: THE DANBURY REPORTER
Established 1872
Dawn Of Victory Year
Futility Of the Fizzle
We have been hunting through the
records to discover what it is Franklin
Roosevelt has npt been charged with.
The only thing we find is sheep stealing.
But the strength and popularity of the
greatest commoner since Andrew Jack
son have not been shaken by the bitter
winds of crimination, defamation and
senseless hate.
What does the latest Gallup poll show?
That he is the choice of more than S
Democrats out of 10 for a fourth term.
You say, wait for the fair elections—
let the Republicans get a whack.
But you said that before. And here he
is, like Banquo's ghost.
If Stokes county is a fair average indi
cation, many, many Republicans will help
to swell his enormous majority over, any
competitor.
Many Republicans believe in praising
the boat that carries them over safe.
Many Republicans are reasonable, sin
cere and honest, and broad between the
eyes.
The bitterest pill the Democratic and
Republican haters of Roosevelt have to
swallow is that they are unable to amend
the Bill of Rights. The constitution still
guarantees the will of the majority.
i —————————
Nineteen Forty-Four
i "T
God of hosts, bless the year Forty-four
to the peoples of the earth who want to
walk in the ways of fairness and justice,
freedom and peace.
Shrivel the foul ambitions of those who
would enslave sovereign peoples. May
the military powers of Germany and Ja
pan be utterly and irretrievably destroy
ed and their criminal leaders be brought
to retributive justice.
And may the mothers of America wel
come home again their boys who are
making the noble fight to save America.
And may we all —including us sinners
—have that peace which passeth under
standing.
Sure
i •4'. *
See where John Folger has decided he
will run again for congress. He'd better.
If he didn't run, he'd be run.
There's such a thing as commandeer
ing.
The people of the Fifth district will n«t
do without John Folger.
Volume 72
Danbury, N. C., Thursday, January 6, 1944 *
Old Christmas
Today is the Sixth of January, recog
nized by quite a sprinkling of people still
as the true date for Christmas, instead
of December 25.
In the mountain sections of North Car
olina there remain sects who conscien
tiously believe the 12th day after Decem
ber 25 is the real anniversary of the Mes
siah.
They celebrate it accordingly with
eclat and decorum, but not always with
the dignity it should probably deserve.
There are superstitions as old as the
Druids connected with Old Christmas,
which are pretty widely observed. Many
dark and lugubrious things happen on
the night of the 6th of January. The cat
tle, we are told, get down on their knees
at the witching hour of midnight, moan
ing dismally; bees that have long been
dormant, buzz in the gums; graveyards
yawn and the sheeted dead issue forth
squeaking- and gibbering, talking about
" promiscuously; spirits fly "tßrough the
night and visit people who have bad
consciences, etc.
These supernatural phenomena, how
ever, do not deter devotees from their
revelries. They drink deep quaffs from
fruit jars, full with the beading nectar.
Songs are sung to the accompaniment of
hideously screeching violins and thump
ing banjos.
Late at night the bacchanals, filled
with hog and possum, sink stupidly into
the arms of kindly but laughing Morph
eus.
Ask Jerry Baker about these festivi
ties of Old Christmas.
#
Outlaw the Strikes
The congress of the United States is
certainly derelict to its duty not to enact
legislation outlawing strikes.
When boys are fighting and suffering*
and dying overseas on pitiful salaries or
around SSO per month, the perverse
scamp who is willing to endanger the
war effort to get an increase of a dollar
and a half a day above his present sal
ary of say $250.00 a month, should bo
put to work on a rock pile with broad
stripes on his legs, and no salary at all.
Make it a felony to stall the stream of
planes and machine guns, cannon and
coal, railway transportation, throughout
the duration.
Wage agreements may be settled with
out a stoppage that might hazard a vic
tory or indefinitely prolong it at the cost
of thousands of precious lives.
It sloths ill lor our boasted democracy
wh«s fh* President must tnvoke the
Sar SWfc going.
EDITORIALS
PUBLISHED THURSDAYS
Must the Country Weekly Newspaper
Go?
The kindly and sympathetic editor of
the Winston-Salem Journal writes this:
"Here and there over the country coun
ty seat weekly and semi-weekly news
papers are beginning to fold up and go
out of business for the duration on ac
count of newsprint shortages and in
ability to obtain capable workers.
"This is a deplorable situation. The
small town paper is indispensable to the
advancement of the public welfare in
peace or in war. It makes a material
contribution to the maintenance and
promotion of popular government from
week to week and year to year.
"In this war period the small town pa
per has done as much as any other
agency, public or private, to maintain
and elevate civilian morale and inspire
Americans to "back the attack." It has
constituted a fine medium of reaching
-fynerjcans in the smaller towns and vil
lages, and has' served as practiciHy tfie
only consistant medium of reaching
rural families who do not have radio fa
cilities.
"It is to wonder indeed, if some of the
many tons of valuable newsprint now
being consumed in the printing of press
release material for Government and
private organizations of war and post -
war issues would not be put to more ad
vantageous use if it were allowed to fall •
into the hands of the small-town weekly
publishers."
Thank you, Mr. Martin. You inspire
us to hold on to the last ditch, u
.li *. i ,
. . - —— . i
The Terrible Air Force of America
J I* r
The United States has the largest air
force in the world, manned by an army
of 2,385,000 officers and men.
This disclosure was given out last week
by Gen. H. H. Arnold, chief of the army
air forces.
Hitler, who is soon to die, must antici
pate the sweep of the Flying Fortresses
and the deadly machines of the RAF
wlih sinking spirits.
Berlin is 50 per cent, destroyed, with
half oi" what is left badiy shattered.
Many other German cities are in ruins.
One day last week 4,000 planeg went
oyer France, Italy and Germany, drop
ping many thousand ton§ jp| death and
fury unexampled. p
The great invasion Q! Germany iz soon
to start.
What miist be thfc feeling of the super
race as it views ftfl specious claims on
civilization vanning into TOT smoke.?
BetdhSitifll ft dp t&e wins:.
* * . \ V
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Number 3,734