Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE TWO thing with life in it will grow. It has been reported by those who have investigated the agricultu ral possibilities of Haiti that shrubs and small trees shoot up out of the walls ruined buildings, nourished only by the mortar be tween the bricks, the air, the dew and the rain ; that a riot of vegi tation is seen in the uncultivated portions of the country, and that neglected fields are speed’ly cov ered with a thick growth of tropi cal verdure. All tropical fruits, flourish, the orange, the shad dock, the pineapple, the mango, the alligator pair, the plaintain, and the fig banana. It is claim ed' that Haiti is one of the best banana countries in the tropics. Although Haitian cotton brings a much higher price on the Europe an market than ord nary cotton’ the cultivation of this plant has been sadly inglected. Sugarcane flourishes whether it is cultivated or not, and grows <>o ain os! inde finitely without bell g r» plantt d, reproducing itself year after year. The great stap’e product of Haiti is coffee. It supplies the bulk of the revet u< s of the govei ment, and the niergre demands °l the simple peaumtiy which con stitutes abnut 95 percent ot the populatio. . Women and children gather it and lake it to the sea port towns on their beads and on the burros. Although an effort is now being made by the American government to make a market for t his col fee in the United States, practically ail of it is shipped to European coun tries. The cultivation of c ffee, however, not unlike cotton, has been greatly neglected by the na tives, except in small patclns fl round the cottages. M-cst of the crop is the result or the reproduc- TH E ATHENS REPUBLIQUE tion from fallen berries, and the crop has varied from year to year only through influences like a va riation in rainfall. Since the American interven tion in 1915 there has been a re vival in agricultural pursuits and a careful survey has been made of the) need of agricultural instruc tion. Highways are being con structed and reforms established that will rapidly develop Haiti morally, socially, politically and economically. According to the select committee that made an in quiry into the American occupa tion and administration of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, few cf the Haitians had ever seen fl plow before the American inter vention. '1 he peasant class had never seen and (bid noi know how to use a sh< vt-1, and when a load Os load-buihrii g uachimiy, in cluding 60 wheelbarrows, whs doicked, ti e nativ-s carrltd them on their heads, Hi'-bad ol wheel ing them 10 the place where the loin -Hunding was ju progress. Tn re can be ui> question as to the benefit to Hain of a tempora ry American occupation. With tlie cevelupment of her natural resobrces; with the establishment of thoroughly equipped public schools; with the reviv I of agr - cultural pursuits the bui ding of a railroad, the constructn n of hospitals and the suppression of the ievolu:ionary propensiti< sos t e political lupieis, Hiti will eventually be the garden spot of our western civi'.za f ion. Sure Maryland, salmon-pink; Ch £ " aL mBHI? tMldeloupert, variegated;; White fRUP Hermosa, white; Marechai Kiel, WIK6&* .» JRf Je f* 8? yellow; La France, rosy pink; Bb fled La France,crimson. Our 2 5° Collection* B'Mums 25c B Geraniums 2 ie 8 Fuch «“ 25c 6 C ileus . 25 s B Carnations 25c S Petunias ISe ~ ■'4 n i/jive collection# for tl .00 pr». . paid. Safe arrival guaranteed. -- H ar ? a,n catalog, over C n r r «’ . SIX) Bowers In colors F It L L MoGRECOR BROS. CO,, Box 490 SpringfleM, Ohio Republique Celebrates Its Fourth Anniversary (Delayed) Pursuant to arrangements on November 19th (Show night) the ♦ meetings marking the fourth year of the establishment of the Athens Republique were begun at Ebene zer Baptist Church. A tew friends gather* d, in spite of the gn-at excitement that was going on in King avenue, and a collec tion of one dollar was taken. Rev. W. A. Fountain, Jr., pas tor of the First A. M. E. Church, donated SI.OO in lieu of the meet ing set for that place. On Thursday night, Novemb< r 22d, in a downpour of rain we as sembled at Hill’s Chapel. The choir furnished mm-ic and tlun the object of the meeting vas stated by the editor. Tin n the pastor, the Rev. E. 11. Harr’s, dt .l vered a strong appeal in defense of the Republique. The collection on this night, was $3.00. The next night we went to Friendship Baptist Cl i icl , Fast Atl *i s. Ihe kev .R. G . Cas t,olMa dis< : , Ga., a great friend of the’ edit* i’s and an a dei t supporter of all that makiS for advancement of the race, was the pm cip:G speak er. Ai interesting pn gram—bhat , had been airanged bv Mrs. Bea trice McSI epherd, was render* d. Hon. John Colvin, the celebrated East side * Tutor, was master of ceo monies. Coilection's2.4s. So ended the anniv* rsary at tempt. We were to have gone to I New Town Saturday ai d to Saint Paul Sunday, but did not care to spend the effect for what we be lieved would be the result if our experience in the other meetings was worth anj thing. December 8, 1923