Laurel outlook., 1948-02-25
Stout ~Interprets
Headlines OF News
Continued from Page One)

nOunced that friends at Park Cit
have arranged a celebration of Nj
and Mrs. Corwin's golden wedding
anniversary for the evening of Feb
81 at Harmony hall, beginning a
7:30, to which Laurel friends are
invited. Pres. Oliver Void of the
Commercial club said an important
meeting will be held Thursday
evening this week at the Masonic
temple. Sec. R. P. Packard stated
that high school band uniforms have
arrived and that subscriptions fol
their purchase are nov due. He
also said that the Laurel Rotary
club again occupied No. 1 position
in the state for attendance last
month. The Laurel percentage was
1888. A guest of the club Tues
day was B. l.. Price, Laurel attorney.
Stout, the speaker, has been a
member of Rotary the past 80
years. He recalled that as a news
paper man he was in Laurel 46 years
ago to write a story about the then
new Big ditch, an important irri-
cation canal in the Yellowstone val
ley.
Getting into his subject, "Stories
the Headlines Tell" he attributed
much of the American public's good
Judgment on home and information
al affairs to the wealth of informa-
ton it enjoys, brought to it by news
papers, news magazines. radio and
the motion pictures. The fact find
ers of these agencies are every
where, gathering, sitting and trans
hitting information. The people as
a whole have native acumen in sort
ing wheat from chaff, and although
public opinion is seldom static it
modifies it's frequent swings to ex-
tremes before damage is done. Its
decisions are made where sanity pre-
walls.
America has closed the books on
n epoch and is setting up the ac-
counts for another, the speaker OBJ
served. For many years the public's
attention was centered almost ex-
clusively on domestic events and
conditions-a part of the great adj
venture of discovery and develop
ment and a great society. With
science destroying the magnitudes
of space and time, the one-time at
titude of security in isolation has
vanished, replaced by awareness
that America of necessity must &C.
cupy an unsought role of world
leadership. The horizons have NOV
ed back appreciably and the nature
of the public's thinking has changed.
Stout mentioned the recent rather
sensational declines in many com
modify prices. He said the prevail
ing thought is to the effect that
prices needed adjustment. "We can
not deny that we were travelling a
road that led to relationships for
Others" but there is no immediate
danger of an acute depression as
result of present price declines. En-
ployment is everywhere at a peak
and the world demand for foods and
manufactured goods is not likely
to ease off for three or four years
affording an opportunity to stabilize
purchasing power and other
economic factors in America.
The headlines also deal much with
congress, always a great source Of
which now has its heaviest,
and perhaps strangest, agenda. But
the readers know that much of the
talk and many of the actions re-
ported from Washington are the off
of an election year. eve
may be thankful that we, the people,
still render the final judgment,
make the corrections"
Stout predicted for the next 60
lays: Reduction in the income tax,
and also reduction in the presidents
For these predictions the
speaker may have combined his ex-
3eriences as a newspaper man and
Is a former congressman.
AS to secret weapons, particular
V guided missiles and A-bombs.
America has many such secrets, but
exclusive possession is temporary.
The only powerful nation to chal-
enge America has five to 10 years
o discover them for itself. The
entral tenet of Russia is to destroy
he democracies, but there is slight
ope that the two ~oppositely op-
osed methods can be brought to
greement. In the meantime there
5 no alternative for America but
o adopt the Marshall plan, said
he interpreter of the headlines,
Tho viewed it as a of ma
ional defense while Great Britain
otters on bankruptcy. Should Rus
ia succeed in it's designs in Europe, ,
IS next probable move would be
owards South America, according !
0 the digest of the headlines. .
Though inexperienced in its new I
International role, the United States
lay prevent the collapse of modern ,
Utilization, for although the out p.