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ESTABLISHED 1832. ATHENS, GA., SATURDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 20, 1902. $5.00 A YEAR.
THE STEADY MARCH OF PROGRESS
MADE BY «THE CITY OF ATHENS.
Some of the Recent Improvements in the Several Departments of Municipal Government. The Completion of the Street
Paving. The Change to Electric Power at the Waterworks Plant. The Issuing of Bonds With Which to Build a
Handsome City Hall. Mayor J. F. Rhodes and His Splendid Administration. The Efficient City Aldermen and
Heads of Departments. The Record of Development Throughout the City for the Past Year is Unsurpassed.
ALDERMAN W. D. O’FARRELL
ALDERMAN W. P. VONDERAU
ALDERMAN F. A. LIPSCOMB
ALDERMAN-ELEOT J. H. doot-
SON,
The oRj of Athens has never posted
throngh o better year than 1902.
Every line of business has experienced
a great deal of genuine prosperity and
the outlook for a (till forther advance
dnrlng theoomlng year Is bright with
promise.
Within the past year in the opinion of
those who have given the question con.
siderable study the population of theoi'y
of Athens has increased not less than
fifteen hundred, and it is safe to sty
[hat Athens now bat between 12.500and
13,010 oltisens.
In the midst of this progress on the
part of evety business Interest in the
oity, the municipal government of Ath
ens has not been idle The administra
tion of oity affairs bas kept pace with
the progress of the oity and the present
Mayor and Oonucillh ire reason to feel
proud of their record.
This year has witnessed the p antical
completion of the work of street pav ng,
representing in all an expenditure of
[hoot $115,000 by the city and about
170,000 by the pioperty owners, or a
total of $185,000 pnt in good paved streets
taring the past few years.
During the ». ar auxtllarv lines of
-swan have been laid ouJ£tatdy avenue,
Boult yard,'Barber street and Henderlo'n
ivenue, and with their completion
Athens has been given as fine a system
it sewerage as can be boaatt d by any
city in the state. All tbia work hat
been done under the supervision of Oity
Engineer J. W. Barnett and ia firat-olasa
in every respeot.
The mayor and oooncil this year have
made a change in the manner of operat
ing the oity waterworks. A contract
has been entered into with the Ath
ene Eleotric Street Railway Company
whereby that eompany is to furnish
eleotrio power for running the machinery
there. The eleotric meobinery has been
bought and wl 1 be installed within the
next few weeks.
One pnbllo bnilding alone is beneath
the dignity and standing of Athens and
it will not be here many days. That is
the oity ball building.
A few months slnoe Alderman Von-
deruu introduced in council a resolution
calling for an election to authorize the
insurance of $50,000 of 4 per cent, thirty
year bonds with which to erect n new
city hall bnilding.
The resolution went throngh with the
approval of the coanoil, was submitted
to the people and was ratified by praoti-
oally. the unanimous voteof the citi
zens.
These bonds will be sold at an early
date and the new oity hall building will
be under headway by next spring. It
will be one of the handsomest and most
oonveniently arranged oity halls in the
state.
If the present mayor and oonncll li id
done nothing else than give this build
ing to the oity, their record would have
beenillustrioui.
A few Items About the City.
The real estate of the city of Athens
amounts In mond numbers to $3,000,000
and the total tax vaioea to $5,700,000.
Of that amnnnt about $200,000 was
added last spring, showiug a healthy in
crease in tex returns.
The tax rate of Athens has f r several
years been one per cent, which ia the
1 -west tax rate of any city of this size in
Georgia In addition to this fact ther
is no specific tax levied oo any business
that can be reached by an ad valorem
tax.
The collection of texea is close and
there are ontatandlng execution)* for leas
than six thousand dollars for all the
years past.
The total debt of Athens is $817,877.$$,
to whloh will be added $50,000 when the
new city hell bonds are sold, making a
total of $8(17,877.78. As sgsinat this
debt the city shows assets of.9387,000.09,
>xclualve of her paved streets, Which
cost the oity alone $116,000.
The oity of Athens owns school prop
erty to the amount of $60,000 and ex i
pends upon her schools annually about
$13,000 exclusive of the amoant coming
io them from the state sohool fund. |
The oity wati rworks plan t and malna
haye a value of 8132.00C end then U BO
George W. McDorman has been chief ef
the Athena department since it waa es
tablished.
The polios department under the su
pervision of Chief B. F. Culp is kept up
to the highest standard of efiloleaoy
The offloers and members of this de
partment do faiihfnl work ih< yea
round, and the splendid order o
the oity and the >m-,l reo rd of crime in
this oity is a tribute to their efficiency.
They are not only faithful guardians ol
the pesoe but bare been quite effective in
the tracing of criminals and the reoovery
Of itolen goods Chief Unlp is a veteran
officer and is surrounded hy a foroe ol
MAYOR J. F. RHODES.
system in Georgia that is superior to the
Athens system.
The water, whloh la taken from the
Ooonee river is made abeolutely pure by
the finest system of filtration in the
world and is furnished at a low rate to
citizens. The pressure afforded for fire
protection Is ample. The waterworks
plant will be ran by electricity after
next month.
Athens bas abont 120 ehotrio aro
lights and is a well lighted city. These
lights cost the oity $43.20 per lamp.
No oity in Georgia has snob a fire de
partment as Athens. This department
constats of the ohief and fourteen men.
They have in past years established a
reoord of whioh they are justly proud.
Many times they pass through a year
with a loss percentage of less than 2
per oent. The insurance cotnpauhs
make more money out of Athens than
any city In the state on account of the
efficiency of onr department. Mr.
great effloienoy.
Every department of the oity govern
ment is officered splendidly and if kept
up to the highest standard of effloienoy.
The Mayor and Council.
At the head of the municipal govern
ment of Athena is Hon. J. F. Rhodes,
who assumed oharge of the mayoralty
laat January. Mayor Rhodes has for
years been a leading broker In this oity,
achieving a distinct suooeas In business
For four years he served with splendid
effloienoy as alderman from the fourth
ward and was a prominent factor in a
number of the movemente during the
pait few years looking to the develop-
msot of the city.
He oame to the office of mayor with
full experience iu city government and
has made Atbeua oue of the b it mayors
she has ever bad. He bas been careful
and euergetio, attending to every detail
of the work devolving upon him, has
•pent muen time and labor in forward-
w
'0
m
m
m
w
m
lag sooh movements aa have been started
for the oity’e Improvement, and was a
leading factor in the oonteat tbatoarrled
the city ball bond issue through with
suoh iuco- as | Athena never had a mat or
who took greater interest in her welfare.
Alderman J H Rucker, preaideul of
the Athens Compress Company and the
proprietor of the Clarke County Ginnery
is mayor pro tern. He is also ohaiimsn
of the finance oommittee of oouuotl, has
served Athens lu the pest as mayor and
ilso as aldermau, bring one of the best
officials tbe oity ever had.
The First ward is represented in the
council by Oapt. W. D. O'Farrell and
Mr. W O. Weatherford. Oapt. O Far
rail bas long been a leading figure in the
holiness world of Athens. He has in
the past twine served aa mayor and baa
also g-ived several terms aa alderman.
Mr. Weathtrford is a prominent mer
chant and is nnw serving his first term
In ooncoil. He has made a good reoord
for oarefol and cnergetio attention to
busmen.
Tbe Second ward ia represented by
Meaara. J. L. Arnold and W. P. Von-
leran. Alderman Arnold has served
sight years in council and has made
groat record of one of the moat oareful
alderman She oity ever bad. ^Udesi
Vouderao, originator of the oity hall
movement. Is another of the city's best
business men whose work iu oounoll bas
had splendid effeot.
In additiou to Mayor pro tern Rnoker
tne Third ward is represented by Aider-
man Frank A. Lipscomb, one of tbe
leading yonug men nf tbe oity. Aider-
man Llpeo imb bas already In the one
year of his aervioe rendered moat effi
cient service la esery department of
manlolpal work.
The Fourth ward renreaentatlvea In
oouncil are Meesrs. J. F. Foster and
Aabnry II. Hodgson. Judge Foster has
served four terms in coanoil daring
whloh time he has been justly regarded
aa one of the moat careful and conserva
tive members of that body. He has
served as mayor pro tern and was fur a
number of years obairman of the dem
ocratic executive oommittee of Clarke
county. Alderman Hodgson baa for
many years been one of the leading bnsi
□ess men of the oity, bas represented
hie ward in oonncll several terms and
has served two terms as mayor.
Mr. James H. Duotaon, a new mem
bei of tbe council tor 1903, who succeeds
Alderman Arnold, wbo did not make
the race for re-eltctlon, is general man
sger of tbe Standard Manufacturing
Company and one of the moat efficient
young bosineaa men in Albebs. He will
no donbt make an admirable reoord
as an alderman.
Among the tfflclent officers who have
not been mentioned heretofore in this ar
ticle is city engineer J. W. Barnett, wbo
supervised the constmotlon of onr ays
tern of waterworks, onr sewerage system
and the paving of onr streets. 8npt.
W. L Wood, of the water wot ks depart
ment, is an official of ability, the supe
rior of whom is not to be foand in the
state
Mr James S Cheney, an sx alderman
is sanitary ln»p-ctor and daring his
term of office has riodind valuable ser
vice to tlie otty.
There is not a city in tbe state whose
officers rank higher. For the moel part
they have remained in tffloa for a long
term of years acd are posses*ed of the
experience that makes their service* of
additional value.
The oity is to be congratulated upon
the splendid service rendered by IU
officers.
ALDERMAN WEATHERFORD.
ALDERMAN J. L. ARNOLD.
ALDERMAN J. F. FOSTER.
; ALDERMAN A. B. HODGSON.