Milford chronicle., 1948-05-28
MEMORIAL DAY

While the merited tributes of respect are
paid on the National Memorial Day to all
who served in this Nations wars, the veter-
ans will tell us that we are called upon to
do something more than show good patriotic
manners. They ask us to honor and recog-
nize their service, by doing what we can in
behalf of the country for which they offered
their lives. Patriotism is something more
than showing proper respect for the flag
OF their country, or than rising when the
National Anthem is played. The former
soldiers and sailors remark that they gave
all they had freely and willingly, and obeyed
orders without question, while many of us
can't do the simple every day services which
citizenship calls for 1t seems strange to
them that if they are willing to go into the
trenches, the air or on the seas to fight for
their country, many of our people today
won't take the trouble to vote to keep their
country straight, and the best place in the
world in which to live. Memorial Day for
the great majority of the people is an Oc-
caSiOn for sports and pastimes. Veterans re-
gret that absorption in pleasure which dis
tracts attention from the purpose for which
the day was created. But if we are to take
the day as holiday, let us at least not forget
the war veterans, and let us give our support.
to them in all their efforts to promote good
citizenship in Delaware.
N~GO&&
A MATTER FOR THE STATES
A spokesman for retail association, tes-
tifying before a Senate committee which has
been considering proposed changes in the
Federal wage and hour law, made some very
sound observations. He pointed out that re-
3tailing, whether carried on by large or small
stores, is essentially intra-State and local in
character and, where circumstances make
wage and hour regulation desirable, it should
be administered by the states. Going on, he
said that retailing must be Immediately re-
sponSive to the desires of the buying public,
and that Congress cannot control the Whims
and wishes of millions of individual cOnsum-
ers. Those wishes are the reason for the
many variations in working hours which
stores indifferent communities must observe.
A wage and hour law which established
too high minimum Of pay, or a tOO-shOrt
work week, or which was arbitrary and in
flexible, could be a very serious problem to
thousands of stores. On top of that, it could
: hurt the people it is supposed to protect by
reducing opportunities for employment, es-
pecially among those without skills. And,
lastly, it could give price initiation still an
other boost.
What is true of retailing is true of many
other kinds of enterprise to some degree. 1t
! is one thing to prevent exploitation of the
least experienced and least competent work
er. 1t is different thing to use the wage and
hour law to throw the economy out of bal
ance. And it is certainly true that regula-
tiOn by the states, in most instances, will pro-
vide far more realistic and workable policy
than blanket regulation from Washington.
5000
PREVENTION FIRST
There is a great deal of public miscOncep-
tion concerning flood damage and flood con-
/. troll, which has largely resulted from the or
( ganized campaign on behalf of great, enOr-
mOusly costly, multi-purpOse dams, such as
those built by IVA and proposed for various
other river basins.