Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

OTCIAL NUMBER Over Six Millions and a Half of Construction, Work Now Under Way in the City of Augusta Magnificent Work Being Done On Levee By Contractors A. J. Twiggs & Son A New Era Begun in Building the New and Greater Augusta In August, IMS. Augusta was visited by the most devastating freshet in the city's 111 story Vy which the flood d strict was submerged, houses were wrecked, and about twenty-five lives were lost. The Augusta Canal, which furnishes the power to drive the numerous indus tries of the city, was wrecked from end to end. liv having Its embankments de stroyed, thereby throwing out of employ ment six tnotisand lulo-jng peop'e. Three months were consumed n repairing the damage to the onnnl. hut the loss of time' and the consequent suffering In flicted Upon the working population was Immense. The levee to prevent the recurrence of this terrible disaster was the direct out come of the freshet of 1908. A bill was passed by the Georgia leg islature, authorizing the cty to Issue bonds for the construction of the work. An election was held and the citizens voted for an Issued of $1,250,00 to cover Augusta a City of Beautiful and Historic Churches; Church Growth in Augusta Steady and Continuous Tlio most valuable «>f any community is its churches. The best towns ami cities are noted tor their progressive churches. Sections ot the country where church life is low show little progress. Business men Know this and placing them on the lowest and most selfish basis, are, as u rule, willing to assist them in their work. The churches through their missionaries have been the pioneers of progress, and not com merce. As a moral force they are admittedly tin* leaders. Out of them the spirit of modern reform has come: and to them society looks for a settlement of her most difficult problems. Tlie ehumhes ot Augusta are her most valuable asset, and he It said to their credit, they have not lagged behind in their efforts to keep parr with the spirit of progress so evident in our city. Augusta has long boasted of historic churches. Dating back to the days of the (Voider old Saint Paul’s Episcopal church stands at the head of navigation on the Sav mnah river with a splendid record of service. Recently the church building was modernized by a Sunday school annex and parish house. The im provements add much to the attractive ness and efficiency of the church in ac tion. The church is well organized and under the leadership of llev. (». Sher wood Whitney, rector, is keeping abreast of the times. Next to Ht. Paul’s in years, is St. John's Methodist church. This organi zation dates hack to 17BS. The church was organized *in the home of Ebenezer Doughty. The first building was lo cated where the handsome edifice now stands.' The house was 4ft Tat. a two story wooden affair, and built at con siderable sacrifice on the part of the members of the church. The church has had many distinguished preachers and has stood in the front ranks of progress. The First Presb'terian and the Fi st Baptist churches arc noted for the par 1 they played in the sixties when fraternal strife divided the sections. The Pres byterians of the South organized their Southern assembly at the First Presby terian church. The Baptists of the South met at the First Bantist church and organized tin* Southern Baptist con vention. These churches are known and loved ail over the Southland for the part they-.placed in giving birth to these great organizations whose power has been felt around the world. It is not generally thought of. but the churches of the city have been far in advance of other Interests. Years ago the churches huilt houses of worship that wPI do splendid credit to Augusta when she has three or four times her popula tion. One of the handsomest church buildings in the South is that of the Church of the Sacred Heart, corner of Greene and Mclvinne streets, while St. John’s and St. James’ Methodist, the First Presbyterian, the First Baptist and the First Christian churches own and worship in buildings far in advance of our skvsempers. It speaks we’l for tile wisdom of pastors and laymen of the last generation that they built for a tlreater Augusta. Most of the suburban churches have excellent houses. Some of the these date back several-years, others are of recent date. Tile Second Baptist has just about finished payment of the debt hanging over one of the prettiest little church homes In town. The Woodlawn Metho dist church has now ill course of con struction a munificent building on 15th streit. The Woodlawn Baptist church lias raised a sum In cash and subscrip tions ter a modern church building on Oliafee avenue. Other suburban church es have enlarged an dimprovod tlielr houses of worship at considerable ex pense. One Is frequently reminded of the wickedness of the citv, and the failure of the churches to develop a spiritually minded people. The people are not all that could be desired but they have made great strides toward a better life. George G. Smith, In his "A Hundred Years of Methodism” tells us of the times follow, lug the Revolution and the Independence of the Colonies In speaking of Augus ta he says: "There was 'lttle disposi tion for any class to listen to the de spised • Methodists who had no kind of compromise to make with the world. It was n time of great ea'etv The voting women who had. during the Revolution, been debarred from the ma-kets of France and the e'eganries of fashion, were now enjovlng their liberty to buy pretty things to the full. The men never met without passing the decanter, and to spend the night in revll-y and the day In the court house practicing law. was the usual course of the attorneys. The young dudes were now wearing suspenders and French pantaloons, and with their rich red waistcoats and their blue swallow tailed coats, with their brass buttons, they and their carefully lied cues, their shoe buckles and their ‘all, slick heaver bau. Uiuy ware picturesque objects. Cards the cost of the work, together with the cost of two hospitals for the Medical Branch of the University of Georgia and the enlargement of the city's water works. A second election was held and a sec ond bond issue was authorized, making a total of $2,000,000 of bonds that have been issued for the purposes specified. Two Millions Expended. Tlie work was let by contract and the fiyin of A. .1. Twiggs & Ron were found to be the successful bidders. They pur chased 40 acres of land from the Alex ander estate at what Is known as War ren Heights for the purpose of furnisn lug the material for constructing the levee. The place is very conveniently located, being just wheve active operations be gan, on the t anks of Lake Olms ead, near to the canal. There is there an al most inexhaustible supply of the finest material known for such a purpose, it were as common as wine, and both were found everywhere when wealth and fash ion met.” Thus it will be seen that the churches of Augusta have developed higher stand arils of morals. The best people of Au gusta are found In the. churches, and of recent years the spirit ot reform has taken deeper root in every church or ganization. The most splendid Work ot the church es in Augusta is seen in their effort to reac h the people. beading in the work ot social service are the Methodists. Several years ago they opened what Is known as the King Mill Settlement Home in Greggtown. near the King Mills. This institution is reaching the people of that community as the church es could never hope to do outside the or ganization. They take the people who need them from the cradle to the grave. Already a number of strong young men and women point to the mission as the organizer and developer of their better manhood. The Boys' Home is another institution reflecting credit on t lie churches in our midst. This is under the auspices of the Episcopal church, and is in a thriving condition. The young est ot our settlement experiments is the Settlement Home, with Miss Daisy Cum mlng, an expert social worker at Its head. The home is located nekr the Sib ley Mills and fostered by the Baptist churches of the city. It. is in these homes where the least of His children are served that the churches of Augusta are laying tlie foundation for a finer hu manity. It is a blunder to try to reach the masses through any organizations other than the churches. In all ages they have defended the poor and the helpless. In all the wide world they have done more to elevate mankind than any other organization. The churches, when led by faithful pastors, come in direct touch with the masses. The churches of our city are deeply Interested in the problems confronting the poor. They may have arrived late, but they nrc ahead of any other organized body in their service, and the homes founded by them will grow and materially help ns In lifting the whole of our people. Our churcnes are composed of a very fine class of citizens. A good test of a church is the treatment of the pastor. The churches of the city are noted for the kindness with which the pastors are cared for. The government of tho Methodist church reqUlrs a limited pas toral, but a number of the Augusta Methodist churches have kept their pas tors the full four years. Rev. A. I>. Ecliols is now closing up his fourtli year at Asbury. The Episcopal churches have bud pastors who were noted for long pe riods of service. At the First Presby terian church the pastors have labored from youth to old age. Notable among ihese Were tlie lamented Doctors Irvin and Blanket. The First Baptist and the Second Baptist are both noted for extended pastorates. At the former Dr. Lansing Burrows labored for almost 20 years, while at the latter, llev. Thomas Walker, now at ('rawford Avetiu Bap.lst, spent seventeen years as active pastor. This Indicates the spirit of building which lias pervaded the whole of our church life from the founding of St. Paul's 111 1750 to the good year of our Lord 1914. If the supreme work of the church is to build men then the churches of Augusta have not failed; for the pas tors wdio have led men to Christ in many cases have remained long enough to de velop them into strong Christian man hood. Of course the churches have not done all that tlielr leaders mid members have longed to do. 11l many things they have failed. A number of giant evils thrive right here in our midst. Many of us think that the good Christian people should combine and crush them. But the tide is rising, and the conservative people of today will he the radical peo ple of tomorrow and we shall see evil i hastened and diminished. But taken as a whole no other organizations in the citv have shown such steadv growth, such determination to succeed as the Christian congregations. It will take the city In many respects a half cen tury to come up to the firing line where our churches now stand It is pleas ant to contemplate that in the coming years the churches will continue to he bur pioneers in all that is good and great. POWER OF HABIT. Mrs. Tucker gave some food to a tramp one morning, and as he was eating it she noticed a peculiarity. “Why.” she asked, “do you stick out the middle fingor of your left hand so straight while you are eating? Was it ever brokenV" “No, ma’nm," replied the tramp, “but during my halcyon days I wore a diamond ring on that finger, and old habits are hard to break.” —Na- tional Monthly. being a mixture of clay and broken stone, which, under the action of the weather, becomes very hard and tena cious. An April 4th, 1918 dirt was bvoker. an 7 active operations began on the great work of protecting Augusta from the disastrous floods that have devastated he city lit Intervals since its founda tion. A period of universal rejoicing has prevailed among the citizens and well wishers of Augusta, ever since the aus picious inception of the huge undertak ing, that will require such an enormous sum of money and take such a long time to complete . The details of such a jo!? are almost Infinite and the labor "* /dirking them out was prodigeous. Removing Mountains. The contractors. Messrs. A. .1. Twiggs & Son made preparations for moving on a fel'“s.t scale. They set to work with a large steam shovel with the capacity of three cubic yards to the dtp, three d ! ps to the minute. They started in to cut down a hill and the earth of that hill is now in the levee. The steam shovel can pile on dirt fast enough to keep three trains moving, with seven western self-dumping cars to the train. While one train ts loadtng, one train is dumping at the fill, and one is on the run. The trains run on a tres tle and they are now filling in behind St. Paul's church. The cars are provided with self-dump ing apparatus which is operated by an air pump on the engine. The train stops on the trestle, over the fill, and the cars are dumped automat'cally and righted and the whole operation consumes only five minutes’ time. It is the quicket method of unloading a train In use. A ditch is dug in the space to he oc cupied by the embankment, which is kept filled with water. Water is also kept playing on the embankment as it grows. Progress Shown Among The Catholic Churches and Educational Institutions in Augusta History of St. Patrick’s. The Church of the Holy Trinity, generally known as St. Patrick's, was consecrated April, 12th, 1863, when the civil war was at Its height, by Bishop Verot of Savannah, accompanied and assisted by Bishop McGill of Rich mond, Bishop Lynch of Charleston and Bishop Quinlan of Mobile. In an early print about the church it is stated that the church, the third to be con structed by the Catholics of Augusta, "was under the title and name of the Most Holy Trinity but as the cus tom of the church requires a patron saint or saints, the primary patron of the church is Saint Patrick, who was chosen as such ; by the vote of the clergy and people on Easter Sun day, 1863. The secondary patron Is Saint Vincent of Paul, under whose invocation the church was placed it tile laying of tlie cornerstone, July 19th, 1857.” The naming of the church as Saint Patrick’s is significant and of histori cal value. It marked the ascendancy of the Irish among the congregation, for it is evident that early in the his tory of the parish those of French birth and descent were largely in the numerical majority. In 1810, a charter of incorporation was obtained from the legislature, and the number of Catholics had increased so far as to justify the residence of a pastor. The first resident pastor ot’ Augusta was the Rev. Dr. Brown. At a meeting of the congregation held February 9th, 1812, a committee was appointed to hand around a subscrip tion paper to the citizens for contri butions to enable them to build a Catholic church. The subscription was liberal enough to take further steps in the building of the church, which, in fact, was constructed in the course of that year and also probably of the following. The books do not allude to the date when the new church was opened to divine worship, although there is an entry in the books fo«r 1814. The dwelling in which the clergy have resided since, was put up In 1818. Many French Here. The first church was but about forty-nine feet long and twenty-four wide, but it was sufficient for the needs of the congregation, which un der the eare of Father Barry, throve wonderfully until in 1843 it was found too small and a resolution was passed to enlarge it, which was done by .add ing a transept to the nave, making the church cruciform in accordance with general usage throughout the Catholic world. Mr. A. M. Mac Murphy, to whom the writer is obliged for many details about the early history of Saiht Pat rick's, as the church is universally called now, is a descendant of the first Catholic known to be born in this section, his mother, Mary Drummond Mac Murphy, who first saw tile light of day in Augusta. He gives them in three groups. French. Irish and German, anil a glance will show how many more there were of the former than of the latter two combined. The brick for the church was furnished by Nicholas del’Aigle and Ferdinand Phinizy, who was the first of the name of the family now so widely known to live in Augusta. Among the French families were those of Talvande, Brux, Boulineau, Gardelle, Mondeville, Boisclair, Carrie, Baudry. Lang. DeCottes. Boutette, Pie quet. Bnitz, Rabat, Deßeauregard, Al lude, Babie, Bouyer, Caftin. Gieu, Cre pue, Lafitte D'Antignao Rosslgnol, Robert, Cantelyou, Simmonet, Broshan, Dortle. Among the Irish patronymics found are those of Hurley. Maguire. Duffy, Starling, McTier, Gargan, McCann. Kinehley, Riley, Grady, Wilde, Mar kay, Norton. Dunbar, Henry. Quinn, Boland, Maher Corconv Haekett, Bar ry, McGraw, Shields and Tobin. THE AUGUSTA HERALD. AUGUSTA, GA, to make the dirt settle. This is called puddling. The Controlling Gates. Where the levee starts, on the canal east of Lake Olmstead, there is a large controlling gate by means of which the water can he cut off entirely from the city. These gates are of reinforced con crete and are rfiost substantially built. There are four concrete controlling gates, the one across the canal at Lake Olmstead, one at each of the cotton mills, and the one at Hawk's Gullev. The one at Hawk’s Gulley is the largest and most important. It s the most import ant because It is at the danger point and furthermore, it is at the outlet of the third and lowest level of the canal and almost the whole efficiency of tne levee is dependent upon that gate. At three places along the line of the levee there are retaining walls, built of reinforced concrete, at the Atlantic Tee & Coal Company’s, at Re d’s Warehouse and at the Rlve-'side Mills. The one at the Riverside Mills is 800 feet long. The object of these ts to keep the earth of the levee from the wal's of the mill. But for them, the dirt would bank up against the side of the mill, shut up its windows and pos'hly crush Its walls. Practically Three Miles Finished. From control gitrs at Lake Olmstead, to Washington street a distance of more than three miles the embankment of the levee, stretches a'ong the river front like mammoth se-pent lying with tils full length along. It will be completed to that point by August Ist in case no untoward event occurs. The levee Is fifty feet In height, which leaves a margin of eight feet above the highest recorded height the Sa vannah has ever risen. It Is not sup posed that tlie levee will cause the food water to rise much higher than the ordi nary, but that it will cause the water to run off with greater velocity. Sacred Heart Parish. Ten years after the consecration of St. Patrick’s it became evident that additional church facilities were need ed for the Catholics of Augusta. The zealous and energetic Fr. Theobald Butler, S. J„ set to work to collect the necessary funds. He was met more than half way by the generosity of the people of this city. The corner stone of the old Sacred Heart church was laid June 6, 1874, and on Oct. 6 of the same year mass was said in it for the* first time. For well nigh a quarter W a century this unpreten tious brick building served as the place of worship for the members of the Sacred * Heart parish. In 1897 the project w«re formed of erecting a more commodious and more artistic struc ture—one more in accordance with Catholic jjtjeals of the splendor be coming the Lord’s House. It was no easy matter to collect the amount necessary for so ambitious an undertaking. But once again the open - handed liberality of the people was equal to the occasion. With the cer tainty that in the course of time the heavy expenses would be defrayed, the work was begun immediately and the cornerstone of the present magnificent edifice on the corner of Greene and McKinne streets was laid, Feb. 20, 1898. tin Dec. 2, 1900, it was dedicated and on Nov. 17, 1912, with the last cent of debt paid off, it was conse crated by the Right Reverend Benja min J. Keiley, Bishop of Savannah, in the presence of a large concourse of bishops, priests and laity. The Seered Heart church is one of the hand somest in the South. Catholic Schools of Augusta. The Catholic church lius always shown herself a strenuous advocate of the alliance of religion and learning. Her children have at all times and in | all countries contributed generously towards the support of schools in which the interests of the soul will receive as much attention as the cul tivation of he mind. Augusta is go exception to this rule. In 1853, under the administration of Bishop Gartland, the Sisters of Mercy established a convent and school, and on Feb. 7 of the following year were incorporated I under the title of St. Mary's Academy "for the advancement of the cause of education and charity, and the per formance of acts of mercy and benev olence.” The superior court of Rich mond county empowered them to con fer diplomas, honors, degrees, and sim ilar testimonials of scholastic distinc ; tion. I | By dint of rigid economy and saint i like self-denial, Fr. Duggan was en abled to lay aside the sum of from eight to ten thousand dollars for edu cational purposes. At his death he ; left this money for the building of a school, and St. Patrick's Commercial Institute, for many years under the care of the Sacred Heart Brothers but at present ably conducted by the Christian Brothers, is an eloquent tes i timonial of the good father's zeal. i At a later period the Franciscan Sisters established a school for the education of colored girls and are do ing excellent work in that important j field of labor. Besides caring for the J orphans and academies committed to | their charge, the sisters are untiring | in their attention to the sick and suC i sering. St. Joseph's Seminary. One of the largest and handsomest j college buildings In I his section is the new St. Joseph's Seminary, which has been erected on Monte Sano. It Is the biggest step forward in an educa tional way for the girls of this sec tion and community that has over been undertaken in Augusta. It fills a long ■ felt want in the educational needs of [ this section. To complete the work according to the plans, :t will be built to New Sa vannah, a distance of nine and a half miles from Washington street. This will afford flood protection to a fine farming section lying below the city on the Sa vannah. It is not thought that the earth for the embankment will come from the pit now In use; the distance Is too great to haul it and other material more available. That portion of the levee southeast of ho city is more in the nature eff wing dam and serves the purpose of giving tlie flood water direction. Radical Changes Had to Be Made. The Charleston & Western Carolina Railroad hud to change ! ts grade from the Sibley Mills to a point beyond Wray s Creek, in order to cross the levee. A lift bridge lias been put into the levee trestle to allow the passage of trains while the work of raising the grade Is in progress. The Riverside Compress had to be moved to clear the right-of-way, and many buildings have been demolished and the ground utilized for that pur pose. The Charleston & Western Caro lina Railroad freight depot has been taken down and a larger depot erected nearer to Reynolds street. Whole rows of buildings lying along the river front are being icmoved to make way for the big work. The entire sewerage system of the city Is being revolutionized in conse quence of the building of file levee. In stead of discharging, as at present, the sewers will, in future, empty either into the third level of the canal, or they will < mpty into the Beaver Dam ditch. The sewer work alone that is being done will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The 1 earing up of street pave ments digging trenches, and laying sew er pipes is in itself a big job and a very costly one. Church of the Immaculate Conception, for Colored Catholics of Augusta. What is now the flourishing parish of the lmaculate Conception, devoted to the spiritual welfare of colored Catholics, at the corner of Kollock an/ Gwinnett streets, had a very humbif beginning five or six years ago. Bishop Keiley had given this worn throughout the diocese to the Society of African Missions, with headquar ters in Lyons, France, and Very Rev. I. Lissner was placed in charge. Fr. Lissner opened this mission in person and took a small house on Pine street. With him was Rev. Eugene Peter, who acted as first pastor. Shortly afterwards the property on the corner of Marbury and Florence streets was bought and the work act ively started. With Fr. Peter was as sociated Father A. Laube as assistant. Rail and Crosstie Notes Passes for Wives. As a result of the safety records made by the Western and the Ozark divisions of the St. Louis & San Fran cisco, for the year ending May 31, one woman in every employe's family on these divisions will receive a pass good for six months over the division on which she is located. These pass prizes are also awarded to one woman in every employe's family at the St. Louis and the Memphis terminals, the winners being allowed, in this in stance. to designate over which di vision they wish to have their passes extend. The idea of awarding passes for prizes originated with Mr. Nixon, the chief operating officer, and the incentive thus provided has resulted in a remarkable decrease in the num ber ot casualties. The pass prizes are awarded on two different plans: One, for the division making the greatest number of train miles per casualty; the other, for the division showing the best gain in this respect for the year ending May 31, 1913. The western division made a reduction of 46 per cent, from its re cord for the previous year, showing 9,146 train miles for each casualty as compared with 5,588. The Ozark di vision—which has been a consistent prize winner—shows 10,112 train miles per casualty, which is the best record of all the Frisco divisions, but because ofs being a prize winner the previous year, it does not show the large gain made by the western division. The Memphis terminal —which has won the prize three times in succession ■—reports 790 switching hours per cas ualty, the best of all the terminals; but the St. Louis terminal shows the best gain this year over last —523 switching hours per casualty as com pared with 345. The basis of com putation for the terminals on the road is the greatest number of switching hours made per casualty. The receiver and chief operating of ficer awards a semi-annual *p ass to all female employes and to the female head of the family of all employes on the division and at the terminal mak ing the best record on the basis in dicated The Railway World, studying the last annual report of the Interstate commerce cimmisston, finds that in June. 1913, the number of persons employed was 852. The list includes ten chiefs of divisions, 32 attorneys, :75 examiners and 501 clerks. This statement evidently was made before I many persons were engaged in the valuation division, as only the five en | gineers are mentioned under that i head. The appropriations made by congress for the work of the commis | sion for the last fiscal year amounted |to $1,853,629. In 1888 the number of The Beaver Dam Ditch. The utility of Beaver Dam Ditch was practically demonstrated during the last high water that vis’ted Augusta. Broad street, being oval shaped, acted as a levee. While the water on the north side of the street remained a day and a oalf on a level with the top of the street, it had follen eighteen inches on the south side of the street. Meanwhile, the water from the river was pouring througli the sewers and Spouting up from the manholes and sandtrups on the south s'de of the city. It had never done that wav before. It was most noteworthy and significant. Beaver Dam Ditch had just been cut and therefore the changed action of the water can be attributed to nother cause. While the water in the river was going nine miles around, the water in Beaver Dam ditch had to go only five. The ■fall being the same, the water from the south side reached its destination nearly twice as quick as the water from the north side. If Beaver Dam Ditch cleared the water from the'south s‘de of the city, its value can not be estimated. It should he enlarged. A steam ditcher would do the work economically* and the outlay would be small in comparison to the benefits to be derived from Its enlarge ment. Mr. F. B. Pope has the credit of d!g ging the ditch, which his already paid for itself In draining the swamps and making available thousands of acres of tertlle lands below the city. It has also afforded an outlet for the sewage of the city With the expenditure of a com paratively small sum It might be so enlarged ns to admit the passage of boats to the industries of the south side. The levee plans contemplate a set of antes at tlie mouth of Butler's Creek where Beaver Dam Ditch has an outlet into the Savannah. The building was a combination church, school and rectory, the school being in charge of the Franciscan Sis ters. The work grew until it was seen that larger quarters would soon have to he secured and Fr. Lissner began to look around for a desirable loca tion, finally selecting the corner of Kollock and Gwinnett streets. Father Peter about this time left foi Savannah, to work for the colored people there, and Father Laube was placed in charge, his assistant being Fr. A. Barthlen. Plans for new build ings were drawn and work commenced something over a year ago, the build ings being finished early in the fa!'. They consist of a beautiful church and rectory and a modern school build ing. The school season just closed was a remarkably successful one con sidering the short time it has been in existence and showed an enrollment of over 200 pupils. With such tireless workers as Frs. Laube and Barthlen, the parish of the Immaculate Conception is growing rapidly and a visit to it on any Sun day will show the hold it has on the colored people of Augusta. persons employed by the commission was 33 and the expenditures in that year were $113,008. A. M. Mortensen, traffic manager of the Panama-Pacific International Ex position, estimates that the visitors to the exposition will number 2.132,- 500. This Includes from points in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, 1,000,000; west of the Rocky Mountains, exclusive of Cali fornia. 250.000; from Europe and Af rica 50,000. Mr. Mortensen thinks that the attractions of California outside of the exposition will largely offset the disadvantage of being situated so far from the centres of population. The city of San Francisco has voted a bond issue of $3,500,000 for electric car lines to convey passengers between the centre of the city and the expo sition grounds, the existing lines being inadequate. Dixon Fay Kirkland, whose appoint- . ment as general manager of the Geor- | gia & Florida, with headquarters at Augusta, Ga„ has been announced. | I was born on June 1, 1866, in Lowndes i ! county, Ga. and was educated in the | : common schools. He began railway | work in 1883 as a laborer with a i bridge gang of the Plant Investment ‘ Company, building the South Florida railway. He was then consecutively ) work train conductor, locomotive fire- j iman, and from the latter part of 1885 i i to 1887 telegraph operator at various ] : points on the Savannah. Florida & j j Western, now a part of the Atlantic : i Coast Line. From 1887 to January of i 1 the following year he was copying j operator in the despatcher's office at Savannah, Ga., and then was appoint- ' , ed despatcher on the Georgia South i ern & Florida in September. 1889,! 1 remaining in that position until April, ! 1891. when he was appointed de- • 1 spateher on the Plant System. From ; July, 1898, to September, 1900. he was trainmaster, and then to December, 1905 was division superintendent of the same system which is now oper- . ated by the Atlantic Coast Line. From July to December, 1906, he was su- | perlntendent of transportation of the 1 •Georgia. Florida & Alabama, and from , ! May. 1907, to April, 1911, was chief ! clerk to the superintendent of trans- I portation of the Central of Georgia, ' and then, until the following October, I was acting superintendent at Savan nah, Ga. He was then trainmaster j on the same road at Cedartown. Ga.. j until January, 1912, when he became I superintendent of the Georgia & Flor* | ( ida, and from April 15, 1913, to June ;1. 1914, he was superintendent of the Atlanta, Birmirgham & Atlantic, at Manchester, Ga., which position he held at the time of his recent appoint ment as general manager of the Geor gia & Florida as above noted. “AUGUSTA IN 1914" The Effect of the Levee. The direct effect of building the levee h"S been marve'ous upon the growth and advancement of Augusta. For many years this city stood at a standstill. There was litt'e confidence, public en terprise and small demand for real es tate. Capita! seemed to be satisfied with what had been accomplished and there was no ambition to better con ditions. But when it became apparent that pub lic sentiment favored the levee and was determined to have protect'on against the periodical overf'ows of the Savan nah that were so destructive to life and property and a continual menace to pros perity the city took on new life. Be fore’ the levee got under way. new en terprises hegan to spring up and grow. Broad street seemed suddenly trans formed. Old hulldtrgs wre torn down and modern structures quickly tiv*k tlielr places. On one block of Broad . street, at one time, were improvements going up amounting to SBOO,OOO. Greatest in the City's History. The period of prosperity now being ex. perieneed is undoubtedly the greatest In Augusta's history. Never before has Augusta d ! rt been held in such high re quest and has there been so much activ ity In real estate. The development is all pervasive. Besides tlie levee, the most notable commercial enterprises now on foot are the Barge Line, the hydro-electrical de velopment at Stevens Creek, the Em pire hui’ding. the Chronicle butid'ng. the' i new Postofflee building and the Swirt | Fertilizer Factory, j it Is estimated that there are now in I progress of construction, new improve/ ' ments to the amount of six million five hundred thousand dollars. Wherec is there a city in the South that can match it? Tile New York, New Haven & Hart ford has just pensioned 13 employes, making 51, altogether, retired within three months. One of those who have just been pensioned is George C. Crocker of Hyannis, Mass., a crossing n an, 82 years old, who has been in the service 59 years. Ttie Pennsylvania railroad, since January 1 last, has sold 100 pieces of real estate for. approximately $1,000.- 000. The directors have voted to sell, as fast as purchasers can be found, all of the real estate owned by the company which is not needed for its uses, of which there are 647 separate parcels. Station agents of the com pany will give all desired informa tion. J. H. Barr has been appointed trav eling freight agent of the Central of Georgia, with headquarters at Kan sas City, Mo. “QUEEN PEACH” IS REIGNING IN STATE NEXT TO KING COTTON Georgia’s Sweet Fruit is Noted Throughout the Nation. Growth of Delicious Fruit Has Beer. Made During Fifty Years The Georgia peach is queen along with cotton as king. In coloring, taste and lasting qualities this fruit has become famous throughout tlie Union, arid today the markets of the North and West con sider the Georgia product as absolutely the best. The growth of Georgia’s peach indus try lias been .remarkable. Fifty years ago tlie only peach orchards in the state were small groves near Augusta. With improved transportation faeilites and methods of packing, the intelligent or ganization of this industry was attempt ed. The Aleaxnder peach was intro duced in Georgia from Missouri, and ten years later tlie famous Elberta peach was produced. This peach has done more to promote the industry than all other varieties combined. It is today the most extensively grown peacli in Georgia. It attains large size, is unusually showy and stands shipment well. From ISB9 to 1887, when tlie first re frigerator car of Georgia peaches reach ed the New York market, the industry grew steadily, the peacli belt being ex tended northwestward to Athens, CcT nelia, Marietta and Rome, and south westward to Macon, Fort Valley arid Marshallville. Within tlie past twenty years the pencil industry lias been revo lutionized, in number of peaches grown, 1 o cultivation and in packing and mar keting. Thirty years ago tlie largest peach orchard in the state was forty acres, but today tlie great peacli orch ards with tlielr individual railroads, in dividual packing houses, some with ;00,- 000 trees in bearing, ave tremendous in stitutions. The Georgia Fruit Exchange, with headquarters in Atlanta. is the out growth of the difficulty and loss caused many shippers In the field, who in mar keting their crops individually could not get the very best prices possible. This exchange is carefully managed by prac* tleally railroad refrigerator service men, and now handles a Mg part of tlie en tire peach crop of the state. The Georgia Fruit Exchange reports the industry grew, until in 1912, 7,157 cars were shipped from Georgia. Peaches are shipped in six-basket car riers, each holding nearly one bushel. A car contains an average of 525 carriers. The average selling price in 1912 was 97 cents per six-basket currier and In 1913 the average sel'lng price was $2.02. Prices are f. o. b. cars shipping station. From the tlrirtteentli census of th# United S'ates taken In the year 1910, it Is learned that the number of Georgia’s peach and nectarine trees was 10.609,118, yielding 895.613 bushels In the year 1909. It is estimated that there are in Geor gia 18,000,’’Oft peach trees. The hulk of tlie peacli business Is in the counties southwest of the central portion, the greatest shipping points being Fort Valley and Marsha ilvlli*.