OVUTMCTOF Y&J for victory ykrfA UWTED STATES WAI BONDS-STAMPS THE ENTERPRISE MAKB XTUIT PAT PAT WAR BwNO DAT mnm-un mum VOLUME XLVII—NUMBER 30 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, April i !, 1944. ESTABLISHED 1899 Eiglity-eighi Tires Allotted In County a BubA AltlU Marked Shif' from Grade III TTPrT!?55?TIfeMs Quite Noticeable -$—— The Martin County War Price and Rationing Board last Friday night issued eighty-eight tires, 34 grade I’s, 25 Grade Ill’s, and nine for trucks. There was a marked shift from the issuance of Grade III tires to those of first grade. This can mean one of two things, either the supply of the inferior grade is about exhausted or the supply of the better type is being increased. It has been estimated that 24 mil lion tires will be made available to civilians this year, but that the demand will be nearer 32 million. Grade I tires and tubes were is sued to the following: W. E. Everett, Robersonville, one tire and one tube. Town of Williamston ,one tire and one tube. Paul Brown, RFD 1, Oak City, one tire and one tube. Standard Fertilizer Co,, Williams ton, one tire and one tube. John Edwin Manning, Williams ton, one tire. J. H. Harrell, Oak City .one tire. W. R. Powell, Robersonville, one tire and one tube. W. T. Hyman, Robersonville, two tires and two tubes. Nathaniel Coltrain, RFD 2, Wil liamston, one tire. David Mizelle, Jamesville, one tire and one tube. Marion T. Hollliday, RFD 1, Jamesville ,one tire and one tube. Carl R. Garrett, RFD 1, Williams ton, one tire. F. W. Holliday, RFD 1, James ville, one tire. Martha Osborne Harris, Williams ton, one tire and one tube. L. J. Mills, Jr., RFD 3, Williams ton, one tire and one tube. Robert L. Ward, RFD 3, William ston, one tire and one tube. Harvey Warren, Robersonville, one tire and one tube. W. B. Harris, RFD 1, Williamston, one tire and one tube. J. H. Chesson, Williamston, one tire and one tube. Leo Roberson, Williamston, one tire. J. T. Phelps, RFD 2, Williamston, one tire and one tube. G. W. Barrett, Oak City, one tire. John Leggett, RFD I, Roberson ville, one tire and one tube. L. H. Taylor, RFD 2, Williamston, one tire and one tube. C. E. Jenkins, RFD 3, Williamston, one tire. W. B. Peele, RFD 2, Williamston, one tire and one tube. A. W. VanNortwick, RFD 2. Wil (Continued on page six) -• Few Determents For Men Between 18 And 26 Believed Likely Agriculture- Not Included in List of Fourteen Criti cal Occupation* That there will be few deferments for young men between 18 and 25 years of age, inclusive, including those engaged in agriculture; was made fairly certain this week when Selective Service Director Lewis B. Hershey announced that recognition will be given only those young men who hold jobs in one of fourteen critical fields. Farmers in the youth ful age group have the 16-unit plan to support their deferment claims, but it is generally conceded that the requirement is almost beyond the realm of a possibility, meaning that farmers, 18 to 25, are to reasonably expect calls to report for service. The list of fourteen critical job classifications announced by Her shey is, for the most part, foreign to this area. It deals with highly tech nical jobs and other fields of activi ties where serious shortages exist. But even in those fields the number of deferments is likely to be small. Hershey notified state draft di rectors that they may recommend de ferments for men under 26 only if fWf'V*- ;>/■$.•-employed in such actlvi lies All otnt‘ti lit subject to immediate draft. The stringent new yardstick is aimed at providing as many young er men as possible for the armed forces. It does not apply directly to men 26 or over. Deferments for men in this group still will be governed by whether they are qualified as neces sary men under the previous list of 35 general fields of essential activ ities. Local boards already have been instructed to be more lenient with men as they fall into the older age groups and, other things being equal, to grant deferments more liberally to pre-Pearl Harbor fathers. Thus, boards are instructed to be more lenient with men 30 and over than with those in the 26-through 29 bracket. Pre-induction physical examinations and drafting of essen tial men in these two groups has been suspended temporarily until the list of men under 26 is combed. Four Offices In This County Are ‘Beg&iug’for Candidates W hile' de velopmf and tomorrow evening at 6 o’clock ent time four political cflices in this county are literally "begging” for candidates, Mr. Sylvester Peel, chairman cf the board of elections, stating that up until laie yester day not a single contest had been created within the county, that as far as he could learn no district contest had developed. Bids for places in the county’s political circle had been filed by two new candidates up until late yesterday, but even their appear ances had created no contest. Charlie G. Gurkin Jamesville Township farmer, filed f\_. a place on the board of commissioners, and Ferd W. Holliday, a farmer also of James ville Township filed for board of education membership. Other fil ings were announced by the elec tions chairman as follows: C. A. Roberson, Robersonville; R. Lee Perry, Bear Grass, and R. A. Hai slip, Oak City, for county commis sioners. There is still one opening on the board, and it is expected that Commissioner C. D. Carstarp ■. l U a vTTu nwo | tomorrow evening. No information I could he had from Commissioner | served as a member of the board for ! a number of terms. Mr. Holliday’s candidacy for the board of education is the only one that was announced by the elections chairman for one of the three posi tions soon to be open. Clarence W. Griffin iias filed for the State House of Representatives; R. H. Smith for judge and Elbert S. Peel for solicitor of the county recorder’s court; J. Sam Gctsinger fur register of deeds; R. H. Smith for treasurer, and Chas. R. Moore for constable of Williamston Town ship No one has filed for surveyor, and that position along with the two on the board of education and one on the board of commissioners is begging for candidates. Mentioned as possible candidates, Dr. John D. Biggs and H. G. Horton were quoted as saying they would not enter the house race. It was ru mored that J. It. Winslow, Roberson ville, would oppose Clarence Grif fin, but no official announcement has been made. More Martin County Men Called By Army TO SPEAK HERE v. Dr. Clyde A. Erwin, State Sup erintendent of Public Instruc tion, will address a county meet ing of parents and teachers in the high school auditorium here next Thursday evening at 8:30 o'clock. Bed Cross Chapter Gets Bandage Quota —<$.— The Martin County Chapter of the American Her) Cross is being asked to prepare 25,200 surgical dressings during the month of June. No quota was assigned this chapter for either April or May, Mrs. J. B. Taylor, chairmen, explaining that material could not be had In a letter to Mrs. Taylor this week. Red Cross authorities stated that shipments of gauze are slow because of labor shortages. “These are factors which the Red Cross cannot control and which make it impossible for surgical dressings chairmen and workers to count on an even, steady flow of work,” the letter explained. The letter continued: "It is a difficult situation for ev eryone concerned in the surgical dressings program but it must be understood as a wartime condition for which there is no immediate remedy and accepted with patience and fortitude. Up to date it has been possible to deliver the number of dressings asked for per month. This schedule can and will be maintain ed provided prompt, complete ship ments of gauze are maintained. “The total of dressings shipped to the Army during the calendar year 1 — (>o on the changing rules and reg ulations that would fill sever \ al ordinary sire books. Russians W ithin 23 Will's of Sevastopol -Ll Crimean liner riionsamU o Mrm.ifv PouiimnfTTutler s Kuropcan For Ur Driving within twenty-live miles of Sevastopol, the Russians should ha\e the Crimea within the next day or two, the campaign having featured the war in the south these past few days. Moscow dispatches declare that the fait of the important Black Sea base is possible, and judging by the speed with which the armies of Tolbukhin and Yeremenko are thrusting through the peninsula from north and east, it appears probable. Following the initial break through fast week-end—across the Kerch Straits, across the Sivasli Sea and down through the Perekop Isthmus, Axis resistance melted, and today the Nazis are in disorderly re treat. Land fighting on other fronts is not very active just now, but the air war against Germany and oc cupied territory is being increased. Ten thousand Allied planes have spread a rain of death and destruc tion over Hitler’s Europe during the past six days. Striking far and wide from England and Italy, Ihcfy let fly with no less than 1 15,000 tons of bombs, smashing Axis factories, communication lines, installations and equipment. The increased tempo of the air war is bringing its invasion jitters. Last night an invasion alarm was sound ed, but it was declared unfounded. A Berlin broadcaster related a story that proved nothing more than a close parallel to the one told by Or son Wells about the men from Mars several years ago. The Berlin man apparently was talking about the Dieppe raid made by the Canadians, and for a while it was thought he was describing a raid in progress at the time. The Allied position m Burma and India is thought to be improved. Action on the Italian front still looks like sparring preliminary to opening of fairly large-scale light ing soon. During the meantime, the Italian campaign is a sore spot for tlie Allies as well as for the Germ ans. Citizen Dies At His Home Near Oak City Thursday —L# Funeral Tomorrow Afternoon For J. !W. C. Nelson, 8(1 Years Old ——>»——— J. M. C. Nelson, one of the coun ty’s oldest citizens and retired far mer, died at his home near Oak City last evening at (i o’clock. He had been in declining health for some time, but was able to be up and about the home until a short time ago when he suffered a stroke of paralysis. Ills condition had been critical since that time. The son of the late Jesse and Clarey E. Brown Nelson, be was born in Greene County 88 years ago. He moved to this county from Pitt about thirty years ago and success fully engaged in farming until feeble health forced his retirement. Mr. Nelson was a faithful member of the Primitive Baptist Church at Conoho, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. He is survived by one son, C. L. Nelson, Sr. two sisters, Mrs. Alice Tripp of Kannapolis and Miss Eunice Nelson of Oak City, and a brother, Walter Nelson of Indiana He also leaves two grandchildren. Funeral services will be conduct ed at the home Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock by Elder W. E. Grimes. Interment will follow in the family cemetery on the Jesse Nelson farm in Pitt County, near Ayden. Art Exhibit at Club Room Next Week !■' : ■ f'JL . will be displayed in the Woman’s Club Hall here. The exhibit will be held here through Friday, and the hall will be opened to school chil dren when accompanied by their teachers from 9 a. m. to 3:30 p. m each day except Tuesday when the hall will be opened to adults until six in the evening. Small admission fees are being asked to defray ex penses. The fine aits department of the club was very fortunate in its ef forts to schedule the exhibit, and ii is believed that goodly numbers wil visit the club hall during the week. Several Instructed To Report For Examinationi According to unofficial informa tion, quite a few Martin Countj white men, mostly between the agei of 18 and 26, were instructed thii week to report next Monday for pre induction examinations. PT SKIPPERS ABOARD WAR PRIZE # THIS QUARTET of PT boat commanders Is on board a captured Jap barge at an Allied base in New Guinea. They have accounted tor t!(> enemy barges among them They are (I. to r.)' Lt. Edward P Farley. New York City; Lt. Comdr. John Harllee, Wash., D. C ; Ensign Robert Hunt, Marshalltown, Iowa: Lt. Rumsey Ewing, St Louis. Mo. (International) County’s Liquor Sales Nose Dive In Past Year Total of $1,1)32,383.15 Is Spent For Liquor Since Stores Opened Sulrs for Last Tlirei* Months Of 1913 $54,116 Small or Than in 1912 -% The gradual decline in liquor sales reported by the Martin County ABC stores during the first three quarters of 1943 was accelerated and took the form of a nose dive during the fourth quarter ending last Decem ber 31, according to a review of the system’s official audit just released. After reaching an all-time high $137,47(1.80—in the fourth quarter of 1942, the sales dropped to $63, 330.40 in the 1943 fourth quarter, a reduction of $54,146.40. It would ap pear that rationing had its effect. Outside the sales reported at the end of 1943, the gross revenue for the fourth period of 1943 was the larg est reported for any corresponding quarter on recffrd, and about two and one-half times greater than those for the three months of Octo ber, November and December, 1935, the first year the stores were open ed. Increased prices are reflected in the liquor sales, giving sobriety a small advantage, at. least. But the loss m legal sales was to some ex tent, at least, offset by increases in the illicit traffic. This does not mean that illicit manufacturing has in creased in this county, but there have been signs indicating that the importing business was picking up, that Craven and possibly other counties have supplied Martin Coun ty guzzlers with illicit brands. To date, the legal stores have sold more than one and one-half million dollars worth of liquor, or $1,532, 383.15, to be exact, since the county went into the business in July, 1935. Rationing continues fairly “tight” and it is predicted that sales will gradually show a “decrease from time to time, but no nose dive simi lar to the one recorded for the last three months of 1943 is to be expect ed unless prohibition strikes through a national shortage. M Wine and beer sales are holding to fairly high levels in this county, but no record of those sales is to be had. It is believed that, they almost equal the legal liquor store sales in size. Despite the decrease in «al“S, the ABC system is in a healthy state fi nancially. It has assets in the sum of $54,308.74. including $9,245.64 cash, accounts receivable, $31,627.37; in ventories, $12,934.10, and fixed as sets of $501.63. In addition .lo the profits accruing ", i&vr .Mfae.. I ISO UNIT Meeting with local citizens a few days ago, representatives of the National United Service Organizations have agreed to es tablish a unit in the American Legion Hut here, it was an nounced officially yesterday. Plans calling for a few altera tions and the placing of furn ishings in the building, have been made, but it could not be learned w'hen the unit would be established by the national or ganization. Messrs, J. L. Hassell, John I). Higgs and John I,. Goff attended a district USO meeting in Farm ville Wednesday night and ex plained to the leaders there that the Legion Post in this county had willingly offered the use of l x building for the unit. V. GRADUATE J ( pi Charles Wilson Gurkin, .lr., of this' connt.v, was recent ly graduated from the Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery school, Laredo, Texas, and is now await ing an assignment as a member of a combat crew. Few Applying For Absentee* Ballots ~n~ Ilardly more than two dozen ap plications foi soldiers’ absentee bal lots have been filed in this county to date, according to a report just received from Mr. Sylvester Peel, chairman of Martin County’s Hoard of Elections. A few of the absentee ballots for state offices have already been mailed to applicants overseas, hut present indications point to a small soldier sailor vote in the iuuii ty next month. It isn’t too late for relatives to file applications for the absentee ballots, and they are urged to contact their respective election registrars or the board chairman and gel and prepare the proper forms. Further delay will lessen the service man’s chance to participate in the May 27 primary, ""fsW^ieeinan out in California clip ped a form from Ins newspaper and forwarded Ids own application to the hoard chairman, asking for an absentee ballot. Others may use the same form that appeared in this pa per a short time ago and have a bal lot mailed to their sons, brothers or husbands. The chairman points out that only the personnel m the armed forces and merchant marine are eligible to cast absentee ballots in the primary. ny.i tee •ervU;v> mw T I of them were ! be counted in ,n i (.Turned in Time tc the primary. In the general election that year, only twe absentee county. Reports state State Thad Kurt and applications ballots were cast in this that Secretary ol has several thous for the ballots anc it is possible that some of then were filed 1 y Martin County mer scattered in various parts of the world. in non nee Births And Deaths Of Tuin Son> -* Cpl. and Mis. Warren E. Smitl announce the births and deaths o twin sons in a Washington Hospita this week. Funeral services weri conducted at the graveside in th< Smith family plot in the Maysvilli Cemetery Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Smith before her marriagi was Miss Lois Taylor of Williams ton. Cpl. Smith is now stationed witl the armed foices in Australia, Ju limmmi, DtH'kei At Session Last Monday Morning -. Calling eleven cases. Judge J. Calvin Smith cleared the docket in less than an hour and adjourned the regular session of the county recorder's court last Monday morn ing until May 1. No sessions of the county court were scheduled on ac count of the special term of the superior tribunal which was sup posed to get under way next Mon day and run for two weeks. How ever, no court will be held next, week since the county bar has crowded all the civil cases into a two-day scheduled session begin naay, Apr-ir a*: Non-licensed vehicle drivers crowded thedocket last Monday, several of the group drawing brief jail sentences. Proceedings: Charged with drunken driving, Henry Taylor failed to answer when called and papers were issued, call ing for his arrest. His case is scheduled for trial on May 1. A continuance was granted un til May 1, in the case charging Daniel Ryan with drunken driving Judgment was suspended upon the payment of the costs in the case charging James Baker with driving a motor vehicle without an opera tor's license. He pleaded guilty to the charge. Pleading not guilty, LeRoy Law rence was adjudged guilty in the case charging him with operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. Judge Smith sentenced him to jail for two days and taxed him with the case costs. Joe King, charged with operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license, was sentenced to jail for two days and taxed with the costs. Mose Sheppard, facing a similar charge, was fined $10.00 and direct ed to pay the court costs. The cases charging Willie Lilley with operating a motor vehicle with out a driver's permit was con tinued until May I Judgment was suspended upon the payment of the cost in the ease charging James Howard Paramore with allowing an unlicensed diiver to operate a motor vehicle. Albeit Askew, the colored man who dared set himself up in the liquor manufacturing business with in Williamstop’s town limits, was sentenced to jail for two days and was fined $25 and taxed with the cost. Charged with violating the liquor laws, Settler Bond v\ as sentenced to jail fm a day and directed to pay a $25 fine and the court costs. Having failed to meet the terms of a former judgment of the court, Charles II. Williams, charged witii bastardy was sentenced to the roads for six months. The sen tence was suspended on condition that he pay the amounts past due (Continued on page six) Mrs. Samuel Bi^^s Dies After Short Illness Yesterday Ftiiicrul Services To Be lleltl Al Home Near Here Tomorrow Mrs. Mary Louind^ Biggs, widow of Samuel S, Biggs, died at the home of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Marie Wynne Biggs, on the McCaskey Road near Williamston yesterday af ternoon at 1:1)0 ing a very short illness. In apparently good health Wednesday evening, Mi’s. Biggs visited her brother, Mr. Au gustus Keel, who was in the local hospital for treatment. She declar ed at that time that she was feel ing unusually well. Returning home, Mrs. Biggs soon retired for the night and a short time later suffer ed a stroke of paralysis and never re gained consciousness. The daughter of the late James and Elizabeth Bowen Keel, she was borjj in Towmjhha^iear r-.aMBtMkO . ii*P> ' j j t i , v « ."mI l 1 l -v V * - D-ggs who died a number of years ago. Since that time sne had made her home witli the children, living near Williamston most of the time. She was held in high esteem by all who knew her, and although she never affiliated with any church, she was a firm believer in the Prim itive Baptist faith, attending serv ices regularly. She is survived by two sons, Her man and Russell Biggs, of near Wil liamston, and two daughters, Mrs. Robert Rogers, of Oak City, and Mrs. Curtis Mobley of Bear Grass. She also leaves two brothers, Mr. Augustus Keel, of Everetts, and Mr. Bill Keel, of Williamston, and two sisters, Mis. Stephen Bullock of near Williamston, and Mrs. Annie Bul lock, of Everetts. Funeral services will be conduct ' ed at her late home Saturday after* noon at 3:30 o’clock by Elders B. S. Cowin and A. B. Ayers. Interment will follow in the Biggs Cemetery near Williamston.