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Newspaper
Raleigh Register
Location
Beckley, West Virginia, United States of America
Date
Dec 31, 1948
Page
9
The Associated Press analyzes 1948 as a record year and forecasts 1949 will bring a returning buyers market with high incomes and slower price declines. It notes possible gradual price drops, ongoing labor costs, and potential shifts in employment as rearmament and foreign aid ease.
Chiang Kai-shek announced in a New Year statement that peace with the Chinese Communists could be discussed if certain conditions are met. He insisted on constitutionalism, national sovereignty, and the armed forces being preserved, signaling a near certainty that a negotiated settlement would be blocked if these terms stand. Observers in Nanking noted the speech likely limits any peace talks, while suggesting the possibility of negotiation only if pressure mounts and a successor takes the lead.
Icy conditions and sleet snow wrapped much of West Virginia with mountain areas hardest hit. Preston Pocahontas and Webster counties reported slick roads and chains were urged while several routes including U S 60 and U S 52 saw slow traffic and spinouts.
The West Virginia State Chamber of Commerce called the nation’s coal stockpile a threat to the state’s economy as 1948 ends. It cited 70 million tons of bituminous coal as a peacetime peak, a level last seen in 1927, and noted mixed retail sales signals with November gains in some stores but declines in others per Federal Reserve data.
Charleston rent director Paul L. Phillips stated that forcing tenants to buy furniture when renting a home is illegal under the housing and rent act of 1947 as amended. He noted courts have often sided with tenants in similar West Virginia cases and that offers of a $38 bonus for renting are also illegal.
Extended forecast for West Virginia shows a warm Saturday followed by a turn to colder conditions late Sunday and Monday. Rain or snow possible late Sunday and Wednesday. total precipitation expected about a quarter to half inch. Beckley yesterday reached 26. last night 18. today near freezing. Rivers Greenbrier and New at Belle Point high and nearly clear.
Beckley Chamber of Commerce moves toward a hotel project with Hackenburg System Inc agreeing to meet the chamber board. Arthur Cundy, managing director, says Harrisburg based Hackenburg finances community projects and will invite representatives after year’s firsts.
Chris Jarrell and Almeda Jarrell of Clear Creek sue Harper Land Company in Raleigh County Circuit Court claiming $1 500 in damages. They allege the Harper company stripped coal on their land in Clear Fork District violating their lease and contract.
The House committee's espionage report outlines Whittaker Chambers as a key figure who alleged a Soviet spy network operated in the United States into 1945. It cites stolen documents, money, and a Norden bombsight as part of a broader transmission belt to Moscow and mentions several self sealing devices and naval intelligence papers. The panel warned of ongoing Communist influence within government though offered no conclusive proof of current operations.
General Douglas MacArthur announced in a New Year message that Japan may fly the rising sun flag again without special permission. He tied nationalism to universal laws and urged the flag to stand as a symbol subordinate to global norms within the family of nations.
Beckley officials say a new fire truck was shipped from Elmira New York yesterday and should arrive tomorrow or Sunday. Mayor G C Hedrick says the station floor is being strengthened and the firehouse door enlargement will wait until spring. The truck will be quartered at the station and the first aid truck moved to the basement per Fire Chief Bernard Martin.
Ruth Lafferty of Beckley is scheduled for a hearing before Magistrate J. P. Meadows on a charge of grand larceny involving $160. She was arrested in Charleston yesterday and returned to Beckley on the warrant for the offense against a soldier.
Charleston reports the Board of Control will delay appointing a successor to David Lee Hays, longtime superintendent of the West Virginia Colored Children's Home in Huntington, after Hays, 41, was fatally injured when his station wagon skidded on U S Route 60 near St Albans and crashed into an embankment.
In a tight party caucus finish, Senator McKellar Democrat defeated Senator Tydings Democrat 27 to 25 as the Republican controlled 80th Congress adjourned. The Senate, House, and leaders prepared for the new Democratic run Congress to convene on Monday.
The joint legislative committee on government and finance will meet Monday at 1 p.m. in the Senate judiciary room to study proposed changes in West Virginia purchasing law. Co-Chairs are Senate President Arnold Vickers and House Speaker John E. Amos. A report from Hugh N. Mills urged standard specs for road equipment and stronger centralized purchasing powers.
An Israeli military spokesman said the Israeli army's Negev offensive crossed partition lines into Arab areas of Palestine. The UN partition plan split the Negev between Israel and the Arabs. No comment on other reports, including a claim forces crossed the Egyptian frontier. The lines were crossed near Beersheba and near the Egyptian border town of Rafah. An additional source claimed King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan offered to negotiate peace.
President Syngman Rhee said a Moscow radio claim that all Soviet troops had finished evacuating North Korea by Christmas is contradicted by his information. He noted a UN commission visit planned for mid January and warned elections in North Korea would test Russia’s good faith.
Beckley police report that all highways in West Virginia are awful due to snow and ice. Travelers are urged to stay off roads unless necessary and to drive only with chains or extreme caution on New Year’s Eve 1948 into 1949.
Roane County man arrested today on a felony charge. He was taken by Slate Police Corporal C. A. Thompson and Trooper Walter Hampton to Charleston before transfer to Roane County jail in Raleigh County.
L W Tupper of Patricia Alberta wins the 1948 Burlington Liars Club world title for a story about 2000 post holes blown out of the ground by a northwest wind. The tale topples U S claims as the wind story wins the contest. Other honors go to John Hapley San Antonio Texas and runners-up John Hughes Johnson City Wisconsin J F McKale Tucson Arizona and Edward S Krkac Comstock Nebraska.
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