The PilQt Covers
Brunswick County
NO. SIXTEEN NO. 44
THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A flood Community ?
Most of The News
All The Time
6-pages today Southport, N. C.t Wednesday, February^, 1946
51.50 PER YEA. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
Inofficial Word
ft. Caswell Will
Be Sold Again
j-merty Has Not Been De
clared Surplus By The
Government, But Word
|s That Private Offer
Would Be Entertained
aLUES homes
V READY FOR USE
wween World War I And
I* Use In World War II
Caswell Served For
Time As Resort
ri,t Caswell is for sale by the
' r" wnt according to unof
^Trtovmation coming from
^eroiis sources. Teh property
J?. leen declared surplus and
'ft be o declared, but the
't s to dist se of both houses
? at private sale to what
t- individual or organization
r'-es the best offer. The whole
T- s to go in a lump,
'-'/property embraces three
'dred acres at the tip of the
iLj Caswell tract of more
3. two thousand acres. Through
?ou3 periods the government
?siwr.t around ten-million dol
^ in construction at Caswell
?i at the present time all of
? physical properties of a good
J "town are represented in
-umerous buildings, all m
5 top shape. With only furni
:-e needed, several hundred peo
" co'luid move in overnight and
R comfortably at Fort Caswell.
Tte property embraces three
acres at the tip of the
mnal Caswell tract of more
-I two thousand acres. Through
rous periods the government |
? saent around ten-million do 1- ,
n in construction at Caswell
A at the present time all of
, phvsical properties of a good
ai "town are represented in
?numerous buildings, all in tip
? shape. With only furniture
?ied several hundred peop.e
. move in overnight and live
iafortably at Fort Caswell.
It is understood that about
(kt-hundred thousand dollars
i. spent in construction r
L-s on buildings and various
inres during the recent war.
'?.?e repairs and new construc
e was of the most permanent
Jure. covering everything from
nodern hospital to a bakery
;. machine shop, boat repair (
on the yacht basin and a
Moot river dock, capable of
Mnng a large vessel.
A r.umber of two and three
otv brick buildings and around
i or 55 large and well-built
icier, buildings, including per- 1
r.ert barracks, are included in 1
physical properties. Abundant
: ver is available through the ^
a from Southport and the place ?
a its own waterworks system,
f ishing an inexhaustable sup- \
?" the purest fresh-water for
iking and domestic purposes,
bay of the buildings have steam
at.
A modern, hard-surface high
ly tads all of the way from
?rate 130 right through the pro
?ty ar.d to the big dock on the
?sr. When the place was first
' following World War I. it :
'is accessable only by boat. Over ,
S present highway and modern
across the inland canal
Caswell is a matter of only ,
torn 15-minutes from South- |
st '
Brief News
Flashes
fttDING N KW STORE
; Sullivan, of Winnabow, is
*?fucting a new store building
expects to have it ready for
"pancy the first of March.
?J?D|XO SCHOOL
Martha Easley, daughter
kuh <*tlarlcs w- Easley of
's attending Miss :
' ftarget's Business School in
"?tegh.
^>RTS MUST BE |
i w ; Hawes. secretary to the
?t. at SuPPly. announces that
*a'y loth, 1946, is the clos
tet ^or farmers to make re
Sir" tile practices carried out
-j, ?J"nen' on their farms dur
(<- P'ogram ending Decern'
?. 1945.
tSET?iiLL "EHE ,
Vtb,, ^thport high school
team? will play a
ffWav in the local gym
*1 when both the boys'
Vw teams meet Leland. !
^ stsf t>?"VS got off to a win
^ . rt in a thrilling game
Jey , 31 Tuesday night when
r^J a 20-19 victory over
?Hr ^ Bolivia girls won
?e local lassies.
Rescued Jap Passengers
SHANGHAI, CHINA. ? (Soundphoto). ? More than 4,000 Jap re
patriates jammed aboard the Enoshima Maru, which recently struck
in the Yangtze estuary, were saved by the heroic action and bravery
of crew members of the USS Brevard, a Navy cargo ship. The Bre
vard felt the concussion of the explosion when the Jap ship exploded
the magnetic mine. Lt. John E. Elliott, USN captain of the Brevard,
had his ship alongside the Maru in a matter of minutes. Pictured
above are part o fthe rescued Jap passengers leaving the ship.
Comstock Reported To Be
Coming To United States
Sea-Going Hopper Dredge
Was Familiar Visitor In
Southport Before The
War, Working On The
Bar Annually
WAS CONVERTED
TO SUPPLY SHIP
For Past Several Years Has
Been Operating In Carri
bean With Headquart
ers At Port Of Spain
The Comstock, huge seagoipg
hopper dredge attached to the
Wilmington office of the U. S.
Army Engineers and with South
port her home port for many
years, will shortly return from
foreign service according to word
received in Southport.
With no immediate use for a
vessel of her 'type in 1941, the
Comstock was converted from a
dredge to a supply ship and sent
to the Carribean area, her home
port under the new order of
things being Port of Spain, Trini
dad, in the British West Indies.
She served at this place for three
years.
Early in 1944 she was sent back !
to the United States to have a
complete overhauling at New
Orleans. This time her headquar
ters were at Receife, Brazil,
where she has been on duty up j
to this time.
It is not known if she will be
reconverted into a dredge, laid up
or continue in use as a supply I
ship when she returns.
The Comstock is commanded |
by a Southport man, Captain
Charles W. Southerland, son of
Mrs. Lanie Southerland. He has
a record of continuous service on
the vessel since 1927. For the j
past two years he has been in I
command. With the ship he is
expected to reach New Orleans
early in February. He will visit
Mrs. Southerland soon after ar
riving in the States. ?
Commissioners In
Session Monday
Few Matters Of Major Im
portance Disposed Of;
Action Taken On Ques
tion Of Water Tank For
County Home
Relatively speaking, the board
of county commissioners had a
small day Monday. Only one case
calling for a tax adjustment, due
to error, came up before them.
On motion, Bill Lewis, retail)
beer dealer of Leland, was asked i
to appear before the board on
February 18th and show causc
why his beer license should not
be revoked. It is understood thai
(Continued on page five)
Clothing Drive
Date Extended
Mrs. L. C. Fergus, chairman of
the Clothing Drive for Brunswick
county, said Monday that the
period for collecting clothing for
the needy inhabitants of war
torn Europe has been extended
to February 15.
The county chairman urges
that clothing contributions be
turned in to stations previously
designated. For Southport the
collection center is the high
school building.
Midway Service
Station Burns
The Will Smith Service Sta
tion, located at Midway on the
road from Southport to Supply,
burned yesterday morning
about nine o'clock. Tlie build
ing was occupied as a residence
by Hobart Williams and family,
who lost all of their belongings
in the blaze.
According to information,
members of the family were off
in a field working when lliey
looked up to discover their
home in flames. Efforts to
bring the fire under control, or
to rescue belongings from the
building were unsuccessful. It
was reported that there was no
insurance.
Major Swan Gets
Service Wreath
Southport Man Given
Award For Meritorious
Service For Work On
Government Tug Opera
ting In Manila Harbor
Southport relatives and friends
.will be interested in the following
press dispatch from Manilla to
this paper:
"Major John G. Swan, C. E.,
son of Capt. C. N. Swan of
Southport, has been awarded the
Meritorious Service Wreath for
outstanding service on Luzon. As
master of the Engineer sea-going
dredge "Lyman," Major Swan
received the meritorious service
unit plaque for his crew. This
award, recognition by the Army
for work done by the unit as a
whole, was presented for dredging
work in the Manilla area which
called for unusually skillful man
euvering and team work.
Major Swan was Master of a
dredge of the U. S. Engineer De
partment at Wilmington, prior to
entering the service in July, 1944.
His wife, Mrs. Jessie, Swan, and
his children. Jack, Nancy, and
Karen, reside in Southport.
Committee To
Aid Veterans
Brunswick County Commit
tee Named To Assist Re
turned Service Men In
Matters Of Readjustment
The State Veterans Commission
in Raleigh has appointed a Bruns
wick county committee to carry
on locally with the nation-wide
program of rendering all possible
service to war veterans.
The Brunswick committee is
composed of R. C. . St. George, S.
B. Frink, R. I. Mintz, Charles M.
Trott, C. L. Rourk, Mrs. J. W.
Ruark, John D. Erickson and Joe
Loughlin, Jr., of Southport; Lacy
Dawkins, of Winnabow; G. F.
Kirby, Supply and Dorman Mer
cer, Winnabow. This committee
will meet in the near future and
elect officers.
| Advising veterans of where and
how to obtain the various bene
| fits to which they are entitled
will be one of the main duties of
the organization. The secretary,
(Continued on page five)
Weed Growers
State Views
On Penalties
Senate Agriculture Commit
tee Friday Heard Tobac
co Men's Views On In
creasing Penalties For
Overplanting Tobacco
SENATOR HOEY AND
OTHERS HEAR VIEWS
North Carolina Growers
Have Sent Many Tele
grams To Their Sen
ator Urging Increas
ed Penalties This
Year
WASHINGTON.? Senator Clyde
R. Hoey of North Carolina and
other members of the Senate
agriculture committee heard con
flicting views of tobacco growers
Friday on the question of whe
ther increases in overplanting pen
alties should apply to both flue
cured and burley growers this
year.
A bill introduced by Represen
tative Flannagan of Virginia
would have affected both types in
1946; but a group of North Car
olina congressmen had it amended
to delay the rise on the flue
cured crop until 1947, arguing
that the farmers had approved
the present penalties when they
voted in favor cf marketing con
trol, and that no change should
be made until another vote could
be taken next year.
' Senator Hoey said he had re
ceived many telegrams from flue
cured tobacco growers in North
Carolina, urging that the higher
penalties go into effect this year
in order to prevent overplanting,
which could cause a drop in the
price. Burley growers do not
care to regulate the flue-cured
crop, but are concerned chiefly
with seeing that the rate is rais
ed on their own, the senator said.
QUOTA UPHELD
Indorsement of the tobacco
quota system with penalties suf
ficient to prevent overplanting
was voted by the National Grange
(Continued on pagrf five) * |
Area Included
In Safety Zone
Hurricane Area Laid Out
By Insurance Companies
Lie South Of Here; Low
Insurance Rate Applies
Locally
A few years ago the hurricane
insurance deadline on yachts and
sport beats going south was at
Morehead City, that meaning that
boats bound south could not come
further than Morehead City un
til late in the fall after the hur
ricane season was over, as such
action would void their insurance
policies.
As Southport has never had a
hurricane, such storms invariably
striking either at Hatteras on the
east or at Charleston on the west,
Louis T. Moore of the Wilmington
Chamber of Commerce and W. B.
Keziah of Southport took it up
with the insurance companies and
fought against the deadline being
at Morehead City, claiming that
conditions here were as safe or
safer than there.
The insurance companies re
cognized the local claims and
moved the deadline to below
Southport. This permits the boats
to come this far and wait here
until all danger of hurricanes is
over before proceeding Southward.
(Continued on page five) J
Landmark Burns
Near Lei and
The Hinson filling station and
lunch room, landmark of the
Brunswick river bridge com
munity, was destroyed by fire
Saturday. This was one of the
first filling stations and lunch
rooms of that community and
was established many years ago
by the late W. R. Hinson and
Mrs. Hinson. Mrs. Hinson still
operated it with her sons at the
time of the fire. It is under
stood the place will be immediate
ly rebuilt.
Truck Service
To Wilmington
Begun By Two
i
Southport, Without Freight
Delivery Service To And
From Wilmington For1
Several Months, Sees Two
Companies Started
OPERATION OF BOTH
BEGUN THIS WEEK
Each Company Is A Part
nership Between Two Lo
cal Men; Merchants
Have Needed Service
For Some Time
Without freight service between
Southport and Wilmington for
several months, two freight truck
lines have commenced operation
over this route this week.
In the advertising section of
this issue i9 an announcement by
Dosher & Aldridge, Jr., of the
opening of a regular freight truck !
schedule between Southport and
Wilmington. Regular runs, which j
will be made by way of Bolivia
and Supply, will be made on Mon
day, Wednesday and Friday.
Partners in this business are
Frederick Dosher, Jr., and Charles
Aldridge.
Also making their opening an
nouncement in this issue is the
partnership of Gilbert & Webb,
who commenced Monday making
daily runs between Southport and
Wilmington by way of Winnabow.
The two men operating this
freight truck line are Tom Qilbert
and William Webb.
Merchants and businessmen of
(Continued on page five)
4-H Council In j
First Meeting
New Group Organized At
Meeting Held In Home
Agent's Office In Sup
ply; Lester Edwards Is
Named President j
The 4-H County Council of
Brunswick county held its first
meeting Friday night, January
18, at 7:30 o'clock, in the home
agent's office at Supply. The
purpose of this meeting was to
organize the council and make
plans for future meetings. There
was a get-acquainted period be- j
fore the election of the following
officers:
Lester Edwards, Bolivia, presi
dent: Herbert Swain, Southport,
vice-president; Ann McRackan,
Southport, secretary; Betty Cor
lette, Southport, song leader.
The council decided to meet the
fourth Monday night in each
month. The officers from each
school will be responsible' for the
program one month, Bolivia be
ing first to present the program
in February.
H. D. Dixon, Representative of
(Continued on page five) |
w. b. mm
Our
ROVING
\ __
Reporter
The J. Arthur Dosher Memorial,
hospital has a mighty good friend
in the person of Ike Vereen, pro- j
prietor of a store at Exum. About '
a year ago Mr. Vereen began to ,
suffer with an apparently serious
stomach ailment. He entered an
other hospital where his trouble
was diagnosed as cancer of the
stomach. He was accordingly
operated on for cancer and spent
two months in the hospital, pay
ing out about a thousand dollars.
After he was discharged his
trouble returned in a worse form.
A Southport physician diagnosed
his trouble as nothing more ser
ious than a storpach ulcer. Enter
ing the local hospital Mr. Vereen
underwent an operation and
emerged a few months ago an
entirely well man. He is still en
tirely well and working every day.
He stated this last week that if
he had entered the J. Arthur
Dosher hospital in the first place
and before being bungled up he
would have been out and well in
ten days.
Writing something last week
about some good friends who fail
ed to show up at Southport for
the recent term of court, as is
their custom for such events, sev
eral people have called our at
tention to the fact that another
regular court attending character
was not present. This was George
(Continued on Page Four)
Brazil's Newly Elected President
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL. ? (Soundphoto). ? General Casper
Dutra was sworn into office last week as Brazil's first freely elected
president in fifteen years. The new President is pictured reading his
oath of office alongside President of Electoral Tribunal Minister,
Vladeraar Valcao. Dutra promised an honest democratic government
for South America's largest country and pledged close cooperation
with the United Nations, especially the United States and western
hemisphere nations.
House Begins Tentative
Poll On Strike Control
Wrong Impression
From Mixed Heads
When last week's paper came
out with a "Performs Valuable
Sen-ice" cut-line over two can
didates for office it must have
appeared that The Pilot was
abandoning its policy of neu
trality in matters political. But
over the double-column cut of
Lt. Col. T. J. Tobiasen was an
other misplaced cut-line which
said "Make Announcement."
What happened, of course, is
that the lines were switched
inadvertantly, and just for
keeping the record straight I
The Pilot has not changed Its
policy of remaining politically
impartial.
In the announcement of John
Caison for coroner it was stat
ed that he was elected to this j
office in 1942. This was not
the case, as Coroner W. E. Bell |
was the man who made the
successful race at that time,
doing so after filling out an
unexpired term for which -Mr.
Caison had been elected.
Appreciation Is
Expressed Legion
Letter Received By Mem
ber Of Local American
Legion Post From Vet
eran Who Was Given
Help By Legionnaires
A letter of appreciation from
an ex-service man who was help
ed by legionnaires in this county
when he was in trouble several
weeks ago was read at the meet
ing of the Brunswick County Post
No. 194, American Legion, Thurs
day night.
This fellow had just been dis
charged from military service and
had $200.00. He made a trip to
a roadhouse in this county, where
he was relieved of all his clothes
and his money, and when officers 1
raided the place he was arrested
and brought here to jail.
Legionnaires learned of his
plight and quickly came to his
rescue. They collected enough
clothes to outfit him. made ar
(Continued on page five)
New Candidate
Seeking Office
Peter RobinsoA Of Supply
Is Candidate For Demo
cratic Nomination For
Member Of Board Of
County Commissioners
Peter Robinson, Lockwoods
Folly merchant, is the latest to
announce his candidacy for public ?
office in the May primary elec- !
tion. Mr. Robinson, who is a
life-long resident of Brunswick'
county, is seeking: nomination and
election to the board of county!
commissioners.
This brings to six the total 1
number of candidates to announce
thus far, and to two the total
seeking nomination to the board
of commissioners. The only other
candidate to announce for this
office was Boyd Robinson, re
turned veteran.
Other candidates include Dillon
1 (Continued on page five)
Tugboat Worker# A n <1
Longshoremen Strike Tie?
Up Work In New York
Harbor
WHITE HOUSE IN
RENEWED EFFORT
Hurried Call Meeting Of
Secretary Of Labor And
Murray Is Held
WASHINGTON? The House be
gan a tentative nose counting to
; day on sweeping new strike con
trol legislation. Up for decision is
series amendments designed to
tone down the bill by Rep. Casa
who proposes to set up a nation
al mediation board with power
[ to step into major 'labor dispute*,
and to forbid strikes or lockouts
for 30 days.
NEW YORK? Strike by 3,500
tugboat workers, supported by
35,000 longshoremen, tied up ship
ping in vast New York harbor
today and cut off a portion of the
city's food and fuel supplies.
WASHINGTON? President Tru
man held a hurriedly-called con
ference with Secretary of Labor
Schwellenbach and CIO President
Philip Murray today in a renew
ed White . House effort to end
the steel strike deadlock. Neither
Schwellenbach nor Murray would
comment as they emerged from
the half-hour session, which be
gan at the unusually early hour
(Continued on page five)
Recorder Busy
In Court Monday
Numerous Cases Up For
Trial Before Judge John
B. Ward In Brunswick
County Recorders Court
J Monday was a busy day for
Judge John B. Ward and Solici
tor J. W. Ruark in Brunswick
county Recorder's court. The fol
lowing cases were disposed of:
Mack Johnson, reckless opera
tion, not guilty.
Thomas Lewis Rose, speeding,
judgment suspended on payment
of costs.
Rufus Sellers, reckless opera
tion, judgment suspended on pay
ment of a fine of $75.00 and costt,
fine remitted on condition that
defendant make restitution to '
Harley Hewett in the sum of
$50.00.
John D. Campbell, reckless op
eration, judgment suspended on
payment of a fine of $25.00 and
costs.
(Continued on Page Five)
Southport Man
Is Now Recruiter
Lt. Commander W. R. Bonber
ger of Southport has been as- 1
signed as District Field Recruit
ing Officer for the U. S. Coast
Guard and will spent his timj
traveling through several South
eastern states.
The Coast Guard has resumed
enlisting men in the regular ser
vice for periods of two, three,
four or six years. The quota for
J the Sixth Naval district has been
set at 500 men, and after Feb
ruary 28 no more enlistments will
be accepted until openings appear.
Applicants from this area should
visit the Postoffice Building, Wil
mington.
Good Prospects
For Obtaining
Buoy Markers
Captain John Nelson Hu
Written Local Man That
He Hopes To Get Tbo
Work Done In Time For
This Year's Shrimping
RECALLS SURVEY
MADE IN 1937
Most Of The Marker# Lo
cated Over Wrecks At
That Time Have Been
Swept Away Or
Destroyed
Efforts to get buoy marker*
replaced over wrecks and ob
structions on the Southport
shrimp trawling grounds are now
well underway, and In a letter to
W. B. Keziah this week Captain
John Nelson of the North Caro
lina Division of Commercial Fish
eries stated that he hoped to get
the work done by the time this
year's shrimping started.
In his letter to the local man
Captain Nelson inclosed a copy
of a letter written by Major
Wheeler on December 7th, 1MB.
At that time Major Wheeler wu
Chief of Engineers at the U. 8.
Army Engineers office in Wil
mington.
Writing to Senator J. W. Bai
ley, who is very much interested
in the undertaking, Major Wheel
er pointed out that a survey of
the local grounds by the Bureau
of Lighthouses was made In
1937. At that time 28 wrecks
and other obstructions that were
menances to the nets of the
shrimp fishermen were located
and marked with buoys. "Prac
tically all of these buoys," saidt
Major Wheeler, "were destroyed
during the period between 1942
and 1945."
It is to have these buoys re
placed that Captain Nelson and
other interests, including Senator
Bailey, are working on. Am
charts were made at the time of
the original survey in 1937 most
of the wrecks can easily be locat
ed and remarked. In other cases
additional surveying may have to
be done to fix points of danger
to the nets.
The original survey was made
possible through an appropria
tion of $20,000 secured by Con
gressman J. Bayard Clark at the
request of Mr. Keziah who was
working in the matter in the
interest of the City of South pert
and the fishermen.
At the request of local fisher
men Mr. Keziah is now trying to
get both State and Federal Fish
eries Commission interested In
making a new survey of the local
fishing grounds. He is pointing
out that the original survey ex
tended for only about three miles
offshore. This past season the
shrimp production was about three
times as large as normal. This
increase was not due to any in
creased number of boats but was
traced directly to the fact that
the bigger and larger boats, in
use now and rapidly increasing In
number, ranged far offshore In
deep waters where obstructions
are numerous. The 1945 increase
in production was not made with
out heavy loss in nets by the
boats working out in these unsur
veyed and unmarked waters. ?
Camellia Show
Season Now Oh
Or ton Plantation Gardens
Is Offering Wide Variety
Of Blooms In Flower
Showc Being Held
Throughout The Area
One-hundred and fifty different
varieties of camellia blossoms, a
goodly representation of the more
than 350 different varieties at
Orton Plantation Gardens, we:*e
shown at the famed Sand Hills
Garden Club Camellia Show, Au
gusta, Ga., the first of last week.
This big variety of bloom In
late January shows that the win
ter-long march of bloom by the
idfferent varieties of camellias is
now approaching its peak. Should
warm weather prevaid, another
ten days will see the camellia
blossoms at their peak for the
season.
Following this there will be a
gradual decrease in the number
of varieties blooming, the kite
varieties coming on as the mil
lions of azaleas are getting into
their stride for the March and
April show of garden beauty.
James Ferger, manager of the
Plantation-Gardens, carried the
exhibit to the Sand Hills show
During January he has carried
exhibits to a great number of
camellia shows in the low coun
try, embracing Georgia, South
and North Carolina. For Febro*
(Continued on Page Five)