Newspaper Page Text
THE FITZGERALD LEADER.
WEATHER REPORT.
From Noon Sep. 22<I to Sep. 29tl» In¬
clusive.
[REPORTED EXPRESSLY FOR THE LEADER BY
DR. COB.]
Temperature. Itatn- Pre’v’g
DAYS. fall. wind.
II A M 12 M. M
Wednesday Thursday. 4H ne
4(5 r.;> se
Friday..... 40 74 ne
Saturday... Sunday..... 75 ne
50 '76
Tuesday... Monday.... 51 77
06 ne
Wednesday cs
No rainfall.
Sun shone 5 days.
CITY AND COUNTY.
The leading business town is the
place for the court house.
Mr. M. J. Paulk, of Ocilla, paid this
office a pleasant call last Tuesday.
A vote for Fitzgerald is a vote for the
development of Irwin county.
Ed Stallings, that bright and shining
star of the G. & A. railway, was in the
city Wednesday.
Editor Brown, of the irwinville Dis¬
patch, pulled The Leader latch¬
string Saturday.
If the court house is moved to Fitz¬
gerald every one can reach it easier
than any other point.
Fred J. Clark, the furniture man,
sold a large bill of goods to parties at
Ocilla on Wednesday.
The removal of the court house to
Fitzgerald is the fight of the masses of
the people of Irwin county against a
few.
The Misses Ida and Ada Whitley,
daughters of Hon. Wiley Whitley, of
Minnie, are the guests of Mrs. J. T.
Boyd this week.
Fitzgerald pays more money to the
farmers of Irwin county than any other
place. They should nurse a goose that
lays golden eggs.
Mr. L. Paulk and N. Paulk, two of
Irwin county’s most influential farmers
and good citizens, were in the city
Wednesday on business matters.
Since Chattanooga found it was a res¬
ident of Georgia she threw open her
gates to the yellow fever sufferers.
Nothing like belonging toagood State.
With the court house at Fitzgerald,
there will be a new shuffle, and all the
boys in Irwin will have a chance. There
is nothing like a new deck, and a square
deal.
_
Talk is cheap, but it takes money to
buy grub. Whatever helps to mike
money in Irwin county should be sus-
tained. Fitzgerald will lead the list in
this respect.
_
We trust our readers will bear with
us for a few weeks on account of not be¬
ing able to run more local news, The
court house question is the absorbing
question of th.- day.
A vote for Fitzgerald will be the
means of putting more money in the
pockets of the people of the county than
a vote for any other place. Put that in
your pipe and smoke it.
Mr. A. M. Bowen, one of the old stand¬
bys of Telfair county, was in the city
last Tuesday, and in company with Mr.
Reason Dorminey, his son-in-law, paid
The Leader a pleasant call.
St, Paul’s Lutheran church. Rev. H.
F. Long, pastor. Services in the Pres¬
byterian church on S. Grant street,
every Lord’s day at 10:30 a, m. and 7’30
p. m. Sunday school at 11:30 a, m.
I. D. Morse left at this office last
Tuesday a magnificent speciman of oats
raised on 5-acre tract No. 1251, belong¬
ing to W. A. Porter, of Central City,
Neb. Raised ou new ground and not
fertilized. _
It is said that the chainless bicycles
will be the thing for next year. It keeps
the manufacturers pretty busy to invent
something different, so that a man has
to buy a new bicycle every year or be
out of the fashion.
The colony picnic was a big gather-
ing. Fully 1,800 people were present,
while others place the attendance at
2,200 during the day. The projectors
of the enterprise deserve much credit
for their untiring efforts to make the
picnic so grand a success.
Mr. J. R. Green left at this office last
Monday a magnificent speciman of rice
grown on bis 5-acre tract. We do wish
our northern friends could see this fine
speciman ot rice as well as hundreds of
other products of the farm this section
of country is c apable of p roducing.
A Kansas farmer took a halter out
into the pasture to catch a horse and
changing his mind used the halter on
himself and was found a few days later
hanging to a tree. Whether he had
missed connection with prosperity or it
had come too soon for his sensitive na-
ture is not stated.
Each Sunday-school in Irwin county
is asked- to furnish five delegates to at-
ten d the county convention to be held
at the Christian church in Fitzgerald,
Ga., on Tuesday and Wednesday, Octo-
her 12 and 13, 1897. Said delegates to
have full control of all the business of
the convention. Superintendents please
take notice.
BRICK BLOCKS GALORE.
Two Handsome Blocks Will Be Built and
Possibly Two More.
A regular brick block boom has
struck Fitzgerald in earnest, and the
beauty of it all is, that the brick has
been ordered and the excavation has
been commenced, so it can’t be said it
is campaign argument.
Major M. Buice, one of Fitzgerald’s
old stand-bys, and a truer friend to Ir¬
win county never lived, was the first to
commence work. His building will be
28x65, on the northwest alley corner on
Pine street, between Grant and Main
streets. The building will be two story
with a handsome plate glass front.
Work on the same was commenced
Wednesday morning, and the brick
work will commence as soon as it ar¬
rives from Albany. The brick was
bought through T. W. kayde.
The second block will be erected by
that prince of good fellows, John A.
Phillips, of Tifton, who, together with
his associates, have done more for the
upbuilding of Fitzgerald than any ten
men, has let the contract for the exca¬
vation for his handsome block on the
corner of Pine and Grant streets, on
the old hotel Margaret site. The block
will be 48x170 feet, two story for 65 feet.
Two handsome rooms 65 feet deep will
tace on Pine street, the corner room to
be occupied by a bank. Four store
rooms will face on Grant street, which
will be 48 feet deep. All of the rooms
excepting one have been rented.
Bowen & Shepperd, whp, it will be
remembered, were to build a bank
building just west of the Fitzgerald
block, have, we understand, made a
proposition to M. Buice that if he
would build another building on Central
avenue, that they would go in with
and erect a double room. Mr. Buice
told them that he was ready to build
with them at any time. More develop¬
ments will be reported next week.
P. H. Fitzgerald arrived from Indi¬
ana last Sunday evening, and is busy
every dav at colony headquarters. He
is also taking considerable interest in
our county seat question.
The Fitzgerald nine defeated the
Dorminey Mill hoys on Tuesday by a
score of 27 to 7. The Dorminey Mill
hoys were handicapped by not having
some of their best players with them.
About eleven hundred people have
been registered in the Fitzgerald dis¬
trict for the coming county seat elec¬
tion. Fitzgerald gains votes every day,
and the business men think this city is
certain to win._
Our county authorities advertised
that September 27th would be the last
days for registration, but still they are
keeping it up oyer at Irwinville. This
is not treating the native farmers in
the right manner who are supporting
Fitzgerald. __
New residents are arriving every day
with families and household goods, and
taking possession of various tracts out¬
side of the city, and a marked improve¬
ment is the result. A large number of
the new residents who will come this
winter will locate on lands outside the
city.
The engine for the Pearson steam
tram has arrived and was taken to the
mill several days ago. Some of the mill
machinery has also arrived and is being
put in place. A large force of hands is
employed and the work of building the
mill and cottages for the hands is being
pushed.
_
Mr. C. R. Taylor, of Tallapoosa, is
spending several days in the city in the
interest of a cigar box, crate and basket
factory. Tho colony officials are hope¬
ful of inducing him to locate his plant
here. It is expected that a considera¬
ble amount of fruit will he shipped
from this city next year.
Hundreds of dollars worth of pictures
of residences and business houses in this
city and on colony grounds have been
sent North in the past six weeks, and
have done not a iittie to advertise this
section. A vegetable and fruit display
is being arranged to be exhibited in the
North in a few weeks.
The petition of J. B. Paulk, J. T.
Boyd, F. J. Clark and D. W. Paulk,
asking for a charter to do business un¬
der the firm name of the Fitzgerald
Mercantile company, will he found on
another page of The Leader. Their
location will be on Grant street, and the
Paulk building will be enlarged by
building an addition 40 feet back.
The enrollment of the city schools
increases so rapidly that is thought an¬
other school building will be necessary.
Miss Maud Stewart, who was ill during
tho first two weeks of school, is again at
her desk as principal of the high school
and is much improved in health. On
her return to her room she was given
an ovation by the pupils who greeted
her with enthusiastic cheers.
The Gray steam tram, which con¬
nects this city with the river, and
which is but three miles from the city,
is also being rushed, and will soon be
ready for ties and rails. It will enter
the city near the Georgia & Alabama
and Tifton & Northeastern depots. Its
completion will be of great benefit to
cotton farmers between this city and
the river, and no doubt much cotton will
be shipped outof the city via that route.
THE COUNTY-SITE QUESTION.
A Logical and Convincing Letter From Ex-Gov. Northern
Fitzgerald More Accessible by Railroads and Covenient For
The People to Transact their County Business!
Editors Fitzgerald Leader.
Whilst I have not been in position to keep myself fully posted on
the details of the campaign now in progress in your county for and
against the removal of the court house, I must confess to some sur¬
prise that there should be any special opposition to the proposed re¬
moval to Fitzgerald.
The public business of any community should be discharged always
at the convenience of the greatest number of citizens. The center of
population, and not the geographical center of the county, therefore
should determine the location of county public buildings. If this
proposition is not true, the people of any given county would be sub¬
jected to great inconvenience, without the least possible public ben¬
efit therefrom. The view I am presenting is especially true, when
the convenience of travel from the more sparsely settled sections are
desirable and satisfactory.
The contest, as I understand it, is between Irwinville, the present
county town, and Fitzgerald, the proposed location for the county
business. Fitzgerald and the country immediately contiguous, and
easily accessible would be far more convenient for a large majority
of the people of the county. Irwin county is now entirely traversed -
by railroads leading directly to Fitzgerald, while transportation to
Irwinville would involve the necessity for hack lines that could not
be expected to be sufficient for the demands, on public occasions, be¬
cause the business occurring during the interval of regularly ap¬
pointed public days would not authorize a proper outfit and regular
engagements with the trains. Of equal importance with the fact
just presented, it is no reflection upon the good people of Irwinville
to say, that hotel accommodations for the entertainment of the peo¬
ple attending upon public days, are far better at Fitzgerald than
they can ever be made at Irwinville. The people of the county can¬
not afford to neglect this consideration as a prime element in de¬
termining their choice between locations. I am sure the citizens of
Irwin county have already awakened to the fact that there is a
great and unusual development awaiting them in the near future.
The prime, if not the sole factor in this remarkable opportunity has
come through the large and desirable interests built in and about
the city of Fitzgerald. In my candid judgment, the public spirited
people of Irwin cannot afford to deny to this opening prosperity any
condition that would advance the common good. What helps Fitz¬
gerald helps Irwin county and, indeed, helps the State. The peo¬
ple who have built Fitzgerald have already put into the county
more than one million dollars worth of taxable property. If prop¬
erly encouraged and given their share of opportunities, this large
sum will feel the benefit. I cannot believe the intelligent people of
the county will vote away these chances. Whilst the developments
in Irwin, brought about by the good people at Fitzgerald, are un¬
usual in the history of the State and, certainly in the history of the
county, they have, by no means, reached their ultimatum.
Irwin county, the State of Georgia and the South are now inviting
desirable settlers upon our unoccupied lands. To get them, we must
not only offer land upon which they can squat, but we must recog¬
nize every element of good citizenship they bring with them, and
open up to them, without qualification or restriction, the same con¬
ditions of growth and profitable settlement that we claim and exer¬
cise for ourselves.
The question, stripped of all undue considerations, is simply this:
Shall the public business of Irwin county be transacted, hereafter at
Irwinville, a small community, centrally located, with limited hotel
accommodations and away from the line of railway; or shall it be
located at Fitzgerald, a large and thrifty city, with abundant hotel
facilities, easily accessible from all points of the cdunty by rail, and
the center of population ?
This is a simple business proposition, submitted to intelligent busi-
ness people, who should look to the common good, and not to any
personal preferment or local honors. If this is done, I do not see
how a good citizen can hesitate a moment in determining his choice.
I trust that I will be pardoned for this interference, when it may be
said I have no local interest. I do not believe the people in Irwin
county who know me and my purposes will make any such undue
criticism. My identification with them in the past, I feel quite sure,
has obtained for me their confidence, and I cannot but believe that
they will accept my statements as made from the standpoint of the
public good. W. J. North en.
Atlanta, Ga., September 23, 1897.
A Nebraska editor visited the village
school and was greatly impressed with
the schoolma’am. On reaching his
sanctum he penned the following of her:
“She is the pride of the town, the star
of the west, mother of invention and a
jewel of rare brilliancy. She drew a
picture of an iceberg on the blackboard.
It was so natural that the thermometer
froze up solid. With rare presence of
mind she seized a crayon and drew a
fire place ou the opposite wall. The
prompt action sayed the school, but
nearly all the pupils caught a severe
cold from the sudden change.—Ex.
The following was written by an old
maid, and shows in what estimation the
“lords of creation” are held by ;them.
“Man is a two-legged animal that chews
tobacco and walks on the forked end.
Most men are born, we never heard of
but one that wasn’t, he was made of
mud for a sample. Man’s life is full of
disappointment, growls and pipes. He
goes forth like a lion in the morning
and leaves the wood for his wife to chop,
and in the evening sneaketh home with
his pants ribbed and his heels gone and
raising Cain about hard times. He has
the grip on road-working days and
walks twenty miles to a circus, fie will
chase a jack rabbit four miles through
the snow, and then borrow a horse to
ride a half mile to the postoffice.
Fitzgerald Cotton Market.
Thursday, September 30, 1897.
The market is quoted as follows:
Good middlings 5 13-16
Middlings...... . 5%
The colony picnic, held in this city
last Monday, was a large and happy
gathering, the object of which was to
organize an “ Old Settlers’ Associa¬
tion,” as will be seen from the secre¬
tary’s report to be found*jin another
column. The gathering was a success
from start to finish. Mr. I. B. Allen,
president of the association, is deserv¬
ing of great praise for the meeting. He
is a faithful, worker in whatever he un¬
dertakes, and the members of the asso¬
ciation can rest assured that the in¬
terests of the society will not lag while
he is at the head of it.
Heavy frosts throughout the northern
states reminds the people up there that
winter, with its sleet and snow and 30
below zero will soon be there with dis¬
tressing severity. Hundreds of colony
members write us that they are getting
ready to “fly with the geese” and will
be with you on or before January 1st.
Many others who are not colony mem¬
bers are writing “can I secure a cottage
of five or six rooms;” “can I secure
board in a private family,” or “are your
hotels ready to receive boarders,” etc.?
These and other questions would indi¬
cate a large emmigration to the i^agic
city this fall and winter. In fact, the
prospects The Ohio were never more brighter.
bring full excursion, November 16, will
a train load of at least 800 or
1,000 people, to say nothing about the
large number from other States. It
behooves the people of Fitzgerald to
clean the city of all loose rubbish in
and about there premises.
Business men and others should re-
member that to-morrow is the 1st o! the
month and that The Leader collector
will be on hand.
“When talking court house” is the
heading of Fred J. Clark’s advertise¬
ment in this week’s issue. Look it up
and read the prices.
W. L. Parker, who is stopping at the
Grand Central hotel, wishes to buy a
good 5-acre tract with good house or a
residence in the city. See him.
M. E. Church, South.
A cordial invitation is extended all to
be present Sunday, October 3d, at 11 a.
m. and 7'30 p. m. In the morning a
special sermon will be delivered to the
children, and in the evening a sermon
on Christian education.
F. and A. At., Attention.
The regular meeting of Pine Level
lodge, F. & A. M. meets Saturday, Oc¬
tober 9, ’97, at 2 p. m. sharp. All mem¬
bers requested to be present.
J. W. Pearson, Sec’y.
A Big Edition.
The Leader next week will issue
3,000 extra coDies, all of which will be
distributed among the farmern of Irwin
county. Advertisers should make a
note of this fact and have their copy
for change in advertisements at this of¬
fice no later than Saturday afternoon.
Resolutions of Respect.
Headquarters Colony Post, Ga. &S.C. No. 14, l f
G. A. R, Department of
Whereas, At the roll call of Colony
Post one more comrade’s name is silent,
the angel of death having again en¬
tered our post room and taken from our
ranks our beloved comrade, Joseph
Waldron, and transfered him into the
grand army above, where the trials and
cares of this camp life are forgotten,
and peace and joy reigneth forever.
Comrade Joseph Waldron was a true
and faithful member of Colony Post No.
14, G. A. R., and a worthy citizen of
Fitzgerald, a kind husband and indul¬
gent father, and we earnestly believe
that our beloved comrade has but passed
from death into life. Therefore be it
Resolved, That in the death ot Comrade Jo¬
seph Waldron Colony Poet has lost one of the
pillare of the order, a comrade tried and true,
and always ready to do his duty. May we
emulate hie sterling: character and manly vir¬
tues, and may we ever hold in greatful re¬
membrance his name as a worthy comrade of
Colony Post. Be it further
Resolved, That the comrades of Colony Post
No. 14, G. A. R., tender their earnest and
heartfelt sympathy to the comrade. bereaved Believ¬ widow
and family of our deceased
ing ithat God, in His loss providence, he the doeth all
things well, and our will comrade’s
gain. Also that a copy of. these resolutions
be delivered to the family of our deceased
comrade; also placed upon each the of records city of the
Post and a copy sent to our pa¬
pers for publication. G- E. Whitman,
J. w. Huggins,
H. C. Smith.
How to Kill a Town.
Buy of the peddler as much and as
often as possible.
Make out your town is a very bad
place and state it every chance yon get.
Rejoice in the downfall of a man who
has done much to build up your town.
Denounce your merchants because
they want to make a profit on their
goods.
Refuse to unite in any scheme for the
betterment oj the material interest of
the people.
If a stranger visits your town tell him
everything is overdone and predict a
general crash in the near future.
Keep up a divided sentiment and
knife every man that disagrees with
you on the best, methods for increasing
business and the inflow of visitors...
Patronize outside newspapers to the
exclusion of your own and denounce
yours for not being as cheap and as
large as the big city paper.
If you are a farmer curse the place
you trade as the meanest place on earth.
Tell this to your neighbors and tell
them the hotel and business men are
robbers and thieves. It will make your
property of much less value, but you
don’t care.
Down every man who is trying to do
something._
Old Settlers’ Association.
At a meeting of the old settlers of the
American Tribune soldier colony at
Fitzgerald, Ga., for the purpose of hold¬
ing a picnic, after listening to short ad¬
dresses by the chairman, I. B. Allen,
Mayor Goodnow and Mrs. Nettie C.
Hall.the meeting adjourned for dinner
to assemble at 3 o'clock p. m.. at which
time the meeting was called to order
by the chairman, who made a report of
the action of the committee,
A motion was made by G. E. Whit¬
man, seconded by W. J. McAfee, that
we do now proceed to form a perma¬
nent organization to be known as the
old settlers’ association oi Fitzgerald,
Ga., and elect a president, secretary,
historian and executive committee of
five, and that we perpetuate this happy
meeting by holding an annual reunion
at such time and place as the officers
and executive committee may select.
The motion unanimously prevailed.
The following officers were then duly
elected:
President—I. B. Allen.
Vice-President—E. S. Childs.
Secretary—G. E. Whitman.
Historian—Mrs. Nettie C. Hall.
Executive Committee—Messrs. D. C.
McCollum, W. J. McAfee, J. M. Tal¬
bott, E. Nicholson and Dinsmore.
On motion of Mr. Tibbetts a commit¬
tee of three was appointed to take up a
collection to defray the little expenses
of the committee in arranging lor this
picnic. They collected 83.14, which
was turned over to the chairman.
The meeting then adjourned subject
to the call of the president, one year
hence. G. E. Whitman, Sec’y.
j A Problem.
| We will give six months’subscription
J to The Leader to nny citizen of Irwin
county sending us before November 1,
the simplest correct solution of the fol¬
lowing problem:
A conical flag pole 100 feet high, 2
feet in diameter at the base, and taper¬
ing evenly to a point at the top, stands
in the center of a level meadow. A
rope 1 inch in diameter is fixed to the
top and wound around the pole, fold
touching fold, to thd base, the end of
the rope being four feet from the center
of the pole. How far will a man travel,
who taking the end of the rope and
keeping it taut unwinds it by walking
around the pole._
Fruit Growers’ ami Shippers’ Association
Growers and shippers’ association
met at appointed time, and was called
to order by I. B. Allen, who was elected
president pro tem. Minutes of last
meeting read and approved. Secretary
gave report on strawberries best
adapted to one another and this local¬
ity, and, with other members of the
committee, was requested to give a
further report at next meeting.
O. L. Jay called up the question of
amending article 5 of the constitution,
and after a full discussion the same was
amended by inserting the word “white,”
making said article read “all white
persons, etc.”
An interesting discussion was held
relative to becoming a local branch of
the American fruit growers’ union, and
upon motion the secretary was request¬
ed to prepare a concise statement of
the requirements of said union, with
cost of membership, and the benefits to
be derived, and report fully at next
meeting. Still more names were added
to list of members, and upon motion as¬
sociation adjourned to meet at colony
headquarters Saturday, Oct. 2, at 3 p.
m. sharp.
The above named meeting promises
to he one of unusual interest, as matters
of vital import will be discussed and
acted upon. There is a surprise In store
for all, and as the season for setting
strawberry plants is well advanced
prompt action should be taken as to
kind and quantities wanted. You can¬
not afford to miss this meeting.
Respectfully,
E. S. Child.
“Some of the citizens of south Geor¬
gia have discovered regular gold mines
in their old sawdust mines,” said Mr.
W. F. Combs, the well-known railroad
man, in conversation with a party of
friends a few days ago in Montgomery
says the Advertiser. “I have just seen
the crops of Mr. B. H. Moody, at Bron-
wood, and I’ll declare I never saw finer
corn in my life. It is simply wonderful,
and his other crops are almost as good.
I was at a loss to understand what
brought about these great results and I
inquired into the matter. The land
was not what you would call the poor¬
est land, but it was not the kind that a
man would look for to raise such crops
as I saw. In reply to my questions Mr.
Moody said that for vears he had been
trying to get rid of the great piles of
sawdust on his place. He had been
running saw mills there for vears, and
after the timber was gone from the land
he decided to cultivate it. Of. course
the only thing that suggested itself was
to burn the dust. But this proved to
be a herculean task. The stuff was so
abundant, and being moist, it would
take always to get it out of the way by
that process. He finally abandoned
that idea and went on cultivating the
ground around tho piles of sawdust for
years and years. Finally he discovered
that the stuff had rotted until it had no
body to it. He thought he would ex¬
periment with it scattered broadcast on
a piece of land lying near by. The re¬
sult was so astonishing that he resolved
to broadcast his entire plantation with
it and to make it as thick as possible.
He now considers the sawdust the best
fertilizer he ever saw, and old, worn-
out land will produce as much when
stimulated by the sawdust as will the
richest new ground.”
Prosperity has surely arrived. In
one week lately the editor of this paper
was invited out to dinner twice and to
supper once, got four new subscribers,
collected an old account ot $3.80 that
had been charged off the books, was
presented with a basket of grapes, a
sack of apples, a bouquet of flowers, a
rooster about the proper age for frying,
and a watermelon, found a quarter in
the pocket of an old vest, was asked out
to take a buggy ride three times, and
had one narrow escape from getting a
licking.
_
Two farmers in Polk county, Messrs.
D. J. Lowry and NV. O. 'Wray, have
been making syrup outof watermelons.
They found the market so glutted with
melons that they concluded to turn
them into syrup. So they procured an
ordinary cider press and pressed the
meats of the melons into watermelon
cider, and boiling this down, they make
a splendid syrup. Out of 3,000 melons,
they made over 100 gallons, which sold
at 60 cents a gallon. The Cedartown
Standard says that the syrup is very
fine and predicts a great future for
watermelon syrup in the coming year.
The Citizens’ Reform League will
hold a public mass meeting in the G. A.
R. opera house, on Tuesday, October 5,
at 8 p. m. Music to inspire the occa¬
sion and addresses pn live subjects of
the day will be' given. Everybody
come. Com.
