PAGE FOUR
The Skyland Post
Published Every Thursday By
SKYLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY
West Jefferson, N. C.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1942
Entered as Second-Class Matter at
the Post Office, West Jefferson, N. C.
ED M. ANDERSON Editor-Publisher
MRS. ED ANDERSON Ass’t. Editor
JOHN F. REEVES Ass’t Publisher
SUBSCRIPTION RATES PER YEAR
In Ashe—sl.so Outside Ashe—s2.oo
The Post is glad to publish letters, not too
long, on matters of general interest.. But
such communications must be accorap
by the n«ne of the writer, even when
they are to be published under a nom de
plume.
“If the choice were left to me whether to
have a free press or a free government, i
would choose a free press.”—Thomas Jeffer
son.
i r—7
/'North Carolina vA.
ZPBESS
And National Editorial Association
On The Offense!
After over four months since Pearl
Harbor . . . four months of defeat . . . four
months of camp training and war produc
tion . . . four months of anxious waiting
all America was highly elated with the
good news from Japan last Saturday that
high-flying allied planes had heavily
bombed and did considerable damage to
four Jap cities, including Tokyo, the
world’s third largest city and the nerve
center of Japanese aggression in the Paci
fic.
That was indeed “sweet revenge” and,
best of all, it proves that America is a
bout ready to take the offensive, not only
against Japan, but also against Germany.
We are at last taking possession of the
air and this unexpected blow on the home
land of the Japanese Empire will natural
ly cause a great deal of anxiety on the
Yellow home front and probably halt the
vast spreading of her war machine over
the entire Pacific.
Across the Atlantic, it is also appar
ent that England and the United States,
as well as Germany, are planning to open
up a big offensive. Os course, Germany
plans to deal a death-blow to Russia, while
the Allies plan to weaken the pressure on
the Reds by opening up an offensive a
gainst Germany on some unknown front.
It seems obvious to us that this is the
only thing to do. We must prevent Hitler
from marching through Russia and India
and joining hands with Japan. If that
should happen, the war might last ten
years, but if we can “hold Hitler” this sum
mer and gradually weaken and prevent
him from getting vast areas of important
resourses, then the war might end within
a year or eighteen months’ time.
Therefore, the next few months are
significant months in world history.
QQO
Big Government
The Census Bureau has discovered that
4,800,000 Americans work for some sort of
government agency, whether Federal,
state or local. This means that one em
ployed person out of every twelve is on
the public payroll while the other eleven,
more or less, contribute eight cents out of
every dollar they earn for government
salaries alone.
Government truly is a big business. It
is so big that, like agriculture, mining,
transportation and other divisions of the
national economy, it is a most affluent
source of income. In 1940, for example,
government produced one-seventh of the
national income, ranking second only to
manufacturing.
The dollar-growth of government is so
spacious that it is worthy of further illus
tration. According to the Department of
Commerce “Survey of Current Business”
government produced 4.7 billions of the
national income in 1919 while manufactur
ing accounted for 17.3 billions; agriculture,
11.1; trade, 11.2 and transportation, 5.8.
But in 1940 government’s share was 10.2
billions; manufacturing, 19.2; agriculture
only 6; trade, 10.1 and transportation but
5.3.
Government salaries, of course, do not
represent any but a minor portion of the
public outlay for government. How, in the
end, it will allbe paid for, goodness knows.
Perhaps we can all take in one another’s
washing—and tax it.
—The Asheville Citizen
oOo
Name For The War
Do you have a name for World War
II?
At the request of President Roosevelt,
who explained that he did not particular
ly like “World War II”, a large number
of names have been submitted to the White
House for the global conflict that is now
being waged on nearly all waters and ev
ery strip of land on this globe and in the
air.
After examination of these sugges
tions, “War of Survival” or “Survival War”
has been tentatively selected as being the
most apt title. Names used in this coun
try to describe World War I included a
“war to end wars” and a “war to make the
world safe for Democracy”.
Those titles have stuck in the history
books, but we doubt seriously if “Survival
War” will stick this time. As a matter of
fact, all wars are wars of survival of one
thing or another. The thing that counts
most is “survival of what?”
The outcome of this war will deter
mine whether freedom or slavery shall
survive; whether Democracy or Dictator
ship shall prevail as a system of govern
ment; whether the ideals of man and the
principles of Christianity or greed, sel
fishness and paganism shall dominate the
earth.
Unquestionably those are the major
issues at stake. They are very much the
same issues that were involved in the first
World War and it will be virtually impossi
ble to prevent this struggle from being de
scribed by historians as World War 11, be
cause it is largely a continuation of that
war.
In this connection, Dr. Archibald Hen
derson, noted educator at the University
of North Carolina, has suggested a name,
“War for Independence”, and has written
a twelve-point declaration that is com
manding widespread attention. A digest
of this declaration appears elsewhere in
this issue.
All readers of this newspaper who
have other names to suggest are invited
to send them to us and they will be re
printed, and a prize awarded to the person
submitting a name that is chosen by our
judges.
What name would you give the present
conflict? Send us one today.
oOo
Blackout On Worship
“A Mighty Fortress is Our God ... on
earth is not His equal.”
Thus sang thousands of Norwegians
when barred from their house of worship
by Nazi police because they refused to at
tend a service at which a pro-Nazi minis
ter was to speak, yet turned out en masse
to their cathedral for regular services.
The barring of the reverant Norwegians
from worshiping God in their own choos
ing drew a protest from Bishop Eivand
Berggrav, primate of the Church of Nor
way, which includes 97 per cent of the
country’s population. This protest caused
the good Bishop to be placed in a concen
tration camp.
When 1,100 of Norway’s clergymen
left their pulpits, the traitorous Quisling,
Hitler’s “minister-president”, set a dead
line for their return, which the ministers
ignored. Several were arrested.
When Quisling authorized laymen to
preach, few responded. Now more than
1,000 Norwegian churches are empty,
thanks to Hitler and his stooge, Quisling.
Hitler thinks strong-arm methods will
accomplish all he sets out to do, but he has
overstepped his bounds this time. He can
not make a conquered peoples worship as
he would see fit.
oOo
Despicable Mussolini
The pompous Mussolini may still strut,
but nevertheless, his pomp is gone.
The man who imagined himself as a
“partner” in the axis land seizures, now
finds himself stripped of his last undisput
ed personal authority. His orders relating
to internal affairs have first to be approved
by a Nazi liaison officer who has a special
ly guarded office adjoining the Duce’s.
Il Duce, who also visionized himself
as a great and popular leader in the coun
try that knew such greats as Julius Caesar,
is now so dispised by most Italians until
word comes from there that it has become
common practice fdr Italians to expector
ate on case floors and sidewalks whenever
Mussolini’s name is mentioned.
THE SKYLAND POST, WEST JEFFERSON, N. C.
M SOLDIERING IJj
H _ WITH jg
PVT. RAY LOWERY |g|
THE LOST CAPTAIN
On board the troop train en
route to their replacement train
ing center—still undisclosed—
seventeen selective service re
cruits settled down into the soft,
plush-bottomed pullman chairs
and watched the Fort Bragg post
gradually disappear from view.
Magazines were passed out to each
soldier, but most of them were
back numbers and quickly tossed
aside.
Before long, the men became
acquainted with each other, con
versations began, and a rather
revealing discovery was made.
Each of the seventeen had been
recommended for service in the
quartermaster corps. All were
from North Carolina, and as the
respective home towns of each
were mentioned, that old game of
“Do you know so-in-so?” soon
held sway.
One youth from Charlotte and
another from Taylorsville, both
of whom had attended State col
lege, started a poker game in the
rear of the car. Another group
exchanged jokes. The rest got
together and discussed their “fu
tures.”
Destination Revealed
While still speeding across
South Carolina, and shortly before
the porter had fixed our berths,
our destination was no longer a
military secret. Or if it was, the
news had leaked out.
It seemed that some fellow had
looked over the shoulder of the
captain who was in charge of our
unit, and on a paper containing
our names, Camp Forrest, Tenn.,
was written across the top.
What a surprise that was! O~e
by one, we’d guessed nearly ev
ery army post in the deep south.
But Camp Forrest? We’d never
heard of it.
Morning found us in Atlanta,
Ga., where we breakfasted and
were permitted to visit around
town until 11 o’clock. I called
up a boy whom I used to know
at Chapel Hill, who is now with
the Associated Press, and asked
him if he would like to see me in
my uniform. He said: “Nope. I
guess not. If you’ve seen one
you’ve seen ’em all.”
All men were back at the rail
road station well before 11 o’clock
and learned that their buddies
were being sent to Camp Shelby,
Miss. We, the stalwart 17, a
gain boarded our original car.
Or Was It?
When the train chugged out of
Atlanta, most of us figured that
we would be in Tennessee in
practically no time at all. But
no such luck. We dipped down
into Alabama, and were so long
getting out, I began to wonder if
all that talk about Camp Forrest
wasn’t just another “soldier’s ru
mor.”
Not until the train had pulled
into Chattanooga was I fully con
vinced that Tennessee would be
our home for a while. Even the
little captain finally broke down
and confessed that Camp Forrest
was our destination. We were
dismayed, though, when he ad
mitted knowing absolutely noth
ing about the camp.
The train pulled into Tulla
homa, Tenn., late that afternoon.
A couple of army trucks were
waiting to transport us to our
new quarters. Our captain climb
ed into the front of one of the
trucks with the intention, appar
ently, of directing the drivers to
our particular regiment.
Two miles out of Tullahoma
we entered Gate No. 1 at Camp
Forrest, were checked by the
military police, and permitted to
proceed on our way. First, we
stopped at a tank destroyer regi
ment, but the captain soon dis
covered his mistake and we mov
ed on. Next stop was at the 108th
medical regiment, but that very
definitely 'wasn’t for us, and so
we again pushed on.
Lost: One Captarn
The third and most bitter stop
of all was at the 33rd division
headquarters. There we piled
out of the trucks, snapped to at
tention in a nonchalant sort of
way, and awaited further instruc
tions.
“Wait here,” the captain said.
“I’ve got to go back to Tullahoma,
and I’ll be back here in a few
minutes.”
With that he climbed into a
jeep and headed out of camp,
leaving us standing in one of the
coldest winds ever to penetrate
a rookie’s OD uniform.
Then the waiting began. We
waited a half hour. Then we|
waited an hour. Finally, we had j
waited, altogether, a hour and a
half. Still no captain.
Hundreds of men piled into
the division mess halls, ate their
evening meals, and returned to
their barracks. Our little group
was so hungry, any one of us
could have eaten a real live
horse and felt none the worse. It
was getting dark and colder, and
for a few bunks on which to
catch a little shut-eye, we would
gladly have volunteered, en masse,
for the parachute battalion.
We Eat
If a young lieutenant had not
let his curosity get the best of
him, if he had not grown weary
of watching us shiver out his of
fice window, I sometimes wonder
just what would have happened
to us eventually. This young of
ficer listened to our predicament
like a mother. He knew nothing
about the outfit which expected
us, and a phone call to the colon
el’s office did not enlighten him,
but he ushered us across the
street to one of the mess halls
for the best meal we had had
since our induction into the ar
my.
After mess—what a meal that
was!—our good Samaritan in
formed us that the 129th infan
try was expected 1,500 new men.
“That,” he said, “must be your
outfit.”
Well! We were already feeling
pretty low, but when we heard
that we were going to be put into
the blankety-blank infantry—
well, that was the last straw!
One man voiced the sentiments
of all when he protested thus:
“Sir, you’ve got us all wrong.
We’re supposed to go to the
quartermaster corps.”
“That may be,” he said, “but
you’ll spend tonight with the in
fantry.”
Spend the night with the infan -
try? Ha! Like the man who
; came to dinner and stayed two
1 months. Our little group has
been in the infantry nearly two
i months now. If we get out in
i three years and six months, the
: chances are the war will be over.
I But if it isn’t hoping for too
1 much, sometime we’d like to find
I out what actually did happen to
! that little Fort Bragg captain.
i
I (This is the fourth of a series
of articles on the army life by
Ray Lcwery, former editor of
The News, who is now a private
in the United States army and
stationed at Camp Forrest, Tenn.)
At The Hospital
The following patients are now
at the Ashe county memorial
hospital:
Dennis Scott, treatment for se
vere burns, Todd; Grant Miller,
treatment for fracture, Clifton:
Mrs. A. E. Parsons, treatment pa
tient, Mouth of Wilson; Miss Les
lie Greyer, treatment, Sturgills;
Mrs. Walter Wood, treatment,
Baldwin; John Reeves, operative,
West Jefferson; Mrs, Carson
Thompson, treatment, Lansing;
Mrs. Ivan Miller, treatment, West
Jefferson; Mrs. Gretcher How
land and daughter, Crumpler;
Mrs. Berdie Hurley, treatment,
Tuckerdale.
The following patients have
been dismissed during the past
few days:
Doris Venable, operative pa
tient, Jefferson; Agnes Barker,
operative, Jefferson; Mrs. William
Terry and baby, West Jefferson;
Mrs. John Combs, treatment,
Jefferson; Mrs. Ira Calhoon,
treatment, Lansing and Mrs. Ma
mie Hunter, treatment, Warrens- 1
ville.
COLORED PEOPLE GIVE TO
LANSING CHURCH MANSE
By The Pastor
The colored people of Lansing
rendered special music at the
Lansing Presbyterian Church last
Sunday. They came in a body and
sat in the choir loft. We feel that
these friends are a part of our
Church, and we appreciate their
interest and prayers. An interest
ing feature of this visit was the
contribution that these singers
made. After the singing they made
a nice contribution to the manse
building fund. We greatly appre
ciate this gift. Every Sunday aft
ernoon Mr. Wayne Blevins teaches
a Sunday School class for the
colored people, and it is well at
tended.
THREE TRIED BY MA YOR
There were no cases for trial
in the mayor’s court here Mon
day, but on the previous Monday, ]
the following were tried: John)
Breece, Helton, fined SSO and
cost for drunk driving; Wiley
Church, Obids, $5 and cost for
public drunken ess and Bradley
Howell, of Baldwin, $5 and cost
for the same offense.
MAKING FINAL PLANS
FOR SUGAR RATIONING
(Continued from Page One)
them information on inventories
on hand, average shipments or
sugar received and the amount of
sales during 1941.
Details concerning consumer
registration will be announced in
next week’s issue of this paper.!
ThFHost Important Victory for U.S.
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SPIRITUAL DEFENCE
MESSAGE
By J. W. Luke
These messages are for the
comfort and strength of the peo
; pie of Ashe County, written by
the ministers on the Spiritual De
f sense Committee. Look for them
every week.
A SPECIAL MESSAGE TO
MOTHERS
Those who will suffer most in
this war are perhaps the mothers
, and even the fathers of our boys
in the ranks. To them, I dedicate
I this little message. I have found
. [ some mothers of boys in the ser
! vice are very calm about it. I
.! know of one mother whom I talk
,' with every week. She has three
t j boys in the army and navy. She
. is calm and not afraid. Other
> mothers worry much. There is
l no use to borrow worry until
, something happens. Army and
Navy life is not as half as bad as
> | some may think. The men in the
[ service have the best of care.
, Let me try to give you a little
spiritual message and advice.
Read the 91st Psalm over, and
; read it over again and again.
r , Read it before you go to bed at
f eight. Kneel when you are wor-
> ried about your boy, and open
I your Bible and read it before you
I and God. In this Psalm, you will
| find it says:
“A thousand shall fall at thy
pide, and ten thousand at thy
right hand; but it shall not come
' nigh thee.” Ps. 91:7.
“I will say of the Lord, He is
my refuge and my fortress: my
■ God; in Him will I trust.” Ps. 91:2.
In a little Christian paper call
ed “The Beacon” I found this lit
tle appropriate poem and it gives
1 you, Mothers, just the message I
would like to say to you.
“IN HIS KEEPING”
By Nell Crawford Flahart
(Mother of a soldier serving
“Somewhere”)
Danger lurks about, above them,
’Neath them, as they sail the
deep. ■>'
Soldier-laden transport creep!
“GRANDFATHERS” WILL
REGISTER NEXT MON.
(Continued from Page One)
! vel* and Gov. Broughton, are all
male citizens of the United States
and North Carolina, who were
bom on or after Aoril 28, 1877
and on or before February 16,
1897, and who have heretofore
not been registered under the Se-
Ictive Service Act.
It is estimated that there will
be around 1.600 to register this
I time, thus bringing the total re-
I gistration to around 5,000, as 3,-
500 are now registered.
It is also pointed out that tjiose
registering Monday will not be
required to service in active mili
tary duty, but will no doubt be
used in various inactive, non
combat places and in defense in
dustry work.
WILL HOLD BLACKOUT
IN ASHE FRI. NIGHT
(Continued from Page One)
as and the two funeral homes will
cover their respective territories.
The signal denoting the end of a
blackout is straight two min
utes sound of whistle or siren.
TURN OFF LIGHTS
Other rules and suggestions of
fered by the committee are:
It is suggested that in each
town, some one be stationed at a
concealed light to receive the all
clear signal and flashes and to no
tify others. This applies especial
ly to Warrensville and Lansing.
No one is supposed to use any
telephone during the blackout
unless in case of emergency. *
All lights are to be turned off
when the blackout signal is
heard.
All persons who ordinarily
leave their lights on when leaving
their places of business will on
Friday night, put out their lights
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1942
■ Sailing with this mighty trans-
I port,
O’er a wide and trackless ocean,
Is my son so brave, so true!
Is he “kept” from lurking peril
As he sails the ocean blue?
When he lands to battle march
ing
Enemies will then surround;
Can there real, assuring promise
In God’s mighty WORD be
found?
Deadly “subs” beneath the sur
face
Stalk this convoy day and
night
I God gives mothers wondrous
promise,
“’NEATH ARE ‘LASTING
ARMS OF MIGHT.”
Deut. 33:27
Bombing planes may circle o’er
him,
I Raining death from jungle
1 skies
“UNDER WINGS OF LOVE”
HE’S HIDDEN,
There eternal safety lies.
Ps. 91:4
As he faces foe so treach’rous
(See! They come wave after
wave!)
And my loved sori is surrounded—
Is there aught that now can
save?
I
Here I find God’s wondrous pro
mise
Cov’ring e’en this direst need,
“THO’ A THOUSAND FALL BE
SIDE THEE,
From this peril thou art free.”
Ps. 91:7
So as dangers swarm about him,
’Neath him, o’er him, none dare
harm!
For he’s sheltered by God’s pro
mise j
Need his mother feel alarm?
Mothers, do not stay around
the house and worry. Put your
hands and mind to work for your
God and beloved country. Do
not pine yourself to death, go to
church, read your Bible, pray and
commit your boy to God’s pro
mises. This, dear Mothers, is the
only way to ease those loving
hearts of yours as well as to re
ceive God’s promise for your be
loved sons.
' before leaving, unless they can
I return promptly and put them
out
The traveling public is request
ed to co-operate voluntarily with
the blackout by avoiding all trav- v
el during the period of the black
out and as far as convenient, be
tween the hours of 9 and 11 o’-
clock, p. m.
SPECIAL OFFICERS
Under the direction of the sher
iff’s office and Patrolman Thom
as and the town police forces,
special officers, including civilian
volunteers with special authority,
will be stationed at the crossroads
of main travelled highways and
approaches to the towns with au
thority to stop motorists and en
force the blackout of all automo
bile lights. This applies to all
motor vehicles, except regular
operated buses, which are exempt.
The special officers will have
white arm bands or insignia for
the purpose of identification.
BLOW CAR HORNS
To spread the news of the
blackout in rural communities, it
is suggested that all persons who
| hear sirens or horns to signal oth
ers by blowing their horns, by
ringing school or church bells.
It is not sufficient to pull down
shades, as lights might leak out.
Therefore, everyone is asked to
turn out lights and to co-operate
to the fullest extent.
The public is requested to
spread the news throughout the
county as this test blackout is a
highly important maneuver, es
sential to civilian defense and
was ordered by the war depart
ment.
Kapok, tropical floss used in
life-preservers, pillows, and heat
insulating covers, <sn have its
war losses partly made good by
substitution of milkweed down,
a similar substance.