North Carolina Newspapers

I THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BE OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTY FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK i VOLUME L—NUMBER 6 --^.---^5.. -.it—... THE ENTERPR TS E _ Wffliamtton, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, January 21, 1947 Z THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BlS OVER 3.000 MARTIN COUNT! FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEB* ESTABLISHED 1895: vofirmira* Timns Reported During —Sixty-Two Hour? * — » ■— Kains Fall In Seventeei Of First Twenty* One Days In Month - While no record rainfall ha: been reported in this immediatt section, the earth is about as we: as it has been at any other time . in recent years. Failing slowly and often the rains have for the most part saturated the land Starting last Friday afternoon about 4:30 o’clock a slow rain fell without more than a few min utes’ interruption until almost 7:30 Monday morning, a period of almost sixty-three hours. The total fall for the period, however was less than one inch. Up until late Monday afternoon, 3.83 inches of rain had fallen here since the first of this year, accord ing to Hugh Spruill, keeper of the weather bureau’s rain gauge on Roanoke River. During the first twenty-one days of this month, rain has fall en in at least seventeen, Mr. Spruill said. Not one of the daily falls exceeded one inch, but on two days the precipitation missed an inch by a very narrow margin. The Roanoke is in flood stage here at the present time, but. the water, now about six inches over the banks, is not as high as some predicted it would be. The stream went on a stand here yesterday at 10.6 feet. Heavy rains were re ported over the week-end in the upper regions of the Roanoke basin, but they are not expected to influence the stream very much at this point, other than de lay the fall of the water. A Report from the State Weath er Bureau in Raleigh late Monday stated that the stream will likely fall slowly beginning today and continue until the latter part of the week when another rise is to be expected. It was too early at that time to predict the size of the rise expected this week-end. The frequent rains have inter rupted work on the river bridge here during recent weeks, but the contractors continue to make fail progress. High water forced workmen out of the river yester day, but they were assigned tasks on other parts of the bridge and the work continues. More than half of the bridge over the swamp has been widen ar.d several piles for the en o rged center pier in the river have been driven. Staging around the pier is now covered by water and additional piles cannot be sunk until the river falls. --—n— Changes In Bear Grass Faculty Mrs. Allie R. James entered upon Jier duties as a teacher in the Bear trass School last week, suc ceeding Mrs. Raymond Cherry, Jr., who resigned last month. Mrs. Luther Britton had been substi tuting until Mrs. James accepted the position. H. M. Riddick, teacher in the school, has tendered his resigna tion which is to become effective just as soon as his successor is named. A report from the office of the superintendent this week stated that just as soon as the leg islature takes action on the teach er salary increase it is believed that more teachers will be avail able, that the position in Bear Grass can be filled. -o France Has Big Population Loss The lastest national census in France shows that the French population is now about 40,500, 000, as compared with 41,900.00 in 1936, the last previous official census year. The decrease is 3.30 percent in the ten years. (The French miltary dead totaled 165, 395; civilian deaths from all caus es, including executions under the Nazis, were 339.620. or a total war dead of 505,015. This does not in clude 25,000 more believed put to death by the Nazis but not repre sented in the official figures.) Paris has lost 105,000 inhabitants since 1936 but it now counts 114, 000 foreigners. Another interest ing disclosure is that Toulouse, in southwestern France, is now the fourth largest city in France, , pushing Bordeaux to fifth place. 3 JTncreasea mrrowifig Tor | Crop Production Reported (Dcip-U; the favutiiblt markets prevailing during recent years and in the face of a period in which adjustments are almost certain to be made, more Martin County farmers are borrowing money for the production of crops this year than in any other recent period, according to reliable re ports coming from several gov ernmental lending agencies. The seed-and-feed type of loan, ordinarily limited to those farm ers who do not have sufficient collateral to enter the regular loan market, is .proving popular again this year. Not since the de pression years have so many far mers applied for seed-feed loans, it was learned. Ranging from just a few dollars up to about a $100 [ average during the depression, the loans are now averaging about $250. The reed-feed loans, j ;u;*.iui*_u iiCreiOiOl C c*y uii inde pendent agency are now under what has been known for a num ber of years as the Farm Security Administration. Along with the increase in the number of applications filed by low-income farmers there has been a fairly steady gain' in the number applying ot the Farm Se curity Administration for aid in financing their 1947 operations. Over 100 such loans have already been made, and at least 35 appli cations are pending. The loans are averaging around $750, it was learned. The near failure of the peanut crop is partly responsible for the increase in number of loans, but the applications are no more numerous in those sections where crops were all but drowned than they- are in those sections where production was near normal. f DIMES M ARCH ON j -----/ The March of Dimes march on in this county to boost the the current collections in the annual infantile paralysis drive to almost within one fourth of the $2,120 goal, Chairman I,. B. Wynne an nounced this week. No reports have come from the school here the drive is being centered, the chairman said, but nearly 100 of the 404 persons contacted by direct mail have replied, he added. I'p until Monday morning, $476.00 had been contributed by direct mail, the donations ranging from $1 to $25. Officers Capture Still In County Raiding in the Flat Swamp sec tion of Robersonville Township last Friday, ARC Officer J. H. Roebuck and Deputy Roy Peel wrecked a crude liquor distillery. The plant was equipped with an oil drum, two fermenters and a doubler, but there was no beer. Last Thursday the officers spent most of the day working in 1 Griffins Township, but found no I trace of illicit operations. One of the ofkers was quoted as saying that he did not thin!': the illicit operators had suspended opera tions, adding that they could not pick up a track. Many of the woods paths have been covered by water for some days, making ! it difficult for the officers to pick up trails leading to and from stills. Installing Heat in Equipment In Gym To relieve a condition that has been most unpleasant and at times bodily injurious, the Linds ley Ice Company installed yes terday a heating plant in the gymnasium of the local high school. During the winter months the building, which is fairly open, is usually cold and on many oc- ' casions the weather is detrimental , to the holding of athletic events. The Lindsley Ice Company will | keep the heating unit, which is an automatic oil burning outfit, in the building until they hold their J John Deere Field Day some time in February. With adequate heating facilities attendance at both the; high school and league basketball ( games is expected to increase. , CfQ | TWO SETS OF TWINS | v--t Two sets of twins were born in the sume family in the county recently, giving the birth rate a substantial boost toward an all-time record for the current year. On Sunday, January 5, itlr. and Mrs. Thurman Hardison announced the birth of twins at their home in Bear Grass. Two clays later on Tuesday, January 7, Mrs. Hardison's sister, Mrs. J. D. Bullock, and Mr. Bullock announced the birth of twins in the local hospital. All the babies are getting along just fine, late reports say. Make Plans For Bankers’ Meeting Holding a dinner session in the | George Reynolds Hotel here last Friday night, members of the Executive Committee, Group I of the North Carolina Bankers’ As sociation, made tentative plans for the annual meeting of Eastern North Carolina bankers in Wash ington on Saturday, February 22. Despite the bad weather, twelve members of the committee at tended the meeting and advanced suggestions for the annual ses sion, the second scheduled since before the war. Local bankers, K. A. Bowen and D, V. Clayton, were hosts at the executive session ! here. The No. I group of the state as sociation is scheduled to convene its business session at 2:30 in Washington on the 22nd, and W. H. Neal, Vice president of the Wa chovia Bank and Trust Company, Winston-Salem, is being invited to address the meeting. Following the business session a banquet is to be ljeld that evening at 7:00 o’clock with Edmund Harding as toastmaster. A dance will follow the banquet, H. A. Bowen, chair man of the committee, announc ed. "We are looking forward to one of our largest and best meetings,” Mr. Bowen said. Those attending the committee meeting last Friday evening were, Messi's. A. G. Small, G. D. Brick house, G. R. Little, Jr., and W. R. Aydfett of Elizabeth City, J. L. Ifofler, Jr, of Windsor, R. M. Griffin of Woodland, R. M. Rid dick of Hertford, D. R. Everett and L. B. Stokes of Robersonvilie, and D V. Ciayton and li. A. Bow en of Williamston. Urged To Change Pay Raise Stand —•' Senators Hoi ton and Rodman, ^presenting this district in the state Legislature, were asked last veek-end to change their stand on he wage increase proposed for chool teachers and other low vage earners on the state payroll, rhe request, according to infor nation reaching here, was made >y the Plymouth Lions Club fol owing a discussion of the Bark 1 amendment and the refusal of he State Senate to concur with he House in its adoption. Resolutions were adopted by he club, directing the secretary o contact the two senators by Int er and to appeal direcly to John Jarden, Washingon County’s re iresentative in the House. Mr. )arden was said to have opposed he Barker amendment. Suicides Still Top Homicides The Public Health Service re ported -i few days ago that there were nearly twice as many sui cides as homicides in the United States in 1945. A total of 14,782 persons killed themselves, while 7.412 were killed by others. This followed the same pattern as in 1944'-when there were 13,231 sui cides and 6,553 homicides. Heart disease and cancer continued the nation’s top killers, accounting for 601,792 of the 1,401,710 deaths re corded. Hurt In Accident -Saturday Evemrrg Pedestrian Run Down Be tween Here and Wind sor Early Same Day Mr. and Mrs. James B. Sullivan, West Main Street, Williamston, were badly hurt in an automobile truck crash one mile out of Bethel on the Greenville Road early last Saturday night. Suffering a con cussion, abrasions about the face and head and severe shock, Mrs. Sullivan continues quite ill in the hospital here. Unconscious for some hours, she was said late Monday to be able to understand others but could answer only by nodding her head. His head and face painfully but not deeply cut, Mr. Sullivan was able to leave the hospital after treatment which in cluded the 27 stitches necessary to close the wounds. Others in the car were not injured, except for minor bruises. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, accom panied by Robert Jones and Fin ley Allen and their two compan ions, were driving in the direction of Greenville when the car, a 1942 Mercury, crashed into the rear of a truck parked on the highway. Reports state that Mr. Sullivan was driving between 35 and 40 miles an hour, that he was meet ing a car and could not tell the truck was parked! in the curve un til he was almost on it. Given first aid treatment in a Bethel doctor's office, the victims were removed to the hospital here. The Sullivan car was damaged beyond repair. Very little dam age was done to the truck. The accident w'<s one of three (Continued on page eight) u n e r ar oef v uw | Monday Afternoon {Avr^WieelrAhrtim Truck Driver Held In Jail For Manslaughter And Drunken Driving | Funeral services were conduct ed in the Presbyterian church at Bear Grass Monday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock for James Garland Bailey, young Martin County white man who was fatally injur ed in an automobile-truck acci dent at the intersection of U. S. Highway 17 and the Bear Grass Road early last Saturday evening. Rev. M. Luther Ambrose, Maple Grove Church pastor, assisted by Elder A. B. Ayers, Primitive Bap tist minister of Bear Grass, con ducted the last rites. Interment I was in the Bailey family cemetery .near Bear Grass. The son of James G. Bailey and the late‘Mrs. Mary Leary Bailey, l he was oorn in Bear Grass Town ship 29 years ago. He farmed all his life and in slack seasons on the farm he was engaged in me chanical work. He was an accom modating person and had many friends in his home community. In early manhood he was mar • l ied to Miss Kathleen Martin and she survives with four children, three sons, Hubert, Jimmie and Freddie, and a daughter, Mary I Bailey, all of the home. Also sur- | viving are his father; five sisters, Mrs. Roy Bailey of West Main [ Street, Williamston; Mrs. W. A. ' Bailey, Mrs. Johnnie Knox, Misses j Hazel and Rachel Bailey; one I brother, Frank Bailey, a half- 1 brother, Walter Bailey, all of the 1 Bear Grass Community; and two half-sisters, Mis. Roy Beacham of Washington, and Mrs. James E. (Continued on page eight) Record Business Handled By County License Bureau The Martin County marriage li cinre bureau set an all-time ac tivity record for one day last Sat urday when eleven licenses were issued, six to white and five to colored couples. “I don’t ever re call that any where near the num ber of licenses had been issued in a single day before,’ Register J. Sam Getsinger said. Business de veloped so rapidly that unmarried clerks in the office became a bit nervous when it was intimated the supply of license forms would be depleted. No reason for the unprecedent ed spurt in the burec :’s business could be definitely advanced, by* ihc activity there ctrrlaviviyprov ed that Cupid had been working nrght and day promoting matches. It isn’t believed that the proposed 48-hour waiting period prompted the business spurt. The number of marriage li censes issued in the one day is far greater than the total for en tire months in years past. Few of the marriages following the re-1 Accidentally Shot Through The Heel —*— William W. Gurganus, local young man and World War II vet eran, accidentally fired a .22 calibre bullet from an automatic pistol through his right heel while hunting on Roanoke River Jate last Saturday afternoon. He had fired three shots at a herring fisher and was placing the pistol back in his pocket when he ac cidentally fired it. The bullet went through his boot, barely missed the tendon and just did chip the bone. Given first aid here he \»'as removed to a Washington hospital where he remained until Monday noon. Returning to his home here on West Main Street he continues in bed, but his condition is improv ing rapidly. -III Muyor J. L. Hassell < Returns From Hospital > Ilis condition much improved, j' Mayor John L. Hassell returned ( home last Sunday afternoon from i a Washington hospital where he 1 received tieatment since Decern- c ber 20. He plans to spend several 1 days in his apartment in the t Lawyers’ Building before return- t ing to his office. t cord license issuance had been re ported late Monday. Licenses were issued last Mon day to the following white coup les: Joseph S. Beach and Made line Bailey, both of Williamslon; Roy Howard Edmondson and Ber nice Marie Matthews, both of Ro bersonville; Charlie Edward Flan agan of Hobgood and Magdalene Price of Hamilton; Elvin Cl. Squires of Tarboro and Christine Scott, RFD 1, Oak City; William Warren Tuten, RFD 3, Washing ton, and Eunice Ray Beach, RFD 3, Williamston; Bonnie Allen Ter ry of Williamston and Bessie Mi zelle of Windsor. Five licenses were issued to col ored couples, os follows: Moses Spruiil and Ida Mae Hyman, both of Oak City; Timothy Towns of Robcrsonville and Doris Teel, RFD 1, Robersonville; Andrew Stilley and Daisy Bell Rogers, both of Williamston; Levy Smith and Emma Tyson, both of Wil liamston; James Earl Clark and Mary Lee Ebron, both of Wil liamston. i ROUND-UP v Only one person was round ed up and placed in the coun ty jail here last week-end, but officers admitted that they missed one or two others and then went on to explain that crime was all but rained out during the period. Frank Green, 43-year-old colored man of Jamesvillc, was placed in jail to await a hearing in the case charging him with drunken and reck less driving and manslaugh ter. Green was shot through the throat several months ago when he alegedly molested a young girl in Jamesville. Lovul Young Man In FayoUvvilte 11 ox/ii till -» Troubled with a leg injury re ceived while in the Army, Wheel er Martin (Duksie) Ward return ed to a veterans’ hospital in Fay etteville lust week-end for treat nent. Reports state that he will >e confined there possible for sev eral months, and letters from riends and acquaintances will be [really appreciated. Comm uni ations will reach him in care of < Veterans’ Hospital, Fayetteville. I Four Others Hurt When Truck Plows Into Car Saturday -- James Garlaml Bailey Dies On Way To Hospital After Accident -to -■ James Garland Bailey was fat ally hurt and four other persons were injured, three of them bad ly. when a truck driven by John Frank Green and owned by Les lie Hardison of Jamesville plowed into their car near the intersec tion of U. S. Highway and the Bear Grass blacktop road in Bear Grass Township last Saturday evening about 7:30 o’clock. His neck broken and skull fractured, Mr. Bailey was pro nounced dead when he reached the local hospital, reports stating that he died as he was being rush ed by the Staton farm in E. D. Harrison’s car. W. A. Bailey, driver of the car and brother-in-law of the victim who was fatally hurt, was bruised and suffered shock. Roland Harri- i son, his eight-year-old son, Ver- | non, and Johnny Wynne, riding in the back seat of the Bailey car, were badly hurt, and all were brought to the hospital here. The young boy suffered a frac ture of the skull and there were numerous abrasions on his face. | His father was badly bruised in I his chest and was probably injur- , cd internally. Wynne was terribly I cut about the face, one report stating that 47 stitches were ne cessary to close the wounds. One gash, running from his forehead almost to his chin, split the eye lid but is not believed to have im paired his vision. Mr. Wynne also suffered severe shock. Sitting on the rear seat next to the left win dow, Mr. Wynne was knocked partly through the glass. His son, riding in the middle, was thrown to the foot of the car. Investigating the accident, Mar tin County’s second fatal one in a little over a week, patrolmen stat ed that the Bailey car driving from Bear Grass to Highway 17 had stopped at the intersection for traffic to pass. One car passed on the highway and Green, operating the 1937 Ford log truck and driv ing from Williamston, attempted to make a turn into the Bear Grass Road, apparently at a fast rate of speed The truck hit the loll front of the car, pushed it back quite a few feet and turned it around, the two vehicles com ing to a stop in a hog pasture, 40 or 45 feet from the spot of the crash. Officers arc not certain whether Mr. t '-liley’s neck was broken by the impact or he was fatally hurt when he was thrown to the high way. Riding on the right side of the front seat, he is believed to have been run over by one of the vehicles. Green, about 45 years of age, was arrested and formally charg ed with drunken and reckless (Continued on page eight) -- m> Germany Has Big Population Loss ——«— Germany’s present population, according to the recent census, is placed at 65,910,000. Of these. 17 813,561 are in the Soviet zone, |6, 682,573 in the United States zone, 22,794,655 in the British zone and 5,939.807 in the French zone. The population ol Berlin was estimat ed at 3,180,393. In 1939 official figures indicated that Germany, exclusive of Austria and the Su detenland had a population of 69, 622,213. The count for "Greater Germany” was 79 375,281. -»--— Annual Mvvlinn lluildinff And Loun Slockholdvrn Stockholders of the Martin County Build/ag and Loan Asso ciation will hold their annual meeting in the courthouse Wed nesday of this week at 11:30 o clock a. m., it was announced by Secretary Wheeler Martin. Officers and directors for the new year are to be elected, and other business will be handled at the meeting. STALLED Handling unusually heavy shipments and delayed here shifting cars from one plant to another, one of the Coast Line freight engines exhaust I ^d its water supply and was I stalled for a while late last Saturday night. Two trains were moving up the line from Plymouth, blocking the en gine from running down to Sweet Water Creek for a re fill. The town’s water depart ment W'as contacted and a hose line was laid from a fire hydrant to the tender. After taking on several hundred gallons of water the train started its run to Rocky Mount about 11 o'clock. Rip Mail’s Stomach Open With A Knife —— His stomach ripped open and the intestines punctured in sovcr i al places as a result of a knife attack, Wannaniaker James, local colored man, was reported linger ing near death in a Washington hospital, according to information reaching here Monday, lie under went an operation in the hospital a short time after he was attack ed, and reports reaching here in dicated that he condition was critical. William Speller, young colored j man, is alleged to have ripped t! >• man's stomach open, the attai k I climaxing a quarrel or fight in I front of Holly wood Inn on Wash ington Street here early last Sat urday evening. Few details of the attack could be learned. Three officers trailed Speller Saturday night but never found him. After hiding in and around the Wells-Oates Lumber Com pany plant most of Sunday, the man is believed to have moved out of town either lute that night or early Monday. Charged with being drunk and disorderly, Speller was in the court ten days ago. He was sen tenced to jail for a day and fined $20 and required to pay the costs, Drive Against Tax Evaders Pushed -4 The drive against tax evasions now being carried out by the United States Tnseni y i: }v'_vnc ing in collections at a record rate, according to a report by Secre tary Snyder. Ills statement, is sued December 10, says that extra assessments and penalties amounted to $540,000,000 from July 1 through October, a 41 per cent increase over the correspond ing months of last year. This brought to more than $1,500, 000,000 the extra assessments and penalties taken in during the ap proximately sixteen months of the drive. “While the $540,000,000 of additional assessments are grati fying," Mr. Snyder said, "they must now be allowed to over shadow the $11,605,000,000 over all lax collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue during the same four months of July-Oetob er, inclusive. In evaluating the drive against evaders, it is well to remember that the bureau neces sarily and properly devoir.-; tin major portion of its energies to doing business with the honest taxpayers, who, 1 am proud to say, constitute the vast majority of American citizens.” I NO SETTLEMENT v According' (o a report com ing front tlie Triple A office in the county this week, 85 Martin County farmers who planted in excess of their to bacco allotments have not >ct turned in their marketing cards and satisfied the penal ties in their entirety. The farmers are being ask ed to turn in their cards and settle the penalty accounts, the office explaining that no 1947 quotas will be allotted until tlie accounts arc satis fied. iWsorial Cetter Tells Of Trials | And ^ airWt^iil o Radio \< i|{iaiiitan<T Writesjg From Germany To Gil bert Smith Recently (Robersonvillc Herald) I 1 ioi to the war J. Gilbert? Smithy of Robersonville talked'si over short wave radio to an ama teur radioman, Erich Kintseher, in Germany. They learned to?| know each other real well, but;] the war interrupted their conver-.*] sat ions and nothing was heardisj from the Kintseher until a short® time ago when Mr. Smith receiv ed a personal letter from his for mer conversationalist. Kintseher, in his letter dated:*] December 9. tells of pitiful andjsj almost hopeless conditions exist-jjj ing in the British Zone in Ger-3 many, and appealed for aid. His?« letter, borrowed from Mr. Smith,ji reads as follows: Dammtorwail, ^torungssletle;] Hamburg, Fernsprechamt Germany, British Zone. » Dear ,1. Gilbert Smith: 91 1 want to send you my address. The terrible war has come to an] end. I am still living but I lostrj my home, goods and chattels andjr, changed ail this into a life .if needsl and misery and, as it seems to me,3 j without hope for a better future.?] But I am only one among millions; that are not all Germans. It is3 only a feeble consolation for rnejsj that I can sa> from my conscience® that I am innocent of all thatii happened in my country. In 1933?] 1 was am .'led by the Gi tapo be-Ji cause of was a member of the.*] Workers’ Radio Union and they Free German Gymnastics Clubs.® Because 1 was set free in order to3 and aside outrage- I joined the? German amateurs Transmitting) and Reception Service. There IS did good work for all foreignju coin 'ries. Over 6000 notes (QSLjfl Cards), I wrote to other coun-jl tries. ™ I gained the first place with DIDC 1936, and 1938 for District B. Today 1 am penniless and be sides that 1 am wearing on my body I have nothing. All did I lose and my family too. One daughter 1 lost on our flight. My family is living nearly 100 Km from Hamburg, poorly sheltered. Every three weeks 1 visit my fam ily on Sundays tho I have nol home in Hamburg. I am sleeping in an office room} of the exchange house. If 1 ami allowed to work on short waves! and you are still on the air I| should be glad to send you notes] again. I would thank you with all my (Continued on page eight) Continues Unite In Hospitall Mi'. Wheeler Martin, local attor«j ney, continues quite ill in a Rocky] Mount hospital. However, late] reports state that he was feeling! some better, that he was very | bright. Mr. Martin, a patient in the] hospital since the day after Christmas, suffered another at tack last Friday night and was) very sick Saturday and Sunday, I Reports reaching here maintain} th.it doctors are encouraging, one] having been quoted as raying that.! the patient would be able to re-( turn home in a few more weeks,.] that he would be able to get out but could do very little work. Caiiol Project On Auction Bloc* Six hundred miles of the iJl| starred $13-1,000,000 Canol waf time oil project, denounced. t| Congress as a 'flaming waste,” now slated to go on the auetic block March 30. Retiring Secretary of Sta James F. Byrnes revealed in a port to Congress recently that agreeiru nt permitting the sale hi been leached with Canada, said it would give the U. ! “maximum >,*,furn \ but ovoreg* doubt anyone would want to it fur use "in place.” That mca the project will undoubtedly scrapped. A Senate investigating cor tee sharply censured A dm. est J. King and Gen, Brehon !. ervell for persisting in the ject’s construction.