Calhoun weekly times. (Calhoun, GA.) 1873-1875, September 29, 1875, Image 1

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BY D. B. FREEMAN. CALHOUN TIMES Office: Wall St., Southwest of Court House. Kates of Subscription. One Year $2.00 .Six Months 1.00 Ten copies one year 15 00 Kates of Advertising. For each square of ten lines or less for the first insertion, sl, and for each sub sequent insertion, fifty cents. No.Sq’rs | 1 Mo. j 3 Mos. j b Mos i 1 year Two s4lFr sLbir] $12.00 | $203)0 Four “ 6.00 10.00 | 18.00 85.00 i column 9.00 15.00 25.00 40.00 £ “ 15.00 25.00 40.00 05.00 1 “ 25,00 40-00 65.00 115.00 Ten lines of solid brevier, or its equivalent in space, make a square. Kates of Legal Advertising. Sheriff's Sales, each levy S4 00 Citation for letters of Administration aud Guardianship 4 00 Application for dismission from Admin istration, Guardianship and Exec utorship. 5 00 Application for leave to sell land, one square 4 00 Each additional square 2 00 Land Sales, one square 4 00 Each additional square 3 00 Application for Homestead 2 00 Notice to Debtors and Creditors 4 00 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*. mGENTTWANTED fbTthe CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER un-it^ates. A book for every American. Sells every where at sight. Farmers. Teachers, Stu lenis, Lawyers, Merchants. School Direc ors. Manufacturers, Mechanics, Shippers, , 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 FIRST 100 YEARS.& REPUBLIC Everybody buys it, aud Agents make from SBH> to S2OO a month Send for circular— Address J. 0. McOURDY & CO., Publish ers, Philadelphia, Pa.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, 111.; or St. Louis, Mo. apr‘27-26t. f?sr * DAY GUARANTEE* using our WELL AUGER & DRILL in good territory. Endorsed I j of IOWA, ARKANSAS A DAKOI i 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.]