THE DANBURY REPORTER
Established 1872 Volume 71
Editorial Slant On the News
\g TRAILING THE SABOTEURS
In his New York oistilot Inst week Ham Fish
was overwhelmingly renominated for Congress.
Willkie and Dewey, national leaders of the Re
publican party, sounded a warning. They said
Fish, resting under grave political and personal
charges, was unfit to sit in Congress r:.d that he
would be a serious liability to the Republican
party.
The warning of Willkie and Dewey flew off at
an angle of some 45 degrees and was lost in the
sound and fury of the triumphant satellites.
.Isit a dangerous symptom in the body politic
that there are citizens who are so steeped in polit
ical prejudice or blinded by malicious hate for
,the leaders of government, that they will jeop
ardize the fate of the nation to gratify their
yenom?
Fish's isolationist record in Congress, and his
shady connection with the operations of George
Sylvester Viereck, the German spy. burned
fresh in the memories of the people, and about
this time came the expose of the Washington
Post, a Republican newspaper, that Fish had
pocketed a $25,000 fee from the Dominican Re
public in 1939 which he had failed to include in
Jjis sworn income tax return.
These little incidents only served to increase
* Ham's majority of 3 to 1
The Internal Revenue department and a fed
eral grand jury are working now to get more
light on the interesting subject.
> Fish, it will be recalled, was one of the top
notchers in that perverse group of Roosevelt hat
ers in the 1939-40-41 Congresses whose votes and
influence were always antagonistic to the na
tion's defense.
His pals were the bitter Wheeler, the malic*
ious Nye, Taft, Vandenberg, Reynolds, Johnson,
and Clark, and a number of others.
These men were animated by either ignorance,
prejudice or malice, or were on the pay-roll of
the German Bund.
There is no question in the minds of intelligent
people that the sinister and sinuous track of Hit
ler's propaganda did not lead through the Sen
ate and Congress halls.
Today in the echoes of Pearl Harbor and in
hearing of the sobs of disconsolate mothers for
theft* boys who have died" in the distant strand,
these men must shoulder their responsibility as
accessories before the fact in America's most
appalling tragedy.
And when history is written in the future they
must endure the baleful halo of guilt that will en
shroud their names.
No use for them to affect government support
for victory now since Pearl Harbor. Every mili
tary authority and every citizen of honesty and
intelligence knows that Japan would never have
attacked the United States but for our criminal
unpreparedness, and that the unpreparedness
was the fruit of the obstructive tactics of our
disloyal Senators and Congressmen.
WHERE TO PUT YOUR MONEY
The safest investment in the world today is U.
S. bonds. As the gold tide soon begins to set in
this way, remember that, farmers.
When you buy U. S. bonds you not only help to
win the war but you insure for yourself the re
turn of your principal with interest and your in -
dependence of want in the future.
N. C., Thursday, August 20, 1942 '
THE OFFENSIVE BEGINS
The Eagle screams across the water? of the
iCoral Sea and above the yellow rats of Nippon.
The great American offensive ha*-- begun. with
the invasion of the Solomon Islands where our
marines and soldiers have landed am; are dig
ging in.
Already they have occupied and are holding
valuable strategic ports and bases.
The Japs are making a desperate defense,
knowing that the Americans have already cap
tured points to protect American sea lanes as
well as to threaten the Jap flank westward in
New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies.
At the same time the American position stops
any early attempt to attack Australia.
In military strategy to seize the initiative is al
most equal to winning a battle. The enemy is
thrown on the defensive and never knows where
you will strike next. He is at a serious disadvant
age. , w
The Jap fleet came out to meet arc destroy the
allied naval power, but soon got badly battered
and fled for cover.
The attack of the allies was supported in both!
air and water. Mac Arthur's land-based planes!
played havoc with the Jap Zeros, and kept the
enemy from reinforcing its troops who were giv- 1
ing back from the marines.
No definite reports have yet been received of:
the losses on either side which necessarily have
been heavy.
But the; fact that at last the movement has
been started to blast the Japs to their lairs will
hearten the people of all the United Nations.
It shows Uncle Sam is about ready t. exert the
power and skill which is bound to win.
STOKES TAX RATE TAPERING OFF
Although living expenses of every conceivable
kind are constantly rising, our board of county
commissioners somehow are able to make a re
duction in the tax rate on property.
In a meeting here Wednesday Messrs. Gibson,
Johnson and Joyce reduced the 1942 rate from
1.63 to 1.60. ,
Although the reduction is small, it is welcome,
especially in these war times when many other
counties are revising their rates upward.
Owing to the fact that there are no great corp
orations or manufacturing enterprises in our
county, the property consisting mainly of farm
lands, it 4s difficult to reduce the tax rate with
only agricultural sources of revenue at hand.
SAVE YOUR SCRAP TO SWAT THE .IAP
The government is very urgently requesting
everybody to save scrap iron and send it in to
help win the war. ,» „
Although the nation's steel and iron produc
tion is colossal, it does not equal the program of
war production.
Turn in the old plow points, wagon tires, bar
rel hoops, wires, stove joints, and disused metal
implements of all kinds.
May be you think your collection is too small to
be of use, but remember that if small piles are
salvaged from millions of farms and home
steads, you have a mountain of scrap that may
be converted into airplanes, tanks, guns, and all
kinds of material for battle.
As the old woman remarked when she made
hier historic contribution to the wide ocean:
"jEvery little bit helps." ;
Published Thursdays
RUBBER SITUATION BAD
In another column the Stokes county tire board
tells of the very serious rubber situation, it be
ing much wor.-e than ever before.
The farmers are going to experience ditlieultv
in marketing their tobacco crops. The board ad
vises doubling up of loads to market and close
co-operation with the owners of trucks and cars.
■ Happily the occupation of the Solomon Islands
,'s a step in the direction of rubber, as the world's
chief supply of the material is in the Dutch In
dies now in the hands of the' Japs.
! It is no doubt in the plans of the United Na
tions to soon make the drive to win back the rub
ber country.
! But this consummation is a long way off and
cannot be depended on now.
The transportation problem is soon to become
a real headache, not only in Stokes county but
.throughout the nation.
I "
i
THE SECOND COMING OF THE
HONEYSUCKLE
|
! Along the guard fences of the highway you
may have noticed that the honeysuckle is in
'bloom again. •* -
j
i This vine is first in flower about the middle of
iMay. Three months later as if conscious of the
welcome that awaits it, it springs into blossom
for the second time in the year, not so profuse as
in the spring, but still beautiful and fragrant.
But the honeysuckle is not onlv a thing of
beauty and fragrance. It is also a thing of great
utility on the highway or the farm. Nothing
holds the banks so well or prevents the erosion
of land. It will cover bald places on the planta
tion and soon make them rich. It is also food for
cattle. It is hardy and hard to kill, and its dark
green, white and yellow combination is very
pleasing to the eye in rugged ugly places.
HOME, SWEET HOME
When the boy is far from home, lonesome and
maybe sick, nothing can cheer him and warm the
cockles of his heart like a letter from home. c
The next best thing is the old home paper giv
ing the news items that will be interesting to him.
The Dan bury Reporter will be sent to your son,
your brother, sweetheart or friend anywhere in
|the United States or wherever our armies are lo
cated, for the small sum of SI.OO per year.
Do you think he would appreciate it?
We believe he would. '
ADIEU. TOM FRANK t*
We pause to give the tribute of our affection
and our tears for Tom Frank Webster, who is
dead.
He was long a prominent and successful ware
houseman of Madison. His friends in Stokes
county were legion. Tom had many faults, just
i like you and I have. But his faults were obscur
ed by his virtues. His memory is che'rished in our
hearts. He was always a friend to the newspaper
man, and the newspaper man was his friend. Be
ing close to the farmers, the newspaper man took
pleasure in helping build that loyalty and good
, will that contributed to Tom's success in his
chosen field —tobacco.
i
Adieu, Tom Frank. ' .
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