THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
By Mail — $2. Yearly — In Advance
ROANOKE RAPIDS, N ORTH CAROLINA
THE LARGEST NEWSPAPER IN HALIFAX COUNTY
CARROLL WILSON, Owner and Editor
Entered as Second Class matter April 3rd, 1914, at the post office
at Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, under Act of March 3rd, 1879.
OFFICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES
ADVERTISING - PRINTING - EMBOSSING
HOW LONG?
• • How long does a family have to live in
Roanoke Rapids to become citizens of Halifax
County and the State of North Carolina?
There are a few who would hold it against a
family forever if chance had it they were born in
another county or another State. These few would
lead one to believe that nothing good ever came out
of any soil but that of the county and State in
which the few happened to be born. All the evil,
these few say, which possesses men’s souls and
conduct, is brought into Paradise by foreigners
born in another county or State than their own. (So
must have spoken the Pharisees.)
I here are a rew who draw the line even tight
er. They bring it down to towns. If you were not
bom in Hog Wallow, there’s something wrong with
you, they swear. And there are reports of a very
few highty-tighty isolationists whose fine thread
of conception of citizenship makes it necessary
that one be conceived on a certain street.
It’s about time that we all awakened to the
fact that streets, towns, counties or States have
been wiped out so far as lines are concerned. What
modem science has not accomplished, this war has.
All America is in the same boat.
} For 13 years, this writer has lived in the State
of North Carolina. He came to this State by choice
of his own and not because he happened to be bora
here. For that same period of time, when he chose
Roanoke Rapids and Halifax County as a new home
for his family, he has tried to be a good citizen. He
hoped that eventually those who write the Blue
Book of County Citizenship would put his name in.
But alas, 13 years seems not enough and there
appears little hope in the future.
Those who edit the Blue Book still scorn those
who happened to be born in Kentucky. What about
those many born in Virginia ? How long must they
live here to be accepted as citizens? How about
those from South Carolina? Or Georgia, Tennessee,
West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and all the
other States represented in Roanoke Rapids today?
How about those born and raised up in the
mountains of North Carolina, as far away from
Roanoke Rapids as Philadelphia and as different?
Are they foreigners too? And the hundreds from
other counties?
Let’s get down to facts. The laws of the State
of North Carolina say that a man and woman are
citizens of North Carolina, Halifax County and
Roanoke Rapids when they have been residents in
Roanoke Rapids and Halifax County for four
months and residents of the State for one year.
That law establishes citizenship; it is not establish
ed by a few natives who thrive and wa£ eloquent
because of the locality of their nativity.
i
_
_At Your Service, Uncle_
_ /K
Something higher than the law of man also
establishes citizenship in a community. Regardless
of from where he came, regardless of how humble
may have been his birth, a man is a good citizen,
an indifferent citizen or a bad citizen by the simple
yardstick of how he has treated his fellow-citizens
in his daily conduct and in his dealing with them.
That does not mean he must be a Casper Milque
Toast, bowing and scraping; nor a bully. It does
mean he must be big enough not to take advantage
of anybody weaker and brave enough to stand up
to the bullies. It does mean that he must be kind
to those needing and deserving kindness and firm
as a rock in fighting those who would do evil, think
evil or condone evil.
It is not where a ma n is born or how long he
has lived on a spot that counts when the chips are
down. It is what he is; what he has made of him
self; what he will do when things count most. He
may be a citizen of Roanoke Rapids and Halifax
County only a few months or for years or for gen
erations. His test of citizenship is how he stands
up under fire, whether the foe be here at home or
from over any one of the Seven Seas. According
to official versions of this new war, you have them
on all sides and shores.
PLEASE EXPLAIN
• • Halifax County lacked $213.38 of reaching
the goal of $6,900.00 set for the United Service Or
ganizations* drive, the money to be used this year
for the men in the armed services here and abroad
as a gift from civilians.
The Halifax County Board of Commissioners
was asked to give from county funds or ABC funds,
the sum of $500, which would have represented
part of the amount to be given by those in the coun
ty who did not give. The County Board of Com
missioners (which is also the ABC Board) took no
official action on the request. A second appeal was
wired the Chairman of the Board last week, cutting
the request from $500 to $213.38, the amount need
ed to reach the Halifax County USO quota. The
answer to this second appeal was that the County
Board of Commissioners could not legally give any
money to USO from county taxes or ABC profits
without a special act of the legislature. Such is
probably true.
Jjul now can tne county JtJoara or Commission
ers explain how and why they spent more than
$1,000 from county funds as a contribution to the
Worlds Fair in New York City; and further appro
priated, according to good information, money
from county funds to pay the past-due income
taxes of a paid county official appointed by them?
Money which the auditing firm advised be put back
where it belonged?
One thousand dollars to the Worlds Fair;
money appropriated to pay delinquent taxes of a
high county official. But not one thin dime from
the same source to U.S.O.
for the boys of Halifax
County in the Army,
Navy, Marines and Coast
Guard. Ask your Coun
ty Commissioners to ex
plain.
THE BOYS OR
THE FUNNIES?
• For years we have
been giving our readers
a good “funny paper” a
long with the local-print
ed edition. This “comic
section” has cost us an
extra thousand dollars
every year. Since the
United States entered
the war in December,
this newspaper has been
sending a copy free to
hundreds of our local
boys in the armed ser
vices. We are trying to
spread it out so a few
boys in every unit get
The Herald but it is quite
a problem and the ex
pense is running into real '
money to print and mail |
these extra copies. J
More and more of our
men are leaving and the j
demands for The Herald j
increase. We hope we
will be able to keep up
our free offer to the men
in uniform but we are
faced with this problem:
We must cancel our con
tract for the “comic sec
tion” or we must quit
sending The Herald to
the boys.
We leave it up to our
local subscribers. Is • it
your wish that we con
tinue sending you the
funnies or that we con
tinue sending The Herald
free to the boys in ser
vice? Frankly, with the
war hitting us like it is,
we cannot do both. j
FOOLHARDY
• It would be foolhardy
of the American govern
ment to try to act in ac
cord with the wishes of
Pierre Laval. We can’t
do anything satisfactory
to that traitorous skunk
unless we help his friend
Hitler win this war.
There is nobody fit to
hold any position of au
thority in Washington
who does not know that.
So why consult Laval
about anything, except
for record.
Ten PerCenl
OF.YOWR INCOME
Should be going into
l).$.War ?x:~ -