The Wilmington morning star., 1940-06-30
BY FRED j. COIN

BY FRED j. COIN
Most of the world has forgotten
what happened on Sinai some 5,0oO
odd years ago. 1t has forgotten
what happened in Bethlehem some
1910 years ago. How well it re.
nembrs what happened at Kill
)evil Hill, North Carolina, some
81 years ago - with accent on
that part of the nomenclature,
"kill'.
That sounds like a sermons be-
ginning. It is not. We are just
mindful that the Marquis OF
Queensbory rules and all other
rules have been abrogated in the
present roaring, raging holocaust
Hitting below the belt, failing tc
20 to a neutral corner when the
adversary is PROSTATE upon blood
soaked canvas, are hailed by some
as being quite noble deeds these
days.
Seems as if this story is to be
an indictment of some sort or
another. It isn't. The scene we
want to depict for you is almost
pastoral - a simple, fundamental
relief. The brush's first strokes
took from the palette tones almost
azure blue with salmon flaked
coulds passing away a brighter
horizon was clearly in view. All
of that has changed now, swiftly,
horribly. The basic picture remains
the same. The background is now
the reflection of a CORY inferno
far beyond the nightmarish, ghast-
ly imaginings of - it might be
quite itting to say Dante.
What WPA has done in North
Carolina-a cross-section of Natio-
nal tissue - to aid in preventing
the conflagration from consuming
our homes, our ideals and our
civilization is our picture.
Airports
Fifty thousand air warships each
year calls for a swarm of Amer
lean Eagles-threugh which vul-
lures could not fly. That American
Eagle is a courageous, intelligent,
never-say-die fighter. Before he
can defend his aerie he must de-
velop and learn how to use his
wings.
To advance from a fledgling to
a mighty bird, he must have
properly prepared ground from
which to learn how to use his new
wings. WPA in North Carolina has
completed or approaching compile
ton eleven airports, including the
most modern United States Coast
Guard Air base at Elizabeth City.
Thse airports comprise more than
5000 improved acres with run
ways totalling 1905 feet in length.
In the nation, SIG landing fields
and 579 airports, have been built
or reconstructed. Over, 80 per cent
of all airport work in the past
five years has been with WPA
cooperation.
Think what it would mean had
we to start now almost from the
scratch of five years ago to de-
velop these airports. No doubt with
in the forthcoming few months
those fields of especial military
importance will receive intensified
aid from WPA. ,
Highways and Roads
When Germany started to pre-
pare for the present onslaught,
about 5000 miles of roads were
constructed. The ease of transport
ing men, material, mechanical
forces from one indicated point to
another is of prime military import
ance. WPA has 1851 miles of high
ways, roads and streets to it's cred
it in North Carolina. Seven hun
dred and sixty-five miles of this has
been milets of rual roads play their
essential roles, too-carrying pro-
duce and supplies from remote
regions to the main arteries of
traffic thence to centers where
needed is vital. New roads must
have new bridges. The score card
shows 213 new bridges. The count
for the entire country is 457, 1874
miles of highways, roads and
streets with 27,979 miles of high
type surfaces. Bridging rivers,
streams and lowlands are Sc, 900
new structures. No doubt, i'm
nediately, roads needed specifi-
cally for military strategy will re-
reive particular additional atten-
lion. OF course, this does not take
into account the primary roads by
the thousands of miles construct
ed through aid of other depart
ments of the Federal Works Agen-
cy. The United States Government
has not overlooked the importance
of having its frontiers connected
by road systems. True the primary
purpose has been to conserve
otherwise wasted man power and