Milford chronicle., 1956-02-10
FoRTY-sIX YEARS IS A LONG TIME

Fortv-six years ago next Sunday after
noon, February 18th, 1910, the writer recelv-
ed an urgent telephone message which, IN the
matter of minutes, shaped the course Of our
future The phone call advised me that my
father Col Theo. Townsend, had suffered
severe heart attack and that / should come
home Immediately. / was then a student at
Delaware College, having enrolled for an
Engineering course. Arriving home that
evening, / was met at the railroad station
by DR.. George w. Marshall, the man for
whom i was named. He told me Of the SER
iousness Of nay fathers illness and said
simply It's up to you-you must take over
the management of the business immediate
~" That night I did Just that. At the time
was a few weeks less than twenty-one
years Of age.
The forty-six years following that event
ful day in my life have seen pleasure and
sorrow, prosperous periods and times Of
depression. We have seen dozens of faithful
employees, men and women, who had given
their best years to service and the advance
nent Of the best interests Of this business,
pass on to their final reward. We have had
pleasant business experiences and we have
had unpleasant ones. During all of this time
we have kept steadily in mind one ideal
we have insisted that each and every issue
Of the Milford Chronicle be the best that we
can possibly produce at the time of issue
We have set a high standard for both the
newspaper and our commercial printing de-
partment Both must be suggestions
for anything else are not even debatable at
the Chronicle business Office.
These forty-six years have seen much
change in the methods of printing proceed
ure. When we took over, all type in the plant
was set by hand. Now very little is hand
set. Every press and folder was handled.
Now automatic feeders speed up operations.
Power paper cutters have long since replac-
of the man-killing lever oyerated machines.
New methods are adopted and new processes
are put to use here at the Chronicle as they
prove their worth.
That procedure has been followed con-
sistently here at the Chronicle. AS younger
men have entered the business we have tried
to impress upon them the great Importance
of honesty and fair dealings in all business
matters Younger men must of necessity be
ready to take over when the emergency
arises These we have tried to train so that
our City of Milford and Kent and Sussex
Counties may continue to be well served by
a fine newspaper regardless of what may
happen to the older among us.
In looking back over the past fOrty-siX
years we can see where we made mistakes
mistakes in retrospect seem large-but taken
as a whole we believe that we have accom-
plished our main ambition-to give our
readers worthwhile newspaper, one which
any person can welcome into his or her home
at all times because of its clean aspects. The
friendships and acquaintance which we
have made over the years have been wonder
full. They are something that money cannot
buy They are priceless.
But come to think of it, after all, the
forty-six years haven't been too long
NS&OSS
POLITICS CONQUERS LOGIC
In the authoritative view of Admiral Ben
MOreell, who headed the Hoover Commission
Task Force on Water Resources and Power,
There is no logical reason for the popular
appeal of public power"
The Admiral then supported this state
ment with incontrovertible facts. The cost
of. electricity runs TO about one per cent OF
the average householder's budget-much
less than for almost any other service or ar
ticle he regularly buys A reduction of only
three per cent in this hOuseholder's tax bill
would pay for all his power.
In manufacturing the cost of electric
power averages about One-half-of-one pei
cent to One-per cent of the produce value
with only two exceptiOns-the electrOchemi
cal and Observation-Disclosures industries
where the average is a little over 10 pei
cent.
If, as Admiral Moreell has demonstrated
there is no logic in the public power issue
why is it kept alive? The answer can b'
given in a single word: Politics. This is
case where political and theological consid
eratiOns have conquered logic. Those Wh'
beat the drums loudest for public power are
for the most part, those who want more ant
more governmental controls of all kinds Owe
all our enterprises and activities. Their at
titude is the socialist attitude, whose basi
premise is that government must be the bos
in all matters of general importance.
Long steps toward making the govern
ment the boss of everything would be t
create a tax-subsidized electric power mon
0pOly