North Carolina Newspapers

NEARLY 4.000 COPIES OF THE ENTERPRISE GOING INTO THE HOMES OF MARTIN COUNTY AND TO COUNTY SERVICEMEN THE ENTERPRISE VOLUME XLiX—NUMBER 3 Williamsion, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, January 8, 1946 NEARLY 4,000 COPIES OF THE ENTERPRISE GOING INTO THE HOMES OF MARTIN COUNTY AND TO COUNTY SERVICEMEN ESTABLISHED 1899 Sale Of Fertilizer With Chlorine High Content Is Allowed ——<*\~— MannfarJtwrers urtrf .JSetaUerf IVilow Tag On Bag, However The Smith-Douglas Company, Inc,, of Norfolk, Va., manufacturers of fertilizers, won a victory in its dif ference with the State Department of Agriculture, when the State Board of Agriculture passed a resolution permitting the sale of tobacco fertil izers containing 3.5 per cent chlorine in this State through June 30, provid ed each bag carries a yellow tag not ing chlorine content. Heretofore, the maximum content permitted has been three per cent. The question of the maximum con tent of chlorine to be permitted in tobacco fertilizer first arose in pub lic view at a conference here on Wednesday of fertilizer manufactur ers, agronomists, and farmers. The conference was called by Assistant Agriculture Commissioner D. S. Col trane in an effort to determine what should be done with 35,000 tons of “Orange” and "Old Glory'' tobacco fertilizers manufactured by Smith Douglass which contain 3.5 per cent chlorine, in alleged non-compliance with the department’s rule of a per mitted maximum of only three per cent. At the conference, and again at the board session later in the week. Coltrane contended that research ex ports held that a small quantity of Chlorine in fertilizers was helpful, but that a large amount proved in jurious to tobacco, reducing its burn- ! ing qualities and producing a heavy, thick, soggy leaf which did not lend itself to proper curing. “Our control j must parallel research if it is to be effective,” Coltrane said. As he did at the conference, Ralph Douglass, of Norfolk, vice-president of the Smith-Douglass Company, told the board that the offending fertil- 1 izer was manufactured in August and September in ignorance of the maxi mum three per cent requirement. He said that he thought it “remiss” \ of the department to wait until No vember to notify the company of the j maximum. Douglass also questioned the light of the board to impose such a rule j but he did not press the point. Colt- , rane admitted that there was no i “hard and fast” regulation concern ing chlorine content. Douglass ask ed that the board fix a regulation effective on a stated date, or that he be allowed to sell his company’s 3.5 per cent fertilizer with the bags bearing a tag proclaiming the chlo rine content. He insisted, however, i that the tags not be red tags. Red tags denote low quality. After a lengthy discussion, the board went into executive session and emerged with a unanimously; passed regulation which permits Smith-Douglass and any other com pany which may have offended on the same score, not only to sell any fertilizer they may now have on hand containing 3.5 per cent chlo- [ rine, but to manufacture and sell such fertilizers through June 30, i 1946. The regulation states: "The maximum chlorine guaran tee in regulation field crop tobacco fertilizer branded as such shall not be more than three per cent; how ever, said fertilizer may carry a! maximum guarantee for 3.5 per cent I chlorine provided there is attached to each bag in a conspicuous man ner a yellow tag furnished by the State Department of Agriculture reading as follows: ‘This fertilizer contains one-half per cent more chlorine than is rec ommended by the North Carolina Experiment Station or approved by the North Carolina Board of Agri culture. for the growing of tobacco with good burning quality.’ "Said tag shall be placed on all tobacco fertilizers carrying a guar antee for 3.5 per cent chlorine sold or offered for sale whether by the manufacturer or dealer from this date henceforth. This regulation rel ative to 3.5 per cent chlorine shall be null and void on and after June 30. i946." Coltrane and other agriculture of ficials were of the opinion the yellow tag would warn off would-be buy ers and that, in spite of the leeway given manufacturers, no more fertil izer with a chlorine content of 3.5 per cent would be manufactured in the period between now and next June 30. Funeral Held For Victim Of Burning -—— Funeral services were conducted at the graveside near Jamesville last Friday morning for five-year-old Fay Sawyer of Plymouth who was fatally burned two days before Christmas and who died last Thurs day. Rev. W. B. Harrfcpton con ducted the last rites at the home of her grandmother, Mrs. Willie Mob ley in Jamesville Township. Besides her mother and grand moiner, she is survived by'two LituXit ers, Franklin Sawyer of Norfolk, and Coburn Sawyer of Williamston, and a sister, Peggy Sawyer of Plymouth. The child left the familv in one room and went into another and lighted a candle, firing her clothes and fatally burning herself. Warn Farmers of Changes To Come In Farming This Year ___^_ Now that the war is over, many changes in farm production in North Car<rftna will be necessary if heavy ■io s re if ■ * liim ~i t * i* th" last vv„r, are to be avoided, says the sixty-seventh annual report of the Agricultural Experiment Station, recently released by Director I,. D. Baver. The report cites the 30 per cent increase in peanut acreage as com pared with pre-war years as a good example of what has taken place in many phases of crop production. The acreage devoted to truck crops has been increased by about one-half. The increase in hens and pullets has been considerably more than 50 per cent, and indications now point to a large surplus of eggs and poultry meat during the year. “Tobacco gl owers should be or* the, alert for ways of increasing the I quality of the crop and of reducing 1 production costs," the report sug-j £e^ts'~~' Tm?"holds true hot oiiiy for' tobacco but also for all crops and livestock products. “At the present time, additional attention must bo given to produc ing that quality of cotton most need ed by the domestic market.” The report calls attention to the need for more dairy cows in North Carolina but suggests that a large portion of the increase in the num ber of animals be used for family milk cows to improve the general diet of the farm population. “Vegetable crops will have to be adjusted to domestic demands, which may mean a marked decrease in acreage," the report says. Loses Life In County’s First Aeeident In 1946 John Henry Lynch Killed Instantly On Hamilton Road Driver Of Death Car Absolved Of Rlanie Following Investigation The first fatal accident on the j highways of this county in the New Year was reported early last Sunday 'evening when John Henry Lynch, l white man, was struck and fatally injured by a car at the intersection of the Williamston-Hamilton and Poplar Point roads at the Sherrod farm. The victim, his left eye knocked out and his head crushed 'and a leg broken, died on the spot before medical aid could reach him. Accompanied by John Burton, j Lynch got off a truck at the inter section on the Poplar Point Road !side. Partially blind, Lynch started I across the highway and Burton pull ed him back and out of the path of an approaching car. After that car passed, Lnch started across the high way again and walked right into the I radiator grill of a car driven by : Isaac Hobowsky who was driving toward Hamilton. Hobowsky, 43 year-old Scotland Neck man, swerv jed to his left in an effort to miss j Lynch but could not. The car, said to have been running about 35 miles jan hour, traveled hardly more than I seventeen or eighteen yards after | striking Lynch who was carried that distance and dropped to the ground ! a few feet away. Hobowsky was accompanied by | Edward Myers of Scotland Neck [and there were other witnesses to j tile accident who explained that it I could not be helped by the driver of [the car. After investigating the ac cident, Cpl. W S. Hunt of the High j way Patrol, said that no charges [would be brought in the case. Mr. Lynch was born in Nash j County on October 12, 1883, and mov ed to this county and was mairied in 1920 to Miss Sudie Brown who died [in 1940. He worked as a carpenter I for a Hamilton firm for many years, land at the time of his death he was employed by a logging contractor. Several years ago he lost his sight, but partially regained it following an operation. He is survived by six children, Mary, Emma Lou, Lena, John Hen ry, Jr.. Walter Earl and Willie Jesse Lynch; a sister, Mrs. Bob Edmond son fo Hamilton, and a brother, Wil liam Lynch of Hamilton. Another | brother married a German girl in Holland following World War I and (Continued on page six) Car Taras Over In Collie Steamp Early East Sunday A Studebaker, ownership not yet !determined by the highway patrol, turned over in Collie Swamp be tween Everetts and Robersonville during the early hours of last Sun day morning. As far as it could be learned no one was hurt, but no of jficial report could be had since the i accident was not reported in time for a first-hand investigation. ROUND-UP r V. J Five persons were arrested and jailed here over the week-end to run the number of persons incarcerated during the first week of the New Year to 21. Eighteen of the 21 arrested from last Monday until Sunday eve ning were charged with public drunkenness. One was charged with larceny and receiving, one tor assault and the third one was " I'fiai Vrt.' W'i'Ui ki g jiA.hai liquor. All five of those arrested last week-end were charged with public drunkenness. Two of the five were white and the ages of the group ranged from 21 to 3t( years. I PRICE SUPPORT I V _J Addressing a meeting of the Washington Chamber of Com merce and a number of eastern Carolina politicians, Clinton P. Anderson, Secretary of Agricul ture, said that under the Stegall amendment farm support prices would be maintained at 90 per cent oi parity through 1948. The bone of contention now centers around the question. What is parity? Secretary Anderson declared that North Carolina farmers are as solid financially as at any time in their history and the fu ture of agriculture is extremely bright. Many Real Estate Changes In County —®— Quite a few real estate changes have been reported in the county during the p^st few days. Jamesville reported a sale of about a block week before last, one report stating that the property, belong ing to Ira T. Coltrain, sold for $6,000. Another lot on the highway there sold for $500. One or two small tracts of land and several lots and houses were sold in Hamilton last Thursday for a re ported $13,000. The Bennett farm on the Poplar Point Road sold for $2,000, the Groves residence and twelve acres of land in Hamilton for $3,800, the Sherrod house, $2,400. Several lots and tenant houses there sold for $3,275, the lots ranging in price from $125 to $300. The burned residence and lot own ed by K. B. Crawford on Smith wick Street here was reported sold last week-end to S. A. Mobley for approximately $4,000. Mr. Craw ford bought a lot on Smithwick Street and Grace Street extended, near the high school, and plans to build a duplex just as soon as ma- j terials can be had. Mr. D. E. Dar den bought a lot in the same block j a short distance east of the R. Edwin Peele home on Grace Street, extend ed. Mr. Jesse Whitley bought the Hill Woolard home on Grace Street a few days ago. Mr. and Mrs. Wocjlard are planning to move to Plymouth where he is making arrangements to enter 1 the furniture business. -1 Native Of County Dies In Virginia -<*. Funeral services were conducted in Newport News Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock for Mrs. Kate Elizabeth Powell Johnson who died there last Friday afternoon at 1:15 o’clock in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Wil liam D. Baylor. She had been in de clining health for some time. Rev. R. B. Denson of Rocky Mount offi ciated, and burial was in Greenlawn Cemetery, Newport News. Mrs. Johnson was born in this county 86 years ago, and following her marriage to George Powell, a sol dier in the Confederate Army, the ! family moved to Portsmouth about half a century ago, later locating in i Newport News after the death of her husband Mrs. Johnson was a great church woman and a member of a family I for many years prominent in the early history of this county. She was a member of the Primitive Bap tist Church in Norfolk and attended its services for 32 years without a single interruption. Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Baylor, Mrs. T. F. Horner of Arling j ton, V'a., and Miss Enuly Johnson, also 0* Arlington, two sons, G. T. Johnson of Kelford and J. S. John son of Falfurris, Texas; 14 grand children and 12 great-grandchildren. She was a half-sister of the late Mrs. Eli Edmondson of this county and the grandmother of Mr. R. D. Johnson of Williamston. Thousands Trained In North Carolina For War Industries -Q— j.E#UBWrted 100.000 Skilled ! Mfjr and Wom » in*’ iNow Available North Carolina faced the greatest war in history with less than 60,000 trained skilled workers. It faces the new world after the war with almost 200.000 workers who are skilled in a scare of trades and and over hun dred specific jobs. North Carolina has always been a State in which unskilled and semi skilled labor is in such demand that no real need has ever shown itself for skilled labor. When war came there were just enough skilled lab orers to keep active the high-priority textiles, and furniture. Draft quotas, migrations of work ers to industrial centers outside the State cut into the available pool dangerously. Within the public school system, the Vocational Train ing Division produced 42,428 skilled workers. Automotive services trained 2,423, sheet metal work 2.238, and welding 2,664. Another 1,847 were schooled in radio service, 258 in electrical services, while 158 and 170, respect ively, were graduated in forging and foundry work in a state which was not producing iron or coal in com mercial quantities. Within the industrial plants of the State, 18.231 persons were trained for supervisory and highly-skilled positions. The very factors which produced the shortages at the beginning of the I war have now made available around 100.000 skilled workers. The man power survey estimates thot 165,000 native North Carolinians migrated to war jobs in other States, and practically all of them have return ed. Eighty thousand of these were competently trained in shipyards, mines and machine shops, with the remaining 20,000 classified as non industrial workeis. Finally, the Army, Navy and Air forces completed the training of 20, 000 men in the many highly special ized branches of communication and maintenance, and these will be avail able us soon as demobilization is completed. Just what the industrial set-up in North Carolina will do with this pool of trained workers is already evident in the preliminary figures of another survey being made by the Division of Commerce a Industry, not yet ready for publication, covering new North Carolina Industries. Oak City Man Loses i Much Cash To Thief —®— Breaking into the humble hut home of Frank Shields, colored man | who lives alone near Oak City, a , thief broke open the man’s trunk I and stole approximately $400 ip cash ' early last Saturday evening while the owner was in town buying a few gro ceries. In the hurry to make the haul, the thief overlooked a box with $529 in it hidden under Shields’ pil low. Accumulated over a long period of years through humble but honest toil, some of the money was in the old style, large size dollar bills, j Sheriff C. B. Roebuck was called ISunday, but no progress in running down the thief has been made. Shields, acting upon the advice of the officer, banked the remainder of his cash in the bank. Farmers Applying For Soil Payments —*— A large majority of the approxi mately 2,000 Martin County farmers last Friday and Saturday applied for their 1945 soil building practice pay mints A accurate report could not be had immediately because the ap plications forms will not be submit ted to the farm agent's office until tomorrow. The sign-up was more than 95 percent complete in several townships, while in others it lagged. Those farmers who could not file formal applications for the payments last week-end are asked to report to the agent's office after tomorrow and apply for the payments due them. IThey will have until the 25th of this |month to make formal application, jit was learned. r SINGLE v. j Yesterday, for the first time since early 1942, a Martin County boy left alone to enter the armed services. Six were called, but most of them were transferred and a sixth one chose to volun teer when he passed his pre-in duction physical on December 7. James Whit Clemmons, just 28 years old last July, left today for i •'-final induction, fie is a Wil Uamston colored boy. g .iiiitoil Theodore Outlet bridge of Williamston and Norfolk vol unteered in December. William Andrews, another one in the current call, was trans ferred to Chester, Pa., along wtih Warded Jones, RFD 3, Williams ton. Contract Awarded For Widening Bridge Here —— .4-- . ... _ . . I Road Problems Are Discussed At Board Meeting Yesterday —— Highway Commissioner Of fers Little Kneoiiragemeut For Iniproveiuents Soon A contract for widening the Roan oke River bridge at Williamston has been awarded and the contractors, Bowers Brotners and Company, are slated to start work within the next three weeks, First District Highway Commissioner . lerrill Evans, of Ahoskie, said Monday in a meeting with the Martin County Commission ers in the* courthouse. Bad weather, it was explained, delayed the con tractor in locating equipment to start the job, it was explained. Accord ing to Commissioner Evans who met with the board to discuss general road problems, the job will require at least a year. Studying Martin County’s road problems in detail with the commis sioners, Commissioner Evans said that the State Commission had plac ed orders for two million dollars worth of mcahinery, that delivery was slow and that, in his opinion, no marked improvements to the system could hardly be expected in 1946, certainly not in the first half of the year. ‘ When machinery is made available and conditions get adjust ed somewhat, you can expect mark ied improvement in the highway sys tem in this county,” Mi. Evans assur ed the commissioners. [ Commissioner Evans was accom (panied by Engineers T. J. McKimm /and George R. Mack, and the group plans to return to the county on January 21 to tour the county roads, it was learned. Meeting in regular session Mon day, the commissioners devoted most of the morning to petitions for road I improvements and routine matters, such as reports from the heads of the various departments. A request was made for improving the road leading from the old Wil liamston-Greenville Road at Joe H. Mizclle’s via II. W. Leggett’s, Willie Ausbon’s and others to the old Leg gett Mill Road near J. D. Leggett’s, ia distance of 3.6 miles. Another petition requested that the road from Smithwick’s Creek via Wm. Feel, Geo. Hodges, Marion and E. T. Hodges, Vance Peel and others to Highway 17 at Batts Cross Roads in Beaufort County be im proved. A petition, carrying 34 signatures, was presented asking that the road from Holly Springs to Farm Life be paved. An eight-signature petition re quested that the Creek Road in Cross Roads Township be improved. Running distance of about four miles and serving 34 families, the road is too narrow for a mile and one-half for vehicles to pass one an other, it was explained. There are bad washouts, the petitioners also pointed out. The authorities are asking the petitioners to be patient a while longer with the expectation that bad conditions that have exist ed so long will be remedied as rap idly as possible. Lawrence Hyman, recently back from overseas, was appointed a member of the Martin County ABC Board, the appointment being sub ject to approval of the boards of edu cation and health. Tax relief orders were granted as follows: Randolph Ormond, Williamston, poll taxes for 1944 and 1945, for be ing in the army. Bryant Cherry, formerly of Wil liams Township but now out of the county, was relieved of the payment of $2 poll tax. Vester Coltrain, of Griffins, was (Cdntinued on page six) Wreck First Stills Of Year Last Week ——#— Raiding along the Martin-Beaufort boundary last Thursday Enforcement Officer J. H. Roebuck, assisted by Deputy Roy Peel and Beaufort ABC officers, wrecked two liquor plants and poured out four hundred gallons of beer. The first of the plants, located just across the line, was equipped with an oil drum for a still and a keg for a cap. Later that after noon, a second plant was wrecked, the officers pouring out 200 gallons of beer and blowing up an oil drum used for a still. Last Saturday afternoon, Officer Roebuck invaded Robersonville Township and wrecked a 50-gallon capacity oil drum still and poured out fifty gallons of beer. Tha stills were the first wrecked in this county during the first week iit' Lite ,*'»*-vV 'i“i.iiV. Monday a*J»rnoon, Officer Roe buck assisted by Deputy Roy Peel and Julian Roebuck raided in the Poplar Point section of Hamilton Township and wrecked a 50-gallon capacity drum and poured out 75 gallons of molasses beer j viAUfiiMvTmivK V. Plans for extending the na tion-wide Victory Clothing Drive into every section of Martin County will be formulated and announced this week, Chairman Bob Tarkington said yesterday. The committee composed of Irving Margolis, Ben Courtney, Jack Manning, Gaylord Harri son, A. M. Fussell, C. E. Pittman, Ernest Mears and J. D. Page, will meet shortly to map out plans for the drive which is already under way in many sections of the country at the present time. Martin County people are be ing asked to donate everv avail able piece of serviceable old clothing they ran spare during the drive to help relieve the des titute millions in foreign lands. Two Are Injured In Year’s First Wreck Two persons were slightly hurt in the county's first highway accident of the New Year last Thursday eve ning at 6:15 o'clock when a light truck plowed into a two-horse wagon on the Washington Highway near Corey’s Cross Roads. Lon Rogers, colored man driving a wagon team for Farmer Oscar Peel, suffered a bruised hip and arm, and K P. Martin, driving the light pick up truck in the direction of Wash ington, was cut on the jaw and in jured on his side and had a thumb sprained. Mr. Martin, reporting his lirst accident since he started driving back in 1917, was hospitalized but later moved to his home. Mr. Peel and his workers were harvesting soy beans on one of his farms near his home and Rogers was driving the load of soy beans down the highway to the barn. It was just a little after dark and as Martin drove up from the rear a car was ap proaching from the other direction and blinded him. “I did not see the wagon until 1 was right on it,” he was quoted as saying. He turned to the left, struck and tore the wagon almost to pieces, but the mules were not hurt. Rogers was thrown to the ground, and soy beans were thresh ed by the bushels. Damage to both vehicles was esti mated at $300 by Patrolman W E. Saunders who investigated the acci dent. Farmer Peel, explaining that night overtook him, staled there was no light on the wagon and he was quoted as saying that he would accept re sponsibility for the accident. Slade B. Harrison Dies In Bear Grass —»— Slack* Biggs Harrison, 84, died at the home of a son, S. Anders Harri son of near Hear Grass, Saturday morning at 7 o’clock after a long illness. Funeral services were con ducted in the Bear Grass Primitive Baptist church Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock by Elder A. B. Ayers and Elder B. S. Cowan, Primitive Baptist minister of Bear Grass. Mr. Harrison, son of the late Jack and Millie Rogers Harrison, was born, reared and spent his entire life in Martin County. He was a farmer. Surviving are four sons, Earl Har rison of Calico Cross Roads, Anders Harrison, Floyd Harrison of Suffolk, Va., and James Bonner Harrison of Grimesland; five daughters, Mrs. M. G. Cowan of Suffolk, Va., Mrs Fan nie Harrison of near Edenton, Mrs. Bertha Bailey of Halifax, Mrs. O E Edwards of Atlanta, Ga., and Mrs. Ivy Gurganus, of Grimesland; 38 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchi) dren; and one great-great-grand child. Firemen ('.ailed To ('.roan Fire On Rliodea Street -—<% Local volunteer firemen were call ed out yesterday morning at 10:30 o’clock to a grass fire on Cemetery Road or Rhodes Street, The fire, said to have started around a wash pot, was burning toward the George Moore home, but caused no damage f SUPPORT PKICKS_J Support prices for the 1946 peanut crop will be fixed at 90 percent of parity as of July 15, this year, it was announced re cently by the Department of Agriculture. If a large crop is planted this year, it is possible that support prices will come in handy. If a medium size crop is planted and the consumer de mand continues promising, the I 'pfltcs will jiaruiy ue a material factor in the open mar ket, it was pointed out. aJ^trchases deemed necessary under the support price plan will be made until July 30 of next year, and loans will be available until January 31, 1947. Jas. S. Whitehurst Reviews Record Of Cafner’Shangfita^*' Martin County Yonnp Man Vv ah On Famous Ship Dur ing Pacific Campaijpi (Machinist’s Mato James White hurst in previous installments has give the pre-battle history of his ship, the Shangri-La. Pick up the story as he relates it further.—Ed.) Hunting Japs—A Specialty It was a quick one-night stand at Ulithi anchorage, however, because less than 24 hours after dropping the hook we were under way again— this time finally entering the long awaited “Indian Country". Still, not a moment was wasted in getting the ship ready for combat In company with the U. S. S. Iowa and three destroyers, one of which, the U. S. S. Haggard, was later to be hit by a Kamikaze, we concentrated on gunnery practice and putting the finishing touches on air operations There were planes towing target sleeves most of the day, with all five ships firing every gun on board. At the same time Air Group 85 sharp ened up its coordinated attacks. To many it seemed like just so much more training until one morn ing, the 28th of April, we finally reached our goal. Task force 58, the marauding fast carriers of Vice Ad miral Marc A. Mitscher, was in the refueling area that day and we were welcomed by all hands a long-ex pected member of the team. We had reached the big leagues. It wasn't all gunfire and bomb blast the first few weeks after >ve joined the famed 58 outfit, but the action wasn't long in coming either. Just to get us into the spirit of things, the air group was given its first bit of real meat to chew. That was tiny Kkino Daito Jinia, a phos phate depository southeast of Oki nawa, which the Japs had been using for a weather observatory. After Air Group 85 sent thirty-six sorties over the target, dropped some twenty-eight 500-pound bombs, and eleven half-tonners and twenty-four rockets, and brought back pictorial evidence of the damage inflicted, we decided it was just a phosphate de pository once more and continued up to the big show—Okinawa. By the time we had arrived, the Battle of Okinawa had entered its bitterest phase. The Japs were en trenched in caves on the southern tip of the island and the Army and the Marines were engaged in the bloody job of rooting them out. We soon saw that this was where we came in- to do a bit of blasting on those caves of our own and to help keep the Jap air force out of the skies. Our first kill came three days aft er entering the combat area around Okinawa. Ensign John S. Patton, a night fighter pilot, was put on the tail of an enemy contact about fifty miles from the task group. In the half-darkness before dawn he first thought the plane to be a friendly B-2fi. But his controller in CIO as sured him htat there were none in the area and to give it a burst any way. The result: Splash one Jap “Betty" in flames and first blood for the Shangri-La. Then came our turn for some ex citement aboard ship. Early one morning we were called to “GQ”. We spurted out of hatches and pas sage-ways and had hardly reached ourt battle stations when we learned two groups of Jap planes were head ed our way. There was no dallying about putting on flashproof gear, helments and life belts this time. They were uncomfortable, but we didn't mind. Our combat air patrol was already engaging the nips and were having good success when sud denly down through the clouds came the Jap we all dreaded—a single plane. As he came in, anti-aircraft fire from a cruiser and a battle ship in our group bracketed him with flak. Closei he came through that wall (Continued on page six) Town Board Holds Uneventful Meeting ——$— Williamston’s town commissioners held a short and uneventful meeting last evening when they limited their discussions to one or two new busi ness matters and handled routine duties. Clerk G. H. Harrison was absent for the first time in years. All other members of the board and Mayor John L. Hassell were present. A motion was made to buy about an acre of land adjoining Woodlawn Cemetery on the south, the site being the one where the old colored school building once stood. The purchase will square up the cemetery on that side and make available considerable space for plots between Rhodes and Broad Streets. A lot in the ravine on Williams Street was sold to R. T. Griffin foi ls with certain provisions to be met. me Dual d is iSSUiiig ail Older warning all town motor vehicle own ers to buy and display the 1946 li cense tags on their cars arid trucks on or before the first of next month. Prosecution is to be expected after that date if the order is allowed to go unheeded.