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Jackson Progress-Argus
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
J. DOYLE JONES
Editor and Publisher
E-jrered 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 _ $2.00
Six months 1.00
Single Copies .05
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.
Who' knows whatever became of
Lindbergh? Seems to have dried
up like a prune.
“Leave a clean plate," is the lat
est advice. Under war conditions
waste of any kind must be stopped.
Congress has killed the congres
sional pension or retirement plan.
Members heard from the people back
home.
Another good way for American
women to show their contempt of
the Japs is to wear cotton stockings.
Will they do it?
The early gardener is still in the
blue print stages. He is reading the
catalogues but hasn’t been able to
do much because of the weather.
The past February made up in
variety of weather all that it lacked
in length. February will go down
in the records as a rip snorter.
It does one’s heart good to hear
that aliens are being rounded up
and put in prison. The country has
too mnay trouble-makers running at
large.
Butts county should have in 1942
the largest 4-H club enrollment in
its history. The hoys and girls in
these clubs are doing things in a
big way.
Chances are politics will not he
adjourned for the duration. Several
hot races are shaping up in Georgia
and these will get under way a lit
tle later.
Georgia has many defense schools
and they are all doing good work.
Education must fit the needs of the
times and the demand is for educa
tion of a more practical type.
The big bomber plant near Ma
rietta will employ 40,000 workers
and they must be trained. This is
a job for the schools. The war will
do much to make the South an in
dustrial area.
Much is being said about a spring
offensive. One of the greatest
spring offensives will be on farms
of the nation. Give the farmer ade
quate credit, tools, fertilizer and la
bor and he will come through with
food and feed to keep the wheels
turning.
THE AMERICAN’S
CREED
I believe in the United
States of America as a govern
ment of the people, by the
people, for the people whose
just powers are derived from
the consent of the governed;
a democracy in a Republic; a
soverign Nation of many sov
ereign Slates; 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
Page.
Take It Or
Leave It
By J. D. JONES
In the southern portion of the
state farmers think more of peanuts
than cotton as a cash crop and will
go in for peanuts in a big way this
year. In the exchanges it is noted
that some counties in South Geor
gia will plant as many as 25,000
acres in peanuts. The price is guar
anteed. The oil is needed in the
war economy. Butts county farm
ers are offered an opportunity to
grow peanuts this year on a com
mercial basis. Whether they will do
it or not remains to be worked out
according to peculiar needs. The
peanut crop is a safe one. As far
as now known peanuts are not at
tacked by any plant disease. The
nuts can be sold for oil purposes.
The hay makes fine feed for all
types of livestock. Some counties
in the middle Georgia belt are go
ing in for peanuts on a considerable
scale. If it can be arranged. Butts
county would make no mistake to
try peanuts as a money crop. Cot
ton, pimiento peppers and peanuts
ought to make a good combination
for cash income.
Cotton crop insurance is offered
farmers of this section and the dead
line for Butts county is March 16.
The question is one requiring study
and investigation from all angles.
There are hazards connected with
growing cotton under boll weevil
condition and weather must be rec
koned with. It would seem that in
surance, if the cost is not excessive,
would remove some of the hazards
of cotton culture.
In the year 1912, it is found by
looking through the files of the
Progress-Argus, W. H. Key, now
prominent in the public life of Jas
per county, was teaching school in
Butts county. Mr. Key more than
any other one man was responsible
for Butts county adopting the coun
ty wide system of taxation. Previ
ous to that time forty-odd schools
levied a local tax, and Iron Springs
district, because of the electric plant
on the Ocmulgee river, had more
wealth to draw from than any other
district. The McMichael or county
wide system was finally adopted and
there followed soon thereafter a
campaign of consolidation. More
than 20 white schools were merged
into five junior high schools, with
Jackson big school remaining as
the senior high school of the county.
School consolidation was anew
thing here and there had to be an
educational campaign. Of the men
actively sponsoring consolidation
there were W. F. Huddleston, long
time chairman of the board of edu
cation, J. B. Childs, who served with
ability for many years as a board
member, J. E. McMichael, with long
service on the board, R. W. Watkins,
1,. R. Washington, Sam J. Smith, W.
,J. Bankston and other board mem
bers. Superintendents who were
actively engaged in consolidating
schools it is recalled that Hugh Mal
let. Van Fletcher and T. J. Demp
sey rendered invaluable service. Of
the five junior high schools in the
county, three have Indian names—
Towaliga, Tussahnw and Indian
Springs. One wonders if it would
not be a fitting tribute to name
some of these schools after the stal
wart champions of consolidation —
Huddleston, Childs. McMiehael, Mal
let. Fletcher. Dempsey? It would be
a fitting way to honor men who
served with zeal and fidelity in the
crusade for better schools, and who
often, in the not too dim past, had
to go to the banks and borrow money
on their personal responsibility to
keep the schools in operation. Whe
ther these men mentioned ever have
schools named in their honor or not,
certain it is that they served well
the cause of education in Butts
county and are entitled to apprecia
tion.
Every day somebody bobs up to
remind us of the seriousness of the
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
war and tells us that “we haven’t
seen anything yet.” The rationing
of tires, automobiles, sugar and pri
ority rating for scores of products is
only the beginning, we are warned.
This is probably true. The country
is being prepared gradually for a
full wartime footing, and if the war
lasts as long as now predicted, then
in truth we haven’t seen anything
compared to what will come later.
The population is being told to wage
war on waste, to save everything,
paper, metal, tin, aluminum and va
rious other things. While we are
being told to save and waste not,
agricultural leaders from the high
est to the lowest are warning the
nation to make an allout effort to
grow more food and feed than has
ever been produced before. Amer
ica has always been able to feed it
self, but now we must not only feed
our own population but those of
many other countries allied with us.
Not only that, but the nation witht
stores of food to feed the starving
peoples of the world will command
attention at the peace conference
when it finally comes. The whole
world is looking to the United States
of America to feed and clothe the
rest of the earth. It is a job that
farmers can do and will do but they
must have the labor, the equipment,
the fertilizer, the credit to do the
job. There is no danger, the head
of the Georgia Extension Service
says, of Georgia raising too much
food and feed. All of it will be
needed. The danger is that Ger
gia will not raise enough. It will
be a bad situation under war con
ditions if Georgia has to spend the
usual forty or fifty million dollars
annually for food and feed from
other states. To fully acquaint the
people with the serious job at hand
the writer believes a series of meet
ings should be held in all districts
and competent leaders should ex
plain the true situation to farmers.
Knowing their duty and given the
means to do the job, farmers of
Butts county and of Georgia will
join with farmers of the nation in
raising the food and feed necessary
to win the war and write the peace.
The Progress-Argus is grateful to
the many readers who have recently
renewed their subscriptions. An
unusually large number of readers
have shown their confidence by
paying in advance. Because of pri
ority rating for newsprint and other
materials that enter into the publi
cation of the paper, it became neces-j
sary for the Progress-Argus to ad
vance its subscription price. News
papers everywhere, large and small,
are having to shoulder a large share
of burdens and responsibilities these
days. Demands of the government
for news about the war, about De
fense Stamps and Bonds, about vari
ous activities, civilian defense and
many others are increasing. While
this is taking place revenue has been
sharply curtailed because national
advertising is rapidly disappearing
from weekly newspapers. Cars can’t
be manufactured, much less adver
tised. Tires are rationed and fer
tilizers, especially nitrates, are hard
to obtain. Newspapers have had to
tighten their belts and face the grim
struggle with a determination to
survive or perish. If they are to live
and serve their readers as they I
should be served weekly newspapers
will have to charge more for their
subscription, put their circulation on
a strictly cash basis and eliminate
all the waste possible. The Progress-
Argus has enlisted for the duration,
and with the support of its readers
and friends will carry on to the best
of its resources.
Those who hoarded sugar will not
profit by the venture. Registration
will be held soon to find out stocks
on hand. In some cases those with
large stocks are selling the sugar.
The government is not only con
cerned about the high cost of living
but the high cost of dying. There
is a threat that there will be some
thing done about the high cost of
funeral expenses. There doesn’t
seem to be any escape from high
costs these days, not even from the
cradle to the grave.
THE LAST STRAW
Bv VINCENT JONES
All along the line in volunteer
war work for civilians, we have seen
our best efforts mimicked and in
some instances even hamstrung by
a few careless, thoughtless people
who do not yet realize that this is
their war as well as yours and mine.
In civilian defense, Red Cross
work, drives of various kinds, sale
of bonds and stamps and other war
time duties assigned to volunteer
civilian workers, we have seen the
same men and women carry on no
bly and patriotically and without
relief from the bench warmers and
cracker barrel philosophers whose
chief duty consists of sitting on the
sidelines and offering unwarranted
criticism.
There have been some whose loy
alty does not permit the criticism
of those who are doing their best.
This is the fellow who goes home tir
ed at night, eats an American sup
per, reads an American paper, but
rejects the American way of doing
things voluntarily and willingly and
so he does not bother with the meet-
ing being held at the courthouse.
He appreciate the work that the few
loyals are doing; he does not criti
cize, but he does not participate. No
one would call him a patriot; some
would call him a slacker, a few
would use even stronger language.
It seems that he is one of the type
who believe in letting George do it
and if there are not enough Georges
to do it, well, we’ll just have to get
along somehow. He still does not
believe that Germany or Japan could
possibly have more than a passing
influence on his life.
There is this same feeling of com
placence, of smug safety among so
many of our responsible citizens
who could provide us, should they
volunteer, with excellent leadership.
One wonders what it will take to
arouse them from their silly delusion
of false safety. A token bombing
of New York or Washington may do
the job but the demolition of an
inland city, as St. Louise or Salt
Lake City might make the threat
more realistic. That there are some
who will never awaken until it is
too late there is little doubt. Should
they see Hitler and his legions rid
ing through Jackson they might be
lieve their eyes but not before.
They will have to witness the death
of an ideal, the ideal of the impreg
nability of America, an ideal that
was built upon the impregnability
of other nations that have already
fallen and, therefore, defeated the
dream at its crux.
What will it take to arouse us?
Do you not pause and listen when
you hear the drone of the planes in
f
the night? Are you going to ignore
the possibility of their being Jap
planes? Aren’t you going to help
with civilian defense so that you
will know what to do when they un
load their bombs and death comes
screaming down from the skies for its
rendezvous? Aren’t you going to
buy defense bonds and stamps so
that we can build the bombers and
ships to take the war to the enemy
and keep it away from your wife
and children? Aren’t you going to
subscribe to the Red Cross, the USO
and other organizations whose sole
purpose is to make life more com
fortable for our boys in the armed
service? Doesn’t the safety and
security of your family and friends
mean enough to you that you can
afford to give at least one or two
nights a week to volunteer war work?
Asa nation we are fighting a
war of freedom, in order that the
United States of America may exist
as a free nation, with liberty and
justice and freedom for all. But as
individuals, we are fighting for our
lives. Should our existence depend
upon our cooperation in the common
war effort, some of us would be
better off in a peace time world.
The next time the planes conTe in
the night, turn down your radio and
listen. It may be death roaring at
you at 300 miles per hour. And the
very next night, join hands with
those who are working day and night
to help you and to save America.
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 victory!
We’ve got to get them. We will get them. But
only if every man, woman and child in America
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
A.
OBSERVATIONS
§|L and
SPECULATIONS
By MADAME ROAMER
In roaming around we learned:
That Mrs. C. W. Buchanan passed
a very generously filled sugar bowl
the other afternoon when she and
Mrs. J. E. Lane entertained the
DAR. One member predicted that
at the March meeting little brown
envelopes with a spoonful for each
guest might be in style—that is if
the rationing is in effect by then.
flowers were as generous with them
as is Annie Lou McCord this world
would be a lot brighter. Last week
when her gardens were white with
narcissus blossoms she gave bowls
of them to friends in each Jackson
church in memory of their mothers —
to Mrs. H. L. Allen Sr., of the Bap
tist church for her mother, Mrs. Lit
tle, to Mrs. J. D. Jones of the Pres
byterian church, for her mother,
Mrs. Joseph Jolly, and she carried
vases to her own church, the Meth
odist, in memory of her mother, Mrs.
■J. W. McCord We saw
Helen McMichael Ham, a February
bride, shopping for a frying pan
the other day. One of the group
near by asked her if she’d already
bought a rolling pin. . . . We
learn by the papers that the 1943
Ga. automobile tags will be void of
color on account of paint shortage.
Paint must have given out before
the 1942 collection was made. There
never w r as a duller looking tag than
the one we are now using. . . . .
•I. D. Jones, well-known “town farm
er,” has been trying to swap two
cows on foot for two pounds of
round steak but hasn’t found any
body to take him up yet
Bill Hart says when he takes a girl
to ride on a Sunday afternoon from
now on he’s going to stick to the
pavement, especially if we’ve just
had a rain storm.
Georgia can improve its record in
the number of highway accidents
this year because there will be less
riding. The nation as a whole should
witness fewer traffic deaths in 1942.
More people are enrolling for
first aid courses than ever before.
The Red Cross is training civilians
to do the job most needed and it is
work that will count.
Don't be too sure that food will
not be rationed later on. The farm
er who has his own food will not he
disturbed by rationing, but the pa
per sack farmer will have tough
sledding.
THURSDAY, MARCH S. 1942
The war to date has brought to
light the fact that the Americans,
Australians, Greeks and Russians
are the only Allied soldiers able to
meet the Huns and Japs and hold
their own. If there were more
Douglas MacArthurs and more
troops like those in the Philippines
the war wouldn’t be one-sided very
long.
LOOKING BACKWARD
THROUGH THE FILES
News of 30 Years Ago
Two Butts county citizens, Capt.
F. L. Walthall and T. N. Brownlee,
born February 29, 1836, had ob
served only 18 birthdays in their
76 years of life.
The Butts county primary was set
for April 25.
I. H. Maddox for representative,
D. J. Thaxton for tax receiver and
M. E. Washington for treasurer were
among political announcements.
S. H. Thornton had added under
taking to his furniture business.
The marriage of Miss Eloise Jones
and J. Frank Jenkins took place Sun
day.
Officers of the Butts County Rural
Letter Carriers Association were J.
B. Watkins, president; J. C. Redman,
vice president; S. J. Watkins, secre
! tary and treasurer.
J. R. Hammond announced as a
candidate for ordinary.
%
News of 20 Years Ago
The grand jury recommended a
board of health for Butts county,
and elected W. F. Huddleston, J. E.
McMichael and J. B. Childs as mem
bers of the board of education.
The law granting women of Geor
gia the right of suffrage also re
quired a poll tax of one dollar.
O. E. Smith was chairman of the
county executive committee and R.
E. Evans secretary.
Deaths included that of Mrs. Sal
lie Barber, 74, Saturday, and Mrs.
W. M. O’Neal, 51, Friday night.
New* of 10 Year* Ago
J. L. Bailey, Van Fletcher and E.
S. Settle were members of a com
mittee to handle applications for
farm loans in Butts county.
In the election Wednesday to
name a successor to Sam Ruther
ford, Carlton Mobley of Forsyth was
elected representative in congress
from the Sixth District.
Mary Smith and Roslyn Redman
represented the music department of
the Jackson public schools in a
broadcast over WMAZ Friday.
With March 5 as the last day to
receive meat for curing, the Jack
son cold storage plant reported it \
had handled 45,000 pounds for the
current season.
All Butts county candidates were
invited to be guests of the Kiwari*
I dub March 18.