Newspaper Page Text
I
SECOND SECTION
The Atlanta Georgian.
(SECOND SECTION
VOL. 1. NO. 134.
ATLANTA, GA., SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29,1906.
Atlanta TWO CENTS.
MAYOR-ELECT
jj Scenes and Incidents From His Home Life. % ((f* A ^
j; Interesting Family of Atlanta’s Next Mayor, ij 1 1 11 .It
Clio
, JOYlTCR-c^
X only grand- >
Y\ daughter of
)/ ATLANTA'S ,
/V M AYO R-EL ECT, /
CAP” JOYNERS I-NTERESmG
T'_A_r-IIX J ‘Y —.
STANDING - RICHARD W„ RALPH. HARRYS.
- . . AND W.R.JA. 1
SITTING - MRS RICHARD JOYNER, W A JOYNER.
HOLDING HIS GRAND-DAUGHTER CUO
S- —^ MRS. W.R. JOYNER J
yUl You Sore ^
\\ / CAUGNTffiE
/ l this 'time
J Boys >
AND HER ,
diminutive 1
Jp NURSE a
HELLO
CAP i
Ho
CROPS,
By EDWIN CAMP.
T O begin where all stories should
begin, his name Is Walthal Rob
ertson Joyner. To at least 149,990
of Atlanta’s 150,000 beauty and chival
ry this story will for the flrst time tell
the real name of their next mayor. He
haa for 45 years signed his name "W.
R. Joyner” and has been known as
"Cap." And so it will continue for
matty years to come. "Your honor, Mr.
Mayor," will hardly supplant the "Cap.”
To resume, Walthal Robertson Joy
ner, now entering on his twenty-sec
ond yearns chief of Atlanta's paid Are
department, will In a short time re
sign and leave headquarters to enter
upon what has always been to him the
ambition of his life—the mayoralty of
his city. His desire for public life
"extends no further than this, he
achieved it without undergoing first
the disappointment of defeat, and now
he la about to become the flrst cltlxen
•of Atlanta.
As such, the public is Interested In
the personal Walthal Robertson Joy
ner and his family. For 20 years he
has to most citizens been a mere vision
In a red wagon skidding and carom
ing through the streets at a 2:10 gait,
to the glamorous clangor of a brazen
gong, v
. The Other Sunday a trio of newspa
per men, chaperoning Artist Brawer-
ton anA Photographer Nelson, made a
little informal visit up to Falrohks, the
summer home of Chief Joyner's fam
ily. It can hardly be called Ahlef Joy-
ner*s home. He Just drops up for a
few hours Sundays during the sum
mer.
The newspaper men went with the
' avowed Intention of getting a story and
• pictures: 'neath the glim dttermlnatl.jp
written OTer their feature* lurked a
foretaste of a gigantic, a Titanic, a
mastodonlc dish of fried chicken. Tho
cuisine at Fatroaks Is famed far and
wide.
Both story and chicken were got.
NOT MAYOR-ELECT JOYNER,
BUT FARMER JOYNER, B'GOSH.
As the newspaper men left the trolley
car two miles this side of Marietta and
executed a hike up the road about a
quarter of a country mile, they saw
In the distance, not Chief Joyner nor
Mayor-elect Joyner, but Farmer Joy
ner, of Cobb county, b'gosh. A won
drous hat, the major portion of whose
sweeping brim had been chewed off
by the late lamented Yaarab, and
pair of overalls that looked as though
they had seen active service In the
corn fields, lent the rustic touch to'the
three-times president of the Interna
tional Association of Fire Chiefs, and
as the newspaper men-shouted, "Hey,
Rube,” he smiled guiltily,
Fnlroaks Is the name of Chief Joy
ner's summer home and farm. It’s two
hundred-odd acres make one of the
prettiest places In the state. The poet
In the party said that the little cot'
tage was a pearl set In a sea of enter
aid, though he didn't explain why a
sea should have a setting.
Up at Falroaks on this Sunday were
the entire Joyner family—Mrs. Joyner,
the mater famlllas; four sons, Richard,
"Little Cap,” Harry and Ralph; Mra.
Richard Joyner, and laat and least yet
greatest, the little grand-daughter.
Clio, age six months.
This was the story secured:
Walthal Robertson Joyner was born
June 30, 1854, from which It may be
computed that he Is still a young man.
HI* father waa Richard W. Joyner, who
In 1852 hunt five miles from Marietta
on the Ponder Springs road what waa
known a* the "white house,” because
of its Impressive architecture and Its
color. The house has now fallen sadly
Into disrepair, but the beauty of Its
lines remain. The property on which
It stands Is now owned by Slate Su
preme Court Justice Samuel C. At
kinson. The house Is occupied by J.
D. Polsston, a farmer.
HAS LIVED IN ATLANTA
SINCE OUTBREAK OF WAR,
In 1861, Just before the outbreak of
the civil war, the Joyner family moved
to Atlanta, young Walthal Robertson
being then 7 year* of age. He has
lived In this city ever since.
His father opened a drug store at the
corner of the railroad and Peachtree
street, at the place now occupied by
Plnkusaohn'a cigar store. The old Na
tional Hotel, of profound memory, was
at the corner and Mr. Joyner's drug
store occupied a part of the ground
door. When Sherman marched through
the drug store was hauled out-lnto the
middle of the street and was burned.
When he moved to Atlanta Mr. Joy
ner purchased two acres of land on
Peters street, and started the build
ing of a house which was finished Just
In time to be made the headquarters
of G meral Sherman while In Atlanta.
General Sherman occupied the parlor
of the home and shortly before trouble
came he Informed Mrs. Joyner that he
feared a fight and urged her to leave
the city. He put aoldlere at her dispo
sition and the household furniture was
packed up and the family "refugeed"
to Cuthbert. They lived In the freight
car carrying their goods and were three
days on the road to Cuthbert. They
remained In Cuthbert till the surren
der, and then returned to Atlanta In
1867. after spending a year In Macon.
Joyner street of this city Is named
for Chief Joyner's father.
The flrst Job young Walthal Robert
son Joyner secured was in a newspa
per office. It has been a frequent re
mark among newspaper men that
reporter ever went to the fire chief and
was tumd flown. He haa a 1 ways been
willing to give Information insofa
hla fluty woaltl allow—an example
which other* in pabllc office do not
nlways follow. Th» average servant
of the people ecems to think that the
tall wage the dog and that the public
has no right to know Us own business.
Maybe Chief Joyner got his tip from
hi* newspaper experience, even If that
was confined to a few months In the
position of office boy on the Atlanta
New Kra, a "radical” sheet, edited by
gamut 1 Bard, who afterwards gol to bo
postmaster of Atlanta. The Repub
licanism of the paper made It rather
celver. He wound up the business May
1, 1878.
Then began hi* official connecilon
with til* city government, which 1ms
never since been severed. In July,
1879, he was elected deputy city mar
shul. Two years later he was electd
city marshal and held the office fw
terms.
In 1871 he had entered the volunteer
fire department, being a member of
hook and ladder No. 1 for twelve years.
For eight years lie was foreman of the
company and In 1877 and 1878 was chief
of the volunteer department. He was
22 years old when first elected chief,
and Immediately became member of
the Fire Chiefs' Association, being the
youngest member that organization has
ever had. Because of his ability In fire
fighting, Marshal Joyner was Ip 1883
„ ----- -- elected chief of the paid fire depart-
unpopular and pretty soon young Joy- , ment, which was organized In 81, hut
ncr left to carry bundles for w. F. declined it, refusing to qualify for the
Peck & Co., dry goods merchants at 7
Peachtree street, where the Peters
buiidlng now stands.
For eight years young Joyner was
with Mr. Peck. A short time after his
going with the firm, John H. James
built Atlanta’s flrst sky-scraper, a six,
story structure at the corner of White,
hall and Hunter streets on the land
now occupied by the J. M. High build
ing. This was leased by the Peck-
DeSaulIes Co., Mr. Peck having taken
in a partner Into his business. From
carrying bundles young Joyner rapidly
moved up the scale and he sold the
flrst piece of dry goods ever handled
nt the Whltehnll-Hunter street cor
ner, now the center of Atlanta's shop'
ping district. It was a calico dress.
HOPPING THE COUNTER
PROVED TOO IRKSOME.
Hopping the counter proved Irksome
to young Joyner and at the end of his
eighth year he left Peck and went on
the road for W. H. Patterson ft Co.,
wholesale milliners. The senior mem-'
her Of that Arm Is the present council
man from the Eighth ward. Fo> eigh
teen months Joyner was on the road,
traveling Georgia, South Carolina and
Alabama, at the end of which time he
left and went with Jerry Lynch, the tai
lor. After two year* with Lynch, he
went with C. W. Brunner ft Co., mer
chants, who came from Savannah.
In a short time, the Brunner Com
pany failed and Joyner was made re
position before the mayor.
BECAME PAID FIRE CHIEF
TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO.
Two years laterj however. In 1885,
he made the race for chief and waa
elected. He has held the position ever
since.
Now here Is where one may apply
mathematics to the work ot Chief Joy
ner has done.
When he took charge of the Atlantn
Are department there was a pink slip
pasted on every fire Insurance policy
written here. That pink slip stated
that owing to the Inefficiency of the lire
department there was a 16 per centum
Increase In the premium.
Six months later that pink slip wan
gore, anil It haa never reappeared here.
Twelve months later, there wo* In
augurated a general reduction of 10 per
cent In all fire Insurance premiums.
Twenty-four months later another
reduction of 10 per cent was effected.
Atlanta's fire Insurance rates are
now as low as can be expected.
Although he has always attended
pretty strictly to his Own buslnes of
fire bhlef, the mayor-elect haa always
been at the forefront of any movement
for the advancement or welfare of At
lanta. He haa always been one of the
leaders of the Atlanta fairs and last
year was president of the association.
It was one of the few Atlanta fairs Oiat
have made money.
By the organisation of the firemen’s
drum corps, he has advertised Atlanta
effectively in many parts of the union.
And It hes been the sort of advertising
that bus helped.
Home criticism was slung at him
(luring ills recent campaign fur the
mayoralty because of his connection
with the Atlanta Baseball Association, i
There nre two reasons why he became
president of the Atlanta Bascbufi As- ’
sat iation. One was that he has al- :
ways been a lover of outdoor sports.,
nnd has done all he could to promote
them. Tae other was that he believed,
as do hundreds of others, that a good :
professional baseball team, up at the:
top of the ladder, it the best adver-|
tlsemcnt a town can have. He with I
other* bought the Atlanta baseball'
franchise from Abner Powell, of New i
Orleans, In order that the club might
be owned by Atlantan*. They have
spent money In effort to put the team -
nt the top nnd have succeeded mighty I
well, ulthough they hove not yet won a :
pennant.
HIS HIGHEST REPUTATION
IS IN HIS OWN CALLING.
Even if the old adage about the:
prophet, hi* honor and his own coun
try can not be applied to Chief Joy- i
ner nnd the esteem In which he Is held
by Atlantans, It Is true that his high
est reputation Is among men of his
own calling. Among the Are chiefs of
the world he stands at the very top.
He has achieved honors among them
that have been given no other man.
He has top three term^t been president
of the International Association of Fire
Chiefs. No cither man has ever served
more than two terms.
On the authority of Hon. Clark How
ell, It may be stated fhat Chief Joyner
Is the only Georgian who has ever
been honored with the presidency of an
International association or convention.
Mr. Howell hns looked It up and feels
certain that he Is right about It.
Chief Joyner has been a member of
the association for twenty-nine years
and, ae raid In the foregoing, hotda the
distinction of having been the youngest
member.
In 1887 he was first elected president.
1805 was re-elect
ventlon at Duluth he declined renoml-
natlon.
There Is an Interesting story con
nected with his election In 1804. The
convention was held at Atlantic City,
and there were four avowed canflldztes
for the presidency. Edward Croker,
chief of the New York city department,
was seeking re-election, and Chief Can -
terbery, of Minneapolis; Chief Humph-
Continued on Next Pag*.