 It's time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, brought to you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A presentation of the Lawn Jean Wittner Watch Company, maker of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Lawn Jean. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Lawn Jean Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, author and analyst, and Mr. Hardy Burt, author and correspondent. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable Edward J. Thy, United States Senator from Minnesota. Senator Thy, we certainly appreciate you coming up from Washington to be with us this evening, sir. And our viewers, of course, remember you as the senior senator from Minnesota and the former governor there. And tonight, we would like to ask you first, sir, on this issue of Mr. Boland being sent to Russia, how do you expect to vote on this rather controversial matter, sir? I expect to vote for confirmation. I left the floor this evening and it had been discussed all afternoon. Well, now, do you regard this controversy as a very serious one, as a real threat to the new administration? No, I do not. I do not. In other words, sir, you don't see it as a threat to the unity of the new administration and the Republican Party, which is now in power in Washington. No, I do not recognize it as a threat. Your majority leader and your policy committee chairman are on the side of the administration. Senator, to everyone, at least most people, the vast majority of people, found it very incredible to believe that a man like Hiss could be guilty of being subversive. Do you think there's any chance whatsoever that Boland could turn into another Hiss case, the Boland case into another Hiss case? Well, I cannot believe that Secretary of State, Mr. Dulles, having had an opportunity to examine the FBI files, would have stumbled himself into a position such as was found to be with Mr. Hiss. I just can't believe it. Senator Thy, you, of course, represent one of the great farm states in the country. Our viewers are tremendously interested in the farm problem, in particular in food prices. First of all, sir, can you explain simply for our viewers how you would like to see the Department of Agriculture operate under this administration? I'd like to see the Department of Agriculture operate in this manner, that where it has to do the regulatory work, there it should. Where it is engaged in the animal husbandry, there it should expand its activity, because research is a new field of expansion in the years of tomorrow. The other is that the Department of Agriculture administers the farm support program. The support program is for no other purpose as to, other than to assure the consumers that there's going to be an ample supply of food and fiber for their needs. Are you what we have referred to on this program? Are you a high-support man and advocate of high-supports? You know, my endeavors in all of my public service has been to give the farmer parity. Once in a while, we have to assure him that he can only get 90% of parity, but I've always endeavored to give him full of parity. Senator, a few days ago we had on the Chronoscope, Congressman Javits, of course, is a big-setting congressman from New York. Now, it was his contention that this farm subsidy program was a wonderful thing for the farmer, but it worked a hardship on the city consumer. What is your opinion on that? My opinion is simply this, that when you guarantee the farmer on the basics only, that's not the perishables, but the basics, that he's going to receive 90%. Now, basics is corn, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts and tobacco. You guarantee him on those that he's going to have 90% of parity. When you do that, that producer is going to go out and do his utmost to get the production that'll assure the consumer an ample supply. And therefore, I do not think that it is doing for the producer at the expense of the consumer. It's an assurance for the consumer. You think farm prices will go down despite the subsidy program? No. I mean, not farm prices, but prices to the city consumer. Yes, they're going down now. Beef prices have gone off between 10% and 15%, depending on what retail markets you're in, in the last month. Do you think that bread will also go down, dairy products, all of the things that our viewers buy for their market baskets? It's on the downward decline at the present time. When there's a cut to the producer in his price, it takes many weeks into months before it's reflected in the retail market. Senator, I understand that you are against, well, you can say it bureaucracy in government, but against too many people being employed by the government. Too much bureaucracy. Is that true? You can have too much of government. Yes, sir. And I think government is like everything else, that if you have too many, there is a lack of efficiency. And I believe that some of our agency did become overstaffed. Would that apply to the Department of Agriculture too, sir? Yes, it would. Now, Senator Thuy, it's being said around Washington that the Republican Party, this new administration, is having considerable trouble in actually getting control of the government. Do you believe that's true, sir? Well, there are too many positions where you have classified service that governs, and the people are probably in a policy-making position, and it's difficult to have them change their form. You mean that during the previous two administrations, the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, more and more people where their jobs were covered by civil service. That is true. And do you think that that probably has gone too far? I wouldn't say it's gone too far, but I would say that some of the employees do not recognize that there's a new administration and that they should try to endeavor to find out what the policy of the new administration is, and then cooperate with all their might. At the present time, I have recognized a few that still thought they should be fighting this administration. Well, you do believe that there are too many people on the government payroll today? I definitely believe that. How can you eliminate them, Senator, and save the taxpayers some money? It can only be done from the top down, and that the administration has not had sufficient time in the respective agencies of government to have gotten about finding out where the surplus is and in which manner they can eliminate it. You wouldn't go around just lopping off bureaus to eliminate employees, in other words. No, sir, because that is ineffective because oftentimes it's the last person that came on the payroll that gets cut off because he has no seniority, and therein lies the danger of just using the lopping off system. You better start from the top and figure out which one you can dispose of and then dispose of it. Well, on that question, Senator Thuy, do you find among your constituents that they want the government of the United States to get larger or smaller? My constituents, of course, want the reduction in governmental expenditures because only in that manner are they going to have a reduction in their taxes. Well, do you find some of them, however, that want more government service? Once in a while, you know every time that we graduate another university class or a college class, we just find some folks that are able to write a letter and they are just writing letters and they are making certain demands upon government. Let's put it this way, Senator, are your constituents more in favor of balancing the budget and saving money? That is, eliminating government services, or are they more in favor of having taxes cut? The folks would like to see taxes reduced and we must bring about a tax reduction. You cannot continue extracting in tax dollars from the paying public in the manner that you have in the last few years for what you're going to dry up venture capital. And if you destroy venture capital, you're going to destroy the opportunity of making a new business. I understand from your pronouncements that you believe that we could save quite a good deal of money on the budget this year. Yes, I definitely believe that. How much, sir? I am very hopeful that there can be at least between five and six billion dollar reduction in the overall expenditure of government. And that could mean a tax reduction? That could bring about a balanced budget and then you can proceed to let some of the excess taxes and the other increased income taxes cease as the law intended them. You have the excess going off to life the first and you have some of the income tax levies that was imposed because of the green water to go off the end of this year. Senator Thy, some of our viewers will recall that it was the Minnesota delegation, I believe, that tipped the scales finally for General Eisenhower's nomination. And a great deal is being written about some disillusionment spreading as regards the Eisenhower administration. Now, are you still a strong defender of this new administration? Definitely. Do you feel that it's going to make positive accomplishments for the people? It's evident now. It's evident in this that you're getting a leveling off from the inflationary levels that this government was faced with and it was a serious threat. Now that you mean that money is becoming sounder? Money is becoming sounder. Your retail prices is dropping to the consumer. You have at the present time the highest employment ever in history and it's taking place in the month of February. And that you have a general firming up of what was an inflationary threat only a matter of a year or so ago. How about the conflict with Russia, Senator? The conflict with Russia is very serious and with this new administration no one knows what's going to happen over in Russia. I think that that was the one reason why they were trying to get an ambassador. In other words, you're telling our viewers that as far as domestic policy and as promises to the voters on domestic issues, you feel that the Eisenhower administration has kept faith with the voters. I definitely believe it. Look at your labor field. And the administration has only been in office two months, but you had a relatively solid firming up of the labor situation. But in this difficult field of foreign policy, ending the Korean War, for instance, you think that it's in that field that the administration has yet to produce? Well, they couldn't possibly do much in two months. You think they should be more aggressive in Korea, Senator? I would not say that they should be more aggressive, but I do say that they are examining specifically what military steps is necessary in order that they may prove to China and Russia that we're just not going to stay there indefinitely and be beat up and sacrifice ourselves. I think there's a firming up attitude of which is a wholesome attitude. Well, we certainly appreciate you coming up and being with us tonight, Senator. Thank you, Senator. The opinions that you've heard our speakers express tonight have been entirely their own. The editorial board for this edition of the Laun Jean Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Hardy Burt. Our distinguished guest was the Honorable Edward J. Thy, United States Senator from Minnesota. The worldwide interest in the forthcoming coronation of Queen Elizabeth II brings to mind that was in the closing days of the reign of England's last woman monarch, the stately Queen Victoria, that Laun Jean presented to the world a new style in watches, the bracelet watch, or as we call it today, the wristwatch. Now these commemorative Laun Jean coronation watches are the crowning achievement of a half a century of experience in the fabrication of wristwatches. Over these years, for excellence and elegance, Laun Jean watches have won ten World Fair Grand Prizes and twenty-eight gold medal awards and, for accuracy, more honors than any other timepiece. For the queen in your life, for the king at your side, for your prince or princess about to graduate from school, no other name on a watch means so much as Laun Jean, for the superlative quality of a Laun Jean watch is equal only by its prestige and worldwide reputation. Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch, the world's most honored gift, premier product of the Laun Jean Wettner Watch Company since 1866, maker of watches of the highest character. We invite you to join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening at this same time for the Laun Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, broadcast on behalf of Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wettner Distinguished Companion to the World Honored Laun Jean. This is Frank Knight reminding you that Laun Jean and Wettner watches are sold and serviced from coast to coast by more than 4,000 leading jewelers who proudly display this emblem, agency for Laun Jean Wettner watches. Enjoy Arthur Godfrey Time, Daytimes on the CBS Television Network.