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VOUJME 24. NO. 36.
. Souihern Pines, North Carolina. Friday, August 4, 1944.
TEN CENTS
Town of Robbins Tax Rate Is Cut in
Half, Bringing It to Only Fifty Cents
Reduction Is Made Pos-*
sible By Generosity of
the Robjsins Cloth Mills
Commissioners of the Town of
Robbins advised today that on ac
count of the generosity of the Rob
bins Cloth Mills, they had been able
to cut the 1944-1945 tax rate in half,
from $1.00 to 50c.
The reduction was made possible
several months ago, when the mill
gave the town $26,000 worth of the
water and sewer bonds. To buy
them, the mill had to pay a prem
ium of $520.00. Thus, the town’s
bonded indebtedness was cut from
$99,000 to $73,000. The bonds re
tired in this way were those of ear
liest maturity; therefore, as things
now stand, the town has no pay
ments at all due on its bonds until
1950.
Nor is this all. Interest payments
on the bonds fall due in April and
October- On due date last April the
mill presented the town commis
sioners with $1,460 in bond coupons
marked “paid in full”. Furthermore,
assurance was forthc<jming that Oct
ober’s interest charges would be can
celed likewise.
In view of the foregoing facts.
Mayor W. P. Saunders and the com
missioners found the present $1.00
levy unnecessarily high, and reduc
ed it to 50 cents. This reduction,
coming as it does on the heels of
the previous year’s cut from $1.50
to $1.00, points up a situatioii of good
fortune and good management al
most unparalleled in municipal his
tory. So it is that the new budget
just adopted calls for a new low
Now and Then
BY A. S. NEWCOMB
figure of only $13,362, and not a
cent for either bond principal or
interest.
SUMMER GOLF
Jack Carter is the lone survivor
from Southern Pines in the semi
final of the Moore County Amateur
Golf Championship. Carter defeated
Carlos Fry of Carthage 3 and 2 in
the quarter-finals, which were com
pleted Wednesday.
In the semifinal Carter will play
Capt. C. B. Wallace, Jr., the tourna
ment medalist. The other winners
in the quarter-finals were Frank Mc-
Caskill of Pinehurst and W. J- Wood
ward of Robbins and they will meet
m the lower bracket semifinal. Mc-
Caskill beat Ollie Adcox 1 up and
Woodward beat Chester Williams 1
up.
In the second division I. B. Harris
of Southern Pines was defeated by
William Fitzgibbon of Pinehurst.
The subject of this week’s disserta
tion is North Carolina. In my opinion,
the three best states to live in (if
there can be three best of anything)
are the state of connubial bliss, the
state of contentment, and the State
of N. C.
Having lived in all three and hav
ing devoted this space to the other
two, I now begin a preliminary dis
cussion of this Old North State, with
dissentions interspersed to grease
the wheels of thought, hoping there
by to make them slide over the dry
and rough places 'where without
such lubrication they would prob
ably bog down in a morass of figures
and statistics.
North Carolina is a big state, 27th
in size in the Union. It would make
3 Delawares or 5 Rhode Island^, and
. . Oo-oo, that strikes a respon
sive chord that starts me off on a
tangent right at the beginning. When
Teddy Roosevelt was Police Com
missioner of New York, he started
a wave of anti-spitting ordinances
that backwashed all over the coun
try. While it was at its height, I
heard Ezra Kendall, the Will Rogers
of my youth, say that an act of Prov
idence had just made it unlawful
to spit on the sidewalk in Rhode Is
land but with a little practice one
can spit over into the next state.
Hyperbole, of course, but having
since witnessed with awe and admir
ation the skillful expectorations of
certain Moore County natives, I am
KILLED IN ACTION
Pfc. Leon Whittington was
killed in action in, France on
June 20, according to a message
received Thursday morning by
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James
Whittington. Another son,
James, Jr., is now in a hospital
in England, having been wound-
in the invasion.
Assault Case Lands
Defendant on Roads
Mail Carrier Asks
$65,000 Damages As
Result of Injuries
D. C. Ritier Starts
Suit Against City Ice
& Fuel Company, Biscoe
Melvin Fry Is Given 18
Months for Assaulting
Lum Simpson; Other Cases
almost prepared to believe that they
Heart Attack Fatal
to W. R. Gilliland
Member of Pinehurst Po
lice Force Had Resided
There for Twenty Years
William Ralph Gilliland, 70, a
member of the Pinehurst police
force, died suddenly Monday after
noon at the Martin Motor Company’s
place in Aberdeen. He suffered from
a heart ailment for a number of
years and for several days had not
felt well.
Mr. Gilliland was a native of Ran
dolph County, but came to Pinehurst
to make his home in February 1924.
Interment was in Morris Chapel cem
etery in Harnett County.
Surviving are his widow, who be
fore her marriage was Miss Mattie
Della Leslie of Jonesboro; one son,
Leslie Gilliland, of Pinehurst; three
grandsons and three granddaughters,
all of Pinehurst.
could do it if they had a fireplace
to aim at. And here’s another bit
of lubrication: a woman, asked
“where she was from, answered:
“Providence”. “Are you?” said her
interrogator. “No, R. I.”, she replied.
But back to the subject. North Car
olina s land area is 31,196,600 acres,
enough to cover aU the New England
states except Maine and a substan
tial slice of that. The distance from
northeast corner to the southwest
extremity is 503 miles; its greatest
span from north to south is 188 miles.
If you could whirl it around on a
(Continued on Page 8)
HE BREAKS THE NEWS
The thoughtfullness of Pfc- Alex
Cameron, son of Mr. and Mrs. Her
bert Camron of Southern Pines, and
the speedy mail service available
made it possible for him to get ahead
of the War Department in notify
ing his family that he had been
wounded, thus giving them the con
solation of knowing that he was able
to write.
A telegram from the War Depart
ment stating that Alex had been
slightly wounded in France on July
17 was received Thursday morning
just after the Camerons had finish
ed reading a letter which he had
written from a hospital in England.
He did not give any information
regarding the nature of his wounds,
but said that he was receiving good
treatment.
FILL CAR POOLS OR ELSE
Melvin Fry of Carthage was in Re
corder’s Court Monday given eight
een months on the roads for assault
ing Lum Simpson with a deadly
weapon, inflicting serious injury,
and James Rowland Freeman, 19,
found guilty of assault and battery
in connection with the same distur
bance, drew 90 days. The latter’s
sentence was to be suspended pro
vided he pay the costs and $25 to
help defray Simpson’s medical ex
penses, and upon the further con
dition that he not violate the law
during the [next two years. The
trouble was the outgrowth of a pool
game in Carthage.
Robert Hildebran of Charlotte,
charged with speeding at 55 miles
per hour in a truck, pleaded guilty
and paid a fine of $40 and the costs.
His 60-day sentence was suspended.
Driving an automobile in a care
less, reckless manner while he was
intoxicated proved expensive for
‘Ed Martin, Carthage Negro. To have
his 90-day road sentence suspended
he was required to pay a $50 fine and
the costs and the repair bill on the
automobile of Chief C. H. Bennett,
which he damaged. His license to
drive was revoked for a year.
William Daniel McAllister, Vass
Negro, was fined $40 and the costs
for driving a car at 60 miles per
hour and given a 60-day suspended
road sentence.
Lynn Thompson, Robbins Negro,
pleaded guilty of gambling with
cards, and this offense resulted in
his being charged with violating the
terms of the judgement in a former
case in which he had been given a
60-day suspended sentence. In the
gambling case he was given 30 days,
to run concurrently with the 60-day
sentence put into effect in the older
case.
Alleging that he was totally disab
led by injuries sustained when his
automobile was struck by an ice
truck last August, D. C. Ritter has
started suit in Moore County Super
ior Court against the City Ice and
Fuel Company of Biscoe in which
he seeks to recover $65,000 for dam
ages to his person and for expense
of treatment; a balance of $50 not
paid by the insurance company on a
total of $377.40 damage to his car,
and $27 for damage to his glasses.
According to the complaint, the
accident occurred about five miles
from West End on a sharp curve on
the Eagle Springs-Carthage road
while Mr. Ritter was working as
mail carrier. He alleges that the
agent of the defendant was driving
at a rapid rate of speed at a point
where it was impossible to see ahead
a very great distance and that the
truck brakes were faulty.
Mr. Ritter, according to his alle
gations, was so badly injured that
he remained in the hospital from
August until on or about the sixth
of December and has had to spend
most of the time in bed in a plaster
cast.
No New Polio Cases Develop in County
But Number in State Continues to Rise
SCHOOL OPENING
Dr. Clement Monroe
Talks to Vass Club
Herbert Bertie Moore of Charlotte,
found guilty of careless and reck
less driving, paid a fine of $25 and
the costs, whereupon his 90-day road
sentence was suspended.
Landon Sanders of Robbins plead
ed guilty of drunken driving and
paid a $50 fine and the costs. He
was given 60 days on the roads, sus
pended, and deprived of his license
to drive for 12 months.
Polio Is Subject of In
teresting Address; Lions
Will Collect Scrap Paper
Dr. Clement Monroe of the Moore
County Hospital addressed the Vass
Lions Club at its dinner meeting
Tuesday night at The Acorn, giving
an interesting talk on poliomyelitis,
and answering questions in regard to
this disease, the cause of which is
still so baffling.
The speaker was introduced by W.
E. Gladstone, club president.
The Lions set Wednesday, August
9, as the date for the next scrap pa
per collection and all residents of
Vass are requested to have their do
nations of paper tied in neat bundles
and placed at the front of their
homes where they can be seen from
the street by the collectors.
"August 31 has been set as
the opening date for Moore
County schools and we are hop
ing that the polio situation will
clear up so that it will not be
necessary to postpone the open
ing." County Superintendent H.
Lee Thomas said Wednesday
when questioned as to whether
any local action had been taken
in regard to the recommenda
tion of State Health Officer
Reynolds that schools delay op
ening until the middle of Sep
tember. Mr. Thomas feels that
there is no rush about making
a change in plans; however, he
feels certain that the Moore
County Board will be ready to
cooperate if conditions later in
the month warrant a change.
Supt. Weaver Gives
Names of Teachers
State Health Officer
Recommends Delay in
Public School Openings
Several Changes in Fac
ulty Announced; School
Opening Date Not Yet Set
MISSING IN ACTION
S|Sgt. Hassel P. Edmonds,
son of Mrs. Henry D. Edmonds
of Carthage, is missing in ac
tion in the European area, ac
cording to a War Department
announcement made July 31.
Unexpected Sights, Even a Chinese
General, Are Seen in This Section
PRETTIEST
The holly tree on the South
ern Pines Post Office grounds is
going all-out to live up to its
reputation of being the pret
tiest holly in this section.
Throughout the summer it has
kept its glistening red berries
while olher> trees around have
shed theirs, and now. in addi
tion. it has a new crop of green
berries to add lovely contrast to
the red.
Full supplemental gasoline ra
tions for more than 30 days are go
ing to be denied to home-to-work
automobile drivers whp have not
formed full-car pools, according to a
new OPA policy. If drivers fill their
pools within the 30-day period, lo
cal ration boards will grant them
full-three-month rations. Boards will
ask applicants to present signatures
of their riders along with their ap-
dlicationa(.
VAN B. SHARPE RECOVERING
Van B. Sharpe, general manager
of the Carthage Weaving Company,
suffered a heart attack and has been
confined to his home in Pinebluff
since early last week. He is report
ed to be recovering, but has not re
turned to his office in Carthage.
APPOINTED JP
J, Frank McCaskill has recently
been appointed by Gov. Broughton as
Justice of the Peace for Pinehurst.
The couiitry is full of unexpected
sights these days: gliders nestling
in corn-fields, parachutes hanging in
the tops of pines, Germans
burned like red Indians working in
the peach orchards, a Swiss delegate
from Washington, very much dress
ed up in his city clothes, visiting the
Mackall prison camp on a hot sum
mer’s day, and, on Wednesday of
last week on the edge of a Jump
Area, a three-star Chinese general
watching an outfit performing a tac
tical jump.
As we waited for the planes we
tried to decide whether it was bet
ter to sit in the shade of the woods
with the gnats and chiggers or out
in the sun without them. Around us
gathered jeeps, a truck full of rig
gers waiting to retrieve the chutes.
Neighboring captains kindly offered
glasses. Proudly a jeep driver ex
hibited his cherished conveyance.
“Hard to drive? Well, kinda, at
first. They turn over right easy till
you catch on.” He stroked the boxy
hood happily. At the sound of an ap
proaching car he looked toward the
road. “Oh-oh”, he said. “Distinguish
ed visitors.”
Down the sandy track came an
olive-drab car with three stars on
the front of it. It swung around to
a halt and out stepped two majors,
two colonels and—a Chinese Gener
al.
Lt. Gen. Robert S. Lim is spending
two dqys at Mackall observing air
borne troops in action and inspect-
sun- ing the medical set-up. The Surgeon
General of the Chinese Medical
Corps, he is on a tour of the camps.
General Lim is of medium height,
squarely built. His face is square, his
eyes are deep-set and bright. Wear
ing a khaki uniform of a rather dus
ty grey shade, squarely cut, with a
row of ribbons on his breast, he
looks every inch a soldier. Those
who talked to him reported that he
was all business and asked the most
penetrating questions.
When the second flight came over
he put up glasses and kept them fix
ed on the planes. This time they
came well over and the troops drop
ped very close. General Lira’s quiet
face showed no excitement but as
he put down the glasses his eyes
twinkled. He turned to the cluster
of Americans; his teeth flashed:
“Good!” he said.
As he started for the car his sal
ute to the watching men was soldier
ly but had a certain dignity. In con
trast the Americans seemed a little
raw, a little hot and bothered. Per
haps it was simply one’s knowledge
of the centuries of civilization that
lay behind him that made it seem so,
but certainly the lone Chinese was
decidedly impressive.
Although the opening date for the
local schools has not been set defin
itely, Supt. Philip J. Weaver is get
ting everything in shape for the fall
term and he now has his faculty list
complete for the Southern Pines
Schools with the exception of a mu
sic teacher to take the place of Migg
Annie Laurie Overton, who has re
signed to enter Red Cross work.
There are still some vacancies to be
filled in the West Southern Pines
Schools.
There wil,l be four other new fac
ulty members in addition to Miss
Overton’s successor: Miss Phoebe
Witherspoon, Miss Betty Jane Sea-
well, Mrs. Sara . Ellis and Miss Mar
garet Palmer. Miss Mary McDavid,
Miss Lucille Cushion, Miss Marga
ret Mitchell and Miss Ruth New
comb are not returning.
The complete list with home ad
dresses and subjects, as released by
Mr. Weaver, follows:
1st grade—Misg Kate McIntyre,
Wingate; 2nd grade—Miss Sophie
Howie, Pineville; 3rd grade—Miss
Abbie Sutherland, Belton, S. C-; 4th
grade—Miss Bess McIntyre, Win
gate; 5 th grade—Miss Elizabeth
Hines, Blythewood, S. C.; 6th grade
—Miss Mary McNeill Buckner, Clio,
S. C.; 7th grade—Miss Annie P. Hun
tington, Southern Pines; science
Miss Billie Williams, Bat Cove; 7th
grade—Miss Phoebe Witherspoon,
Laurens; history and English—Miss
Thelma Daniels, Columbia, S. C.;
commercial—Mrs. Ruth Swisher,
Southern Pines; Latin and English—
Miss Pauline Miller, Statesville;
mathematics and physical educa
tion—Miss Aline Todd, Charlotte;
language and mathematics—Miss
Betty Jane Seawell, Carthage; En
glish—Mrs. Sara Ellis, Dillon, S. C.;
librarian—Miss Margaret Palmer’
Thomasville; history and physical
education, A. C. Dawson, Jr., Sou
thern Pines.
No new cases of polio have de
veloped in Moore County since the
first case was reported last week,
that of Annie Lee Moore, four-and
one-half-year-old girl of Robbins,
who is receiving treatment in a hos
pital at Hickory especially equip
ped for the treatment of infantile
paralysis. However, a few new cases
from various counties are reported
to the State Board of health daily
and through Tuesday the total num
ber since June 1 had reached 427.
In a letter to county health offi
cers of North Carolina Tuesday, Dr.
Carl Reynolds, State health officer,
recommended that the opening of all
public schools in the State be delay
ed until the middle of September
because of the epidemic. The letter
stated that “should the situation be
improved beyond our expectation
two weeks from today, this recom
mendation possibly could be chang
ed”.
Eager to do everything possible
to guard against the disease, the
Moore County Health Department
is at present making a survey of the
water supply and sewage disposal
facilities one mile out in every di
rection from the corporate limits of
Robbins. While the town has a mod
em water system, a number of fam
ilies in the outlying districts have
water supplies that are far from
sanitary, the investigation revealed.
In the immediate vicinity where the
case of polio developed there are
said to be ten or fifteen homes that
use water from springs on a branch.
The Moores and four or five other
families got water from the same
spring, the health officer stated. A
number of outdoor toilets are in use
and a check is being made to see that
these are up to sanitary regulation
requirements.
It is hoped that a plan may be
worked out whereby the town wa
ter line can be extended to serve
these families, but ho definite ar
rangements had been made early
this week.
Many meetings have been can
celed or deferred on account of the
situation, and Governor Broughton
has praised the people of the State
generally for complying promptly
and fully with the suggestions and
requests of the State Health Au
thorities.
RENEWAL MEMBERSHIPS
Which will be first, Pinehurst or
Southern Pines? First in getting in
all American Legion renewal mem
berships. That is a question that
Chester Williams, commander of the
local Post of the American Legion,
would like to have answered and he
hopes to see some friendly rivalry
develop.
The Governor said, however, that
there are apparently a few sec
tions which have not fully appre
hended the seriousness of the situa
tion, as large assemblages involving
meetings and conventions of differ
ent kinds continue to be held or
planned.”
In thanking the Governor for his
cooperation State Health Officer
Reynolds stated: “Those who do not
yield to moral suasion should be
forced to do so by local health au
thorities . . . Such persons and or
ganizations are not only endanger
ing themselves, but also the whole
population of their respective areas”.
Thirty-two women prisoners, 25
white and eight colored, who res
ponded to a call for volunteers for
aides, maids and kitchen workers
at the Hickory treatment centers for
infantile paralysis, are reported to
have “entered upon their duties in
a wonderful spirit of service, main
taining ethical relations with the
other attaches.”
SOME New school buses
After almost total lack of new
school buses for two years, WPB ap
proved a 1944 production quota of
5,000, of which more than 2,400 al
ready have been released to schools
where new buses were needed to
prevent absences and replace unsafe
equipment, the Office of Defense
Transportation reports.
ON VACATION
The Rev. F. Craighill Brown, Rec
tor of Emmanuel Episcopal Church
here, left the first of the week for
a month’s vacation. The regular
church schedule will be resumed in
September.
ENTER THE SERVICE
The following Negro men left
Tuesday morning for Camp Croft, S.
C., to enter the service: Frank Alfred
Sellers, Vass; Charlie Cleo Dowdy,
Carthage; James Thomas Patishall,
Route 1, Cameron; Samuel Kelly,
Carthage; O. D. White, Southern
Pines; Ernest Balark, Lakeview;
James Cullen Spencer, Route 1, Eag
le Springs; Ezra Augusta Person,
Route 1, Carthage.
FEDERAL COURT POSTPONED
Because of conflicting dates, the
September 4th term of Federal
Court at Rockingham has been post
poned until September 11th, accor
ding to an announcement by Judge
Hayes.