Wilmington and vicinity-Mostly cloudy I m'mM ■ “wM I ■ ’ I ' 1 I W'V 1 ■ Wl w'W U 'w'Y
with and slightly ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ III ■ ■■■■■■- 7^^/ I XI I
144411414444*41 4*4 4t i4444 ^4vi4
i OL. 80.—NO. 74. WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1947~ ~ ESTABLISHED 1867]
*
Bell Reports
River Basin
Development
Organized Effort Can Bring
Desired Results In
improvements
OFFICERS INSTALLED
Local Engineers Club Hears
Army Corps Interested
In State Project
"Organized efforts along
ar,y river basin will bring de
sired results to the local resi
dents,” said Burton J. Bell,
Chief of Technical Informa
tion for the Corps of Engi
neers for the southeast, at a
meeting last night before the
Wilmington Engineers Club
in the Friendly cafeteria.
Mr. Bell talked to the en
gineers on the Clark Hill and
Allatoona Dams which are
now under construction on the
Savannah River near Augusta and
the Etowah River near Carters
ville, Georgia. These two dams
are multiple-purpose projects and
when completed will not only pro
vide flood-control protection to the
Savannah River valley and the
Coosa River valley near Rome,
Ga., hut will provide navigation
| assistance and hydroelectric-pow
er energy in great abundance for
the respective regions of the two
large reservoirs.
Tne speaker revealed that he had
Complete Text of Speech on Page 5
discussed the North Carolina situa
tion with Colonel G. W. Gillette,
Division Engineer for the South
Atlantic Division at Atlanta, and
well-known North Carolina Army
Engineer Officer. The devastating
floods on the Cape Fear, Neuse,
and Roanoke Rivers are of much
concern to the Corps of Engineers,
(Continued On Page t, Col. •)
STEERING GROUP
SCHEDULES MEET
Unification Plan For Agen
cies Here To Be Talked
Jan. 14
The first meeting of the steering
committee selected at Tuesday’s
conference between city business
men relative to the coordination
of four Wilmington agencies is
scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 14,
committee member John H. Farrell
said last night.
Decisions centering about the uni
fication of the Chamber of Com
merce, the office of the Industrial
agent, the Wilmington Port Com
mission and the Wilmington Port
Traffic Association are expected to
be reached, with the committee
report due January 21.
The drawing of a report by the
committee, which is composed of
members of each agency, repre
sentatives of the city and county
and of three members at large,
"as directed at Tuesday’s meet
ing.
The proposal that, consolidation
of all four city units be undertaken,
"ith one central office to expedite
”■! matters pertaining to city
growth, was contained in the fQrm
a resolution.
HAMBONE’S MEDITATIONS
By Alley
Ct --^
1 Bin stud'in' 'Bout |
SWAPPin' OFF MAH |
USED CVAH FUH ONE
WHUT 1 KIN USE J ♦.
^ii— 'a
IRtlHsM by The *11 fiyft- rJRi/ A
4I":'- Inc.j Trade Merle /1
•_r‘t ■ s p„ nmci
I-9-V7
Volunteer Drive Planned I
---- — -,<s
Seen above is Mrs. EmfWa B. Howell, (right) executive secretary
of Family Service society under whose guidance the volunteer Bureau
is being launched here. At left is Mrs. Louise Bland, advisor from
the Social Service Index, who is seen as they put the finishing touches
yesterday afternoon on the forthcoming campaign to recruit volun
teer workers for the member agencies of the Community Chest.
(PHOTO BY CAROLINA CAMERA)
Drive Opens Monday
To List Volunteers
$6,0 00,0 00 FIRE
DESTROYS PIERS
New Jersey Railroad Fire
men Battle Stubborn
Blaze For Five Hours
WEEHAWKEN, N. J„ Jan. 8—
(IP)—A $6,000,000 waterfront fire
raged through t\vo piers of the
sprawling New York Central rail
road yards early Wednesday,
lighting up the Hudson river area
and casting the ruddy glow of an
artificial dawn over much of mid
town Manhattan.
Great billows of black smoke
drifted above towering oranga
colored flame* Jhat sprung during
the height of the fire from the
West Shore yards where one freight
laden export pier was burned
to water level and another dam
aged.
The blaze lasted for more than
five hours before being brought
under control by a fleet of three
New York City ftreboats and 20
railroad tugboats, aided by fire
men from four New Jersey munici
palities. Five railroad employes
were injured, none seriously.
Long Battle
Fire officials said they expected
to battle burning creosoted pilings
for many more hours.
Heat from the blaze, fanned by
a brisk wind, was so intense that
fireboats were unable for a time
to get between the piers to fight
the flames.
A. A. Darby, freight agent in
charge of the Weehawken terminal,
estimated the cargo loss on de
stroyed pier 3 at $3,000,000, while
railroad officials said the pier was
insured for $2,900,000. Pier 4, to
the North, damaged by the flames,
was insured for $2,000,000 the rail
road said.
Gas Stops Presses
LOS ANGELES, Jan. B — (IP) —
Gas escaping from a broken mam
imperille hundreds of persons
Wednesday, snarled traffic and
caused the Los Angeles Herald-Ex
press to shut down its presses.
The newpaper resumed publica
tion with the last two editions.
The break occurred when a ditch
digging. machine accidentally hit
the main near the newspaper plant.
Policemen and firemen quickly
blocked off the area for several
blocks and workmen sought to
shut off the flow.
The fire under the metal pots in
the newspaper’s composing room
were put out -and mechanical pro
duction stopped.
Social Agencies Seeking
Assistants To Carry
On Program
Plans for a week-long campaign,
beginning Monday, January 13,
to recruit volunteer workers for
all the Red Feather agencies
making up the Wilmington Com
munity Chest, were announced
yesterday by the Volunteer Bureau
of the Social Service League
through its chairman, Mrs. Wil
liam B. Sisson.
All men, women and children
in the city of Wilmington who are
willing to do any type of volunteer
service in any of the agencies
are asked to register in the office
of the newly-formed Volunteer
Bureau, located in room 414 of
the Tide Water building, during
next week.
The registration office will be
(Continued On Page 2, Col. 1)
CEILING ON ROOMS
COMES OFF FEB. 15
Government Orders Decon
trol Of Prices In Hotels,
Tourist Homes
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8. — UP) —
The government Wednesday order
ed the removal of rent ceilings on
transient rooms in hotels, motor
courts and tourist homes, effective
Feb. 15.
The hotel industry promised
immediately that the action will
bring no “across the board’’ rate
increases.
OPA said rooming houses are not
affected by the decontrol order.
The order also does not affect
Washington, D. C., where rents
are controlled by special statue,
the agency added.
An OPA official said the order
does provide, however, for decon
trol of transient rooms in tourist
homes as well as in hotels and
motor courts, ofltside the capital.
Registration Over
The decontrol order follows com
pletion last Dec. 31 of registration
by 554,000 landlords controlling
about 4,000,000 rooms in hotel,
rooming and boarding houses,
tourist homes, motor courts, auto
and trailer camps. The landlords
were required to register their
facilities either as transient hotel,
residential hotel, rooming house or
motor court. This division was
ordered by Congress when it ex
tended the life of OPA to next June
30.
Major Gen. Philip B. Fleming
said the hotel industry had worked
out with OPA the method of decon
trolling daily rates and keeping
ceilings on permanent rooms.
Today And Tomorrow
By WALTER LIPPMANN
I -
THE LONG HARD WAY
We are still a very long way
from a treaty governing atomic
energy. For the phase of the work
which Mr. Baruch and his associ
ates have just completed was on
ly the first, though it was the
necessary, beginning of what is as
complicated and difficult a task
as was ever attempted by many
governments.
To translate the very general
findings into a universal treaty will
take a long time. Even if there
were full agreement as to what the
treaty should say, it would be an
immense task to agree on how to
say It. But as a matter of fact
we are not yet that far. “The safe
"yards that hav# been discussed,
said Mr. Baruch in his letter of
resignation, “are meant only to be
indicative of the types of safe
guards that must be erected.”
• * *
The rate at which the world can
move toward a treaty will almost
certainly depend upon the rate at
which it can advance towards a
general settlement of the war. We
may take it as certain that there
will be no actual atomic disarma
ment unless there is also a simul
taneous agreement in the whole
field of military power. There will
be no such general military agree
ment unless and until there is a
(Continued On Page 2, Col. 2)
&NA TE GETS BILL TO BAR CLOSED
SHOP IN ALL NEW, OLD CONTRACTS;
HOUSE FIGHT MARKS ASSEMBLY DAY
“Two-Thirds”
Rule Causes
Long Battle
Umstead Of Orange Suffers
Temporary Defeat Dur
ing Heated Scrap
FIRST MAJOR BILL
Kermon Introduces Meas
ure For Graduated Pay
Increase To Teachers
RALEIGH, Jan. 8.—OP)—
A bitter House fight on re
tention of the two-third3 or
“gag” rule and the introduc
tion of a bill providing a grad
uated scale of pay increases
for teachers, principals and
other state employes marked
the opening of the 1947 legis
lative session Wednesday.
The scrap over the two
thirds rule ended in a tem
porary defeat for Rep. John
Umstead of Orange and his sup
porters. They sought to return to
the rules of the 1939 House where
by only a majority vote would be
necessary to remove a bill, ac
companied by a minority report,
from the unfavorable calendar and
place it on the favorable calendar.
Umstead said the present rule was
"undemocratic,” in that it “allows
a minority to control the majority.”
When eforts of Reps. Umstead
and Tompkins of Jackson to go
back to the majority rule were
temporarily beaten down, Tomp
kins cried, "railroad, railroad!”
Nor could Umstead get a roll call
vote, although he said the consti
tution provided a recorded vote if
(Continued On Page 2, Col. 6)
TRAVELERS AID
PLANS MEETING
History Of Organization To
Bo Presented On
Jan. 14
The history of the National
Travelers Aid Association and of
the Travelers Aid Society of Wil
mington will be the principal top
ics discussed at the annual meet
ing of the board of directors of
<the local society, a Red Feather
service, on Tuesday, January 14,
at 1 o’clock in the dining room of
the American Legion Club, accord
ing to J. E. L. Wade, president.
The luncheon meeting will be
opened with an invocation by the
Rev. Walter B. Freed, pastor St.
James Lutheran church, member
of the T. A. S. board of'directors,
and president of the Salvation Ar
my board of directors.
Mrs. Gertrude Heggie, regional
(Continue^ On Page 2, Col. 2)
Kiwanis Officers Relax At Ins tallation Meeting
Caught by the cameraman in a happy mood yesterday, the above group of Kiwanis club officials
were photographed a few minutes before being inducted into office by Lieutenant Governor Edwin
Rawls of the 7th Carolinas division. Seated left to right are: Immediate past president Emsley A.
, ’ v ce president, George R. Conant; Lieutenant-Governor Rawls; the new president, A. R. (Rex)
Willis; and secretary-treasurer, Walter B. Freed. (CAROLINA CAMERA PHOTO)
SENATE SPEEDILY
OKAYS MARSHALL
Unanimous Confirmation
Accorded Truman Ap
pointment Of General
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8. — (U.R)—
The Senate Wednesday speedily
and unanimously confirmed the ap
pointment of Gen. George C. Mar
shall as Secretary of State to reas
sure a worried and anxious world
that “unity still prevails” on Amer
ican foreign policies
On the initiative of the new Re
publican chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations committee,
Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan,
the chamber completed committee
consideration and final confirma
tion of Marshall in one hour.
Vandenberg also used the occa
sion to pledge the Republican
party — now in control of Con
gress — to carry on the bi-partisan
foreign policy under Marshall.
Representative Charles A. Eaton,
R., N. J., incoming chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs commit
tee, chimed in with a similar state
ment and added that “we will con
tinue to present a united front to
the world, regardless of race, creed
or breed. There’s no place in for
eign affairs for partisan politics.”
There was no debate in the Sen
ate — just praise of Marshall and
eulogies of the man whose place
he will take, James Francis
Byrnes.
Even an informal appearance of
the general before the Foreign Re
lations committee was waived.
Marshall will arrive in about a
week. He now is winging his*way
across the Pacific from Nanking,
China where for 13 months he tried
unsuccessfully to help the Chinese
settle their civil war.
He will rest a few days in Hawaii
with Mrs. Marshall before coming
here to be sworn in to the top cabi
net position which will make him
heir to the Presidency if anything
happens to President Truman.
Belt Tightener
LONDON, Jan. 8. — {#)— Great
Britain began its eighth year of
food rationing Wednesday with
Britons getting less of most com
modities than in the bleak war days
of 1940.
Sample weekly rations then and
now:
Commodity 1940 1947
Bacon_4 ounces 2 ounces
Sugar_12 ounces 8 ounces
Preserves 2 ounces 4 ounces
Butter ,_4 ounces 3 ounces
Margarine __ 2 ounces 3 ounces
Along The Cape Fear
SCHOOL DAYS — Several read
ers have expressed their pleasure
at being able to see a picture of
the late Miss Amy M. Bradley, one
of Wilmington’s most distinguished
educators.
You’ll recall that Along The Cape
Fear was able to use a photograph
of Miss Bradley due to the kind
ness of Mrs. Charles Lee Bragg, of
1802 Market street, who is the own
er of the cherished keepsake.
Other kind folks have asked
what the public school system in
the Port City resembled many
years ago.
Always willing to oblige, we have
located these facts concerning what
the “little red school house” of the
Nineteenth Century in Wilmington
looked like.
STATE AT HELM — The public
schools here before the turn of the
century were operated solely under
the Common School Law of the
Old North State: In that respect
they were unlike the grade schools
of all other sections of the nation.
They had no revenue except that
raised by the general law. With
that fund they kept open eight
months in the year.
The city was coterminous with
the Wilmington township and was
divided into two districts for both
the whites and the Negroes.
As for the committees in those
days. Well, in District One the
board consisted of Donald MacRae,
chairman; Col. John D. Taylor,
and Joseph E. Sampson.
Heading the District Two com
mittee was James H. Chadbourn
as chairman and the committee
members were Walter Meares and
John G. Norwood.
* * *
VETERAN LEADERS — Both
MacRae and Chadbourn served as
chairmen of the respective district
committees for many years and as
one former newspaperman states
it:
“The success of the schools is
greatly due to the same thought
ful management that has placed
them in the forefront of our most
successful business men.”
The committees were appointed
and the funds appropriated by the
Board of Education. At that time
Horace A. Bagg, Esq., was “ever
faithful and active in his efforts to
build up our schools. We doubt if
there is another County Board in
(Continued On Page 2, Col. 2)
The Weather |
FORECAST
North Carolina—Mostly cloudy, occa
sional light rain Friday and over south
portion Thursday. Slightly cooler Thurs
day, Little change in temperature Fri-.
day.
(By U. S, Weather Bureau)
Meteorological data for the 24 hours
ending 7:30 p.m.' yesterday.
Temperatures
1:30 a.m. 56; 7:3C a.m. 53; 1:30 p.m. 55;
7:30 p.m. 52.
Maximum 55; Minimum 51; Mean 53.
Normal 47.
Humidity
1:30 a.m. 66; 7:30 a.m. 93; 1:30 p.m. 44;
7:30 p.m. 66.
Precipitation
Total for 24 hours ending 7:30 p.m. —
0.03 inches.
Total since the first of the month —
1.03 inches.
Tides For Today
(From the Tide Tables published by U.
S. Coast and Geodetic Survey).
High Low
Wilmington _11:44 a.m. 6:09 a.m.
- p.m. 6:50 p.m.
Masonboro Inlet .. 9:34 a.m. 3:06 a.m„
10:00 p.m. 3:50 p.m.
Sunrise 7:16; Sunset 5:20; Moonrise 8:21
p.m.; Moonset 10:14 a.m.
River stage at Fayetteville, N. C. at 8
a.m. Wedensday, (no report( feet.
MARCH OF DIMES
PLANS ADVANCE
New Hanover Chairman
Lists New Committee
Appointments
The appointment of two addition
al committee chairmen and the for
mation of two groups which will aid
in the forthcoming March of Dimes
campaign have been announced by
W. K. Rhodes, Jr., New Hanover
county chairman.
Mrs. Elizabeth Emory, president
of the Leaders Association, Cape
Fear Area, Girl Scouts, has been
appointed as chairman of the girls
committee, and Russel H. Cau
dill, boys secretary of the Y. M.
C. A., has been appointed chair
man of the boys committee.
The two committees are to assist
the adult groups in making prepa
rations for the drive, placing post
ers and canisters over this city.
During the campaign members of
the committees are to assist in the
collections at the local theaters
and in the tag day, Rhodes stated.
This is the first time that com
mittees of the youth of the county
have been organized for the yearly
drive, and it is being done this year
in order to further assure that the
county goal of $2800 is reached, he
added.
Rhodes iurtner stated last night
that he intends to call a meeting of
the full committee for Friday night.
The county chairman also ex
pressed his deep appreciation to
the group of young ladies who have
volunteered their services to ad
dress letters to every resident in
New Hanover county. The letters
are of an explanatory nature, giv
ing pertinent information concern
ing the magitude ad the expense
connected with the fight agaist in
fantile paralysis.
’ Members of the group, working
under the direction of Joan Miner,
were Anna Mae Bordeaux, Mrs.
R. B. Walker, Jr., Mary Hedpeth,
and Mrs. A. Braswell.
KIWANIANS HERE
INSTALL OFFICERS
A. R. Willis Takes Over
Duties As President;
Rawl Presides
Felicitations were the order cf
the day at the initial 1947 meeting
of the Wilmington Kiwanis club
yesterday as old officers bowed
out of the official picture and a
new slate headed by A. R. (Rex)
Willis took over the helm for the
new year.
Installation procedings were in
the able hands of Lieutenant Gov
ernor Edwin Rawl of the 7th Caro
linas division, who in his opening
remarks brought New Year’s
greetings to the Wilmington club
from his home club at Greenville.
Before stepping out of office as
president after a successful year
Which witnessed a membership
gain to the highest peak in the
club history, Emsley Laney, as
one of his last official acts, pres
ented perfect attendance tabs to
the following members, with the
tabs designating the years of non
absence from scheduled meetings:
Donald King (5) Wilbur Dosher
(3) Walter Freed (2) Dr. John Hog
gard (1) Jack Hope (1) Henry
Gerdes (1) and James Holton (1).
In his opening remarks preceding
the installation of officers, Mr.
Rawls praised the work of the lo
cal club during 1946 by saying
that the task of raising some $3,600
for the work of the Brigade Boys’
(Continued On Page 2, Col. 4)
OLD CULLING LAW
HITS OYSTERMEN
Tongers At Mobile Refuse
To Oeprate On $2,75
Barref Basis
MOBILE, Ala., Jan. 8.—CU.R)—
An oyster culling law now being
enforced for the first time since
its passage in 1907 and a price dis
pute Wednesday disrupted opera
tions of the Alabama oyster fleet
and threw about 700 men out of
work.
Pres. Walter Bosarge of the
Seafarers and Fishermen’s union
(AFL) said the law requiring oys
ters*to be a certain size was work
ing a hardship on tongers. Deal
ers recently asked enforcement of
the law to protect reefs from de
pletion.
Bosarge also said that 400 oys
ter tongers were idle on 300 boats
and that an additional 300 were out
of work at a Bayou La Batre can
ning plant because of a lack of oys
ters.
President E. W. Jemison of the
Mobile Bay Seafood Dealers as
sociation said the price to tongers
was cut from $3.75 to> $2.75 a bar
rel because of price drops else
where in the country.
Army Air Forces Making
Landing Of Planes Safer
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8. — CS*> —
Equipment to chart and control
the approach of airplanes up to 200
miles from the capital city is be
ing installed by the Army Air
forces for use by civil and military
aircraft.
The radar equipment at Wash
ington National airport and the
Army’s Andrews field, in nearby
Maryland, will cost about $1,000,
000 and now is about half complete,
the AAF said Wednesday.
With the equipment in operation,
traffic control men in the towers
will be able to locate the position
and exact altitude of incoming
planes up to 200 miles and guide
them into a 40-mi ie range of other
“ground control approach” equip
ment. With the latter equipment
pilots can be “talked” dotfn by
the control tower to an actual land
ing.
“The use of radar,” the AAF
announcement said, “takes much
of the responsibility from the pilot
and places it with experienced
radar controllers on the . ground
who are able to probe through thick
fogs and bad visibility to plot and
control aircraft along airways or
on a landing path away from
hazards invisible to the pilot.”
Senator Ball
Gets Support
For Measure
Proposal Would Wreck Re
quirement Of Union
Membership
BATTLiTeXPECTED
Preferential*Hiring Would
Also Go Out If Congress
Passes Plan
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8.—
(A1)—Senator Ball (R.-Minn.)
Wednesday introduced a bill
that would abolish the closed
shop, not only in the future
but in existing contracts.
The Ball proposal would
wreck any agreement—writ
ten or oral—that requires a
person to be a union member
in order to be hired or hold
his job. It has strong sup
port but not so much as some
other current labor proposals—and
a terrific fight is expected.
At the same time Senator James
Murray (D-Mont), long a fighter
for unions, criticized labor union
leaders for not getting together and
working out a legislative program.
Murray, last year’s chairman of
the Senate Labor committee, told
an interviewer:
“I think it's unfortunate that
labor leaders have bfeen unable to
sit down together, with their
friends, to see what could be done
to overcome some of these criti
cisms of labor, and to aid in the
formulation of some of these"
things.”
The Ball bill would abolish the
following practices:
1. The closed shop, under which
(Continued On Page 2, Col. 2)
ELLIOT PRAISES
DRAINAGE PLANS
Proposed Project At Caro
lina Beach Would Elimi
nate Danger, He Says
The opinion that the drainage
ditch for which residents of Caro
lina Beach are now raising fund*
would solve the sanitation problem
of the resort town was expressed
last night by Dr. A. H. Elliot, city
county health officer.
Earlier Dr. Elliot had attributed
the existence of improper condi
tions in certain areas of the town
to improper drainage. Heavy rains,
he said, caused sewerage over
flows to mix with surface water,
thereby setting-up conditions ri$e
for disease epidimics.
He explained last night that if
the bad drainage situation was rec
tified then the sewerage system
should not cause trouble.
Meanwhile, Glenn Tucker, Caro
lina Beach real estate man, re
ported that over $1600 had already
been raised for the construction of
a ditch which it is believed will
provide proper drainage for the
area. In addition to the money on
hand, several hundred dollars more
had been pledged, he said.
And So To Bed
Again we make an appeal for
a lost dog.
But at the same time we’re
sounding a plea for help to
locate another animal, that to
our knowledge has not before
graced And So To Bed.
“Binkie,” a toy English
shepherd dog, is still missing
from the home of the Bey.
William Crow. Miss Margaret
Crow, young daughter of the
local clergyman, is mighty an
xious for her pet’s return.
And for something new: Any
one finding a stray pony, please
contact us.
It seems a brand-new Christ
mas pony left his new home
yesterday and another Wilming
ton youngster ls a mighty aad
person.
P. S. The pony was wearing
a red blanket when last seen