<JUje Uarren i&ztoxb
Published Every Wednesday By
Record Printing Company
P O Box 70 Warrenton. N C 27589
BIGNALL JONES. Editor
HOWARD F JONES, Business Manager
Member North Carolina Press Association
ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE POST OFFICE
IN WARRENTON. NORTH CAROLINA. UNDER THE LAWS OF CONGRESS
Second Class Postage Paid At Warrenton. N C
In Warren and
CIIPCrRIPTION RATES ^joining count,es Elsewhere
SUBSCRIPTION HA ti>. $8.00 Per Year $10.00 Per Year
$5.00 Six Months $6.00 Six Months
William K. Lanier
"None knew thee but to love thee.
Nor named thee but to praise."
The above lines by Fitz
Greene Halleck could well have
been written about William K.
"Billy" Lanier, Sr., who died at
his home here on on Tuesday af
ternoon of last week after a long
illness.
At the time of his death he was
the oldest merchant in Warren
ton, having begun work for W. A.
Miles Hardware Company when
he was a teen-ager. After 38
years he resigned from this firm
in 1959, in order to purchase
Serls Hardware Store from
Frank Serls, Jr.
Billy loved Warrenton and its
people. In an interview in 1978,
Billy told of being offered a job in
a larger town at a higher salary,
and being told by his wife that
she knew the salary was much
higher, but that she had rather
live in Warrenton.
Billy was not only a competent
hardware merchant, he was in
terested in and contributed to the
political, social and religious life
of the town. For five terms he
served as a member of the
Warrenton Board of Town
Commissioners. In the 1978 in
terview he related, that as a
member of the Warrenton Pres
byterian Church, he had filled all
the jobs of the church, including
Sunday School superintendent
and elder.
Billy was a charter member of
the Warrenton Lions club, of
which he had served as president
and manager of the Warren
County Fair. For two years he
served as president of the
Warrenton Chamber of Com
merce. For some 15 years he
served as director of the War
renton Building and Loan
Association, and served as vice
president during the presidency
of the late H. A. Moseley. For 12
years he served as supply
sergeant for the National Guaid.
For two or three years Billy
served as president of the
Warrenton Railroad Company.
He was a direct descendant of
Sydney Lanier, famous Con
federate poet, and was a Mason
and a Shriner.
Even IRS Likes Tipping
By WALTER SPEARMAN
IaTheSmtthfiek] Herald
If you ever worry about how much
to tip when you-go out to eat, stop
worrying. The IRS and The New
York Times have both just complet
ed surveys on tipping and conclude
that about 15 percent of the bill is
just right.
What business is it of the IRS? you
might ask; they know too much and
get too much already, don't they?
The IRS got onto the subject be
cause it believes waiters and
waitresses are not reporting all the
tips they get. So, during the year 1982
the IRS had 12,800 households keep
diaries of all their restaurant meals
and reached the conclusion that the
average tip was 14.3 percent of the
cost of the meal. Tips were left on
only about 30 percent of the dinings
out, since most of the eating took
place at fast-food establishments
which neither expect nor demand
tips.
The IRS believes waiters and
waitresses report only 10 to 15 per
cent of their tips—but who's to prove
it?
During 1982, Americans ate out on
14.8-billion occasions and spent $84.8
billion.
The New York Times, which
devoted the lead story in its travel
section recently to a study of tips
around the world, was a little more
highfaluting—but reached the same
conclusion: The proper tip is about
15 percent.
But betoe reaching that sane con
clusion, The Times went into a
discussion of the history of tipping
and added a literary note by
recalling that Dickens was a "hard
liner" and didn't believe in adding
any tip at all if service was includ
ed in the bill, that Balzac was a
"middle-of-the-roader" and thought
it nice to leave the waiter
"something," and that Proust was a
"softy" who overtipped generously
—especially if the waiter was hand
some or the waitress pretty.
If you really plan to tip your way
around the world, The Times re
minds you that in China all tipping is
forbidden as "a despicable
bourgeois habit" and that in Russia
tipping in dollars is "a foreign ex
change violation" and a courtesy gift
of American cigarettes, ballpoint
pens, Bic lighters, or a bar erf Swiss
chocolate is appreciated more than
rubles.
Personally, we like the 15-percent
custom provided you reserve the
right to take off 5 percent from the
waiter who spills the soup down your
white linen jacket and 5 percent off
the waitress who greets you with
"What do YOU want?" and speeds
you on your way with "Have a nice
day!"
A Chilling Thought
In The Durham Morning Herald
Henry Kissinger said the other day
that the United States must be
prepared to wage chemical warfare.
The thought is chilling. Of course,
he weakened it by saying we should
simultaneously work to ban
chemical weapons and pledge not to
use them first. Still, that first state
ment carries a lot of heavy baggage.
Two international treaties, the
Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the 1972
United Nations—sponsored Conven
tion on the Prohibition of Bacteri
ological and Toxic Weapons, tried to
deal with it Ironically, the Soviet
Union approved both treaties early
wfafle the United States did not do so
in either case until 1975, although it
had been an instigator of both. Only
after this nation's widespread use of
herbicides in Vietnam was criticism
ha«vy enough at home and abroad to
force ratification of the treaties.
• President Nixon went one step fur
ther by renouncing all methods of
1 warfare and first-use of
lethal or incapacitating chemical
agents in 1909, the same year the
United States stopped making
chemicals for war, and some of the
nation's biological warfare facilities
were dismantled.
Then came the Soviet buildup of
chemical weaponry in the late 1970s,
and, after the Russians used
chemical warfare in Afghanistan,
Congress authorized the construc
tion of a nerve gas factory at Pine
Bluff, Ark., to produce "Unary"
weapons that are relatively harm
less chemicals until mixed together.
The usual brouhaha followed, then
simmered down.
\With Ms remarks to investment
bankers meeting in Vail, Colo., the
former secretary of state has rattled
the saber again. One wonders why.
Expect to hear justifications of his
stand on the grounds that tough talk
strengthens this nation's lar* 'iter
nationally and that preparation is
the best defense.
But chemical warfare is no more
tolerable now than it ever was.
Mostly Personal
First Read, Then Visit
By BIGN ALL JONES
I read about it and
then I want to see it. It
was true in 1936 when
reading about Norris
Dam in Tennessee
caused Grace and me to
visit it on our wedding
trip, and it was true
several weeks ago on a
family visit to Rocky
Mount, I asked that we
go by Whitakers to see
the huge engine plant
which had chosen a
small Nash County town
as the site of its un
believably large plant.
The trip was taken on
a Sunday, and we could
only ride by the plant
which was too large to
photograph with a con
ventional camera. Af
terwards on that after
noon I asked my son-in
law, Pat Raiford,
several questions about
the plant. This resulted
in an invitation for
Howard and me to visit
the plant with him and
Patrick, Jr., on Wed
nesday of last week. We
accepted and Grace
decided that she would
drive to Rocky Mount
and she and Ann would
visit our daughter, Mary
Brodie and grand
daughter Elizabeth
while Howard and I and
the two Pats inspected
the plant.
When we arrived at
the plant, 31 persons,
mostly bankers, were
present for a light meal,
followed by a video tape
narrated by the
manager of the plant
and a guided tour of the
plant.
Upon arrival we were
given identity cards
bearing the name of the
plant, Consolidated
Diesel and plastic eye
glasses to be worn on the
tour, and where we were
introduced to a number
of Pat's friends, and
climbed a spiral iron
stiarcase to the room
where a variety of sand
wiches, tea and coffee
were served buffet
style.
Following the meal,
the manager told us that
the plant was a partner
ship owned by Case
Tractor Company and
Cummings Manufactur
ing Company; that the
building contained one
million and one hundred
thousand square feet;
that the operations were
computer controlled,
and the painting of the
engines was done by
robots. He said that
knowing that the world's
finest engines were
made by the English
and the Germans, that
the plant had employed
several key workers
from those two coun
tries. He said that
among the reasons
Whitakers was chosen
as the site of the plant
was North Carolina's
reputation as a state
favorahle to industry.
The manager also
pointed out that Consoli
dated Diesel was largely
an assembly plant with
the engine blocks being
cast in Tennessee, but
bored in Whitakers. Two
other parts were made
at Whitakers, he said,
but what those parts are
I do not remember.
Like all new plants,
the manager said, there
were several "bugs" to
be eliminated, but that
this had been done. The
plant now employs some
500 workers. Hiis num
ber will probably reach
a thousand within the
next two or three years,
he said. v"*
The visitors were
divided into groups of
from three to seven,
with each group gMVfrd
by an employer. These
guides answered many
questions as we
travelled corridor after
corridor and saw hun
dreds, perhaps thou
sands, of completed
engines ready to be
shipped out to points
over the nation; their
component parts, and
many of the steps taken
in their manufacture. As
an indication of the size
of the building at 7 p. m.
the manager had told us
that we could probably
complete the tour in an
hour and be out of the
building by eight
o'clock. It took our
group some 15 minutes
more.
I am not certain, but I
believe I was told the
building covered 27
acres, but of its 1.1
million square feet I am
more certain. When I
first entered the
building I was amazed
how anyone could build
a structure of its size,
with every part being
built to scale and to per
form a function. When I
left the building, some
wiser than when I en
tered it, my wonder was
who were the architect
and contractor who built
the structure, and some
what amazed at the
ability of men as build
ers.
We reached Rocky
Mount at nine o'clock
where we found all the
women watching the TV
series on George Wash
ington. My wife had
been watching part of
the series, and did not
want to leave the final
one until its end. That
seemed reasonable, but
we did not reach home
until midnight. Since I
had gotten up before six
o'clock Wednesday
morning, and walked
over the plant for an
hour or more I was
ready for bed, as were
we all.
Our visit to the plant
was a wonderful exper
ience for which I am
grateful to Pat for
remembering Howard
and me when the idea of
the tour was broached.
News Of Yesteryear «
Looking Back Into
The Warren Record
April 21,1944
Airplane Stamp 2 in War Ration Book Three may
be used for buying one pair of rationed shoes begin
ning May 1, Theodore S. Johnson, district direc
tor of the Office of Price Administration, has an
nounced.
Mr. and Mrs. G. B. Hull, Sr. of Warrenton have
been notified of the arrival of their son, Pfc. Gordon
B. Hull, Jr. in England. He left here in 1940 with the
National Guard and was trained at camps in South
Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Indiana.
Raymond Thornton and daughter, Betsy, were
guests of Mrs. John Nowell last Sunday.
April 17,1959
Mrs. J. M. Gunter of Warrenton was first prize
winner in a drawing for door prizes Saturday after
noon as a part of the exercises held at Pittard Motor
Service's formal opening on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday of last week.
The driver education program, established in the
John Graham High School here for several weeks,
received a boost on Tuesday when A. C. Blalock,
manager of Boyd-Boyce Motor Company, handed
over the keys to a 1959 Ford to B. L. King who
teaches the course at the school.
Miss Juamta King of Raleigh and her roommate,
Miss Sybil Malpass of Mount Olive, were week
end guests of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. King and family.
April 18,1974
A proposal by the City of Henderson to locate a
sewage treatment plant within the boundaries of
Warren County has ignited opposition among
Warren residents of Sandy Creek Township, where
the plant may be built, and has drawn unfavorable
public reaction from two government officials.
Warrenton Baptist Church on North Main Street
will celebrate its 125th anniversary on Sunday,
April 21.
Mrs. Sarah Stamm was honored on her 65th birth
day at her home near Macon at an open house
Saturday afternoon by her daughters.
Letters To The Editor
Citizens Thanked
To The Editor:
Many of our citizens were unable to attend the
groundbreaking ceremony of our new industry,
Owens-Illinois, recently because they were
working. Therefore, I wish to take this opportunity
to share with them information about the company
and to express our sincere appreciation to them, as
citizens, for their support and enthusiasm.
Recruiting industry is a long and involved process
requiring the cooperation and assistance of many
groups and individuals. Warren County has had out
standing assistance at all levels of government star
ting with Governor Hunt, who gave both his time
and leadership; staff persons in the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Natural Resources
and Community Development, the Division of
Community Colleges, the Employment Security
Commission; and our local Industrial Commission.
While we are very appreciative for assistance from
those individuals, our citizens are also to be com
mended for their confidence, assistance, and spirit
of cooperation because these were important fac
tors in recruiting this industry. These attributes will
continue to be important to retain industry and to
continue our economic development.
We officially welcome Owens-Illinois to the land
and to the people of Warren County. They join the
fine family of existing industry and business who
have already demonstrated their support for the
County.
Owens-Illinois is a very progressive company
with an excellent reputation for good wages and
equal opportunity. Just as important is the fact that
this industrial operation is said to be environ
mentally clean. Because they chose Warren County
for the location of this highly skilled operation, our
citizens should have renewed confidence in our
county and the possibility of increased job oppor
tunities.
The quality of life in a community depends first on
the positive attitude of its citizens. Hopefully,
Warren County will continue to move forward with
renewed confidence in the area of economic
development as well as other areas.
EVAM. CLAYTON
Chairperson, Warren County
y Board of Commissioners
What Can We Do?
To The Editor:
A pertinent question is "What can the people in
this area do to prevent further reduction of the ser
vices provided by Soul City's HealthCo, Inc.?
We hear that the Home Health Care Service has
been terminated, with its excellent staff.
There is concern. It is felt that all of the services
at HealthCo have been invaluable.
Everyday the crowded benches in the HealthCo
waiting room verify this feeling.
People return over and over again because they
are satisfied with services rendered.
It is felt that all of HealthCo's excellent medical
staff should be retained.
The podiatrist (foot doctor) has been a blessing to
many worn, abused feet.
There is hope that the need for an opthamologist
will also be met.
Additional medical doctors would alleviate many
hours of waiting.
The vital need for the continuation of all of the
services provided by Soul City's HealthCo, Inc.
cannot be reiterated too often.
ELVIRA J. KIRKLAND
Soul City resident
Applications Sought
Applications for John Graham Middle
School's Summer Computer Workshop pro
gram are now being accepted. Space is still
available in both of the two sessions. Informa
tion and applications may be obtained from
any of the county's six elementary schools,
two middle schools, the Central Office on
Cousin Lucy's Lane in Warrenton, and the
Warren County Memorial Library. For ad
ditional information, call 257-3751.
i
WHY IS IT?
A man wakes up in the morning after sleeping on an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas. He will bathe in an advertised tub, wash with advertised soap, shave with an
advertised razor, have a breakfast of advertised juice, cereal and toast (toasted in an ad
vertised toaster), put on-advertised clothes and glance at his advertised watch. He will
ride to work in his advertised car, sit at an advertised desk, smoke advertised cigarettes
and write with an advertised pen. Yet this man hesitates to advertise, saying that adver
tising does not pay. Finally, when his unadvertised business goes under, he wlH advertise
it for sale. But then it's too late!
Qtye barren lecorb