Newspaper Page Text
BUTTS COUNTY PROGRESS
VOLUME 33.'
MAY ABOLISH
RURAL ROUTES
Patronage Must Be Kept
Up to Standard
MAILS BEING WEIGHED
Post Office Department
May Discontinue Certain
Routes That Do Not
Meet The Requirements
Washington, Jan. 2.—The time
is approaching when the rural
count is to be made and consid
erable apprehension is felt among
members of congress that there
may be some reduction in the
number of rural letter routes.
Indeed, it is reported that a
decrease in the volume of mail
pieces carried on a very large
number of these routes jeopar
dises their continuance.
It is with the view of ascer
taining just what volume of bus
iness the carriers are now hand
ling, as compared with this pe
riod a year ago, that the postof
fice department is making very
careful investigation with the
view of ascertaining just what
routes will justify continuance
and what routes will probably be
abandoned. Inspectors’ reports,
as far as made, indicate that
quite a number of routes are not
carrying enough mail to justify
the expense of a carrier, and the
policy of the postoffice depart
ment is to discontinue such routes
that do not handle a sufficient
volume of mail to indicate the in
terest of the people living along.
In other words, the department
will not try to force a route upon
communities which do not take
enough interest in the service to
; patronize it. This policy is ap
plied throughout the country,
but, strange to say, some of the
rural communities of the south
seem to be less interested in the
service than in any other part of
the country.
At any rate, the postoffice de
partment is looking into the mat
ter and it can be stated with cer
tainty that where a rural route
is not patronized it will not be
continued.
TAKING SHORT COURSE
IN ATHENS GOLLEGE
. Prof. H. L. Worsham left
Monday morning for Athens,
#
where he will study at the State
College of Agriculture during the
lext few days. He was accom
panied by Masters Ernest Wat
kins, Lawrence Fincher, Thomas
Hale and Bernard Gaston, mem
bers of the Butts county boys
corn club, who were awarded
prizes for their yields of corn on
one acre. The boys will take
the entire short course and it is
expected that the training they
will receive in the Athens insti
tutions will be very valuable to
them later on.
Several hundred boys from over
the state are in attendance upon
the Agricultural College at this
time.
What is the Matter With
The United States?
BY HERBERT N. CASSON
“What is the matter with the United States?”
As I have been residing in London since the beginning of the war, I have been hear
ing this question asked on all sides. I have never heard any satisffactory answer. No
one seems to know.
Why are the American factories not running night and day? Why are the railroads
not opening up new territories and getting ready for the millions of immigrants who have
already made up their minds to leave Europe as soon as the war is over?
Why are there not fifty American drummers in London right now, trying to sell
$200,000,000 worth of American goods in place of the goods that were bought last year
from Germany and Austria?
Why have advertisers become quitters, just at the time when their advertisements
were most needed and most effective in cheering on the business forces of the United States?
From the European point of view, the United States is a haven of peace and security
and prosperity. It has no troubles that it dare mention to Belgium or Austria or France
or Germany or Servia or Great Britain or Russia.
Every tenth Briton has enlisted. Every tenth Frenchman is at the front. Every
tenth Belgian is dead. What does the United States know of trouble?
If I could afford it, I would charter the Mauretania and Lusitania and convey a party
of 5,000 American Advertisers to Europe for a trip of education. I would give them a
week in London, a week in Paris and a week in Antwerp.
I would let them look at the United States from the scene of war. I would give
them a look at real trouble. I would let them see trains, ten at a time, five minutes apart,
packed with the maimed and the dying.
I would let them hear from fragmentary survivors, the incredible story of battle
fields 150 miles wide, and armies that are greater than the entire population of Texas.
I would let them see graves 100 yards long and full; Belgium, the country that was,
nothing now but 12,000 square miles of wreckage.
Then, when they began to understand, to some slight extent, the magnitude and
awfulness of war, I would say to them:
“Now go back and appreciate the United States. Realize your opportunities. Don’t
start digging trenches when nobody is firing at you. Don’t fall down when you have not
been hit. Don’t be blind to the most glorious chance you have ever had in your life.
; ‘Go back and advertise. Get ready for the most tremendous business boom that
any nation ever had. Build your factories bigger. Train more salesmen. Borrow more
money. Go ahead, and thank God that you are alive and that your family is alive, and
you are living in a land that is at peace, at a time when nearly the whole world is at war.’’
(Reprinted from Associated Advertising for December.)
WANTS GRAND
JURY TO ACT
On Matter Demonstration
Work in Butts
NO DEFINITE ACTION YET
County Commissioner to
Follow In&rudtions of
The February Grand
Jury As to Demonstrator
The future of farm demonstra
tion work in Butts county will
probably depend upon the action
of the February grand jury.
For the past year Prof. H. L.
Worsham, of Culloden, has been
employed as Farm Demonstrator
in this county, and his year will
be out the first of March. He
was employed following a recom
mendation of February 1914,
grand jury. It is the opinion of
those who have followed this
work closely that a consider
able amount of good has been ac-
JACKSON, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1915.
complished during the time Mr.
Worsham has had charge of this
department. Last year the boys
torn club had its best year and a
creditable county fair was held
during the fall.
A large number of people de
sire the work continued. Ex
pressions have not been had from
all the people. For this reason
Mr. J. 0. Gaston, Commissioner
of Roads and Revenues, wishes
to have an opinion from the
grand jury before he takes any
definite action in the matter. .
The grand jury will meet on
the third Monday in February
and until that time it is not
known whether Butts county
will have the services of a dem
onstration agent in 1915.
If the farmer could market at
any sort of a price all the advice
given him, there would be no fi
nancial reasons to prevent him
from holding his cotton crops for
three or four years.—Augusta
Chronicle.
BANKS WILL
HAVE MEETING
TO Review Work of The
Past Year
NEXT TUESDAY IS TIME
Expected That Satisfactory
Showing Will Be Made
—Dividends Will Be Paid
By Various Banks
Jackson and Butts county
banks will have their annual
meetings next Tuesday, the 12,
at which time the business of the
past year will be gone over, offi
cers and directors for the next
twelve months elected and other
business details attended to.
It is expected that the several
banks will make a good showing
to the stockholders, considering
the conditions. The stockholders
will have their meeting first,
elect directors who in turn will
choose the officers. The annual
RATES ON COTTON
REACH RECORD
Hard to Get Staple to The
European Markets
$18.75 FROM SAVANNAH
Foreign War Makes It Dif
ficult For Exporters to
Get Cotton to Countries
in The War Zone
Savannah, Ga., Jan. 2 —Owing
to scarcity of neutral ships and
the risks which must be taken in
transportating freights the trans-
Atlantic rates on freight room
from Savannah are now showing
at new record high levels.
The quotations per bale on cot
ton yesterday compared to norm
al times, according to a represen
tative exporter here were:
To Bremen, present rate,
$18.75 against $1.75 a bale.
To Gothenburg, present rate
$11.25 against $3.00.
To Rotterdam, present rate
$12.50 against $8.75.
To Havre, present rate $5.50
against $2.00.
Genoa, present rate $5.50
against $2*75.
Liverpool and Manchester,
present rate $4.35 against $1.75.
Barcelona, present rate $5.00
against $3.25.
The average price of a bale of
cotton now is $35.
The freight rate to Bremen is
practically half the value of the
cotton.
Cotton factors here pointed out
that the effect of the enormous
increase in freight rates was
largely responsible for the low
prices the staple now is bringing
in domestic markets. It would
be impossible they said, to
pay more than $35 a bale here,
meet the high freight charges
and sell the cotton at even a
modest profit in European mar
kets.
RURAL ROUTE MAIL
NOW REIN 6 COUNTED
i
For the purpose of finding out
the exact number of pieces of
mail received and dispatched on
the eight rural routes supplied by
the Jackson postoffice, a count is
being made this month. All the
mail of every description receiv
ed and dispatched on the routes
is being carefuly counted.
This is done every now and
then, the information being de
sired by the head of the depart
ment in Washington. The pres
ent count, it is reported, will
have considerable bearing on the
future of the rural free delivery
system in this country. Where
mail is not heavy enough to jus
tify it certain routes will be abol
ished, it is said.
or semi-annual dividends will be
declared at that meeting.
Several thousand dollors will
be paid out in dividends follow
ing the annual meeting.
National banks throughout the
country have their annual meet
ings on the second Tuesday in
January. For the sake of con
venience the ptate banks will al
so have their meeting on that
date.
The First Farmers Bank has
its yearly meeting ‘in July, the
time when it began business.
NUMBER 2.