Milford chronicle., 1957-01-25


of the money disappears in the costs and
wastes that go along with political admins
tration of our affairs
>a%@&~%
CONTROL OF THE SEAS
The North American Newspaper ALI
ance has released a series of articles on
Americas military might, in the form of a
question-and-ansWer interview with Admir-
al Arleight A Burke, chief of naval oper-
ations.
The Admiral points out that naval power
is still absolutely essential to military secur-
ity-"There is no conceivable situation in
the world in which military action and sup
port may be needed that it doesn't have to
arrive there by sea, if it is of any magni-
stude at ALL" Ships must carry huge sup
plies of oil and other requirements to our
forces abroad. So, to quote Admiral Burke
again, Nothing is more important to the
defense of the United States than control of
the SEAS"
The. first requirement in this field, of
course, is a superior navy, geared to the
atomic age and to the particular situation
of the United States We have such a navy,
and it is continually being improved. But
our maritime needs do not end, by any means,
with the navy alone. There are other vital
elements of them being the merchant
marine. 1t has, and rightly, been called our
on U. S.-fag merchant ships, travelling seas
controlled by the navy, that we must depend
to meet the Unsuitable logistic demands any
major emergency creates.
Even if miracle should occur, and all
danger of war should disappear our need
of tOp-hight merchant marine would not
lessen. We are a great importing and eX-
porting nation-and it is these ships that
carry the goods back and forth on the ocean
highways.
A DISASTER THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN
Remember when, twenty-odd years ago,
it was argued that the growth of chain store
merchandising menaced the very existence
of the smaller retailers? Punitive federal
anti-chain legislation was urged in some
quarters, on the grounds that this was the
only way to save the independents from swift
and sure extinction.
That legislation did not pass. And it's
interesting to see just how inaccurate the
views of those who anticipated the doom of
the independents.
Godfrey NJ. Lebhar, editor of Chain Store
Age, writes that in 1929 the chains account
ed for 22.2 per cent of a total retail volume
of $48 billion. In the latest year for which
government figures are available, volume to-
tailed S170 billion and the chains accounted
for 235 per cent. AS Mr. Lebhar puts it,
changes in retailing during the past 25 years,
the chains, today, account for practically the
same percentage of total sales as they did
in 1929"
Why were the prophets of disaster so
wrong? The main reason is that they gross
ly underestimate the abilities and spirit
of the independent merchants. These mer-
chants successfully emUlated new techniques
and ideas pioneered by the chains, and added
consumer-attracting innovations of their
own. The result is that all kinds of merchan-
dising has gone steadily ahead, each keeping
its share of the business-to the enormous
benefit of the consuming public.
~&g@&&
BABY OWES S1,939!
"The tax bite on earnings is only the an
nual story of what government seems to be
costings," writes Sam M. Jones in National
Review Behind it lies debt so large today
that every baby is born owing the govern
ment 81 ,939 before he lets out his first howl
If he is a member of family of four, his
papa will represent a government debt of
S7,738'
This, of course, is in large measure the
sad fruit of wars and depreSsiOns and other
calamities But it is alSC in considerable
part, the fruit of waste and duplication in
government activities = and, more impor-
tant, of philosophy of uper-government
that ignores the eternal principle that gov
ernment should not do for people what peo-
pie can do for themselves. il is to that prin-
ciple that we need to return, and to start
repairing the incredibly costly damage that
has been done in terms of depreciating value
of money and weakening of representative
government