola F WD 2-14-52, y2 Int. SEVi NEii 7 & S&NWfc 8-12-12, $1.00. Arthur Berthold & Gail E., to Frank Deforest Philpot, WD 1- 28-52, L. 2 & S 100" L. 1, B. 4, Fleming & Races Add V. Water, $16,000.00. . Chester A. Sporer & Helen M., o Will A. Minfcrd & Marian C, 2-15-52, Frc. L. 6 & 7 NE'ANWVi 24-11-13, $4750.00. Merritt Bros. Sand & Gravel Corp , to Thomas S. Solomon, WD 2-15-52, L. 5, NE'iNEtt, 34-13-13, $1.00. we Tnv.ip to Frank Ohm & ! Katherine, WD 2-13-52, Ls. 1 to 4 B 17 & w 3o Li. ana an l.. i, B. 13, South Bend, $1500.00. Journal Wont Art- P-A-Y-f Legislative SIDELIGHTS . by BERNIE CAMP Information Director Nebraska Farm Burp'' Federation j (Legislative Sidelines is u.-ide available to your lu. al newspaper as a service o". the Nebraska Farm Eurrau Federation. Opm ions expressed are not neces saril" -; of thi ivvsnipcr' LEGISLATIVE STDS LTNE3 3 INFLATION IS A TAX Inflation in our American economy is c.3 much a tax on the irccne.i of our people as would h' 1 directly levied legally aui' c i .ed tax. 'nil fion means that the in-'- iiual family has that much : .3 purchasing power for its own needs, just as a tax means just that much less for the family. When the federal government spends more than it receives in revenue, the bill is paid by the individual families of the na tion in inflation. This is a cost on the consuming family just as surely as if the family were required to pay a tax of similar proportions. Inilation is not a selective tax. It is based upon ability to pay. It is a tax on every dollar of tamily income. Since 1940, the dollar has lost almost one-half of its purchas ing power. A dollar that was worth 100 cents in 1940 has de clined steadily in value in terms of the amount of goods it will purchase. In 1945, that dollar was worth 73 cents in purchas ing power. The 22 cents drop in purchasing power was inflation, a tax on the purchasing power of the family. By 1343, the pur chasing power of the 1940 dol lar had dropped 42 cents to 59 I cents; in 19o3, another Denny of purchasing power was lost to bring the value of the 1940 dol lar to 53 cents; and by Novem ber 1951, another nickel to 53 cents. This decline in the value of the 1940 dollar by 47 cents up to November 1951 was taking place at the same time as the direct and indirect federal tax share of the family income was on the increase. In a period of 11 years, the consuming families of the na tion have paid a tax collected by inflation that amounted to 47 percent of the value of the dollar in 1940. For example, persons who re tired on a pension in 1940 have been since that time on a fixed income. Of every $100 in pen sion that worker or other citi zen received in pension money in 1940, today the purchasing power of that income has been cut by $47 or almost half by comparison. Those who live on pensions or investments or who have not had a salary or income increase since 1950 are particularly hard hit by the -inflation tax." But other segments of the nation's economy have been hard hit too. Those families which have had some increase in income since 1940 but in which that increase has not kept pace with the inflation weakened purchas ing power, are paying an ' in- by which their 1952 purchasing power falls short of their 1940 income. Men and women who were : frugal enough to put aside sav ings in 1940 in the form of cash, insurance policies or govern ment bonds, in trying to live on these savings in 1952 rudely dis cover that the dollars they saved are worth only 53 cents in terms of the things they can buy with them. A government which spends in excess of its income creates and encourages inflation which becomes a di?ect tax upon every family's savings r.nd income. ! Until the families of the nation insist that their governments . federal, state and local live j within their tax incomes, these families are going to continue to pay for the excess of spend ing over income through an "in flation tax" on their own in comes. Balancing the federal budget, matching government income to cost, and sound fiscal and tax policies can go a long way to halt the continued imposition of the unauthorized and disastr ous ''inflation tax'' upon the in comes of the families of the na tion. LETTER BOX The Journal vreUomes letters from readers fi this colurin on any subject, t'nur name must sinned to all articles intended for tMiblieation, however. by request. It can be omitt-d from the lette appearing In print (Contents d" not neessn rily express the opin ions of this nnvsoHDer.! Mr Ronald R. Furse: Plattsmouth Aerie No. 355, Fraternal Order of Eagles, wishes to thank the Plattsmouth Journal for the publicity you gave regarding the Plattsmouth Fireman's Benefit Dance which was sponsored by the Eagle3 Lodge February 16th, 1952. Yours truly, T. J. Mendenhall, Sec, F. O. E. No. 265. Plattsmouth Pie Throwing Aids Charity DECATUR, 111. Freshmen at James Millikin University let upperclassmen take pot shots at them with gelatin-filled At. It was all for a good cause. The upperclassmen paid 25-cents a throw for the privilege. The money went for overseas stu dent aid. THE PLATTSMOUTH.. ftZBRASXA, SEtfl-WECKLY J". n!MAL PAGE FOIIIt Monday, Fehruaiy 23, 1952 The Spirit Is ? f YRON WARREN, Xcnia, Ohio, grew up on a farm. About halt the time he was beclouded with worry. Not his own woTry but the worry of the farmers: it might rain and the hay wasn't in. It might not rain, and the seedlings were up. Blackleg might get among the cattle; insects might take over the crops. A little closer to the house, for the farm er's wife: the birds might get at her garden; a fox might steal in on the chickens. Yes, there's plenty to worry about during the "calm, peaceful, plentiful life of the farmer." But even while very young, Myron began to wonder why the farmers worried about some thing over which they had no control? Why didn't they just work toward a good result and not think about rain and drouth? Why didn't they just take care of the cattle? Usually Blackleg didn't attack them. They could take certain meas ures to ward off insects, and since that was all the control they had over them, why didn't they just take those meas ures and stop worrying until the insects actually got at the crops. The farmer's wife nearly always has a most successful garden, and every fall her chicken and egg money swell l?er bank account; so why, in Heaven's name, did she worry for fear good luck wouldn't come? God is in his Heaven! His Faith in God became his standby. If you didn't believe in Him, it didn't matter much what happened, anyway, and this faith and philosophy stood Myron in good stead when he was called upon to photograph a crash in which one of his good friends was killed. At first, he was nauseated when he saw parti cles of flesh here and there. Then he told himself, if the one thing that counted was the spirit, it had departed, and it couldn't matter much in what way this had happened. Too, he was helping pre vent further such accidents if he made good pictures that would help determine the cause of the accident. NEBRASKA JAMCS C. Or,SON, Superintendent TAT S BIS TO (1CII IOCIITT It occurs to me that many Ne braskans will be interested in j having a thumb-nail account of I the organization and early his ; tory of the state's counties, and I am going to use these columns rather regularly (say once or twice a month for that pur pose. The counties will be i treated alDhabeticallv. which, of ! ; course, puts Adams at the head of the list. The first white settlers in Ad ams County were. Mortimer ' Wild Bill" Kress and Jerome 'California Joe" Fouts, who I came into the county in 1869 j and located claims on the Little Blue in March, 1370, not far from the present town of Paul ine. These men, who had had a wide experience on the fron . tier, continued to lead the lives ' of trappers and hunters along ! the banks cf the Little Blue. j The summer and fall of 1870 ! brought a number of other set- ' tiers into the county, and in April, 1871, a colony of English- ' men came in and settled upon land where the town of Hast ings later was platted. The year 1871 also saw the first at tempt at town-building, with i Inland, Juniata, Kenesaw and Hastings being laid out. The county' was organized that year, too, with officers being chosen at a special election held De cember 12. The county was named and its boundaries were defined in 1867. The name is in honor of the second president of the United States. I Juniata was chosen as the first county seat, but almost from the beginning this honor was contested, particularly by the people of Hastings. After a prolonged county seat fight typical of many another such squabble in Nebraska the seat of government finally was moved to Hastings. Adams county's substantial growth and Hastings' as well was in large measure due to the development of railroads in the early seventies. Both the Bur lington and the St. Joseph and Denver City railroads projected lines through the county, nam ing the towns in alphabetical order. Hastings was not on the original line projected for the Burlington, but ultimately it came to be the place where the two lines joined. This fortunate circumstance enabled it to move ranidly ahead of its rival, , Jauniata. A number of histories of Adams Countv have been writ- I ten. The latest is J. Harold Hamil's sketch of the county appearing in Who's Who in Ne braska. The old Illustrated His- j tory of Nebraska, by A. T. An- Hrons: M.ir.5i has nn pvtenivf j account of the county's early history. So does The Biographi cal and Historical Members of Nebraska (1890). The standard history of the county is William R. Burton and D. J. Lewis, Past and Present of Adams County, Nebraska (2 vols., Chicago, 1916). Easy to Remember BOSTON By coincidence Jack Donnell's street address is 1290 Beacon Street and his tele phone number is Beacon 1280. Journal Want Ads Pay! J. Howard ZBavi' LAWYER Soennichsen Building Phone 264 Plattsmouth i i What Counts Carnegie Cattle, Hogs On Omaha Market Three Case county livestock growers were among the Omaha shiDpers last week. Two shipped hegs and the other steers. Hojc shipments included 28 weighing 210 pounds that sold at S17.25 by Henry Hobscheidt and 20 hogs, weighing 202 at $17.40 consigned by Roy Mullis. Leonard Stohlman had 19 steers weighing 1,082 that sold at $34.25. $20 to $1000 Repay in Low, Convenient Monthly Payments LOAN'S MADE ANYWHERE AMERICAN Loon Plan O. T. NICIIOL, JR., Mgr. 112 No. 5th St. Ph. 3213 Plattsmouth Political Advertisement Against UMT Senator Hugh Butler Tells Reasons Why He Is OPPOSED To Universal Military Training To Nebraska parents and to their teenage sons, Senator Hugh Butler pledges that (a) he will vote against any form of Universal Military Training, and (b) he will use all of his con siderable influence in the United States Senate to rally his col leagues against the proposal. "Only the direst emer g e n c y should -take 18 -year-old Lads away from their homes, their jobs or their schooling-," said Senator b "sits; . s' SENATOR BCTLEB Butler. "If such an emergency should arise, they would volun teer -as they have in the past in overwhelming numbers. "It would cost untold billions and waste immeasurable time and productive energy. Our farms, in particular, would be crippled by the loss of man power. "If the threat to our national security is now great enough to warrant ITAIT, then I feel the proposed six-months' training is inadequate. If, on the other hand, there is no such threat, the bill must be defeated," Senator But ler said. Nebraska parent your senior Senator has the prestige to make the voice of Nebraska listened to in the L'MT debate ahead. A vote for HUGH BUTLER on April 1 is a vote AGAINST Universal Military Training. 13 HUGH IJUTLKlt For U.S. Sclia tor The atmvr d. paid for by BuUrr-fnr. -Misr., t. i. ouenicl, Trcas. 11. 3 I C31 tut