ONLY IN AMERICA - Many people, especially these days, consider the phrase "government intelligence" an oxymoron. That was never more true than back in 1939. It seems that a representative of the newly formed Social Security Board forbade the employment of a pair of oxen on a grading project on a Wrightsville street. When W.F. Scott Contracting Company were unable to use modern machinery in paving East Elm Street, Scott secured the use of two strong oxen belonging to Clayton Wood. When the beasts of burden were nearly half way through their work, a hopeless bureaucrat appeared on the scene and quickly ordered the work to stop.
In compliance with the governments instructions, Wood and engineer Sam Alexander drove to Dublin to the nearest Social Security office. There Wood registered his two oxen as Louis Wood, aged seven years, and Brown Wood, aged eight years. And, to ensure their compliance with the law, the boys were issued their personal social security cards, numbered 477 and 478. With the full permission of the Federal government, the oxen answered the whistle and went back to work to finish the project. This is no joke. Atlanta Constitution, May 26, 1939.
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