James Watts Jr. Writes Martin County Friends From France, 1918

“Letter From France” printed in The Enterprise, Williamston, N.C., Nov. 29, 1918

Am. E.F. France

October 26^th, 1918

Dear Editor:

Trusting that you will find a small corner in the “good old Enterprise” for the following message to my friends:

Friends:

How very very much I would like to write to each of you and tell each personally how much I appreciate your thoughts of one who is quite a far way from you. But should I undertake such a task (for task it would be as I have so many who are my friends in old Martin County), I am afraid that I would not have time for any other duties.

You will please take this message, each one of you, as a personal letter from me and know that although I have not written to you, I am constantly thinking of all and I am only waiting for that glorious day when I shall be back with you once again.

Since leaving the States July 23^rd, 1917, I have had many varied experiences, which would interest all to a certain extent. I am sure but especially those who know something about the aviation game. Some day I hope to be able to relate them to you.

I am very glad to be able to say that I am well, happy and getting along very well in every respect. The only think I would have you do to give me more pleasure is for each one of you to write me a long letter telling me all the news. Do not think that you do not know anything to tell me for I would be so very interested in anything at all. For instance, how did the crops turn out? Were the prices good? Improvements going on? And Oh! Just ANYTHING. Remember that I have almost forgot that there is a place which looks like a real American Town. These French Villages are so different.

Sincerely yours,

James W. Watts Jr.

1^st. Lt. A.S., U.S.A.

Am. E.F.

Old Theory On Spread of Influenza, 1918

From The Enterprise, Williamston, N.C., Nov. 29, 1918

People Do Not Get Influenza From the Sick

It is established on good authority that since September 1^st up to date we have had 350,000 cases of influenza in North Carolina, and that 250,000 of these cases were contracted from well people. This is more than twice as many as were contracted from sick people. We all know that one is much more liable to be bitten by a snake in the grass than by one in the open where it can be seen. The same reasoning is true of many diseases. One is not so liable to get influenza, scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles, diphtheria, and many other diseases from sick people as from well people who carry the disease germs in their mouths.

When the news get circulated around a community that some one has a contagious disease, most people get afraid and stay from him. The few people who do go to see him usually wash their hands and use other precautions before leaving the sick room. Sick people are confined to a very limited area and come in contact with very few people, and therefore they can’t spread disease very widely. But listen! The fellow who gets the disease is infected from one to several days before he comes down. Between the time he gets the disease, germs in his mouth and the time he gets sick is the most dangerous period. During this time the infected person, not suspecting how dangerous he is, goes into crowds as theaters, dances, moving picture shows, on railroad cars, and in other public places, and there he scatters the disease germs.

People should know these facts, and they should also know that many persons carry the disease germs in their mouths who never have the disease. People must always be on guard if they hope to prevent getting and spreading diseases. They should always use separate drinking cups, dishes, and towels, or have then boiled before using them after another, and they should hold a handkerchief over the mouth and noise when coughing or sneezing. When an Epidemic Disease is Present in the Community, Stay Away From Public Meetings.

In analyzing the requirements for the prevention of diseases, the methods narrow themselves down to individual effort, and the sooner the people realize their responsibility in disease prevention, the better it will be for the people, collectively.

Report all cases of whooping cough, measles, diphtheria, and scarlet fever promptly, and you will be instructed how to prevent their spread.

--Wm. E. Warren

Asst. Collaborating Epidemiologist

Fighting May Be Over But Profiteering Is Still Illegal, Nov. 29, 1918

From The Enterprise, Williamston, N.C., Nov. 29, 1918

Profiteering Is Still Under Ban

Raleigh—Would-be food profiteers who have judged that the signing of the armistice will release them from the watchful eye of the food Administration have a surprise in store, State Food Administrator Henry A. Page declared today that while a number of rules and regulations of the Food Administration have been removed and others may be removed later, those relating to margins of profit and to the distribution of food and feedstuffs will not only remain in force until the Peace Treaty is signed but that they will be more rigidly enforced thereafter than they have been in the past.

Profiteering and speculation will be punished ruthlessly. Voluntary contributions to the Red Cross will no longer be accepted in lieu of more drastic actions. Merchants who are found to be willfully disregarding food rules and regulations, especially those relating to margins of profit, will be put out of business until normal times come again.

In line with the policy the Food Administration has fixed specific margins upon an increased number of food products. Their margins are absolute and any merchant who exceeds them will be subject to discipline by the Food Administrator. The products which have margins have been fixed as follows:

[One profit margin for people who pay cash and another for those who pay using credit. Note that credit is 20 to 50 percent higher than the cash price!]

Flour (wheat, barley, rye, corn) $1, $1.20

Corn meal, ¾ cents, 1 cent

Homney and grits, 1 ½ cents, 2 cents

Sugar, 1 cent, 1 ½ cents

Oatmeal, bulk, 1 ½ cents, 2 cents

Lard and lard substitutes, bulk, 5 cents, 6 cents

Breakfast bacon (4 cents per pound may be added for slicing), 6 cents, 7 cents

Heavy bacon, 5 cents, 6 cents

Ham (4 cents may be added for slicing), 6 cents, 7 cents

Cheese, 7 cents, 8 cents

Butter, 6 cents, 7 cents

Butter substitutes, 5 cents, 6 cents

Eggs, 7 cents, 8 cents

Potatoes, 1 cent, 1 ½ cents

Onions, 3 cents, 3 ½ cents

Dr. L.J. Smith Says Wilson Comparatively Healthy, Nov. 29, 1918

From The Wilson Daily Times, Nov. 29, 1918

The Town Comparatively Healthy

There are four cases of influenza in the city and one of diphtheria, according to Dr. L.J. Smith, health officer of this city.

He says that while there are a few cases of influenza in town it behooves us to be careful as cold weather makes the disease more troublesome and harder to cure.

The presence of one case of diphtheria is a warning to our people. There are a number of cases in almost every town in the country and Wilson had been free from it. Children should not be allowed to go to school with sore throats.

The four cases of influenza in the city are at Mr. Watkins, and Mrs. S.B. Rierson and son. We hope for their speedy recovery.

Names of 85 More North Carolinians Killed Overseas Officially Released This Week, Also 55 Missing in Action, Nov. 27, 1918

“Weekly Casualties Review,” from the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, November 27, 1918. The war may be over but the list of those killed and missing keeps growing.

Killed, Wounded, Prisoners and Missing as officially announced during the past week for North Carolina and Richmond County

NORTH CAROLINA

Killed in Action

Sgt. Claude E. Hooker, Mt. Airy

Perry Sisk, Rutherfordton

Preston Woodard, Pine Level

Ira Jones, Waynesville Rt. 2

Watus Prevatt, Kannapolis

Sgt. Lox Carver, Rutherfordton

Cpl. Howard Oates, Seven Springs

Hedric Poark, Ashland

Joseph Wall, Selma, Rt. 3

Geo. T. Wilborn, Woodsdale

Colin Shaw, Bunn Level, Rt. 1

George Stallings, Waxhaw

Cpl. Claude Bridges, Mayworth

Cpl. Albert McKay, Kannapolis

Cpl. Carl Blackwell, Oxford

Cpl. Harrison Sullivan, Thomasville

Archie Brown, Taylorsville

David Buchana, Relief

Walter Duke, Albemarle

R.V. Elliott, Winston

Ottis B. O’Brien, Maxton

John T. Cochran, Alarka

Geo. W. Broadway, Albemarle

Rufus Williams, Whitakers

Jerry Harris, Roanoke Rapids

Charles Lauth, East Spencer

James Mobley, Williamston

Hardie Rogers, Robbinsville

Franklin Wilson, Stoney Point

Cyrus Lineberry, Climax

Joseph Woodlief, Wake Forest

Cpl. Waverly Keeter, Littleton

Lawnis Lee, Colerain

Charlie L. Sane, Rutherfordton

Lester Douglass, Piney Creek

Thomas Oakley, Oxford

Posey Sumlin, Edgecombe

Wounded in Action

Floyd Wingler, North Wilkesboro, Rt. 1

Fred B. Taylor, Charlotte

David L. Yount, Hickory, Rt. 4

William Johnson, Milton, Rt. 1

Anderson Cantrell, White Rock

Joseph Barbrey, Clinton

Lt. Jas. E. Faison, Faison

Cpl. Coy Sanders, Buncan

Sgt. Eugene Riddle, Mt. Airy

Victor Howard, LaGrange

Leonard Swanson, Hayesville

John A. Smith, Asheboro

Zachhariah Thornton, Benson

Cpl. Arthur Turner, LaGrange

Sgt. Thos. Hatton, Kings Creek, Rt. 1

Clarence Phifer, Lexington

Oscar Peace, South Mills, Rt. 1

Hugh Berry, Rocky Mount, Rt. 1

Eugene Campbell, New Hope, Rt. 1

Thomas Rogers, Glass

Sylvester Green, Sunburst

John Massengill, Goldsboro

Harry Johnson, Asheville

Edgar Jordan, Clarendon

John Leazer, Landis

William Ring, Mt. Airy

Emery Roberts, Grassy Creek

Melvin D. Rock, Charlotte

Cpl. James Johnson, Madison

Link Williams, Pineville

Mechanic Dermont Lovin, Spruce Pine

James Squires, Elizabethtown

Leo Moon, Swepsonville

Walter Perry, Franklinton

Lonnie C. Linthicum, Albemarle

Alex T. Mansen, Wilimington

Robert Carr, Greensboro

Francis Craig, Wilmington

C.J. Leagon, Winston

James McAlister, Brooks

Finley Woods, Kings Mountain

Sgt. Forney Mintz, Mill Branch

Raymond Garner, Bogue

Died of Wounds

Cpl. Jas. C. Frazier, Asheboro

William Mitchell, Dover, Rt. 2

Ernest Morgan, Statesville

John H. Morris, Carrboro

James I. Neal, Grover, Rt. 1

Ivey Fargis, Elon College

Alexander Hyman, Quitana

Jake Edwards, Lumberton

Clarence Parker, Cherryville

Benjamin Smith, Ash

Lt. Frank Williams, Elizabeth

Paul Drevatt, Seaboard, accident

Died of Disease

Sgt. Gilbert Bonner, Bonnerton

Henry Barr, Red Springs, Rt. 2

Samuel F. Jenkins, Covington

John D. Sweet, Laurinburg

Cpl. Chas. McCauley, Asheville

Robert Adams, Norlina

Cecil King, Kernersville, Rt. 3

Thomas Garland, Gastonia

Henry Grainger, Ferry Bluff

James Matthews, Cooper

Roscoe Benton, Goldsboro, Rt. 4

John A. Myers, Thomasville

Pinkey Rouse, Snow Hill, Rt. 5

John G Salleys, Salleys

William Torrence, Charlotte

Sgt. Robert Beckwith, Lake Landing

Cpl. Albert Holloman, Auslander

Cpl. Henry Wade, Winston

Roland Dixon, Magnolia

John Hargraves, Greensboro

Leland A Patrick, Gufton

Jesse Collins, Smith

Alfred Davis, Washington

Fred Hawkins, Harrisburg

Alfred E. Moore, Lucana

Raymond Lewis, Ivanhoe

Chas. Pendergrass, Henderson

John Sloan, Asheville

Sgt. Wm. Williford, Harrellsville

Rowland Atwater, Raleigh

Eslely Cabaniss, Shelby

Charles Hunter, Neuse

Walter Pegues, Cheraw, S.C.

John Ratcliff, Graham

Cofield Richardson, Eisex

M. McP. Sutton, Elizabethtown

Missing in Action

Sgt. Ira Warren, Asheville

Sgt. Frederick Settlemyre, Mooresville

Sgt. Klutz Clippard, Maiden

Cliff Butler, Lauren Hill

Loyd Dillon, Jerry

Andrew Bradley, Smithfield

Bennie Civile, Cove City, Rt. 1

David B. Turner, Wilson

Dock D. Williams, Wadesboro, Rt. 2

Ambrose Pearce, Reddies River

Harry Potter, Wilmington

William Taylor, Blowing Rock

Frank Brewer, Winston

Henry Bryson, Wehutty

Austin Gore, Bethel

Haywood Guinn, Dunn

Ralph Vernon, McCullers

John Brinkley, Thomasville

Andrew Burrow, Hamlet

Lawrence Dotey, Moyock

Horace Dowd, Carbonton

Claude Fox, Marshal, Rt. 3

Mack Gardner, Angier

Doctor Y. Geer, Gilkey

Willie Jones, Youngsville, Rt. 3

Andrew Ledford, Otto

Kary Roberson, Henderson, Rt. 4

Chester White, Gliden

Chas. W. Hofler, Sunbury

John Holbrook, Offen

Talton Marks, Littleton

Sgt. Thomas Fly, Whitakers

Cpl. Samuel Sykes, Spring Hope

Albert Sheppard, Boardman

Clellan Pope, Buies Creek

Buglar Paul Shoaf, Thomasville

George Buchanan, Hayesville

Arthur Cabe, Waynesville

John Hamilton, Salisbury

Sam Gibson, Rockingham

Cleveland Hancock, Franklinville

Ernest Norris, Duke

Ed. Young, Winston

Eugene Moser, Tobaccoville

Roy Waller, Durham

Willie Sams, Bull Creek

Lee Sheffield, Roanoke Rapids

Pearlie Taylor, Stecoah

Edward Tilton, Goldsboro

Charlie Benton, Corapeake

Robie Walker, Weaversford

Earl Banks, Cane River

Claudy Wilson, Rocky Point

Albert Coleman, Merry Mount

James G. Cullum, Councils

Bonds Increased on Dangerous Negroes Who Got Together to Pray During Curfew, Also 'Shine' Is Back in Wilson Court, 1918

From the Wilson Daily Times, Nov. 29, 1918

The Mayor’s Court

Mayor Killette this morning increased the bonds of Baxter Reed, Joe Johnson and Charlie Wright, the three negroes who claimed they are members of the sect that was held up by the Mayor and ordered to stop holding religious meetings during the influenza epidemic, and upon their refusal he ordered them to court. The case will doubtless be taken up at the next term of the court.

The notorious negro named “Shine” has again come to light. This is the negro whose real name is George Baker and has served on the roads of Wilson county a number of times for various and sundry crimes, but mainly for flimflam games, finding colored farmers with fat pocketbooks easy victims.

He was tried this morning for snatching a roll of money containing $150 from a negro farmer by the name of Dock Evans who lives on Mr. Seth Tyson’s farm near Saratoga. The negro said that Shine met him at the hardware store of Dildy and Agnew November 6^th and had a paper reading it and was telling him about the war. Being interested both walked along together rand Dock went into Branch’s Bank after some money and came out with a roll containing $150, which Shine promptly snatched and made away with. Attempts were made to catch and arrest him but without avail, and he got away.

The first time that Shine has been seen since then in Wilson was last Monday and then Dock recognized him and officers Warren and Winstead arrested him.

Shine endeavors to prove an alibi. He said that he had not been in Wilson before this week for a long time. He was positive he was not here on the 6^th, but the fact that he sent $50 to a party in Kinston and bought a $70 overcoat in Richmond were all against him. He was sent to jail in default of $250 bond and will have to explain to the court how in the world he got together all that money.

First Thanksgiving Meal Served In the Air, Nov. 29, 1918

From the Wilson Daily Times, Nov. 29, 1918

First Ariel Banquet Is Served On Airplane 2,800 Feet Above New Flying Field by U.S. Air Mail Service

Elizabeth, N.J., Nov. 28—The first aerial banquet in history was held today on an airplane 2,800 feet above the new flying field of the United States air mail service here, marking the inauguration of the field as the terminus of the aerial mail service being New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

A few minutes after the mail plain, on charge of Pilot Max Miller left the field at 12:10 this afternoon a big Handley-Page machine rose under control of Captain E.B. Waller of the Royal Flying forces, and during a flight of 22 minutes above the grounds, a real Thanksgiving dinner was served to nine persons. Among the guests were Captain Benjamin B. Lipsner, superintendent of the Aerial Mail service, and Allan R. Hawley, Augustus Post, and other officials of the Aero Club of America.

Thanksgiving Meeting of All Churches Forbidden in Asheville Because of Flu, Nov. 29, 1918

From the Wilson Daily Times, Nov. 29, 1918

Mass Meeting Called Off on Account of Flu

Asheville, Nov. 28—Because of a sudden flare-up in the “flu” situation, with 32 cases reported for yesterday, the health authorities called off the big mass meeting scheduled for tonight, and also forbade the holding of several dances scheduled to take place in the city tonight. The mass meeting was planned as a union Thanksgiving meeting of all the churches, and an elaborate program had been mapped out but the “flu” revival caused the authorities to act as a matter of precaution. Most of the new cases are in West Asheville. 

The authorities have not stated whether they will prohibit the re-opening of the theatres, scheduled to take place tomorrow morning.