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ONE thousand Readers Weekly, Guaranteed. FOR OUR COUNTRY AND HER PEOPLE, FIRST AND ALL THE TIM! VOL 14, No. 31 INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS. The New Officers Elected for the Cur rent Term Douglas Lodge F. & A. M. No- 386. At the last meeting of this lodge officers were elected, and last Mon day afternoon at 3 p. m., were pub licly installed at the Normal Insti tute, District G. M. Patterson con ducting the beautiful and impressive ceremony. The new installed offi cers are as follows: \Y. C. Lankford, Worshipful Master. J. M. Hall, Senior Warden. T. J. Harrison, Junior Warden. W. C. Bryan, Secretary. S. Quincey, Treasurer. J. F. Overstreet, Junior Deacon. S. Fales, T. J. Hersey, Junior Stewards. After the installation Dist. Dep. G. M., J. J. Hyman read an elaborate type written address on Masonry, which*was interesting, and described the formation, prin ciples and purposes of this order. It was an instructive paper, full of information, not generally know to the persons who sometimes attempt to discourse knowingly on the sub ject of Masonry, and we should have been glad to have had the op portunity of publishing it had it not been for its extreme length. Just before this address Rev. Mr. Butler, who is now a citizen and minister of our town announced that Rev. Mr. Hyman would preach at the Baptist church at night. HRS. GRUNDY SAYS tThat this is the time of year when most people “swear off,” but Mr. Grun dy does that all the time, and she’d like for him to “swear on” to something. That she is determined during this year to have less to say about other people, if possible, but it will be a hard task. That a great many sins and omis sions are known but it would open your eyes if the light was thrown on the acts of many persons that are unknown. That a great many Christmas sprees were charged up to some people and then there were many persons who had these sprees to whom they were not charged. That it is easy traveling going down hill, and the farther you go the easier and faster the trip, but it is not that way traveling in the opposite direction. That if you repent you must con fess and she intends to repent for herself and then confess how mean some of her friends and Mr. Grundy are. ' Douglas Chapter No 49. Held the annual election on Tues day night, December 22nd, and the following officers were elected and installed : W. F. Sibbett. High Priest. Moses Griffin, King. S. W. Johnson, Scribe. John M. Hall, Treasurer. W. C. Bryan, Secretary. W C. Lankford, Captain of Host. \V. W. Southerland, Principal Sojourner. J. J. Dußose, Royal Arch Cip tain. F. M. Appleby, Master 3rd Veil. J. £>• Lott, Master 2nd Veil. John McLean, Master Ist Vnil. C. J. Darley, Sentinel. The great democratic dalies of New York are divided in their sup port of President Roosevelt, for the next nomination. Dou ps Mm\% §mzt SIXTY THOUSAND GIRLS- A Syndicate Formed at St- Louis to Collect that Number to be Used for Immoral Purposes Dur ing World’s Fair. The most shocking affair of the traffic of human souls and the de grading of woman’s virtue, is told in detail by a Chicago paper which has a weekly circulation of 250,000 copies, under date of December 26. Its St. Louis correspondent has un earthed the formation of a syndi cate, said to have $500,000 capital to send emmisaries and agents all over the world for the collection of innocent girls between the ages of 16 and 20 to be used in a mammoth hotel erected at St. Louis for im moral purposes. It is arranged that they shall have held out to them situations as cham bermaids, waitresses and house keepers it fabulous salaries, and in addition to this will be allowed to see the great World’s Fair, the gaies of which will soon be thrown open to the public of all countries of the world at St. Louis, Mo. When within the walls of this great hotel they will be exposed to all the allurements of vice, wealth in the hands of demons and the intolera ble advice and commands of the de praved wretches in whose brains this devilish scheme is brought, forth. Being thousands of miles away from homes where they may have left fathers and mothers that are bending under the weight of years, these htlp’ess girls will be entrapped by these archers of satan, and instead of helping by their honest salaries the enfeebled ones tney’ve left behind, will be crushed into the depths of crime and in famy. The Christian organizations of the great cities of the northwest and northeast have heard of this gigan tic plot, and are marshalling their hosts to nip it in its infancy, but, like many other schemes of the devil and his agents, it is announc ed that already more than 500 agents, male and female, are abroad in the land, as book agents, sales men, pic’ure dealers and other pre tended professions, who will put in practice at every opportunity to ensnare and allure girls from home to this mighty harem of hell and destruction in St. Louis. We do not like to fill the columns of the Breeze with such details of humanity’s treachery, but we be lieve it is the duty of every news paper in the South to sound this note of warning, for we do not know where this serpent may show his head and put his devilish schemes in practice. Presbyterian Church. Rev. W. S, Harden, Presbyterian pastor, will hold services regularly untill further notice, morning and evening, at the Baptist church, on the 4th Sunday in each month. He hopes soon to have a new church building uuder way, and be lieves the public will help his con gregation ir, its construction. Quitman had a $2700. fire last Sunday. Col. McDnoald, the father of the boys, is in towh again. He comes once a year, can’t trust us out of his sight any longei. The safe robbers who broke into two or three safes at Jacksonville and Savanah and were subsequent ly captured in Alabama, have been returned to Jacksonville for trial. Douglas, Ga., January 2nd, 1904. GIN AND MILL BURNED. Mr. B- Peterson a Heavy Loser- Cot ton, Cotton Seed and other Goods Destroyed by Fire last Mon day Morning. It has been a good long time since Douglas had a fire, but it came last Monday morning and in conse quence the grist mill and gin of Mr. B. Peterson is in ashes. In addition to this fifteen bales of cot ton packed, several bales in the seed, some in lint, car load of salt, three barrels of syrup, many other articles, farming utensels, &c., to the amount of between $3,000 and $5,000 were destroyed, with no insurance. The fire was discovered about 3 o’clock Monday morning coming from the roof of the north end of the building, and before anything could be done to save a thing the fire had wrapped the entire build ing in its lapping, seething grasp. Some of the cotton was saved after the building had burned down on it, and so were a many cotton seed, but all in hn injured condition, besides the machinery and engine was destroved. AH day Monday Mr. Peterson and several hands were busy trying to save some of the cotton winch had been burned over, leaving some underneath scorched, and having the pile of smoldering cotton seed hauled out and put on his land. It is believed the origin of the fire was the work of an incendiary, but if there are any suspicions as to who it could have been we are not informed. Young Lady Burned to Death- Miss Pearl Crawford, near Haz lehur*t,with her mother, were in the field picking cotton, Monday of last week, when the young lady stooped down by a fire to warm her back, and her dress caught on fire. Her mother had started to the house, but on hear ing the screams of her child, ran back, found her wrapped in flames, and threw her into a puddle of water and rolled her over in it to put out the flames, but the victim was so seriously burned that she died on Thursday, Chrismas eve. She was between fourteen jd fif teen years of age. ' ft What About the Minutes** V. Last October Smyrna I, Association held its annual Meet ing near Nichols, and the minutes of the proceedings of the conven tion were let under a guarntee that they would be printed and deliver ed within 30 days. Sixty days have passed and we have seen not a copy, but have received several inquiries on the subject from inter ested parties, and now, to answer all others who may think the Breeze responsible for the delay, we desire to say that the contract forprintng the minutes was given to the Coffee County Gazeette and not to the Douglas Breeze. Hard Luck for Christmas. Mr. B. Peterson has always treated the editor of this paper fair ly and squarely, and we regret to know that his Chri tmas has been a hard one. His mill and sin was destroyed by fire Monday morni.ig two fine mules have also died, and now we learn t~at a house was burned on Ills Carver place Tues day night. Besides a few week’s ago oueot tenement houses in town was destroyed. The “Old Man” Dodson, of the Atlanta Printer’s Supply Co., of Atlanta, went to the north west to spend his Christmas and freeze up last month. Thank the Lord he is back in Georgia again. MICHIGAN TO FLORIDA- A Family on the Road Sixty Seven Days Travel One Thousand Miles- Last Saturday Messrs. J. F. Burke and Fieri Marks, of Port Huron, Mich., accompanied by their wives and tw r o daughters, passed through Douglas, in route to Boynton, Fla., where the former gentleman owns an orange grove. The party were traveling in a top buggy, followed by a two horse wagon. The wagon was built on the style of an omnibus with sides protruding over the wheels, and was covered with a leaden colored oil-cloth, was coupled long with an entrance at the back of the vehicle. It was fitted with seats along the sides that could be turned together and made a very comfortable bed stead ; on this they used mattresses, quilts, &c. In the rear end of the wagon body was a cooking stove of small size, with the pipe running up and out in the rear, and when the wagon was moving down the street it looked more like a car with the smoke from the wrong end than anything else. The contri vance was very ingenius, and be ing supplied witii poles and ten s the party could stop and camp at night. The party went from here to VVaycross Saturday afternoon. We were informed by Mr. and Mrs. Burke that they left Port Huron, Mich., on the 20th of October, and when they arrived here had been on the road two months and six days—including Sundays, sixty seven days, and had averaged about sixteen miles per day—having made, at this rate about 1000 miles. These people say they could have m*ide the trip by rail cheaper and faster, but that they wanted to see the They informed us also that D . en jy had found, in their travels, the warmest hearted people they had ever met with, and were well pleased with their expedition. They will remain in Florida until next fall when the orange crop is gathered. The Wadley & Mt- vernon Extens ion We have it on pretty good in foliation, that as soon as the work of extending this road from Brox ton to the river is fully completed the work of grading and laying track between Douglas and Valdos ta will be taken up at once, indeed, may be commenced before this pa per is printed. We hope this is true, because the link from Douglas to Valdosta is a most important one, opening up, as it will a good scope of country remote from any railway service, and giving the people in the lower end of the county easy and quick transporta tion to the county site. "Chain Gang's Christmas Dinner. It is not every man in charge of a gang of prisoners that remembers that the thief on the cross was no ticed by the Man said to have been born on Christmas day, and therefore that others, perhaps less guilty should be treated likewise. Superintendent 11. R. Davis, in [control! of the Coffee county chain [gang did, however, and rise un fortunate men 011 the gang were furnished with a bountiful dinner on christ day. with eveythin r nice and tempting to the epicurean’s taste even though lie be in cnains. Supt. Davis and Ins n ,b'e wife who assisted him in this San. tritan action have found warm places iri the rugged hearts they thus made ghid and there is an Eye ;h it never closes which saw with love pity and compassion. Legal Organ • • i()f» • • Coffee County. SI.OO per Annum j NEGRO GAMBLERS IN THE TOILS. Marshal Graham Runs in Five of the Light Fingered Gentlemen j For several weeks Marshal Gra | ham has known that gambling was I going on down in the quarter, and j has been trying to capture them, but so well were they supplied with spies that this was almost impossi ble. However, he kept trying, and last Tuesday morning a long train of freight boxes 011 the A. & B. railroad made a screen for him, and ! going down the side that hid him from view from the shanty where these gamblers met was upon them before they knew it. There were six of them engaged in the game, but one of them—the leader, made his escape. Five of them, however, were safely bagged, and the stake for which they were play ing, was also captured. One of them pointed a pistol at Mr. Graham. Three cases will be made against this one, and all of them may go hard with him. They were all young negroes, from sixteen to eighteen years of age, and their names are as follows: Ilercly Morris, Rich:, id Presha, George Airline, Will Henry and Earnest Pridgen. White G\m keeks in Town. Marshal Graham informs us that something of this same kind is go ing on in town among the white boys and young men, and he hopes the fate of these negroes will cause tirein to desist. If they don’t, they will be caught up with sooner or later, and, of course, besides bring ing to troubie will plunge their loved ones in a gulf o f woe. Mar shal Graham is perfectly correct in his surmises we expect, as to the gambling, we cant say, but we do know that some boys of very tender years in this town indulge in cursing and whiskey, and these two practices lead to the other, or if they do not lead to them, they go hind in hand with - hem. The Breeze should deplore the necessity of publishing the names of these young white boys when caught gambling, but we tell them right now, if they are caught up with we intend to give the news just as we find it in any case. Some Tall Corn or Tall lying. A South Carolina man claimed a field of corn which measured fif teen feet on an average, some time ago, and a Georgia man living near Augusta, not to let his State be out done furnishes the following: Augusta, Ga., Dec. 24, 1903. Editor Evening Herald—Dear Sir :—Your correspondent in Noris town, Pa., must haul in his flag, as the banner record for tall corn is still held in Augusta, Ga. The seed (ordinary) white corn pur chased at a *tore on Broad street) was planted on June 10. 19 3, on the lot of Mr. Samuel Tanna-hill on Reynolds street. The shortest [stalks I saw of the patch measured 18 1-2 feet I meu-ured one which i was 24 1-2 feet from where it was ent off near the ground to the end of the tassel, and one stalk which grew up through the brar.ches of a pecan tree me.a.-ured 29 1-2 feet. The ear*, were, many of them, 12 feet from the ground. The Africans have been killing more white missionaries. It seems like foolishness to send men and women to those heathen countries to be killed.