The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-09-23

We have watched Win some
interest a growing tendency,
particularly on the part of the
daily press, to use in a curious
(and sometimes plain down
right silly manner the words
welfare state" and "statism'
in opposing any sane social
progress that seems for the ben
eff of the great mass of rank
az file Americans. First let's
make our own position clear in
this matter. BY social progress
we do not mean socialism, nor
do VIC mean a cradle-to-grave
philosophy that would make
the state a fairy godfather and
destroy individual initiative.
BY social progress, however, we
do mean that we believe gov
eminent cannot remain static in
a rapidly expanding industrial
world, neither do we believe
that to change it means to en-
brace either communism, ia
scism or socialism.
Above all, we believe the
editorial pages of a large seq
ment of both the weekly and
daily press should be consistent
and stop labelling "welfare
state or "statism'' any legisla-
tion that affects the social wei
fare Tor federal appropriations
of a segment Of the population
other than that served by them,
or the subsidy under which
they. themselves, operate. One
of the rankest pieces of this
type thinking we have seen in
a long time was an editorial we
read this week in a New Or
leans daily newspaper.
The editorial compared the
British and United States gov
eminent and arrived at the con-
clusion that we are just about
as much a "welfare state as
Britain. We quote; "There is a
similarity between their well
fare program and ours. Both in
clude food subsidies. low rent
housing, unemployment com
pensation, pensions, care of de-
pendent children, assistance to
the poor. Britain has social
medicine while the USA has a
vast public health system for
all the people and free hospital
service for the poor The
principal difference, after all,
is that Britain has nationalized
the railroads., mines and banks
and wants to nationalize steel.
America has all but national
lied coal, and has nationalized
a considerable part of the pow
er industry with public hydro
electric plants and rural power
distribution systems -"
The newspaper failed to men
ton the huge postal subsidy
under which it land the Chron-
icle-Star and Advertiser and all
the rest of the nations press)
is operating at the expense of
the tax-paying American pub
Lie. said subsidy provided by
our "welfare state" government.
Just a few headlines at random
out Of the same newspaper:
"Eastland Probes Cotton Sup
ports" one says. This refers to
Mississippi's own Senators
Long-Staple Jim Eastland. who
is in process of checking the
grading of eottonseed by the ag-
riculture department to make
sure Mississippi cotton growers
will get the full $40. 50-a-ton
subsidy which is being. paid by
the welfare state" to the cot
ton growers in order to support
prices and prevent them reach
ing their own level on the basis
of supply and demand. Louis
lana grows a good bit of cot
ton and also produces a good
bit of sugar (also subsidized by
the federal welfare state" gov
ernmeuN.
Then Rep. Will M. Whiting
ton points out that the flood
control bill now pending before
the Senate is "of paramount
importance TO the Yazoo delta
and lower Mississippi valley"
The bill carries a S200-million
dollar welfare state" appropri-
alton, provided by taxpayers
from Maine to California. We
seem to remember that import
duties on sugar are of eonsid-
cradle benefit to Louisiana pro-
ducers GeVied of course by a
welfare state prodded by the
same producer lobby and a
hundred other factors designed
to protect Louisiana producers
and manufacturers. as well as
Ahnrn e H. H. 10 ILL.,