Newspaper Page Text
The Douglas Weekly Breeze.
FOR OUR COUNTRY AND HER PEOPLE, FIRST AND ALL THE TIME
VOL 15, No. 46
Is it Weil With The Lad.
The guardian angel, before start
ing to earth, looked in the father’s
face and asked :
“Will my stay on earth be long?”
And the answer came :
“Until my will shall have been
fulfilled in this new life.”
And the angel left the starry
world above and came to the earth
and, in a little room, where lay a
pale mother pressing a young babe
to her bosom, took up his day and
night vigil. The angel saw that in
the babe’s eye that made him won
der, for the innocence and purity
of heaven was there. Many, many
times it had been his duty to be the
guardain angel for the sons and
daughters of men, but this son had
that about him that made the celes
tial watcher say :
“The Father has great work,
mighty deeds and perhaps much
suffering in store for thee, my little
one.”
And the child grew and waxed
strong and the angel saw him as he
saw other children except there was
no waywardness. His merry laugh
rang out at play with other Children,
but when the day was over the an
gel shown, no wilfulness exhibited
and he said :
“The child will live long and
point many to the Master’s path.”
At school and college the boy ex
celled, but never with arrogance or
false pride. He helped the weaker
and took the blame of failures not
his own. His mind turned towards
the deep things of life and nature.
And the angel spoke again :
“He will search out the hidden
things and bring light into dark
places.”
Then she who gave him birth
ceased from her labors and as the
angel saw the lad weeping, he
wished so much he could tell him
to dry his tears, for no mortal eye
hath ever seen or ear heard the
fullness of the glories that were
now his mother’s. But the boy
ceased his weeping, tho’ he was
never quite so happy again. Life
had more of duty in it than before
and the angel smiled and said :
“He knows mere than I had be
lieved. He does not think her
dead. He knows she w'atches by
him yet.”
The ease of riches was not for
the lad and patiently and uncom
plainingly he took up the burden,
and the joy of endeavor made it
easy and the yoke of duty rested
lightly upon him—the angel watch
ed and saw him gather triends from
every walk of life—the poor loved
him and the rich honored him, little
children were wont to come to him
with their childish troubles and old
men would lean upon him.
“He will win thousands by hi
modest worth and heavenly kind
ness,” said the angel.
And the lad saw the sins of life
around him, but touched them not
—the impure acts and words of
others pained him, but rever sul
lied his mind or body.
Then the angel learned that the
mother would often wander near
the Gate and look down toe shin
ing way that led earthward. And
he wondered, for well he knew n*>
desire was ungranted There. Di<!
she long for lad’s coming? Tbi,
could not be, for had the Father
not said. “Untill my will be ful
filled!” It cannot be that the
possibilities in store for the life are
to terminate !
“My stay on earth with him is
for many years,” thought the an
gel. And then the lad was stricken
—there was no warning, no time
to prepare—the pains of disease
came upon him as thev come to
few in this world—no rest no sleep
or surcease—not one moment’s ease
from the racking pain and those
who loved him and knew ids gen
tleness wondered how the Father
cou'd afflict him thus. But no
word of impatience came from the
sufferer, only a look sometimes of
surprise that he still lived in of
bodily anguish.
And the snow and sleet ■ >vered
the face of the earth—the un re
fused to shine and the darkening
days seemingly merged into the
blackness of night Day after day
pass thus and once he said :
“When the sun comes out again
I shall be better and the horror of
this pain will flee away.”
And one morning as tl'v angle
watched he saw streaks oi gray in
lad’s hair and the facq was all
drawn and pinch d and file breath
was coming feebly. And shortly
the pulse fluttered slightly, the
eyes closed and then from the east
came the golden glory oi the sun
flooded the room where he lay.
Was it well with die lad: The
sun had come, but the lips were
cold and, oh! so white ;nd still!
Was he better?
The angel’s task A:- o\ r, but
before taking his leave of earth he
looked about and heard the bereav
ed ones speak of the dead. One
said :
“A few weeks sir.ee are 1 could
not have borne tin blow , but his
suffering have almost made me
content.
Another said :
“He is with his mother. Could
she have been lonely there.?”
And one of his young compan
ions said: *T never heard him say
an unchaste word.”
A man in the hard struggle al
most ready to yield to the tempter,
took courage from the steadfast
ness of the lad’s life and resisted
evil. A child hearing that the suf
ferings were ended smiled and s aid
to his mother :
“I’m so gltd. Heaven is so
much pretier than tlii- world.”
The angel looked once more at
the pallid face and said :
“The Will has been fulnlted.
I do not quite understan, but I do
not doubt.”
Then the angel winged hi- way
back to the Celestial City and was
shown the Book wherein were kept
the deeds of men. He looked
w here the lad s name appeared and
the page where the good done is
inscribed was full. Little things
they were, but there was no vacant
space. Little kindness done, pleas
ant words spoken and honest en
deavor shown. Here his heart had
been wounded deeply, but ro effort
at revenge. There he had been
wronged and misjudge, but the
record shown no bitterness return
ed.
And the angel looked to the page
where the evil that men do is
shown and beheld the lad’s name
in gold at its top and below :
One glittering page of white
ness—
Then the angel understood.
See Hoke Davis for Seed Irish
Potatoes and Garden Seed.
Douglas, Ga., March 18th, 1905.
THE GEORGIA STATE FAIR.
Something About the Prizes That
Have Been Offered-
The State Fair offers $22,000 in
prizes this year. This is the larg
est sum ever put up by a State Fair
in Georgia.
President Hughes, of the State
Agricultural Society, and his fair
committee at first made the prize
$1,500 for the best county agricul
tural exhibit- This was the same
as last year.
But this did not satisfy Atlanta.
She wanted to beat anything ever
offered before, and begged the fair
committee to raise the first prize at
least to $1,600. The committee
thought that $1,500 was enough,
but finally agreed to encrease it to
$1,600, as Atlanta was so anxious.
The prize for the second best
county exhibit will be $1,200; third,
$800; fourth, $600; fifth, S4OO.
The next five best county exhi
bits will get S3OO apiece, and then
the next five will receive S2OO
apiece. Tlrs makes fifteen county
prizes, but still Atlanta is not much
satisfied, and she offers SIOO apiece
to every single one of the other
122 counties in Georgia if they
make good exhibit.
As the railroads haul the county
exhibits free to Atlanta and as
each county is sure of getting at
least SIOO, there is no reason why
every county should not make a
display. All the hay, cotton, grain
and vegetables can be sold in At
lanta after the fair, at good prices.
The best individual agricultural
exhibit will receive $400; second
best. $300; third, $200; fourth,
SIOO.
For the best one-horse farm ex
hibit the fair will pay $300; second,
$200; third, $150; fourth SSO.
There will be a prize of SSO for
the largest yield of upland cotton
from one acre, and the same amount
for the largest yield of sea island
cotton and corn from one acre.
Liberal prize are offered for
nearly everything grown on a
farm.
Copies of the premium list will
be mailed free by the general man
ager, Frank Weldon, Atlanta, Ga.
The Same in Coffee County,
Savannah Press. “Thejproblem
in Ware county is that of the whole
of South Georgia. There is plenty
of good land waiting cultivation
which is nnoccupied. The county
d< es not raise as much as it can
consume. In truck dairy products
and other things there is a deficit;
that is, ;he home supply is not met.
Ware county wants to invite set
tlers and immigrants, Northen set
tiers and foregn immigrants.
Thousands of people in the North
and abroard want land and are will
ing to cultivate it and Wvre coun
ty wants men. The great problem
is to get them together. Wavcross
is in the ri ich of good market—
Savannah, Jacksonville, Mont
gomery and Atlanta. The experi
mental farms in Ware county have
yielded well, and the government
station is proving a great aid to
farmers in that section. Special
attention is being paid to cain.
Landiseheap, the climate good,
and Waycross is destiued to be
come a driving center.
Dr. Johnson’s new residence
near the Methodist church is near
ing completion.
Getting Ready for the Fair
The people of Coffee county are
in earnest about the county fair,
and men, women and children are
getting ready to have a hand in the
exhibits.
We have heard of some of our
famers who intend to compete for
the premiums for farm products,
but have not decided yet what they
propose to do and cannot do so un
til the premium lists appear, which
will be soon, however, and then
the lively work of competition will
begin. The premium lists, we sup
pose, will appear in the county pa
pers and perhaps also in pamphlet
form.
Some ladies in Douglas are al
ready preparing: fancy needle-work
for that department, and the roll
of contestants may be long. We
know that the proper authoritie’s
will offer handsome prizes for the
handy work cf the ladies, for any
thing gotten up without the help
of the ladies will not be worth
much.
In addition to the above we
learn that the contract for getting
out the posts for the fence, about
500 of them to be eight feet high
and about the same •..umber to be
five feet high has already been
given out.
There is a great deal of work to
be done before the accomplishment
of a successful fair is assured, how
ever, and no time to be lost.
To do the most good the widest
publicity must be given the enter
prise. Talk about it to your friends,
write about it and have it printed
on your stationery.
The Coffee County Fair has not
been formed for selfish purposes.
It is for the benefit of every man
in the county, and every true man
and citizen will take an interest in
its success. This is true. Now,
because this will be the first fair
ever held in the county, and be
cause no fairs were here by your
father and grandfather when the
county was a forest and inhabited
by Indians do not think there is no
necessity for any such. There are
people in Coffee county who will
say : “Well, thar was no sich do
ins in my day, nor in my dady’s
day, and we got along all right.
Had plenty to eat and wear and
that’s all we’ll git now ”
That is a case of where ignorance
was bliss. They did get along all
right, but it was a bad get along.
There were no railroads, no schools
and churches, of any consequence,
no society, no attempt to settle the
country and no desire to make it
better. They had no newspapers
to give them the news and if they
had them could not read them, and
some of them are in the same con
dition now. In darkness and will
ing to remain there. Since we
have lived in Coffee county we have
seen a white man go to the polls to
vote and as he could not read had
to get a cold black negro to select
and fill out his ballot. This is one
of the specimens that say “Never
had any fairs in my dady’s day and
don’t need ’em now.” He would
rather take a negro as his political
guide and keep his own neck under
a black heel.
But this is only one kind and
they are dying out fast. The most
of the people see and know we
need a county fair.
Watt Harley Holmes Co., have
the Buggies. Come to see us.
Watt Harley Holmes Co.
SI.OO per Anrum
SCHOOL FOR CHILD WIVES.
Many Girls Found in Chicago finder
14- Years Old Are Wives.
A dispatch from Chicago has
this to say : A school, or at least
a special room, for child wives may
be established by the boad of edu
cation as a result of an investiga
tion completed todav by the com
pulsory education department.
The search for wives ot com
pulsory school age was made by
Superintendent Bodine, and it is
stated, has been more fruitful than
even the school of ficials expected.
More than a score of wives un
der the age of 14 years are said to
be found in one Italian tenement
district alone.
The investigation also is said to
have proved the existence or a traf
fic in child wives between this
country and Europe. A majority
of the school trustees hold that un
married school girls should not be
put in the same classes with the
so-called child wives.
Douglas Board of Trade.
The regular mothly meeting of
the Directors of ttie Douglas Board
of Trade was held at the Secretary
office last Tuesday evening 141 h
inst., and quite an amount of busi
ness came beiore them for disposal.
The Committee on better tele
graphic facilities reported progress.
The western union and postal
union are to be petitioned for a
central office in Douglas.
The Committee on Cornet Bond
made a favorable report, twelve
members having been secured.
More time was given.
The Committee on newspapers
made a favorable and very encour
aging report, was also continued
The Committee on Ornamental
Fence for court-house square re
ported that they had taken the
matter up with the County Com
missioner’s Committee but no de
finite action had been taken. Com
mittee was continued to #
urge the matter.
Committee on Public/ Park was
also continued.
It was resolved that the. Southern
Express Co., be petitioned»jfor a
central office in Douglas, titql Sec
retary was instructed to sif r ’iw up
such a petition and have sign
ed by citizens.
A meeting of the entire nietnber
ship was called for the first Tues
day in April next, when it is hoped
every member will be present.
i
Seed Corn, Eastern Grown,
fresh and sound, white and yellow.
Comes early, at Peoples’ Pharmacy.
The indications now are that the
A. &B. railway will be extended
to Atlanta as well as Birmingham.
A company has been formed and
petition for incorporation is being
published in the county papers
through which the line will run.
Independent of the line from Brun
swick to Montezuma, the road will
cover some 260 miles in Georgia
and Alabama.
We spoke to a Coffee county
land owner some days ago about
truck farming when he hooted the
idea and tried to make fun of us,
because, he said, “he could get
more turpentine money out of one
acre of pine land than he could out
of ten acre in vegtables and
melons,” That may be so, to-day,
but did you ever think that the
land will soon begin to quit the
turpentine business. Truck farm
ing will never run out.