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THE ENTERPRISE
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& UK!T«J STATES WAR
BONDS STAMPS
VOLUME XLVI-—NUMBER 25
Williamaton, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, March 26, 1913.
ESTABLISHED 1899
Martin County Youth
Details oFRoland
Moore's Death Are
Awaited By Father
—- » —
Body Recovered and Tempor
ary Interment Necessary,
Message Reads
Interrupted every now and then
by cars speeding by at rapid speeds,
a grief stricken father at his home
on the Everetts Highway last night
related the terse message informing
him of the death of his son, Private
First Class Roland Moore of the
United States Marine Corps. No de
tail? were offered in the message re
ceived this weekend the father, Mr.
Whit Moore, eou?!WTot guos how or
where the 20-year-old lad had made
the supreme sacrifice in the service
of his county.
gg^pJThe message, signed by T. Hol
comb, Lieutenant General, United
States Marine Corps, reads as fol
lows:
“Deeply regret to inform you that
your son, Pfc, Roland Moore, U. S.
Marine Corpse drowned. Body re
covered. To prevent possible aid to
our enemies, please do not divulge
name of his ship or station. Present
situation necessitates interment tem
porarily in the locality where death
occured. You will be notified ac
cordingly. Please accept my heart
felt sympathy. Letter follows.”
Finishing a hard day’s work on the
farm, Mr. Moore had few other
thoughts in his mind as he sat emp
ty-handed in the corner of his soft
ly lamp-lit room on the highway be
tween here and Everetts last eve
ning.
The message had been received the
day before, and the father, chok
ing back his grief, tried to read into
it a ray of hope or figure out how
and 'where his son lost his life.
The last direct word received from
the boy was carried in a letter writ
ten on January 23 and mailed on the
west coast. While it is possible that
he lost his life in the Pacific, some
think that he was transferred to the
- --east coast -and may ' cnt down
(Continued on page six)
Officers Pick Up
Wandering Youths
—■»——
Wandering south from their homes
in Connecticut and Norfolk, five
teen-age boys were detained in the
county this week after two of the
lads became a bit desperate and
branched off on a crime trail.
Robert San Suser, of Waterbury,
Conn., and James Mallahan, of Tor
rington, Conn., were found asleep
in Fanner Lester Whitfield's car:
early last Monday morning near ]
Robersonville. They had stolen a car j
in Washington the day before and
ditched it near Robersonville. Car
ried back to Washington the boys
were discharged by the juvenile
judge when the car owner balked in
prosecuting the case against them.
The 15-year-old lads were bundled
up and returned to their homes.
Leaving their homes in Norfolk
Tuesday morning, Stewart Williams,
13, of 2821 Ballentine Boulevard;
Herbert Beach, 14, of 605 May Ave.,
and Morris Teeks, 14, of 3320 Fair
mont Park, Norfolk, "were picked up
on East Main Street here Wednes
day shortly before noon by Patrol
man W. E. Saunders and Sheriff C.
B. Roebuck. They had spent the
night under a bridge near Edenton,
but were none the worse for the
wear and tear on the short trip. The
boys had a few dollars and they plan
ned to travel as far south as they
could, expecting all the while that
when the going became too tough
they would be picked up and return
ed home. Dr. and Mrs. S. A. Wil
liams were notified and they came
for the lads Wednesday afternoon.
ir^
MISSING
1!
Other than a brief message re
ceived the early part of this
month and stating that he was
missing in action, no late word
about Marin Melvin Whitfield,
above, has come to relatives
here, it was learned today. The
young man, son of Mrs. Pearl
Whitfield, of Gold Point, is be
lieved to have been lost or tak
en prisoner about the time that
Marshal Rommel drove a wedge
into American lines at Faid Pass
in Tunisia about the 14th of last
month.
Soldier Takes Over
Where Italians Left
Off In North Africa
—•—
Martin Man Is Enjoying Com
fort* in Embassy Desert
ed by Musso’g Crowd
- ♦ #
O. S. Winborne, local man, is ap
parently enjoying the comforts or
dinarily ade availay- to the dipjc
matics, a letter from nin. in North
Africa'Seating that his otftfit hud'tak
en over the Italian embassy in Casa
blanca. He writes under fairly re
cent date;
"I am in the same place where the
President visited, but I did not see
him. We reached here on November
20 and I am still in the same place.
This is the largest seaport in Africa,
and is larger than Norfolk. The wa
terfront was damaged plenty and
many enemy ships are still in the
harbor with nothing but their smoke
stacks sticking out of the water. Our
boys surely did a good job in three
days, and we followed them in four
days later. Arabs and French help
ed to unload our 54 ships and we had
no trouble at all. We had on U. S.
flag arm bands, and the French la
dies gave us taice and wine at their
gates, and told us that they had been
waiting two years for us. French
sailors and soldiers made friends
with us and wanted to kiss us for
coming to help them. They were
forced to fight by the enemy I can’t
speak French, hut I sure could eat
that cake.
“I rode a bicycle to an airport to
see John Bland, Tommie's brother,
a few days ago. He was well and all
(Continued on page six)
Youth Commissioned In
The U. S. Marine Corps
Billy Walts, local young man, has
been promoted from sergeant to the
rank of lieutenant in the U. S. Ma
rines, his father, Mr. W. B. Watts,
was notified in a letter received
here this week.
Enlisting in the Marine Corps,
Lieutenant Watts was stationed on
Guadalcanal at one time, or during
the thick of vhe big fight on that
Pacific island.
To Advertise Delinquent Tax
Accounts In County On May 1
Instructed by the county commis
sioners to advertise all delinquent
tax accounts on May 1 for sale on
the first Monday in June, Tax Col
lector M. Luther Peel is mailing
statements to the property owners
this week. Between 1,500 and 2,000
accounts out of a total of approxi
mately 8,000 are unpaid at this time,
the collector estimating that the
number will be reduced to less than
500 during the remainder of this
month and in April. It is also esti
mated that the unpaid taxes will be
less than $15,000 by advertising time
in May.
Tak collections in the county at
the present time are further advanc
ed this year than in many years, and
it is generally believed that the ad
vertising list will carry few more
names in May than are ordinarily
parried in the month of October.
Judging from past records, many of
the names that are almost certain to
appear in the list in May would be
there if the advertising schedule and
sale were postponed until the latter
part of the year.
Delayed in years past so that the
property owners could benefit from
the increase in fall business, the tax
advertising schedule, the commis
sioners reasoned, can be held in May
of this year without unduly incon
veniencing any one. To delay the
sale until next November would
make it necessary for the county
commissioners to appoint a special
tax collector to handle the 1943 books
until a settlement for the old books
could be effected.
No action has been taken by the
Williamston authorities calling for
the early sale of delinquent town tax
[accounts, but it is quite likely that
they will not order a delay this year.
Large Demand Made!
For Poultry Fencing
And Farm Machines
I*’-"-1 ■ __
ClaMBification Work brought
Down to Falk rs and
Farmvs
Going before the County Fanis I
Machinery Rationing Board a few
days ago, Martin County farmers
made large demands for wire fenc
ing and plows and machines. While
some of the demands can hardly be
met, the demand for equipment
clearly indicates that Martin farmers
are making plans for an all-out pro
duction on the agricultural front this
year.
Wire, plows and machines were ra
tioned recently to the following:
D. G. Matthews, tractor cultivator
and planter.
E. H. Harrell, 3 rolls fence wire.
Kneezer Harrison, 2 rolls fence
wire.
S. G Burnett, 2 horse disc.
John James, 1 tractor.
Howard Hopkins and Hausley Har
dison, 1 disc harrow.
Daniel Bros,, 1 row planter.
James Leathers, 1 row planter.
W- M Davis, 10 rolls fence wire.
T. W. Holliday, 2 rolls barbed wire.
| R A. Edmondson, Sr., 2 rolls poul
try netting.
W A. White. 20 rds. poultry wire.
Lizzie Ruffin, 1 roll poultry wire.
Foy Rogerson, 1 roll poultry net
ting.
Frances Williams, 1 roll poultry
netting.
Russell N. Turner, 4 rolls fence
wire.
J. R. Daniel, 1 roll netting.
David Bowen, Jr., 4 rolls garden 1
wire.
Aaron Hardison, 1 roll fence wire.
D. L. Roberson, 8 rolls wire
James C. Johnson, Tiller.
A. P. Hyman, 3 rolls barbed wire.
H. H. Williams, 3 rolls barber wire.
R. C. Coltrain, 2 rolls barbed wire.
' Eddie Jones, 2 rolls barbed wire.
C. C. Martin, 2 rolls barbed wire, i
J B. Harrington, 4 rolls wire fence, i
Herbert L. Roebuck, 4 rolls wire, ;
420 yards fence wire. t
Warren Waters, 2 rolls wire.
W. D. Gurganus, 2 rolls barbed «
wire. , 1
J. M. Dixon, 4 rolls wire. i
Amos Spruill, 1 roll wire. l
Robert Jones, 1 roll wire. _ _ s
R. o. Brown, Jr., 1 lOiOHfee.
T K. Slade, 2 rolls wire. i
W'atson N. Sherrod, 4 rolls barbed ;
wire.
(Continued on page six)
Hill Top Inn Badly
Damaged Yesterday
Afternoon By Fire
J
.♦
Roof and Greater Part of Sec
ond Story of 13-Room
Structure Burned
-<£_■■■.
Its origin unknown fire burned
away the roof and <» greater part of
the second story of the 13-room Hill
Top Inn on West Main Street here
late yesterday afternoon. Most of
the furnishings in the upstairs apart
ments were also burned, Fire Chief
G P. Hall estimating the total loss
at about $4,uU0.
Believed to have started in the
apartment of Mr. and Mrs. J. D.
Hodges, the fire had gained much
headway before tenants in another
part of the house discovered it. Some
delay was experienced in getting in
the alarm, it was said, and by the
time the volunteer fire company
reached there the entire roof was a
solid blanket of fire. One line of hose
was carried inside the house anr to
the second story, but the firemen
were forced out by smoke. Two oth
er lines of hose were hooked to the
pumper, but a four-inch water line
in that block was not sufficient to
take care of the needs, and firemen
were forced to disconnect one line
and move it 3 block away. While the
fire did not eat its way through the
weatherboarding to any great extent
on the second story, it just about de
stroyed the standing timbers and all
the furnishings down to the upstairs
floor. Firemen worked on the build
ing for almost two hours.
Volunteers, aided by spectators,
used every foot of hose on the truck
in fighting the fire, and traffic was
blocked on the main street for a long
while.
It was learned that the Hodges
apartment had been locked since the
tenants left two days before and no
one else had entered there. It is pos
sible that the fire started from a
spark falling from one of the chim
neys to the roof.
Most of the furniture on the first
floor was moved out of the building,
but fire and water virtually wreck
ed everything on the second floor.
The owner, Mrs. W. T. Stinette es
timates the damage to the home will
approximate $4,000 and that the fur
niture will run possibly over $1,000.
The home, housing four apartments
and spare rooms, was valued at $8,
000 with $4,000 insurance in effect.
The furniture was valued at $2,500
with $2,000 insurance in force.
The fire was another in a series of
costly ones reported here so far this
year.
lOaDiNG SUPPQfiS'KT BRITISH'AFRICA BASfc'
NATIVE LABORERS HELP LOAD LORRIES with water drums that were landed by the Royal Navy at a British
supply base in North Africa. Smoke rising in the background is tiie result of a raid by Axis planes, which
occurred just before this photo was taken. No trucks were lost. Work goes on as usual. (International)
Board Issues a Small
Number of Car and
Truck Tires Monday
——#
No Grade III Tires Available,
But Supply Is Expected
In Very Short Time
A comparatively small number of
tires was rationed by the board in
this county this week, many motor
ists, needing tires, withholding their
applications because tires are not a
vailable in certain grades. Dealers
state that no Grade III tires are to
be had at the present time, but or
ders have been placed and ship
ments are expected within a very
short time. A few Grade II, or what
arcknown as war tires, are available
in some places, but the stocks are
said to be small.
New automobile Ures and tubes
were rationed to the following:
H. L. Roberson, Roberson vibe, two I
tires and two tubes for servicing
hatchery.
Woolard Furniture Co., William
ston, two tubes.
Liiley’s Laundry, Williamston,
four* tires.
W. T. Ross, RFD 3, Williamston,
one tube for farm,
King Riddick, RFD 1, Williamston,
one tube.
Oscar Ayers, RFD 3, Williamston,
one tube.
New truck tires and tubes were al
lotted to tire following:
U S. Hassell, Jamesville, one
tube. .
Tilmon C. Coltrain, Williamston,
one tube.
Justus B. Coltrain, RFD 1, James
ville, two tires and one tube for
farm.
John W Eubanks, Hassell, one
tire and one tube.
Grade II tires were issued, as fol
lows:
Fred F. Pollard, Bethel, one tire
and tube.
Russell D. Smith, Williamston,
three tires and two tubes for de
fense worker.
N. T. Tice, RFD 1, Williamston,
two tires.
Herbert Sexton, Jamesville, one
tire for farm.
Grade 3 tires and new tubes were
allotted to the following:
Hassell H. Worsley, Oak City, four
tires and two tubes.
Mrs. Whit Moore, RFD 3, William
ston, three tires.
W. F. Coltrain, RFD 1, Williams
ton, two tires for farm.
W. H. Britton, RFD 3, Williamston,
(Continued on page six)
UNATTENDED
a
While it came as a marked
surprise, the test blackout last
night, the second one within a
week, did not catch civilian de
fense forces napping. The test
was declared a success in this
district with the exception of a
few cases where lights were left
burning in locked homes unat
tended. Nine such cases were re
ported, and as a result a final
warning is being issued by ci
vilian defense authorities.
Prosecution in the courts is to
be expected in the future where
one leaves a light unattended
during a blackout. Reports
reaching here from some towns
state that similar violations have
drawn $50 fines. If one must
leave a light burning when
away from home, he should con
sult with bis air raid warden.
The meaning of the signals are
apparently well understood, and
local people cooperated splendid
ly during the test.
Few Changes Made In
Property Tax Listings
TWO-WAR VET
Given an honorable discharge
last Saturday, Mayo Peel, Mar
tin County man, boarded a bus
in Texas and headed for home, a
veteran of two wars. He reach
ed home Wednesday night, his
discharge having been granted
on account of his age.
The two-war veteran was
drafted the latter part of last
year and spent most of his time
in the Army at Fort Bliss, Tex
as.
As far as it caif'iie learned, Mr.
Peel is the <ijj.lv Martin County
man to have served in the first
World's War and to have been
drafted for the second.
Colored Residents
Give Able Support
To Red Cross Fund
-—®
Total for the Marlin County
Chapter $1000 in Kxeess
Of $3,900 Goal
iixveeding their quota—$400—by a
larger percentage than any other
group, the colored citizens in the
Martin County Chapter ably sup
ported the Red Cross War Fund drive
now about complete. Commenting on
the drive among the colored popula
tion in the Piney Woods and Beth
lehem communities, Principal C. D.
Wooten said, “Never before have I
experienced in any undertaking a
more enthusiastic spirit and a more
hearty cooperation than that shown
by the contributors to the all-out
Red Cross drive.’’ Most of the contri
butions made by colored citizens of
the chapter are publicly acknowledg
ed today, but it was next to impos
sible to get them all in at one time.
The others along with a few late
contributions and the school list will
be acknowledged very shortly.
The Red Cross War Fund for the
chapter to date stands at $4,912.02,
an amount larger by $1,012.02 than
the original quota. In addition to
the amount reported in this chapter,
the Robersonville chapter has rais
ed $1,923.08, making a total of $6,
844 70 for the county. The Rober
sonville chapter has exceeded its
quota by several hundred dollars.
A tabulation ot the contribution
totals by districts and showing the
drive in this chapter as virtually
complete follows:
Williamston Township $2941,74
Bear Grass Township 343.90
Jamesville Township 502.67
Griffins Township 296.72
Williams Township 105.46
Macedonia Bible School 25.00
Colored 696.53
$4912.02
A partial list of the colored con
tributors follows:
George L. Hardison, 1.00; Robert
Brown, 85c; William Faison, 60c;
Alonza Jones, 50c; Daniel Moore, 50c;
Edward Long, 50c; James Lambert -
son, 50c; Orlando Clemons, 50c;
Bennie Williams, 50c; Willie J.
Saunders, 50c; James Wiggins, 50c;
Thomas Stephenson, 50c; Leonard
Mobley, 50c; Simon Howard, 40c;
Randolph Hinton, 45c; Henry Rouse,
35c; Ulysses Whitley, 35c; James
Smith, 30c; James Briefest, 25c; Jo
die Gaynor, 25c; Henry Lowe, 25c;
(Continued on page three)
Pulp Company Is
Placed on Books at
Nearly $1,00(1000
—
Credits Amounting to About
$8,000 Allowed Owners
By County Board
Meeting us a board of equalization
in the courthouse a few days ago,
the Martin County Commissioners,
sitting as a board of equalization and
review, made comparatively few
changes in assessed tax values. Creci |
its, amounting to about $8,000, were
allowed in those eases, the board i
withholding reductions in values in
one or two others.
Commenting on the tax picture as
it appears today, County Tax Super 1
visor C. D. Carstarphen stated yes
terday that the reductions in assess
ed values allowed by the equalization
board were offset many times by the
increases reported. Individual prop
erty owners reported small gains,
and they will more than offset the
reductions allowed by the equaliza
tion board, but the big gain was re
ported by the North Carolina Pulp
Company According to the tax sup
ervisor’s preliminary report, the
value of the company’s plant in the
lower part of this county was in
creased by $125,000, the valuation of
the property now standing at only
$825 less than one million dollars.
This figure represents real and per
sonal properties, but does not include
values of land holdings in other
parts of the county.
Based principally on changes
caused either by fire or timber sales,
the following reductions in assessed
values were allowed by the equaliza
tion board at its recent meeting:
(Continued on page six)
(iris Call To Report
For Service April 6th
-
Volunteering last May, Stuart
Critcher, local boy, was notified this
week to report for active duty at
the Fort Bragg induction center on
April 6th. He has been a member of
the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps,
State College, for the past several
months.
l. a rorces rush
I owan! Rommel’s
Liieline in Tunisia
KiMsinn* (ionlinup Steady But
Slowed Drive Toward
Smolensk
American forces, taking a last
mountain position, are now driving
on toward the coastal road, Rommel’s
last avenue of escape by land, in
Tunisia. Despite what was describ
ed as fairly heavy casualties, the
American forces are gradually over
coming the enemy and are now with
in 26 miles of the main coastal high
way which lies a few miles in from
the sea.
Starting a drive against the strong
ly fortified Mareth line in southern
Tunisia last Saturday night, the Brit
ish Eighth Army established bridge
heads at a few points. These were la
ter wiped out by Rommel’s forces,
but late dispatches from the front
■declare that the IT dish
moving forward against the Ger
mans, that Rommel was puzzled to
understand how Montgomery's men
could face the withering fire from
IWitf !.. number of tanks he is
throw mg into the fight. The British
and the Americans are now about
55 miles apart in Tunisia, and each
with a task to handle, apparently is
determined to come through. It is
apparent, however, that Allied lead
ers are expecting heavy casualties,
Secretary of War Stimson stating at
a press conference yesterday that
“While we may expect favorable
progress in North Africa we must
remember that we will pay for this
success with heavy casualties. There
still is much hard fighting ahead of
us and many more heroic Allied sol
diers will make the sacrifice for our
cause.’’
Over in Russia, the Red Army is
still making progress in its drive
toward Smolensk, and is within
about 37 miles of the important base
held by the Germans. The drive has
been slowed, the Germans apparent
ly having shifted some of their
strength from the Kh.arkov-Belgor
od area to the defense of the city.
One of the greatest battles of the war
is believed well in the making there.
To the south, the fighting has de
creased in intensity, but in the Cau
casus the Russians have made con
siderable progress against the enemy
during the past two days
Hitler and his crowd are getting
jittery over a possible invasion, a re
port stating this morning that entire
villages are being blown up to make
way for defense preparations. Huge
reinforced concrete walls are being
erected there, the report added.
Little activity has been reported
over the continent recently, but the
(Continued on page six)
-®
Fifteen Drunks In
Mayor s Court Here
Rounded up by officers over the
week-end, fifteen persons charged
with drunkenness were carried be
fore Justice J L. Hassell this week.
The proceedings:
George Foreman, drunk and dis
orderly, $8.50 costs.
George Williams, drunk and dis
orderly, $8.50 costs.
John F. Richards, drunk and dis
orderly, $8.50 costs.
Henry Dwyman, drunk and disor
derly, $8.50 costs.
Abe Roberson, drunk and disor
derly, $8 50 costs.
Leon Pool, drunk and disorderly,
$8.50 costs.
Levy Jones, drunk and disorder
ly, $8.50 costs.
Sam Roberson, drunk and crying,
$8 50 costs.
Noah Andrews, drunk and disor
derly, $7.50 costs.
Linwood Powell, drunk and disor
derly, $7.50 costs.
Willie Keys, drunk and disorder
ly, $7.50 costs.
Roosevelt Everett, drunk and dis
orderly, $6.50 costs.
Carl Mills, drunk, $8.50 costs.
Rosa Lee Mills, drunk, $8.50 costs.
Joe Mills, drunk, $8.50 costs.
.JoiiJl Meeting Will Consider
Farm Classifications Tuesday
The Martin County Draft and War
Boards in a joint meeting here next
Tuesday evening will consider the
first claims for classification under
the farm production plan, Draft
Board Chairman K. H. Goodmon an
nounced this morning. There are sev
eral hundred registrants in this
group, but the board will hardly be
able to consider more than one hun
dred of them at the joint meeting.
No official information is to be
had at this time, but it is generally
believed that comparatively few of
tiie registrants are supporting claims
for classification under the farm
production plan. Following the meet
ing next Tuesday night, the Draft
Board will notify the registrants of
the action taken. Those who are
placed ir. the 1 A group will be al
lowed thirty days to alter their pro
duction schedules to meet the re
quirements If they are unable to
change their production schedule
and add more units, then the regis
trants will be continued in the 1-A
classification under the rules and
regulations existing at this time.
While the machinery is being set
in motion for the classification of
registrants under the farm produc
tion plan, the draft board is going
ahead with its plans to draw and
draw heavily from the group of sin
gle men with dependents and mar
ried men without children. One hun
dred claims to deferment were re
viewed this week, and other claims
are being filed but in comparative
ly small numbers so farm. These
claims must be filed immediately if
they are to get consideration, for it
is understood that the draft contin
gent is scheduled to leave the coun
ty about the middle of April. Hww
cases handled last Monday night may
be reopened for the most pert only
by appeal to the district &ppM&
board.