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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, SOUTH CAROLINA Thursday, March 1, 1945 IcCORMICK MESSENGER i I i i r rablished Every Thanifty kbUeheE Jane f, 1901 EDMOND J. McCRACKEN, Editor mnd Owner tiered at the Poet Office aft Me* Oermlck, 8. C. f as mall matter of SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One Tear — ll.UO Mr Months .78 T'hree Months JSO MAGIC • • , • chemistey^ The man who ean pick rab|)its i out of an empty hat is a piker com- I pared with the laboratory magi cians who are storing up a back log of practical magic which will revolutionize living in the postwar Talk to any research chemist who is in touch with the developments in his industry and you will hear tales of discoveries which go far ’ beyond anything imagined by the . writers of fairy tales. And you will ! And that the chemists are champ ing at the bit, waiting for the op- 1 portunity to show the world what . they have in store for it. } Before the war we realized that » we were about to pass from the I motor age to the chemical age. In the years to come there will un- 1 doubtedly continue to be new and | marvelous mechanical discoveries, but there is little question that the 1 spotlight, during the remainder of . the 20th century, will shine on the I performance of the chemical engi- ' neer. ^ ; Nylon, and all of the related prod- ; nets made out of coal, air and wa ter, pointed the way to what we may expect from now on. It is f understood that the chemists are ; ready to launch a new field of prod- i acts created out of sand, brine, coal and oil. They have apparently ■ learned the secret of transformation to the extent that they will be able. to turn practically anything into oractically anything else with a save of a magic test tube. : HOMES ... . plywood To those of us unversed in chem- •stry, what Lhe chemists do will al ways be thought of as a kind of .super magic. When 2 recently listened to a talk by Walter J. Murphy, editor of the •American Chemical ^bciety, in which he gave a preview of what is lo come, I realized that man has finally caught up with and har nessed the most fantastic flights of imagination of our ancestors. Class that won’t break, wood that won’t burn, stockings that won’t run, pants that won’t shine, suits that -Avbn’t wrinkle, plywood bath tubs. iiiade as hard as steep . . those are jusb a few of the things ! Mr. : Murphy described as , the ‘•coming attractions” of the world of tomorrow^ And we all know, al ready, of the marvelous medical | discoveries made in recent years, ! such/hs penicillin, which are prob ably just forerunners of even great- kr.health protection to cdme^~■"’ , ' } One of the most exciting phasei of the Chemical Age will be thi changes in homes which will tx brought about. Plywood adhesivei ►-thin sheets bonded together whic] E n be bent or molded into anj ape and at the same, time can b4 *s tough and hard as any. knowii material, will be employed in al sorts of ways in home building Plastics and new kinds of glass ar other chemical products which wi revolutionize home building an home furnishing. - ! There is perhaps more truth thai humor in a recent cartoon in th New Yorker magazine where a re*, estate agent, showing a new horn to a, prospective tenant says, ”E\« ery part of this home is made c glass—except for the windows, course.” OPPORTUNITY . . . 70,00^ i One thing which particularly im* pressed me while listening to Mr! jMurphy unfold the tales of the lab! Joratories, was the small number oJ jpeople who are tnaking all of these 'astounding discoveries. This nai tion’s scientific accomplishments; lie said, have all been performe-l jby a band of 70,000 chemists and •chemical engineers. “Truly,” hd said, “we may say of these meil land women as did Winston Churchy nil of the members of the RAF.% rNever in the field of human con flict was so much owed by so many jto so few.’ ” * I But the very fact that so few are jemployed in this work at the pres- !ent time appears as a great oppor- ftunity for many of the young men jwho are now wondering what they [are going to do when they come teack from the war. There may be ,no more geographical frontiers to jeonquer in our country, but thei Ichemical world certainly offers a ‘great field for pioneering of a dif ferent sort—a kind of high mental adventure which, to an imaginative type of person, can offer more ex citement and more prospects for' getting ahead in the world than could ever be expected from open- flng up undeveloped land. I I don’t know whether chemistry |is stressed more in our public [schools than it used to be,, but it ,certainly would seem worthwhile to i give any boy all of the encourage ment possible to acquire an inter-’ est in this new “land of opportu- tnity.” The wise parents of today f will certainly do all they can to de velop their children’s interest in ’ chemical experimentation. I HOUSE iHOME ;>V MARY t. DAGUt W HEN you are planning this year’s vegetable garden, one r of the first things to consider is the soil. The better the soil the better the crop and this year our crops must provide for our day-to- day needs as well as for canning and freezing and drying? If the garden is ancovered it’s a good idea to work it as soon as the ground is open. Dig in compost, leaves and manure and let the ground stand in rough ridges. The freesing and. thawing will do much to enrich and improve the condition of the soil. The spring rains will tend to even and settle the ground so that when the time comes to prepare for planting, the earth is in a mellow and workable condition. The soil must be well prepared- before you put in the seeds. This preparation is a determining fac-' tor as far as the productiveness of the soil is concerned. In the garden that is large enough to be plowed, there’s little doubt but that the ground will be well “turned over.” But if the garden is to be spaded then you must be sure that this is done deeply with the top turned under. Work with a hoe and rake to break up large lumps. Then spread with the plant food most suit able to your soil condition. Now is the time to put on lime, too. Work the fertilizer in by hoeing and raking and continue to rake until the earth is finely pulverized. Don’t just scratch over the surface but work as deep as the seeds will be planted and two or three inches more. The first roots of the plants need this fine powdery soil but lumps underneath will hold mois ture and strengthen the root growth. Sometimes the amount of seeds needed for a given length is puz zling. Many seed catalogues give the amount of seeds needed for a certain number of feet. Beets for example require an ounce of seed to sow 60 feet of row while a packet will usually sow 15 feet. A packet of bush green beans is calculated to plant 20 feet of row and half a pound 75 feet. A packet of peas will sow about 10 feet and a pound 100 feet. A pound of both green beans and peas measure about a pint. With this in mind, measure your garden, consider the size of your family and your plans for canning, and buy the seed ac cordingly. We are urged to bny all we need bat no more. Also we are being warned to order our seeds early. But just because you have all your seeds, don’t think you have to sow them all at one time. By well calculated plantings you can avoid such a bottleneck as having vege tables pile up on you too fast to take care of them and you can also prolong the season for table use. -X Ration Calendar For Week Of Feb. 26.1945 By ELLIOTT PINE '<) Major leagne baseball has con tributed $2,630,460 to various war relief agencies during the last three years, according to Earl Hilligan, press agent for the American league. The three world series sup plied over a million dollars of this total. Other important fund rais ing stunts were the All-Star games, the major league-service team game in Cleveland in 1942, and a number of special iyar relief games. The big leagues have given $345,449 to supply baseball equipment to men in service. Referees will decide boxing matches in Louisiana in the future . . . the judge system was discard ed by vote of the fans. New York is struggling with this problem . . . so many split decisions and dis agreements among officials has been disturbing the cash customers. Another towering basketball center- is John Ludka of Syracuse U. who stands 6 feet, 10 inches. Glen Da vis, Army half back, has been clocked at 6.3 seconds for the 60- yard dash. Peanuts Lowry, Cub outfielder, managed to get into the army al though he had a punctured ear-' drum . . . after a year of tervice he has been discharged . . . both eardrums are now punctured, and he is said to be totally deaf. Paul Brown, now a naval lieutenant, has signed a five-year contract as coach and general manager of the Cleve land professional football club in the new All-American conference. He has had a spectacular record in high school and college coaching ... at Ohio State, from 1941 through 1943 he won 18 games, lost 8, and tied one. High schools in Ohio are plan ning interscholastic hockey winter. Therman Gibson, 28, troit weider and a bowling star, won the Petersen Classic in Cht- cago with 1,615 for eight games. He collected $5.1C*0 t a record pay-off for the indoor sport. Sam Snead shot a record-breaking 64 over the Metairie course near New Orleans, but it was just a practice round two days before the S5.000 New Or leans Open began Louise Suggs c.» Lithia Springs. Ga., looks like comer in women’s golf . . . she .. unbeaten so far this winter in tour nament play. next De- a is -XX- PROCESSED FOODS: BLUE STAMPS . . . X5, Y5, Z5, A2, B2, . . . now valid . . . expire March 31, C2, D2, E2. F2. 02 . . . now valid . . . expire April 28, H2, J2, K2, L2, M2 . . . now Valid . . . expire June 2. MEATS AND FATS: RED STAMPS . . . Q5, R5, S5 . . . now valid . . . expire March 31, T5, U5, V5, W5, X5 . . . now valid . . . expire April 28, Y5, Z5, A2, B2, C2, D2 . . . how valid . . . expire June 2. SUGAR: SUGAR STAMP No. 34 . . . good for five pounds . . . ex pires Feb. 28, SUGAR STAMP No. 35 . . . good for five pounds . . . expires June 2. SHOES: Airplane Stamps No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 now good. FUEL OIL: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida— Period 4 and 5 (last season) . . . valid for 10 gallons each. Periods 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (this season) . . 10 gal lons each. GASOLINE: A-14 coupons valid through March 21. Rationing rules now require that each car owner write his license number and state on each coupon in his possession as soon as it is issued him by his local rationing board. Your mile age rationing record must be pre sented to the board when apply ing for supplemental B and C gas oline rations. RENT CONTROL: All rent ac commodations must be registered. Landlords who have not registered rented living quarters with the j OP A Area Rent Office should do so at once. Home Canning Sugar Sugar for home canning this year, while not as much as in 1944, should still be enough for all legit imate needs, District Director E. H. Talbert announced this week. Contrasted with last season’s maximum allowance of 25 pounds of canning sugar per person, this year’s maximum allotment will be 20 pounds per person, with no family receiving more than 160 pounds, regardless of the number of members. There will be no stamp in Ra tion Book Four good for canning sugar this year, Talbert pointed out, as experience proved the 1944 plan impractical. The canning sugar stamp was misused by mil lions, he added, who used the sugar thus obtained for. table or baking purposes rather than for canning. The reason for tightening up, the OPA official said, is,that our sugar stocks at this time of year are lower than in years, while mil itary needs are greater. Cuban production is down, and domestic production cannot be increas.d be* cause of manp^.ver and machinery shortages. Talbert explained that applica tions for canning sugar would have to be made through local War Price and Rationing Boards, on forms provided by OPA for the purpose. Dates for receiving such applications will be announced shortly, as the canning season tears. The applicant will be required to state the amount of home canning she did last year, and the number of quarts she expects to can this season. The Board will then issue oupons for 1 - and 5 - pound pur chases of canning sugar. In making application, the icuscwife will attach ‘Spare ’tamp 13” from War Ration Book Four for each member of the fam ily named in the application, as evidence that such persons are ac- ual holders of Book Four. f . Lights the Pathway Across a World of Dread* PREDICT! FURTHER CIVILIAN' STOCKS OFFICIAL NEEDS, DROP IN OUTPUT, AFFECT SUPPLY Shortages Force Shift to ^ Protein Substitutes. * ' ; As the result of a pending meat shortage, U. S. civili ans, who have been eating well throughout the war, may be forced to include other protein-rich foods on their menus to help build and re pair muscles, blood, nerves and other soft body tissues. With government purchases re maining at high levels and livestock slaughtering decreasing, civilian meat consumption thi^ year may trmble to the lowest point since . 1S35. when the per capita figure dropped to 116 pounds. Tight now, the situation may be come tighter still this summer, it is reported, if the government, unable to stock up on supplies during the winter months, should be compelled to enter the market later during the customary low production period to meet its needs. With the usual increase in slaughtering in the Fall, however, civilian supplies should improve again, it was said.. With production for the first three months of 1945 down 25 per cent, and with the government taking 50 per cent of the output of federally - inspected plants for the quarter, civilian consumption of meat will be down about 38 per cent for the period, the Ameri can Meat institute reported. Where as the public received 263.000.000 pounds weekly during the first three months of 1944, the figure has been cut to 162,000,000 pounds week ly during the corresponding period this year. With prospects for a 38 per cent drop in production for the second quarter of this year, and weekly allotments of 151,000,000 pounds compared with 232,000,000 for the same period in 1944, there is little hope for 'immediate improvement in the situation, it was said. In connection with the de crease in meat production, the American Meat institute de clared, there will be a corre sponding drop in the output of such by-products essential for war and civilian uses as leath er, greases, and other mate rials for explosives; many medicines such as insulin, glandular extractives, adre nalin and surgical sutures. Indicating the tight meat pros pects ahead for 1945, a U. S. De partment of Agriculture survey re vealed that there were fewer hogs, sheep and cattle on farms on Jan uary 1, T345. than cn the same date a year before. In the largest decline on record, hog numbers fell from the all- time high of 82,852,000 of January 1, 1944, to 60,660,000, a drop of more than 22,000,000, USDA reported. Although less steep, the decline in sheep was appreciable, with the figure of 51,769,000 for January 1, 1944, down to 47,945,000, or a drop of 3,824,000 head. Of the group, cattle showed the slightest decline, with the record number of 82,364,000 of January 1, . 1944. down only 604,000 to 81,760,000 head. As a result of a tapering of fattening up, or finishing off, how ever, the greatest percentage of cattle abounding may be of the utility or short-fed type. Ironically enough, the slump in hog and cattle numbers came in t the face of the largest feed supply in 20 years, as a result of the bump er harvests of 1944. Supply per ani mal unit, including chicken, was 27 per cent above a year ago, the USDA reported. Despite prospects for less and 1 less meat for civilians during the coming weeks and months. American families need not suf fer nutritionally from this short age, with several good substi tutes supplying essential pro teins. Satisfactory substitutes for meat. include fish, poultry, milk, cheese (both cottage and American), eggs, i mature dried peas, beans find nuts, according to nutritionists. Milk and milk products are es sential in the daily diet at any time. , During the shortage extra quan tities of milk and cheese can help supply protein needs. Farm fami- lies with surplus milk can make their own cottage cheese, which is equal to meat for building and re- ‘ pairing body tissues. Regular American Cheddar cheese ships • well, so most of it goes to our » armed forces. Eggs are an excel^rit protein J food, and dishes combining eggs! and milk have a huh protein* rating. Eggs also can be prepared “ in so many different waj s lhat they, need never become monotonous. Protein in mature dried peas and beans is not as high ih quality | as that in meats and other substi tutes listed, but these foods can fill > part of the protein needs in the) diet with the others. One bean is ’ of outstanding importance in this emergency — the edible soybean. Protein in the soybean is almost the same in quality as that in meat. It can be prepared in all the ways other beans are used, and is also available in flour and grits which may be used in bread, pud dings, cream soups, cooked break fast cereals, vegetable casserole dishes, or to extend meat and fish dishes. cipally by volunteer price panel sale has been extended through Rubber Heels And Soles Brown synthetic rubber heels and scles, and black synthetic rub ber soles, are back in shoe repair shops again, according to an an nouncement this week from OPA. Production of these items was recently authorized by the WPB. and the OPA has already set dol- ar-and-cent ceiling prices for shoe repairers using them. A tiny garden often makes a bigger pay-off than a bigger gar den. Price Checks For the first time OPA will have a nation-wide picture of the prog ress made in retail compliance with posting and pricing regula tions, when all retail grocery stores are visited during March, E. H. Talbert, disrtict OPA director, stated this week. During the month, every retail grocery outlet will be visited, prin- assistants working under super vision of local Boards, and checks will be made on actual prices charged for specified items, as well as on proper posting of ceil ing price lists. Results of this thorough survey, Talbert said, will be compared with those of a similar check made in March of last year, and will show actual progress made during the year in securing compliance with OPA regulations. This grocery check is one of our similar compliance surveys being made by OPA during March. Oth er businesses covered are stores, laundries and frzoen lockers. drug food Shoe Stamp Holiday The OPA Odd Lot Release of some four million pairs of men’s and women’s shoes in the odd-lot and broken size groups has been extended another week, it was stated this week by District Di rector E. H. Talbert. Originally slated to be held by. the nation’s shoe dealers from February 19 through March 3, the March 10 because transportation tie-ups slowed inter-dealer ship ments prior to the opening date of the clearance. Designed primarily to utilize all existing footwear and get these shoes on the feet of men and women, rather than keep them on the shelves of stores, the sale of fers dealers the opportunity to clear out these specified lines at reduced prices, without requiring ration stamps. Clothing Good news for America’s mil lions of families in the medium and low-income groups was OPA’s announcement this week of new ceiling prices on cotton clothing manufactured under WPB’s tex tile-priority system. Latest step in the joint OPA- WPB program to slash the retail clothing costs five to seven per cent, and at the same time restore lower-priced clothing to the shelves and counters of the na tion’s stores, the new regulations set prices back in the same brack ets as each manufacturer featured from June, 1942, fto June, 1943. All cotton garments covered by the new regulation's will be pre-ticket- ed by the manufacturer with of ficial OPA ceiling prices printed on the tickets. There will still be varied price ranges, depending on the quality of material and workmanship, with retail prices also determined by whether the retailer bought di rect from the maker or through a wholesaler. Under the new regulations, prices for girls’ school dresses will range from $1.65 to $3.45; men’s shirts, $1.80 to $3.70; women’s housedresses, regular. sizes, $1.95 to $3.70; with extra sizes run ning to $-1.10; little boys’ wash suits, $1.30 to $2.70; infants’ romp ers, $1.05 to $2.40, and so on through a long list of essential clothing needs for all the fan|ily. OPA’s District Director E. H. Talbert explained that this *jew merchandise in the low-and fne- dium price brackets should reach retail stores by early summer. He cautioned all buyers to look for the official OPA ceiling price tags, and never pay more.