 The Long Jean Watch is Long Jean. Long Jean watches have won 10 World Fair Grand Prizes, 28 gold medals and more honors for accuracy than any other timepiece. Long Jean, the world's most honored watch, is made and guaranteed by the Long Jean Wittenall Watch Company. It's time for the Long Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A presentation of the Long Jean Wittenall Watch Company, maker of Long Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wittenall, distinguished companion to the world-honored Long Jean. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Long Jean Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, editor of the American Mercury, and Mr. Donald I. Rogers, an editor of the New York Herald Tribune. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable John J. Sparkman, United States Senator from Alabama. The opinions expressed are necessarily those of the occurs. Senator Sparkman, among your many activities in the Senate, you're chairman of the Committee on Small Business, which is a mounting problem. Tonight we'd like to have you tell us some of the things you and your committee are doing to help the small businessmen. First, sir, would you be kind enough to tell us what you consider to be the major problem of the small businessmen of America? I believe that right now the major problem confronting the small businessman of America is that of getting sufficient materials with which to continue operating his business. Is there anything you or your committee can do to channel materials to him? We can't channel the materials, but we can certainly keep after the various agencies that do do that in order to make certain that small business gets its fair share. Senator, when you talk about small business, you mean a small manufacturer, do you not? Ordinarily that would be true, although not necessarily true because service organizations would be small business just the same. However, they're not confronted with this problem of materials. Materials naturally is a problem confronting manufacturers. And how do you define a small business? What do you think of as a small business? The Defense Department sets an arbitrary definition of small business as any business which, with its associates, employs not more than 500 persons. Now, can you make a general statement about this business now, these small businesses? Are they generally suffering at present? Yes, a great many small businesses are suffering because since the outbreak of war in Korea there has been a scarcity of steel, aluminum, copper, nickel. Is any one section of the country hurt worse than other sections? I don't know that we could say one section was hurt worse than another, but it's spotty. Some cities are, aren't they? Yes, undoubtedly that is true. As a matter of fact, there are some cities defined as surplus labor areas, are there not? Yes, all of those, however, are not due to small business problems. For instance, there's the automobile cutback in Detroit. Yes, but how about Providence, Rhode Island, for instance? Yes, that is one area that I had in mind a minute ago. There it's primarily the jewelers, watchmakers and things of that kind. Yes, that's true. Now, what could you do to help a jeweler in Providence? We believe that the Defense Department ought to find some use for them in making precision instruments, timing instruments, fuses and things of that kind. Could you give me an example of where your committee has helped a certain small business? Yes, I'll go back a little bit. I'll give you many, but since you've got us up in New England, I'll tell you one thing. You know, in every heel, rubber heel of every shoe, there are a certain number of little tags. I don't know whether you know that or not, but it's true. On the head of every one of those tags is a little tiny washer. You can't put your rubber heels on the shoes unless you've got those washers. Those washers are made by just two or three small establishments up here in New England. A year or so ago, they got to the point where they couldn't get any steel with which to make those little washers. And because they couldn't make the washers, the shoe industry was confronted with a very serious situation. We got busy and got steel for them to make their washers. I could give you dozens of examples. But you took that steel from some military operation, did you not? No, we simply saw that the steel was channeled in there. No, no, there was plenty of steel. It just simply, some mistake had been made and they didn't get their fair share. Senator, on our show the other night, Mr. Arthur Fleming of the Manpower Commission was here, and he told us that the plans were being made now on the assumption that this defense emergency will continue over a period of 10 to 15 years. Now, in your thinking of your committee in the Senate, are you making the same assumption that we have something like a 10 to 15 year plan before us? I don't think we can safely make any other assumption. Let me say this though. At the present time, we're building up. That doesn't mean that we're going to continue to build up for it over a period of 10 or 15 years. I believe the present program calls for getting tuned up into our maximum production by July 1st, 1954. Then we'll be able to level off. And I think that is what he must have had in mind lasting over a period of 10 or 12, 15 years. Level off at peak production, you mean? At peak capacity. Yes. Not necessarily that we'll be producing the tanks and guns, but it will be tuned up to the point that we can produce them. Tell me this, Senator. Do you find that the government, per se, the administration is sympathetic to small business or is it dealing mostly with the larger businesses? Well, I don't think the two necessarily go together. Yes, I think... Well, not a loaded question, I mean... No. Is the government cognizant of the problem that small business has? Yes, sometimes I think that some of the agencies are not as keenly alert to them as they ought to be. I'll tell you what my thought has been. It's simply this, that it's so easy and safe to do business with big business. First of all, they have their representatives there, they help work out everything, they have fine records, they know that they're capable of doing it, they've done it in the past and so on and so forth. It's easier to do business with them, but we believe they ought to exert a little extra effort in order to keep this highly essential part of our national economy. By the way, remember this, that 90% of the businesses of America are small businesses. Senator, this is very interesting, but our audience also knows you as a very influential Southern senator and I'm sure they'd like to have your views. First, where do you stand in the political firmament? Are you a Southern new dealer? Do you think of yourself as being a new deal senator? No, no, I don't think of myself as being a new deal senator. I've always felt that I was rather independent and I think most of the Southerners are. Now where do you stand in the fight now, the presidential fight? Are you for Senator Russell for the presidential nomination? The Alabama delegation supported Senator Russell in the 1948 convention in Philadelphia. We think very highly of Senator Russell. I know of no one that I would rather support than he. And do you take the traditional Southern position on civil rights legislation? On so-called civil rights legislation, I do. Suppose General Eisenhower becomes a Republican nominee. Do you have any predictions on the outcome of the vote in the South? I would say this, it's hard for me to envision the South voting for anybody under the Republican emblem. You know there's a tradition down there. Yes, I've heard it. In Alabama we have the Croing Rooster as our symbol and people, when they go to the polls in November, don't many of them go then, but when they do go, they like to make their cross under that rooster. It's going to be pretty hard to get them to make their cross under an elephant regardless of who's on that ticket. But let me say this, General Eisenhower is very, very popular in the South. More popular than any other Republican candidate you know. I think that's true. Yes, I think that's true. You are also a powerful member of the Banking and Currency Committee, Senator, and our audience has heard a great deal about the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Now, do you think that all of the corruption has been cleared up there? I believe that it has. I think Senator Fulbright and his subcommittee did an excellent job in digging into the RFC, and since that time there's been a reorganization of it along the line that Senator Fulbright himself suggested. We have a single administrator. The Senate has just confirmed a new one, and I believe he's going to do a good job. And on the subject of taxes, which a great many people are thinking of about this time, where do you stand? Do you believe economy-minded this year? Do you want to cut the budget? Yes, I do. Would you cut foreign aid? I think foreign aid, let me put it this way. I'm on the Foreign Relations Committee. That bill will come before us. I know that we will examine it most carefully. And last year we cut it a little more than a billion dollars. I should not be surprised to see it cut some this year also. What is your prediction for the cut on the overall budget? I'm also on the Joint Economic Committee, and for the last two or three weeks we've been wrestling with that very problem. I suppose it's all right for me to say that our report will probably come out tomorrow morning, and we're going to recommend that every effort be made to bring the budget into balance. And to do that... That would be a what? Well, of course that's hard to tell, but it probably would entail a cut in the budget of something like seven or eight billion dollars. Maybe even as much as ten billion. How much would you cut from foreign aid under this? Let me put it this way. I'm on the committee to pass on it. I don't want to prejudge it. If I had to make a rough guess, I would guess that a billion dollars at least would be cut out of foreign aid. And do you believe in balanced budget yourself? Yes, very strongly. I think that an unbalanced economy with the inflationary pressures that are generated as a result of it could give us a tremendous lot of trouble. And what do you think about taxes? Are you in favor of cutting taxes as soon as possible? Oh yes, but I don't know. We're not going to be able to cut them for a couple of years anyhow. So I thought you'd go ask me if I was going to be in favor of raising taxes. That's what most of the talk is about now. I'm not in favor of increasing taxes. You're not in favor of increasing them. You think that they'll remain about where they are for at least another two years? Yes, I see no chance of lowering them under two years. I'm sure that our audience has very much appreciated your views tonight. Thank you for being with us, sir. The editorial board for this edition of the Laun Jean Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Donald I. Rogers. Our distinguished guest was the honorable John J. Sparkman, United States Senator from Alabama. You've heard it said, of course, most people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Now that's just not true. Certainly not for Laun Jean watches, for more people know the value of a Laun Jean watch than its price. Do you know, for instance, that there are many models of the world's most honored watch which sell for as little as $71.50? So, if you pay $71.50 or more for a watch, you're paying the price of a Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch. Why not insist on getting a Laun Jean? Honored for excellence and elegance by ten World's Fair Grand Prizes and twenty-eight gold medals. Honored for accuracy by innumerable honors from the great government observatories. Honored for honesty in fields of precise timing in sports, aviation, exploration, and science. So if you wish to purchase a very fine watch, either for yourself or as a gift, look for the value in the watch you buy. And let your choice be Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch. Premier product of the Laun Jean Witner Watch Company since 1866, maker of watches of the highest character. This is Frank Knight again inviting you to be with 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 Witner, distinguished companion to the world honored Laun Jean. Sold and serviced from coast to coast by more than 4,000 leading jewelers who proudly display this emblem. Agency for Laun Jean Witner Watches. This is the CBS television network.