Henderson daily dispatch., 1942-06-27
AROUND
CAPITOL SQUARE
BY BGR THOMPSON
Daily Dispatch Bureau
In The Sir Walter IlOtel-Raleigh

GASOLINE-Seldom if ever has a
war order beer violated as fragrant
ly in patriotic North Carolina as has
the gasoline rationing regulation.
Not only were *" and "B-3" cards
passed out to thousands upon thou
sands who had no right to them but
also any motorist who wants to vio-
late the rule easily can find a nearby
filling station which will sell him
gas without touching his card.
The State Office of Price Admin
istration has ample evidence of all
these facts. There is no telling how
many filling station operators ii
could send to jail if it made the
effort. Blu the strong probability is
that there will be practically no pro-
secutions. There are three main rea-
sons:
/. The OPA is not yet set up
to do the job and if Congress in
sists on cutting the appropriation it
never will be. Organization OF the
field force had not even begun when
gasoline rationing started and
amounts to little even yet. There arc
t not enough OPA lawyers to do even
| a fraction of the enforcement work.
| 2. The first ~rationing systcm-the
one now in cflcCt-WaS so fun Of
loop holes that it offered an invita-
! ton TO violators. But within a few
!, weeks the new system, believed to
be almost air tight, will put a stop
| to the chiscling.
3. The filing stations and their par
ent gasoline companies are doing d
good war job in the collection Of
4, scrap rubber. Gpatriotism no doubt
=, played a big part in the oil indu,try'5
, rubber campaign but 80 did a desire
TO save its face. If eyer an indus
try needed to do something to re-
gain public confidence it wa the big
oil industry after the recent congress
l sional inVestlgatiOns.)
LITTLE BUSINESS-The other
day one of the Washington Columns
Pearson and Aliens "Mcrrv-Go-
Round') revealed a situation in the
War Production Board which has
been known in North Carolina GOr
months. That is that the dollar-a-
year men and Donald Nelson's big
business-mindcd assistants were OPP
posed to farming out s~ub-contraCts
to little industries. DESPITE the fact
that England broke its production
bottle neck by putting all available
industry into the wal effort, despite
the success Germany has had along
the same line, these big shots tim
and again wasted the material,
months and money required to build
additions to big industries, rather
than put the lite plants to work.
If the truth be known, one Of the
main reasons hat Irving Hall was
eased out Of the WIPE picture was
that he consistently buckEd the sys-
tenn when he was head of the WPB
in North Carolina.
1t was to break down the system
that Congress passed the 5000, O00,-
;, 600 little business appropriation. But
, news from Washington is to the eff
:, feet that the big industry men are
E trying to put n Of their own in
: charge of this effort in behalf of
little industry. If they succeed, the
, effort will flop.
STATE GUARDS anybody talk
ing the State Guard seriouSly?' The
: question came from a reader who
| is, himself, a member Of the guard.
The answer is Eyes, the army takes
u, it very seriously"
So far the poorly equipped guards
men have been the "%forgotten nan
of the war effort. Night after night
they have drilled and prepared them
selves for whatever job they were
called to do. But the air raid war
dens and the emergency police and
this and that organization which
didn't do half as much work got
twice as much attention in most
places, At last, however, the guard
should come into its own. During
July and August every one of the 40
, guard units will be given two weeks
of military training-probably at
Fort Bragg.
GIRDLE-A number of the guard
units were called out during the re-
cent forest fire epidemic. Last week
40 guard officers were called on to
i act as military aides to the various
governors in AshcNillc for the annual
| conference.
/ In both instances the GuardSmcn
did what they were asked TO do, ever
though they didn't have the equip
= ment and training. Some Of the fire
fighting units did not even have
t blankets. And one Of the officers in
AsheVille, despite the fact that he
. was not at all trained for the job,
4 obcycd like a good soldier when a
visiting governor had him go down
| town and buy a eirdl~ for his wife
\ to wear at some shin~dig that night.
Booker r. Washington's up from
= ClnA,orA,N Will hn translated in Rnntn