The Alleghany News AND STAR-TIMES The NEWS established February 16, 1940— The TIMES, 1925 and The STAR, 1889. > PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY At Sparta, N. C. THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1944 ED M. ANDERSON_Publisher JOHN F. REEVES_Ass’t. Publisher MISS EMORYETTA REEVES-Editor MRS. ED M. ANDERSON-Associate SUBSCRIPTION RATES PER YEAR In County, $1.50-Outside County, $2.00 Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Sparta. North Carolina, under the Act z* March 3, 1819. The News is glad to publish letters, not too long, on matters of general interest. But such communications must be accompanied by the real name of the writer, even when they are to be published under a nom de plume.—“If the choice were left to me whe ther to have a free press or free government, I weald choose a free press.”—Jefferson. Member of—North Carolina Press Ass’n. .: -- Dr. Henry Dwire In the death of Dr. Henry R. Dwire, vice-president and public relations director of Duke University, this week, North Caro lina has lost one of its staunchest friends and supporters of education. Not only will he be missed by Duke University, but by all educational leaders for his worthy con tributions to this field. He was also an able newspaper man and spent many of his earlier years in this profession. He was known to thousands for his keen sense of humor and clean wit as an after dinner speaker. He had spoken on occasions in this county as he had many others in the state and no one, who had ever heard him could forget him. His in terest in the North Carolina press and his cooperation in making the annual mid winter institutes a success endeared him to every newspaper man and woman in this state. His death is a distinct shock and a loss to all, who knew him; for he was a friend to all. -0O0-— Hitler’s Cowardice Continues If the final decision in was was in the hands of a referee, as it is in a prize ring, this would seem the logical time for him to step into the center of the ring and stop the fight. For there is no doubt that Hitler is leaning so heavily on the ropes that he hasn’t a chance to come back. The humane thing, under the circumstances, would be to end the battle and declare the Allies the unconditional winner. But the big difference between this war and a prize fight is that Hitler has others doing his fighting for him. The tell-tale blows which the Allies are delivering may hurt Hitler’s prestige, but the real pain is felt by the German soldiers and civilians who are being forced to continue fighting. Therefore, because of Hitler’s unwilling ness to give up in the face of certain defeat, thousand* more Allied soldiers and prob ably hundreds of thousands more of his own people wiU have to die. Even the Germans will soon realize that it isn’t courage which keeps Hitler forcing them to fight—it’s the rankest form of cowardice—the fear of what will happen to him personally when he admits defeat. -0O0 The Rubber Situation One of the greatest permanent benefits our nation has derived from our war with Japan is the overcoming of our dependency on remote islands of the Pacific for our supplies of vital rubber. When the war started, the processes for making synthetic rubber had been fairly well worked out. But had it not been for the war it probably would have many years before synthetic rubber would have been made in quantities large enough to meet the demands of American industry. Now, however, because our life almost depended on the speed with which we could make a substitute for the rubber seized by the Japanese, we have managed to boost syn rubber production, in two short to the point where it now equals of rubber which we used to ♦ . ua— Never again will we be put in the posi tion of having to depend on imports for our supply of this vital material, which is a great step forward in our nation’s self sufficiency. —--0O0-P| Faith In Our Country While recognizing that the war is far from won and that peace when it comes will bring with it innumerable problems of great magnitude, it is encouraging at times to reflect upon expressions of confidence on the part of our industrial leaders, men who know what it takes to create jobs for more and more people and help to improve the American standard of living. Accord ingly, heed the words of one of these lead ers: “I have confidence in the future of this great country of ours. I think our great country is just like we are individually, or like we are collectively when we operate a business—it entirely depends upon how intelligently and aggressively and with what imagination we manage our affairs. “We must recognize that research and science and ways and means of doing things better and more intelligently, which are reflected and will continue to be reflected in lower prices—hence, expanding industry and expanding job opportunities—are al ways with us. As a result of the war they will continue, undoubtedly at an acceler ating rate.” Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., chairman of Gen eral Motors, who made these statements, also had this to say: “I do not minimize the tremendous problems of reorganization and reconstruction that we all face, some more than others, sis we pass from war to peace and into the period beyond. Nevertheless, I have confidence in the intelligence of the American people in the final analysis. I think that the accomplishments of the war have given us confidence as to what they can accomplish when they go at a job. “I am quite convinced that as a result of the war our people have a greater re spect for opportunities to work at a reason able wage. I believe they are going to demand that. In other words, there is going to be no apple-selling following this war. That is finished. We have got to do a better job and we can do a better job if we will step up and plan aggressively and dynami cally, and use our heads, our resources and new techniques.” “If we will do that and work together individually 'and cooperatively, there can be no fear of what is going to happen to this country of ours in the long-term posi tion, away beyond the period of shortages or the period immediately following the war.” With General Motors planning to spend something like 500 million dollars on re conversion, expansion of production be tween 40 and 50 per cent, advancement of equipment to latest standards of technology and retooling .for post war products, these words from G. M.’s chairman represent strong utterances of both conviction and faith. There are also many other big com panies that are making similar plans for the future. This is the American way of life, in which we have faith. American leaders always have and will continue to plan and look ahead. -0O0 Save The Children Being a parent it is hard to understand why all parents do not want to protect their children by keeping them away from public gatherings and off of public streets during the present epidemic of infantile paralysis. It is true that some children who have not been away from home, may contract the disease; but at the same time since health authorities deemed it wise to pass an order forbidding children from public places, the least parents should do is to comply with it. Whether they want to or not, they will either have to, or pay a fine of $50.00 provided they are caught by officers and officers are going to be on the lookout for violators, we are told. Let’s all keep the children at home and take other precautionary measures in pre venting the disease. In many cases the general health of a child has much to do with his resistance to the disease. Let’s see that children keep well, get plenty of rest and the right kind of foods. (The Skyland Post) BROOKLYN . . . loyalty The biggest small town in the world is Brooklyn, New York. Population-wise it is a metropoli tan city of the first order, the number of people within its bor ders out-ranking every city in the United States except for Chi cago and New York City, of which it is a borough. Brooklyn has a population of 2,698,285—a population which includes every nationality under the sun. But, perhaps because Brooklyn has an inferior complex over be ing considered part of the out skirts of Manhattan when it could be the third largest city in the country if it was a city in its pwn right, the people of Brooklyn have become famous for their blind devotion to anything re lated to Brooklyn—a loyalty which unually is apparent only in small, towns where lack of population forces the residents to stick together to keep their com munity on the map. In spite of the enormous popu lation of Brooklyn, people throughout the country continue to think of Manhattan as being synonymous with New York Ci ty. I have never yet heard of anyone traveling east to see Brooklyn while millions each year go to see New York. And even in Manhattan itself the ma jority of residents have little con- ^ tact with the borough of Brook-i lyn except when they land there j by mistake by getting on the wVong subway train. CUSTOMS .... accent Brooklyn is known as the “home” section of the city of New York. It doesn’t have the elaborate theatres, night clubs, | skyscrapers and amusement areas which would attract tourists. Consequently, although near the heart of the metropolis, the people of Brooklyn are more or less isolated and have a language and customs which are uniquely their own. The Brooklynese lan guage, or to be more exact, the Brooklynese accent, is rather a phenomenon. It is difficult to understand how the people in one section of New York City happen to speak so differently from the others but it is almost as distin guishable as the difference be tween the northern and southern accent. It is recognized by such pronunciations as “erl” for oil, “moider” for murder and “poiple” for purple. In the same way that a success ful businessman born in Cross roads, Missouri, would try to give a helping hand to any young man froih Crossroads, the Open Sesame into the good graces of a business executive from Brook lyn is to be a “Brooklyn boy.” There is a fraternal feeling among the Brooklyn people and people with a Brooklyn background which probably is stronger than that of the people of any other large city. BASEBALL newspaper Perhaps the two things which most clearly reveal Brooklyn’s thirst for individuality are the interest in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the newspaper all Brook ites read, and the fervent inter* est 'in the daily progress of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn’s own major league professional baseball team. Although some of the best newspapers in the country are published in New York City, and although Brooklyn is politically a part of New York City, the peo ple insist on having their own newspaper which features the news of Brooklyn people, Brook lyn activities and even Brooklyn murders. As for the baseball team—that is the institution which has made Brooklyn most talked about from coast to coast—not necessarily, because of the calibre of baseball i played by the Dodgers but be-' cause of the fanatic enthusiasm of Brooklyn basefall fans. "Dem gorgeous bums” as Brooklynites affectionately describe their own ball players, are the delight or the despair of 500,000 Brooklyn homes depending on whether they are winning or losing. ' Although Brooklyn, during most of its existence, has had to be content with playing second fiddle to its more glamorous sis ter borough of Manhattan, there is one feather in Brooklyn’s cap of which it will always be proud. ALLEGHANY MAN IN ACTION IN 3 ZONES (Continued from Page One) Guinea and another brother, Cpl. Walter Hines, is with the Army Distraction on the Home Front rpM.T»S«H«Wt» ALLEGHANY MAN WRITES FROM FRANCE (Continued from Page One) o.k. There really isn’t much to write; I could tell you some of the things I have seen, but that isn’t necessary. I don’t know whether I said this before or not but the first few days were kinda hard on our nerves but I am now definitely all right. I’m steady as a rock. I tried to mail my sword hojfie from England but it didn’t go. I still have it with me. I’ll bring it when I come. I may get you something from here, I have seen some nice pistols but haven’t gotten one yet. The demand is greater than the supply as only officers carry them. Dad, you should see me now—I started on “D" Day and am growing a mus tache. I have a real good start; you can actually see it ten feet from me. I am going to let it grow until the war is over, then I’ll shave. We are really doing good on the food situation. We are issued 5 in 1 rations, enough food for five men for one day and they are really good. Also, we have been getting eggs and butter from the French. They won’t take money; they had rather have cigarettes or soap. This morning for break fast we had coffee, three fresh .eggs, hot cakes with butter and apricot jam. I made the hot cakes and they were good if I do say so; even mixed the batter. I didn’t have anything to measure with, so I just put in a couple of hand fulls of flour, some powdered eggs, powdered milk, sugar, salt and baking powder. I may make a cook yet! A dill ^UlUllg 9U111C VJCl lUOll money in this letter; it is a 20 mark bill equal to $20.00. Maybe I should keep it to spend in Ger many, but it won’t be much good by the time we get there. I have some French and German coins I will send latter. The weather has been real nice for the past few days. Today has been a perfect day. There are lots and lots of flowers around here. Poppies grow wild and they are really beautiful. As for the coun try, it is a lot like England. Where we are now, there is an old lady who comes two or three times each day; she brings either a bucket of milk or cider and she insists that everyone take a cup full. She is really happy to see the Americans. I gave one man some sugar the other day and he didn’t know what to say; it was the first he had seen in a long time. Every place around here has a wine cellar.’ One place they have three wooden barrels that would hold about 500 gallons each; they must drink wine instead of water. Dad, remember how Sparta looked when it burned; there are a lot of towns over here that are much worse. At one place I saw, there just isn’t anything left, but still the people seem to be taking it good. They are really happy to be free of the Nazis. I will write again soon and write more. Tell all the folks hello and write me. Don’t worry about me. I am ok and will be back one of these days soon. Love, Paul.” "'■■•3 Cross for Alleghany county, stated that he was well again and wait ing for a new assignment on an other ship. * m NEWS AND COMMENTS FROM RALEIGH CAPITAL LETTERS By Thompson Greenwood WEATHER — Nothing is being said about it, but chances are very good that North Carolina will soon have a weather bureau unsurpass ed by any outside Washington. Dr. Charles F; Sarle, assistant director of the National Weather Bureau, was in Raleigh all last week conferring with highway, agricultural, and even educational leaders regarding the project. If the station comes to North Carolina, it will be located at State College. Much of the fore cast data released by the various agricultural agencies—mainly the crop reporting releases—will be based on the research of this weather bureau. You should read something more about it within a few days. Although situated in Raleigh, the station will serve the entire State, giving weather reports on every section of the State'and of adjoining states. SOMETHING—You know, Mark Twain made a remark to the effect that we always talked about the weather, but never did any thing about it. Well, according to what Dr. Sarle says, we will come pretty' nearly doing something about it upon completion of the war. He said that it will be pos sible to foretell accurately the weather in any section of the United States one week in ad vance, possibly longer. Weather reports in the Eastern states will be based on the weather in Canada and the South Atlantic, birthplaces of all Eastern United States weather. ACCEPTANCE — At least two North Carolinians who are con nected prominently with the Na tional Democratic Executive Com mittee have been approached re garding President Roosevelt’s ac ceptance speech. It seems that the Democratic political horses are not so much worried about the speech itself as where it should be delivered from — Washington, Hyde Park, or Normandy. In 1932, Roosevelt flew from Albany to the Convention; in 1936, he was present; in 1940, he stayed in Washington; and in 1944, he will likely be at Hyde Park though there is some chance he will be across the water. Several warhorses wanted him to be in Normandy, for they held this would help with the soldier vote and would at the same time give the President that inter national flavor, which is a vote getter at this particular time. Others thought this move would be too obvious—to much of a play for the bleachers. So at this writing, on8 week in advance of the speech, it looks as if it will come from Hyde, Park —in an effort to carry New York State. i SNAKES—A 16-page booklet on poisonous snakes of the Eastern United States has Just been! pub lished by the State Museum. In cluded in the booklet is a first aid guide. According to Harry Davis, director of the Museum and co-author (with Dr. C. S. Brftn ley) of the publication, it is the first thing of its kind which has :■ '-ii U .ii, ...; • been published. Selling for 10 cents each, the booklet contains drawings in color of all the poisonous snakes and tells you how to get well if you get bitten by one of them. (There used to be an old man in Yadkin County who kept a poisonous snake around his shack at all times. He frequently was bitten and thus had a good excuse for drinking likker and home brew.) STEALER—Back in 1937, this column’s editor visited Chapel Hill to look over the football team for his paper. It was late August and hot. But George Stirnweiss even then was the fastest thing in North Carolina. Now, as you probably . know, or don’t know and don’t care, he is with the New York Yankees, and if anything is a little faster than in 1937. He is about to run the American League pitchers insane with his base stealing. A while back he stole second and third on consecutive pitches. The unhappy pitcher call ed time out, flung his glove to the ground, stuck the ball in his hip pocket and yelled to Stirny on third: “Okay, kid, now go ahead and steal home and get the hell off the field, will you, please!’’ RUMOR — There is a rumor around Raleigh that Wilkins P. Horton will be the next head of the Highway Commission. TROUBLE — Look for Some serious trouble between the milk producers and distributors when the producers meet in Raleigh Friday. SCOTT — W. Kerr Scott was selected to represent the National Association of Commissioners of Agriculture at the National Demo cratic Convention. This is con sidered quite an honor for Scott and the State. EXPECT DECLINE IN INFANTILE PARALYSIS