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I McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, SOUTH CAROLINA • Thursday, January 2T, 1944 Halsey Makes His Report to Grandchildren Admiral Halsey, leader of the United States naval forces In the Southwest Pacific, makes a report to his grandchildren on his activities of the past few months. This picture was made at the home of his son-in-law, Preston Lea Spraunce of Centreville, Del., where Halsey vis ited during a recent leave. v ^ ,/v U. S. Soldiers Watcli Aussie Allies Yob A American soldiers in New Guinea watch as their Australian bud^r* exercise one of the rights for which the Allies are fighting—the righ’ « : vote. Lieut. Larry Drake, the unit’s electoral officer, supervises " ~ voting which took place on New Guinea. Corp. A. E. Tierney is sht'.'>. signing the envelope which contains his ballot. Ground i orce Uiict An ler’s Dream Lieut. Gen. Omar N. Bradley who has been selected to lead tht rapidly growing American grounc forces in the British Isles. As sucl he becomes one of the team o European invasion leaders. U. S. Visitor -x- A Romance in Roses By ELIZABETH G. GRAY © McClure Newspaper Syndicate. WNU Service. Dream of an angler come true is this tarpon on display at the 20th Annual Sportsman’s Show in Bos ton, Mass. Model Mildred O’Don nell of New York also looks to be a good catch. “When this war is won, we see!< a world of peace and freedom and stability. But no nation can eith er make a satisfactory peace or eotablish a stable government, — I — while the stomachs of its peo ple are empty and while they lack I evrn the basic necessities of life and decency.” — Herbert Lehman, director United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. X- frn. 7'ed r m Argerda. prrs- r~<*n of ti'c rcj?vVli .• o.’ \ c a. pIcJur?i h's xr *o aul lh''5i dnir'Ver. I-ma A'-jan *v> > ’ l”'' ■~>a iirc’r. rily hc'ore f-'v •-'xr-r ^ t ‘ *"ive fur a v's ! fo iiit a..2^ Lia.rs. X M EHITABEL SOPHIA P E R- KINS, spinster, opened her 'ivory enameled Colonial door, in answer to the deep thud of her an tique brass knocker that gave such atmoy.phere to her rose-trellised cottage. “Land sakes,’* she said, “if you book agents must pester the heart of me all day long, why not use the rear door like other venders?” A -broad, good-natured smile an swered her. ‘‘Now, ma’m, who could resist entering under an arbor of such glories as these? Who could forego a tilt of that knocker, just to hear its music? Who—” “You may cease your levity and state your business,” said Miss Met- ty, somewhat softened by the praise lavished on her special pride. “You guessed it, ma’m, ’tis books —not ordinary books, but all the beauties of thought and nature for centuries passed, compiled in one book to intrigue us just as sure as these roses drew me to your door. Rare gems, ma’m, songs that ‘could wake to ecstasy the living Lyre!’ ” “Rigmarole! The liars I come across daily don’t need any in centive to keep awake,” she re torted tartly. Ignoring such rank heresy, the agent became so much more elo quent an exponent of the poets that are and were that Mehitabel gave in to the spell of his words; the years dropped from her; she felt young, thrilled. “I saw Hamlet,” she barely breathed. “You are much better than he was. Why don’t you quit peddling books and do that?” “ ’Tis a thought,” he said. “And I will send you a front row seat for my opening night.” “Oh,” she gasped. “It would be wonderful. I’ll buy a book to re mind you of your promise.” Should he allow a guilty con science to spoil a sale? Never. All’s well in love and salesmanship. His leave-taking held a suggestion of Romeo and Juliet. Mehitabel sighed and thrilled. She gazed at the receipt as though it were her first love letter. The book of verses came at last. The blood raced to Metty’s face as she scanned the pages for some per sonal message. Fool! she cried to herself; but even so her austerity became softened as the winter wore on and soring awakened her roses from their long sleep. Then came a morning when the first of them had burst into bloom. A booming voice hailed Mehitabel as she was working among them. “A letter for you. Miss Mctty, from the theater. Now, who could that be frpm? Think of going on' the stage?” and he laughed uproar iously at his own joke. “Whole town’s wondering what it’s all about.” A strong will alone saved Mehita bel from fainting as the blood pounded in her head and throat. “Won’t hurt any to let ’em won der a while longer,” she said as she took her letter. i Once alone she opened it. En closed was a theater ticket and a scrawled note, which read: “To Miss Mehitabel Perkins, from Robert Butler. “Upon her advice I have assumed The tragic role of Hamlet; I am with hope and fear consumed— -Tonight, I toss the gauntlet.” - Miss Metty’s trirh little figure was the first in the theater that night. Her program told her that Robert Butler came third on the list. She never knew what the first two num bers were about. As the curtain rose above the din of harsh dis cordant music on the third act, her taut muscles sagged ard slumped; she’ metaphorically withered. Am bling awkwardly across the stage her hero dropped sprawling into a chair reminiscent of the Elizabethan period. Clad grotesquely in a cos tume of the same period, with a tall silk hat atop his head, he fired the house.to roars of laughter with his burlesqued soliloquy. He was called and re-called. He was a suc cess. -X- “Immediately after the war, as during the war, *farmers will face voracious markets for all they ' can produce. Except for possibly a brief lull during demobilization, employment in the United States will continue at high level as men shift over from making tanks and airplanes to making autos, house hold equipment and homes.” — Writer in USDA Bureau of Agri- j culture Eeonomics. Mehitabel Sophia Perkins, spin ster, opened her old Colonial door in answer to the thud of her an tique knocker* amid a small show er of rose petals. “Lands sake,” she exclaimed, “it’s you.” “Yes, M’am,” was the inane re- piy- “As long as you are here you might as well come in. I can see you’ve got something to say, and I want to thank you for the theater ticket to the show.” “Was it as bad as that, honest?” “Worse!” she said bitterly. “I didn’t sell very many books,” he began. “I kept thinking of what you said, and the roses and the sweet peace of it all here. I de cided to give your suggestion a try. I was a joke. They thought I meant to be, so I exaggerated the offense and built on that foundation the act you saw. They said they’d try me out. You know the rest. It is a suc cess financially. It would give us plenty to live on and we could live too, Mehitabel, for your old age.” For a moment Miss Metty gasped for breath, then, with a swift flutter ing movement, she arose, smoothed her immaculate apron and made a hasty retreat, saying, “Lands sake, our tea is boiling, and I do hate boiled tea.” NE FRIEND TELLS ANDTHE ClaiiSSeitS ^^^HBread v fOKrxTM WRM F A V OR ED 0 V E R A t-m v* J ’■ ■'VTiSr; ALWAYS HI VVH r J ' / YOUR GROCERS ■ fc- .; YE A R S SAVE YOUR TIRES We can re-cap your truck tires with Grade “A"’ Camelback without ration certificate. Expert Workmanship. Factory Method. 24 HOUR SERVICE HOLLOWAY I 811 Ellis St. See John Warren Augusta, Ga. an a*l it caR° l * n in -^9 © ;) ^//7\ A “black-out” of radio in South Carolina would leave a bigger gap in the Jives of our fellow citizens than most of us realize. We can look back to a time when radio was just a new-fangled gad get that sometimes worked — but today it would be hard to look ahead to a world without it. To nearly a quarter of a million homes in South Carolina—that’s about 1 out of 2 — radio regularly brings its air-borne cargoes of entertainment and informa tion. Operas and quizzes, variety shows and newscasts, comedies, war stories, symphonies, farm hours, dramas both real and make-believe, lectures and dance music — they’re in our living rooms at the turn of a dial. To bring us these varied programs and the advertising of their sponsors South Carolina has 12 radio stations broadcast ing from 8 different towns and cities. Many of the programs are local in STROMS CUT-RATE DRUG STORE Phone 95 11 McCormick, S. C. origin and interest—others go on the air from all parts of our nation, from micro phones set up at the furthest corners of the w’orld, and are brought here by the 5 networks serving South Carolina. We South Carolinians, whose job it is to keep Greyhound buses rolling across this State of ours, feel that we’re helping to make near neighbors and good neigh bors of all the towns and cities we serve. Our buses link these communities to each other and to the rest of the Nation. We feel that radio, in a quite different way, is also doing much to bring closer together the people of our State and of our Country. Such unity is all-important to our full-scale, full-time war effort. BREYHOU