FOR
ICTORY
BUY
UNITED STATES
BONDS * STAMPS
GX
?t MAKE EVERY
PAY DAY
BONO DAY
JOIN THE PAY ROLL
* SAVINGS PLAN *
VOLUMN LXXIV
$1.50 per year in Advance
LOUISBURG, N. CAROLIXA FJIIDAY, MARCH 5, 1043
f *
(Eight Pages)
ADJUST SALARIES IN WELFARE
ORGANIZATION
Resolve Against
Salary Increase
Bills
Approved Establishing Mail
Service on Bus Line From
Rocky Mount to Creed
moor; Several Minor Mat
ters Given Attention at
? Commissioners Meeting
Monday
? ? ? v
The Board of County Commis
sioners met in regular session
Monday morning with all mem
bers present.
The minutes of the last meet
ing were read and approved:
The following reports were re-i
ceived and ordered filed: Dr.
S. P. Burt. Health Officer; Miss'
Lillie Mae Braxton, Home Agent;
H. H. Price, Negro Farm Agent:
W. C. Boyce, Farm Agent; Mrs.
J. F. Mitchiner, Welfare Officer;
Supt. E. R. Richardson, County
Home.
Dr. Burt reported a balance ouj
hand from the tonsil clinic held|
last summer by the Health De
partment. and asked the approv-i
al of the Board for the purchase)
of an operating table, chairs,
stethoscope, and other badly
needed articles for the Health
Department with this money. Up
on motion of Com. Dean, second
ed by Com. Pearce, and duly car
ried, this matter was left to the1
discretion and orders of tho
Board of Health.
Mr Moss, of Oxford, was before
the Board in reference to prop
erty of Dr. Bullock and Mrs. Ko
berts which was double listed.
The County Accountant was in
structed to refund the amount of
$22.63, from the revolving fund,,
principal and penalty up 19??:
said County Accountant having
already investigated the matter
and reporting to the Boaid that
this was the amount.
The County Accountant also
reported double "stings in the
following: W. M. Bibby, P. 8.
Allen, G. M. HiU. He was in
structed by the B?ard f
same straightenedout and to see
that there was only one "stl"8
E. A. Grlssom was before tne
Board in reference to chickens
killed by dogs. The county at
torney informed him that he
would investigate the law in this
matter and advise him.
On motion of Com.
seconded by Com Dean and duly
carried, lots numbers 8 and ^ ?t_
the Cheatham P?PertfJ?
gsviHe- were sold to the Churc
of the Disciples of Christ for the
cLh payment of $50.00 the bal
ance $75.00 to Be paid in nl"e^
days and if same is not paid in
90 days the cash payment is to
^The' matter P..U. <*?
pedge land was deferred to the
first Monday in April and in th
meantime Baldy Copp?d?' ay.
instructed to raise a down pay
ment Of $200.00 and return to
the April meeting.
The following resolution was
unanimously passed by tne
B?aWhereas thereis a serious
loss of time in the delivery of
mill to and from the outlying
trading territory in and near
Franklin County.
? And Whereas, theie is now
established a permanent bus line
over the territory 'nyolv?dl
ing regular trips between Rocky
Mount and Creedmoor, by Red
Oak Nashville and Louisburg,
? And Whereas, we realize the
?reat benefits to accrue to the
business Interests of the . several
towns and communities and con
venlence to the P?P? ?tlon ^
along the line, totaling some
40,000 or more nPS0lved
'?Therefore, Be It R?B0'*ie?'
that the Board of County Com
urgently rent's the
mail service connecting the east
and west through the territory
above named, at the earliest pos
Sib"Done by order of the Board
nf County Commissioners oi
Franklin County at its ofT.ce in
Louisburg, North Carolina
the 1st day of March, 1943.
Bonds of Johnnie Horton and
J Henry Cash. Constables, were
accepted by the Board, subject
to minor changes , M
Upon recommnedation of Mrs.
J. F. Mltchiner, of the Wdfare
Department. Daisy Etheridge was
placed on the outside poor list
at t4 00 per month.
Mrs Ben T. Holden, Chairman
of the W?fare Board, appeared
before the Board of County Com
missioned and reported that
Mrs. Gertrude Boone Foster,, one
of the case workers, had resigned
and would not be with, the Wel
fare department any longer, and
that Mrs. John Williamson had
agreed to take over her duties
as a Waj- Time Measure, and as
a help to the Welfare Depart
ment, as it is almost impossible
to obtain additional rase workers
at this time. Mrs. Holden fur
ther stated that since it was man
datory by the State that under
the Merit system adopted by the
State for Welfare Departments,
that the salaries of Welfare wor
kers with certain experience and
Educational attainments be in
1 creased to comply with their re
quirements, that the Welfare
Board recommended that Mrs.
Williamson be increased frojn
$1,440.00 to $1,800.00 per year,
and that the clerical help in the
office be increased from $70.00
per month to $80.00, and that in
doing without the case worker
who had resigned that the in
crease could be given these two
workers without any additional
cost over the budget to the Coun
ty,' and that the Welfare Depart
ment could then turn back to the
County $60.09 per month, repre
senting a savings to the county
of $60.00 due to the workers be
ing willing to double their work
during the war. Mrs. Holden
then asked the Commissioners
what their wish was In this, mat
ter. Com. Dean moved that the
recommendation of the Welfare
Department', of which Com. Ter
rell was a member representing
the County, be accepted in this
matter. Com. Pearce seconded i
the motion, and same was car-i
ried by a majority vote. Com.
Bartholomew voting against thej
recommendation.
Mr. Gray King, co-administra
tor of tlie Q. S. Leonard Estate;
came before the Board in refer-!
ence to getting an old deed of ,
trust, made payable to the Couu-1
ty, and which had been settled a
number of years, by the property J
being deeded back to the county.)
cancelled on the record. Mr.'
Matthews, County Attorney, in-!
formed Mr. King that he would
investigate the matter and advise;
him.
Mr. King also asked to have a
tax lien note of Mrs. D. G. Pearce
which appeared against her prop
erty on the records, cancelled, as
it appealed to him that same had
been entirely paid. Mr. Matthews!
also advised him that he would1
investigate this matter.
Jurors were drawn for March 1
Civil Term, Superior Court, April ,
Criminal Term and April Civil:
Term.
Hill Yarborough, Attorney, ap -,
peared before the Board in ref
erence to a road in Harris Town
ship being worked and maintain
ed by the State Highway & Pub
lic Works Commission and hav
ing a ditch opened. The Clerk
to the Board was instructed to
write about this matter and send
a copy of said letter to Mr. Bob
Moore.
Upon motion of Com. Barthol
omew, second by Com. Pearce,
the following resolution was
adopted by the Board, by a three
to one vote: Com. Joyner vot
ing against said resolution and
stating that he felt that in Jus
tice to the parties involved that
salaries should be increased to
meet the living expenses at this
time, and that if at a later time'
living was not so high, that the!
salaries could be reduced, just as)
they were in 1932 wh6n all coun-;
ty officials voluntarily took a cut
in salary, which had never been
raised since that time.
The Board of County Commis
sioners of "Franklin County de
sires to make it clear that 1 the
said Board is opposed to the leg
islation recently introduced in
the General Assembly by our
representative, Mr. W. L. Lump
kin, whereby the salaries or
compensation of certain elected
officials of the county would be
greatly increased during their
present terms of office. The
measures referred to would raise
| the annual salary of the Regis
ter of Deeds from $2,000.00' to
$2,400,00 and that of his deputy
Register of Deeds from $1,200.00
to $1,500.00. The salary of the
I Clerk of the Superior Court
would_be raised from $2,500.00
| to $3,100.00 and an additional
$200.00 would be authorized for
| extra assistance in his office in
addition to the deputy clerk. The
Sheriff would be granted the sum
of $600.00 per year to keep up
his automobile. The salary of
one deputy sheriff would be rais
ed from $600.00 to $1,000.00.
The salary increases would go in
efTect as of February 1, 1943.
These increases make a total of
$2,500.00 per year.
The Board of County 'Commis
sioners was not consulted in re
gard to these large salary in
creases, either by our represen
tative or by the elective officials
Involved, and this Board has not
approved and does not sanction
fContinued on Pnp? EigM*
p.
Blackouts
Dates for practice blackouts
in the State were announced
this week by R. L McMillan,
State director of Civilian De
fense.
Dates of the tests are: March
17, Asheville Air-Raid Warn
ing District; March 18, ail dis
tricts In Wilmington Air-Haid
Warning Region; March ID,
Norfolk Air-Raid Warning Re
gion.
McMillan also announced the
time for all signals ? and ex
plained that times were given
t in advance so that the tests
enabling residents to became
familiar with the new signals.
There was considerable confu- .
sion last week when first black
outs were held under the new
signals.
The times announced by Mc
Millan for the public signals:
blue, 8:S4> p. m.j red ?:<)<>;
blue, 9:10; white, 3:28.? News
Observer.
Franklin County is located
in the Wilmington Region and
therefore will observe the
blackout on March I8tli..
Not Entitled To
Deferment
Registrants whose wives have
become' pregnant since December
7, 1941 are no longer entitled to
deferment on tbe/gTounds of de-|
pendency, it wis announced to- 1
day by the State Director of Se
lective Service. He stated that!
this revised policy has been made
necessary because present regu
lations provide that no status
which was acquired on or after;
December 8. 1941, may be con-j
sidered when deciding questions
3f dependency.
The Director further announ
ced that all local-boards in the
Stale have been directed to re
open and Reconsider for clasifica
tion tltM-f^ases Gf an registrants
heretofore deferred on the
grounds of 'dependency because
their wives have become preg
nant since December 7, 1941.
The fact that a registrant is a
parent shall not be considered in
determining the class in which
he should be . placed unless the
child was conceived prior to De
cember 8, 194i, the Director
said. He further stated that this
ruling applies to all cases, re
gardless of the date of marriage,
and is to be appllied both in con
sidering the classification of a
registrant and in determine his
category. \ ?
ft :
Two Houses
Burn
A heavy ftre alarm aroused the
population of Louisburg about 5
o'clock Tuesday morning. An in
vestigation disclosed that two
houses on "Pig Trot" the street
by the cotton yard, was on fire.
The fire department answered
promptly and saved a portion of
the frame work but the damage
to the buildings was large^ and
to the contents also.
One of the houses was owned
by Mrs. J. C. Tucker, and occu
pied by Willie Red Young, color
ed. This building was badly
damaged but not so much as the
other, a good portion of the
household belongings were saved
although most of them were wa
ter damaged.
The other house was owned by
Mrs. Ben T. Holden, and was oc
cupied by Big John Hawkins.
This building was practically a
total loss, as was also theTiotise
hold contents. The fire started'
in the up stairs of this house and
by the assistance of the wind
spread to the other one.
Neither of the houses or their
contents were insured, according
to dur Information.
Fireman W. J. Shearin while
fighting the fire fell through the
top of one of the houses and
landed on the top of a cook stove
Luckily he received no injuries.
o
Point System
Meeting
Quite a number of merchants
in Franklin County attended the
meeting in the 'fCourt Hou^e
Mbnday night wheli Dr. B. U/.
Ratchford. Director of the Price
Fixing Department of the State
OPA office in Raleigh, explained
the workings of the New point
rationing system.
Questions were freely asked
and many answered with the re
sult that a better understanding
was had.
Charlie Wells, young farmer
of Buncombe County, is helping
solve the mutton problem. Seven
teen ewes have brought 30 lambs
and he still has nine ewes to
lamb. There are 88 head of beef
cattle on the Wells farm.
Please tell us where la the sac
rifice today in high places Can
you put your finger on. any real
sacrifice of record at Washing
ton
Autoist On
'Honor System'
Washington, March 3.- ? OPA)
Administrator Prentiss Brown to-|
day ordered an end to police en
forcement of the East's ban on
pleasure driving, said future com
pliance will depend upon an
"honor system," and ^ddeff there
is "a f^ir probaiblity" the ban
can be entirely eliminated by
Marcli 22, when new gasoline
coupons go into effect.
Brown said he didn't mean no
body will "be questioned about
whether his, driving is for pleas
ure or duty, but "it's one of
those irritating things we want
to avoid."
Faith In Public
"The time has now come to
stop all unnecessary inconven
ience of the public." Brown told
a pi'ess conference. "I believe
in light of the widespread un-j
derstanding of the situation
which exists we can henceforth
rely 011 what might be termed the
honor' system of compliance]
instead of police enforcement. I
am instructing all OPA regional,
state, and branch offices to puti
this policy into effect immediate-!
ty
"This action is in line wtili my
general ideas in enforcement of(
all OPA regulations. Positive en
forcement measures must be used!
with criminals but they are not
necessary with the general pub-[
lie. Instead I expect to secure ,
voluntary compliance by the pub
lic through understanding of thej
need for regulation."
o
World Day
Of Prayer
The World. Day' of Prayer,
sponsored by the United Council
of Church Women will he obser
ved this year in v the 'episcopal
Church on Friday. March 12lii.
All the churches in town will
participate in this obn'rvance.
Two services will he held so that
everyone can have an opportun
ity to attend, the first at 10: !0
A. M.; the second at 8:00 P. M.
The observance of the World
Day of Prayer has "ftrown from its
inception 56 years aso when wo
men of the Presbyterian Church
felt the need and opportunity of
'a day set aside to pray for
'"Home Missions." The idea
grew in popularity. Later two
Women taking a trip around the
world "were captivated by the!
discovery that Christian work is!
not divisible by seas or boundary
lines." As a result of their ef
forts tlie foreign mission forces
chose a day. for united prayer and;
in 1920 (23 years ago) Church
workers of all denominations,
both in Canada and in the Unitedj
States, joined in prayer for:
"Home and Foreign Missions."
The first Friday in Lent was se
lected as an appropriate day for
such an annual observance. From
this observance the idea of a uni-i
?versal day of prayer came about I
at the request of many world
friends who saw the great signifi
cance and opportunity such a
time would present. The first
World Day of Prayer was obser
ved in 1927, sixteen years ago.
In keeping with the idea that
the prayers encircle the entire
globe, the observances begin in
the far, far,. Bast, the first taking
place in the Fiji Islands, the tiny
j islands south of the Solomons
which have seemed much closer
to us during recent months, i
While we are going to bed the
levelling before the Fiji Islanders
iare offering the very same pray- 1
,ers w? present the next day!
Thence the chain goes on! Thrill-!
jing accounts of observances of|
1 1 he day come to us from China,
jeven Japan, Siam, Thailand, In
dia, Australia, England, occupied
Kurope, Africa, and the two Am
ericas. Just as the Fiji Islands
are in a major sea-lane of "im
portance nowadays so also is the
little island of St. Lawrence, off
the coast of Alaska where the
! World Day of Prayer ends, 30
I miles from the Arctic Circle. Tl^is]
jtsolated island, the most wes-i
iternly point on the globe, ice-!
bound from November to May, is'
now also a path of grave danger j
and better known than ever be-j
fore. "Father, I pray that they
may all be one" the theme of the!
I day. |
1 Present world conditions make|
"these Hours of prayer double!
! precious and helpful" abroad asj
well as at home' where 10,000 ob-i
iservances are held annually in]
the United States and Canada.
"We're cratcful for the privilege!
of shkring in this tremendously j
thrilling experience and feel con
strained to not neglect so great
an opportunity."
"As o'er each continent andj
island
The dawn leads on another!
day,
The voice of prayer is never
silent,
Nor <fies the strain of praise
away."
' ? r O? ? '?r^ .
Forsyth County dairymen are
greatly disturbed over the high
price of dairy feeds and the rela
tively low price of milk.
WAR NEWS
London. March 3. ? German
planes raided London tonight in
a weak reprisal tor the week
long sustained Allied aerial of- 1
tensive highlighted by Monday!
night's shattering raid on Berlin.
And even while the enemy raid
ers were making their hurried,
haphazard attack in the (ace ofj
new British anti-aircraft defenses!
there were indications that the:
Allies were stretching history'sl
mightiest air offensive into its'
eighth night. Deutschlandsender,
Germany's principal domestic ra
dio station in the Berlin area, an
nounced that It would be off the
air "for some time."
Berlin Simmers
Meanwhile Stockholm reports
said the entire Berlin citizenry
had been mobilized to fight fires
that still were burning there and
to repair damage so- extensive,!
that it left "a great part of Ber
lin homeless."
Germany's attempt to blast
London appeared unsuccessful
and was met with derision by the
British populace, many of whom
watched the colorful anti-aircraft
barrage instead of seeking shel
ter.
' r
Allied Ueadquarters, Noirth'
Africa, March 3. ? American
forces were reported .sweeping un
opposed across the central Tuni-t
sian plain tonight toward Faidj
Pass, vital doorway to the Axisj
coastal corridor, while British
troops had driven the enemy baekj
two miles in the battle for the
gorges farther north.
front dispatches said-- the
Americans now were well east' of i
recaptured Sbeitla and military
quarters believed they had a good
chance to restore the mid-Tuni
sian line as it was before Mar
shal Krwin Rommel began bis;
offensive on Feb: 15.
Many l.aiul Mines
Another American column was
reported working down toward
Ga?sa> JVO miles south of lvas
serine l'ass. at a slower pace as
sappers ' cleared away t'iOi!sands|
of mines.
Oispi lches indicated the Amer
icans might lie- by-passing heavily
mined Ferlana, which lies west of I
tin direct route to Gafsa, al-j
though American patrols had.
penetrated the town Monday.
_ ? ?
London. Thursday. March 4.
Russian troops, storming and cap-;
luring lizhev, anchor point of the]
Great German salient northwest
of Moscow, have smashed the
heart of the enemy's defensive
system on the central front and]
have opened a lied Army gate
way to the west, the Moscow ra-J
dio said today.
Capturing two key railroad
cities on the Kursk-Orel front,
for a total of three first-rank vic
tories in a single day. the Rus-j
sians also had put the German
Kryansk-Orel salient in immin-]
ent danger. Radio Moscow said;
that practically the whole Kursk!
region had n6w been freed and;
unconfirmed^ reports ? circulated!
here that the Germans were pre-j
paring to evacuate Orel. '
o : i
State Guard
The age limit for membership In;
thev State Guard has been increas-j
ed in order that patriotic citizens
of North Carolina who are over 451
years of age and have expressed;
a desire to become a member of!
the Guard units throughout the!
State may now join their local!
companies, by a law enacted by
the current, session of the General
Assembly, any man who has not
reached the age of 51 years is
eligible for membership.
The 8th Cofnpany now has an
active membership of 48 men,
two short of the required mem
bership. It is difficult to keep
the active membership up to full
strength on account of the fact
that so many of the members of
the Company are drafted at each
call for men for the armed ser
vices, but the recent act of the
Legislature opening the member
ship to men up to the age of 50
years is expected to cause the full
strgp?th of the State Guard to
be^ffeched within the next few
weeks.
The Officers and 1st Sergeants
of each company of the State
Guard have been ordered to Port
Bragg for a ten-day period of re
fresher training in the regular
Army Officers Training School.
This school commences on Mon
day, March 15, 1943. Instruc
tion at the school will be conduc
ted by trained professidnal in
structors of the United States
Army, whose regular duties con
sist of training officers In the
Officers Candidate School and is
conducting refresher courses for
officers who need specialized
training or who need to brush
up on certain phases of the train
ing.
The officers of the local Com
pany who are expected to take
this training are; Captain Hill
Yarborough, 1st. Lt. Paul W.
Elam, Lt. R. Lee Johnson and 1st
Segt. James L. Pergerson.
o
Children don't vote. That ex
plains why ice cream has been
* WEEKLY LEGISLA- *
* TIVE SUMMARY *
* _____ ?
* Institute of Government *
* Chapel Hill, N. C." *
* ?*???????
NOTE: This is the seventh in
a series of weekly st<mmaries of
the work of the 1943 session of
the General Assembly. It is not
intended as a report on all legis
lation, but is confined to bills of
general interest or major impor
tance.
I'rankliu Couuty
HB 345 - Introduced by Lump
Jtin. Feb; 8 (Register of Deeds'
salary). Feb. 23. Ratified.
HB 392 - Introduced by Lump
kin, Feb. 10 (Election of Ac
countant). Feb. 24, reported fav
orably by Senate * Committee;
Feb. 25. passend 2nd and 3rd
readings.
1IB 394 - Introduced by Lump
kin, Feb. 10 (Recorder's Court
jurisdiction). Feb. 25, reported
favorably by Senate Committee;
Feb. 26, passed 2nd and 3rd read
ings in -Senate; Feb. 26, Ratified.
HB 453 - Introduced by Lump-]
kin. Feb. 12 (Validating Frank
linton and Louisburg Township1
bonds). Feb. 24, reported favor- j
nbly by House Committee; Feb.j
25, passed 2nd reading; Feb. 26,
passed 3rd reading; Feb. 27,
passed 1st read in Senate, sent to
Calendar Committee.
1IB 454 - Introduced by Lump
kin, Feb. 12 (Tax penalties in
Louisburg, Bunn and Youngsville
Townships). Feb. 24, reported
favorably by Senate Committee;)
Feb. 25, passed 2nd and 3rd1
readings; Feb. 26. Ratified.
I1B 484 - Introduced by Lump
kill. Feb. 15 t LwuiNburg proper-1
ty conveyance). Feb. 23, report
ed favorably by Senate Commit
tee; Feb. 24, passed 2nd- and 3rd
readings; Keb. 25, Ratified -
'I'llt' liiiijor bills of (he. Session
<-si 1110 up for passage in the House
and Senate this Week and receiv
ed quick action.
SR 54. providing for a nine
months Slate-supported school
term, passed three reading in
both the House and the Senate
and was raliiied on Feb. Sfi.Dui'
ing the week ii, Committee Sub
stitute "for t he Budget Revenue
Hill, reported favorably by the
House Finance' Committee last
week, passed its third reading on
Monday and was sent to the Sen
ate. The Committee Substitute
made a number of changes in the
original bill, one of the more im
portant being the -deletion of the
provision in the original bill for
giving counties the option of col
lecting the intangible tax. Another
change allowed merchants mak
ing timely sales tax payments to
deduct 3%. In the Senate, sev
eral amendments were added. The
most controversial amendment
had the effect of removing the
3% sales tax from materials to
be incorporated into ships and
other war reuirements of the Fed
eral Government, constructed on
a cost or cost-plus-flat-fee -basis.
All Senate amendments were con
curred in by the House on Febru
ary 26.
The Biennial Appropriations
Bill and the Supplemental Ap
propriations Bill, Jieing SB 11
and SB 12, respectively,1 were
both reported favorably by the
Senate Finance Committee as to
Committee Substitute, which re
tained -or increased all appropri
ations with a few exceptions.
Both bills passed thrde readings
in the Senate and House. A fea
ture of both hills is a new sched
ule of war bonuses to teachers
and state employees. The bonuses
will be payable as follows: $5
per month to those earning an
annual salary up to and includ
ing $400; $10 for annual salaries
from $401 to $899; $15 for an
nual salaries from $900 to $1800;
$16 for annual salaries from
$1801 to $2100; $18 for annual
salaries from $2101 to $2400;
$20 for annual salaries from
$2401 to $2700; $22 for annual
salaries from $2701 to $3600,
and $24 for annual salaries from
$3601 to $4600. The bonus for
teachers will be figured upon an,
annual or semi-annual basis apjsji
will be apportioned monthly.
HB 144, the Wine Control Bill,
including a provision for the sale
of "dessert wines" having an
alcoholic content of 20% and
which passed the House after
considerable controversy, was
tabled in the Senate on February
23. Numerous local bills have
been introduced in both branches
of the General Assembly to con
trol, regulate or prohibit, the sale
of wine and beer. To date, none
have been reported from commit
tees. However, HB 180. a State
wide measure to prohibit the sale
of wine and beer between 11:30
P. M. and 7:00 A. every day
and to make it unlawful to al
low consumption of wine or beer
on the prpmisfes between mid
night and 7: 00 . A. M. every day,
and which further authorizes any
county or municipality to pro
hibit sales between 11:30 P. II.
Saturday and 7:00 A. M. Mon
day. passed its final reading in
the Senate on February 26. And
(Continued on Page Five)
DESTROY
JAP convoy
General MacArthur's Headquar
ters, Australia. Thursday, March.
+?: ? Allied planes battering a big
Japanese convoy bound for New
Guinea have turned the engage
ment into "a major ^ disaster for
the enemy," with a total of 10
enemy, warships and 12 trans
ports sunk or sinking,. Gen. Doug
las MacArthur announced today.
"The battle of Bismark Sea
now is decided," the noon com
munique issued at United Na
tion's headquarters said. "We
have achieved a complete victory.
The completeness was such as to
assume the proportions of a ma
jor disaster for the enemy. His
entire force was practically des
troyed."
Credits Providence
Fifteen thousand Japanese
ground troops on the vessels were
drowned or killed, "almost to a
man," the official announcement
said, and 55 enemy planes were
shot out of action Tuesday and
yesterday.
"Merciful providence guided
us to this victory," MacArthur
commented.
The convoy included 10 war
ships. described in the communi
que as cruisers or destroyers, es
corting the 12 transports. The
entire fleet represented a total
tonnage of approximately 90,000,
tons. r
"All are sunk or sinking," the
communique reported.
The big convoy, one of the lar
gest'ever sent against New Guinea
by I tie Japanese, *was sighted
Monday north of New Britain Is
land. It was advancing behind
a weather front that prevented
MacArthur's American and Aus
tralian planes from attacking.
Tuesday, however. Flying Fort
resses and Liberators took off
through tropical storms and trap
ped the convoy north Of Cape
Glouster. on the southwestern
tip of New Britain and about 150
miles from its destination at Lae.
the Japanese base on. New Gui
nea's north coast.
Early reports had placed the
size of the convoy at 14 vessels,
but today's communique, based
on information from late-return
ing pilots, put the number of en
emy ships at 22.
Joined By Other Ships
It said the convoy as it was
originally sighted consisted of
only 14 ships, but was joined yes
terday afternoon by eight other
vessels.
All categories of Allied planes
roared to the attack yesterday,
driving blow after blow at tlie
enemy vessels as they sought to
escape, probably to Lae. the di
rection in which they were head
ed.
"Ship after ship was again and
again hit with heavy blows from
low altitude," the communique
said, "The enemy air coverage
became weaker and weaker and
his forces more scattered and dis
persed, and finally his remnants,
isolated and bewildered, were
gradually annihilated by our suc
cessive air formations as we sent
them into combat."
? ? u
Recorders Court
Franklin Recorder's Court had
only three cases before it Tues
day morning. All three 'of these
were continued as follows:
T. V. Pool, operating automo
bile intoxicated, continued until
further order. ? ? A
George Washington Harris,
bastardy, continued.
H. R. Preddy, trespass, con
tinued.
? -o
Ben Nicholson of Johns Creek
In Jackson County set about
10,000 pine seedlings five years
ago on a steep hill above his cul
tivated acreage. Six Inches of
pine needles prevent damage to
his crops from washing.
1 O- _
Soms inventor missed.a golden
^opportunity by failing to put cat
1 sup into tubes so it could be
Ijqlieezed out like shaving cream.
PROGRAM AT THE
LOUISBURG THEATRE
The following Is the program
at the Louisburg Theatre, begin
ning Saturday, March 6th: -
Saturday-Johnny Mack Brown
and Tex Ritter in 'Lone Star
Trail' and Dock Foran and Grace
McDonald in 'By Buddy.' Also a
new chapter of 'G Men vs. The
Black Dragon.'
Sunday-Monday ? Fred Mac
Murray. Paulette Goddard and
Susan Hayward iiu 'The Forest
Rangers.' *"? j j
Tuesday ? Anna Neagle In
'Wings of The Woman.' Also a <
new chapter of Bill Ellfbtt in
Valley of Vanishing Men.'
Wednesday ? William Holden
and Susan Hayward in 'Young " '
And Willing.' Also Superman car
toon.
Thursday-Friday ? Ray Mitland
Paulette Qpddard, and William
Bendix in 'The Crystal Ball.'