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ROANOKE RAPIDS, NORTH CAROLINA
THE LARGEST NEWSPAPER IN HALIFAX COUNTY
Member Nerth Carolina Press Association
CARROLL WILSON. Owner and Editor
Entered as Second Class matter April 3rd, 1914, at the post offlc
ft! Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, under Act of March 3rd, 1879.
OFFICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES
ADVERTISING - PRINTING - EMBOSSING
GROWING FIGURES
e • The history of Roanoke Rapids is printed
each week in this newspaper and hardly a week
passes without mention of a new building: residen
tial, business or industrial. From time to time,
during the past two years, we have mentioned the
fact that Roanoke Rapids is a growing city but we
did not realize to what extent until we received the
figures on building permits for the past two years,
1938 and 1939.
These figures show that in the past two years
residences, business buildings and industrial build
ings in Roanoke Rapids were erected at a cost of
almost a half million dollars.
Of this total, two hundred thousand dollars
went into new homes in the city, $166,000 into new
industrial plants, $37,300 into business buildings
and over fifty thousand dollars into new school
and church buildings.
A community the size of Roanoke Rapids, in
which almost a half million dollars has been in
vested in a two-year period in homes, business
buildings and industrial plants is nothing less than
a much-growing community. And that growth is
consistent and is apparently going to continue for
some time to come. There is no sign of a decline
in the figures for 1940 and we hear of plans which
may bring further increases.
There is no need for us to boast that our city
is steadily growing. The figures speak for them
selves.
REST IN PEACE
• • Those who wonder why we continue to harp
on safer driving probably do not realize the daily
and weekly flood of driving statistics which come
to our office, all showing the growing waste of life
and property due to careless and reckless driving.
Were it only the careless and the reckless driv
er who was killed or injured it would be different,
but it is shown that over half those who die from
street and highway accidents are innocent by
standers: pedestrians or drivers of other cars
which were being driven properly but which hap
pened to be in the path of the reckless one or pas
sengers of that same reckless driver, passengers
probably begging him to drive slower and more
carefully.
Great Britain has been at war with Germany
for several months. La.test figures show that
Britain’s war dead, at sea and in the air, for the
first three months of that war was 2,100. During
that same period, here in the peaceful United
States we killed 10,000 in auto accidents. Five
tildes as many.
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Halifax County showed a reduction of 25 per
cent in highway deaths last year over 1938 which
is a big step in the right direction. But we have
a long way to travel yet, for 1938 was our peak year
for killing folks on Halifax County roads and
streets, a year which placed us on the map as the
blackest spot in the State on a percentage basis.
A good 1940 resolution for every car driver in
the county would be: I will drive more carefully
this year than ever before.
NON-POLITICAL SPEECH
• • Underneath the good-natured ribbing of Re
publicans, the President, in his Jackson Day ad
dress Monday night, showed much more restraint
than in many speeches. It was not a fighting speech
at which ardent partisans could cheer loud and
long. Much of it was in a good-natured vein at
which no opponent should take offense. It cer
tainly could not be called a political speech as we
understand the popular definition.
Again the President stated he had not been a
“good” Democrat all his life, having voted once for
a Republican nominee for the Presidency. He pled
guilty to giving political appointments to Repub
licans in his present administration. What the
President was proving was that he was more in
terested in the welfare of his country than in his
personal welfare or that of his particular party.
He said that events in the rest of the world
were so huge and revolutionary that our puny,
party differences here faded away by comparison.
What President Roosevelt is interested in, that
which every true American should be, is the
preservation of Democracy in America. That aim
far overshadows selfish, partisan purposes. We
must preserve our democratic form of government
by putting the public welfare above selfishness,
self-perpetuation in office or the continuance of
any political clique in public power. We must see
-- c
to it that our govern
ment is not an instru
ment of exploitation a
gainst any class or C
group. We must make
our Democracy one
which will impress the
rest of the world with ^
our honesty and sinceri
ty toward each other at
home, as well as those
abroad. *
I
We think, we hope, that
is what the President
meant. 6
*
"ZONE OF QUIET" o
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TAXPAYERS,
VOTER’S
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"factographs;
Concrete roads are construct- [
ed thicker at the edges than In i
the center. I
• • *
Ash in modem stokers for '
household use serves a useful
purpose, according to engineers ^
It insulates the metal parts from
direct contact with burning coals.
' * • • i
Mahogany is of pinkish cast
when first cut, becomes golden
brown or sherry color when
exposed to light, and this color *
deepens with age if the wood ;
has been properly finished when ;
i made into furniture.
^ • • •
K Butterflies' on- California’s,
Monterey peninsula are protect- A
ed by the ''‘full extent of the!
law,” the only butterflies in the!
world, it is thought, enjoying
police protection.
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