Newspaper Page Text
The Fitzgerald Leader.
VOL. XVI.
Parcels Post
Opened Tuesday
Washington, Jan. 1.—Alljplans
have been completed for the open¬
ing, on January 3, of the initial
postal savings banks which will
put into effect the law passed at
the last session of congress. For
the present the only postal savings
bank in Georgia will be located in
Brunswick.
Following are the provisions of
law governing the new banks,
which form a distinct departure
for America and may lead to the
establishment of a central bank
for this country.
Under the terms of the act de¬
posits may be made by any person
of the age of 10 years or over,
and by a mairied woman. De¬
posits may be made by children
of the proper age in their own
name and free from any control
or interference by parents, and
the same is equally true in the
case of a married woman, whose
account shall be free from any
control or interference by her
husband.
The law expressly forbids any
person from having more than one
account in his or her right, and
any violation of the spirit of this
provision will subject the offender
or the transgressor to penalty.
Only the accounts of individuals
will be accepted by postmasters.
Corporations, societies and the
like will not be accepted as de¬
positors. The regulations are
mandatory and require the signa¬
ture of the individual to be left
with the postmaster at the time
the deposit is made, as well as on
its withdrawal.
CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT.
Certiiicates of deposit will be
issued in various denominations,
running from $1 to $100. They
will be issued in duplicate, the
original going to the depositor an
the duplicate to the files of the
depository. The duplicate must
bear the name of the epositor,
who is expected to carefully
scrutinize it before signing to see
that it is drawn tor the proper
amount.
At leas *1, or a arger amount
in multiples thereof, must be de-
posited before an account can be
opened, but no one m l be per-
mitted to deposit more than »100
in any one ca en ar raont . e
balance to he credit of any one
peison sia never e a owe to
excee eo , exc usive o accumu
ate interes .
. a ec , or , eposi s,
may e accumu
any peison may pure ase or
cents rom any eposi ory o ce a
posta savings car ow 1C1 nia Y
e a tac e specia y prepare
a esiva s amps, w ic ave een
especia y esigne or epurpose
and aie mown as pos a savings
stamps,” and when the stamps so
attoehed amount to *1, mcludmg
the 10-cent posta savings car ,
t e same may e presene as a
deposit or opening an accoun .
is permission as een grange
to encourage thri ar “ong e
poor and to teach sc oo c n ren
the habit of saving.
withdrawal of accounts.
When a depositor wishes to
withdravv any part of his account
he must persent certificates equal
to the sum he wishes to obtain,
and the surrendered certificates
.must have been indorsed on the
back and the signature must corres-
pond with that on the filed dupli-
■cate before the money will be paid.
Certificates are nou-negotiable and
non-transferable and are worthless
in the possession of any other
than their lawful owners.
While it is hoped that deposi-
tors with the postal savings
FITZGERALD, BFN HILL COUNTY, GEORGIA, JANUARY 4, 1911.
Dry Goods Stock
Damaged by Fire
The large stock of dry goods
clothing of J. A. Jones on
street narrowly escaped being
destroyed by tire Friday
by the timely appearance of
officer Osborne, who arrived
the scene in time to notify the
department before the flames
originated in the rear of the
no doubt from the heater,
much of a headway. As it
the stock suffered considerable
from smoke and water
a portion, the tire destroyed.
damage is covered by In¬
The store is now closed await¬
adjustment by the Fire In¬
Companies.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wimbish
returned to their home in
after spending some time
with the latter’s mother, Mrs. R.
A. Locke.
tem will belong to the savings class
who desire to leave their money
on deposit for long periods for
interest purposes, provision has
been made to accommodate those
who wish to withdraw a portion of
their account, so that interest will
be lost only on the amount with¬
drawn. As an illustration, a de¬
positor with a $100 certificate
issued on January 1 who wishes to
draw down $50 on July 1 would
surrender his $100 certificate and
receive in return $50 cash and a
new certificate for $50 antedated
to show that it had been drawing
interest from January 1.
CASES OF EMERGENCY
In T order . to provide . , for , cases of ,
emergency and to accommodate
s j c ^ or injured depositors, a sys-
teni ^as been provided whereby
withdrawals by proxy can be
ma( ] ej subject, of course, to most
careful regulations. Blanks will
b e furnished by postmasters which
wd | con t a j n complete instructions
Qn the subjecL
Interest lt the rate o( 2 ^
per aonum be aUowect on
deposits, but interest only begins
to rlm from the flrst business d >
of (he mont| so that d J
ma(Je >fter such , ime in one
month b in to draw in .
^ ^ the flrat day of the
succeed j n g month. In order
that the most simple minded raay
c ] ear | y understand the amount of
j nber ^ s t due them at the end of
one year or a gj v -en number of
years, a table has been printed on
0 f eac h certificate show-
ing in simple form the amount of
j nteres t that will accrue annually.
converting deposits into bonds
One of the most attractive fea-
tures t }, e svs tem 5 0 f which ad-
van t a g- es will betaken by many,
j s the privilege that will be grant-
ed depositors to conrert their
(andSj >fter they blve been 0 „
depos it a given time, into
ra ent bonds. These bonds will be
j ssuet } j n small denominations of
$20, $60, $80, $100, and a larger
denomination of $500, and will
b ear interest at the rate of 2J per
cent per annura> They will be
both registered and coupon bonds,
Postmasters will be supplied with
blank forms on which depositors
can make the necessary application
for bonds.
Depositors will be restricted in
their operations to one particular
office, where the oue account to
which they are entitled must be
kept. If for any reason they wish
to open an account at another
office in the same city they may
do so by closing out their account
at the first office and starting an
entirely new transaction in the
second office.
Mayor and Council Hold
First Meeting of Year 1911
Session Was Held Monday Night, When
Newly Elected Aldermen, D. P. Adams, Burr
Stokoe, C. A. Miller and L. C. Parnin
Took Oath of Office—D. P.
Adams Mayor Pro Tem.
The City Council held their regular meeting Monday night with
Mayor Drew W. Paulk presiding and the following named alderman
present, to-wit: Jolly, Dykes D. P. Adams, Garbutt, Duckworth,
Ware, White and Seanor.
This was the occasion of the installation of the newly elected
members of the council, accordingly the old council held a very brief
meeting, receiving the reports from Treasurer, Health Officer, Chief
of Police, and allowing the bills and pay rolls for December as audit¬
ed by the Finance Committee.
A short recess was taken after the adjournment of the 1910 Coun¬
cil and at 8:15 o’clock Mayor Paulk rapped for order, and proceeded
to administer the oath of office to the newly elected aldermen. The
following gentlemen took the oath: D. P. Adams, L. C. Parnin, C. A.
Miller, and Burr Stokoe. Other Aldermen for the year 1911 whose
terms have not yet expired are J. M. Adams, Jno. Seanor, Tom
White, R. L. Duckworth and D. B. Ware. All were present.
Next in order was the election of a Mayor Pro Tem. Alderman
J. M. Adams nominated Alderman D. P. Adams. The nomination
was seconded by Alderman White, and Mr. Adams was unanimously
elected.
City Clerk E. L. Hanger aunounced the following committees for
the year 1911, which were recommended by the Mayor, and upon the
motion of Alderman D. P. Adams they were adopted:
Purchasing Committee—Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Ware.
Finance Committee—Seanor, Miller, D. P. Adams.
Street and Alley Committee—Ware, D. P. Adams, Seanor.
Fire Committee—D. P. Adams, Seanor, J. M. Adams.
Printing Committee—Stokoe, White, Ware.
Judiciary Committee—Parnin, Soolroe, Duckworth.
License Committee—W'hite, Miller, J. M. Adams.
Sanitary Committee—Mayor, White, Ware.
Police Committee—Duckworth, White, J. M. Adams.
Committee on Public Buildings—J. M. Adams, Stokoe, Parnin.
Committee on Charity—Mayor, Parnin, Stokoe, Miller, D. P.
Adams.
Committee on Railroads and Corporations—Duckworth, J. M.
Adams, Parnin.
The application of Col. J. B. Wall for the office of-City Attorney,
to succeed Col. Clayton Jay, who did not apply for re-election, was
read by the Clerk and Col. Wall was unanimously chosen without op¬
position.
The City’s Police department received the attention of the Coun¬
cil and the police force for the current year were elected as follows:
Herman Smith was re-elected Chief of Police without opposition; G
R. Putman was re-appointed day policeman and upon the motion of
Alderman Seanor, who made the motion in view of Mr. Putman’s
efficient service, his salary was raised from $50.00 to $60.00 per
month; T. J. Baggett and O. E. Osborne were re-appointed without
opposition to fill the positions of night policemen.
W T hen the matter of the Fire Department was considered D. P.
Adams as chairman of the Fire Committee made the motion that the
Chief of the tire department be provided with an assistant at a
salary of $60.00 per month and that the Bremen be paid $55.00
per month, after service of six months, The motion was
carried. W. C. Wilkerson for re-election as chief of the lire
department was opposed by C. A. DeLang. An informal ballot
was taken and Wilkerson received seven votes and DeLang two.
Wilkerson was declared elected. The application of Milo McKee for
assistant chief was read and he was elected without opposition. For
the two positions of firemen there were six applicants, Homer Waters,
Bert Nicholson, Martin Winslow, Earl Thurston, Arthur Hultz, and
W. B. Goins, the informal ballot was taken and resulted in the
elcctjon , Waters and Nicho | son .
A corps of ladies representing the different ladies’ organizations
of the city were present to petition the .Mayor and Council not to
license near beer saloons in the city for the current year. Mrs. S.
M. Whichard addressed the body and read petitions signed by the
Benevolent Society, The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union,
Missionary Societies, and other organizations besides four hundred
business and professional men. At the conclusion of Mrs. Whi(.chard’s
talk, Alderman J. M. Adams spoke in sympathy of the movement to
abolish the near-beer traffic in Fitzgerald, and made
motion that the council refuse to license near-beer salooas. The
motion was seconded by Alderman Stokoe, and upon a yea and nay
! vote the result three in favor of the motion and six opposed,
was mo-
tion lost. After the vote, Mrs. Whitchard thanked those who voted
in favor of the motion, stating that they were not at all discouraged
by the defeat but would continue their fight and expected before the
close of the year to have the near-beer licenses revoked.
The only application for the position of City Clerk was that of
j Mr. E. L. Hanger for re-election. Mr. Hanger was unanimously
elected on the motion of Alderman D. P. Adams. In the matter of
I selecting the official bank for the City, the applications of the First
i National and The Exchange National Banks were read and discussed
^and tutions, the Council both banks voted paying to divide interest the City the Funds between basis. the two
on same
The Mayor mentioned the matter of a Street Commissioner,
New Officers Of
County For 1911
With the advent of the new
year the new county officers as¬
sume the responsibilities of the
offices for which the people have
them.
J. W. Norris is now wearing
the Sheriff’s badge, having suc-
W. H. Fountain who has
been Sheriff of Ben Hill County
for several terms and who was not
candidate for re-election. Mr.
Fountain has filled the office suc¬
cessfully and no doubt would have
received a large vote had he an¬
nounced for re-election. His suc¬
cessor, J. W. Norris, is a man
well known in this section and was
his that during the past year the Chief of Police had devoted part
time to this work, but that he was of the opinion that it would
be advisible for the Council to provide an officer, to look after the
streets of the city and relieve the Chief of this duty. Upon asking for
an expression of the Council’s opinion, Alderman Ware stated that
he favored the Mayor’s suggestion and made the motion that the
Council elect a Street Commissioner for the year 1911 and that he
be paid a salary of $60.00 per month, Alderman Seanor amended the
motion by making the compensation $50.00 per ra until. The motion
with the ameedment was carried. Applicants for the position were
C. C. Dozier and T. S. Waters and on taking an informal ballot Mr.
Dozier received six votes and Mr. Waters three. Mr. Dozier was de¬
clared elected.
A communication was received from M. S. Hopkins, sexton of
Evergreen Cemetery who requested the Council to raise his salary
from $45.00 to $60.00 per month; stating that the duties of sexton
have increased considerably since his election the first of last year.
Alderman J. M. Adams stated to the Council that Mr. Hopkins was
correct in regard to the increased duties at the Cemetery, and that he
thought $45.00 was not sufficient compensation for the work although
he did not favor a raise of $15.00 but thought a $5.00 raise-
would cover it thoroughly. Accordingly Alderman Adams
made the motion that Mr. Hopkins be re-elected at a salary of $50.00
per month. Motion carried. Alderman D. P. Adams moved that
Slay Peel be re-elected Janitor for the City Hall. Motion carried.
The matter of a Health Officer for the year 1911 having arisen
and the Clerk stating that there were no applications, Alderman Ware
made the motion that the same Health Officer, Dr. Osborne, be re¬
elected. Motion was carried, but Dr. Osborne being present declined
to accept the position unless some increase was made in the salary for
the next two months at least, owing to the fact that the duties during
that period will be greatly in excess of the other months of the year.
Alderman Ware moved that the salary for the Health Officer for the
months of January and February, 1911 be doubled making $100.00
for each month. Motion was carried.
Mr. Diemel was re-elected to the position of Scavenger, and in
this connection the matter of the City purchasing a span ef mules and
doing her own scavenger work was discussed, but on the motion of
Alderman Adams the Council voted to take no definite action until a,
later day. The purchase of a span of mules to be used on the street
sprinkler was also considered and the majority of the council seem to
be of the opinion that the City could greatly economize by owning a
sufficient number of mules to do the work which we are now paying-
others to do, and to build a City Barn for the housing of such stock
instead of boarding them at the Livery Stables. No definite action
was taken Monday night, but the likelehood is that this plan will be
carried out in the near future.
A communication was received from Mr. M. H. Plopper, request¬
ing the city to take some action relative to the burnt building next to
his residence on Altamaha street, stating that it is in a very unsub¬
stantial condition and endangers the safety of all who come near it.
Alderman J. M. Adams moved that the matter be referred to the
Chief of Police with instructions to investigate the matter with a view
to having ilie owner repair it and put it in a safe condition. Motion
carried.
A resolution signed by the Mayor and Council, resolving that the
Mayor and Council co-operate with Messrs Haygood and Cutts, At¬
torneys, in their efforts to obtain for this city and the other towns
along the route better passenger service on the branch line of railroad
operated between Ocilla and Abbeville via Fitzgerald by the Seaboard
Air Line Railroad. The inadequate service has been the source of
much complaint and the attorneys now have the matter up with the
Railroad Commission. The resolution was adopted as read, on the
motion of Alderman Seanor.
The council next devoted its attention to the applications of near
beer licenses. There were eight applications from parties desiring
to be licensed to retail near beer in the City during the current year,
Those who were granted
license to do a retail business and whose applications were each ac-
companied by a check for $1,000 were: Frank Hager, 207 E. Pine
street; Wiley Williams, 213 East Pine street; G. E. Davis, 224 East
Pine street; W. W. Murray, 300 East Pine street; and W. W. Murray,
308 East Pine street. G. W. Smith whose application for license to
do a wholesale business was accompanied by a check for $200.00 was
granted license. Application was also received from J. S. Goin, who
asks to be licensed to conduct a retail near beer business at 217 East
Pine street; and from T. W. Williams who desires to operate alike
business at 323 East Pine street, stating that the license fee of $1,000
would be furnished. Applications were tabled on the motion cf
Alderman D. P. Adams.
Ordinances No. 319 and 320 were given their first reading. After
the disposal of several other minor matters, Council adjourned at 10:30
on motion of Alderman J. M. Adams.
NO. 1.
formerly an engineer on the At¬
lanta Birmingham & Atlantic
Railroad. He has the highest re¬
gard for the majesty of the law
and will see that it is enforced.
As Tax Collector, Fred M.
Graham, the popular lumber deal¬
er, succeeds Willis L. Smith who
has rendered the county very effi¬
cient service for the past two terms.
There were four candidates for
the office of Tax Collector, and Mr.
Graham’s popularity was attested
in the County Primary when he
received a majority of votes over
his three opponents.
J. B. F. Dixon is Ben Hill’s
Tax Receiver for the year 1911
and was elected to succeed Earlie
Gibbs. Mr. Dixon is a native of
this section and it is the opinion of
his numerous friends that he will
prove a valuable man to the Coun¬
ty in the of Tax Receiver.