MARION PROGRESS
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
BY THE
Mcdowell publishing co.,
MARION, N. C.
TELEPHONE 64
S. E. WHITTEN, Editor and Prop.
Entered at the Poatoffice at Marion,
N. C., as second class matter
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year $1.50
Six Months .75
Strictly in Advance
, 'North Carolina
PKESS ASSOCIATION*^.
\© ^
MARION, N. C., MAY 11, 1944
NO SUPER-INVASION LIKELY !
The people of many communities
of the United States, including Mar
ion are making plans for special
prayer services when the invasion of
Europe begins. Such services, in
our opinion, are eminently proper
and it is right for us to seek the fav
or of God for an enterprise design
ed to protect us from tyranny and
oppression.
It might be well, however, to real
ize that the much-heralded invasion
of Europe may not develop in exact
ly the way most of us expect. Some
of us have an idea that on a given
day, the full striking power of the
United States and Great Britain will;
be ferried across the Channel to j
launch a terriffic all-out attack upon
German positions.
Actually, the prospects are that
no such operation will be attempted.
The invasions will likely begin on a
small scale, compared to the popu
lar conception of the massive offen- |
give, and will be enlarged progress- j
jvely by other relatively small-scale -
operations.
The strategy of General Eisen
hower has not been revealed but it
seems safe to write off the idea that
the decisive battle of the war will \
begin everywhere at the same time, j
It is much more probable that the I
Anglo Americans • will attack at a
given point, take advantage of over-!
•whelming sea and air superiority,
and make good a considerable beach- i
head. This will be repeated else
where under the protection of over
whelming sea and air support.
Practically everybody recognizes
the great role that the Air Force
will play in the invasion of Western
Europe. Certainly, whereever the!
Angle-American army strikes, it will!
be accompanied by adequate power!
in the air.. This is generally ac-!
cepted as the first requisite of a sue-j
cessful operation.
What a good many Americans do
not recognize, however, is the impor- J
tant role that will be played by war-!
ships. The guns of the combined j
fleets will undoubtedly deliver!
broadsides of unprecedented de- j
structive power. They will blast'
the enemy defenses and give to the j
landing-barges an explosive barrage
that cannot be excelled by ground
artillery.
There are many advantages to be i
secured by the slow and gradual de- j
velopment of our offensive. Ob- j
viously, if the invasion begins along I
a wide front, there will be a disper- j
sal of naval and air support. If se
lected beachheads are established,
one at a time, full aerial and naval
support will be available in each lo
cality during the critical initial pe
riod.
After men, machines, material
and equipment have been safely
landed and the fighting expanded
into the interior, our forces will be
able, if necessary, to adopt a defen
sive role until other landings make
it possible to increase the pressure
upon the foe.
COMMENDABLE ACTION
Group Captain Whittle, inventor
of the jet-propulsion engine, has giv
en the British Government his six
teen per cent interest in a company
which pioneered in the building of
gas turbine, jet-propulsion, aero
engine. '
The gift is explained by the fact
that the officer has been officially
lent to the company for whole-time
service and, therefore, feels it to be
incompatible with his duty as an
active officer in the RAF to retain
any commercial interest in the com
pany.
While not familiar with all the
facts involved in this donation, the
action of the inventor deserves com
mendation. It is refreshing to see
a citizen, who happens to be an offi
ceir, give away something as a matter
of principle.
A Victory Garden is one from
which the operator gets more food
jthan the insects.
OUR DEMOCRACY —by Mat \
A Salute to our Mothers
MAY 14,1944.
"K)U WILL ALWAYS BE THE CENTER OF OUR. LOVE,
OUR EXAMPLE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD,
THE SYMBOL OF OUR FAMILY LIFE,—
THE STRENGTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY.
WE THANK YOU FOR THESE THINGS AND
FOR ALL THE EXTRA EFFORTS YOU
ARE PUTTING FORTH TO HELP IN
PRESERVING OUR DEMOCRACY.
PEOPLE PERMIT "BLACK
MARKETS
Shad Polier, Director of Gasoline
Rationing, says that illegal transac
tions are draining off almost 2,500,
000 gallons of gasoline daily and
that "black market" operations
"may force a reduction in civilian
gasoline rations."
This warning should interest mot
orists whose driving is curtailed by
the use of coupons. It is to their
interest to assist in stamping out the
illegal operations of "thieves and
counterfeiters, who steal, print and
sell gasoline coupons" and "chisel
ers who buy them or buy gasoline
without coupons."
Mr. Polier says that big-time rack
eteers have gone into the counter
feit gasoline coupon business, which
is more lucrative and easier to
handle than the counterfeiting of
currency. He denounces them as
saboteurs, no better than the man
"who blows up a refinery."
We call these facts to the attention
of law-abiding and loyal Americans,
who should not hesitate to express
their contempt, not oi\ly for the
racketeers but for so-called respec
table citizens who make it possible
for the racketeers to operate. Ev
ery illegal coupon limits the amount
of gasoline to be distributed, under
the rationing system, to honest and
patriotic Americans.
JAPANESE LOSSES HEAVY
Prime Minister John Curtin, of
Australia, en route to >3ritain, re
ferred to the heavy toll that has
been exacted from the Japanese in
the Southwest Pacific theater.
Mr. Curtain pointed out that the
gains have been made with relative
ly little loss of life and the minimum
of frontal assault. Enemy strong
holds have been by-passed and their
supply lines severed, first by air at
tack and then by naval forces.
The Japanese, it is estimated,
have lost more than 100,000 troops,
140 to 170 warships, 200 to 270 mer
chants and from 5,000 to 6,000 air
craft.
The successful campaign in the
Southwest Pacific, which includes
the hard fighting on the Solomon Is
lands, offers conclusive evidence
that the much-maligned "island hop
ping" is the onlv strategy to be pur
sued in such an area.
BUY WAR BONDS
It is the desire of everyone to
hold, down the cost of living during
the war days. One way in which all
can help is by sending less and put
ting the money into War Bonds.
Civilian goods simply can't be pro
duced in the volume to maintain our
usual living standards. If all of us
compete on the market for the limit
ed supply of things offered for sale,
prices will be forced upward rapidly.
Hence we can protect ourselves
and help our country by buying
bonds to the utmost of our ability.
In later years we'll have the bonds,
and when the country again needs
civilian purchasing power, we'll have
the money.
Everybody is for price control
that does not interfere with profits.
METHODISTS FIND SUNDAY
SCHOOLS LOSING STUDENTS
Kansas City, May 4. — Although
the church has shown gains in al
most every other department, Meth
odist Sunday schoo1 enrollment has
dropped about 800,000 in the kit
decade, a report to the church's gen
eral conference disclosed yesterday.j
Bishops Paul B. Kern of Nash- j
ville, G. Bromley Oxman of Boston;
jand H. Lester Smith of Cincinnati,!
i who headed the committee preparing,
|the report, pointed out that Method-;
jist Sunday schools had 5,806,781 j
| members in 1934, but the figure had j
! dropped to 5,488,939 by 1939 and;
•to 5,040,511 by 1943, a 13.8 per cent
:loss for the ten years.
i
Nearly all Proestant churches
i from which figures were available
showed similar losses, the bishops
said. The Presbyterian church in
the U. S. A., for example, was down
19.5 per cent, and the Congreg
jtional Christian church lost 20 per
cent.
A variety of reasons have been
offered for this failure of the Sun- j
day school to hold its own, all the
way from a decline in birthrate to
too much Saturday night partying,
the bishops said. But they felt that
the rise in secularism and a corre
sponding drop in spiritual life, the
inferior quality of work in many
Sunday schools, ineffective pastoral
leadership and lack of evangelistic
zeal all contributed to the decline.
Furthermore, the bishops said, the
figures were somewhat deceiving
since much of the work formerly
done exclusively by the Sunday
school now is done by other organi
zations.
Boosting Sunday school attend
ance was one of the five objectives
of a $25,000,000 "crusaie for
Christ" adopted by the conference
today.
^/(EXHAUSTION W;
So Headache^
Don't let headache double the mis
ery of exhaustion. At the first sign
of pain take Capudine. It jrf,
quickly brings relief, soothes Afjj
nerves upset by the pain. It is jz&f
liquid—already dissolved—all f/7
ready to act—all ready tov'VH
bring comfort. Use only as di- \U
rected. 10c, 30c, 60c. f H?
CAPUDINE a
V!
So many girls know
all about
A
Have
tried its
2.Wav help •
■rr—
Give Our Soldiers
The Opportunity
To Relatives Of Persons In The Armed Forces:
Under the North Carolina Election Law all per
sons in the Armed Forces are entitled to vote in the pri
mary of May 27, 1944, and the General Election of No
vember 7, 1944, and this notice is published by the Mc
Dowell County Board of Elections for the purpose of
giving proper information to interested persons.
A person serving in the Armed Forces can vote,
provided:
1. That he or she is 21 years of age, or will be
come 21 years of age on or before the General Election
of November 7, 1944.
2. That written application for ballots is made
by the wife, husband, brother, sister, parent or child of
the voter to the County Board of Elections.
3. A soldier home on leave can vote absentee
ballots while at home by applying in person to the
Board of Elections.
Applications can be had by applying to the Elec
tion Board in the office of the Clerk of the Superior
Court, and the ballots will be mailed direct to voter.
*
The families of all service men and women, re
gardless of party affiliation, are urged to make appli
cation AT ONCE in order that our boys and girls in the
armed forces shall not lose their right to vote.
T. W. GOWAN, Chairman
McDowell County Board of Elections.