Every-Day Life In
England Described
By Native Recently
Square Mile* of Property Are
Laid Waste in the Heart
Of London
Visiting in this country not so
long ago, Mrs. L. K. Elmhirst, of
Tbtnes, England, vividly described
the problems of every-day life back
home.
The second in her descriptive ser
ies follows:
London
In the countryside of England you
will not see any direct effects of the
war. No destruction is evident save
around the big cities. The rural
areas have been free from bombing.
It is in the cities of England that you
feel you are in the front line of the
war itself. Coming into London, your
first impression may be one of great
reassurance because the stations are
still standing, and taxis are waiting
for you, and many people are com
ing and going, apparently uncon
cerned. Of course there is no glass in
the stations. But there is not a great
deal of glass left anywhere in Lon
don today. Out in the streets you
will still see many familiar buildings
around you. Your first impression,
therefore, will be one of reassurance
?you will feel "it is not as bad as
1 feared." As you go further afield,
however, you will come across areas
where whole blocks have have de
molished, whole squares gone. But
I believe it is not until you con.e in
to the City of London (the business
part of London) or down on the
docks or in the slums that you get
any idea of the extent of the dam
age. If you go up into any high build
ing that still remains in the City?
(and by the way it is the modern
buildings constructed of steel or con
crete that seem able to withstand
any bombings fnd that are consid
ered safer by many people than any
shelter yet devised) and look down
on the scene below, you are looking
down on an area of 2,000 acres or
three square miles that has been
completely destroyed. You will prob
ably feel that you are looking down
on some ancient civilization that has
just crumbled away. This destruc
tion was caused by fire. In fact it is
fire that has ravaged the cities of
England. High explosives will de
stroy a single house or even blocks
of houses, but it is incendiaries that
I rause the. widespread damage. It was |
nly late in the war that we learned
how to protect our cities against in
cendiary attacks
London, as yuu kh(>w, was bomb-1
ed for four months without ceasing,
from the 7th day of September, 1940.
till the beginning of January, 1941.
It was Hitler's purpose, no doubt, to
subject London to such an ordeal
that people would be brought to
their knees and forced to beg for
peace. Needless to say, this did not
happen. At the end of the four
months the morale of London had
never been so high nor the spirit of
the people so resistant. To my mind,
the hardest period in that long at
tack was the first week. Going about
in shops and hotels and offices you
would find people sitting with their
heads down on the table, physically
unable any longer to hold their
heads up. I imagine we can all en
dure two nights without sleep but
when it becomes three and four
nights, and you have hardly slept
at all. your mind teases to work, i
your will no longer functions and
Colored Union h
Held Near Here
The Colored Missionary Baptist
Union convened at the Sandy Point
Baptist Church, about two miles
from here Friday, May 29th, and
continued through Sunday. This
union is composed of about thirty
churches from Martin, Pitt and
Edgecombe Counties.
The sermons and speeches were
very good. A resolution was passed
to establish an institute for the
training of preachers and other mis
sionary workers.
The main speech was delivered by
G. T Hill Sunday morning on "Bet
ter Home Government, Help Win
the War and Give Democracy a
Chance."
Rev. N A. Brown is moderator
and Rev. J. W. Rodgers is secretary
of the union.
Rev. W. T. Andrews, of Rober
sonville, is pastor of this church.
you feel yourself going to pieces as
a human being. During that first
week you would see in the eyes of
people you met a terrible question
?could you stand it, could they stand
it, could London really take it? A
fortnight later I came back into
London and when I looked about me
at all the people I met in the station
and in the streets, I no longer saw
any doubt in their eyes. A look of
confidence had returned. In that in
terval they had learned how to sleep
through those nights, they had learn
ed how to carry on their work, they
had learned how to go bark and
forth to where they lived, even
though communications were cut.
They had taken the measure of the
thing and knew that they were still
the master. And so I have always
felt that after the first great "Bat
tle of Britain" which was won by
the Royal Air Force, the second great
Battle of Britain was won by the
civilian population of London
On the laat day of December, 1940.
at the end of this long period of the
bombing of London, Hitler, having
failed to break the morale of the
people or to drive out the Govern
ment, attempted to burn up the en
tire city. He chose a week-end for a
concentrated attack with incendiary
bombs (week-ands seem to be par
ticularly dangerous for us.) You
| know, of course, that unless you
lean deal with an incendiary bomb
quickly, a fire tend* to make rapid
I headway. During this week-end
there were not many people left in
the city and the business offices had
unfortunately been locked so that
firemen were unable to get quickly
up to the roofs So the fire got a tre
mendous head start. It burned for
days and nights. And had it not
been for the heroism of the?Fira
Fighting Forces, many of whom
worked for 48 hours without a break
and who, despite the terrible effects
of the smoke, held fast to their posts
and improvised new methods of at
tack, the result might have been dev
j astation beyond all imagining.
If you had been in London a year
j ago today you would have made cer
tain to be in your home before night
fall. No civilians save the Civil De
fense Services are in the streets af
ter dark not only because of bombs
but because shrapnel is coming down
everywhere and no one can be out
without a tin hat. You will have to
decide each night whether you will
go to a public shelter or into your
own basement or remain in your own
room. It is probably a 50-50 chance
either way. And since it is far pleas
anter in your own room you will
probably decide to stay there. Soon
thn sirens go and you hear the raid
ers coming They seem always to be
r \
"hi WIU.IAMSTON In A
MAtfcClll
OROTIIIW
s.
'? SMART Stylm" I
Weather or Not
THE PRESENT WAR HAS TAUGHT
MANY OF US A GREAT LESSON
THAT PREPAREDNESS IS THE
WATCHWORD.
Prepare now for the hoi
weather ahead. Our
PALM BEACH SUITS and
SLACKS, Tropical Worst
eds a 11 d Sharkskins will
make you comfortable.
? ? ?
Come in and let us assemble
your summer wardrobe.
? ? ?
HUMolisBwilt&is
p V ? www ^TFwrir
WILLIAMSTON, N. C
(!) facial rU. S. ^Iicaiwuf.
NORTH CAROLINA
WAR BOND QUOTAS
FOR JUNE
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 1.?Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secre
tary of the Treasury, today made known June War Bond quotas
for the 3,070 counties in the nation to all State and County War
Savings Staffs.
The June quota for the State of North Carolina is $8,190,500.
The county quotas, based upon a substantial increase over May
quotas, are expected to reach ten per cent of income when the
nation goes on a billion-dollar-a-month War Bond basis in July to
help meet the war cost. "Everybody, every pay day, ten per
cent," is the battle cry throughout the country. You can buy War
Bonds at your Bank, Builduig & Loan Association, Post Office and
at many department stores. '
Quotas by counties arc:
Alamance, $98,100; Alexander. $7,
600; Alleghany, $3,600; Anson. $75,
200; Ashe. $9,900; Avery, $6,000
Beaufort. $42,600; Bertie, $34,900;
Bladen, $18,600; Brunswick, $7,600;
Buncombe, $338,800; Burke, $67,900.
Cabarrus, $97,900; Caldwell. $45.
600; Camden. $2,400; Carteret, $40,
400; Caswell. $14,800; Catawba,
$129,000; Chatham, $26,700; Chero
kee, $45,800; Chowan. $17,400; Clay,
$2,800; Cleveland, $105,700; Colum
bus, $43,900; Craven, $61,300; Cum
berland, $153,900; Currituck, $3,000.
Dare, $4,200; Davidson, $93,000;
Davie. $16,700; Duplin, $31,900; Dur
ham. $153,600.
Edgecombe, $.316,100.
Forsyth, $622,300; Franklin, $30,
700.
Gaston, $247,300. Gates, $16,700;
Graham. $2,800; Granville. $66,300;
Greene, $8,200; Guilford, $648,300.
Halifax. $110,600; Harnett, $41,300;
Haywood, $41,800; Henderson, $46,
700; Hertford. $33,200; Hoke. $12.
600; Hyde, $3,500.
Iredell, $98,400 i
Jackson. $18,900; Johnston, $56,
000; Jones, $4,900. I
| Lee, $65,000; Lenoir, $127,800; Lin
i coin, $52,700.
1 McDowell. $45,800; Macon, $16,
800; Madison, $14,800; Martin, $36,
100; Mecklenburg, $932,500; Mitch
ell. $8,800; Montgomery, $25,200;
Moore, $38,000.
Nash. $28,500; New Hanover, $249,
300; Northampton, $15,400.
Onslow, $22,000; Orange. $66,300
Pamlico. $5,000; Pasquotank", $82,
100; Pendei, $16,800; Perquimans,
$10,500; Person, $38,600, Pitt, $158,
300; Polk. $17,100.
Randolph, $53,700; Richmond. $48,
200; Robeson, $86,900; Rockingham,
$81,900; Rowan, $172,800; Rutherford,
$54,700
Sampson, $84,900, Scotland, $52,
000; Stanly. $95,800; Stokes. $9,900,
Surry, $68,700; Swain. $6,500.
Transylvania, $17,200; Tyrrell, $2,
700. ?
Union, $80,400.
Vance, $66,300.
Wake. $493,100; Warren. $28,900;
Washington, $14,900; Watauga. $11,
500; Wayne, $161,400; Wilkes. $21,
400; Wilson. $188,300.
Yadkin, $9,100; Yancey, $7,600.
LocalSportsmen Meet To Plan
Softball League Organization
The first step toward organizing!
a local Softball league was taken on
Wednesday night at a meeting held
in the Enterprise office. This meet- I
ing was attended by thirteen inter
ested softball players. Rev. John
Hardy was elected chairman; Rev.
John Golf, assistant chairman; and
I). S. Cobb, secretary and treasurer.
Flans were made to have each per
son who intends to play softball this
season register at Clark's Pharmacy
or the Enterprise office before next
Wednesday night. -June TORT After
the completion of this registering of
all interested participants a commit
tce will Iippnintiwt In rlii-iHn thifmv
players into as many equal teams as
possible.
Plans were also considered to or
ganize a Junior Softball league for
the young boys, although no age
limit was decided upon for this
group. However, they should also
register at the places of registration
before next Wednesday night.
If you are planning on playing
Softball this season please register
at once.
The next meeting will be held on
Wednesday night at 8:00 o'clock in
the Enterprise office. It will Ik- ap
preciated if all attend this meeting
that can
immediately y,,ur h,'ud !'."d
they go buzzing about all night liKi*
angry mosquitoes. They used to
come in waves, about 10 to 15 min
utes apart, all through thenighV And
though they seem to be brushing the
t.,p ?f your roof, they are actually
vi i v high and probably not even in
a direct line overhead. Then the
bombs begin ot fall They come down
as you know with a whining sound.
You can count the seconds of that
whine and after a while you become
quite expert in knowing fairly ac
curately where a bomb is going to
drop, "You never hear the one that
kills you" is the saying You keep
reminding yourself of that as the
night goes on, but it is rather cold
comfort. All the while the anti air
craft guns are going. They shake
your building so much that you think
;everything is going to be shaken
down Again you can count the sec
onds between the time that the guns
go off and the time when you hear
the shells exploding in the air. So
you can do a good many mathema
yt?U v nil u" ?? to - .
tical calculations in the course ot
the night. The bombs are often drop
ped in groups of three or five in an
immediate locality. You hear one
I fall a few streets away. For a few
seconds nothing happens?then, ev
erything happens. The glass goes
crashing down, then the bricks and
mortar crumble and give way, and
the whole building spills into, the
street. Then a building behind you
is hit, and one on the other side, and
you say to yourself "ours will be the
next. If you go to the window and
lixik out, you will sec flashes of light
?everywhen* about you explosions
and names lighting up the whole sky.
There will be strange blue flames in
one part of the city if any gas has
been hit, and crimson flames wher
ever incendiaries have started fires.
The nights seem never-ending. You
look at your clock feeling that it
must be neirly midnight and you
find it is only nine o'clock. And you
I realize that this madness, this Hell,
must go on for six, seven, eight more
'hours without a break and you won
der if the dawn will ever come. You
I wait for the dawn with an intensity
you have never known before With
the break of day you hear the All
Clear, one of the most blessed sounds
in all the world and you know there
will be a short interval of peace
while the raiders go home. When
you go to the window and look out
you will have an experience of great
thankfulness, for there are all the
familiar buildings still standing
around you. You had imagined
through the night that they were all
destroyed. If you go down into the
street early in the morning after a
bad raid, your main impression I
think will be one of contrast be
tween the noise of the night and the
strange stillness of the early morn
ing. No one is there, nothing stirs, a
daethly silence hangs like a pall ov
er the whole city. You feel that you,
perhaps are the only person left
alive in London. The streets are lit
I tered with glaks. There is a moun
I tain of dehris every 50 ygldH MJfl
-Bhd The sirueTTof gas and plaster ev
erywhere. Down tip/ side streets you
will see deep open craters and wa
ter gushing out of a main and flood
ing a whole area. The air sometimes
j is so thick with dust that you feel
| you arc walking through an impen
ortablc fog. I remember on one oc
casion saying "this is the end, peo
ple cannot go on living any longer
under such conditions." Then that
remarkable thing happens that hap
pens so often in a war. You come
hack into this street a week later and
you will not know it for the same
place The glass has been cleared
away. The debris removed. The de
molition squads have been Working
taking down buildings that are too
dangerous to stand repairs to win
dows and roofs have been made so
that people can go on living in their
homes And the streets ore full of
people again. In fact, I remember
thinking I had 'never known such vi
tahty iiu.tlie streets of London be
fore.
So one comes to understand the
P?wer of recuperation that people
have the ability to recover from!
shock almost at once and to come
back to what is the normal way of'
carrying life on. It was the same in
Plymouth. There* people would not!
leave. We entreated them to come
away, but they would say, "No wo
will sleep in the fields or in barns
but we won't leave Plymouth." And
they didn't They came back each
day into their city to try to recon
struct what was left of their homel
and to maintain their connections
with their families, their friends, and
the places and the jobs they knew
and loved.
You know, of course, that a pro
portion of the people of these cities
have had to live a kind of under
ground life in shelters during these
long periods of danger. You would
| sec people sleeping In' su5W6ys," eel-"
lars, crypts of churches, vaults and
storage rooms underground. I re
member particularly one shelter in
the slums of London where I saw
12,000 people sleeping. They were
spread out on a floor so close togeth
er that it was like a sea of human
beings as far as the eye could reach.
There was very little light in this;
place, only two taps of running wa
ter, no plumbing and practically no
ventilation. I thought I should be ill
if I had to stay there five minutes.
I expected all these people to say
the same thing to me? to say that
they could stand such conditions for
one night but no longer. To my as
tonishment, I found that they said
nothing of the kind. I soon realized
that I was in an atmosphere friend
ly, convivial, in fact gay. They were
| dl 1 talk ing to each other, laughing
together, and, here and there, some
were singing. If you asked them why
they felt they could endure such
conditions, they would say some
thing like this, "We are going to
show him that he cannot get us like
this." They knew, of course, that
the defense of Britain at that time
was a very precarious thing and that
it was dependent upon every single
individual holding up his end. They
knew that Hitler was always trying
to find the weak spot in the defense
of Britain in order to break the mor
ale of the country. They were deter
mined that they would never prove
^lo_he the weak spot in that defense.
And the more I saw of these people
?the simple working people of Bri
tain?the more did I feel them tc
be the steadiest and firmest element
in the whole population.
(To Be Continued)
Rules of the
Road . . .
DUTY TO REPORT ACCIDENTS
Sec. 128, Motor Vehicle Laws of
North Carolina; "The- driver of any
vehicle involved in any accident re
sulting in injuries or death to any
person, or property damage to an
apparent extent of ten dollars $10)
or more, shall within twenty-four
hours file or cause to be filed a re
port of such accident with the de
partment, except that when such ac
cident occurs within a city such re
port shall be made within twenty
four hours to the police department
of such city. Every police depart
ment shall forward on the fifth day
of each month every such report re
ceived during the previous calendar
month, or a copy thereof, so filed
with it to the main office of the de
partment. All accident reports shall
be made on forms approved by the
department . .
This duty to report accidents is
one of the most important section of
the Motor Vehicle laws. Within 24
hours after an accident you must
make a written report to the North
Carolinna Highway Safety Division
office in Raleigh if any person has
been injured, no matter how slight
ly . or if the damage done to proper
ty seems likely to amount to over
$111.0(1 This means damage done to
all cars or property, not only your
own car. An accident report must
be made even when your car is the
onlxone involved and the injury or
property damage affects only your
self If you have an accident within
a city you should report it to the po
lice department, and outside of a
city you should report it to the sher
iff's office or the State Highway Pa
trol. These officers will file reports
with the Highway Safety Division,
but operators should make reports
also All operators' reports are strict
ly confidential to be used for acci
dent studies and statistical purposes
only, and to prevent, if possible, the
occurence of similar accidents m the
future. The more carefully you re
port an accident the more it will
help the state authorities to improve
conditions in the highway or traffic
signs or regulations which may help
to prevent future accidents of that
type.
a
WlV II . Hailry Noil'
Sort ing H if/, The I/,/?'
Mrs Leslie W Bailey was advis
? d by cauie a tew days ago t+iat 'lief
husband. First Lieutenant Bailey
was serving with the American Ex
?pcdilionarv Forces in 'fWitliern H'e
land. The lieutenant uptil recentlj
was a major instructor in the offi
ccrs' school at Fort Dix, N ,1
Mrs. Bailey is the former Miss Sar
jib Holliday arjd is now making hei
home iviili her parents, Mr and Mrs
Joseph L. Holliday at Macedonia
-s
infiirin II ill Not Keep
1 our (.ul I hnri'rs Fri'sh
l.lenn (>. JBajidall. iilulu College
floriculturist, says extensive experi
ments have shown that the popular
notion about the effectiveness or as
pirin for prolonging the life of cut
flowers apparently has no basis
I he experiments would tend to indi
cate that those who use this method
are merely wasting valuable aspir
Bicycle Accidents
Ini ?rease In State
"A sudden increase in bicycle fa
talities in North Carolina during
May indicates a need for increased
interest in the bicycle traffic prob
tem." said Ronald Hocutt, Director
of the North Carolina Highway Safe
ty Division, today.
' While 10 bicycle fatalities were
recorded during the first four
months of 1942. four have already
been reported for the first 15 days
>f May. and present indications are
that bicycle fatalities for the first
five months of 1942 will exceed the
same period of 1941." the director re
ports.
One after another, city and town
officials are. realizing the need and
value of controlling biycle traffic
Perhaps all bicycle accidents cannot
be prevented, but they can be reduc
ed if bicycle traffic is properly con
trolled through the enactment of
' aiv effective ordinance by local com
Intimities A Model Bicycle Ordi
nance has been prepared by the Na
tional Committee on bicycle prob
lenis and copies of this are available
from the North Carolim Hi^hw*y
Safety Division, Raleigh, North Car
olina.
Parents have a definite responsi
bility in safe bicycling. They can
urge their youngsters not to ride at
night unless it is necessary, and
then only if the bike Is properly
equipped for night riding. TTiey can
see that bicycles are kept in good
mechanical condition and instruct
young riders to observe all traffic
regulations.
Motorists and bicyclists alike must
increase their attention in parking.
Many bicycles have been carelessly
put down at the curb and later
smashed by a motorists parking or
j pulling out of a parked place. A few
of the cities and towns in the State
have solved this problem by reserv
ing one parking space in the center
of each block and providing racks
1 tor parking of bicycles. The High
way Safety Division commends this
practice and recommends that other
cities and towns consider this mean.^
of providing safe parking of hi
cycles
>
The Bois do Belleau was renamed
the Boil de Brigade des Murines in
honor of the Marines who fought
there in 1918
Time Marches On
And So Do Tax Penalties
Pay N ow and Save
A |>eiialt\ <>l <?nI\ lour [irr mil is
lieinu cluirsol on I*>11 taxes during
I Ik* moiilli of June, lull on Julv 1st
tin* penalty will rise.
Pay your taxes during I lie remain?
1*1111 llnVS It
additional cost.
THE TOWN OF
WILLIAMSTON
Time Marches On
And So Do Tax Penalties
PAY NOW AND SAVE
A penalty of only four per mil is
ehargeil oil 1011 taxes during the month of
June, hut on July 1st the penalty will rise.
Pay your taxes during the remaining days
of June ami save the additional cost.
MARTIN COUNTY
M. L. I'KEI* Tax (iollector.