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a rnmtmaaamm xk -w/rijffnanr-viAmmi t m ■ mmmrnm m.rrmm^mmiaKaaKumtatm
-p J. KIKER <St SON,
* ATTORNEYS AT LAW,
Will practice in all the Courts of the Cher
.>ki>e Circuit; Supreme Court ot Georgia, and
the United States District Court at Atlanta,
Ga. Office: Sutheast corner of the Court
House, Calhoun, Ga.
p AIN &MI LN ER,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW,
OALIIOUN, GA.
Will practice in all the Superior Courts of
of Cherokee Ge rgia, the Supreme Court of
the State and the United States District and
Circuit ourts, at Atlanta.
J I>. TINSLEY,
Watch-Maker & Jeweler,
CALHOUN , GA.
All styles of Clocks, Watches and Jewelry
neatly repaired and warranted.
T)UFE WALDO I HOUSTON,
1\ D. D. S.
DENTIST.
Office o v er Geo. W. Wells & Co.’s Agricul
tural Warehouse.
j H. ARTHUR,
DEALER IN
GENERAL MERCHANDISE,
RAILROAD STREET,
Calhoun , Ga.
|| K. MAIN, M, I).
PRACTICING PHYSICIAN,
Having permanently located in Calhoun,
offers his professional services to the pub
lic. Will attend all calls when not profes
sionally engaged. Office at the Calhoun
Hotel.
j. Av.'Marshall;
RAILROAD ST., OLD STAND OF
A. W B LLEW.
ceps constantly on hand a superior stock of
family & Fancy Groceries,
Vlso a fine ssortmcnt of Saddles, Bridles,
taple Hardware, &c, to wiiich especial at
trition is called Everything in my line
Ad at prices that absolutely defy competi
ion. _____
Books, Stationery and Jewelry.
**'<*}* IRWIN & CO.
I **- nVv-v / (Sign of the Big Book & Watch.)
1\ T E sup Iv Blank Books. School Bocks
f I and o oks of all kinds; also, pens,
inks, paper and everything in in the line
of
Stationery, at Atlanta Prices.
A good lot of JEWELRY always on hand.
Watch Clock and Gun repairing done
cheaply and w in-anted.
rjoV Country produce taken in exchange
for gm.de _ IRWIN ft CO.
*j? m 'mV suucijxjs’ ‘
illEllf & SIIISTABU.
flood Saddle and Buggy Horses
and New Vehicles.
Worses and mules for sale.
Stock fed and cared for.
Charges will be reasonable,
Will p y the cash for corn in :he ear and
odder in the bundle. feb3-t*.
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, Salesmen, men of learning, and men wno
can onl/ read, old and young, all want it
for everyday reference and use. Allows the
grand result of the
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oxtiawtms, ir.aUftS&&t 4
DISENCHA NT MEN T
BY A. B. WATSON.
I thought the fair Amanda Brown
The rose of womanly completeness,
The sweetest girl in all the town,
She dressed with such exquisite neatness
Her hair of auburn, eyes of blue,
From which tie softest pleading gushes,
Her cheeks were of the lilly hue,
Which mil-rowed back the rose’s blushes.
When first she flashed across my way,
1 never saw a vision sweeter,
Her step se met! melody astray
Attuned to some divmest meter.
And when amid a festive throng
She moved, all levity and laughter,
One-half the men would gaze and long ;
The other half would follow after.
She danced oh, most and .vinely well,
I was her partner in the dances,
The mus : c emptied all its spell,
Enraptured by her melting glances.
How she could be so near a Queen
Without a crown was past divining,
But then, I own, I had not seen
The realistic girl when dining.
I saw- her at he” splendid home,
1 sat beside her at the table,
The happy fate which bade me come
I feared was, found ’twas not a fable.
But then, alas, I found the sprite.
While making wild attempts to win lier,
But au incarnate appetite
hose chief concern was for her dinner.
Roast beef, roast mutton, fricassee—
My faith at this was vastly shaken, —
But love spread loth his v inys to flee
While she was gorging greensand bacon.
Roast pig and turkey, codfish ball,
Cold entres—very hot with spices,
With greed for grace she gobbled all
While hankeri g for the cake aud ices.
I strove to talk of many things—
Of books I had of late been reading—
But language drooped on languid v irgs
An’ faltered while the nymph w is feeding.
I spoke of art—l chanced to know
Some pictures she’d been overlooking,
She said she liked Professor Blot,
Who wrot- about the Art of Cooking.
“ Ye gods !” thought TANARUS, “and can a girl
Care less for Milton than for mutton !
Love, ye began a giddy whirl
With but a spider \ eb to strut on.
I'll w-oo no girl—your trick is spoiled—
No matter how your arts‘environ,
Who values more a pig’s foot b oiled
Than the melodious feet of Byron.
I’ve not a Midas-*ouch which turns
Into pure gold all baser metals;
I know that life has real concerns
Folded within its showy petals.
I know- that some mysterious ills
Are brought about by its abuses;
I’m sure 1 could not nay the bills
For such assaults on gastric juices.
All romance vanished like a mist,
Or devvdrops when a rose is shaken.
Her lips seemed fashioned 1i be kissed---
In them too 1 had been mistaken !
Her lips—alas, th.it wand of late’s,
Who tempts it at the ending rues it !
Were but a pair of rosy gates
To hold a cutlet while she chews it.
Though love began so fine a sway,
And wove his flowery bands between us,
I his influence welt avvay
Before a gormandizing Venus.
1 could not woo—my passion there
In one grand burst w r ent helter-skelter—
A girl, though so supremely fair- -
With but an appetite to melt her.
WHT&W WFUBKBffEGHBBt - ÜBGMK
AN INTERESTING LETTER.
Some Striking
Drawn Between Nor iLa tuieor
gia sand tito West.
Good Reasons Given for not
Emigrating from tills
Country.
Spring Place, GA.,Sep. 13.1875.
J. T. Whitman, Eq :
Dear Sir — Several gentlemen,
knowing that 1 have lived in both Tex
as aud Missouri, and traveled extensive
ly over Arkansas and all the West and
Northwest, have requested u:e to . tve
the public a lew reasons why young men
should not emigrate from North Geor
gia to Texas Arkansas and the North*
west, which 1 have consented to do.
There seems to lea tendency on the
part oi our young men to go to Texas
and ot: er partsYif the country west of
the Mississippi river—an why is it so?
If they w uid think a little —investi-
gate the character of the country to
which they intend going a little more
be lore moving—there would not be so
many disapp anted when they arrive at
Uit-ir mw homes We hve a country
here superior to any place they will be
iikeiy to find in the \\ est ot Northwest,
as l piopose to shov by drawing a few
comparisons between this section and
the countries spoken of above.
1 will first take Texas.which is a very
large State, lias a great variety of soils
and some variety of crops, but not much
of climate, which is very hot and not
verv healthy in the greater portion of
the State. 'I lie summers are very long
and extremely hot, with not su
cold and bracing weath.r during the
winter months to recuperate the worn
out system after the long and extreme
ly enervating summers that the labelers
are compelled to be exposed to in eulti*
vating their crops* ldo not mean to
say then- is never any cold weather in
Texas, but to tie contrary. The Tex
as ‘‘northers” are disagreeably cold,
and are always accompanied by sleet
and ram, which, instead of being a help
is a disadvantage and must necessarily
be very unhealthy, as the weather pre
ceding these “nor hers” is always ex
cessively warm, and in a few days theie
after very warm again.
Another great objection to the State
is the water, one bait of the rural popu
lation are compelled to drink water the
people in this country would hardly
tmitik good enough to give theii horses
and mules after a hard and y’s work.
There sre some very fine springs but
* hey are few and far between. The
greater portion of the water used for
drinking and cooking purposes is pond
water, obtained either from natural or
artificial ponds, and these frequently go
dry before the rainy season sets in. I
have 6eeu families that had to haul all
their water from five to ten miles, and
it is a very common occurrence. Stock
CALHOUN, GA., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1875.
frequently suffer very much for the
want of it, and have to be driven from
thirty to fifty miles before a sufficient
quantity can be found to sustain life.
The crops of Texas are somewhat va
ried. cotton and corn being the princi
pal productions In some parts of the
State wheat and oats grow well and
yield a better quantity than quality ;
but very few garden products, except
where the land can be irrigated. There
are more failures oi crops from different
causes than in almost any other country
—drought, chinch bugs, grasshoppers,
army worms, etc.,are some of (he causes.
Where you find good lands you find
crops uncertain and the country very
unhealthy.
Timber is very scarce in the greater
portion of the State, and it costs more
to fence a good farm in many portions
than it costs to buy the land, fencing,
buildings, Ac.
It is a great country for cattle. There
are families owning a large number of
of them that never have, during an en
tire year had a pound < f butter or a
glass of milk on their tables. In fact,
it is the poorest country to supply the
inner man 1 have ever seen—no vegeta
hies scarcely, and little or no Fruit that
is marketable, and to us it would not be
palatable. The staple food is jerked
beef and corn bread. I have seen fam
ilies living some diatance from a market
or mi'l that had not had bread for
months at a time; and just here let me
relate a little circumstance. Some gen
tlemen, on a hunting expedition, stop
ped during ‘he heat of the day at a
house to rest, and seeing two little boys
about eight or ten years of age, gave
each one a biscuit. The biscuits being
quite large and brown, the little fellows
were very much pleased and ran out in
the yard, when one of them disappeared
for a few minutes, and returning with
a shovel full of fire, immediately put
some on one of the biscuits, while the
other got down on his knees and went
to blowing. In a few minutes one ex
claimed to trie other, “ Blow, Dick.blow !
him wih fling out his legs a; ter awhile!”
It is a great country for horned
things. Cattle have the largest horns
of any in the world. They have also
horned frogs, horned spideis, and vari
ous reptiles of the horned tribe ; and,
my friends,any of you who go there for
the purpose of earning your bread by
the sweat of your brow will find you
will have horny hands.
T he mercantile business is very much
overdone. All the professions are great
ly crowded, and there are more young
men who have gone there looking for
light work, such as clerkships, out of
employment and unable to git it than
in an any of the older States east of
the Mississippi river.
Enough of Texas—l will now sneak
of Arkansas. This is a country more
objectionable than Texas, as a whole.
In this State but ittle good land, ex
cept on the river bottoms,can be found,
and this is very unhealthy and subject
to overflow. Crops there are more of
the same class and character of the
crops in this country, possessing hut few
advantages over this section and a great
many objections. It is a better fruit
country than Texas, and some portions
ofthe State raise better wheat and oats
than are raised farther South. The
climate is a little better than Texas, hut
with the exception of a few counties,
the water is very much like the water
in that State.
The uplands of Arkansas, as a gen
eral thing, are very poor, and the peo
ple, as a mass, are very much like the
land, not very pr >puctive —except in
children. The houses, as a rule, are of
a very inferior ela.ss. and the occupants
generally vqjy thriftless, and in a great
many portions ol the State care little or
nothing lor education. They are, or
were but a short time since, desponding
o the immense taxes, which are really
so enormous that it is almost impossible
to pay them. I was talking a few days
since, with a gentleman of this (Mur*
rav) county, who told me lie hud own.
cd a large body of land there, and the
taxes were so enormouslv high that he
could not realize enough money from
his rents to pay them, and that he had
been compelled to dispose of the land at
a great sacrifice rather than pay sudi
enormous taxes
As Arkansas is a small State, I have
said enough. The more 1 might say,
the less I could say for it in comparison
with this country.
Missouri, lying north of Arkansas, is
a large aud, in some parts of it. a wr,
fine country, much superior to either of
the States mentioned above. The South
ern portion of the State is a colder cli
mate than this, and very much such a
country as northern Askansas—very
much the same class of inhabitants and
lands. As you proceed north the lard
becomes more productive, the people
more thrifty, and everything looks like
the country was in a Letter condition.
The lands on the Missouri river are
very good,probably the best west of the
Mississippi, but uot so healthy as som
other sections of the State In the
northern part of the State the winters
are extr aiely cold and very long, and
persons raised in this section of country,
or any portion of the South, witho t
they have verv strong constitutions, will
find it almost impossible to live there.
The summers are excesssively warm
while they last, even warmer than here.
I have seen the thermometer, at four
o’clock, r. M., stand as hi h as 105 and
10(3 degress for several days in succes
sion. When the winters break the hot
weather begins, and the farmers have
to push everything with all the energy
they possess, in order to give their crops
time to mature during the short sum
mers. During the winter months they
can do nothing but get fire ood and
feed their stock. 1 have been frequent
ly told by the farmers that they had
rather make a crop aud market it than
to care for their stock and get their fuel
.during the winter.
Good lands in Missouri are very
high, and th taxes, as a general rule,
! are as high, or higher, than in almost
any State north of Georgia. The peo
ple generally complain very much of be
ing in debt. For the last two or three
years they have made but little in then
best counties, and in some portions of
the State have been forced to cal) on
other sections to aid them to keep from
starvation, owing to drought, chinch
bugs,and grasshoppers. A farmer here,
with one horse, can do as much work
during the year as a Missouri farmer
can with two, owing to climate and dif
ference in soil. Here he can work
from three to four months while there
he has to either st >p work in the fall ov
wait in the spring for the ground to
thaw.
After taking a glance at all these
sections of country, anu all things to**
gether, you wiil not he likely to find any
country that has as many natural ad
vantages as this section of Georgia. If
our young men will be satisfied to stay
hare and go to work with the same en
ergy and perseverance they will have
to use any where else they may locate,
what this section lacks in some porticu
lavs will be more than overbalanced by
other advantages that no other country
possesses north, south or west. Taking
all things together—society, climate,
health, water, oil and the great variety
of products that reward the labor of
mau—l unhesitatingly say that we have
one of the best countries here in North
Georgia that the sun of heaven shines
upon, and if we do no‘ live and prosper
it is our own fruit. Our society is as
good, if not better, than any of the
above mentioned sections —less drunk
ness, less lawlessness, and much less
crime of all kinds, and the society much
more refined aud settled Why, if the
laws of Missouri. Arkansas and Texas
were as strict in regard to carrying
concealed weapons, and as faithfu ly ex
ecuted, as in Georgia, a judicial district
the size and population of this would
have a continual session of courts.
Where will you go to find a better
climate than that of Cherokee Ga.—one
that will agree with all, both weak and
strong constitutions—with short winters
but sufficiently cold to give the system
a bracing for another summer’s sun —
with no hotter summers than those
much farther north —with long pleasant
springs and autumns ? Yv r e have the
most delightful fall climate, probably,
in the United States, .where the hus
bandman can gather his crops and mar
ket them before cold weather and bad
roads are much in the way, and give
him time to store his winter forage and
fuel, that he may set by his fireside and
enjoy tlie fruits of his labor,with plnety
of good, pure water at his door for
household and stock purposes, which,
as a rule, cannot be found in any of the
different sections spoken of. Besides
the many streams which are sufficient
to propel machinery to manufacture ev
ery pound of cotton grown in the State,
our soil is naturally as good, as a bod} ,
as any land in any section. If you
ikirk it down and give it nothing in re
turn, it is your fault and not the fault
ofthe land. You will find that no land
will stand constant cultivation without
giving back something in the way of
manure.
I will venture ot say there r-re no
lands that have had the same amount
ofipia duce taken from them as the lands
in this section of the State, that can,
to day. show as good crops as North
Georgia—either bottoms or uplands ;
and as to variety, no section can com
pare favorably to us. We can raise corn,
cotton, wheat oats, tobacco, peas, sweet
potatoes, Irish potatoes, cabbage,clover,
and many of the most popular grasses,
and all garden vegetables grow well.
Our fruit will suit the most fastidious,
m both size and taste, and is of the
greatest abundance. Cotton grows well,
corn grows well, and when the land is
prepared and seeded, as is done by the
countries where wheat is a staple crop,
it will produce as much per acie, aid
of as good quality, as the best wheat
lands either Valley of Virginia, or the
Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania,
In the oat crop we have an advantage
n t possessed by any country north of
us —that is fall sowing, which rarely
ever fails to make a Rood cri p.
I have seen several small crops of to
bacco, from two to six acres each, that
are as good as any of the best tobac
co lands of Virginia, Kentucky or Ma
ryland, and there is no crop that will
Letter pay the farmer.
I have seen as good clover rnd timo
thy as you can find anywhere —in fact
this s ction produces anything that will
glow in either the Northern or South
ern latitudes. Then, “ Why go
West ? ”
You can do as well here as in the
West or elsewhere; you can live as
cheaply ; you have as good market for
al’ you can raise, and what objection
can there he, if everything is equal ?
I have shown you that everything is
more than equal, the advantages beimr
with this seetton. Then, why not stay
among your friends and kindred, and
help bui’d up your own State ? she
needs you.and why not give her the ben
efit of your labor ? If you do not like
farming there is no better country for
manufacturing. If you have only limit
ed means, start in a small way and in
crease as you accumulate wealth. The
raw materials are all cheap, aud a ready
market is at your very door.
Some say the taxes are becoming a
burden. If you call the taxes here
heavy, what would you say of them in
the States I have mentioned? The
debt of Georgia is, to day, less than any
other in the United States, with proba
bly tho exception of one or two very
small New England States. Her debt
is only about slo,ooo,ooo,with railroad
property of sufficient value to cancel
more than one half of it. The tax on
this (Murray) county, is only 75 cent
on SIOO. Couipired to other sections,
for instance, a town in which I lived in
Missouri, where the combined tax
amounted to $5 00 on the SIOO 00, onr
taxes are moderate. The State men
tioned is an instance of the others west
ofthe Mississippi.
If the sons of Georgia will remain
where they are, and work with a a ill,
and not leave as soon as they make a
little money, we shall, in a lew years,
li ive a State as prosperous as any in the
Uniun. Dismiss all such ideas as going
West. When the late Horace Greely
said, “ Go West.young man,” it was not
intended for you, sons of the South, hut
! for Northern # men to take possession of
I disturbed territories like Kansas.
Let us try to draw immigration to us
instead of moving off. We have plenty
of room for more, and there are thous
ands, both in North and Northwest,
that would come among us if they knew
“f the country as we and are tired
of living in such climates, and would
make us good citizens.
I have given, in a hasty manner, my
views of this and other sections,and any
person, reading this impartially, will
see that I have neither over estimated
the one, nor under estimated the other.
It is almost impossible to condense so
large a scope in so little space, which
must necessarily make it imperfect; but
l helive I have given a correct descrip
tion as a whole. There are, doubtless
some few exceptions in all of the sec
tions spoken of, as there are to all gen
eral rules. — M. V. Wfn Dalton Citizen.
Biographical Nketch of Hon.
.iolm IS. James.
John IT. James was born in Hen
ry county, Georgia, on the fourteenth
day of July, 1830. His father, David
James, a native of North Carolina, em
igrated to this State about fi'ty years
ago, and married the beautiful and ac
complished Miss Sarah Sanders, of
Franklin county. This estimable lady
lias passed from earth, but her husband
survives at a green old age, full of men
tal and physical vigor— a surdy, respect
ed and independent farmer, at the old
home tend in Henry county.
The childhood of John 11. James was
unmarked by any features of particular
interest to the public. Asa member
of a respectable and industrious family,
devoted to rural pursuits, he bore his
part in the labors of Ue farm with un
complaining and cheerful spirit. Duti
ful to his parents, careful of their hap
piness. affectionate and just to his broth
ers and bisters, he illustrated, in early
years, the embryo of the splendid Chris
tian character which makes him appre
ciated and honored by tho good and no
ble of the State. He was never known
to murmur at the circumstances of
his early life, nor in Summer’s heat or
Winter’s cold to desert his post of duty.
Through many a meltin g day he has
followed the plow.or handled the hoe,
as a barefooted boy, and in many a win
try blast labored cheerfully for the
bread of the family.
After the crops were laid by he was
permitted to enjoy the meagre advant
ages of the neighborhood schools, in
which he obtained, by close application,
a limited knowledge of the rudiments of
an English education. For about three
months he attended a hoarding school
at the little village of Jonesboro, after
which he entered the great University
of Nature, in which he has gathered a
fund of practical knowledge,which con
stitutes him one of the best informed
men of this country. The facility with
which he measures character, circum
stances and things, is wonderful —ena-
bling him, with unerring precision, to
reach conclusions.
At the age of twenty he hade adieu
to the old home, endeared to him by
many fond memories,and located at At
lanta. There was a vital prompting en
ergy within him that required more ac
tive and exciting scenes and employ*
uient than were furnished by life iu the
country However dear were the pur.
suits and associations of his childhood
aud youth, he yielded to the stern bid
ding of his nature and sought the city,
not for idle enjoyment, but for the per
formance of manly duiy. A situation
was promptly secured at ten dollars per
month. Soon it was advanced to twen
ty dollars and fifty cents ; and his ca
pacity and fidelity was discovered, and
his experience increased, his salary was
enlarged reaching, in due season, one
hundred dollars per month. At that
time thisv as regarded as first-class com
pensation, ami none but first-class clerks
could command so much. For five
years he continued the relationship of
employee, and enjoyed the fullest confi
dence of his employers.
In 1855, having saved from his earn
ings two thousand three hundred dollars,
which he deemed sufficient to justify
busine-son his own account, he decided to
engage in that of an auctioneer. Right
ly judging that change from point to
point was necessary to the lile and prof
it of that pursuit, he determined to
conduct it as an itinerant. For years
he was punctual in attendance at those
places in the South best suited to the
success ot his plans. In five years he
had accumulated property valued at
tv enty thousand dollars, aud demon
strated to himself the wisdom of reliance
upon his owu mental suggestions, which
have been unetring guides to fortune.
Iu 18(30, feeling that his possessions
were ample, and influenced by a true
and ardent affection, he sought and
gained the heart and hand of Miss Su
san C. Leonard, daughter of A. K.
Leonard, Esq., of Talbot county, to
whom he was married during that year.
VYhie a wife of proverbial gentleness
and beauty of character, he felt that an
j era had dawned upon him replete with
promises of happiness, and that his
change of condition required a change
of pursuit. Accordingly, with fortune
enlarged, he located permanently in At
lanta, engaged in the business of bank
ing. Success rewarded his efiorts un
til war between the States was instituted.
This circumstance, which disturbed the
financial condition of so many citizens,
fell with heavy force upon the fortune
of Mr. James, leaving him only a small
portion of his acquisitions with which,
after the smoke of the conflict had
passed, to resume his select pursuit.
About four thousand dollars in cash,
and real estate of perhaps twice this
amount in value, constituted all that
was left him by the tedious and terri
ble strife. Undaunted and with a cheer*
ful spirit, he reopened his bank, and
has since prosecuted business with un
varying success Grasping results
through a power of perception, well
nigh prophetic, his conclusions were
proved unerring. He has acquired For
tune after fortune, until ho now ranks
as one of the wealthiest men of the State
—owning as much (or more) real estate
in At'anta as any other citizen, and
wielding a banking capital equal to ev
ery necessity of his business position
Mr. James enjoys the confidence of
all who know him. His capacity and
integrity challenge the criticism of the
world. No one can truly charge him
with a single act. of illiberality or dis
honor, and none will doubt the
power of his intellect who judge
through the medium of his achievements
—the only reliable test.
During the panic of 1873, when
many of the wealthiest bankers were
compelled to suspend—some going into
bankrnplcy- heavy pressure was brought
to boar on the establishment of Mr.
James, by the unexpected demands of
depositors. At this juncture he closed
his bank until he could marshal assets,
when a uumber of the wealthy men of
Atlanta, voluntarily and through the
press, proposed to assume, in his behalf,
liabilities varying from five to fifty
thousand dollars each. Such a manifes
tation of faith is seldom met with in
the history ol bankers or bauking insti
tut-ions; and this was an expression of
confidence unmistakably sincere, since
it was based upon the advance of large
sums of actual capital for immediate use
These shrewd men had measured not
only the integrity, but the ability of
Mr. James, and this act was the high
es commendation that could have been
given.
The financial storm passed, leaving
many a noble wreck as the consequence
ol’its fury,but the establishment of Mr.
James survived its theatenings aid came
out even strengthend in the face of the
dangers which seemed to impend. Un
willing in such a period to force collec
tions from his many debtors —feeling
that such a course would result in
great inconveniuce and perphaps serious
injury to them —he placed promptly on
the market a large amount of valuable
city property, which he brought to ac
tual sale at public outcry. Thus he
was not only enabled to extend extra
ordinary favors to his patrons, but to
make such additions to his banking
capital as would prepare him, in all
events, for the calls of panic stricken
depositors.
Dir. Jame3 has wrought out for him
seif, in an incredibly short time, the
reputation of acomplished and far
seeing financier. lie entered the arena
of commerce when but a plow-boy, and
has handled tho great financial prob
lems of his day with the facility and
sucess of a master. Even when fresh
from the farm and the field, hi3 con
clusions and his actions were marked
by accuracy, and tho history of his
acquisitions show few orrors of judge
ment in the many details constituting
his buisness decisions. Men born in the
lap wealth, educated to the highest de
gree in literary and commercial schoola
having long experience in banking un
dev the most advantageous circum
stance, esteem it a privilege to advise
with John 11. James.
His fortune has been, not by nig
gardly savings, but her uc investments.
Relying upon his own comprenension
and judgement, he has amassed largely
by venturing where others feared to go.
As an illustration, he realized over
twenty thousand dollars from t ! ;e pur
chase of a lot of bonds of a suspended
bank. These securities were freely ad
vertised in the papers af the State, and
by distributing handbills Their char
acter and the time of sale were brought
to the notice of bankers generally, but
they failed to comprehend the situation
and suffered Mr. James to purchase
them for a little over three hundred
dollars. Dealing in stocks and bonds
i3 an important feature in his banking
business, and though regarded hazard
oi s, has brought him only an unbroken
succession of financial triumphs* lie
scans the question, decieds, acts and suc
ceeds.
No one has displayed so much enter
prise, good judgment or refined taste in
the improvement of Atlanta. The most
imposing structures are due to his de
signs. His bank, block, extending on
Whitehall from Alabama street towards
the railroad crossing, the Executive
Mansion aud his pnnate residence on
Peachtree street are ornaments to the
city and monuments to his liberal en
terprise and refined taste. Ihe latter
is a costly and magnificent model of
architecture. Though, as stated, his
sales of city property in 1873 were con
siderable, he still retains a large amount
of great value, bringing him good an
uual profits by way ot rent- .Every
room in his spacious bank block, em-
vol. Vi.—no. 10.
| bracing basements and attics, is occupi
j cd. Here is situated his banking bus
; incss, the machinery of which moves
i with a quiet precision and absence or*
all ostentation, which seem to be copied
from the equanimity and deportment
jof the proprietor. With him its front'
! portico is a favorite point There he
may be seen almost every morning,
greeting the passers-by with his genial
face, or engaged in pleasant con voca
tion with tnose who pause in the sun
shine of his presence. No one would
imagine that Mr. James lias an uupleas
ant care upon his heart, or a disturbing,
thought in his brain. His eye beams
with a lustre that burns steadily, and
his countenance is serene as a cloudless
morn of the spring. Free from all
affectation, ready at every moment to*
communicate with others, showing no
selfish reticence for the sake of gaining
advantage, practical, far-seeing, sensible
and good, no wonder that this presence
is an attraction which causes manv of
the passing throng to halt before him.
To say that Mr. James is a noble
character ii only the language of true
description. At home, in society or in
the counting-house he illustrates this
truth. His family consists of his wife,
a little girl about ten and a son about
nine years o f age. No happier home
adorns tho State. Affection presides
over it and with generous caret
provides for all wants. Toward his em
ployees he maintains a respectful, polite
and kind deportment, never assuming
that chilling austerity so common with
those who wield capital in the control
of labor. To society he always adds a
charm by his good nature.
He is a man of great liberality,
furnishing a striking exception to the
maxim that human nature becomes mi
serly in the ratio of its accumulations.
The evidences of his generosity are seen
on every hand. At his individual ex
pense two commodious and handsome
church edifices have been built in At
lanta, and to the completion of another
he contributed three thousand five hun
dred dollars. Both the churches he
had erected are regularly supplied with
pastors and services each Sabbath.
Though he has been a pious
member of the Baptist denomination
since his eighteenth year, and though
now attached to the Second Baptist
Church of Atlanta, he is possessed of
nothing like bigotry, but gives to all
churches and oil races, whether Jew or
Gentile, Catholic or Protestant, home or
or foreign born, white or black. Thou
sands of minor charities have relieved
the necessities of the poor, and if the
worth of men should i e measured by
their gifts to the needy, that of Mr.
James would appear pre eminent. His
donations to churches since the war
sum up more than fifteen thousand doB
lars, an amount considerably in excess
of the entire capital with which he re
sumed business.
The fact that he gives in the prime
of life, while in the vigor of health, dis
tinguishes him from most of those who
have bestowed charities and benefits,
ft is the generl custom to cling closely
to the sordid dust until robbed by death
of the power of enjoyment, and then to
bequeath a portion to charity and the
church.
Though temperate in all his habits,
lie has never joined a temperance socie
ty. llis advice, however, to all now is
to guard themselves with jealous care
against the insidious indulgence in
strong drink.
lie is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and lives in obedience to its
injunctions of purity and charity. To
give some idea of his appreciation by
the denomination to which he as attach
ed. it may be said that he is prominent
in almost all of its important enterprises
being a trustee of Mercy University;
trustee and treasurer of Georgia Baptist
Orphans Home ; being, also, with the
help of his good wife, superintendent
of that instutation. lie has given to
the “Home” more than any other man,
and his wife more than any other lady.
He has for a numder of years been
presedent of Atlanta Bible Society ; also
of Fulton County Sabbath School Soc
iety, both of which are composed of
members of all denoninations.
In 1871, Mr. James was called un
animously to the Mayora’ty of Atlantt
having first been nominated by a popu
lar vote ol the Democratic citizens over
three gentlemen of the highest standing
socially and politically. This indicao:s
hisstrenght with Democracy of the ciiy
and his great personal popularity. This
is the only office lie ever held. It was not
sought, but accepted because tendered
by his constituents in a manner so com
plimentary. A high appreciation of
his administrative ability and his integ
rity prompted their choice. As proof
that his administration was accepted and
approved, he was strongly urged to al
low his re-election. This he decline i.
His public service was characterized by
a desire to advance the common interests
of the city and by the strictest honesty.
In 1872, his name was suggested in
connection with the gubernatorial elec
tion office. Many citizens of foresight
and influence desired to see him in po
sition for the exercise of ins great finan
cial mind in redeeming the State from
her financial embarrassment and per
plexity. ihey saw in him the hope of
Georgia, and, therefore entreated him
to allow his name placed bef* re the
nominating convention of that year.—
This he declined to do, snd apprehend*
ing that his position might interfere
with the desire unanimity of that body,
he published a letter in which he de*
clared that he would, under no circum
stances, be a candidate at th ;L time
[Concluded on Second jPaye.]