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Jackson Progress-Argus
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
J. DOYLE JONES
Editor and Publisher
f ntered as second-class matter at
•he Post Office at Jackson, Ga.
TELEPHONE NO. 166
OFFICIAL ORGAN BUTTS COUN
TY AND CITY OF JACKSON
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
IN ADVANCE
One year -11.50
Six months __ -IB
Singe Copies . _ OB
Every governmental official or
board whose duties include the han
dling of public funds should pub
lish at regular intervals an account
ing of it, showing where and how
each dollar was spent. This is be
lieved to be a fundamental princi
ple of Democratic government.
American battleships are being
launched ahead of schedule and
that’s the worst sort of news for
the enemy.
Talk will not win the war. If so
it would have been won already.
There must be some tired jawbones
in this country.
Americans should stop crying ov
er spilt milk and get busy on the
task immediately ahead—the win
ning of the war.
Southern beef does not meet ar
my standards. The South not only
needs more livestock but a better
quality of livestock.
“Hitching posts are coming back,”
says headline. At least they will be
useful as a place to tether some of
the small-bore politicians.
The local political subdivision
that does not trim expenses sharp
ly will face serious trouble later on.
Local taxes should be reduced in
order that there may be more for
the national effort.
If every organisation in the na
tion were as patriotic and efficient
as the Red Cross it would not take
America long to get ready to fight.
This is an organization that is doing
things.
There is no room in this country
for pessimism or defeatism. A real
champion can give it and take it
on the chin and come up for more.
That is the type we breed in Amer
ica. Shame on the timid souls.
With so many doctors and nurses
being called to the colors it may be
that old-fashioned remedies will
have to be relied on more and more.
In the early days a mother could
pretty near raise a family on a bot
tle of castor oil and turpentine and
other simple remedies.
Members of congress maneuvered
themselves into a tough spot on the
retirement or pension bill. If they
voted for it, without knowing what
was in the bill, that showed care
lessness and neglect. If they voted
for the bill, knowing what was in
it, they went against public opin
ion. In either case it will take a
lot of explaining that doesn’t ex
plain.
THE AMERICAN’S 1
CREED 1
I believe in the United ,
States of America as a govern- ‘
ment of the people, by the j
people, for the people whose ;
just powers are derived from 1
the consent of the governed; ,
a democracy in a Republic; a
soverign Nation of many sov- 1
ereign States; a perfect Un- ,
ion, one and inseparable, es
tablished upon those principles
of freedom, equality, justice
and humanity for which Amer
ican patriots sacrificed their
lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my
duty to my Country to love it;
to support its Constitution; to
obey its laws; to respect its
flag; and to defend it against ,
all enemies.—William Tyler
Pag*.
Take !t Or
Leave It
By J. D. JONES
With the nation at war, the birth
day of George Washington seemed
to have anew meaning this year.
Washington, born 210 years ago
February 22, in our soft living has
too often become a sort of legenda
ry character. But faced with its
greatest trial, the nation is turning
again to Washington and he has be
come a real man of flesh and blood,
of spirit and stands for all the na
tion is or can ever hope to be. Now
more than ever we need the cour
age, the bravery, the patience, the
foresight, the firmness, the wisdom,
the unyielding faith of Washington.
With a few thousand ragged con
tinentals Washington wias able to
overcome the British and win Amer
ican independence. Great as a sol
dier, he was equally great as a
statesman and without his wisdom
and courage it is doubtful if the
states could have been welded into
a compact union. Washington,
Franklin, Jefferson, Monroe, Hamil
ton, Madison—the fathers of the
Constitution —the country in its sore
travail reveres their memory now.
All of us, if we are to win the war,
must have more faith and courage
and the willingness to sacrifice. If
George Washington had thought of
self only the colonies could never
have wrested their freedom from
English bondage. At great sacri
fice, he commanded the Revolution
ary army without pay. He served
as president for eight years at a
small salary and retired voluntarily
to his farm. Contrast his example
with that of the present time when
it is the accepted thing for men to
fight for honor and position and to
squeeze the last possible penny out
of the government. Washington,
the man, is the nation’s greatest
heritage. The nation does well to
honor this great American, truly
described “As first in war, first in
peace and first in the hearts of his
countrymen.”
Speaking to an audience of his
home people, Senator Walter F.
*
George declared in an address Sun
day that America must have capa
ble leadership and that nothing must
stand in the way of providing that
leadership. The lives of American
boys depend on leadership. It is
the part of high officers to provide
that leadership and it is the duty
of those in the ranks to follow and
not reason why. The layman is not
supposed to know anything about
strategy. He trusts those in respon
sible positions to see to that. Yet
it seems that the leadership at Pearl
Harbor was not of the best type.
The suggestion was recently made
that certain members of the Presi
dent’s cabinet should resign because
of advancing age. Again, that is
something the layman is not suppos
ed to know much about. Certain it
is that the greatest victories in the
present war have been gained by
those who took a chapee and as
sumed the offensive. Americans are
not accustomed to playing second
l'iddie to anybody, and sooner or
later the country will tire of a de
fensive war and call for offensive
action. Whether our army and na
vy leaders are thinking in terms of
World War 1 is not known. But
the country will support the claim
* of Senator George that the country
! is entitled to the best type of lead
i ership. The country is paying and
| will continue to pay for a first class
I war and results will count.
That was a most encouraging re
port that Walter S- Brown, director
of the Agricultural Extension Ser
vice. made on 4-H club work in
Georgia last year. Georgia enrolled
last year a total of 87,737 boys
and girls in 4-H clubs and the
members produced products valued
at three and a half million dollars.
More than 60,000 homes in the state
felt the influence of club work.
Roys and girls were active in live
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
stock projects, in corn projects, cot
ton, dairying, poultry, gardening,
food preservation, clothing .and
health work. More than 25,000
health projects were carried to con
clusion. All of this is important
work. The young people are learn
ing and producing at the same time.
They are preparing themselves for
future leadership as farmers and
homemakers and businessmen. Geor
gia ranks high in 4-H club work.
There ig not in the country a better
type of young Americans than those
to be found enrolled in 4-H clubs.
First agricultural activity in this
section is the preparation of pepper
beds. Farmers who will grow pi
miento pepper as a cash crop are
now engaged in planting beds and
arranging for a supply of plants
later in the spring. Two bad sea
sons have pretty well used up pi
miento pepper stocks and foreign
supplies are out of the question un
der war conditions. America must
grow its own pepper or do without.
The Pomona Prducts Company is of
fering a higher price for all grades
of pepper this year and this incen
tive will lead to good cultural meth
ods and the hope that the canning
plants will be operated in the sum
mer and fall. Pimiento pepper is a
well established cash crop in a score
of middle Georgia counties.
Butts county should be able to do
much to conserve its soil now that
a full time director from the Towa
liga Soil Conservation District has
started to work here. Of all the
problems facing the country none is
more important than saving the soil.
In this edition S. Kl Smith writes
of soil erosion in the Ocmulgee riv
er basin and contrasts conditions
now with those that prevailed when
he was a boy. The simple truth of
the matter is the country has allow
ed the rich top soil to be washed
away and the land has become poor
er and poorer in spite of injections
of commercial fertilizer. The gov
ernment is vastly concerned about
the land. The land must be saved
and built up if there is to be profita
ble agriculture. To do this there
must be proper terracing and the
planting of trees on some areas and
a proper rotation of soil conserving
crops. That Butts county will have
the full time services of a director
of soil conservation is a hopeful de
velopment of the year. Landown
ers should give all possible coopera
tion and support to this important
work. *
Out of the war, whether peace
comes soon or is long deferred, will
come anew appreciation of the
land, the one eternal, unchanging
value that endures in spite of wars,
panics, pestilence and famine. The
present war is being fought for land
and what that land contains in min
erals, metals, oil, timber and other
resources. Nobody should be fool
ed about that. Germany and Japan
are not fighting for stock exchange
values in London and New York.
But they are fighting for possessions,
more land to colonize their teeming
millions, more land to supply basic
raw materials —coal, tin, rubber,
iron, oil and other things. So the
shrewd investor is now looking for
bargains in land and will snap up
these offerings. A home and safety
and security is the goal that all
young men should strive to attain.
A good old case of land hunger will
grow out of the present holocaust.
Of that you may be pretty sure.
Thei’e is considerable crowing,
too much no doubt, when a commu
nity gets a national defense plant.
It smacks too much of dollars and
cents and not enough of patriotism
and winning the war.
Gcorgia's next governor, regard
less of name, will face a tough sit
uation. Gone are the days of magic
and pulling a financial rabbit out
of the hat. State finances have
been hard hit by tire rationing, au
tomobile sales and a decrease in
gasoline consumption. This will re
act on all counties and it is a time
for sane and cautious management
of public affairs.
THE LAST STRAW
Bv VINCENT JONES
A war that we thought began as
one of great distances has become,
via the airplane and battleship, a
closely-knit world-wide battlefield,
with the Seven Seas as a protective
area being reduced to a negligible
effectiveness.
We know now that U-boats are
operating off Norfolk and Savan
nah, San Francisco and Seattle; we
know that Singapore, Wake, Guam,
and Manila have fallen to foes whose
bases were thousands of miles remov
ed; we know that our own forces
have attacked the Marshall and Gil
bert Islands, over 2,000 miles from
our nearest base at Pearl Harbor.
This means, of course, that our
oceans are no longer impenetrable
defense lines. The mighty roar of
the airplane’s motor and the cruising
range of the powerful warships have
reduced. the vast distances that we
once thought isolated us to routes
on a map of some German bombar
dier or Japanese admiral.
This smashing, by ourselves and
our enemies, of our so-called' ocean
barriers as a defense barricade is
but one of the many instances of
false reasoning the Allies have been
guilty of in this war. The French
Maginot Line was the first; for
eight months the French sat by their
guns and waited, lazy and wine-sod
den, for the moment when the Ger
mans would walk into the mouths
of their guns. While the French
waited, snug and complacent and
certain of their safety, the Germans
“back-doored” on them and took the
impregnable line with the loss of
but a few men.
The British at Singapore thought
in terms only of sea invasion and
faced all of their guns towards the
sea. They believed no enemy capa
ble of conquering the impenetrable
Malayan jungle. But the Japs came.
And through the jungle.
To most Americans our oceans
have been our impregnable defense
lines. But the Japs and the Ger
mans have smashed them and if any
are so naive as to not believe the
truth, they should go some clear,
quiet day when the vision is good
and sit on an unprotected part of
our Atlantic shore and they may
watch the very amazing spectacle
of an enemy submarine torpedoing
one of our tankers. The Maginot
Line was not impregnable, Singa
pore was not impregnable, the At
lantic and Pacific oceans are not
impregnable; nothing in the world
is impregnable to superior forces
equipped with superior firepower.
Pearl Harbor, then, may have
been worth the price. For without
it, we might have gone on believ
ing ourselves safe behind our sea
walls, growing lazy and complacent
and pursuing business as usual un
til the time was ripe for the “toux--
ists” in South America or in Alas
ka to give the signal for the attack.
In which case, we would have found
ourselves fighting an enemy with a
bridgehead established in our coun
try and with supplies and men and
reinforcements pei'haps already on
the way.
We still are not spared this dan
ger. Some of the South American
countries are especially vulnerable
to surprise attack and none of them
is equipped and ready to thwart a
major foe in his efforts to con
struct a bridgehead for attacks on
possible invasion of this country.
Our Navy is spread thin. So is our
Army and Air Force. The surprise
attacks will probably come; they will
be only an attempt by the enemy to
divert our machines and men from
the war fronts. There will be great
howls of derision, as why aren’t we
protecting our country and the Japs
are going to get us.
We are going to strike the enemy
where he is. We know now what
happens to those who sit and wait
bhind Maginot Lines or coastal de
fenses. Berlin, Tokyo, Yokohoma
and Osaka, these are our objectives.
The sooner we reduce them to sham
bles, the sooner can our boys come
home and we all set upon the great
task of constructing a lasting peace.
WANTED!
FIGHTING DOLLARS!
Today Americans are dying so that America,
your free America, can live.
Today, the men in our Army and Navy urgent
ly need more planes, more tanks, more guns. More
than our enemies have, better than our enemies
have, if we are going to smash our way to victoiy.
We’ve got to get them. We will get them. But
only if every man, woman and child in Ameiica
helps! And helps voluntarily, regularly, in the
American way—the Defense—Bond way—every
pay day.
Every dollar you can lend your government is
needed and needed now. Start getting your share
of Defense Stamps and Bonds today. Plan to set
aside money every pay day —every single dime that
you can. .
America Needs Men —Materials —Money—
and the Money Must Come from YOU.
If We Lose This War We Lose Everything.
JACKSON NATIONAL BANK
JACKSON, GEORGIA.
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
LOOKING BACKWARD
THROUGH THE FILES
News of 30 Years Ago
William E. Reynolds, president of
Georgia Military College, accepted
an invitation as Memorial Day speak
er in Jackson.
The Georgia Power Cos. of Atlan
ta invaded middle Georgia territory
in competition with the Central
Georgia Power Cos.
In a charge to the Butts county
grand jury Judge R. T. Daniel said
that most crime was caused by
whiskey and pistols.
The engagement of Miss Marga
ret Welch of Atlanta and William
Otis Ham of Jackson was announced.
Judge T. G. Preston of Flovilla
announced as a candidate for repre
sentative.
W. E. Watkins was chairman of
the Butts County Democratic Execu
tive Committee and G. E. Mallet
secretary.
J. R. (Bunk) Cooper of Macon
announced as a candidate for con
gress in the Sixth District.
Jackson churches sent delegates to
the Atlanta conference of the Men
and Religion Forward movement.
News of 20 Years Ago
An examination was ordered
March 14 for postmaster at Jackson
to fill a vacancy.
Another election for a $150,-
000 road and bridge bond issue was
set for March 28.
Announcement was made of the
marriage of Miss Carolyn Crawley
of Madison'and Colonel H. D. Rus
sell of Macon.
Between 75 and 100 Butts coun
ty women voted for the first time
in the bond election February 15.
The supreme court ruled in a case
from Floyd county that counties
could not pay the salaries of farm
agents out of general county rev
enue.
Butts county veterans scheduled
a meeting in Jackson Saturday to
elect delegates to the Richmond re
union. The veterans were to be
entertained by the UDC chapter at
a showing of “The Birth of a Na
tion.”
William Wright was a student at
Emory University and Joe Buchan
an at the University of Georgia.
New* of 10 Years Ago
In a decision handed down Thurs
day the supreme court of Geor-gia
affirmed the decision of the lower
court in the case of Tom King,
Butts county Negro, convicted of
the murder of county policeman J.
E. McNair on November 23, 1925.
Mrs. L. C. Warren of Griffin was
speaker at the Washington birthday
meeting of the Jackson Woman’s
club Friday.
The Wilson Smith farm of 225
acres was sold by V. H. and B. K.
Carmichael to Fred Bates of Atlan
ta.
Judge Ogden Persons was slated
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1942
to address Butts county teachers at
the courthouse Saturday afternoon.
According to a ruling of the de
partment of Agriculture crop loans
for farmers in 1932 was limited to
S4OO per applicant.
Like a small boy who hates like
the devil to plunge his feet into a
tub of cold water or come up for
his ear scrubbing, the country hesi
tates to take the all-out plunge into
total war. But it must come. There
is no other way. As Secretary Knox
recently said the country must fight
itself out.
Farmers are on their toes, eager
and anxious to begin planting the
food and feed to win the war. But
they are perplexed about a scarcity
of nitrates, a labor shortage and
equipment. At least the farmers
must have adequate tools and equip
ment and supplies if they are to do
their full part.
The University of Georgia Medical
College at Augusta has been drop
ped from the list of approved medi
cal colleges. The Augusta institu
tion has done splendid work with
the means at hand. In some re
spects at least it was looked upon
as a poor man’s school. Georgia
must suffer as a result of political
interference. The place to right this
wrong is at the ballot box, and
Georgians, we believe, will attend
to that at the proper time.
Scrapings From
Hard Scrabble
dear editer,
We bin thinking uf orgernizing
a Maypop Garden Club. I spects
Maypop will be the onliest flower
blossoms we’ll have this year. They
dont need no cultervation, which we
dont have time to do. But we do
want to have some kind uf a Gar
den club because they is so stylish
now.
M e hears some uf them city slick
ers show is growling bout that-air
income tax. Ever thing at our es
tablishment is out-go. We dont
have nothin whut armounts to nuth
in comin in. We dont think we’d
mind to pay on it ef we did.
Me still yet aint ha*d no hearin
from none uf the eanderdates. Dont
think they’re gettin warmed up so
early this year. Guess they’ll soon
be tellin folks how they can save
the world in your vallerble paper.
So long.
SUSIE STUCKEY.
Recreation under war conditions
is important. Play nights will be
monthly at the gymnasium in Jack
son, beginning next week. It is
good work.