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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.