North Carolina Newspapers

PAT DAT WJU >6 BOND DAT irop sraniKt?uvt toum THE ENTERPRISE OVE* THE TOP FOR VICTORY ?, UNITED STATES WJUt BONDS-STAMPS VOLUME XLV?NUMBER 97 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, December 8, 1942. ESTABLISHED 1899 Recognize Work Of County Draft Board At Meeting Friday r* ? ?? ? - -m Public Expresses Apprecia tion to Officials at Din ner in Legion Hut Representing the general public, sixty-five Martin County citizens recognized the work of and express ed their confidence in and apprecia tion to the members of the Martin County Draft Board at a dinner sponsored by the John Walton Has sell Post of the American Legion in the hut here last Friday evening. The work of the first. World War Draft Board was fittingly recogniz ed even though the recognition was given belatedly. Dr. John D. Biggs, master of cere monies, arranged an interesting pro gram which briefly reviewed some of the board's problems and brought forth an expression of appreciation for and confidence in the acts han dled by the draft officials. Draft Board Members R. H. Goodmon and J. H. Ayers and Marion Cobb, sec retary, were present. Dr. Jesse Ward, a third member of the board, was un able to attend. Dr. John D. Biggs, member; Mayor John L. Hasscll, sec retary, and Mrs. S. R. Biggs and Mrs. J. S. Rhodes, clerks, represented the World War I board. Mr Walter Sals bury, a member of the old board, was not present, and the meeting stood in silent tribute to the memory of the late Dr. W. E. Warren who worked with the old board. Dr. J. S. Rhodes, examining physi cian, was also recognized, and he recalled that he examined the first man, Leonard Bennett, to enter World War I from this county a quarter of a century ago. When call ed upon to render his services in this war, Dr. Rhodes accepted the task. At that time he had two as sistants in his office and he antici pated the partnership with his son within a few months. One of his as sistants and his son are already in the Army and the other former as sistant is just before entering, but the doctor, ignoring his own work and practice, continues at the task, giving of his valuable time without remuneration or hope of reward. Attorney E. S. Peel addressed the group briefly, pointing out that the draft officials had a thankless task. Recalling the activities of the World War I draft board, Mayor Hassell stated that 1,738 men be tween the ages of 21 and 31 register ed in the county, that out of approx imately 500 men called for service only one failed to answer the roll call at the railroad station. "This county had its dark days then as well as now. It looked us if Germany would conquer the world in 1917. There was no rationing board then, and prices went sky high. They talk ed about rationing sugar, but the price of the sweetening went above 30 cents a pound. We had meatless, heatless and wheatless days," the former draft official said. Contin uing he declared that we have the finest fighting force in the world, but that force cannot function properly unless there is support on the home front. "We must scrap every old kettle, work harder and buy bonds to add power to those forces. We have got to get away from the idea of running to the rationing board for gas and tires. We have got to rec ognize the need for higher taxes. We must not let the service man down. We must whip the Axis to their knees. And let us hope that when peace is written there'll be power behind it. Wheeler Martin, member of the (Continued on page six) Court Ends Term Late Last Friday Judge R. D. Dixon ended a spec ial term of the Martin County Su perior Court here last Friday after noon after spending considerable time trying a ) 15,000 alienation of affections suit. Brought by Jas. R Griffin against J. L. Ross, the $15,000 case was thrown out when Judge Dixon ruled that the evidence was not sufficient to support the allega tion. Notice of appeal was given im mediately by the plaintiffs counsel. In a second case, Griffin was su ing his father-in-law for $90 alleg edly due him for work. Ross filed a counter claim for $150 alleged due him. The jury decided that neither was entitled to recover anything. In setting aside a deed in the ease of A. L. Mizelle against Gilbert Rog erson, the court ruled that the plain tiff was to pay the defendant $135 and that the defendant was to pay the case costs. An appeal was noted in the case. A referee is to be named to hear the evidence in the ease of Luther Hardison against A. T. Whitley, the court ordering the plaintiff to giyc a $700 supplemental injunction )<ond. No referee has yet been named. ? FBI Agent Confers With Draft Board Officialt Special Agent Cage of the Federa Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte office, conferred with local draft board officials yesterday afternoon The nature of the business discuss ad could not be learned immediate Draft Board Handles Few Reclassifications RATION BOOKS Preparatory to the Introduc tion of a new war rationing book, all persons who did not register for sugar last April and who have not yet received their No. 1 book are directed to regis ter at the rationing board office in Williamston not latre than Tuesday, December IS. All per sons who registered and have their sugar-coffee ration cards DO NOT have to register again. Most every one in this county has already registered, but in those few cases where excess su gar supplies were held and the individual did not register he is now directed to register and get his No. 1 card. It was pointed out that the No. I ration curd will be exchanged for the No. I ra tion book to be distributed with in a short time. No new registration will be necessary, the board explaining that consumers will get a new book by surrendering their old ones. These ration books have nothing to do with gasoline or fuel. "Old" Age Rules Out Ten Draftees In The County At One Time Drufl Board Awaits Definite IiiKtrurlum* for Handl ing 38-15 Age Group Ready and "willing" to board a bus and go into the service of their country, ten Martin County draftees were rul"d out on account of "old" age at the last minute this week. Or ders to reject the men for military service were receive dtoo late to no tify them before they reported here to board a bus to an Army induction center. None of the group, as far as it could be learned, was disappoint and several were said to have been really proud of their age. The names of the ten men rejected are: C. D. Carstarphen, Chas. Moore, Jesse Amleak James, Wheeler Beach, Berry Bubble Wynne, John Leman I McKeel, Paul McKeel, Joe Henry Bland. Charlie Reuben Harrell and Thomas Martin Whitaker. All of the other men, scheduled to answer the 32nd draft call, were present and made the trip to the induction cen ter. No report on the physical ex aminations could be had early to day and it is not known how many were accepted for service. Other than the instructions to re ject men 38 years or older for active military service, the draft board in this county has not been advised of the procedure that will be followed in classifying the 38-45 age group. It has been reported that those men subject to call will be ushered into some essential work, including agri culture. Just what effect the new age lim (Continued on page six) Board Of Education - In Meeting Monday Meeting in regular session here yesterday morning, the members of the Martin County Board of Educa tion declared a two weeks holiday for the white children and a some what shorter one for the colored, granted a short leave of absence for several teachers and discussed the possibility of continuing the opera tion of the school lunch rooms. The Army and. Navy are conduct ing a special two weeks institute at Chapel Hill beginning December 28 for representative teachers. Special courses in science, mathematics, physical education and health will be outlined with the possibility that they will be introduced into the high school curriculum as a cooperating factor in preparing youths for serv ice later in the armed services. The board is anticipating a baf fling problem with the suspension of the WPA and the expected closing of the school lunch rooms. While th?*. jo not know if and whan the lunch rooms will be closed, the board considered the possibility of holding them open through a coop erative plan. ROUND-UP After falling to a low ftgnre during recent weeks, the number of drunks rounded up by local and county officers pushed tow ard a record figure last week end. Fourteen arrests were made on Saturday and Sunday, Includ ing ten persons for being drunk, two for drunken driving, one for passing a worthless cheek and one for failing to support his family. Four of the group were white mm of them was i of ago. Deferment Based On Essential Farming Is Granted A Few Men Draft Board To Hold Second Meeting Friday to Classi fy Teen-Age Youths Faced with about sixty border-line cases, the Martin County Draft Board was in session here last night until almost twelve o'clock handling 31 reclassifications in the draft reg istration So much time was neces sary in handling about half of the number appealing for reclassification that the board did not classify any of the teen-age youths. A second meeting will be held Friday evening when the board plans to complete the reclassification of those in the old registrations and to classify sev eral hundred in the teen-age group. Several of the registrants were placed in deferred classifications un der rules and regulations recogniz ing agricultural claims The few reg istrants proved that fifty per cent of their cleared land was planted to essential crops, those establishing such claims having been placed in 3-C in cases where dependency fig ured and in 2-C where there was no dependency Several registrants were reclassified in the 2-B list when they proved they were in some es sential industry. Names of the men, their addresses, race and classifications follow: Geo. Thomas Jones, c, Parmele, I-A. - "rjiwi'i * Jesse Atkins, c, Jamesville, 2-B Council Cornelius Smith, c, RFD 1, Oa City, classification pending. James Johnson, c, Everetts, 1-A. Raymond Robert Davis, w, RFD 1, Jamesville and Norfolk, 2-B. Willard W. Carson, w, Parmele, 2 A Clyde Hubert Demary, c, RFD 3, Williamston and Preston, Md., class ification pending. Ernest Cornelius Jones, w, Wil liamston, 1-A. Claude LeRoy Nelson, w, RFD 1, Oak City, classification pending. Archie Edwin Hardison, w, RFD 1, Jamesville, 1-A. John Richard Medford, w, RFD 1, Oak City, 2-C. William Roy Harden, w, RFD 1, Jamesville, 3-B. Jeff David Etheridge, w, Hamil ton, 1-A. Joshua Floyd Ward, w, RFD 1, Williamston, 1-A. Conner Cowin, w, RFD 3, William (Continued on page six) Uncertainty Faces The Liquor Trade Now that rationing is in effect, li quor consumers are greatly worried, many of them admitting that the al lotment will not be enough to get them to jail. Registration places were crowded, some store towns report ing long lines leading to the centers. Many faces seen not so long ago in the relief lines were conspicuous in and around several registration cen ters, observers declared. There was some doubt if the store personnel could handle the registration, but after the 10th ration books will be issued only by the county board. A marked drop in legal sales is ex pected, and that is what the manu facturers want. They explain that the five-year supply would be ex hausted quickly, that only by ra tioning could it be made to last five years. The illicit trade saw a "break" in the rationing order, but even that type of trade is facing a shortage of ingredients. Eyes are turning to the molasses supply, and some believe the illicit business will stage a lim ited comeback. The illicit business hasn't disap peared as yet, rationing or no ration ing. Last Friday, Officer J. H. Roe buck working with Pitt County ABC officers wrecked a gas drum still and poured out two barrels of beer in Hamilton Township. Peanut Mart Much Stronger Locally After holding at a point between 7 and 7.35 cents for weeks, the pea nut market reflected a stronger price tone here yesterday and today, one report stating that the goobers were selling for a strong 7 1-2 cents and that there was a fairly great demand for the farmers' stock. A five-cent premium was reported, placing the prices at 7:55 cents a pound for the best quality nuts. Unofficial reports indicate that the size of the crop is not measuring up to expectations, that it is possible the supply will fall short of the de Deliveries on the local market have been comparatively light dur ing the past few days, and unfavor able weather conditions have inter rupted harvesting work throughout Uhe territory. War As It Relates To Home Front Is Reviewed for Week Expanded War Fronts Plac ing Greater Strain on The Home Front The scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon followed close on the AI J. tS.We7 across North Africa tow ard the last Axis footholds on that the northern shores sihlo Medlterranean exposed to pos i HUIer^ured ^ Un"ed Nati?s. cunied Frle ops into Unoc cupied France and withdrew nart ?f_h's B,r force from Russia to boll i dnf 'S hreatened southern front? a defense movement that resulted in VichPy c>iCal "X"nC"0" n' the feeble xs,'" th^ed^burirmovrw"d operations in the K m"',ar>' area have placed a matches and kerosene Ad" S?ap' the resources of ih, it . , o'o, will be taxed t in United Nations nlv iv. d ,hl> utmost to SUD Ply them with the essentials of n?e ^'dU,Ur? victory Hinges on Transportation The deciding factor i? war? ?? ther rate of production nor the to forces, "but'the ability'"! "V' armed materials and fighters to the^cTne wiU"reiirh ih War, ?U,put <h- ""r billions and the or d ?/ ab"ul $55 passed a monthly valTg onhas ZT0^WT" 'T"lls ?" d,;ilars hav,. gone overs ?aT te^re ZT"" reaching the peak of such deliver^ And so with fighting men, t'?L?l though we soon will have about ?, million overseas n,,. * than one f fih ; "'Presents less Tlie h ?f "ur armed strength celt;:^zs^::ruc TanTrT'n ,ys,ems- both in tern S ?ndexterpal The hundreds of U S- tanks and trucks now rollihu railT M?r'h Afnca were carried by bv ,h n P?rtS embarkation and by ships across the Atlantic and the wiU, Z Vur ,llal together Ship, and "trains, tran'spliS mS'I Tn"W hkyroekets has ris, 7,. 'C ?n ,he railroads " ,om a million a month six ?I^^^Jl^than a million (Continued on page three) Rumor about Travel Without Foundation The problem of transportation for men in the service, in addition to those wishing to visit relatives or friends during the holdays, will place an unprecedented strain upon the railroads and bus lines of this country. Commenting on the situation this morning Mr. W. A. Banks, local agent for the Carolina Trailways and Norfolk Southern Bus Corporation, stated that he had not received any information in support of the rumor that the sale of tickets would be sus pended on December 15th. "We will continue to sell tickets but they will be sold without priority to any per son or persons," Mr. Banks said. "We are better equipped to han dle the local traffic than last year but when you get on the main lines patrons of the railroads and bus lines will run into congested conditions because of the through traffic," he stated. * UNFOUNDED i , ,-d Rumors, completely unfound ed, have been and are still be ing circulated in this and oth er counties about the meat ra tioning program. Quite a few farmers have been led to believe by some ill-informed parties that the government will require them to have a permit before they are allowed to kill their bogs, that the permit will cost two or three dollars. Farmers are being asked to voluntarily eat less meat or not more than two and one-half pounds per week. That is only a voluntary request, and all the other ru mors are absolutely unfounded, and should be recognised as coming from ill-informed par ties or direct from rotten Ber lin. The farmer does not have to have a permit He may kill and pack Just as much meat as he pleases. The government is only asking him to conserve his meat by eating a reasonable quantity and make the rest available to Will Deliver Kerosene Allotments This Week Distribution To Be Made From Seven Sehools In County Consumers Urged To Cull For Coupons on Friduy Vfter noon or Saturday Plans have been completed for the distribution of kerosene and fuel oil ration coupons in this county on Fri day afternoon and Saturday morn ing of this week. Ration board em ployees and volunteers are working day and night in an effort to get the books ready, and by closing the of fice on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons to the general public, the employees, it is believed, can make all the rations ready for distribu tion. The approximately 5,500 people who registered in the schools a short time ago are urged to follow instruc tions closely and make a special ef fort to get their coupons. The cou pons will be distributed on Friday afternoon. December 11. between the hours of 1 and 5 o'clock, and on Sat urday, December 12. between the hours of 9 a. m. and 1 p. m. The coupons will be distributed by seven white schools Every per son, white or colored, whose post of fice address is Jamesville, including the RFD patrons,, will report to the Jamesville school. Those whose post office address is Williumston will re port to the high school gymnasium Everetts residents will call for their coupons at Everetts. Those whose ad dress is either Robersonville or Par- . mele will get their coupons at Rob I ersonville. Those whose address is either Massed or Bethel, RFD 1 for Martin County citizens, will call at the Massed school. Those citizens liv ing in Martin County and whose post office address is Oak City, RED 1, Mohgood, or RED 1, Palmyra, are instructed to call for their coupons ' at the Oak City School. Only those registering for kero sene for lighting and heating, and I for operating farm machinery, etc., 1 will call at the designated places for their rationing coupons. Those who are applying for fuel oil for heating and for heating hot water will call for their coupons at the rationing board office in Williamston after next Monday. The rationing board had hoped to - distribute the coupons at the places of the original registration, but the schools, race and other information necessary to such a distribution were not listed on the applications. In calling for the kerosene-fuel oil (Continued on page six) Singers To Present Christmas Pageant The glee clubs of the Williamslon elementary and high schools will present a Christmas, pageant, "And on Garth Peace," in the high school auditorium Sunday evening, Decem ber 13, at 8:15. Arranged and pre sented under the directidon of Kath ryn Mewborn, the Christmas pug cants have come to be the outstand ing event of the school year, this year's presentation marking the third of the student productions. Music groups to sing tin- Christ mas hymns and other famous songs I will include the high school mixed chorus of ninety-nine voices, the grammar grade chorus of one hun- I dred and twenty-seven voices, a girls j trio, a double quartet of boys, and a double quartet of boys and girls. The well-known scenes of the Na tivity will be depicted on the main stage and tableaux relating the Christmas story to the war-torn world will be presented on a small er stage constructed to the right of the auditorium. Two narrators will interpret the Christmas message Ixical churches will follovV the cus tom of making the special program a union worship service for the com munity. Town Board Holds Meet Last Evening Holding one of its shortest ses sions in recent months, the local town board of commissioners last night announced that there would be no holiday lighting on the streets this year. H7s understood that home and yard lighting will be permis sible. Final plans for enlarging and im proving the local cemetery were dis cussed. A project to clean up the old part of the property will be started within a few days, and a survey of the section recently added to the cemetery will be made in early January. Mr John R Peel was appointed tax list-taker for the town and he will receive the list beginning in early January. Bills were inspected and approved and other routine business was han dled. SPECIAL NOTICE Patrons who may wish to visit the rationing: board office in this county on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons of this week are advised that it will be closed to the public to permit the employees to finish the prep aration of kerosene rationing: coupons. No business will be transacted for individuals dur ing those afternoons. It was pointed out that many persons using kerosene for light ing and cooking had been un able to buy the petro on a prom ise to surrender coupons later, and that it was imperative that the ration coupons be made ready for distribution next Fri day afternoon and Saturday morning. County Hoard Of Commissioners In Regular Meeting Hold. L. Perry In He-i'leeled C.liuirmun for the New 1012-11 Term Starting a new term here yester day morning, the Martin County Board of Commissioners remained in session until late afternoon clear ing the business calendar and handl ing duties associated with the first session of the term. Subscribing to the oath of office administered by Clerk of Court L. B. Wynne, the board immediately affected its reorganization with Com- j missioncr It L. Perry continuing as chairman. The appointment of Paul' D. Ivwberson as solicitor of the coun- I ty court was made, and after a short delay the county's governing ma- j chincry, including that of the court, was functioning smoothly. Bonds of the various county offi cers Were appioved as follows: Slier- | iff C B. Roebuck, $5,000; Clerk of Court Li, B. Wynne, $10,000; Regis ter <?! I)eeds J. Sam Getsinger, $5, 000, Treasurer R 11 Smith, $40,000; Constable Chas. R. Moore, $500, and Constable Edmond Early, $500. John Bland was reappointed sup erintendent of the county home, and E. S. Peel was reappointed county attorney. Chas. R. Gray, of Roberspnville, was appointed a member of the County Library Board to fill the po sition made vacant by the resigna tion of W. O. Andrews who resigned to join the armed forces. Commissioner C I). Carsturphen was appointed county tax supervisor for handling the 11)43 tax program. Me was charged with the duty of ap pointing the several list-takers and formulating plans for handling the 1943 listings. The appointments are expected within the next few days, i and the tax group will likely meet | on Monday, December 21 for instruc (Continued on page six) Building And Loan n Exceeds Bond Coal The Martin County Building and Loan Association, Williamston, is ov er the top in the purchase of War Savings Bonds in cooperation with the national program sponsored by the U. S. Savings and Loan and the North Carolina Building and Loan League, to have all of the Associa tions in the country purchase $100, 000,000 in War Bonds between June JO and December 31. The North Car olina Associations have been re quested to purchase $1,915,000 of this amount and in turn quotas have been assigned by counties to the individ ual associations. The quota for Mar-1 tin County was $78,000 and a report received at State League committee headquarters from the Martin Coun ty Building and Loan Association in dicates .recent purchases by this as sociation of bonds in excess of the amount for the county quota. This association is also an approv ed issuing agency for the sale and distribution of War Bonds to the public, and the purchase of bonds for its own account has no relation to its activities in this respect. SCHOOL HOLIDAYS j A two weeks holiday for all county white schools was de clared by the board of education in session here yesterday morn ing The white schools will close on Friday, December 18, and re open on Monday, January 4, the board ruled. Running behind schedule, the colored schools will not close until Wednesday, De cember 23. They will reopen on January 4. The holiday for the white schools Is longer than was an ticipated, but there'll be little or no complaint coming from the students' quarter. Portion of French Fleet Definitely In Hands of the Axis Vllit'd Drive Stalled in Afriru Kilt HifC Development;! Kxpeeteil Soon Early reports, revealing that the French fleet at Toulon had fallen in to the hands of the Germans, were partially substantiated today when Navy Secretary Frank Knox an nounced that fifteen of the French warships, five tankers had been tak en over in perfect running order be pushed into service following re pairs to damage done to them by French patriots. Included among tfie ships confiscated by Hitler's gang are two light cruisers and six de stroyers. Apparently three-fourths of the fleet were destroyed excepting two or three subs and a destroyer that ran the Axis gauntlet and show ed up at Allied ports. To offest, partly at least, the loss of a portion of the French fleet to the Germans at Toulon comes a re port that tliat portion of the French fleet at Dakar is joining t^ie Allies w ith the Fighting French in charge. The transfer there, according to un official sources, includes a battleship and thirty other warships. The transfer is accredited to Admiral Harlan around whom a political bat tle still rages. Reports from the battle fronts re flect a stalemate in Tunisia and mi nor reverses for the Russians on the eastern front Little late news has come out of the Pacific, and it is presumed that there's little activity on Guadalcanal. The Allied drive in New Guinea apparently still goes forward gradually. While the Allied drive' in Tunisia is temporarily stalled, big develop ments are expected there "soon". The British and Americans are on the defensive just now, but the Al lies are trying to bring up strong air support, and despite enemy claims the Germans can't go far with their limited forces. Thrown back at Te bourba after four days of pounding by superior German airpower, the Allies are engaging the enemy in a desperate tank battle, but no in formation as to the outcome of the two-day encounter has been releas ed. Kncouraging reports, looking to successful operations in Africa, are coming from the British 8th Army. Preparations, according to reports, are shaping up for a final rout of Rommel's forces there. On the eastern front blizzards and a stiffening German resistance have slowed the Russians down, and their winter offensive is hardly maintain ing the pace set just a few days ago. The Germans are coming forward with extravagant claims, saying that they have pierced the Russian lines \etween Moscow and Leningrad to a depth of ten miles, wrecking Rus sian supply lines. Tasting costly reverses in their travels around Guadalcanal, the Japs have veered from that course and are said to be massing troops in IndoChina and Burma possibly for an all-out -drive on China's Yunan Province. Commenting on the situation in the Aleutians, Secretary Frank Knox said today that nothing but dead Japs would be left there, that the others are being driven out. The real Pearl Harbor has been revealed, the belated information stating that the Japs missed final victory by not following up its sneak raid on that day of infamy a year (Continued on page six) fc News From The Soil Conservation Front Mi J T Moore, who lives on the Oak City I'.ilmyra road, has recent ly worked out u farm plan with the Coastal Plain District. He was es pecially interested in planting an acre of Kudzu around a steep slope in the field. This Kudzu will be use ful as a hay crop as well as prevent ing erosion. Mr. Moore is also inter ested in improving his pasture as he has some nice grade beef cattle, Mr. W. L. Ausborn, district super visor from Martin County and a far mer living in the Cross Roads com munity, is planning to construct a firebreak on his farm of approxi mately 1000 feet long as one of the nservation measures. The firebreak will be established by clearing underbrush on a strip approximately 15 feet wide and plowing so as'to expose the mineral earth and then disking once each year to keep down weeds. The fire break will not prevent fire from crossing, but will serve as a roadway to get to the fire and more import ant as a place from which to back fire in case a fire is approaching hi* woodland. > Rear Crat* Teacher l? (.'ailed By Marine Corp* Professor Joseph Holliday, reserv ist in the Marine Corps, has been no s ? Mi i I I - i..M * - m s ? * * ? tinea to report tor duty tne otter part of next week. Notified a few days ago to report, the young man is giving up his post as a member of the Bear Grass school faculty to day.