North Carolina Newspapers

MAKE EVEBY PAY DAY WAR \\ Jk bond DAT tm SKKDwt—SAn Mnum VOLUME XLM—NUMBER 59 THE ENTERPRISE Williamalon, Martin County, IS'ortli Carolina, Tuesday, July 27„ 1013. OVER Tilt TOP FOR VICTORY witb UNITED STATES WAR BONDS'STAMPS ESTABLISHED 1899 Fighting Continues Despite Diplomatic! Front Developments "AmcrwinsT! h a s i n g*I<!ruoiiv Across Sicily; Russians 1.losing Ore! I ran Despite the bombsheliithrown in to the diplomatic ranks by the oust ing of Mussolini last Sunday, hon est-to-goodness fighting continues on the far-flung battlefronts and in thejajr over Gerrn;u^jan^nc( upied " territory* The developments on the diplomatic front stole the head lines all right, but it is quite clear that the work of the fighting forces during the past few days is just as important as any done by them since the war started. In Sicily, General Patton’s Amer icans are chasing the enemy across the northern part of the island for a final showdown around Messina. No pause in the fighting there has followed Marshal Pietro Badoglio’s entry into the picture, but it is ad mitted that the Italian remnants are fleeing after a somewhat disorgan ized fashion Just what Hadogliu will do is not known b;;* h& delays in suing for peace, the Allies can be ex pected to pound and scar Italy. U. S. Seventh Army units have captured Termini, 20 miles east of Palermo, it was officially announc ed, but are already far east of that north coastal port in their dash to ward Messina, and have taken 7.000 more prisoners, inc.uding six Ital ian generals and one admiral, in their mopping up of western Sicily. Nazi Field Marshal Gen. Albert Kesselring threw a resurrected 29th motorized division into the hopeless struggle in eastern Sicily, apparent ly hoping that it and two and a half other German divisions already en gaged would be able to delay the Allies long enough to establish a new defense line for besieged Eu rope. Whether this new line would be in southern Italy despite Mussolini’s collapse or be somewhere north in the Po Valley, Hitler’s headquarters itself may not yet have decided. The new American advances on the northern flank promised to turn the Messina bridgehead into a sec ond Cap Bon, where the last Axis remnants were trapped in Tunisia. Attacking in the central sector against another resuscitated German division—the 15th Armored Division j —the Canadians Dressed forward in- • domitably. Their most recent gains, j however, have not yet been an- j nounced officially. Today’s com munique said only that they contin ued to advance, but their progress j was slowed in the face of bitter re- ; sistance.” The remainder of the British 8th Army, stymied for 10 days on tiie southern outskirts of Catania, con fined its operations to successful pa trols. Gorman reports indicated that the unfortunate Goering and 15th Arm ored Divisions and 29th Motorized Divisions were fated to fight “to the Iasi cartridge” for the fatherland with little chance to escape from Si cily. The surviving Italian forces, equivalent to three divisions, were believed to be in no condition physi cally and mentally to share in this suicidal resistance. The original 29th Division was wiped out.at Stalingrad, and the original Goering and 15tn Divisions were lost in Tunisia. The Allied Air Forces are over occupied France today, pounding the Calais region ,the attack following a raid on Hamburg last night. Ham burg had its fifth attack in 48 hours last night when other German tar gets were smashed. The enemy lost 54 planes and the Allies lost 26, in cluding 22 bombers, in the recent (Continued on page six) Two Seriously Cut Here Last Saturday William Crews, colored, was al most cut to death, and Frank Brown Crews, also colored, was badly hack ed on Washington Street near Buck’s beer stand here late last Saturday night, the carving climaxing a quar rel and a brief fight The cause of lira ukl learned im mediately, hut one report declared that the carver. N. S. Nichols, color ed man, and William Crews argued over women. No preliminary hear ing W'as held, the defendant, Nich ols, waiving the right and gaining his freedom under a $100 bond until next Monday when he is slated to appear before Judge J. C. Smith in the county court. William Crews was said to have knocked Nichols down and started walking away. He had gone only a short distance before Nichols was up and after him with a knife. In the scuffle, they fell to the ground, Nichols inflicting two large gashes on Crews’ head requiring a total of twenty-two stitches to close. Learn ing of the attack, Frank Crews rush ed across the street to lend a help ing hand and Nichols almost carved off two fingers for him and sliced his belly. Fourteen stitches were re quired to close his wounds. Dr. Early sewed until early morn ing handling the two patients’ wounds, it was said. Tobacco Price Average Fixed A t Forty-one Cents Per Pound — ed by the Office of Price Adminis tration for the 1943 tobacco crop, it was announced over the week-end Ranging about three cents a pound higher than the average last sea son, the new figure was received as a fair price by farmers questioned in this community this week. “We had hoped the over-all average would be around 42 or 43 cents, but consider 'ACCO nr’/’M nro to he heid in line along with oth er commodity figures, we guess the average is a fair one,” one farmer declared in voicing the sentiment among those farmers questioned about the new price figure for the current crop. It could not be learned immediate ly what price range if any would be allowed. Last year, it will be recall ed that the price range hardly ever way up in the thirties and was fair ly stable in the forty cent range. Judging from the preliminary an nouncement, the buyer may pay any price he chooses to pay as long as his price average up to January 2, 1944, is not in ercess of forty-one cents a pound. In addition to the weighted aver age of 41 cents per pound for auction ? , ii.y\^genev established e max imum price of five cents a pound fo. scrap tobacco, but such purchases are to be included when the aver age for the season is determined. While the preliminary announce ment is not quite clear in many de tails, it is understood that some of the better types of scrap may be sold on the auction floors and will not come under the $5 price regula tion fixed for scrap tobacco. More Registrants Are Placed In “C” Groups j MEETINC r The VVilliamston Council of Civilian Defense will hold an important meeting at the Court house in VVilliamston, on Thurs day night, July 29th, at 8:30 p. m. At this meeting, Mr. Roy L. McMillan, State Director of Ci vilian Defense will be present and will address the meeting and also present insignias to those civilian defense workers that are entitled to wear them by the virtue of the amount of time and effort given to civil ian defense work. Mr. McMillan is a very inter esting speaker, and is a Past Commander of the American Le gion, and has a very interesting message for the public and the public is cordially invited and urged to attend. Civilian Defense is still high ly important and this is a chance for the citizens to know more about it. Run-Away Girl Is Claimed By Father —*— Finding it too dull in a small up- i state town in New York, Frances Marcinos, hardly 20 years of age, ran away from home about four .years ago. Apparently she returned home for short intervals, for about *i month ago she followed a soldier acquaintance to this section and made her home here up until yes terday. She did not remain idle, and there was no police record until last week-end when she forged an cm. dorsement on a stolen check and was arrested a short time later. No effort was made to prosecute the case, and in Justice J. L. Has sell’s court she was found guilty of trespassing. No fine was imposed and she was released upon the pay ment of the costs. Making the long trip here by bus, the worried father told the court au thorities thai he had once enjoyed a good business in New York City, that he met with failure and moved to the country near Syracuse. Since that time the young girl had been restless. She was turned over to the falhei and they immediately started the trip home. Absent Without Leave, Soldier Coes To Cunin , -« Absent without leave since July 16, Willie L. Gorham, colored of 221 Wilson Street, Williamston, was turned over to military police here last Saturday and returned to the guard house at Fort Bragg. One report stated that Gorham had bet® absent without- leave -on- a ■ previous occasion. When arrested j last week by county officers, be ex ; plained that he had written to the i Army and told Ihern w'h'he was that if they wanted him they could come for him. They must have want ed him for two military police call ed. ROUND-UP I j Following a week-end of little activity, local and county offi cers had a busy time last Satur day. Eleveu arrests were made during Friday and Saturday, most of them having been re corded just before midnight Saturday, ^t onp time three calls piled up for the officers, and they were bringing them in four at a time in some cases. Seven of the eleven were drunk, one w'ho was hardly able to hold his head up, arguing with the law that he wasn’t drunk. Five of the group were white, several of them being of tender ages. County’s War Board Places Seventeen In Non-Essential Class -$ Approximately One llnmlreil Farmer Keipstrautn Yet To Be ('la*sifie<l Meeting in the agricultural build ing last Wednesday night, the Mar tin County War Board reviewed sev enty-seven farmer-registrant cases and placed sixty of the registrants in the essential or “C” groups. Sev enteen were rated non-essential to the farmer food program, and while they cannot be deferred on that count, it is understood that a ma jority or all but one or two will be exempt from military service on oth er grounds. Briefly stated, few far mers in this county are eligible for service under the unit production plan and the other standard exemp tions. It s-estimated that about I Of? more eases are in the hands of the War [Board waiting classification action. Repeated warnings have been made in those cases where the land lords have not filed a farm work sheet in the office of the county agent, but it is understood that sev eral draft registrants have no farm records available. In those cases it is possible that those registrants will be faced with a call to service soon after the War Beard completes its work. And there is grave doubt if the landlord or the registrant him 'self will be able to do anything about it after *!ie call is received The following men weie ruled es sential to the farm program: Archie Woodrow Barber, w RF'li 1, Jamesville. Wilmer Hassell Tetterton, w, RFI) 2, Jamesville. William Jesse Gardner, w, RFD 2, j Williamston. Doss Corey, col, RFD 1, William ston. Richard Oscar Howell, w, RFD 3, Williamston. Vic tor Lin wood Pierce, w, RFD 1. Jamesville. Ravmond Howell Harrison, w, H FI' 3, Williamston. Willie James Lawrence, col RFD 1, Robersonville. Henry Aubrey Hardison, w, RFD 1, Jamesville. CJevnn James, col, RFD I. James ville. James Perkins, .col, RFD 1, James ville. Ervin James, col, RFD 1, James ville. Joe Church Mobley, w, RFD 1, Jamesville. James David Roberson, w, RFD 1, Williamston. Wilbur David Keys, col, RFD 1, Jamesville. Charlie Bennett, col, RFD 3, Wil liamston. <Continued cm page six) Sale Of Use Stamps Shows Big Increase After getting off to a slow start in this section during the latter part of June and early in July, the sale of the $5 federal use stamps for motor vehicle windshields jumped to the big numbers during the past few days after the Federal Deputy Col lector cited about fortv owners of vehicles bearing no stamp to the post office. None of the cases was prosecuted, but g warning has been issued and owners of vehicles with no stamps displayed on them are sub ject to prosecution in the courts af ter August 1, it was learned today Several cars, traveling from the north, were grounded last week-end until the operators outfitted them with the $5 stickers. So far the local post office has sold 1,158 of the stamps at $5 each. r OPENING DATE Martin County schools, white and colored, will star' the new term on Wednesday. September sion heir yesterday. No holiday schedule was tie tei milled, out the authorities dis cussed the advisability of allow ing only one day for Thanksgiv ing and one week for Christmas. Under such a schedule, the schools, barring handicaps, could complete the nine-months term on May 17, 1944. Board members ,5. I). Wool-, ard, Leslie Hardison, J. H. Eu banks and Geo. C. Griffin were present for the meeting. Farmer Of County Loses (Jas Rations —%— Called before the Martin County Rationing Board and gas and tire ;panels last Friday night, one Martin County farmer lost Ins gas rations and another was issued a stern warn ing again excess driving. Appearing before the board for 'he st i and time in about two months, W L Taylor, charged with driving in excess of his regular allotment, has his A and B books revoked for Sixty days One report stated that the mileage driven was almost dou ble the allotment Facing a similar charge, Dallas Mizelle. of RFD 3, Williamston, was warned against excessive driving, but no action was taken in his case. Very few speeding cases have been scheduled for hearing before the special panel, but a reliable report stated this week that several cases charging excess driving are under advisement and that some of them will likely be called within the next week or two. Reports from the various beaches state that hotels and inns are crowd ed to capacity, that Virginians are riled because they are under ban while the North Carolinians ride to and from the beaches. There are those cases right at home where legitimate requests are made lot special gas allotments but which the board cannot legally grant while “B” and “C” card holders make what are called out and-out pleasure trips. Resentment over the gas rationing system, held to a fairly low point in this county in ret rid months, ss ris ing again. Colored Y outh Is Taken for Larceny —a Dallas Whitley, young colored man, was arrested last Friday or allegedly entering the J H. Terry home in Boar Grass and stealing a lady’s wrist watch, bracelet and a ling. Wlieti arrested, Whitley had the watch on his person and admit ted that In- threw the bracelet and ring away because they would not nt.. The biac let was recovered la ter. The entire 'lorry futility was bus • j liy engaged in tobacco harvesting last Wednesday and it is believed that Whilley went to the home and finding no one there, enh red and stole the watch and jewelry. He was jailed an I bonked for trial. (>irl In Slightly Hurt In /into tccitlrnl Monthly Sidney Scott, eight-year old girl, received a slight neck injury and an estimated $50 property damage resulted when two cars driven by Kelly Rawls and Jasper Scott crash ed head-on Monday afternoon about 1:30 o’clock on the dirt road lead ing from Spring Ck-vu:. Highway No. 04 near Robersonville. Vision on the comparatively nar row road was blocked by a corn field, and the drivers did not see each other in time to turn out, ac cording to information reaching here from Corporal W. S. Hunt, who investigated the accident. f ()\ ERPLANTKI) 11 V. ' —— _" ' .. j Approximately sixty Martin j founty tobacco farmers have planted in excess of their al lotments, intentionally or un intentionally, and the office of the county agent is asking those farmers to recheck their meas urements and report to the of fice. The second measurements are to be approved bv a member of the community committee, the office explaining that pos sibly an error was made in the first surveys. The recheck is to be handled immediately and the report submitted to the office by the latter part of this week. The farmer will gain nothing by destroying the excess plant ings this year as he wii! be sub ject to the 10-cent per pound marketing penalty in any event on the excess portion of his crop. A red marketing card will be is sued him. About one-third of the excess plantings were iimited to one tenth of an acre, but the excess ran as high as 2.9 acres in a few cases. Course Italy Will Follow In War and Certain «—bHi— Step Takt'ii lit Ki*iiit Dii.v lion V\ bon Mu*«ofini Is Givon the Gal** While its real meaning is not yet certain, the collapse of Mussolini's government in Italy last Sunday Is heralded as a step in the right di rection for tlie cause of peace, but there are wide speculations as to what course Italy wiii follow in the future. The guesses range from a continuance of active warfare against the Allies to an actual fighting al liance with the Allies, the less op timistic of the optimists hoping that the Italians under their new gov ernment will adopt and maintain a neutrality status. Mussolini’s downfall, predicted more than two months ago by Al lied leaders, was cheered by the war-weary Italians, but there is some doubt if the people's cry for peace will be heard by Marshal Ba doglio who succeeds t1' T' - as premier. The dour, ho cause Germany is stm®^ ’ ,i repre sen ted in Italy, and because a false self-pride is likely to cause the new leaders to defend their soil. Then, too, the Allies are not at all anxious to get Italy as a fight'ng partner, because her strength is weak compared with that of Ger many, and the liability is great. It is estimated that Italy represents hardly one tenth of the Axis power, but its withdrawal from the war will greatly upset Hitler’s plans. It is quite likely that the approximate ly twenty Italian divisions in the Balkans will be withdrawn, and that if there is any fighting to be continued it will be continued in defense of heme and country. Mussolini’s exit, coming either by the regular old Italian boot method or by resignation, and the possible and complete withdrawal of Italy from the war does not mean that’ victory will follow immediately for the Allies. It must be remembered that Germany still has around 300 divisions and the resources from twelve countries to draw from And bumper crops are being reported in every one of them this year. Yesterday, it was reported that Mussolini had been arrested by Ital ian officers while he was trying to i scape to Germany. The report pos sibly isn’t true, but many wondered •wtea* eh a r;«*:. no re fui'ii. He coUld be arrested on gener al principles, but more specifically as the world’s biggest liar, bully, thief and traitor. In all the confusion only one thing is fairly clear, and that is the Ital ian people are tired of war, never wanted war and are now begging for peace. The ousting of Mussolini has the earmarks of a desperate (Continued on page six) All Cas Coupons To Be Endors'd! Users of gasoline are now liable to lose their gasoline rations if each coupon in their possession is not properly endorsed in ink. The new policy on coupon en dorsements, the chairman said, was taken to assure maximum protection to book holders. Henceforth, motor ists will be required to endorse all coupons immediately upon receipt of renewal gasoline rations, so that they will never have unendorsed coupons in their possession. Endorsement consists of writing - in ink—on the face of each ration coupon, the license number of the vehicle for which the ration was is SUi d and the si-at.v •;?■!. >F-:-4Vr- .»•; is registered. Rationing Calendar Coffee: Stamp 22, 1 lb., August 11. Foods: NF^Q blue stamps, August 7th. Meats: PQRS red stamps, July 31. T red stamp. August 31 Sugar: Stamp 13, 5 lbs, August 15. Stamp 15 and 16, 5 lbs. each, Oc tober 31. Additional sugar may be secured for home canning from Boards. Shoes: Stamp 18, October 31. Gasoime. Bo. 0 A coupon.', Bo e-o-j-.- d;. Youth Venturing Near Crime Trail ——. Possibly there is no marked ten dency on the part of youth as a whole toward the crime trail, but officers declare that the number traveling in “uncertain” places is increasing. Only last Saturday night, four youngsters from a nearby town were taker, into custody by local po lice, and two other teen-age lads were found shortly before Sunday night prowling around on the tops of store buildings on the Main Street. One false move could have presented a serious situation, for of ficer fully armed moved in on then Thi four out-of-town boys, ali of them in their teens, had imbibed too freely of wine and beer, and were driving up and down the streets and highways. Overwhelming Vote Is RATION BOOK 3 The distribution of War Ra tion Book No. 3 is now about complete or will have been com pleted by next Sunday, accord ing to reports reaching here. Those who have not applied for the No. 3 book and those who do not receive their books before August 2 are directed to the County War Price and Ration ing Board for the proper appli cation blanks between that date and August tOth. Those who have not yet re ceived their books as well as those who have not yet filed an | application for the No. 3 book are cautioned not to ask for an ap plication blank before next Mon day. They should call for the blanks between then and Au gust 10 only if they failed to file an application some time ago or have not received their books by August 2nd. Leaf Prices Down In Georgia Are Higher Than Those In 1942 I’l'itrs Kangt1 From Fourteen To Sixty Outs In Early Selling Today Jubilation reigned in Georgia early today when farmers sold the ^ first of their 1943 tobacco crop for prices ranging from fourteen to sixty cents per pound. No general estimate on the average for the early sales could be had here im mediately but one report out of Tif ton indicated that the price figure for the first sales would stand right at $41.50 or a good ten cents per pound above the opening-day aver age a year ago. The first report reaching here stat ed that Vidalia sold the first row for prices ranging from 20 to 60 cents you mgt <nffiir*fpi t*~ I advanced at that time. Tifton, in its first report, said that prices for the first offerings ranged from 30 to 50 cents. The $41.50 price I estimate was offered by independent j sources, and was considered a bit i high by some. The Tifton report add j ed that the quality was only fair, ; that offerings were heavy with j warehouses blocked from wall to! wall Farmers there appeared to be j well pleased with the price ceiling. Combined reports stated that the I farmers were offered a good lug va j riety, that the quality as a whole was better than it was a year ago. The j crop there cured up better than many expected, and farmers were looking forward to making "good” money despite increased production costs. A significant feature of the com bined reports is that the common grades are selling much higher than they did a year ago while the bet ter grades are not selling in propor tion to the inferior ones. A similar situation prevailed on the markets in this belt last season. No late report has been released on Georgia’s production this year, but estimates offered earlier in the season pointed to a 25 per cent drop in the poundage. Judging from the first reports, it is fairly apparent that Georgia to-... bacco is now on a price par witli j other belts. -a, I I obacco Harvesting Is Completed lly Farmer j Farmer Paul Barber of the James- j ville section completed the harvest- ' mg of his tobacco crop yesterday. As fai as it could be learned, Mr. Bar ber is the first farmer in this county ! to complete the' burdensome' 'task. ' Others are expected to complete the j task the latter part ot tins week, but | trVTid ibe tCxi iiaJa iTr fWi> Weeks oe fsic a fiiffjwO'iy Oi' »C1,YI i c. 1.* r’o.i.plci. the task in its entirety. In some cases, harvesting and curing will possibly continue until late August. Mr. Barber, according to one re- ' port, has a very good crop. TIGHTER r v j The lid on the issuance of spec ial gasoline allotments has been lightly clamped down, according to a report coming from the ra tioning board in this county this week. Special allotments are now be ing denied in ail cases except where the applicant has to visit a doctor, according to late in formation coming from the board office. And to get a spec ial ration in that case, the appli cant must first get a certificate of necessity from a doctor and list the number of trips and es timated mileage. Tobacco Program To Continue In Effect During Three Years Larly Return* Show Georgia Voiced Biji Opposition l o Three-Year Plan Led by Martin and Green Coun I ties, farmers in North Carolina fav ored with an almost overwhelming I vote last Saturday the establishment I of tobacco marketing quotas for an I other three years. Complete reports : are not to be had, but according to | preliminary returns, the program was passed by a large percentage. Down in Georgia, a strong opposi | ",,n was voiced against the program, but even there the vote favored the program. North Carolina picked up the weak spots and its sizable vote boosted the marginal total to near ly 94 per cent whereas a fid 2-3 vote would have been sufficient to estab lish the quota system for another three years beginning with the next crop. With 2.311 votes favoring the three year program and Id in favor of one year quotas and only 12 against, Martin County was second in the State in its support of the market ing allotments. Its record vote of 99.5 per cent favoring the program was second only to Greene where a 99.8 per cent vote was recorded in favor of the plan. Voting, while expressing the sen timent of tobacco farmers, was con siderably below the vote cast in 1940 when more than 2,800 farmers participated in and supported a three-year quota system. But no complaint was registered against the size of the vote and the referendum was handled smoothly and without incident in this county. Robersonville let) the opposition this year, but the six opposition votes were small compared with the total favoring quotas. A tabulation of the vote, based on unofficial but reliable returns, follows, by dis tricts •J amesville Williams Griffins Bear Grass Williamston Cross Roads Robersonville Gold Point Poplar Point Hassell Hamilton Goose Nest 225 95 267 194 401 184 350 85 93 98 83 238 vs. 2 0 0 2 1 0 d 0 0 0 0 1 2311 16 12 While this State voted about 20 to I in favor of the pwgr im the vote ratio ranged from about 7 to 1 in South Carolina down to a little ov er 2 to 1 in Georgia, the figures be ing based on incomplete returns. Unofficial reports give the vote for three-year quotas and against quotas as follows, by states: For Against 90,984 5,848 14,046 1,975 7,510 1,017 3,921 2,916 2,138 395 118,599 12,151 Out of an eligibility list of nearly 170.000 tobacco fanners, less than 100.000 participate din the referen dum in this State. ■ • ...*-r—rr. . North Carolina Virginia South Carolina Georgia Florida Considerable Hail Damage In County More than 130 tobacco crops in this county were damaged or vir tually destroyed by the hail and wind storm that struck this county ^a.st Thursday afternoon. No detail 'd estimate, on the. loss could be had immediately, but claims had been fil ed by Sixty farmers who estimated their damage vvpuW nrnge from a bout three percent to a cotal k-ss. The crops of Henry, Dave and Will Rogers in the Bear Trap community of Bear Grass Township were just about wiped out, one report stating that as many as fourteen leaves were ripped from a single stalk and that the remaining ones were dam aged. Farmer R. L. Perry was also understood to have suffered consid erable damage to his crops along with others in that section running from U. S. Highway No. 17 toward Bear Grass. In the Palymra area, Farmers A. P. Hyman, and J. A. Everett report ed substantial losses along with a bout twenty-five or more there. The corn crop was badly damaged by wind in several parts of the county, one report stating that the crop had been almost leveled with the ground in quite a large number of fields. It is estimated that 90 percent of the tobacco acreages in the county is insured, meaning that most of the farmers whose crops were damaged will recover something.