North Carolina Newspapers

THE ENTERPRISE NEARLY 1000 MARTIN COUNTY SERVICE MEN NOW READING THE ENTEPRISE IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD EACH WEEK. NEARLY 1000 MARTIN COUNTY SERVICE MEN NOW READING THE ENTEPRISE IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD EACH WEEK. VOLUME XLV1I—NUMBER 68 H illiawston, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday. August 29, 1944. ESTABLISHED 1899 Americans Pusbisg Enemy Back to Old War I Battle Lines -^ Bulgaria and Finland Believ ed to Be Trying to Get Out of Struggle -$——— Breaking across the Marne River in two places, American forces have just about pushed the enemy back to the starting point of World War I, late reports stating that two bridgeheads had been firmly estab lished across the Marne and that a spearhead had been driven fourteen miles beyond in the direction of 3el gium and hardly five miles from Chateau Thierry. While the advanc ed forces are pushing on toward Bel gium, the Americans are parading today before General de Gaulle in Paris as a fitting climax to the lib eration of the city. To the south, the Allies are mov ing on Nice. Marseille and Toulon have been cleared of the enemy. In the Rhone Valley, a surprise move trapped 15,000 Germans. On the diplomatic front, Bulgaria is expected to follow Rumania out of the war and Finland’s cabinet is meeting in extraordinary session to today, leading observers to believe that the little country is making an other attempt to get out of the strug gle. While heavy fighting rages in some areas, the battle of France is considered about won. The next phase will center around World War I battle lines. It has been pointed out that the Germans have been effect ing a tactical withdrawal from France, that heavy fighting is to be expected when the Maginot and Sieg fried lines are reached. It is believed in some quarters that HitW paid lit tle attention to his in..^.-fortifica tions, that he had his eyes fixed on European lines and that he will be unable to prepare a strong defense around Germany at this late date. Reports state that slave labor is be ing forced to bolster the German de fenses, but those defenses cannot be made formidable at this late date. This is an encouraging picture, but over in the East, the Russians have been poised along the German bor der for several weeks and little or no progress has been reported there lately. It is true that the Russians have veered to the south to clean up Rumania and march into other Balkan territory, but there is some reason for the abrupt stop on the Si lesian border. It is rumored that the Russians are amassing a great force with the expressed aim of renewing the drive into Germany and on to Berlin. In their drive into Transylvania, the Russians are threatening thous ands of Germans, thousands already having fallen prisoner. In the past two months, German casualties on the Eastern Front have been esti mated at a million men. In Italy the Allies are making some new gains, and the fight there is said to be far more stubborn than it has been in France during the past few days. No startling developments have been reported in the Pacific theater in recent days, but the American Air Force continues to pound targets in the paths leading to the Philippines and Tokyo. Tellings blows are still being maintained against Jap shipping off the western coast of Dutch New Guinea. Eight ships were damaged or destroyed in the Dutch East Indies over the week-end, and attacks were carried out with good effect in other areas. -* More Tobacco Barns Destroyed By Fire At least seven tobacco barns were lost by fire in the county last week end, boosting the total destroyed this season to about twenty. Thirteen barns, two belonging to one farmer, were burned earlier in the season. Farmers Staton Griffin and J. S. Ayers lost a barn each last Friday. Mr Griffin's bam housed about 1, 050 sticks of his best tobacco. Mr Ayer*’ barn was located in Cross Roads Township. Most of the losses were in the Rob ersonville section, an incomplete re port stating that five barns burned there during the week-end. Mrs. Cal lie Roberson and Farmers Buck James, George James and Eli Ever ett lost one each. Most of the barns were insured with community mutual insurance groups. Officera Arrest Man At Liquor Still in County -s Jesse Council, young white man, was arrested at a liquor still in Wil liamston Township last Friday by ABC Officer J. H. Roebuck and Deputy Roy Peel. He is scheduled to appear before Judge J. C. Smith in the county court next Monday. Council, using a gas drum for a still, had just fired up the plant and was waiting for the steam to rise when the officers closed in on him. The plant was wrecked and the offi cers poured out approximately 200 gallons of beer. TRIPLE HEADACHE FQ2 NAZIS CONFERRING at Gen. Montgomery’s headquarters in France on further steps toward destruction of Nazi Gen. Von Kluge’s trapped 7th Army in Normandy are Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., (left), just revealed as commander of the armored U. S. 3rd Army that has been routing the Germans; Lt. Gen. Omar S Bradley (center), announced as commander of U. S. ground forces In north'-rn France, and Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, commander under Gen. Eisenhower of all allied forces in that northwestern theatre of war. (International Soundphoto) ROUND-UP v After reporting little activity during several weeks, local and county officers and military po lice had a fairly busy day last Saturday when they rounded up seven alleged violators of the laws. Six of the seven were booked for public drunkenness and one was detained for alleg ed larceny. Four of the group were white and th-ee of the four were serv icemen. The ages of the seven jailed ranged from 18 to 56 years. Large Number Tires Allotted In County —$— One hundred and fifty-six tires— 132 Grade I’s, twelve Grade Ill’s and twelve for small trucks were allot ted in this countv last Friday night. Grade I tires were issued to the following: Thomas Otto Hickman, Robert Langster, B. F. Roberson, J. F. Flan nagan, J. H. Jackson, R. H. Taylor, Richard Brown, E. E. Fisher, C. B. Fagan, Mrs. Daisy A. Lewis, Will Carr, J. G. Staton, E. E. Brown, Mrs. John C. Jones, Helen McBryde, Jim Corey, Archie Griffin, C. L. Tyson, Annie M. Hassell, Floyd Melton, E. R. Rawls, Bennie Bryant, Edward Nicholson. George G. Harris, J. E. Stroud, W. H. White, Charlie Mills, II. G. Harrison, Ernest C. Hays, R. S. Edmondson, Nathan Wynn, Da vis Purvis, Mrs. Charlie Ayers, N. M, Hyrnan, Ed Laughinghouse, C. H. Godwin, Jr., W. E. Manning, Har rison Oil Co., David Searight. Wil liam B. Jones, W. A. Burnett, Briscoe Davis, Kelly Moore, Rudolph Goff, Mrs. W. S. Mallory, J. L. Mobley, R. A. Edmondson, Charlie Butler, C. B. Savage, A. J. Osteen, Wiley Hillard A. C. Roberson, Arthur Rogers, Jay Lilley, H. B. Bennett, Toba Brown, Mrs. Cylabet Rogers, J. R Whitak er, Caddie Mobley, A. E Purvis, Marion T. Holliday, John Manning, Lelia E. Gainor, G. R. Nicholson, J. E. Copeland, Jr., John L. Hassell, Herman Bowen, J. D. Hardison, R. G. Coburn, E. K. Edmondson, Allen Williams, V. L. Roberson, Carey Bry ant, F. A. Whitfield, Ernest Beach, J .L. Wynne, Mrs. John Henry Rob erson, Charlie Fowler, John Ashley Hardison, Jasper Rollins, Edgar II. (Continued on page six) FARM LABOR Apparently expecting the farm labor shortage to reach a climax in late September and early Oc tober, numbers of farmers are applying for prisoner-of-war la bor at the office of the Martin County farm agent. Nearly 100 applications have been filed to date for war prisoners to be used in harvesting the peanut crop. A few farmers are also asking if the war prisoners will be made available for cotton picking. No wage scale for stacking peanuts has been fixed, but a public hearing will be held in the Martin County courthouse next Tuesday between 10 a. m. and 4 p. m. and a wage scale or pay for piecework will be dis cussed. Farmers and public workers are asked to attend the hearing and give their views and testimony. Jamesville Handles Over Two Thousand Red Cross Bandages —«— Renew Earnest Appeal For More Volunteers at Eoeal Station -■ ■ The task of preparing 50,400 sur gical dressings for the United States Army was advanced greatly yester day when volunteers in Jamesville completed and delivered 2,100 of the dressings to the Red Cross headquar ters here. The volunteers there call ed for another allotment, the spokes man explaining that the volunteers would get right to work on it and complete the second task as soon as possible. A surgical dressing project has been started in Hamilton in addition to a knitting allotment. No report has been received from the newly organized unit. Bear Grass is open ing its bandage room each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Locally, the room is holding its own but shamefully few new volun teers have reported to help complete the task and much work is yet to be done. No one would deny another a single pleasure, but it is earnestly hoped that more women of the town will volunteer. It has been suggest ed that more of the young people could really lend a valuable aid if they would visit the room a few hours each week. Possibly il will do more good for the young people to visit the bandage room once in a while than it will to open the recrea tional room so often. The faithful few who have been almost sacrificing their own work are not complaining, but they sim ply can’t understand why more vol unteers do not report and help out. It is a known fact that some haven’t ghen up a single trip, show or jiar ty to go to the room, and yet they are much in the public eye. A i enew ed appeal is being made, urging ev eryone who can possibly do so to visit the room and help complete the current quota. Some of the reg ular attendants are getting a bit dis heartened, and unless more volun teers report and report at once, it is possible that the chapter will have to cancel future allotments. The names of the volunteers who (Continued on page six) -- ‘Dead’ Man Arrested And Placed In Jail - - — <3 Tom LeRoy Pitt, county colored man who was reported to have died of injuries received in an automo bile-cart wreck in the Robersonville section several weeks ago, was ar rested in Robersonville yesterday and transferred to the county jail here. Iftiable to raise bond he con tinues in jail and will be carried be fore Judge Smith next Monday in the count;, court. Advised unofficially that Pitt had died, officers marked the case off their books, but later learned that he was very much alive and under going treatment in a Tarboro hospi tal. Losing the sight of one eye, the man was not taken into custody while he was undergoing treatment, but when he made his appearance in public yesterday, he was arrested and jailed. Several persons riding in the cart into which Pitt drove his car, were badly hurt. MARTIN*COUNTY In WORLD WAR I (Reviewed from old Enterprise files twenty-seven years ago) March 8, 1918. Julius Peel who graduated at the first training camp at Ft. Oglethorpe during last year was among the thir ty-eight who were promoted to sec ond lieutenants in the Quartermas ter's Department at Camp Jackson on February 25th. Monday evening at the Brick Warehouse, the Patriotic Club gave a most enjoyable dance, the Jazz Band of Kinston furnishing music. The club is composed of a number of young prominent colored men of the town and the officers are, Hezikiah Spruill, president; Leon C. Andrews, secretary; J. R. Williams, treasurer, The dance was given in honor of the colored men in the selective draft. March 15, 1918. Saturday afternoon, a number of women met at the Courthouse for the purpose of forming a Williams ton Unit of the Council of National Defense. Mrs. John L. Hassell was made chairman; Mrs. Wheeler Mar tin, vice-chairman;; Mrs. Oscar An derson .treasurer; Miss Daisy Man ning, secretary. March 22, 1918. Sergeant Dennis Taylor, who is at Camp Jacksor, is at home on sick leave. The Martin County Board of Ex emption sent the following six men to Camp Jackson on Wednesday morning. These six men were neces sary to complete the quota that was due some months ago: Thomas V. Davis, Clyde M. Robbins, William Clarence Wallace, of Jamesville; S. H. Grimes, of Robersonville; Marion L. Burnett, Oak City; B. F. White hurt, Williamston. March 29, 1918. Louis Manning, who volunteered to go to France with a regiment of New Hampshire troops, stationed at Camp Greene, has sailed for “over there.” He makes the second Wil liamston boy, so far as is known, who has gone over, to loin in the fight. Jack Edwards went on a transport but returned and is now in Brook lyn..Lieut. J. W. Watts, Jr., is in England at the present time. Pvt. Thomas J. Smith, stationed at Camp Lee, was in town Saturday visiting friends. April 5, 1918. Tuesday morning, forty-five se lected colored men entrained here for Camp Grant, Illinois. Every member of the Board of Exemption was present to see them off and several hundreds of both white and colored people were at the station to bid them goodbye. This is the first squad of colored men to leave Martin County, though a number volunteered for service. April 12, 1918. Saturday night, Sheriff Page with Capt. W. C. Manning and Policeman Page went out in to the county to capture what is believed to be Mar tin County’s first deserted. He had been hiding at home evading the of ficers for some time. The officers lo cated him at the house of a neigh bor where he was visiting a girl friend. Tuesday morning, C. F. Page left with him for Camp Lee, Vir ginia. II. Marriott Britt, Hospital Corps, U. S. N., of Norfolk, visited his par ents here last week. Private Hunter Price, of the Nav al Reserves, is in town this week to ‘■ec his wife, who was ill for several days. April 19, 1918. Arthur White left Wednesday for Norfolk where he will enlist in the NaVy. Reginald Burrell, who is in the Naval service, is at home on a visit to his parents. April 26, 1918 William J. Bryan is coming to Wil liamston tomorrow afternoon, at which time he will deliver an ad dress. Martin County has never had so distinguished a visitor as “The Great Commoner.” He comes under the auspices of the Home Guards. Lieut. LeRoy Anderson was at home several days last week. He was eri route from Fort Sill, Okla., where he has been attending the Fire School of the Army. (Continued on page six) THE RECORD SPEAKS . . . No accidents were reported on the streets and highways of this county last week, but patrolmen pointed out that increased activ ity could be expected now that the markets are open and that the danger ordinarily existing is being aggravated. The following tabulations of fer a comparison of the accident trend: first, by corresponding weeks in this year and last and for each year to the present time. 34th Week Comparison Accidents Inj'd Killed Oam'ge la-14 0 0 0 $ 000 1943 3 2 0 1200 Comparison To Date 1944 44 23 1 7850 1943 29 14 5 4775 * Opening:“Sales Average Right At $43 Per Hundred Pounds on the Local Tobacco Market Yesterday f 9 " Opening Day Sales Smallest In More Than Twenty Years —♦— Inferior Grades Said To Be Rriiiiring An All-Time Record Price Handling possibly the smallest opening-day break in a quarter of a century, the local tobacco market yesterday sold 117,724 pouiu.s of the golden leaf, including much of the nondescript type, for an average of $42.91. Despite the low poundage, the opening was one of the most suc cessful ever reported here. Sales were handled in less than two hours and the rush and confusion ordinar ily marking the openings in years past were not there. "It was one of the smoothest openings I have ever seen,” a farmer commented as he witnessed the selling organizations pull up the curtain on the new mar keting season. The quality, without doubt, was the poorest seen on the opening in many years, and farmer after far mer readily admitted that his offer ings brought far more than was ex pected. Nondescript grades sold as high as 40 and 41 dollars per hun dred while the price ranged on up to 47 and 48 dollars. The green grades while averaging possibly more than they did a year ago, were on the low sides and accounted for most of the sales below twenty cents. They were comparatively few, however, ard did not materially disturb the main price range as it held to around 40-45 cents. The opening day price average is about 40 cents per hundred higher than it was a year ago. The opening day break last year was of unusual ly good quality, and this year it was unusually poor. When that factor is considered, prices this year are con siderably higher, many farmers de claring that they beat those received in the last war by a wide margin, ex cepting those paid for the better grades. Farmers commented about the narrow price range. They could not understand why a real sorry grade would sell for forty or forty one cents and a far better grade would bring only 45 or 46 cents. However, they did not offer to com plain, many stating that the market as it is will benefit everyone. No tags were turned yesterday and very tew piles were sold more than once. The opening-day crowd while con siderably smaller than the ones seen here in past years, was larger than many expected. It is believed that a larger percentage of debts and other obligations were met yesterday than an any other opening in years. No big rush in new sales was reported in local stores, and quite a few grow ers deposited their first checks al most in their entirety to their bank accounts. The small break and those certain to follow during the next few days ’re readily understood since the crop harvest is the latest in years. Quite 1 f w farmers are finishing the har (Continued on page six) Farm Bureau Leaders Plan Annual Drive For Members Tentative plans for launching the annual Farm Bureau membership drive in this county were made at a meeting of farm leaders in the high school gymnasium here last Friday evening. Called by Secretary L. L. McLendon, the meeting heard Will Rogers, assistant State secretary, and comments from other leaders. The county unit of the organization will work for 1,500 members during the drive scheduled to get underway on Friday of this week. Assistant Secretary Rogers, for merly connected with the Agricul tural Adjustment Administration where he was in a position to see the value of a strong farm organi zation, outlined the work the na tional organization had accomplish ed in recent years. Mr Rogers has been in a position to observe the un told value of the Farm Bureau Fed eration in influencing favorable farm legislation in past years. And he is convinced that the organiza tion’s work in the future should be even more valuable and certainly more important than that accom plished in the past. The organization is winding up its fiscal year on the first of October, and the leaders of the Farm Bureau are anxious to complete the mem bership drive and outline its pro gram for the new year by that time. Last year, the organization boasted 1,194 members. At one time, this county virtually led the State, and even though the organization has continued to grow, other counties, recognizing the value of the federa tion’s work, have forged ahead in the number of members. All farm ers, business and professional men are being asked to support the mem bership drive which is based on ' $3 per member. County Young Man Writes About Life In French Fox Hole -$ Roy Maiming Briefly Reviews Aelivilies on Western Rattle Front -• Writing to his brother, Daniel Manning, under date of August 12, Roy Manning tells about life in a fox hole and briefly reviews a few high spots on the battle front in France. His letter follows, in part: “I’m doing all right. Never felt bet ter in my life or been much richer. I have eight cents to my name. IBut who needs money in France? I’m liv ing like a king. I have my private home—dimensions: eight feet by two and one-half feet and four feet deep. The lid slides in and out and forms a perfect desk. The front section, as you can readily understand, is my office At present I own this part of France. I’m writing with a Ger man pencil and the paper is French. The Iwo can't seem to get together, so you probably won’t be able to read this. The cigar I’m smoking once be longed to some Nazi, a son of Hitler, but he doesn’t need it any more. I lit the thing with a French match, so I’m having a terrible smoke. The cider I’m drinking is purely French but don’t think I’m robbing these poor French people; the stuff is just about vinegar and no self-respecting Frenchman would drink the stuff. “I was just interested by the bus iness at hand. Just what that busi less was I am not at liberty to say. "I just read in The Enterprise about Vernon Griffin’s experiences with the Oriental bugs. Well, we have about as many varieties here as any place I’ve seen. While I was busy just now my cup of cider col lected three yellow jackets, one horse fly and three unidentified spe cies. “I want to tell you about the most versatile item of GI equinmcnt ever invented. It is a U S helmet M l T< begin with it is made to lit both ends—you can wear it as head gc'Sf^ (Continued on page six) Jamesville Youth Is Wounded In France Sgt. Charlie Modlin was wounded in action over in France the latter part of last June or early July, ac cording to information received by his father, Mr. Frank Modlin of near Jamesville a short time ago. He is believed now to be in a hospital somewhere in England. The naturi of his wounds was not revealed, bu* in a letter received by his wife, th< former Miss Myrtle Leggett of Beth el, he complained of pains in his arm and back. It was also stated that he was improving, but he was quoted as saying that he thought his recov ery was slow. The young man entered the serv ice in September, 1942, and went overseas last February after train ing at Fort Bragg, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Nashville, Tennessee, and Breckenridge, Ky. He is believed to have been in the first D-Day inva sion. According to the best information to be had here, more Martin County men were wounded out of the group going overseas last February than in any other. Young Modlin is the 31st Martin County man known to have been wounded in the war to date, and the seventh in France. Sgt.. Modlin has a brother, Asa, in the Navy. ( GERMAN FLAG ! v_' Fighting somewhere in France, Cpl. F.rnie I.ee Modlin, young son of Mr. Joe Gray Modlin of Jamesville, shot down a Nazi flag and sent it to his brother, Elmer Modlin, a short time ago. The flag had two bullet holes in it. Cpl. Modlin has been over seas since February and stated in his last letter that he was Ret ting along all right. His brother, Elmer, was wounded in the Mediterranean campaign and was given a med ical discharge some time ago af ter he was wounded. TOWN - FARM IN WARTIME (A weekly news direst from the rural press section of the OWI news bureau) Millions Trained for War Jobs During the past four years, more than 13,300,000 men and women en rolled in organized training pro grams for war jobs, Paul V. McNutt, chairman of the War Manpower Commission reports. The training was provided by agencies cooperat i ing with the WMC Bureau of Train ing. Of this vast group, the Food Production War Training program, conducted through vocational agri culture schools had 3,035,56(5 enroll ments. The Engineering, Science and Management War Training program, given in selected colleges, had 1.558, 123 enrollments. The Training With in Industry program enrolled 1,-1 375,767 supervisors who, in turn. I provided instruction for millions of war plant workers. The National Youth Administration, which is no longer in existence, provided train- j ing for 772.756 persons, during 1912 and 1943 fiscal years. Veterans Learn of Riehts, Benefits Every veteran, upon being dis charged, will receive a booklet en- ! ou'ed “Vomj^ritts and Benefits, a! nahety lium^Wr Veterans of the Armed Forces and Their Depen dents.” The booklet was prepared by the Retraining and Reemnloy ment Administration of the Office of War Mobilization. Nearly 2,500, 000 copies of the booklet are now available. Veterans who have already been discharged will be able to ob tain copies from draft boards, of fices of Veterans Administration, USES or community veterans’ in formation centers. Meat, dairy and poultry products j head the le t of foods for the Allies, | in the War Food Administration’s | report of July deliveries for ship (Continued on page six) VOTERS \> Late reports from Mr. Sylves ter Peel, chairman of (he Martin County Board of Elections, indi cate that county servicemen and women will participate in the November election in fairly bis numbers, lip until the early part of this week, 193 applications for ballots had been received by the board chairman. Quite a few of the applications were received from servicemen now overseas. Nineteen ballots have already been returned by the applicants and as many as twenty applica tions have been received in a single day. Relatives can help the .young men and women vote by applying to the chairman for ballots for the members of the armed forces. inter Legume Seed ' O s re Now Available A limited supply of winter le • ume erd is now available to Mar 1 in County farmers through the Agricultural Adjustment Adminis tration, it was announced by the office of the county agent this week. A carload of Austrian winter peas " ill be distributed to the first appli cants, and farmers interested in seeding winter legumes arc asked to apply immediately for the seed. There is some doubt if the supply now on hand will be augmented this season. Shipped here from the west coast, presumably from Oregon, the seed are being offered at $7.40 per 100 pounds. It is estimated that 100 pounds will seed about two and one half acres. Any farmer may get his entire soil building payment in seed or at the rate of 75 cents per acre times the number of crop land acreage, plus increases where the acreages are limited. -a Vance Roberson Resinns As Ration Board Tire Member Vance L. Roberson, a member of the Martin County Ration Board’s tire panel for the past several months, recently resigned. He was succeeded by another Robersonville man, Mr. G. A. Wetherington, who attended his first meeting last Fri day night. No resignation statement was is sued by Mr. Roberson as far as it could be learned.