North Carolina Newspapers

VOLUME THIRTY-ON'E FARMTOAR PITT COUNTY, NOBTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY. AUGUST 16, 1940 NUMBER TmRTEEN ^ . ,v_ _ . ? . ? ? T7 Floods Claim at Least Six Lives in The State ?? "' I? Western N. C. Streams Are Flooded by Heavy Rains; Heavy Damage Over Wide Area Asheville, Aug. 14. ? Mountain streams swollen by torrential rains of the last three days, surged out of their banks today, bringing damage to roads, crops and lowlands indus-1 trial plants expected to run into mil lions of dollars and claiming at least six lives. Highways throughout the stricken area were blocked by wa&houts, landslides or inundation. North Wilkesboro, a town of 4,000 persons, was cut off from the out side world by the flooded adkin river. Mayor R. T. McNeill of North Wilkesboro estimated that damage in the town would be $2,000,000 and he said it probably would reach $5,000,000 for Will es county as a whole. He said that 500 persons were homeless and at least 2,500 were out of work. At Xi: emergency meeting of the city commissioners of North Wilkesboro this afternoon arrangements were made to take care of the homeless. Shelter and food were provided. A woman excitedly grabbed an electric wire near North Wilkesboro and was killed when flood waters surged about her automobile. A man drowned when his boat was swept over a dam near here. Two persons were drowned in southwest Virginia and two others in east Tennessee. Asheville drew on an emergency water reservoir with a 24-hour capa city today after floods washed out all main lines leading into the city of 51,000 inhabitants. City Manager P. M. Burdette call ed on all residents to conserve wa ter as the level fell in the reservoir just above the city.. There was no estimate of the length of time the supply would last. Two 16-inch mains leading from the watershed northeast of the city failed about noon yesterday and the third 24-inch line went out around 4 p. m. Meanwhile the State Highway department reported that all roads leading into Asheville, except the one from Erwin, Tenn., had been re opened. Flash floods sweej ing out of the mountains and foothills of western North Carolina and eastern Tennes see killed at least two persons and aroused fears for the safety of many others. The torrential rains followed a hurricane that raked the coast of South Carolina and Georgia last week-end. Property damage was expected to run into millions. State College Develops New Variety of Wheat "Sarala," a new variety of wheat, has been developed by the North Carolina Experiment Station, Dr. Gordon K. Middleton, acting head of the State College Agronomy Depart ment, announces. It is an early-ma turing, high-yielding variety recom mended for the central and southern Piedmont and the Coastal Plain. The major part of the work in de veloping the new small grain variety was conducted on the . Piedmont Branch Experiment Station at States ville, of which J. Wade Hendricks is - assistant superintendent in charge. Part of the hybridization work and the growing of the first year crosses was carried, on in the State College greenhouses. Dr. Middleton and his associates directed the work through-1 i. out. Carala resulted from a plant se- I lected of the Alabama Blue Stem variety, and the new wheat was nam , ed for the' states?"Car" for Caro lina, and "ALA" for Alabama. ? Dr. Middleton reported that eight year tests at the Statesville experi ment station showed the following comparative yields: Carala, 27.6 bpshels per acre; Leap 157, 25.7 bush els per acre; Redhart, 25.3; and Ful 24.1 bushels per acre. Thfee tests were conducted in 1939-40 in the Coastal Plain area Mid the new variety showed up as follows: Carala, 32.7 bushels per acre; Redhart 6,^89^ resistant to loose or covered smut eat to leaf znst, ** it? early enough to s ?Mnfcd'SrLh^nKTOTil^n region. !jg United Stales Is Assuming Firmer Policy In Far East Visit of Asiatic Fleet to Shanghai May Influ ence Course of Rela tions With Japs Shanghai, Aug. 16?Admiral Thoir-1 as C. Hart, United States Asiatic fleet commander, arrived by sub marine Wednesday from Tsingtao and immediately conferred with Col. Dewitt Peck of the 4th U. S. Marines regarding a foreign defense council meeting Thursday at which Colonel I Peck is expected to oppose Japanese demands for control of the British sector in the international settle ment. Some observers believed the meet ing might result in a compromise I whereby the American Marines would take over certain important I downtown areas from the British, who are withdrawing their troops from China, while the Japanese would take over British sectors north of Soochow Creek and along extra-settlement roads in the so called "badlands" district Marine officials said they were 1 unable to confirm reports Colonel I Peck already had made such- a proposal at a meeting Monday at-1 tended by British and Italian of ficers and a French observer. The Japanese already have moved into one extra-settlement road, where their gendarmes are patrolling in I front of a large gambling establish ment formerly protected by police of the Japanese-sponsored Chinese re* I gime. Admiral Hart was not expected to attend the meeting of foreign de fense chiefs Thursday. I This means that Rear-Admiral Moriji Takeda, commander of the Japanese naval garrison in Shanghai, will preside as senior officer. Admiral Hart's presence here nev ertheless was viewed as greatly strengthening, the American stand I on reassignment of the British de fense zone. COTTON Some cotton authorities are fore casting a record-breaking home con sumption of more than 8,000,0001 bales of cotton in the new season which began August 1. Because of poor crop prospects, I Argentina has prohibited the ejport of wheat and wheat flour, govern ment officials saying there will be but a slight surplus. Pitt County Hualth Department Report For Month uf July The principal activities of the I Health Department for the month of I , July consisted of- immunization work, maternal and in/ant welfare clinics, I t venereal disease clinics, dairy, cafe, I and meat market inspections, malaria I drainage, and school sanitation. The contagious disease situation is decidedly better this year than in any I previous year. In July there were no I cusps of whooping cough, measles, or I scarlet fever, and it was the third! consecutive month with no dipbthena. 1 The month showed 4 cases of tuber culosis against 8 cases for last July,l making a total of 29 cases this year I up to August 1st against a total of! 36 cases for the same period of last year. We had 1 case of typhoid fever reported in July and 1 in March a total of 2 cases for this year up to August 1st, while for the same period last year, we had a total of 12 cases. In so far as we -know, this is the best record in the history of the Health Department. Of course, the typhoid season is just beginning, but j the comparison we. have made has been for the same period of -each Immunization work, particularly as to typhoid and diphtheria, has been promoted, but the response has not been as good as it should have been. (tof jS^^aTrS'So fw June. It is j^^^ thatm^grecn ^ i ^ T 1 1 farm work in tobaeon'fe'fnaponBible also for decreased attendance at the clinics. Our records show that oar highest attendance for veneral di sease clinics for the year was in April when we Bad 2729, and that these has been a gradual dropping off each month thereafter. Dairy, cafe, and meat market in spections have been pushed energeti cally by the two Sanitary Officers, J. H. Moore for the County, and J. T. Welch for the City of Greenvflle. /: ^Much time has been given by the Health Officer and the County. Sani tary Officer to malaria drainage work and, in cooperation with J. H. Conley, Sept., of the County Schools,' much I .. r ? Attacked By RAF Planes . Britain Strikes Back In Engagements From North Sea to Africa ?????? ? London, Aug. 14. Armadas of 300 of them swarming over the south east coast alone, renewed the relent diving and fighting German planes, less prelude of invasion of England in murky skies today,, as Britain struck back at the axis powena in engagements from the North sea to Africa. Fleet bombardments of Italian troops in far off Somaliland, bomb ing of industrial cities in Italy and a battle in the North sea were evi dence of her efforts ,to take the initiative of war afield even while on defense at home. Authorities sought to round up the users of German "parachutes, apparently those _f regular Nazi pi lots whose planes were shot down. The parachutes were found in the heart of the industrial midlands. Masses of German planes dived on balloon barrages and were en gaged by. British fighters and ter riffic fire of anti-aircraft batteries. One furious 90-minute battle end ed about nooif after a great wave of 80 bombers, protected by fast pur suit planes, lost themselves behind banks of clouds long enough to get inland where they dropped bombs Many of the explosives were de clared to have fallen harmlessly on farm lands. Another battle among 150 planes was fought on the south coast with British and German craft so closely mixed it was impossible for ground observers to tell friend from foe. Here a lightship was attacked and sunk. At least one barrage balloon was shot down on the southeast coast and several were ripped away and sent crashing on the south coast. At least 10 German planes were unofficially reported downed in the various battles, bringing to 275 the German losses since Germany launched her major attack last Thursday. ? 1 ? Disease Spreads When Poultry Over-Heated Poultrymen are complaining that they are losing birds during the pro cess of culling and vaccinating for fowl pox. C. P. Parrish, poultry specialist of the State College Exten sion Service, says most of the losses are due to crowding up, piling up, and over-heating. "It is very unwise, even in the culling of flocks, to permit the birds to crowd or jam up in the corners, or in any way become over-seated," he says. "In many cases this results in outbreaks of respiratory troubles which take a heavy toll at this sea son of the year. "If the birds are to be culled, and they should be culled to weed out the 'loafers', it would be well to cull them at night, if at all possible. Take a flashlight and remove the non-layers from the roost without disturbing the others. "If flocks are vaccinated for chick en pox, then it is suggested that they be placed on range in summer range shelters or that adequate housing facilities be provided, and that these birds be permitted to range at large or at least be provided with adequate range. "The system of vaccinating pullets and placing them back in a tight, stuffy brooder house is giving us poor results and is the cause of many of our complaints," Parrish declared. The Extension specialist further stated that failure to provide houses large enough to permit' the chickens freedom of movement and fresh air haa always been a serious problem on North Carolina farms. "When we allow birds to pile up, crowd up, or become over-heated' after handling, we are sure to receive ill results," Parrish concluded. By HUGO & SIMS, (Washington Correspondent) : " ? 'mmmmmmmmmmrn f' STRICTER SPY LAWS. OFFICIALS OUTLINE PLANS. FIFTH-COLUMN ACTIVITY. THE ARMY TAKES THE FIELD. WHY SOLDIERS ARE NEEDED. CONTRACTORS' WORRIES. WHAT WILL JAPAN DO? w '? > Federal, State and local officials conferred in the Capital last week about measures to be taken in con nection with law enforcement prob lems associated with national defense. The President, in a letter, suggested that Congress and the state legisla tures enact additional laws to deal with "subversive things which might slow up or break down our common defense program." He emphasized that the task of law enforcement against internal enemies is one for trained officials and agencies to han dle and not for vigilantes or "fussy and malicious busybodies." I ? . ' \ Representatives from forty- two states heard Attorney-General Jack son and J. Edger Hoover, Chief of the Federal Gureau of Investigation, emphasize the need of secrecy in counter-espionage work so that subr versive elements will not be tipped off that they are under investiga tion. This, they asserted, represented far more effective preventive action than arrest and exposure of a plotter whose place would be taken by an other person unknown to officials. Mr. Jackson pointed out that the new alien registration act was de signed as" much to protect the loyal alien as to detect the disloyal. He warned that "hateful treatment" may make "sullen enemies, of those who wish to be good Americans" and opposed suggestions that employers discharge all aliens. According to the Attorney-General, fifth-column activities in this country take three forms. These are, first, open proselyting for alien beliefs; second, efforts to divide the people by sabotaging their morale and dis crediting their leaders to prevent ef fective action or strong* defense; and, i finally, attempts to gain sympathy for foreign nations through fear of repfisals or promises of reward. J. Edgar Hoover described the ac tivities of his agency in fighting sub- ; versive forces and the difficulties of its task. He urged all communities to provide a maximum of protection for their' public utilities picturing the chaos which would result from the i shutting off of a city's water supply, i He urged prompt action to bring local j police department? up to 'date in < training and equipment. He said the ] time is rapidly approaching, when, as a nation, we must choose between the welfare of the great masses of Amer icans and a few interlopers who hide behnd the Bill of Rights while they ; undermine the nation. With more than 300,000 National Guardsmen and Army Regulars con centrated in five manoeuvre areas, the Army is in the midst of its greatest peace - time military exer cises. The newly-organized Armored Corps of the Army will not partici- i pate and only a small air force will take part in the manoeuvres. The < armored divisions are completing their organization and training and the air force is in the midst of its expansion program. It was thought best-not to interrupt these processes. ? ? V , The troop concentration thiB year has a peculiar significance demon strating that the Government fully understands the importance of field training. For many years, the Army has had no sizeable formation of troops with which to experience the practical - side of handling l^rge bodies of. men. Various units of the Army were stationed in certain areas but, until Jast May When a small field force of . Regulars was concen trated, the Army in the words of General George C. Marshall, Chief pf Staff, "had no Army." Recruiting to increase the strength of the Regular Army to 875,000 by the end of the year is continuing at the Jcate. of about 15,000 a month. This force, it is felt, is entirely in adequate to |eonfront a major emer gpMyv such as would result from a; compftto Anwl.vfehay Brtaun. The National Guard stands upon the threshold of a new future. With^iaii authorized strength of about JfiJXX) officers ? and 235,000 enlisted men, > it needs training and, 1n llKtion, new .equipment and weapons. Moreover, some ob servers say that it needs reorgani zation to eliminate the influence I ta Thursday For Jack P. Laic ? s ?L Succumbed on Tuesday To Heart Attack In Columbia, S. C. * < '*' ? ' * ? Final rites for Jack Phillips ?***?? 42, of Columbia, S. C., and Farmville, a well known andi highly esteemed, regional official of the Wage and Hour division of the United States Department of Labor, were held here in historic Antioch Christian Church, of which he had been a member since boyhood, by the pastor, Rev. C. B. Mashburn, on Thursday afternoon, at three-thirty o'clock. , : A choir, composed of' Mrs. M. V. Jones, Mrs. A. W. Bobbitt, Mr. and Mrs. Elbert C. Holmes and John D. Holmes sang "Asleep In Jesus,": "Lead, Kindly Light," and "Now The Day Is Over," with Mip. Haywood Smith as director. Interment was, made in the Laiig plot at Forest Hill j cemetery, beneath one of the largest and handsomest floral tributes seen here. A large number of.. Legion naires and friends from other towns were in attendance. . ,?, Active pallbearers were: Fred Cox, Jr., and Paul Noel, of Charlotte, Mor timer ,Dantzler, of Columbia, S. C., Arthur F. and C. Hubert Joyner and W. D. Dildy, of Farmville. Honorary pallbearers: W. E., and J. W. Joyner, A. Q. Roebuck, O. G. Spell, E. W. May, J. Frank Harper, M. V. Jones, J. E. and Joe N. Bynum, Jim Barrett, Z. M. Whitehurst, J. L. Creech, Dr. Dennis Keel C. W. Wel lons, W. S. Royater, Joe Moore, L. P.. Yelvertpn, Lj T. Lucas, M. L. Eason, D. G. Allen, G. E. Ballew, Frank Davifc, Jr., M. V. Horton, R. N. Freeman, J. C. Brock, Ben Stepp, R. LeRoy Rollins,, A. W. Bobbitt, C. F. Baucom, J. H. Paylor, B. F. Weaver, all active members of the Farm ville Post American Legion; June Rose and J. Knott ?roctor, of the Greenville Legion Post; G. A. Rouse, John T. Tliorne, G. M, Shirley, and Marion Shirley, of Raleigh. Mr. Lang succumbed Tuesday evening at 11:50 o'clock in the United States Veterans hospital in Columbia, S. C., after an illness of two weeks duration. His condition had been critical following a heart attack, suf fered at the beginning of his illness and his passing was not unexpected. Members of the family had been at his bedside throughout, and all of his Bisters and brothers were with hith when the end came. The body, accompanied by the fam ily, arrived in Wilson at midnight, Wednesday, and was met there and escorted to Farmville by friends, and taken to his former home, the Lapg residence on South Main street, now occupied by a- brother, James R. Lang/ Mr. Lang, the eldest son of the late William Moye and Mrs. Annie Phil lips Lang, was descended from dis tinguished pioneer families of Pitt and Lenoir counties, and his paternal grandfather, William G. Lang, and his own father were prominently identified with Farmville, particular ly in'the business, civic and educa tional interests, and contributed much to the general progress and develop ment of the town. Mr. Lang volunteered for military service at the age of 16 yearn, and rendered meritorous service to his country as a veteran of the World war, serving overseas in the Thirtieth Division, "Old Hickory". Company I 119th Infantry, as Sergeant. This was the division credited with break ing the Hindenburg Line. He fought with the British in Belgium and on the famous battlefrc nts of Yptes, Bellicourt and St Quontin. He was a zealous member of the American Legion, and the Forty, and Eight Club, cud took an enthusiastic interest in its activities from- the time of its organisation until his passing, rendering a signal service to his comrades through this.channeL He was a Shriner and also a member of the Elks. .?? "? At tho time of his death, Mr. Uang was supervising inspector of^ the Carolines regional office of the Wage and Hour division of the Unit ed States Department of Labor, and was in charge of the Columbia, S. C., offcie of the division.; He was with, the North. Carolina Department of Labor aS chief in spector in 1988 and 1984, after which he became North Carolina Service Officer with headquarters in; Char lotte. During his tenure of this of fice he was active in securing the veterans hospital for Fayetteville. Mr. Lang Went with the Wage and Hour division January 16/1939, after taking an. extensive training, course in Washington, and was placed in charge of organisation inspection XrofthedivirioufortheSou^ states, with theref he SS2.33W ton to take charge of the offices June 1; and wan then transferred to Columbia as -supervising inspector in charge of the offices -them Endowed with an affable nature, a^-wann cordiality of> manner and magnetic personality, Mr. Lang had * ^wide acquaintance, was popular and highly regarded by all classes. Surviving axe: his widow, formerly Miss ' Josephine ' Funderburk, of Charlotte; three sistert^ Mrs. Nannie Moye Humphrey, Mm J. Y. Monk, and Mm P. E. Jones of Farmville; three brothers, W:Harry,of Kinston, James R. of Farmville, and Robert G. Lang, of Beaufort, a number of' nieces and nephews, a grandniece and a grandnephew. ? +;? >> ? Wi *v TVA The Tennesse Valley Authority has announced that work has beeh started on the national defense ex pansions authorized by Congress to Increase the TVA's inatalMfpower capadt# by 800,000^kilowatta. , - ?'W'X' 1 ? -r: ^ I f?H* of young people are iargely attributable to the faults of -V \ I : ; ~"TT:: - ? 1 Meets, Makes Plans ?????? '? Improvements Along Business Lines Dis cussed and Planned; Stores to Remain Open On Wednesday After ? noons After August 21 \ The Board of Directors of the Farmville Chamber of Commerce and Merchants Association, held its regur iar meeting Tuesday evening at the Farmville funeral Home, with the newly elected president, S. A. Garris, presiding. C. W. Weltens, represent ing- the local office of the East Caro lina Railway, Leslie Yelverton, of Fountaih, E. G. Narron, of Maccles field, S. B. Kittrett, of Pinetops,- apd George Hart, of Snow Hill, were pres ent for a duacussion of matters per taining to freight shipments by this route. ? Reports, from the towns represent ed, showed an increase in carload shipments an a decrease in broken carloads, and that these respective communities are 100 percent behind the railroad and are working to wards its support, in spite of the ab normal conditions brought about by reduced crops and large inventories, which would tend towards a reduc tion of shipping receipts. The Asso ciation voted in favor of requesting the Railroad to . provide a fence around the coal yard South of Farm ville or some other protection during the time coal cars are stationed there. 1 ? J The finance committee reported an audit of the books of the organiza tion made, showing all receipts and disbursements to be in order, and recommended that a new system be adopted for keeping of records. The advertising committee reported the first radio program, sponsored by this group, to have made with a good response and that a second one will | be broadcast on Thursday, Aug. 22. The organization voted to keep the stores open here on Wednesday after noons after August 21.' Advertising the Farmville Tobacco i Market was discussed, and the presi dent, appointed George W. Davis, L. E. Walston, T. E. Joyner, Sr., and John B. Lewis as a committee to work with the Farmville Advertising Ser vice in this connection. A request will come from this group to the local tobacco companies for the use of local help in so far as practical during the coming season. ' -t? Mexican Senate Approves Draft Mexico City, Aug. 14.?The Mexi can Senate approved compulsory mil7 itary training by 67 to l- vote late Tuesday and sent the measure to President Lazaro Cardenas, who sponusored it as a defense necessity., The Chamber of Deputies passed the act several days ago. * The measure calls for training 60,000 reserves annually, starting next year, until a reserve of 200, 000 men has been developed. Then the. program will be tapered off. Men between 18 and 46 are subject to service. Work On Armored ; Divisions Rushed A X ' I |- Fort Knox, Kyi Aug. 14.?Brig. 1 Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, commander of the Army's first two armored divi sions, said Tuesday he was convinc ed sufficient equipment would be available by October to place the units on a combat strength basis. KnoxProposcsHtmArmy In Backing Conscription ' ' ' Defeat of England In jSixty Days Seen As Possibility ?_ 1 Washington, Aug. 14. ? Secretary Knox declared today that the United States, lacking a two-ocean navy, needs a "huge army" and he urged that one be created by conscription. Should England be defeated by Germany, he said, "we will be left without a friend in the world." He expressed the opinion that such a de feat in 60 days was possible. The navy secretary appeared be fore the House Military committee in support of the Burke-Wadesworth compulsory service bill, on which the Senate undertook its fourth day of debate. At the White House resident Roosevelt and congressional leaders went over the legislative slate, con sisting chiefly of defense bills. Af ter the -conference Democratic Leader Barkley predicted the Seh ate would act on the Burke-Wads worth measure some time next week. Others at the meeting were Speaker Bankhead and Democratic Leader Rayburn of the House. At the capitol, Senator Byrnes (D-SC) said that Admiral Harold K. Stark, chief of naval operations, has asked a Senate appropriations sub-committee to increase by $47, 000,000 the funds which would go to the navy in a pending- $4,963,000, 000 appropriation bill. The increase would be used for armaments, for fighting planes and for aviation maintenance. Before the House committee Knox asserted that the. nation faces a "very grave crisis." None in this country can", fell the trend of the battle for Britain, he said, because information from bel ligerents comes through officially controlled communiques. WHO KNOWS 7 1. What is the difference between a vaccine and a serum? 2. What, per centage of men volun teered in the World War?. 3. Of what-are synthetic automo bile tires made? 4. ? How many people have been added to the Soviet through annexa tions in the past year? 1 6, "What is the authorized size of1" the U. S. Army? 6. How many conferences has*" Secretary Hull attended in South America? 7. Who is the new chairman -of the Democratic Natoinal Committee? 8. What Southern States voted for Hoover in 1928? 9. How many American cities have populations of over 500,000 ? 10. ' What is the population of the British Isles? (See "The Answers" on Page Four) Nazi Paradises Feand in Midlands Ofjaglaad All Traffic In Area Be ing Halted By Home Guard ' " London, Aug. 14.?Seventeen para chutes bearing German" markings were found tooay in Midland villages as the Ministry of Home Security appealed to the public to report urg ently any information they may have about parachute troops landing in England. ' ?} Police and home guards stopped all traffic in the area where the parachutes were found. A farmer who found several of thenr. said he could locate no. trace of any men near theta. "The Midslands is England^ great industrial area and a few parachute troops might be able to conduct ex tensive sabotage .there." " Finding of the parachutes inten sified a day-long search. The ministry said police, the mili tary and .home guards were cop- r ? tinning a widespread search begun immediately after reports were re ceived that parachutes had been found in two areas of England and one in Scotland, last night and fcarly