The Wilmington morning star., 1940-07-07
Stocks End July Fourth RI
Week With Slight Gains
Your
Opinion
BY Gladys Best Tripp

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QUESTION FOR TODAY: Why |
does Wilmington lack shipyards
and an airbase in the present time
of increased national defense?
"Self-satisfed rust" was the YER
dict of group of Wilmington's
citizens as they described how the
coastal city had been asleep for
too many years..
1--WE are too weak politically to
achieve anything nationally" said
L. S. Saunders as he leaned against
a counter in his drugstore. See
what Fayetteville is getting! Fay
etteville has a wide-awake group
working. for grapts-and the town
is getting them.
while here in Wilmington we
are self-content with the way the
city has been going for the last
20 years. How can we expect to
get an airbase when important
lines survey through this section,
and we don't raise a finger-and
Rocky Mount goes to such trouble
to be nice to them?"
Saunders reviewed how import
ant it is for Wilmington to have
an airbase to protect her vulner-
able position on the Atlantic coast.
He said that Fort Bragg is too
far away to give sufficient il d
should Wilmington be attacked.
!; "Shipyards in the United States
should be decentralized from the
New England coast" added. Saun-
ders. Thus shipyard at Whining
ton would be both advantageous to
the city and the country. Shipyards
concentrated in one area can easily
be wiped out by bombings."
Citizens who object to having
strangers in town are also holding
back improvements, said Saun-
ders. =
| He added that the selfshness of
many business men who are afraid
Of competition keeps away useful
investments.
Perhaps we just fail to follow
through with our ideas, comment
ed amiable Mrs. Elsie Cole Jones
Of the Wilmington Furniture COM
pany. Our tendency is to get all
excited over something for a few
t days-and then suddenly our inter-
Fest fades.
f. For instance, most of us would
like to have few more smoke
stacks in Wilmington" she con-
tinued. Zone Of our most attractive
Presidential sections, Sunset Park,
was the result of the last ship.
yards. With it came new roads,
increased purchasing power n
general improvement and prosper.
ity:."
Mrs. Jones complimented the
Wilmington people as being h e
very best in the world. For that
reason she added their furniture
company gets the latest modes in
furniture, only to have the local
people become fond of them after
other cities are putting in newer
things. This is indicative OF the
entire city, she pointed out, with
a tendency to wait until some 9th.
er city has the new industry first.
I'VE are proud Of. Ethyl-Dow-
and yet when it began some Of us
were skeptical. We applaud new
inventions made by local people,
and continually point to how much
better things are today than they
were years ago. Perhaps that is
why we lack shipyards an an air.
base: we are still living in the
past until the actual requirement
shows us how much better a new
era can be-" concluded Mrs. Jones.
Man-on-the-street Burriss ais o
dwelt on the Importance of air.
planes in modern times of both
war and peace as pressing rea-
son for obtaining a Wilmington air.
base.
: Right after the World war was
the time to get the shipyards," he
said. with five right here in Will
mington there was no reason for
not keeping at least one large ship.
yard. Of course not having them
now, we need to do our very best
to get Them"
Some major sport developed to
high degree or a racetrack would
build Wilmington up in the eyes
Of North Carolinians was his opin.
ion. He pointed out that a winning
team playing other important
teams would bring crowds to the
city and build up feeling of unity
among the Wilmington people. 8
Answers tn