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BUTTS COUNTY PROGRESS. VOLUME 27 Power For Jackson Assured Says Mr. Massee of Macon President of Central Georgia Power Company Meets With Committee From Chamber of Com merce Friday—Will Take Stock in any New Con cern That Locates at Jackson—Work on the Trolley Line to be Tak en up Soon-Only Wants Rights-of-way and Will Risk Selling Power- Says Jackson Will Doub le Her Population in Two Years. Jackson is as sure to get power from the power plant on the Ocmulgee river as the dam is to be built and that is an assured fact beyond all doubt. Before a committee from the Chamber of Commerce on Friday President W. J. Massee of the Central Georgia Power 'Company of Ma con. made the unqualified state ment that he would furnish I power to Jackson. The trans mission line will be run into the city and he will risk selling the power after he gets here. The only thing he asks is that his company be granted a right-of wav into the citv. This is the first assurance the people here have had that Jack son would get power. This has had the effect of keeping the people in a state of uncertainty and doubt. Power could not be promised for any new eneter prise that might want to locate here for it was not known if a pole line would be run into the city. Now all doubt has been wiped away and as many new industries can locate here as want to with the knowledge that they will get all the cheap elec tric power they desire. This has boosted Jackson spirit several points and things look brightei than they have for some time. This city is in the class of the favored few. Forsyth had to contract for a thousand horse power before a pole line was as sured for that place, and Monti cello had to go further and raise stock for a cotton mill before that city could get power from the Central Georgia Power Com pany. All that the people hre have to do is to give the right of-way for the transmission line and it will be run into the city. Mr. Massee stated he would rather sell power to Jackson than to any other plaee. “You people in Jackson are on the front seat, the amen corner ” said Mr. Massee, ‘ ‘and should be benefitted more by the power we are now developing than anybody else. The population of your town should double in two years. Take the example of Columbus, Ga. Before they had cheap power there Columbus was a big over-grown country town. In the winter the merchants moved on the sunny side and played checkers. There was nothing doing and it was one of the slow est towns in the state. Things are different now. They don’t play any more checkers for the merchants are busy. You will get run over if you dont’ look out. Things are humming in Columbus and the population of the city has doubled itself in a very short time. “What cheap power has done for Columbus it will do for Jack son. Every day or two our com pany receives letters from the North and East asking about fac tory sites. They want to locate where they can get cheap power. Jackson has the call over any town in the state because it is close to the finest power plant in the South and the development that takes place here will be greater than in other place that gets power from our company. Jackson and Butts .county cer tainly have a future if the peo ple will only realize what great opportunities are before them and will go to work in the right spirit.” Mr. Massee was accompanied to Jackson by his personal coun sel, Roland t: Ellis, Esq., and those present at the meeting were Mr. Massee, Mr. Ellis, F. C. Sheppard, chief engineer in charge of the work, Mr. C. M. Preston, and Messrs. W. E. Wat kins, J. H. Carmichael and J. D. Jones from the Chamber of Com merce. After the meeting Mr. Massee was introduced to a num ber of the business men in the city. He was given a cordial re ception and evidenced his pleas ure in being able to meet and talk with the people of Jackson. In addition to promising power for Jackson, Mr. Massee went further and stated that he would take stock in any new concern that wanted to locate here. This is considered a very fair proposi tion and the offer may be accept ed. Recently he took $12,000 worth of stock in a cotton miil at Monticello and said he stood ready to do the same thing here. This week a pole line is being surveyed from the power plant to Monticello. The company did not intend to run a line to Monti cello and it took some hard work on the part of the people of that town to get power at all. It was not until after they had sub scribed the money for a cotton mill that they were able to get the assurance of power. It is given out that the Central Georgia Power Company will spend a total of thirty-six million dollars in water power develop ment in Ga. An immense dam will be built across the Oconee river in Baldwin county near Milledgeville. It is stated this plant will generate forty-five thousand electric horse power. A plant will be built across the Flynt river in Taylor county near Reynolds. Both of these plants will be larger than the one being JACKSON, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1909. built here. Work on the dam on the Ocmul gee is progressing well after the hard rains of the last few weeks. Labor is somewhat scarce but all is being done possible to rush the work to a rapid completion. The fourth section is now being put in. The contractors hope to have the dam copleted by the first of January 1910. Mr. Massee stated that work would begin on the trolley line from Macon to Atlanta within a few weeks. Asked about the interurban line from Macon to Indian Springs and Jackson he said he saw no reason why it should not be built within the next few months. “lam willing to bo anything in my power to boost Jackson and will co-operate with you people in anything you undertake,” said Mr. Massee. Continuing he said “You people have got more to work for and expect than any other place.” HEREDITY TRIUMPHS OVER ENVIRONMENT IN DEBATE Interesting Clash of Literary Societies at the Auditorium. On Last Friday Night- Youthful Speakers Meet In Fierce Forensic Con test—Large Crowd Hears Speeches and Applauds Debaters. Before a crowd that comfort ably filled the school auditorium the Phi Kappa and Kappa Mu literary societies of the Jackson Public Schools clashed in debate Friday night and in a fierce forensic contest fought out the question “Resolved that Environ ment has more to do with build ing of character than Heredity.” The negative or heredity side was awarded the decision. The debate w&s good as debates go. All of the speeches showed careful thought and preparation. The contest was a hard fought one and it was not until after the judges decision had been an nounced that the winner could be selected. On the affirmative were Messrs. Joel Mallett and Dave Spencer and Miss Mary Land, while the negative was championed by Messrs. Smith Settle and Charles Land and Miss Nelle Hendrick. Prof. W. H. Butler was master of the ceremonies. The judges were Rev. James Bradley and Messrs. Homer Carmichael and C. Whitehurst. The yells of the societies proved one of the drawing cards. These served to inspire the speakers on to greater efforts. There was a liberal sprinkling of the societies’ colors and flowers were presented at the conclusion of the different speeches. MEETING A SUCGESS. The first of the Saturday af ternoon services planned to be held on the courthouse square were held Saturday when Rev. S. P. Wiggins preached to a fair sized crowd. The wind was blowing a gale and for that rea son the congregation was not as large as it would otherwise have ( been. Butts County May Get Big Holiness College In Future Chances Good For Securing Denominational School. Gathering Data For The Interurban Railway Line f Editor Progress: You will please allow me space to say to my enquiring friends that my healthjis gradually improving and I hope before a great while to be able to partake of the exhilarat ing influence of the smiles of my Butts county friends once more. I read your paper and take great interest in what is going on. I was greatly shocked when 1 read of the sudden death of my good friend Robinson, as I always considered him one of my best friends. You can say to those who feel an interest that from correspon dence and interviews had—with parties interested—since I have been here under treatment that I am more hopeful of the success ful consummation of my plans for the trolley line and other de velopments than I have ever been. My son S. P. Smith will begin this week to take the census of population along our contempla ted line from Griffin to Monti cello and Social Circle and if our friends will give the matter a little thought they can aid him a great deal by estimating the num bers in the families of their neighbors without his having to call on so many. Our promoters and capitalists in Indianapolis and New York want an approximate estimate of the population for three miles on either side of our line as well as Griffin, Jackson. Pepperton, In dian Swings, Floviila, Monti cello, Mansfield and Social Circle, besides the transient population that visits Indian Spring and the Camp Grounds each summer. This is a part of our work and you can see he has quite a job and will have to rely a great deal on our friends for information. Remember friends there was a great many things that had to be done, that looked useless or silly to our home folks, to get the necessray capital to develop the great power plant. So it is with the trolley lin^s. My good friend John B. Thom as, from whom I bought the first power for the power plant, said to me : “What in the world do you keep surveying for?' Why don’t you build your dam and see where the water will go and then pay for what you have covered?” Well, that did look like the short est way out of it but how were our friends at the other end of the line to know how many acres they were paying for? And so how are our friends at the other end of the line to know who lives here to patronize the trolley line unless we tell them? How are they to know of the beautiful stretches of country (Continued on Page College in Kentucky Burned and May be Rebuilt at the Camp Grounds—Fifty Thousand Dol lars Has Been Promised For The College to Locate Here— Would Bea Great Thing For This County-Speakers Secured. The chances are good for Butts county to secure a big col lege. To any one acquainted with what this means the an nouncement will be received with interest and enthusiasm. Some time ago the Holiness College located atWillmore, Ky., was burned. When the school is rebuilt it may be upon the Camp Grounds near Jackson. It is practically assured if the people will do a little work. The offer has been made by Mr. J. A. Betts, a wealty lumber dealer of Ashbum, Turner coun ty, of fifty thousand dollars for the school it it were located on the Camp Grounds in Butts coun ty. This was some time ago but it is supposed that the offer still holds good. In that case it is up to the people of Jackson and Butts county to get busy and land the big college. The site is considered a good one. Schools and colleges located in a place bring in as much or more revenue than big industries. College towns are always cultured towns. The University of Geor gia has been the making of Athens. The city has grown up around the University. Take a college with an enrj)lln|ent of four hundred students spending a minimum of twenty dollars a month and in a year’s time a pretty nice sum is turned loose in a town. This is looking at the matter from a cold-olooded busi ness standpoint. What it means in culture, prestige and refine ment* cannot be estimated. It means everything. The schools and colleges of the country are the nation’s rarest possessions. The matter will be taken up by the Chamber of Commerce and the business interests of the town and county. For the camp meeting which i meets in the summer some very j fine speakers have been secured. The Rev. “Bud” Robinson, one of the most unique characters in evangelistic work, will be one of the leaders. Dr. Joseph Smith of California, now in charge of the theological department of the Meridian, Miss., college, will be one of the speakers. Next year the famous Dr. Chadwick of England will be a leader. WEEK OF PRAYER. A week of prayer meetings have been going on at the Pres byterian church, beginning on Monday evening. They will con tinue through the week. The | time of the meetings is 8 o’clock in the evening. There has been a good deal of interest in the meetings which have been largly attended and productive of much good. NUMBER 15