Newspaper Page Text
PAGE TWO
THE AMERICUS TIMES-RECORDER
. ESTABLISHED 1879.
CO., (Inc.) Arthur Lue*»
President; Lovelace Eve, Secretary; W. S. Kirkpatrick, Treasurer.
WM. S. KIRKPATRICK, Editor; LOVELACE EVE, Businaaa Manager.
Published every afternoon, eacept Saturday; every Sunday morn
ing, and as weekly (every Thursday.) -
• OFFICiAITORGANFOR: City of Americus, Sumter County, Rail
road Commission of Georgia for Third Congressional District, U. 8. Court,
Southern District of Georgia.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Daily and Sunday, by mail, |6 per year
n advance; by carrier, 15c per week, 65c per month, $7 80 per year.
Weekly edition $1.50 per year in advance.
Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice at Americus. Geor
gia. according to the Act of Congress.
National Advertising Representatives:
FROST. LANDIS & KOHN
Brunswick Bldg. Peoples Gas Bldg. Candler Bldg.
New York Chicago Atlanta
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Associated Press is exelus
ively entitled to the use for publication of all news dispatches credited
to it or not otherwise credited in this paper, and also the local news pub
lished herein. All rights of republication of special dispatches herein con
tained are also reserved.
No laws, however stringent, can make the idle industrious, the thriftless
provident, or the drunken sober. —Samuel Smiles.
WANTED: SERVICE
The city council at its meeting yesterday afternoon flatly turned
down a proposal from the Americus Lighting company to return to
the pumping of city water by electric power, which was discontinued
the first of the year, and abandon the plan now in operation of the
city using its own steam plant for the task. Mayor Sheppard informed
the representative of the company who offered the proposal that the
present relations between the city and company were unsatisfactory,
unsatisfactory service being given under one existing contract, and
that the city did not care to consider any new contracts until service
was improved. When explanations were offered the mayor declared
that what the council and the public desired was service, not excuses.
The mayor is exactly right. Beginning May 1 new and increased
rates for electricity and gas went into effect. Previously to that time
the service rendered by the company, particularly as to gas, was bad;
since that time it has been no better. For several weeks the street lights
' r covering the entire eastern half of the city, have been out of commis
sion. Light service in the residential section has been interrupted at
annoying intervals; sometimes the current furnished has been so weak
that the home lights were next to useless.
When pressed for explanations the company always has an ex
cuse for these frequent lapses in service—many of them apparently
valid excuses. There is inability to get gas coal; slow handling of rail
road cars; burned out transformers—and one thing and another. Oc
casionally it is discovered that incompetent employes at the plants
are responsible for the trouble. But explanations are all excuses, in
which the public is interested not at all, particularly as no steps
to be in the taking to remedy conditions and assure against repetitions
of the trouble.
The public will be uncomplaining in its inconvenience for a sea
son, if assured that better conditions—real service—are on the way.
But no such assurance is ever forthcoming. "We are doing the best
we can” is the word that invariably comes to them when there is any
word at all. And if there is not gas enough to cook supper or dinner,
or its quality is such that while the meter runs at full speed, it fails to
give forth heat enough to supply the household needs, or the electric
lights go out, there is no recourse —just wait and hope.
Americus is long suffering and patient. But Mayor Sheppard is
right; what the people of this community want is service. It doesn’t
demand cheapness at the expense of service; it has the money to pay
for real service and it is tired of not getting it. It would appear that it
is about time some definite word was forthcoming from the owners
of the Americus Lighting company as to what could be expected in
the future.
HAMMERS
As Thucydides remarked to Epiglottis, just before the battle of
Parthenon,
"The human critter is vocally bitter."
Luckily, he doesn't mean it.
Man came up from savagery.
And he's still savage—with his tongue.
There was a time when man attacked any other man he met.
He hurled his spear.
He hit him with his hammer.
Why?
Because there was always a chance that the other man had some
thing he wanted.
A loin-skin, a war club, a wife.
The way to get it was to put the other man out of the way.
The same thing now.
One man has a presidency. Another man wants it.
Instead of the barbed arrow, the barbed tongue.
Instead of the hard club, the hard word.
Funny things is, it's so ineffective.
Nor is the hammer-tongue confined to politics.
All use it.
You too.
You see a play which doesn’t get across.
You might be justified in saying, "1 think the cast was hardly
id equate."
What you really bite off is, "Rottenest acting I ever saw!’
You read a book which bores you.
Perhaps you ought to say, "1 wasnt quite up to understanding it.'
What you probably say is. "Drivel and drool!"
You pay ten dollars for shoes.
Your comment is, “If I had my way. these robbers would be shot
at tunrise."
Mean it?
Not at all. Just Thucydides again—
“ The human critter is vocally bitter."
RULES FOR SWIMMERS
Tom Robinson, veteran coach, presents these rules for swim
mere:
Learn them by heart. Remember them when you come near th<
bathing beach.
Bear them in mind boys, when you visit the ol’ swimmin' hole
Wait at least an hour after eating before swimming.
Do not go in bathing alone. There is safety in numbers.
Never accept an invitation to ride in a canoe if you cannot swim.
In entering the water keep the hands under so if you step in a
hole you can immediately start swimming.
In learning to swim move toward the shore; never swim away from
the beach.
Keep out of rough water if you are subject to heart trouble.
Never swim until exhausted. Don’t “show off.”
If caught in the undertow, try at once to float.
One can’t tell what sort of race Edwards makes until the return
come in from Havana.
There would be a new pauper class if senators were paid on ;
piece-work basis.
NOW WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
A LOVING WIFE’S PREDICAMENT
Editor Times-Recoxder:—You must,
not think me indelicately imnertinenU
! because I write you before I know
' you yours?lf are not afflicted with
'staying out late with the fraternity
boys.
I am not accustomed to write,
i much less to write for a big paper
like yours, being a poorly educated
i plain woman (like the majority of
1 my unfortunate sex, to the shame of
I mankind) with plenty of children to
occupy my attention. But if I can
-1 not string smooth sentences beauti
fully, I trust I know at least how to
make myself understood, which is
! not to be said (asking your news-1
paper men’s pardon) of all who write
I now-a-days.
Ladies do not generally tell their
ages but I want to say that I was 27
yesterday. I was married 8 years
ago and have seven children. My
husband was a man of fine habits
and good business turn, and tolerably
well off in life and we have until
recently lived happily together. He
has always been full of tenderness
and I have endeavored to be a duti
ful wife. Many a day when his bus
iness was over and the children were,
romping through the house it used
bring tears to my eyes as I watched
; his contented and happy looks. Al-j
though I am homely in appearance
he has so often declared to me that
■ the sight of my face at such mo-,
| ments of domestic hilarity, was tc
I him the loveliest in the world and
that no other pleasure could surpass i
i our night!” fireside chats with the!
children and each other. But those:
'delightful days are at an end and II
! shall always lay the blame on two or
I three of his Americus friends who
| have led him in another direction.
I am not complaining of my hus
bands idleness nor extravagance, nor
I any ill temper. Neither have we dif
fered in our religious or domestic
! matters. I think he still loves me
and I am equally devoted to him.
i It is certainly hard for me to tell ■
i you our disagreement and I cannot
express it in any single term.
I About six months since my hus-i
| band joined the church and in this I
I sympathized with him and have ■fol- ,
lowed his good example myself. Our'
circle of friends has increased since
and all for a time went on pleasant- ,
ly, although I could not help regret
ting that my husband left me and t ie;
seven little ones very often at night
to attend prayer meetings and other
meetings connected with the business
of the church. I hope the indul- (
gence of my regrets was not wrong, j
j I learned to’endure his absence on ac- .
count of the church however, until I -
I made another discovery. ,
Several months since be became
very'busv pausing jpver a little pam
phlet night after night, when he was
lat home. In vain I tried to overlook
him unawares to find out what so ,
absorbed his attention. He, however,
was always too quick for me, and ,
would manage to change his position ,
I just in nick of time to Drevent my (
getting sight of a single word. One .
I evening he left us abruptly when I (
knew there was no church meeting (
'and was absent long after 10 o’clock.
II had retired over an hour, tired out (
(with waiting, before he came and the ]
children were all asleep in the.r trun- ,
die beds. He undid the door bolt and | (
I slipped in quietly on tiptoe, whisked j,
| off his clothes in a trice and slod |
I softly into bed hoping not to awak- ,
•en anyone. This conduct naturally |
j surprised ipe and I could not refrain ,
(from questioning Imagine my con- ,
sternation and horror and with what j
despair I was seized when he inform- ,
ed me that he had just been initiated |
as a Mason. Heavens! I almost
jumped out of my skin, and I did not
close my eyes in sleep during the (
whole of the night. And, oh! what
a dreadful headache the next morn- .
ing I suffered. Here, thought I, is
the beginning of the end to all our
little family gatherings and cheerful .
home joys. My husband attempted
to justify the step taken on the score ,
of usefulness and enlarged benevo- j
pence but these explanations never ,
once satisfied my mind.
We are now together only about j
four nights in the week and these j
occasions are not so happy as for
merly because they are marred by
■ :he thought that others now divide j
'his evening hours with wife and chil
dren. But this is not all. A few days |
ago I asked my husband for ten dol
lars to purchase a gum elestic body |
jumper for our infant. My husband |
said he was short of money having
just paid out thirt ■ dollars for the
Blue Lodge Degrees. I made no re
ply but I must say I did not fail__to
*“ L .’ ...2=z. -
I am now Operating
A Roller Mill
The Wells Old Mill One Mile
North of Smithville. Grind- j
ing Corn and Wheat.
One-Eighth toll for Grinding
j. w. McDonald
Tillie eloped, got a littl jag, an
went to jail—on her wedding day
Then what did Charlie Chaplin do?
Ye Olde Fashioned
Twisted Stick
Candy
In 2-lb. Wooden Box
’ MURRAY’S
PHARMACY
1 Lamar St. Opp. Postoffice
THE AMERICUS
i THINK what as a good wife I was
unwilling to speak out. I, however,
tried to endure what I could not cure
and matters began to' go along
; smoothly < nee more for a short time.
Just as I began to get used to this
■ state of existnece I received a much
I severer shock of the same character.
1 thought prayer meetings and blue
lodges abstracted my husband enough
but when I again observed my hus-
I band was too thoughtful I missed
i him three mortal hours after supper.
My fears were kindled in an instant,
jmy torture was too great as I real
ized that another step was above be
ing interposed between my husband
land his family joys. He returned as
before and went through the same
precautionary evolutions in preparing
for bed. My eyes had not once
closed and I inquired where on earth
had he been so long. He evaded an
answer at first but I pressed the ques
, tion vigorously and at last he was
forced to own he had just joined the
Odd Fellows. Great Gracious! How
my heart quivered at this news. How
can I endure the shock as my eyes
now flow tears as the happy memory
I of our lovely evening at home floats
i through my mind. Now, sorrow is
seated within my heart. Unable to
. appreciate the plausibility of his re
' iterated arguments of benovolence
and widespread usefulness connect
ed with the order I surrendered my
| self to the woeful conviction that the
! charmed long winter nights that
caused our little cottage to smile and
j look glad were now ended.
But this was not all in this instance
! either.
Only last week I asked my husband
i to go to the sale that was advertised
in your paper and buy the boys some
linsey-woolsey to make their slips
Again I was mortified with a refusal
and requested to wait awhile as he
had been forced to spend ten dollars
to go through the Odd Fellows. My
husband has up to this time spent
forty dollars for the privilege of be
ing benevolent and useful besides the
weekly contributions he gives to both
fraternities which profess the same
objects.
But this is not all. A few days
since he read a great address about
America for Americans, and al
though there are scarcely any for
eigners in our city of protestants, he
joined the P. 0. S. of A. This was
the last straw and for the first time
I let him have a piece of my mind.!
I told him I could not see why a|
man should want to join a half a I
dozen orders all possessing the same
principles, just to learn benevolence
and be a member of the church too.
This was the first time I ever tried
such an experiment and 1 think my.
argument stumped him for awhile
It failed however, from permanent'
wholesome effect upon him. Guess
my surprise when on yesterday I
asked him for a small sum to buy
Mary, our daughter, a pair of Sun
day slippers, I was told he had just
sent in his last loose dollar with a pe
tition to join the Elks. His excuse
for this last project was that he wish
ed to encourage the RISING genera
tion.
Step by step have I seen the de
cay of- my husbands love for his for
mer domestic pleasures. I see him
now only at meal times and bed
times. To these he is still punctual,
thank God, but how long it will be
before these inventive people will get
up other clubs, societies and cham
bers to spoil domestic joys, I am un
able to say. My husband is not a
politician, so he gets nothing from
that course. I have called on our
minister, the Rev. Carl Silas Moul
text and dutifully laid my com
plaints before him for counsel and
advice. He positively declined to
take any part, saying that my hus
band was an exemplary Christian,
and insinuated that I was the one to
pray for a contented and calm mind.
So every way I have tried to re-!
form him has failed. Please, there-1
fore, publish this letter and let him
sefe just how he appears. It may do
him good, by so doing you will in-!
sure the lasting gratitude of a dis
consolated wife. Yours truly.
PEACH
TREES
We are selling agents for the Hunts
ville Wholesale Nurseries. Place your
order early for shipment at the proper
planting time this fall. Limited num
ber of trees of all sizes and varieties to
offer.
FIGHT THE BOLL WEEVIL
Plenty of Calcium Arsenate and
Springfield Dust Guns in Stock.
SEND US YOUR ORDERS
•
GREEN MILLER COMPANY
Fruit Growers Suppiles
Fort Valley, Ga.
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SUCH IS L1 F E By 0. B. Joyful
By golly, how I laughed the other
day!
Most often I have some feeling of (
sympathy for a guy who falls down,
and cracks his face, or breaks a bone,
IsWR?
or blackens an eye, but this time I
laughed!
For it was the dog catcher!
A little boy I know came home
one evening last winter with the yal
lerist kind of a cur, one of those for
lorn, halfstarved, unkempt pups of
the gutter.
But to the boy it was DOG.
That was enough.
It mattered not to him that all
the so-called points of good breed
ing were absent, nor that the dog had
absolutely no pedigree and not a
good habit.
It was a dog.
And the boy formed a partner
ship with the pup.
Mother stormed about the matter,
and father pretended to be feeling
the same way about it, but secretly
he helped the boy fix up a comfy bed
for the dog in the basement, and
raided the pantry for some stray
scraps of meat.
And everything went well, ex
cepting, of course, on those days
when the thoughtless pup would
track up the newly scrubbed kitchen
floor. . .
And the boy was having the big
days of his life, the first dog he had
had, you know.
And the other day the boy and
the dog were out in the street play
ing.
The boy would throw a stick and
the dog would run after it and the
boy would howl with joy.
Then the clouds came up. The
dog catcher’s wagon rattled down
the street.
The boy didn’t see it.
First thing he knew the mean old
dog catcher had stopped his wagon
and was making a straight line for
the dog.
The ’/up, sensing danger of an
unknown quality, raced for the in
side of the yard, but he couldn’t
have made it if it hadn’t been for
a loose brick in the street.
Just as the dog catcher was push
ing the net over the pup’s head, he,
the dog catcher, stepped on the edge
of the brick. Down he went. Believe
me, there was some fall. There was
a striking resemblance between the
L. G. COUNCIL, President T. E. BOLTON, Asst. Cashier
C. M. COUNCIL, V.- P.* Cashier. JOE M. BRYAN, Asst. Cashier
(Incorporated)
THE Planters Bank 0F Americus
Resources Over $1,500,000.00
We are equipped to render
you every banking servce
; ’ Strict adherence to sound
it Siffl J ttffllraW banking principles, and a de
-3:1. served reputation for con-
servatism and strength, hat
£||||fg won for us the confidence
of tlle P®Mw to an unusual
degree. Ourbank invites
y ° ur account on * te recor d‘
PROMPT, CONSERVATIVE, ACCOMMODATING
No Account Too Large; None Too Small
DATE OF CHARTER, Oct. 13, 1891.
Our officers appreciate your patronage and want
your connection with this Bank to be of distinct benefit
to you, as well as a pleasant relationship. We hope you
will feel free to make full use of our facilities in all de
partments.
WE INVITE YOUR ACCOUNT.
Bank of Commerce
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS.
J. W. Sheffield. Lee Hudson, C. R. Crisp
Frank Sheffield Cashier John Sheffield
ALLISON UNDERTAKING CO.
(Established 1908)
Funeral Directors and Embalmers
OLEN BUCHANAN, Director
Day Phone 253. Night Phones 381 or 106
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 18, 1920
dog catcher’s face after he got up
and a beefsteak freshly chopped.
But the dog was inside the yard
by this time.
And a little boy I know is tickled
1 eJjhj
pink.
He took the helpful brick into the
house, coated it with pretty tinfoil
and says he’s going to save it for
ever. >
I wish the hand o fthe law would
cet Jialf as ambitious about catch
ing profiteers, and other criminals
as it is about trying to catch dogs
that belong to little boys.