North Carolina Newspapers

PAT PAT WAR Jh BOND RAT ?rof iww-mw Hum THE ENTERPRISE FOR VICTORY 0MTED STATU WAA BONDS-STAMPS VOLUME XLV?NUMBER 78 Willimmtton, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, October 2, 1942. ESTABLISHED 1899 Test Blackout Here Last Tuesday Night Declared A Success + Future Blackouts Will Be Or dered by Army and With out Any Warning A state-wide test blackout last Tuesday night was declared a suc cess local civilian defense authori ties'adding that the organization here functioned almost perfectly and is believed ready for any event in so far as its facilities and equip ment will permit The warning sig nal, handled by blasts of the towns fire siren and mill whistles, was re ceived at 915 o'clock that evening, the all-clear signal coming 45 min utes later. Traffic halted immediately and individuals had their house and store lights out in less than a minute. Some delay was experienced In cut ting off the street lights, the young man assigned that duty turning the switch the wrong way causing the lights to stay on longer than was ex pected. It was to perfect the handl ing of that and similar tasks that the j trial blackout was held. The warning signal in the entire district was given within one min ute, the calls going to several coun ty towns and to those in three near by counties from the local office in record time. Air raid wardens, rescue and first aid squads took their posts at the control center in the town hall and imediately went into action One or two lights were left burning by the owners but not intentionally, and as a whole the public cooperated per fectly in making the test almost per fect- , . Air raid wardens are well train ed in their tasks now, and the rescue and first-aid squads did well in their first practices. Sam Zemon voluntered as a bomb ing victim, but before the rescue group could reach him under a pile of lumber at the Farmville-Wood ward Lumber Company mill yard, a dog had chased him out and he was nursing his "injuries from the top of a truck. Placed in an ambu lance made available by the Biggs Funeral Home, the victim was moved to the first-aid shelter where he was tfeated by Dr. E. T. Walker af ter receiving treatment on the spot by First-aider V. J. Spivey and his assistants. Val Teel, a second victim, suffering from shock and cold, was picked up at the graded school and brought in for treatment just about the time the all-clear signal was heard. The fair management and opera tors cooperated with the blackout plans perfectly, the show owners stating that it was the eleventh test they had participated in during re cent month in their travels along the Atlantic coast. It is now fairly certain that all fu ture blackouts will be ordered only by the Army and that they will come without advanced notice. Local peo ple will do well to remember that the five blasts of the fire siren call for a blackout. All Colored Schools Closed; Five Others On Short Schedules Children Offering Materia) Aid in Harvesting Cot ton and Peanuts Ail colored schools closed this week and five white schools adopted limited class schedules that the chll dren might help relieve the serious labor shortage existing on most of the farms in this county. About a dozen colored schools closed sever al weeks ago, and the closing order was extended to all the others when attendance figures started falling. Apparently the half-day holiday schedule is proving effective in the Jamesville, Bear Grass, Hassell, Oak City and Hamilton school areas. Late reports from Jamesville state that the attendance figures are holding right close to 90 per cent that in the afternoons the princi pal and some few town children join their rural comrades and tackle farm duties. Principal P. B. Britton and a small group of boys handled about 40 stacks of peanuts on one assign ment this week. It is quite apparent that the lit tle folks can lend material aid in re lieving the farm labor problem, but as that problem is further aggravat ed it is also apparent that a greater uncertainty will surround the school operating schedules. It is possible that the current situation can be handled by closing the colored schools and holding a number of the white units to a half-day schedule, but next spring and fall are certain to offer an even more serious prob lem. According to unofficial reports, at tendance figures in some of those schools still operating on regular schedules are not very impressive It is understood that all the schools are expected to return to a normal operating schedule on Monday, Octo ber 11th. It is also understood that most, if not all of the schools will abandon the war-time schedule an or about that date and opd thirty minutes to an hour later each mum Nazis Captured Near Stalingrad Under guard of Soviet soldiers, a long line of Nazis are shown march ing into captivity behind the fighting front. The men were captured in the bitter battles on the southern front around Stalingrad. The defenders of the besieged Russian city are now fighting in the streets on the outskirts and resealed their hard-pressed lines in hand-to-hand combat after Nazi troops had succeeded in establishing spearheads (Central Pre - Extensive Drive For Scrap Iron In County DELAYED No certificates for the pur chase of regular tires and tubes were issued in this county by the rationing board here yesterday, Member H. L. Roebuck explain ing that the October quota had not been released and that no ap plications could be considered. While it is possible that no quo ta will be allowed this month, complete withdrawal of quotas is hardly likely. Four obsolete tires were allot ted yesterday to two farmers, Jesse Lee Hale, of RFD 1, Pal myra, and James David Rober son, of RFD 1, Williamston, get ting two each. The usual large number of ap plications for tires were receiv ed by the board for considera tion. Large Crowds Are Attending Annual Legion Fair Here Granritttanri Attraction anil Farm ExhibiU Main Fea ture* at Event Here Attracted by improved farm and home exhibits and the special grand stand entertainment program, large crowds are attending the annual Martin County fair sponsored by the John Walton Hassell Post of the Am erican Legion here this week. After experiencing interruptions caused by a state-wide blackout last Tuesday night and unusually cold weather early in the week, the an nual event was visited by large crowds Wednesday and yesterday, the attendance reaching a high point last night when the pageant, "Amer ica on Parade," was staged in front of the grandstand. The first per formance Wednesday evening at tracted only a small crowd, but those present were so impressed that not a single person moved during the presentation. Last night a far larger group witnessed the pageant and a still larger number is almost certain to see the show tonight. The pageant is indeed timely and the first two showings greatly im pressed the audiences. While the midway offers about the general run of amusements, and the kiddies apparently have enjoyed the rides, the fair is stressing the exhib its more this year than possibly at any other time in recent years. Hun dreds of dollars are being paid out in premiums, and club prizes are go ing to several schools and home or ganizations in the county. The fair will close' its stand here tomorrow night. Instead of financing a fireworks program, the fair management is of fering war bonds as prizes. Winners so far are, Thomas Revels, Mrs. Jos. Godard, III, and Mrs. Chas. Daven port. Two bonds will be given away tonight. FORCED LANDING Na on* wai Injured and very little damage resulted when an Army airplane waa forced to land In a soybean field on the Taylor farm, near Spring Green In this county late Tuesday af the pilot brought the heavily armed pursuit dhip down In a belly landing. A small streak at was cleared. to Scrap Is Not Over And Drive For Old Scrap Must Go On All-out Clean Sweep Design ed to Supplement Collee tionw Already Underway An all-out drive for scrap iron and metals, supplementing all other col lection campaigns, is being launch ed in this county and throughout the State and nation this week. The drive is now on, and it must and it will round up the scrap, prodding those who have put off until tomorrow the task of moving old iron and metals to designated points or to dealers. It has been painted out that the world wide scrap is not yet over, that pos sibly it has hardly started, and that the drive for scrap must and will continue. Centered around the schools in this county, the drive for the old scrap metals is expected to pull in a record amount of material between now and October 21. The drive is being supplemented in this county by prizes offered by the Martin County Farm Bureau, and by induce ments offered by the schools. According to County Salvage Chairman V. J. Spivey, children will deliver their collections to the schools where the materials will be picked up and placed in war chan nels Individuals will deliver either direct to dealers within the county or to designated centers at the schools. Over three mlilion pounds of scrap iron have moved out of this county since December 7th, but the surface has hardly been touched. It is possible to double that amount during the next few weeks. Some counties are already claiming a per capita collection of more than 200 pounds Martin County can better that figure. To spur the collection of scrap met al so vitally needed by the armed services, North Carolina newspapers have devised a contest through which they hope to enlist the effort of ev ery Tar Heel. Participation in the contest affords every patriotic citi zen an opportunity to serve his emrrr try .and at the same time offers him (Continued on page four) > Oak City Schools v Plan Scrap Drive At a called meeting of teachers in Oak City school Wednesday, Septem-1 bcr 30th, an organization was per fected for "Get in the Scrap" drive. ] Teachers named as captains and pu pils will be appointed on the basis of responsibility and production as lieutenants, sergeants and corporals. All other children will be privates, eligible to promotion for perform ance of duty. Definitely designated roads have been assigned for pupils to canvass. Leroy Roberson has been appointed as lieutenant in the Jun ior Army, charged with the respon sibility of receiving and weighing all scrap as it is brought to the school building and placed by the flag pole. The school is urging all patrons and community people to help in this drive and report any amount to the school in order that we may receive credit. Large amounts not delivered to school will be taken care of if you will send no tice by your child to the school nam ing the place and the amount. This drive begins Monday, October 5th. The Parent-Teacher Association of Oak City school will hold its first meeting Wednesday. October 7th at 8:00 p. m. in the school auditorium. All members and especially commit tee members as appointed last spring are urged to be present for the meet ing. Special business and work proj ects are to be discussed. UNCLE SAM ' BATTLING TO UPHOLD America's Freedom THE 42ND WEEK OF THE WAR Rubber Administrator Jeffers, act ing on two important recommenda tions of the Baruch Rubber Com mittee, directed the Office of De fense Transportation to limit driving speeds to 35 miles an hour and told the Office of Price Administration to prepare to ration gasoline through out the nation on the same basis that it is now rationed in the East. The limitation on speed is now in effect for all vehicles except those operated by common carriers. Com mon carriers?trucks and buses op erated on regular schedules over regular routes?will be given until October 15 to adjust their schedules to the new top speed. Enforcement of the new speed limit will be left up to the states for the present, ODT announced. Nationwide gasoline rationing?de signed to reduce mileage so as to save rubber rather than gasoline4? will become effective about Novem ber 22. Price Administrator Hender son reported. By that time ration hooks will have been distributed to approximately 20 million motorists in the unr&tioned area. The present tire rationing program will be in tegrated with the new gasoline ra tioning program and tires on all cars will have t<? be submitted to OPA for "on-whoel inspection every 60 days to insure proper care." The OPA said fuel oil consumers in the 30 rationed East and Mid-west states will have to get along this win ter with one-third less oil than us ual because the originally announced cut of one-fourth would not be suf ficient. On the basis of last winter, how ever?which was about 10 per cent warmer than usual?the cut will only be about 26 per cept, the office said. The quota of new adult bicycles for rationing in October was set at 88, 000, compared with the September quota of 90,000. The War Front Gen. MacArthur's headquarters in Australia reported September 28th that U. S. Army flying fortresses hit and probably sank a 15,000-ton mer chantman in an attack on the enemy base at Rabaul. It was the fourth straight day of attack by the fort resses on the biggest enemy base in the Australian zone. In the previous raids the bombers probably sank an 8,000-ton ship, and scored direct hits on three medium-sized ships. Aus tralian forces supported by new ar tillery were reported driving the Japanese from their outposts in the Owen Stanley Mountains, 32 air miles from the Allied base of Port Moresby. Heavy rains complicated the Japanese supply problem. The U S. Marines in the Solo mons, sometimes outnumbered 10 to 1 by the enemy, have beaten off all attacks and their positions remain secure, Marine headquarters in the (Continued on page seven) Building Addition To Peanut Factory Recently completing its most suc cessful season, the Williamston Pea nut Company, is launching an en largement program, plans, now near ing completion, calling for a great ly increased plant output. New ma chinery has been installed and a fourth large storage house is now under construction. The building ad dition will handle more than 15,000 bags of farmers' stock peanuts, and it is estimated the milling capacity will be increased by approximately one-third. With a favorable operat ing season, the company, it is un derstood, plans to handle nearly one third of a million bags of peanuts this coming season. Machine repairs and new installa tions are being rushed to completion and the plant will be ready to start receiving the new crop within the next few weeks. One of the owners stated yesterday that there wasn't a single hag of farmers' stock pea nuts in the entire plant, and that the few bags of shelled goods there now had been sold. The new plant addition, made pos sible by a special government per mit, is the first building construc tion reported in this immediate vi cinity in several months. COMMISSIONERS With no extraordinary busi ness scheduled, the Martin Coun ty commissioners are anticipat ing an uneventful meeting here next Monday. The authorities will draw thirty-six cltixens for Jury service during the week's speeal term of the superior court and will handle routine mat ters. Petitions, urging the com missioners to urge the State Highway and Public Works Commission to take over cer tain roads have been few and far between In recent months, and no such requests are anticipat ed next Monday. Ration First Farm Machinery In Martin County Yesterday The seriousness of material short ages is rapidly being brought home to the people of this section, the lat est jolt coming in the form of farm machinery rationing. The first piece of farm machinery was rationed in this county yesterday, the special board composed of Messrs Jesse Crisp, of Oak City; Reuben Everett, of Robersonville, and Mayo Hardi son, of Williamston, granting a cer tificate to George David Grimes, Jr., of Robersonville. for the purchase of a model A tractor. The application, the first submit ted to the special rationing board, explained that the order for a tract or was placed some time ago, that delivery was frozen by an order is sued the 17th of last month. Applications are considered prin cipally when replacements are need ed. The applicant must also signi fy his willingness to exchange work, rent the equipment to others, and list reasons to support his claim to new machinery. Farm machinery is placed in three groups. A. B and C. Applications must be filed and approved before purchase of machinery in Class A can be purchased. In the second classification, the applicant must sign certificate showing that he needs new equipment. The third class is not rationed and may be bought where one finds it. Machinery quotas, it is understood, will be issued to districts, and it is possible that an applicant even if he has an approved claim will not get the equipment in every case. Second Period Liquor Sales Set New Record Total Of $961,483.90 Is Spent For Liquor Since Stores Opened Sales for Second Quarter Are Nearly Double Those of Corresponding Period I Legal liquor store sales reached an all-time high record for the sec ond quarter when patrons, without being urged, spent $53,607.45 for the fluid in this county during the months of April, May and June. The audit, just released even after the expiration of the third quarter, shows that sales in no other second quarter even approached the record established in the months under con sideration. Total sales, recorded as of June 30, this year, now stand at $961,483.90, the amount being that spent since the stores opened in July, 1935 up to the end of the second quarter It is understood that the third quarter sales will boost the total sales to a figure well in excess of one million dollars. Complete figures for an ac curate comparison are not available, but conservative estimates clearly I indicate that the people of Martin County are spending or actually throwing away more money for le gal liquors, beers and wines than they are investing in war bonds. And the trend of the sales is upward. On ly last Saturday, the store at Ruber sonville reported sales in the amount of $1,299 05. Even while farmers de clare their crops are ruining in the fields for the want of harvest hands, more help is needed in the liquor stores to supply the trade. Liquor prices, it is pointed out, are slightly higher than they were a year ago, but the price increase is negligible compared with the gain in sales. Beer and wine sales added to the liquor sales, no doubt will boost the expenditure of cash for al coholic beverages to a figure well in excess of $100,000 for the months of April, May and June of this year. A review of the sales shows the increase in sales to be general over the county with some of the stores nearly doubling their business in the second quarter of this year as com pared with the sales for April, May and June of 1941. The second quar ter figures for this year stand at $53,607.45 compared with $29,043 65 reported for the corresponding per iod last year. Wofiis increased, too, the audit showing that they ure double those of the second quarter, 1941. Before the State got its greedy (Continued on page four) ??s Justice J.L. Hassell Hears Nine Cases Local and county officers and Jus tice J. L. Hassell are maintaining an almost perfect balance in their bus iness operations week after week. The officers fill up the jail about every week-end' and two or three days later the trial justice about empties it. But the latter task is not handled until justice has been ex actingly meted out and to the great discomfort of the transgressors. Conduct unbecoming the man who places any value at all on common decency was the most common charge aired in the trial justice's court this week following the round up over the week-end. Walter Free man, charged with disorderly con duct, aggravated the charge whan he resisted arrest and Justice Has sell booked him for trial in the coun ty court next Monday under bond In the sum of $200. Jeff Slade, J P. Sykes, Alexander James, Ernest Sheppard and Henry Peel, all charged with disorderly conduct, were each fined $3 and tax ed with the costs. Richard Razor, Vance Brooks and Ben Clcmmons were also charged with disorderly conduct. They ware sentenced to the roads for 30 days, the court suspending the road sen tence upon payment of the costs of $7.30 each. COMMISSIONED Wm, II. Peel, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harper Peel, of Hamilton, was recently commissioned a second lieutenant in the Naval Reserve. A graduate of Oak City High School, the lieuten ant served eight years in the Marine Corps and is now teach ing radio and technical courses at Kelly Field, Texas. Superior Court In List Term Session Tuesday Afternoon FYh Cuhch C.I rarr?I from Civil Doeket During Regular Court Term The regular term of Martin Coun ty Superior court, convening on Monday of last week for the trial of both criminal and civil cases, came to an abrupt close late Tuesday af ternoon after a comparatively few cases had been cleared from the docket and a goodly number of oth er actions had been continued. Judge Clawson Williams, presiding over the term, was notified earlier in the day that his brother was seriously ill in a Sanford hospital, and while he offered to stay for the trial of other cases it was found that most of the actions could be continued without inconvenience. Proceedlhgs In ihe court: A consent judgment was recorded in the case of Frances Parker Rob erson and husband, John Henry Roberson, against Raleigh Perkins By mutual consent between the plaintiff, N S. Mobley, and the de fendant, S. A Mobley, the court or dered eleven parcels or tracts of land sold for partition. The proper ty, including the bus station in Wil liamston and ten other tracts, will be offered for sale to the highest bid der the latter part of October. The case of Margaret Whitaker against D. M. Roberson was remand ed to the clerk of the superior court for further proceedings. The plain tiff, through her next friend, J. J Whitaker, had turned to the courts in an effort to collect a judgment granted her previously in the court In the case of Dixie Motors, In corporated, against H. W Barber, a judgment in the sum of $265.27 with interest from April 4, 1942, was granted the plaintiff. HIGHER Continuing a gradual but steady climb upward, tobacco pricca reached a new high peak on the local tobacco market to day. The Increase was quite no iioeable for ttio common und in ferior grades, the prices Jumping right up Into the forty-cent class ifications. Total sales, including the of ferings 'today, are right at the six million-pound mark, and it Is fairly certain that the pound age will reach and possibly sx ceed seven million pounds bo fore the season is ended. Hitler Demands His ^ eary Soldiers To Capture Stalingrad Ignoring Vast Cost and Great Human Sacrifices, Nazis Make New Gains Receiving a direct demand from Adolf Hitler yesterday, German troops, estimated to number a mil lion. made new but small gains in their drive on Stalingrad, ignoring the vast cost in equipment and shock ing sacrifices in human life and limb. Likened unto a burning hell, the once great industrial city is lit tle more than a mass of debris today, and other than a little prestige the invaders will gain little or nothing t( and when they capture it. Screened from view by clouds of smoke, the city is one big slaughter field, vast numbers of men, women and children being suffocated by smoke and trapped in the raging tires in addition to the ever-mount ing loss of life among the military defenders and attackers. Despite the tragic drive on the once-great city, the Russians are said to have scored again the "impossi ble Back in August and with rail transportation blocked, aged men, women and children started moving the great Stalingrad tractor factory from the* city and today it is running in a safe spot behind the Ural Moun tains Moved piece by piece, the ma chinory and even the walls of the buildings were loaded on Volga Riv er barges, hauled to rail junctions and transported on the Trans-Siber ian Railway to the new location. A citizen's army, the salvation of Moscow and Leningrad and the last resort of fallen Rostov and Sevasto pol, rose up in Stalingrad and it was revealed that American tanks also were in action there. (The dispatch did not reveal whether the tanks were American-manned or only Am eriean made The German high com mand said 98 Soviet tanks, mostly of American and British makes, were destroyed in northwest Stalingrad Wednesday.) The Russians were boring into the siege lines south of Stalingrad in an attempt to divert pressure from the northwestern suburbs. The Thursday night communique said the Germans were routed from another village of the southern sector. The Thursday noon communique said Russians re captured one village 111 that area, and Red Star, the army organ, later reported three villages recaptured there. German casualties piled up at ai enormous rate. A semi-official Sov iet dispatch said 25,000 German were slain and 400 of their tanks de stroyed around Stalingrad in the las week, anil the midnight communiqu reported 900 Germans killed in th northwestern part of Stalingrad, 40 south of the city, 100 in the Don riv er valley to the northwest, 200 in th Mozdok area of the Caucasus, 50 near Novorossisk, and 700 north west of Moscow. The Germans lost 11 tanks, in ad dition to 900 men, in one phase c (Continued on page foui) 1 September Issuance Marriage Licenses Is Smallest In Months Only 12 Murriugi'H Reported in Thin ('.utility During Pusl Month The September issuance of mar riage licenses in this county was me smallest lor any month since Ju ly, 1940, and equalled the issuances in January, this year, and the one in July of last year. There was a marked drop in the number of li censes sold to white couples, but marriages among the colored popu lation were two greater than they were in the preceding month, The removal of young men to the armed services and to defense jobs in other areas apparently is making itself felt in Dan Cupid's work in this county. Marriage licenses were issued by Register of Deeds J Sam Getsinger in this county last month to five white and seve ncolored couples, as follows: White Rupert Turner and Blannice Mae Bunting, both of Palmyra. Ralph Elliott Taylor, of William ston. and Mar% Virginia Daniel, of Everetts. James Garland Rogers, of William ston, and Mildred Peele, of Rober sonville. Alton Rudolph Hollis and Otie Ward Forbes, both of Roberson ville. Russell W. Corey and Carrie Dall Gardner, both of Jamesville. Colored Frank Williams, of Hamilton, and Martha Adams, of Oak City. John Edwards and Sophrona Col field, both of Williamston. George Ernest Lynch and Pattie Walters, both of Oak City. Vance Brooks, Jr., and Arball Godard, both of RFD 1, Williamston. John S. Mason, of Raleigh, and Maggie H. Speller, of Wllliarostaa. Melvin Biggs and Lucretta Brooks, both of Dardens. Grady Biggs and Irene Ja of Jamesville.