Why We Should
By R. Flake Shaw, Exec. Sec.
N. C. Fmr» Bureau.
1. Ia 1988, the tobacco farmers
were broke. We had no program.
In 1933, an atempt was made to
produce and market tobacco m an
orderly maimer. Since that time,
except for one year (1939), we have
bad some kind of a tobacco program
supported by quotas either on acres
or pounds and price support. In a
ten-year period, the income of/tobacco
growers was advanced from
approximately 36 milium to 309 million
dollars. Statistics will also show
that similar gains were made in food
and feed crops and living conditions
were improved in a like manner
throughout the tobacco producing
states, much of which was made possible
by the extra income from this
crop.
2. In compliance with the renuest
of many of the leading tobacco farmers
who pioneered with the quota
provisions of the law when it was an
unpopular issue and had to be sold
and proved to many of our leaders,
Congress has seen fit to grant a
special i>rivflege to this group by the
passage of a Joint Resolution No.
144. The responsibility rests with
the tobacco grower to reaffirm his
faith in the quota provisions of the
tobacco act. This is considered the
most important of quotas on all
other crops except tobacco, and unless
a large percent of our tobacco
growers go out and express their
approval in this referendum, in my
opinion, Congress next year will fail
to give us the privilege, of voting for
quotas in 1945.
3. The f ood and h eed ttogram
is Item No. 1 in our defense program.
I realize that the tobacco farmers of
North Carolina are as patriotic as
any other group in the nation, but if
we sell our 1943 tobacco crop f<qr an
average of above 40c per pound and
quotas at the same time are taken
off itf tobacco for 1944, there will be
a large number of our farmers* who
will transfer from food and feed production
into the wholesale production
of fhie-cTired tobacco. Another contributing
factor to this switch has
been the collapse in price of most
perishable food crops in North Carolina
this year.
4. Price support means to the tobacco
farmer* exactly what the Minimum
Wage and Hoar Law means to
the laboring man. We know now
that regardless of what happens to
the War or anything else, the 1943
tobacco crop cannot sell for less than
90 percent of parity. This guarantee
perhaps will not mean much to us
this year, but within a short time
after the end of this war, it will vary
likely be the economic salvation of
the tobaccrt fanners in this section.
Price support by the Government on
flue-cured tobacco is absolutely coneingent
upon controlled production
and the very day that we suspend
Quotas we automatically waive onr
right as producers to aak the Government
to guarantee oar price.
5. The purpose of quotas on fluecured
tobacco is to limit the production
to its proper relationship to the
demand and to avoid huge surpluses
that will hang over the hearts of the
farmers and necessitate heavy expenditure*
on the part of the manufacturers
in the fotjn of processing,
storage, insurance, and interest on
their investment*. Quotas at the
rrSLTTi-,*™
Renew Your Fuel Oil
Rationing By July 30
Fuel oil and kerosene coupons are
being distributed daily to ,t$el oil
users for heat and hot water use in
private dwellings and in premises
other than private dwellings.
Renewal applications were mailed
to every last year's user in June.
Form 1167 was to have been' returned
to the Pitt County Ration Board
by July 1. All renewal forms not
received by July 80 will be delayed
in issuance or be cancelled.
This year numbers will not be
written on coupons and- records of
delivery will not be required. Coupons
are issued in Class S sheets
worth 5 gallons per coupon, in Class
4 sheets with a value of 10 gallons
per unit, and Class 6 valued at 50
gallons (5 units at 10 gallons per
unit.)
All persons desiring hot water and
heat rations using kerosene should
mail their renewal applications immediately
to the Pitt County Ration
Board.
Cooking and lighting rations will
be renewed aft a later date.
• , •: 1
Wan Against
Complacency
Officials Say OverOptimism
Hurting
War. Effort
Washington, July 21.—It took a
while for the idea to gain momentum
but government officials more and
more are talking of "over-optimism"
hurting war production.
There are plenty of reasons why
production lagged in May and June
—not all of than clear yet—but the
emphasis now is on "over-optimism"
as a cause.
Meanwhile the War Production
Board is busy trying to leant the
causa*—so a spokesman says—and to
remedy them.
Here is the situation:
May production was about the
same as April although the figure
can still be revised below April.
Ju:>e production — the figures will
be released later this week — has
been only a ljttle better than May.
June laggards are expected tor include
heavy tracks, certain types of
ammunition, some types of aircraft.
Ahead of schedule probably will be
tanks, artillery, small arms, "equipment
for the enjpjieers and the
quartermaster.. • ,•
Merchant shipping most likely
will be shown to kave been up to
June schedules although behujji M8$
in which all records for ship deliveries
were broken.
On July 20, Charles E. Wilson,
WPBV executive Vice chairfnan said
the aircraft industry should produce
8,600 planes in July but probably
wouldn't. Immediately Navy Secretary
Knox blamed this anticipated
failure on oonrplacency which he said
robbed the workers of their will to
produce." Already we are feeling
the effects of over-optimism about
the war's end, he said.
But shortly after Wilson and Knox
made their statements Monday, a
high WPB spokesman gave these ex
Troops Take Enna,
Cutting Off Large
Numbers of Axis
Troops Wliile Otjlers
Flee Toward Messina;
British Now Nearing
Catania * f "C '
Allied Headquarters in North Africa,
July 21—Enna, defense prop of
Central Sicily, has been captured by
American and Canadian troop*, it
was announced today, forcing a general
withdrawal of Axis forces from
the central and western areas of the
island. For all tactical ' purposes,
half of Sicily is now m Allied hands.
Enna's capture left the Axis commanders
with but one east-west highway
along the north coast, and an
eastward movement of all troops was
observed. It appeared that a general
withdrawal to the northeastern
tip of Sicily has begun.
Last Stand Near.
There, in the Messina area, the last
stand and perhaps evacuation presumably
would be staged.
British Eighth Army troops closing
in upon Catania, key to eastern Sicily,
have shattered still another desperate'
German counter-attack with
"very heavy casualties" and continued
to squeeze in upon the seaport
The fall of Enna threw the whole
Axis communication system in Sicily
in jeopardy, and quick collapse of
resistance in the west and central
areas was threatened.
(Rome announced Enna had been
evacuated). r c
The town controls the mam highway
and railroad lines routing east
and west across the mountainous island,
and it thus cuts the German
defenders of Can tan la off from contact
with Italian forces in the west.
Italians Retreating.
, These Italian troops have been
yilding ground rapidly and surrendering
in huge numbers. Most of the
German troops apparently are concentrated
in the Catania area, battling
desperately to hold the Eighth
Army from seaing off the entire east
Mast of Sicily by plunging through
Catania up toward Messina.
With Enna's fall, 'the only contact
between Catania and western
Sicily is by a single, roundabout road
from Palermo and Terminion on the
north coast down around Mount Etna
through Paterno, or by a still longer
way along the coast to Messina and
io\fn the coastal road through Taormina.
Paterno itself is reported already
threatened by British troops, and
the entire Messina-Catania coastal
road is vulnerable to Aerial and sea
bombatdnumt.
The American and Canadian troops
had thrown a powerful pincers upon
the town by advancing from Caitanissetta,
taken by the U. S. Seventh
Army Units, and from Piazza Armenia,
which fell to the Canadians.
Enna is 34 miles north of Gela,
and lies 30 miles below the north
coast of Sicily. It is some 45 miles
west of Catania. '''
The Americans and Canadians
drove on deeper into the island after
B> *-11 '
OP PEARL HARBOR At DANIEL
a
Mm. Let* Bray, of 21« Belcher St,
mother of Muter Sgt, H»ywood K.
Bray, Jr., has recently received a
clipping from "The Augusta Chronicle"
which, carries a picture of her
son together with sfct other veterans
of the Ja» sneak attack en Peart
Harbor, December 7, 1941—tall noncommissioned
officers—who wen on
duty at airfields in Hawaii that neverto-be
forgotten Sunday. They are
now stationed at Daniel Field.
( The news story states: %
"All of these 'Peart Harbor nay'
veterans wear the Asiatic-Pacific
Medal, American Defense Medal Mid
Good Conduct M*!al,'with Bray wearing
the American Theatre of Operations
Medal in addition . . . They're
not inclined to talk much about that
day.
"Over at Hickman Field, Bray was
busy U his task of getting guns and
ammunition to the men and making
bombe available to all planes. The
Rising Son insignia of the Jap dive
bombers that fateful day will probably
be the last thing these men will
ever forget.*?
The Chronicle states .that grim
recollections of the day are reflected
on the faces of these men in the
picture which shows a side view of
the veterans standing in line.
ROBERT G. BARRETT, JR,
PROMOTED TO CORPORALl
Guantanamo Bey, Cuba, July 21.—
Robert G. Barrett, Jr., U. •& Marine
from 208 Belcher street, Farmville,
North Carolina, has been promoted
to corporal.
Corporal Barrett, son of Mr. and I
Mrs. Robert G. Barrett, Sr., of Farm-1
vilie, enlisted in, June, 1940.
He was a movie operator before
enlisting and served at Indian Head,
Md., Quantico, Va., and New River,
N. C., before being assigned bete.
He is a graduate of the Farmville
high school.
Ed Note:
We are in receipt of an interesting
photo of CpL Barrett sent In by
the Public Relations Section of the
17. 5. Marine Corps, showing Barrett
giving a bath to the Leatherneck
mascot at Guantamamo Bay. The
dog is a white Spitx and both man
and dog look very happy ever the
procedure.
Mrs. Minnie Little
Died Early Sunday
Mrs. Minnie Case Little, «l, died
at tier home near Bruce at 8:60
Saturday morning: after * two-day
illness.
Funeral amices were held at the
home at 5 o'clock Monday afternoon.
The Rev. L. B. Manning, Free Will
Baptist minister of near Farmville
officiated. Burial was m the Famville
cemetery;
Mra. Little waa bom and^reared
in the Faraville community, the
daughter of the late Jolm F. and
Mary Bundy Case. She married J.
H. Littie in 1910.
Surviving are her husband; four
daughters, l#rs. Howard Garris of
near Brace, Mrs. Melvin Graim of
Moscow, July 21.—Fighting along
the Russian front spread to the
southern Dooets and Miua river aectors
yesterday aa Bad Army troops
recaptured town after town in their
drive to encircle the Germane at
Orel on the central front, the Russian*
reported today. .
Russian armiea thus were on the
move en front extending soma
400 miles south from Orel to a point
southwest of Voroshilovgrad, where
the Soviet midnight communique
■aid Russian forces had crossed the
Ifiua river, improving their poai
Hea.iest fighting still raged, however,
in the vicinity of Orel, where
the Soviet army was closing in
around the German supply base.
Advances of from four to six miles
were reported during the day's
fighting which saw the Germans
hurt ten futile counterattacks in an
effort to halt the Russian advance.
Among the towns captured by the
was Mtsenak, 81 miles northeest of
Orel. The same Russian column was
reported pushing on to the west
The Red Amy force operating
directly east of Orel mesnwhile, the
bulletin said, captured 20 villages
in the day's fighting, including the
railway station town -of Voroshilov.
Or the southern flank a Soviet
force took the city at Malo Arkhangelsk,
89 miles .from Orel, the communique
said.
(A Reuters dispatch from Moscow
said today that the Red Army
bad reached Ermolaeva, which it located
at less than seven miles east
Oral.) illeiESIjr ;
stubborn resistance all along the
line, tin war bulletin declared
Nasi counter attacks were launched
constantly. Red Amy men routed
one only to have the Germans
reform their shattered task units
and infantry for another, the communique
sail
Russians reported the desperate
the same heavy leas of life and armored
equipment which has marked
the battle on the central front since
its beginning1 16 days age.
The Russians also reported action
at the southern end of the
Kursk salient in the vicinity of Bel
(Today's German communique
acknowledged that Nasi forces were!
Mgaged in "fierce battles of defeases,"
especially east jwd north ,
jf Orel. It said that Russian attacks
south of Orel ware "bloodily repulsed"
and that 188 Soviet tanks
were destroyed during the day. Sonet
attempts
lines on the Mmm river and in the
middl* Donets were declared to have]
Allied Headquarters in the Southwest
Pacific, July 21. — American
bombeni were credited Wednesday
with sinking a cruiser and two destroyer*
of a Japanese convoy attempting
vainly to ran the Allied aw
and air blockade around the Mg
Munda airbaae in the Solomons. 1
A force at three light cruisers,
six destroyers and two transports,
undoubtedly seeking to aid the
hard pressed garrison at Kuala,
was spotted by CataHna flying boats
-i n,. . ' » —* i- - i_ i
snortiy alter mwiigni iwiday m i
Vella Gulf just wast of Kolombangara
Island. '' 1
The Catalinas followed the convoy
until strong formations of Liberators,
Mitchells aad Avenger
bombers arrived with bombs which
blasted at least three, warships to
the bottom and aaut the remainder
fleeing or limping northward.
A third destroyer was Hated as
probably sunk, and a transport snd
tajrf on Mtm ia of vital icaport
nd (Md crop* hn u wail aa ia
be a taw (fancy to iraaaaa tafcaecn
Farmers To Vote
On Tobacco Qaotas
•' •