North Carolina Newspapers

rOne Day Nearer Victory) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY j, b Pace 2 THE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER The Mountaineer Published By ' THE WAYNESVILLE PRINTING CO. Main Street Phone 137 Waynesville, North Carolina The County Seat of Haywood County W. CURTIS RUSS Editor MRS. HILDA WAY GWYN Associate Editor W. Curtis Ruas and Marion T. Bridges, Publisher! PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY SUBSCRIPTION RATES' One Year, In Haywood County $1.75 gix Months, In Haywood County 90c One Year, Outside Haywood County 2.50 Six Months, Outside Haywood County 1.60 All Subscriptions Payable In Advance ntcrea it the fust office at Wiy.ieevllle. N. O., a fleoaaa UiH Mail Mutter, aa provided under the Act of March ISIS, November IV, 11 4. ObMaary aotices, regulations of reelect, card of laaaka, aaa mil aotiaca at entertainment for profit, wlU be chanrea Imt at the lata ef oae cent per wore. NATIONAL DITOUAL .ASSOCIATION 3 AM A Honh Carolina i 'mss asjoc i Alio THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1944 (One Day Nearer Victory) The Trend In Air The Civil Aeronautics Board is said to have applications for permission to establish new routes, domestic and foreign lines, of 100,000 miles as compared with 81,000 miles before the war. Domestic air travel with a little over 1, 000,000,000 miles in 1940. It is estimated that it will be 10,000,000,000 miles by 1955. In 1940 there were 400 commercial planes in the United States out of 1,200 in the world. It is estimated that by 1955 there will be 15,000 commercial planes in the United States. iu hi jtvuMx Good Newspapering As one who gave Curtis Russ his first training in the newspaper business, I have to take off my hat to him and his associate, Marion T. Bridges, of Waynesville. At the State Press Convention in Chapel Hill last week the paper which they recently pur chased and rejuvenated at-Sylva was award ed a war bond for being the best weekly with a circulation less than 1,500 and their older paper, The Mountaineer, at Waynes ville, took second place among the better weeklies of the State with circulations over 1,500. They also received honorable men tion for the splendid special edition in mem ory of the men in service that they publish ed a few months ago. Congratulations for such honors that don't come a publisher's way every day The Tribune, Henderson-ville. Congratulations, Neighbor There are some mighty good weekly and semi-weekly newspapers published in West ern North Carolina and this fact is given further proof by reason that several state press association prizes were won by papers up here in the hills. Our next door neigh bor, the excellent new "Sylva Herald", steps out and takes first award in the General Excellent Contest in the weekly division of under 1,500 circulation. Then comes along The Herald's publishers, also publishers of The Waynesville Mountaineer, and take sec ond award in the weekly division for papers over 1,500 circulation. The first prize in this division was won by The Elkin Tribune, also a mountain published weekly. Congratulations, Mountain publishers! Bryson City Times. Honor To W. N. C. Journalism The Sylva Herald has just been awarded first prize for general excellence out of a group of weekly newspapers with a circu lation under 1,500. The award was made by the North Carolina Press Association in Chapel Hill last week, during the annual mid-winter institute, being annnual event sponsored by that Association. The Way nesville Mountaineer, also published by W. Curtis Russ and M. T. Bridges, received sec ond prize for weeklies with circulation over 1.500. We congratulate our neighboring counties of Jackson and Haywood on the high stand ard of the county newspapers which they enjoy. And especially are we happy to i,v?totfl nnr -nod neiehbor. Mr. Russ, who has won and deserves the honor wmcn nas been bestowed upon the newspapers of ha In editor. The Franklin Press. Bad Penny We read with relief that the last "bad penny" of steel has been minted by the gov ernment. It seems that there have been so many protests from business and private citizens that the government decided to stop the minting of this confusing piece of money. The 700,000,000 steel pennies which are now in circulation will remain so until after the duration. The" "bad penny", born o! wartime shortages of copper are not exactly a hardship, but they are very annoying. They have also caused a lot of wasted time. Watch somebody try to pay for something that calls for a dime or a penny and they will look and finger the steel coin to make certain, and if they don't take that precau tion, they are more than likely to get the coin back from the clerk, with the sym pathy about the mistake made. They Are Watching Us Did it ever occur to you how many angles there are to the success of the Fourth War Loan Drive? Naturally we all think of the fact that the government is needing the money to continue the fight for world free dom and the safety of our great nation, but there are many other reasons why we should go over the top with high figures. The manner in which the American peo ple come across in this drive is being watch ed by men all over the world, by the boys from every state in the union, from North Carolina and from our own county. They are serving in the air forces in the navy; they are marching in mud in North Africa and Italy; they are fighting from fox holes; but they are watching to see what you and I back home in comfort are going to do about raising this large sura asked by the government. The invasion of Europe will be the cost liest affair the government of this country has ever undertaken, according to the auth orities. It will cost also much in the figures of human life, but if we are generous even the la3t will not be so great. These men who are watcning us, they ieed assurance that we will not fail them. The way we meet this obligation will either discourage our fighting forces or will boost their morale. Let us show them how we feel. Let us give this new evidence of how solidly we support and apreciate their ef forts. Let us take advantage of this latest opportunity to serve our country on the home front HERE and THERE By HILDA WAY GWYN mm If'" fill Billions Wasted A local minister asked that we reprint the following editorial from the Christian Science Monitor: The professional wets those whom the liquor people hire to conduct their organiza tions and to disseminate propaganda attack ing the cause of temperance frequently re fer to the taxes paid by the makers and dis tributors of intoxicating beverages as though this were a primarily constructive effort rather than a mere salvage from a gigantic waste. "Our industry," said a speaker at the national Tavern Keepers' Association con vention in Cleveland last week, "paid the Government over a billion dollars in taxes in the last fiscal year." A billion dollars sounds like a lot of money even in this day of astronomical calculations at Washington but consider this: The gigantic sum of $4,750,000,000, it is estimated, was spent by the American drink ing public for alcoholic liquors during the same period. Nearly five billion dollars! Think of what might have been done with this sum if devoted to the war effort. It would have bought more than one-third of the entire Fourth War Loan bond issue. It could build and equip 47 battleships the size of the new super-sea fighter Miss ouri the chief weapons depended upon to defeat Japan. It could pay for 19,000 giant bombers the chief weapons now employed in battling Germany into submission. The professional wets can be depended upon to put the emphasis on the wrong set of figures. Seventy per cent of the American women were wearing silk underwear before the war. according to statistics. Aren't some statis ticians the nosey guys! Lots of girls are becoming pharmacists's mates in the WAVES. Guess almost any girl can turn out a pretty good sandwich. It's strange how a lie can travel so fast when it hasn't a leg to stand on. i COMMANDER JOHN ELLIS EDWARDS, with Mrs. Edwards and their son. John Kllis. Jr. The photograph was taken at their home in San Diego about a year ago. Wp have found out that if you can keep up your spirit of d -termination long enough, you can usually whip Fate into giving you what you want. . . For sometime, naturally more keenly since Pearl Harbor, we have be.n wanting to interview Jack Edwards. Waynes ville high school football player, who has carried his ability to noid back his opponents on the local gridiron ... on to Annapolis, with the same winning; ways . . . and during the past fourte:n years to many tough and out 01 tnc way spots of the world. . . He has been so modest about it all, that .most of us here don't know that he Is a hero. . . That is the reason we have had so much trouble track ing down any information about the present Commander Edwards, II. S. Navv. . . We have met his mother time after time . . . and we would say, 'Now Mrs. Ed wards how about telling us some thing about Jack. . . I hear he Vih haH nromotion ... or that he is nw ln the. South Pacific area" . . . and her answer would always be, "Now, Mrs. Gwyn, I would love to tell you. . . Yrrn know how mothers are, but Jack won't let us even put his picture in the paper with th; other :oys, much less tell what he is doing. . . " (Right here we want to inform you that when the torn the above picture he is headed for one grand surprise. He hasn t the faintest idea we have it. Wp wouldn't dare take ad vantage of his feelings if the picture did not include Mrs. hd wards and their young son, taken a year ago . . . but we believe under the circumstances hell have to forgive us). . . Commander John Ellis towards. son of Mrs. Lily Gouge Edwards, and the late Tom Edwards, ol way nesville, has recently been granted a 50-day leave from his duties in combat areas. He asked for 30 days and the Navy added 20 be cause they felt he deserved it. . . Commander Edwards is a grad uate of the local high school . . . after which he atttended Annapolis preparatory school prior to enter ing Annapolis, from which he was oraduateH in the class of 1930. . . During the 14 years since, with 'Vip pxcentinn of two vears in which he did post graduate work at Annapolis, he has been on sea duty. Today we find him in com mand of a destrover . . . and he has been in the thick of things as attested by the array of ribbons nnrl stars on his uniform. . . He is eligible to wear nine stars, for participation in nine major com bat areas . . . including the Yang tze Valley -Campaign, of 1932. v . Asiatic-Pacific theatre . . . Ameri can area . . . and a bnze star for service before Pearl Harbor. . . Knowing how we would like to share the interview with the public . . Commander Edwards said at once. . . "You know Mrs. Gwyn, there is little I can tell you about things, at least to appear in print, because we cannot be too careful. You don't realize that small-town papers are combed through for information that might be used by the enemy. . . As an example, during the First World War, an English agent wanted to set word back to England where a certain German General was stationed. . . He got the story in a small-town German paper, regarding the deco ration of a man in service by the General, giving the location. . . In less than a week that news leaked back to England . . . and the German General's hiding place was known. . . It is the same way with information about our ships. Of course I can tell you lots, but not to go in print. . . " "The American people think the war will soon be over, but they are wrong. . . I think their attitude is duo to the general American spirit of optimism. . . I believe that this war will be the toughest, however on the mothers and the wives. . . From the time I 1 ave harbor until I come back to the homeland shore, I know my family worries about me. . . While we in the service are so busy that we don't have time to worry. . . One thing, I would like to warn the public is about . . . that is to prepare for heavy cas ualties, for we are ging to have them before it is over." We asked him about the most dangerous and hardest spot he had been insince the war started and this was his answer. . . "It was a decision I had to make, and it hap pened only a few months ago in an important combat area. . . We did not know where the front lines were . . . Headquarters did not know. . . I had to decide whether or not to fire ahead ... it might be into our own lines, or it might be our enemirs. . . The time wa3 short ... we must act. . . But somehow I felt it right to fire . . . and we did . . . and it turned out to be the enemy lines. . ." Army Bat Building Near End jWWASHINGTOl Record-Breaking Production I Jap Fleet', Reluctant. Of Ships, Plane This Year Clash With Us a ReQj .J Special to Central Press 0 WASHIINUlUn IvOOtung aiicau uilu una new year of il Washington can promise the American people continued breaking production of planes and fighting ships, about u,t amount, oi ioou uirj nau ui iui., uu v .vtwi u ongiu. easing k tight supply of consumer goods. 0 The heaviest accent on war production as the nation entn. thjrd full year of conflict will be that on planes and naval vd . . , . 1 . , . .kiwi. nS a I. .... I I WniCn WlU aci'UUIll lur auuui miruuiua ii cui uamc '"an UtactUf. i icuito cm- -v-"'-'- - - r-utnuni,, for a 120,000-a-year total, compared with 85 to 86 thousand behJ maae in Aniiiery ammunition and heavy i truck production will be up. Production of equipment for the ground arm. be reduced In 1944, according to plan, and consj tion of Army bases and installations will droo a third of the 1942 rate because most of thu J now nas ueen uune. As lor iooa, uie war iooa aamimsirauon insists mat Ameria diets in 1944 will equal nutritionally and quantitatively that of u when Americans remained the best-fed people In the world. Tin will be slightly less meat, butter, cheese, canned fruits and v tables; about the same amount of fluid milk, more eggs, poultry , tatoes, sweet potatoes, citrus fruit and cereal products. The WPB has promised that any time critical metal becomes aw .1.1. i . ...in w ...J . . . iH .. i . UL'ze 11 WlU uc milieu uvtri in Atria iv wvtiicui uses. IMectTlC LfQj washing matmnes anu mecimiucai rvi ngerawrs, nave Deen promu in strictly limited production thia year and the WPB office of civil, requirements is expected to do something about the lack of aUi ClOCKS. AS SHIPS OF ALL TYPES slide down the ways and join J united states iavy in unprecedented numoers, American fleet premacy in the Pacific becomes more marked day by day. Refusal of the Japs to come out for a major engagement of t main fleets has served to aid the American Navy. Even the k authorities admit there could be no major engagement without km losses on both sides. Thus, under a building schedule that allowed for losses that hii not occurred, the Navy has expanded faster than expected, n Japanese, of course, are probably building, too. but experts 6V they can build, launch and commission combat ships as fast ai u United States does. The Jap high command must know this, but apparently u helpJ to do anything about it. Meanwhile, the American fleet is itchj for the final, big show-down battle any place any time. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, the Office of Price Administration Is J In quite so bad with. the people as it was some time back. Price Administrator Chester Bowles himself is authority for ttuJ "While the public still dislikes rationing." Bowles say, "it beginning to ask itself what conditions would be without reitrictioJ of any kind. Complaints against rationing are on the down-gnij But mail complaining about prices has gained." Soldiers Interested In Divorce Statutes RALEIGH The Attorney Gen eral's office and a letter from a representative of the Red Cross in far off Burma asking about North Carolina divorce laws. A soldier out there wanted to know what steps he would have to take to get released from the wife he married not long before leaving this coun try. Hughes Rhodes, assistant Attor ney General, said there was noth ing unusual in the request. It is almost a daily occurrence for some soldier or some soldier's wife to ask a similar question. Mr. Rhodes sees in the situation a good deal of tragedy. While there is nothing in most of the letters to indicate how long the couples have been at sea until Commander Edwards told of his first news of the birth of his son. . . A friend of his was on off shore patrol duty. . . The latter in making his circling about . . . passed the Commander's ship . . . they usually sent teasing mes sages back and forth. . . Coming near port one day he saw the signal light of a ship and found it to be the one commanded by his friend. . . He sent out a message saying, "I would like some news. Have you any? . . . My curiosity is great" . . . and the reply came back. . . "Yes, I know what you want to hear, congratulations papa on a 7 ton son. . . " The signalman told me my chest ex panded a good 14 inches, the baby was then a month old," said Com mander Edwards. . . . Voice OF THE People What is the most intent book you read during 1943! Rev. H. G. Hammett"l w, say 'The Robe by Lloyd Don? Ar8. Johnny Cuddeback Is Your War' by Ernie Pylt the book I enioyed reading than any other." Mrs. W. L. McCrarken-' Robe' by Lloyd Douglas." "I think the American blue jackets are the grandest bunch of men in the world. You can't beat them in any country. . . They are doing a swell job," he said in com menting on the American sailor. Mrs. William Hannah" 'M Russia' bv Morris Hindus be my first choice and my w would be 'Under Cover . Afrs. Ben Sloan ' I pie would be 'The Robe'." John Taylor "I liked Errors' by Tucker b.st with Autohioeranhv of Mr. Tut1 ond." Mrs. William Mdorrf-"I say 'So Little Time' by John quand." His latest award was the silver star medsl given him for conspic uous gallantry in action in the Attu invasion. As Sk'pper of a rlptrover. Cnmdr. Edwards waa in charge of the, fire-control vessel in one area where landing craft were being guided through fog and hazardous waters to the besches. Later his essel provided effective close-range bombardment in sup port of American ground troop advancing against the Japanese (this information incidentally was given ns bj nit family from official records). y "You must have lu.k with you," we said. . . "Yes," he answered. . . "As long as my wife prays and I k:ep my lu?k piece I will make it." We inquired about his lucky token . . . and he showed it to us. . . It is a silver locket, with two pictures, one of his wife and the other of his son. . . "When we are in combat I get out this luck piece and hold it in my hand. . Sometimes two or three days after the battle is over I find a green stain left from my holding on to that piece so tightly. . . My men understand . . . and in the thick of things, some one will call to the bridge and say. 'Skipper have you got your luck piece with you. . . ' it seems to give them courage. . . " In speaking of the Japs ... he said. . . "They are smart fighters, but I think the Americans are go ing to be a match for them . . . and there is no doubt but that we will be able to hold our own with 'hem. . . It will be a long hard fight though." In speaking of Attu he told how the U. S. Fighter planes going into action dropped their extra fuel tanks when 18 Jap planes attacked their ship and how a red headed signalman saw them drop torpedoes and remarked ... he was glad he was not on the island, for they were going to get Hell . . . and then he said, "My God, they are underway." Wo did not realit how cut off a man can be from his family when But with all the fast moving experiences of the past several years . . . across the world . . . Commander Edwards still keeps green in his memory the days of his boyhood here . . . and during his recent visit accompanied by his wife and young son with his mother and sister ... he spent lots of his time out in East Way nesville where the family lived, hunting up the neighbors he had known ... In fact we were sur prised at how well he had kept up with things ... we wonder if most people here at home have read the local news for the past years as he has. . . He has kept up with us here . . . and when the day arrives for his retirement from the Navy, he expects to turn his car in this direction, or perhaps It will be his plane ... for coming into port will mean home back in the mountains, according to the tsommander. . . Clef Mrs. J. Clav Mad'son" say 'Thirty Seconds Over Toty Capt. Ted W. Lawson. Mrs. Ben Colkitt "I e.' 'Crescent Carnival' by Fr Parkinson Keyes and it 'tl1 mv first choice in fictn.n r non-fiction 'Long, Lone e ..ii.lda written mon-avinpci hv thp late AleXl Woolcott." married or what caused the W for separation, it might res'j be assumed that most oi m "srur-of-the-moment" cere This may be just one of W KPniienr.pa of wartime r.yster wnmintr. uHniit hping more ' ful before entering n - - i '.. v. masted. V" auiie ilia v uc cw - . many protestations against n ing divorce laws it is s"" .""j easier to get marn-u . Carolina than to get divorce! ml 1J hud Tl v ine Burma , u there wasn't much help 1 Soldier (flattering) Yot prettier every day. Girl Yes. I'm living os of brown bread and water prove my complexion. Soldier And how long keep that up? Girl Oh, lnaenniveij- . ... i.iThen.'i ooiuier iquiciuy let's get married. v.. t . pif-made H , . ... m.ii fa ooasiea vne m6" . .m The quiet gentleman mvy ly. Sir," he said, "you igj Lord of great respond Ex. . r . . Boy War Bonis d st i