The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, March 09, 1923, Image 1

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THE LEE COUNTY JOURNAL VOLUME TWENTY-FIVE ' BBy W; R. ertu \ddress Delivered Before the Midwinter Press Meeting at Savannah, Such a profound impression was made by the address of W. R. Crites, gecretary of the Millen and Jenkins county Chamber of Commerce, before the Georgia Press Association, his sub ject being “Selling Georgia to Geor gians,” that spontaneous expressions, led by W. T. Anderson of the Macon Telegraph, were forthcoming that the address be made ' available to every newspaper in the state for publica.ion. " Mr. Crites stated that he was orig inally from Ohio, came South because the South attracted him, lived in North ... -Carolina for a time—which state he declared to be the leader of the South in progress today and likely to claim the title over Georgia if Georgia does not wake up, and that he claimed Geor gia now as his home and had done so because he had traveled all over tie ~ state, studied it, found its posibilities . and resources and was satisfied it has ‘the greatest potential future of any -~ state in the Union, " “Mr, Crites’ address in full is as fol lows: : *] -deeply appreciate the honor of being invited to speak to this organi zation on a subject that should be very near to all of us—the full development of the matchless resources, both min ° epral and agricultural, of our common state. AN “When I consider the caliber of the men I am to address, I approach the task with fear and trembling. That teeling of personal unworthiness be ':fiiomgs all the more poignant to me V. hen I recall that wonderful address, “The Spirit of the Service,” delivered 30’ eloguently by Royal Daniel on the - pecasion of one pf ' your meetings a year or so ago. I did not have the . privilege of hearing that address, but { did have the pleasure of reading it, and even in cold type without the fofce - and personality of the man behind it, It left an indellible imprint upon my mind. That address should become a glassic_in the annals of your asoscia tion, It is that ‘spiritof service” that { hope to enlist today. ~ “My pathway is not made easier by ' the thought of the scintillating wit and clever satire of Mr. Sutlive. Of him | believe we can all say in true Bill Biffem phraseology. = .- wA guy we like is old Bill Sutlive, ‘Who always wants to live and let P live.’” ] ~ “He has been weighed in the balance ot your association and has not been 1 " gound wanting. . You have honored‘ -bim and he has measured up to the - .ptandards of his calling. As we think of him today I feel that you will all. join me in that old Jefférsonian Rip -Van. Winkle toast to his life and abil- | b ity—“May_ you live long and prosper.” 4 “Again there is W. L. Sullivan, who so eloquently expounded the gospel .of Burke. He has a brain that functions g 0 vigorously that it> becomes over beated to such an extent that he is. unable to wear a hat even in the cold est weather. His work is consistent and he is a power for good in his com _ counity, . . . “It is quité possible that I am par tial to Mr. Sullivan. At a time when I was acting in the capacity of the amateur. editor, he honored me on zeveral occasions by copying some of my editorials. T «I have also learned through a cer tain’ sleeping car. episode " that the genus homo of the editorial sanctum is fearfully “atid “wonderfully -made. ghades of Hamlet and the immortal white robéd Knights:of the Ky Klux Klan, I.call upon you to witness! You ask for an explanation and I answer with. the question, “Has any one of you ever seen Jack Williams enrobed in the wraith:like Habiliments “ofa: long, white night shirt, crawling laborjously . into.- the- upper ‘berth’ "ot a sleeping car?’ If you have not, * then the- gods - have- indeed been. unkind. If - you have, "there is no-need of explanation. I leave it to your vivid imaginations. You may at least catalogue-it in your minds as an unique ,experience. - «Rut this by no means completes the list. A constant study of your edito rial page discloses genius throughout your entire membership. There is the constructive thinking Neal, the my . riad-minded- Bickers; Stovall, the diplo mat, the vitriolic Anderson, the pro tound Howell, the logic of Cohen, the sasy -style of Kirkpatrick, the creative ¢amps, the methodical Comfort, the "Wy 5100 of Brumby, the good fellowship and ability* of that splendid example. . of Georgia womanhood, Miss Wood ward, and all the. rest. -“There is no slight in omission. To do all justice I would have to recite the entire roster of your association, “When 1 think of the power that is yours to wield, is it any wonder that I feel bowed under the weight of medi ocrity as I approach the task of en deavoring to have you consecrate your lives and abilities to the education of our people along constructive lines, In your field of endeavor you have a wonderful opportunity, and, here, to day, I invoke the ‘spirit of service, and bespeak your most earnest co-op eration in the serious work that musc be done before we can rise to the heights of statehood that we have a right to attain, “With the intense state pride and love of tradition that fills the heart of the average Georgian it would al most seem that ‘Selling Georgia to Georgians’ is more or less of an emply phrase, but to those who have made a careful study of the resources that God has so manifestly blessed us with, and of the psychology of our people, we see before us a Brobdingnagian task. “In the selling of Georgia to Geor gians we are confronted with the ne cessity of overcoming the thoughts and habits of a cemtury. For years the trend of written thought and ora torical effort has been filled with the pleasing idioms of chivalric speech to the extent that there has been foster ed a complacent and self-satisfied at titude toward life. There has been built up a belief that we have reached ¢he ultima thule of all human progress and that the day of making -traditions is over, when as a matter of fact we have only been marking time, and along some lines have even been retrograding. While out oratorical lips have dripped honeyed compli ments to the glory of Georgia man hood and womanhood, we have allow ed ourselves to drop to the disgrace fully low point of forty-fourth in mat ters of education; while we have been writing lavender scented : tomes on crinolined dame and gallant squire the soul of the thinker has writhed in agony as he saw our mineral resour ces being shipped away to be manu factured into finished materials by other states; while we prated with a justifiable pride .of traditions other divisions of our country have been making great strides in manufacture through development of their water power, and our streams still run un harnessed to the sea; and while we bave indulged in countless . dreamy siestas, we have seen our farmers shackled with seemingly unbreakable bonds to a cross of cotton and the in iquitous systems of farming and cred its that have grown up around that commodity. : ‘ “In addition to this our hearts can not help but be saddened by the thought that we have failed to herald to the world the virtues of our people and the glories of our possessions. As a result we feel the scorching sting of criticism in the oft-repeated state ‘ment that we live in a land of ‘moon shine, lynching and illiteracy,” instead | of an Eden:of opportunity, awamng‘ the ‘magic alchemy -of the forge and the retort of the manufacturer and the scientific’ development of agricul ture to transform it into a golden blaze of wealth. ‘ “Oh! Member of the Georgia Press Association! . I hope that I can bring to you a vision of the Georgia that is to be—a Georgia of highly educated men and women, a Georgia of indus trial activity with splendid cities filled with busy factories, and a Georgia of a happy and prosperous -countryside established upon the solid foundation of a sane system of farming and mar keting. If I can bring to you that picture. and can enlist the concerted power of the institutions you repre sent, in five years there will be a new and greater state rising Phoenix-like from the ashes of the old. “A salesman, to be successful, must tirst sell himself. Perhaps.we have not realized the extent of the natural blessings that we have beem endowed with, and it may be necessary in or der ‘to -catch the inspiration ‘to famil iarize ourselves with the resources of 'our state and in this way-arrive at own conclusions. % o * Mineral Resources, it “On ‘the" authority of the eminent Dr. 8. W. McCallie, state geologist, we find Georgia rich in miheral resources lbeyond computation,© In state docu 'ments he informs us that our geolog 'l'ical formation accounts for an unusual diversity of minerals, whioh for com mercial-purposes cover a range not to be exceeded by any geographical di vision of the same area in the world. “This* mineral belt extends entirely 'across the state with its southern boundary running from near Waynes boro to Columbus.. It can be divided into two sections—the Piedmont pla teau and the mountain region. Al that vast stretch of territory is rich in marble, granite, slate, iron, coal, bauxite, asbestos, copper, gold, ochre, corundum and talc. While the extreme northern section has not been fully explored it is known to contain im mense _deposits of mineral wealth, Leeshurg. Lee County Ga., Friday MARCH 9, 1923 “In addition to these most impor tant minerals there is a miscellaneous production that must not be overlook ed. In this we find barytes, cements, soapstone, Fuller's earth, marls and graphites, Manganese is found in the same section® as some of the iron ores, while mica is distributed through out the Pledmont plateau, In the mat ter of ochre Georgia produces half of the output of the United States. KEven precious stones are found in variety. There has been no systematic attempt at mining along these lines, but acci dental finds include diamonds, rubles, amethysts; rose quartz, rutilated quartz, smoky quartz, agate, jaspers, opals, beryls, garnets and moonstones. “The marble deposits are so exten sive that it has been estimated that all the monumental land marks of the world could. be reproduced from them without serious diminution, The same is true of granite, but with all this the Georgia state capitol building was not built of Georgia materials. “In the famed Pittsburg district iron ore has to be transported by water and rail from the mines in the far off Lake Superior region to coal. In Geor gia these two minerals are found lying side by side, together with all the fluxing and purifying ores necessary in the making of steel. T'he opal is of the highest heating value and for cooking purposes cannot be excelled. “Bauxite, the basic material of alum [num, is found in Polk, Bartow, Chat tooga, Walker and Wilkinson counties, but practically the entire production is shipped to New York and Pennsyl vania and not a pound of it is being manufactured in Georgia. “Practically all of the asbestos in the United States is found in Georgia, only one other state having -shown a deposit. This ore is found chiefly in the Piedmont plateau. New uses are being discovered for it every day, but in spite of this demand it is being shipped away to be made into finish ed materials elsewhere. “Some years ago I happened to be in one ¢f the small cities in this min eral bpelt. They were boasting of shipping more iron ore than amy other section of the state; but their sky was unsmudged by smoke of smelter and retort and.-their slumbers were un breken by rumble and roar of fur naces and mills, In their pride of shipping the greatest amount of ore they. were overlooking the greater wealth of conversion from a ram to a finished product. A few days later in another ¢ity I saw displayed fifteen different minerals, ranging from three | kinds of iron ore, coal, lime, bauxite, | asbestos and on down to gold quartz,‘ but the rolling smokxe and belching | tire of industry was not there. ‘ “I say in all due seriousness that had the mineral wealth of Georgia been properly developed there would be today, somewhere within a circle drawn around the cities of Rome,‘ Cartersville and Cedartown, a city as large -as Pittsburg, teeming with in-‘ dustrial activity and contributing to: the wealth and glory of the state. 1 “But this does not complete the story. - In the northern section of the coastal plain, which extends from the coast to what is known as the ‘fall line,” there is sufficient clay and ka olin to supply the combined potteries of the world. While the vale of these deposits does not seem to have been properly appreciated by the Georgian, we find their. value recognized as early as 17565 by Sir Joshua Wedge ‘wood, a noted manufacturer of a ware by that name. He wrote a letter in iregard to the possibilities of pottery ‘manufacture in Georgia, and stated )that we had materials that were equal if not superior to the English clays. At that time he expressed the fear that we would cut into his trade. Near ly two centuries have passed and nothing has been done to make his dreams come true. We have, pof course, been. shipping clays away for manufacture, but nothing of any ac count has developed in the way of tlay working. plans. ~ “During the past few months the Central of Georgia Railway has been making great strides toward the prop er; development of this wealth. They deserve the congratulations of the en tire state for the meritorious work they are doing. They have the means and .the vision and their- efforts will go a long ways foward establishing a valuable industry. . "Lumber Shipped North ' “What is true of mineral is equally the case with lumber. Practically all of our lumber, and especially the hard woods, is shipped to Northern factories while there are a few furniture fac tories and the like. The bulk of our purchases are ‘made north of the Mason-Dixon line. “Think of the constant drain upon our financial system by this incessant purchase away from home of goods that should be manufactured within our~own horders and from our own raw materials. Not only this, but there is the further enormous loss of in vestment ‘and absence of pay rolls. The development of intensive manu facture would double the population within a few years, Great cities would rise like magic from the waste, bring ing new blood, skilled hands and thoughtful minds, “Just the other day a man who still carried a spark of bitterness in “his soul referred to our feeble attempt at diversified farming as ‘feeding the d--~-d ‘Yankees." Gentlemen of the Georgia Press Association, it is with in your power, and it is your duty, to instill into the minds of the people who are constantly purchasing away from home, and to the infestors of the state, that they are doing more to accomplish that result by lack of development of our mineral resources and manufacture than in any other way. While there is a gradually in creasing interest in investments of that kind the process of evolution is painfully slow. It is coming, and with your help, Georgia can soon be made to enter her greatest period of de velopment. With the starting of fur nace and mill, new ambitions will clutch at our hearts and fresh tra ditions will mark the way to the goal of a greater state. Agricultural Possibilities “In the agricultural phase of our development we find equally chaotic conditions. For years our whole finan cial system has been based upon the raising of one crop—cotton, Every resource has been placed at the ‘com mand of that one commodity and as a result the South has been bending under the weight of a mortgage for the past half century. When the land poor planter attempted to resume eco nomic existence after the War Be tween the States he had to borrow money to live on until he could pro duce something. The first remote source of credit was the banks in the North, which loaned to the Southern bank only upon the assurance that the money would be used for the grow ing cotton and nothing else, and ‘that the security could be the next crop. The Southern banker loaned to the ‘Jocal merchant on the same stipula tion, and the merchant gape credit to the farmer only upon a promise to raise cotton. In this way the farm er owed the merchant the entire value of the crop even before it was plant ed. It had to be sold as soon as picked in order to satisfy the mer chant, who had to pay his loan to the Southern banker, who in turn -had to pay the Northern banker—with in terest charges all along the line. ‘When this vicious circle was complet ed it ‘was time to begin all over again, and so on ad nauseum. 4 “In this way an iniquitous system has been built up, The farmer was not only forced, into a rut but the credit system has eaten like a cancer at the heart of all the South. | . “With these things blocking the way the farmer was forced to follow that one line of agricultural effort to the exclusion of all others, not even raising food for his own family or forage for his stock. The continual raising of one crop without any rota tion has caused a deterioration in the quality of the soil, and with the fluc tuation of value brought about by spec ulative marketing the farmer has Leen steadily going backward. “Within the past few years two things have arisen that” have brought about great changes. The war taught the value of food products and the advent of the holl weevil has necessi tated the turning from a one crop sys tem to a diversified agriculture. As the sunlight of smiles shines through the tear drops of grief, out of these two great calamities, with the help that the newspapers can give through a firm editorial policy, there will rise a greater state, a better system of finance and a happier, and more pros perous people. “When we come before you plead ing the cause of our state, I want to say that the most ardent supporter of diversified farming does not advocate the abandonment of cotton, buti he does insist that it no longer remain a ‘monopoly and that it be given no greater acreage than can be properly taken care of under boll weevil con ditions. There must be in addition to cotton food stuffs for home consump tion and for market and the develop iment of a hetter grade of stock, leav ing cotton as a clean surplus, and ‘bringing in money in mid-season at a time when it is needed. In this way \it will be made possible to finance the year’s effort without borrowing and without resorting to an expensive and suicidal credit plan. “As a basis for our campaign of education we must start with the pro ducer himself. So far the raising of food products for market has not been altogether satisfactory, and the reason for this condition is mainly with the farmer himself. He has steadfastly refused to recognize the rights of the consumer and submit to a proper grad ing of his products. As a result the Georgia commodities save been pen slized on the markets, To {llustrate this to your complete satisfaction I would say that a visgit to practically Continued on page 3 Party Next - Friday Night Don’t you think a kiddie Party would be fine, Just the kiddie grown.ups All standing in a line? The Loys, perhaps in overalls, Or rompers, as they please; ‘The girls in furbelows and fulls, ~ Or just a cute che¢mise. We’ll hop and dance and jump, And around the level go. With childish glee, and cupid’s bow, In gowns in ealico. Won’t each of you join the rest of us With many, many stars, ‘ Next Friday night at half past{ seven? ‘ And bring your pa’s and ma’sl We’ll dance and sing with part ners. Ane then go home with merry heéarts, And pockets full of candy. | Card of Thanks We wish to express our heart felt thanks and gratitude to all our friends of this community and elsewhere for their liberal! help, contribntions and donationsl to us since the loss of our. home and contents, on Feburary 18th, by fire. We want to thank every one for all that they have done and hereby show our appreciation for every article, garment and cash that was given for our support and comfort, Rev. & Mrs. J. K. Daniel and family. R. H. FORRESTER, Agent NEW YORK LIFE INSURANGE GOO, ASSETS $952.632,139.00 - - Protect Your Family WITH A GOOD INSURANCE POLICY. ; 0. . Who Is Depositing Your Money Are you spending all of your money? If you are, the other fellow is Depositing it. Statistics show by actual observation that six out of every seyven persons in the United States are dependent on relatives or charity for support at the age of sixty-five. Will you be one of the six dependent ones, or will ycu be the seyenth who is independent and comfortable in old agel: - It 18 your right and privilege to live ecomfortable, but in this great land of opportunity, any one who has any degree of thrift and industry can live comforiable and still have something left to lay up for old age and a rainy day. The best way is to lay aside something regularly and systematically by depositing itin a good safe, sound bank, like ours, where it will accumulate. LET US HELP YOU. : BANK OF LEESBURG, G A NEsBIT, PRESIDENT O.W.STATHAM, VICE-PRESIDENT craE s e THARP,JCASHIER, : . . Smithville Sunday School News Smithville, Ga. Mar. 4.—The attendance of the Sunday School Jlast Sunday was very good. There was on an average of 45 that attended Sunday School Sunday. There were two honor classes Miss Opal Vicus, class No. 3, 100 per cent. Mrs. C. R. Malone, class No. 4, 100 per cent, Mr. Muller Calloway and Em mett Godwin will act as officers on March 11th. There was a new pupil added to the Sunday schoc! roll, Miss Bertha Miller, she having joined class No. 4, Mrs. C. R. Malone, teacher. There were three visitors, Mrs. H. C. Hautman, Mrs. C: C. Ansley and Mr Foy Mainor. PUBLIC SALES We have purchased 122,000 pair U. S. Army Munson last shoes, sizes 5 1-2 to 12 which was the entire sur plus stock of one of the largest U. S. government shoe contractors. This. shoe is guaranteed one hundred percent solid leather, colol' dark tan, bellows tongue, dirt and waterproof. The actual value of this shoe in $6.00 Owing to this tremendous buy we can offer same to the public at $2.95. Send correct size. Pay postman on delivery or send money order. If shoes are not as represented we will cheerfully refund your money prompt ly upon request. : s National Bay State Shoe Company NATIONAL BAY STREET SHOE COMPANY 296 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Number 8