Page Two
NOT FAIR TO THE FARMERS
Returning from Wendell during Tuesday’s heaviest
rain, we decided to follow the dirt road south of the rock
quarry to Zebulon, byway of Maupass Bridge. Object:
To see for ourselves the condition of that particular road
during inclement weather.
Confidentially, it was terrible. No blame is attached to
the highway crews who labor —efficiently, we think, and so
do most of the farmers we have talked to lately—to keep
dirt roads in shape; bad weather simply tears the road to
pieces, and it stays in pieces until it can be graded by a
machine.
Other local roads, such as the Hopkins Chapel and old
Raleigh roads, present the same difficulties to transit in
time of snow and rain. Assuming that the State Highway
and Public Works Commission is surfacing these secondary
roads as rapidly as possible, there seems to be nothing to do
except wait.
The only question remaining in the minds of most of us
from rural areas is whether it is fair for vehicles owned
by farmers liv-ing on these roads to have to pass the same
mechanical tests as vehicles owned by city dwellers. Even
if a car is in shape to pass the examination, the beating
it takes on the way home from the state inspection lane may
very well reduce it to its former unfitness for use on the
highways of North Carolina—according to the North Caro
lina Legislature of 1947.
In effect the Legislature has failed its main purpose in
enacting this measure, that of keeping improperly main
tained vehicles off the highway; it is the opinion of local
automobile mechanics that brakes will not stay properly set
for longer than one week on unpaved roads such as ours.
Certainly some restrictive measure is necessary to pre
vent our highways from being overrun with brakeless
vehicles with improper lights, but some concession should
be made to people who live on dirt roads.
STEEL UP, FARM PRICES DOWN
The day that steel rose $4.25 a ton, hogs dropped an
other 25 cents a hundred. The steelmaker’s dollar grew
larger, while the farmer’s dollar grew smaller.
It is of little immediate financial concern to the farmer
whether the mill owner or the steelworker gets the extra
$4.25 a ton for the steel. What is of concern is the fact
the farmer will have to pay more for his nails, his plows,
his cultivators, his tractor. And this must be done with less
money, no matter what his chief crop is, because all farm
commodities have dropped sharply in the last few weeks.
It is high time the Truman Administration started
spending less time thinking about our southern social life
and more time thinking about our economic life. If another
project of the administration—the Marshall Plan —is to suc
ceed, our system must suffer no further dislocations such
as a price rise in steel and a price drop in farm commodi
ties.
WE WILL MEET OUR QUOTA
The 1948 Red Cross Campaign for funds in Zebulon
will be a success, with the quota of $725 being attained
and surpassed, if early efforts are criteria by which to
judge. Vance Brown, for example, in his canvass of the
business district, collected personally nearly half of the
local quota, and other workers on Chairman Ralph Talton’s
staff are laboring with equal enthusiasm.
People of devastated areas who receive aid from the
Red Cross will be grateful for our contributions, and there
are many of us who were helped during the war by
the organization—we are grateful to our neighbors for
their help.
We remember the Red Cross camp we visited after a
year of being shot at every day, and bombed every night.
We remember the Red Cross gifts when we spent Christ
mas in an Espiritu Santo hospital. We remember the
lunches the Red Cross made for long, dreary tactical air
missions. And after the war we remember the starving
Filipinos who blessed America for the Red Cross help
given their starving children.
Yes, the Red Cross campaign in Zebulon will continue
to be a success long after it is completed, when we think
of the vast good our dollars and dimes are doing.
The Zebulon Record
Ferd Davis Editor
Barrie Davis Publisher
Entered as second class matter June 26, 1925, at the post office
at Zebulon, North Carolina, under the act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription rate: $1.50 a year. Advertising rates on request
The Zebulon Record
By Mrs. Theo. B. Davis
It is astonishing to look around
and remember how short a time
has passed since everything out
doors was frozen stiff and cov
ered with snow. When the snow
melted there were hundreds of
pointed buds of daffodils left sit
ting baldheaded and pale. They
speedily began to expand, and on
Saturday morning I picked the
first blossom from our yard. By
Sunday morning there were more
than two dozen open. The yel
low jessamine that lost its first
blooms to the freeze has come
again and the winter honeysuckle
we call first breath o’ spring is
perfuming the air with its small
white flowers. Flowering quince
is glowing redly, though, like the
jessamine and honeysuckle, it
has no green leaves yet. Spring is
almost here; but whisper it, or
winter might hear and turn back
to give battle.
This is the fourth leap year
since this column first appeared.
Sixteen years ago I published in
it a list of bachelors of this com
munity. I still enjoy remember
ing that Mr. Guy Massey helped
me compile the list and how he
came in chuckling one afternoon
and told me to put the name of his
son, G. C., Jr., with the others.
When I said that G. C. might be
With the Democratic primary
rapidly approching, conversation
centers more and more of the po
litical races that are developing
in our county and state. It is
interesting to walk about and
question friends about their
choice of candidates for various
offices. The answers are some
times other than definite. For ex
ample:
Monday I asked a friend of mine
who he thought would be our
next governor. He meditated a
minute and thoughtfully answer
ed: “I think he’ll make a good
one.”
’‘Who will?” I asked. “Do you
mean you’re going to vote for
Scott, or Johnson, or Albright, or
Barker, or whom?”
He thought a bit longer and
then answered, “Well, yes.”
“Yes, what?” I asked, slightly
confused.
“Yes, I think you’re right,” he
replied, and then walked off to
ward the drug store before I
could say anything else.
That’s just about as close as
I have gotten anyone to definite
ly commit themselves. Seems
like most people are satisfied to
sit around a while and keep their
By Ruth Current
State Home Demonstration Agent
See your house as others see it.
Try looking at the back, front,
and sides of your house from the
outside and see what others see.
Do the windowshades and cur
tains need straightening? Are the
grounds neat? Next, enter the
front door as if you were a strang
er and take a quick but all-in
clusive glance around. Thus in
actually seeing your house as
others see it, you may at the
same time note some changes
This, That and the Other
Around the Town
Farm Home Hints
too young to be counted, Mr. Mas
sey replied “Oh, he thinks he is a
grown man. Put him in.”
Unless my statistics are wrong,
G. C. is the only living man on
that list who has not married. Mr.
Jesse Kilpatrick died a bachelor.
But would you believe that of
all those marriages not a bride
ever said one word of thanks to
This, That and the Other?
It seems that Catholics are do
ing more than others in empha
sizing their censorship of moving
pictures. The latest American
Legion Magazine has an article in
which the writer tells of a priest
standing near the door of a thea
ter taking down names of those
he knew who were going in to
see Forever Amber —and I thor
oughly agree with their disappro
val of showing this book on
the screen. The priest’s action
must have brought results, for
only sixteen dollars’ worth of
tickets were sold that night.
Just at the time I find myself
more interested in Hawaii’s plea
for statehood than any other gov
ernmental matter. For so long
this territory has wanted to be
one of the United States and has
been thought by our Congress un
ready for that privilege. I am
wondering how we shall feel if
Hawaii does this year become the
opinions to themselves and avoid
a lot of arguments.
I knew one candidate who
thought the best way into office
was to offend no one. So he de
cided to take no sides, avoid all
controversies, and generally keep
as quiet as possible, depending
on his Pepsodent smile and Ivory
handshake to win the election.
“I’ll meet the issues as they arise,”
he proudly announced. So far
the only issues he has met have
been the latest issues of Esquire
when it appears on the news
stand. And he didn’t get elect
ed.
Heard at Raleigh the other
night: a statesman wants to do
everything he can for his country;
a politician wants his country to
do everything it can for him.
Willie B. Hopkins quoted Pou
Bailey as saying that an excellent
rule for conduct is the following:
Before doing anything ask your
self these two questions, “How
will it affect me?” and “How will
it affect my neighbor?” Willie
B. says this world would sure be
a lot better place if everybody
would just do that.
The Red Cross Drive is now in
which you, seeing through their
eyes, will want to make.
Shoe pockets, when hung on the
inside of a cleaning closet door,
provid a useful container for
many small articles such as dust
cloths, whiskbrooms, and clothes
brushes.
To prevent chipping china a
rubber mat placed on the drain
board of the sink will act as a
china protector.
Nails and screws can readily
Friday, March 5, 1948
forty-ninth state; for we have
persisted in regarding it as for
eign soil. At least, that goes for
us who have not been there.
Should we have the new state it
will mean two senators and two
representatives from Hawaii in
Congress; and I am not quite
sure how much added responsi
bility. I know the stars on the
flag will need rearranging; but
seven times seven will look most
symmetrical.
When do you suppose Alaska
will expect to become a state?
As political pots in this state
begin to go from simmering to a
bubbling boil I find it all more
and more puzzling. How in the
world does a candidate or a
would-be candidate have any def
inite idea of whether he will come
out ahead? That would be hard
enough for me to judge, if we had
two strong parties instead of one
too much in the lead to pay much
attention to the other. And with
nearly all the hue and cry in the
Democratic ranks the situation is
confused beyond my understand
ing. Although knowing fairly
well how my own vote will be
cast, I shall have little notion
of what the majority wants un
til election returns are made pub
lic. Which helps to prove me
no politician nor the daughter of
one.
full swing, with volunteer work
ers giving their time and effort
toward collecting money for +he
wonderful work Red Cross is do
ing all over the world. Thinking
of Red Cross reminds me of the
Red Cross girl who would drive
65 miles up from Foggia to deliv
er doughnuts to us as we return
ed from a mission over Austria.
Still in our flying clothes, we
would wolf down the doughnuts
and scald our throats with blgck
coffee. Both the doughnuts and
coffee were delicious, but what
we really appreciated was a
chance to look at a real honest
to-goodness American girl! Af
ter we had disposed of all there
was to eat, the Red Cross girl
would pack up the cups and boxes
and bounce back to Foggia. Your
contributions to the Red Cross
made it possible for weary flyers
to find a bit of brightness after
a grueling mission. Your con
tributions made the plight of
wrecked families easier. Your
money is helping the victims of
tornadoes and floods. The work
of the Red Cross must go on. It’s
your money and my money that
makes it possible, so dig, brother,
and let’s keep it going.
—Barrie S. Davis
be seen and found if stored in
glass jars. Small boxes equip
ped with divisions are splendid
also for separating different sized
nails and screws.
A shopping bag hung on a hook
in the pantry may be used as a
container for folded pieces of
wrapping paper, paper bags, balls
of twine, and a pair of scissors.
e contents of such a bag more
over, are surprisingly useful if
placed couveniently at hand.
(Continued on Page 6)