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14 THE
Contributed
OUR BRIGHTSIDE LETTER.
The Lana of Cotton.
When you go South for the winter
months, it will he well to eo to the cen
tie first; and you will find It at the meeting
of the ways, the crossing of many
lion loads. Terminus ?MarthasvilleATLANTA.
That Is the story of the
Central City, and maiks a progress that
is wonderful. From the western hills,
under the promotion of Alexander Stephens,
a State railroad came to an end
here, and the point was called Terminus,
and that was all that it was. When a
village, it was called Marthasville, with
simplicity itself and without ambition.
Ttt'n irrkr* rnoHa frnm A lianatn ovirl frntn
Macon, came up to meet it and the town
-came to itself with a fine name, Atlanta.
And it grew and it grew. The State Capitol
came to it from old Milledgevllle.
Trade came and bought and sold cotton.
Wealth came and built banks. Peachtree
street bloomed into an avenue of
mansions. Skyscrapers went up into the
clouds. "The Atlanta Spirit" took possession,
and here it is, a great city, 140,000
strong within the city limits, and
other thousands in suburbs all around?
and no limits to the ambition.
It is the prosperous and growing Capital
of a great State. When we first
came to Georgia, two or three years ago,
we came rightly to the Savannah on
the coast, where Georgia had its beginning,
romantic and profoundly interesting.
We learned all about the good
Oglethorpe and his Indian friend, and
John Wesley and his courtship, and
Charles Wesley and his first hymns, and
Whitfield and his orphanage. We ate fish
at Thunderbolt on the shore, and saw
Judge Emory Speer in the trial of Gaynor
and Green, and wandered among the
draping mosses of Buenaventura.
Now we are not in the colony, but far
up in me siaie, at me cumax or us nistory
and its present-day prosperity. If
you are bent on knowing the history of
Georgia, there can be no more direct, nor
charming way than to read Mr. Lucian
Knight's two volumes, ' Reminiscences of
Famous Georgians," and then go brows-ing
about in the Georgia collection in the
attractive Carnegie Library. And famous
Georgians are a great company,
statesmen, orators, editors, judges, soldiers.
Nowadays the famous Georgians
are captains of industry, financiers, aggressive
and constructive, leading their
State in rapid material development.
The surest way to learn history is to
read biography. One does not know
well either Georgia or the history of the
oimea amies woo aoes noi Know aDOUt
Crawford and John Forsyth and Berrien
and Ben Hill; about Stephens and Governor
Joe Brown and Yancey and
Toombs. What a splendid gift of oratory
came to these great leaders and many
others? Brilliant, compelling, often
florid speakers, at the Georgia hustings
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOU"
and in the halls of Congress and Legislature,
were generations of these men.
And they came often in families,.Crawfords,
Cobbs, Stephens, Browns. Humor
has never failed to prove these people
sane; witness old Judge Longstreet and
"Georgia Scenes," Bill Arp and his letters,
and Harris and his Uncle Remus
stories. Poetry too has a number of
illustrious names, and none more than
that of Sidney Lanier. Read "The
Marshps nf filvnn " anil lirpitho "thp air
that never was on sea or land." More
and more it is seen that l-anier, after a
short and troubled life is securely
among the immortals of this world.
Read well the short story of Henry
Grady, and go down town and see the
fine monument that keens the memory
of his rare gifts, of pen and tongue, of
nrnfAfir r> -? A Ul^U 1 A ?
uiaiuij auu uuiuui, auu ui iiigu ayyeai iu
the young men of the South. Read of
the Confederacy, of Lee and Jackson,
and go to the Capitol grounds and see
the equestrian monument of their friend
and comrade, who grew stronger and
more effective all the way to Appomattox,
John B. Gordon.
Great scientists were the Le Contes,
John and Joseph, who knew well all that
science could teach them, and yet looked
beyond and looked above, believing the
earthly things that nature revealed and
yet believing the more the heavenly
things that God revealed in His Word.
Of all the names which Georgia has
written on her roll of fame no doubt not
one has given the world so great a benefaction
as Dr. Crawford Long, who discovered
the use of ether In surgery, to
which Oliver Wendell Holmes gave the
name of Anaesthesia.
We have found Mr. Knight's volume a
charming introduction to the host of
Georgia worthies, and feel that we have
been in the company of men of rare and
brilliant gifts; independent, patriotic,
courteous gentlemen. It was a gratification
to learn how many of them had the
highest adornment of a devout religious
spirit, and how few there were who were
irreligious or irreverent. J. P. S.
IN A MILL TOWN.
(An esteemed Christian woman from
Virginia is doing mission work with an
industrial school in one of the cotton
mill towns In the South. Her letter
gives an interesting account of the conditions
around her and the work she is
trying to do.)
Dear Mr. Bditor:
I have had to read our Presbyterian
second hand, for I was in debt when I
came here and have had to board ever
since I came. My mother sends it to me,
and I still pin my faith to it, though the
pastor of our church at Aiken gives me
two other papers, second hand.
There are things here I wish you to
know. I arrived here the middle of June,
and as I looked about at the fine trees,
lovely vines and flowers, I exclaimed,
"The lines have fallen unto me In pleasant
places!"
While waiting for a car, I met the old
rH December 29, 1909.
est mill hand. She said, "Come the 22nd
of July, I will be seventy-six. The flret
of July, 1849, I began work in the weave
room in the old mill. They did not like
to take girls under sixteen, so I done my
best, and have been doing it ever since."
Her name is Miss Eliza Simms. She
is very highly thought of by all classes
and ages. Some one said: "Can't nobody
say a word agin Miss Liza Simms." She
has lived in the same house for over fifty
years, has good, substantial furniture
and some dishes, valuable on account of
their age. She was very fond of reading
until her eyesight failed; now she is crippled
with rheumatism in one knee, but
says if it gets well she will work again.
She does not enjoy the usual old woman's
work?knitting; says it is too
small and slow. She is a devoted Christian
and has saved over three thousand
dollars. This case goes to show that all
mill work is not injurious.
The company gave us two cottages
and connected them with a long porch.
They are freshly painted on the inside.
The First and Second Churches in
Charleston, S. C., and the church in Columbia
furnished a bed-room each, complete.
The church in Aiken furnished a
dining room, and other churches and persons
furnished a sitting-room, schoolroom
and kitchen. I furnished my own
room with things from my old home in
Virginia. I have my grandfather's tall
mantel clock, and my father's sword and
epaulets on the wall. There are many
old soldiers among the mill men.
You can imagine how I feel when
asked if I am from the North. I answered
that question yesterday: '1 am
from Richmond," and put as much fire
into my answer as any of you could have
done. I came here from your city. I
thought my questioner might know
where Richmond was. They seem to
think that one had to be from the North
to be willing to work with the mill people.
My people here are just fine. They
have good houses, yards and gardens.
Some have lived in the same houses for
three generations. They have flowers
that would make you almost envious. I
iruu bi?? up n iaiuny now oy ineir nowers
and front yards. Many have large
pits, in which they keep their handsomest
plants.
They are very hospitable. I have never
received any but the most courteous
treatment, even in the plainest homes.
They are hungry for real friendship.
They have no real religious life?have
been starved along that line. They care
almost nothing for going to church, and
few go. They give as most frequent excuses,
"All come home on Sunday," or
"We go home on Sunday." Since I came
nere I think I notice more interest
shown by the Methodist minister. He
came here in May. Most of the people
are Baptists, but dozens have not Joined
here. ' % I
All summer I have been waiting for
teachers and a nurse to join me in this
' work. It seems our people are not will
tng to work near home, where they can
I